WandaWidow - Book 1

Chapter 13 - Access Denied

Natasha had tried repeatedly over the following few days to make things right with Wanda. She tried to bring her food, invited her to go into the city, and even simply just asked her to talk, but nothing was working. The most Natasha had got from her since she walked out was a passing glare, but even since then Wanda just refused to look in Natasha's direction.

Wanda wouldn't answer the door to her room knowing that it was Natasha on the other side. When they were in training Wanda had somehow always managed to avoid being alone with Natasha, and even during dinner at night she would only talk to the boys. As much as Natasha wanted to make things right with Wanda, she still wasn't very sure what she would say to her when Wanda would hear her out, figuring she would let her eventually.

After another failed attempt at getting through to Wanda, Natasha had found herself feeling frustrated, and went into the kitchen to get a drink. She quietly sighed when she saw Steve sitting at the bar, not meaning any offence but he wasn't who she wanted to be talking with, or needed to be talking with. She went ahead anyway over to the bar and poured herself a drink.

As Natasha went to walk away Steve spoke up.

"Why don't you sit?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Oh I was just taking this back to my room."

"Nonsense, sit," he insisted.

"I'm not going to be great company, Steve."

"Which is exactly why you should sit. I've known you for years Nat, as much as you try and hide it, I've noticed there's been something up with you for days."

Natasha still didn't sit, trying to think of another excuse to head back to her room. Steve patted the stool beside him. She drew a blank on another reason to walk away, so instead gave in and took the seat.

"So...Let's talk," he began.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"It's about you and Wanda isn't it?"

Natasha didn't answer.

"You two have been inseparable the past few weeks, and now Wanda won't even look at you and you can't seem to take your eyes off her."

Hearing the reality of the situation she was in stung Natasha a little, and she took a big sip of her drink.

"Yep. Sounds about right," she replied flatly.

"Well, that didn't come from nothing. So what happened?" Steve asked.

Natasha was torn, as much as she didn't want to talk about it, it was the only thing on her mind, and she herself didn't have a clue how she could get back on speaking terms with Wanda as nothing was working so far. She decided to tell him a slightly altered version of the story, not wanting to delve into Wanda's mental health too much. That was her story to tell, not Natasha's.

"Well, basically Wanda came to my room, and she ended up getting upset about her brother, and I was holding her and trying to make her feel better-"

"You like Wanda, don't you?" Steve interrupted.

"I mean sure, everyone likes Wanda," Natasha answered casually.

"Nat," he probed.

"Yes, I like Wanda."

"Was that so hard? From what I can tell she likes you too."

"It really doesn't feel that way right now."

"She does. Even though she isn't exactly happy with you, it doesn't take someone like Stark to figure out that she's got feelings for you."

Natasha looked at him closely. She was unaware that up until now everyone else was able to read the situation better than she clearly had. 

"Go on, what happened next?" Steve prompted.

"She tried to kiss me, but she was upset and it didn't feel right, so I pulled away."

"Oh," Steve winced.

"Oh?" Natasha mimicked, "That isn't exactly helping, Steve."

"I just mean I get why she would be upset. Why did you pull away?"

"I just, I've thought about a moment like that with her since she got here, but with all the fallout from Sokovia, there never felt like a right time. It still doesn't feel like the right time, I know she's missing her brother and she's going through a lot. Yeah I get that it would be upsetting to be rejected, but I wasn't rejecting her, not really...but she won't even give me a chance to explain."

"Since when have you ever held back and waited for someone to ask for your thoughts on something?"

Natasha looked at him with a brow raised.

"What I mean by that is, you're not exactly someone who asks for permission to do what they think is right. If you did, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be sitting here. You're one of the most determined people I've come across, and it seems to me that if asking her if you can explain hasn't worked so far then maybe you should stick to what you know, and stop asking."

"So what, kick the door in and hope she doesn't kick me back out?" Natasha laughed.

"Something like that," he smiled.

Natasha looked back at her drink, thinking.

"But hey," he continued, "What do I know? I mean it's not like I have the best track record with women."

They both shared a brief laugh, and took another big drink from their glasses.

"Thank you, Steve."

"Well, you know, if there is one thing I've learned about matters concerning the heart, it's not to wait too long. A lot can change in a small amount of time."

"I know, but honestly Steve I don't know if we should be together."

"Well, why not?"

"I don't want to hurt her."

"If you don't want to hurt her, then don't. You're pretty much in control as far as that's concerned."

Natasha again didn't respond. She looked a little lost, and this wasn't missed by Steve.

"Wow, this has really done a number on you, Nat."

He took his free hand, and placed it on her shoulder.

"Look," he continued, "If you don't think it'll work out romantically then it doesn't have to be romantic, but you two care about each other too much to just cut each other off like this. As much as she needs you, you seem to need her too. So go get her, be her friend or be something more, but just be with her."

"How many of these have you had to drink?" Natasha joked to lighten the mood.

"Stop stalling and go," he waved her off with his free hand.

Natasha downed the rest of her glass, and walked back over to Wanda's door. She knocked, and as usual she didn't get a response. She took a deep breath, and instead of walking away she opened the door.

"I'm coming in," she stated as she stepped into the room.

She found Wanda laying on her bed reading. She turned in surprise at Natasha's boldness and was finding herself to be both shocked and just a little impressed.

"I need you to listen to me," Natasha stated.

"Natasha you should leave," Wanda started, as she moved to get up from the bed.

"Not until you hear what I have to say. You owe me that much at least."

"No. I'm no-," Wanda began to argue.

Natasha cut her off, "I'm not asking, Wanda. Now sit where you are, and let me speak."

A/N: Sorry this one is a little shorter, but was just the way things worked out! Hope you're having a great day!