Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts)

Heartbreaking Heat

Summary: When Natasha is having a bad day, she wants nothing more than to come home and cuddle with Yelena. However, it's a hot summer's day, and Natasha hears Yelena telling Fanny she doesn't want cuddles, so she knows she will be getting no relief anytime soon. But when Yelena finds out she's having a bad day, she rises to the occasion.

   "It is so hot... I think the air conditioner is broken," Yelena whined unhappily from where she was currently sprawled in the shape of a starfish in the floor as Natasha entered the house. Natasha just stared at her for a long moment, taking in the weirdness of the moment.

However, she finally just shut and locked the door behind her, looking down at her baby sister as she mustered all of her strength to maintain at least a façade of seeming remotely alright at the moment.

It was a hot day in the middle of the summer, and as soon as Natasha had woken up, she knew it was one of those days. It was those days where the trauma and stress got to her for no real conceivable reason, but nevertheless was bothering her. She had left early to go to a meeting that day, and the arguments between Steve and Tony had not made things any better for her. On her way home, all she had been able to think about was how much that she wanted to be home and just hold Yelena in her arms.

Fanny came over to Yelena, sniffing her face and trying to lick her cheek. Yelena groaned a little, halfheartedly pushing the dog's nose away from her gently.

"No, pup, not now... Too hot for cuddles," Yelena complained to the dog unhappily. Fanny then left Yelena alone in favor of coming over to Natasha. Natasha offered Fanny a small scratch to her head as she tried really hard not to let herself feel completely crushed at the fact that she herself was obviously not going to get any cuddles today either.

If Yelena was this hot and was not in a cuddling mood, Natasha definitely did not want to push her and make her cuddle with her against her will. Even if it was everything that Natasha wanted in that moment.

Yelena let out a deep sigh as she shifted in her position on the floor.

"Ugh... Even the floor is hot... I've wallowed up a warm spot," Yelena declared unhappily, her voice on the edge of a whine. Natasha allowed herself a very small chuckle since it was really all that she had the strength for at the moment. Of course, she knew that if she was going to keep Yelena from knowing that something was wrong, she was going to have to step up her game quickly.

"Wallowed up a warm spot?" Natasha questioned, forcing normalcy and some breeziness into her tone despite the fact that she definitely was not feeling it right then. Yelena let out a grunt as she started to raise up from the floor.

"Yeah. Like a pig. But like... A really fit, insanely good-looking pig," Yelena replied, and Natasha shook her head slowly from where she was unloading her things on the counter. She finally let out a deep breath, closing her eyes from where she had her back to the blonde. She had to pull herself together.

"Okay, Miss Piggy," Natasha replied to her simply, and Yelena just huffed in reply to her comment. Natasha smiled just barely, the mirth tugging at the corners of her lips as she finally turned to face Yelena. Yelena had dragged herself out of the floor, and she plopped herself down on the couch, throwing her head back as she spread out as much as she could.

"Ugh.... This is miserable... I wish we were in St. Petersburg right now," Yelena grumbled aloud, and Natasha huffed as she tentatively approached Yelena where she was sitting on the couch. She sat down not too far from her but left a considerable distance between them, knowing that Yelena was most certainly not in the mood for cuddles or close contact judging by how she had reacted to Fanny's closeness. Too bad that it was everything that Natasha wanted at the moment.