Safe Place

20: That's Love

Natasha's POV:

Everyone immediately deflated. Sam, Vision, Rhodey, and Tony looked ashamed. Maria and Pepper appeared immensely relieved. Thor was still sobbing, Steve and Bucky were blushing, and Wanda had a hand clapped over her mouth.

Because she wanted to break up with Vision.

And she had looked right at me when she said it.

Clint was guffawing silently to himself, so for the first time since Bucky's arrival, I spring into damage control mode. Funny how that often involves punching or hitting Clint.

"Natasha!" he cries out, grabbing his ear, now bright red from my fist.

I fling my arms around Maria and Pepper. They're two of my oldest friends, and despite the jealousy coursing through my veins, I'm happy for them.

"Congratulations," I whisper, hugging them tightly. "I love you guys. And I'm the maid of honor, calling it now."

Pepper has tears in her eyes, but Maria just nods and says, "Of course". 

I start to go over to Thor, who's wailing like an anguished banshee crossed with a tired child, but someone else gets there first. And by someone, I mean Wanda Maximoff. 

"Shhh," she soothes. "It's okay, you didn't mean to, it's okay. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

And ignoring the goggling eyes of ten Avengers (A/N: Pepper and Hill are Avengers, fight me. Or actually, please don't fight me, but they ARE), Wanda puts a gentle arm around Thor's shoulders and walks him out of the room.

I've never seen Wanda look so caring and kind. It's not that she's not a loving person - the other day I saw her carefully cup a nasty-looking spider in her bare hands and carry it outside to safety - but I guess I've never really looked at that side of her before.

Suddenly, a wave of emotion washes over me, followed by another wave - this one of realization. 

Vision's out of the picture. At least, he will be soon. Wanda's single.

Wanda's single.

The enormity of this twists itself around me, swallowing me up, but then a tendril of it snakes into my mind and pulls out a memory.

Bruce and me, sitting across the bar from each other on the night that Ultron was born. Me in my favorite dangling earrings, flirting with him shamelessly, finally letting a few of my walls tumble down. 

Bruce in his suit jacket, with his graying pouf of hair, gazing at me like I was the biggest and brightest star in the sky.

Bruce.

I run across the room to Tony and grab his shoulders. "You said Bruce was coming back?"

He nods slowly, not getting it at first. "Yeah, I - oh. Oh. Romanoff, oh my god, you've been pining for him this whole time? I can't believe it! Once again, the Black Wid-"

"Stark, shut up," I snap. "Don't let this be another repeat of that week-long 'Bruce Banner, heartbreaker' argument."

"That what?" asks Bucky. Steve's head snaps over to him, and like a magnet, Buck's eyes find Steve's and lock on.

"Tony instigated an Avengers Civil War (A/N again: see what I did there :P) when he started teasing me about Bruce. Clint almost killed him with a butter knife and Sam almost burst into tears."

Bucky doesn't answer. He's too busy staring into Captain America's eyes.

Forgetting Bruce for a second, I clear my throat and smirk. "Wow, Bucky, your hair looks beautiful in pink pigtails."