She must have been the one to pass out this time, because Katya didn't remember anything from the crash, or the tumbling, or the fact that they were now upside down inside a metro station.

It was awfully silent. The passengers inside the station had already let out their screams and gasps.

Blood rushed to Katya's head and she knew that even though they had crashed, the soldier would be back to check if they were actually dead. After all, he had seen them survive a car crash and a plummet into a river before.

She hissed when she placed one hand on the roof of the car - which was on the ground - to push herself into her seat so she could unlock her seatbelt.

The broken windows had thrown glass inside, which cut her palms open again. From the rustling in front of her, she gathered that the others were awake and climbing out as well.

As dizzy and disoriented as she was, Katya almost tipped over when she was free of the wreckage and got to her feet. But a hand shot out to stabilize her while she shook her head to try and get rid of the spinning world. This wasn't the time to feel this way, not being able to take a step.

Natasha also helped Yelena to her feet after making sure Katya wouldn't fall over. The blonde's arm dripped with blood and she went to tie a scarf around it. But Natasha stopped her, clearly a plan in the back of her head.

''No. Not now, trust me.'' She took her wrist and tugged her towards the escalators leading further into the station, glancing back every few seconds to make sure Katya followed. They needed to get away. And fast.

They slid down the tiled spaces between the escalators' handrails, which probably looked really funny to outsiders. Like they were sledding down a hill or something. It wasn't that innocent though.

Screams sounded behind them, which meant the soldier was close. Katya looked over her shoulder - a stupid idea - and saw how a shield got thrown their way. His shield. And it moved too fast to stay ahead of it. But the bottom of the escalator emerged fast.

Right before the weapon could cut their heads off - quite literally - their feet met solid ground again and the trio dropped down to their stomachs. The silver shield flew over their heads, getting stuck in a stone pillar ahead of them.

Katya's breathing was erratic from all the running and the adrenaline in her body, and her muscles hurt from the blow they got. Or multiple blows. But she still scrambled to her feet and ran after the others, in the direction of the platforms. They ran like their lives depended on it. Which it did.

Natasha gripped Yelena's wrist again, gave a tug on it so she was forced to bend down, and had her bloody hand touch a hatch on the floor. They weren't going that way though. No, it was to throw off the soldier. Because after that, the redhead took a right towards the edge of a platform and jumped up to flip one of the panels of an air vent open. Such a smart plan.

Quickly, she folded her hands and gestured for Yelena to set her foot in them, lifting her up and in to hide her blood. Next up was Katya, who didn't try and argue that her wife should go first. She disappeared into the stuffy space with a grunt, the muscles in her arms protesting against pushing herself in. 

But Natasha had it hardest. Nobody could give her a lift. So she had to jump to grab onto the edge and used all her strength to pull her whole body weight up and in, silently shutting the panel afterwards. 

All three of them held their breaths, watching through the tiny holes in the metal grid as the soldier fell into their trap. Well, Natasha's trap.

As their hearts thumped against their ribcages and groans and pants were swallowed, he loudly ripped the hatch off the floor and disappeared down there, not knowing the Russians were above him. And when he did, a breath of relief traveled through the vent. They had gotten away again. At least for a little while.

Katya let her body relax, stretching her legs out in front, her head falling back against the wall, ignoring how dirty it was. She allowed her eyes to close for just a bit while listening to the sounds around her. Her panting was quite loud in this small space, but she didn't mind. Not after the day they just had. 

She felt Natasha's eyes on her, sizing her up, making sure she was fine. Which she was, if she ignored her ribs and the stinging in her hands. It could have been so much worse. A broken leg, for example. What good would she be if she couldn't walk? 

Speaking of injuries. Yelena struggled to tie off her arm on Katya's left. Natasha was on her wife's right, like she formed some sort of barrier between them. It didn't feel nice, because the tension was awkward. Now that the drama flowed away, the conversation from before came back. What Yelena said before they were so rudely interrupted.

''You okay?''

Katya opened her eyes, despite knowing the words weren't meant for her. They weren't soft enough.

''Yeah. Great plan. I love the part where I almost bled to death.'' Yelena answered, sitting up and looking around. Of all the vents they could be hiding in, this one wasn't so bad. Katya could easily stretch her legs out and her head was far from touching the ceiling. ''This is cozy.''

''Barton and I spent two days hiding out up here,'' Natasha answered tonelessly, still watching the station through the grid underneath her feet.

Surprised, Katya looked at her, but she didn't look back. She knew about the Budapest mission, the general information. What had happened. Not a day-by-day logbook. So, like Yelena, this information was new to her.

Yelena hummed, letting her gaze travel over the walls. They were filled with games of hangman and Tic Tac Toe. It was quite adorable actually. Imagining Natasha and Clint here, giggling over the games. If you ignored the obvious reason why they were forced to stay hidden for days.

''That must have been fun.''

''Who the hell is that guy?'' Natasha asked her, changing the topic. Her gaze jumped through the station, scanning the platforms for any sign of the soldier. He must know by now that he got fooled yet again.

''Dreykov's special project,'' Yelena answered lazily, attracting two pairs of eyes.

Their past had been close to them since Norway, caught up to them right there. The soldier and Dreykov were indeed connected. The man had them on their radar. And that was the most awful feeling ever.

''He can mimic anyone he's ever seen. It's like fighting a mirror. Dreykov only deploys him for top-priority missions, so...'' So the vials were important. Top-priority. Check. It told them they wouldn't be given a break. That the soldier would keep coming after them until he had the vials.

Natasha shook her head, struggling to understand it. ''This doesn't make any sense.''

''Well, the truth rarely makes sense when you omit key details.'' Yelena's voice had a poisonous and accusing undertone that everybody could hear. 

Natasha narrowed her eyes at her. ''What is that supposed to mean?''

''You didn't say one word about Dreykov's daughter. You killed her.''

Katya's gaze flickered to Natasha, who did her very best to keep her face blank. In which she succeeded pretty well. ''I had to. I needed her to lead me to Dreykov.''

The look in Yelena's eyes changed from angry to sad. Because everyone in this vent knew what it was like to have to kill a child. And the girl didn't choose her father. 

''Dreykov's daughter was collateral damage. I needed her to be sure.'' Her voice was still strong, but it sounded more like she was convincing herself.

Katya desperately wanted to reach out and touch her, but it was awkward with Yelena here. And the blonde somehow kept being pissed. Even after it was obvious that Natasha would regret this until the day she died.

''And here you are, not so sure,'' she accused, ignoring the warning look Katya threw her. Who would guess that blowing a building wasn't enough to kill someone? Literally, nobody survived getting five stories of concrete on their heads. None of this was Natasha's fault.

She averted her eyes to the floor to hide her tears, clenching and unclenching her jaw to stay composed. ''I needed out.''

That was the last time she ever decided a moral dilemma in her own selfish favor. Even though it brought her all she had hoped for. Katya, for example. The woman who stared at her with a broken look in her eyes, wishing she could take some of her pain or guilt and carry it for her.

Yelena, too, watched her for a while. Concluding a lot of things by scanning her face. Apparently, she was satisfied or done with her, because her blue eyes found Katya's still figure next. She hadn't said a word since they climbed up here. 

''And you?''

Katya felt awfully exposed and wanted to pull her knees to her chest and wrap her arms around it. But she wasn't about to give Yelena that satisfaction. ''What about me?'' she shot back in that same hostile tone, holding eye contact despite not wanting it.

''Where were you?'' Yelena asked suspiciously. ''Because as far as I remember, you were suddenly gone one day.''

Forgetting her own worries, Natasha watched them with eagle eyes, prepared to step in if Yelena went too far with her questions and accusations. She didn't miss how Katya swallowed thickly and her voice slightly faltered when she answered the blonde.

''Dreykov sold me when I was fifteen, almost sixteen. HYDRA. Spent eight years there until I ran away. Two years on the run after that. Until Nat found me,'' she explained softly.

If possible, Yelena got more confused and didn't believe one shit of her story. ''Sell you? We didn't get sold. We either died or got killed.''

Katya shrugged, averting her eyes to her hands in her lap, trying to pull the glass pieces from her palms. ''You know as much as I do.'' But Yelena knew she wasn't telling her something. 

''No, I don't. Why would he sell you? As far as I remember, you were top of the class, right next to Natasha. You were always together. Sneaking around. Stealing glances.'' She caught them sharing a knowing look, which was enough to figure it out. ''Wait, that's it, isn't it? He needed to split you two.''

Katya reluctantly nodded, exhaling deeply to try and get rid of the anxiety that memory brought back. ''They caught us making out in a hallway.'' She wasn't sure if that was the best or worst thing to ever happen. Because it set everything in motion. 

''Oh,'' Yelena breathed, caught off guard. All the anger disappeard from her eyes, a bit of guilt replacing it, caused by assuming things. ''A lot suddenly makes sense. Why you were so bad after she disappeared.''

The words were meant for Natasha, who nodded faintly, a broken look in her eyes. She didn't like thinking back to that moment. When the girl she loved disappeared into thin air, like she had never existed. The only conclusion she could make back then, was that they had killed her.

Katya stared at her fiddling hands in her lap, letting the tense silence settle on her chest again. She expected that to be the end of the conversation. No, she wanted that to be the end of the conversation. But Yelena wasn't someone who shut up easily. 

''By the way, weren't you blonde?''

The corners of Katya's mouth twitched. ''Yeah.''

Finally, she allowed herself to pull her knees to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. The silence returned, but with Yelena's last comment, it was somehow less awkward. They all listened to the sounds of the station, winced when a metro stopped below with screeching brakes and kept an eye out for possible threats. 

Or, actually, Natasha did the latter, although her eyes were slightly glazed over while she repeated the conversation and everything that went with it. The Budapest mission. Dreykov. Maybe even her time in the Red Room. Katya did the same, staring at one spot on the wall across from her as she tried to process it all. 

Yelena checked her arm from time to time, making sure no more blood dripped down. It would need stitches preferably, but where would they get the supplies? 

Nothing between the woman on her left and her right screamed to Katya that they were once family. Sisters. That they spent three years acting as a normal family in a normal neighborhood. A mission Natasha barely spoke about. 

She said it wasn't real, that Yelena wasn't her sister. But for a child, three years is a big part of their childhood. It forms them. And behind both their emotional walls, Katya knew they cared about each other, even if they didn't want to. 

''I think we're good.'' Natasha's voice felt awfully loud after such a long silence. Without waiting for a response, she pulled the panel by her feet open and dropped onto the platform below. A train had just left, so no passengers were around to see it.

Katya went next, landing not-so-gracefully after sitting still for a couple hours. Yelena struggled a bit because she had only one usable arm, but they were on their way quickly. Taking another way out than how they came in.

They walked out the center of the city, in the direction of the suburbs and the poorer neighborhoods. Natasha walked in front. She needed time to process everything she learned today, so Katya gave her exactly that. This also meant the brunette was stuck with Yelena, who grew restless the further they walked. She didn't look like a very patient person.

In the middle of an empty sidewalk, she started messing with the scarf around her wounded arm, hissing when it loosened. ''It's too...'' she shrugged her backpack off as well and struggled to take her blazer off, ''hot.'' She was right, it was very warm.

''Can I help?'' Katya offered, seeing as her hands were full and her arm hurt. She had a feeling the two of them would click as soon as all this tension and anger was gone. On top of that, she didn't want Yelena to hate her. Both were important people in Natasha's life, and it would really suck if they were arguing all the time.

''Keep your bloody hands away from me,'' Yelena scowled, although her tone was too light to make it sound mean. ''This jacket was expensive.''

Katya turned back to the direction her feet were going. ''Sorry.'' Yelena was right though, her hands were covered in blood because of all the tiny cuts littering it.

''How are you not boiling to death?'' Yelena continued, neatly folding her jacket and hanging it over her bag, which she now wore like a shoulder bag. 

Katya shrugged, looking down at her clothing. A short sleeve with a leather jacket. The same outfit Natasha wore. ''After spending two months in the Brazilian rainforest, this is freezing.''

''You're weird,'' Yelena mumbled dryly, wrapping the scarf around her arm again and tightening it with her teeth on one end. Honestly, Katya could have helped her easily. 

''I get that more often,'' Katya laughed, the comment catching her off guard. It made her think back a couple days, when Natasha said the exact same thing. The sound attracted Yelena's attention, and she looked up from her arm, intently scanning Katya's face, like she was looking for something. The brunette sighed, her smile falling slightly. ''What now?''

Yelena didn't know what she expected, but Katya's general kindness and the way her eyes lit up when she smiled surprised her. Like she expected to get a cold shoulder or distrust. But Katya joked around with her easily, like they were old friends. And she suddenly understood why Natasha liked being around her. The warmth and kindness radiated off the woman next to her.

''I can see why she cares about you.''

Katya's smile disappeared, her eyebrows furrowing in concern. She was scared Yelena would feel left out or maybe even replaced. Because that wasn't the case at all. ''She cares about you too.''

But the blonde's double ponytail swinged left and right when she shook her head, her eyes turning cold. ''Don't lie to me.'' Her voice was fragile and she sped up her steps, trying to catch up with Natasha who got further away because of their talking.

''Yelena,'' Katya tried, but she was already gone. She sighed and wanted to run a hand over her face before she realized in time that that was a bad idea. Yelena didn't sound or look jealous. That wasn't the problem here. She believed Natasha didn't care about her anymore, and that those three years didn't mean anything.

However, anyone who could read Natasha as well as Katya could, knew that couldn't be further from the truth.

~~~~~~~~

A/N: I'm back! Really enjoyed my break. I feel a lot better mentally. Had my second Covid shot yesterday and feel good for now :) So a new chapter will be up Monday as usual!