"Wanda, Pietro, this is Nina. My new best friend," Olivia announced.
"Free at last," Katerina said dramatically.
"It's good to meet you," Wanda and Nina shook hands.
"You too," Meeting people always seemed awkward to Nina. She never quite knew what to do with her face and it would ultimately hurt from smiling so much.
Steve watched from across the room as Nina found herself crowded. She reminded him of a baby bird with her huge eyes and waif-like form. Her mouth twitched and her long, elegant fingers worried the hymn of her shirt. Despite all this, she had managed to get herself wrapped up with the two most dangerous young women he had ever known. He couldn't help but worry about what that could mean for her.
"Do you think she can handle it?" Bucky asked, drawing his attention away from Nina.
"I don't know," His eyes flickered up to the TV. "She can't get too close to them," His tone was grave.
"It might be too late," Bucky commented. The girl was young, naive, easily influenced. She would follow whatever leaders were around her and, more importantly, she would follow the ones she knew.
"We'll see," Steve wasn't going to give up before he started, but Bucky was right. He had to act fast.
There were no plans for the day other than to relax and for Nina to get to know everyone. Wanda had done a good job making sure she was comfortable. It became clear pretty quickly that she was much more Nina's speed than Olivia or Katerina were. She felt like she could let her guard down around her.
Pietro was another thing entirely. He was just as full of energy as Olivia and just as suave as Katerina. Every time she happened to make eye contact with him he winked at her. She could handle Olivia's constant teasing, but being endlessly undressed by someone's eyes was a little unnerving.
Before the day was over Vision had joined them and he was very curious to learn about their new companion. Once the two of them started talking everyone else became invisible. They talked about science, literature, and history. Things that quickly lost appeal for everyone else, but Vision and Nina could talk about for an eternity. They almost would have had they not been interrupted by dinner.
After dinner and a bit more leisure time Katerina led Nina to the room she would be staying in.
"Turns out you will actually be staying in Thor's room," Katerina smile and pushed the door open. When she flicked the light on her smile fell to a frown and she sighed. Whenever the God of Thunder had last stayed there he hadn't quite kept things tidy. The bed was unmade and clearly hadn't been washed since his last visit.
"I can find you another room if you want," Katerina offered.
"No, that's okay. We can deal with it tomorrow. Besides, I could really use a good nights sleep," Nina dismissed, stepping into the room.
"Alright, well, you've got your own bathroom and Bucky is right next door if you need anything. Can't promise he'll be much help though," Nina really hoped she didn't need anything. The Winter Soldier was about as approachable as she'd expected.
Katerina and Nina said good night and closing herself up in a room had never felt so good. She hadn't really been alone since the day before flying to Malibu and Nina was the kind of person who required alone time. Her single bag had been brought into the room at some point. She would have to make a run home to get more of her things sometime soon.
Nina changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, the warm light of the bedside table lamp illuminating the large room. She propped herself on the pillows and dialed her father's number into her cell phone. It was late, but she knew he would pick up.