Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts)

What Once was Mine

Summary: When Yelena starts mysteriously spending more time with Clint and talking to him about what appears to be serious issues, Natasha starts to get worried. After a spar with Clint, Natasha finds out a tiny bit more about the situation and is heartbroken with what she discovers. But did she really get the full story?

   Natasha had finally finished her paperwork for the day. Now that she had free time, she was on the way to find Yelena. She had brought Yelena with her to the compound so that she could hang out with Peter while she was busy with paperwork. Natasha was so looking forward to wrapping Yelena in her arms and just holding her while she played video games or did whatever she was doing.

However, those plans were soon aborted as she suddenly caught the barest hints of the sound of her baby sister's voice down a hall that she was passing, and she immediately stopped curiously.

Natasha looked down the hall, spotting Yelena talking with Clint of all people. Granted, she and Clint were not on bad terms, but it was still odd to see Yelena taking the time to exclusively talk to him. The few people that Yelena was willing to spend alone time with outside of a mission consisted of largely Natasha, Peter, and occasionally Kate when Yelena was feeling generous. Or particularly irritating.

However, what really surprised Natasha was how Yelena seemed concerned when she spoke to him. Her arms were crossed, and she was frequently looking down at the floor before meeting his gaze. Their voices were hushed, and Natasha could not pick up on what they were talking about.

So, Natasha headed over toward them with a small smile, curious and somewhat concerned about what they were talking about but attempting to at least appear as if she had not picked up on the seemingly serious nature of the conversation. As she approached them, they both quickly spotted her, and the two shared a nod as Clint waved to her and walked away.

Yelena strode over to Natasha, a slight smile on her face, and Natasha tilted her head curiously at her, her grin growing at the mere sight of her baby sister.

"Hey, little one," Natasha greeted as she opened her arms for a hug. Yelena wasted no time in stepping into her embrace, resting her weight heavily onto the redhead. Yelena just murmured a very muffled "hey" against Natasha's shoulder. Natasha felt a twinge of worry within her, but she did not say anything as she reached up and gently stroked her hair, rubbing her back with her other hand.

"What were you two talking about?" Natasha asked, and Yelena stiffened almost imperceptibly in Natasha's hold. To most people, it would have been an unnoticeable cue, but Natasha was both well-trained in the art of body language and in the art of knowing her sister.

After a few beats, Yelena pulled away, a grin on her face as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Nothing... Don't worry about it, poser," Yelena assured her with a grin, and Natasha eyed her oddly and somewhat skeptically, not believing her despite her confident tone. They gazed at each other for a long moment, and while Yelena maintained eye contact, it was somewhat strained, and she appeared as if she wanted nothing more than to look away.

"Okay," Natasha finally conceded, doubting Yelena strongly but deciding to let it go for now.

"Well, I've got to go meet up with Little Peter. I told him I'd kick his butt today at Mario Kart," Yelena smirked, nodding to Natasha, and the redhead felt her heart ache strangely. Natasha, however, forced a smile and a nod in reply.

"Take it easy on him. You've won seventeen out of the twenty times you two have played this week," Natasha replied to her, and Yelena just huffed with an eyeroll, walking backwards for a moment and facing Natasha.