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The couch drops with a small thud when Ava throws herself on it. The black leather is already worn out and has slight dents from the three super soldiers that have frequented it.
"Hi," Ava greets the person she sat next to without lifting her head from the back cushion.
"Hey," Yelena responds, equally unmoving from her spot.
It came as a shock how quick the two had formed an actual, functional friendship over the year and half they'd unofficially lived together in the newly renovated tower.
Not only did it surprise Ava and Yelena themselves, but also the rest of their team who expected them to become highschool-esque roommates who argue about blow dryers and clothes that got mixed up in the laundry.
Then the complete opposite happened and now they're more of a duo than all of them are a team.
Ava opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to find the words for what she's about to ask.
"Just spit it out," Yelena says under her breath when the sound of Ava's teeth clacking together starts annoying her too much.
Ava complies, taking a short breath before she asks: "That... woman I killed, way back when. I think there's more to her than what you said about her having a rough life."
"That is not a question."
"Who was she? To you, just in general. I want to know," Ava rephrases it.
Yelena breathes so deep it comes out as a sigh.
"Her name was Antonia," she starts slowly. "She was the daughter of the man who operated the red room."
"Oh," is all Ava manages to answer. She doesn't really know what to think. Her awareness of the red room goes as far as an understanding that no matter what context it's in, it's always bad.
"Yeah," Yelena agrees, "oh indeed."
"Is that really all there is? I mean, you kind of froze when you recognized her in that death-trap vault," Ava probes carefully.
Yelena sighs again. She doesn't want to have this conversation. Not now, not ever.
"My sister killed her, or thought she did. The last step of her deflection to S.H.I.E.L.D was destroying the red room, and she used Antonia as bait. Shit hit the fan quickly and both Antonia and Dreykov survived," she explains monotonically. "Dreykov put a chip in her neck that left her fully under his control. He developed a fighting machine with photographic abilities out of her so she could copy every style of fighting and win every battle."
Ava hums, taking in the information. A thought crosses her mind: "How did she end up working for Val, though?"
"Natalia and I made fireworks out of the red room when she was on the run. Antonia was freed along with the other widows present then. I don't know what happened to her after that," Yelena explains and lifts her shoulders.
Ava hums again. Yelena hums back with a matching tone. They're both still sitting without looking at each other.
"Why do you call her Natalia?" Ava asks suddenly.
"That is her name," Yelena replies a little too quickly.
Ava raises an eyebrow. She knows Yelena can practically sense the movement without seeing her face. And she's right.
"It feels more home. Reminds me that we are both the same," Yelena elaborates, pushing her hair back from her face.
Ava doesn't know what to say anymore so she hums again.
The silence that falls after isn't uncomfortable or pressuring, only calm. Calm until the elevator dings and they both know there’s going to be a disruption in the peace of quiet they’ve created.
An unmistakable voice echoes through the common space: "We have returned with dinner!" followed by a complaint about not having to yell all the time.
Yelena groans and Ava hides her face in her hands. This is their life now.