A scream resounded throughout the house. Natasha shot up from her place in bed, feeling cold chills running through her from the pure fear and torment in the voice.
She heard a firm thump against the wall, and Natasha immediately knew what was happening. She practically leapt from her bed and made a mad dash for Yelena's room. She tried to refrain from bursting through Yelena's door because she knew very well that Yelena always kept a pistol next to her bed.
Natasha carefully opened the door, and Yelena was immediately staring at her. Thankfully, she had no gun in her hand, but her chest was heaving and her eyes were wide and wild. Her hand was also locked around the bar of the headboard. Natasha immediately knew that the younger girl was in a terrible state.
Natasha very carefully took a step through the doorway, making sure she left the door open to try to keep the blonde from feeling quite so trapped. She also moved to the side of the doorway, ensuring that Yelena saw that there was a clear path to freedom. It was not that Natasha thought that the girl was going to run, but she also knew that Yelena was not entirely with it at the moment and that if she was viewing Natasha as a threat, she would need a way out to feel safe.
"Yelena, it's okay," Natasha told her, moving slowly. Yelena never took her eyes off of her, and Natasha knew that they were still very much in a danger zone.
"It's me, okay? It's Natashka," Natasha informed her, and she accidentally moved just a bit too quickly as she stepped forward. Yelena jumped and Natasha could see her starting to reach for the gun. Natasha shook her head quickly, shrinking back some.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay," Natasha quickly reassured, holding her hands out so Yelena could see them as she fully processed her surroundings. Yelena's eyes were locked onto her, and Natasha was a bit worried she still did not recognize her in the midst of her sheer terror.
"It's me. Natashka. Natashka," Natasha quietly told her, and Yelena suddenly had something that resembled tears in her eyes as she seemed to gain a better understanding of where she was. Yelena stared at her for a long moment and Natasha felt her heart squeeze with the way the girl was looking at her.
"Natashka?" Yelena weakly questioned, and Natasha could see the recognition in her eyes that was fading into that manner in which the blonde always looked at Natasha.
"Yes, little one, that's it," Natasha softly expressed, approaching the bed very slowly, heading for the empty space next to Yelena on the mattress. Yelena kept her eyes on her unwaveringly, and Natasha stopped once she was next to the bed. She kneeled down next to it, trying to look less intimidating and to perhaps calm Yelena down more.
"It's okay. It's okay… Can I get up here with you?" Natasha asked carefully.
A tear rolled down Yelena's cheek, and she was looking at Natasha with a certain desperation in her eyes that told her what she needed to know. Natasha took a deep breath before gradually starting to ease onto the bed, bringing up a knee and pulling herself up on it. She did not make any sudden movements since she did not want to set Yelena off or scare her.
Natasha soon settled next to her sister, and she glanced up at the hand that was firmly latched around the bar of the headboard. Natasha could see how tightly Yelena was clinging to it, and it hurt her heart just to look at it. She looked back down at Yelena and into her eyes. Yelena was eyeing her with adoration but also a considerable amount of fear.
"I'm going to reach up here and touch you. Is that okay?" Natasha questioned, wanting to avoid further upsetting Yelena at all costs. Yelena nodded softly, tears still pooling in her eyes. Natasha nodded in reply, moving a little closer so that she could reach Yelena's hand.
Natasha gently latched her hand around Yelena's fist. Natasha just held onto it gently yet firmly, keeping her eyes insistently locked onto Yelena's.
Yelena still had an air of panic in her eyes and Natasha knew how hard it was for her to truly let go of the bed. Locking a wrist to the bed had always been the way to secure themselves whether they had originally wanted it or not, and Natasha felt her heart breaking as she eyed the younger woman. Yelena was almost shaking at this point, and Natasha wanted more than anything to move in closer and just wrap herself around her little sister to protect her.
"It's okay, little one. What do you need?" Natasha asked quietly, giving the blonde an opportunity to control the situation. Yelena just stared at her for a long moment, the terror still flashing through her, and she shook her head, looking down before just barely glancing up in Natasha's direction.
"Love," Yelena murmured under her breath, and Natasha knew what that meant. The redhead carefully scooted nearer, her body pressed against the younger girl's with her hand still wrapped around Yelena's on the headboard. She brought her free hand around Yelena slowly and started threading her finger through Yelena's hair. She could see that Yelena was on the verge of tears, so she moved her head forward, kissing Yelena's face softly as she cradled the back of the blonde's head in her hand.
She gently pressed several kisses to Yelena's nose, cheeks, and forehead, just trying to give her what she seemed to so desperately need at this moment while also grounding the girl. Natasha then pulled Yelena's head closer against her, and she noted with some happiness and relief the way that Yelena pressed her nose to Natasha's throat, gently nuzzling her. It was a sign that she was coming back at least a little from the haunted world in which she had found herself submerged.
"Sometimes I worry if this is real," Yelena mumbled after a long moment of silence, and from the deliberate manner in which she spoke, Natasha could tell that it was a thought that plagued her greatly. Natasha nodded softly, humming an affirmation.
"It's real. You're here. I'm here," Natasha explained, trying to offer her reassurance for her concerns.
"You won't leave me alone," Yelena stated in a manner that was much more of a question than an actual statement. Natasha felt her heart ache with the words, and she nodded swiftly with no hesitation, just rubbing at the back of Yelena's neck and massaging the skin there.
"No. Never. You're mine, and I'm yours. I'll never let you go again unless you want it," Natasha told her quietly, and Yelena shook her head in an almost panicked manner, pushing herself even closer to Natasha.
"Don't… I never want you to go ever again," Yelena mumbled under her breath, her accent much richer and thicker than normal as she squished her face against Natasha as firmly as she could manage. She took in deep breaths, and Natasha knew that she was trying to calm herself. Natasha recognized the techniques from her own exercises.
"I know, I know, sweetie, I'm not going," Natasha murmured, and Yelena hesitantly reached her free arm around Natasha. As soon as she touched Natasha's back, she quickly started to dig her fingers in, dragging her closer. It did not feel wonderful, but Natasha held her tongue about her physical pain because she knew Yelena needed her. Especially since the blonde's breathing picked back up in pace as she almost frantically tried to get Natasha nearer. In response, Natasha just increased the pressure of her fingers on Yelena's neck, massaging it.
As she rubbed Yelena's neck, Natasha started to knead and work at Yelena's fist gently, trying to get her to let go of the bars of the headboard. As she worked, she nuzzled her nose in Yelena's hair, making sure to take deep and calming breaths in an attempt to get Yelena to match them.
After several agonizing moments, Yelena actually started to follow along, and Natasha noticed that as the girl's adrenaline went down, she started to shake in the redhead's grasp. Natasha just kept up her gentle ministrations.
Natasha very slowly and tentatively stopped rubbing Yelena's fist and grabbed at one of her fingers gently, trying to get her to let go. Yelena's grip tightened for a moment before she just barely released on the bar. Natasha worked her thumb between Yelena's palm and the bar and tugged gently.
Once a few moments passed, Yelena very slowly and hesitantly let go. Natasha folded her elbow a little so that the both of them could still comfortably hold hands.
"It sometimes feels like they're still there, you know?" Yelena mumbled under her breath, sounding more childlike than she had in quite some time, and Natasha felt her chest clench with the admission. She could not stand the thought of her baby sister still suffering.
So, Natasha moved her hand down to Yelena's wrist, running her thumb over it gently in the lightest of strokes as she tried to chase away the memory of the handcuffs from not so terribly long ago. Natasha tilted her head back and brought Yelena's arm down to her so that she could kiss her wrist softly. Yelena let out a soft sigh, and Natasha knew that the gesture helped her. She held her lips there for a bit longer before moving away and repositioning her head back down so that she could more fully encase Yelena.
After a moment, Yelena shifted, trying to get closer. Natasha knew that the girl was as close as she could get already, but it did not seem to be good enough for the blonde. Yelena kept trying to shift closer to her and hold onto her more tightly somehow.
"Can't get close enough," Yelena pitifully uttered in what was almost a whine, and Natasha moved her legs so that one of them was overlapping both of Yelena's. Yelena seemed to settle just a bit more comfortably after that, and Natasha let out a quiet breath of relief.
"You're with me," Natasha told her quietly in the most reassuring tone she could offer, and she could feel Yelena nod just barely against her.
"Can I stay with you?"
"Of course," Natasha murmured, her admission wholehearted despite her slight confusion at Yelena's words. Yelena was still a bit tense, and Natasha could sense that she had more to say.
"No… I mean… Kazhduyu noch'? Koshmary derzhatsya podal'she, kogda ty zdes'," Yelena asked, switching to their mother tongue as the words became too hard and too vulnerable for her to bear.
"Konechno," Natasha agreed, absolutely no hesitation in her voice. Yelena immediately loosened, and Natasha squeezed Yelena's wrist gently.
"You are probably going to regret agreeing to that," Yelena muttered, just a small bit of her usual sarcasm and humor in her voice. Natasha grinned a little, shaking her head.
"No. I won't."
A/N: "Kazhduyu noch'? Koshmary derzhatsya podal'she, kogda ty zdes'" means, "Every night? Nightmares stay away when you're here." This Russian stuff is hard, lol, and sometimes I have to write down what it was that I put in Google translate because I forget when I come back and reread through some of my stuff.
I hope y'all are having a wonderful day, and please do let me know what you thought! :)