Chapter 6 ━━ Sounds Like A Teen Spirit

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The sun is drowning down and darkness of the night is spreading over when Hedeon enters a store to find medical supplies for Yelena with the sisters trailing behind him. 

"The Red Room's still active. Where is it?" Natasha asks. 

"I have no idea. He moves location constantly. And every widow is sedated on entry and exit for maximum security." Yelena says, looking through the medical items on the shelf. 

"I'm just finding it hard to believe that he could stay off my radar." Natasha questions, leaning into the door. 

Hedeon moves to the sink and splashes water on his face. He looks at his reflection from the mirror to see dark bags under his eyes. His face is paler with the lack of sleep. 

"Well, it's not smart to attack an Avenger if you want to stay hidden. I mean, the clue is in the name. Dreykov kills you, one of the big ones comes to avenge you." 

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "Wait, what are the big ones?" 

"Well, I doubt the god from space has to take an ibuprofen after a fight." Yelena says and Hedeon chuckles, closing the tap to look at the siblings. "Where did you think I was all this time?" 

"I thought that you got out and were living a normal life." Natasha reasons. 

"And you just never made contact again?" 

"Honestly, I thought you didn't wanna see me." 

Yelena scoffs, picking out a few medical supplies. "Bullshit. You just didn't want your baby sister to tag along, whilst you saved the world with the cool kids." 

"You weren't really my sister." Natasha says, grabbing the supplies from Yelena before she moves to the counter to pay. 

"And the Avengers aren't really your family." Yelena says, following behind. 

Hedeon puts on his baseball cap to cover up his slightly long hair and walks towards the counter as well. 

After a pause, Yelena speaks again. "Why do you always do that thing?" 

"Do what?" Natasha asks, confusedly as she hands over the money to the cashier. 

"The thing you do when you're fighting. The... Like, the... This thing that you do when you whip your hair when you're fighting with the arm and the hair. And you do, like, a fighting pose." Yelena laughs and mimics Natasha's fighting stance, extending her right leg, giving all her weight on the left leg and bending to the floor, arms balancing her figure and whipping her head back and forth. "It's a... It's a fighting pose. You're a total poser." 

"I'm not a poser." The redhead disagrees. 

"Oh, come on. I mean, they're great poses, but it does look like you think everyone's looking at you, like, all the time." Yelena laughs, standing up. 

Rubbing his light stubble, Hedeon chuckles. "It's the art of confusion. Works great on stupid people." 

"I like him." 

Yelena glares at her sister. "Don't make his ego hit the sky." 

"Why? He's super smart." 

Hedeon smirks at the redhead's words. "I like you too. Specifically your smile. Wear it often." 

Yelena smacks on his head, which he pouts in return. "Stop flirting with everyone you meet." 

"Don't worry I'm off limits to other ladies. This-" He motions at his body. "-is all yours. No need to be jealous, Lena." 

Yelena rolls her eyes in return. 

"All that time that I spent posing, I was trying to actually do something good to make up for all the pain and suffering that we caused. Trying to be more than just a trained killer." Natasha explains, seriousness flooding through her. 

"Well, then you were fooling yourself because pain and suffering is every day and we are all still a trained killer. Except I'm not the one that's on the cover of a magazine. I'm not the killer that little girls call their hero." Yelena retorts with another scoff before grabbing the small bag with her medical supplies and walking out. 

"I'll grab some food." Hedeon announces. Natasha nods and walks after her sister. He jogs towards the mini takeaway and reads through the recipe. 

"Ready to order?" The cashier asks and Hedeon nods. 

"One extra large mac n cheese and three beers." 

"Can I have three forks please?" He adds. 

"Sure thing." 

Hedeon pays for the bill with Yelena's savings which he feels extremely guilty for wasting her money and patiently waits until his order is done when the cashier speaks. 

"You look sick." 

The destroyer weakly smiles. "Road trips make me sick." 

"Where are you heading to, pal?" 

"Just to my parents house." 

"Shouldn't be alone since three forks?" 

"My girlfriend." Hedeon comes up with the easiest lie. "I-I'm going to introduce her to my parents. Her sister is tagging along." 

"That's great!" The cashier exclaims. "Did you propose to her? Your girlfriend?" 

Hedeon scratches the back of his neck, nervously. "Not yet. But soon." 

"That's really cool, bro. Congratulations!" The cashier happily chirps. 

Hedeon cannot think of a reason for his overexcited behaviour. So he just plays along with his lie with a smile. 

"And here comes your order." As the mac n cheese is ready, the cook hands over the food plate and beers to Hedeon. "Have a safe trip, pal." 

Hedeon nods with a small thanks before heading back. Kids are chattering and running around the place where he spots Yelena and Natasha talking. 

"...That gas, the counteragent, it was synthesized in secret by an older widow from Melina's generation. I was on the mission to retrieve it, and she exposed me and I killed the widow that freed me." Yelena says when Hedeon places the plate in the middle of the table and hurriedly grabs a fork and jabs into the food. 

"Did you have a choice?" Natasha says imitating him as soon as Yelena joins too. 

Hedeon notices that Yelena's injury is patched up with a layer of bandages. It is a major comfort to know that she's fine. 

"What you experienced was psychological conditioning. I'm talking about chemically altering brain functions. They're two completely different things. You're fully conscious, but you don't know which part is you. I'm still not sure." 

"Is that all there is left?" Natasha points at the vials. 

The blonde nods. "Mmm-hmm. It's the only thing that can stop Dreykov and his network of widows. He takes more every day. Children who don't have anyone to protect them. Just like us when we were small. Maybe one in 20 survives the training, becomes a widow. The rest, he kills. To him, we are just things. Weapons with no face that he can just throw away. Because there is always more. And no one's even looking for him, thanks to you and Alexei." 

"Alexei?" Natasha raises an eyebrow at the mention of her former fake father. 

"Dad." Yelena chuckles dryly. "Did you ever look for your parents? Your real ones?" 

"Well, my mom abandoned me in the street like garbage. What about you?" 

"They destroyed my birth certificate, so I reinvented it. My parents still live in Ohio. My sister moved out west. You're a science teacher. You're working part-time, though, especially after you had your son. Your husband, he renovates houses." 

"That is not my story." 

Yelena laughs. "What is your story?" 

"I never let myself be alone long enough to think about it." 

"Did you ever wish for kids?" Yelena asks, to which Natasha shakes her head in response. "I want a dog." 

"What about you, Hedeon? What are you planning on?" 

Hedeon shrugs. "Party the hell out of my life on a daily basis by getting drunk till I pass out or getting laid with a blonde chick. Sounds cool, huh?" 

"Sounds like a teen spirit." Yelena comments. "News flash. You aren't a teenager anymore." 

"I'm trying to catch up with what I lost in my life." Hedeon replies, taking a sip from his beer. 

"So what's wrong with redheads and brunettes or noirettes?" Natasha asks with a knowing smile in the corner of her lips.

"Demons dig blonds. So do I." 

Yelena places her arm around his shoulder, pulling him to her, playfully. "Isn't he a sweetheart?" 

"Yes, I am." He grins. 

"So... what is it?" Natasha presses. 

"Find an ordinary job, fall in love, get married and live the rest of my fucking life happily." Hedeon says, tracing the outline of the mouth of his beer bottle before his eyes twinkle with mischief as they set on Yelena. "And I already have my eyes on a certain blonde to play wife with me." 

"In your dreams, Hedeon. In your dreams." 

"In my dreams, you're always underneath me." He whispers and mouths the next. "Naked." 

"I have this burning urge to stab you in your eye so that you'll stop bickering for a while." Yelena threatens him, playfully. 

Natasha smiles at the two. "Where you gonna go?" 

"I don't know. I don't really have anywhere to go back to, so I guess anywhere." The blonde shrugs, then notices her sister's look. "Don't." 

"Don't what?" 

"You're going to give me some big hero speech, I can feel it." Yelena chuckles. 

"Speeches aren't really my thing." Natasha says and takes a sip of her beer. 

"Huh." 

"It was more like an invitation." 

"To go to the Red Room and kill Dreykov?" 

"Yeah." 

"Even though the Red Room is impossible to find and Dreykov is too slippery to kill?" 

"Yeah." 

"That sounds like a shitload of work." 

Natasha sighs. "Yup." 

"Could be fun, though." 

"Yup." 

"Let's get the shit done then." Hedeon states, placing his fork on the empty plate. 

Yelena glances at him with a sad expression. "You don't have to, Hedeon." 

Hedeon scoffs, dramatically. "If you think you can get rid of me that easily, you're hell wrong." 

"I saw where he put the keys." Natasha says, glancing at the shed near them. 

"Top drawer, green cabinet." Yelena adds. 

"I would like to propose a toast." Hedeon raises his beer. "We make a good team!" 

"Cheers!" Yelena soon joins him, clicking her beer bottle into his. 

Natasha smiles and raises her beer bottle as well, enjoying the moment. 

The three of them soon find themselves in the car they stole. Natasha is driving and Yelena is in the front seat while Hedeon is in the back seat. 

"You know, this is the first piece of clothing. I've ever bought for myself." Yelena states, glancing at her green vest. 

"I bet you'd look better without any clothing at all." Hedeon comments with his smirk full on display, earning a glare from the blonde. 

Natasha chuckles at this and glances at Yelena and back to the road. "That?" 

"Yeah. You don't like it?" Yelena asks her. 

"Is that like a..." Natasha trails off, trying to find words to finish her sentence. "Is it army surplus, or..." 

"Okay, it has a lot of pockets." Yelena chuckles. "But I use them all the time, and I made some of my own modifications." 

"Oh, yeah?" Natasha laughs. 

"Whatever. Shut up. The point is, I've never... I've never had control over my own life before, and now I do. I want to do things." The blonde states. 

"Hmm... I like your vest." Natasha finally compliments. 

"I knew it. I knew you did too. It's so cool, right? Hedeon loves it and said I looked like Kermit the Frog." Yelena rambles excitedly and Hedeon watches her with a smile on his face. His heart fills with overjoy at her happiness. Does she even know what she's capable of? 

"It's good. Yes. I like it." Natasha says. 

"And you can put so much stuff in there. You wouldn't even know." Yelena says but then frowns as she realizes something. "I really don't know where the Red Room is, though. I'm sorry." 

"Me neither. He ordered me right into my brain and controlled me. I just did what he wanted me to and stayed where he wanted me to." Hedeon sighs. "I just wished I'd had more of myself then. Maybe we could do better. At least a hint." 

"I know. But I think I know somebody who does." Natasha assures them. 

"Oh, yeah? Who?" Hedeon asks, curiosity taking the best of him. 

"We're gonna need a jet." Natasha replies and he yawns, tiredly. 

"You haven't slept in days. Go to sleep." Yelena says to him. 

"I can't. It brings me nightmares." He grumbles. 

"You're such a baby." She shakes her head before moving herself to the backseat. 

"What are you doing?" Hedeon asks, watching her. "We can't do inappropriate things, Lena. Your sister is here." 

"Shut up before I chop off your balls and staple them on your forehead." She smacks on his head before sitting near the window. 

"Why are you so violent?" Hedeon pouts, rubbing his head. 

"It's my nature." Yelena mutters and motions him to go to sleep. 

Hedeon shrugs before placing his head on her lap, closing his eyes and relaxing. Soon enough, he falls into deep slumber, Yelena playing with his hair. 

"He's a fast sleeper. He's tired and barely slept for the last few days. The nightmares are killing him." Yelena tells. "Whatever they did to him, it's still there in him." 

"He's unstable. But you can help him." Natasha states, not taking her eyes from the road. 

"You don't know that." 

"Trust me, it works. I have my own share of personal experience. And that situation is worse than this." 

Yelena raises an eyebrow. "You have an anchor?" 

"No. I've been an anchor to someone." Natasha says and Yelena accidentally tugs his hair, which he reacts with a moan, still fast asleep. 

"Did he just moan?" Natasha asks with a small laugh, noticing Yelena's shocked figure. 

"I think he did. God, I can't keep up with this guy." Yelena mutters but continues to play with his hair. "You've been in love?" 

"If my definition for love is similar to the one in the book, yes." 

"You think he's in love with me?" 

"Maybe." Natasha shrugs and talks. "From what I gathered from the time I spent with him, he's a nice guy with bearable issues. I think he's good for you. You two have my blessing." 

"Yeah, you have no idea how much of a pain in ass he can be." Yelena confesses with a smile. "But yeah. He's a nice guy. Don't tell him I said that though."