[ A THOUSAND LIVES ]
chapter six; in which mistakes are made
❝ Ugh, you're welcome, I guess. Now go away
before you make me change my mind. ❞
EVANGELINE KEEPS HER PROMISE AND GIVES NATASHA THE SPACE SHE PROMISED SHE WOULD. In the meanwhile, her time is split between working with Tony, talking with Thor, and finding a friend in Steve. Sometimes, the testosterone would become too much, and she'd drive around New York in search for clear air.
She eventually meets Pepper Potts, Tony's girlfriend. She had seen the blonde from afar, but they had never had a formal conversation; they were busy all the time. She's very pleasant, much more than Tony. It makes Evangeline wonder why Pepper even puts up with Tony. She bites her tongue in an attempt to be polite.
The more time away from Natasha, the more time is spent thinking about her. She hates this stupid deal, even though it'll benefit Natasha. Also, she's the one that came up with it. Evangeline mentally face palms every time she thinks of it.
Summer comes to a close, the formerly muggy New York air being replaced with bare trees and the autumn breeze. Tony's preparing for a vacation, which means no seminars, no speeches, nothing. Unless, of course, a god from Space and his goons come and try to take over the world again.
Evangeline isn't sure how to spend her time. True, parts of it can be spent with the Avengers, but even time with them will get boring fast. She's tired of all the parties Tony attends, and Pepper is going on vacation with him. She wishes she could go talk to — borderline bother — Natasha again. But, she agreed to respect the woman's privacy. Even if it comes at her own expense.
She finds herself getting closer to Steve. He's funny, even if he's not trying to be. He's a little more traditional than what Evangeline is used to; she had to explain that the little smiley face on his screen is called an emoji. That took about an hour.
She also speaks with Thor. She asks if Natasha ever mentions her. She doesn't like the answer.
"She is not a very open individual, Sister." Thor's attempt to pacify her doesn't help. "You know this."
Evangeline is fully aware of this. "If I had a dollar for everytime someone told me that..." She gives a mirthless chuckle. "The last girl I dated that was this secretive was Agatha, and she had her reason to be."
"Agatha was pleasant enough." Thor recalls the Salem-born brunette.
"She was good with her hands, in more than one way." Evangeline smirks as sinful thoughts and memories fill her head. She stops when she notices Thor's lost-puppy-like expression. "She was a witch who used her hands for spells... and for fucking me well. That's the joke."
She laughs at Thor's disturbed look. "Too much?"
"I do not like you."
"Love you too, Brother."
⭑ ⭑ ⭑
Evangeline sits in her office, typing away at her computer. She likes being prepared, knowing everything about everyone. Thank God SHIELD practically spoon feeds her with their files. Too bad they don't even realize it.
She doesn't bother looking up. She knows who it is.
"Hello, Brother." She quirks a brow. "What brings you around? Here to take over New York again? I mean," Her eyes finally meet his. "attempt to?"
"You'll alert no one of my presence." His cold, blue eyes squint at her. "Do you understand?"
"According to who?" She crosses her arms, tilting her head to the side. "What are you gonna do, Loksters? Turn me into one of your little slaves?" She chuckles. "I'm not afraid of you."
"Why are you here?" Loki's dark brows knit together in genuine confusion. "Why would you choose to work under such puny mortals? You've reached new lows, Evangeline."
"Curiosity killed the cat, as they say." She shrugs nonchalantly. "I guess you're the cat and the Avengers are Curiosity. But, in all seriousness, I was impressed. Still am. The Avengers took out a space army by themselves. You gotta admit, it's impressive."
"Yes, my army." Loki brags smugly. "I have an army."
"Well, on the other hand..." She stands, clicking out of the SHIELD files. "It was your army that got taken out by such puny mortals." She parrots, her smirk reaching her eyes. "Shameful, Brother. You should be ashamed."
"Oh, shut up, you bothersome beast."
"Bothersome beast? Nice alliteration. Who are you, Dr. Seuss? Seriously, dude, that's..." Evangeline shakes her head. "I should tell the others just because of that. Speaking o- where did you even come from? How did you get here again?"
"I'm the God of Mischief. How else?"
"You don't like answering questions, huh? I know you're usually indirect, but you've seemed to taken it to a new level." She sighs, shutting her laptop. She circles her desk, standing in front of her taller brother. "So, why are you back? To exact your revenge? To avenge your failed plot?"
"If you were forced to stay under Odin's lock and key for eons, would you?"
"Hm, touché." She returns to her desk.
"What? You're not going to call on those humans you call "friends?""
"Didn't call them that," Evangeline rests her chin on her hand. "I'm tempted to. I mean, the last time you freely roamed around..." She looks out the window. A nearby building is being rebuilt, starting with the Hulk-sized hole in the middle of it. "...We all know what happened."
"What's stopping you?"
"Your big mouth. You'd snitch on me the minute they passed the threshold. Just..." She lets out a groan. "Ugh, seriously, Loki! You've made this so difficult for me, I actually quite like these humans!"
"Imagine the type of sister you'd be if you allowed your elder brother to be whisked away to Odin knows where..." Loki tsks judgmentally, shaking his head. "As I said, Sister, you'll not tell anyone of this interraction."
Evangeline purses her lips as she weighs her options. "Fine. Fine, but if I hear about some stupid alien threat, I'll personally see to it that you'll never see the face of the Earth ever again."
"That's what I like to hear." He lets his critical front fall. "Thank you, Sister."
"Ugh, you're welcome, I guess. Now go away before you make me change my mind."
⭑ ⭑ ⭑
Evangeline's shocked when she finds herself at a party that Tony didn't throw. Even though he's on vacation, some rich business people invited the remaining Avengers to their gathering. Thor brings Evangeline, so here she is in her little black dress, talking to Clint about whatever mindless subject arose.
She catches Natasha talking to Steve at the bar. Clint seems to notice the same thing. "Ten bucks says Nat walks out with Boy Wonder tonight." He jokes, nudging her with her elbow. Evangeline feels her jaw tense at the thought, but she goes along.
"Do they have some sort of history?"
"Not officially, but we've all accepted that there's a 90% chance that they've fucked by this point."
Jealousy uncontrollably surges through her veins, yet her face remains passive. "I don't blame her," She takes a sip of her martini. "I'd do the same thing if I had the chance."
She almost says "him."
"Either way, I'm getting my ten bucks." Clint snickers, shaking his head. Evangeline wants to sock him in the mouth for introducing the idea. Still, she bites her tongue. She changes the subject as smoothly as possible, and Clint doesn't seem to notice the way her eyes narrow slightly when Steve's name is mentioned. If he does, he makes no mention of it.
Throughout the night, Evangeline can't keep her eyes off of Natasha. She's easy to look at; the man she kept flirting with is not. Every time she sees the man, Evangeline feels her hands ball into fists. She doesn't realize how evident her anger is until Steve placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, are you alright? You look like you're about to burst into flames." His concern is palpable.
"I'm okay," She replies. "Just thinking."
"I feel you. If you need anything, you can come to me." Steve offers politely before stepping away. That brightened her spirits, but not for long; Natasha and another stupid man are still all over each other. All of it was infuriating.
Eventually, Evangeline loses it when she sees the man's arm wrapped around Natasha's waist. She found herself storming away from the party before she could stop herself. If she were in a cartoon, she'd be red-faced and plumes of smoke would flying from her ears as if she were a tea kettle.
She vaguely remembers the drive home. She operated on auto-pilot, her hands working as if there was no brain to control them. Evangeline steps through her door and instantly flops onto her couch. She likes her couch more than she likes most people. The plushness of the pillows draw her in, and she feels herself slip into the world of sleep. She elects not to fight it.
She doesn't know how long she was asleep. Maybe an hour, maybe ten. Either way, she was pulled from her rest by a knocking at the door. And it's not like a neighbor telling you that the light in your car is on; it's like her apartment is about to get raided by the FBI.
"Jesus Christ, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Evangeline climbs off of her couch, already missing the warmth. She peeks through the peephole, and her throat runs dry when she recognizes the glassy, green eyes on the other side.
The door opens so quickly that Evangeline can hear the swoosh in the air. Natasha stands in front of her, an intense stare locking itself onto Evangeline. The woman before her sways a bit, obviously unstable. Her formerly-perfect curls are messy, her mascara reduced to black lines that runs down her flushed cheeks. "Hey, are you ok?" Like Steve, Evangeline's concern is palpable.
Natasha says nothing, only blinking sporadically. Before Evangeline has time to react, Natasha's hands are cupping her face, and their lips are pressing together. The familiar taste of vodka overwhelms her, and Evangeline grabs the woman by the shoulders and pulls away. "Natasha, what-"
"I'm sorry!" The woman sniffles before launching into a tight hug. Her words slur together, and her Russian accent makes an appearance. " 'm sorry-"
"Come in, it's cold." Evangeline leads her inside, shutting the door behind her. She allows Natasha to take her place on the couch before finding a blanket from the linen closet. "Natasha, how the hell did you even get here?"
"Car," She answers as Evangeline drapes a blue blanket around her shoulders.
"What, like an Uber or something?"
"No, I have my license. 'm an adult, I can drive!" She's already on the defense.
"You did not drive." It sounds more like an order than an accusatory statement. "Natasha, tell me you didn't drive."
"I didn't drive."
"Thank you-"
"I only said that because you told me to, I totally drove." She drunkenly giggled, pushing a curl out of her face. "Natasha, you drove?! In this state?! Why would you do that?!" The words came out louder than Evangeline initially intended to. When she sees Natasha shrink back like a punished child, she regrets the yelling.
"No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She takes her place beside Natasha. "I didn't mean to yell, I'm sorry, I just- you drove? How much did you have to drink?"
"A shot or two." She seems honest, but she could be lying.
"You don't seem li-" Evangeline pauses. She thinks about that man. Did he hurt her? Did he spike Natasha's drink? Is there going to be blood on the ground tonight? "Did- Natasha, that man you were with tonight... did he get you a drink of anything? Hold his hand over your cup for too long? Do you remember anything suspicious happening?"
"No, he- he never gave me anything," Natasha hiccups. "I wasn't drugged, I swear it. I know Thor gave me a drink once, I don't remember what it was..." She trails off as she tries to recall the events of the night.
That's why she tasted like vodka.
"Damn it, Thor must've given you Asgardian vodka on accident..." Evangeline hisses. "Look, I can't, in right conscience, let you walk out tonight. I have a spare room you can stay in, you can borrow my clothes if you need to."
"Thank you, Evangeline." Again, Natasha launches into a tight hug.
"You're welcome, Natalia."