Ghosts Of The Past | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 7: It's Not Easy To Trust

Katya let out a sigh of relief when a gas station popped up on the side of the road. It was small and old, but had a tiny store where they could hopefully find something for Yelena's arm, and food and drinks. Because after the day they had, they could use something in their stomachs.

The sun had started to set and threw an orange glow over the city. This neighborhood was calm, silent, and the birds loved the end of the day. They chirped happily, something that didn't quite fit the Russians' moods. Nevertheless, it was calm and they could take a breather to get their heads straight. Think about next steps to take.

Katya had shaken her small argument with Yelena out of her head and joined the others. A sit-down with Natasha would be nice, but they couldn't just ask Yelena to piss off for five minutes. Katya had to accept that their private moments were on the back burner for now. But it was nice, for once, to have some company.

''The Red Room's still active. Where is it?'' Natasha finally asked after hours of silence. They stepped into the tiny and dirty store of the gas station, ignoring the man behind the counter. To him, three very attractive customers just walked in, oblivious to the fact that they were anything but innocent.

''I have no idea,'' Yelena answered, walking ahead to the medicine and shifting some things around to find what she was looking for. The backroom they were in was so small it hardly fit three people comfortably. ''He moves location constantly. And every Widow is sedated on entry and exit for maximum security.''

Natasha shook her head to herself, a frown on her face. ''I'm just finding it hard to believe that he could stay off my radar.'' It was true, she kept an eye out for any- and everything of importance. She was paranoid to the core. So if anything had pointed in Dreykov's direction, even remotely, she'd have seen it.

Yelena shrugged, gathering some stuff in her hands. Gauze, mostly. ''Well, it's not smart to attack an Avenger if you want to stay hidden. I mean, the clue is in the name. Dreykov kills you, one of the big ones comes to avenge you.''

Both Katya and Natasha furrowed their eyebrows in confusion, but the latter asked the question. ''Wait, what are the big ones?'' The rest of the sentence made sense, though.

''Well, I doubt the god from space has to take an ibuprofen after a fight.''

Despite their argument before, Katya felt herself smile. How could she not, when Yelena's humor was so dry that she couldn't help but laugh. ''It hurts that you don't think of either of us as the 'big ones','' Katya said, trying to pick up that light tone again. But Yelena wouldn't even look at her, so her face fell quickly.

''Where did you think I was all this time?'' the blonde questioned genuinely, watching her sister hang her head and drop her gaze to the floor. Without making eye contact again, Natasha pushed past her to a sink in the corner of the room to wash her hands. It was obvious what she was doing: trying to hide.

''I thought that you got out and were living a normal life,'' she lied casually. Well, only partly. Option one was that she died, which is what Natasha always believed to be the most true. Option two was what she just said. Although Katya doubted if she ever fully believed that to be true herself. Natasha was an exception. Nobody escaped after her. 

Katya only stood three feet away from Yelena, so she could see the skepticism in her eyes. ''And you just never made contact again?'' They talked back-to-back, one looking in the mirror above the sink to wash the dirt stains off her face, the other gathering stuff from the shelf to fix the cut in her arm. What a typical day.

''Honestly, I thought you didn't wanna see me.'' 

Yelena let out a loud and sarcastic laugh. ''Bullshit.'' With the stuff in her hands, she moved for the counter, leaving the backroom behind. ''You just didn't want your baby sister to tag along whilst you saved the world with the cool kids.''