The Other Symbiote

Piece of...

Kara flew with her niece in her arms, Lena by her side in a state-of-the-art Lexosuit, which was a mixture of blues instead of greens. She only realised the similarity between her design and Tony's when they met, both equally enthralled by the other's works. 

Both occasionally glanced at the sleeping teen in the Super's arms. Every now and then, Raiva's clothes would flutter up and she'd shiver, to which Lena would react and swiftly adjust herself underneath her girlfriend, tucking the clothing back into place and resuming her position.

The two landed with a soft thud to see a patient Natasha on the gravelled roof, along with Steve next to her. The couple kissed Raiva's forehead before handing her over to the soldier, who took her carefully in his arms. The two nodded silently to Nat before shooting into the sky and back to their apartment. 

The Widow and super solider returned to the kitchen to see two others burning the midnight oil, one who rhymed with 'millionaire' and another with 'bitch'.

"How is she?" Tony asked and Raiva's arm slumped over Steve's arm, with Nat quickly correcting the movement and tucking her arm back onto her chest. 

"She's tired, that's for sure." Nat spoke softly to Steve, looking up at him before quickly glancing at the bruising hiding under the teen's sleeve. 

She had understood what Raiva said to Kara - the teen had taught her the alien sign. She knew what Vision was up to but she didn't want anything to escalate out of control, specifically her niece. 

"Rai, you need to wake up. Steve can't carry you up the stairs."

"Hmm. Someone's finally getting old." Even as she rose out of slumber, her witty thinking was still there, a sign of hope for the Black Widow. 

"You know what, Romanoff?"

Nat bit her lip playfully and helped Raiva stand out of Steve's grasp.

"Come on, I'll take you." 

The two turned to see who offered, only for Raiva to shock herself awake and quickly walk away. Wanda huffed and ran after her, only to find her gone from the hallway. 

"She's in her room, Maximoff." 

"And how would you know, Natasha?"

"Because I counted how many steps she took and compared it with the previous amounts. Plus, she texted me to come and put her to sleep." Nat shook her phone by it's corner and quickly walked off, slipping her cardigan on the back of a chair as she walked past it. 

The witch followed from a distance, not sure whether to stay back or run ahead, even though she knew which she preferred. She leaned against the wall of Raiva's room, hearing Nat and the teen converse in Spanish, using her powers to translate it in her head. 

--

"Oh thank god." Raiva whispered, feeling her symbiote's strength return and her marks begin to fade. She undressed quickly in the bathroom and came out in her pyjamas, sighing as she splayed across the mattress, saddened by the missing warmth on the other side.

"You have to talk at some point, Rai. You can't hide this."

"I can't and I can. It doesn't take that long for Nemesis' strength to return."

"Oh really? How long did it take this time?"

"...Three days."

----

Wanda gasped silently. Nemesis had disappeared for three days and Raiva was brushing it off like it was nothing. 

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