Changes (A Prequel to "Through, Together")

What the Future May Bring

The next night, Steve and Natasha found themselves in a rather impressive flat in Brussels. Apparently Sam's military buddy was now a property manager, and he had some pretty lavish estates under his name. This one was a fully furnished, four bedroom space that was typically rented out by celebrities or other high-rollers when they came through town. Currently, it was unused; so the guy, Ron, was nice enough to let them use it.

The reunion was much-needed. Sam, Wanda and Vision were thrilled to see Steve back to his old self again. They'd been incredibly worried; so it was a huge relief to know that whatever they'd done to him in Wakanda had worked. He was back to one-hundred percent, too; without a single headache to speak of. It was definitely cause for celebration. Sam may have gone a little overboard in procuring such a large space for the small group of them, but then again Sam was known for being a little "extra" from time to time.

Since Steve and Nat left for Wakanda, Sam had been laying low, and Wanda and Vision had done the same but separately from Sam. They were working on Wanda's abilities while keeping an ear to the ground; making sure that things with Garrett stayed quiet. So far, it seemed like S.H.I.E.L.D. had managed to keep the situation contained, and no other international threats had popped up to replace Garrett.  Things seemed to be going well for the time being.

Currently, the group was situated around a large bar off the kitchen. Natasha was behind it, seeing what sort of different cocktails she could make. Steve sat next to Sam in the stools in front of her, while Wanda occupied one a couple down from Steve. Vision, sporting his new, "civilian" look, was standing near one end of the bar, watching Natasha curiously. Apparently bartending wasn't in his vast wealth of knowledge.

"So..." Sam said after taking a sip of his beer, "you're telling me that they have rhinos? As pets?"

Steve had just finished catching his friends up to speed on their time in Wakanda. That, of course, included his experience corralling rhinos back into their enclosures.

"Something between a pet and a... war steed?" He said, eyes moving to the right as he thought. After a moment, he shrugged and took a drink of his own beer. Steve was a simple man with simple tastes. Well, for the most part. At least when it came to drinks.

"And you didn't ride one..." Sam seemed to be having a hard time believing that.

Steve chuckled and shook his head. "No, Wilson, I didn't take any rhinos out for a joyride. Maybe next time."

Nat finished shaking up a drink and poured it over ice in a stemless martini glass. It was a deep fuschia color and smelled faintly of rose hips. She was looking particularly lovely in a royal blue pencil skirt that was paired with a shirt with thick, white and navy blue stripes running horizontally across it. She was feeling surprisingly well, too, with very minimal pain and discomfort other than occasional tightness in her abdomen. She was cautiously optimistic that the procedure was taking. She took a sip of the drink, nodded her approval, and then extended it to Vision to try.

He seemed skeptical.

"Oh, come on." Nat said. "It's not jet fuel, but I'm sure it's still good."

Vision looked at her, confused by her comment. "I do not partake of jet fuel, Miss Romanoff..." he said.

"I think that was a joke, Viz." Wanda commented with a wry smile.

Vision stared at the drink for a few more seconds before deciding to take a sip of it. It was small and incredibly cautious, and he spent several seconds afterwards just sort of staring into the liquid like he was contemplating whether or not he liked it. When he started spouting off every single ingredient that Natasha had put in it, however, she realized he'd been analyzing its contents.