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They weren’t expecting to get the old Avengers tower out of all of this. Hell, they weren’t expecting to become the New Avengers at all. Still, a whole watchtower to themselves was certainly pretty high up on the list of things nobody in this group would have ever thought would happen. They weren’t complaining, but being up here was almost uncomfortable. They’d all really only known each other for a couple of days, and now they were thrust into this tower and this new life and none of them knew what to do with it all. They were all a bunch of messes, no one had their head on straight, and now they’re just… expected to be the new Avengers? Sure, a few of them had some experience, Bucky most notably, but what were they supposed to do really? Did they even get along well enough for this? It’s been two days.
And then there was Bob. While the rest of them fit somewhat into this world of being ‘superheroes’ Bob was just… a guy. A physically indestructible guy with a very destructible mind, but a regular guy, nonetheless. Being a lab experiment and locked away for who knows how long with super strength and a void powerful enough to swallow whole cities aside, he didn’t have any of the experience the rest of them did. Looking at him now in his oversized sweater, floppy brown hair, and big puppy-dog eyes, no one would even begin to think he was capable of everything he had done today, and now thanks to his amnesia, neither did he.
“We will definitely need food,” Alexei suddenly spoke from where he wandered into the kitchen, holding open the fridge and looking into the emptiness inside.
Yelena sighed and took a couple of steps further into the room, looking around and trying to take everything in. They were really going to live here? This almost felt like a joke Valentina was pulling on them, but she wouldn’t. Not with the power they currently hold over her, “I’m not going grocery shopping tonight.”
Alexei closed the fridge and stood at full height, beaming with joy as he held up his hands, “Then we will order in! What does everybody want?”
“Anything is fine by me,” Ava said as she walked past Yelena to follow Walker and Bucky into the living room area.
Yelena was inclined to agree, “I could eat anything at this point.”
Alexei laughed a booming laugh, “Ha! Yes, I agree! Bob! Do you have any opinions on this?”
Bob flinched at his name being called, focused on looking around the large room and hovering near the door. He caught Alexei’s eyes and then shook his head, his hair falling into his eyes, “N-No, I’m not picky.”
“This should be easy then! Now just to decide. So many options…” He brought a hand to his chin to stroke at his beard as he thought, which he didn’t have to do for too long before Walker’s annoyed voice was cutting in.
“Oh my God, just order pizza.”
“Good idea, Walker! Pizza it is!” Alexei clapped his hands and started looking for his phone, and once he saw it on the counter, he picked it up and started dialing a pizza place, a number he had memorized. He didn’t ask anyone what toppings they wanted, so they all just had to hope for the best.
As he ordered dinner and Bucky, Walker, and Ava wandered around and inspected every inch of the place, Yelena hung back. She glanced at Bob, watched him hover awkwardly halfway between the door and to the main area of the room, barely visible to Alexei pacing in the kitchen. He tugged at his too long sleeves, his hair hanging in his face and his eyes focused on his feet. Yelena turned towards him properly and made her approach, making sure her voice was soft and quiet when she spoke.
“Interesting shoes?”
Bob lifted his head to look at her, flinching slightly at the question and furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, “S-Sorry?”
Yelena didn’t elaborate, just took a step closer to get a better look of his eyes. They looked sad, an appearance they often held, and he still looked so lost and alone and… afraid. She frowned, “Are you okay? Don’t you want to explore the floor with the rest of us?”
A little smile pulled up the corners of his mouth, but it wasn’t genuine. Forced and feigned, like most of the things he said or did, things he said and did so others didn’t feel burdened with him, “I’m fine. You go ahead, I’ll just… Stay put.”
I think everyone is better off if I just stay put.
She sighed quietly through her nose and pushed a smile onto her face, tilting her head back towards the room and the rest of their weird and fucked up little group, “No, come on. You’re a part of this team, so you need to come snoop around with us.”
She grabbed his arm at the bend of his elbow, gently pulling him forward. He protested weakly for all of two seconds before allowing her to pull him towards the rest of the group. The dim entrance to the floor also provided some quiet, the quiet that was quickly disrupted once in the living room. Alexei was on the phone ordering their dinner, speaking probably too loudly to the person on the other line. Ava was messing with the TV now and checking which channels they had access to, and Walker was suddenly flopping back onto the couch still in his dirty uniform.
“Anything interesting?” He asked her, arms out and resting on the back of the couch, legs open, taking up as much room as possible.
Ava pressed a few buttons and then huffed in irritation, “No, it doesn’t work. Doesn’t look like this place has cable.”
“Well, that will need to be fixed,” He grumbled, already dreading having to deal with a TV service company. Ava stepped over to the couch and flopped back onto it next to Walker, kicking his knee as she did so.
“Move.”
“There’s so much space on that side!” He complained and shoved her in return.
“Well, I want to sit here!” She kicked him again, harder this time.
Yelena rolled her eyes as the two continued to bicker, though she was slightly amused at Ava’s dedication to annoying the shit out of Walker, “Okay, we’re gonna go check out the rest of the floor. C’mon, Bob.”
The other two barely acknowledged them as Yelena pulled Bob towards the hallway. They passed Bucky on the way who was standing in front of a bookshelf, brushing dust off of it and looking through the books there and grimacing at the titles. Bob dug his heels into the floor to stop Yelena from pulling him further down the hall, and to her surprise he initiated a conversation despite his nervousness from just seconds before.
“Anything good?”
Bucky looked towards him, a bit surprised himself. He really didn’t know Bob, had barely even spoken to him, and Bob probably didn’t even remember Bucky too well due to the amnesia. Bucky was a nice guy despite being a bit intimidating though, and he shrugged as he resumed brushing dust off of the shelves, “Mostly business and economic stuff.”
Bob grimaced, “That’s boring.”
Bucky chuckled a bit, but it didn’t sound completely joyful; he was tired, they all were, “Do you like to read?”
And just like that, Bob went back into his shell. He looked down towards the floor shyly and shrugged, “Yeah, when I can…”
Bucky watched him for a minute, trying to read him. Yelena wondered if he was nervous too. All Bucky really knew about Bob was that the others had found him in the bunker, he was a lab experiment, and his powers could send them into trauma rooms. Yelena didn’t know a lot about Bucky personally, but she could only assume that whatever he saw in the void was putting him slightly on edge to speak to Bob now.
Though, looking him over, Bob wasn’t all too threatening now. He hadn’t been in control, and all of them knew that. Bucky smiled a little in an attempt to bring the other man’s spirits up, “What kind of books do you like? We’re definitely going to have to upgrade the content over here.”
Bob raised his head slightly to catch Bucky’s eyes, still anxious and awkward as he answered his question quietly, his voice almost a mumble, “I-I’ll read anything really… Fiction, non-fiction, I’m not that picky…”
Bucky glanced at Yelena for help, clearly acknowledging that Bob had taken a liking to her over everyone else. She gently nudged him with her elbow, “Come on, Bob. You have to have a preference.”
He very briefly looked at her, and then back at Bucky again before he looked towards the floor again and started wringing his hands, “Um… Well, I always liked sci-fi… and fantasy too. I used to read Lord of The Rings when I was a kid all the time.”
Bucky and Yelena looked at each other, and she smiled softly at Bob’s answer. Bucky smiled too, a little more genuine than before. He reached out and clapped a hand against Bob’s arm but dropped it when the younger man flinched, “Noted. I’ll look into that.”
Bob lifted his head again, still wringing his hands and looking overly anxious, “O-Oh, no. You don’t have to do that—”
“I want to,” Bucky assured him, “I want to read them too. A lot of books have been published since the forties, and even though I’ve been around here a while, I still have a lot to catch up on. I’ve never focused on sci-fi too much, just that one time Sam made me watch Star Wars.”
Something in Bob’s eyes changed for a moment, however brief those few seconds were; he looked interested, “Oh, Star Wars is cool. There’s a bunch of books for it, I’ve only read a few though…”
He trailed off, realizing how quickly he was talking, a hint of building excitement. Yelena frowned at the way he kept cutting himself short, like he was ashamed to talk about the things he enjoyed. Bucky tried not to bring too much attention to it, “We can get some of those too, then. Sounds like you got some catching up to do, too.”
Bob pulled on his fingers a bit harshly, and with tense shoulders he shyly caught Bucky’s eyes again. He kept smiling at him, and it was such a soft smile, gentle. It was almost weird to see on his face. Anything Bob knew about the Winter Soldier was that he was notoriously tough and stern, so to see him putting off such a comforting aura was a bit off putting, but not unwelcome. Bob managed to smile too, but it fell away just as quickly as he put it up.
Despite only knowing Bob for about a day and a half, Yelena had already recognized so much of his language patterns and body language to know how he was feeling. He was always awkward, probably a product of his isolation in most of his adult life, but the way he was barely making eye contact and mumbling his words, she could tell he was becoming overwhelmed. She grabbed his elbow again, her touch careful as she tugged him away from the bookshelf and towards the hall again.
“Let’s go check this room out over here. Looks interesting, yeah?” She gently urged him, and he nodded without looking at her and allowed her to pull him away from the other man; she cast a parting glance towards Bucky, and he went back to investigating the lower shelves full of books.
Yelena pulled him into a room to the left of the hallway, which happened to be a bedroom. It was pretty spacious, and the bed looked comfortable enough. A lot of stuff was boxed up though, dust covering every surface of the room. She let go of Bob’s arm and stepped further inside past him, heading for the sealed boxes, “Let’s see if there’s clean clothes in here. I don’t think I can stand staying in this much longer.”
She dropped to her knees and slid one of the boxes closer, swiping her hand across the top of it a couple of times and blowing on it to clear away some of the dust before she started tearing into it. She didn’t get too far though, Bob speaking up behind her making her freeze.
“I’m sorry… Did I do something wrong?”
She didn’t immediately turn to him, having to take a second to process what he had asked her. She was confused primarily; she wasn’t sure she understood what he was asking. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned on her knees to look at him still standing near the door across the room, “Why do you think that?”
He pulled at the hem of one of his sleeves and shrugged loosely, avoiding her eyes as much as possible, “Because I’m here. You guys are the New Avengers, right? It doesn’t make any sense for me to be here unless you have to look after me for some reason.”
Yelena chewed on her bottom lip, thinking over how to approach this. She looked down at her hands in her lap briefly before raising her head to look at Bob again, “What all do you remember?”
Bob’s hands moved to the hem of his oversized sweater hanging over his waist, pulling at it with both hands, “Um… I remember the vault. I remember the explosion, climbing up the elevator shaft… I remember pissing off Walker, and those guys with the guns coming in.”
She nodded along as he explained what he remembered, confirming for him that all of that did indeed happen, “Do you remember what happened after that?”
He thought for a moment, grimacing as the memory came back to him, “Y-Yeah. We got in a truck but got stopped. I got out to create a diversion so you guys could escape, and… They shot me.”
Yelena grimaced too. Even though he had been okay, his body indestructible, it was still something that had left a scar. She had only known him for such a short time but seeing him get shot at and thinking he was dead really affected her. Beforehand, he had practically admitted he was suicidal, and it hurt for her to admit to herself that she had been in his shoes before, and not even too long ago. It was hard watching him give himself up with the knowledge he didn’t just do it to save them, but because he assumed he would die in the process.
Yelena sighed quietly and got off of her knees, adjusting to sit crisscross on the floor, “Yeah, they did… But you didn’t die.”
He tensed a bit at her words and finally lifted his gaze from his hands tangled in his shirt to look at her. His eyes were misty, and he looked to be barely holding it together. He looked much like he did in his void room, only this time they were safe here in the watchtower.
Yelena reached out and patted a spot on the floor in front of her, “Come here, Bob.”
He hesitated. He wrung the fabric of his sweater in his hands, silently debating with himself whether or not he should sit with her. Eventually, he caved and shuffled forward, his clunky white sneakers squeaking against the tile floor once. He settled himself in a crisscross position across from Yelena, putting his hands in lap and picking at his short fingernails; they looked like he had chewed them down.
Yelena watched him quietly, tilting her head. He was so shy, barely looking her in the eyes. It would be endearing if she didn’t know what she knew about his past now, “Do you remember anything that happened after you were taken here?”
It took him a moment to reply as he thought back to the events of the past day, and she waited patiently, “I… I was in this room… with Valentina. She told me that I was special, that I was… perfect. She was being really nice, but I guess she was just taking advantage of me, huh?”
Yelena huffed a sigh and nodded, “You were very vulnerable, Bob. She knew that.”
He smiled, but it was tight and forced, like he was trying to convince himself of something, “I should’ve known better.”
Yelena frowned, “She’s a manipulator, she’s good at what she does.”
Still, Bob shook his head, “Still, I should’ve known better…” He finally dedicated to looking her in the eyes, his own watery; his voice broke somewhat when he asked, “I did something really bad, didn’t I?”
It was really hard to see him cry, that was something Yelena had discovered immediately. She still couldn’t exactly pinpoint what had made her so protective of him so quickly. Maybe it had been her original impression of him just being a normal guy trapped in a dangerous situation, or maybe it was when he admitted he was suicidal. Even now, knowing he’s bulletproof and practically indestructible, she still felt the urge to protect him. She can’t remember the last time she had opened her heart so readily. She had closed herself off almost completely since Natasha had died. It was like Bob entering her life had brought warmth and color back to her in the weirdest way.
“You… didn’t do anything bad on purpose. I don’t think you were completely in control as… The Sentry, and you definitely weren’t as the other guy,” Explaining this felt weird. Sentry and the Void had felt like completely different people from Bob, but they were both a part of him, and she at least thinks he had been aware of who he was as Sentry.
Bob looked confused but the tears that had filled his eyes were now spilling over. Yelena furrowed her eyebrows, a deep sadness taking her over, that grief-stricken feeling she had been overcome by in the void. She wanted to comfort her friend like she had done earlier, so she did what she knew how. She reached out and took his hand, squeezing his fingers to offer any solace she could.
The room became dark.
The ground beneath her was wet and cold, the wind suddenly blowing through the trees surrounding her sent a shiver up her spine. She was in the forest again. She heard her name called across the room, and lifting her head she saw the pretty auburn hair that belonged to her childhood friend. She had seen this memory play out one too many times today. She tried to stand up, but her hand was stuck, trapped in a vice grip by Bob who was still sitting across from her with his head bowed and shoulders shaking with his sobs.
She got onto her knees and leaned forward, putting her other hand on his shoulder and gently shaking him. Despite the traumatic memory taking place beside her, she kept her voice calm and focused on her friend, “Bob, you have to calm down.”
He was shaking under her hands, gripping her fingers for dear life, as if he were afraid she would disappear if he let her go. He shook his head, “I-I’m remembering things…! I-I hurt you!”
Yelena dropped the hand from his shoulder to take his other one, the fingers not gripping her hand wrapped around his leg, fingernails digging harshly into his skin beneath his pants leg. She pried his fingers away and held them close to her as she shook her head, “You didn’t hurt me, Bob. You need to breathe with me.”
A gunshot went off beside them and a body hit the ground. Yelena flinched and closed her eyes for a moment. Even though she hadn’t watched the memory unfold this time, it was still so clear in her mind. Her name was called again, signaling the memory had restarted. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, “Hey, look at me. You have to breathe, come on, look at me.”
He didn’t do as she asked, she wasn’t sure he was even hearing her. He inhaled a staggering breath, exhaling with a loud sob, “I hurt all of you, and-and I tried to kill Valentina…! It-it got dark…”
Yelena winced as she listened to the short conversation next to her, the young girl’s voice like nails on a chalkboard at this point; Bob continued on, “I-I went to this place… My dad was there…”
Another gunshot. A body hits the ground. It starts over. Bob flinched at the sound this time, the sound of the gun firing coinciding with the mention of his father and the whimper that left his throat broke her heart. She pulled her hands out of his, having to practically yank them away, which forced another sob from Bob’s throat. Yelena replaced her hands on his head, covering his ears and tilting his head back so he would look her in the eyes.
“Bob, you have to breathe,” She kept her tone even and calm, “Look at me. Your dad isn’t here. You’re here in the tower with me. We’re exploring, remember?”
He wasn’t calming down, but recognition flickered in his eyes, so he at least acknowledged her. He tried to turn his head to look around, but Yelena wouldn’t allow him, “We’re— We’re in that room again. Your room. The-the one where the little girl—”
“Yes, yes, it’s a memory from when I was a child,” She made sure his eyes stayed on her, “Focus on me, Bob.”
He was hyperventilating, and with his hands free and with nothing to hold onto anymore, they found the ground. He curled his fingers into the snow, feeling it melt between his fingers and he shivered, “I’m doing this, aren’t I?”
“You can’t control it, it’s okay,” She was trying so hard to assure him, but he was hard to convince.
“But I’m still doing it,” He curled his fingers into the dirt again, his shoulders hitching as he cried, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
The gun fired again and the both of them flinched. Yelena felt like crying too, and she couldn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes, stinging and begging to flow over. The ground felt cold, colder than it had, and taking a glance down she could see the pitch darkness of the void creeping around Bob’s ankles and legs. It was slowly climbing up, trying to take complete control of him again just like it had tried to do earlier. She couldn’t let it. She wouldn’t.
“Bob, look at me. Focus on me, okay?” She tried, a hand pushing through his hair.
He had closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly shut, too ashamed to face the room, to face her, “I-I can’t! This is all my fault! I keep making everything worse!”
Yelena shook her head, trying to find the words to say, the action to take. Tears fell down her face, warm against the cold air of the void room. A gunshot fired again. She needed to breathe.
She closed her eyes. She had been so busy trying to calm him down that she had completely neglected herself. This was her memory, one that played over and over again in her nightmares. She could overcome this; she had done before and she could do it again. She inhaled, filling her lungs slowly and holding her breath, exhaling at the same pace. Okay, she could do this.
She opened her eyes, looking at Bob. He was still shaking under her hands, his own hands still clawing at the dirt and snow on either side of him. Tears were on his face as he tried to keep his sobbing contained; he cried quietly. Yelena removed her hands from his ears, gently brushing fingers over his cheeks to get rid of his tears. Her voice was calmer when she spoke again, not so strained or evident with stress. When the gunshot fired again, she flinched but remained focused on her task.
“Bob, it’s okay. It isn’t your fault,” She said quietly, a bit shaky with her own tears but soft nevertheless.
Bob shook his head to dismiss her words, “Y-Yes, it is! Everything bad that’s happened today has been my fault!”
Now it was Yelena’s turn to shake her head, “These powers are very new to you, you’re not doing this on purpose. I know you.”
Another choked sob broke from his throat, and he winced, like he was pained by the volume of it, “No, you don’t! You just met me!”
“That doesn’t matter,” She pushed her fingers through his hair, a bit tangled but soft, “You’re a good person, Bob.”
Despite his insistence that this was all his fault, that he was a bad person, that he thought he didn’t deserve her and anyone’s care, he still leaned into her hand, “Why should I believe you?”
He opened his eyes to look at her, pleading and desperate. There was anger in them, but more than that, there was hope. He wanted her to be right; he wanted to believe her. Yelena glanced down at his legs, seeing the void had crept up past his knees but had noticeably slowed in pace. She looked into his eyes again and offered him a broken but genuine smile, “You trust me, don’t you?”
He didn’t reply immediately. He searched her eyes and expression, as if looking for a sign that she was lying, but in the end he nodded. It was almost unnoticeable, but she saw it. Her smile grew, “Then believe me when I say that you’re good.”
His eyes welled with fresh tears, and he cried again, but the sound wasn’t so quiet this time; he wasn’t forcing himself to hide. Yelena leaned forward and took him into her arms, rubbing a soothing hand up and down his back. His hands held on tight to her, once again showcasing his fear of being alone. She wouldn’t let go. He was safe here with her, with all of them.
The sound of the gunshot never came, and neither did the young girl calling out her name. The coldness disappeared around them, and the room was quiet aside from the sounds of them crying. At the realization, the both of them slowly pulled away from each other and took a look around the room. They were back in the tower; the void was gone. Yelena looked at Bob, down at his legs, and there was no sign that the void was ever there at all. She took a breath of relief and looked into his eyes again, his face red and wet from crying; she knew she probably looked the same.
She reached up and brushed away his tears with her thumbs, “Are you okay?”
He sniffled and shrugged when she finished cleaning up his face, “I think I should be asking you that question.”
Yelena chuckled with only slight amusement, pushing her hands to her own face to wipe away her tears and smudging her eye makeup even further, “I’m okay. Now you answer me.”
Despite his tears, he was able to smile back, small as it was, “I’m fine.”
“Good,” She nodded, wiping her hands against her legs, her pants dirty from saving the city earlier and reminding her of what she had been doing before she had been pulled back into her void room, “Come help me look through these boxes. We really need some clean clothes.”
She turned on her knees towards the boxes again and started to open them up, looking around for anything clean to wear. Bob followed her lead after another few seconds of gathering himself. He wiped his face once more and sniffled before getting to his knees and scooting forward to sit next to Yelena and help her out.
They worked quietly for a couple of minutes, sorting through DVD’s and CD’s, books and even found a box of trophies. They did eventually find clothes though, and they looked big enough to fit the both of them. As Yelena was sorting through them and pulling out garments to wear, Bob broke the silence.
“I’m sorry.”
Yelena paused very briefly, and she didn’t look at him when she replied, “What are you sorry for?”
Bob sat back on his knees and pulled at his sleeve, “For making you relive that memory again.”
The tension that had been in her shoulders all day released a bit as he spoke, and she sighed and set down the shirt she had pulled out of the box before turning to look at Bob again. He cut his eyes away as soon as she did so, his posture tense again. Yelena frowned, “I am not upset with you, Bob.”
He had a hard time believing her, “R-Really?”
She watched him pick at the fabric of his sleeves, pulling on loose threads. He was always doing something with his hands, whether it be this, or just simply wringing them. His fingernails were chewed down to the beds of his fingers, the jagged remains on his index finger harshly digging into the end of his thumb. Yelena smiled at him again and nodded, “Yes, really.”
At the confirmation she noticed how he relaxed. Not completely, there was still some tension in his body, but it was less now at the idea of her not being upset or angry with him. He still looked like he had something else on his mind though, his eyebrows furrowed, so she gave him a nudge, “What else is bothering you?”
Like it usually did, it took him a moment to respond. He continued to pick at loose threads, but now he pulled at the ones on the ankle of his pants rather than his sweater sleeve, “I… I remember being in a room… It was mine…”
Yelena shifted to face him properly, and she didn’t interrupt him. She kept quiet and let him talk, giving him the time he needed to do so. He paused, wincing as the memory of what his void room entailed came back to him, “My mom and dad were there, and… you were there.”
She nodded as she listened and watched his fingernails dig into his ankle; at least his sock was blocking a direct path to his skin, “I was.”
Bob sniffled again and took a staggering breath. His emotions were starting to get the best of him again and he was trying really hard not to let them, “So… You saw what he did to me and my mom.”
It wasn’t a question, and when he caught her eyes again, she felt her heart break at the look in them. He was sad, broken, but there was so much shame too. Yelena looked down at her hands in her lap, picking at her own fingernails. His expression was almost too much for her to handle, but she felt she needed to look him in the eyes when she said this next part. So, she only watched her own nails pick at each other for a few seconds before lifting her head again to meet his sad eyes, “I did… That wasn’t your fault either, Bob.”
To his credit, he did keep himself together, even if his eyes did well up. He scoffed and shook his head, almost angry with himself, “I can’t be innocent in all of this.”
Yelena shrugged, it’s all she knew to do, “I don’t know what to tell you. Everything that has happened the past day was completely out of your control, and no one is going to blame a little boy for the actions of his father.”
“You should tell my mom that,” He snapped, and his tone surprised her. At her flinching, Bob immediately drew back in, dipping his head to hide his face from her and apologizing quietly, “I-I’m sorry… I’m so confused. I don’t know what to think.”
Yelena sighed through her nose, letting the tension fall away from her shoulders. She lifted her hand from her lap, reaching out and taking his wrist gently into her fingers. The action made him tense slightly, his eyes flicking to her hand, at how she squeezed his wrist in an attempt to comfort him. He lifted his head again, eyes meeting a soft smile.
“I don’t think any of us do right now,” She admitted, tilting her head somewhat and chuckling, “We can be confused together. How about that?”
His eyes shone with unshed tears, and as he inhaled shakily, he looked hopeful, “It gets lighter?”
Realizing he was referring to their conversation in the void earlier today, she smiled bigger and nodded, “It does. I promise.”
It took him a moment, but he smiled back. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. Yelena took another deep breath, exhaling all of the stress of the day away. It had been going on for far too long, so she was happy to notice the light dimming from the windows, signaling the sun going down and making way for night. Tomorrow was a new day, and a new day was another step forward. She squeezed Bob’s wrist again. She was hopeful about the future for the first time in a very, very long time.
Scuffling near the door alerted them that they weren’t alone anymore, and both heads turned to face whoever had disturbed their peace, “Hey, pizza’s here. It’s supreme, so you’ll just have to pick off whatever you don’t— Oh whoa, hey Bobby— Bob, sorry. Bob, are you okay?”
It was Walker stammering over himself like he had forgotten how to speak and with a concerned glint in his eyes as he took a couple of steps further into the room. Bob offered him a reassuring smile and nodded, “I’m fine.”
“You sure?” Walker asked, coming closer and stopping once a few steps away, “You look like you’ve been crying. Actually, it looks like both of you have been crying. What did I miss?”
Yelena had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, “We were just talking, Walker.”
He shifted sort of awkwardly at her response, as if suddenly realizing he wasn’t wanted here, “Oh, okay. Sorry, I was just… Checking on you guys. Um, yeah, pizza’s here, so whenever you two are ready just… Yeah.”
He was much more awkward than she ever would’ve taken him for. This whole emotional vulnerability was pretty new to him; he’d been suppressing everything he felt for years. He started backing away to leave, but Bob, being softer than Yelena, felt bad about brushing him off, “I remembered what happened in the void.”
Walker paused, unsure of how to respond to that, “O-Oh, really? What all do you remember?”
Bob shrugged, “My parents, my addiction… Pretty sure I beat myself up? Or, I guess, the bad version of myself? I don’t really understand all of this yet.”
Walker relaxed a little, a smile lighting up his face, “Do you remember me punching your dad’s lights out?”
Bob’s eyes widened in surprise, and he shook his head, “No. Did you really do that?”
Walker seemed to take pride in that, and he crossed his arms and shifted his weight, “Yeah, knocked him right on his ass.”
The younger man chuckled at the thought, “Cool.”
Something in Walker’s eyes softened, and it surprised Yelena while simultaneously warming her heart. She was a bit tired of all of this vulnerability though, especially with Walker present, so she turned back to the box of old clothes and pulled out some more of them, “We found some clothes, and they look clean. Do you want to change?”
Both men’s focuses turned to her. Walker blinked, processing her question, then he took a couple of steps forward, “Yeah, sure. What do we got?”
He knelt down between them and helped them go through the box, each of them taking what they liked best. Walker was the first to leave, going to the bathroom to change. He put a hand on Bob’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before he left. Yelena got to her feet and kicked off her boots, glancing down at Bob still seated on the floor and feeling the fabric of the t-shirt in his hands beneath his fingers, “I’m just gonna change in here, so if you could…”
She made a motion with her hand that read loud and clear ‘turn around.’ A light pink rushed to his cheeks as he stammered over his words and got to his feet, “O-Oh, right. Sorry. I’ll do that. Sorry.”
He spun around, his clothes still on the floor, and even though he was facing away from her he still held his hands over his eyes. She rolled her eyes but smiled, finding him endearing, “I’ll turn my back too so you can change.”
“Oh, o-okay,” He reached down and picked up his clothes as she spun around to remove her clothes.
Pulling the jumpsuit off of her body felt so freeing. It smelled horrible and was covered in dirt and blood and God knows what. She let it hit the ground and grabbed the gray sweatpants on the floor by her feet, pulling them up and over her hips. They were baggy and a bit long, so she had to pull the drawstring tight and roll up the ankles several times so she wouldn’t trip over them. The t-shirt she pulled on was also oversized, and it had a ridiculous picture of a cartoon cat skateboarding on it.
She peeked over her shoulder to see if Bob had finished getting dressed, seeing that he had and still had his back to her and hands pulling at the hem of his gray t-shirt, “Okay, you can turn around now.”
She noticed him flinch at her voice; he must have been in his own little world. He turned around, and Yelena would’ve giggled at the picture of hello kitty on his shirt if she wasn’t wearing a similarly ridiculous t-shirt. Still, she smirked and nodded her approval, “Cute.”
He blinked at the compliment, not used to them, and then he looked down at his shirt and chuckled, “Oh, thanks. I thought it would be funny.”
Yelena laughed too and tilted her head towards the door, “Well, now that we’re in our matching cat shirts, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
He agreed and made his start towards the door, Yelena following right behind him. She paused though before they made their exit, grabbing Bob by his wrist and carefully pulling him to a stop and towards her again. He frowned down at her, a confused furrow to his brow, “Yelena? Are you o—”
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, having to stand on her toes to do so. Bob was so busy making himself look small that she hadn’t realized just how tall he was, at least compared to herself. She clung to him a bit tighter than before, pushing her head against his shoulder, “Sorry, I just… Think you needed one more of these.”
And maybe I did too.
She felt his hands on her back, a bit awkward and unsure of how to return the embrace but doing so effectively enough. They only stood there for a few seconds, but it felt like a long time, and when they pulled apart Yelena had to wipe the wetness from underneath her eyes away. She smiled up at him, “Okay, let’s go.”
She held onto his sleeve and pulled him down the hallway again like she had done earlier, leading him to the kitchen where everyone was already digging into the pizzas Alexei had ordered. They were met with tired greetings, aside from Alexei who was always energetic, and they made themselves a plate. Bob sat the counter next to Walker, refusing to make eye contact with anyone until Walker patted him on the back and started up a conversation, which Bob became immersed in rather quickly.
Yelena stood next to her father and leaned back against the sink, an olive falling off of her pizza and hitting the floor, but she didn’t really care; they could clean in the morning. Alexei nudged her with his arm, and she glanced up to see him smiling. He was so excited about being ‘The New Avengers,’ and she couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t somewhat intrigued by the idea. This group was a disaster, but they weren’t too bad. She thinks she can get used to this.
Looking across the counter at Bob and Walker, the latter rambling about old military story that seemed lighthearted enough to have a smile lighting up Bob’s face. He must have sensed her watching him, because he turned to look at her and smiled her way, waving in a dorky way before turning back to listen to Walker. She couldn’t help but giggle.
Yeah, she could get used to this.