The Witch's Shadow (Wanda Maximoff x Girl)

Twenty-Three

I give myself twenty-four hours before I tell the girls my plan. Twenty-four short hours of happiness.

It might not seem like a lot of time, but when your entire life has been one shit storm after the next, there's a lot you can do with a small amount of time.

Starting with breakfast.

I get up before the others, and after giving Wanda a soft kiss on the cheek, I flash all over the world-

Columbia for coffee beans.
Thailand for fresh fruit.
New Zealand for cheese.
Japan for green tea.
A small restaurant called Judy's in Galesburg Illinois for pancakes.
And of course, Paris for croissants, curtesy of Clarissa.

By the time that everyone wandered downstairs, I had the large dining table full of food and the entire house smelled like Christmas morning. Or what I had always imagined a real Christmas morning smelled like.

Yelena was the first down the stairs and the first to slump into a chair, laying her head on the table with a groan, "why was there a bar in my room?"

"It was a mini bar," I tell her. "They are in everyone's room."

"Oh she knows," Wanda says as she comes down the stairs. "She drank them all."

"Lenny!" I exclaim.

"Sshhh," Yelena tells me, waving her hand in my direction. "The mini bottles are tricky. They tricked me."

Wanda comes over to me and wraps her arms around my waist, "she's still a tad drunk."

Leaning down, I give her a long kiss, only slightly surprised that she tasted of vodka. "And what about you? Did the little bottles trick you too?" I tease when we pull away.

She smiles and lays her head on my chest, "not nearly as much as they did Yelena."

Looking up at the stairs is ask, "where's Natasha? She's usually the first person awake."

Wanda shrugs, "she disappeared into her room last night and I don't think she's been out since." She pulls back slightly and asks, "what did you two talk about yesterday? Your mind.. it's like how it was before. Quiet and guarded."

I move my hands to her face and kiss her forehead, "I'll tell you tomorrow, I promise. Today, I just want to have a good day with my family."

Something in my eyes or voice must have told her not to argue, or maybe she also just wanted a good day. Either way, she just nods and goes to sit across from Yelena. Picking up a croissant she asks, "Clarissa?"

"Don't worry, I paid for them this time," I tell her as I make a plate. "I'll go see where Nat is."

Heading up the stairs, I go to Natasha's room and knock on her door, but there's no answer. Not that I really expected there to be one. Opening the door, I'm greeted by an untouched room. The bed was still made, all the lights were off, not even the little mint on the pillow was touched.

Leaving the room, I'm about to start checking the other bedrooms when I notice the door at the end of the hall is cracked open and soft music is coming from it. Heading towards it, I can feel my heart sinking with each step.

"You better not be in here," I whisper as I push open the door. Sure enough, there's Natasha in the middle of the dance studio.

A dance studio that was meant to demolish before bringing her here, but circumstances being what they were, I hadn't had time.

Setting the plate onto the floor by the door, I watch her dance. Where she'd found point shoes was beyond me, but as I look closer at them, I realize they were the same ones she had in the Red Room. How she'd managed to get them, or even why she had them, was concerning.