"I can't even imagine," Natasha answers, looping her arm back around his shoulders so she can rub her hand over his back again as she listens to him. There's something to be said for letting physical contact balance out the weight of a conversation. And she supposes they were always going to have a lot of heavy topics to get through. She doesn't mind. It feels like a miracle that they're able to talk about these things at all.

Her dawning realization reflects on her face when he carefully explains his worry. "Never. But I can see how it's all jumbled. Often the only time we got to be alone was during a mission or after a mission. And we often hurt people on those missions."