Locksmith

Work had been unreasonably difficult, keeping me for longer than I should’ve been there on a day I didn’t have the extra time to give them. Running late on my girlfriend’s birthday was not the way I wanted the day to go. While I knew she would never be upset with me for something beyond my control, I also understood that she had every right to have a human reaction to something coming before her on what was supposed to be a day for and about her. With any hope, the boys would be making up for my absence until I could make it home. As I drove, I found myself fighting every light I came up to, all of them quick to turn red for me and delay my journey further. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel and, instead, tried to think of happier thoughts in place of my annoyance.

I pulled into the driveway and made my way inside. The day had gotten away from me, and I was running late. I let the boys know I’d be home late since they would end up beating me home. When the door closed behind me, I was instantly greeted by Sparky. He jumped at me as I took my shoes off and made my way to my room to change. Sparky followed closely behind, letting me know he had missed me during the day. I changed while still giving him attention before I made my way to the kitchen. Tommy was sitting on the counter looking at his phone, but I couldn’t see Billy.

“Where’s your brother?” I asked with a frown.
“Soccer. Oh, but don’t worry about getting him.” He said easily.
“Shit. I forgot.” I said as panic began to build.
“Relax, mom. It’s taken care of.” He said with a laugh.
“What do you mean it’s taken care of? You didn’t call your father, did you?” I asked, praying he hadn’t.
“No, mom, chill out. Dad hasn’t talked to us since before the trip. Guess he’s busy with his new girlfriend.” He mumbled with a shrug.
“Oh, I’m sure we’re on the winning end of this deal. You just may not see it yet.” I said gently.
“I guess you’re probably right.” He said with a nod.
“I’m sorry. Did you just say I was right?” I asked in disbelief.
“Don’t make it a thing.” He begged with a groan.
“I would never. I’m simply taking a moment to let what you just said sink in. You know, I’ve been waiting for this. Let me have it.” I said with a wink.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t let it go to your head.” He mumbled as he shook his head.
“Okay, so your brother is at practice and has a ride home. Do you know what you want for dinner?” I asked, changing the subject for him.
“I kind of want pizza, but can we wait until Billy gets home?” He asked with a frown.
“Uh, yeah, sure. I guess. Any reason?” I questioned.
“He’ll probably be really hungry after practice.” He said with a shrug.

I nodded, accepting that I would have to delay the plan for dinner until Billy got home. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten his schedule; it probably had something to do with the fact that the day had been so hectic. Figuring it would be a while until Billy got home, I made my way back to my room to try to call Natasha. With the time difference, there would be a strong chance that she was asleep, but I had a free moment and wanted to take the chance and hope for the best. When I shut my door behind me, I pulled my phone out and called Natasha, desperate to hear her voice. The call rang and rang, and by the fourth ring, I ended the call, not wanting to wake her up. As much as I wanted to hear her voice, with the addition of carnivores to the park, I didn’t want her to go to work any less than one hundred and ten percent prepared. The last thing I wanted was a phone call to tell me that she’d been killed by one of them. I then thought of trying to call Yelena, knowing that she would be able to entertain me while I waited. The call rang, and she didn’t answer, which was unusual for her.

“Mom! Billy’s home!” Tommy called from downstairs.

I frowned but hung up the call. It wasn’t like Yelena to let my call go unanswered, but I quickly realized that she may have been the one to bring Billy home. I made my way downstairs, mentally preparing my apology to both of them, when I heard voices in the kitchen. The closer I got, the more I could hear Billy talking about practice and Tommy was being supportive for a change. I almost didn’t want to ruin the moment. But I was so hungry I swore I could smell pizza. So I walked into the kitchen, apologizing at the tip of my tongue. What I saw stopped me in my tracks.

“Surprise?” Natasha asked with a goofy smile.
“What are you doing here? Oh, my God, did something happen to Yelena? Is that why she didn’t answer my call?” I asked quickly.
“No, nothing happened to her. She just knew that if she spoke to you, she would ruin the surprise.” She said, shaking her head.
“You picked Billy up. Why are you here?” I asked with a frown.
“I don’t really think the whole long-distance thing is for me.” She said gently.
“We’ve been fine for six months. What changed? And why are you doing this in front of my children?” I asked with confusion.
“What changed was that I realized how much I missed the snow on Christmas. So, when the museum had an opening, I applied. My interview was this morning, and they loved me. The pizza is to celebrate me getting a new job. And we could celebrate my new apartment, but it is not put together. Yelena was in charge of making sure it was set up for me.” She explained happily.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I mumbled, still in shock.
“Is it okay that I am?” She asked slowly.
“More than! I just… You didn’t want to move in with us?” I asked slowly.
“Wands, I surprised you with moving here. I would never assume I could just move in. Maybe I wished for it, but I would never take advantage of you like that.” She explained gently.
“Do you want to move in here?” I asked with a small frown.
“Do you want me to?” She asked in return.
“Does anyone want our opinions?” Tommy asked with a groan.
“How do the two of you feel?” I asked, rolling my eyes.
“We want her to move in,” Billy said with a shrug.
“You do?” She asked in surprise.
“Yeah. You included us in the surprise.” Tommy said easily.
“Plus, you came to pick me up from practice when Tommy told you mom would be late,” Billy added.
“What do you say? Wanna move in?” I asked gently.
“You know how insane that sounds, right?” She asked, shaking her head.
“So insane you can get out of your lease for it?” I asked with a hum.
“Is now the time to say that the apartment I found on short notice without touring was my parent’s basement?” She asked, scrunching her nose up.
“So, you’ll move in?” I asked with hope.
“As long as it’s something we all want.” She said with a nod.
“So it’s settled,” Billy said, stepping in.
“I’ll let my parents know.” She said with a grin.

It had almost been six months since Natasha had moved in with us, and truth be told, I hadn’t known that I could feel so relaxed while still taking care of the boys. While Victor had taken from me, demanding more of my attention while not giving any of his own to anyone but himself, Natasha was quick to fall into a helpful role. The day we’d decided she would move in, she had already been helpful. Victor would have never picked Billy up from practice, let alone dinner as well. So, having someone who was so intentional with the way she helped really made things seem far less difficult. I didn’t need to tell her what I needed her to help with; she saw where I needed support and naturally stepped in to take on what I couldn’t do on my own. I pulled into the driveway and made my way inside. The house was quiet, which told me that the boys were not home even though they should have been.

“There you are,” Nat said with a bright smile, appearing around the corner.

Before I had the time to explain why I had been late, she connected her lips to mine. I wasn’t one to complain when my girlfriend was kissing me the way she was, and I didn’t intend on starting at that moment. She kissed me with an intense hunger that only spurred my own on further. Everything about it felt too good for me to cut it short, not that I ever wanted to, so I kissed her with everything I had. As the kiss began to slow, I remembered everything that she’d caused to disappear from my mind, and I got ready to apologize. She took her time bringing the kiss to an end, constantly going back for more and more little kisses before finally pulling away for good.

“I am so sorry I’m late,” I said with a sigh, trying to catch my breath.
“You’re not late, don’t worry.” She said gently.
“I’m absolutely late. But thank you for not holding it against me.” I said with a small smile.
“On time was whenever you got here, Wands. We have plenty of time before people get here.” She said, easily calming my anxiety.
“Where are the boys?” I asked, listening for any sounds of movement.
“Yelena’s. She picked them up today.” She explained, and I felt the tension leave my shoulders.
“You know, I love that sister of yours,” I said with a grin.
“Yeah, she’s pretty great.” She agreed easily.
“Did the boys already ruin the surprise and tell you what they got you?” I asked, knowing that they couldn’t keep a secret.
“They did. Tommy was very clear about what it was as well.” She said with a nod, her laughter falling from her lips easily.
“Yes, well, he has always been more direct about things,” I said with an affectionate nod.

“Mom?” Tommy asked softly.
“Yes?” I asked with a frown.
“Do you love Nat?” He asked curiously.
“Of course I do, bud. She lives with us.” I said gently.
“Would you ever get married?” He asked slowly.
“Why do you ask?” I asked, confused by his sudden interest.
“I don’t know, I was just curious. You’ve been dating forever.” He said with a shrug.
“Almost a year,” I said with a laugh.
“That’s long enough to know you want to marry her.” He insisted lightly.
“It can be, of course,” I said with a nod.
“Would you ever ask her?” He pushed further.
“I don’t… I don’t know. Why are you so curious about this now?” I asked, getting nervous for no reason.
“Is now a bad time?” He asked, sounding confused.
“Uh, no. I just haven’t thought about it. I don’t want to rush into anything.” I said, praying the conversation would stop.
“That sounds smart to me.” He accepted with a nod.

“So, how was the museum today?” I asked gently.
“Boring.” She said with a dramatic sigh.
“Was it boring because no one would sing happy birthday to you?” I asked with a pout.
“No. I think I got enough singing this morning.” She said, shaking her head.
“You poor thing, your family wants to celebrate your birthday because they love you,” I said with a sigh.
“Wands…” She groaned.
“I’m sorry. Was it boring because everything is dead?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Well, dead things don’t tend to talk.” She said with a shrug.
“I can’t believe I’m basically dating Ross Gellar,” I said with a small laugh.
“I told you not to say that anymore.” She whined.
“What? He worked in a museum and was a paleontologist. That’s what you do.” I said with a giggle.
“You know he’s the worst.” She argued with narrow eyes.
“Maybe, but you’re not,” I said with a shrug.
“Have I ever told you how thankful I am that you came to that park and made your way back into my heart?” She asked quietly.
“You may have mentioned it once or twice. But if we’re mentioning how thankful we are, it’s your birthday, and you should know that I have never known a love like you have always given me.” I said honestly.
“You know, I knew there was a reason I was holding out for you.” She said with a grin.
“Just took us a little while to figure it out,” I said with a gentle nod.
“Wanda, we have both made mistakes along the way and while I would like to say we overcame them all, it took us some time. Your brother always used to tell me that you and I were going to end up married someday. He was joking, of course, but every time he said it, my mind always agreed. When we were kids, I got you this ring from a gumball machine and asked you to love me forever. When I wavered on that, you never did. No matter how many miles were between us or how long it had been since we’d spoken, you never stopped loving me. So, I am using this ring to ask you if you would continue to uphold that promise and become my wife. Wanda Djanga Maximoff, will you marry me?” She asked, dropping to one knee, her eyes sparkling as they searched mine.
“You’re proposing with our gumball ring?” I asked, unable to control my smile.
“If you prefer a ring that isn’t plastic, I also have this one that may be more your style. You can keep it forever if you say yes.” She said, pulling out a different ring.
“God, yes! Yes, Nat. God, absolutely, I will.” I said as tears built in my eyes.
“You will?” She asked brightly.
“Yes! How did you… We haven’t even talked about marriage yet.” I said in disbelief.
“I had it on good authority that you would say yes.” She said with a grin as she slipped the ring on my finger.

“Do you ever think you’ll get married again?” Yelena asked absently.
“Have you been talking to the boys?” I asked with a frown.
“Why?” She asked, looking at me with confusion.
“Nothing… Just a while ago, Tommy asked me about marriage. Why? Have you been thinking about it?” She questioned.
“Yel, I’ve been thinking about marrying her since before I knew I wanted to get married,” I said with a laugh.
“Meaning?” She asked with a frown of confusion.
“I mean, gay marriage wasn’t legal when we were kids, but I would always think about marrying her. It was never a wedding vision; the only thing that mattered was that I would marry her. And with the boys bringing it up, and now you, I can’t really help but think about it.” I admitted quietly.
Do you think you may ask her?” She questioned carefully.
“I don’t know. We haven’t had any conversations about marriage yet, so I don’t want to do anything she’s not ready for.” I explained.
“But you are ready?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.
“I would marry her today if she asked me to. Do you know where she is right now? Do you know why this house is quiet and peaceful?” I asked with a breathy laugh.
“No, I don’t know. Tell me.” She said with a smile.
“She brought the boys to an arcade, and then they’re racing go-karts after. Just so we could hang out in peace.” I said, shaking my head.
“Yeah, she is a good one.” She said with a laugh.
“Which is why I would marry her any day,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows.
“Noted.” She said, smiling as she nodded.

“You proposed to me on your birthday. Are you insane?” I asked, shaking my head.
“I thought, ‘Why waste a good cake?’ You know what I mean?” She asked with a wink.
“Are you turning your birthday party into an engagement party?” I asked, shaking my head.
“I was planning on it, yes.” She said, nodding happily.
“That’s fine, but next year, we’re celebrating even harder to make up for this,” I said with a nod of understanding.
“I hope that’s a promise.” She said with a hum.
“It is,” I said confidently.
“Keep that in mind later when you see my other plans for the night.” She said, looking like a kid in a candy store.
“The boys are going to be thrilled about this, you know,” I said, unable to contain my smile.
“Yeah, well, they might already know about it.” She said sheepishly.
“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown.
“Well… Pietro’s not here… I thought they were the next best option to ask.” She admitted quietly.
“You, Natasha Alianovna Romanoff, are truly so special, and I can’t believe I’m the one who gets to love you,” I said with a happy sigh.
“Tommy let me know that his permission was my gift, not that I can really argue with that. It was the best and only gift I wanted this year.” She said with a small grin.
“I’ve been waiting for this since we were in high school, you know?” I asked, looking at the ring.
“Just think of how many more things you have to look forward to now.” She whispered before pressing her lips against mine again.