Chapter 1
Varvara was the walking embodiment of a Russian stereotype. That included acting like she was allergic to coats.
It was a long constant fight for Yelena to get the girl to actually wear something other than a short-sleeved shirt outside, even if there was snow on the ground or the temperature was below freezing.
And usually, Varvara would huff and complain, making her dislike very clear to everybody but eventually wearing a coat.
However, this time, she wasn’t budging. Yelena holds Varvara’s coat in one hand, the other on her hip as she eyed the teenager in front of her. Varvara had her arms folded, a scowl on her face as she eyed the coat in Yelena’s grip.
“It’s not even cold out!” Varvara retorts to Yelena’s remark to put a coat on for the fifth time.
“Varvara,” Yelena resists the urge to sigh. “There was frost on the ground this morning.” She reminds her and Varvara huffs. “You can’t leave the house without a coat.”
“Fuck!” Varvara stomps her foot on the ground in frustration, reaching up to tug at her hair until it’s a frizzy mess. “It’s not a big deal!”
“It’s not,” Yelena agreed although she’s beginning to suspect that this is more than just not wanting to wear a coat. “So put your coat on and you can go to the creek.” Yelena keeps her tone even. She even grabbed Varvara’s favorite coat to wear. It was a jean jacket that Varvara had taken great delight in putting patches on.
“You’re not listening to me!” Varvara lets out a frustrated yell, pacing a few steps in either direction in front of Yelena.
“I am listening, Varvara,” Yelena corrects. “But wearing a coat is not something that I’m willing to budge on. You’ll get sick if you go out without it in this weather,” Yelena is watching Varvara unravel in front of her at a rapid rate. “What’s so bad about wearing a coat, hmm?”
“I don’t wanna!” Varvara exclaimed, looking like she was moments from kicking a hole into the wall.
“Then you cannot go outside. That’s the rules, Varvara,” Yelena reminds her. She certainly wasn’t expecting Varvara to burst into tears. But Varvara lets out a choked gasp and tears start to rapidly roll down her cheeks as she reaches up to cover her face. Yelena drops the coat, all argument forgotten as she steps toward her third youngest. “Varvara, what’s wrong?”
Varvara shakes her head, shying away from Yelena’s hand as she folds in on herself.
“Sweetheart, I’m not mad at you,” Yelena doesn’t apologize for keeping firm on her stance but she is regretful about how she went about it. “You’re not in trouble. Come here.” Yelena reaches out again and this time Varvara doesn’t resist her when Yelena pulls her close.
It’s moments like these when Yelena thinks about what the chemical subjugation took away from the girls in terms of emotional development. Yelena doesn’t even think Varvara really knows why she’s crying, just that she’s so frustrated that she either can’t convey why she doesn’t want a coat or that there was something else going on in the first place.
Yelena kissed the top of Varvara’s head, her fingers smoothing back the wild mess of hair that had started to stick up with the younger Widow tugging on it. She whispers reassurances to her, waiting until most of the tears had dried up to try and get to the bottom of the coat issue.
With a lot of probing and carefully asked questions, Yelena manages to get out of Varvara that she had been feeling off all day and just wanted to go to the creek to listen to the water and be alone for a little bit. Varvara didn’t really have an answer to the sudden challenge of the wills regarding her coat.
Yelena doesn’t go back on her word in terms of Varvara leaving the house without a coat. Varvara gets upset and frustrated but she eventually gives in. She makes her stance on the issue clear and complains but she lets Yelena help her into her coat and button it up.
“I love you.” Yelena tells her after she finishes doing up the last button on the coat. Yelena tries to remember to tell them that each time they either break a rule or get into trouble. She’s not the Red Room and love isn’t conditional. She’s still learning the latter.
Varvara sniffles as her fingers pick at one of the patches on her coat. “I know.” She said quietly before tacking on. “I love you too, Ma.”
By the time Varvara leaves the house, it was two hours after when she could have left already had she simply put on a coat. Yelena’s just glad that Varvara could eventually tell her that she wasn’t feeling good, even if it took a meltdown over wearing a coat to do it.
The whole coat issue was tucked away for the next time Varvara needed to leave the house.