Chapter 23
Pepper is almost hysterical, so it takes Wanda a good five minutes to understand what’s going on. She manages to gets bits and pieces as Pepper tries to convey as much as she can between gasps of air. Pieces like: Natasha, Hank, Julie, and glass.
All while she’s attempting to calm Pepper down, Vision stays next to Wanda comfortingly. He’s wrapped his arms around his torso as he sits, watching her face with concern in his blue eyes, and Wanda knows he must be freezing, but when she motions for him to leave, to go back inside where its warm, he shakes his head and touches her knee lightly with his hand, causing tingles to race up her thigh.
Finally, Pepper seems to be in a place where she can talk, her voice shaking but audible.
“You with me?” Wanda asks her.
“Y-yes,” Pepper answers and there is a sound like she’s drinking water. “Sorry, Wand.”
“It’s okay,” Wanda takes her own deep breath. “Can you tell me what’s happened?”
From under her lashes, Wanda sees Vision folds his hands in his lap and turn to face her on the bench, mirroring her position as he tucks his left leg under his right knee.
“Apparently,” Pepper’s breath hitches. “Sorry, I’m okay. Um, apparently, Natasha was caught putting broken glass in Julie Tyler Tremble’s pointe shoes today.”
Of all the things Pepper could have said, Wanda was least prepared for that. “What?”
“Natasha put glass in Julie’s shoes,” Pepper repeats.
“But. Why?”
“Agnes said that Natasha confessed it was because Hank Pym would be able to join the company if a dancer was out.”
Wanda feels nausea welling in her throat and she has to physically place her head between her knees.
Vision lets out an audible sound of alarm and his hand immediately comes to her back, stroking.
“Are you okay?” he whispers.
Wanda manages a nod, though she’s feeling anything but.
“Anyway,” Pepper’s voice sounds like its coming down a long tunnel. “Natasha’s disappeared, I don’t know where she’s gone, though I’m guessing she’s with Hank. Agnes is on a war path and Nat’s probably fired and Monica’s not answering her phone and-.”
“Woah,” Wanda sits back up, her need to calm Pepper overpowering her need to vomit. “Pepper, take a deep breath. I’m with Monica, we’ll be back to Manhattan as soon as we can. Have you tried calling Natasha’s phone?”
“Oh, no, funny I must have forgotten to do that,” Pepper snaps and immediately Wanda hears her take a hitching breath. “Oh, god, I’m sorry I didn’t mean that-.”
“I know, I’m sorry too,” Wanda rubs her temples with her free hand. “It was a stupid question.”
“She’s not answering her phone,” Pepper confirms. “And her roommate says she hasn’t seen her since she left this morning for the Coppélia rehearsal.”
“Right,” Wanda chews on her lower lip. “Monica and I will meet you at the studios and we’ll see if we can’t track her down. Didn’t she mention about going on vacation upstate with him?”
Pepper takes a shaky breath. “She did.”
“Good,” Wanda says. “It’s a place to start. In the meantime, try to figure out what Agnes plans to do, and if you can maybe stop her from trying to fire Nat?”
“I’ll do my best,” Pepper answers grimly. “Just get here as soon as you can.”
“Got it,” Wanda hangs up.
Her hands are trembling and she registers the nausea still present in her gut, rolling softly.
“Everything fine?”
Wanda realizes with a start that Vision hasn’t stopped stroking her back, his hand sweeping up and down the fabric of his jacket soothingly. “I-,” she begins and stops because horrifying tears are welling in her eyes. “I-.”
He sweeps her into his arms and she lays her head against his shoulder, sniffling as his cold arms wrap around her waist.
“It’s okay,” he murmurs. “Whatever’s happening, it’ll be okay.”
Wanda’s only answer is a loud, wet sniff.
Vision keeps his arms tightly locked around her, and she breathes in the smell of his neck; the spicy, familiar, comforting smell of him, and she closes her eyes.
“I need to get Monica,” she whispers into his shirt.
Vision pulls back just enough to say: “what?”
“I need to get Monica; we have to go back to Manhattan.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, I-,” Wanda feels a strange sort of laugh bubble out of her chest, hysteria mixing with grief. The last thing Vision needs is to be tangled back up in Hank Pym drama. “No.”
Vision doesn’t question her answer, just pulls her head back down to the crook of his shoulder, rubbing her back soothingly.
The door to the restaurant opens and Wanda hears a panicked voice near her ear. “Wanda?”
She manages to pry her face away from Vision’s collar, grimacing at the black smear of makeup she’s left behind on his pristine white shirt. “Oh no,” she says. “I ruined it.”
Vision doesn’t even look down at his shirt, his blue eyes stay locked on her face. “It’ll wash out.”
“Wanda, are you okay?” Monica sounds frantic. “I have like six missed calls from Pepper, do you know what’s going on?”
Wanda turns on the bench, her little oasis in the desert of insanity and meets Monica’s gaze. Clint and Darcy are behind her, their faces mirroring Monica’s concern.
Vision shifts on the bench and his solid presence behind her gives Wanda the strength to open her mouth. “Natasha was caught putting glass in Julie’s pointe shoe,” she says. “And now she’s AWOL. With-,” here she cuts her eyes apologetically towards Darcy. “Hank Pym.”
She feels Vision stiffen at her back and feels a wave of sorrow crash over her.
Of course, he’ll hate her now. How could he not?
Wanda had been the one to encourage Hank to stick around in the first place.
Wanda had been the one to refuse to believe Hank was a bad guy.
Wanda had been the one to flaunt her friendship with Hank in not only Vision’s face, but Darcy’s too.
It’s only fitting that this is Wanda’s mess to clean up.
“Pepper’s panicking,” she continues, her voice oddly calm in the midst of her tumultuous thoughts. “So, I told her we’d head back into Manhattan to see if we can help.”
“Help do what exactly?” Monica asks harshly. “Natasha’s a grown woman, she made this decision all on her own.”
“Not entirely on her own,” Wanda says, her jaw set.
She feels rather than hears Vision taking a breath behind her.
“What can we do?” Clint asks. “I mean, if Nat’s fired, then she’s fired.”
“It’s more complicated than that, Clint!” Wanda snaps, leaping off the bench, her body immediately mourning the loss of Vision’s heat.
“How?” Clint demands.
Wanda’s eyes cut to Darcy for a split second, observing her pale face and set jaw. “It just is,” she answers uselessly.
Clint opens his mouth to protest but Vision smoothly cuts him off. “Right,” he says. “We’ll let you get back to Manhattan.”
Wanda feels herself deflate, his voice is cold and hard, as though all the warmth from the past hour has been leeched out. “Right,” she echoes.
Monica has her coat so she wiggles her arms out of Vision’s suit jacket, handing it to him without making eye contact. As she slides her arms into her sleeves, she feels Vision’s large hands come to her shoulders, assisting her in getting her coat on.
He drops his hands quickly and she swallows. “Thanks.”
“What’s the fastest way we can get back?” Monica has her nose in her phone, pulling up subway maps.
“The 3 train is around here somewhere,” Clint leans over her shoulder. “We can take that to the 1.”
“I’ll get you an Uber,” Vision says.
Wanda, Clint, and Monica swing their heads in unison to blink at him, identical looks of shock covering their faces.
“Oh, no,” Monica protests.
“Dude,” Clint says.
“Vis,” Wanda says softly so only he can hear. “We can’t ask you to do that, it’ll be like a hundred bucks.”
Something sharp and raw passes over his face as she talks to him. “Please,” he murmurs. “Let me at least help you get back to the city faster.”
Wanda searches his eyes but ultimately nods. “Okay,” she whispers. “Thank you.”
Their car arrives quickly, and Monica and Clint slide into the backseat. As Wanda tilts her body to sit down, she feels a small, warm palm wrap around hers. She meets Darcy’s eyes and Darcy gives her a wobbly smile.
Wanda doesn’t know what to say with Clint and Monica so close so she just squeezes Darcy’s hand before letting go and closing the car door.
The car pulls away from the curb and Wanda twists in her seat to get one last look at Vision, his gold hair glimmering in the sunlight, his blue eyes regretful.
Natasha keeps a clean house.
Her bedroom is frighteningly neat, the bed is made, her clothes are put away, her laundry basket is tucked in her closet, even her under bed storage is organized.
Wanda circles the room again, running her fingers through her hair as she searches for something, anything that could clue them into the whereabouts of Natasha and Hank. A note, a journal entry, a pamphlet, anything.
But even after three days of calling and searching and waiting, nothing is surfacing and Wanda is losing patience.
Wanda sits on Natasha’s bed and studies a framed photograph on her bedside table, a picture of herself and Natasha during their first Nutcracker with New York City Ballet, their arms wrapped around each other, their grins electric. Wanda swallows against the rush of emotion in her throat.
She and Pepper had elected to stay behind in the city while Monica, Clint, and Steve searched any leads they could find about where Hank and Natasha could be.
So far, the search had yielded nothing and Wanda is exhausted.
Mentally and physically exhausted.
She hasn’t heard anything from Darcy or Vision, both staying wisely away from the drama unfolding on 66thstreet, but it doesn’t stop Wanda from thinking about Vision every moment that she’s not worrying about Natasha.
She wakes up from dreams, sweaty and breathless, her heart racing and her cheeks flushed, her brain helpfully supplying the images she refuses to acknowledge during the day. Vision’s hands running up and down her back, his eyes warming when she says his name, the scent of him wrapped around her in a hug. His lips.
God, he kissed her almost two months ago and she’s still thinking about his mouth on hers.
She’s officially lost her mind.
She’s pining after a completely unattainable man, one who isn’t going to want anything to do with her, even if they do manage to pry Natasha away from Hank. Wanda will always be one of the women who fell under Hank’s spell, and the thought of Vision seeing her as just another conquest causes her to squirm uncomfortably.
“Yes, I’ll hold,” she hears Pepper say in the living room.
Wanda pokes her head out of Natasha’s bedroom to see Pepper pacing around the couch in the living room. Natasha’s roommate had let them in a few hours earlier, as she’s been doing for the last two days, before leaving for work, worry stamped across her features.
“Oh, yes, thank you!” Pepper says. “Hi, um, I’m looking for any information you may have on a Hank Pym renting from you? Yes, that’s Pym, P-Y-M. Thank you,” she rolls her eyes and her shoulders deflate. She sees Wanda and covers the speaker of her phone and mouths: “on hold.”
Wanda makes a sympathetic face and flops onto the couch.
“Okay, thanks,” Pepper says into the phone. “No, I really appreciate it. Yeah, if you come across anything, just let me know. Yes. Thank you. Bye,” she hangs up with a groan. “Forty-five minutes and not a single helpful piece of information. Airbnb can kiss my ass.”
Wanda snorts and Pepper sinks to the couch next to her.
“When do you think we should call the police?” Wanda asks.
“If we don’t hear anything from her by tonight,” Pepper says resolutely.
Wanda swallows.
“At least we got Agnes to agree to hear her out before she’s fired,” Pepper sighs.
“A silver lining,” Wanda agrees, though she privately thinks Agnes is only agreeing to talk because she wants to chew Natasha out before firing her.
“Let’s talk about something else,” Pepper says, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms.
“Okay,” Wanda answers. “Like what?”
Pepper shoots her a mischievous smile. “Monica said you looked pretty cozy with Vision Shade the other day in Brooklyn.”
“Oh,” Wanda rolls her eyes. “Don’t start, Pep, nothing’s going to happen with that.”
“Why?” Pepper asks, propping her chin in her hands. “He’s not your boss anymore.”
“It’s, ah, complicated.”
“Like what?” Pepper asks. “What’s so complicated? You’re two consenting adults.”
Wanda feels frustration welling in her forehead and she sits up. “He has… principles,” she says carefully.
Pepper sits up too, her focus on Wanda unwavering.
“And, he-uh,” Wanda clears her throat. “Might have told me he loves me right after I found out he had a hand in breaking you and Tony up.”
Pepper’s eyes are huge. “Oh,” she says.
Wanda drops her hands into her lap. “Yeah.”
“And it-.”
“Went about as well as you’d think,” Wanda drops her head into her hands.
Pepper scoots closer and touches her shoulder gently. “He loves you?”
“Not anymore,” Wanda says, her voice breaking. “Not after this.”
“This?” Pepper creases her brow. “You mean Nat and Hank?”
“Yeah.”
“But why would Vision care about that?”
Wanda chews on her lower lip. “It’s a long story.”
Pepper crosses her legs into a basket, facing Wanda fully and pulling a fuzzy blue throw pillow into her lap. “Luckily, we’ve got some time.”
So, Wanda tells her everything.
Not entirely everything, she leaves out the parts about Darcy, merely telling Pepper that Hank had hurt a friend close to Vision, but the rest of the story, she explains to the best of her ability and when she’s done, Pepper sits back in her seat, her hand over her mouth.
“Oh,” she says.
“Yeah,” Wanda stands up, shaking out her legs that have fallen asleep during her story and walks to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
“That’s a mess,” Pepper says.
“Cheers,” Wanda lifts her water glass.
“But,” Pepper’s brow creases delicately. “If he’s going to judge you by the decisions of other people around you, that’s stupid.”
“It’s not that,” Wanda places the water glass on the kitchen counter with a clink. “I think he’ll just not want to be associated with me after this. I mean, the man moved continents to get away from the drama in his life and I inadvertently drove a truckload of shit straight into his house.”
Pepper narrows her eyes. “I’m not sure if that metaphor works.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Wanda throws her hands up. “The point is that I’ll probably never see him again and that’s okay.”
Pepper sighs. “I hate this for you.”
“Yeah, well,” Wanda sinks down on the sofa next to her and leans her head against Pepper’s shoulder. “Me too.”
They sit in companiable silence for a minute.
“So, it’s probably a bad time to tell you that Tony and I are talking again,” Pepper says, her voice half muffled by Wanda’s hair.
Wanda sits up straight, her jaw dropping. “What?”
Pepper’s smile is small, but it sparkles in her eyes.
“When?” Wanda demands.
“Like a day before all of this,” Pepper waves her hand around Natasha’s apartment. “He called me to talk.”
“Holy shit!” It’s Wanda’s turn to cross her legs in a basket, pulling the fuzzy blue throw pillow into her lap. “Tell me everything!”
“We’re only talking,” Pepper warns her. “And I’m not sure if I want to dive back into anything with him. It’s just… nice.”
“I bet,” Wanda smiles at her gently. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think he wanted to break up with you in the first place.”
“Me either,” Pepper confesses.
“God, at least something good is happening this week,” Wanda sighs and flops backwards into the arm of the couch.
“Really though,” Pepper agrees reverently.
The phone rings.
Wanda sits up and stares at Pepper’s phone. “Is it-?”
Pepper thrusts the phone against her ear. “Hello?” her voice relaxes. “Steve.”
Wanda clutches the pillow to her chest.
“What?” Pepper says. “Hang on, I’m putting you on speaker,” she puts the phone on Natasha’s coffee table and presses the speaker button. “Okay go.”
“Hi, Wanda,” Steve’s disembodied voice floats out of the phone.
“Hi, Steve,” Wanda answers. “What’s the news?”
“We found her,” he says and immediately Wanda’s whole body goes limp.
“You could have led with that!” Pepper scolds.
“Sorry,” it sounds like Steve is fighting a yawn. “We’re all fucking exhausted.”
“Where did you find them?” Wanda wonders.
“Hank rented a cabin,” Steve answers. “It’s all very boring and safe, honestly I think Nat’s angrier at us for ruining her vacation.”
“Does she realize what she’s done?” Pepper asks.
“I think so?” Steve says. “She knows she’s in trouble, that’s why she wasn’t taking any of our calls, but she thinks she did the right thing. Thinks Hank deserves a spot in the company.”
“God,” Wanda drags a hand down her face.
“Yeah,” Steve agrees. “He’s a manipulative little shit. Honestly, if I hadn’t met him under these circumstances, I think I would have liked him too.”
“Are you bringing her home?” Pepper asks.
“Yep,” Steve says. “We’ll be on the six fifty train into Grand Central.”
“Does she know about Agnes?” Wanda asks.
“We’ve told her,” Steve says. “I don’t think she’s able to process it right now.”
“God,” Wanda repeats.
“Okay, well,” Pepper chews on her index fingernail. “We’ll make sure her home is cleaned up and ready for her when you guys arrive.”
“Thanks,” Steve answers. “We’ll see you in a few hours.”
Pepper reaches to hang up but Wanda stops her. “Wait!”
“Yeah?” Steve answers.
“What’s happening with Hank?”
“I don’t know,” Steve says and Wanda can hear genuine anger in his voice. “He didn’t seem too beat up by us arriving to get Nat.”
Pepper makes a face. “The sooner he’s gone the better.”
“Indeed,” Steve agrees. “See you soon.”
They bid him farewell and sit in silence for a few minutes, Wanda’s brain spinning.
Pepper drops her head into her hands. “I hope she’s okay.”
Wanda scoots closer and wraps her arm around Pepper’s shoulders. “Me too.”
***
Vision is exhausted.
He doesn’t remember being this bone tired in a very long time.
It helps that he has Tony with him, the Stark name is incredibly useful when trying to get information out of people, but he’s still knocked down enough walls to last him a lifetime.
“I hate upstate New York,” he growls, flopping onto his hotel bed.
“Wait until next fall,” Tony answers sleepily from the chair in the corner. “I’ll take you apple picking and all your rage will be forgotten.”
“I doubt it,” Vision snorts.
Tony trudges over to the other side of the bed and sits, toeing off his shoes. “Are you really going to do it?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” Vision sighs. “There’s not much else I can do.”
“I’m sure we can come up with something way more creative,” Tony smiles mischievously and Vision shoves him with his foot.
“I’m too tired to think about it tonight.”
Tony sighs. “Are you going to tell her?”
Vision sits up and eyes him. “After this shit?” he barks a laugh. “She’s never going to want to speak to me again.”
“Why?” Tony shifts on the bed.
“Look at what I let happen to her! To one of her friends!” Vision scowls. “If I had just said to hell with it and told her enough of the story without specifics. If I had just trusted that she was an intelligent and decent person, we might have avoided all of this together.”
“You don’t have a crystal ball, V,” Tony shakes his head. “You couldn’t have predicted this.”
“But I know Hank,” Vision says. “I know him better than anyone.”
“So, you should know he’s unpredictable,” Tony says. “And he’s a grown man who makes his own fucking decisions, as terrible as they may be. And if Wanda can’t see that, then she’s not as smart as you give her credit to be.”
Vision covers his face with his hands and tries not to see big green eyes full of sorrow. The kind of sorrow someone shows when they know they’re saying goodbye.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he says helplessly.
Tony lies down next to him on the bed and takes Vision’s hand comfortingly. “That’s okay.”