I've Got Red In My Ledger

Chapter Two

I'd been debating going to see Natasha ever since I saw her at the gas station a month ago, but I'd always chickened out because I didn't know whether she'd be happy to see me or not.

It's been a while since we'd even seen each other properly... not on a battlefield. The last time we were together was at Tony's funeral, and I left straight after that to try and get Vision's body back.
I couldn't think straight after he'd been... killed by Thanos, all I wanted was for him to be back. To be with me, making paprikash in the kitchen, and telling me that he wished everyone saw me that was that he did.

WestView was nice, it was one of the best parts of my life, and I will find a way to get Billy and Tommy back. I will. But for now, I need to focus on what I actually have in my reach. I need to focus on the people I have. The person I have.
And that's Natasha. She's changed, but not so much that she's unrecognisable. She's still the woman she was before we all lost so much.
"You're welcome to stay, you know. I could totally just... bring your caravan here. Or you could stay in one of my spare rooms, because I have power that works continuously." I smile.
Nat laughs. "You came here for peace, Wanda. Not to be bothered by someone from your past."
"You could never bother me, Natasha." I admit.
She never could. She could never bother me. She's the only person that I wouldn't get tired of.
She seems to debate my offer for a few seconds. "If you could move my dingy little trailer here, I wouldn't say no," she smiles.
For the first time in a long while, I feel a spark within me. It's the first time since I saw Vision again, when he greeted me and we watched television together.
"Good," I tell her. "Shall we head back to your place?"
"Yes," she smiles.

I feel safer when she's around. I feel less alone when I'm with her, which is ironic, because of course I'm not alone. But sometimes... some people still leave you feeling alone, even if they're close to you. But Nat isn't like that.
"Do you wish you could go back?" She asks as we drive back to her caravan. "To WestView?"
I turn to her with a smile. "I... I don't think I would, if I could. As much as I loved it, as much as I felt safe... it wasn't real. Well, it was real to me. But I ended up having to leave it all. Again. And I'm still trying to find Billy and Tommy... but I'm not one hundred percent sure how to go about doing that."
"I bet they were just like you," Nat smiles.
I smile when I think of them, when I first held Tommy in by arms, Monica, who at that point was Geraldine, helping me. When Vision returned with the doctor, and told me that we'd agree to Tommy. It truly felt real, all of it. It was all real. It was real to me, even though others couldn't see that.
"They were." I reply. I go to get out of the car, but Nat grabs my arm.
"Wait." I look over at her, confused. "I didn't leave those curtains open."
"Natasha, have you once again forgotten that I can move things with my mind?" I tell her, and she glances over at me. "Whatever, or whoever it is, we'll deal with it together."

We climb out of the car, Nat holding her gun towards the door. As suspected, it clicks open, with no sign of it being locked.
She insists that she go in first, as much as I protest. I watch her, and I feel alive again. I feel like finally, there is something else I can do instead of sitting by my bed, trying to make sense of the Book of the Damned, trying to bring back my family.
I watch her, and it's like, for a moment, the pain doesn't hurt so much anymore.
My power swirls red in my hands, making sure that if anything happens, I can fight.
"Rick, seriously?" Natasha groans, and signals that she knows him. My powers die down like an ember caught in the wind, and Nat sighs. "What are you doing here?"
"Relax, geez. I'm here to drop off a couple of things - the things that you asked for, if you remember. Who's this?" Rick acknowledges me. "That's the one who-"
"Yes," Nat sighs. "It is, and she's got a name, you know. It's Wanda, Wanda Maximoff, but whatever. I asked you for that stuff three weeks ago."
"Well, I'm sorry, you try speeding up the process of making twenty different identities for the same person." He rolls his eyes. He points at Nat. "This one is always so fussy. You'd better get used to her if you live anywhere near her."
Nat elbows him in the ribs and I smile.
"Ow! It was just a joke!"
"What's that?" Nat asks, pointing at a box that sits on the counter.
"Oh, that's just letters and things that had piled up at the safe house. I figured you might want some of them." Rick glances out the door before her stands outside. "Throw them away if you don't want them, I just couldn't have them cluttering up the place when I've got a new person living in there."
"Okay," Nat answers as she takes the box and throws it in the car.
"I'll see you later, Nat."
"Maybe not, I'm leaving," Natasha calls out to him. "I'm going to stay with Wanda for a while. I could use the company."
"Good luck with her," Rick tells me with a laugh.
"I don't need luck," I tell him, and he waved before walking off. "He was a delight," I tell Natasha, who grins.
"He's alright, he's helped me out with lots of the stuff I need to stay under the radar of SHIELD." she answers. "How are you going to do this?" She gestures to the trailer.
I smile. "Easy. I take it with me, you meet us back at the house."
Nat smiles. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Of course," I answer. "I'll be fine. I'll see you in under five minutes, I swear. In fact, I might even get there before you." I sigh. "And all this before nine o'clock in the morning. Wow, the life of runaway ex-Avengers is spectacular."
"You still didn't tell me why you were up that early," she calls as she gets into the car.
I smile, because I've missed her. Missed her humour, her laugh. I cannot believe that she's here, that I'm here. That finally, I had the courage to come here.