Next Target: Clint Barton

11 - We'll meet again

< > = Russian

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Yelena's thoughts slowly returned to her, but her eyes remained closed; she felt nothing and saw nothing. What happened? The last thing she remembered was being on the jet with Clint. She was hurt. Her shoulder had been impaled by a metal rod, but she felt no pain. There was just nothing

She forced her eyes to open.

The world was dark around her, but she felt so warm. She felt safe; almost at home in this unknown place. She began seeing the blurry outlines of the world around her; the fiery orange sky and felt the cool water that went up to her ankles. There were certain landscapes in the background, but nothing that Yelena could recognize.

It was peaceful; no fighting, no conflict, just the cool breeze brushing against her skin and the gentle warmth of the sun shining down on her. She let herself get distracted by the peacefulness of the environment, soaking in the warmth of the sun and breeze, so distracted that she didn't notice someone sneaking up behind her.

"Yelena?" A voice called out softly from behind her.

Yelena's eyes widened in shock but she refused to turn around. She recognized the voice; it was one she hadn't heard in a long time, one she wanted to hear more than anything —the voice of the person she missed the most.

"Yelena." The voice was more firm this time and prompted her to turn around. She heard the quiet splash of water as the person behind her moved closer, the ripples of the water spreading to her own feet.

She reluctantly turned around, afraid that when she did she would see nothing but air and the voice would be gone forever, but it wasn't. She turned around to see the wave of scarlet red hair, accompanied by a familiar face with tears streaming down her face. The face of the person she missed more than anything; there she was: her sister, her Natasha.

She was standing right in front of her, flesh and blood, the subtle rise and fall of her chest giving Yelena comfort. Her face was as confused and shocked as Yelena's was, but she didn't care for any explanations right now; she was with her sister again, at last.

They instantly closed the small gap between them, crashing into a bone crushing hug. Neither of them wanting to let go, this was the moment they had both been waiting for; Natasha waiting five years and Yelena waiting months. They buried their faces in each other's shoulders, taking in the warmth of the other as wet tears stained each of their clothes. It worked. Natasha hugged her tighter when she realized that she was able to save everyone that was dusted.

Natasha quickly broke up the hug and pushed Yelena off of her so she could get a good look at her face, as a wave of realization hit her.

"You're not supposed to be here!" Her concerned expression touched her sister and Yelena gave her a warm smile in return.

"It's alright, I'm okay with this. I've wanted nothing more these past few months than to see you again." The tears on her face only flowed harder as she moved forward to rest her forehead on Natasha's.

"I've missed you too..." She said softly, refusing to move her forehead from Yelena's. "...but it's not your time yet." Her words were heavy, she wanted nothing more than to be with her sister again, but not like this.

"YELENA!" Clint's voice echoed as it pleaded for Yelena to return to the real world. Natasha breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of her best friend's voice fighting for her sister.

She chuckled and gave Yelena a proud smile. "You found the Avengers."

"Those idiots? It wasn't too hard." She laughed, something she hadn't done in a while. Though the pleasant noise was full of sorrow; she knew she couldn't stay here, no matter how much she wanted to. "I don't want to go, Natasha."