not how it's supposed to go

if i didn't know better (i'd think you were still around)

Wanda arrives the next night and as soon as she steps into the threshold of Kate's (and admittedly, Yelena's) apartment, they sit her down to reveal what happened.

"Clint called yesterday," Kate prefaces, "and we were watching the news, and Clint told Yelena something about Natasha."

Wanda looks confused, which, obviously, makes sense, but Yelena can tell she's trying to figure out what they're gonna say. She's not sure why Wanda wouldn't just read their minds and learn that much faster, but she pushes past that.

"Barton called to tell us that Natasha's motorcycle was missing," Yelena says, and Wanda's face clearly goes through more emotions this time.

"What do you mean, missing? Like someone stole it?" Wanda asks, clearly in disbelief.

"Clint doesn't know," Kate responds, "all he's figured out is that the house was unlocked, the keys are missing, and the bike is gone."

"It sounds like someone stole from the place," Wanda says after a few minutes of thinking. Something about her expression gives Yelena the impression that she has more to say, but she clicks her mouth shut and looks down at her hands.

"We also heard that Natasha was spotted in Iowa on the news last night," Kate adds, apprehensive look on her face.

Wanda doesn't look up, but Yelena can see the red magic start twirling around her fingers. She still hates it and finds herself looking away, trying to focus on anything else.

"People get that stuff wrong all the time," she finally blurts out, standing up and walking to the kitchen. She grabs a beer out of the fridge and opens it, ignoring how Kate's staring at her in disbelief.

"The photo was pretty clear, Lena," she says carefully, obviously trying not to overstep any boundaries.

"Kate, I learned photoshop when I was bored three months ago. Anyone can make photos like that. It's not like Natasha was hidden or anything, she was practically celebrity," Yelena replies, swirling the drink around in its bottle absentmindedly.

"Show me," Wanda says, and Kate pulls out her phone.

"Why would they choose Iowa if it was fake, though? Out of all the places in the world this liar chose the state that Clint's family lives in?" Kate asks, showing her phone to Wanda and looking at her girlfriend.

"Dumb luck," Yelena brushes off, taking another sip. Natasha's dead. She knows Natasha's dead. Clint saw it with his own eyes, he even told her about how he still sees her in his nightmares.

(Something they bonded over, ironically.)

"That looks like her," Wanda comments, "these were taken yesterday?"

"The story ," Yelena says, walking back over, "is that the guy took the photos a week back but he didn't share them because he thought he recognized her. But he wasn't sure until he showed one of his friends."

"That's insane," Wanda says softly, almost so quiet Yelena doesn't hear it, "What does Clint think? He has to know something."

"He doesn't know anything," Kate responds, "all he knows is that the bike went missing at some point between the beginning of this month and the end of it."

Wanda has that look on her face again, like she wants to say something but doesn't. Yelena finds herself growing to hate that look, she hates not knowing things and wants Wanda to just spit it out.

But she holds back, instead opting to just drink some more. Who gives a shit if Wanda has secrets, she has some, too, and she wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole, even if she is in fact the best child assassin of all time. (Not that there's much competition, hopefully.)