Chapter 12
Days Later…
Now that I knew they weren’t at that apartment my schedule cleared up a lot more. I didn’t see the point of standing outside the building for half the day anymore so I was around the house a lot more.
Tony was sharing the lab with Bruce while they worked on whatever they both did. Clint and Natasha were either in the gym or out doing spy things.
Which left me with Steve. He had finally gotten his hands on the famous black notebook and had slowly been adding and crossing off things he needed to catch up on. I joined in since I had nothing better to do and I wanted to see what movies looked like in color.
We started off with the original Star Wars movies.
“So you’re telling me the guy in the suit isn’t the guy talking?” Steve asked.
“Yeah apparently the guy in the suit’s voice wasn’t intimidating enough so they hired James Earl Jones to do the voice.” I answered.
“And he’s Luke’s father.” Steve said.
“What?” I said we weren’t even half way through a new hope.
“His name is Darth Vader, he knew Obi-Wan Kenobi and his name translates from German to Dark Father.” Steve said.
“Are you kidding me?” I said.
“Am I wrong?” He asked.
“You just ruined the greatest plot twist in movie history for yourself.” I said.
“That was supposed to be a surprise?” Steve said.
“We should have started with Indiana Jones.” I said.
“It’s a good movie and the special effects are amazing.” He said.
“Wait until you see the prequels.” I said as we kept watching the movie. “I have to say lightsabers looked cooler in black and white. Just a white glowing blade. I mean the whole red is bad and blue is good, I don’t get that association.”
“You never fought the red skull.” Steve said.
“True.” I said having to give him that. “You said you saw Snow White in theaters right?”
‘Yeah?” Steve asked.
“Well Walt Disney built an amusement park themed around all of his characters and they have a Star Wars ride where you’re essentially flying around in a spaceship. It’s pretty cool.”
“Riding around in a spaceship? I don’t know. I could barely handle the cyclone.” Steve said.
“The cyclone is a kiddy ride compared to the rollercoasters they have now.” I said. “There’s one where you’re up 500 feet in the air and once you get to the top you freefall down.”
“People actually like doing that?” Steve said.
“Some.” I said.
Elsewhere…
Clint and Natasha were across town tailing a target for Fury a so called Hydra arms dealer that had gotten his hands on some Chitauri tech.
The two of them were watching their mark from a rooftop waiting for his buyer to show up when Natasha’s phone dinged.
“New orders?” Clint asked.
“Not exactly. I found Hanna’s parents well the ones that exist here.” Natasha asked.
“I thought she said she didn’t want to see them?” Clint asked.
“She didn’t really say that.” She said.
“Nat.” Clint said.
“If there was another version of them maybe there’s another one of her and we can figure out how she ended up here.” Natasha said.
“She was in SHIELD custody for a week. I’m sure Fury ran her prints. If there was another her it would have come up.” Clint said.
“But it didn’t.” Natasha said. “I checked.”
“Her parents exist but she doesn’t?” Clint asked. “So they don’t have any kids.”
“Her brother and nephew exist.” She said passing him her phone so he could see the family photo.
“Their sole heir.” Clint said reading. “She does look like them. Her brother has the same eyes. Kid too. Do you think she’s lying?”
“No, she hasn’t lied to us about anything.” Natasha said. “But she’s also from a world where soulmates don’t exist and she has six. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
“Are you going to tell her?” Clint asked.
“She deserves to know.” Natasha said.
Later that night…
Tony was downstairs pulling another all nighter while everyone else had called it a night after dinner.
I was still having trouble sleeping so I headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Of course as soon as I closed the fridge door Natasha was standing right behind it.
“Oh shit!” I said jumping in surprise. “I swear I need to put a bell on you.”
“Sorry.” She said smiling and not meaning it in the slightest.
“Busy day?” I asked. “There’s leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
“Clint and I grabbed takeout.” She said before just staring at me.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I found them.” She said.
“You found them?” I asked a bit confused about what she was talking about.
“Who found who?” Tony asked walking in.
Natasha didn’t say anything just held out her phone for me to see. On the screen was a photo of my parents, brother and nephew.
“That’s them.” I said surprised. “How did you find them?”
“I know people and once you gave me their names it was easy.” She said.
“I’m still lost who did she find?” Tony asked.
“My parents.” I said. “Or at least the ones that exist in this universe.”
“You parents?” Tony said looking at the photo. “Greyson, Lillian, Greg and little Jamie Marin. These are them?”
“Yeah.” I said.
“You were right they are here but they don’t live in LA, they live in Newport Beach.” Natasha said.
“Newport?” I said. “Isn’t that…”
“A big step up from your old neighborhood.” Natasha said.
“Guess that makes sense. I went to school not too far from there. Dad always said if he hit won the lotto the first thing he’d do after he divorced mom was buy a house there.” I said.
“That’s nice.” Tony said.
“Yeah he was a hopeless romantic.” I said sarcastically. “Jokes on him even in another universe he’s still stuck with her.”
“From what I could find he didn’t win the lotto but he inherited a small fortune which he invested in a real estate development company, he also owns multiple car dealerships which his son manages for him. Oh and your mom is a trophy wife.” Natasha said.
“You have no idea how ironic that all is.” I said.
“So are we driving down to see them tomorrow?” Tony asked.
“Ew no.” I said.
“Didn’t you spend a whole week staring at your old apartment building?” Natasha asked.
“Yeah because I wanted to know if they existed and now I know.” I said giving her phone back to her.
“You don’t want to meet them?” Tony said.
“Nope.” I said. “I’m good.”
“Not even say at the charity dinner they’re hosting at their home this weekend?” Tony asked bringing up the article on his phone.
“Especially no to that.” I said. “They exist the multiverse theory has been proven now let’s forget about it for another ten or so years.”
“If there’s another you we can figure out how you got here.” Natasha said making me stop.
“The caption on the photo says they only have him.” I said referring to my alternate universe brother.
“Just because you’re not with them doesn’t mean you don’t exist here.” Tony said.
“Don’t you think that would have come up when Fury ran my prints and facial recognition?” I said.
“The system isn’t perfect.” Natasha said. “I didn’t come up when they first looked me up.”
“You guys can go but I am staying out of it.” I said. “Night.”
“Night.” Tony said not entirely convinced.
A Few Minutes Later…
“We’re going.” Natasha said.
“Yeah I already bought us three seats.” Tony said typing into his phone. “How are we going to convince her to go?”
“I’ll handle it. We’ll go shopping.” Natasha said.
“Take my card and start with black and the dark colors, she’s still not used to colors.” Tony said.
“That explains why she only wears black.” Natasha said.
The Next Morning…
After tossing and turning most of the night I finally managed to get some sleep. Not great peaceful restful sleep but sleep.
Unfortunately the universe paired me with soulmates who were morning people.
I felt my bed move and something land next to me before the blinds opened letting all the morning sunshine in.
“Uh…” I groaned.
“Morning.” Natasha said making me jump out and fall into the floor.
“Wha! Natasha?!” I said.
“You’re out of bed. Get dressed we have a lot to do.” She said.
“We do?” I asked.
“Were going shopping.” Natasha said.
“I don’t need anything.” I said.
“You don’t have to need anything to go shopping.” She said. “All you need is a credit card with a high enough credit limit… Which we do courtesy of Tony who said to go nuts. Get dressed.”
“But I already went shopping in New York.” I said.
“Different weather means you need different outfits.” Natasha said opening my closet and throwing a dress onto the bed. “It’s warm out. There’s a nice brunch place on the way we can grab breakfast at. Meet you downstairs.”
I just lifted my head to see her give me a smirk before she walked out of my room.
“Uh…” I groaned.
I knew better than to argue with her. One way or another I was going shopping with her and she was not afraid of tasing me and dragging me there if she had to.
I got up and looked at the outfit Natasha had picked out. It wasn’t a dress it was actually a black off the shoulder cropped top and a long black skirt with a high slit and a scattered flower print.
I put my hair up in a messy bun with a few loose strands framing my face. I also grabbed a pair of shades because no doubt the sun would be annoyingly bright today.
Once I was presentable I headed downstairs where almost everyone was up.
“I’m not a violent person but I swear morning people deserve to be shot.” I said.
“Coffee?” Steve asked as he smiled.
“You’re a god.” I said giving him a thankful look.
“I think that’s Thor.” Tony said.
“Uh why is everyone up so early.” Clint groaned as he walked in.
“Finally a normal person.” I said.
“Take a sip and let’s go.” Natasha said.
“Can’t we just shop online?” I asked.
“No.” Natasha said forcing me to go with her. “Be back later.”
“Have fun.” Tony said.
“Save me.” I told Clint who just waved.
Well at least Natasha took pity on me and made sure to stop by a brunch place with mimosas and strong coffee.
“I’m not going.” I said knowing what she was going to ask before she even said.
“I never said you were.” She said.
“There’s no point. I got my closure and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” I continued.
“Okay.” She said. “But I still need a dress and I don’t think the boys are going to be much help.”
“I don’t think I will either.” I said. “I tend to keep my clothing options pretty basic.”
“Looks great to me.” Natasha said with a smirk. “And either way Stark’s paying so why not treat ourselves. Maybe get mani/pedis while we’re at it.”
“Well if he’s dragging you to this dinner thing you may as well get something out of it.” I said. “And I doubt the two of us could even put a dent in his credit limit.”
“This card has no limit.” Natasha said. “But we can try.”
Natasha gave a different meaning to the phrase shop until you drop. I had tried on so many dresses and shoes. She had made me get so many of everything I wasn’t sure they were all going to fit in my room.
Though I did have to admit I had fun. It was good to see a different side of Natasha than what I saw in the movies. There had been moments where she was funny and let her guard down but this was more relaxed. She wasn’t putting up a front or letting me see just enough to put my guard down.
We stopped by for some froyo on our way back when she finally said something.
“You said something about Ohio when we first met.” Natasha asked.
“You want to ask about Yelena.” I said.
“No.” She said surprising me.
“No?” I asked.
“I.. I’ve thought about her everyday since I got sent to the red room and the only thing that got me through it was knowing she was safe.” Natasha started.
“Natasha…” I started.
“You don’t want to talk about them and I don’t want to talk about her. Let’s just leave it at that.” She said.
“It’s a bit more complicated than that. But I’ll make you a deal. After we’re done dealing with Hydra I’ll tell you what you need to know.” I said.
“What’s there to know?” Natasha said.
“A few things.” I said.
“Is she okay?” Natasha asked cautiously.
As okay as someone who’s brainwashed by the red room can be…
“She’s… Yelena.” I said for lack of a better word. “She still likes hot sauce on her Mac and cheese.”
“Eww.” Natasha groaned wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Younger siblings…”
“Wouldn’t know. I’m the youngest.” I said.
“How much older than you is he?” She asked.
“Seven years. Though he never acted like it.” I said. “I know what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?” She asked with a smirk.
“You’re trying to get me to talk about them so I’ll get all nostalgic and miss them and decide for myself to go to that stupid dinner.” I said.
“Is it working?” She asked.
“No.” I said as the waitress came by with the check.
“What’s the worst that can happen if you show up to this dinner?” Natasha said.
“I was raised by them, I did my time.” I said.
“You’re really going to make me go to this alone with Tony?” she asked.
“That’s not a bad thing. Tony is excellent company. And if you don’t want to be alone with him make one of the other guys go too.” I said.
“You’re kidding right?” She said. “Bruce will spend the whole time hiding in a corner. Steve has no poker face and Clint will spend the dinner whining, flicking peas at other people when they’re not looking or fidgeting the whole time.”
“I can’t blame him, these dinners are super boring.” I said.
“Been to many?” Natasha asked.
“I was a cater waiter in college.” I said. “It was boring to work and just boring to be a guest at one of those things.”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re really grumpy?” She asked.
“And you’re stubborn.” I retorted.
“You spent days outside your old building trying to get a glimpse of them, you have a chance to see them again even if it’s not the them you know.” Natasha said. “Isn’t there at least one of them you miss, even the slightest bit?”
“Do you miss Alexei? Melina? Yelena?” I asked. She didn’t say anything but her eyes said it all.
“It’s a shame you’re not going. A dress like that deserves to be worn somewhere it can be seen.” Natasha said.
“It’s not working.” I said before we headed back to the car.
Of course later that night when I was staring at the ceiling after trying and failing to get some sleep I heard her voice again and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Ah shit it worked.” I groaned.