Sorry, Wrong Number Kid (Avengers)

31

Elvira's eyes glanced as her finger traced the railing against the large displaying windows, overlooking the luminary city in the late eve. She had ventured from her room after a long time reading, not wanting to fall asleep, rather let her body wander than allow her mind to wander.

The flickering of an airplane in the night sky showed the distance honk and screech of the impatient drivers emitted. There was something peaceful about the crowded chaos of New York City. She sighed contently while continuing to travel down the hall, reaching the destination of the large glass elevator.

The buttons seemed to be endless. With no labels just numbers. With no recollection of where any of them lead, Elvira chose what seemed to be a pretty sufficient number. The door shut swiftly and small beeps spewed from the large machine.

The doors opened and a floor she had never seen before appeared. It was like the team floor, but less messy. Like a suite in a penthouse. It was big and decorated nicely.

Elvira walked leisurely across the floor plans and reached a room with the doors slightly parted, and the lights fully lit. Curiosity got the best of her as she pushed the door open the rest of the way, and trashed into the grand room. It was a library. Books lined the walls, floor to ceiling. It was marvelous.

A gleam filled Elvira's eyes as she quickly jogged to the tall ladder that moved down the line of novels.

"Hello?" Elvira's heart leaped from her chest as she dropped from the ladder, not being too high up it but still landing ungraciously on her back, letting out a wheeze as her incision squeezed. "Oh my god! I am sorry, are you alright?"

Not recognizing the voice, Elvira scrambled to her faltered feet and stumbled into the shelf, a couple of books fell to the floor. Her breath hitched as her yes made contact with the gingers. "Elvira?" Pepper whispered while attempting to move forward, her eyes filling with a joyful tear.

Elvira remembered her training. Proper and professional. She stood tall, her arms ready in case of a threat, yet still hunched to nurture her sore abdomen.

"Oh, right... right. Sorry, I'm not going to hurt you." Pepper stated calmly while placing the books in her hands upon the desk at her side, holding her hands up in a motion to represent she was safe.

Elvira just squinted her eyes, not knowing what to do in this situation. The weeks spent away from HYDRA were failing her. She was becoming forgetful.

"I- 'I'm Pepper. I'm sure you don't remember... it has been a while." Pepper laughed condescendingly while tucking a strand of hair back into her ponytail. Elvira blinked quickly while lowering her hands slowly. She knew Pepper. Pepper was nice. That just wasn't how she remembered her appearance.

"Pepper? Come to bed, I'm lonely!" Tony groaned while venturing into the library. "Oh," he muttered as he spotted the awkward interaction happening between the blonde and the redhead.

What was she supposed to do? Get up and hug her? Stand there silently? Interaction, when one has lost their memory, is quite awkward.

They all stood in silence while staring at one another. Not knowing what to say.

"Sorry I intruded... I didn't know this was.. your floor?" Elvira whispered while looking between the floor, grunting in pain as her abdomen seared.

"Jesus," Tony murmured while heading towards her, noticing the red line of blood poking through her white t-shirt.

———

"This is the second time we've had to restitch this wound. If it keeps opening it will become viable for infection. She needs to be kept here for containment." Tony muttered to Natasha as he clicked through Elvira's stats.

"She hates this hospital room. She hates being looked at all the time. She's scared.. at least we should let her stay in her room." Natasha suggested.

"That's what we tried to do last night and look where that got us," Tony mumbled. Natasha sighed while rubbing her forehead.

"What if someone stays with her? Or... or we lock the doors? I don't know. But she should have the comfort of her room." Natasha suggested. Tony was now the one to sigh.

"Okay. We could make that work. But You or Wanda. Or maybe even pepper must be with her at all times." Tony finished while closing the laptop and walking away. Natasha smiled while venturing into the hospital room Elvira was confined in.

Elvira stared at the redhead as she sat at the end of the bed. Prepared for what she was about to tell her.

Natasha repeated what Tony had agreed to, Elvira just looked at her with a sour face.

"I'm tired of being locked in a room. That's all I've had the past two years of my life." Elvira gritted. Her body was limp as they held eye contact. Natasha looked into the girl's tired eyes. She hadn't expected her to speak so much. She didn't think they had progressed that much but it seemed times had changed in the past twelve hours.

"We aren't doing this to punish you. We are doing it to keep you safe. We just got you back Elvira. We don't want you leaving any time soon." Natasha explained while placing a hand on Elvira's steady foot under the white sheet.

"Feels like a punishment to me," Elvira whispered while breaking their eye contact and staring at the wall beside her. Hiding the sorrow on her face.

"Look. It's only two weeks till your wound closes up. And then after those two weeks, I'll take you wherever you would like." Natasha stated, not expecting Elvira to know any places in the city.

"The wooden spoon. I want to say hello to Antonio." Elvira murmured. Natasha opened her mouth before closing it.

"You remember him?"

"Yeah. I've remembered a lot in the past couple of days. I just don't share it." Elvira shrugged.

"Like what? Tell me." Natasha asked eagerly while propping one of her legs on the bed.

"I remember when you guys first found me on the rooftops. When you took me from school. When my father almost beat me half to death. When we all had game night and watched Disney movies. When you and Wanda and I went shopping. We laughed a lot. Pepper took me to lunch. Clint made breakfast. You guys locked me in a metal cage. I don't know. A lot of random useless stuff." She muttered. Natasha smiled while suppressing her laugh.

"You- you are remembering! That's.. that's great! I mean... it's not useless information, You're finding yourself again!" Natasha laughed happily. Elvira just stared with an upset face. Natasha was about to ramble again before Elvira interrupted.

"I remember why I left. How I lives on the streets for a couple of weeks before hitched a ride to Maine where I was kidnapped. You guys told me I would be safe. Safe from my family. That you would never hurt me and would always take care of me. I remember the news that day." Elvira's voice was somehow even quieter, and she was now picking at the skin around her fingertips, "I guess I overreacted some."

Natasha stayed silent for a moment, "You had a right to be upset. I only wish you would've given us time to explain ourselves. We weren't planning to abandon you. And this was never meant to be temporary." Natasha stuttered slightly while pushing her hair behind her ears, "It was meant to be a forever thing."

"I'm sorry I put you through all of this. My fake death and missing and rage. You didn't deserve it. All you wanted was to take care of me." Elvira felt wetness in her under eyes, forgetting the feeling of tears, as she had hidden her emotion all these years. "Can you just... hold me?" Elvira's weak voice asked, the tears falling a little more quickly now.

Natasha nodded with a soft smile, scooting up the bed and lying down next to her, holding her tight.