Ashes, Ashes

Natasha rings the doorbell and you quickly turn to her, running your hands over your outfit “How do I look?”

Natasha laughs “Fantastic. I don’t know why you’re worrying so much, you’ll be lucky if Alexei remembered to put on pants.”

“I just want them to like me.” You say, running a hand through your hair, desperately trying to make sure it still looks neat “You did such a good job with my family, I want to impress yours.”

That was an understatement. You have a big family with lots of siblings and they’d all immediately fallen in love with Natasha when you’d brought her home for Thanksgiving. Natasha had chatted quietly to your Dad, helped your Mom with the washing up and had played endless silly games with all of your siblings. You’d watched with a smitten grin on your face, your eyes shining with affection.

Although Natasha’s family is significantly smaller you want to impress them all. Natasha isn’t related to them biologically but they’re the closest thing she’s ever known to a family. They lost touch for years but recently got together again and now they make a point of having regular family dinners. This is the first one you’ve been invited to and you’re excited to finally meet them properly.

The door opens and a woman stands before you, looking a little like Natasha even if they don’t share any DNA “Natasha!” The woman gives your girlfriend a big hug then stands back look at you, a wide smile on her face “You must be Y/N. I’m Melina. Please, come in.”

You smile shyly in return and step inside, wishing you had Natasha’s confidence and outgoing personality. You’re more reserved and quiet; something that Natasha says is a strength but often feels like a weakness. One of your best friend’s parents had disliked how quiet you were when you were a kid, mistaking you for being rude. You don’t want to come across that way to Natasha’s family so you plaster a smile on your face and try to push aside your anxiety.

“Y/N! This is the girl Natasha keeps telling us all about, so good to finally meet you!” You find yourself suddenly lifted off your feet and you squeak in surprise “I am Alexei, Red Guardian, you know plenty about me too, I am sure.”

“Alexei! Put her down, let her breath.” Natasha laughs.

Alexei puts you down and claps your shoulder, causing you to wince a little “We thought Natasha would never bring you round, she is always pretending to be embarrassed by us-”

“By you. And I’m not pretending.” Natasha’s gaze lands on the blonde girl who’s been watching you all with her arms folded and she beams “Yelena!”

You follow Natasha’s movement as she hugs Yelena tight. Yelena is the one you’ve been most nervous about meeting – as Natasha’s little sister Nat highly values her opinion. Once Natasha has let go of her you step forward and hold out your hand with a small smile “Yelena, I’m so glad to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

A beat passes where Yelena quickly looks you up and down, an unimpressed frown on her face. A moment later it’s gone, replaced by a warm smile as she shakes your hand – it happened so quick that you’re almost not sure she actually was grimacing. She sounds just as excited as you when she replies “I’ve heard so much about you too. This is great.”

Natasha puts an arm around your waist and kisses your cheek as Melina comes in, gesturing to the couch “Take a seat Y/N. I was going to cook but things have been so hectic, I was just going to order pizza. I hope that’s okay.”

You nod and smile “Sounds perfect, I love pizza.”

You take a seat next to Natasha and soon the family are all talking and laughing whilst you listen politely, a smile plastered on your face. Alexei does most of the talking, telling you about his days as the Red Guardian. Natasha rolls her eyes indulgently and then Melina tells a few stories of Natasha and Yelena as kids, making you laugh as you imagine Natasha as a little girl. It hurts your heart though to know how quickly she had to grow up so you reach out and take her hand, squeezing it gently.

Natasha smiles and squeezes your hand back then leans over and whispers into your ear “It’s going great, they love you.”

You smile back. Alexei and Melina certainly seem to like you. But one person has remained silent throughout the entire visit so far – Yelena.

There’s a polite smile plastered onto Yelena’s face but there’s something about her expression that makes you feel a little uncomfortable. The smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes and those eyes have stayed fixed on you ever since you sat down. You smile and try to include her in the conversation but nothing seems to work. To everyone else she seems open and welcoming but you can sense the hostility beneath her polite smile.

The pizza arrives and you get up to wash your hands in the bathroom. You’ve just finished when you feel a hand on your arm and you’re suddenly pulled into one of the bedrooms. You’re not too surprised to find that it’s Yelena. Her grip on your arm doesn’t loosen and she glares at you.

You swallow and give her a small smile, trying to pull your arm out of her hand but she squeezes harder, causing you to wince “Yelena, I-”

“Why are you dating Natasha?”

You blink in surprise at the question “I- She asked me out and I said yes-”

“She asked you out? You really expect me to believe that. Natasha could have anyone she wanted.”

“I- Surely she told you the story of how we got together. I organised that charity event and reached out to the Avengers-”

“I didn’t ask for your life story.” Yelena snarls. The venom in her voice scares you and you shrink back but she keeps a tight hold of your arm “I don’t like you. I don’t trust you.”

“Yelena-”

“Why did you ask the Avengers to your event in the first place, huh?”

“Lots of the kids wanted to meet them; they’re real life heroes-”

“How many other girls have you dated before?”

“Yelena, you’re scaring me a little-”

“I’m not going to let anyone mess with my sister. Got it? I’ve been doing some digging into your past, I know for a fact you dated three other girls before, none of them lasted very long.”

Your face flushes “I- That wasn’t my fault. The first girl was just a little fling in High School; we were just friends messing around. The second girl was playing the field and cheating on me-”

“If I find out you hurt Natasha then I will-”

“Lena?” Natasha appears in the doorway, her eye-brows furrowed as she takes in the scene. Your eyes are filled with tears and one slowly spills down your cheek “Let go of her.”

Yelena drops your arm and Natasha quickly crosses the room, wrapping her arms around you and pressing your face to her chest as you start to cry. Natasha glares at Yelena “What the hell were you doing?”

“I was just-”

“I’m the big sister; it’s my job to be protective of you.” Natasha says “I appreciate you looking out for me but you don’t get to intimidate my girl like that. She hasn’t done anything wrong.” Natasha runs a hand over your head “And for what it’s worth, yes, I did ask her out.”

“Natasha, I didn’t mean-”

“We’re going. Come on baby.” Natasha says gently, wrapping an arm around you and leading you out of the house.

“We can stay.” You sniffle “Your parents ordered food-”

“The pizzas will get eaten, don’t worry about it. I want to get you home.”

Natasha gets you into the car then drives back to your apartment, guiding you gently inside and then sitting on the couch, pulling you onto her lap. She tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear “You okay? You looked pretty spooked.”

You give a small, watery smile “Your sister is a little scary.”

Natasha snorts and nods “I know, I know… I’m sorry. If I’d known she would do that I wouldn’t- I’ll talk to her. She’s a nice girl, she just…”

“She’s protective. She’s lost so many people, I get it.”

Natasha had told you about her traumatic childhood in the Red Room and you knew Yelena had gone through similar. Despite everything you couldn’t help liking Yelena and feeling a stab of sympathy for her. You knew it was her who had been most enthusiastic about keeping the small found family together. Of course she was protective of Natasha.

“I know but I won’t let her bully you like that.” Natasha gives a small smile “I do think you could be good friends though. With time.”

You nod “I’d like that.”