Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts)

I've Got You

Natasha offered an imperceptible shake of her head, and Yelena knew that she must really be on the verge of breaking down if she was actually admitting to not being completely fine. Yelena nodded.

"Alright, come on. Let's go to our room," Yelena gently offered, but there was no room for discussion in her tone. She could feel Alexei's need to say something, and Yelena turned quickly as she walked behind Natasha. She gave him a warning glance, shaking her head in an attempt to convey to him that he did not need to follow them.

Naturally, he somehow completely missed this cue, and he started forward, coming after the both of them. Yelena managed to catch sight of Natasha's stiffened form, her muscles tensing, and Yelena wasted no time in bracing herself between Natasha and Alexei.

"What is wrong? I didn't mean to—"

"I know, I know! Just... Let me handle this," Yelena expressed, her voice firm as she looked up at the tall man. She could see the concern in his eyes, but despite the fact that he meant well, she could not allow him to interfere with this situation and potentially make it worse than he already had.

Yelena then whispered words of affirmation to Natasha, and Natasha continued walking, her eyes straight ahead as they approached their bedroom. Yelena followed her inside wordlessly and shut the door behind them. She then proceeded to lock it, trying to keep Alexei from interrupting in case her last warning was not clear enough.

Natasha had stopped in the middle of the room and was standing stock still. Yelena then hesitantly approached her. She knew Natasha was exceedingly hesitant about touch at this point, but she also knew how much Natasha always wanted touch during her bad days.

Therefore, Yelena elected to move in front of Natasha and make sure that the redhead could see her and would be aware of any movements before Yelena attempted anything. Yelena stood before her, trying to catch her gaze. Natasha's fists were clenched, and Yelena could see that the older woman was a thousand miles away and on the barest cusps of falling into a full-blown episode.

"Natashka, let's sit down on the bed, okay?" Yelena spoke, and Natasha just barely glanced at her in acknowledgement of the words. She then very hesitantly moved over to the bed. Yelena had never really seen Natasha during a panic attack, and the only reason she recognized the signs was because she herself had experienced them.

Yelena followed the redhead, sitting down near her as Natasha moved to the middle of the bed, her legs crossed. Yelena watched her carefully, resisting the urge to touch her because she was not sure if Natasha was quite ready for it yet despite how she normally would have conducted herself.

"Natashka, look at me," Yelena spoke softly, and Natasha very slowly locked her eyes onto Yelena's. Yelena raised her hand where Natasha could see it and she experimentally reached out to Natasha. As soon as she had just barely made contact, Natasha flinched at the touch. Yelena quickly yet carefully withdrew her hand, and Natasha let out a low whine.

"Do you want me to touch you?" Yelena questioned, trying to understand what Natasha wanted from her. She was not sure if the redhead was in need of the contact or what the reasoning behind the odd sound was.

Natasha let out an odd whimper and Yelena reached out to her again, assuming that Natasha would push her away if she did not want her to touch her again. Yelena very hesitantly and carefully touched Natasha's cheek, and the dam suddenly broke as Natasha collapsed into tears, her body shaking.

Yelena felt fear overtake her for a moment, but she swiftly moved in to very carefully place her hands on Natasha and wrap her arms around her just barely. Natasha immediately clamped onto Yelena's body with a shocking force that Yelena did not know the redhead had in her at this point.