Chapter 6
“What um… what number are you guys staying in? Do you know?” You ask, finally breaking the silence as you arrived at the building.
“220,” Natasha answers for them.
You nod, “I’m in 216, we’ll be right across from each other.”
The ride in the elevator was as silent as the car ride. The anger that was permeating off of Wanda had slightly reduced, but not by much. When the elevator opens, you escort the women to their apartment.
You point across the hall then say, “Well this is you and that is me if you need anything you can always knock."
You attempt to walk away, but a soft grip around your wrist stops you. Your gaze slowly rises to meet Wanda’s. She pulls you into her and the warmth of her embrace let’s you know that she’ll be alright.
“Goodnight little krolik,” she kisses the top of your head before making her way into her new home.
“She’s going to be ok right?” You ask Natasha and she smiles softly at you.
“I’ll make sure of it lisichka. Go rest, you've had an eventful day. “
Its like her words trigger a yawn from your lips. Exhaustion is finally catching up to you properly.
“Goodnight, Nat.”
Once you go into your condo you sigh. The quiet finally getting the best of you. Though you were exhausted your mind was racing. Car chase, Wanda, Natasha, dinner, it all hit you at once. Despite your thoughts you attempt to get ready for bed.
Your phone buzzes on the nightstand as soon as your head hits the pillow. It’s a text from Dragos calling for a meeting tomorrow at 9am. You put the phone back down and shut your eyes. This would all feel easier to deal with in the morning.
When your alarm rings at 7 am, you are quick to shut it off. Your sleep had been restless, and you feel the previous nights events weighing heavily on your shoulders. Nonetheless you stumble out of your bed.
After you brush your teeth, you throw on a pair of sweats to get your morning run in before the meeting. Usually, you’d do a run followed by a more rigorous workout, but you were short on time.
Your mind is clear as you begin to run away from the condo. Your only thoughts are focusing on your breathing.
Gloom hadn’t yet left the city. Though it wasn’t raining yet you wouldn’t be surprised if it started up later. Traffic seemed light, not a lot of cars were passing you on the road. The cool air was welcomed against your face as your body temperature slowly rose with each stride.
For a small moment in time, you were at peace. Part of you wished to skip the meeting and just take a lazy day. However, that wasn’t an option because you didn’t work in a regular job field. The non-negotiables of your profession were few but harsh. While you knew the Maximoff’s were lenient with you, you never craved to take advantage of that.
When you arrive back to your building, you quickly shower and dress. You had just finished doing your hair when your doorbell rang. Opening the door, you are met by a familiar red head, who seems to be in a better mood than last night.
“Morning little krolik, I come with coffee and a bagel.”
You smile, “The occasion?”
“I was hoping we’d carpool to work.”
You nod a few times, “Of course, just let me grab my coat and we can head out.”
Quickly you grab your belongings and follow Wanda to her car. You quietly munch on the bagel during the car ride.
“No Natasha today?”
She shakes her head, “Papa is still unsure of her role in the company, so he doesn't want her at the meeting.”
“Speaking of Dragos, are you feeling any better from… yesterday?”
Wanda takes a deep breath. You see her hands clench around the wheel and her demeanor shifts slightly.
“I assume the meeting will further address what happened last night,” she speaks flatly.
“Wanda, you have to keep calm.”
You see her jaw clench, “I will reflect whatever mood is brought unto me.”
You shake your head, “You and I both know that nothing gets solved with that kind of behavior.”
“So, what, you want me to bow down and apologize?” The irritation in her voice doesn’t phase you.
“That’s not what I said. I’m saying you can’t get into a yelling match, and you can’t put your hands on anyone.”
“If they were honest with me from the beginning I wouldn’t have-"
You cut her off, “I didn’t ask for an explanation Wanda. I’m telling you something that I know you are already aware of. If you want to head this organization, you have to keep your emotions in check.”
She mumbles underneath her breath. You raise an eyebrow at her childish antics, “What was that?”
“I said, it’s easier to keep my emotions in check when the lies aren’t about you.”
You fumble with your words briefly before speaking, “Well I told you truth, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but- “
“Well, there you have it. If you want to know something about me, it’s best to ask me. However, if I tell you, and you don’t like what you hear you have to deal with that on your own time,” you glance at her.
She chuckles softly to herself, “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to how much you’ve grown.”
You smile, but then it falters as you recall the argument from last night. Wanda had made Pietro and Dragos retreat instantly when mentioning something that revolved around you. You want to know what it is.
“Wanda, what are they hiding from me?”
You can visibly see the woman pale, “Do you trust me Y/n?”
You nod slowly.
She sighs, “When it’s the right time, I’ll tell you.”
You want to argue more, but you don’t. You trust Wanda, you know she has your best interests in mind. So, you fight the urge to be upset for the rest of the car ride.
When you get to the office, the two of you ride straight to the top floor. Dragos, Pietro, and Flora were already there. The room is tense as you both sit across from them. Usually you’d sit by Pietro’s side, but you weren’t going to let Wanda feel alone in this.
“You can disagree with me if you want, but your actions yesterday proved why keeping you in the dark about the situation with Y/n was the right thing to do. You’re hot-headed now, but back then you were even worse,” Dragos looks his daughter in the eye when he speaks.
You can feel the anger radiating off of Wanda’s body and for a moment you think she is going to have an outburst. Instead, she puts her elbows on the table and leans forward, never breaking eye contact with her father.
“We are a family and I thought that we agreed on having no secrets from each other. In this business a secret is the most dangerous weapon that could be used against us. My potential reaction aside, keeping this secret from me is breaking the rules you set in place. Or do the rules only apply to me?”
Wanda’s response was damn good in your opinion. Although she was angry you saw her hands clasping each other for dear life as a sign of restraint.
“Can we just move on from this? It was 5 years ago, and Y/n is fine now,” Pietro tries to defuse the tension.
Wanda shakes her head, “As much as this is about Y/n, it’s also about not respecting me enough to keep me properly informed about our family and our business. It’s unfair for you all to sit here and claim that I’m solely in the wrong. We can’t move on until all parties take responsibility for their part in this,” Wanda holds firm.
It's weird being in a meeting about yourself, but almost having nothing to do with anything being discussed.
“Have you ever considered the possibility that Y/n didn’t want us to tell you?” Dragos states and your body tenses.
“No,” Wanda says nonchalantly, as if his question was unimportant.
“What if she…”
Wanda’s glare hits her father like an ice pick to the back, “This isn’t a hypothetical, papa. If in some universe out their Y/n wanted you to keep it a secret from me, then that would be fine. However, this isn’t that universe, now is it Y/n?”
She doesn’t look at you, but you answer her question firmly, “No, it isn’t.”
“The best way to move forward from this is an apology from both sides. Wanda has just returned and we’ve dwelled on this matter for too long,” Flora stops the argument in it’s track.
You thought it was a civil solution. It would be for the best, but just by taking a quick glance at Wanda you can tell that she doesn’t want to apologize. It was her rigid posture and her hardened eyes. She felt like she did nothing wrong, but you were hoping she would stand down for the greater good.
“Wanda, I’m sorry we intentionally kept this from you. It is not the way we do things around here. Forgive me, docha,” Dragos speaks sincerely as he looks at Wanda.
She doesn’t seem to be budging. You make the judgment call by discreetly placing your hand on her thigh. This causes her to look in your direction and you speak to her with your eyes. Your features are telling her to apologize. You see her posture relaxes and her eyes soften a bit.
“I’m sorry for the way that I acted last night. It was uncalled for, regardless of my feelings,” she speaks with an equal amount of sincerity.
“Good, now that we’ve settled that I’m going to cut to the chase. Natasha, what assets does she bring to the table?” Dragos moves on to business fairly quickly.
Wanda follows his suit, speaking highly of her wife, “Natasha is a hands on kind of employee. She thrives being where the action is and that doesn’t just mean in a fight. She’s a highly trained assassin, her accolades are insurmountable, and there’s quite literally nothing that she can’t do.”
“She can start as head of security, and we can see what she can do from there,” Dragos offers, but even you think the role is undercutting Natasha’s abilities.
Wanda seems frustrated, but she is going to agree to these terms.
You speak up, “I think she should be in charge of field operations.”
“You and Pietro handle the field operations just fine, why add a third?” Dragos questions with curiosity not animosity.
“To avoid things like what happened yesterday with Mr. H. Right now, the way we operate is that Piet comes and gets me when needed and we just go from there. It’s not strategic at all, I’m usually in the car before I know what exactly it is that we’re doing,” you argue your position.
“It always works out,” Pietro fires back.
Your eyes lock on his, “But it could work better. With me running numbers for the company and for our business, I don’t always have the time to sit and plan out these operations. We all know that Piet doesn’t believe in planning. It’s field operations, it shouldn’t always just be Piet and me. We should have men out there with us incase things go south, but there’s never a plan for that.”
“And you think the addition of Ms. Romanoff will add…” Dragos leads off his sentence.
“She’s going to add structure and power by organizing this department into an actual department rather than just Piet and I doing deliveries in car. She’s experienced and we should be using that to our advantage, especially with us potentially being undercut at the moment.”
Dragos ponders, which is a good thing. It means he believes there is something to everything you’re saying.
“Give her a week on field operations and if you don’t see any type of benefit, she can be head of security,” Wanda offers a compromise.
“Only a week?” His disbelief is hidden in his voice, but you know it’s there.
“It’s all she needs,” Wanda says with confidence.
“Alright, that’s everything for today- “
“We’re not going to address the Kingpin situation?” You stay planted firmly in your chair.
Dragos sighs, “I will deal with Kingpin personally. I had Kate set up a meeting at neutral territory.”
You shook your head knowing what Dragos was insinuating, “You’re trying to have a one-on-one meeting with this bastard? Everyone in this room knows that idea sounds like shit.”
“It’s not an idea, it’s happening in a few hours,” Dragos counters.
“Papa you’re going to have someone tailing you right? You don’t trust him to keep true to his word,” Pietro looks at his father in disbelief.
Dragos’s hand trails through his thick gray hair, “I’ve dealt with Kingpin before. I’ve known him for a long time, and I will be prepared for whatever he has coming.”
“Papa you can’t be serious?” Wanda has features akin to Pietro.
The arguing is about to continue, but then Flora speaks up, “Your father knows what he’s doing kids. Have some faith in him, he’s got a lot of experience for all of you. If he thinks this is the right call, then it has to be. Now, you’re dismissed.”
Suddenly there was no room for arguing with her. You try to keep calm but your feelings on the matter aren’t well hidden as you storm out of the room. Wanda and Pietro leave after you, both with the goal of trying to comfort you. However, their moods weren’t much better than yours.
When it was just the husband and wife in the office Flora let her nerves show. She was unsure about this plan. The lack of support from the group only heightened her anxiety for her husband’s well-being.
“You better prove them wrong Dragos. If anything were to happen to you I-"
The older man is gentle as he reaches for his wife’s hand, in the way he is always gentle with her. He places a kiss to the back of her palm, “Nothing is going to happen to me, moya lybov. I’m going to take car of this business and this family like I always have.”
Dragos wasn’t going to show his nerves. He never did, but to think they didn’t exist would’ve been ignorant. There wasn’t a reality that Dragos saw where the meeting went sideways. It had to go well, or a war would tear across the city. That thought protected him like a bullet proof vest. He was going to protect the industry he worked to build because that was the only option.