Chapter 17: The date

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Avengers Compound

Afternoon

"So, I hear you and Allen have a date tonight." Natasha said as she walked up next to Wanda in the hall.

"How did you find out about that?" Wanda asked surprised and Natasha shrugged.

"Word spreads fast. So, where's he taking you?" Natasha asked and Wanda eyed her wearily before answering.

"I don't know. He told me he's taking me to dinner and to dress casual." Wanda said and Natasha nodded.

"Alright, come on." Natasha grabbed her by the arm and led Wanda away.

"Where are we going?" Wanda asked surprised.

"To get you ready." Natasha said with a smirk.

Barry's apartment

Same time

Barry was packing up his stuff, getting ready to take it back to the compound, when his phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw Clint's name on the screen and answered.

"What can I do for you Clint?" Barry asked as he zipped up a suitcase.

"I hear you and Wanda are going on a date tonight." Clint said and Barry paused.

"How do you-never mind," Barry said, mentally cursing ex-Shield agents and their tendencies to find out secrets he didn't want them to know, "what about it?"

"She likes roses," Clint said randomly, "have her home before ten. And if you hurt her, no one will find your body."

Clint then abruptly ended the call. Now, Barry was a speedster, but he figured if anyone could manage to kill him, it would either be Oliver or Clint. So, with that in mind, he began looking for the flower shop closest to the compound.

Avengers Compound

Late afternoon/early night

Wanda stood outside the compound, waiting. She was dressed in a red jacket with a matching shirt underneath and black jeans with red high heels. She felt a little uncomfortable in this get up but it was easier to let Natasha have her way. If you didn't let her have her way, she went a lot harder on you in training. No one wanted that.

Suddenly, she felt a breeze blow through her hair and Barry stood before her, dressed in a black t-shirt and blue jeans with red tennis shoes.

"Hey, sorry I'm a little late, you…" Barry trailed off as he looked at her.

"What?" Wanda asked nervously as she shifted uneasily.

"Nothing, you just…you look nice. Really nice." Barry said a look of awe on his face and she blushed.

"You look nice as well." Wanda said her accent a little thicker due to her nerves.

"Hold on tight." Barry said softly, putting an arm around her and they disappeared in a gust of wind.

Restaurant

Night

Barry and Wanda sat in a booth in a restaurant as their waiter waited for them as they looked at their menus.

"I'll have the lasagna." Barry said as he looked up at Wanda.

"Same." Wanda said and the waiter nodded, taking their menus and leaving them alone.

"So, what do you think?" Barry asked, gesturing to the restaurant, mostly just to make small talk.

"It's nice," Wanda said after a moment, "how did you come by it?"

"The owner is an old army buddy of Sam's. He hooked me up." Barry explained and Wanda nodded.

"This is awkward." Wanda said bluntly and Barry couldn't help but laugh and Wanda smiled a bit.

"Just a little." Barry said with a smile and Wanda sighed.

"I am…not good at this. I have never…" Wanda trailed off but Barry got what she was saying.

"This is your first date?" Barry asked surprised and she nodded.

"In Sokovia, Pietro and were not worried about dates. We were simply concerned with how we would live to see next month. Then we were involved in the program that gave us our powers and then we were too consumed with vengeance against Stark." Wanda said, wincing at the memory.

"It's all in the past; you are not that person anymore." Barry told her quickly and she nodded.

"Do you miss it? Your home? Back on your earth?" Wanda asked curiously and Barry nodded.

"All the time. Not a day goes by that I don't miss my friends, my family, where I'm not filled with regret over how I left things with Cisco. But I can't go back, only move forward. Which is what I'm trying to do here but you're kind of making that difficult." Barry joked and Wanda couldn't help but giggle.

"I am sorry, I suppose I am…nervous." Wanda admitted and Barry nodded.

"I get it, I'm a little nervous to. But If I'm sure of one thing, it's that this," Barry gestured between them, "is worth exploring."

"Why are you so sure?" Wanda wanted to know.

"When I first got here, I felt alone, even with the other Avengers. Except with you. With you, I didn't feel alone or like an outsider or refugee on another earth. I just felt like me, I didn't have to pretend like I was okay on the days that I wasn't. I didn't feel as broken up inside as I actually was with you. Being with, somehow, made it better. I didn't ask myself why that was until I got injected with The Red Death," Barry paused, "I think I'd known for a while you were becoming more important to me than the others, but I didn't acknowledge it because I knew it would change things. But…I'm okay with that if you are."

"I'm not sure where this will lead…but I'd like to find out." Wanda admitted with a slight smile.

As the waiter arrived with drinks and bread, outside, in a tree, Clint watched this with a pair of binoculars.

"Should your wife be concerned?" Natasha asked on the branch next to him.

"I'm just making sure he's being good to her. No flowers yet but he's not doing badly." Clint said before his phone rang.

"You might want to get that." Natasha said with a smirk and Clint eyed her wearily before putting the binoculars down answering.

"Laura? I know but…but she's…fine," Clint grumbled before hanging up, glaring at Natasha, "So we can add 'tattletale' to your list of skills."

Natasha smiled smugly before disappearing and Clint shot one more look at the restaurant. Wanda was laughing at something Barry said and his gaze softened.

"Take good care of her kid." Clint muttered before following Natasha.

New York

Later

"Where are we going?" Wanda said a little frustrated as Barry led her somewhere, is hands covering her eyes.

"Just hang tight, we're almost there. Okay, now open your eyes." Barry said as he lowered his hands from her face.

Wanda opened them and was stunned and in awe of what she saw. She found herself in a maze of roses.

"Clint told me roses were your favorite flower," Barry told her, "I went to buy you a bouquet and the florist told me about this place. So what do you think?"

"I love it." Wanda said as she looked at him with a beaming smile.

"Well it was not done yet." Barry said as he looked up.

Wanda followed his gaze and saw only the night sky. After a few moments, she was about to ask Barry what was going on when the sky was suddenly filled with color. Wanda looked on, impressed by the colors and displays she had never seen before.

"They're called fireworks," Barry explained, "We use them in times of celebration. They set them off every year because it's the anniversary of when this maze was planted. According to the story, this maze was a wedding gift to a bride from a man who proposed with nothing but his flower shop to give. And now it's a tourist attraction, people come from all around the world to see it."

"It's beautiful." Wanda said softly, walking over and picking up a rose before looking up at the fireworks.

"I'm glad you like it." Barry said with a relieved smile.

"I love it." Wanda said looking over at him.

Barry gazed down at her, her skin appearing multicolored due to the fireworks above them. She looked even more beautiful than before, he though wistfully. Barry reached out and placed a hand on one side of her face and she smiled. Barry leaned down and she closed her eyes as they shared their first kiss.

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