@vdova ; video

[waytodie]

[Her hair is in two messy twin braids. Her eyes are glassy. The sharp-eyed might notice she's probably, definitely drunk. The less-so might just assume she's overly tired. Her tongue presses into her cheek as she considers how to start this one, but in the end she just rips the bandaid off quickly: ]

So, tell me, how is it that you handle grief?

[She probably won't be elaborating on why she's asking, unless she has a certain level of familiarity with you, but you can try. People closest to her probably already know what this is really about: Her sister is gone. From Moorecroft. From Etraya. From the top side of the dirt. Gone and back to dead, and Yelena is spiraling.]

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[westcoasts]

( been there, done that — clint barton. )

Remember to put tylenol and water by your bed. ( a beat. ) Or sofa.

[waytodie]

[She smirks a little and can't help the slight roll of her eyes and the sarcastic– ]

Thanks, Dad.

[westcoasts]

( the way clint's expression shifts, immediately and entirely involuntarily at that suggests emotions of NGH (it's totally an emotion—) and NO THANK YOU. then, a moment after that— )

Look, it's not often I'm the adult in the room.

[waytodie]

[The look on his face says so much, and she can't help the laugh it causes. And damn, that kind of feels good right now, you know?]

You're doing pretty good at it right now, I think.

[westcoasts]

( it doesn't quite get a laugh, but it does get a grin, quick and relaxed. )

I want to take that as a compliment, but I think it says more about you than it does me.

[waytodie]

I think it means you're old.

[Ah, yes. This. Feels much better than being a sad sack of emotions.]

[westcoasts]

What? ( that, right there, the way clint's expression shifts from wide-eyed surprise to knitted eyebrows, sharp downwards curve of his mouth, is indignation. ) Who are you calling old?

( that is very fucking rude, thank you. )

We're, like, the same age.

( at a guess. )

[waytodie]

Do you even know how old I am? [Trick question: She doesn’t know how to count her age anymore, either, after The Snap.]

[westcoasts]

( a lingering pause because that is a trick question. no, he doesn't, and he's not going to say how old he thinks she looks because that's an invitation for trouble, so— )

You don't know how old I am either.

[waytodie]

[She squints, like she’s assessing him through the video now. But in the end she shrugs.]

Fair enough, but for the record I’d ping you at least thirty-four.

[How he has managed to completely derail her sad girl hours, she isn’t sure, but she is SO glad he has.]

[westcoasts]

( FUCK.

the careful, flat look he gives her says she's on the money. it lasts for a count of three, and then he looks to one side and waves his hand. )

Yeah, well, I ain't guessin' how old you are.

[waytodie]

Was I right? [She throws her head back in a laugh and goddamn it feels good to do that right now.] ohmygod that is so funny. I am very good at this, apparently.

Joke’s on you, I don’t even know how old I am anymore. I lost five years when half the world disappeared and I don’t know if I am supposed to count them or not since I did not actually live them.

[She hasn’t really talked about The Snap, but… this is an easier way to do it, maybe. Process by way of snark?]

[westcoasts]

I technically had my birthday here, so—. ( yeah. yeah.

she's right. )

If you didn't live it, you didn't age. At least, that's how I figure it.

[waytodie]

Happy belated old man day. [She grins.]

I like the way you think.

[westcoasts]

( he makes a noise, a grumbled 'pah!' at the (another) 'old man' comment that implies displeasure but it's clear he's not actually that bothered by it.

but even so— ) You keep calling me 'old man', and I'm gonna change my mind and reassign those missing years to you.

So how old are you?

[waytodie]

[She snorts a soft laugh. Oh, he has marked himself as SO fun to mess with. A mistake on his part he will probably live to regret.]

Thirty-three. [Which just makes her grin wider, because she's barely younger than him anyway, despite giving him hell about it.]

[westcoasts]

( it's two years, if he's honest. he hasn't clarified that 'thirty four' and 'thirty five' are not, actually, the same thing, but given it wasn't almost his birthday back home, he thinks he can get away with not actually being thirty five.

like a little birthday gift to himself. )

Ohhh, I get it. ( careful, pointed, deliberate. ) You're a hypocrite, is what you're saying.

[waytodie]

[The narration would like to point out: he gave her a technicality to run with, so HE should get to use one, TOO.

She lifts a hand and pinches her fingers close together.]

Little bit.

[westcoasts]

( clint barton loves technicalities, but only when he gets to benefit from them.

he hates them in every other instance. )

Ha. Knew it.

( or— takes one to know one.

but then, not to be a debbie downer—. his expression softens, takes on a touch more of a serious edge, and— )

Look, Yelena. Back home, you and I know each other. I might be the wrong Clint, or you might be the wrong Yelena, but I like to think that means something, y'know?

[waytodie]

[She grins, but it softens when his features do, too. She can feel that tonal shift, even over the video.]

You are not the first one to tell me you know me from another world. [She admits, tilting her head a little to one side.] Are we friends, you and the other-me?

[westcoasts]

I mean, you said you know me, so is it really a surprise? ( but whatever, that's not the broader point here. are they friends? is that the word he'd use for it? hard to say. ) We're not not friends, ( he admits. ) Mostly, you find me annoying.

And I broke into your house and ate your leftovers once.

[waytodie]

Iiii mean-- [Her face scrunches a little, hands teetering to the side.] trying to kill you is not exactly the same as knowing you...?

[Her jaw drops, dramatically.] RUDE!

[westcoasts]

They would've gone to waste! You were—. ( he gestures a weighing motion with a hand. it's not clear what it's supposed to mean, and his follow-up may or may not add clarity. ) Indisposed.

( tied up. )

You'd've given them to me if you'd remembered who I was.

[waytodie]

Indisposed? [She perks an eyebrow at that.] Is this code for kidnapped?

Would I? [She squints at him now.] I take my food very seriously.

[westcoasts]

Kiiinda?

( "taken hostage in your own home" is not a good answer to this question, clint is very aware. )

Bucky'd upset you.

( —better. also not a million miles from the truth, even if it's ... not exactly the truth. )

You weren't gonna eat them — and you've offered me food before as some kind of weird punishment not-punishment, like eating is supposed to be horrible for me or something.