The Thunderbolts quarters are louder than usual tonight.

Music is playing somewhere down the hall, Alexei or well Red Guardian is arguing with someone in the kitchen about food, and every few minutes something crashes followed by Yelena yelling:

“IF YOU BREAK ANOTHER PLATE, I SWEAR—”

You’re sitting at the big table in the common room, trying to act normal while your stomach twists itself apart.

Across the room, Bob is half asleep on the couch while Ava scrolls through her phone.

And Walker is somewhere nearby complaining about the Wi-Fi again. Normal night.

Except your heart is pounding so hard you can barely focus.

Yelena notices eventually.

Of course she does.

She walks over and drops into the chair beside you backwards, arms crossed over the backrest.

“You look like you are about to throw up,” she says.

You blink. “Wow. Thanks.”

“It was not insult.”

“It definitely sounded like one.”

She narrows her eyes slightly.

“You are nervous.”

You immediately look away. “No I’m not.”

“Mm.”

She leans closer.

“Liar.”

Your chest tightens.

You hate this feeling.

Not because of her specifically—but because you’ve done this before.

And it went badly.

Friends acting weird after.

People suddenly quieter around you.

Some distancing themselves completely like you’d changed into another person overnight.

You still remembered one girl awkwardly laughing before saying:

“Oh. I didn’t expect that from you.”

Like it was something wrong.

Something uncomfortable.

You swallow hard.

Yelena’s expression shifts slightly when you go quiet.

“…Hey,” she says, less teasing now.

“What happened?”

You stare down at your hands.

“Nothing.”

“That is not true.”

You let out a shaky breath.

“There’s just something I wanna tell you.”

Yelena waits.

No jokes this time.

No interrupting.

The noise in the room suddenly feels too far away.

Your throat feels tight.

“…I’m into girls...” The words come out quieter than you meant them to.

For a second, Yelena just stares at you.

And immediately your stomach drops.

There it is.

The silence.

You knew this part.

The waiting to see if someone looked at you differently now.

You look away before she can react.

Then—

“Is that why you look terrified?” Yelena asks.

You blink, looking back at her.

“…What?”

“I thought somebody died.”

You stare at her.

“What?”

“You looked like you were confessing crime.”

Despite yourself, a tiny laugh almost escapes you.

Almost.

But the fear’s still there.

Yelena notices immediately.

Her expression softens slightly.

“You thought I would care?”

You hesitate.

“…People did before.”

That gets her full attention.

“What people?”

“Friends,” you say quietly. “Some stopped talking to me after I told them.”

Yelena looks genuinely confused for a second.

“They stopped talking to you because you like girls?”

You nod once.

“That is stupid.”

A small breath leaves you. “Yeah.”

“No, genuinely stupid,” she continues, looking offended for you now.

“Why would I care about this?”

You shrug weakly. “I don’t know. I just thought maybe you’d see me differently too.”

Yelena stares at you for a second like the idea itself annoys her.

Then she reaches over and flicks your forehead lightly.

“Ow—what was that for?”

“For being dramatic.”

You look at her in disbelief.

“I was having emotional moment.”

“Yes, and you ruined it with overthinking.”

That finally gets a real laugh out of you.

Small.

But real.

Yelena’s expression softens when she hears it.

“You are still you,” she says more quietly now. “Nothing changed.”

Your chest loosens slightly at that. Around you, the quarters are still loud—Alexei yelling from the kitchen, Walker complaining somewhere in the hallway, Bob half asleep on the couch.

Normal.

And for the first time since sitting down, it finally starts to feel that way again.