Seeking Comfort
Though the ride home was a quick one, the uneasiness in the cabin was heavy in the air. Barely a word had been spoken aside from Tony, Steve, and Maria who’d all gathered in the front, going over what they knew so far. Which, in the words of one Tony Stark, was a whopping amount of diddly-squat. Arison and Jacobs had stayed back, taking the vehicles they’d arrived in back to the compound.
Wanda in her weakened state had fallen into the first seat available when she’d entered and had yet to move out of it. Nat watches her from where Steve had placed her gently on the row seats attacked to the walls of the jet. Not the most comfortable of places, but it was better than the floor. Her luck, Hayes would find a way to trample her on the way into the jet.
“You know, I’m over this almost dying thing,” Wanda says letting a smile tug at the corners of her lips.
Nat’s head lulls to the side as Wanda speaks, she laughs but it soon turns into a groan when the muscle movement reminds her of just how painful gunshot wounds were. “Shut up.”
She watches as Wanda’s eyes flick to the gauze she’s still holding against her abdomen, the stark white already permeated by Nat’s blood. She doesn’t comment on sad eyes that Wanda pulls away, looking at anything but the older woman.
“Dr. Cho is waiting on us,” Tony announces when a groan pulls from Nat as Steve helps her up again.
“Guess I’ll be joining Barton in the plastic club.”
“I’m sure you’ll look just fine.”
A nurse is waiting with a wheelchair and if not for the fact that walking was currently excruciating, she’d have refused the damn thing. Steve takes her weight as she moves into the chair.
“No one even thinks about following me. Start digging.” She warns, eyes moving between the group, pausing on Maria pointedly. “I want to catch the bastard.”
There’s a series of nods before the nurse starts to wheel off towards medical, and she turns, looking over her shoulder catching Wanda staring directly back at her – something irrevocable swam in those eyes, and she’s terrified at the notion.
Minutes later she’s pushed into a room, and a smile reaches her face. Marg always seemed to be the head nurse on when Nat was brought in, she was about to get hell.
“How’s the pain level.”
“Would you believe me if I told you?”
Marg laughs at that, helping Nat into the bed. “No, not at all.”
“Through and through, shouldn’t be much damage.” She says ignoring the urge to wince as the gauze is pulled back.
“Nasty one, huh?” Marg glances up through her graying hair.
“We’ve seen worse.” Nat counters watching as the older woman starts cutting away the fabric to her suit.
“You know it’s not a competition for worst injury, right?”
“But I’m winning, right?” the comment urns her a stern look and she grins back.
“Hello.” Both women look to the door at the sound of someone greeting as they enter, to see Dr. Cho coming to join Marg at the bedside.
It’s hours later and Nat is back in the hospital bed after the cradle had done its work on her, filling in the damaged tissue as if it were the easiest thing in the world. She was almost certain that she preferred the very ordinary way of healing – without the painful long parts of course. Something about this made her skin crawl, though it was her skin, Cho had assured her a handful of times.
“You look better.” The statement hadn’t caught off guard, as she’d heard Wanda approaching. The only person she couldn’t pinpoint moving through the halls was vision – but in her defense floating was cheating. “May I?” Wanda asks.
“Yeah, of course.” She nods. Something about turning away the woman that had just saved your ass from certain death felt wrong.
“You look better.” She returns Wanda’s words back to her. “You looked exhausted after getting us out of there.”
Wanda lowers into the chair closest to Nat. “I was… losing control of it – without knowing what it is I can’t seem to get a handle on how much energy it drains. Effects seem to always wear off.” She nods before continuing quietly. “Given time.”
“You’re already more in control than when we met.”
“I thought I was going to lose you…” she trails off as if she hadn’t meant to say it. “I..”
She stops, seemingly searching for the right thing to say. Nat is patient, letting her finish.
“I knew that couldn’t happen again.”
“Hey,” Nat says the moment Wanda pulls her eyes to something across the room. “I’m right here, thanks to you, might I add.” She smiles softly when Wanda meets her eyes. “Whatever loss of control that happened back there, it whatever, because you saved seven lives. Mine included.”
She reaches her hand out, wondering for a moment if Wanda will take it. When she does Nat squeezes gently “Thank you.”
“Do you have to stay here long?” She switches gears and Nat’s left confused, why would she be holding back now after pushing so hard before.
“Not long. I could slip out now… but Marg knows where I sleep.”
“Yes, I do,” Marg says, walking into the room, holding out a cup of medication. “Lucky for you, you only have to take these and then you can get out of my hair.”
She feigns hurt. “You don’t like my company anymore?”
The older woman’s face flattens further into annoyance, and Nat hears Wanda chuckle to her right, making her laugh as well.
“get out of here Natasha.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She gets out of the bed with ease, and Wanda’s head tilts, curiosity getting the better of her. Nat then remembers that Wanda hadn’t been there when Cho had fixed them up before. She tugs at the charcoal tank Marg had given her, revealing nothing but the old scar left by the winter soldier. “Doc’s got some tricks.” Wanda’s face morphs into surprise and Nat can’t help the grin.
“There was a bullet hole there.” Wanda is already moving across the floor, bending to look closely at the skin on her abdomen, and then her back. “Can I?” her hand is already raised, ready to touch the skin. Asking only an afterthought.
“Go for it.” Nat watches as Wanda’s fingers press against her skin in feather-light touches. Guess Doc was right, it was hers. The second she’d made contact her skin rippled like a cool breeze had blown over it.
“How?” Wanda pulls back, clearly fascinated.
“Says the woman who only hours ago folded Vibranium like it were a tin can.”
“Fair point.”
Nat lets the shirt fall back into place as she turns, leaving the little witch standing there for a moment. Two steps into the hallway Wanda catches up to her.
“have the boys found anything?”
“Nothing really, still searching. Everyone’s spread out over the last hour. Maria went to meet with the other teams as they fly in, apparently, their missions went well. Lucky us were the only ones to fall into a trap.” Her eyes steel for a moment at the memories of this morning. “Barton stopped by, but left to go check on his family.”
Nat nods again as they continue down the hall. “yeah he stopped by to say goodbye.”
She sees the realization that, yes of course Barton would have come to see her, run over her face
“Tony was getting a little… annoyed with the lack of progress, there was bickering with Steve, I picked then to go looking for you.”
“Probably your best bet, they can squabble for hours.”
The hall opens up into the common area and Nat looks around. “I don’t know about you, but until we know more, I am going to sit and do absolutely nothing.” It wasn’t like her, they both knew it – but hyper fixation on this problem would do her no good.
“is that an invitation, Natasha?” Her brow arches, a playful smile rests on her face, and Nat rolls her eyes.
“Shut up and find something to watch, would ya?”
The look that crosses Wanda’s face is unreadable. Nat won’t let herself dwell on it. She moves to the kitchen area - she’d realized earlier that she’d hardly eaten since before they’d all went out the other night. She does keep her eyes on the younger woman though, as she moves through the living room, picking the same spot in the middle of the largest couch. She looked so small with her legs curled under her, sinking into the cushions.
“In the mood for anything?” she calls her question across the open rooms, making like she was looking in the cupboard the whole time.
“There’s some left-over pasta in the fridge,” Wanda says without looking over to answer.
With a nod, Nat set about preparing two plates for them, almost on autopilot. Wanda has settled on some old sitcom, laughing intermittently at the screen. Nat watches the joy on her face, and Pepper’s question from the following morning filters into her mind. “why won’t you let yourself love her?”
She’s scared from her thoughts as a timer alerts her to their food being done. With a sigh, she gets their plates and shoves two bottles of water into the pocket of her sweats.
“Time to eat.”
“Thank you,” Wanda says taking the plate from her. Nat doesn’t miss the look of surprise that flashes over her face when the older woman chooses to plant herself on the cushion beside her, leaning into the left arm of the couch. As if not to spook her the only reaction she gives her is a smile before she turns back to the Television. A movement that Nat forces herself to do as well because staring at Wanda was doing her absolutely no good.
Plates cleared, sitting forgotten on the coffee table, re-runs of bewitched plays before them.
“We should probably do something…”
“hmm?” Her words trail off with one look to Wanda, who looks at her with tired eyes. She must have been about to doze off or had just been pulled from sleep.
“Unexpected nap?”
Wanda pushes herself back into the couch, nodding at the same time, Nat smiles at the action. Yeah, she was cute as hell.
“A short one… not often I’m comfortable enough to sleep.”
Nat looks at her curiously but doesn’t ask, letting her continue if she wants to. “There’s always been someone there when I went to bed, my mother when I was small, and then Pietro. Since…” she doesn’t say his death. “I’ve been alone.”
In a moment of tenderness, or maybe something else entirely, the spy lifts her arm, opening up her side. There isn’t a moment of hesitation as Wanda leans into her, draping an arm around Nat’s midsection. Where she thought there would be s stiff reaction, Nat feels herself relax instantly at the touch.
“This okay?” She asks.
Wanda squeezes gently, pulling herself as close as she can get. “Perfect.”
“Mm.” Nat sounds her agreement, turning her attention to the television again.
She’d been fighting off her own heavy eyes for a bit, but eventually, with the warm weight pressing into her side, her fingers rubbing absently against Wanda’s hip.
“Natasha?”
She’s woken by Wanda calling her name softly and when she opens her eyes she’s struck with something akin to comfort, but not exactly that – she couldn’t place a name to the feeling. Wanda Is still pressed into her side, chin pressing into her side and wide amused eyes stare back at her.
“Hello, sleepyhead.”
“Hey, yourself.” Her voice is sleep rasped and a quick glance to the window shows that the fall sun had already sunk behind the trees. “What time is it?”
“Just after five.” She still hasn’t moved.
Nat just looks at her for a while not wanting to move but knowing they can’t stay like this all evening. “We should probably get up, huh?”
“Do we have to?” There’s a pout that Nat is seeing for the first time, and be damned if it’s not the cutest thing.
“Keep looking at me like that and maybe not.”
“Thank you for this,” Wanda says, her pout turning into a lazy smile.
“No need to thank me,” Nat says quietly.
“After this morning everyone was a little standoffish with me, and then there’s you, who cuddles on the couch,”
Nat smirks. “Secret softy, tell no one.”
“Have a good nap, ladies?” Sam says as he enters the room, a knowing smile on his face.
“Watching us sleep, Wilson?”
“Well in my defense, it was a cute scene.” He throws back, ducking the throw pillow that comes sailing at his head from Wanda.
“Maria’s on her way said she has a lead.” He says before Nat can give him hell for the comment. “Conference room.”
Nat looks suddenly to Wanda who lets out a groan, burying her face in Nat’s side.
“Back to work,” Nat says, amused at this different side to Wanda. “C’mon, little witch, we can catch up on bewitched another time.”
Wanda looks up at the promise in her words.
By the time they were done with the meeting, Nat was no more informed than they had been going in. They had a molehill in what was turning out to be a mountain. They’d traced the vibranium back to Sokovia, some salvagers had rounded up all the precious metal they could find -selling it on the black market for millions. Maria assured them they’d find the sellers by morning and get the buyer's information. If they could find who supplied the bunker with its vibranium, then they’d have a better idea about what they were up against. They were running into the issue that a lot of these suppliers knew better than to leave a paper trail, nothing to be tracked online.
The other missions had turned up little information – all the leaders that the video referred to had apparently been out of the loop on the attack in New York – they were only planning for government hits, targeting supporters of the superhero variety. At attempt to pull their support from governments – making it harder for them to exist.
So, their attack had been personal.
It’s with that fact in mind that Natasha finds herself in the gym, there was nothing she could do, and the itch to go out and find them on her own was almost too hard to ignore. She’d managed to keep herself in line, but the energy in her needed somewhere to go.
The punching bag took most of the frustration.
She’d told Barton where she’d be when he messaged her during the meeting. She’d need to catch him up on what was happening.
“Want a real-life person to hit?” Is his way of greeting her.
“You offering?” She hits the bag again.
“Just leave this pretty face alone.”
“Pfft.” She rolls her eyes, stepping away from the bag. She pulls at the tape on her hands, figuring she’s done with the bag for the night. “How’s the farm?
“Everyone’s good. Kids are nuts, Laura worries, nothing new.”
Clint doesn’t let her beat him around for long, hitting back with enough force to keep her on her toes. “So,” He starts, a little out of breath. “How’s Wanda?”
“If you’re asking, I assume you already know more than you’re letting on?” She deflects the question.
“Someone may have mentioned a cute scene in the media room?”
“Nothing more than it was.” She blocks a punch and goes to kick out his legs.
Clint jumps the leg shot. “Why isn’t it? You’re being stubborn.”
“And you’re meddling.” She catches him in the abdomen with another kick.
He grabs the leg, kicking her other foot out from under her. They land in a heap, Barton pinning her to the floor. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
“So what.”
“So, I want you to be happy. And she’s gonna be the one stupid enough to put up with you.” He grins as she tries to catch him with an elbow, an attempt to break his hold.
“Exactly, she’d be stupid.”
“Now you’re being stupid.” He pushes back letting her up. Nat turns her back to him the second she’s back on her feet, having pushed off the floor with more force than necessary, he knew she was annoyed with him.
“Seriously Nat, there’s someone trying to kill us… pretty much daily. Hazard of the job… but we could die. Just, don’t let yourself die alone, please?
“I won’t die alone. You’re stuck with me till then end, loser.” She knows she’s not answering his questions, his statement, but it was enough for Barton to know that she was relenting slightly.
They leave the gym not long after that, Nat needed a shower, and Clint had been flying all day – he was going to fall into a bed and sleep until something came up. It had been a long couple of days for everyone.
Freshly showered Nat stands in front of her mirror, clad in only a sports bra and a pair of shorts, her eyes search the skin on her abdomen, trying to find where the old blended with the new, but it was indiscernible to the eye.
She looks to her bed after slipping on a shirt but turns from it. Next thing she knows she’s knocking on Wanda’s door. She knew she should have kept her distance after earlier, after breaking so many boundaries she shouldn’t break more – but the thought of Wanda laying awake all night was tugging at her mind.
When the door swings open Wanda eyes her curiously, It wasn’t often that Nat was the one to seek her out. “Nat?”
“You said you haven’t been sleeping well, thought I could maybe help with that?”
There’s a beat where Wanda doesn’t move, doesn’t even blink, and Natasha almost retracts her offer.
“Come in.” Wanda finally smiles, sidestepping as she does so, allowing Nat room to enter.
There’s a bout of unease that settles itself in Nat’s stomach because this almost felt like embracing what she’d been running from since they had brought the younger woman back from Sokovia. She pushes past it because after this past week they both needed comfort.
“You still with me, Milyy?” The Russian word for darling pulls her from her thoughts, and she turns to where the little witch has perched herself on the edge of her bed, hands gripping the sides of the mattress.
She shakes her head. “Uh, yeah, sorry zoned out there for a moment.” She moves to the bed, letting her natural confidence take over – because her mind was currently being unhelpful. She sits down, swinging her legs behind Wanda before laying on her side, arm propping her head up.
“Come here.”
The look of happiness that comes over Wanda’s face is infectious. Nat follows her with her eyes as she tucks herself in against Nat, laying on her back looking up at Nat.
“No funny business, Maximoff.” She teases.
Despite what she’d just said Wanda leans up and her heart rams itself against her ribcage erratically, she feels lips press against her cheek and she leans into it.
“I don’t listen well,” Wanda says when she pulls back, turning to press her back into the older woman.
Oh, what a bad idea this had been. Nat thinks, swallowing hard. She slips her arm around the younger woman, pulling her close, and burying her face in her shoulder.
“Good night, Wanda.”
“It’s already better than usual.” She replies and Nat can hear the smile in her voice. How screwed was she?