Safe Place

9: Natasha Romanoff Doesn't Get Flustered

Wanda's POV: 

What. Is. Happening.

I can't move. I'm breathing short, shallow breaths. I swear the air is sparkling. 

Nat's staring at me like - like something I can't figure out. I don't know what to do or what to say; all I know is that Nat's eyes are green like dewy grass and they're deep and they're shiny and they're pinning me to my seat.

I can't move.

She wrenches her head in the opposite direction, and I immediately unfreeze, like her gaze was a spell. A powerful, unbreakable, smoldering spell.

"Sorry," I mumble, feeling my cheeks flame. "I - I, uh," I try again. "I, um. Uh. Sorry."

"It's fine," she replies curtly, staring straight ahead at the road. "What store do you want to go to first?"

And just like that, she's over it. I guess it was just a fluke, then, that moment - maybe she forgot what she was going to say, or she saw something out my window, or she didn't want to be rude. 

It didn't mean anything.

Why does that make my stomach fill with lead-heavy sadness?

I groan and press my head against the window. The glass feels cool against my flushed face, and I watch the world go by as Nat sings along to a pop song on the radio. In romance novels (though I've only read two or three), the characters always have beautiful voices, but Nat - well, sorry, but she's super off-key. 

Wait. In romance novels? Where did that come from?

"We're here," Nat says stiffly from beside me, jarring me from my tangle of thoughts. "Ready to go?"

"Uh, okay. Let's go."

We get out of the car and start walking. I trail behind Nat, looking around the parking garage. When I see the mall, though, all my thoughts vanish, and my jaw falls to the dusty cement floor.

"It's - it's so big!" I exclaim. "It's all so pretty! And there are so many stores! Where do we start? How much is the entrance fee? What do they sell?"

Nat's watching me with a slight grin on her face. Partway through my sentence, she bursts into the bright laugh I've only heard once before. It's warm and bubbly, unlike her entire facade, and I could listen to it for hours.

"The entrance fee?" she repeats, clutching her side. "Wan - Wanda - I -" She loses herself to another fit of laughter. I smile. She might make herself out to be this all-business, stiff, no-fuss-no-feelings assassin, but the real Natasha Romanoff - under all those elaborately built layers - seems like a really sweet person.

I'd love to get to know her. But am I bold enough?

Just like that, a sense of confidence washes over me. I'm the Scarlet Witch. I survived Sokovia, HYDRA, and Ultron. I can talk to a slightly intimidating, slightly older person.

"Wan? I like that," I tell her. "It's a good nickname. Cute."

She stops laughing and looks at me. "Wan?"

"Yup, that's my name. At least for you." I wink at her.

Where is this all coming from?

Nat stares at me, huge-eyed and fighting a smile. "Cool," she says in a slightly higher voice than normal.

"So cool," I reply. I stare back at her, right into her eyes.

She's still just looking at me. 

I look away first, feeling proud. "What's with all the staring contests, Romanoff? You must really like my eyes, huh?"

Oh my gosh. I think I've been taken over by some sort of alien. Am I...flirting...with the Black Widow? 

Her face is slowly turning crimson. "Yeah, Maximoff. I really like your eyes." She sounds sarcastic, but there's a hint of something else in her tone I can't detect, and she glances at the ground.

"Flustered?" I ask her, propping my hands on my hips.

Her head snaps up. "Natasha Romanoff doesn't get flustered," she shoots back. But her cheeks are still pinkish, and she won't look me in the eye.

"Whatever you say, Natasha Romanoff."

She lifts her gaze and glowers at me, and just like that, my knees wobble and my wave of confidence crashes. Her glare is like hungry fire. I wrap my arms around myself and turn to the map of the mall.

"Where to?" Nat asks. She seems to be back to normal. I shrug, both unsure and not trusting my own voice. Whatever creature took over by body is long gone now. I can barely open my mouth to speak, so I shrug again, as if to compensate for my lack of chattiness.

"Pottery Barn it is."

*TWO HOURS LATER*

"Oh, my gosh," I groan, heaving my bags onto the closest table. "Why is everything so heavy?"

Nat grins. "Welcome to shopping, Wan," she says. "Fun, though, huh?"

"Yeah," I reply, a little flustered myself that she called me Wan. "Fun."

"I'm gonna go get a burger. You want something?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll come with you."

We stand and get in line at the Big Fat Burger stand. When we get to the front, Nat orders and then looks to me.

"I don't know what to get," I whisper. I'm starting to get anxious, what with the crowds and all the unfamiliar things and noises.

Nat seems to sense this, because she grabs my hand and gives it a quick squeeze. "She'll have the same. Plus an order of fries to share, please."

Once we're back at the table, I ask Nat what she got me.

"A double cheeseburger and an Oreo milkshake," she explains. "You'll like it, I promise." 

I trust her. And not just with my food order.

We sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Nat takes a cardigan from her bag and pulls it on, her shoulder centimeters from mine. It makes me fizz, momentarily distracting me from the incessantly loud hustle and bustle of the food court, but my anxiety still threatens to overwhelm me. 

Without thinking about it, I lean my head on Nat's shoulder and shut my eyes. Everything is too much right now.

Nat jumps, jarring me and jerking my head. Her cheeks are stained a light red.

The confidence is back, drowning out my uneasiness, drowning out that weird buzzing feeling that spikes whenever Nat's around. I lean in closer to her, so we're eye to eye, and move my mouth to her ear. The blush darkens, just a bit. We're so close I can feel her muscles tense. I can almost feel her heart beating.

"I thought Natasha Romanoff doesn't get flustered," I whisper. 

A smile plays at my lips, and a surge of giddy delight courses through me as I see her fight a grin of her own. 

Hi everyone!

Hope you all liked Confident Wanda :) she is my absolute favorite. 

Are we loving the energy between these two here? All I have to say is don't get too invested for now...there's still a lot of story to come (I think), and what kind of writer would I be if the main couple got together in the beginning?

Anyway, have a lovely day/night, everybody. Be kind to yourself and others! 

Don't forget to HYDRATE,

Sunny :P