look after you × winterwidow & oc

II. you're grounded

Katya giggled at something Lexie Grey said in the third episode of Grey's Anatomy in a row they were watching. Natasha wasn't the biggest fan of that series, yet the girl was hooked and was rewatching all thirteen seasons for the second time. They were sitting by each other at the table covered by the remains of their dinner. Katya was glued to the screen and Romanoff used the time she spent sitting still to do her hair. She was about to finish the second Dutch braid as she tied its end with an elastic.

"Here, all done." Natasha passed the braid over the girl's shoulder. It was barely long enough to do so. Katya nodded and continued watching with a wide grin on her face.

Romanoff stood up and started collecting the trash from the table and moved it to the kitchen counter so she would remember to throw it away later. She left the letter from Laura nearby.

"You know, I got a letter from Laura." holding it up, she called out to Katya. "You can read it if you want."

She realized it could also be a good way of starting the subject of James. It was time to finally confess that she had found him and that he was waiting for them back in Wakanda, even if unconscious and temporarily back on ice for an indefinite amount of time as Princess Shuri was trying her best to find a way to get rid of his triggers. Natasha rearranged empty bottles on the counter and took a sip out of one of them when she noticed there was still something left. She furrowed her brows when the girl didn't react anyway.

"Do you want it?" she repeated. "Hey, I know Derek Shepherd is more interesting than me, but you could at least nod."

Grabbing the letter she turned and took a few steps she needed to return to the table. Only then she noticed that the girl's eyes rolled back and there was a trickle of blood coming from her nose. She was having a vision. Quickly forgetting the letter, Natasha sat down next to Katya and started to rub her shoulder, muttering reassuring phrases and reminding the girl of her presence.

Romanoff knew she couldn't hear her and that she wasn't in real danger. Aside from the nosebleeds and occasional headaches or tiredness directly after the episode, the visions never had any visible or long-term effects on Katya.

Yet based on the way it looked, it was instinctive for Natasha to try and offer her some comfort, especially not knowing how long it would last. Usually, it never lasted more than a few minutes, sometimes it took just a few seconds so no one noticed until Katya informed someone about it, and the ones so severe like the one witnessed by the Avengers last year happened less often than once a few months, and hadn't happened again ever since.

Natasha pulled her closer, so the girl's head rested on her chest and embraced her. She was a bit stiff, so the hug wasn't exactly comfortable but it seemed right.

"Ya zdes', zvezdochka" Romanoff muttered against her hair when she felt the girl relax. "Ty v bezopasnosti."

She could feel Katya's thundering heart slow down and then return the hug with the limited movements she had because of Natasha holding her so close.

"Want to tell me what you saw?" she suggested.

Katya sighed, pulling away. "I'm not sure." she wiped the blood from underneath her nose. "An apartment. Similar to the one we first met Uncle Clint in."

"You mean in Budapest?" Romanoff asked, looking for confirmation while handing the girl some tissues so she could clean her fingers.

"I think so." she nodded. "And then some guy. He seemed familiar but I have no idea who that was."

Natasha wanted to suggest she could draw him, but at the same time, the lights went out, accompanied by a rumble of the generator outside. Making sure one more time that Katya was alright, more for her own reassurance rather than the girl's, Romanoff went outside to check it.