Katya slowly turned her head right, as if maybe it wouldn't be real if she did it slowly, but, nevertheless, there she stood. The Soldier. Or no- Antonia. Now that they knew who was under that mask, it was impossible to feel the hate for it like they had before. 

That didn't mean Katya wasn't still scared of the woman. They could never win a fight against her. Not with that technology in her head. On top of that, it didn't feel right to fight her anymore either. It's not like she had a choice in the matter.

But this was the first time she saw her after the secret was out. Antonia was, officially, her cousin.

That was so messed up.

With the ground shaking heavier and heavier under their feet, Natasha stumbled to the cells, which had glass doors. As predicted, Antonia still had her and Katya as targets, so she slammed her fist into the door to try and get to Natasha, who begged her to stop.

''Nat,'' Katya started anxiously, watching from the same place where she had fallen, a couple feet away. ''She's still out of it.''

But her words fell on deaf ears. ''I'm gonna open the door. You're gonna come after me.'' As a confirmation, Antonia slammed her flat hand against the glass again. But Natasha was practically sobbing in guilt, pressing her forehead against the door. ''It's okay. It's okay. I know you're still in there. And I'm not gonna leave you. Okay?''

With shaking hands, she reached for the small panel next to the door. Katya understood why, but selfishly, she begged her one last time, ''Nat, don't.''

She ignored the stab of guilt as she spoke. Because leaving Antonia in there meant she was going down with the ship. However, freeing her would mean Natasha and Katya had a bigger chance of imminent death.

Katya would have made the selfish choice, Natasha didn't. Because she made the mistake of sacrificing Antonia before, for her own gain, and she wasn't about to do that again. 

So Katya stood helplessly by as the cell door slid open and Natasha stumbled backwards, knees slightly bent in case Antonia decided to attack immediately.

Slowly, she stepped out, mainly focused on Natasha but also backing Katya into the corner with her. Stairs were right behind them so they could make a run for it, but they went up, and they needed to go down. 

Step after step backwards, nothing happened but a silent stare-down of pure anxiety while they waited for Antonia to attack. Because they knew she would. Simply because she couldn't help it.

Were they going to fight her? Yes. But only to defend themselves, not to kill her.

After what felt like an eternity, Antonia did reach for them, like she was gonna grab one of them by the throat. But before that happened, the room exploded.

It was so weird, difficult to describe, but Katya understood what had happened when the floor tilted in a roughly forty-five-degree angle downwards. This corridor, which apparently stuck out from the tower like the runways, snapped off. The floor was still attached to the tower, but the ceiling wasn't. 

And with a floor this slippery, the duo started to slide towards the same thing as before: empty sky. The duo. Because Antonia had been on the other side of the break, throwing her into the tower instead. 

Sliding over the floor like it was a slide at the kids' playground, they desperately tried to get a grip with their boots, trying to get the rubber to bring them to a halt, but the angle wasn't right, and they moved too fast for that. 

The end of the corridor approached quickly, and with the outer wall blown out, nothing stopped them from falling out.

See, this is why a sky base was a problem. Exactly this was what Katya was afraid of. 

But Natasha was a quick thinker. She got her batons out - Katya had given her the one she borrowed back, which was stupid in hindsight - and slammed them into the floor. Of course they didn't get stuck but ripped open the floor all the way down, until the very last moment, about two foot from the end, where they finally stuck.

Katya didn't panic. She knew exactly what the plan was. And as soon as Natasha came to a still, she let one baton go and used that free hand to catch Katya's arm. So the brunette dangled in the sky with nothing but Natasha stopping her from falling to her death. Nice.

Below them, on the runway, a large group of soldiers ran towards a jet and hurried into it. And in the middle, with white, thinning hair, one small man. Dreykov.

''Oh, that little shit,'' Katya breathed. Of course he made it out alive, surrounded by at least twenty guards. She had a newfound drive to kill him now.

As the corridor lowered further and further towards the runway, Katya's feet inch by inch getting closer to the grated metal, a blonde and white figure ran over it, towards Dreykov's jet. 

Yelena. She hadn't gotten away on the jet with the other Widows yet, and she had no intention of letting the man get away. Meaning she had something stupid in mind. Because let's be honest, she's Yelena. 

''Drop me!'' Katya yelled when the distance between her boots and the runway was a bit more than ten feet. Partly because she knew Natasha couldn't hold her wrist forever, and partly because a drop this height, she could easily survive.

''It's too far!'' Natasha protested, looking down.

''Trust me!'' She wanted to help Yelena, or at least run after her, do something about Dreykov. He couldn't get away, wasn't getting away, so easily. The asshole. Although it would be fun to track him down...

Reluctantly, Natasha let her wrist go, and to avoid breaking her legs, Katya rolled when she landed. Not a second after, she heard a thud behind her. Always the protective one, that wife of hers.

Together, they sprinted towards the jet. To do what, that wasn't entirely clear. Maybe help Yelena, who was stupid enough to jump on top of one of the wings, positioning herself above the engine, which was clearly running at full speed.

''What the hell is she doing?'' Katya called out, her eyes widening when Yelena took her own batons out, twisted them and merged them into one long staff. Now, it was painfully clear what her goal was. And she would die with it. 

''Yelena!'' Natasha yelled, her feet stopping on their own accord. The blonde looked up, hearing her sister's voice over the noise. ''Don't do it!''

''This was fun!'' She twisted the staff, ready to plunge it into the engine. It would blow it, and with the runway so small, the explosion would most likely throw Yelena into the sky. She did not have a parachute either.

Natasha shook her head in a panic, afraid she'd lose her sister a day after meeting her again. ''No!'' 

But Yelena didn't listen, as usual, and did it anyway. 

Like fireworks, the jet exploded. Not one piece was left of it in the ball of fire. No way Dreykov survived that.

But neither Katya nor Natasha was celebrating. How could they, when Yelena fell down to Earth? A white dot succumbing to gravity.

They needed to go get her. Preferably before her body made impact with the ground. So Katya started running again, aiming for the one single jet left on this runway. And for some... optimistic reason, expected Natasha to be on her heels. Not to divert from the direct path, focused on the parachute backpack next to the railing.

Katya slowed down despite the time pressure, dread but also confusion settling on her chest. ''Nat, what the f-'' 

''Trust me!'' Natasha yelled over her shoulder, snatching the parachute off the ground, and, without bothering to strap it on her back, leaping into the sky.

Seriously, was she hell-bent on giving Katya a heart attack every five seconds?

Katya let out a yell of frustration, anxiety speeding up her heart so much it hurt her chest. ''Using my own words against me,'' she growled, sprinting towards the jet. ''Fucking reckless. Gonna be the death of me.''

She was still mumbling profanities under her breath when she stepped into the jet. Unsurprisingly, two people sat in front already. Two men. 

Katya wasn't even fazed. Her expression barely changed from the scowl as she used her wristbands to shoot some electricity through them and tugged the pilot out of his chair, throwing him onto the floor behind. 

Shoving the headset on her ears, she blindly started flipping switches and pushing buttons. Panic took over, which was unusual for her. She was trained to perform under pressure, damn it.

''Come on, come on, come on. JARVIS, I miss you.'' With every second she wasted, Yelena and Natasha would have fallen a couple feet more. 

To make matters worse, the runway shuddered and broke off like the hallway had done before, tilting everything off. So before Katya managed to start the engines, the jet slid off, into the empty sky, into a free fall.

''Are you fucking kidding me?!'' she exclaimed, the G-forces pushing her into her chair, pressing on her chest. If anything, this was embarrassing. 

Together with tons of rubble, she fell down. It crashed into the jet, left dents in the windscreen.

After several more tries, the engines finally fired up, and Katya yanked the steering console up, leveling the vehicle, bringing it to a halt. ''Ha! Yes!'' This thing was like a Quinjet, which she luckily did know to steer.

Now, she had time to start looking for Natasha and Yelena. Which proved to be much more difficult. All the other rubble restricted her sight.

''Nat, where are you?'' Oh, and she was embarrassing herself by talking to herself. ''Red, red, I need something red.''

She did pass Yelena on her way down, but she was already wearing a parachute. So Natasha got to her at least. But then why did she let go instead of hanging on?

She must have seen something else, or someone attacked her. Which would mean she was still in a free fall. 

Then she saw it. Or, actually, her eye got caught by a shimmer that almost blinded her. The sun reflected off a large collection of solar panels. On top of those things, mid-air, a flock of red in a black suit. 

But Katya's breath of relief got stuck in her throat when someone else joined her wife. Antonia had survived the explosion. And in her mind-controlled state, was still after Natasha. 

She tackled her off the panels, heading down to Earth strangled into each other. They were so close to the field under their feet that it wouldn't take long anymore. And they still didn't have anything to slow them down.

But however fearless Antonia was in her state, her self-preservation kicked in. So a couple hundred feet above Earth, she pulled her parachute out. Way too late. Way too late. 

Together with Natasha, they crashed into the ground, but not hard enough to break any bones, luckily. They groaned and coughed and ended up a small distance away from each other. 

While Katya landed the jet roughly, the two started fighting again. However, in the four seconds it took her to shut down the engines, pull the headset off, get out of her seat and jump out of the jet, it had stopped.

She had been completely useless. Which, she guessed, was a good thing? Her help hadn't been needed.

A red cloud engulfed the soldier and the spy. Natasha had set off one of the vials and freed Antonia, whose helmet was off to breathe in the antidote. Exhausted and confused, she lay on her back, staring at the sky. Who knew how long she had been under? Decades?

Katya slowly closed the distance to them, her footsteps so silent neither saw her coming. They were too occupied with each other, and she gave Natasha the time to say to Antonia what she wanted to.

It was inaudible because the words were whispered, but Natasha's sobs shook her whole body as she lay on her stomach, talking into Antonia's ear. Katya guessed she only said two words: ''I'm sorry.'' Because what else did anyone say in this situation?

When she started to move away, Katya hurried up to her, helping her to her feet. If Natasha wasn't crying, she would have yelled at her for jumping without a parachute, but now she smiled softly, getting a sad one in return. 

They stood in the same sort of landscape Melina's house was in. A beautiful plane with purple wildflowers, tall grass and sandy paths. This time around, however, burning rubble and smoke ruined the picture.

If this wasn't a perfect metaphor for their lives, then what was?

The Red Room base lowered to the ground slowly, until it finally crashed into the woods a distance away, with a lot of noise, a lot of smoke, and lots of fire.

''Yelena?'' was the only thing Natasha asked, Katya's hands on her underarm stabilizing her, bringing her back to reality. 

The brunette stepped aside and pointed to a large piece of white fabric she had spotted from the air. Without another word, Natasha bolted away, walking perfectly sound although a bit wobbly. She wasn't hurt badly.

With her gone, Katya's smile disappeared, and her gaze landed on Antonia, who had tears leaking out of her eyes and her chest rising and falling quickly. Katya knew that look, because she had worn it several times herself. Panic.

Slowly, as to not startle her, she walked over and sunk next to her on her knees. Locking eyes, her hands gripped Antonia's shoulder carefully, supporting her to a sitting position. 

Antonia wasn't able to keep her eyes off Katya's face. Her right eye moved along flawlessly, even though the iris had melted and had no color anymore. They took everything in. From her dusty cheeks to the blood under her nose, and the pain and sadness in her blue eyes. 

And Katya let her have that moment, sitting on her calves as the realization finally hit her that this was her cousin. She was family by blood. 

''Did you know?'' she whispered eventually, Antonia's eyes flickering to her mouth as she spoke. The silence was a good enough answer, even without the tiny nod Antonia gave. So Katya found herself muttering the same words Natasha had before, right before she burst into tears. ''I'm sorry.''

The tears didn't bother Antonia. ''It's alright. I will be okay. You don't owe me anything.'' She didn't smile, but her eyes were kind and her voice soft. 

Katya nodded, trying to keep her breathing steady to suppress the sobs. The need to feel guilty was so strong, making it so difficult to look at her. Antonia knew that too, so all she did was wait patiently, not ashamed of her own tears. 

Glancing up from her knees, Katya whispered, ''Do you do hugs?'' It was the only thing she could think of in this moment. The only thing she still wished to do. 

Insecure, Antonia whispered back, ''I don't know.'' She couldn't remember the last time she had one. If she ever did. Nevertheless, she nodded when Katya silently asked if she could, holding her arms out for her. Carefully, they wrapped around Antonia's shoulders, bringing her in.

Katya felt her relax slightly after initially tensing up. It wasn't exactly a comfortable hug, but Antonia needed one. She needed a lot of love. 

''Tell her to let go of that guilt. I'm not angry. I understand,'' Katya heard in her ear, which caused her to pull back, keeping her hands on Antonia's shoulders as they stared at each other. She must have noticed Natasha's blot of red hair in the distance, triggering the advice. 

Of course she was thinking of Natasha and not of herself. Of the guilt her almost-murderer carried with her. Antonia carried the visible scars from that day, Natasha only the invisible ones.

''I will,'' Katya breathed, making sure she believed those words, because it was the least she could do for her. ''Although I don't know if she'll want to hear it.''

''She'll listen to you.'' Antonia had seen enough of them, their dynamic, to know how it all sat. And she wasn't jealous, she was happy for them. ''And the same goes for you.'' 

Katya didn't know if she could do that. Because technically, her guilt was yet to start. After this, she would walk off and never see Antonia again. Leave her to figure out the world without any of her help. Not because she couldn't do it, but because both wanted to forget where they came from. And if they constantly saw each other, they would never be able to do that. Antonia knew that, and she was okay with it.

Extremely carefully, Katya placed her hand on Antonia's burnt cheek, seeing how her eyes shot to it in surprise. ''I hope you find your own piece of happiness, whether that is in a person, within yourself, or a place. You deserve it more than anyone.'' 

Tears occasionally fell down her cheeks, but her voice wasn't trembling, and she felt strangely comfortable talking to the woman. Like she had known her for years. The trauma they both went through connected them on a deeper level.

Slowly, Antonia's hand landed on Katya's leg. She was afraid to touch her, as if that would get her a beating. But she felt safe with her. ''Thank you, Katya.'' A tear slipped out of her bad eye, which Katya brushed away with the hand that already rested on that cheek. 

If her heart hadn't been broken yet, it did now. Antonia deserved the world. She had been robbed of her whole life, her childhood, freedom, happiness. Time for her to take control of her own life, make her own choices. 

Neither spoke about their relationship. They might be cousins, but they would never burden the other with that title. Because it was, a burden.

''Kat!'' Natasha's voice. 

Katya looked over her shoulder, breaking her peaceful bubble with Antonia, to see that whole dysfunctional family watching her. Alexei supported a wounded Melina, but Yelena didn't need any help standing on her own two legs. And, on top of it all, the teasing look was back on her face.

Her second family. And she was about to leave part of her 'official' one behind.

''Go,'' Antonia muttered, the corners of her mouth pulled up in a faint smile when Katya found her gaze again. ''It's okay.''

Katya smiled sadly, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against Antonia's. ''Good luck. I will think of you.'' For the rest of her life. Every single day. So she cherished this moment, the feeling of Antonia's presence, of her cheek under her hand. 

And she did the same, closing her eyes and just feeling. Something she hadn't been able to do. Feeling the wind on her skin. Feeling the rough fabric of Katya's suit under her hand. Feeling her breath on her face. Feeling.

Abruptly, Katya stood and turned, before she couldn't do it anymore, before she lost the nerve to walk away. 

With every step, she wanted to turn around, but it would be a stab in her chest. So she kept walking, wiping the tears off her face subtly, because she didn't want Alexei to see her cry. She straightened her shoulders and forced the happiness to take over. 

They completed the mission and came out the other end. Bruised and wounded, but they did. The Red Room would never see the light of day again. Dreykov was dead. Antonia was freed and hundreds of Widows were about to. So then why didn't it feel like a celebration?

~~~~~~~~

A/N: I hope you're all doing well :) Every week, I am amazed by all the compliments and love I get from you, and you have no idea how much that means to me. Have a great week, remember to keep breathing, and I'll see you on Friday for a new (I think more fun) chapter!