When Spies Collide // WandaNat Spy AU

The Oasis

After the Glasgow operation, which was refreshingly simple, the foursome awaited extraction. SHIELD dispatched a Quinjet from a nearby base, and the four plus Scooter piled onto the small plane with Natasha tossing Scooter roughly into an empty cargo hold. The redhead then flopped down onto an empty seat, fingers grazing the gash on her forehead.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Wanda asked, taking a seat next to Natasha.

"The Oasis," Natasha responded.

"Oh, great. A vague code name."

"It's a SHIELD base on an English isle."

"Is it secret?"

"If it was, I wouldn't have told you."

"And here I was, thinking we were building trust."

Natasha laughed lightly, the facial movement causing her cut to open slightly, blood dripping.

Wanda frowned. "Let me clean that up."

"It's fine," Natasha protested as Wanda rifled around the jet for supplies. "You really don't have to do that."

"Well, you obviously weren't planning on doing it yourself, so hush and let me work."

Natasha didn't object further, so Wanda kneeled in front of the other woman and rummaged through the sizable first aid bag, pulling out several gauze pads and bandages.

"You gonna mummify me?" Natasha asked through gritted teeth as Wanda cleaned the wound on her forehead with an alcohol wipe, one hand dabbing at blood, the other ghosting across Natasha's cheek, keeping her steady.

"Shh," Wanda whispered, "let me concentrate."

Across the aisle, Steve and Clint made eye contact, silently deciding to vacate the area and chat with the pilot. Natasha relaxed into Wanda's gentle touch, and the blonde's tongue stuck out in concentration.

"How'd you even do this, Nat?"

Natasha, caught off guard by the nickname, took a moment to respond. "When I valiantly tackled Scooter and saved your life, my forehead kinda scraped the ground."

Wanda finished her work, placing a bandage over the cleaned wound. "My hero."

"Thanks, doc," Natasha teased.

The rest of the trip passed quickly, and soon, the jet descended upon The Oasis. Upon landing, Clint and Steve escorted Scooter to an interrogation room, intending to play good cop and bad cop.

"They're both good cop," Wanda observed as she stepped off the jet onto the tarmac of the modern, sleek hangar.

"Steve thinks I play bad cop a little too well, and Clint said you laugh during interrogations, so we're on the bench, at least for now," Natasha sighed, leading Wanda to the main building of the base. "Welcome to The Oasis."

"Sheesh, this place is deluxe," Wanda breathed, taking in the atmosphere. Natasha opened the door to the main atrium, and inside, agents bustled about the massive main hall like ants in a colony, many carrying clipboards, talking on earpieces, many more carrying firearms. A giant statue of Peggy Carter graced the lobby, Natasha and Wanda standing squarely in her shadow.

"You want a tour?" Natasha asked, smiling at Wanda's awe. The younger woman nodded eagerly, following Natasha's lead down a side hallway labeled 'Combat'.

"What do all these SHIELD folks think of you bringing home an FBI agent?" Wanda asked as the pair passed by combat training sessions, where agents sparred hand to hand or fired a variety of guns at dummies.

"What, like if I brought you home to my parents in high school or something?"

"Yeah. You know, girl from the wrong side of the tracks, rivals and all..."

"You're funny, Maximoff."

Natasha kept the tour going past the sparring sessions to a quiet library, where cadets read massive textbooks furiously.

"What's this?" Wanda inquired. "School? That's cruel."

"They're just studying for board exams. At least I think. I never took them."

"You what? How'd you get around exams?"

"When your combat and espionage proficiencies are as high as mine, SHIELD couldn't care less about a test. I went into the field as soon as possible."

"How old were you?"

"For SHIELD... twenty two."

Natasha continued the tour, Wanda trailing behind her, listening intently at all of the redhead's SHIELD anecdotes. Natasha became quite animated, hands waving and eyes gleaming as she recounted tales of missions past. The passion and fervor with which she spoke of SHIELD endeared Wanda. Natasha came off as cold, calculating, cutthroat, and sometimes, she was all of those things, but right now she was a woman who got to live out her dream and was excited to share that passion with another person. So Wanda listened in quiet reverence, a soft smile, almost nostalgic, on her lips.

Eventually, Natasha came back to her senses and scaled back her excited chatter, ending the tour without much fanfare, and finally, the pair settled into the cafeteria because Wanda begged for lunch. So, the redhead snagged the pair a couple of hamburgers and pudding cups and sat down at a small table by the exit.

"So, you said you were twenty two when you started working for SHIELD... where were you before? I'm assuming it wasn't a Burger King," Wanda inquired through bites of chocolate pudding.

Natasha bristled. "That's not a time I like to go back to."

"Fair enough. But how'd you end up with SHIELD if you weren't in their Academy?"

"Simply put, Wanda, SHIELD saved my life. I was wrapped up with the wrong people, they pulled me out. Gave me a second chance. And a third, and a fourth. They do good work here, and it's... kind of an honor to be a part of it."

"Never seen you so passionate about something."

"Hate to say it, but this place means a lot to me." Natasha tore open her pudding cup, averting her eyes from Wanda's curious gaze. "What about you? How'd you get with the feds?"

She shrugged. "Boring story. Got through college, applied, got in, worked my way up."

"That much I knew." Natasha laughed at Wanda's inquisitive look. "Oh, come on, I do my research on competition. I know you graduation top of your class, completed training in record time. What I want to know is why."

"Why what?"

"Why'd you join? It's not exactly a glamorous job."

"Just wanna help people. Be like the people who helped me when I was a kid."

"That's noble."

"I guess. Just feel like I owe a debt."

"You and me both, Maximoff," Natasha raised her pudding cup in toast. "You and me both."