I've Got Red In My Ledger

Chapter Three

It's the first night's sleep where I've not woken up at three o'clock in the morning and not been able to go back to sleep. It's the first time that I've woken up when the birds are awake and it's what people would call morning.

I remember what Wanda did last night, remember how she managed to calm me down. And she did, which is a rarity, because most of the time I cannot be calmed down. She's not in bed when I wake up, but I hear someone downstairs. I slip out of bed, feeling more rested than I have in a long time. I glance at myself in the mirror, at the dark circles under my eyes, and wonder what Wanda must have thought when she first saw me. I look like a mess. I don't look like the person I was, and I wonder if she notices.
I braid my hair to get it away from my face, an old habit of mine.
"Oh, you are awake," Wanda's smile greets me in the doorway. "Good morning. I've got breakfast on the table if you're hungry."
I smile, because Wanda is one of the kindest people I know.
"Thank you," I tell her softly as we walk downstairs  to the kitchen, "For... for coming into me last night. I'm sorry that I woke you up."
"You don't need to apologise, Natasha." She smiles as she brings over a plate of pancakes to the table. "Everyone has their nightmares, I'm just happy that I was able to help you with yours."
"Sometimes I won't have one for a couple of nights and I'll think that finally, they're gone, but then one will come back and I won't be able to sleep for a week." I admit. There isn't another person on this planet that I've been so open with about myself. Wanda knows me, she knows the version of myself I am when no one is watching.
"I get them too, but mostly I just end up paralysed and unable to move because it seems so real," she smiles. "Who would have thought that we would refuse to sleep because of bad dreams, I'm sure that most people would think we are fearless."
I laugh. "You're right, I bet they do. Little do they know."

After breakfast, Wanda asks if we want to drop all of the old letters and parcels in the bin in town, because we'd talked about it last night. I nod, happy that I have someone to drive to town with me now.
I'm just happy that I have someone else. That there is someone else with me, that knows me.
Wanda offers to drive us this time, and I let her.
We talk about the fact that the sun always takes so long to come up in Norway, and that's one thing about it that Wanda hates.
"I haven't been here in summer, but in winter, the darkness is overwhelming sometimes."
"I think that the summer will be worth it though," I tell her as I flick through the radio channels. I can't believe, that out of all the places the two of us could have chosen, all the places in the entire world, somehow the two of us ended up in the right place.
"I hope so," Wanda laughs. "And then I'm sure that I'll miss the d-"
She's cut off mid sentence by something hitting the car and sending it flying upwards. The impact of it hurts, as we are thrown through the air.

I'm knocked unconscious for a minute or two, only waking up to Wanda, calling my name.
"Nat, Natasha. Wake up." I bring myself to look at her, but as I'm doing so, I see another car pulling up. Wanda heard this too. "We've got to get out, we are hanging over the edge." She answers, undoing her seatbelt.
My heart pounds. "You get out first-"
"No. If the worst case happens, I'll be able to stop myself from falling." I try and reach for my gun, unable to grab it with my seatbelt on. "Who is it?" Wanda asks.
"I don't know," I answer. "No one from SHIELD would want us dead, we're still too valuable."
Wanda shakes her head. "Alright. You get out first, and I will be right behind you."
"You don't have to do this-" I start, but she cuts me off.
"We said we'd do this together, and that's what we are going to do." There's a figure getting out of the other car.
I climb into the back seat, and Wanda makes sure the car won't fall.
The figure isn't human, not from the look of it. It's a robot looking thing with all sorts of interconnecting parts.
I aim at them, whoever they are, but they're too quick, pulling out a sheild that looks very similar to Steve's, although Steve wouldn't be trying to kill me, I would hope.
I shoot twice more, but this results in the shield being thrown directly through the window. It gets itself lodged in the window frame, and I climb out, grunting. Whoever this is, they want us dead. Or they want me dead. I don't think that their target would be Wanda.
Once I am out of the car, Wanda climbs out behind me.
"Are you alright?" She asks, neither of us breaking eye contact with the figure.
"I could be worse," I answer as the figure steps towards us.
Immediately Wanda ignites, her powers stronger than I've seen them before. They're a lot more red than before. She sends the figure flying backwards, but whatever it's made out of, it's strong. Because eventually, it's strong enough to withstand her force. While Wanda's magic is weakening it slightly, I take the chance to launch myself at them.
Wanda keeps it pinned in place, while I try to find a weakness.
But the figure manages to get its arms up, throwing me backwards. I groan as I hit the pavement, and notice that Wanda has taken the attention off of me, as the figure is trying to attack her, but she's cast almost a sheild of protection around her.
I take it by surprise, grabbing it from behind, and manage to knock it down. Once it's down, Wanda keeps it pinned in place.
"Who do you work for?" I ask, but there is no response. The figure grabs my legs and pulls me down. I hit the ground hard, and the figure lands a punch on my side. I groan in frustration, and go to hit it back, but Wanda pushes it further back, away from me.
My body aches, but I'm used to it by now. It's just something I've gotten used to. Something I've had to get used to.