Under a read more for length and sadness. Thunderbolts related. Warning for character death
Alexei has custom West Chesapeake Thunderbolts shirts made for the team. He does it because he's really proud of Yelena and the whole name thing is getting out of hand with the New Avengerz vs the Avengers. At one point, Bucky says, "let's just go by Thunderbolts. That's what we already chose, right?" And it sparks Alexei to get the shirts.
John thinks it's stupid and doesn't wear his. Yelena and Ava wear theirs for bed. Bob is just happy to have a new shirt and wears it whenever.
Bucky, however, decides to play along. He starts wearing his to team meetings. Right alongside Alexei. He'll wear it out to the store, especially when Yelena is there. People ask, he'll go off on tangents about how his "little sister" and her team are so amazing. Alexei will get into it, too (though his reasoning is proud dad while Bucky's is being a shit to Yelena because he genuinely sees her as a sister).
It gets to the point where Yelena refuses to go anywhere with Bucky unless he promises not to wear the shirt. And that works, for a while. Then, he shows up to something wearing it with the simple shrug excuse of, "it's laundry day."
He doesn't gush. Doesn't make any comments. When people ask, he just says, "yeah, my sister's old team," and carries on.
To the point Yelena actually gets a little nostalgic for when he used to be a shit about it. She tells him, "Hey, it's okay. I don't really mind the shirt. It's... cute?"
And Bucky starts wearing it more, casts little sideways looks at her when someone asks. He makes comments about his little sister and being proud of her.
"Even after all these years, she's still doing her best to help the world."
Yelena overhears that one and has to stop what she's doing. She excuses herself to the bathroom to cry, because she realizes that he's never been teasing her. Not really.
Bucky has always been proud of his "little sister" Yelena. Since the first mission when she walked right into the Void without a thought about her own safety. Only caring about helping Bob and the rest of New York. Bucky has been proud of the whole team, but especially Yelena.
And then... Doomsday. Bucky is fighting along with everyone, but he miscalculates. He gets hit and doesn't make it. And everyone on the team is distraught. But Yelena is wrecked.
She's just lost one of her biggest comforts and supporters in this world. She has to reconcile with a world that is missing her big brother.
At the funeral, the whole team is there. Yelena is there with Bucky's Thunderbolts shirt, just holding on for dear life.
And at the end, when she goes to the casket for her own final moments with him, she leaves the shirt in the casket, right on his chest.
"Thank you for believing in me, брат."
Yeah, I didn't mean for that to go sad, but... I love the big brother, little sister dynamic for these two and my mind ran away from me, lol
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