Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts)

Green-Eyed Monster: Part 5

Summary: When Yelena has her second ever big mission and is going to be gone with Steve and Clint for four to six days, Natasha is convinced that she is going to be miserable and lonely just like she always is without her baby sister there to keep her company. However, she finds odd comfort in one Kate Bishop, and the both of them use this time to grow closer and form a strange yet close bond with one another.

But this does not set well with Yelena when she finds out about this large amount of time that Kate is spending with her Natasha and how close they are growing.

   "Look, Mom... Sometimes heroes have to make the hard decisions. The ones that kill us inside. And those ones that hurt us so bad are a lot of times the ones that are best for others."

Natasha furrowed her brow, tilting her head slightly as she listened to the girl's words as she came in through the front door. She had just been taking Fanny on a walk, and she had dropped by the compound to let Lucky run for a little while, too. She had just gotten back from that errand and came in to find Kate on the phone.

Fanny obediently walked alongside Natasha as she entered the door, and Natasha bent down carefully, unclasping Fanny's leash from her collar as she listened to the conversation. After all, Kate had seen her come through the front door since it was directly next to the kitchen, so it was not exactly eavesdropping.

Kate was quiet for a long moment, before finally letting out a sigh that sounded far too burdened and far too injured for someone of her tender young age. Natasha offered Fanny a small pet, taking her time there on the floor so that she could give Kate as much privacy as possible considering she could hear everything the girl said.

"I know. You've said as much every time I call you," Kate expressed, her voice cracking ever so slightly as she tried her best to hold in her tears. Natasha felt her heart breaking for the poor girl.

She knew it was Kate's mother on the phone calling from what was likely prison unless she somehow miraculously managed to get out. Natasha knew that this conversation was likely not going particularly smoothly, especially considering what little that the redhead knew about Kate's mother. The only reason Natasha was sticking around was in case Kate needed comfort or some manner of support even if Natasha was not necessarily speaking.

"Mom, I'm not asking for it, and I'm not sorry for what I did, but I hope you can forgive me and understand one day," Kate explained carefully, and there was a short pause before Kate let out a breath of exasperation and pain and started to speak up.

"Mom, Mom, look, this is hard for me, too, you know? You're talking about prison food being hard, but do you know how hard it is to know that you put your own mother in prison at Christmas?" Kate presumably interrupted the woman on the phone, and there was a long pause. Natasha slowly raised up from her position in the floor with Fanny, focusing on the leash and putting it away where Yelena always placed Fanny's things by the door. She was trying really hard not to be angry at the fact that Kate's mother had been complaining about prison food to make Kate feel bad when Kate was hurting more than her mother ever could be with the burden of having to do what was right.

"Because I had to," Kate answered her mother, her voice hard yet raw with emotion all at the same time, and Natasha immediately that her mother had asked her why she did it. Natasha honestly commended Kate for her ability to withstand her mother's guilt-tripping. Natasha turned, glancing at the girl with what she hoped was support instead of the pure anger that she felt on Kate's behalf.

"Mom, I gotta go. Natasha's back," Kate told her, and she let out a slight unhappy breath as her mother no doubt started trying to say something.

"Mom, don't. Just don't. Please. I love you, I gotta go," Kate cut her off before hanging up the phone. She sighed deeply and put her phone down on the table as she held her head in her hands, her dark hair splaying out around her head and hands like water.