Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts): Book 2

Safe and Sound: Part 3

Summary: In the aftermath of torturous disaster, Yelena is the only one that can pick up the pieces of what is left of Natasha's mind and bring her back to who she was before. Fortunately, Natasha is extremely receptive to her efforts and craves her baby sister's nearness and comfort.

   "I didn't know who else to call. You've had a lot more time than I have had with her... Has she ever done anything like this in the past?" Yelena questioned carefully, keeping her voice quiet as she kept a close watch on the door and pressed the phone nearer to her mouth so she could keep her voice as silent as possible.

Yelena had stayed in Natasha's room that evening until she had finally fallen asleep again, and as soon as she had been confident that she could slip away without the redhead realizing, Yelena had taken her opportunity. She needed to talk to someone about this that was not Tony Stark and that knew Natasha almost as well as she did. Someone who would understand and who might have some manner of answers about her big sister.

Which had brought her to calling Clint.

"Well... She's had her times of going quiet sometimes when things are really getting to her, but as for like totally going mute and refusing to speak at all... She's done that maybe once or twice but only when things have got to her pretty bad," Clint explained carefully, and Yelena could hear how perplexed he sounded.

Yelena let out a sigh, shaking her head as she made the decision to confide in him more fully. She had called him, after all, and she actually truly did like Clint quite a bit. He was one of the few people that she fully trusted with no questions asked. Granted, some of that trust was because of how much that Natasha cared about him and trusted him, but he had earned her trust on his own merit as well.

"But she doesn't do stuff like that with me. She always tells me what's going on at some point. I've been with her every second all day, and she hasn't spoken a word. Even when I told her I loved her tonight before she went to sleep," Yelena confessed, feeling uncomfortable about telling these things to him but ultimately deciding that she had to get some manner of answers if she possibly could. And Clint was the only person she was willing to talk to about this.

"I don't know, Yelena... Maybe you should just give her some time. It must have really, really shook her up," he told her, and Yelena let out a deep sigh, looking down at the floor directly below her where her feet were resting there on the rug next to her bed.

"I just... I want to do something, but I don't know what to do. She's acting normal outside of going mute, and I don't know what's holding her back," Yelena expressed, and Clint sighed deeply.

"Yeah... Well, are you guys interacting normally outside of the no talking?"

"Kind of. I mean," she trailed off as she realized that it had not really been normal interaction. They had not been touching at all outside of Natasha placing her hands on her or initiating something small. But she was not sure if she wanted to tell Clint. However, she knew that she might have to. She needed advice right now.

"Stark told me not to touch her so it wouldn't overwhelm her. The only touching that has happened has been her occasionally making contact with me. And she's weird about it. Just like... hesitant about it. Maybe she's overwhelmed with touching me," Yelena expressed, and Clint hummed in response.

"I don't know... On one hand I don't think she'd touch you if she was too overwhelmed, but on the other, she might be forcing herself to because she thinks it's what she's supposed to do. You're really not going to know unless you can somehow get it out of her," Clint told her, and Yelena nodded with a deep sigh, unhappiness settling deep within her.