She waits for his breathing to even out, carefully listening as Steve goes still. If she weren't a spy, if she weren't so accustomed to this work, she would have argued with him. Natasha doesn't want to keep him up for it as much as she's terrified of being relied on. Clint relied on her and look where that got him, but with Clint she knew he'd always get himself out of tight spots with or without her. Steve is another matter entirely. And while she feels Tony is infinitely more qualified to take care of him emotionally... well. She had compared herself to Tony Stark before, and the venn diagram overlapped in more places than she'd care to admit.
One of them was now person shaped, that's all. She pulls away from him enough to get comfortable once she's sure that her movement won't wake him, rolling onto her back though one hand remains around him. Impulsively, she takes his hand in hers and laces their fingers over her belly and surprisingly enough she follows him over the edge of sleep not too long after.
When she wakes, sun is creeping in through the blinds and everything seems much starker and realer than the night before. Her heart pounds but she knows how to stay perfectly still while her brain catches up to her senses. It's only Steve -- she's safe, she has to remind herself -- even while it's impossible not to be endeared to the way he's tucked himself against her side, chin slotted into her shoulder. Even in sleep, he thinks he's still 90 pounds. Natasha hopes he never loses that.
"I'm glad you're here with me." The words echo in her mind as he goes on sleeping peacefully. It feels like there's a fist around her heart even as she idly moves her free hand through the hair at the base of his neck. "I couldn't do this without you."
She sighs and softly utters the words she would never have spoken to him while they were both conscious. "Me, too." She'd come to need him just as much, a fact that was almost as terrifying as the opposite.
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One of them was now person shaped, that's all. She pulls away from him enough to get comfortable once she's sure that her movement won't wake him, rolling onto her back though one hand remains around him. Impulsively, she takes his hand in hers and laces their fingers over her belly and surprisingly enough she follows him over the edge of sleep not too long after.
When she wakes, sun is creeping in through the blinds and everything seems much starker and realer than the night before. Her heart pounds but she knows how to stay perfectly still while her brain catches up to her senses. It's only Steve -- she's safe, she has to remind herself -- even while it's impossible not to be endeared to the way he's tucked himself against her side, chin slotted into her shoulder. Even in sleep, he thinks he's still 90 pounds. Natasha hopes he never loses that.
"I'm glad you're here with me." The words echo in her mind as he goes on sleeping peacefully. It feels like there's a fist around her heart even as she idly moves her free hand through the hair at the base of his neck. "I couldn't do this without you."
She sighs and softly utters the words she would never have spoken to him while they were both conscious. "Me, too." She'd come to need him just as much, a fact that was almost as terrifying as the opposite.