Chapter Text
As soon as Yelena got the kid's frightened face to look up at her, she reassured him, then picked his small frame up, turning around to Hawkeye and Falcon.
They were both looking wide-eyed at the two. “That's…that is a baby.” Kate stated, staring at the little one slumped against Yelena’s chest.
Yelena looked from Kate to the child and nodded slowly. “He’s five.” She said quietly. Kate’s mouth fell open before Sam spoke for her, “I would’ve guessed barely 4, and that’s pushing it. Kids’ tiny.” Kate nodded in agreement.
Yelena nodded, walking closer to the other two. “Yep, I know. We need to get out of here before any guards are alerted. Our handlers will be here soon anyways.” Yelena urged.
Kate snapped out of her daze from seeing how young the kid was. “I mean, I knew there was a kid but I didn’t think he would be a baby! How long has he been here? Can he even talk? Does he understand English? Can he—” “Kate.” Yelena said dryly, interrupting the archer’s ramble.
“Sorry, sorry, I’m just so shocked.” She apologized genuinely. Yelena nodded. “I know.”
Sam gestured to the vent. “I think that's our best bet. Can you carry him through there?” Sam asked calmly. Yelena nodded, “Of course.”
The three of them climbed into the vents, Sam, then Kate, then Yelena had to peel Romanov off of herself and hand him to Kate so she could climb up.
He fussed until Yelena was up and took him back. “Oh my god! He barely weighs anything,” Kate exclaimed.
“Food hasn’t exactly been easy to come by.” Yelena pointed out. “Right. When was the last time he ate?” The other woman asked.
“Yesterday morning, I think,” Yelena shrugged as Sam started leading them through the vents. “Bucky is in the jet,” he informed, “we can get him some food one way or another.”
Yelena nodded and they crawled quietly for a few minutes, Romanov clutched close to Yelena’s body, his arms wrapped around her neck since his fingers couldn’t curl without pain.
Yelena spoke, “He’s been at this location for a year but was born at the one he was at before, he talks mostly Russian but knows some English. He understands more than he can speak,” Yelena answered all of the questions Kate had asked a few minutes ago.
The information hung in the air for a moment. “Wow…” Hawkeye whispered. “Damn…” Falcon whistled lowly.
They crawled silently through the vents for a bit, but it was only a minute or so until Romanov started fussing and rubbing his eyes.
“Shh…” Yelena calmly hushed. “Is something wrong?” She hoped he would understand the English.
His nod told her he did. “What is it?” She prompted as she stopped crawling, sitting up and sitting him up in her lap so he was facing her.
He sniffled, shifting in her lap. “*I won’t hurt you. No one will. Not either of them and not me.*” She spoke softly, feeling the stares of the other two.
“Wanna go home,” he spoke in broken English. “Scared,” he tacked on when Yelena took a breath.
“I know. We are going home. *I’ve told you about it.* I know it's unfamiliar, and that can be scary, but it’s safe. Trust me.” She had to say some parts in Russian, knowing he wouldn’t know those words.
Luckily he seemed to understand. “Home? Kate?” He said. Yelena nodded, pointing at Kate, “That’s Kate.” She pointed at Sam next, “that’s Sam. He’s gonna help us too.” She said gently.
She wiped the boy's tears with her thumbs. “Can we move again?” Yelena asked him. When he nodded she pulled him closer and started moving again, noticing Kate and Sam were staring.
Kate seemed slightly surprised. Maybe it was because Yelena had talked about disliking children in the past and was currently doing relatively well with one, or it was because she found out Yelena had told him about her.
They started moving too before talking. “Didn’t think the cold assassin I met two and a half months ago had a side like that.” Sam had spoken first, using a slightly teasing tone.
“I didn’t think so either,” Yelena said with a shrug. “It’s cute,” Kate tagged on so there wasn’t bad tension. Yelena didn’t know how to reply to that, so they fell silent. Romanov was tired and stayed quiet, trusting Yelena.
They made it out, needing to bolt to the trees. Yelena held Romanov close. He didn’t like the rush, squirming in her hold.
Halfway to the trees, the four of them started being shot at. Yelena ducked, a bullet barely missing her, “They’re shooting!” Kate shouted.
“Shit!” Sam yelled.
Yelena ran faster, the child on her hip crying in her ear.
The shots picked up and got closer and closer until one landed.
Sam yelled out in pain, swearing. He grabbed at the right side of his abdomen where the bullet had made it clean through from his back.
Kate slowed down, putting an arm around him and using the other hand to help put pressure on the gunshot. “I’ve gotcha!” She said as she accommodated for the weight he couldn’t manage to carry.
Yelena didn’t have time to look back, but she knew Kate was helping the wounded warrior. She had given up all this to save the kid, nothing would stop her now.
She made it to the trees shortly and waited for Kate and Sam, who approached soon after.
They were both panting from the effort. Kate had just sprinted full speed with the weight of a full grown man, and Sam had ran while being in pain and trying not to pass out.
The environment was less than ideal. It sank in and dizzied Yelena’s probably - already - concussed head.
There was a screaming, crying child in her arms, her arms were getting tired from holding him for so long, Sam was shot and about to pass out—and they were still being shot at.
Kate looked just as overwhelmed, if not, more.
“Keep moving,” Yelena ordered. It was the only option, though it was agonizing.
Kate nodded firmly, “Let's go Sam!” She said before slowly moving again, speeding up as Yelena ran from one tree to behind the next.
Yelena and the kid were out of there, darting deeper into the trees. She looked back once she was at a spot that was guaranteed to be protected.
Sam was in more pain, grunting with each step. Kate was pulling him forward. She didn’t want to hurt him, but this was the only way.
This continued for thirty minutes until the gunshots stopped and Romanov stopped screaming, now just whining lowly against Yelena's shoulder.
It wasn’t until Kate set Sam against a sturdy tree and Yelena had kneeled in front of him to help Kate patch the wound that her adrenaline wore off enough to realize that her nephew was biting her shoulder to muffle his crying.
She swore under her breath. “Shit, Kate, give me a second.” Kate nodded in response and began cutting Sam’s suit away from his wound with a pocket knife.
Yelena moved her hold on Romanov to under his armpits, lifting him away from her. She winced as she felt the tearing in her skin as he pulled his mouth away, finally.
She stood him in front of her, but his shaky legs made him fall to a sit. “*You can’t bite. It hurts.*” she said, firm enough so it was enforced but gentle enough so she wasn’t scary.
He looked pitiful as he nodded, his bottom lip wobbling slightly. “Thank you. I’m gonna help Sam. Stay close,” she said. Romanov replied with a shy, “Okay,” before Yelena shuffled over to Sam.
He was still conscious, but losing blood quickly. Kate was clearly unsure what to do. She had torn off a piece of her uniform and was holding it to the wound.
“Scoot.” Yelena ordered quietly. Kate moved back some and gave Yelena hold of the piece of uniform.
Yelena spoke as she began shoving the fabric into the gunshot wound. Sam groaned in pain. “I know, I’m sorry. It needs to clot, this will stop the bleeding better until we can stitch it,” she explained.
“The sooner we get moving, the sooner we get you to some real first aid,” Yelena told him before standing up. Kate had been watching and moved in quickly to hoist Sam to his feet.
Yelena found the kid sitting right where she left him, less tears in his eyes now. “Time to move again.” She lifted him up onto her hip again despite her arms feeling like jello.
He seemed to be happier in her grasp than not. The group continued their painful treck.
They got slower and slower as the walk went on. Romanov wasn’t sobbing anymore and was even whining less now. He wasn’t latching onto Yelena either, though her shoulder ached from where he already had.
She knew it was bleeding, but luckily it didn’t seem to be a detrimental amount. Nonetheless, she could feel the warm liquid trickle down her arm as she walked.
They approached the quinjet less than an hour later. Bucky ran out as soon as they were in his field of view, rushing to Sam, who had managed to hold onto his consciousness with Kate's help, who had been talking to him the whole time and asking him questions to keep him engaged.
Yelena felt the kid tense as the unfamiliar figure rushed toward them.
“Sam! Give him to me,” Bucky urged Kate, who passed him over quickly. “Shit, you’re fine.” Bucky ‘soothed’? as he rushed Sam to the jet.
Yelena, Romanov, and Kate were a couple paces behind. “Yelena, you’re bleeding! Oh my God, were you shot too?” Kate quickly observed and escalated, talking way too fast for the exhausting event they just had.
Yelena turned around, “What?? No, he bit me,” Yelena replied as the door shut behind them. “Human bites are still dangerous though!” Kate said, still worried.
“Yes, but it’ll be fine for a second.” Yelena began rocking Romanov in her arms, who she could tell was seconds away from sleep.
The quinjet’s doors shut and it lifted off the ground immediately, Yelena could assume Happy was the one flying.
Yelena sat down a seat over from Sam. Bucky was helping him, “tell me if you need any help, Bucky,” she told him. “I don’t yet. All I can do is stitch him up, it’s not like we have blood to give,” the man explained.
The youngest had started dozing off, but he was still fighting sleep. Yelena rocked him in an attempt to put him to sleep for a nice nap. She hummed softly to him and in a matter of seconds, he was out like a light in Yelena’s arms.
Now that Romanov had fallen asleep against Yelena, she pulled her sleeve away from where she was bitten, Kate by her side quickly in worry.
The archer hadn’t seen her best friend in months and wasn’t even sure whether she was alive most of the time. She already had anxiety. With Yelena gone it spiked significantly.
Not only did she not have anyone to talk to about it or seek comfort in, she also had a huge ordeal to worry about. To say the least, she was so very relieved and happy to have Yelena back.
“Let me help,” Kate told Yelena as she grabbed hold of the blood-soaked shirt sleeve. Yelena didn’t say anything but didn’t refuse as Kate took the alcohol bottle and rinsed the bite mark.
Yelena winced as the alcohol flushed through the wounds, Kate holding gauze to it now. She put pressure on it and wrapped it tightly with plenty of gauze. Luckily the archer had gotten better at bandaging than when the incident with the Ronin suit happened.
She used to not even know how to apply butterfly bandages.
But she did a good job at patching up Yelena’s shoulder. She didn’t need stitches, thankfully, and she hadn’t lost enough blood to be any more than lightheaded and pale with a headache.
“All better.” Kate spoke as if the situation really was okay. Yelena had missed the innocent, calm vibes that radiated off Kate. Because it truly wasn’t all better.
But maybe when she was with Kate, it felt like it.