Solitude

10| Surprise

"Seriously?" 

Wanda shrugs her shoulders, holding onto the pan tightly. You need to work on her defense mechanism. A pan isn't exactly the best weapon. But better than nothing.

With small steps, you creep towards the porch. Not making a sound, you push the door open with a sudden shove and jump outside. With your hand balled into fists, you scan the area for anything unfamiliar. 

"What is it?" Wanda whispers behind you.

Your eyes land on something bright. You blink. It's still there. You blink again. Green eyes. You would recognize this blonde hair from anywhere. It's not a stranger. False alarm. You lower your fists. 

"Nat?"

The blonde grins from ear to ear. Your mind can't catch on to the sudden turn of events. Natasha is here? Wanda carefully nears herself to you again, the pan pressed against her side. A sound of confusion escapes her mouth as well. 

"There are my two favorite people in the world!" Natasha cheers, ignoring the small moment of shock. "Surprise!"

In two steps, the blonde is on the porch. She falls into your arms, hugging you with force and squeezing the air out of your lungs. You return the huge trying to push the thoughts surrounding the hows and why's away. 

"What are you doing here?" Wanda asks.

Natasha pulls back, turning her attention to the redhead. Wanda has a small furrow on her forehead. You take a step to the side so that Natasha can walk past you.

"A bit more enthusiasm, please. I thought you would be happy to see me." Natasha pouts her lips. "Isn't my surprise not to your liking?"

"Yes, of course!" Wanda immediately replies. "It's just…a surprise, that's all."

"Come here, little witch." She opens her arms, beckoning closer with her crooked index finger. "I'll let it drop when you hug me."

Wanda scoffs. "I would love nothing more than that, shortie.

You observe the interaction with a grin. Natasha is truly tiny compared to you both even though you aren't that tall. A hug later, you walk back inside the cabin. 

"I see that you didn't burn the house down…yet," Natasha says. "My prayers were heard."

"Why would you think that?"

Natasha gives the redhead an amused glare, biting down on her tongue. "Wanda, dearest…I don't have much faith in your cooking skills."

Wanda's mouth falls open. You want to defend her, but the blonde already continues to move into the living room. You and Wanda share a short eye contact, rolling your eyes at the same time. You chuckle, quickly following Natasha because you don't want her to notice you falling behind. Knowing Natasha, she would immediately question it and read more into it than there is…

That's not entirely true. Nevertheless, letting Natasha get wind of your new kind of relationship isn't in nobody's interest. 

"To be brutally honest, I thought you both would have killed each other already. Good to see that that didn't happen…a murderer would be bad for business."

"There's still time." Wanda quietly mumbles, too low for Natasha to hear but loud enough for you to understand it.

She's not happy about this surprise. But who can blame her after we were so rudely interrupted?

Natasha grazes her fingertips over the bookshelf. "Now…What were you guys up to?"

Before you appeared in front of the door? The blood rushes in your ears. You gulp, parting your lips but Wanda already comes to your rescue.