You couldn’t remember when the jokes started feeling different. Maybe they were always the same — light, teasing, “family humor.” But recently… something twisted inside you every time.

Valentina would smirk about you “never missing a meal.” Red Guardian would pat your shoulder too hard and go, “Strong girl! Built like me!” Bucky would nudge your plate with a grin and say, “Finish it, come on, you always do.”

And Yelena — your closest friend — would laugh along.

None of them meant anything by it. You knew that. So you laughed too.

At first your laugh sounded real. Then practiced. Then silent.

Now you barely smiled.

⸻

EATING LESS

It wasn’t on purpose. Not really. It just happened.

Something small for breakfast. Picking at lunch. Skipping dinner because you were “tired.”

Nobody noticed.

Or if they did, they assumed you weren’t hungry. Mission nerves. Bad mood.

Anything but the truth.

Your stomach hurt sometimes. Your head felt light. But the worst part was how empty you felt emotionally — like someone scooped confidence out of you and left only this strange, heavy ache.

⸻

THE COMMON ROOM

You were curled on the couch, pretending to read. Yelena walked in eating pretzels straight from a bag.

She offered some to you automatically.

“No thanks,” you said, soft.

She blinked. “You love these.”

“Not tonight.”

She shrugged and flopped down beside you, knees touching yours. “Suit yourself, detka.”

Another tiny pinch in your chest. You swallowed it down.

⸻

LATER — THE KITCHEN

You made tea because tea was safe. Warm. Not food.

Yelena walked in again, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed.

“Okay,” she said, eyes narrowing. “What is going on with you?”

Your throat tightened. “Nothing.”

“Do not lie to me,” she said quietly. “You barely ate today. Or yesterday. Or the day before.”

You froze. She noticed?

“You’re imagining—”

“No.” Her voice softened. “I am not.”

Silence stretched between you, thick and painful.

Yelena stepped closer, her tone gentle in a way she rarely showed anyone else.

“Is it… us?” she asked slowly. “The team? Something we said?”

Your breath caught. There it was. The question that broke you.