No Tears | NR

Chapter 66

Avengers Compound, USA

It was already some time in the afternoon when the group arrived back at the compound. Since Tony hadn't agreed to helping them, they still had somewhere else to go, but they would do so in the morning. Steve was right. They couldn't just test their luck with this. It had to be done properly. They needed someone very clever to help them. Therefore, their next best option would be another scientist and member of the Avengers.

Yara spent the rest of the afternoon working out. She was soon joined by Natasha, who seemed to have had the same idea. Their workout was largely spent in silence.

Dinner was quiet as well. Steve had returned to his place and Scott was nowhere to be found. He had probably retreated to his room.

The day which had started out with so much promise had turned out to be rather grim at the end of the day. But there was still hope, Yara had to remind herself. Although he was certainly the best person to help them, Tony wasn't the only genius they knew.

"You know, I get him", Yara spoke into the silence of her room.

Natasha hummed but didn't speak.

"He's got too much on the line. He can't risk it. I mean, would you?", Yara asked. She wasn't sure what to expect in response and was curious but also nervous.

Natasha sighed. "Сашка, моя любовь, you know me better than anyone. You know my past. You know what I have done and what I have to make up for. But I love you, and I don't know if I could live without you."

Yara was looking at Natasha, who had been facing the ceiling, but now turned her head to lock eyes with the brunette. Despite the darkness, she could feel how heavy the conflict of mind and heart weighed down on the redhead. This had been something that had been dormant in the back of both of their minds for the most part of the past few years. The prospect of the not entirely risk-free mission they might go on soon had pulled that thought back to the front.

"Моя дорогая, you have done more than enough to make up for your past. You may not believe it yourself, but please believe me when I tell you; you did enough. And we'll get everyone back. We'll make this work." Yara smiled sadly. 'Cause I'm not sure what I'll do if we don't, she added in her mind. She was less concerned about herself, but she was more worried about Natasha. She wasn't sure how Natasha would deal with it if they failed. It would probably break her.

Natasha leaned onto her elbow and pushed some loose strands of dark hair out of Yara's face, returning her weak smile. Yara bit her lower lip and leaned closer. "Боже, я люблю тебя", she confessed her love in a whisper and captured Natasha's lips with her own. The moment was bittersweet, having followed a difficult conversation. Without breaking the kiss, Natasha moved over and ended up on top of Yara.

Natasha had the foresight to take a quinjet when they left the next day to meet Bruce. Yara thanked the redhead silently upon meeting the scientist in question at a breakfast place. Firstly, her car would have been too small to fit all of them. Secondly, she wasn't sure her car would have survived the trip with Bruce's weight in it.

Natasha had told her that Bruce had managed to merge his mind with the Hulk's body and yet, she hadn't been prepared for what she saw when she first laid eyes on him. It was strange to say the least. Instead of being destructive and communicating exclusively in grunts and grammatically wrong sentences, he behaved like an intellectual and was dressed in proper clothes, none of which were torn. A pair of glasses adorned his large, green face. Nothing could have prepared her for that. Scott was just as dumbfounded as she was. His look spoke volumes. Natasha and Steve seemed surprised as well.