Florence Pugh One-shots!

Old 'Friends'

The Avengers Compound was unusually quiet.
Y/N followed Steve Rogers down the hallway, hands shoved into the pockets of their jacket. It had only been a week since SHIELD's remaining allies had vouched for them. Former HYDRA assets weren't exactly welcomed with open arms-even if they'd defected years ago.
Steve stopped outside the briefing room.
"They're good people," he said. "Give them a chance."
Y/N forced a smile.
"I'll try."
Steve opened the door.
Inside, Sam Wilson leaned against the table chatting with Wanda. Bruce looked up from a tablet while Clint gave a lazy wave.
"And everyone," Steve announced, "this is Y/N."
A few polite greetings filled the room.
Then the door behind them opened.
Heavy boots echoed across the floor.
"Sorry," a woman's voice called. "Traffic."
Y/N turned.
The blonde froze mid-step.
Green eyes widened.
"...No."
Y/N's blood ran cold.
"...Belova."
Silence crashed over the room.
The woman standing in the doorway looked different now. Her hair was shorter. There were fewer bruises. Her posture wasn't that of a frightened assassin anymore.
But Y/N would recognize her anywhere.
Yelena Belova.
She stared like she'd seen a ghost.
"You..." she whispered.
Everyone looked between them.
Sam frowned.
"You two know each other?"
Neither answered.
Yelena slowly walked forward, every step deliberate.
"I know you."
Y/N swallowed.
"I know."
"You were dead."
"So were you."
Steve looked confused.
"Can somebody explain what's happening?"
Yelena ignored him.
Her jaw clenched.
"You worked for HYDRA."
The room instantly became tense.
Clint straightened.
Bruce lowered his tablet.
Wanda's eyes flickered red for just a second.
Y/N nodded once.
"I did."
Yelena laughed bitterly.
"Oh, this is funny."
"It isn't."
"No?" she snapped. "Because the last time I saw you, HYDRA scientists were buying girls from the Red Room."
Every Avenger in the room went silent.
Steve's expression darkened.
"...Buying?"
Yelena looked away for a second before looking right back at Y/N.
"They traded information."
Y/N closed their eyes.
"I remember."
"Do you?"
Her voice cracked with anger.
"Do you remember watching us being dragged through those hallways?"
"I remember everything."
"You stood there."
"I was sixteen."
"You wore their uniform."
"I didn't have a choice."
"You always have a choice."
Y/N laughed once, hollow and humorless.
"That's rich coming from someone raised by the Red Room."
The words hit instantly.
Yelena's face hardened.
The room seemed to freeze.
For one terrifying second, Y/N thought she was going to attack.
Instead-
She marched forward until they were only inches apart.
"You think you know what the Red Room was?"
"No."
"You know nothing."
"I know enough."
"No." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You don't."
Y/N met her eyes.
"I know they hurt you."
"They hurt everyone."
"I know."
"You know because HYDRA paid for it."
The accusation landed like a punch.
Y/N didn't deny it.
"They did."
"And you still worked for them."
"I survived them."
"Same thing."
"No."
Yelena stared.
"You know what the difference is?"
Y/N's voice was quiet.
"I escaped."
"So did I."
Another silence.
Long.
Painful.
Then Y/N said the one thing they'd never admitted aloud.
"I tried to help."
Yelena scoffed.
"Don't."
"I did."
"You watched."
"I smuggled food."
Yelena blinked.
"I unlocked doors."
She frowned.
"I hid medical supplies."
"..."
"I got caught."
Yelena's breathing slowed.
"I spent three months in solitary because one girl escaped."
The room remained completely silent.
Y/N looked at the floor.
"I never knew if she made it."
Yelena didn't speak.
"You had red hair."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"You couldn't have been older than fourteen."
Y/N looked back at her.
"You smiled at me."
Yelena's heartbeat quickened.
"I thought you hated me."
"I wanted you to."
"...What?"
"They watched us."
Y/N nodded toward imaginary security cameras.
"If they thought I cared..."
Realization slowly spread across Yelena's face.
"...they would've killed you."
"I know."
"You shoved me into a wall."
"So they wouldn't see me slip you the lockpick."
Yelena's expression faltered.
"I..."
"You called me a monster."
"So they wouldn't search your pockets."
Yelena's breathing became uneven.
Memories she'd buried years ago surfaced one by one.
A lockpick.
A loose vent.
An unlocked door.
Someone whispering-
"Run."
She'd never seen who it was.
Until now.
"I thought..." she whispered.
"I know."
"You..."
"I couldn't save everyone."
Tears gathered in Yelena's eyes.
"You saved me."
"I tried."
"You disappeared."
"HYDRA found out."
"What happened?"
"They wiped my file."
Y/N smiled sadly.
"They planned to wipe me too."
Steve finally understood.
"You defected."
"I burned the facility down instead."
A stunned silence settled over the room.
Yelena stared at them for several long seconds.
Then-
Without warning-
She punched Y/N square in the shoulder.
Hard.
Everyone jumped.
"What was that for?" Sam asked.
Yelena wiped at her eyes.
"For making me think you were an asshole for ten years."
Y/N rubbed their shoulder.
"...Fair."
"And," she added, hitting them again-less hard this time, "for not telling me sooner."
"I didn't think you'd remember me."
She laughed through her tears.
"I remembered hating you every single day."
Y/N smiled faintly.
"I'm sorry."
Yelena looked at them for a long moment.
Then, quietly-
"So am I."
It wasn't forgiveness.
Not yet.
But it was the first crack in a wall both of them had spent years building.