#implied sentryagent

“What do you need?” asked Yelena, even though she knew what he would say.

“I— I— I need— I—” He needed oxygen. He needed stability. Bob choked back a sob, breaths turning wheezy from the intensity of his panic attack. “John. I want— I want John.”

The fact that Bob the Sentry wanted someone to protect him was ironic but completely expected. When he had a bad panic attack, the fastest way to calm him down was to wrap him in John’s arms. Yelena could talk him down, but it always took her longer. Not because Bob loved her less but because she physically couldn’t provide the intense, deep pressure super soldier hugs that John did. Yelena considered asking Bucky to try but feared it would somehow make things worse.

Before Yelena could decide on her next move, a bright light sparked to life somewhere across the room, allowing her to see Bob. The light reflected off the tear tracks on his cheeks, his chest rising and falling in jagged bursts as he turned his face into the back of the couch, muttering something to himself that Yelena couldn’t make out.

“Here.” Ava knelt beside Yelena and handed her a candle, bringing light to the room that was far less intense than Bucky’s flashlight. “Is there anything I can…?”

Yelena shook her head. “His weighted blanket, maybe. He wants Walker.”

“I’ll get it.”

She stood up and disappeared into the emergency stairwell, leaving Yelena alone with Bob and Bucky. Bucky was focused on switching the batteries in a few more flashlights so Yelena kept her own attention on Bob, hoping that she would be able to do something to help him. She set her hand on his knee and he flinched but didn’t pull away. That was always the safest place to initiate contact.

“Hey.” Bob looked up with red eyes, another tear streaking down his cheek as he turned away from Yelena. He was fully curled in on himself, his knees as high as his chest and his head curling toward them. “I want to help you, but I need you to tell me what’s scaring you right now.”

“It’s the Void,” whispered Bob, head turning into the back of the couch again, muffling his scratchy words. “The Void is here. The Void—”

“Where is the Void?” When Bob pointed, he pointed in the direction of Bucky. The flashlight. It was small and white and probably easy for Bob’s mind to distort. Yelena lifted herself up on her knees and gestured to Bucky. “Turn that off. It’s scaring him more.”

“Shit, sorry,” said Bucky. The light clicked off immediately.

“What about the candles? Are the candles okay, Bob?”

Bob nodded but then made a strangled sound. “It’ll scare John. He doesn’t like fire. He doesn’t—”

“I know. It’s okay.” Yelena gave Bob’s knee a reassuring squeeze and glanced at the candle. She needed the light. She needed to be able to see him. “We’ll blow it out when he comes home, okay?”

“Okay.”

Thanks to her power of phasing, Ava was back far faster than Yelena expected. She held Bob’s dark blue, weighted blanket in her hands and gently unfolded it. For a second, it looked like she was just going to drape it over his shoulders. Then she stopped and knelt beside him.

“Do you want this blanket, Bob?” she asked gently. Bob glanced over his shoulder at her and nodded, twitching with every wheezing breath. Ava wrapped it around his shoulders slowly, ensuring the edges were tucked into Bob’s trembling hands before she slid back. “Is there anything else we can do for you?”

Bob was past the point of disconnection. He just needed to calm down. So, it didn’t surprise Yelena at all when he said, “I just want John.”

“You want his hug?” Bob nodded again, pushing away a tear with the back of his hand. Yelena glanced across the room again. “Could Bucky try to give you a deep hug? Would that be okay?”

“What about the Void?”

Yelena frowned as Bucky approached them, clearly having heard what was said. He sat between Ava and Yelena as the words finally clicked. Yelena inhaled deeply before she asked, “You’re afraid if he touches you, it’ll trigger the Void?”

“It was here,” said Bob. It wasn’t. Not the way it sometimes was. It was a hallucination but there were a lot of times when Bob couldn’t recognize that. “I don’t want to— I—”

“What if I only touch the blanket?” Bucky asked. “I won’t touch your body at all.”

It took a few seconds before Bob agreed. When he did, Bucky slid in front of him and wrapped his arms around Bob’s back, squeezing him tighter than what would have been comfortable for an average person.