A gentle breeze blew outside as Natasha lay in her cold empty bed staring out the window seeing only the surrounding trees of the Avengers Compound. James had been sent on a mission with Steve four days prior and the distance was hurting her. She had barely slept since he had left, the bed was too cold without his warm presence, the whole compound was too quiet, and the nightmares were not held at bay without him there. She couldn't wait for him to return and wrap his metal arm around her, it was his signature item and it grounded her. It was unique to only him and that brought a comfort to her nothing else ever could. While that was artificially part of his body, to her it was the main connection.
Back in the Red Room that metal arm was all she had to comfort her. She felt safe when it was wrapped around her.
It didn't help that she had started having to handcuff herself to her bed once more as she had been taught to do in the Red Room, when James was here he just held his metal arm around her wrist when she felt the old habit coming back to the surface. That was a lot more comfortable and didn't do any of the damage the cuff could do. It also left her less vulnerable to an attack.
She continued to stare out the window and slowly watched the sun rise on the horizon over the skyline of large trees.
She began to imagine that James was with her, in their bed, holding her tight asleep.
Eventually she got up and began her day going straight into a routine so she didn't have to think, and before she knew it, it was once again night.
She laid back down under her blankets on her cold and empty bed and stared out the window, she began to reach for her cuffs hidden in a compartment in her dresser drawer when she heard the door to their miniature apartment in the compound open, followed by their bedroom door opening to reveal the man she had been waiting for.
"I'm back, which means you don't need these Doll." He said with a small smile on his face as he walked over and took the cuffs from her hand and put them on the table across the room before quickly changing into a pair of sweatpants leaving his chest bare and revealing the scars that adorned his shoulder area where the signature metal arm was attached. Luckily, he had showered on the jet ride back, so he could instantly come back and curl up with his Natalia, knowing that she hadn't slept much as he hadn't' either, they each kept the others nightmares at bay and the fact she was already grabbing her cuffs meant this was not the first day she had been using them. When one was without the other they both suffered.
He slid under the blankets next to her and she was instantly engulfed in his scent of winter woods, and pine cones. He pulled her close with his metal arm before taking her wrist and pulling it close to her chest where he wrapped his hand gently around it.
The warmth of the bed instantly returned with his presence and she laid down to sleep.
Short but sweet