Chapter 29
First thing was first, Yelena needed more supplies before she actually went to track down Apep’s avatar. She had never taken someone back to her safehouse with the knowledge that they would leave alive. She wasn’t exactly known for being neat in her safehouse, even if Widows were taught not to leave traces.
Layla doesn’t enter too far into her safehouse nor does she snoop through her things but she does watch as Yelena rifles through her bag. Yelena plucked out a fresh change of clothes and stepped into the bathroom. She doesn’t want to admit that she liked the softness of Layla’s hoodie, it was slightly big and well-loved, leaving it comforting and soft. But It was impractical and not hers so Yelena folded it and changed into a new shirt and a pair of leggings. She missed the shirt that she had left with Hawkeye but it was a necessary sacrifice.
Yelena returned to the main room and then started preparing weapons. She wasn’t oblivious to the way that Layla’s eyes linger on the holster she secured to her thigh.
“Do you really need a gun?” Layla finally questioned, holding her hands up in defense when Yelena twisted to look at her. “I’m not saying that you can’t use it or anything, I believe that you can. I’m just wondering why you can’t use the weapons that your suit provides for you.”
Yelena counts ammunition as she thinks of the answer she wanted to give. “Despite how often I have stayed in the suit around you, I don’t really use it in the field. It is a last resort. I summon it when I am dying.” She murmured.
She could feel Layla’s stare and finally dared to glance up at her. She raised an eyebrow at the shock on Layla’s face as well as the confusion. “I was raised to know my way around guns and knives. I’ve been shooting for nearly fifteen years,” Yelena explained with a sigh, shoving her gun into the holster. “The suit is… new-ish. It’s unpredictable and I never know when I’m not going to be able to call for it. I don’t want to rely on it.”
Layla, however, didn’t understand. “Your God gave you a suit that will protect you and you reject his gift?” She sounded in disbelief and Yelena rolled her eyes, straightening up. “If Tawaret--”
“My God is not Tawaret!” Yelena hissed, turning to look at her. “My God is Khonshu and if you cannot respect me or my choices then you can leave!” Yelena doesn’t realize that she has a tight grip on one of her knives until she sees how tense Layla is. “Shit.” She spits, throwing the knife onto the ground.
She doesn’t want to scare Layla. She likes Layla and she wants her to stick around but if Yelena drives her off before their vows can be completed then things were going to go to shit.
“I never meant any disrespect,” Layla finally spoke. “I’m sorry for upsetting you. I respect you and your God. This is your home, I have no right to come in and judge you.”
“This is a safehouse, not a home. I don’t have a home.” Yelena grumbled, turning her attention toward her bags. “Do you want a weapon?”
“Uh… no. Thank you,” Layla said a little awkwardly but Yelena slips an extra knife into her boot for Layla anyway. Yelena digs a little deeper into her bag for her favorite butterfly knife when her hand slipped and the bag rolled off the bed before she could catch it, papers fluttering out and littering the floor.
“Shit,” Yelena dives to try and collect up all of the clippings she had of Natasha, hunching in on herself when Layla approached and crouched down to help her. She waits for Layla to call her creepy or a stalker or some other unfavorable name. Yelena is ready with a barbed retort when Layla finally spoke.
“You must miss her a lot,” Layla comments softly and the response died in Yelena’s mouth as she watched Layla inspect one of the articles she had saved.
“Yeah…” Yelena replied dumbly. She looked down at the stack of papers in her hands, brushing her thumb over the inked grinning face of her big sister. “I do.”
Layla holds out the papers she had collected to Yelena and Yelena reached out to accept them, ensuring that none of them were even more crinkled than they already were before she carefully tucked them back into her bag.
“I like you, Layla El-Faouly,” Yelena comments aloud, feeling Layla’s confused glance. “I don’t want to get you killed.”
“You won’t,” Layla said with such certainty but Yelena shakes her head, turning toward her and looking up at her face.
“I brought you into this the moment that I came to you. You were never obligated to owe me anything, you still don’t,” Yelena lets out a huff. “I won’t blame you if at any moment you decide it is too much and want to dip. You can leave, no bad feelings.”
“We have a vow. Quite a few,” Layla reminded her, waving her healing palm. “I can’t.”
“Your patron has yet to teach you more about vows since we have made them then,” Yelena can’t blame Tawaret. She just never realized how hands-on Khonshu was with her teachings until she met other avatars who didn’t know jack shit. “You can break vows on neutral terms and neither party will be harmed for doing so.”
“I’m not breaking our vow,” Layla seemed offended that Yelena would even suggest such a thing. “Kid--”
“Don’t--” Yelena interrupts harshly. She takes a few moments to gather her words, her chest heaving harshly. “I-- I have lost too many people for you to make meaningless promises to me. I refuse to let you die for me. Swear to me that you won’t die for me.”
“I’m not making another vow--” Layla started to say when Yelena shakes her head, interrupting her.
“I don’t want a vow, I want you to swear as who you are as a person, that you will not die for me. Give me your word,” Yelena demanded, folding her arms. She knows that it’s unfair of her to ask but she refuses to let anyone else die for her. She can’t tether another person to her, she doesn’t want that. “Please…” She finished quietly.
Layla stares at her for a few moments, searching for something Yelena isn’t privy to before nodding. “Okay. I give my word as Layla El-Faouly that I will not die for you.”
“Good.” Yelena gives a curt nod, some part of her chest unclenching at her words. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
“No," Layla blinked at the sudden change in subject. "Uh… my dad was killed with a gun. I’m not a big fan of them,” Layla admits and Yelena frowned slightly.
“Come here,” Yelena beckoned Layla over and when she was near, she pulled her gun out of the holster. Layla tenses up almost immediately but Yelena doesn't do anything other than holding it in her hand. “My gun holds seventeen rounds. This right here is the safety. On. Off.” Yelena demonstrates.
“Yelena…” Layla starts off uncertainly.
“I’m not going to make you use it. But it is better to know and not need it than to need it and not know,” Yelena glanced up at Layla to ensure that she was still listening. “Do you understand?” When Layla nods, Yelena continued. “Never put your finger on the trigger unless you are prepared to pull it. When you aim, aim for the torso.”
“Not the head?” Layla asked with a small frown, watching Yelena’s fingers on the gun.
“No. If you’ve never handled a gun before then a headshot is likely to miss unless you’ve got the gun pressed right against their head. Aim for the torso, bigger target,” Yelena explained, reaching out to poke spots on Layla’s body. “If you can, aim for here, here, or here.”
“Will those kill them?” Layla inquired and Yelena paused, forgetting for a moment that Layla wasn’t a Widow but a woman who doesn’t have as much blood on her hands as Yelena.
“Yes. When you fight, you want to win. That means keeping your opponent down and keeping yourself up…” Yelena looked up at her. “No matter what.”
“No matter what,” Layla echoed uncharacteristically quietly. “Can I hold it?” Her sudden question takes Yelena off guard but Yelena nods and transfers the gun from her hand to Layla’s. “It’s heavier than what I thought.”
Yelena shrugs slightly, unsure of what to say to that. Layla finally holds it back out to her and Yelena takes it.
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” Layla questioned as Yelena returned the gun to her holster.
“I’m going back to where I first met her,” Yelena replied, finally zipping up the duffel bag and turning her attention to Layla. “And hope that she returns again. She sought me out the first time, I just need her to do it again.”
“How are so you sure that she’ll turn up?” Layla inquired curiously, not judging Yelena’s choice in plan.
“Her God wants me dead,” Yelena explained simply. “And when God’s want something…”
“They will send their avatars out to do it,” Layla finished with a knowing nod. “What do you need me to do?”
Yelena holds up a small round disk. “This is a tracker. No matter what, I need you to get it somewhere on her.”
Layla accepts it with a firm nod, knowing that Yelena could take care of the rest herself. “I got it.”
It feels weird for Yelena to have a partner other than Khonshu. She’s had Khonshu at her side for each mission she had gone on for the past five years. She trusted him with her life and to have her back. Khonshu could take care of himself, she never had to worry about looking out for him in the field.
Layla is new to being an avatar, she doesn’t know how to shoot a gun and she’s killed very few people but she is kind and she is good. Yelena would protect her.
She wonders with morbid curiosity if vows between avatars would be considered broken if one avatar died.
She’d have to ask Khonshu when he came back. He knew all the answers to anything Yelena wanted to know regarding avatars. She runs her thumb along the black ink on her wrist as she walked with Layla to the store, Layla’s hoodie finding its way over her again to hide the gun strapped to her thigh.
She finds that she doesn’t mind the way that Layla’s arm draped over her shoulder as they walked.
Yup. Yelena was going to protect her. No matter what.