We Will Say Hello Again

Five

"You're Nat's sister?"

"Why does everyone call her that? What is wrong with Natasha? Shortening it ruins the name..." Yelena grumbles.

"She never said she had a sister."

"If she were here she would probably say she didn't tell to protect me. But I don't mind she never told any of you. I wouldn't want to be known anyway."

"How come?"

"Because I despise the Avengers."

This catches Wanda off guard. It also kind of makes her like the Russian more.

"And why's that?"

"I feel like you're asking me too many questions. I hope I'll get a turn."

Wanda smiles softly, nodding. "I promise."

"I hate everything that they did. Everything they stand for. A group of superior beings. All killers. Murderers. Who parade and dress as heroes in fancy clothes and impenetrable armor."

"Without them, the world would have been destroyed," Wanda argues subtly.

Yelena shrugs. "My sister would still be alive."

This Wanda agrees with. "So would my Vision."

"So what if the Earth would be destroyed? At least we would have all went down together. I didn't have much to live for anyway. Still don't, nowadays."

And Wanda leans back in her chair, crossing her arms. This woman, the legacy of a close friend, shares too many of the same beliefs to have been sent here coincidentally. Out of all the agents SHIELD could have sent, why this one? But she is too wrapped up in Yelena's words, their shared thoughts, to call her out on it, and instead she listens.

"You know, I hate this planet. I hate that Natasha killed herself for it. I will never forgive her for that. I hate that Clint Barton recruited her. I hate that she wanted to be a part of the Avengers. I hate all of it. But most of all, I hate that she didn't come back for me. I hate that I'll never be able to forgive her."

"Come back for you?"

"You know Natasha was in the Red Room?" Wanda nods. "So was I. I'm a widow. We were forced into it when we were children and grew up there. When she got out, joined the team of shmearoes, she didn't try to find me. She just got so caught up in the glamor of it all, going back to her past would be regressing, I guess. So she left me."

"I'm sorry."

Yelena shrugs. "Barton knew about me. He was the only one she ever told. After I met him, he told me that when I was blipped, Natasha broke down. Went out to find me when the purple man snapped and discovered I had gone. She shut down, apparently. Ran their headquarters alone for five years, trying to search for a solution. Never found one herself."

"No one really told me what life was like during that time. The only person who truly cared for me was Vision, and he was dead before the snap."

"What happened to him? Your Vision?"

Wanda shifts in her seat. "I had to kill him. To save the planet."

Yelena lets out a frustrated laugh. "Always for the good of the world, right? What a load of bullshit."

Wanda smiles. "I like you, Yelena Belova."

"You're not so bad yourself, Wanda Maximoff." Yelena sips her apple cider. "So tell me, were you one of the survivors, or were you blipped out of existence?"

"I was blipped. Came to five years later and went straight into the battle."

"Hell of a turnaround."

"Not so much when you're a part of that elite force."

She smiles and Yelena chuckles.

"I never had a chance to say goodbye."

"I lost my brother Pietro like that. Not saying goodbye."

"Was he in the battle?"

"No, this was long ago. Uh, Ultron? You heard news coverage of that? He died saving Clint from stray bullets. He had superspeed, was able to get to him in time."

"Both our siblings, dying to save Barton. I think we were destined to meet."

Wanda smiles, nodding in agreement. "I think I'll always hold a slight grudge against him for that, even though I don't want to."

Yelena clinks her glass against Wanda's, making her chuckle. "You're in my head, Maximoff. I hate the man as much as I care for him. He's had too many lives. He's saved Natasha as much as she's saved him, but I'll always wish it were him to go instead."

"Same with my Pietro," Wanda agrees wistfully. "You know, if I hang around you too long I feel like my accent is going to come back."

"Eto bylo by plokho?"

"Nikogda," Wanda smirks.

Yelena smiles. "You said boys. How many?"

"Two. Twins. Billy and Tommy."

"How old are they?"

"Ten."

"Cute. You had them young then?"

"Not quite."

"Oh?"

"They have powers as well. We're not quite exactly sure what ones, but they were able to age themselves quicker, much to my dismay. I would've liked to have them grow up in real-time."

Yelena shifts, new to this form of power. "I would assume. So, where are they?"

Wanda watches her a moment, searching for a sliver of truth to Yelena. "They really didn't tell you anything about me? Westview, hexes, sitcoms?"

"Uhhh... No? They didn't tell me but I also didn't ask. I don't think it's my business to go digging into your past."

"Why? That seems like the smart thing to do. Going in blind is dangerous."

"I can handle danger. I couldn't handle someone learning the truth about me through a file. Better it come from me. Sometimes the paper and the person don't match. I should be the one to make that decision."

Wanda hums, allowing it. "I held an entire town captive. Hexed them into believing that they lived and breathed the storylines of old sitcoms I watched growing up as a kid. The government found out, told me to shut it down, and I didn't. I created my own Vision that only existed within the spell. Had my boys. Had a family. Life was so good there. And then, I realized I was hurting people. Vision helped me realize it too, and we decided I end it. Release them, and release myself. Then I came here. Government was too afraid to put me in a box. They let me go."

"Why did you do it? The town, the hexing?"

"Because I had no one left. Vision was dead, and the government was trying to use his body to make another version of him. That made me angry, and when I'm angry I can kinda go off the rails. But after that final battle with Thanos, the Avengers were no more. No one came to me, tried to check up, see how I was doing. Steve was nowhere to be found, Bruce was doing his own thing, Thor in space, Clint with his family. Tony dead, Natasha dead, Pietro dead, Vision dead. Everyone was gone. I had nothing. I have nothing," she corrects, her hand in a fist on the table.

Yelena reaches forward, covering her hand with her own. And this makes Wanda flinch. No one ever tried to touch her, too afraid of her power. Only Vision held her hand, kissed her palms. Now Yelena, hearing everything she's done, everything she's capable of, holds her fingers in her own without a second thought. No hesitation.

"I have no one," Wanda admits, looking up at her.

"You have me now, if it counts. I'll be here for you. We Russians need to stick together."

Wanda grins, her black fingertips wrapping around Yelena's tighter. "Your sister said the same thing."

"Well, who do you think she heard it from?"