Purposeful Intentions-Yelena Belova x Reader

Don't destroy each other

After some time Yelena's body went limp on top of you, and you fought to stay awake. The situation felt fragile, like if you moved too fast she'd be gone. So you didn't move, even when your neck started to hurt, or your leg went numb. If she stayed within arms reach, than you could keep her safe.

She had lived in your mind for so long as an idea, as someone that didn't necessarily exist. It was confusing. You held this image in your mind of a little girl that never aged, and you used that image to keep yourself alive. You rarely ever found out if your acts to save her had the desired effect, the only evidence was when her name would pop up again. But like you had told her, once you started you couldn't stop. You're mind continued to jump around until it couldn't anymore and sleep finally pulled you under.

Your neck was in knots, but Yelena's weight was settled firmly across your body so you didn't care. Her body stirred again and you realized that's why you'd woken up. She groaned as she pulled her legs around to stretch, and the sounded repeated in your head, so you hid your face in a stretch of your own.

Your heart picked up in your chest thinking about her leaving. Each time she did it had been for a longer stretch of time, and if you left first than she couldn't hurt you again. She moved across the room and you felt your mood soar. You couldn't keep a smile off of your face as she wordlessly worked herself under a blanket on the bed. You weren't sure she had ever fully woken up, and you bit back a laugh when she instantly let out a soft snore.

Climbing in next to her made you nervous. She'd always done that, but the proximity amplified it. You'd spent a lot of time together but rarely did you delve into long conversations, typically choosing to stay at surface level. So you didn't know what she wanted from you, and you had yet to figure out how to make her stay. Her body wrapped into yours as soon as you got under the blankets, and those fears went away. Without the awkward bend in your neck it didn't take long for you to fall back asleep.

You felt someone shake your shoulder, but it was too early, and you were so comfortable. You nuzzled your head deeper into the space, only to quickly discover it wasn't a pillow, it was Yelena's chest. She didn't leave. At some point during the night you flipped onto your stomach and tucked your head into the space over her shoulder. Your arm was dead weight across her stomach, and then you registered her hand in your hair. Her touch was soft, pulling her fingers up the back before running her nails down the same path. Before you could get anxious and pull away, you felt her body shake with laughter.

"Seriously, you can't truly be this hard to wake up. I'll go get some water, might quicken it up." Her threat didn't hold any weight, but you tightened your grip on her waist anyway. Her accent was thick with sleep again, and it was easily becoming your new favorite sound.

"I'm awake." Reluctantly you pulled your head up, and your eyes squeezed together. "Do you guys make it so bright in here on purpose?" Her hand tugged playfully at your roots as she teased, "No. I think you're just being a baby."

You feigned hurt by pulling your hand over your mouth and gasping, "Me? I could never." She laughed again and your chest exploded. You wanted to hear it over and over.

You felt the bed bounce under you when she threw her body back against the mattress. Her hair fell out in waves across the pillow, a rare glimpse without any braids, and you had the sudden urge to take a photo. To capture this image because no one would believe how elegant the deadly assassin looked, instead you ran your eyes over her form and kept the image all to yourself. She let out a long sigh that turned into a groan. "I don't wanna go up there and play pretend anymore."

You reached for her hand and started tracing patterns into her palm. "You're not playing pretend Yelena. You are a leader, through and through. You might not like it or want it, and rarely is it asked for, but you are. You are every bit of the strong, brave, powerful, smart woman that they all think you are." Her hand was relaxed in yours, but you had to cut her off when she opened her mouth to disagree with you. "The antidote doesn't magically make someone okay, and there's not a time limit on when you're expected to be 'better' again. Whatever better even means. Yelena, you had years stolen from you, very formative years. It's not easy, and it doesn't happen overnight."