The Widows

Reality

Katerina Orlova was dead.

Or at least, she should've been. By the time her body was recovered she still had a pulse. Whatever Dreykov had put in her body saved her life, and the sisters were grateful for it, just this once.

Whilst they eagerly waited for Katerina to awaken, Natasha and Yelena had some added tension over other issues.

"Why don't you use this time to tell me what's gotten you so distracted over the past hour?" Yelena asked Natasha. She could read her sister like an open book. Nat looked at her, and sighed deeply.

"I got a call from an old friend. I'm needed back in the States." Nat looked at her little sister sadly.

"Ah. The Avengers." Yelena looked down. "How bad?" She asked, not looking up from the floor.

"Tony Stark is missing." Natasha blurted out, sadly. Tony and her were not as close as they used to be, but she worried for him.

"Pretty bad, gotcha." Yelena said, knowing now what is about to happen. "I take it you'll have to go too?" She looked to Wanda who was standing quietly in the doorway.

Wanda was surprised that Yelena had noticed her and called her out for it. She had been crying, clearly she had gotten the phone call from Steve Rogers aswell.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Wanda apologised, wiping old tears away.

"I'll give you both some time to talk." Nat smiled sadly at Yelena and Wanda, and left the room. Wanda made her way over to where Natasha was sat, and as she sat down she squeezed Yelena's hand tightly.

"Go." Yelena said sadly, looking at floor again.

"I didn't say anything." Wanda replied.

"You didn't have to." Yelena smiled at her weakly. The two women were tearful, neither one of them wanting to say goodbye.

"Come with me." Wanda insisted.

"What?" Yelena laughed.

"Come with me. We can fight side by side, together." Wanda exclaimed.

"You know I can't." Yelena looked at her sadly again. Wanda knew Yelena had her reasons for disliking the Avengers, and didn't blame her. She remembered a time where she was the same.

"Besides." Yelena began. "You have some unfinished business with an old flame of yours." Yelena looked at Wanda, referencing Vision.

"If I go, I may never return." Wanda said quietly, sadness filling her tone.

"I know." Yelena replied. "But the world needs you." She insisted. Wanda looked at her, wishing she could stay just a little longer.

"Go be a hero." Yelena grasped Wanda's hand, never wanting to let go. The two were crying, not wanting to let each other go. They both had their own fights.

"It's us against the world." Wanda smiled at Yelena.

"Always." She replied, and they kissed each other goodbye. The kiss was long and profound, they kissed like it would be there last. As it probably was.

Yelena watched as Wanda left the room, and they gave one last look of sorrow at each other. Yelena wiped her tears as Natasha entered the room again.

"Steve said it was a red alert. Some serious shit is about to go down." Nat said to her little sister, implying that she should go with them.

"Well then you better get a move on." Yelena joked, wiping her tears.

"Come with us, Yelena. We could use you." Natasha begged.

"There are Widow's across the globe that deserve their freedom back. They are my priority." Yelena began. "However, if things get intense. Call me on this number, and I'll be there immediately." She handed Nat an old phone.

"Take care of each other." Natasha said, referencing to Katerina who was still unconscious.

Yelena said nothing, she just smiled and nodded, and as Natasha left the hospital and boarded the quinjet, Yelena whistled to her, once more. Her big sister whistled back, and then the doors closed.

In the space of a few minutes, the two most important people in her life were gone.

Yelena was alone. She knew she had Katerina, but the old Katerina died 21 years ago. She had to adjust to the new version that came out from the red room. She still loved her, but they both needed time to reconnect.

Yelena sat by the side of Katerina's hospital bed, intertwining her hand with hers. She felt her eyes well-up with tears, but was too exhausted to stop them from falling.

"Please wake up." Yelena sobbed into her sisters hand.

"You're all I have left."