Chapter 16
Yelena wakes up because there is an extra person in her bed. It takes a moment for her to realize that she’s holding onto MJ, curled up around her like they usually slept. But Natasha is behind her, one arm gently draped over her waist.
Yelena has fallen asleep with MJ and she had fallen asleep with Natasha but never at the same time before.
She was sandwiched between them and with any other people she would feel trapped but all she feels is safe.
Yelena takes a deep breath, shifting slightly so that MJ’s elbow wasn’t pressed into her gut.
It’s quiet in the room other than the sound of soft breathing. Yelena takes a moment to watch MJ sleep, observing the way that her chest rises and falls with the reassurance that her closest friend was alive. She twists her head slightly to look at her sleeping sister who must have been exhausted enough to not wake up with Yelena’s squirming.
Yelena twists until she’s laying on her back and faces the ceiling, thinking about the past few days and what the future held.
What if Wakanda couldn’t help her?
What if they just made everything worse?
Yelena sighs and sits up, whispering to the two that she was going to get some water just in case they were awake, before wiggling her way to the foot of the bed and out between them.
The kitchen is quiet despite the fact that the tower’s residents usually haunted the halls with their myriad of night terrors. Yelena fills a glass up with water and takes a few moments to savor the silence.
At least, until Steve enters the kitchen still in his pajamas. “Yelena!” He seemed relieved to see her, his face pinched with worry and concern.
“What’s wrong?” Yelena pushes herself off the counter and toward him.
“Bucky asked for you. I don’t know why. He insisted on you and I didn’t want to wake you up but Tony’s AI Friday said that you were in here--” Steve rambles slightly.
“Where is he?” Yelena interrupts with a small frown.
“The gym,” Steve said. “He wanted you to meet him there.”
Things click into place and Yelena nods. “Okay.”
“What’s going on? Why does he insist--” Steve starts to question as he follows after Yelena down toward the gym.
“This is between James and me,” Yelena tells him, stepping out into the gym and pulling the knife she had on her person to dump it on the mat.
James is pacing on the mats like a wild animal, his metal arm already set aside. His hair is sticking up and there’s a haunted look on his face. “Widow--” He breathes out when he sees her. “Please, I need--”
Yelena glances at Steve, looking between them with worry.
“I know,” Yelena nods her head at James. She shifts into position. “Don’t interrupt, Steve.” She comments before lunging at James.
James doesn’t hold back, his body tense with the remnants of a nightmare. His moves are sloppy and his breathing is choppy as he fights. He’s too caught up in his recent nightmare to fight clearly. Yelena fights back, not holding back either because it was taking a lot out of her.
Steve tries to butt in when Yelena has her legs wrapped around James’s neck and won’t let go when they’re on the ground.
“That’s enough!” Steve barks, hauling Yelena off by the back of her shirt.
“Don’t touch me!” Yelena slaps his hold off before looking down at James. “Do you need more?”
James shakes his head. “No… you did good.” He croaks, sitting up. “Thank you.”
“What was that?” Steve demanded from them, bewilderment and confusion on his face. “If you needed to spar then we could have.” He tells James.
James shakes his head. “You wouldn’t put up a fair fight. You’d be afraid to hit me or hurt me.” He counters. “She doesn’t hold back.”
“You two could have seriously injured each other,” Steve gestures to Yelena’s face and Yelena reaches up in surprise, blood on her fingers when she touches her lip and tastes the bitter tang of copper. She must’ve bitten her lip.
“I didn’t mean to draw blood…” James apologizes quietly.
“I know,” Yelena wipes her fingers on her pajama pants. “Don’t worry about it. I came out much better this time.”
“Fighting like this isn’t healthy, Buck,” Steve tells his friend.
“It’s what I need, Stevie. Yelena understands me in a way that you don’t,” James tells him unapologetically. “Thank you for getting her.”
Steve sighs but nods his head. “Of course.” He glances at Yelena and his posture softens. “Thank you for helping him.”
Yelena nods her head. “Yeah… he’s my friend?” She doesn’t mean for it to come out as a question but James doesn’t look mad at her. “I really should get back before anybody notices that I’m missing.”
“At least let me help you clean up a little,” Steve asked her. “Please.”
Yelena sighs but nods because she’s too tired to argue at the moment. She glances up at James as they follow behind Steve. “Your hair makes me want to cry.” She comments. James frowns, reaching up to touch his knotted hair that sticks up slightly from his twisting and turning. “Let me braid it. MJ said I make good princess braids.”
James lets out a huff of laughter and shrugs as Steve takes them back to his own bedroom. Yelena hesitates in the doorway because it takes a lot of trust to let someone in your bedroom. At least, it did to her.
Steve grabs some wipes and helps Yelena clean the blood off of her face. Yelena then twists toward James and raised an eyebrow at him and he holds out a comb for her.
Yelena untangles James’s hair carefully before weaving it into a braid and twisting it out of his face.
She glances at the clock and frowns. “I gotta get back to bed.” Before Natasha woke up and tore apart the tower to look for her.
“Thank you,” James murmurs to her. “I’m sorry for having to wake you.”
“I was already awake,” Yelena shrugs to him. “Goodnight, James. Steve.”
She leaves and heads back to her sister's room. She lets out a soft laugh when she entered. MJ was a cuddler when she slept and attached herself like a limpet to pillows, blankets, and people she slept with.
And with Yelena gone, MJ attached herself to Natasha.
Yelena crawls back into bed, wiggling her away between them, half laying on top of them. “Make room for me.”
Natasha pulls her closer, used to Yelena sleeping on top of her. MJ lets out a mumble and hooks her leg over Yelena’s and grips a piece of her shirt before falling back asleep.
Yelena lets out a small sigh of content, resting her head on Natasha’s shoulder and draping an arm over MJ’s waist.
“You were gone for a bit,” Natasha murmurs and Yelena jumps slightly at the sudden voice. Natasha’s hand strokes Yelena’s back, coaxing her to calm down. “Where did you go?”
“Went to get water but James had a nightmare,” Yelena twists her head to look up at Natasha. “Is this okay? Sharing a bed with MJ?”
“I trust her to look out for you. That’s enough for me,” Natasha said. “She’s your friend and she’s important to you.”
Yelena lets out a small sigh and nuzzled her head into Natasha’s shoulder. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
Natasha kissed her forehead and Yelena melts against the two. She trusted these two people more than anything in the world.