My World's On Fire, How About Yours?

“You didn’t.” Maria whips around to glare at Romanoff. Out of all the stupid things for her to do, faking an assassin’s death and lying to S.H.I.E.L.D was pretty high up there. Not even Barton’s done anything that moronic. Maria watched the footage from that mission once she passed the clearance level. She saw Romanoff shoot Belova on that film with her own eyes. She watched as Belova bled out on the ground. Clearly the surveillance cameras need to be updated. Who knows what else Romanoff’s been able to get away with when everyone thought she was under strict watch.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Hill.” Romanoff lied to her face.

“Bullshit. You directly disobeyed orders that were not only given by the entire world leaders, but by Fury as well!”

“Calm down, Hill, obviously it didn’t even matter. Hell, it’s been a whole decade I think it’s time to let it go. What are you gonna do now? You have no power. Now unclench your jaw before you pop a vein or something.”

Honestly she does have a bit of a point. It has been years. Did Maria agree that Belova should’ve been killed, not quite. She’s done enough killing in her life to be blood thirsty enough to go after a brainwashed kid. What Maria’s peeved about is how every day Romanoff springs another decade long lie on her. Maria hates how comfortable she is with lying. How telling the truth is rare. Her words make her skin crawl. Are any of them ever real?

<<Do you want me to knock her out or something?>>  Belova addresses Romanoff, giving Maria the side eye. Maria clenches her fist, and discretely places her leg to the left, covering Peter.

No matter how subtle she is, Romanoff still notices.

<<Stand down, Yelena, we have bigger things to worry about than this pain in the ass>>

Peter, whispers loudly to Romanoff. “What’re you guys saying?”

“She’s just saying how glad she is to meet you both.” Romanoff smiles at him. “She just loves getting visitors, isn’t that right sestra?”

Belova just blinks at her.

“Oh well hi, sestra, I’m Peter!” Peter all but bounces over to her. “Are you coming on the road trip? How do you feel about I Spy?”

<<Who the fuck is this?>>  Belova looks at him and then to Romanoff.

<<Play nice>>  Romanoff mutters. Belova still refuses to speak to Peter and in return he’s still asking a million questions.

“This is Yelena Bevola, formerly an assassin of the Red Room. Currently listed on all government and S.H.I.E.L.D data bases as being deceased.”

Belova grins at her and speaks for the first time in English. “Oh look, you brought me a fan. Come here for my autograph?”

“Fingerprints and a mug shot if you’re offering.”

“Oh I like her, Natty. The grouchy ones are fun.”

“Great, we’ve gotten intros out of the way, so Romanoff, why are we here and why shouldn’t I arrest both you and her right now?”

“You don’t have the authority, Hill, and if you haven’t noticed we’re kinda in the middle of something else here. So just shut up and be a good guest, okay?”

“There’s not an organization on earth that wouldn’t greatly welcome an assassin not running loose.” Maria and Romanoff go back and forth again, trading harsh remarks about the same shit.

That is until Belova cuts them off. “That’s cute, do they do that often?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Fuck off.”

Come from Maria, Peter, and Romanoff all at the same time.

“Cute.” Belova grins at Romanoff. “But as much as I love you dropping by with your little friends, I have actual stuff to do.”

“You’re done with me just like that? You’re not the least bit happy I’m not dead?”

“Eh it’s like Madame said, ‘don’t believe they’re dead until you see their rotting corpse.’”

“I was in space!”

“Corpses exist in space too.”

“Well yeah, but how would you know?”

“I know everything, isn’t that why you’re here?” Well finally someone brings the conversation back around the point. Belova and Maria are both looking at Romanoff, waiting for her answer while Peter just looks around. He’s honestly just happy to be here.

“Yeah let’s discuss that inside.” Romanoff shoves past them to the barn door.

“Oh please, after you. This is your home after all.” Belova mutters before turning to follow her. Maria follows as well, grabbing Peter’s arm to get him moving with them.

Honestly Maria thought an underground assassin’s place would look less like an actual barn. Or smell less like a barn. Are there actual animals in this place?

Maria hears sounds of people approaching. Lots of them too. She instinctually puts out her glock to level it at the intruder. Did Romanoff send them here to get raided?

“You better not shoot my damn pigs or I swear I’ll shoot you back.” Belova pulls out her own weapon on Maria.

“Hill, don’t shoot the pigs.” Romanoff parrots. On cue, five pigs come trotting over towards them.

“You have actual animals here?” Peter’s face lights up immediately. “That’s so cool? Are they nice? Can I pet them? Can I feed them? What’re their names?” Peter doesn’t wait for Belova to answer, not that she would, and jumps over the short fence to them.

“Peter, get away from them. Who knows what diseases they have.” Maria calls after him. Why doesn’t that boy stay out of trouble? Doesn’t he have like a whole herd of people raising him? Surely someone in that group has taught him better than this.

“They’re good pigs.” Peter smiles. “Look, they’re saying hello.” Peter reaches his hand out to pet the pig and it latches onto his hand. Peter makes a strangled noise and pries his hand out from the pig. Another one rams its head into his side.

Maria slaps her forehead. Of course. Belova is laughing her ass off at the scene in front of her.

“Nice pig, nice pig!” Peter pleads, still trying to befriend the pig. The pigs aren’t having it. “What kind of pigs are they?”

“They’re my attack pigs.” Belova smirks. “They don’t like strangers.”

“But I introduced myself to them! We’re not strangers anymore.!”

“Peter, just get out of the sty.”

“But-” Maria glares at him and he jumps back over the fence, his head hanging.

“Don’t worry about the chickens, they’re not up to seeing guests today.” Did Romanoff really bring them here just to talk about the local livestock? Because so far this has just been a long waste of time.

Romanoff is taking her sweet time trying to get to the damn point of this little reunion.

“Quit stalling, Yelena.” Romanoff snaps, completely out of the blue because honestly it seems like Romanoff is the one who’s dragging her feet here.

<<I don’t want these people in my space>>  Belova hisses

<<It’s bad enough that you brought them here in the first place. Why didn’t you just come alone?>>

<<I didn’t have that option; I’m running short on time here. I promise I wouldn’t bring them here if I thought you would be in any danger. I vouch for them.>>

<<That one’s clearly a narc>>  Belova glares over at Maria. She must feel real brave right now saying whatever she wants thinking that Maria can’t understand them. Which Romanoff would know wasn’t the case if she listened to anything Maria ever said.

<<Yeah well, she’s a tough narc to ditch. But I think we’re on the same side, at least for now. So we’ll have to deal with her being here.>>

<<And after this blows over? Will I be finding myself in a nice prison cell?>>

<<Like they’d be able to catch you. Now let’s get to it, we don’t have much time.>>

Belova frowns at Romanoff for a solid minute in silence before letting out a huff and trudging to a floor board. She lifts it up.

“After you, dear sestra.” Romanoff flashes a grin and disappears into the darkness.

“All right, a secret passage!” Peter exclaims, quickly launching himself towards them.

Maria holds her arm out, stopping him just before he reaches the door.

“Slowly,” she sighs. Last thing she needs is for Peter to hurl himself down a flight of stairs and break something. And it looks like Maria’s in charge of him for the time being.

“Yes, ma’am,” Peter nods and ducks under her arm.

“This is so cool,” Peter whispers in the darkness.

“No lights?” Maria questions.

“What part of secret passage did you not get? Lights attract attention. You’re free to stay up here if it’s too scary for you. Wouldn’t want you to trip on your way down. You seem…brittle.” Now what’s that even supposed to mean?

“My bone density is perfectly fine, thanks for your concern though.” Maria makes her way down and Belova slams the door closed after.

They emerge into a large room filled with computer equipment. Pretty standard spy set up honestly.

“Please don’t make yourself at home.” Belova grumbles. Peter’s already found his way into a swivel chair and is spinning around them. “Okay so you’re in my super-secret lair, now do you want to tell me why you’re having this sudden house call after no contact?”

Romanoff goes into explaining her kidnap and their past week, barely glazing over the whole year they were trapped together. Figures, that was just survival. It doesn’t bother Maria one bit that she wasn’t mentioned at all after having her body curled up next to a wall, waiting to hear from the only form of comfort. Doesn’t bother her at all. She expected it, honestly.

“This is all very thrilling, but what exactly do you want me to do about this. It sounds like you need an army and I’m just one person. Granted I’m a pretty great person, but I’m not sure if I could take on an entire population of skrulls.”

“I need you to find out where they’ve been hanging around. Something tells me there’s more to this. Nothing’s making sense, and we can’t make a move until we know what they’re planning. At this point I don’t even know where or how to confront them. We ran into them coincidentally in New York.” Not a bad plan. Maria was thinking the same thing, but she had no contacts anymore to get this information from.

Belova sighs. “You know I have a life, I can’t just be at your beck and call whenever you need me. But I guess I could probably work from their last known encounter to see where they’ve been up to before and after. It’ll take a few hours to upload all the data though.”

“Sleepover!” Peter calls out from the chair. “I call sleeping with the pigs in the barn.” God save them all.

Maria can’t sleep. She’s been driving for days with nothing but the same road over and over again. She’s tired out of her mind but her eyes won’t close. The bed’s too soft, her mind is going too fast.

She’s thinking about Belova. About Budapest. Budapest. Fuck, everything would’ve been so much simpler without Budapest. Maybe without it Maria would’ve been able to have a normal life. A happier life.

Not stuck here at a farm in Ohio.

Thinking about the day after Romanoff came back from Budapest.

Natasha wasn’t speaking to Maria. Not since what happened in the gym. She hadn’t been able to find her anywhere. And she looked everywhere. Stupid Maria. She knew Natasha was hurting and she still went with it. Not only did she go with it, she even tried to take control. Fuck.

Natasha must’ve hated her. No friend should ever treat a friend like that.

No matter how sure Natasha sounded and how forward she was, that wasn’t an excuse to take advantage of her. Of their friendship. Maria felt like she would be sick.

She entered Barton’s med room. Not that they were particularly close, but it just felt wrong somehow to see him in there alone. He looked bad. But the doctors said his charts seemed to be getting better. Maria knew that she and Barton were Natasha’s only friends. And Natasha almost lost Barton. She should’ve been there for her. Maria sighed and sat down on the seat next to him.

The swish of the oxygen machine and steady beeping of the monitors could only be heard.

She didn’t sit there for long, she did have work she had to get to. She stood up to leave when she heard a faint crashing in the air duct above her. It could be nothing or…

“Natasha?” Maria called out. “I know you’re up there.” No other sounds in the duct could be heard.

“Natasha come out of there.” And then after a pause. “Please?”

The shadows of the duct gave way to a face before the grate was pushed up and Natasha dropped down.

“Hey…” Natasha said, not meeting Maria’s eyes, and hand running through her hair. Maria couldn’t meet her eyes either.

“Hey.” Maria trailed her eyes down. Maybe she should’ve just let it be. Now she had to be the one to say something.

“You know they’re not usually that strict about the one person only rule in here. You could’ve come in the normal way.” That was not what she wanted to say at all. It just sort of came out of her.

Natasha looked up. “Well now that I know I have your permission to break the rules…” Natasha sat down on the chair. Maria joined her. Sure she was about to leave, and probably really should since she was so swamped with work, but at this moment being here seemed more important.

“The funerals for James and Perez are Friday.” Maria said, that mentally berated herself. That was not the way to start a conversation. Yet again she swung and missed.

“I know.”

Maria just nodded her head. It wasn’t any louder now with two people than it had been with just Maria.

“So-“ “Um-“ Natasha and Maria both started talking at the same time then stopped.

“You go first.” They both echoed each other.

“I’m uh sorry about that.” Natasha went first, her eyes just barely looking up at Maria. She was playing with the tips of her hair, twirling the red strands between her nimble fingers over and over again. “I was uh… you know.”

“Yeah, uh, me too.” Maria supplied, glad that Natasha went first. “I’m sorry.”

“So um, we’re okay?” Natasha asked. “Like it never happened?”

“Yeah, we’re good.” Maria agreed.

“Cool.” Natasha nodded and looked back at Barton.

“Lunch?” Maria asked, standing up. She needed to get out of this room.

“Lunch would be good.” Natasha agreed.

And they both went on pretending nothing happened. Barton woke up and was discharged after a few days. He was granted time off base for a while. Natasha was also free to leave while Barton was away. Usually when he left Natasha would stay on the Helicarrier. But now things were different. She also left. She told Maria she wanted to walk the streets of LA and finally go to the beach.

And it was quiet. Maria never noticed how all her free time gravitated to Natasha in a way: the sparring in the mornings, coffee drinking, lunch. Now all she was stuck with was work. She tried not to feel weird about it, I mean if anyone were to need some time away from this place, it would be Natasha. But Maria couldn’t shake the feeling that she was avoiding her. That she left because of what happened. Granted they put it behind them, but it didn’t use to be like this. And Maria just felt a little…empty. Like there was a Natasha shaped hole missing. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with this information, so she just kept working.

Maria was of course doing paperwork when Natasha came back from her vacation. She didn’t even hear her come in.

“Do you regret it?” Natasha asked. It took everything in her not to jump at the sudden intrusion.

“Natasha?” Mara asked, not quite sure what she was trying to get at. “When’d you even get back.”

“Do you regret it?” Natasha ignored her question.

“What are you talking about?’

“The sex.” Maria’s mouth went dry. Honestly? Yes and no. She knew she shouldn’t be so wishy-washy like this. She should give a firm yes. But it almost seemed like that wasn’t answer Natasha wanted.

“Umm…” Maria tried stalling, torn between what she thought was right and what she thought she wanted to hear.

“And would you want to do it again?” Now Maria’s eyes flew open in shock. She looked at Natasha, and Natasha just stared back at her. This had to be some weird joke. But it didn’t seem like a joke. There was not a hint of a smile on Natasha’s face, not even a smirk. She looked dead serious. Was this some sort of test? What was going on here?

“I just am tired of trying to figure out who I can trust to not boast to people that they slept with the Black Widow, or someone who won’t get attached, ya know. It’s getting old and I’m sick of it. I just want something reliable, simple. I know you’re not a blabber mouth and like we’re friends after the last time so it won’t get weird, right?” Natasha was biting her lip, talking a bit faster than usual. Yet still, every word she said was in a clear tone, not a hint of sarcasm surrounding them. Maria didn’t think she was joking.

Was this a good idea? The way Natasha laid it out like that seemed logical. And honestly those were a few of Maria’s own problems as well, which was why she preferred random hookups to anything. But it was hard to find random hookups in the air on a secret flying aircraft. Maybe this could work. And if it happened more than once, then wouldn’t that one time be less substantial? Kind of like diluting the importance of it.

Plus, Natasha seemed okay right now. She was looking directly at Maria, holding eye contact. Her eyes were dry and her voice was clear. There were no indications that she was doing this out of stress.

“Yes.” Maria finally gave her answer.

“Yes?” Natasha repeated. Maria nodded.

“But I think we should talk about it first.” Maria went straight into business. Because really this was some kind of deal.

“Yeah, forsure.” Natasha pulled up a chair and sat down at her desk.

“First off, I need to know limits.”

“Limits?” Natasha frowned.

“Like what’s a hard no. I don’t ever want my arms are pinned above my head, and never put your hand over my mouth. I don’t want to be gagged. What are off limits for you?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever thought of that.” Something about the way Natasha said that rubbed Maria the wrong way. Almost like she was just discovering that people couldn’t just do anything they wanted to her and she would just have to take it.

“I guess I wouldn’t want to be handcuffed to the bed. I think the silk one could be fine but I don’t like the metal ones. Oh and I can’t sit there dirty for too long. I am not a fucking toilet.” Maria didn’t think about why Natasha said these specific ones. She hoped Natasha did the same about hers.

“Okay.” Maria said, then suddenly aware of how real all this was.

“Okay.” Natasha smiled up at her. Okay, maybe this would be good.

And wow was the first year good. Great even. There was an electric push and the pull between them, it was always a fight. But a fight where they both won.

They seemed to be equals at first. An unspoken compromise of every other time getting what you want. But then the equal became different. Their dynamic started to shift from that constant drawn out fight to quick, Natasha letting her take the lead most of the time. Sure there was still a little bit of a fight, but it was so little that Maria knew she wasn’t even really trying. That Natasha wanted this. And that was thrilling and greater than any praise Maria had ever received.

Because somehow it was even more exciting without the fighting. There was something exciting about having a known constant in the changing worlds. To know that at the end of the night Natasha would be wrapped up in her arms, snapping into place like a puzzle piece. Maria had never in life felt more in control, even if it was an out of control situation waiting to happen.

But for that split second, everything was perfect. They never explicitly talked about it, but Maria stopped seeing anyone else. They weren’t dating. But honestly, Maria preferred that. It’s not like she had any experience growing up how to go about a real relationship.

They had what they had and Maria was never happier.

Yeah, fuck that. Stupid calm before the storm.

Maria groans, tired of her stupid memories tricking her. She flips her pillow over for the sixth time. There’s no longer a cool side of the pillow. Maria sighs and throws her blankets off.

She creeps down the stairs of Belova’s small house, hoping not to wake Romanoff, who’s definitely a light sleeper. If she’s even sleeping. She gets to the bottom of the steps before she sees someone sitting on the porch. The moonlight reflects against blond strands blowing in the chilly Midwest air.

She could just go up and hope Belova didn’t hear her, but if she’s anything like Romanoff she’s already heard her the second she stepped foot out of her room. And honestly Maria really doesn’t want to have to deal with any of her damn animals coming out of nowhere to greet her.

Maria walks over to her, standing behind her.

“You know it’s considered common sense to leave the kid assassin alone, right?” Belova mutters, not turning around. Her voice sounds hoarse. It’s still got the same edge to it but it feels dull. Like she’s not all with what she’s saying.

Maria shrugs, “Eh, you heard me probably the second I got up anyway.” She doesn’t advance anymore. If Belova wanted to face her she would’ve done so herself. Maria has enough sense to grant her that courtesy.

“You walk like an oaf; you clomp around everywhere.” Belova remarks. Maria is not an oaf. She may be tall but she steps with purpose. Belova is deflecting even though Maria hasn’t even confronted her.

“We can’t all be broody assassins staring dramatically out into the dark.”

“Wouldn’t kill you to try.” It’s not like Maria’s never tried to get insight into an assassin’s mind. It just has never worked out for her. That being said, she does have experience in dealing with assassins that seem to have a raspy voice in the middle of a sleepless night.

“Have a place to spar?” Maria asks. Belova turns to look at her in the face for the first time since they started talking. She doesn’t answer, just frowns at her. Her eyebrows starting to cover the suspiciously wet eyes.

“I doubt it would be much of a match.” Belova grunts and turns away again. Honestly Maria’s had it with these over confident Russian assassins.

“Humor me.” Maria says, stepping to the side. She’s done giving Belova the chance to ignore her. Sparring would be best for both of them now. It’s no longer a suggestion as it is a request.

Belova gives out an over dramatic sigh as she stands up. She doesn’t give any words as she brushes past Maria but it’s as close as an invitation to follow her that she’ll get. Maria follows suit behind her.

She leads them out of the farm house back into the barn. There’s a room with a heavy door that Maria closes behind her as Belova turns on the lights.

A soft glow illuminates the mats and equipment sprawled out around. There’s not a ton of space, definitely not compared to the Helicarier’s gym or even Stark’s, but it’ll do for the two of them.

“I don’t pull punches.” Belova blankly states.

“I don’t expect you to.”

“Good.” Belova throws her some tape to wrap her hands. Surprisingly considerate for a kid assassin living in a barn.

Maria carefully wraps her calloused hands in silence, making sure to cover any mending wounds or blisters. The silence wraps around her as much as the tape. Not even crickets can be heard. The room must be sound proof. Maria tears off the last strip of tape and tosses the ring to the side. She looks up to see Belova watching her. She stares back.

They stand there for a few seconds. Watching. Breathing. Waiting.

Belova strikes first.

She runs at Maria and aims for her side. Maria blocks it with her arm as Belova throws another punch to her shoulder. That one lands but only barely. Not enough to do any real damage.

Maria retaliates on the next punch, slipping under Belova’s now outstretched arm and hitting her three times in the side. Belova steps back and roundhouse kicks her in the chest.

Maria tries to sweep her legs but she manages to dodge most of it, only losing her balance a little. She takes advantage of this slight weakness and gives her a hard upper cut to her jaw. Maria can see Belova move her mandible, probably seeing if it still works. It seems to be to her satisfaction and she goes right back to throwing out another punch combo.

All things considered, it’s a pretty even match up. Granted Maria hasn’t been able to practice much in the past year but it’s not like Belova is in perfect shape right now either. She fights a lot like Romanoff. Very quick and agile. Maria is more of strength and efficiency. Belova uses more advanced combination of moves that make them harder to block and anticipate, that is if Maria hadn’t seen them a million times. Because when it comes down to it, Belova and Romanoff’s fighting style is similar enough to the point where Maria could anticipate her moves. It’s almost like she’s fought her before. Sure there are a few times where she’s caught off guard by something she’s never seen before, but at the base of it, Belova and Romanoff are two sides of the same coin.

Maria kicks Belova square in the jaw. Belova scowls as she spits out blood from her split lip. She scrunches up her nose and steps over to Maria. She throws out a quick punch to her upper chest and then quickly steps away. Maria knows what’s coming next. Romanoff loves this combo. It knocked Maria on her ass probably the first twenty times she saw it. But that was years ago and now she knows how to block it, hell she knows how to do it almost as well as Romanoff.

So when Belova throws out the next punch, Maria knows where it’s supposed to land. She grabs the fist flying at her head and twists it, throwing Belova’s body to the ground.

Belova lands harshly on her back, eyes closed and face contorted in pain. Maria stands there, panting over her. She’s not one to kick people while they’re down.

“What the fuck happened.” Belova sighs, eyes still shut.

“I’ve had whole lessons dedicated to that move.” Maria reassures her for some reason, as if Belova hadn’t just been insulting her for the entire time they’ve known each other.

“Well that’s just cheating.” Maria rolls her eyes and doesn’t notice Belova opening hers. Before she can register what’s happening, her legs are off the ground and she comes crashing down next to Belova.

“There, now we’re even.” Maria rubs her back but doesn’t make any moves to stand back up.

Neither does Belova. They sit there. Breathing together.

“I did think she was dead.” Belova breaks the silence unprompted. Maria turns her body to face her better, curious at what she has to say. “Well maybe not at first. But then she didn’t come for the monthly check in. And she didn’t even drop any clues. She was gone.

“And then our parents, Melina and Alexei, kept visiting. Visiting with sad, lost eyes. I didn’t want to be like them. I think they were waiting for me. I was the last one to accept it.

“They had already planned a funeral. We didn’t go the Avenger one or the general public one. A huge ceremony. So totally stupid. And so totally useless. Not even ashes to hold. And they had the stupidest picture showing. A blurry photo of her in that one ugly suit. Her least favorite one. The one she couldn’t put as many knives in.” Maria knows exactly which one she’s talking about. She’s heard Romanoff complain about it all the time.

“Our parents had everything planed, the only piece not fitting was me. I think it was finally seeing the footage of the fight. The one from years ago, before the blip, where she was wearing my green vest and something just told me she was gone. Melina and Alexei were still there, almost like they were waiting for me to crack, like they couldn’t leave before it happened because they just knew it was gonna happen. They’re kinda freaky like that. It’s true what they say, I guess, fake parents do know best.

“The funeral was a few days later. We didn’t have anything of her, so I broke into her old apartment and stuffed the vest in a box and we buried it.

“Her grave is here in Ohio. I went to it just a few days ago. Someone gave me a picture of Barton and told me he was to blame.

“I was supposed to set out in a few days to kill him.

“And I would’ve done it. I don’t care if you’re about to scold me and I know if I told her, she would be disappointed. But honestly it’s the only thing I could do.

“I couldn’t beat Thanos for her. I wasn’t even close to the battle. There was no way to avenge her. I couldn’t help her before or after her death. But this, this I could do. I could take the life of the ugly man who killed my beautiful sister. Who killed the only person in this world who’s ever given a damn about me. He killed my big sister.

“But apparently that’s not even true. It was some fake trick. But it doesn’t feel fake to me. It feels real to me. Everything in my life is just smoke screens. I can’t even tell what’s real in the world anymore. I’ve been lied to my whole life: my childhood, everything the Red Room ever told me, my sister’s death.

“It took me so long to gain some sort of piece with it and now I’m just angry all over again, except I’m not even angry. I don’t know what I am. I think I’m just numb to everything. I can’t look at Natasha without feeling like I’m breaking down. Like I’m going crazy. Like I didn’t just sit by her grave hours ago.”

Belova’s voice is cracking more and more. She’s gasping for breath at this point. Maria needs to step in.

“Hey, sit up.” Maria tells her gently; she’s choking on her own tears. Belova sits up without complaint. “Where is it? Her grave?”

“Just down the road from here.” Belova wipes at her eyes.

“Alright, stand up.” Maria orders, taking Belova’s hands. “We’re going grave robbing.”

“No, I don’t want to go back there.” Belona’s ass remains planted to the ground, despite Maria’s best efforts.

“Well clearly if that vest meant enough for you to mention it twice in one go, then we can’t just leave it in the ground, what good would that do?”

“It’s symbolic.” Belova grumbles, but manages to finally pull herself up with Maria’s help.

Maria feels her pockets for her keys; they’re empty. She sees them shining in Belova’s hand. Now when did she take those?

“I’m driving.” Maria snatches out.

“Bossy.” Belova rolls her eyes. And then after a while. “I think you could pass as my mom.”

“Fuck you.” God how Maria hates these sisters. She can’t catch a break anywhere, not even when she’s trying to do something nice.

“Just wait, once you meet her you’ll understand. Never thought Natasha would fall into the Oedipus Complex. Freud can’t keep getting away with this.”

Maria is already regretting her decision. She should’ve just let her have her cry. Alone.

Because that sure beats having to hear American Pie on a loop while driving in pitch black on dirt and hoping not to hit a damn deer.

After three and a half American Pies, they reach an old cemetery. It has vines growing over mossy grave stones. Instantly Maria understands why they chose this place to lay Romanoff to rest. It was quiet and low key.

They get out of the car and Belova leads her down the rows of stones.

And then it’s there.

Romanoff’s grave.

Logically, Maria knows that Romanoff is still very much alive. She saw her less than half a day ago. They were sleeping in the same house.

She had never known a world where Romanoff was dead. She didn’t even have to hear about the Romanoff skrull dying.

And of course logically Maria knows that she hates Romanoff. That Romanoff leaves her angry and hollow with just her mere presence.

So then why does Maria’s stomach drop?

It all looks just so real: the dried flowers sitting on top, the simple inspection, the widow logo looking her dead in the eyes.

Maybe this was a mistake.

She looks over at Belova, who’s standing still. She’s staring down the stone and breathing hard.

Maria reaches out to gently touch her elbow, “Do you want me to start digging, or do you wanna do it?”

Belova jolts from the touch. She looks at Maria with a glassy and confused gaze, like she doesn’t remember why they can here or who Maria is. All she can remember is that her sister is dead.

Her eyes begin to clear and she takes a deep breath. “Together?”

Their shovels hit the ground, tearing up the grass that’s already gotten the chance to grow over.

Luckily the box isn’t buried too far below the surface, definitely not six feet. Belova hits it and they dig around it enough for her to get her arm down to pull it up.

“Is it still intact?” Maria asks, peering at the beat up rusted box. Belova fiddles with the latch, but it’s too rusted to open.

“Shovel.” Belova holds out her hand expectantly. Maria hands it over and Belova smashes it on the lock until it falls off in pieces. The lid opens up to reveal the world’s most ordinary vest. Maria considers saying that out loud, but the look on Belova’s face forces her to hold her tongue; Belova is taking it in like it’s the world’s most important treasure.

“Here.” Belova thrusts the rusty box into Maria’s arms. “Throw this away.” Yeah, typical Romanoff behavior. But Maria figures she’ll leave Belova alone to collect her thoughts.

“Not that I think any people ever visit this godforsaken part of the worst state, but we did technically grave rob and I have bigger problems to deal with than having an idiot wearing khaki trying to prosecute me.” Maria wants to get out of here, this place is starting to give her the creeps. She never wants to see Romanoff’s tombstone ever again.

“You think I can’t take the local sheriff.” Belova honest to god flexes in front of her. Well, Maria supposes that’s better than crying, no matter how much it makes her cringe.

“Just get in the damn car.”

“Yes, mom.” Belova salutes and skips back to where they came.

They ride home is lacking any American Pies, and strangely it had Maria longing for it. Neither of them spoke. Belova was holding tightly onto the vest.

“Don’t mention this to Natasha, I don’t want her to worry.” Belova says before they have a chance to get out of the car. “I don’t need her help. And I don’t need anyone else’s.”

“I promise I will never speak to Romanoff.”

“Cause you won’t be able to?” Belova starts moving her hands in a wave and clapping them together. What the fuck.

“…”

“It’s sexual intercourse.”

“Jesus.” Maria groans. “Get out of my car.”

“I’m not wrong.” Belova replies in a sing song voice.

“Couldn’t be farther off.”

“Hmm.” Belova raises an eyebrow. “So this wasn’t sister in law bonding time.”

“I will hit you with the car.”

“Yeah yeah.” Belvoa gets out of the car but stops before going in the house.

“Thank you.” She said softly.

Not knowing how to respond to this suddenly change in Belova’s tone, Maria just nods her head. “Go sleep.”

Belova gives a small, but undeniably genuine, smile then quickly closes the door behind herself.