Next Target: Clint Barton

18 - Assemble

"You weren't going to tell me?" Yelena asked her sister. Her voice was emotionless but Natasha knew she was angry.

Natasha speedwalked towards her and began explaining herself. "Yelena..." She didn't know what to say.

"That's why you looked so sad when you were hugging Lila. Because you knew you'd have to leave again..." She said in an angry realization.

Yelena had gotten cleaned up after she got to her room and got ready to go to sleep, but decided that she would check on Natasha first; she noticed the look on Natasha's face when she was hugging Lila. Once she realized that Natasha never made it to her room she went to go check the Barton's place and was directed by Laura to the balcony; that's where she heard their entire conversation.

"...because you're leaving me again."

"Yelena... It's not like that."

"But you are. Leaving me. You're leaving again, for good this time." Yelena scoffed, her tone was furious, though it was unclear what she was mad at. She just felt ridiculous for actually believing that they could get a happy ending.

Natasha looked at Clint, silently asking him to give them some space. Clint nodded and began walking back to his and Laura's room.

"..."

"You're not going to say anything?" Yelena mocked.

"It's- you'll be okay, Yelena." Natasha could barely formulate words. She didn't know what to say, but she had to say something.

"That's it? That's your big hero speech? That I will be okay after my sister dies again? That I won't feel like the whole world is crumbling around me again?! That this is for the greater good?! That you're at peace?!" Yelena shouted at Natasha in frustration whilst the warm tears flowed down both their cheeks.

"Yelena–"

"NO! Save it! Save the whole 'everything will be okay' speech! NOTHING IS OKAY! Just stop... please. Stop being so okay with dying."

Natasha's heart beat in anguish for her little sister; she wanted nothing more than to stay, but she couldn't. She hugged Yelena tightly and spoke into her ear.

"I have to be okay with this... because I don't have a choice."

"You do have a choice." Yelena declared, pushing Natasha back and looking into her eyes. "You said it yourself, the stone brought you back to help us beat Jean Grey. What if we just don't beat her?"

"Yelena... you want us to just let her destroy the world?"

"If it means that you get to stay then I don't care. I don't care about any of this. I never wanted to be a hero. If we let her go then you stay."

"It's not right."

"What's not right is you having to die again. You gave up everything! The least the world could do is give you a second chance."

Yelena began storming off when Natasha tried grabbing her arm to stop her; she just shook it off and continued on. Natasha knew how angry and frustrated Yelena was... because she knew she'd be the same if the roles were reversed. She decided that it would be better to give Yelena a chance to cool down and process everything rather than going after her right away.

With that decided, Natasha went to go find the one person left she needed to talk to before she called it a night. She walked into one of the guest bedrooms to see Wanda sitting on a sofa chair staring out the giant window. The door was slightly opened but she knocked softly anyways.

"Hey." Wanda took her eyes off the view and greeted her.

Natasha smiled at her. "Hey."

She sat in the sofa chair adjacent to Wanda and joined her in watching the view, hoping Wanda wouldn't read her mind and find out what she just told Clint and Yelena. Thankfully, Wanda wouldn't go into her mind without her permission.