all the stars; scarletvision {ABANDONED}

communication, part two

[Steve Rogers POV]

"Please stop." "I literally cannot." "It's not Christmas time." "It's still stuck in my head. Feliz navidad, da-da-da-da-da, Feliz navidad, da-da-da-da-da, Feliz nav-" "Please take me back, Russia." 

Steve finally looked up an smiled at Natasha's last comment. Sam had Feliz Navidad  stuck in his head, and he could not for the life of him get it out. It was driving the platinum-blonde assassin crazy.  "You know, it could be worse. He could have All-Star stuck in his head instead." Sam perked up. "Hey....that's not a bad idea. SomeBODY ONCE TOLD ME- wait no I'll stop." Natasha was playing with a knife and Sam had a terrified expression on his face. Steve laughed and said, "Put down the knife, Nat. Someone might see it." 

It was about 9 pm at night in the just-starting-to get colder town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The three of them were sitting at a café sipping on caramel lattes and trying to pass the time.  Steve wrapped his hands around his latte, attempting to warm his clammy hands. What they were doing, or at least trying to do, was risky. Wanda didn't know they were coming. But they were very nervous- they had no contact from her since she left them, and that was almost a month and a half ago. 

Steve knew she had the right to live her own life. But he didn't want to lose her completely, and neither did Nat and Sam. It took them around a week to pin point where  she and Vision were. They were good, and it hadn't occurred to the trio that Vision would be disguised and going under a different name. They were good, yes- but not good enough. 

Through their surveillance, they found Wanda, thus finding Vision as well. Then, after two weeks of observance (they spent a lot of time watching them- Sam found the whole paprikash incident the highlight of their time doing so), they came to the conclusion that they came to this café, once a week, for coffee in the evenings. It was sweet, Steve thought. Normalcy was hard to find with people like them, and Wanda and Vision were trying their best. He was a little envious, he wouldn't lie. Peggy was at the back of his mind, reminding him of what they could have had had he not gone into the ice. Her death still quite fresh, it having been only a little before they got Wanda back from prison.  But he had mourned her death before, he could do it again. And besides, she'd lived a life. He wouldn't be that person. 

It took him a moment to realize that Natasha and Sam had gone silent. Her icy eyes were analytical, trying to figure out what he was thinking of. Sam's chocolate ones were only filled with concern- he didn't care what was wrong right now, he just wanted to make sure Steve was okay. He found it funny sometimes, how different his friends were. He quickly took a sip of his coffee, almost choking as he sipped the still hot drink. Nat smirked, saying "You really are horrible at covering up how you're feeling." Sam slapped her arm lightly. 

One half of Steve's mouth curved up into a small smile, but quickly dropped. Wanda and Vision had arrived, hand in hand. Wanda had a luminous smile on her face, and Vision was leaning down to whisper something in her ear. They were so, so happy. Steve almost felt bad for interrupting them. Nat and Sam sensed the change in him and turned around, noting Wanda and Vision's presence. "Here we go," Sam whispered. 

It didn't take very long for Wanda to notice them. The smile was wiped clean off her face, and she stopped dead in her tracks, right in front of the door of the café. Vision looked up, concerned, and quickly found them as well. He paused, and silently, they both nodded. It took Steve a moment to realize they were reading each other's thoughts. 

That's handy, he thought to himself. He made no move to stand as they carefully walked over to Steve, Nat, and Sam. "What are you doing here?" Wanda asked as soon as she was in whispering distance. Her grip on Vision's hand was so tight, her knuckles had gone white. She was clearly on edge, and Steve had to wonder why. She knew they weren't there to hurt her, right? 

Nat played with the handle of her coffee mug lightly. "We're just here to check up on you. You haven't talked to us since you left. We kinda got worried," she said carefully. She was testing the waters. Wanda frowned and looked down, relaxing a little. "Okay....." she said. Vision cleared his throat and asked lightly, "Are you here to offer us a transponder?" 

Steve froze. How on Earth..... Even Sam looked mildly alarmed. "Who else gave you one?" Sam asked, an edge to his voice. Wanda opened her mouth to answer, but Steve beat her to it. "Stark. Stark gave you one, didn't he?" Wanda nodded stiffly. "We haven't turned it on yet," Vision said quickly. "We knew it wouldn't matter for now, because he already located us. But maybe...." he trailed off, but nothing more needed to be said. Maybe we could run away again. Steve nodded with a sigh. He fished the black transponder out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the table in front of the couple. 

"You can have it. You don't need to turn it on. But we'd like to know where you are, in case something goes wrong. There's an emergency button on it, so if you are in trouble, we can come back you up," Steve said. He took another sip of his coffee. It was ice cold now. Wanda hesitated, but she reached out and took in into her gloved hand, slipping it into her pocket. Steve released the tension he'd been holding in his shoulders. It wasn't a promise that they would turn it on, but it was a start. He stood up and brushed off his pants. Nat and Sam followed suit. He gave them a small nod and left them, a small twinge of satisfaction manifesting inside him. 

Stay with me, kid, is all he could think as he walked away. 

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hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. 

There really isn't anything I could say that would make it okay that I haven't updated in more than half a year? Well uh, I'm sorry either way. 

I have been so incredibly unmotivated, and school really got in the way. That doesn't excuse the fuckery I pulled but I really truly am sorry either way. 

So if you are still here, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You're a real one, lemme tell you that much. 

And if you're new, thanks for making it this far. 

When will a new chapter come? Who knows. But I promise I'm not abandoning this story. I love these celestial fuckers too much. 

Anyhoo. I'll see you in the stories.....

~Cas