There You'll Be[Joli, Natasha]

For the first time in a while, Natasha was wholeheartedly satisfied with everything in her life. There was no hospital to confine her. No white room to keep her tied down. In a word, she was elated. Exceedingly so. Adding to that, her household was additionally a pleasant place now. She reconciled with Natsumi, Eiji had a job, and she finally buried the hatchet with her old man.

All in all, everything was spectacular. There was, naturally, the eventual return to Africa on her mind, but she was confident that she would emerge victorious this time. She had a family to return to, after all. Home alone, for now, Natasha simply relaxed on a couch with a cookie in her mouth and controller in hand, running up a series of kills in a FPS.

"Now, I wonder who that could be..."

The comfiness her position afforded her on the couch made it difficult to rise from her couch, at least not initially so. With enough effort, though, she eventually rose to her feet.

In a straightforward beeline for the door, Natasha wondered who she might meet at the door. Had Eiji returned from his job early? A playful pout crossed her lips. Home alone time was rather nice.

Who dared to disturb her peace on this tranquil evening? The answer to her question the moment she opened the door left her relatively dumbfounded. Expecting a variety of faces, she was hardly prepared for the woman soaring in for a hug.

"Joli!?"

"Goodness gracious! Had I known ya' were gonna visit, I would've prepared a feast or somethin' before ya arrived."

It took a moment for Natasha to ease out of her dumbfounded stupor. There were several faces she supposed she might see, but not one of them was her younger sister. No matter what life threw her way, Joli always proved a reliable source of support. Holding the woman tightly for a moment before pulling away, Natasha closed the door with her foot, following behind the woman with a grin on her face.

"Oh yea? These are the perks that come with my new career. Glad ya like it. You don't look like you've lost a beat, either. Still as pretty and energetic as always."

"Did ya think the perks of this job came for free, hun?" She humored, a playful retort to cut into the tension of her question.

The sudden shift from one mode of conversation to another might well have been enough to send her spinning on the backfoot in the past, but she was mature enough to recognize her sister simply wanted to ensure she was in good health. Turning toward the kitchen to procure a few snacks for them to indulge in over the span of this conversation, Natasha tossed a bag of Joli's favorite chips in her direction.

"Come. I'll talk about most of this over some snacks. I'm mighty hungry, so don't be surprised if I take our conversation to kitchen while I cook somethin' up."

In a flash, she reappeared as she motioned for the woman to follow her to the couch, planting her feet upward in languid fashion. There was never an easy way to speak on a subject like this to any length. The best scenario she could hope for was that Joli didn't go stressin' herself out over the particulars of her elaboration.

"To skip past all the nitty gritty details, the Vandenreich's where all us Quincy folk' fight in the name of maintain' balance in the living realm."

Tossing a few honey barbeque-flavored chips into her mouth, she continued on, properly chewing most of her food to avoid talking with her mouthful.

"Naturally, since I'm a member of the division tasked with handling matters on the frontline, that means our job's to handle whatever threat rears its ugly ol' head. I ain't privy to the full details, much less why it ended up that way, but Africa's one step away from bein' wiped off the map, Jo. I went there to help fight the good fight and protect others, but I ended up bitin' off a bit more than I intended to chew."

"Oh my. Is this what they call role reversal? Am I the little sister now?" Natasha hummed through a playful flash of teeth. Finding little fault in the woman's argument, Natasha pondered a thought as she remained momentarily silent.

There were several reasons she could have presented as a response, but which one felt the most sincere, truly? By the end of her time in the US, things had grown decidedly sour between her and her father.

As such, she distanced herself from all of it. Yet, humorously enough, here she was, visited by another important piece of her family. Life truly had its odd penchant for irony. Talk about full circle... Sighing softly, Natasha finally spoke, turning her gaze in her sister's direction, a bright smile offered.

"Guess if I'm bein' sincere about it, I didn't quite know what to do after gettin' hurt. You know me, the fightin' soldier Nat. Can't take a loss until it bites me in the ass. And sweet mother of Christ, it sure did. I couldn't even make it back home. I was confined to a hospital for weeks. It was the worst. Outside of a young gentleman bringin' me home-cooked meals, I was livin' in somethin' close to purgatory."

She was, perhaps, being a touch overdramatic about the ordeal, but she wasn't entirely lying about it, either. It was a less-than-savory experience, in more ways than one. Outside of her visitors, it was certainly an event she wouldn't want to relive again. Stretching her legs out, she nudged her sister in the arm.

"Plus, I know you like the back of my god-given hand, Jo. Ya care a lot about people to the point of stressin' yourself out. I didn't want ya worryin' about me. Though, in hindsight, maybe that was a missed opportunity. Missed out on some fine grub, I reckon."

Chortling softly, she tossed the empty bag into a container. Maintaining that nudge against her arm, she grinned.

"If it's any consolation... I'm not in full-fledged battle condition. I'm simply spendin' the rest of my days here to get back into the swing of things. Since yer in the city, ya can spend as much time as ya want checkin' in on me. I'd love for ya to meet my new friends."