Venomous

39. New Beginnings

A/N: Here we goooooo

I wandered into the kitchen around 10:30 the next morning, mid-yawn and extra-long stretch as I rounded the corner, immediately making contact with something soft, squishy and unexpected. Tendrils immediately shot out, bracing us against the wall and the island, and easily catching the small woman beneath us before she could hit the floor. "Wanda," I sputtered, scrambling to my feet and setting her down gently a few feet away.

"I wasn't watching where I was going," she murmured, looking away, her fingers fumbling with the cup of coffee she had clutched securely in both hands. "I'm sorry."

I frowned, suddenly not knowing if she was apologizing for bumping into us, or if it was something else. I smiled, moving my index finger under her chin and bringing her gaze back up to mine. "Wanda, no hard feelings. I promise." She swallowed thickly and nodded, but seemed torn between leaving and saying something further.

"You and Natasha are cute together, Parker," her green eyes found mine as they widened in surprise as I realized what she was saying.

"Nat and I are just friends," I murmured softly. Wanda chuckled, and my eyes snapped back to hers at the unexpected sound.

"Then you are an idiot, Brock." I wanted to respond but...she wasn't wrong. I sighed instead, half smiling at the smug look on Wanda's face. "I just want you to be happy," she whispered, moving forward and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. I hugged her gently.

"You too, Wanda, thank you." She pulled back, smiling.

"I am. I'll see you around," she turned and walked out of the room, glancing back once over her shoulder and throwing me another one of her smiles. I chuckled to myself and looked down at the counter for a few minutes before remembering why I was there, and making myself a much-needed cup of coffee.

"It's still early for you, isn't it sleepyhead?" Tony's voice rang out just as I was taking my first sip, and I glared at him easily over the top of my mug.

"Shut it, Tin Man." Tony smirked, reaching around me for a cup of his own.

"How was your date?"

I had just taken a sip of the scalding liquid but immediately spit it out, not only at the scalding sensation suddenly all over my mouth, but also for the insinuation. Tony laughed, patting my back as I sputtered beside him.

"She was taking AV for a field test," I finally choked out, a tendril opening the freezer and sliding an ice cube into our mouth. Tony's eyebrow raised to an impossible height and his smirk doubled in size.

"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" He teased. I was saved from having to respond as Natasha walked into the room, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. As she sipped the cool liquid, her green eyes shifted between me and Tony, suddenly reading the room.

"What?" She asked, finally lowering the bottle from her lips. That I absolutely had not been staring at. Fuck.

"I was talking about AV's field test," I mumbled around the ice-cube, which now had made my previously on-fire mouth entirely too cold. Natasha frowned, as if translating my mumbles into coherent words before her trademark smirk was on her face.

"The top of the Statue of Liberty is lovely, Tony," she teased, winking at me. Double fuck. Tony glanced at me, almost impressed but not quite.

"I know, I've been there," he snarked. I rolled my eyes.

"Parker, you wanna fight?" Natasha's eyes were twinkling, like a million little diamonds trapped in a sea of emerald green. I chuckled, downing the rest of the cup of coffee in a single gulp, ignoring the immediate volcano in my throat.