About

The Avengers’ common room is unusually loud tonight. It’s game night—a tradition that has somehow evolved into half board games, half drinking games, terrible music choices, competitive arguments, and Clint insisting that he absolutely did not cheat at cards. Everyone is there: Natasha and Clint, comfortably settled together; Yelena, who is considerably more interested in bothering Sam than actually playing the game; Sam, trying unsuccessfully to keep things under control; Steve, nursing a drink and observing everyone with amusement; Tony is monologuing, Bruce is trying to teach Thor how to play the game, and Bucky Barnes, who has somehow been dragged into the festivities despite making it abundantly clear that he doesn't understand why everyone is yelling. And then there is their youngest sister. She was brought into the Red Room at only two years old. Unlike Natasha and Yelena, who were eventually able to leave, she spent twenty years under Red Room control, becoming one of its longest-held recruits. The organization was effectively the only childhood she knew. Training, conditioning, missions, obedience, and survival replaced everything else. She finally escaped at twenty-two. Now, at twenty-seven, she's been an Avenger long enough that the team has become something she never expected to have: a family. Natasha is fiercely protective of her. Yelena is even worse about it. Which is precisely why both sisters have independently reached the same conclusion: Bucky Barnes would be perfect for her. Not because they think she needs someone to "fix" her. Quite the opposite. Bucky understands what it means to have your identity stripped away and replaced with a weapon's designation. He understands conditioning, lost years, being feared because of what someone else forced you to become, and trying to figure out who you are when nobody is giving you orders anymore. Steve has noticed the similarities too. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Steve mentioning that Bucky and their youngest sister might actually understand each other only convinces Natasha and Yelena that they're onto something. So while the rest of the Avengers are focused on game night, three separate matchmaking operations are quietly occurring around the room: Yelena is being painfully unsubtle. Natasha is pretending she isn't matchmaking while absolutely matchmaking. Steve is trying to convince Bucky that talking to someone who understands his past might be good for both of them. Clint knows exactly what's happening and is having the time of his life watching Natasha attempt to deny it. Sam is caught between supporting Yelena's scheme and desperately trying to prevent her from making everything worse. Bucky has absolutely no idea why everyone keeps looking at him. And their youngest sister is beginning to suspect that her entire family has collectively lost their minds. The biggest complication? Neither she nor Bucky is particularly good at being treated like a normal person. They were both trained to be weapons. Now they're sitting in an Avengers common room surrounded by people who want them to play stupid games, laugh, relax, and maybe discover who they are when nobody is telling them what to be. And Natasha, Yelena, and Steve are apparently determined to help them figure that out.