Venomous

35. Realizations

I don't remember walking the rest of the way to my room. I don't remember any sounds at all, which is strange because I'm certain that the buzzing sound around my head was yelling. I glanced towards my room to see Natasha standing there, arms folded, her mouth moving as she spoke to something behind me.

I looked over my shoulder to see Wanda, in hastily thrown-on clothes, her hands raised slightly, eyes flashing a familiar crimson shade. Not again. I shook my head to clear the blurriness, trying to tune in to whatever it was that was happening around me.

..."not like I was the only one messing around!" Wanda's accusatory tone as her eyes flashed between me and Natasha. I blinked.

"What?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Wanda turned her attention fully onto me, a smirk gracing her face, but instead of making her look beautiful as usual, it made her look terrifying. She began tilting her head, and I steeled myself for whatever was coming.

"Were you just planning on dating me and Natasha both?" I blinked rapidly, a frown instantly deepening on my face.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, incredulous. I felt Natasha step up beside me in the narrow hall, and I held out an arm, keeping her from moving forward. Her eyes had the same surprised look that I'm sure mine did. Wanda scoffed, looking between the two of us again.

"The day you got hurt..." she started. I shook my head.

"The day that you hurt me, and nearly killed Natasha, yes?" I couldn't keep the edge out of my voice, and I wasn't that interested in trying.

Wanda hesitated only momentarily. "Natasha brought you into the medbay, and her thoughts were so loud. I saw the two of you, holding hands on the beach. Kissing her and telling her you loved her. I saw it!" Her eyes were full-on red now, but instead of being afraid, I was struggling to contain laughter. Wanda's eyes narrowed, and I knew immediately that she failed to see the humor in the situation. The last straw was when Natasha coughed beside me, trying (and failing) to cover a chuckle herself.

"What's so funny?" Wanda's accent was thick now, her eyes narrowing.

"Wanda, I don't understand." The toaster was moving up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. She shrugged him off, still glaring at me. The creature looked at me. "I don't believe we've met yet, I'm Vision." I nodded to him.

"Parker. But this doesn't really concern you," I warned. Vision frowned slightly, then turned his attention to Natasha.

"Actually, maybe it does," she muttered. I shot her a glare. I didn't need her commentary right now. Not when this situation was so ridiculous it had circled all the way through incredulity and anger to humor.

"What you saw in her head, Wanda," I started, doing my best to keep a straight face. "Were memories."

Wanda sneered. "Yeah, that's the problem. Memories of the two of you going out while we were seeing each other." I shook my head, biting my lip to control my laughter. "What the fuck is so funny?" Wanda clenched her fists and stepped forward. I inhaled, but refused to move.

"Wanda, memories don't have a time stamp." I said softly. Wanda frowned, not understanding what I meant.

"I don't understand." She stated, waiting.

"Those memories are over five years old." Natasha murmured. Wanda frowned, still trying to process.

"Natasha is my ex."

Wanda's eyes went wide. "No," she whispered. I nodded, not speaking, just allowing the realization to sink in.

"You jumped to the right conclusions – just the wrong timeframe," Natasha stated dryly, locking eyes with the witch. I cleared my throat, trying to regain control of the situation – if I ever had it to begin with. It was hard to tell around these two.

"Wanda, it's fine. We never defined anything, there's nothing to break, here." Wanda's eyes were welling, and I swallowed sharply. It's like I was watching her break right in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. It hurt to know that I was partially responsible for hurting her.

Are we?

I hissed a warning, hoping nobody noticed.

"Parker, I..." her voice was shaking, and she was now finding it hard to maintain eye contact. I put a finger under her chin, lifting her face back to look towards me, at least.

"It's okay."

Wanda's lower lip trembled, and I moved forward, hugging her loosely. "I'm sorry," she shook in my arms, and I rubbed her back lightly, trying to comfort her.

"No hard feelings," I pulled back, trying to smile reassuringly. The powerful woman in front of me looked like she was shrinking, pulling back into herself. I sighed as Vision placed an arm around her shoulder. She tensed, but she didn't move away.

I glanced over my shoulder towards my room. "I'm pretty tired, I'm going to go get some rest," I murmured, and Wanda's eyes flickered over my face for a moment before she nodded.

"Sure," her voice was barely above a whisper.

I turned away from her, moving past where Natasha was still standing, glaring at the witch. I grabbed Natasha's wrist, pulling her back towards my room, away from the likelihood of her fist making contact with Wanda's face. We didn't need a civil war in this compound. Stubborn till the end, Natasha delayed moving her feet until absolutely necessary, and nearly stumbled in the process. I rolled my eyes, my hand keeping her steady and upright.

"I thought you were supposed to be taking care of me," I hissed at her playfully.

"You're always such a baby when you're sick," she retorted. I snorted and choked on air, mercifully making it to my room before she could see my face. I collapsed, groaning on the bed as Natasha leaned against the doorframe. "So, I'd ask you about training tomorrow, but I'm guessing you're going to be lazy and want to sleep in." I glared and threw a pillow at her head, which she dodged.

"Remind me not to save your ass next time," I growled. Natasha chuckled, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before her expression turned serious.

"Seriously, Parker. Thank you."

I suddenly didn't know what to say. I smiled instead. Natasha pushed herself off from the doorway, entering the room, suddenly all business.

"Where are your pajamas?" She asked, opening one of my drawers and rifling through it.

"Natasha, I can dress myself, it's fine," Natasha glanced at me over her shoulder.

"Are you going to tell me, or am I going to keep going through your stuff?" I sighed, giving up.

"Closet shelf," I conceded. Natasha's self-satisfied smirk made me want to punch her. That feeling was punch her, right?

We don't think so.

I swallowed, glancing around. Natasha handed me my pajamas, walking into the bathroom and fetching me a glass of water, placing it nicely on the nightstand rather than dumping it over my head like I feared.

"I've got it from here, Natasha, thanks." I smiled up at her gratefully, and she hesitated only a moment before nodding.

"Have Friday notify me if you need anything," her voice was soft. I nodded.

"Thank you for watching out for me," I grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"I guess it's tolerable having you around," she murmured, the smirk traveling all the way up into her eyes.

"Have a good day, Romanoff,"

She smiled. One of Natasha's goofy smiles that hardly anybody ever sees.

"Try to stay out of trouble, Brock."

I winked at her, and I could see the hint of red on her cheeks.

"No promises."