Miss Maximoff

Chapter Nine

Wanda and Vision had become significantly more affectionate since your training duel. Granted, Wanda had started being nicer to you as well, so you couldn't complain too much, but their relationship was getting under your skin. It was like they always had to be touching one another.

"Wanda, (Y/n)." Natasha greeted as she walked into your session, though not at the best time. You stood up quickly, putting your hand out to help Wanda up from her position on the floor, where she was previously pinned down by you. She rolled over and accepted your hand, standing up and greeting Natasha herself.
"Hey there Romanoff," You spoke with a smile, happy for the short break.
"The team is going out for ice cream today, if you wanted to come?"
"I'm down! Wanda?"
"Aren't we a little old for that?"
Both you and Natasha scoffed at this, and she spoke to defend your enthusiasm.
"Maybe us lot, but (Y/n) is just a baby, think of it like babysitting!"

Okay, so maybe she didn't necessarily defend you, but she tried. Kind of.

Wanda laughed at this. You cringed.
"Okay, I'll come. Just for you, baby," she said to you, and you didn't know whether to cringe or blush at her emphasis.
"Are the guys coming?" you asked, purely to change the subject. Natasha nodded, smirking to herself. It was as though she knew something that yourself and Wanda didn't. Regardless, you let it slide. You could practically see the heat outside, and you could drown in your own sweat. As a brit, you were NOT prepared for this kind of weather.

--time skip because i'm a lazy author--

A few hours later, you'd put on your favourite summer dress and a dash of makeup, though not so much that it would melt off your face. Stephen (somehow) was wearing trousers and a shirt, his usual attire, and you felt hot just looking at him - in more ways than one.
"You done staring?" He asked you while he brushed your hair for you (it was the least he could do, considering he was the reason it was knotty).
"I'm not staring." You spoke definitively, as though that would do anything. He raised an eyebrow, but continued brushing your hair silently, the sound of the brush being the only thing in the room. "Okay, maybe I am. Just a little bit." He chuckled, and that caused you to grin yourself. 
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I wish we didn't have to go."
"Stephen."
"I'm serious. It'd be nice to sit and watch a movie or something without somebody bursting in on us"
"We can do that anyway. Locks exist for a reason. It will be nice for Wanda to see that you're not so bad."
"She thinks I'm bad?"
"I mean, not bad, bad, just a little bit bad."
"How so?"
"I heard all the things you said before" You stand up and pick up your tote bag, looking at the red and orange flowers on it rather than at Stephen. "About me being slow, and whatever."
"But I didn't-"
"You did mean it, Stephen, at the time. And that's okay. You were playing the part we agreed on."
"It was an unspoken agreement, but sure."
"My point is, it's fine. It just hurt, and I wasn't me for weeks."
"Oh. I'm sorry, love."
"It's fine. Let's go."

*

When you all arrived at the quaint ice cream shop on 5th avenue, Natasha slipped Tony's card out of his pocket and went up to the girl at the stall - Steph, as her name tag read.
"Hi love, can we get a whole load of ice cream?"
"You came to the right place, Avengers," she spoke with a slight accent, she sounded southern, and rosy cheeks, "What'll you have?"
You all ordered, then pushed a few tables together so you could all sit together. You were sat next to Vision, because 'the two Brits should be sat together' - come on, Vision wasn't even British! He was a robot who was created with JARVIS' stupid voice. God, you wanted to tear him apart wire by wire. It wouldn't exactly be difficult.
"So, how's your lessons going, kid?" Tony asked you. 
"Not bad." You replied simply, licking your ice cream as a way to avoid the question.
"We duelled the other day," Wanda added, nonchalantly, as though it wasn't a big deal for the both of you. "She was good."
"Thank you. I did my best."
"Your best is good."
"Thank you."
Steve coughed awkwardly after this and started a conversation with Natasha, which sparked several subdiscussions between the whole party.

It was a pretty menial outing. Discussions that barely scraped the surface of importance or relevance to your daily life, and you mostly just played what the Americans called 'footsie' with Stephen, boiling in your skin.

This summer was going to kill you off.