No Tears | NR

Chapter 65

Avengers Compound, USA

"Do you think this can work?", Yara asked into the darkness of her bedroom.

A sigh caused Yara to turn on her side and face the source of said sigh. "I don't know. I am no scientist. We'll see what Tony has to say."

Yara accepted that response and rolled onto her back. She couldn't sleep. The mere idea that they may have a way to fix everything was keeping her up.

"Come on, Сашка, try and get some sleep", Natasha urged, but to no avail. Sleep wouldn't come. And Yara could hear that Natasha wasn't sleeping either.

The two women had practically moved into one room. It had been a process that had taken over a year. At first, Natasha had only come here to make sure that both of them were getting proper sleep. Over time, however, she had begun to bring things here and leave them there. They used the same bathroom, and there was really no need for Natasha to go to her own room anymore. In fact, now that Yara was thinking about it, she couldn't remember the last time, Natasha had been in her own bedroom or had slept there. Yara didn't mind. On the contrary, Natasha's presence was probably the only reason she was able to sleep most nights.

Although they still hadn't put a label on anything, there didn't seem to be a need to do so. It had been almost natural for them to move together, even if that, too, hadn't been something that they had really talked about. Despite their eventual little arguments, they worked well together and there had never been a reason to talk about their relationship or anything related to that. Everything seemed to come very naturally.

Yara turned to face Natasha once more and smiled contently. It was only after a while that she noticed a pair of eyes looking back at her. There was a sparkle of mischief in them. Yara blinked and felt slightly embarrassed. She rolled on her back and tried to ignore the pair of eyes that were still on her.

Natasha chuckled quietly. The chuckle got louder when Yara hit her lightly with her elbow.

The prospect of getting all of those people back who had turned into dust five years ago had given all of them hope. For the first time in months - no, years - they finally had a potential solution, and it lifted their spirits, even if that might only be temporary.

The silence that enveloped both of them was one of those that wasn't dreadful or loud, but comfortable and warm. Those were rare, not only because of the nature of their characters, but also simply because of the circumstances. But tonight, at last, those circumstances had changed.

Yara hadn't heard any movements next to her for a while, so she assumed the redhead had fallen asleep. She turned on her side to face Natasha and found, to her surprise, that the Avenger was in fact not asleep. Instead, she was still looking at Yara just like she had been before.

Yara smirked, but Natasha didn't seem in the least embarrassed that she had been caught. She just continued staring. Yara didn't know why. She didn't understand why anyone, especially someone as extraordinary as Natasha, would ever look at her like that.

Visually, there was really nothing that made her stand out of a crowd. She wasn't particularly pretty or ugly. She wasn't particularly short or tall. Like any other woman, she had her insecurities, although they had mattered less and less the older she had gotten and the longer she had been alone. A few scars gave her face a rough look. The rest of them were hidden underneath her clothes. Yara didn't care much for fashion either. For a long time, she had dressed to fit in with the rest and not stand out. Of course, now, with the lower half of her right leg missing and her short hair which had grown out a little over the past few months, people would notice her more. Still, all in all, she believed there was nothing special about her appearance. She felt like she had one of those faces that were forgotten the moment she left their field of view. But she didn't mind. In fact, so far, that had usually worked in her favor.