"So there's not a thing? Not a single thing? Where could she be? She didn't vanish off of the face of the planet."

Clint was one minute away from throwing Tony's goddamn computer off of the table. It had been two days, and they still had no idea where she could be.

Since Ultron had taken Natasha and vanished, they had yet to hear a single thing from her, and they've been analyzing all online communication worldwide since her absence.

And Clint was close to his breaking point.

All of the Avengers dealt with Natasha's disappearance in different ways.

Tony was never particularly close to Natasha, she was more like a work acquaintance, but he buckled down and worked to help get her back nonetheless.

Steve was sort of in the same boat, and he was working as hard as he could to keep his teammate safe.

Bruce was a mess, to put it simply. The whole team knew that there was something going on between Natasha and him, and it was clearly driving him crazy.

Clint was extremely angry, and anything could set him off. Everyone tried to steer clear of him, if only to escape his wrath.

Thor, as always, was completely oblivious. He knew that people were generally upset, but much like a giddy child, he was still cheerful as ever. Truthfully, the only reason he knew anything was wrong was because of his friendship with Dahlia.

Dahlia. She, like she always tends to do, simply ignored her feelings. Wanda and Pietro were providing a distraction that she really needed. The twins noticed that she was feeling down, no matter how much she tried to cover it up, and they took it upon themselves to keep her happy.

This, at the moment, involved entertaining her most ridiculous ideas. Which was why the three of them were currently in the kitchen, practically covered head to toe with batter and frosting.

"Never thought you'd be one for baking, darling."

"Yeah well, I never thought you'd suck at it as much as you do. I guess the day is full of surprises." Dahlia laughed.

Pietro was a nightmare when it came to baking, and no, that wasn't an exaggeration. He had burned so many cupcakes at this point that Dahlia had to forcefully sideline him, and now he was perched on the counter, eating frosting out of a bowl that she had made specifically for him.

They had yet to talk about the other day, or rather, how intimate that moment was. Dahlia was never really sure how to address these kinds of situations. Everything usually came naturally to her, at least in terms of socialization.

It was as if she reserved a personality and a certain number of personal things that were dependent on how well you knew her. Strangers got the classic jokes and sarcasm, but nothing much under the surface. The Avengers in general were allowed a bit more insight on her life. And Natasha was the only one allowed to know every aspect. And she was missing that at the moment.

The issue here was, she had no idea where Pietro fit in. She felt she could trust him, but was she wrong?

What if she opened up to him and it all came back to bite her in the end?

He was more than a stranger or acquaintance, but Dahlia had never found someone who she even thought of having a romantic relationship with. And the idea of it scared her. She didn't know what she was doing, why would he want her? There were surely tons of people better than her out there, so why her? She feared she would be a disappointment, like he only wanted the strong person she seemed to be on the outside, and if she let him in, well, she was afraid he'd run.

So it's safe to say that she wasn't planning on talking about it for quite a bit of time.

"How much frosting would it take for me to die? This is theoretical, obviously." Pietro asked, licking some pastel blue frosting off

of his hand.

"I don't think any amount would? I've eaten a shit ton of it in my life and I have yet to die so... have at it!" Dahlia shrugged, trying to conceal her annoying thoughts.

He took this in stride, downing a whole spoonful of frosting.

Dahlia turned up her speaker on the counter, humming along with the tune as she poured the chocolate batter into the cupcake tin.

Pietro watched as she did so with a small smirk on his face. It was so odd to see Dahlia be anything other than sarcastic or ruthless. Seeing her this peaceful was truthfully adorable.

When she didn't feel the need to prove herself, and just let herself be, she was the most beautiful she'd ever been.

She acted like she didn't try to prove herself around even the Avengers, but Pietro saw through it. Dahlia felt less than the rest of them, having no powers and being relatively younger. It was a lot of pressure, he could imagine, and she wouldn't willingly admit that being lesser bothered her, but Pietro didn't need to be told. He knew.

Dahlia smiled as she iced the now-freshly-baked cupcakes, humming the last verse to the song.

"Now that these are done, I'm going to take a few to Vision, see if he wants some." Wanda grinned shyly, picking up two in a napkin and smirking at Pietro, who rolled his eyes in response.

Luckily, Dahlia missed this interaction between the two. If she had caught it, she might have had some suspicions, and for good reason.

Now, twin telepathy has been rumored for a very long time, and had never been truly confirmed, but the Maximoff twins had something much better.

Who needs twin telepathy when your twin sister can read and communicate through minds?

Their interaction went something like this:

You should be thanking me for getting you some time with your girlfriend, Pietro

She's not my girlfriend, Wanda. I don't even see her like that.

You do know that I can read your mind all the time, not just now?

Fuck.

Fuck is right. Maybe this'll give you a chance to tell her how beautiful you find her 'sparkling emerald green eyes'.

Even in his mind, her voice sounded smug.

Get out of here before she gets suspicious, idiot.

Fine, jackass.

"Does she realize that Vision is a synthezoid?" Dahlia chuckled. "And therefore doesn't eat food?"

Pietro's eyes widened at her words. "You don't think they're doing something, are they? How would that even work?"

Dahlia smacked him upside the head. "Don't make me think about that, gross!"

"Well, you have one hell of a dirty mind." Pietro teased. "I wasn't even thinking that. Wait, that's my baby sister! I need to go stop them!"

He moved to use his powers, but Dahlia's hands on his wrists stopped him. "I think it's cute! If she likes him, let her. Leave them alone."

"Fine." Pietro huffed. "But only cause you asked so nicely."

Dahlia smiled and pinched his cheek. "Aww, is Pietro being sweet for once?"

"No." He pouted.

Across the tower, Wanda knocked on Vision's door.

"Vis?"

Wanda had found herself finding comfort in the new member of the tower. She was more than happy to teach him of all the things in the world that he didn't quite understand, and he seemed to radiate a kind of gentleness that Wanda had never once experienced.

"Come in." A voice with a certain English lilt answered.

She stepped through the doorway, noticing Vision's figure standing by the window.

"Why do humans enjoy the city landscapes? It seems rather dull to me, with all of the buildings in the way."

Wanda thought for a moment before answering. "I'm not really sure. I think the comfort of knowing that they're not alone in the world is something we love."

"That makes sense." He turned to her, spotting the cupcakes in her hand. "Why did you bring food to my room? I'm sure you're aware I'm not capable of eating it."

Wanda smiled sheepishly, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Oh, yes, I did know that, I just needed an escape from my brother and his disastrous baking."

Vision chuckled, something he had slowly learned to integrate into conversation. "The cupcakes still look fairly delicious, he cannot be that bad."

"Thank goodness, Dahlia made a separate batch and threw away his burnt ones."

"Ah, she does seem to be rather good at keeping your brother in check." Vision nodded.

Wanda smiled. "They're good for each other."

"Is that what that means? If they are good at keeping each other in check, and they are good for each other, does that mean they are in a romantic relationship? Because those two seem to be." He looked confused, and she honestly didn't blame him. Humans are fairly confusing.

"Not necessarily, but it is a redeeming factor." She explained carefully.

"So, two people who are compatible, and balance each other out, usually end up in some sort of romantic relationship?"

"Usually, yes."

Vision took this into consideration. Being part computer, he couldn't help but look at things logically. If something made sense logically, it should be true, right? That's how he saw it, at least.

So if the requirements Wanda had listed for two people who should be together were keeping each other in check and are compatible, and Vision felt that those two things applied to the both of them, then there was no logical reason in his mind that they shouldn't be together.

He would've come out and said so, but from what he understood of what Wanda had taught him about human relationships, was that sudden introductions, especially of the romantic sort, weren't usually a common thing.

It seemed stupid to him. If all the facts were there, and you have decided that you are truly compatible, why would you not suggest it right away.

However, he wanted to be respectful of human traditions, so Vision refrained from proposing the data he had collected. Instead, he decided to simply enjoy her presence. He'd introduce his facts to her some other time.

Hopefully soon.

"Are you ever going to help me with these dishes, Maximoff?" Dahlia rolled her eyes and pulled of the gloves, crossing her arms over her chest.

A dopey grin spread across Pietro's face. "I am helping! I'm helping rid this spatula of frosting!"

She couldn't find it in her to be mad at him, not when he smiled like that. "Fine. But you're doing the dishes tonight, deal?"

He groaned but reluctantly agreed. "Fine."

As Dahlia set the gloves down on the counter, the previous song ended and yet another crackled over the radio. The tune was familiar to her, and the couldn't help but sing the words quietly under her breath.

Guess mine is not the first heart broken

My eyes are not the first to cry

I'm not the first to know

There's just no getting over you

I know I'm just a fool who's willing

To sit around and wait for you

But baby, can't you see there's nothing else for me to do?

I'm hopelessly devoted to you

"How do you know all the words to every single song that you hear?" Pietro shook his head, amused.

"I'm just that cool," She smiled. "Now, come on and dance with me, loser!"

Dahlia grabbed his hand and was ready to dance ridiculously with him, but obviously he had something else in mind.

Pietro let her grab his hand but instead of following her lead, he picked up her hands by the wrists and placed them around his shoulders, moving his own to rest on her waist.

But now there's nowhere to hide

Since you pushed my love aside

I'm out of my head

Hopelessly devoted to you

"You're one smooth talker, Pietro Maximoff." She teased, swaying with him along to the music.

"It's a blessing and a curse." He went along with it, doing a little dramatic hair flip.

Dahlia laughed loudly, throwing her head back, all the while Pietro staring at her in awe.

And so they stayed there for far too long, listening to the music and each other's laughs in complete bliss.

But now there's no way to hide

Since you pushed my love aside

I'm outta my head

Hopelessly devoted to you

Hopelessly devoted to you

Hopelessly devoted to you

I am, Pietro thought.

I am hopelessly devoted to you.