Surprise!

Natasha must have seen us coming, because when we arrive at the Quinjet the loading platform opens and offers us the safety of the inside. I don't really know how long we've been at that damned castle but I'm absolutely exhausted. "Something about emotional shit weighing heavy, right?" A snort leaves my mouth when I hear Wanda in my head. "Right." Natasha walks towards us with a comforting smile on her face. "You okay there, Ivanov?" "Yeah Romanoff, I'm fine." Natasha puts her hand on my shoulder and gives it a soft squeeze, while Wanda makes a 'not amused' kind of sound. "Hi Natasha, yes I'm doing okay. Thanks for asking." Nat squints her eyes, walks towards Wanda and gives her a punch. "Auw! What was that for?" "For being such a baby, Maximoff." She emphasizes the last word and Wanda sticks out her tongue, only proving Natasha's statement to be true. "Ready to go home?" I smile, for the first time since I woke up in that hospital bed, the compound really does feel like my home. "Yeah, let's go." I sit down and Wanda joins me. "Oh, before we take off, let me fix your nose!" The witch remembers and with a simple boop of her fingers I can smell again. "Why, what did you do to that cute little nose?" Natasha asks while sitting at the controls once more. "Uhm, first of all, only I can say that. And secondly, I blocked her nerve so she didn't have to smell the stench of that place." Natasha rests her head in her hands, elbows resting on her knees, and she gave us this 'awwww' look. "If it was me, I would just have severed the nerve." Wanda made a scoffing sound. "Well that's why I took care of it and not you, and no I'm not jealous." I raise my eyebrow when I realize that Natasha must have send her a thought, which obviously mentioned Wanda being jealous. "Sure you are little witch." She gave me a playful wink before putting her attention to the controls in front of her. Wanda her thoughts flood my mind, it's basically a 100 different ways of how she could shut Natasha up, and I burst out in laughter. "Let's not try these things." I whisper to her and Wanda scoffs. "I thought you were on my side malysh." I give her a big grin. "Not when it comes to agitating Natasha Romanoff."

I must have fallen asleep, because I can feel Wanda gently shaking me awake. "Lidiya, darling, it's time to wake up." I squeeze my eyes a few times and release a big yawn. While being asleep my head had fallen on Wanda's shoulder, so this resulted in me having a bit of a stiff neck right now. "Hmmm, can't you just carry me to my room?" I ask her with a sleepy voice and she laughs. "No darling, you are capable of walking by yourself." "Pffff, so what. You've already done it before." Wanda chuckles and unfastens my seatbelt. "I'm aware of that, I was there. But no, hop hop, on your own feet." I grumble some non-understandable words but the only response this gives me is more laughter from the witch. But if I'm honest with myself, hearing her voice this happy is more than enough motivation for me to stretch the time a bit more. When I stand up I act as if my legs stop working and I fall forward, letting Wanda her arms catch me. "Oops sorry, my feet weren't working yet." A big grin adorns my face and I can see the fun lights in her eyes when she catches on. "Oh really? Maybe when I do this they'll start again." She pulls me a little bit closer, and while keeping her gaze fixed on me, she softly kisses my lips. I hum in contentment. "Does this help?" Her voice is all playfulness and I go along with it. "Hmm I'm not sure, maybe you should try again, just to be sure?" Wanda laughs that gorgeous laugh of hers and repeats the kiss, this time a little bit more energetic. "Better?" I nod my head and pull her into a hug, just taking in the moment. "Yo, golubki (lovebirds), get going will ya?" Natasha breaks up the moment and the both of us just smile at her like a bunch of teenagers. "Why? Jealous Romanoff?" Wanda teases but Natasha just laughs it off. "Not in a million years little witch." "Oi!" I give Natasha a fake-angry face. "Thanks a lot." Nat just chuckles and sticks out her tongue. "Right, and you were calling me a baby." I give Wanda a soft kiss on her cheek, and while holding hands we leave the Quinjet. Since it's already evening, I'm very surprised to see a large group of people waiting. Steve is standing in the middle with Bucky and Sam next to him. Thor is waiting on us with 2 big mugs of beer in his hands and Loki is standing just a step behind, with that everlasting mischievous smile on his face. Carol is also on the front with a very big smile on her face, and next to her is Tony. Pepper is holding a very sleepy Morgan, and Happy is keeping an eye on everything. I remember Wanda telling me that it's very hard for him to let go of his bodyguard habits. Fitzsimons are standing in the back, and Jemma gives me a shy wave. Next to her is Daisy with a big grin on her face, obviously not sharing the social awkwardness that her two friends feel. I can see Shuri smiling at me and next to her is Peter, who is practically jumping up and down in excitement. Behind him is a very good looking woman, I don't know who she is but she has one comforting hand on Peter his shoulders. Vision is hovering a little bit over the floor, I wonder if he knows he's doing that, and next to him is Clint. He has put his arm around a woman who is holding a small boy and has one of the warmest smiles I have ever seen. A girl and another boy who must be in the beginning of their teens are standing next to him, clearly bored out of their mind. Bruce is standing next to the probable family and last but not least, the guy that Wanda called Phil is staring at me, not in an unkind way but obviously filled with curiosity. Natasha walks towards the group and turns to face me, meanwhile Wanda gives me hand a comforting squeeze. For a moment there is only silence, and then all together they yell: "Surprise!"

I appreciate the fact that they gave me a moment before shouting the word because it still startled me, but not as much as if would have done otherwise. I turn to face Wanda. "What is all of this?" My voice is small and unsure, I absolutely hate being the centre of this much attention. Wanda smiles and walks towards the group, basically pulling me along. "Well, we realized that you haven't had a proper birthday party since you were 9 years old. So Natasha and Bucky had this idea to throw you a surprise party." "But it's not even my birthday…" We have reached the group at this point and most of them heard my last sentence. Bucky takes a step forward and places his metal arm on my shoulder, giving it a small squeeze while offering me a comforting smile. "We know, just see this as a 'making-up-for-the-8-years-without-a-proper-birthday' party!" I can feel the emotions blocking my throat, but for once it's not caused by only negative feelings. I'm genuinely touched by their action. "Guys…" I whisper, silent tears rolling over my cheeks. I notice the fact that they make sure to not make a full circle around me, so I still have a way to escape. This little detail touches me right in my heart. "Thank you so much for this, really… I have no words to explain how grateful I am." "I mean, it's a good excuse for us to be capable of partying." Tony jokes and this immediately makes the atmosphere more relaxed instead of emotional. "Come on guys, like we practiced! Off you go!" Natasha yells and I raise my eyebrow, looking at Wanda. "What is she on about?" "You'll see." "She really can be quite bossy." Wanda snorts hearing my thoughts. "Too scared to say that out loud?" "Hell yeah." The group dissolves into smaller groups but all of them walk towards the same destination. "Come on, let's follow them." I nod with a smile on my face, and with Wanda by my side I walk towards the same direction. It doesn't take long before I see where they are going. It's actually the big patch of grass right next to the running track, but it looks completely different than it normally does. Tall poles have been placed, connected to each other with strings of fairy lights. On the far right is a bar and multiple speakers have been placed around the area, with feel good music coming out of it. A small wooden dance floor has made its way onto the grass but that's not where people are going. About 25 comfortable seats have been placed in a circle and I can see everybody flopping down on them. Tables with glasses, alcohol and snacks are spread across them. I guess when you're with a bunch of super powered people, dragging heavy furniture outside is not even an effort. Small lights are also covering the entire floor and are spreading a soft glow. It's like somehow everything is covered with flowers. It exudes a calm and peaceful atmosphere and it's just absolutely amazing. Before joining the others, I stop walking and turn to Wanda. Softly I put my hand against her cheek and look into her eyes, from which only love can be read. "Thank you." I whisper and she smiles. "You are very welcome sweetie, but it really was Bucky and Nat's idea. They told me that they know what it's like to have all these years of your life taken away from you, and they wanted to give you back something that you have lost: your birthday parties." I rest my forehead against hers, just taking a moment to let everything sink in. "Thank you for this, this means more to me then you guys can ever know." I send the thought to both Natasha and Bucky, and it's easy to see when it reaches the red haired spy, because the moment my mind touches hers she tenses. However, when she notices that there's nothing else coming, she relaxes and gives me a small nod, a smile hovering over her lips. Bucky however has no problem at all with me sending him a message through his mind, he just grins and salutes me. I can't help but chuckle when I see this. Wanda gives me a soft kiss against my forehead, and the two of us join the others, flopping down on one of the couches. I can see the two young teenage kids who were with Clint's running inside, exciting squeals leaving their lips. "Sorry about that, Cooper and Lila weren't too excited about the idea of seeing some stranger open gifts, so they went inside to go crazy in the game room." I wave away his explanation. "That's perfectly fine, they're kids, they should have fun! But what do you mean, birthday gifts?" He just smiles at me and I can hear Carol speak. "Of course! I mean, what's a birthday party without gifts? Nothing right?" I want to protest but Thor just cuts me off. "No use for arguing mortal girl! Gifts you will get." I sigh in defeat and snuggle closer to Wanda. Natasha is on the seat right next to us, as expected, and she takes the lead. "So, because we thought it wouldn't be a smart idea to just suffocate you with everyone cornering you and showering you with gifts, we decided to take another approach. Each in turn will get the change to offer you their gift and their birthday wishes, is that okay for you?" Never did I ever dream about finding a family that would take care of me this much, and who would take my anxiety into account the way that they do. I wipe away a single tear that managed to find its way out. "Thanks guys, really… I don't think I can even start to express how much all of this means to me. Thank you."

The first to go is Clint and his family, since they were sitting on our left side. Clint and the woman next to him approach me. "So, this is Laura, my lovely wife, and the toddler in her arms is little Nathaniel." I can feel Wanda get a little sad when the boy is mentioned but it's gone just as fast as it came. I make a mental note to ask her about it later tonight. Laura gives me a very warm smile, she just radiates motherly love. "It's very nice to meet you dear, Clint told me a lot about you. I'm so happy you're here with us now and no longer in that horrible place." I notice that she doesn't shy away from talking about my past, and somehow her just treating it as something 'normal' instead of a disease, feels good. "Is it okay if I hug you?" I think about it for a moment, appreciating the fact that she asks me. I don't know her but I know what Natasha told me about her and I can just feel the good intentions waving off of her. "Yeah." I stand up and Laura hands Nathaniel to his father. She softly pulls me into a hug, and immediately it feels as if I'm back into my own mother's arms. I let the feeling sink in for a while, and when she pulls back I whisper a "Thank you", quiet enough for only Laura to hear. She simply offers me a warm smile. "Here you go kiddo, our gift." Clint hands me an envelope, and when I open it a picture of a black horse is inside it. I look at it but can't help the confused expression on my face, and Laura softly laughs. "That's Shadowfax, he is one of our horses. Or, he was. He's yours now." I can feel my mouth dropping but I'm too flabbergasted to do anything about it. "Say what now?" Clint laughs. "We have a lovely farm and on it we have a couple of horses, him being one of them. He really is a sweet and kind horse, and Laura read that horse therapy can do wonders for traumatized people." Laura slaps Clint his head and rolls her eyes. "Auw! What, it's true isn't it? Anyway, he is yours now. He has been safely shipped here and is currently residing in the stables at the compound, so when you feel up to it you can visit him." Tears fill my view and I pull the archer into a big hug. "Thank you Clint, thank you so much." Being in this awkward position, me pulling him into a hug while the toddler still resides in his arms, he gives me a clumsy back pat. "Sure kiddo, I hope you like him." While Laura and Clint go back to their seats, Bucky speaks up. "Really hawk, you named him after a Lord of the Rings horse?" Clint raises his hands in defense. "It was Lila her idea, she loves Tolkien his work." Bucky scoffs. "Can't say she's wrong, but he isn't even white!" Steve gives him a sympatric pat on the back. "You know Bucky, it's a good thing that I know you're not racist, because that sounded really wrong." Sam mentions and Bucky's reaction is just a scoff, which makes everybody laugh. "Okay mortal girl, my turn!" Thor says excitedly but I just raise one of my eyebrows at him. "You do know that I have a name, right?" For a moment it's like Thor is stunned and doesn't know what to say, but he quickly recovers. "Of course, you have my apologies, Daughter of Gustav." I roll my eyes in defeat but when he reaches me he gives me a friendly pat on the back and I smile warmly at him. He's like this big tall grizzly bear with a heart of gold. With a dramatic wave he offers me a beautiful short sword. It has a silver handgrip and is engraved with numerous runes that gleam with a dim light. "This is Angurvadal, a magical sword made by the dwarves. The runes will blaze in time of war, but when there is peace it will only be a dim light, like it is now. I thought you might like it, gives you an extra weapon to fight with beside your powers." I accept the sword and stare at it in awe, even though the layout is quite simple it's been beautifully made. "Thank you Thor…" I whisper, still impressed. "You're very welcome Lidiya." He smiles at me and I smile back, being very much aware of the fact that he had used my proper name. "You know, it might be interesting to know that the meaning of the name Angurvadal is 'stream of anguish'." Loki speaks and I do find that fact interesting, so I give him a rare smile. Since he is this kind of prick that thinks that the whole world revolves about him I have barely awarded him any attention at all. Carefully I lay the sword at my feet, and I can feel Wanda pulling me closer to her for just a second. I relish the feeling.

"It's my turn now Miss Ivanov! It's my turn right, isn't it?" Peter squeaks with delight and the woman who is sitting with him puts a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Peter, give the girl the chance to breathe." Even though Peter is not a child, childish excitement often gets the best of him. I think it's a sweet character trait. "But aunt May, she's ready with Thor's gift so it's my turn!" The woman, who turns out to be his aunt, simply laughs with his reaction and joins him on his way towards me. "So, Lidiya, I didn't really knew what to get you, but you know then I thought that maybe you like gaming, but then I remembered you couldn't like gaming because you never had the chance to game, so then I wondered if you would actually like it, and then-.." May basically covers his mouth with her hand and gives him this kind of 'you got to be kidding me' look. I can see Peter's ears turning bright red and quickly he pulls her hand away. "Right, sorry about that… Anyway, here you go Lidiya, happy birthday!" I accept his gift and open it curiously. Inside there is some kind of gaming device but I'm not sure what it is. I look at him with a kind but questioning expression. "Thanks Peter, but what is it?" He hits his own face. "Of course, you don't know, sorry. It's a Nintendo Switch! You can put games on there and take it everywhere with you. Oh and you can also connect it to the TV, which is really nice. I have one too so if you feel up to it we can play together sometimes." I smile at him warmly, I had never had a gaming device in my entire life. "Thanks a lot Peter, I'm sure this will be fun!" The smile on his face is enormous. "Here, this is my gift." May offers me a coupon, which is to be used at a private sauna. "Oh, that's really nice May, thanks! Obviously I have never been in a sauna before." While May and Peter sit down again Tony speaks up. "Uhm, May, you do know that we have an entire sauna complex in the compound?" "Sure I do, but going to another place, having the chance to go for dinner afterwards, it's just a different experience." She winks at me and even though I can feel my cheeks blush I send her a smile back. Bruce takes a few passes towards me and stumbles over his own sentence. "Uhm yeah, I wasn't sure what to get you Lidiya, sorry about that." I wave away his worried words. "You shouldn't have gotten me anything Bruce, really. All of this is way too much." "Yeah sure, but Natasha would have none of that." I look at Nat and she just gives me this 'what did you expect' look, which makes me giggle. "Anyway, here you go." Clumsily he offers me a book, the title being 'You are who you are'. "It's a collection of poems that are about finding yourself, and I thought you might like it. Sorry if it's a bad gift." I shake my head and smile. "No Bruce, this is really kind and thoughtful. Thank you." I put it next to the picture of Shadowfax, the magic sword, the Nintendo and the coupon for the sauna.

"My turn!" The voice of a very hyper Shuri turns my attention to her. She throws me a box and I catch it with easy. Clearly all of my training with Natasha has made my reflexes a lot better. Curiously I open it and find a pair of special looking bracelets inside. They're made of steel with some symbols on it, not runes but something like it. I take them out of their box and look at them even closer, and the moment my finger brushes over it a soft blue light emerges. "Thank you Shuri, but uhm… Any help identifying what it is please?" Shuri barks out her typical laugh. "It's something I made specifically for you. When you turn them on, and you use your fire power, you can direct your magic to the bracelets and they will use it to fire like some kind of fire bullets. Something like that. It's pretty cool even if I say so myself." Impressed I whistle. "That does sound cool, but forgive me for not trying it out right now. But the next training I definitely will! Thanks a lot!" Shuri gives me a wink and as I put the bracelets back into the box, I can hear Bruce talking to her. "That is pretty nice, how did you make it?" I laugh to myself as I see the two of them lean back with a drink in their hand and lose themselves into their science conversation. My gaze goes to the 'next in line', and that's Sam. "So I'm just going to give you my gift orally." For a moment I just stare at him, and so does everybody else. That's when he seems to realize what exactly he has just said. "Oh god ,no no, not like that! Man I can be stupid sometimes." "Only sometimes?" Bucky teases and Sam just scoffs while Steve laughs hearing his two best friends banter. "So what I actually meant is that my sister Sarah has this boat. She actually uses it for fishing, but it's free for a one time use for you guys. I thought it might be nice, I don't know. And you can even choose whether you want her of me sailing it." It does sound nice, even though I don't know when we will be capable of collecting that offer. "We'll see, we have all the time in the world darling." Wanda whispers in my ear and I smile. I'm really doing that a that a lot this night, smiling. "How original Sam, you didn't even try to think of a gift did you." Sam scoffs when he hears Bucky his accusation. "Right, as if you have something so much better." "I do actually." "Well, of you go then." "It's Steve's turn." Steve snorts when he hears Bucky his argument. "Well I don't mind waiting an extra turn, so of you go Bucks." Bucky sighs in defeat and walks over to me. "So, I know that getting that horse with that specific name kind of takes the surprise out of this gift, but yeah… Here you go." He offers me a gift which is neatly packed, it's the first gift so far that actually comes in a package. Curiously I open it and I can't help gasping when I see it. It's a 'The Fellowship of the Ring' book, but immediately I can see that this is an old edition. "So uhm, it's a first print…" My eyes open in surprise, I know how hard these are to get. "Wauw Bucky, thank you so much, this is one special gift." I gently pull him into a hug, and with my ear close to his ear I whisper: "Your gift wins over Sam's." Bucky has a very cocky grin on his face when he returns to his place.

As Bucky sits down again Steve walks towards me. "Here you go Lidiya, I hope you like it." It's a small red box and when I open it I can see a pair of beautiful earrings. An orange stone adorns them. "It's a sunstone, it reminded me of your fire powers. I hope you like it." "I do! They are absolutely beautiful Steve, thanks a lot! I don't know how to receive all of these amazing gifts, there are so many…" Steve puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a warm brotherly smile. "You deserve all of them Lidiya." After giving me a soft squeeze he walks back to his place. "So I have a problem…" I can feel Wanda smile, don't ask me how. "I know." "My ears are not pierced…" "I know. If you want to we can go to the city and get you some." I purr in contentment. "I would like that yes, thank you." "So I guess that means it's my turn." I can hear Loki his cocky voice mention. He walks towards me with this 'I'm a god look at me' pace and offers me a very small black stone with a simple rune carved in it. I accept his gift but look at him with a questioning expression. "Trace the rune." He says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world. The said rune looks like a P and when I softly trace it, it's like a miniature firework show explodes from the stone. It's filled with all the colors you can find in the rainbow and I can't deny the fact that it's beautiful. "Wauw Loki, I don't know what I expected, but it's not this. It's a really lovely gift, thank you." Loki winks at me while walking back to his seat. "I made it with my own magic so there's only one of them in the world." I can't help but be impressed by that statement. "A personal gift from the God of cockiness, lucky me. But seriously, thanks Loki." He gives that 'I know I'm awesome' smile, and that's when Thor's voice speaks up. "You know, it might be interesting to know that the rune he used is Wunjo. It stands for joy, success, peace and a fellowship." It's obvious that he mimics Loki his earlier statement and while the God of Mischief gives him a dark look, the rest of the company laughs hearing Thor's words. Carol clears her throat and immediately walks towards me. "We need to make this go a little faster if we still want to get to dancing tonight." Her voice is teasing and she offers me something hard and small that's wrapped in a cloth. Carefully I unpack it and I'm met with another rock. It's completely black, as dark as the night, but golden lines cross it's surface. "I brought this with me from one of the far away planets I have visited, I thought you might like that." "I do, thanks girl." She gives me a pat on my back and pulls me into a hug, and immediately I can feel Wanda her jealousy rearing its head. Carol goes back to her place, throwing her legs over the back of the couch. "Oh Fitz, it's our turn isn't it?" "Uh yes Jemma, I assume it is." The both of them walk over towards me and Wanda and hand both of us a small box. When I open it I find something that looks like a small button. "Uhm…" "Okay no wait let us explain!" Jemma says with an excited voice and I can't help but smile. "Go ahead!" "Okay, so, we made this for the both of you. It's a button like machine that you place behind your ear. Don't ask me why, that was Fitz's idea." "Hey it's a good idea! Look at magicians, they always pull everything from behind their ear!" "Sure Fitz, sure. Anyway, when you are in need you can press that button and it will immediately send a signal to the other pair. So in this case to the other person. I thought it might be nice, for when you are too far away for your magical link to work." Jemma is practically jumping up and down when she finishes. Wanda looks at the little stick on button and whistles. "That's quite impressive, how far does the link work?" "What was it again Fitz?" "The last time we tested it, it worked for about 3 planets of distance Jemma. I'm sure that with more time we could make it even better, but-" I put my hand up to stop the two of them from their chattering. "This is absolutely awesome guys, thank you so much. I get why you are considered the best of the best." Immediately my words are followed by scoffs coming from Tony, Shuri and Bruce. "Oh come on guys!" The group laughs, and as FitzSimmons sit down Daisy approaches me. "So I know you have already received a lot of rocks today, didn't expect that otherwise I would have found something else. But yeah here you go." She offers me a brown rock in the shape of a star. "I actually made it myself, using my powers. That way I turned it into this star like thing." I softly spin it in my hand. "That's one cool power Daisy, thanks. And don't forget: you can never have too much rocks." Daisy snorts as she sits down again. The man that I have seen earlier with the name of Phil approaches me shyly. "Forgive me Lidiya, I'm Phil Coulson. Director of SHIELD. I actually had to be here today and when I heard they were celebrating your birthday I really wanted to be a part of it. I know that might be weird since you don't know me at all so I hope you don't mind me being here." "It's okay Phil, it's really nice of you to come. I have actually seen you on a screen a couple of months ago so I guess you're not a complete stranger to me. Damn, that sounded creepy." "Not as creepy as telling someone that you watched them while they were unconcious." Steve mentions. Phil snorts, and I can hear Loki mumble. "I should have killed him better." "I beg your pardon?" I say, confused as hell. While Thor scolds Loki for saying that, Phil just smiles at me. "Oh nothing important. He killed me, and I came back from the dead. Anyway I didn't prepare a gift, so I actually just got you this. I know it's stupid but it's better than coming empty handed." He hands me one of the SHIELD t-shirts that I have seen Daisy wear. "Oh that's really nice Phil, thanks! I do like it." Coulson gives me a polite smile and joins Daisy and FitzSimmons once more.

"I assume this means that it's my turn to present my gift to Miss Ivanov." Vision his polite robotic voice speaks up, and following these words a very cool looking laptop floats its way towards me. "I made some extra adjustments to it so it should be the best laptop you can find in the world at the moment." "Cool!" A couple of people giggle when they hear my response. "I'm sorry for not getting you something more personal, but I don't really know you that well. That's why I went for something that everybody likes, at least I think so." "Thanks Vision, I'm really happy with this gift and can't wait to work with it'." "It's my pleasure Miss Ivanov." I can see Happy getting up and making his way towards me, and when he arrives he offers me some kind of basket. Curiously I look at the products inside, and I can see different kinds of shower gel, something that should make my bath bubble and a couple of so called bath bombs. I have never heard of them before. "I thought that you might like some products to make your bath time a bit more fun. I read somewhere that women like that." I giggle. "Thanks Happy, I can't wait to try these bath bombs.." As he sits back down again Tony throws some keys in my direction. I can see they are on their way to hitting my face but before they can touch me they are stopped by a red cloud. Wanda plucks the keys out of the air and offers them to me, after which she gives Tony a very scolding look. "The new black BMW in the garage is all yours sweetie. As soon as you learn how to drive you can take it anywhere you want." Pepper her voice is soft as she holds a now sleeping Morgan close to her. I gasp. "You mean to say that you got me a car?" Tony just raises and drops his shoulders. "Yeah sure kiddo, hope you'll like it." "Thanks Stark!" "Of course, no problem." He gives me a kind smile while giving Morgan a kiss on her head. "Oh last but not least, Natasha it's your turn!" Carol mentions and Natasha just rolls her eyes. "Hmm you mean to say that my friendship is not enough of a gift?" While I want to say that yes of course it's enough, the other people of our group boo her. Nat holds out her hands in defeat. "Here you go Ivanov." She offers me a neatly packed gift, I can't help but wonder if it's a Russian spy thing to actually pack the presents, and excitedly I open it. It's a set of 4 blue rays: The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, Big Hero 6 and Cinderella. It are the movies we had been watching on that hangover day, and knowing that she actually remembers that means a lot to me. "Nat…" "I know you can just watch these movies on Disney+ but I thought it would be nice to actually have them physically ." I simply pull her into a hug, and everybody gasps. I can feel Natasha tense up, but only for a moment. Without hesitation she hugs me back. "You're welcome." I didn't even need to say thank you, she knows. When we let go I can feel Wanda immediately pulling me back into her own embrace and I can't help but laugh. "Oh Nat, can I be the next in line to get a hug?" Sam teases while walking towards her, arms outstretched. Before he can even make a move Natasha kicks his legs from under his body and he smacks to the floor. "Never." Everybody laughs while Sam just lies there grunting.

After finishing all of the gifts, I'm still convinced about the fact that I got way too many, the music takes a more energetic turn and people spread out. Some of them go to the bar, some make conversation and some take over the dance floor. Wanda and I take a moment to just enjoy each other's company. Her chin is resting on the top of my head while my back is resting against her bosom. "You enjoying yourself malysh?" I hum in agreement. "I am , but this really wasn't necessary." "We know sweetie, and that's why we decided to do it anyway. Now all of the others are finally leaving us alone, it's my turn to give you a gift." I move my body so I can actually face her. "You shouldn't have…" "I know." She grabs a small box from one of her many pockets and offers it to me. Curiously I open it and I'm met by the view of a gorgeous necklace. It has a very big light blue stone in it, and it's covered with this beautiful ornaments. "Wanda…" I don't even want to imagine how expensive this was. "That doesn't matter, I make more than enough money and you're worth it. Want me to put it on you?" I smile. "Yes please." I throw my hair to one side and show her my neck. Very delicately she places the necklace around it and closes it, and before I know it she gives me this feather light kiss on my neck. A shiver runs down my spine and I turn to look at her to find her already staring at me with these beautiful twinkles in her eyes. "The stone really accentuates your beautiful eyes." She softly says. "I already had this with me since we went to Birnin Zala together with Nat. When she pulled you into that lingerie store I went to buy it, I know I just had to have it so one day I could give it to you." My heart warms up hearing her say this, gosh she is just so perfect. "I'm not. But I promise I will try to be perfect for you." "You already are." This time I'm the one who leans in and who presses my lips against hers. Softly, curiously, lovingly. A happy sigh leaves my lips. "Can I have this dance from you?" Wanda asks in an over the top polite tone. Laughter escapes my lips and I nod in agreement. Leaving the gifts behind we move over to the dance floor. "I haven't danced since I was 8 years old Wanda, I'm not sure how to do this…" Wanda just pulls me closer to her and gives me a mischievous smile. Without warning the music changes to this happy feel good dance music and I suspect Wanda being the perpetrator. "Don't think about it, just move your body, listen to the music sing oh-eh-oh…" Wanda sings and pulls me into these silly moves. "Just move those left feet, go ahead get crazy, anyone can do it, sing oh-eh-oh!" While laughing I sing the last part alone, almost tripping over my feet but having Wanda catch me. "Show the world you got that fire…" She spins me round. "Feel the rhythm getting louder…" And it does get louder, even though I think this is more Wanda's doing then the actual song getting louder. "Show the world what you can do, prove to them you got the moves, I don't know about you but I feel better when I'm dancing!" The two of us just jump around the dance floor, I'm not sure if you can even call the thing we are doing dancing but nobody stops us. Quite the opposite, our family encourages me to act as crazy as I want and to just let it all out. After spending quite some time like this I can hear the music taking on a slower song, and Wanda pulls me close to her. I place my head on her shoulder while we're softly moving to the rhythm. "Wanda?" "Hmmm?" "Promise me you'll always stay with me." With her finger she forces my chin up, making me look her in the eyes. "I promise Lidiya."

Oh don't you dare look back

Just keep your eyes on me

I said you're holding back

She said shut up and dance with me

This woman is my destiny

She said oh oh oh

Shut up and dance with me