Wanda glanced around the darkened theater, wondering if anyone had recognized them when she, Natasha and Hill – Maria! Maria on girls' night out! – had walked in. No one was looking in their direction. Maybe it was the conspicuous lack of leather; Natasha and Maria were both wearing nondescript hoodies and jeans, while Wanda had opted for a light jacket and khakis. They had come to see Sandra Bullock pretend to be awkward around handsome men, so it wasn't unexpected that the other moviegoers had overlooked the superheroes in their midst. Still, Natasha had been on the front of every magazine, newspaper and online publication in a liplock with Captain America in the recent past. Wanda had expected at least some recognition of her famous friend, if not anyone seeking her own autograph.
Natasha abruptly poked her with a plastic package. "Sour Patch Kid?"
"No, thank you." She looked down at the bucket of popcorn in her lap and wondered why she thought 'Large, with free refills' was an appropriate size for one person. She mechanically offered the popcorn to Natasha. "Popcorn?"
"Relax." She reached into the bucket for a handful, which she somehow crammed into her mouth without looking awful – yet another subtlety of spycraft, no doubt. She even managed to speak clearly around the mouthful without spitting crumbs, "God, if I'd realized you were gonna be so tense, we'd have gone to the bar first."
Wanda took another look around, concerned that they had chosen seats in the middle of a row near the center of the theater. "It is just…"
Someone behind them let loose with a harsh, "Shhhh!"
"Hey, it's a Coca-Cola commercial," Natasha spat back in a rough whisper. "It's not rude unless you're talking during the previews." She continued in a less vehement tone to Wanda, "Stay calm. Enjoy the dumb romcom. Booze and bar food later."
"But…"
"Shhh!" The admonition came from Natasha this time as the first green screen announcing a PG-13 rated film had appeared onscreen. Although Wanda had to admit she had enjoyed the coming attractions more than the actual film, it had been fun to watch her companions laugh at the contrived onscreen antics with abandon. She rarely saw them so loose, so uninhibited. The movie was fairly funny. She found herself giggling at times, in spite of her internal commitment to stay on the alert for the night. She had even agreed to be the designated driver for the night before learning the car had an AI, courtesy of Tony Stark, that would allow them to navigate back to HQ without human aid.
Now she was sitting at a bar – apparently the best one in town, town being the small community twenty minutes' drive from their base – with Natasha and Maria, being served by an overly familiar bartender named Dave who seemed to think it was okay to wink at the Black Widow. This was clearly not their first foray into the Clydesdale Tavern; Dave hadn't even asked for their orders, but immediately asked where Helen was. It had taken Wanda half a second to realize he meant Dr. Cho. This was nothing like what Wanda had come to expect from her normally strait-laced colleagues. Well, maybe Natasha, just a little. Still.
Natasha grinned and introduced Wanda, then gave Dave a fist-bump when he told her he'd gotten his hands on a case of specially imported Russian vodka, just for her. He'd poured out four shots for them to christen the freshly opened bottle with him. Maria had let out a bark of laughter before saying she'd stick with her usual. Natasha was already pouring the vodka into a glass with some ice herself. At a loss and with a burning throat from the vodka, Wanda looked to the smiling bartender and said, "Uh…something sweet? Please?"
"Got just the thing for you, sweetheart. Oh, and we ran outta hot wings last night, so sorry about that." He set a small stack of menus in front of them. "Some good burger specials, though."
"Consider yourself lucky you got this." Natasha toasted him with her vodka. When he had moved away to make the other drinks, she leaned toward Maria, "So-o-o-o, how was your dinner with Sam?"
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about Sam and Steve's dinner with Bucky?"
"Please, they took him to a McDonald's off the interstate and Rhodey was probably sitting on the roof, just in case. I think that was the unofficial plan, anyway. Our phones would be buzzing like broken vibrators if anything had gone wrong. Spill."
Maria sighed and fiddled with her napkin after checking her phone. "We went to that nice place down the street."
"The only appropriate date night within fifty miles," Natasha suppled to Wanda, smirking. "And?"
"And it was nice. We had a good time."
"Oh, please. We're having a good time. You went on a date with a guy we all think is awesome, who finally plucked up his considerable courage and asked you out!"
"Hey, Sam is great, but it was only one date."
"So far."
"We did make plans for next week, barring any missions coming up."
Whatever Natasha was about to crow about was interrupted by Dave's reappearance. "There we go, ladies. Cosmo for the marvelous Maria and a Gummi Bear martini for wondrous Wanda. Had a chance to look at the menus yet?"
"Clydesdale special burger, rare, sweet potato fries," Natasha immediately said. "And thanks for leaving the bottle."
"I know my best customers. Which is how I know I should also be getting ready to write down a turkey Reuben on marble rye and curly fries."
"He's good," Maria agreed with a nod. "But let's see how you do with a complete stranger."
"I thought you said she was your friend!" Dave cried out, stepping back in faked shock.
Natasha and Maria immediately laughed and Wanda tore her attention away from the small candies in the bottom of her drink. "Oh…I…" She glanced down at the menu, picking the first thing her eyes landed on. "Philly steak and cheese?"
"Good choice. Onions, peppers, the works?"
"Sure."
"Fries, curly fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, cole…"
"Fries, please."
"I'll get those right in for you."
When they were left to their drinks, Natasha picked up where she had left off. "So you and Sam have another date! Going back to Robinson's or are you planning something bigger?"
Maria blushed. "I'm not sure yet."
"Oh, that shade of red says weekend in New York. I'm only jealous if he got you ballet tickets."
"There's nothing definite yet…"
Almost in spite of herself, Wanda said, "He does seem committed."
Natasha downed her vodka on the rocks in a flourish and slammed the glass on the bar. "Psychic says what?"
"I…"
"Wait, do your really know what Sam is thinking?" Maria asked, suddenly less concerned with Natasha's needling. "Is he really…?"
"I cannot read his exact thoughts…" Wanda felt a finger poking into her side more ominously than any knife, so she concluded with the truth, "but I can sense his intentions. He is very sincere."
"Told you." Natasha acted as if she had been quietly observing the whole time. "I can't understand why you're worried about a guy like Sam."
Maria huffed, "Says the woman who wasn't sure about getting involved with Captain America."
"That's…fair." Natasha poured herself another glass. "At least Sam's smart enough to get a nice hotel room. I had to convince Steve it wasn't a good plan to stay at Stark Tower when we go into the city."
"Avengers' Tower," Maria corrected. "And wouldn't Tony Stark's presence be explanation enough?"
"You'd think, but he saw the rates on hotel rooms and balked. We had to have the talk about price inflation again. Some things just reset his brain to '40s mode. It's fun to snap him out of it, though. And it did end up being pretty expensive replacing the bedframe at the W."
Wanda didn't bother to ask for clarification, letting the conversation move on to other topics. Her drink was surprisingly tasty and she found herself asking for her own refill when Dave came a few moments later at Maria's signal. "Food should be out in a few. Same thing, sweetheart?"
Wanda nodded, chewing on the last gummi bear from her glass. Since she was no longer distracted by the topic of Sam and Maria, Natasha turned and quirked an eyebrow as she said, "I wasn't aware they had a children's menu for cocktails."
She shrugged. "I liked it. It was tasty."
"Explains why you can't take a punch, Gummi Bear. At least we've finally got a good nickname for you."
"No, I can't be…"
"Too late," Maria replied. "Just be glad you didn't get a sex on the beach or comms would get really awkward."
"What is…?"
Natasha cut off the question, "Either sand in some really uncomfortable places or vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice and cranberry juice. Waste of vodka if you ask me."
"Nobody did," Maria said, raising her glass. "Before we forget, we should toast to Wanda's first girls' night."
"Absolutely," Natasha agreed.
Wanda found herself blushing and strangely happy as she clinked her glass against her friends'. The emotional tears she could feel coming on were negated by the delivery of a gigantic sandwich that she couldn't possibly wrap her mouth around. She tentatively raised half the beast and attempted a bite. The tiny triangle she managed to get was good. Really good. She suddenly wished she'd taken up one of many earlier offers to go out for reasons totally unrelated to friendship.
She was attempting to unhinge her jaw like a python when Natasha turned to her with a mouthful of half-chewed cheeseburger and asked, "You think Bucky is gonna be okay?"
"I have no idea."
"'kay." She swallowed and wiped her lips with a napkin. "I just…y'know with the psychic stuff, maybe you'd gotten an idea. Steve's worried." The contemplative look lasted another moment before she regained her joviality. "Don't worry about it, Gummi Bear. Eat! You need something in your stomach to soak up the alcohol."
Wanda didn't bother to argue about the popcorn she'd eaten earlier, eager to get back to her delicious if intimidating sandwich. The rest of the night passed in a sort of happy blur, concluding with Natasha and Maria tucking her into bed as she told them how much she loved them. She thought. With the pounding headache she had, Wanda wasn't about to venture out and ask questions. She still couldn't wait for the next night out.
