As much as she’d prefer to forget her past, to never talk about it, Natasha knew he needed this. He needed to know that he wasn’t alone, that she understood what he was going through, not just because she thought she did but because she had lived it too. If he needed her too, if it would make it better for him, she would lay her soul bare for him. Only him.

She raised her head to look at him after his proclamation. She didn’t want him off the roster either, he was her partner and while they had their own missions at times when it came to working with others it was never the same without him. With anyone else it always felt off; they were always a second later than they should be, a fraction of an inch off the mark; worst of all they couldn’t read her like he did, the didn’t have the same way of silently communicating that made the two of them the best team the SHIELD had. She didn’t want to lose him as her partner, nor in any other capacity.

“I did,” she said, watching him. “It took time, a lot more than you ever saw, but I got past it and so will you. And I will be here with you, every step of the way.”