Amazed

Chapter 48: Come together again

After their realization, Wanda was finally able to coax Y/N to stand and follow her to their physical forms where the team was waiting. As they looked around, they saw Yelena standing at the foot of their bed looking down at them.

"How has she been?" Y/N asked as they swallowed hard. Yelena looked so tired and out of it, which worried them.

"I can't lie to you," She started, "she's been a wreck since you went under the brainwashing, but it definitely got worse once you got here."

Y/N shook their head, trying to not focus on that because they knew they'd return to her soon. They'd fix it and hold her tighter than they ever had.

"Y/N?" Wanda asked just before they were to re-enter their physical forms.

They looked over to see what she needed, "When we go back, you need to fight for her, nonstop. Understand?"

It was shocking to hear Wanda say this, but they also had to remember that the two were now released of their forced romantic feelings. Still, they wondered what Wanda could mean by this.

"Why do you say that?" Y/N asked.

She smiled as she rested her hand on their shoulder, "I don't want to tell you what I saw... because I don't want to spoil it for you or her, but just know that she's it. She always has been... And she always will be."

Their heart sank a bit hearing Wanda tell them this, but in a comforting way. They looked back up to Yelena, admiring the beautiful face that had made them feel as though the world wasn't such a bad place. Appreciating the person who stood in front of them and helped dig them out of the painful memories that plagued their brain. And now, they were wondering what Wanda had seen to make her know that Yelena was it for them.

"Thank you," Y/N responded as they smiled, "I promise I will always fight for her."

They smiled at each other one last time before stepping back into their physical forms. 

What felt like ten minutes to Wanda ended up being nearly five seconds to the team back in the room. Wanda opened her eyes from her focus while Y/N's eyes finally gained life and lifted to look at the team.

Stephen looked down at Wanda proudly as most of the team jumped over to pull Y/N into a mountain of hugs. Yelena waited patiently behind knowing that the hug that was coming her way would be one of a lifetime.

They all laughed and smiled as they basked in the fact that Y/N was finally back, away from their brainwashing and back from the astral dimension.

"It's about damn time!" Steve said as he nudged their shoulder.

"Yeah! You little asshole! We were so worried about you!" Nat said as she leaned into Steve who had his arm wrapped around her.

Y/N caught this and glanced down with a devious grin that was quickly met with a smack on their leg from Nat.

"You just got back and you're already stirring trouble?!" She said through a laugh.

After the team finally settled from their hugs, Y/N made eye contact with Yelena who stood at the foot of their bed. The smiles that grew on both of their faces said more than enough.

"Can you give us the room?" They asked the team.

They all smiled and happily obliged as they left. Before Wanda and Stephen could leave though, Y/N grabbed both of their wrists quickly, "Thank you both so much. I could never repay you, but just know that I am incredibly grateful for what you did."

The two smiled at each other and then at Y/N, "Anything for you," Wanda replied before heading out the door alongside Stephen.

Finally, Yelena and Y/N were alone. Alive and alone, with a silence between them that spoke more than anyone could possibly understand.

"Are you gonna get your ass over here and hug me or am I going to have to get up and do it myself?" Y/N asked as their smile grew ever larger.

Without question, Yelena ran over and jumped on them, wrapping her arms tightly around their neck. Y/N folded their arms around her and pulled her in as close as they could get her while they rested their head on hers.

They laid there for a minute without speaking. The feeling between them was enough, but Y/N knew they had to talk to her about what had happened.

When they tried to pull back, Yelena tightened her grip around their neck, "I'm not done, please don't let go," She said as her voice cracked.

Y/N smiled before placing a kiss on the top of her head, "I just wanted to talk to you," They responded.

"Talk like this then," She answered.

The stubbornness ensued as always, but they were never as grateful to experience her hard-headed nature as they were in this very moment.

"Okay," They started as they laughed, "For one, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of this."

Finally, Yelena lifted a bit so that she could meet their eyes, "What are you sorry for? You couldn't help any of this, Y/N. It was all HYDRA. None of this was your fault."

If only they could genuinely feel that way, but they couldn't, "It doesn't change the fact that I can see the fear in Nat's face when I held her up on a wall by her throat."

She pulled them in close again, "Stop. We can talk about all of this later. We can work through it together. Don't be sorry. No one blames you."

Somehow, Yelena always knew how to calm them down. The memories of what they'd done still stung, but they believed her. They wanted to believe what she thought.

"And I wanted to talk to you as well..." She started again with her head still laid on their shoulder.

Y/N leaned their head over so that they could look down at her now, wondering what was running through that pretty little blonde head of hers, "Lay it on me."

Yelena sat up at this point, grabbing their hand in hers and making sure that she looked directly into their eyes, "When I thought I'd lost you, when I thought you were gone, nothing in the world hurt worse than that."

They tightened their grip on her hands as she continued, "And I thought that we'd lost our chance before we ever got a real one," She began getting choked up but was determined to finish her statement, "and I don't know what I would've done knowing that you left like that. That I lost you without ever being able to love you properly."

Her profession reminded Y/N of what Wanda had made them promise her just moments ago, propelling them to interrupt, "May I?" They asked which she responded back silently with a nod.

"Yelena, since I stepped foot on this compound, you have made my life better, brighter. The burdens I carried on my shoulders felt lighter being with you. Absolutely nothing in this world compares to the feeling I get when you're in my presence. What we have is special, you know, it's once in a lifetime," They said.

It's time to fight, they thought, and keep my promise.

"and I'm in love with you, Yelena. You are the one that I am destined to be with and I know that. We were made for each other and I would fight every day for the rest of my life to make sure that you knew how much I loved you," They said just before taking a deep breath, "and I know that I said I could be your friend, and I can do that if you absolutely need me to, but I don't want to, not even slightly. I want you, all of you, all the time, forever."

That was all she needed to hear, "I'm all yours, forever," She proclaimed as she pushed forward, crashing her lips against theirs and wrapping her arms tightly around their neck. The two fell deep into the passion of their kiss, treasuring every second that they were finally connected again.