Chapter 5
"Strip poker, anyone ?" Tony questioned with a set of cards in his hands. He seemed to never get enough adrenaline pulping through his veins, although it fitted his psychological profile.
"I'm in," Maria instantly replied, taking off both of her heels to massage her left foot. It was criminal that objects could be so beautiful, yet cause this much discomfort. But remaining a lot taller than the Stark genius was too much of a pleasure to not experience that kind of pain.
"Agent Hill... I didn't know you wanted to see me undress this bad," he winked at her, very much not discretly, as he drank another glass of whisky that Pepper swiftly took from his hand to gently sip. It tasted quite average, for a brand that was very expensive.
"It's probably one of the only things that scare me," the SHIELD agent said, her stare looking deadly, which caused Wanda to let out a mild laughter. It was always pleasant to see someone destroy the man's ego. She felt a strong gaze directed toward her, and stared back at Natasha, loosing herself in her green eyes. The spy truly looked divine, nobody could deny it. Wanda thought she had beheld a smile ghost Natasha's lips, before the latter focused her sight elsewhere.
At some point of the party, Wanda felt a need to be a bit away from the avengers, since her social battery was slowly decreasing. However, as she gazed at the stars, she sensed a strange presence. She had started to get used to Vision and Steve's internal emanation, but this one remained rather mysterious, it felt dangerous. The witch almost proceeded to quietly walk away when she heard a familiar voice, “Hey, Maximoff,” Natasha greeted, two beers in her right hand. Wanda couldn't figure out if one was meant to be for her, it would be very typical of the spy to bring two so that she could drink both of them, thereby showing Wanda that she wasn't generous for no reason.
“You did quite good today,” she admitted, leading the bottle of beer to her mouth as she kept the other one in her left hand, still not giving it to Wanda.
“Is the Black Widow going to say she's proud of me ?” Wanda asked with a witty smile on her lips darkened by the lipstick Pepper had given her, a few weeks ago.
“I think you just ruined the moment,” Natasha answered in a very neutral tone that caused the Sokovian to lightly laugh. She couldn't help but enjoy the redhead's quick-witted sense of humour. Sam had once confessed to the dark-haired woman that he considered Natasha to be quite a kill joy, sometimes, which she didn't agree. It didn't mean she didn't think the spy remained obnoxious, because she did believe it. A part of her did, at least. The part that had been hardened by her set of traumatic experiences didn't like how challenging and pushing Natasha was.
“I came here to say something nice and you're making it really hard,” Natasha admitted as she crossed her arms, slightly frowning. The witch was starting to suspect her to seem adorable on purpose, even though Natasha generally used her spy skills to be desirable – in a different way.
“Okay, tell me then,” she replied, restraining herself from throwing out another mocking remark. She had to remain careful around Natasha because the woman could easily discover all her secrets without a blink. Not that Wanda hid anything big, she was simply afraid the spy would use the knowledge against her, as she didn't seem to particularly like her. Nevertheless, the Sokovian tended to believe everyone hated her, as she was endowed with unpredictable powers and an habit to make
bad decisions on an impulse.
“I just wanted to thank you for... you know, saving my life and everything,” she mumbled a little, staring into the distance.
Wanda noticed how hard it appeared for the woman to express her gratitude and felt sympathy spreading in her mind. She gazed at the absent-minded Russian, appreciating the dress she was clad in a bit too much. “It was my pleasure, Natasha,” her voice sounded way more seducive than she had intended, but it matched her current thoughts. She truly had no control around the redhead.
As soon as she heard how lusty Wanda's tone was, Natasha repressed a smile, she wouldn't go to that road with the witch. Instead, she silently handed her a beer, which the Sokovian willingly took, even if she didn't like the taste of it much. A question had been hanging on her mind since the mission, so she voiced it out, letting her curiosity consume her. “I was wondering, did you lose focus because of what he called you ? Natalia ?” Wanda asked, eager to hear the answer.
Natasha stared at her for a bit, her eyebrows shaped in an expression of calm annoyance. She was convinced the witch hadn't been able to hear what this man had whispered before the other person attempted to shoot her. “It really doesn't concern you,” her voice remained cold, almost emotionless. She didn't enjoy how nosy the dark-haired woman was starting to be. Had she ever let the impression that she would reveal all her secrets to her ?
“It's fine if you do not want to talk about it,” she first asserted, “It's just that this distraction could have cost you your life.” Her reasoning made sense, but directly talking to the spy about it remained a terrible plan. She should have known, by now, that Natasha was far from opening up to her, especially about her past. She certainly believed that the witch knew enough.
The words simply expelled themselves from her lips, “How about you stop asking intrusive questions and start learning to stay in your place ?” She then proceeded to grow a charming smile on them, but Wanda could feel the anger wandering around her mental form. It was torturing, anytime she thought they were making progress, Natasha would let her bad temper get the best of her. Never in her life, the Sokovian had met someone so infuriating, and yet, captivating. She would find a way to know more about the redhead, she was panting to. She had to understand her, to grasp her thinking patterns and reflexion, because, deep down, Natasha was dying to be comprehended, as everyone did.
Afterwards, Natasha left without a word, and Wanda watched her walk away, once again. She wouldn't complain about the view, though.