blackwidowbite (blackwidowbite) wrote in avengers_logs, @ 2019-04-15 16:14:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | -complete, natasha romanoff, wanda maximoff |
Who: Nat and Wanda
What: Natasha and Wanda catch up and relax over some drinks
When: this past weekend
Rating: Green
Wanda had only just returned from Nepal and she was already put through the spin cycle in terms of emotions, not to mention definitely staying busy - also, despite how she didn’t usually turn to vices like alcohol when depressed, she was really in need of a drink. At a quaint little place, nothing too loud, too boisterous, or too teeming with drunk frat boys - no, she chose a martini lounge that was sinfully classy and passionately red on the interior. Fitting for someone with the moniker Scarlet Witch.
There was an open space for dancing, but at the moment she in her sleek and simple black dress chose to sit and sip on a cranberry martini - it was just the right amount of refreshing she needed, and a martini was a classic drink that could still be energized and done well, if they were made with all the right details. The place was also a former speakeasy so it had a sexy vibe to it - even if sexy was the last thing she was feeling right now.
She felt like she’d been sucker-punched by Thanos wearing that infinity gauntlet - the bad dreams she had of him petting her hair like she was a kitten, trying to be comforting as she wept beside Vision’s lifeless crumpled body, only increased after she returned to New York. Because Bucky was gone too, and her world had been turned upside down.
Maybe time with a friend would help. She’d always admired Natasha, who had taught her how to play the spy game - Wanda wasn’t as good as the Widow herself, but she was grateful for the tips and tricks she’d picked up during missions with Steve. Plus, she had to catch this version of Natasha up on goings-on anyway. That might take awhile.
Natasha was good at blending in and adapting on the fly. It was the backbone of her profession and had served her well through the many, many strange and weird things that had happened in her life. She’d caught up with Tony and talked with Steve. Clint was next on her list of people to sit down with, but overall she thought she had a good idea of what was going on in this new world she’d been dropped into.
Natasha sauntered into the club, dressed in a form fitting dark green dress that gave off the impression she was here to enjoy herself, but wasn’t as eye catching as some of the other clubgoers had on. She looked for Wanda as she made for the bar. Wanda had seemed to be doing well from what she’d seen on the network but then it was entirely too easy to affect that when you were hidden behind words and a keyboard. She’d always felt an extra bit of attachment toward Wanda with everything that had happened. Hopefully there was still some of that relationship here with this Wanda.
Wanda spotted her friend and waved her over - she could have sent a little mental nudge, or something similar, but ever since the fiasco with Ultron she hadn’t read the minds of her teammates, nothing beyond a skim of surface level which often couldn’t be helped due to the intensity of her powers, the ones that pulsed behind her eyes and even deep in her marrow. She already felt enough guilt for forcing them to confront their fears when they had been on opposite sides - guilt was something she couldn’t ever escape.
“I thought this was a nice enough place,” she said by way of greeting, smiling happily - because she was glad to see Natasha. The past versions of the Widow had been in and out, quick and fleeting, and she never got to take some quality time. “What are you having?”
A server came by to take Natasha’s order, then quickly made herself scarce. Which was good. Wanda didn’t particularly want to be bothered anyway.
“It’s perfect. You may have introduced me to my new haunt for the next few weeks,” Natasha said as she grinned back. “Something classic today. Raspberry margarita, sweet.” She swayed slightly to the music pumping through the club. It was the kind that never seemed to change no matter the time period or how far apart her visits to places like these took place.
“I still can’t believe we’re part of Pepper’s bridal party or that she and Tony are actually getting married.” While they’d been good the last time she remembered, there was the contention of still being Iron Man. They’d clearly worked through that problem.
Raspberry margarita was a good choice. Wanda was about ready for her second drink too, so she ordered another. And she wasn’t even concerned with getting drunk - she’d be able to get home safely, and she pitied any taxi cab driver who tried to mess with her. If push came to shove, she could always call Stephen. He’d portal to her in a few seconds.
Besides, Natasha was here and she was also a good person to feel safe around - not many women Wanda knew could snap a man’s neck with her thighs. “I know,” she laughed a little, blue eyes twinkling in both disbelief and amusement. “I have never been a bridesmaid before. I helped Pepper with vegan cake options before my Nepal trip but having to try on a dress and get my hair done is new.”
Still, she wanted it to be nice for her new friend. Pepper and Tony deserved a great wedding - and she wasn’t angry at Tony anymore, contrary to what he may think. No, she’d made peace with everything involving him, as she atoned for her own sins, grieved for Pietro, and battled Thanos in both worlds. “Did anyone tell you about everything that happened here, or do you want a brief rundown?” she asked.
There was little out there Natasha was afraid of and getting back to 30 Warren would be easy enough. Even drunk, Natasha could more than adequately handle herself. It wasn’t in her MO to indulge too heavily outside of a controlled environment though and since arriving in this universe, she definitely hadn’t allowed herself too many chances to wander down alcohol alley. That was asking for trouble and there was plenty that needed doing in this universe.
“I haven’t either. Not properly anyway and I certainly didn’t have to do any planning either.” She could probably fake her way through making sure they fulfilled their duties adequately but it was also bordering on the strange. She didn’t know this universe’s Pepper very closely and yet….
“I’ve gotten a variety of rundowns from various people but I’d like to hear your version too. I know Thanos was battled here and successfully defeated or reversed or something.” The images of people disintegrating before her eyes still plagued her dreams some nights. Sometimes she still wasn’t sure this wasn’t a prolonged dream she’d wake up from.
“Yes, we battled Thanos in Wakanda,” Wanda nodded. “I destroyed the mind stone after it was safely removed from Vision,” she turned her empty glass idly in her hands, thinking of her otherworldly lover and his terrible fate. Watching the pain in his eyes through her blurred tears - it wasn’t just physical pain either. Killing him was the hardest thing she ever had to do. “We managed to keep the other reality stones away from him, through different measures. Then after he realized he couldn’t get them, he sort of went away with his tail between his legs - but I’m sure he will return.”
They always did, didn’t they? Who could tell what would happen in this world, where no one could pinpoint any hard and fast rules. “I dreamed of what happened to my...other self,” she added. “It didn’t play out the same way here but I remember it vividly, which is odd. Things were calm for awhile, after Wakanda, until the reality stone acted up. Once we got that under control, the stone was sealed away and I left for Nepal. I had been involved with Bucky, but...”
She sighed, feeling her shoulders slump as her second drink arrived, and Natasha’s did as well. “He’s gone.”
Natasha hesitated a brief second before she took a sip of her drink. So, that was different. “Hmm, unfortunately yes, and probably with a larger and more dangerous arsenal and plan than you stopped him from implementing.”
If there was a way to prevent that from happening...Tony would’ve stumbled upon it long before now. Instead all they could do was prepare as best they could for the future threats by gathering intel, inventing, or forging new connections. The universe would throw what it wanted at them. The best outcome was living through it all without suffering too much.
“Strange’s pamphlet mentioned something about that. It must be disconcerting to have those memories and emotions floating around.” Natasha wasn’t looking forward to when that happened to her. There was enough to square away as it was. At the mention of Bucky and all the implications that entailed, Natasha stilled herself. They had a complicated history as it was. She didn’t know which one had landed in this universe.
“I’m sorry, Wanda.” She reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “That must be really hard.”
“I will survive,” she replied, and it’s what she told Clint too - it wasn’t exactly a lie, because surviving was second nature to her at this point. But she’d loved him, in a way she’d never loved anyone - except Vision, in another time and place. “He wanted to return to Wakanda though, it was where he felt he fit best. So I hope he ended up back there.” They had a lot in common, her and Bucky - enslaved by shackles of guilt, and terrible treatment by HYDRA topped the list. She’d miss him, since he understood her in a way few did and vice versa, but she wanted the best for him. And Wakanda seemed to be it.
She sipped her drink, the neon red a perfect match for her moniker. “I’d say promise to stick around longer this time, since I miss you whenever you leave, but I suppose we do not have much control over that,” she smiled wryly.
“As we all do,” murmured Natasha. It wasn’t what she had wanted for Wanda back in that parallel universe. She’d wanted to guide her in some misbegotten attempt at making her part of the world and prevent her from making the same mistakes she had. Look where that’d gotten them. At least she’d seemed to have found some peace here. Survival could take you far but it wasn’t everything and it sure as hell didn’t make worth living.
“I hope he did too.” Natasha raised her drink to him in a silent salute then took a hefty swig. Bucky out of them all deserved as much peace as he could get. Having his brain toyed with for decades on end and being a passenger along for the ride…. Natasha didn’t envy him having those memories.
She flashed a grin at Wanda. “I will try my best, if it’s in my power. But like everything else around here, I seem to be at the whims of whatever pulls the strings in the universe.” She swayed a little to the music. “So tell me about your life here? You seem to have settled in well.”
“I have. Well, as much as I can, I suppose,” she shrugged, setting her glass down. Wanda needed to or she’d chug the whole thing - let the alcohol, and the false comfort of it, slither through her veins. It just brought back memories of the jazz club she and Bucky went to - she’d brought along a bottle of plum brandy, and they’d danced, she’d laughed a lot and spun around and around and he caught her in his arms, where she felt safe.
There were so few places to feel safe these days. Especially when they kept getting ripped away from her.
“I live at the Sanctum with Stephen, in Greenwich Village, because he’s been helping me with my powers,” she continued. “I learned to control them, and also use them in new ways. That’s why I went to Nepal - to get more practice in and meditate. But when I’m here, I work at a cafe near his house. I’m also studying cooking in school - well, they call it culinary arts.”
That also brought back memories. Standing at a stove with Vision - he was trying to make her feel welcome. Or assuage some of the guilt he felt about Tony locking her in like a prisoner. I don’t know what’s in this but it’s not paprika. It made her smile on the inside though - she missed Vision too.
“But I want you to know that I am here for you?” Wanda glanced up. “It’s something I never really got to say to...other you’s before. That you can rely on me. After everything we’ve been through, it’s...well, it’s nice to have a friend.” Especially one you’ve killed with, no? Telekinetically throwing Proxima into a Thresher, as she and Natasha and Okoye took on the bitch in Wakanda, that all created a certain bond.
Natasha nodded in approval that Wanda had found someone that could help her explore her powers better than she and Steve ever could. It wasn’t that they hadn’t tried. They just didn’t know the details of how Wanda’s powers worked. “That must be an interesting experience.” But also a safe one in case anything went wrong then Strange would easily be able to deal with it. “I’m glad you’ve found a much better teacher in Strange than you had in me and Steve. We tried but I’m not sure we would’ve been able to help you grow like Strange has.”
She gave Wanda a gentle smile. “Thank you. And I’m here for you too.” She wrapped Wanda in a hug. This wide net of friends she’d somehow managed to cultivate during and after SHIELD and even across universes was still something she’d never expected.
“You both did wonderfully,” Wanda insisted and she meant that. She never felt as if Steve or Natasha were treating her like she was a burden or, even worse, patronizing her. “You each have your own skillsets. That differ than mine, just a little,” she grinned a bit. Stephen had been great too - it helped that their powers were so similar, each having to do with magic and manipulation.
The hug was a surprise but of course wouldn’t turn it down. Physical contact was nice after being starved for it for so long. “Well, good,” she smiled, warmth and a pleased buzz emanating from her. In fact, she was even starting to feel a little better about recent circumstances.
She’d get through it. Didn’t she always?