intentions
Natalia seeks out Bobbi Morse as soon as she can slip away from her sister for a few moments.
“Hey, you’re back,” Bobbi smiles when she sees Natalia. She was one of the very few agents that didn’t skitter away when they saw the Black Widow moving toward them. “How’s Yelena?”
“She’s fine. I… appreciate you looking after her while I was gone,” Natalia replies as she watches Bobbi’s body language. “I need clarification on what happened while I was gone.”
Bobbi’s body language shifts as she turns serious, the smile dropping from her face. Bobbi explains what she knows about the situation, telling Natalia about May and her thoughts and Yelena’s interpretation of the situation.
Natalia nods her head and turns on her heel to seek out Maria Hill.
“Do you have your paperwork for the mission?” Maria barely glances at her, swamped in work. Natalia sets the stack of papers neatly on top of the growing pile on Maria’s desk. Maria finally glanced up at her when she realized Natalia was still standing there. “Is there something else?”
“What happened with Yelena?” Natalia doesn’t quite demand as much as she asked very firmly.
Maria lets out a sigh, leaning back in her chair, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “A lot has happened. Have you spoken with May?”
Natalia shakes her head. “I probably shouldn’t.”
Maria pulls her hand away from her face to look up at Natalia with a raised eyebrow. “Why?”
Natalia shrugs. May upset her sister and Natalia wasn’t sure if she could stop herself from lashing out at her. Sensing that Natalia wasn’t going to reply, Maria continues.
“I’m up to my ears in paperwork at the moment. Can we talk later on?” Maria asked but Natalia knew that she couldn’t deny the request.
“Yes ma’am,” Natalia nods her head before turning on her heel to leave and find her sister.
Yelena nudged Natalia’s shoulder when she saw her, looking up at her with a small smile that usually only Natalia got to see. “Where did you go?”
“Turned in paperwork,” Natalia replies, her lips twitching up when Yelena wrinkles her nose.
“Sounds gross,” Yelena comments. “I’m glad you’re back.” She then adds much softer.
Natalia meets up with Maria during lunch. Yelena is settled with Clint as she eats and it allows Natalia to slip away to see the commander.
Maria waves her in and gestures for Natalia to take a seat in front of her. “You wanted to talk about Yelena, right?”
“And Agent May,” Natalia nods her head. “I’ve heard about it from Bobbi and from Yelena but I need an unbiased opinion.”
Maria nods her head. Natalia listens as Maria gives her thoughts on the matter and explains what happened. “It’s not a matter of your sister not being good enough. It’s a matter of morals.”
“Yelena’s been with the Red Room since she was six. A matter of morals doesn’t matter,” Natalia tells Maria, tilting her head to the side. “She’s almost eighteen. It’s a matter of a few months.”
“May is firm on this. She’s not budging and I have to respect her wishes,” Maria said, looking slightly apologetic.
Natalia can’t help the scoff that leaves her lips. “And what about Yelena?”
“What about her?” Maria watches her with a small frown.
“Do you know how hard it is for Widows to form bonds?” Natalia demands, leaning back in her chair. “Do you know how many people I explicitly trust?”
“No. I don’t know. Tell me,” Maria leans forward, resting her elbow on the desk.
“I trust one person. My sister. And it’s only because I knew her before she was a soldier. A Widow,” Natalia leans forward in her chair, mimicking Maria. “Widows do not give their trust easily. It takes time and it takes patience. Somehow, Agent May wormed her way close to my sister. Now she’s dropping her like trash.”
“It’s not like that,” Maria shakes her head.
“It might as well be!” Natalia raised her voice barely, her tongue sharp as she narrowed her eyes at Maria. “Agent May gave my sister someplace safe and coaxed a relationship out of her and now she’s severing it and leaving Yelena behind just like everybody else!”
“What do you want me to do about that, Romanov?” Maria demands and Natalia huffs, leaning back in the chair to eye the deputy director.
“I don’t want SHIELD playing with my sister’s emotions. I won’t tolerate that.” Natalia said sharply.
“We’re not toying with her emotions,” Maria shakes her head in denial. “It’s one person.”
Natalia was quiet, grinding her teeth together to stop herself from saying something that would get her into trouble. “Yelena told me that she felt safe with Agent May… do you know the kind of trust my sister is placing in you for her to feel safe?”
“Melinda May was firm on her stance about training children. I can’t order her to change her mind. Your sister didn’t do anything wrong. The director and I purposefully blacklisted her age from her file and let assumptions be made. This isn’t a matter of how good or well-behaved your sister is. This isn’t a punishment,” Maria says.
“That’s not what she thinks. That’s not how we were raised,” Natalia shakes her head. “Nevermind. Thank you for your time.” Natalia goes to stand.
“I never thought that May would do this,” Maria calls out as Natalia approaches the door. “I didn’t think she’d break ties like this. I was young when she taught me.”
Natalia shakes her head. “I’m not holding her thoughts against you.” Natalia spoke before leaving.
Natalia was pissed. Angry that they thoughtlessly disregarded Yelena’s emotions on the whole thing.
Yelena didn’t understand. It was always a matter of being good enough when in the Red Room.
Natalia finds Bobbi in the gym and yanks her away from the punching bag. Bobbi twists to counter but is quickly pinned under Natalia.
“What gives?” Bobbi squirms from where Natalia pins her to the floor.
“What are your intentions with my sister?” Natalia demands and Bobbi peers up at her in disbelief.
“You make it sound like I’m dating her,” Bobbi said, wincing when Natalia applied pressure to her shoulder. “Ow! Okay! Ease up, there!”
Natalia waits, noticing that Bobbi stops struggling.
“Okay. I’m just going to train your sister. That’s it. I know that me and her didn’t get off on the best foot--” Bobbi starts but Natalia shakes her head.
“She thinks you’re her friend,” Natalia interrupts Bobbi’s ramble.
“Oh… yeah? She’s my friend. Is there a problem with that?” Bobbi questioned, wiggling slightly in an attempt to get more comfortable.
“What would it take for you to rescind your friendship?” Natalia continues and Bobbi stares up at her, confusion on her face.
“Why would I do that? Are you talking about the whole May thing?” Bobbi asked.
“Just answer me,” Natalia pushed on a nerve in Bobbi’s shoulder and Bobbi yelped.
“Okay! I mean, she’d have to do something pretty horrific? I’m talking about killing the commander or something. She’s my friend and she’ll continue to be my friend when I’m done training her,” Bobbi said, wincing. “Can you please stop?”
Natalia eyes her before climbing off of her and offering her a hand up. She doesn’t apologize. She refuses to apologize for ensuring her sister’s safety. Bobbi takes the hand and Natalia pulls her to her feet.
“Don’t hurt her,” Natalia growls at Bobbi before letting her go.
“I don’t plan on it,” Bobbi said, turning to roll her shoulder from where Natalia had jammed her finger against it. “But your sister is a big girl. You don’t need to fight her battles for her.”
“She’s mine,” Natalia tells Bobbi. “I protect what’s mine.”
Bobbi gives her a small smile. “Yeah, I figured that out.” She said, wincing as she rolled her shoulder before facing the punching bag again. “You should talk with her about May. I tried but she doesn’t seem to understand that it’s not her fault.”
Natalia eyes Bobbi’s form for a few moments as Bobbi continues to hit the bag. “I will.” Natalia steps forward and Bobbi tenses up but Natalia just kicks the inside of Bobbi’s foot to spread her stance slightly. “You’ll keep balance more this way.”
It wasn’t an apology as much as a peace offering and Natalia leaves quickly after.
Yelena’s knuckles are red and raw when they strip to look each other over before bed. There’s a bruise on Yelena’s shin.
Yelena needs guidance to stop her from going too far when training. The Red Room was all about pushing you beyond your limits.
“I want to talk to you about May,” Natalia announced as they redressed.
“I don’t want to,” Yelena said, pulling her pajama shirt over her head.
“Then listen as I talk,” Natalia pulls her pajamas on.
“No. I don’t want to,” Yelena shakes her head, tugging a pair of sweatpants on.
“Yelena--” Natalia starts but Yelena spins to look at her.
“I said no!” Yelena snaps. “I don’t wanna talk!”
Natalia takes a deep breath. “Yelena--”
“No!” Yelena twists and shoves at Natalia. “No! Shut up! Shut up!”
Natalia grabs the back of Yelena’s neck, pushing her against the wall. “Stop it!” Natalia said firmly. “That is enough.”
Yelena’s breathing heavy but doesn’t fight to get out of the hold . “I’m stupid.”
“You’re not stupid,” Natalia replies immediately. “Are you calm?”
Yelena doesn’t reply so Natalia gently squeezed the back of her neck. “Are you calm?” She repeats.
“No,” Yelena said quietly. “I was stupid, Natalia. I should have known better.”
Sensing that she wasn’t going to lash out again, Natalia pulls Yelena away from the wall and into her arms. Yelena sinks into the hold, her fingers curling into the top Natalia wore.
“I let my guard down. I was foolish. This is my fault,” Yelena pressed her face into the crook of Natalia’s neck.
“This isn’t your fault,” Natalia said, squeezing Yelena close to her. “Agent May’s feelings on the matter wouldn’t change, even if it was someone else.”
“I… I trusted her…” Yelena whispers, the grip she had on Natalia tightening. “And now it hurts.”
“I know,” Natalia cups the back of Yelena’s head, as if she could protect her little sister from the world. “I’m sorry.”
“Relationships only hurt. It’s better to be alone. I am a Widow, I am made of marble,” Yelena whispers under her breath but Natalia can feel her lips move against her skin and closed her eyes.
“You have me, little sister,” Natalia said softly. “I hope that can be enough for you.”
“Always.” Yelena mumbles, burrowing into Natalia’s hold.