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𝑺𝑼𝑹𝑽𝑰𝑽𝑶𝑹
-𝒔𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏
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four.
luck
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❝WHEN MY SKIN GROWS OLD,
WHEN MY BREATH RUNS COLD,
I'LL BE THINKING ABOUT YOU.
ABOUT YOU.❞

⋆

CHRISTINA sang softly as she cleaned up around her house; picking up stray clothes, returning dishes to her kitchen, and even vacuuming the carpets. After tidying a bit, she brewed herself a pot of coffee and collapsed onto the couch, switching on the television. It took her a bit, but she found something to watch.

She sighed through her nose, bringing up the mug to take a sip of her beverage, when the sudden crash of something loud made her flinch, spilling some onto her shirt. Chris cursed under her breath, carefully placing the mug onto the table beside her before standing and investigating.

Moving her way to the kitchen, she peaked out the window to the backyard. It was a pretty bare yard; except for Luis' van that had the Quantum Tunnel that she couldn't figure out how to turn on without doing something worse to Scott.

Oh how she missed Scott...

She sighed again, turning away when another crash sounded, making her head snap up to the van. Christina blinked, not believing her eyes. Did the van just...shake?

To confirm her beliefs, the van wobbled once more before a figure shot out the end of it, dressed in black and red. With wide eyes, she slowly moved to the backdoor of the house, that led onto the yard. Keeping her body close to the house, she stared in disbelief.

Christina couldn't help but stare in silence as the figure flicked off their helmet; revealing Scott. Her mouth went dry. A frown tugged at his lips as he slowly sat up, looking around in confusion. When he looked over his shoulder, he suddenly looked eyes with Christina's. Scott's face washed over; going from confused, to shock, to relief.

"Christina!" he cried, a sudden grin on his face. When her face changed sudden, he frowned.

She stood with her mouth slightly gaped, she smacked her lips, tasting something salty. As her head started spinning, he vision became a bit fuzzy. Scott sprang to his feet, rushing to her just as Christina fainted and luckily collapsed into his arms.

          SHE woke up with a flinch, eyes snapping open. Blinking a few times, she inhaled sharply. Did I faint? Licking her chapped lips, she slowly opened her eyes to Scott staring down with bulging eyes. Chris flinched again. "Oh—Jesus."

When he was sure she was okay, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, you're okay! Thank goodness! I  thought for a second you fell and you hit your head. So I carried you back in here and I got you some water for later..."

As Scott rambled on, she slowly got up from laying her head on his leg, not breaking eye contact. Scott's words drowned out, and her focus was solely on his features, as if she looked away that he would disappear again.

"...And, yeah. So we're here now." Scott finished with a warm smile. Concern tugged as his forehead as his brows creased together. "Are...you okay?"

Christina grabbed the collar of his shirt that she kept, pulling him forward and pressing a kiss to his lips. Scott jerked a bit before quickly returning the affection, gently cupping her jaw. Christina moved slowly to sit on his lap, straddling his legs.

After a long moment, they both broke away, staring at one another.

"I missed you." Scott said, barely above a whisper. Christina's eyes pricked with tears.

She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. Scott quickly did the same, squeezing her tight. "I missed you too, you big idiot."

Scott couldn't help but laugh, burying his face into her neck.

A few minutes passed and Scott pulled away. "Where's Cassie?"

Chris just smiled, reaching for her phone and dialling her number.

          "YEAH, we boarded that highly suspect warship Danvers pinged." Rocket said as Natasha cut a peanut butter sandwich diagonally. Frowning, she brought the plate to her desk, looking up at the holograms before her; Nebula, Rocket, Lexi, Okoye, Carol, Holly and Rhodey.

"It was an infectious garbage scowl." Nebula said quickly and Rocket nodded.

"So thanks for the hot tip."

Carol, wearing a new pixie cut, glanced over at the three. "Well, you were closer."

"Yeah. And now we smell like garbage." Rocket snapped.

"I may need to come back to do a load or two." Lexi added, grabbing the collar of her shirt and sniffing it before flinching and frowning at the vile smell.

Lexi was back to full health, and looked better than ever; thanks to Natasha, Bruce and Steve.

"At least now we know that, that place is taken care of. You should be glad. We can check that place off the list." Holly added, sporting blonde-dyed hair instead of her natural brunette.

"You get a reading on those tremors?" Natasha cut in, ending the bickering. Okoye met her eyes.

"It was a mild subduction under the African plate." Okoye responded calmly.

"Do we have a visual? How are we handling it?" Natasha pressed, pressing her palms into the table. Holly and Rhodey shared an uneasy look.

Okoye blinked. "Nat, it's an earthquake under the ocean. We handle it...by not handling it."

Natasha's eyes moved away from hers. "Carol. Are we seeing you here next month?"

Carol shook her head. "Not likely."

"What? You gonna get another haircut with your fiancée?" Rocket quipped, making both of them stare down with a glare.

"Listen, fur-face, I'm covering a lot of territory. The things that are happening on Earth are happening everywhere. On thousands of planets."

Rocket nodded, looking away. "Okay, that's a good point, that's a good point..."

Carol glanced back up at Natasha. "So you might not see me for a long time."

"All right, uh, well... This channel is always active." Natasha informed, her eyes going down the row of people. "So, anything goes sideways... Anyone's making trouble where they shouldn't... Comes through me."

Everyone agreed in unison. Natasha nodded her head. Okoye, Lexi, Rocket and Nebula all turned away, their holograms disappearing. Carol looked to the side at the two. She bidded Rhodey good luck before saying I love you to Holly and leaving the call.

Natasha sat in her chair in defeat. Looking up, she noticing the two remaining on the line. She licked her gums, wanting to shoo the two away but suppressed the urge. "Where are you two?"

"Mexico." Rhodey responded as Natasha leaned back in her seat. "The federales found a room full of bodies. Looks like a bunch of cartel guys. Never even had the chance to get their guns off."

"It's probably a rival gang..."

"Except it's not." Holly corrected, her face reading sympathy. "We think it's Barton. It has to be."

Natasha remained silent, staring down into her lap.

"What he's done here, what he's been doing for the last few years..."

"I mean, the scene that he left..." Holly added after Rhodey, pursing her lips. She noticed Natasha's nose becoming red. "I'm sorry, Nat, but sometimes we don't even want to find him."

Natasha licked her gums again. "Will you find out where he's going next?" Picking up her sandwich, she took a small bite from it. Natasha nodded at the two and they saw how glossy her eyes were.

"Nat..." James sighed.

"Please." she asked, slowly chewing her food before swallowing.

Rhodey sighed in defeat, bumping shoulders with Holly before jutting his chin to the side. Holly offered a look of sorrow before following Rhodey off the call and disappearing.

Natasha threw her food back onto the plate, putting her hands on her face as she silently cried.

"You know, I would offer to cook you dinner, but you seem pretty miserable already."

Natasha quickly masked her emotions, slowly looking up to see Steve leaning on a nearby bookshelf. She noticed his flannel in his hand. "You here to do your laundry?"

Steve smiled. "And to see a friend."

Natasha smiled, but they both knew it was fake. She folded her hands. "Clearly, your friend is fine."

Steve paused, playing with his car keys. "You know I saw a pod of whales when I was coming up on the bridge."

"In the Hudson?"

"There's fewer ships, cleaner water..." Steve trailed off.

Natasha leaned back in her seat, staring up at the ceiling. "You know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side..." she glanced back at him. "I'm about to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich."

She pursed her lips. Steve moved forward, seating himself in the chair in front of the desk. "Sorry. Force of habit." There was a pause before he continued, "You know, I keep telling everyone they should move on and... grow. Some do. But not us."

Natasha's eyes glazed with fresh tears. "If I move on, then who does this?"

"Maybe it doesn't need to be done."

"I used to have nothing." Natasha said in a soft tone. "And then I got this. This job. This family." a tear slipped down her cheek. "And I was... I was better because of it. And even though, they're gone. Now, I'm still trying to be better."

Steve nodded at her words. "I think we both need to get a life."

Natasha smiled sadly. "You first."

A holographic message appeared and Natasha swiped it through without looking. The feed for a camera flashed in the air and the two turned to watch.

"Oh.. hi! Hi! Is anyone home?!" a male voice asked anxiously.

"Please! It's an emergency!" another voice cried out, this time a female's.

Steve and Natasha both rose to their feet their face twisting into a serious expression. Scott and Christina both stood at the front gate with a brown van behind them. "This is Scott Lang," he motioned to Chris. "and this is Christina Clarke! We met a few years ago?! At the airport in-in Germany? I was the guy that got really big. I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."

"Is this an old message?" Steve asked.

"Scott," Christina whined nervously, tapping his arm. He nodded.

"Right, right... It's Ant-man? Ant-man! I know you know that! What about the Wasp? She's the Wasp. Maybe you'd know that? We really need to talk to you guys!"

"Can you please let us in! We've been driving for three hours and I really need to go to the bathroom." Christina added, looking around before back up into the camera.

"It's the front gate." Natasha said in relief.