Relapse In Time

𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟

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*three years later*

Veda runs towards the compound with a bag of clothes, and a new laptop in her hands, "woah, watch it twinkle toes..." Bruce raises his hands as she slides into the kitchen, almost knocking him down. The sixteen year old sighs, "where do you think of these nicknames?" Veda smiles. Bruce snorts a laugh, "I walked in on you singing and dancing last night, I thought it was fitting" he shrugs as he returns to the stove. Veda groans, "I need a lock on my door" she raises an eyebrow. She smells the air, "what's for dinner?" She smiles, "it smells nice" she nods.

"Pasta bake, and a secret sauce" he wiggles his eyebrows. Veda smiles, "wait, what's in the bag? And how'd you get that?" He notices the bags she just set down. Veda sighs, "my laptop died on me last week, so I thought I'd run into the city and grab a new one" she nods. Bruce sighs, "you're gonna be a wanted criminal if you keep stealing" he points at her with his wooden spoon. She groans, "what am I supposed to do? Whenever I go it's a ghost town. The stores are open but nobody works there, it's not like I could pay for this stuff even if I wanted to. Besides, if they want it back, they can have it. I'm simply borrowing..." she flops down on the couch.

"You're crazy" he shakes his head, "but maybe you could grab me a bunch of medical and lab supplies next time you go..." he looks around. She chuckles, "I'll note that down" she smiles. Natasha waltzes into the room, "what's that's smell?" She sniffs the air, "I'm starving" she sits down at the island. Veda stealthily creeps up behind her friend and goes to wrap her arms around her neck, playfully of course, "not so fast twinkle toes" Natasha grabs her hands without needing to look. Veda gasps, "you told her?!" She wraps her arms over nats shoulders and rests her chin on the woman's back.

Bruce shrugs, "well maybe the next time you wanna have a concert of your own, you ought to close the door" he hands her a plate of food. She smiles, "oh please, you know you wanted to join in" she shrugs, "smooth criminal..." she hums away, leaving Bruce and nat to chuckle at her antics.

~

It was dark when Veda found herself hacking into the nearest power station, one that isn't connected to the rest of the city. She's been doing this for three years now, draining the power from it to keep the compound in action. It's not like the power station is of much use, nobody works in the farmers plant anymore. Nat sighs, "you're lucky nobody can track our location, I'm pretty sure you'd be in jail by now" she smiles as she poked her head into the meeting room. Veda smiles, "what's there left to lose?" She shrugs. Nat smiles sadly, "how're you holding up?" She nods. Veda sighs, "you ask me that every day, and the answers always the same" she raises an eyebrow.

"You don't wanna talk about it, I know. But me and you, we're close V, we can talk. If anything's bothering you, like the loneliness or the nightmares, or maybe even just banners terrible jokes, you can tell me" Nat places a hand on her shoulder. Veda shakes her head and smiles, "I haven't had a nightmare in weeks" she shrugs. Although, she actually had one this afternoon. Nat nods, "it still stands, whenever you need me, I'm here" she nods. Veda smiles, "what about you?" She enquires. Nat nods, "I'm alright, bored as ever" she sighs. Veda nods, "well, I'm heading back into the city tomorrow. Bruce needs more supplies, wanna teach me how to drive?" She pouts.

"Alright fine, but only because there's no one around for you to run over" she sighs. Veda snorts a laugh, "you're the one who speeds" she raised her hands. Nat nods, "true, but..." she looks around, "yeah I got nothing, I just like breaking the law" she nudges the teenagers arm. Veda smiles, "you and me both" she shuts down her laptop.