E/d note: This chapter will focus on the postponed "date" scene from earlier. But instead of a date, it's more like hanging out with a friend.
'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 2,278)
~ One month since the day Tony had been kidnapped, With Luke in the café. ~
'It's been three months since I've arrived on this world. Surprisingly, not much has happened during this period. I had gotten a café, hired some people, wrote some diary entries, then Natasha had appeared, Tony got kidnapped and the news spread like wildfire, Stark Industries stock came crashing down, Pepper now spends her time in the café, I sang a few songs for April and Crystal privately, and then I hung out with Natasha at a shooting range that she was a member of. Yeah, nothing much happened.' Luke thought to himself.
~ Flashback to one week ago, on a Friday evening ~
"Hey Nat!" Luke called out to Natasha as she was about to exit the café after closing.
Hearing Luke's callout, Natasha turned around, "Hmm? What's up Luke?" Walking up towards her, Luke took out a brochure that he had kept in his back pocket.
"Take a look at this." Luke said as he handed the brochure over to Natasha. Seeing the brochure, Natasha's eyes had a sparkle in them. "Limited time only, 50% off all purchases at the indoor shooting range?!"
"Yup! We've been hanging out for a while now, so I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the range and do some practice shots?" Luke offered. Hearing this, Natasha had a mischievous smile on her face as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ears and acted shy. "Are you asking me out on a date? You know, I've been thinking about yo-" Before Natasha could complete her sentence, Luke had placed his palm over her mouth to stop her.
"You know, acting this way is cringe for someone as mature as you and is embarrassing to someone like me." Luke started, "Not to mention that I've already told you that you remind me of- HEY! DID U JUST LICK MY PALM?!" Luke exclaimed as he felt his palms get wet.
After removing his palms, Luke looked at the smirk that was plastered on Natasha lips, "And I've already told you that the next time you cover my mouth with your palm, that I would lick it. You should be honoured that now you've got some 'me' germs. You're welcome, by the way." Natasha said as she dodged Luke's incoming palm to her face.
"Come back here and take this punishment like a man, you coward!" Luke exclaimed as he chased after Natasha around the café. The rest of the staff who had seen this had just kept on doing what they were doing, already used to scenes like these happening between Luke and Natasha. If the dynamic between Luke and April was one of a playful brother and a strict, sometimes mischievous older sister, then it could be said that the dynamic between Luke and Natasha was that of a playful brother and a mischievous, at times strict older sister.
As he was about to catch up to Natasha, she had subtly pulled out a chair, to which Luke had crashed into. Seeing that Luke was not truly hurt by it, Natasha then walked to the exit and said aloud for Luke to hear, "The offer's only for tomorrow so don't forget to text me the details later alright Luke? I'll see you tomorrow! Bye everyone!" At her words, the rest of the staff bid her farewell too.
"I can't believe she got away again." Luke said light-heartedly as he rose up and tidied the mess he had made. "Then why don't you just not react to her teasing. You know she only does this because your reactions are fun." Came the voice of April.
"Easier said than done, she knows just which buttons to press to get me going. And you're one to talk. I'm not the only one who she teases, or did you forget when she-" Seeing the glare from April, daring him to finish, Luke had a single thought in his mind. 'Déjà vu, I've been here before.' Choosing wisely to remain silent, Luke turned around and walked away, as if nothing ever happened.
~ The next day ~
Luke and Natasha had decided to meet at the indoor shooting range directly in the morning, which they believed should have the least amount of people around. Arriving at the agreed timing, they were glad to know that there were indeed not many people around during the early hours of a Saturday.
"So, it's my first time in a place like this, is there anything I should know about?" Luke asked to which Natasha replied, "Well, do you know the three main gun safety rules?" Luke shook his head. "Well just remember this acronym, 'T.N.A.'. Treat all firearm as if it were loaded, Never point your firearm at anyone until justified to so, and Always keep your trigger finger outside the trigger guard and place them along the frame until intending to shoot."
"So basically, my gun is loaded so don't point it at anyone until I have reason to and don't put myself in a position where I can accidentally shoot my gun?" Luke repeated in his own words. "Yes, basically." Natasha confirmed.
Thinking of how he could easily win, Luke challenged Natasha. "I know I'm new to shooting and that you're a member here and you've probably had plenty of practice, but how about a bet?"
Intrigued, and also acutely aware of how much Luke was lying at the moment, Natasha replied, "What bet?" Seeing that he had Natasha's attention, Luke seized the moment, "If I can get a higher score than you at the furthest range, then you will have to stop teasing me for a month and increase your intensity of teasing April!"
Thinking about it, Natasha would not really be losing out on anything, but she was not about to lose a bet without ensuring that she could get something in return. "And what if I win?" At this, Luke had gestured his hands towards Natasha, indicating that she could state her terms. "Then if I win, you have to tell me about this girl that you keep saying you 'love' whenever one of those office ladies try to hit you up." Natasha was fully aware of who it was, however, she wanted to hear it from Luke personally. There was a difference between reading about something and hearing about it from the person themselves.
"Sure, although, give me some practice rounds to start. I'll show you how quick a learner I can be." Luke said as he shook hands with Natasha.
Meanwhile, internally Natasha was amused at his shamelessness, 'How shameless can you be? I already know that you are an expert marksman, praised by Clint himself in your world. . . But don't think this will be easy, I'm not a bad shot myself.'
~ After the shooting ~
"How the hell did we end up in a draw." Luke said exasperatedly as Luke and Natasha walked out of the shooting range. If a person heard this and had the perception that Luke was a beginner and Natasha was an intermediate shooter, then they would think that Luke was amazed that he had managed to draw with Natasha. However, in truth, Luke was amazed at how Natasha had ended up in a draw against him! He was an expert long-range marksman, so losing to Natasha, who he knew specialized in close quarter combat and melee weaponry, was a blow to his ego.
What Luke failed to consider, which Natasha had realized, was that this was an indoor shooting range. And so, Luke's skills as a long-range marksman are technically useless since the furthest distance down the range was only about 160ft, which Natasha would be able to clear without issues.
"You should be proud of yourself! You, a beginner, had managed to take me to a draw!" Natasha exclaimed, albeit a tinge of taunt in her tone. Luke only looked at Natasha before responding in a disheartened manner, "Oh shut it you. I don't want to hear anything coming from you right now."
Natasha only chuckled at Luke's misery, knowing full well that Luke's pride and ego had been hurt at ending up in a draw with herself.
"Anyways Luke, this is where we part for today. I have something else to do in the afternoon." Natasha started, "I had a wonderful time, thanks for bringing me out here." Natasha said as she moved to give Luke a goodbye hug.
"Of course, any time Nat! I had fun too! Maybe next time we can bring April along, she's been reading those action novels that I keep in the office, she might be interested in learning how to shoot." Luke replied as he returned the hug.
~ End of flashback ~
'Pepper now visits the café even more frequently than she did before. It's as she said, being in the Stark Industries building is just a painful reminder to her that Tony had still not been found. She now often spends her time doing her work within my office or hanging out with April during her break and off-peak hours in the lounge.'
Standing behind the counter while preparing some beverages was Luke, who was also reflecting on the events that had happened over the past month. 'Apart from that, the simulation feature has helped me to adapt and easily navigate around Natasha to ensure that she doesn't find anything suspicious. But at the same time, this has made me form a real connection with her. Not that I mind, for the past month, we have spent so much time around each other that she is really starting to feel like an older, albeit mischievous sister.'
'I'm a little thankful that Natasha's not the lover that I chose in my diary. If I had chosen her instead of Wanda, then I know I would have gone through the absolute meltdown I am sure to experience when I first met her a month ago. Even now, although I have gone through almost a month of daily meditation, I can still feel that hidden feeling from before still there deep within me.'
'Since I picked Wanda, I should still have at least 3 years to try and assimilate the experiences fully. By that time, even if Wanda suddenly appears earlier, I would be able to have enough control over myself to not suddenly have all those years in the simulated world to suddenly come crashing onto me.' Luke mused.
As he finished preparing the beverages, he had placed them onto a tray and began making his way up to the office to deliver them to April and Pepper. At the same time, Luke was completely unaware that for all the flags he had raised, it was about to come and bite him back.
~ With Wanda and Pietro ~
"And I'm telling you sis, this café is all the rage in this area. I know it's opposite Stark's building, but trust me, I read the reviews and I hear the rumours. Apparently, this is one of the best location in LA to just have a cup of coffee while enjoying the atmosphere." Walking into the café was none other than Pietro and his sister, Wanda.
Pietro had heard about this café while walking along the streets of LA and visiting the many different shops and restaurants, and would always hear about the 'Peach Blossom Café'. However, when he had brought up visiting the café to Wanda, his sister had seemed averse to that idea. Pietro then researched a little more and found out that the building was within viewing distance of the Stark Industries headquarters in LA. Realizing that, he had attributed Wanda's apprehension to her hatred to Tony Stark.
However, the true reason why Wanda was reluctant to visit the café, was because she was not mentally prepared yet to meet who 'Luke' was. She didn't know who he was and how he looked like, but he knew who she was and how she looked like. Moreover, she was worried on how Luke would react to her appearance. She may not have any impression or feelings on Luke, but through the diary entries, she knew that Luke had a longing for her.
She would be weirded out and would feel awkward if when Luke saw her, he would suddenly rush over to her, scared that she would disappear again.
(Crash)
Suddenly, as both Wanda and Pietro were distracted among themselves, they heard the sound of ceramic cups falling onto the floor and breaking, causing a loud crashing noise that echoed throughout the café. Wanda and Pietro both turned around, only to be met with the blank expression on the face of someone they presumed to be a staff member. On the floor beneath the person, was the source of the crashing noise that they had heard a moment earlier.
- End of Chapter 30 -
Next time in C31 - Hauntings of the Past!
'I'm crying?' His thoughts echoed, as he felt himself slowly losing his composure. 'I. . . I have to get out of here!' Panic clawed at his chest, urging him to flee from where he stood as the suffocating vulnerability threatened to consume him.