Heart Of Stone

Chapter 35

By the time everyone had filed out, it was only Natasha and Wanda left. "Lexis, we're going Christmas shopping, you want to join us?" Wanda asked. I blinked. "Why do you wish for me to join?"

"Because you're cooler than the guys, it's a good opportunity to get you used to more modern stuff and we figured you might like to try it," Natasha answered. "You don't have to, of course. Nobody's going to force you to."

"What makes Christmas shopping so different from regular shopping?" I can't help but ask. "Well you buy everyone's Christmas presents, though that's pretty much it," Wanda answered, then thought for a moment. "Excluding price increases or sales, obviously."

"What exactly is Christmas?" I have to know. They pause and look at me, surprised I don't know already. They don't think it's bad that I don't know, they're just surprised and a little pitying, so I'm not embarrassed. I just wait patiently for my answer.

"Christmas is a holiday where everyone buys each other presents and puts them under a tree that's brought inside and decorated," Wanda explains. "Then there's food, music, all that stuff. The point is to be around family and loved ones. There are also plenty of religious beliefs that contribute to Christmas, but for now I'll just make sure you know the gist of it. If you don't mind me asking, how don't you know about Christmas? It's been around since you were born and longer."

"My family never celebrated Christmas," I answer. "And there was nobody to teach me the point of Christmas when they were gone. It did not concern me, so I did not bother about it."

They nod. "Well then we'll have to make your first real Christmas special. And don't worry, this is only Thor's second and I'm guessing Loki's first," Natasha said. "It will be my first without my brother, so I am glad to have my friends here as a comfort this year," Wanda said, slightly upset about her brother, but overall her spirits stayed high.

"I am sorry about Pietro," I tell her gently. She's replaying his death in her mind; hit by several bullets to save Clint and a little boy. She seems surprised at how I know his name, then remembers my ability to read minds. "Alas lacksi ins physi, Pietro Maximoff stai ins luvbeat, ins permaphysi plusse ins linehaunt; though lacking in body, Pietro Maximoff remains in heart, in soul and in spirit."

Wanda smiles at me. "Thank you."  "You have nothing to thank me for," I smile back slightly. "So are you coming or not?" Natasha asks me again, not unkindly, just wanting to go. "I think I will," I decide. "Thank you for the offer."

"No problem," she replied. "You've got ten minutes to meet us in the penthouse." I nod and the girls exit the room, shutting the door behind them. I quickly dress and brush my hair, then leave for the penthouse, where the girls are already waiting for me as expected. What wasn't expected is everyone else waiting as well.

"Good, you're here," Natasha says when she sees me. "Turns out we're all going since the boys need to buy some stuff, too. We're getting food on the way. You cool with that?"

I open my mouth to say yes, but Tony throws his thoughts out. Say 'as cool as Capsicle'!

I chuckle. "As Tony wishes for me to say, as cool as Capsicle." This earns laughter from everyone except me, Natasha and Steve, the last of which glares at Tony. "Let's just go. Tony and I are driving and Lexis and Bruce get shotgun. No arguments, you all know why."

But groans still ensue, causing me, Bruce and Tony to all smirk. That is as far as protest gets, though, since there are very good reasons as to why Bruce and I should be slightly separated from the rest of the car's inhabitants and Tony and Steve are sort of joint leaders of the Avengers.

I get to ride in Steve's car (Well, not actually Steve's, he is borrowing it from Tony, but it is still the one he's driving) along with Wanda, Vision and Clint. Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Sam and Thor are in the other car. We follow them.

We get McDonalds. I try my first ever hash brown. They're good. Then we start shopping. Tony decided to give me something called a credit card before we split up, so I could apparently buy whatever I wanted, according to him.

Us girls stuck together again, but I'd already looked into the minds of the boys to find out what kind of things they would like. I had rough ideas for each of them, so the first thing I bought was a notepad and pen, which I used up the first page of to write their names and the sort of thing I should buy for them. In Tamatari, of course. The added benefit of this was that Natasha and Wanda would have no clue what I was planning for them.

I added the girl's names to the list so I wouldn't forget them and we were off. It was a very productive trip, altogether, but I couldn't find the right thing for Steve. I knew I wanted it to be something 'arty', as he put it in his mind, but I couldn't find what would be best. In the end, I settled for a wide selection of watercolours, a thick sketchbook and a set of pencils supposed to be good for drawing. The girls claimed he would love it. I really hoped so. He was a good friend to me, I couldn't just give him something he wouldn't like.

When we returned to the others and got back to the tower, Wanda showed me how to wrap the presents. I also made bags out of wrapping paper for good measure. She was impressed by this, so I made a few for her as well.

By the time the presents were all wrapped, Jarvis announced that Tony requested our presents in the penthouse, stressing that he meant actual presents. Wanda, Natasha and I rolled our eyes, but collected everything and headed off obediently.