Widow Sisters and Friends (Restoring Our Broken Hearts)

Submerged in Fear

Summary: During her time in Ohio and throughout the Red Room, Yelena never learned how to swim and successfully developed a deep fear of masses of water. However, now that Yelena is free to live her life and do things, Natasha offers to help her baby sister learn this vital skill and in the process helps her overcome at least a little of her fear.

   "Romanoff, you're just scared of getting crushed by me and Underoos," Tony taunted with a smirk, and Natasha huffed as she relaxed in a nearby lawn chair not too far from the pool.

"You're going to really regret all of that smack-talk when you finally convince me to get in," Natasha replied, boredom in her voice but a definitive fondness in her tone as she kept her eyes closed and remained safe and covered under the umbrella near her seat.

The Avengers had all headed down to the pool for a well-deserved day of relaxation, and Tony had been doing his best to convince Natasha to get inside the pool so that he could try to dunk her underneath the water. Natasha had not really wanted to get into the pool because of the sunburns she would no doubt get, but now that he had been taunting her for so long, she was almost ready to go in and make him eat his words.

Steve, Peter, Tony, and Sam were all inside the pool while Clint was sitting not too far from Natasha, stretched out on a chair and appearing almost as if he were asleep. Natasha was just waiting on Yelena to come out of the compound so that she could go head-to-head with Peter and Tony in a game of chicken.

She was honestly starting to wonder what was taking her baby sister so long.

However, just as she had almost resolved to get up and go find the blonde, Yelena was approaching the pool area.

Natasha started to smile, but she quickly realized how Yelena was pointedly avoiding the pool's edge and refusing to even look in the direction of the water. She was dressed in a tank top and shorts with her feet bare, but she did not appear as if she wanted anything to do with the water itself.

"Ah! Here comes your partner in crime! If you don't get in now, Romanoff, you're definitely going to just look like you're scared of us," Tony egged her on, and Yelena barely glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Come on, Miss Belova! The water's awesome!" Peter called, and as Yelena shifted her gaze from his face to the water, she suddenly looked terribly nervous and she purposefully moved her eyes back to Natasha as she made her way over to her.

"No thanks, Peter Tingle. I'd rather not look like a drowned rat," Yelena commented with a ghost of the smirk and sarcasm she was typically known for.

Natasha gazed at her with some concern, and Yelena came over to sit down on Natasha. Natasha grunted slightly as Yelena just laid down on her, wiggling until Natasha spread her legs enough to let Yelena sit between them. Natasha furrowed her brow, and she moved her head forward so that her chin was resting on Yelena's shoulder.

"Rooskaya, why don't you want to get in the water?" Natasha questioned gently, and Yelena just shrugged, stiffening a little, and Natasha immediately understood that the girl obviously did not want to talk about it at that moment. Natasha nodded a little in silent understanding, reassuring her baby sister that she would not address it at the moment as she settled for simply stroking Yelena's back.

Yelena relaxed against her contentedly, letting out a deep sigh of happiness, and Natasha just remained quiet, allowing the girl to remain in her arms for as long as she needed to. Natasha did not fully understand the problem, but she was more than willing to let Yelena go about it at her own pace.

She just hoped that Yelena would be willing to share sooner rather than later.

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