Flower - Marvel Fanfiction

Eleven

C H E R R Y  B L O S S O M

The last time Elena had opened her phone had been so long ago. It was hard at first to let it go, but eventually, after a few months of isolation, she finally forgot to charge it. From then on, she hadn't touched it.

Plugging in her phone, Elena waited a few minutes before booting it up. She was met with her lock screen, a selfie she had taken with her best friend. To her surprise, she didn't flinch away, didn't drop her phone. She was quiet, still, calm even.

Elena found herself feeling more wistful more than anything. She missed her. She missed everyone that she had called a friend. Staring at the smiles, Elena didn't move until her screen blinked out.

"Damn," she murmured, letting her hand fall. "Christine."

The name was familiar on her tongue. It was practiced and loved. It was as if she had never left.

"Christine," she said again. "Christine. Christine."

After a few moments, Elena picked up her phone. She opened it, sucking a breath at her home screen. It was even worse, the wallpaper a group picture. Her eyes trailed over the faces: her own, Christine Palmer's, Nic West's, and Stephen Strange's.

Closing her eyes, Elena set her jaw straight. She breathed in, out. In and out. When she reopened her eyes, Elena checked her notifications. She wasn't surprised to find that there was none of importance. Her email was filled with advertisements, and she had stayed away from social media.

Elena opened her messages. Scrolling through the multiple texts that were seen but not responded to, she paused at Chrstine's and opened the thread. She skimmed through the previous messages, and Elena scoffed at her childishness.

Her thumb hovered over the text box. Should she text?

She must have debated with herself for hours because the next thing she remembered was a knock. Dropping her phone, she shook her head. What would she write anyways?

Her door swung open as she stood. Tony poked his head in. "Dumpling!" he said. "Just the person I was looking for."

Elena grinned, walking towards him. "What is it?" she asked.

It had been a few days since she had told Natasha about Lieselotte. Since then, she had developed a routine to train with Clint and Natasha every evening. She spent her days either in her suite or getting to know her housemates.

"Banner and I are going to play. And uh, he's being..." Tony snapped his fingers together, cocking his head to his side as he searched for the right word. He frowned as he settled on one. "Difficult. Come join us. Calm down his feathers, would you? Would be a shame if he turned all green and destroyed all my tech."

Elena froze. "You want me in a lab?"

"Problem?"

Fear settled into her, and her lips parted. She gulped. It was different when Lieselotte suggested she return to a lab. She had been too shocked back then. Elena closed her mouth, swallowing hard. "No," she finally said. "No problem. I'll meet you there."

"Great!" Tony spun on his heels. "Five minutes. Let's get this party started."

Elena chuckled, the sound hollow even to her own ears. She grimaced, reaching one hand to the other to rub her wrist. She supposed that it would be good for her to mess around in a laboratory environment under her own conditions before she was forced into one. Besides, she was rusty. And Elena didn't want to think about what Lieselotte would do if she made a single mistake when the time came.