We sit around the kitchen table. The kids have already gone to bed and it's just us adults sat having a catch up.
"So how have you been? Both of you" Laura asks. I look over at Wanda and allow her to answer first.
"Um, I've been okay. Just trying to keep myself busy so I don't have time to think about it all" she says softly. I nod my head in agreement.
"Keeping myself busy is probably the only thing that keeps me from falling apart" I add.
Laura looks between us both with such sympathy. "You're both welcome to stay here as long as you need" she tells us.
"Thank you" I reply sincerely.
We move away from the deep conversation and start having a bit of a laugh. "Anyone want a drink?" Clint asks.
"Is that even a question" Wanda says brightly. Clint laughs and gets up from the table. I watch as he walks into the kitchen.
"So how's the love life, you two?" Laura asks with a smirk.
I laugh. "So Clint told you?" I ask with a smile.
She nods. "He's my husband. He tells me everything"
"I should've known"
"So come on girls. Tell me all" Laura says hopefully.
I turn to look at Wanda as she smiles down at her hands. "You wanna go first?" I ask her with a laugh.
"No" she laughs back.
I roll my eyes and take one for the team. "Um okay, so I don't really know what's going on honestly. Things are in a strange place right now"
Laura nods in understanding. "I guess he freaked out or something and ended things before they could really get started" I tell them both.
"And what's happening now?" Wanda asks.
I smile to myself. "We kissed" I tell them. They both cheer excitedly and I laugh. "I think things are starting to look up"
"So there's a chance for the future?" Laura says excitedly.
I blush. "That's the aim" I tell them.
"Your turn" Laura says turning to Wanda. She blushes and bites her lip nervously. I forget that she doesn't know Laura very well so this is probably quite intimidating for her.
"Okay so, for years there's been this unspoken thing between me and Bucky. I sort of ignored it for a while as I was with Vision. I didn't even take any notice of anyone else. Vision was all I cared about. Things changed after he died though, I finally started to see Bucky as something more. I don't know" she blushes.
I smile. I know this is difficult for Wanda as she still cares for Vision. It hasn't been long since he passed.
"At Andi's birthday party, Bucky came to talk to me at the bar. I don't even know what happened really. One minute we were drinking and just having a laugh, the next I was taking him back to my room" she laughs.
Laura gasps and claps her hands. "This is a duo I didn't know I needed but damn. I love it!"
"What're you guys cheering about?" Clint says from the kitchen doorway. He's holding a bottle of wine and 4 glasses.
"Nothing!" Wanda says quickly which causes both me and Laura to burst out laughing.
Clint looks very suspicious as he takes a seat back at the table. He pours us each a glass of wine and hands one to each of us.
"Thank you" I say politely.
We sit in silence for a while. Each of us just sipping on our wine. "So you're not going to tell me what you guys were talking about?" Clint asks suspiciously.
"It's just girl chat" Laura says with a laugh.
Clint doesn't look convinced. I exchange a look with Wanda and have to try to hold back my laugh. There's so much I have yet to tell Wanda about what happened with Steve. We will definitely need to have a chat when we get back to our house. It feels bizarre to say that. 'Our house'
I take another sip of my wine and put the glass back onto the table. "So the training room," I say with a smile. "Mind if I take full advantage?"
Clint smiles. "Go ahead"
I smile excitedly. I still need to get some practice in with my new suit. I've been so used to just fighting with my axe. It's going to be strange having the suit as my primary weapon. I always had to rely on the combat skills I had learnt over the years to keep me safe. Now, it was Tony keeping me safe. Even from the grave, he will continue to always have my back. Playing the role of the overprotective brother.
"I heard they're sending Bucky on a mission at the end of the month" Wanda says casually.
I look up at her. I can tell she's worried. We all get the same sense of dread come over us as soon as someone mentions a mission. Except for her, this time it's personal. This is more than a friend being sent on a mission. She cares for him.
"He will be fine" I reassure her. She nods her head but I can tell she doesn't necessarily believe me.
"Where are they sending him?" Clint asks.
"It's a missing persons case. A family went missing over in Thailand. Fury thinks that HYDRA might have something to do with it" Wanda tell us.
"Is that not a bit personal for Bucky?" I ask. "Sending him back to fight the people that tried to control him for all those years"
"HYDRA might not even be involved" Clint reassures us. "They've been silent for a while now"
"Does that not seem suspicious to you?" I ask. "Why have they gone so quiet? What are they planning?"
"I don't even want to think about that" Wanda mutters. I know that talking about HYDRA is difficult for her. Especially after all they put her and Pietro through.
"He will be fine Wanda. Besides, he can handle himself" I tell her.
"I know that" she replies. "I just hate that I'm not there. I feel like I'm in the dark with everything"
"I will talk to Fury and see what I can find out" Clint promises.
"Thank you" she says with a small smile.
We sit talking for about an hour longer before we all decide to head to bed. Wanda and I say goodnight to Clint and Laura before heading back to our house which resides just beside their house. I was surprised at how homely it feels. I expected it to feel different to what it does but I'm so thankful for all Clint and Laura have done for us.
I follow Wanda out into the front yard and we talk towards our house. "It's peaceful here, isn't it" I say softly. I watch as she looks up at the stars and smiles.
"You know, as I kid I would always look up at the stars and imagine getting away. I would dream about sitting alone in a field and just watching the stars all night. That was never possible whilst living in Sokovia."
I look over at her. "Do you ever miss Sokovia?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "I miss my family but I will never miss Sokovia. I had a great childhood. Despite the war going on around us, I was happy. My parents made sure of that. Everything changed after they died"
"I miss my parents too" I admit.
Before heading into the house, I take one last look up at the sky. It takes me only a second to find my favourite constellation and I smile.
I follow Wanda into the house and close the door behind me. I kick off my boots and shrug off my jacket. I throw it down on an empty chair and head into the living room. Wanda heads into the kitchen. "Want a drink?" She calls out to me.
"Just a coffee" I reply.
"Coffee? At this time?" She calls back.
"Sleep is for the weak" I reply with a laugh.
I sit down on the couch and kick my feet up into the coffee table. "That's bad manners yanno" Wanda says with a laugh as she enters the room. I roll my eyes at her, leaving my feet exactly where they were.
She's holding two mugs. She hands me my coffee which I take with a smile.
"Thank you" I reply. Wanda sits down beside me and kicks her feet up onto the table.
I look over at her. "I thought you said it was bad manors" I laugh.
"It is" she smiles. "But comfort is key"
I roll my eyes.
I take a long sip of my coffee and sigh in satisfaction.
"Bucky wants to take me on a date" Wanda says casually. She's smiling down at the cup of coffee in her hands.
"And why am I only now hearing about this now?" I ask with a laugh.
"He asked me this morning" she tells me.
"And I'm assuming you said yes?" I ask excitedly. She looks up at me and smiles.
"Of course"
"I'm so happy for you. Bucky's a great guy. And I guess in a way I'm sort of dating his best friend. Think of all the double dates we could have" I say with a laugh.
She laughs. "So what's going on with you two?"
"I wish I knew honestly. I know how I feel but it's always difficult to get a straight answer out of him. He keeps his cards very close to his chest" I tell her.
"But he kissed you, right? That's got to mean something"
"And I think it does. I just don't know exactly what. I wish he would just tell me straight up instead of being so secretive"
"Apparently they have that in common then" she laughs. "Bucky is also quite hard to get information from. It's almost like he's scared I'm not into this or something"
"He still asked you out though. At least you've got that far" I laugh.
"And we've slept together" she jokes.
I roll my eyes. I put my now empty coffee cup down on the table and sigh. "I'm loosing any restraint at this point" I say with a smile.
"You should just jump him" she suggests. I raise my eyebrows.
"Is that what you did to Bucky?" I joke.
"Not quite" she laughs.
"You know he was in the ice for 70 years?" I ask casually.
"Steve?" She asks. I nod my head.
"There's been talk about his experience" I say slowly, waiting for her to get the hint. I smile to myself when her eyes widen in realisation. I can't help the nervous giggle that escapes my lips.
"And it's not much?" She questions.
"If any" I respond with a shrug. She cringes. It wouldn't matter so much if his experience was very limited, I just worry that it'll mean he's nervous around me all the time. I dated a guy in high school who was a virgin and it took him almost two months to hold my hand in public.
"You haven't asked him?" She asks me. I laugh.
"It's not exactly come up in conversation" I tell her. She laughs too and shakes her head at me.
"Really? I have conversations like that all the time" she jokes.
"Maybe you should ask him then" I suggest with a smile.
She shrugs. "That might give him the wrong impression"
I laugh. "In all seriousness, I'm going to go crazy if it doesn't happen soon"
She smiles. "I have something you could borrow that might fix that for you" I understand what she's suggesting but decide to have a little fun with it instead.
"You're giving me Bucky?" I joke excitedly. She rolls her eyes and lightly shoves me.
"No" she laughs.
We eventually stop laughing and I turn to Wanda with a smile. "I'm glad you came with me"
"I didn't even have to think about it" she replies.
I smile and lean over to rest my head on her shoulder. "Will you train with me tomorrow?" I ask.
She nods her head. "You want to get some practice in your new suit?"
"Of course. We don't know when the next fight will be. I need to be prepared"
"Do you really think there will be another?" She asks.
I sadly nod my head. "It's inevitable. There will never not be a threat out there."
"As long as we are alive, there will always be a threat. There will always be someone who wants to challenge us"
"We could stop" she adds.
"But who would be there to protect everyone? If we stop then it's just another way of us giving up."
"So we continue to fight" she agrees.
I nod my head. "We continue to fight"