Second Chances
“So what do we think, should we be having a little celebratory shindig tonight? Music, drinks, pass hors d’oeuvres—” Tony began brainstorming aloud to neither woman in particular.
“Only if you promise not to pick any more fights with Norse Gods,” Natasha warned sternly.
“Of course, and just in case I’ll bring Pep and Morgan.”
Natasha smiled at that, “then I’m in favor, always happy to see the tiniest Avenger.”
“No—absolutely not. I am not flying Lang out for this, I’m putting my foot down, he can get his own flight,” Tony declared as if greatly taxed by the situation.
Natasha smirked and shook her head softly before looking to Sylvie.
“What do you think? Can we count you in or has Tony spoiled you forever with that high end hotel lifestyle?”
Sylvie smiled softly, “Not to worry, we’ll be there.”
“Great!” Tony clapped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly. “Well if you’ll excuse me ladies, I have another press conference to get to in—” he checked his watch and made a face, “thirty minutes. I’ll see you both tonight, Friday will send you the details, ciao!”
Tony finished the last sip of his espresso and headed off at a brisk trot towards the elevator.
Natasha shook her head as she watched him go, “God bless that ginger saint for marrying him…”
Sylvie looked distracted as she stared at her still mostly full cup of coffee.
“I suppose there will be ‘welcome home’ parties all over the world tonight,” Natasha said gently as she looked her friend over thoughtfully.
Sylvie smiled softly at the idea. She’d seen far too many people preparing for the end, enough to last her a lifetime. It seemed almost unreal to think she could attend a celebration of just the opposite.
“Good,” Sylvie murmured absently, “they have something worth celebrating.”
She looked at Natasha who still seemed a little lost in thought.
“Natasha… there’s something, I didn’t know if I should say anything… well, I don’t know if it will help or hurt. But… I feel like you should know…”
A brief pang of fear struck Natasha’s heart at Sylvie’s words which she fought to tamp down. In the brief time she’d known her, Natasha had never seen her friend falter with her words and it unnerved her slightly.
“Know what?” Natasha asked in a deceptively calm voice.
“This timeline…” she exhaled nervously, “it was a second chance. For all of us. Things were ‘supposed’ to play out… differently.”
Sylvie tried to collect her thoughts, hoping to convey her intention without saying the harsh truth outright.
“Coming here… was a second chance for Loki to make things right, for him to heal his relationship with Thor. But I didn’t realize that it was also a second chance for me as well, to finally connect with people who will actually remember me…”
Sylvie sighed with trepidation.
“But most importantly, it was a second chance for the people who were spared… lives which would otherwise have been lost.”
“I understand…” Natasha said still feeling uneasy.
“But that second chance comes at a cost—and one which we’ve already made arrangements to pay.”
Sylvie explained slowly, her confidence in the decision wavering.
“Loki and I don’t belong on this timeline—our presence here is a disruption. And recent events have left reality in flux…”
Her eyes were pained as she thought of how much they’d been through, how much Loki and been through to get to this point.
“—but it’s also everything we fought for, and I don’t think I could bring myself to deny Loki the relationship with his brother that he deserves…”
Sylvie looked at her hands self consciously as she furrowed her brow, “And I suppose, I rather selfishly can’t abandon the first friend I’ve ever had…” Natasha smiled fondly at her and took her hand gently.
Sylvie squeezed Natasha’s hand and took a deep breath, “So we’ve struck a bargain. One week, once a year. That’s longest we can visit in order to allow reality to recover from our disruption.”
Natasha processed all this quietly for a moment then glanced up at her friend coolly.
“Was it Strange?” She asked with a slight edge to her tone.
“What?”
“Stephen Strange. He came looking for answers about the timeline last night, intended to get them out of you…”
Natasha’s eyes were hazy and unfocused, “This was what he wanted. To evict you from this reality because you made the mistake of helping us.”
Sylvie was surprised by the coldness of her friend’s tone as she spoke of the sorcerer bitterly.
“Yes… but it’s not the only reason,” Sylvie explained gently.
“But he removed the choice.”
Sylvie studied Natasha’s face and noticed the weary pain in her eyes.
“He decided what was best without consulting the rest of us, never mind that we brought him back from nonexistence.
Natasha looked faraway for a moment as she murmured brokenly. She was so often cool and collected, a master of schooling her features to control any situation. But now, with Sylvie, she was letting that slip. She was allowing her friend to see the anger and feelings of helplessness at the prospect of losing another sisterly figure.
“That’s the problem with powerful men who hide in the shadows… they think they can pull people’s strings and make them dance however they please. Tear people apart, punish them with separation—they think it makes them easier to control.”
Sylvie realized this had touched a nerve, one she hadn’t realized was there. Watching the storm rage in her eyes Sylvie was beginning to suspect Natasha hadn’t either.
Sylvie exhaled a deep breath, “Strange is just a man… he has no army or organization behind him. I know only too well how dangerous a man who justifies the means can become, and if he ever does… I’ll handle him myself.”
Natasha studied her intently then nodded a little sullenly.
“I hate it too, Tasha… but reality needed to be mended, and the only other option was… unacceptable.”
Her eyes pleaded for Natasha to understand, wanting desperately to not have to say it.
“I couldn’t let that happen… I won’t. We write our own destinies now, and that means fighting for what is important, and not allowing the universe to decide for us.”
“And this is your decision?” Natasha asked sadly.
Sylvie deflated slightly.
“My decision is to protect the reality I care about, without giving it away completely. It isn’t goodbye, Tasha.”
She squeezed her friends hand warmly and smiled softly.
“I just wanted you to know that this second chance is unwritten. It’s never happened before, so you can do anything with it… You deserve to be happy Natasha, whatever that means.”
Natasha’s eyes softened and she smiled back.
“What if I don’t know what that means?”
Sylvie grinned playfully.
“Then you have a second chance to find out.”
Natasha smiled softly, head tipping gently as she lifted her cup to drink the last of her coffee. She traced her finger along the lingering foam in the cup and put it into her mouth absently.
Sylvie watched the little smile play at her friend’s lips while her mind was occupied. Natasha sighed and moved to put the mug into the sink.
“All of this… we should probably warn Bruce. I know you gave him that algorithm but if the ‘timeline’ is going to be drastically affected on an annual basis it’s probably worth him getting a heads up.”
“Probably not a bad idea,” Sylvie agreed with a sigh.
“Here, just a moment, I’ll bring him a coffee too. He loves this hazelnut one Tony gets and it should cheer him up when he hears he’s losing his new mentor,” Natasha teased as she started the coffee machine.
Sylvie rolled her eyes but sat back down while the other woman prepared the drink, eventually following her once it was ready.