WandaWidow - Book 2

Chapter 2 - Favour

After a short while Natasha and Steve found themselves seated opposite one another at a large dining table. They had been escorted down by two guards at T'Challa's request. Natasha was pretty glad of something to eat, as she hadn't touched a bite all day.

She had woken anxious that morning so breakfast was the last thing on her mind. Natasha had been unsure as to how the reunion with Steve would go. She considered herself a bit ridiculous in retrospect, as Steve hadn't ever let her down before. It would be odd of him to start now.

Steve cleared his throat. It was a little awkward in the dining room considering their hosts had not joined them just yet. Their only outside company were the two escorts that had fetched them, who were now waiting on either side of the door. If Natasha didn't trust that Steve and T'Challa had resolved their issues, she would have been worried that this was a set up and that they were about to be handed back over to Ross.

She sighed and reached for the empty glass in front of her, quickly filling it with water from a jug in the middle of the table. As she rose to reach for it she did so slowly. The guards seemed on edge, and she didn't want to give them any reason to believe the spears they were wielding were necessary. Natasha didn't doubt that she and Steve could handle it, but she knew the next while would be tough and she wanted to conserve her energy.

She and Steve had agreed earlier that the best option would be to ask T'Challa for his help. Even if it only meant giving them the location of the Raft that would be something. The sooner the rest of the team were free, the sooner they could try and fix it all. They knew this was a big ask of the young King. His experience of the Avengers wasn't the best, and it was obvious that his mother wasn't a fan. Ramonda's influence over her son was something that they figured they would need to contend against. Not impossible, but just another bump in the road.

Just as Natasha was finishing her drink, the door to the room opened and a young woman stepped in. Steve stood at her arrival, so Natasha followed his lead.

"Shuri," Steve greeted, "It's great to see you."

"Captain," the girl smiled before looking at Natasha and extending a hand, "Black Widow."

"Hi. You can just call me Nat," Natasha greeted with a smirk.

"But Black Widow is so much cooler?" Shuri replied, tilting her head in feigned confusion.

This earned a small laugh from Natasha, who was trying to figure out who this young woman was exactly. As Shuri took her seat, she answered the unasked question herself.

"Has my brother kept you waiting?"

"Not long," Steve replied politely.

"Well, I am extremely hungry so can we please get some food in here?" Shuri then turned to one of the guards.

The guard gave a curt nod before leaving and heading for what they assumed was the kitchen.

"Shouldn't we wait?" Natasha asked.

Shuri waved her off with a hand, "If I spent my whole life waiting for my brother I would get nothing done. We're here, we'll eat. He can come when he likes."

Natasha smiled again at the young woman. She was confident, outspoken, and sure of herself, not unlike Natasha's own younger sister, Yelena. A sister that she only really accepted that she had quite recently. Natasha had always found it easier to go through life alone. If you didn't get close to anyone, you couldn't lose them and you didn't get hurt. Of course a few had slipped through the net over the years, and now without planning Natasha had two families both of which she couldn't do without.

A few moments later a light knock came at the door, and entered the kitchen staff who proceeded to lay down trays of food on the table. Natasha wasn't sure what it all was, but everything looked great and she was excited to get tucked in. She looked to Steve who was impatiently waiting for Shuri to move first. Natasha made a mental note to remind him later that he never once waited for her or Wanda before he and Sam would get stuck into a meal.