Chapter 11
When MJ is still fast asleep on the couch, and Natasha is passed out on the bed upstairs, Yelena finds Clint tinkering in the garage.
“Need something?” Clint questioned, looking up from where he had been fiddling around under the hood of the truck.
“Come here,” Yelena points to the spot in front of her, and Clint barely hesitates before pulling away and setting down the wrench in his hand to move in front of her.
“What’s wrong?” Clint asked and Yelena grabs his wrist to tug him into the front driveway.
“Follow my every move,” Yelena tells him moments before falling into first position in ballet. Clint studies her for a moment before he mimics her. “This is first position.” She said.
Clint raised an eyebrow. “You’re teaching me ballet?”
“Shut up,” Yelena murmurs. “This is so you can help my sister.”
Clint does shut up. Yelena shows him second position. She shows him third and then fourth. She has to reach out to adjust his footing for fourth position.
“I’m pretty sure my feet aren’t supposed to face this way,” Clint mumbles, letting Yelena push his body around into position.
“You’ll get used to it,” Yelena said before showing him fifth position. She then starts calling out positions for them to fall into, adjusting his stance each time.
It’s quiet. Clint isn’t joking around or doing his normal banter. He understands that now isn’t the time for that. That Yelena is sharing with him part of her past because she trusts him so he’s quiet and determined to learn.
When Clint messes up, her first instinct is to strike him like she had done to so many younger girls because mistakes got you killed. But she swallows hard and bites the inside of her cheek and gently reaches out to correct him instead.
Clint learns quickly and by the time they’re finally interrupted, Clint has learned the first set. He’s clumsy and his movements are jerky but he can manage to make his way through it.
Laura was the one that steps out of the house to disturb them, warm drinks in her hand to fight off the bitter chill that had grabbed at them in the early morning hours.
“You both okay?” Laura asked them in concern because who in their right mind would do ballet in the driveway at five in the morning?
“Fine,” Clint replies, taking a long sip of the warm cider Laura brought them. Yelena hesitantly takes a sip from her own mug, remembering her first day at the Barton household. “Nate get you up?”
“I got him settled back down,” Laura said and Clint moves forward to kiss Laura, and Yelena glances away.
“Find kissing gross?” Clint teased her, his wife smacking him on the back of the head.
“No.” Yelena busies herself drinking the cider. “I find sexual intimacy gross.”
Clint lets out a snort of laughter. “I think all teenagers find it gross.”
“Are you kidding?” Laura chuckles. “I think it’s the opposite.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Yelena tells them and two pairs of eyes fall on her in surprise.
“We never said there was, honey,” Laura reaches out to smooth Yelena’s hair back and Yelena lets her. “You are absolutely perfect, sweetheart.”
“You don’t know me,” Yelena replies, scrunching up her nose as she can’t help but lean into the motherly touch.
“I don’t need to,” Laura said, her hand playing with Yelena’s braid gently. “You are Yelena. That’s all I need to know. The rest is up to you.”
“I was trafficked into a place called the Red Room when I was six,” Yelena tells them. She’s unsure of why but later on she’ll realize that it was at that moment that she trusted them with who she was. “And I was trained to be the greatest child assassin ever…”
Natasha will wake up and search the house for her sister before she eventually finds the three of them outside, Yelena sandwiched between Clint and Laura as they sit on the front steps and listen to Yelena talk quietly.
Laura strokes her hair with a motherly touch that Natasha cannot provide as Yelena stares into her empty mug.
Natasha turns around and heads back inside the house to look after the children because she trusted the two to look after her sister.
Clint comes in the house first and Natasha bumps her shoulder against his softly and Clint gives her a small nod in return.
Yelena will sit outside with Laura for a little while longer until MJ wakes up and heads outside and flops into Yelena’s lap as she loudly declares that she needs breakfast. Yelena grins and rolls her eyes and the three of them finally head inside.
Lila demands that Yelena brains her hair like a princess again. Yelena laughs and MJ slaps her shoulder.
“You never told me you could braid hair like a princess,” MJ scolds and Yelena laughs. “Braid my hair next.” She demands.
Yelena knows how to braid hair like MJ’s. She expertly weaves it back and up and MJ grins, booping her finger against Yelena’s nose when it’s finished. “I’m a motherfucking princess.” She whispers to Yelena.
Yelena laughs at the statement and she thinks that this day might be her favorite because a lot of her people are there. She tries to commit the memory to her head, afraid of losing it. Scared of waking up the next morning with no memory of the motherly touches from Laura or teaching Clint ballet or braiding hair.
That night, Yelena shows Cooper how to throw knives. Well, not really knives. She uses his baseballs and then shows him with sticks. She had made a promise the last time she was there.
Cooper catches on quickly. He keeps begging to use a real knife. Yelena won’t let him until he makes thirty shots in a row.
He does and Yelena pulls a knife she stored on her person and shows him how to hold it without hurting himself. She drills into him that it’s not a toy, that it could hurt him, and to never, ever use one without someone to watch him.
Cooper takes the whole thing in stride. He’s careful and mature about it as he handles the knife with caution.
They’re enjoying themselves until Clint catches them.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” He demands, marching up to Cooper and ripping the knife from his hands, throwing it to the side.
“Auntie Lena is teaching me to throw knives…” Cooper whispers, guiltily shifting in place.
“What did I teach you about weapons?” Clint demands and Cooper sighs.
“Don’t touch them,” Cooper recites. “But Auntie Lena--”
“She is not your father. Go inside,” Clint tells Cooper, and the boy darts off. Clint glances at Yelena and raised an eyebrow. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Teaching Cooper to throw knives,” Yelena said quietly.
“You did not have my permission to teach him that,” Clint tells her, folding his arms.
“I… didn’t realize that I needed your permission,” Yelena admits quietly. “You’re mad.” She states.
“I’m mad,” Clint nods his head, his eyes narrowed at her. “What on earth possessed you to teach him to throw knives?”
Yelena tries to discern his emotions. “I promised him I would.”
“You had no right to give my son a knife,” Clint’s voice was cold.
“We practiced with baseballs and sticks,” Yelena gestures toward the discarded pile at the side of sharpened sticks and baseballs. “He was safe.”
“You had no right,” Clint repeats, shoving a finger at her, and Yelena tenses up. “He’s nine!”
“I learned when I was six,” Yelena retorts, watching his movements carefully.
“He’s nine! He’s not an assassin and he’s not in the Red Room!” Clint barks at her.
“I know that!” Yelena raises her voice back.
“He’s not you and he’ll never be you!” Clint jabs at her chest. Yelena grabs his wrist, twisting and throwing him over her shoulder.
“I’m not trying to make him like me!” Yelena tells him as Clint rolls to pin her down. Yelena bucks him off, wrapping her legs around his neck to flip him again.
“What possessed you to give a child a knife? I trusted you with him!” Clint breaks the hold and sweeps her legs out from under her. She hits the grass with a grunt, spinning to kick his legs out.
“I wouldn’t hurt him!” Yelena cries out, sending a hit toward him.
“Nobody gives a child a knife to play around with!” Clint blocks her hit and sends one toward her. “That’s not normal!”
“I’m not normal! I wouldn’t hurt him! I promise!” Yelena blocks the hit, grabbing his fist and twisting it harshly.
“Why would you teach him?” Clint demands, shoving her face into the grass.
“Because I’m scared!” Yelena cries out.
That causes Clint to pause long enough for Yelena to reverse their positions.
“I’m scared,” She repeats a little more quietly when Clint stops struggling. “A lot of people are out to hurt me. I’m scared that they’ll find my connection here and they’re going to hurt the kids. I’m scared of something happening to them. You haven’t taught them to fight.”
“I haven’t…” Clint agrees quietly.
“I would never forgive myself if they got hurt because I’m their auntie…” Yelena lets Clint go, leaning back until she’s straddling him. “We were safe. He knows that it’s not a toy. I wouldn’t let him get hurt.”
Clint takes a big breath of air before letting out a long sigh.
“I’m not trying to make him like me. I’m not training him to be an assassin. I’m just trying to show him how to defend himself and how to be safe…” Yelena explains quietly, letting Clint push her off of him.
“He’s nine…” Clint repeats softly.
“Hydra doesn’t care about ages,” Yelena tells him. “They won’t care that Nathaniel cannot even run yet. They will hurt him.”
Clint’s jaw clenches and he lets out a frustrated yell. Yelena tenses up.
“Yelena!” Laura is darting across the field to get to them and kneels next to Yelena. Yelena flinches away from the touch when Laura pulls pieces of grass from her hair. Laura glances at Clint with a stern glare. “What did you do?”
“Laura--” Clint sits up.
“It was my fault,” Yelena interrupts. “I… did something bad.”
“I could see you fighting,” Laura glances between them before staring at Clint. “She’s sixteen, Clinton!”
Clint holds his hands up as Laura fusses over Yelena. “She was teaching Cooper to throw knives.”
“And we will have a conversation about that later,” Laura pins Yelena under her stare, and Yelena squirms, shrinking in on herself before Laura sighs. “We all need to cool off.”
Laura helps Yelena to her feet, brushing off dirt and grass from her clothes. “Come on. Inside with you.”
Natasha meets them halfway across the field, her hands quickly patting over Yelena’s body for injuries before pulling her into a hug. Yelena relaxes in Natasha’s hold because she knows that no matter how angry her sister is, Natasha will never, ever physically punish her.
Cooper is waiting by the door when they reach the house, shifting guiltily on his feet as he looks up at Yelena. “Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Yelena said, setting a hand onto his hair as she passes by him. “It was my call.”
MJ, confused about what was going on, moves toward Yelena’s side when she sees Natasha hovering protectively.
The day doesn’t end on a great note but Yelena wouldn’t change it for anything.