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It's been a day since the offer.

Natasha didn't want to think about it as much as she did. She decided to walk through the park and clear her mind, but that didn't help.

She's worried about a lot of things, unsure of this choice. She's a decent actress, she's been performing since she was a child. She was a theatre kid, so all she did was act.

But does she want to do it again?

When she stopped, of course, she felt sad, that was a part of herself she was leaving behind. She crossed her arms, and a hand wrapped around her forearm bringing her to a pause.

She looked up towards the face, a long black-haired man standing in front of her, with a small smile on his lips. Bucky, Natasha's boyfriend of two years now, she had called him to walk with her, to let off some steam as well, but she hadn't said a word to him. Natasha unfolded her arms, and reached out, pushing a strand of his hair away from his baby blue eyes, his brows creased, "What's wrong?"

The redhead sighed, turning and linking their arms, causing them to begin walking again, "Clint called."

Bucky's eyes widened, and Natasha didn't know if she had ever seen someone with so much fear on his face, and she didn't understand why. "Does he want us to babysit Lucky again? I don't know I call handle that," He asked, and Natasha laughed.

Lucky was Clint's small devilishly scary cat, as Bucky would say. The pet is extremely moody, some days she's a sweetheart and would cuddle up to them without a fight, but others she isn't anything close to a saint. Natasha shook her head, and patted his hand, gently, "No, no, he offered me a job."

Bucky hummed, his shoulders relaxing, causing Natasha to smile, he chuckled when he noticed it. Before arching a brow, and asking, "You're going work in his agency?"

Her head dipped to the side, as she squinted her eyes, "Kind of, um... he wants me to start acting again."

"Oh."

She doesn't know how to read his current expression. It was completely blank, without an ounce of emotion to it, which confuses and worries her. She frowned, slightly, nudging him, "Bucky?"

He finally shows something, as he looks at her with a smile, burying his hand into his pocket, "what's the role?"

Completely brushing off that weird reaction, Natasha shrugged, "I don't know actually, but it's going to be one of Tony's new movies."

He hummed, and she tilted her head, as she remembered something or someone. Steve, Bucky's best friend since childhood, who is a fantastic actor and producer, has worked with Tony on his last two films, she wondered if this was going to be another movie of theirs. Her brows furrowed, "Do you think Steve's going to work on this project with him? He usually—,"

"Did you already accept the job?" He interrupted.

Oh.

She shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head, "No." He frowned, so she sighed, and continued, "I've been nervous about that, I haven't been acting for a while."

His face scrunched most adorably, as he nodded his head, in agreement, "Yeah, that's kind of scary, because you could be a little rusty, and what if no one likes you anymore."

Her smile faltered.

"Well," He squeezed her hand, turning to her with a smile, her brows rose, "my band and I have finally decided on a tour date."

The corner of her lip curled, as she looked at him, "really?"

He lets out a soft yeah, before beginning to talk about his music, and how excited he is, and Natasha couldn't help but feel excited for him as well.

He's living his dream.

She couldn't help but think back to his previous comments. She never thought about it in that, she had thought she would do a Maria Hill, she'd come back and be more loved.

The idea of not being loved, kind of makes her worried. And rusty? Besides the little characters she performs for Scarlett, she hasn't had real acting for a while now.

Can her skills just disappear like that?

"So what do you think?"

He asked, bringing them to a stop. Her brows rose, as she turned to him, he had a smile, his hands moving to grasp her forearms.

She nodded, and whatever she had agreed made his smile widen, and she thought that was good enough for now.

"You won't be disappointed," He said, Natasha forced a smile, hopefully, she had thought. He opened his mouth to speak something else, but a ringing noise cut him off.

He frowns, as Natasha lets go of his hand, and goes towards her pocket. She quickly fished out her phone, looking at the screen, to see a reminder of her coffee date. She sighed, clicking the stop button, causing her phone to go silent.

He grabbed her wrist, her head raised towards him, he nodded his head towards the phone, "What is it?"

Natasha reaches back tucking the device into her pocket, "It's my reminder for my meeting with Clint."

Something flickered in his eyes, as he nodded. His thumb caressed her wrist, "Well, I can drive you there, I won't—,"

She shook her head, interrupting him, "It's around the corner, I will be fine, but thank you," She said, leaning and kissing his cheek in a goodbye, he smiled, softly.

She pulled away and began walking towards the street. Natasha makes it to the cafe before Clint does, and sits in their usual spot, silently, as she waits.

After a few minutes, the waiter approached her and asked if she wanted her norm, which she said yes to. She begins fidgeting with a plastic straw, as she now waits for her drink as well.

Her nail scratches against the side of the straw, breaking the paper seal. She heard the doorbell ring, but she didn't immediately look up until a voice exclaimed:

"Nattie!" she rolled her eyes at her loud friend. She leaned back, turning her head slightly, as he came into her view, she smiled, "Hello, urodlivyy chelovek."

His brows furrowed, confused, knowing what she called him wasn't something nice. He squinted his eyes, pointing his finger in her face, "You're lucky I don't know what that means."

She shrugged off his loose threat, before slapping his hand away, he yelped, bringing it to his chest. Natasha shook her head, as he settled down in her seat, in front of her.

He didn't even sit there for two seconds before he asked, "Did you think about it?" She sighed, of course, Clint would wait a day and a half for her reply.

"Clint..."

He shook his head, "Don't Clint me. I won't be on your ass if I didn't need to," Clint tells her.

Lie. He would, he'd be a— "Need to?" She asked, frowning.

He nodded, leaning closer to her, as he stated, "Do you understand how important this is? Nat, he specifically asked for you."

Tony Stark asked for her? She had assumed it was a random set worker who wanted her, "really?"

He grabbed her hands.

"Would I lie to you?" She gives him a pointed look, causing him to sigh, "Yeah— yes! I'm telling the truth, when he called, I was so surprised I almost dropped my croissant!" He exclaimed, then laughed softly to himself.

Her brows furrowed, "When did you start eating croissants?"

His eyes widened, and then he shook his head, "I— Never mind, the point is he called me and wanted you."

The knowledge of him wanting her set something off inside of her, that she didn't quite like.

She nodded, going to pull out of his grasp, wanting to curl into herself, but Clint's grip tightened. He looked her in the eyes, "Natasha, I understand that you wanted to spend more time with the cub but she's a lion now," he stated, his thumb rubbing against the corner of her palm, "And I can see it in your eyes, that you want to be back, I know you."

He does.

He's the second person who truly knows her. Her flaws, sadness, fears. She took a breath, "No, I can't, Clint, Scarlett is still too young, I—."

"Stop using Scarlett as an excuse," He interrupted her, her eyes widened, causing him to sigh, squeezing her hand, "what's the real reason, Nat?"

Her nails dig into his skin, the real reason? The reason is Scarlett. She's too young, she will be scared. Scarlett hasn't been out there in years, she hasn't been alone. What if they think Scarlett's not good enough? What if they don't like Scarlett anymore?

What if Scarlett's not ready?

"What if I'm not ready?"

His eyes softened, "You will never be ready, Nat."

The waiter finally came with her coffee, he set it on the table, and apologized for the wait, before turning to Clint, asking him if he wanted his usual, which he nodded to.

When the waiter left, Clint began speaking again, "You always have to make a big leap to know where you're heading, right?" He asked, scrunching his nose slightly, causing her to chuckle, nodding.

"You're not good with pep talks," she commented, he smiled, "I know."

Natasha lets out a breath, "Okay."

"Okay?" He repeated.

She nodded, "Yes, okay, yeah, call Tony, tell him I accept the job or whatever," she felt her stomach turning as she said it, but she had to take this risk.

And hope in the future, she won't regret it.

"Nat?" She raised her head, her brows furrowed. "Can you let go of my hand now? you're hurting me."

Her eyes widened, as she let go, muttering an apology, he quickly accepted before standing up it make the call. She felt her fears eating her insides, as she watched Clint. Her nails digging into her palm now. She was scared, nervous, and worried but she could do this.

She can do anything, as Scarlett would say.

That's one small step for her, one giant leap for her career, right?

Or whatever.

•

Her back hurt like hell, she clenched her teeth, stretching out her arms, until she felt a tiny crack in her muscles. They landed in New York eight hours ago, she believes.

She was just waking up from the small nap she took, they made around midnight or early morning. Wanda sighed, rubbing the skin on the back of her neck, rolling her head slowly, trying to relax them.

"Our hotel closes at 3:00, and Fury wants you to see him." She hummed, as Pietro checked her emails.

Something hard smacks the side of her head, causing her to frown and her head to snap towards Pietro, who quickly tells her, "Sorry! I was aiming for your lap."

She looked down to see a half-peeled orange, she shook her head, reaching for it. She licked her chapped lips, as she started to finish peeling it, "where's Darcy?"

"She's going to check up on her place," Pietro said, swiping through his phone. Darcy was staying with one of her childhood friends, Jane, who has been living here for a couple of years now. Darcy was excited when she found out she did, they hadn't seen each other in forever as she would say. Pietro clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth or he smacked his teeth, whatever sound he made created a tck noise, Wanda's brows furrowed, "And speaking of that, we have to check on ours at 6:40 pm."

Wanda smiled, softly, nodding, as Pietro reminded her of the time when he was her manager/agent.

She doesn't know if he quit or if she fired him. It was probably a manual agreement that he shouldn't work for her anymore, to give him more time for himself.

Pietro is an artist in all kinds of ways, but his specialty was painting. His art is always intense, different, and colorful.

Wanda throws the orange peel towards him and hits the exact spot the brunette was aiming at, the peel lands directly on his forehead. "Sorry," Wanda said, hiding a laugh, as she opened the orange, she could feel Pietro rolling his eyes.

"You also have a meeting with Mr. Stark, dickhead," He told her, she smirked, before nodding, and taking off a small piece of the orange, and putting it in her mouth.

She slowly stood up from the bed, chewing, as their playful moment faded, as she spoke, "When?"

"In four hours, so start getting ready."

She nodded, before peeling off a piece of the orange and then handing the rest to Pietro to eat. She places the orange slice in her mouth, as she walks towards her suitcases lying on the floor. "What are you doing for the day?" She asked her brother.

She could hear a small creaking sound, letting her know he was now sitting on the bed, "I'm going to the house while you're at the meeting."

Wanda kneeled to the ground, reaching for her zipper, and opening her suitcase, "Right, before I forget. There's an award show you have to go to next week," He told her.

She pulled out a pitch-black t-shirt and some blue jeans, her brows furrowing as she listened to Pietro, "Just me?"

He hummed, and the next words out his mouth, he told her like it was nothing, "Yes, on that day, I have an art show to present."

Which it wasn't.

Her eyes widened, "what? Why are you just telling me about this?" She shook her head, "Why do I have to go to this award thing, I want to see your show."

Pietro waved his hand in a no gesture, Wanda frowned, folding the clothes in her hand. "Because you'll end up being the person buying it, and I also don't need the guest freaking over you."

She rolled her eyes and nodded. This was the first show in months that she heard about from him, she was excited and disappointed. Wanda wondered if he had any more of them that he didn't tell her about in fear of her supporters going crazy, or her buying it out of pity.

She went to the bathroom and took a quick shower to wake and clean herself from the plane ride, and to ease the tension from her muscles. Then she brushed her teeth and changed her clothes.

It took maybe 2 hours (an hour and a half?) to get ready for the meeting, Pietro was already gone by the time she got out of the room. Most likely took an Uber since the car was still outside.

She looked presentable, Wanda thought as she tugged down her shirt. Her hair was brushed down in waves laying on her chest, she wore a light shade of makeup.

She collected all her things, which were only her keys and purse, since Pietro took her suitcase with him, and locked up the hotel room.

After handing in her card to the front desk, she finally went outside. Now that she was awake enough to notice the cold breeze, the sun beaming on her eyes, the smell of smoke, the sound of people screaming at each other, cars honking, and the feeling of somehow getting bumped into every second.

Wanda realized how much she missed New York.

It was her home for 13 years.

It was the place where she got her first acting job, won her first award, got married, and had her daughter. New York holds so many memories for her, good and bad.

Sometimes she regrets ever leaving it, and other times she is grateful that she did. Wanda doesn't even want to think about how things would've turned out if she had stayed.

The ride to Stark's Studios was, maybe, ten minutes. She made it there twenty minutes before her conference, so she just sat in the waiting room, for a while before getting told she could go up to the fifth floor.

The stairs were a living hell, it made her realize how out of shape she was.

It didn't click in her mind, that she could've taken the elevator until she made it to his office. His door was wide open, and she immediately saw him. Tony had his fingers folded on his desk, a smile curling on his lips, "Hey, witch."

Wanda shakes her head, with a smile, "Hey, Tony."

She walked into the room, and sits down in the first seat in front of his desk, as Tony leaned back in his chair, quickly getting into the business, as he said, "We're just going to reread over your contract and see if things fit with you."

He does a good flip through the contract, making sure she knows what she is agreeing with and signing for.

He also goes on to describe the others that would be featured in the movie. Like Nicholas and Maggie, who characters are going to spend a lot of time with Wanda's, they are an autistic man and a unique teenager, who are like a found family to Dahlia.

"Here are your co-stars," Tony said, handing her a piece of paper. Wanda nodded, taking the paper from his fingers, then frowned, as she read through the list, none of the names seemed familiar to her. Wanda also couldn't help but notice that one of the roles was blank.

Julia Rosé

Actress: indecisive.

"Who's supposed to play Julia?" Wanda asked, her brows furrowing. Tony shook his head, and said, "The actress isn't quite sure if she wants the role yet."

Wanda frowned because that didn't answer her question, she nodded her head, her eyes scanning down the page, "Okay, but who is she?"

He sighed, causing her eyes to rise, and go to his.

She may be a fool to say this but Tony Stark looks nervous. She set the paper down in her lap, giving the man her full attention, "Are you sure you want this role? Your mind isn't going to change?" Tony asked, Wanda's brows furrowed.

She nodded her head, firmly, because she wouldn't be here if she wasn't sure, and a random actress wasn't going to take that sureness away from her. She hummed, "Yes, I'm sure."

Then he opened his drawer, Wanda watched as he rambled through it for a moment, before grabbing a file and settling it on the desk. Wanda's eyes followed him, closely, as he slid the folder toward her.

She frowns, slightly amused and conflicted by this secretive act of his. She leaned forward, grabbing the folder. She lets out a breath, leaning back, as she opens it.

The beginning of the first page was a small bio of Julia's character, who she is, how she acts, and her style detail. Then there was a description of the actress: average height, redhead, 30-36.

"Natalia Romanoff."

Natasha.

She thought as she looked down at the picture below. The mother of her child? Her ex-wife? "Natasha?" She asked, she had never seen this photo of her. Her redhead hair was down on her shoulders in loose curls, and a little smirk lay on her lips. She aged like wine, she was still beautiful.

"Is that what she goes by now?" Tony asked, but she didn't respond, as her head rose from the photo.

"She hasn't acted in years," Wanda stated.

He nodded, "I know, but I'm hoping she would put back on that cape for me," Tony said, pointing towards himself, with a confident grin.

Wanda shook her head, glancing down at the picture. Natasha... her jaw clenched, brows furrowing.

"You're okay with this, right?" He asked, frowning as if he was interested in her answer.

She cleared her throat, nodding, "Yeah... of course."

Of course, she's okay with working with the woman who has somehow ignored her for years, hurt her, and left without even a reason.

Of course, she is.

She's an adult, she's older, she's over it.

She looked down, sighing, Natasha had to know about her, and still, she hadn't agreed?

Is Natasha not okay with it?

Chapter End Notes

urodlivyy chelovek = ugly man"Memories" — Conan Gray + "The Night We Met" — Lord Huron