My Safe Haven

Chapter 34: An Escape From Reality

Yelena's POV:

The war has definitely changed me. I thought when I was in the Red Room, forced to work for Dreykov was gonna be the hardest part of my life. I'm not saying that it will no longer haunt me, it still does but finding out what's beyond this world we're living is enough to scare the living shit out of me. Aliens, magic, mutants and other universes? That's just a little too much for me to take in.

I can't even begin to explain what the effects of the war are to all of us but I can start by saying that my perspective in life has definitely changed. I had to wait for days until Maria was fully healed again. Her ribs were shattered, there was a large wound on her leg, her body was covered in cuts and she lost a lot of blood. Also, she was knocked out by so many aliens that I am pretty sure that what she had was more than a concussion.

Seeing her in that state on that day changed the way I felt for her. I always knew I liked her but when she was suffering, I felt heartbroken. It's like I wanted to switch positions with her just so I would be the one to suffer instead of her.

"Hello? Is Yelena home?" Maria joked as she waved her hand in front of me.

"Huh? Wha--, hey, when did you get here?" I stammered, looking so stunned.

"For the record, I didn't sneak up on you this time. I was actually calling for your attention but you're so out of it. Are you okay?" she asked, showing some concern.

"Yeah. I was just thinking." I replied.

"I can tell. You looked like you were thinking about solving world hunger." she chuckled.

"Sorry. Where have you been by the way? I haven't seen you in three days. You didn't even say anything." I questioned.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize that I'm supposed to ask permission from you before I leave for a mission." she sarcastically replied.

Maria and I haven't really figured out what our current status is right now. I think that it's just a very sensitive topic after everything that's happened. For some reason, I always worry about her. Maybe because I don't ever want to see her suffering like that anymore and I just want to know her whereabouts every now and then just so I would know what to expect.

"Anyway, Fury and I had to take care of something. We were alerted about another enhanced human being so we had to check on that." she explained.

"Okay. Anything that I need to know?" I asked.

"Nothing, really. Fury also labeled it as classified in SHIELD so even if there is, I can't tell you." she shrugged.

"Whatever then. Are you just on a break or something?" I probed.

"Well, a little. I requested for a few days off from Fury. He didn't hesitate in saying yes because I haven't taken that break he was forcing me to take." she smiled.

"Okay. Why all of a sudden?"

"Because... I was wondering if you would be up for a date? This thing between us has been going on for quite some time already and we just keep putting it off because of all the problems we have to fight or face. First the accords then the war and then there's this aftermath. I wanted you to have a break from all of that." she said.

For a second, my heart skipped a beat. I was taken aback from what she just said. I guess I was so caught up with the things we all had to worry about after the war that I thought pursuing what we have was placed on hold after everything is all settled.

"I--, uhm. A date?" I stuttered.

"Yeah. Like a 3-day date. A getaway. I was hoping that we could have an escape from here for a little while. You know, somewhere more calm and relaxing. Only if you want to though." she suggested.