Moonlight Nocturne

"....Elena. Miri is a child. So are you. That's a fact. Yes, you'll be a teenager, soon, but... you're still very young." Her expression is serious as she reaches over to squeeze her shoulder. "Which means you have to be even more careful."

 

Elena sniffles miserably. "I can't just do nothing! I'm not... I'm not a kid. I'm old enough."

 

"...no, Elena. You aren't old enough." Natasha refills Elena's juice. "But I... it doesn't take a genius to know that won't stop you."

Natasha's voice is dead serious.. "It never stopped Nick, either, when he used to try and sneak out after us so he could help. He... he's still a kid, too, honestly. Legally, he's grown up. That doesn't make me worry less."

 

"... I won't go out alone. Unless I really, really have to."

Elena shifts uncomfortably. She doesn't like the idea of making Natasha worry, like she worried when Peter went out. Like she's worried now.

"I can... follow orders," she offers, uncertainly. "... so you don't have to worry so much. I'll do what you tell me when we're hunting. As long as you don't lie to me about what's going on."

 

"Let someone know when you go out and where you're going. Full stop," she says quietly. "...we aren't telling your mother, but I need you to let us know. If you get hurt, out with us?"

Natasha pushes her plate away and gently puts a hand on Elena's, squeezing gently. "...we're responsible. Listen to us, and if we tell you that you need to hide, you do it. I." She goes quiet, studying Elena, then decides that, yes, certain words need to be said.

"....I don't want to have to tell your mother that she's lost you, too. Even with everything else going on, you have one very, very, very important job: staying alive so you can go home to your mother at the end of the day. She needs you, just like you need her. We're going to protect you as well as we can, but there may be times things get bad. Very bad."

She tightens her hold on Elena's hands. "...and before you charge in to try and help any of us, you need to remember your mother, and decide if what you're about to do is worth the risk of her little girl never coming home to her."

 

Elena is definitely starting to cry, but not pulling away. "... ... okay," she mumbles, very quietly. "But what if... what if you get hurt? What if you're going to die? Like when the vampire had Nick and he was gonna try to eat him?"

She tries to stifle a sob, looking down at their hands. "... try not to get hurt? Please? I don't... I don't want to lose more people."

 

"...then you need to think really hard. You made the right choice, helping Nick, but if it's more likely that you'll end up hurt along with us, and die? You put yourself first. We're.... very sturdy. I've lived through things that should kill me. So has Nick." She squeezes Elena's hands. "...I've. I got sick, and wasn't quite me, for awhile. I went back to being human, like I used to be, and it was terrifying. I was horrified by how easy it would have been for me to die. I'm still scared, sometimes."

She gently brushes away one of Elena's tears. "...it's okay to worry, and it's okay to be afraid. We do our best to make sure everyone gets out alive and safe. We get hurt. Sometimes we have to, in order to help. But..."

She quietly pulls her free hand to her mouth, biting down hard on one of her fingers, until a trickle of red slips past her lips, then holds the injured digit out for inspection as it starts to knit the bite back together. "...the risk is a lot less, when you heal like this."

"But yes, I promise. We'll do our best. We stick together." She smiles. "The best thing about traveling in packs is that you have friends to back you up. It's safer. Not perfect, but... it's far better than going alone."

 

Elena tries to smile back, lips quivering. "... I hate going alone. It sucks."

She watches Natasha's finger heal, eyes fixed on the dripping blood. "... do you think I can be like you, someday? I'm... I'm tired of being... the kid everybody has to watch out for."

She hesitates, still watching Natasha's finger. "... does that mean I'm part of your pack?"

 

"I'm not sure about being quite like me, but you might be able to be like Gabriel," she smiles, warm and affectionate, voice going soft. "He can give people a run for their money, even wolves."

She wipes the blood off the closing cut. "...and yeah. You are. Didn't you guess that already?"

 

Elena lunges in to bear-hug Natasha, clinging to her. "... he's pretty awesome. He knows a lot about knives."

"... I thought maybe you just felt... like you had to babysit. Like when Mom makes Peter take me places."

 

Natasha hugs her back warmly. "Yes. He is very, very awesome."

"And no, Nick gets to babysit," she gently taps Elena's nose, voice teasing. "He volunteered. I'm management."

 

Elena giggles, still clearly a little shaky. "So I have to bug him if I want to eat ice cream before dinner?"

 

"No, no, ask Gabriel, Nick will always say yes."

 

"That's why he's the best babysitter!" Snickering.

"Um... are you really allergic to silver, or is that just Nick?"

 

"If you try to hurt us with it. Yes. But I can hold silver."

 

"... it does... heal, right?" She reddens, looking down. Oops. Because if Nick heals that fast it really... should have gotten better really fast...

 

"It hurts a lot and can take a long time to heal."

 

"... oh." Swallowing. "Um. I'll keep him away from the silverware from now on."

 

She laughs quietly. "You didn't know any better. It's fine.'

 

"... also sorry for stabbing him that one time," she mumbles. Um. Poor Nick.

"... is there a word for when you're giant and muscley and have a lot of teeth?"