Just like Bruises - Yelena Belova

You find yourself sitting by Yelena after a long day, checking post-battle injuries. Some wounds run deeper than they seem.

BLACK WIDOW SPOILERS

It was only when the jet took off did you feel it. The ache of a battle well fought. It was a familiar, dull pain; you may have considered it an old friend. Certainly your travel companions did.

You studied their sullen faces as you teetered your way towards the back section of seating. Decked out in her suit combat garb was Yelena, attention fixed on the window. You felt your lips pull up a little at the sight, at your girl. The almost-smile lingered as you moved to take the seat beside her.

“Scoot over,” you muttered, limbs suddenly and cripplingly tired.

As you sat, you budged Yelena’s shoulder softly with your elbow. Her dark eyes met your gaze the second your arms collided. There was a warmth to her expression, despite the distant glint in her stare. It was then you saw the bruise that bathed her eye socket in a budding purple, framed it with finely carved cuts. Your mouth fell open at the sight and you quickly reached out to cup her jaw.

“What happened to your face?”

“It’s nothing,” Yelena murmured, trying to pull away from your touch. “I fell from the sky. Bruises are bound to happen, especially in our line of work.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that your eye will swell shut if we don’t ice it.”

“And you want to ask themif they have any ice?” Yelena asked, tipping her heads towards the other Widows sat around you. You frowned at them, the fear in their faces. It must be the first time they’ve felt a fear like that, a freedom too. When you looked back to Yelena, there was a bitter knowing set in her features.

“No,” you murmured, letting your hands fall from her jaw. “But as soon as we land-”

“As soon as we land we’ll find some ice.”

You frowned at her pursed lips but said nothing more. Instead, you watched as Yelena stared out of the jet’s window and watched the details of the Earth grow muddier and muddier. Trees blended into nondescript masses of green, broken up only by strips of grey and squares of farmed brown foliage. None of that held the attention of her dark eyes for very long.

Yelena was looking for her sister, despite how you both knew Melina had guided the jet far past the landing zone of the Red Room. Natasha was gone.

At the thought, your frown deepened and you could not help but lean towards Yelena again. Her body’s warmth eased the ache in your muscles, though, as soon as you nudged her and tilted away, the feeling fled. Yelena’s eyes flicked back to yours, set under heavy brows. There was a quiet question between her lips. What was that for?

“You’ll see her again, in time.”

“A lot can happen, in time,” Yelena countered, “a world could end, a secret base could fall from the sky, and a few dozen girls with it.”

“Well, those things are just bound to happen, especially in our line of work.”

Yelena’s lips quirked upwards slightly, for only a moment. “Just like bruises.”

You nodded and held your out, resting the back of it on your knee. Open and wanting, your palm waited for Yelena’s touch. The blonde eyed it before she let her gloved fingers intertwine with your bear ones. The fabric was rough against your skin, but the same warmth you felt emanating from Yelena’s body flowed through the weave and kissed your palm. As it did before, her heat melted away the lingering ache.

“Just like bruises, you’ll move past the end of the world, or whatever threat comes next. You always do. You’ll see her again.”

“Will you be with me?” At the soft timidness of Yelena’s voice, you, quickened by shock, lifted your eyes from your joined hands and to her eyes. All the distance that she once held in her gaze was gone, cut short. She was close to you, then, terribly so. It took every last bit of your strength to keep from leaning into her.

“Of course.”

Yelena’s posture straightened then, only slightly, and her expression lifted out of the firm-lined seriousness she wore moments before. “Good.”

It was all she said and all she had to say. There would be time for more later. Now was for taking care of wounds, old and new, and rest. Plenty of rest.

There was no need to tell Yelena that she should try to sleep. Years of training and missions had taught her to rest whenever possible. You couldn’t imagine the hardships she faced, the loneliness. She had been left behind after all, just as you all left Natasha behind. No wonder she spared one last glance out of the window before she turned herself inward again.

You both sat in silence, trying to coax your minds to give in to your bodies’ cries for sleep. Yelena’s caved first. Her head knocked against your shoulder before she settled in the crook of your neck. Her frame yielded and pressed warmly against yours, pushing you off the edge and into the dark behind your own eyelids.