Pulling Me

Part Forty-Five. Missing

"No, nothing's happened yet," Clint reported back to Kate over the phone. "She's not talking much at all."

Kate was slightly relieved with Wanda's apparent confidence in herself. It made sense to be, but now she could not find out about her plans with Stephen. Anything that would stand in her way with Y/N would put everyone in danger.

"How's Y/N?" He asked as she stared at them from the doorway.

They'd finally woken back up, completely oblivious to what was going on around them, oblivious to what was happening to them. Two weeks ago, she would've loved the way they were looking at her now. But now? She had finally come to terms with their feelings.

If they were going to choose her, this wasn't the way she wanted it to happen. Y/N was in love with Yelena, not Kate.

"They're fine. Still clueless," she responded, smiling back at Y/N when they looked over from the window to her. 

Why is she being so weird? Y/N thought to themself. Why am I still here?

From what they understood, they'd been cleared this past week and should've been able to leave the medbay. Everyone had been a bit off lately, but none more than Kate. She hadn't touched them the way she used to since they woke up. It'd been two weeks since the incident, but they couldn't imagine she would've fallen for someone else in that little bit of time.

Everything just felt off. Not even just with Kate, but in general. Bruce had stated they'd be in an odd fog but this was different. Whatever this was wasn't fog. It was emptiness.

Everywhere they looked felt blank, empty. No matter what they did or said or thought about, something was missing. It was killing them to not be able to put a finger on what it was that was missing. 

"How are you feeling?" Kate asked after shoving her phone back down in her pocket. She watched the smile fade from their face as she finished her call with Clint. Something was bothering them and she was worried she'd let her emotions rub off on them.

They looked up from the spot on their bed where their eyes had zoned out, "I'm fine."

Her eyebrows clenched together, "Are you sure?"

"No," they laughed. There was no point in lying about it, but they didn't know how to possibly explain what they were feeling. It wasn't something they'd ever experienced before. 

Kate walked over to sit with them, taking their hand in hers. They'd been so happy this entire time. She was surprised to see them in some sort of turmoil.

Y/N tried to force a smile but failed, "Something just feels off. Since I woke up, I just haven't felt like myself. It feels like something is missing and I don't know what it could be. I've gone through everything in my mind, but it's like..."

They trailed off into their thoughts, trying their best to think of how to describe what they were thinking. Tears started welling up as they thought. It was getting harder and harder to explain.

"I don't know Kate," their eyes clenched shut, forcing the tears to stay in place. "It's like there's something in front of me and it's invisible. It's there, but I can't see it or feel it. I don't know why it's important or making me feel the way I do but it's draining."

She could see the pain in their eyes as they searched for answers. It was interesting to see that though Wanda had put the block in place, they could still feel Yelena in some sense. Kate wondered if taking them to her would help, but she was sure it wouldn't. 

All Y/N would see was the person who stabbed them, not the person they were yearning for. "You're not crazy, Y/N."

They looked up to meet her eyes. It was impossible to understand what they were feeling. Even they couldn't explain it.

"Something happened after you were stabbed..." Kate took a deep breath. If she told Y/N what Wanda had done, they might never forgive her. Her mind was racing with the best possible thing to say or do in this situation.

Y/N nodded, urging Kate to finish her sentence, to make them actually feel sane. She swallowed hard, "Wanda put a block in place so that you would forget something... someone."

"How could she do that? How is that even possible?" They couldn't make sense of it.

Kate couldn't either. All she knew was that Wanda had used her dark magic. The only way to explain it was to show them what they were missing. "Come with me."

Y/N swung their legs to the side of their bed, buckling as they tried to stand on their own. Both Kate and Y/N had thought they'd be fine, but though they were cleared, they hadn't moved from their bed in two weeks.

She raced down the hall for a wheelchair, helping them into it once she made her way back. Before leaving the room, Kate stepped around and kneeled in front of them. "Are you sure you want to try this? I don't know what will happen..."

As she asked them, she realized that if they didn't remember Yelena, she would have to tell her what happened to Y/N. Yelena would know what Wanda did, what she took from her. Asking Y/N if they were sure was also giving her time to think if it was for her as well.

"I don't know if I have any other choice, Kate. Whatever you're about to show me, whatever is missing, is draining me. I have to figure this out. Please," they begged. Their draw to Yelena had been so great, so large, that losing her took more of a toll on their body than they ever expected. 

The walk from their room in the medbay down to the cells felt like ages. Y/N was burning to know what they were missing. Part of them was excited, but the other part was nervous. What if this didn't work? What if it didn't change a single thing?

Kate wheeled them through the halls until they finally met the glass that held them from the one person their soul needed more than anything. Y/N couldn't explain it, but they knew that person was what they were missing. It felt like they were being pulled through the glass to her, itching more and more to touch her skin.

Y/N looked up at Kate, smiling when she nodded back to them, "It's her. That's who you're missing."

They looked back, their smile growing larger. They could only see her side profile, intrigued by the way her nose dipped perfectly and her hair fell to the side in its braid. Y/N lifted their hand, clenching it into a fist to knock on the glass.

The sound of their knuckles across it reverberated through the room, just barely catching Yelena's attention. She almost didn't look, but something pulled her this time. Something told her not to ignore this one. Her voice caught in her throat as she turned, seeing the one person she'd missed more than anything this whole time on the other side of the glass.

"...Y/N?"