phone calls
After the eventful morning, Yelena spends her time after breakfast on the porch swing with Natasha. She rests her head in Natasha’s lap, watching the dirt road as they listen to the sounds of birds chirping. Yelena fiddles with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, closing her eyes as absorbs Natasha’s affection.
Natasha runs her fingers along Yelena’s hair, her touch feather soft as she lets the pads of her finger linger over scars and freckles decorating Yelena’s face. Yelena soaks up the affection with a soft sigh of content.
Her ringtone interrupts the peaceful moment. Yelena blinks in surprise, shifting to pull her phone out of her pocket and glance at the caller ID. “It’s Coulson.” She murmurs in surprise, glancing up at Natasha. Coulson was Natasha’s handler but Natasha had her own phone. He could call Natasha if he needed her.
“Answer it,” Natasha urged, her fingers combing through Yelena’s hair. Yelena does, pulling the phone up to her ear.
“Hello?” Yelena closed her eyes again.
“Yelena. It’s Coulson.” He greets her. His tone sounds off and it causes Yelena to frown. “Listen, has Skye called you?”
Yelena’s eyes open and she stares up at Natasha who was watching her curiously. “No. Is something wrong?”
Coulson hesitates which tells Yelena that something happened. “Would you give her a call?” He asked Yelena. “Just… I think she needs a friend right now.”
Yelena’s frown deepens. “Okay.” Yelena said, startled when Coulson hangs up abruptly. Yelena pulls her phone away from her ear and pulls up the number for Skye’s phone before calling her.
The first call goes right to voicemail, something that Yelena frowns at. She sits up, opting to lean against Natasha’s side instead as she dials the number again. Luckily, Skye picks up this time.
“Hello?” Skye’s voice is hoarse indicating to Yelena that she had either been screaming or crying lately.
“Hi, Skynet,” Yelena greets her and she hears a sniffle and some shuffles as she assumes Skye hastily wipes her face.
“Tiny Dancer,” Skye greets her before her tone turns bitter. “Did Coulson call you?”
“Yes.” Yelena doesn’t bother lying. “I don’t know what happened but I’m on your side.”
Skye chokes out a laugh. “You don’t even know what happened!”
“Don’t need to.” Yelena tells her. “I’ve got your back, remember?”
Yelena lets her eyes slide shut again as Natasha’s fingers comb through her hair again.
“Yeah. Trauma buddies,” Skye huffs before letting out a sigh. “I just freaked out on Phil. Things went wrong fast and I kinda yelled at him.”
“I can’t say I’ve yelled at Coulson before,” Yelena glances up at Natasha who gives her an innocent grin. “My sister has.”
“Yeah, well, did she also accidentally hit him?” Skye murmurs quietly. “I really fucked up.”
Yelena tries to discern what Skye was most worried about. “He’s not gonna kick you out because you accidentally hit him.” She said.
“Yeah, that’s what you say!” Skye lets out a yell. “You didn’t punch him in the face!”
“If he does then call me and I will come get you,” Yelena said simply.
Skye sucks in a breath of air before slowly letting it out. “Yeah… I know. Shit, Tiny Dancer. I didn’t mean to. He just startled me.”
“It was an accident. I don’t think he’s actually mad at you, it takes a lot to make Coulson mad,” Yelena rests her head against Natasha’s shoulder. “In fact, when I get back, I’ll show you how to throw a proper punch.”
“Really?” Skye perks up. “Will you teach me how to do that takedown thingy I’ve seen you do on cameras?”
Yelena lets out a laugh. “We can work our way there.” She said.
“Good. I’m already getting in shape by doing tai-chi with May,” Skye said and Yelena’s grin falls. Natasha immediately picks up on the change in her mood. “That and the running that Maria had me do will get me in shape in no time.”
“Yeah.” Yelena quickly masked the odd tone in her voice. “So, you hacked anything you weren’t supposed to yet?”
“That depends, do you want plausible deniability?” Skye teased and Yelena lets out a laugh that feels forced.
“Listen, I’ve gotta go,” Yelena tells her. “But you can call me when you need me, okay Skynet? I’ve got your back.”
“And I’ve got yours,” Skye agrees. “You can call me too.”
“Is everything okay?” Natasha questioned as soon as Yelena hung up the phone. “What’s wrong?”
Yelena curls against her sister’s side. “Nothing.”
Natasha rolls her eyes, poking Yelena’s side. “It’s not nothing.” She knows Yelena too well.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Yelena said, her hand sliding over Natasha’s back to wrap around her.
Natasha kisses the side of her head, letting the subject drop. Yelena tucks her phone back into her pocket and focuses on Natasha.
Laura eventually comes outside to tell them that lunch is pretty much done. The sisters regretfully break apart to follow her inside where Laura then proceeds to set the table.
Both sisters flinch when something breaks as Laura accidentally elbows a class off of the counter. It was empty luckily but the loud noise still startled them.
Laura hoists Cooper off the ground where he had been playing. “Would one of you take him for a moment?” She frets.
Toddlers were much scarier than babies. Babies didn’t do anything but sleep and cry. Toddlers like Cooper could walk and talk some.
Yelena sticks her arms out, unsure of how holding a baby compares to holding a toddler. Laura heaves a sigh of relief as she transfers Cooper into Yelena’s arms.
Yelena immediately regrets her offer when Cooper doesn’t hesitate to grab a fistful of her hair, the other tugging on the collar of her shirt. “Lee!” He screeches. He and Yelena stare at each other for a few moments, the latter with wide startled eyes.
Laura is cleaning up the broken glass on the floor, Natasha moving to help her clean faster.
“Lee-lee!” Cooper’s tiny hands squish Yelena’s cheeks between them, a seriousness settling over his face. “Car go vroom.”
Yelena has absolutely no idea how she is supposed to reply to that. She just nods her head and Cooper grins, giving an excited wiggle. Yelena scrambles to adjust her hold before he squirms right out of her arms.
Cooper’s hand hits her face and Yelena uses a fistful of his romper to hoist him back up. Cooper’s delighted squeal has him try to wiggle back down from her to do it again.
Yelena once again hoists him back up and Cooper gives a delighted shriek that has Yelena grinning at his excitement. She vaguely remembers her not-dad doing something like this with her.
“All clean!” Laura announced, moving toward Yelena. “Thank you for holding him, you can set him down.”
Yelena moves to put him down but Cooper immediately grasped onto her hair to stop her. Laura has to step in and pry his fingers off of her and then sets him into his high chair.
To Yelena’s surprise, Laura then turns to her. “Are you okay?”
Yelena blinks a few times, stiffening slightly when Laura reaches out to smooth down the hair that Cooper had grabbed. “I’m fine.” She says.
Clint appears with Lila a few moments later.
That afternoon consisted of Yelena teaching Natasha how to play Hunter’s Game Boy. There’s a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartridge that Yelena remembers watching on the television with Natasha in Ohio.
Yelena can’t stop the grin on her face when Natasha murmurs “Cowabunga.” under her breath.
Clint joins them on the couch after dinner that night, offering Natasha a beer. Natasha passes the Game Boy back to Yelena,m accepting the drink as Clint settles down next to them.
Clint had apparently played on a Game Boy and had a few tips he could show Yelena. When he starts up a talk with Natasha, Yelena focuses on the game, content to just lean against her sister and play.
At least, until Natasha stiffens slightly under her and Yelena turns her attention toward the conversation.
“You can tell me anything, you know that, Nat,” Clint says. Natasha busies herself taking a sip of beer and Yelena reaches toward the bottle before she can finish the whole thing to avoid whatever it is she’s too nervous to tell Clint.
Yelena takes a long swig from the bottle, grinning when Natasha reaches out to flick her nose in response and snatch the bottle back.
With her focus on Yelena, Natasha finally blurts out “I want to change my name.”
Yelena still holds the bottle out of Natasha’s grasp to take her focus off of the tough conversation.
“Okay…” Clint said and paused for a few moments. “What do you want to be called?”
Yelena doesn’t know what she was expecting but it certainly wasn’t just acceptance. She paused in the game of keep-away with Natasha to glance at him. Natasha does as well, quiet for a few moments.
“Natalia, I honestly don’t care what you want to be called. You’re my friend and if you want to be called a different name then I’m all for doing it,” Clint leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“I want to be called Natasha.” She finally replies and Clint grins.
“Natasha. I like it,” He nods approvingly, raising his bottle. “If you tell Maria then I’m sure she’ll let you change it officially.”
Natasha glances at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Clint nods his head. “In certain situations, SHIELD will let you change your name.” Clint glances at Yelena. “Are you wanting to change your name too?”
“No.” Yelena shakes her head, letting Natasha snatch her drink back. “I like my name.”
The conversation probably lasted two minutes but it was still nerve-wracking all the same. Natasha had gone quiet, glancing down at the game that Yelena had paused and was sitting in her lap as she focused on Natasha.
The conversation shifted once again and Yelena could feel Natasha relaxing underneath her as she went back to playing her game.
Yelena glances up at Clint a few times. He seemed to notice her repeated gaze and tilts his head to the side. Natasha picks up on the movement and glances down and looks down at Yelena.
“Do you remember when Bobbi became my SO?” Yelena inquired, her gaze falling back down onto the game so she didn’t have to focus on Clint’s expression.
“Yeah.” Clint said. He waits for her to elaborate and Yelena doesn’t until her character dies.
“It was because May didn’t want to teach me anymore,” Yelena comments, restarting the level. She can feel their gaze on her. “Because of my age.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being seventeen,” Clint comments, unsure if he understood the point Yelena was trying to make.
“May’s teaching Skye tai-chi,” Yelena says nonchalantly, the grip on her Game Boy tightening slightly.
“Really?” There’s disbelief in Clint’s tone that has her looking up.
“Bobbi says it wasn’t my fault that May stopped training me.” Yelena says, pausing her game. “But why would she teach Skye?”
Yelena wants to know why May can’t teach her. Why wasn’t she good enough? May said that it was her, not Yelena, and that she was going to work on it.
“It’s not your fault,” Clint said, standing and moving to sit on the other side of Yelena. “You didn’t do anything.”
Yelena thinks that it’s probably because of her past. Skye was never a child assassin like Yelena and whoever that girl from Bahrain was.
“I know.” Yelena knows that and if she doesn’t think about it then it doesn’t bother her as much. But if she went back and saw May being friends with Skye when she couldn’t even look at Yelena then Yelena would be very much hurt. “I know that.” She repeats once again, much quieter this time.
“Hey,” Clint’s hand on her shoulder makes her look up at him. “Listen up and listen to me good, okay?” Clint’s face softens. “You are a good person, Yelena. Your past does not define you. One thing that is going to be the hardest thing to learn is that no matter what you do or say, you cannot make people change how they act toward you.” Clint glances up at Natasha. “That goes for you too.”
“I don’t want people to look at me and automatically think ‘killer’.” Yelena admits quietly. “I’m trying.”
“I know.” Clint draws the both of them into a hug until Yelena is sandwiched between them. She finds that she doesn’t mind the hold and doesn’t feel trapped. “I’m really proud of you guys and how far you’ve come. No matter what, I want you to know that you have a home here on the Barton farm.
As Yelena can’t help but sink into the hold, there is only one thought on her mind.
It’s a nice feeling, to feel wanted.