Elysium (Natasha Romanoff)

Thirteen

Natasha

It takes thirty-two hours and nine lego sets before a familiar dragon roars in town again.

I'd been trying to keep myself occupied and not count the hours, but it didn't work, and with each passing one my anxiety grew. Hence all the Lego kits. It was nice to do something with set instructions, even if I did have a suspicious amount of pieces left over.

I'd just finished building a tiger and was putting the little pink butthole on it when the dragon roared outside. Before I could get up to go look, there was a knock on my door and that poor tiger almost got smashed in the mad dash I made to go answer said door.

I take a deep breath before I answer it and calmly pull it open. Elias stands uncertainly on my porch, her hair short and messy, like she'd just been through a wind tunnel.

"Elias," I say as a feeling of relief coming over me at the sight of her.

"Hey Red," she says softly. "I uh brought you a visitor."

"What?"

She steps aside and behind her is a face I never thought I'd see again. "Wanda?"

"Hey Nat."

I don't hesitate in pulling her into a hug and squeezing her tightly. "How are you here?" I ask her excitedly.

"Magic," she mutters into my shoulder, her arms hugging me back just as tightly as I'm hugging her.

Eventually we part and I move aside so that she can come in and as she moves past me I look at Elias who has made no move to follow her, "thank you," I tell her softly.

"Anytime Red," she tells me.

"Are you coming in?" I ask her.

She shakes her head, "no. I've got.. things to do."

She goes to leave and I grab her arm, clearly surprising her but she doesn't shake me off. "I'm sorry, Elias. Truly," I tell her.

"Me too," she says. "Have a good visit."

Going back to Wanda, I find her curled up on the couch and watching me with an amused expression. "What?" I ask as I go to join her.

"You and Elias huh?" She asks with a knowing look.

"There is no me and Elias," I tell her truthfully. "There kind of was, maybe, I mean we hooked up but then I kinda yelled at her and kicked her out so," I take a breath and stop my rambling. "No, there's nothing there."

"Yeah, ok," she scoffs.

As much as I want to press her on what she knows about Elias, I have other questions that need answering. "How are you here Wanda? Did you.. die too? How is everyone? What happened with Thanos?"

She shakes her head and sighs, "the short version is that we defeated Thanos, Stark died using the stones to bring everyone back, Steve managed to hitch a ride into the past to grow old with Peggy, Vision.. was used as a lab rat and I went kinda crazy, enslaved a town, brought him back with my magic, had two beautiful boys and then SHIELD blew it all up which pushed me even more the edge and then I tried to kidnap this other girl who could make portals to different multiverses so that I could be with my kids and then after she finally managed to open the right one, my kids were terrified of me and then I tried to kill myself but at the last minute a portal opened and sucked me here and I've been here ever since."

She looks at me expectantly as I stare at her in utter shock. "That was.. a lot," I finally manage to get out. "So you've been here for five years?"

"Four," she corrects. "It's weird that we've both been here all this time and never seen each other."

"I just got here," I tell her. "About a week ago."

Now she's the confused one, "how? Nat, you died five years ago."

"Yeah I know," I sigh. "I remember falling from Vormir, and then there was a blackness and then I woke up here in the Rebirth Center."

"That is.. strange," she says slowly. "Not as strange as all these Legos though."

I look at all the figures and buildings I'd done, "yeah.. I needed something to do."

"From what I hear it's more like someone," she teases. "How was it?"

"I uh.. don't really remember much," I admit.

"Oh," Wanda says with a frown. "Elias gives off big dick energy but I guess you never can tell."

"It's not that," I tell her. "She does have an above average dick. I just, wasn't in the best headspace and kind of jumped her after she caught me dancing."

Wanda's mood immediately shifts, "you were dancing again?" She asks softly. Ever since the first time she'd messed with my head, she'd know exactly why I dance. I nod slightly and says, "oh Nat. It's gotten that bad?"

"Honestly no," I tell her. "It was just that one day. And it had been a very nice day. Elias had taken me to the town fair and I beat her ass at a shooting game and she'd played in the band and it was really hot. Like really hot, Wanda. And I thought what if? And then I learned she's married and then I came home and learned my sister is married with a baby on the way and she's naming it after me because I've been gone five years." I pause briefly and take a deep breath, "how has it been five years Wands?"

"I don't know Nat," she says softly.

I hadn't expected her know and had only half heard her as I continue, "and then I went downstairs and it was a ballet studio and I just started to dance. I don't know how long I danced but I lost a toenail and Elias.. she was just suddenly there and she was so kind and concerned and I jumped her. And we had sex and the next morning she was still here and making breakfast and had even gotten me a Plan B even though I don't need it but she didn't know that and yet had been considerate enough to think of it. And it was just too much. And I yelled and kicked her out."

"And then she came to Dekon's farm," Wanda finishes.

"Is that where she was? Where you were?"

She nods, "I've been there for the past four years. Ever since the.."

"Portal?" I ask. She nods and I say, "yeah you're really gonna have to explain that one. You enslaved a town? Had kids with vision? How did that even work he's a robot."

She groans, "I'll tell you everything but we are going to need one hell of a drink."

I hop up and go to the fridge, opening the freezer and pulling out the bottle of vodka I'd ordered earlier. Grabbing two glasses I go back to the couch and pour us a drink, handing her one as I say, "start at the beginning."

She takes a sip and nods, "well, I suppose the beginning is when this guy, Dr Strange, yanked me from Wakanda after I came back and took me straight into a battle."