Chapter 18
You awoke suddenly in the middle of the night to the sound of your cell phone ringing. Considering almost everyone who had the number was currently asleep in the same house as you, your first thought was that it must have been Clint. Rolling over in your bed, you quickly grabbed the phone up and didn’t take the time to look at the number.
“Clint?” Was the first thing you said when you answered.
“No, it isn’t Clint. It’s me,” a familiar voice said through the phone.
“Everett?” You asked.
Of course it was Everett. He was the one you had sent that second phone to. Steve wasn’t the only person sending out olive branches and trying to repair relationships.
“Yes…were you asleep?”
“Yeah, it’s nighttime here. What’s up?”
“Let me start by saying this isn’t a personal call, but I do need to ask you for a favor.”
You noticed that his voice sounded much colder and more detached than you had remembered. Apparently he was still upset about what happened in Germany. This was the first time you had spoken to him since then.
“What is it?”
“I’ve got something I’ve got to do, and I need somebody with me that I can trust.”
Although you knew you would regret asking, you also knew you didn’t have a choice. After all, you had other people to worry about besides yourself.
“This isn’t just an elaborate trap to catch the Avengers, is it?”
“Do you really think I would stoop that low?” He asked. You could hear the disappointment and bitterness in his voice when he said it.
“No, I don’t. But I’m responsible for these people. I had to ask.”
“Can I count on you or not? You’re the one who told me to call you if I needed you. You sent me a phone, not the other way around.”
“What do you need?”
“Can you come to South Korea?”
“When?”
“Immediately.”
“That’s not much notice, but yeah I’ll be there.”
“Good. Call me when you arrive. We’ll make additional arrangements.” Then he hung up.
———————————————
“Where are you going?” You heard Wanda ask from somewhere behind you while you packed your bag.
“South Korea…an old friend needs my help. I told him to count me in.”
“It’s too risky. Someone might recognize you. You could get caught.”
“I know, but I owe it to him,” you said, hoisting your bag onto your shoulder.
“Steve and Sam won’t like it,” she said, still standing in the doorway. You knew if she decided to stop you from going, there wasn’t much you would be able to do about it.
“You’re right. They won’t like it. Sam will say it’s a stupid idea. Steve will understand, but he’ll worry the whole time I’m gone. And if he was awake, he would try to stop me too.”
“I won’t stop you,” she said, walking forward and pulling you into a hug. “But I will worry about you.”
You returned her hug and stroked her hair while she rested her head on your shoulder.
“Hey, I’ll be fine. It’ll just be a couple of days and I’ll be right back.”
“You better be,” she said with a sniffle. “I don’t want to lose any more family.”
———————————————
“It’s about time,” you said as you hopped into the passenger seat next to Everett. “I’ve been loitering around in a crowded street for twenty minutes hoping no one would recognize me.”
“Sorry, I got held up,” he said, taking off without even looking at you.
“What’s the mission?” You asked.
“An artifact was stolen from a London museum earlier this week. Apparently it was made of vibranium, and now it’s for sale. You happen to be looking at the buyer.”
“So what, we pinch the guy and recover the vibranium all at one time?”
“Something like that.”
“You didn’t have enough people at your disposal for this?”
“There could be trouble. I need someone who I know is good that I can also trust. No matter where we stand personally at the moment, you are both of those things.”
“Right,” was your only response.
He glanced over at you and said, “You’ll need to change. I’ll take you somewhere where you can freshen up. Those boxes in the backseat are for you.”
You reached into the backseat and grabbed a long, flat cardboard box and opened it to find an expensive-looking black lace jumpsuit inside.
“A dress would probably fit in better where we’re going, but I thought this might be a touch more practical. It should be fancy enough.”
“It’s beautiful,” you said, pulling it out enough to look at the detailing on the front.
“There are shoes back there to go with it. I hope I remembered your size right.”
“Where are we going?” You asked.
“A casino, of sorts. No weapons allowed, but we’ll find a way past that.”
“I’m not sure where I’ll hide them in this,” you muttered.
“Like I said, we’ll find a way.”
————————————————-
You admired your outfit in the mirror one last time before exiting the bathroom. It was an absolutely stunning silk jumpsuit covered in lace that looked like it was custom-designed for your figure.
“Well, what do you think?” You asked as you stood in the doorway.
You watched as Everett’s eyes flickered over every inch of your body. For a moment, you saw that stoic demeanor he had been wearing since you reunited slip off, but it didn’t last long.
“Very nice,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“Almost.”
You walked over to the table that held your weapon options and carefully looked them over. You finally decided on a pair of knives that would fit nicely inside the long sleeves of your outfit and a small pistol with a thigh holster. Propping your foot in the chair, you moved the almost hip-high slits of your pants leg enough to strap it into place. Standing back on the ground, you studied how the material draped around the weapon and decided that it was easily-accessible while still remaining hidden.
“Whoever picked out this outfit did a good job,” you said.
“Thank you,” Everett mumbled.
“Alright, I’m ready. Let’s go,” you said, heading for the door.
————————————————-
When the car stopped, it felt like your eyebrows travelled all the way up to your hairline.
“This is a casino?” You asked, looking at the exterior which appeared to be nothing more than an average building surrounded by street vendors.
“It isn’t exactly what you would call an ‘on the level’ kind of establishment. That’s why they keep it hidden. My people are already in place. Come on.”
As you walked in beside him, you gently grabbed his arm, causing him to turn quickly to look at you.
“You scream government agent, Everett,” you said, studying how official he looked in his dark gray suit and black tie. “I thought you might like to be less conspicuous.”
“Yes, of course.”
You walked the rest of the way holding his arm until the metal detector came into view.
“Do you have that taken care of?” You asked under your breath.
“Of course I do.”
He whispered something to one of the men guarding the door and then they waved the two of you inside. He guided you over to one of the gambling tables where you would wait for your mark to show up. You were at a heightened level of alertness as you scanned the casino, identifying Everett’s men, civilians, and potential threats.
“Try to look like you’re having fun,” Everett muttered beside you. Putting some chips in your hand, he added, “Pick a number.”
Handing the chips back to him, you said, “I need a drink.” Then you let go of his arm and started making your way over to the bar, studying everyone as you did so. After you got your drink and headed back to the table, you saw that Everett was no longer alone, but was talking to someone you hadn’t expected to see again for a long time.
“Your highness,” you said, bowing your head slightly out of respect.
“Miss Y/n,” T’Challa said. “I am pleasantly surprised to cross paths with you again. It presents me with an opportunity to apologize for our last meeting. I felt quite…ungentlemanly…about the whole thing.”
“As I recall, my backside was sore for a week from where you threw me down on that asphalt,” you said with a sly smile.
“And as I recall,” he said, “you fought bravely in defense of your friends.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to,” he said.
As he turned to walk away, it occurred to you to ask about Bucky, but you knew you needed to be mysterious about it. Sure Bucky didn’t bomb the UN, but he still killed a lot of people and you didn’t want Everett trying to lock him up for any of that.
“Your highness?” You called after him. “How is the weather in Wakanda these days? Is it still freezing?”
He gave you a knowing smile and replied, “It is getting warmer every day.”
Once he was gone, Everett gave you a puzzled expression and asked, “Freezing in Wakanda? What was that all about?”
“It’s better if you don’t know, Everett,” you answered, taking a sip of your drink.
Your attention turned to a large group of men entering the casino, the leader of which you recognized from a previous encounter.
“Klaue is the man we’re after?” You asked Everett.
“You know him?”
“He was there when we went to confront Ultron.”
Turning his focus to Klaue, Everett said, “That is quite the entourage you have there. Are you about to drop a mix tape?”
“Yeah, I am,” Klaue said. Addressing one of his subordinates, he continued, “Send him the link.”
“No, please don’t make me listen to your music,” Everett replied.
You noticed that Klaue was staring at you in a way that made you feel uncomfortable. Was it your imagination or was he trying to place you?
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” He asked you.
“No,” you said.
“No, I think I do. I just can’t figure out from where.”
“That’s really of no concern,” Everett said, putting himself between the two of you. “Do you have it or not?”
Everett turned his head away when Klaue unzipped his pants and pulled the vibranium out.
“You like what you see?” He asked you with a wink and a crazy laugh.
“I’ve seen bigger,” you replied.
Suddenly from somewhere beside you, a fight started and then all hell broke loose. You made a move for Klaue, but Everett grabbed you and pulled you behind one of the tables. He used the briefcase that was supposed to contain the payment as a shield when someone started shooting at him and proceeded to drag you out of the casino.
“Get in the car!” He yelled at you as he got in the driver’s seat.
“What the hell is going on?” You yelled as you hopped in the passenger seat. “Why did we just run out?”
“Because we are here for Klaue and the vibranium, and T’Challa is also here for Klaue and the vibranium. I saw him and his two sidekicks follow them out the casino, so we’re going to follow them.”
“I’m not fighting T’Challa,” you said.
“Of course we aren’t going to fight him. Did I say anything about fighting him?” He asked as he sped down the road.
“No, but I’m just putting it out there. If he wants the guy, he can have him. I’m not getting involved in that. He kicked my ass in Germany. I don’t want to relive that.”
You grabbed the door and the console when the car came skidding to a sudden stop beside the completely wrecked remains of another vehicle. Everett rolled down your window and yelled at the two women to get in the car. Once they were in, he slammed on the gas and started racing down the road again. You didn’t stop until you came upon T’Challa with Klaue in his grasp. After the women talked him down from killing him in front of witnesses, Everett called for backup transport to take everyone to his makeshift headquarters. As the car stopped in front of the building, you watched through the window as everyone went inside.
“Are you going to stay here all night?” Everett asked.
“I should probably be going home.”
“But we aren’t done.”
“You know I’m no good at interrogation, and I’m a fugitive on the run so I don’t give a damn about jurisdiction. Whether you get him or T’Challa does, he’s in for hell and that’s all that matters. My part in this is over.”
You watched as he slid his hand over the steering wheel, clearly thinking something over.
“At least wait until morning,” he said. “It’s the middle of the night. I can push all of this back until then. Give everyone time to catch a couple hours shut eye. Klaue will keep. Tomorrow, I’ll take you wherever you need to go. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Alright, give me a few minutes to make arrangements.”
“I’ll wait here.”
When he got back to the car, he took you to the same hotel room that you had used earlier in the evening to get dressed.
“This is actually my room,” he said, opening the door and letting you in. “But I’ll let you have it. I’ll go see if they have another one on this floor for me.”
“Don’t bother,” you said, sitting down on one of the two beds. “Unless you want to. I’m fine.”
He nodded his head and came into the room, closing the door behind him. As you watched him actively try to avoid you, you felt the need to say something. But you couldn’t think of anything that hadn’t already been included in your letter to him. If it couldn’t fix things, then there was nothing left to do.
As the sound of muffled music began to fill the room, you hopped up and headed over to your bag.
“Is that...the Harry Potter theme?” Everett asked.
“Hey, Wanda,” you said when you answered your phone.
“How are you?” She asked right off. “When are you coming home?”
“I’m fine. The job is done. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Good,” she replied. You imagined her smiling to herself on the other end of the line.
“Hey, guess who showed up today,” she said.
Your heart felt like it was going to jump right out of your chest.
“Natasha,” she said.
“Oh.”
Well, you didn’t have to worry about it jumping out of your chest anymore. Now it felt like it had dropped into the pit of your stomach.
“I mean, that’s great. I’ve missed that red-headed troublemaker. I don’t know which to do first, punch her for worrying me or hug her for being alright.”
The line was silent for a few moments before Wanda said, “He’s going to come back, y/n.”
You took a deep breath and tried to steady your emotions.
“You could call him. He told you to if you ever needed him,” she said.
“I don’t think this is how he meant it. Besides, maybe the jerk just went home to his family like I told him to in the first place.”
“Maybe, but if he did, I don’t think he stayed.”
You couldn’t talk about this with her right now. You had tried very hard not to even think about Clint since he left. Whatever it was he had to work out, worrying about it wasn’t going to help either of you.
“Wanda, honey, I’ve had a long day and it’s late. I’m going to go to bed.”
“Okay, I love you,” She said with a sad tone to her voice.
“I love you, too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After you hung up, you sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. In your head, you replayed the vision that Wanda had put into your mind years ago when you first encountered her.
You were standing at a kitchen counter cutting up a plate full of vegetables. It was a kitchen that you knew very well, but it was slightly different from how you remembered it. The finishing touches seemed to be more along your personal style than they usually were. Your attention was drawn from your task by a couple of squealing children running through the front door.
“What did I tell you about running through the house?” You gently scolded as they disappeared into the next room.
“What do you expect? They are ours, after all,” a voice you knew oh so well said from the direction of the front door. You looked his way to find him leaning against the wall with a relaxed smile on his face. You couldn’t remember the last time you had seen him look so happy. He walked over to you and pulled you into his strong arms, placing a kiss on your lips. Savoring the sensation, you ran your hands up his chest and around his neck, pushing him closer. You could still feel traces of his smile against your skin as you kissed him. From somewhere in the back of your mind, a trace of reality came to light, causing you to pull back.
“This isn’t right, Clint. It isn’t real.”
“It could’ve been,” he whispered.
“No. I know you love me, but no matter what anybody says, I know you never loved me like this.”
Gently grabbing your face with his hand, he stared you directly in the eyes and said, “The hell I don’t.”
“Y/n? Y/n, are you okay?”
You glanced up to find Everett looking at you with a concerned expression on his face.
“I’m fine. Just thinking about something.”
After a few quiet minutes you said, “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“I suppose so.”
“Do you have any regrets?”
“Yes, I do. I imagine everyone does.”
“Yeah...I imagine so.”