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Natasha’s head started to ache from the chatter, and she took another swig of her beer. Thor was somewhere in the room, and she didn’t bother to look for him because she could hear the hearty bellow of his voice as he told stories of Asgard. She sighed and laid her head back against the back of the couch, the cushion providing a support pressure to her neck.
She tilted her head slightly and watched Pepper and Tony whisper something to each other, both of them chuckling as they watched the room full of people mingle. It was nearing 11 pm, and the new year was only an hour away. It was a silly, unnecessary occasion. In her time doing undercover missions, she had attended many parties and seduced many people in settings just like this one. She had come to the conclusion that the lavish parties Tony threw were eerily similar, if not worse, than the parties she had attended pre-defection. She didn’t feel the need to socialise since she knew most of the people there and saw them at least once a month, it didn’t warrant any meaningless small-talk while they sipped champagne and waited for the ball to drop.
The entire concept of New Year’s felt useless to her, too. People would make “resolutions” not to drink so much, eat sugar, or be a better person. But after a while, they’d revert to their old habits and still be the same shitty person they were before. It was useless to disguise the end of the Gregorian calendar cycle as a time to make false promises to oneself and to enter the new year with delusions of grandeur.
She was ripped away from her internal dialogue when she saw Wanda entering the room, looking just as bored as she was. She knew Wanda was an introvert just like her, but at least the Sokovian didn’t hide it. The brunette quietly walked through the crowd, trying to decide on which group of people she should slip into a minimal conversation with. Natasha chuckled when she saw Wanda’s face widen in horror as she overheard what Tony was talking about with some other high-class businessmen. Pepper was by his side, grimacing too.
When Wanda finally saw Natasha sitting alone, she almost saw the relief physically run through her body. Natasha smirked with a perked brow as she sipped on her beer bottle.
“Thank God…” Wanda said as she sat down exasperatedly on the couch next to Natasha. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She attempted to reach for Natasha’s bottle when the redhead pulled back with a curious look.
“There’s a bar over there where you can get your own,” Natasha teased, finally handing the half-empty bottle to the Sokovian.
Wanda hummed as she sipped the beer, “I just sat down.”
Natasha rolled her eyes, “Fine,” and she took the drink back as soon as the bottle’s mouth left Wanda’s lips.
“How long have you been sitting here?” Wanda asked, scouring the room filled with people laughing, talking, and drinking.
Natasha squinted her eyes as she estimated roughly, “About ten minutes… I’ve been here,” she gestured to the entire room with the bottle in her hand, “for an hour now.”
Wanda groaned, “I purposefully got ready as slowly as possible so I could avoid coming here.”
Natasha chuckled as she took another sip, her eyes landing on Maria, who was talking and laughing with another woman she didn’t recognise. Her jaw stiffened as her fingers pressed into the thick glass of the bottle.
She didn’t remember how long she was staring before Wanda placed a warm hand over her clenching one, “Stop staring. You look like a pit bull.”
Natasha simpered and blushed slightly, both at being caught and at the feeling of Wanda’s hands on hers. “Pit bulls are cute.”
“They are, but let’s move somewhere else,” Wanda said, standing up from the couch. “You don’t need to go into the New Year looking at that.”
She was right. Maria and Natasha had broken up three months ago. Natasha needed to move on and stop behaving like a territorial high school ex-girlfriend. Wanda and Natasha had always shared a special connection, mainly because they were the only women in a sea of avenging men. Wanda was surprisingly funny and snarky, and the two would always go back and forth that way. But after Maria and Natasha’s breakup, the two had grown exceptionally close. Wanda picked up on Natasha’s bad mood one afternoon. When it was unveiled that the redhead fell out with the Commander, she gave Natasha the space to complain about every little thing. Natasha was surprised at first, and it took a lot of nudging, but she could tell Wanda was insistent. She found herself letting her guard down, and they spent more and more time together, just sitting around in each other’s company, occasionally annoying the other person.
As Natasha followed Wanda, she got a few nods from Clint, Thor, and Tony, who was starting to become a little rowdier. She thanked whatever power there was that she gave up the Natalie Rushman persona years ago.
“Where are you two going?!” Tony hollered, pointing at the women like it was a sin to sneak off somewhere quieter. “We’re gonna’ start playing Jenga soon. You in?”
“Jenga?” Natasha asked, eyeing Tony’s drunken frame. “Y’Sure you can even lay the pieces out without toppling them over, Tin Man?”
Wanda laughed as Tony looked genuinely offended. “I’m not drunk yet.”
“Why do you have that, then?” Wanda gestured to the Iron hand, undeniably from Tony’s suit.
“I was… I was…” he looked at Pepper, who glared at him. “I was just playing around.”
Natasha hummed as they began to walk away again.
“Wait, Nat!” Clint ran over to stop them once more. “C’mon guys, let’s play.”
Wanda and Natasha shared a look of equal annoyance. “Fine,” they both said.
*****
The game started civil, with people pulling out the more manageable pieces. The blocks had various things written on the underside, mostly to do with ingesting more alcohol and the game's flow. There were a few steamier ones, and Bruce was the first to receive one. He reluctantly kissed Tony on the cheek as the group of them awed.
The tower had become shaky when it finally got to Wanda’s turn. The guys winced and watched as she miraculously pulled out one of the lower pieces. She flipped it over and read the printed words. “Drink one with the person to your right,” Wanda read out and looked over to her right where Natasha stood.
Thor, who was way too eager to get people drunk, suddenly placed two shot glasses in their hands. Wanda chuckled when Natasha tapped her shot against hers in cheers, and they both downed the tequila.
A small crowd started forming as the game progressed, and the tower became more unstable. Wanda swore Natasha would not make it since her last turn caused the tower to sway slightly. The redhead bent over and concentrated on the stack like a snake waiting to strike. From the corner of her eye, Wanda spotted Maria with an arm around the unnamed girl, lingering near the table in interest.
They were supposed to go somewhere that took them away from Maria. But now they were in the centre of attention.
Suddenly, in a miracle feat, Natasha picked off one of the side pieces and the group and its spectators breathed a sigh of relief. When Natasha turned it over, her eyes widened, “Um….”
“What does it say?” Clint said, reading it from his position on the other side of her. “...Oh.”
“What is it?” Wanda asked, and when she moved to read it over Natasha’s shoulder, the redhead pulled it to her chest.
“Everybody drinks one.”
Clint made a noise of disapproval before snatching the block away from Natasha, “She’s lying.”
“You can’t cheat!” Steve said from the other side, and Natasha was taken aback by the sudden seriousness of a drunk party game.
It had caught the attention of the onlookers, and Wanda had enough of the Jenga secrecy and snatched the block from Clint’s hands with her powers. As it floated in front of her, she laughed at the words printed on it.
Kiss the person to your left.
She placed it on top of the stack and noticed that Natasha’s cheeks were red. “We don’t have to….” Natasha said nervously.
Wanda shook her head, “It’s fine. It’s a game. Come here.”
Natasha made a surprised noise as she felt Wanda’s hands grab her face and pull her close. The small crowd made whooping noises as Wanda quickly kissed Natasha’s lips.
When they pulled away, Natasha felt like her cheeks were on fire, and she desperately tried to hide it.
She wasn’t sure when or how, but Natasha recognised a hint of uncertainty in herself throughout their growing friendship. It would happen wherever Wanda touched her briefly or when the sun would hit the Sokovian just right. Wanda’s laughter started to give her butterflies even when the joke wasn’t funny. The kiss only confirmed it. She definitely developed a little more than a crush on Wanda.
*****
“That was actually kinda fun,” Wanda said, bouncing slightly as she walked. Natasha could tell whenever the brunette was tipsy. Her cheeks would become flushed, and her features were more relaxed. Her movements were slower, and she’d giggle a lot more.
Natasha took a moment to appreciate tipsy Wanda and her sweet smile. “Yeah, it was. Still wanna’ go somewhere quiet?”
Wanda nodded, taking the redhead’s hand in hers. “I have a perfect idea, actually. What time is it?”
Natasha quickly checked her watch, ignoring how Wanda’s hands around her fingers felt so warm. She definitely had one too many because she felt like one touch was about to knock her over. “It’s 11:45.”
Wanda smiled mischievously, “I want waffles.”
Natasha snorted as she tried to hold back her laughter, “You want waffles?”
Wanda nodded, her top teeth biting down on her bottom lip as she smiled. The Sokovian could also outrun the energiser bunny when she was drunk enough. She had a manic glint in her eyes, and Natasha laughed, swallowing down the thought of how pretty she looked.
“We’re at a party, and there’s some catering.”
“But I wanted–”
“You’re eating whatever’s at the table,” Natasha said with finality as she dragged Wanda over to the snack table. “I’m not making waffles with you right now.”
“Fine… I’ll make them tomorrow,” Wanda said as she picked off some grapes and a handful of chips. Natasha watched in awe as she ate them all in under ten seconds.
“Jesus… we had the same amount of alcohol…” Natasha muttered as she picked up the entire bowl of chips and held it out for Wanda to take.
“You should drink more; get on my level,” Wanda said, wiggling her eyebrows as she walked off with bowl to God knows where. Natasha chuckled and shook her head; she’d find Wanda eventually.
She walked to the bar, where the poor bartenders Tony hired already looked exhausted. She ordered another tequila shot and a vodka coke. After she had downed her shot, she was actually startled when she felt a familiar warm hand on her shoulder. Luckily, she had already swallowed the liquid and didn’t choke as she turned around to face Wanda.
The bowl was still in her hands, and she still had the same broad smile on her face, “I asked Vision where would be the quietest in the compound. He said it’d be on the roof.”
Natasha raised her eyebrows and thought about it for a moment. She quickly scoured the crowd and saw Maria still talking to the same woman. She bent down and whispered something into the girl’s ear, and Natasha almost laughed bitterly. It wasn’t out of any anger directed at Maria but rather at herself for being so childish. She couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly why the idea of her ex flirting with another woman right in front of her made her so angry.
It was only when she looked further and scanned the room that she realised what made her feel so emotional. Despite Tony’s outlandish behaviour, Pepper still tended to him and attempted to button up his shirt after he tried to rip it off. In the corner, facing the giant window that overlooked the city, Clint and Laura wrapped their arms around each other, probably talking about their stupid New Year’s resolutions.
The problem wasn’t that she was jealous of Maria or the girl she had her arms around. The problem had nothing to do with Maria at all. It had everything to do with how alone she was. It seemed like everybody had someone in their corner, and all she had was an unrequited crush who desperately wanted waffles.
“Let’s go,” she said, hoping midnight could come around soon enough.
*****
Somehow, Wanda stole a bottle of vodka from the bar without even Natasha noticing until the bottle floated in front of them. She stopped in her tracks, almost halfway to the elevator.
“No, no!” she said, snatching the bottle from Wanda’s magic. “How did you–”
“A lady never tells,” Wanda said, with a smirk on her face. “Plus, I’m good at pick-pocketing. I could steal the Mona Lisa without anyone at the Louvre noticing.”
Natasha couldn’t help the simper that crawled to her face as Wanda’s red magic pulled the bottle from her hand again while they arrived at the elevator. Once they were inside and Natasha had instructed Friday to take them to the roof, Wanda leaned back against the walls and looked up at the brightly lit ceiling.
“I still want–”
“You’re not getting waffles,” Natasha did her best to remain serious, but the vodka coke – that she had to basically chug before leaving the party – caused her to giggle.
She caught Wanda smiling at her laughter, a small laugh escaping her lips, too. “You should laugh more often.”
Natasha looked at her in confusion, “What?”
“You should laugh more often…” she enunciated even though that wasn’t what Natasha was confused about. “It sounds pretty.”
The redhead pursed her lips as she swallowed. This new revelation was starting to make her head swirl, and it wasn’t just the alcohol. She thought about kissing Wanda against the walls of the elevator. The thought of Wanda possibly smiling with those beautiful teeth and lips against her own made her giddy and heartbroken simultaneously.
*****
When they reached the roof, Wanda walked to the furthest edge and sat down. Natasha stood deadly still, mostly because her vision swayed slightly but also because Wanda looked astonishingly beautiful in the moonlight.
The brunette turned back and waved her over, “Come on!”
Natasha cautiously walked over and joined Wanda’s side, reaching for the vodka bottle. Neither of them was afraid of falling off since they were both still sober enough not to, and Wanda could save them. Her blind trust in Wanda’s abilities was probably one of the things that made the redhead fall for her.
Natasha popped off the cork and took a long swig from it.
“Maria really ruined your night, huh?” Wanda said, her cheery voice suddenly overtaken with severe sweetness.
Natasha shook her head as a humorous breath left her nostrils, “No… Yes, but no.”
“Care to share with the class?” Wanda said, kicking her feet together while they hung over the ledge. She gestured to the bottle, but Natasha knew she meant more than that.
“It’s dumb….” Natasha said as she checked her watch. 11:55. “It’s five minutes ‘till the New Year.”
Wanda hummed, suddenly invested in the skyline and the cars she saw passing through the streets.
“You okay?” Natasha asked, handing the Sokovian the bottle.
Wanda nodded slowly, “Just admiring the view.”
Natasha looked at how the slight breeze blew Wanda’s hair back, revealing her very well-structured jawline and cheekbone. Wanda’s gaze was focused on the people she could see in the distance, obsessed with how they looked like ants from that far away. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and Natasha had an ambivalent smirk.
“Me too.”
They sat in comfortable silence, and Natasha mulled over what had happened during the past three months. She would be going into the New Year with another relationship that she valued, with the possibility of it imploding before her eyes. She couldn’t ruin one of the very few safe places she had. She couldn’t let Wanda know.
“At least we both got a New Year’s kiss….” Wanda chuckled, taking a small sip from the bottle. “It didn’t happen at midnight, but at least I got something.”
Natasha’s heart nearly stopped beating, “What?”
“The New Year’s kiss… I’m happy it was with you instead of some random girl.”
Natasha nodded, staring at the way Wanda’s hands fiddled with her rings. It was a nervous habit that she noticed the brunette had whenever she was embarrassed, scared, or anxious.
“Yeah… I’m glad it was with you, too.”
Wanda shook her head and laughed as her gaze fixed on the skyline. They fell into another long silence until Wanda finally turned to her.
“I thought with you being a spy, you’d be able to pick up on my cues. But it turns out you’re just a useless lesbian like the rest of us.”
Natasha’s eyes widened at the subtle insult, “What?”
Wanda laughed again, this time out of frustration. “God–Nat. I wanted it to be you.”
It took a while for Natasha to process the words… Oh.
Her eyes met Wanda’s pastoral ones. “Oh…”
Wanda bit her lip and winced while she nodded, “Yeah….”
Natasha’s body probably went into shock, and that’s why she couldn’t form any of the words currently swirling through her head. “Shit,” was all she managed to say.
“I was dropping hints… since like two months ago. But it’s fine if you don’t–”
“No, no!” Natasha said almost too quickly. “That’s not…no….”
The redhead took a deep breath, “I…liked that you were it. My New Year’s kiss.”
Wanda had a relieved smile, “Technically, it wasn’t a real New Year’s kiss. It wasn’t after midnight.”
Natasha looked at the brunette with newfound hope in her eyes, “Well… we could always make it real.”
“What’s the time?” Wanda asked, pulling her legs up from the ledge and inching closer to Natasha.
The redhead fumbled to check her watch, “11:59… exactly… twenty seconds starting now.”
Wanda chuckled as she unashamedly raked her eyes over Natasha’s gorgeous face. “God, you’re cute,” she said, placing a hand against Natasha’s blushing cheek.
Natasha swallowed, captivated by the sight of Wanda’s lips that close to her.
Below them, they could hear the entire party start to count down from ten. The sound was muffled since they were high up, but Natasha could take notice of them nonetheless.
Nine.
Wanda’s nails ghosted over her cheekbone.
Eight.
Natasha moved her closer, shivering at the feeling of Wanda’s warm breath on her face.
Seven.
Wanda’s hand travelled to Natasha’s chin, her thumb grazing over Natasha’s full bottom lip.
Six.
Natasha’s eyelids fluttered closed for a moment, and when she opened them again, Wanda smiled.
Five.
The same beautiful, captivating smile she thought about earlier. The same one that made Natasha believe in the goodness of human beings.
Four.
Wanda smiled even wider when Natasha grinned at her, their lips just a few inches away from each other.
Three.
Natasha pressed her forehead against Wanda’s, her eyes closing while the only thing she could hear was her heartbeat and the sound of the crowd counting down.
Two.
Wanda moved her other hand just under Natasha’s neck, tilting the Russian’s head so that their lips were just an inch away from each other.
One.
Natasha hesitantly pressed her lips against Wanda, lost in the feeling that she felt free to enjoy as the group of people downstairs screamed, “Happy New Year!” They laughed into each other’s lips, their smiles making it harder for them to keep kissing. Wanda pulled Natasha back to her lips by her chin and deepened the kiss slightly. A shuddering sigh escaped Natasha’s mouth as Wanda continued to kiss her senselessly.
When they pulled away, their faces were flushed, and their lips were slightly puffier than usual. She caught Natasha’s meek smile as the redhead wiped at her lips.
“Same place, next year?” Wanda suggested.
Natasha nodded, still trying to regain her bearings. “Definitely.”
Wanda chuckled as she straightened herself out. She laid her head on Natasha’s shoulder as she looked back at the city. It was undeniably louder now, with some smaller fireworks in the distance. They could hear the louder thumping of upbeat music coming from downstairs. Natasha sighed happily as she rested her head against Wanda’s.
Perhaps, New Years wasn’t such a bad event after all. It was still a little useless, but at least she had a resolution for herself that she could get behind.
“I still want waffles,” Wanda mentioned.
“Okay fine, get up,” Natasha said, aiding the brunette. “You’re making them, and you better share.”
Wanda giggled as they walked towards the exit of the roof. It was a sound she would hear more often, and she couldn’t help but laugh with the Sokovian.
Natasha’s head felt lighter, and she could hear the party's chatter as she walked down the hallway with Wanda. She hummed in contentment as Wanda pulled her close and allowed Natasha to lay her head on her shoulder.