Sweetheart - Yelena Belova

Chapter 10

It's been one week since Yelena and Jaya took down the red room. Natasha took off in a futile attempt to get the Avengers family back together. Jaya knew that what Natasha was trying to do was nearly impossible, but if anyone could do it, it was her. Melina and Alexei settled in Budapest and were currently making as many copies of the antidote as they could. Yelena took up the task of administering the antidote to the widows still under mind control. And Jaya decided to tag along with her.

Things have been hectic and weird since the fall of the red room. Everyone was trying to fall into a routine, leaving almost no time for Yelena or Jaya to discuss...anything. The two of them had decided to go to India, as that was where a majority of the widows were. 

Currently, Jaya and Yelena were sitting on a plane, Yelena trying to work herself up to talk to Jaya, and Jaya...Jaya seemed distracted.

"Hey," Yelena put a hand on Jaya's shoulder, causing her to look away from the window. "Everything ok, sweetheart?"

Jaya put on a fake smile, nodding her head. "Yeah, everything great."

"You know I can tell when you're lying, right?" Yelena raised an eyebrow.

Jaya looked at her, surprised. "What?"

"Your voice goes taut and high pitched whenever you lie."

"That's not true!"

"You're doing it again."

Jaya buried her head in her hands. "Shut up, Belova."

"I'm not forcing you to tell me anything," Yelena said. "I'm just letting you know that I know you're lying."

"Well I guess that's what happens when you lie to a trained assassin and spy, huh?"

Yelena chuckled at this. "Yeah."

Jaya didn't know if she should tell Yelena how she was really feeling. Dealing with emotions constantly exhausted her, even more so nowadays. 

After a moment of consideration, Jaya spoke up. "I...haven't been here. To India. Since I was 12."

Jaya looked to Yelena, who was patiently waiting for her to continue. And so she did.

"I was actually supposed to go when I was 17. My last summer, my senior year of summer. Change of plans, I was kicked out onto the streets. It's just, I'm always feeling disconnected from myself, you know? I tried to hard to learn more about my culture, and as a first generation child of immigrants, I've always tried to fit in somewhere. I was born in America and all, but I don't always feel American. Some places I wasn't "Indian enough," some places I was too Indian. And I haven't seen my grandparents in so long, haven't even spoken to them. Heck, I don't even know if they're alive or now. It's just, I don't know if I'll still belong there, the Indian part of me, I guess. I know this sounds stupid, I'm sorry for-"

"No," Yelena interjected. "No no no, don't apologize when you don't need to. Don't do that."

"Right. I'm sor-"

Yelena cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

"My bad."

The blonde sighed. "I'll accept it." After a beat of silence, Yelena spoke up again. "I...honestly don't know what to say. I don't understand what you're going through, and I don't know if I ever will. Your life, your culture, clearly means something to you, and I doubt you've lost that half of you."

Jaya nodded.

"Hey, how about we go visit your grandparents?"

Jaya looked up at Yelena in surprise. "I don't know if that's such a great idea. I don't even know where they are-"

"I'm sure I can find them, sweetheart," Yelena argued.

"If they still even know who I am-" Jaya tried.

Yelena wasn't about to give up anytime soon. "I'm sure your grandparents remember you."

"I'm scared."

Yelena gripped Jaya's hand. "I'm not gonna force you to do anything. But just know, whatever you do, I'll be here, every step of the way."

Jaya took a deep breath, gripping Yelena's hand with equal force. "I wanna visit them."

Yelena smiled. "How about tomorrow? Tonight, we've got some widows to set free.

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It's been 3 hours since Jaya and Yelena got off the plane. They were driving to a small village where they've located 5 widows. They still have an hour and a half left, and Yelena and Jaya were currently fighting over the radio. 

"Your music taste is trash!" Jaya exclaimed.

"Well if mine is trash, yours must be absolute garbage!" Yelena shot back.

"Garbage and trash mean the same thing, dipshit!" Jaya retorted.

"Well excuse me for not studying the fucking dictionary since I was 2 months old!"

"I couldn't even walk at 2 months old!"

"Doesn't mean you couldn't read!"

Jaya mentally facepalmed. "I'm driving. Therefore, I get to pick the music."

"I was the one who stole the car in the first place!" Yelena yelled.

"Congratulations for committing a crime!"

Yelena slumped in her seat, crossing her arms. "I'm driving on the way back."

"We agreed on rock paper scissors, we're doing rock paper scissors  on the way back too." Jaya stated, calmly.

"You cheat!"

"How does one cheat in rock paper scissors?!"

"I don't know, you tell me!" the blonde demanded.

"Fuck you," Jaya said. She then proceeded to play Minecraft music.

"You wish."

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IM BACK, AND YES, IM ALIVE!

Sorry for not updating in a while guys, turns out I actually have to put effort into school.

Huh. Who would've guessed.

ANYWAYS, HERES CHAPTER 10! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT, THANKS FOR READING, AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!