Between the Lines || IX
PAIRING: Steve Rogers & Fem!Reader (Platonic) / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader / Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader x Wanda Maximoff
Summary: Vampire AU. Life has changed drastically since the 1600s. Things are always on the move, and you’ve been very careful to not get on SHIELDs radar. Living on the down-low owning a café, you’re content to live out a quiet existence. That is until the Avengers enter your life.
[Set after the New York Invasion, in CAWS, and goes up to AoU. Canon divergent after.]
Warnings: This series will contain smut(**), poly-relationship, and dark themes.
Note: Everyone last chapter: “I’m ready for Wanda to fucking ruin me.” LMAO SAME.
PART I || PART II || PART III || PART IV || PART V || PART VI || PART VII || PART VIII
PART IX of XX
Count: 4782
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Antique.
That was the best way Natasha could describe your place. You had more warm colors for your walls and older styled furniture that made her feel like she was transcending time.
They had just gotten back from visiting Allison, who was beyond ecstatic to see you and Natasha. Her mother seemed to be all better now, and no longer needed the extra care for Allison. The babysitter you had recommended last time seemed to be working just fine for them when her mother needed to pull extra shifts, but you still promised to visit Allison when you could.
"Your place is nice," Natasha smiles softly, and you turn your head around to smile back at her as you grab a cup from the cupboard.
"Really? David says I have the taste of an old person. To my defense, I am old," you snort.
Natasha chuckles, "I like it."
She feels a little excited because it looks like you're making coffee for her, and it feels like it's been such a long time since Natasha has had your coffee.
"Even though I've lived so long and have adapted, this style makes me feel more at home," you softly explain, and Natasha's eyes turn tender.
You finish brewing Natasha her coffee and bring it over to her. She takes a sip, sighing with bliss.
Grinning at her, you're about to say something else when your phone buzzes in your pocket. Pulling it out, you check to see that it's from David.
"We've got to head out," You tell the redhead. "David's got a lead for us."
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Your search didn't yield much more than what David could find, which was annoying. Luckily, you didn't end up having to use your gift and instead used compulsion to find information.
Natasha trailed along, watching you work but also making herself useful when she could.
Within two hours, you felt like you already found out what you could before heading back to shower and head off to the Stark tower again.
When you get there, you already see David talking with Steve and Maria.
"Fatalities?" You could hear Steve ask.
"Only when engaged," David says as he catches your eye when you enter the room. "Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see."
"Maximoffs," Maria mutters, and you're curious about Wanda's powers. They seemed similar to Tatyana's, but you want to confirm if Wanda's powers had only come from the scepter.
"That makes sense that he would seek them out. They have something in common," Steve said as he saw you approaching. "Find anything?"
"No more than you did, apparently," you shrugged.
"Well," David says as he's looking at his tablet. "Nothing in common anymore." He flips the tablet and a picture of Strucker's dead body and the word 'PEACE' written in blood on the wall next to him.
"Lovely," Maria huffs.
You see Clint on the phone just a couple feet from you, and Steve notices him too.
"So, you're not coming home tonight even though you explicitly said you would," you here a feminine voice on the phone.
"That's a negative," Clint says.
"This better be your last one for a while, I don't care what your boss says," you hear the woman respond. In the background, you could also hear two kids screaming, 'Is that dad? Can I talk to dad! Dad!'
"I answer to you," Clint responds almost dutifully.
"...If you miss the birth of our child...I'll kill you..."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Barton," Steve interrupts, "We might have something."
"Gotta go," Clint says quickly before he hangs up and turns to face you all.
"Who was that?" Steve asks.
"Girlfriend," Clint's eyes travel to you and David because it was obvious he knew you had heard him.
Steve doesn't pay it any mind as he leads everyone back into the room. You and David lag behind because Clint is walking beside the two of you.
"Listen--"
"It's none of our business, Clint," you cut him off with a wave. "We didn't hear a thing."
Clint sighs and gives you a smile of thanks.
"Although, you should be more careful if you're trying to keep them a secret," David says as he tapped away on his tablet.
He then holds up his tablet to you and Clint, a photo dated two years ago of Clint and his family on a ride at Disneyland.
"This you?"
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You've known as a vampire, it's impossible to get headaches, but it doesn't stop you from feeling like you have one.
Everyone is getting ready to get out onto the Quinjet to take off to the next location to find Ulysses Klaue as you'll be likely to find Ultron and the twins there.
There isn't much for you to ever prepare for, so you laze around in the kitchen before Natasha strolls in, the first to finish.
"Hey, you," she smiles, and you walk over to her.
"Hey, yourself," you smile as you inspect her suit. "Got everything?"
"Hopefully," Natasha shrugs.
You know you'll most likely meet Wanda soon, and something inside you tells you it'll bring chaos.
Nothing ever truly feels like it's over, but you have Natasha.
You look at her with slow eyes.
Sometimes it feels wrong to be this happy with Natasha, to allow yourself that kind of privilege. But there are no words you could use to describe what Natasha is to you and how you crave her.
Natasha peers through her lashes, catching the look in your eyes. She walks backward, pulling you with her until she hits the counter before she hops herself up onto it. Pulling you closer by the collar of your shirt, you end up between her legs, your hands automatically around her waist while hers are around your neck.
"When you have that look on your face, it makes me want to just...eat you," Natasha licks her lip, and you can't help but laugh lightly as she traces her thumb over your bottom lip.
"You know how funny that sounds, right?" You smile.
Natasha merely smirks as she lowers her head to press her lips against yours in a soft kiss.
She tastes like remnants of peach candy, and you hum into her mouth. Licking her bottom lip, you hold her hips tighter.
Good.
She smells good.
Like vanilla and dry leaves.
You bite her bottom lip gently, appreciating the way she moans lightly. It seems to excite her more as her heart pounds in her chest. You pull away, lowering your head as the tip of your nose drags against her side of her neck.
You inhale as Natasha holds your neck a little tighter.
You could hear it, smell, the blood rushing through Natasha's veins.
It would be so easy.
Natasha would be delicious, you just know it. Her blood hits every part of your sensories, and she would feel so good.
Your teeth drag lightly where your tongue had been.
'You can't.'
The voice and words ring in your head loud and clear.
Immediately, you pull away, almost panting as you do.
Natasha calls your name, but you shake your head.
"I just need a moment," you tell her, taking in a deep breath.
You haven't felt this way in so long, you felt like a child experiencing bloodlust again.
It had been so easy throughout the years to control it, knowing the consequences if you did it.
Yet, having Natasha tested every limit you had again.
You never thought you would ever experiencing wanting to drink from someone again.
"I'm sorry," Natasha says hesitantly. She had been so caught up in the moment, and you felt so good.
For a moment...she...she wanted you to bite her.
You clear your throat as your head clears again.
"Don't apologize," you give her a tight smile, "I should have better control."
Natasha is about to say something else when you help her down from the counter.
"C'mon," you say as you pull her along, "we should head to the Quinjet."
And Natasha's words die on her tongue.
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"Don't compare me with Stark! He's a sickness!"
You all come in time just as Ultron has sliced off Klaue's arm as he rants about Tony.
"Ahh, junior," Tony appears with Thor and Steve behind him. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."
"If I have to," Ultron tilts his head.
"Daddy issues, am I right?" You lean over to David to say, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"He's not a villain without one," David says back.
You hear a laugh disguised as a cough from Pietro. He smirks at you, and you give him a slight quirk of your lip back.
But then your eyes travel next to him.
It hits you in the gut.
A million flashbacks happen to you, and you feel like someone just knocked all the air out of your body, and you're breathless. It's like you're going through a spiral of vertigo until you look her in the eyes.
She looks like her.
You were prepared to see the similarities, but this was more than you had expected.
But you knew it was not Tatyana.
You blinked, eyes focusing on Wanda.
She was staring at you too, but she didn't seem sure of what to make of it.
"You two can still walk away from this," Steve's voice interrupts the two of you.
"Oh, we will," Wanda rips her gaze from you, tilting her head as she smirks sardonically at Steve.
"I know you've suffered," Steve acknowledges, and for a second, you see rage flash through Wanda's eyes because while Steve knows, he doesn't truly know what they've been through.
Ultron lets out a groan of disgust. "Captain America," he says with a certain tone to his voice. "God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war."
"I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..." Ultron tilts his head, looking at Steve.
Thor tries to urge Ultron to keep the peace, but Ultron obviously declines.
"What's the vibranium for?" Tony asks.
Ultron looks as giddy as he can. "I'm glad you asked since I wanted to take this time to reveal my evil plan!"
Suddenly, Iron Legion Bots break through the glass and start attacking.
You and David have split up, he's taken off after Pietro and you to find Wanda.
Taking out Klaue's men along the way, you keep walking in the direction you could hear her in.
Her footsteps were rather light, and she had a distinct smell of cinnamon and orange blossoms.
"Thor! Status!" Steve yelled into the earpiece.
"The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care, I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty," Thor trailed off.
You knew immediately what was happening.
"Nat," you called worriedly.
"I'm fine," she reassures you.
"David?" You called next.
"Still good," he grumbles. "Fast little bastard."
"Wait," David calls. "She's got Natasha and Steve in a hallucination."
You're about to turn around immediately to go back to Natasha, but David stops you.
"Don't," he warns. "Nat's still okay, just caught up in whatever she's seeing. If you want to put an end to it, catch the girl."
You grit your teeth but huff in agreement.
You stand along the empty hallway, breaking the wrist of a man who tries to charge at you. Flinging him over the railing, he lands on sacks of dirt and groans.
It seems you don't have to go to Wanda because you hear those light footsteps behind you, creeping up.
She stands behind you, unknowing you can hear her heart beating as she raises her hand, tendrils forming at her fingers.
You turn around abruptly, grabbing her wrist. Faced with Wanda's shock widened eyes, you quirk your lip at her.
"Cute," you tell her, "but it won't work on me."
"And why is that?" Wanda asks accent heavy in her voice that sounds so familiar to you.
"To control--compel, me to what you want, your will has to be stronger than mine," you tell her, pulling her closer by her wrist to show that even as close as she was, she couldn't use her mind control on you. "So? Do you still think you can play your little mind games on me?"
Maybe you had tugged too hard, but now Wanda was too close. Her eyes staring into yours as if she was searching for something. Lips slightly parted, you could feel her breath on you.
"Why?" Wanda murmurs as she tilts her head slightly at you.
"Why what?" You return.
"Why do you stare at me like that?" Wanda gets closer.
You should pull away. Disarm her, and go secure Pietro to finish the mission.
But it feels like there's an electric pulse in the air that seems to keep you rooted.
"Stare at you like what?" You husk.
Wanda licks her lips, drawings your eyes. "Stare at me like you want to save me."
"You're helping a homicidal robotic manic who wants to destroy the world," you quirk your brow at her. "I think that warrants needing to be saved or at least some sense beaten into you."
"He will save the world by putting an end of the Avengers," Wanda hisses. She draws forth the red wisps again in her other hand, holding it close to you. "Perhaps I can't 'play my little mind games' with you. But power is power."
Immediately, you feel Wanda's power surround your body before she uses it to force you through the window. You find yourself staring at the sky, blinking as you fall.
You swiftly turn around, positioning yourself upright as you land on the ground, creating a good-sized crater. There's a momentary crack in your ankles from the pressure and height you fell from, but as quick as it happens, it heals.
You look up, shards of glass falling around you, and you sigh.
It seems your suspicions were correct, that Wanda's powers were genuine. The feel of it was too raw and similar to Tatyana's.
And that made things complicated.
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"Hey, hey, look at me," you coo as you hold Natasha's face in your hands, turning her to look at you. Her eyes are unfocused, and honestly, it's a little challenging to get her to actually look at you.
You had arrived shortly back into the facility after hearing Clint saying they needed to move. Clint had been trying to shake Natasha out of it, but it wasn't working, and so you stepped in.
"I have no place in the world," Natasha mutters.
You had a pretty good guess about what she was seeing, and so did Clint.
"How do we get her out? Do we just have to wait?" Clint asked you.
"No," you say, stroking Natasha's cheek, tilting her face up as you look down into her eyes. "We overpower it."
Your pupils explode into liquid pools, swirling as you forced Natasha's to do the same. It would take a little longer, with Natasha not even being lucid.
"Look at me," you tell her softly. Natasha blinks. "Wherever you are, it's not real."
You start to see flickers of speckles in Natasha's eyes and lick your lips.
"Come back to me," you compel her softly but with a slight bite in your tone. "You have a place in the world. Here, as an Avengers, with Clint and everyone else." The fog is clearing from Natasha's mind, your eyes responding more to yours and your words.
"With me," you faintly say.
"Come back."
Life comes back to Natasha, her eyes no longer dull as she comes face to face with you. She's got a massive headache and slight nausea.
Natasha swallows as you still hold her face in your hands. She wants to say something, but Tony interrupts.
"Guys, I could really use some help. Maybe try the lullaby again?"
You look at Natasha, but she's in no shape to try to go against the Hulk.
"The rest of the team is down," Clint responds.
You look around to see David trying to get Steve out of his hallucination.
"David will handle things here. Get everyone back onto the jet. The twins and Ultron are probably long gone by now. I'm going to help Tony."
You look once more at Natasha, who lifts the corner of her mouth.
"Be careful," she tells you.
"Aren't I always?" Giving her a wink, you take off in a blur.
"Coordinates, Stark," you say into your earpiece.
"Getting my ass beat right now!" Tony groans.
"Coordinates, Stark, not status. I already know you're getting your ass beat," you smirk.
"Don't be a dick," he mutters, but you're unsure if that was to you or Banner. He tells you where to meet him, but it gets easier to figure out as you get closer, and you can hear glass and building being shattered, and Banner's roars along with civilian screams.
You pick up speed, reaching there as you stand a few feet away, and Tony spots you.
"What's the plan?" Tony asks.
"Get him away from the city. Damage's been done, but we should try to stop him from doing any more," you see Tony struggling to hold him down. His suit is bulked up, and you're sure he prepared this specifically for Banner.
"Where do we bring him?" Tony's punching Banner in the face, trying to get him to 'go to sleep.'
"Few miles from the Quinjet. There should be some open space."
"Alright," Tony says, having no other choice but to trust you.
He gets VERONICA to send in a new Hulkbuster arm, using it to suction in the Hulk's arm as they take to the skies. You start to run in the same direction they're going.
"Alright, what do we do after we get him in the area?" Tony's overworking the jets in his feet while the Hulk struggles to get the upper hand in the air.
"Can you trap him in his spot?"
"I have one extra set electric bars, but he dug a hole in the ground to escape it."
"Just set them in the ground, wide berth and electrodes on."
You enter into a clearing, and Tony drops Banner, breaking the ground as he lands.
Immediately, giant plates dig into the earth, surrounding Banner as he gets electrified. He screams, arching his back before he turns and snarls at you.
"You gonna try this compulsion thing?" Tony asks through his mask.
"Try being a keyword," you mutter, "I have a feeling he's not going to be receptive towards it."
"Is anyone receptive towards compulsion, really?" Tony grumbles.
"Yeah," you smirk, "humans."
You walk around the perimeter of the plates, and the Hulk turns his body as his eyes follow you.
"You're angry," you acknowledge. "She made you angry."
The Hulk only roars and glares at you, the surrounding area of his eyes were red.
You lock eyes, pupils expanding as you try to reel him in.
"But look around you, think if there's anything right now to be angry about," you say to him. His head moves side to side, but you can tell the Hulk is fighting it. "Are you really angry, or did she just tell you you're angry? Who are you outraged at? The civilians who've done nothing to you? Tony? Me?"
You kept circling, keeping your eyes locked on his.
"Yourself?" You asked, and when the Hulk lets out an enraged yowl, you know you've hit the spot.
"You need to calm down," you lick your lips. "Before you do something that will really make you angry with yourself."
The Hulk is huffing and puffing as he continues to stare at you, and you try to expand the compulsion stronger.
For a second, you think it's working. The Hulk is shaking his head, stumbling backward.
But as quick as that happens, suddenly he punches himself in the face, knocking himself out of your control before he lets out another bellowing scream.
He starts running even as the plates send out electric shocks, bombarding through one of them as it breaks.
"He's too ravaged for me to even try to influence him to calm down," you tell Tony quickly as you take off towards the Hulk.
"I think I got that," Tony has to move out of the way before the Hulk steamrolls him.
"New plan," you say, running towards Tony.
"What are you--" he starts to say, but you cut him off.
"Throw me onto his back!" You leap, forcing Tony to catch you as he spins around once before whipping you in the direction the Hulk took off in.
The speed propelled you straight towards him, he didn't even see it coming as he was approaching the Quinjet. Everyone had come outside, hearing his thundering footsteps as he ran in their direction.
You latched onto his back, wrapping your tiny arms the best you could around his neck with crushing force, almost enough to snap his windpipe.
He chokes, feet digging into the ground as he abruptly stopped. His hand comes up to your arm, and you only have a second before he forces you to release him via breaking your arm.
You open your mouth, teeth sharp as venom pooled to them before you dug it into his neck.
He was grumbling at you before, but he was definitely screaming at you now.
The sound of agonizing wails leaves his mouth as he falls to his knees. You let go of his neck.
Falling forward, the Hulk writhes in pain, and you could see the venom traveling in his veins as they turned a dark green on his skin. He was crawling as he groaned.
Soon, the venom overtook his system to the point Banner began to change back to a man. He lay there, moaning in pain as Tony came forward along with Clint, who threw a blanket over him.
"What did you do?" Tony asked, and David came out, blurring over to carry Bruce into the Quinjet.
"Forced him to change back," you mutter as you also got onto the Quinjet.
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David put Banner on a makeshift bed while Clint flew the Quinjet out of the area.
Bruce was thrusting off the table as he still writhed in pain while everyone else stood around.
"What's happening to him?" Steve asked. He was covered in dirt and grime, and he looked a little defeated.
"The venom is breaking his cells down," you say, eyes drifting to David, who nods, restraining Bruce down.
You could hear more questions being fired, but you didn't answer. You threw the blanket off of Bruce, and everyone could see his veins, dark and poisoned-looking.
Leaning over, you began to bite him various places until the discoloration in his veins began to disappear. The seizing slowed down in Bruce as he came to a restful stop, but beads of sweat ran down his forehead. He was still breathing heavily, and his eyes remained closed.
"He's going to have to sleep that off," you spitting out blood into a nearby bucket, and wiping your mouth. David hands you a bottle of water, which you use to rinse your mouth, spitting it out until your mouth was clear.
Natasha comes up to check on you, putting her hand on your back softly as you try to give her a smile that ends up being more of a grimace.
"What was that?" Tony asked as he inspected his friend.
"I told you," you say as Natasha gives you some gum. "Venom can be used in three ways. That was one of them."
"But what does it do," Tony emphasized.
The mint flavor spread throughout your mouth, and you were thankful for a change in taste. Lately, it's been getting harder to control your thirst.
"When venom is used to harm, it attacks the cells in your body. Specifically, it makes them explode. It's painful as it travels through your veins because it's basically shredding everything in its path as it moves. The more venom you inject, the faster the deterioration goes," you say.
"Why did you bite him again?" Steve asks.
"There's only one way to reverse it," you peer over to Bruce's sleeping form. "Only the venom of the vampire who inflicted it can undo it. I injected the healing venom to counteract it. He'll be fine, maybe just a couple scars, and feeling sore for a few days."
"We need to lay low while we can," David interrupts as he looks at his tablet.
"That's a great idea," you hear Maria chime in through the intercoms. "The new is loving you guys. No one else is. There's no official arrest warrant for Banner, but it's up in the air."
"Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony asks.
"Already on scene. How's everyone?" She replies.
"We took a hit, they're shaking it off right now," you mutter.
"Well, stay in stealth mode for now, and don't come back here," Maria warned, knowing it would be ugly.
"So, run and hide?" Tony seems displeased.
"Until we find Ultron, there are not many options on the table," Maria sighed, disconnecting after that.
Tony goes over to Clint, slapping his hand on Clint's shoulder. "Need to switch out?"
Clint shakes his head, "Nah, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now would be the time, we're still a couple hours out."
You look over to Clint, noticing the dark bags under his eyes, and for the first time, you see how tired he must be.
"A couple hours from where?" Tony asks.
"A safe house," Clint answers, looking at you and David, and you know immediately where he's taking you.
You turn to Natasha, and it seems she knows as well.
Taking the time to sit near the back, you hold your girlfriend in your arms, stroking the side of her arms. Natasha's worn, you can tell by the paleness in her skin, and she's upset.
You sit in silence for a good chunk of the time. As much as you hate it, the image of Wanda doesn't leave your mind. There was something that brewed deep within you, and you felt haunted.
It isn't until Natasha decides to speak and breaks your thoughts.
"I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't gotten me out of that hallucination," Natasha says quietly to avoid drawing the attention of the others, but now used with David unintentionally being able to listen.
"I wish I could've been there sooner," you say at the same level of quietness, but Natasha shakes her head.
"Sometimes," she starts, licking her dry lips, "it's so easy to live every day like that part of my life didn't happen. Even though it's my sole reason to do the things I do. I want to clear my ledger, but it's..."
"It's complicated," you finish for her when she drags.
It's silent for a few minutes as the two of you rest, you lean your head on top of Natasha's, breathing slowly as you try to comfort her.
"I had never thought about wanting kids," Natasha starts quietly again, and you hum softly in the back of your throat to tell her you're listening.
"I'm not even really sure that I do or not, but then I get reminded that I can't either way."
You hold her bicep tighter, turning your head to press a kiss to her head.
"It's okay to mourn the loss of the choice," you murmur.
Natasha nudges herself closer to you, inhaling your scent as it eases her. The images don't quite go away. They linger in her mind, a wretched memory of everything she's endured.
"I suppose it's easier," Natasha mumbles. "It's one less thing to worry about, one less thing that would matter more than a mission. It makes everything easier, even killing."
"Don't do that," you admonish her gently. "While those things can be true, don't make yourself out to be a monster."
Natasha remains quiet, not the kind where she doesn't believe you, but the kind where she doesn't quite have the right words to say for once.
"You act like you don't already have things that would matter more than a mission, things that you don't worry about," you lift your other hand up, using your fingers to tilt her chin until she's facing you.
Your lips are so close, the warmth vibrating between the two of you.
"Because you already do, don't you?" You murmur. "Everyone on this ship is your family--I'm your family, just as you are mine."
PART X
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