Chapter Text
Yelena sat on the counter of the bathroom, her legs crossed. Her fingers expertly braided her hair as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.
She had been weirdly excited to dress up as Natasha. Maybe it would help her connect to her older sister, in a strange way.
The wig was cheap from Party City, but seeing Natasha’s iconic red hair on her head stung more than she thought it would.
She sniffed and scrubbed at her eyes. “Pull it together, Lena,” She murmured. “Gotta go trick or treating.”
A knock at the bathroom door startled her, making her nearly fall off the counter. “Shit!”
“Yelena? Are you okay?” Bob’s voice filtered through the door, shy and quiet.
She winced. “Yup! I’m fine!” Her voice cracked, making her cringe more.
“...Are you sure?” Bob asked, hesitation in his tone.
“All good in here!” She called, hopping off the counter to grab a makeup remover wipe.
“Okay, if you’re sure.” He trailed off. “Not to bother you, but are you almost done in there? No hurry or anything, but uh, I left my prop glasses in there.”
Yelena glanced over, and sure enough a pair of round glasses was on the ledge of the bathtub. Why? She had no idea.
“Sure, Bob, just give me like two seconds, okay?”
“...Okay.”
Yelena waited until Bob’s footsteps faded down the hall before she allowed the tears to stream down her face. Her entire childhood, all she had been trained to do was lie and fight. Maybe that’s why lying to people she cared about was so very hard.
She finished the braid, leaving it haphazard and messy. Natasha would be disappointed. That thought only made her cry harder.
A knock on the door once again caught her attention.
“Yelena, I’m coming in now.” Bob’s voice was firmer, more confident.
Yelena didn’t reply, instead opting to use the makeup wipe from before to scrub at her face, and hurriedly sweep all the used tissues into the trash can.
The door swung open, revealing a frowning Bob. “You’ve been crying.”
“No? No…What do you mean?” Yelena asked, tears clouding her voice.
Bob’s arms wrapped around her and before she knew it, they were in a sorry puddle on the ground, with her sobbing into his shoulder.
“Why is this so hard?” She cried. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”
“Maybe you aren’t as past her death as you thought you were.” Bob murmured
They sat like that on the tiled floor for a good few minutes before Yelena was able to properly breathe again.
“Better?” Bob asked quietly.
Yelena nodded. “Yeah. Thank you.”
“Of course. We’re family, remember? Family helps each other. That’s what you told me.”
Yelena sniffled. “Yeah, I guess I did say that huh. Damn it, Bob, you know how I feel when you use my words against me.”
Bob laughed and tightened his grip a little bit. “Sorry.”
“Lena!” Alexei’s voice called from down the hall. “Where are you?”
Yelena sighed. “I’m getting ready to go, Dad.”
“Well hurry! The rest of us are all ready to leave.”
“Coming!” Yelena yelled back.
Bob made eye contact with her. “You think you can do it?”
Yelena shrugged. “I suppose. Let’s go give Ava a good night.”
“Only if you’re comfortable.” Bob nudged her before standing up and using his hand to assist her back into a standing position.
Yelena pulled herself up, nearly knocking Bob over. “I’ll be fine. Thanks to you.”
Bob smiled. “You would do the same thing for me.”
“Of course I would. Family is family.”
“That wasn’t what you were saying after John ate your cheese puffs.”
“That was different.”