The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Seventeen: More Questions

(Claray's POV)

I woke up from a restless sleep to persistent dinging sound from my phone. I groaned, noting the time. 4 a.m. Seriously? My irritation was replaced with understanding when I noted who the text was from. Bridgit. It was already 9 a.m. in Edinburgh. That explained it. I grasped for the light, groaning painfully once it came on. Light Bad. I grasped the phone, glancing through the messages Bridgit sent over.

As one of the leading members of the Scottish coven that reformed once new witchcraft became popular this century, Bridgit was a dear friend. We talked regularly, always were in contact and any time something new or different popped up, she was always the first person I went to. She was one of the few - prior to the Avengers, anyway - that knew the whole truth about me, and she loved me anyway. I adored her for that, far more than she realized. I had messaged her earlier about Wanda, and she marveled at the fact that my mind control wouldn't work on her, like the way whatever magic she utilized had no effect on me. Glancing through her series of texts, I couldn't help but smile, dialing her number almost immediately.

"You're awake!" Her chipper, accent-laced voice welcomed me.

"Yeah, thanks to you," I teased. Her morning demeanor knew now bounds.

"I don't understand why you sleep anyway, Claray," she teased right back, "it's not like you need it." I scoffed.

"Have you seen me?" I laughed into the phone, "this kind of look takes a lot of beauty rest."

"Well maybe I should let you go back to bed then." I blinked. Out of everybody I knew, Bridgit had a unique talent of knocking me on my ass and catching me off-guard. She chuckled at my speechlessness. "Cat got your tongue, princess?" I groaned audibly at the nickname before smoothly changing the subject.

"It's weird, Bridg, I can't figure it out. But there's something about Wanda..." I trailed off, hearing something outside my door. "Hang on." I put the call on hold, approaching the door quietly, listening before making a move to open it. When I did pull it open, however, there was no one on the other side, but I caught a sense of Natasha's perfume. I sighed. "I'm here," I muttered, returning to the call.

"What was that about?" I rolled my eyes.

"I thought someone was at the door. I think it was Natasha." I sighed, falling back onto my bed.

"What's going on with her?" Bridigt asked, intently.

"Not a damn thing," I grumbled. Her giggle was contagious, however, and I couldn't help but smile.

"If what you're saying about Wanda not being affected by your mind control is true, though, the legend might be..." I cut her off before she could manage to finish her sentence.

"The legend isn't true, Bridg." She sighed.

"How do you know?" She never hesitated to push my buttons or pull me out of my comfortable deniability.

"It just can't be," I whispered softly.

"Let me do some digging, Ray." I didn't appreciate this nickname either, but at least it was better than the alternative. "But in the meantime, if it does happen to be true, it might be a good thing that nothing happened with your redhead. She had a point.

"Keep me posted, mo gradh (my love)," I replied. She giggled at the pet name that I'd called her for decades before hanging up. I sighed, tossing the phone onto the table beside my bed, flipping the light back off and collapsing down on my bed, face first, as I chased the ghost of sleep that wouldn't come.

(Natasha's POV)

I had finally gathered myself well enough that I thought I would be able to talk to Claray and explain some things. I had paced up and down our hallway for hours, replaying scenarios and conversations in my head, trying to prepare myself as well as possible when I saw the light flick on under her door. I stood there momentarily, uncertain. Was she awake, then? Just as I approached the door to knock, I heard her voice sounding tired but happy. It was four in the morning, who was she talking to? Claray was talking about beauty rest, and it sounded like she was teasing the person on the other end of the phone. Then I heard the name Bridg. Was she talking to the mysterious Bridgit? The conversation was light and easy. Then I heard Claray say it, and the knot in my stomach dropped. "There's something about Wanda..." She was talking about the witch. I heard the bed creak and the sound of footsteps approaching. Nope, I couldn't deal with this right now. I quickly rounded the corner before hearing Claray's door open behind me, a pause, and then shutting again. I sighed, leaning back against the wall. I blew it.

(Wanda Maximoff's POV)

"How's your girlfriend?" Pietro asked, speeding into the room so quickly that the door banged and bounced a few times against the door stop. I rolled my eyes.

"She's not my girlfriend," I snarked. He smirked at me in response.

"But you want her to be," he taunted. He had me there. I had never met anyone like Claray before, and for some reason knowing that my magic didn't work on her just made her even more appealing. On top of that, she had managed to save my twin from dying and there wasn't any amount of anything in the world that would repay that debt.

"Are you all packed?" I asked, tossing a sweater into one of the boxes strewn around the room. It was moving day, and it looked like it was gearing up to be a long one. Pietro smirked from the corner.

"Yeah, in like five minutes!" He exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

"It's not my fault that I can't move as fast as you do."

"Want some help?" I thought about it for a moment before nodding, watching as my neatly organized piles of stuff were thrown into boxes by a blur moving around the room. I sighed. I was never going to find anything again.

(Claray's POV)

After lugging the last of my stuff into the compound, I hadn't even had the chance to unpack yet before my phone was beeping insistently. Shit. We had been working for some time now to track down the Vampire that attacked me and got away, and we finally had a lead. I gathered my belongings as best as I could before exiting my room. At the compound, Natasha's room was right next to mine, and I heard rustling from somewhere inside and the door was open. I leaned against the doorframe, watching Natasha rage-stuff belongings into drawers, muttering to herself.

"Having fun?" I asked, teasingly. Her eyes snapped up to mine and she smiled.

"Moving sucks," she said simply, before taking a seat on the edge of her bed. She noted the bag I was carrying as well as the clothes I was wearing. "Are you hunting?" I nodded, dropping the supply bag lightly at my feet.

"Yeah, vampire," I murmured. Her brow furrowed.

"Do you want me to go with you?" She furrowed her brow in concern. I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders.

"It's too dangerous, but I appreciate the offer." She stood and approached, getting ready to argue, but I smiled and cut her off gently. "It will be fine, Natasha." She hesitated a moment before nodding.

"So, you and Wanda?" She asked. I looked at her, confused. She rolled her eyes when I didn't answer. "Are you seeing her?"

"Like dating?" I asked. She folded her arms across her chest defensively while nodding. I shrugged. "No.

"But you like her?" I sighed.

"I don't know." Her lips pursed together but she didn't say anything, turning away and starting moving things around again. "Natasha?" No answer. I sighed, backing out of the door frame. "I'll see you later."

"Stay safe," she mumbled. I turned on my heel, sighing and walking towards the main level of the compound so I could go kick something's ass.

(Natasha's POV)

Jealousy wasn't something that I was used to. I was so unused to it, as a matter of fact, that it took me a bit to realize what it was. Claray left, and I heard her sigh from the hallway. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I just tell her what was going on and save both of us the extra tension? I texted Clint to see if he could meet me for a walk, to which he agreed. My room was a mess, but at least it was still close to Claray's. Let's hope that I didn't end up regretting that proximity if she and Maximoff actually started dating. I don't think I could handle it.

While I waited for Clint to arrive at the compound, I threw myself into my desk chair. I had actual tears in my eyes. Why? What was I so upset about? Claray and I had never spoken about dating, or going out, or anything even remotely related to the topic. So why the hell did it feel like a part of me - a part that I wasn't even aware I still had - felt like it was breaking?