We Will Say Hello Again

Four

"You know I would've loved to watch her! Pizza Dog is missing his sister," Kate whines as Yelena and Fanny walk across the tarmac to the hanger.

Yelena shifts the phone to her other ear. "I didn't realize we had established them as siblings."

"Of course they're siblings!"

Yelena smirks at that. "Alright, and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to make an extra trip and the mission seems safe enough. I'm not too worried. There's lots of space to run, I thought she'd like it."

"Well, damn, can I go?"

Yelena chuckles. "The pictures do make it seem pretty beautiful." She reaches hanger S and slides open the door to the chopper, setting in her bag and motioning for Fanny to jump in. "Okay, I've got to get going. I'll talk with you later. Keep up your grades."

"What grades," Kate mumbles.

"I heard that," Yelena scolds, stepping aside and grabbing the tow bar. "Stay safe, Kate Bishop."

"You too, Yelena Belove-a."

Yelena shakes her head, smirking, and hangs up the phone. She connects the bar to the skids and then grabs the tug, snapping it to the bar. Sliding open the hanger doors, she hauls the chopper out of the hanger and into the open, returning all the equipment back inside and shutting the doors when she's clear.

Fanny barks at her when she hops into the pilot seat, the dog in the chair next to her.

"Are you ready?" Yelena asks her.

Fanny barks once more, and Yelena smiles and ruffles the fur on the top of her head.

"We're in for an adventure, you and I."

Wanda had managed to pull herself away from the sunroom, suit disappearing as she returned her conscious to the present universe and dimension. She knew she needed to eat. It was already later in the afternoon and she hadn't fed herself.

She shuffles into the kitchen, finding Bajram, the gardener and real owner, folding a sandwich together. He smiles at her as she enters.

"Afternoon, Ms. Maximoff," he greets.

"Hello, Bajram," she smiles, leaning against the counter. "What are you making?"

"Oh, just a ham and cheese sandwich. Would you like one?"

"I think I'll take you up on that offer. How about I pick some apples for us?"

"That would be lovely."

She smiles softly, slipping away from the counter and onto the porch, walking down a row of apple trees. She's had to go further from the house each time she wanted to pick some, but she loved the trees and being outside so much she didn't mind.

She reaches up, fingertips still black from her scrounging in the different dimensions, and plucks an apple from the tree. And then a sound makes her freeze, ears perked and head turning.

Soft footprints bounding across the grass, slobbery breathing panting obnoxiously, a jingle of metal.

A dog comes running up to her.

Fluffy and white, it wags its tail, smiling up at her and the apple in her hand. And Wanda can't help but smile back. She crouches, running her discolored hands along its fur, the dog licks her face and she laughs, tilting back.

"Where did you come from?" she asks, scratching its ears and checking the collar. "Fanny. Odd name for you, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry!" a thick Russian accent calls out to her.