Dante dressed up, ntally preparing on how he would smooth things over with Silvija and whoever else Laura had offended with her stunt. She had already left the room when he was showering.
He was putting on his shoes when Silvija appeared in the doorway. She leaned against the fra with her arms crossed, her weight settled into one hip.
“If it isn’t my always-busy employee.” Her lips curled up. “I’ll dock your pay if you keep neglecting your duties like this.”
“What might those duties be?”
Silvija lifted her chin and pointed with a single finger to the bed behind him. “Satisfying my heart, body, and soul. I won’t be greedy about the order.”
He patted the space beside himself. She walked over and sat down, close enough that her shoulder pressed against his.
“Miss Silver Sable, your demands are like a queen.”
“It’s almost as if I’m one.” She chuckled. “Stop running around and spend more ti with . I’m still waiting for my first date.”
“What about our dinner at Emma’s club? Or Norman’s facility tour? Not romantic enough for you?”
She pinched the side of his ribs. A gentle, affectionate punishnt. “A proper one. Where I feel like a normal woman.”
“I’ll make it up to you.” He slid an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in. “Just two more things and I’m all yours.”
“Selene is one of them.”
He looked at her. “Emma told you. Or was it Death?”
“Emma. She promised not to casually read my thoughts,” Silvija said, as if that were a huge concession from Emma Frost. “We’re… friends now. Or at least we’re pretending to be. I don’t know what goes on in her head.”
“She is not a terrible person.”
Silvija nodded and filled him in on the rest. Emma and the Hellions hadn’t stepped outside the day he had fallen asleep. Emma feared Selene would openly try to kill her. As strong as they were, Selene was far more powerful. Angelica had also been brought in for that reason.
“What’s the other thing?” Silvija asked, tilting her head back to read his face. “Is it related to Asgard?”
Dante exhaled slowly. “Natasha is still waiting for .”
He kept Asgard’s ownership secret for now. It would be a better reveal during a surprise date.
“Your bride,” she said as a joke, but her tone was anything but light.
He kissed her head, trying to diffuse her jealousy. “You’re my first. Even Death can’t take that away from you.”
It made her smirk. “You better work on our first date.”
“You got it.”
“Guess who’s waiting for you in my office?” She glanced at the window. “Friends from SHIELD.”
***
Dante took the elevator to Silvija’s office on the fifth floor, which he had never been to before. He did catch a glimpse of it with his cosmic awareness. It was a standard CEO office with a hint of personal touch.
Waiting there before the desk were two n.
Phil Coulson with his hands tucked in his suit pants and Clint Barton stood slightly behind him, looking around as if surveilling.
“Silver Sable. Dante.” Coulson ca forward and offered his hand. “I want to say it’s an honor. You taking the first step brought many others forward to solve the crisis.”
Dante shook his hand. “Thank Ghost-Spider. She’s the reason I stepped up at all.”
Nothing wrong with adding more weight to his new girlfriend’s standing.
Coulson nodded with a smile. “Gwendolyn Stacy is a remarkable young woman. More talented than most adults can ever hope to be.”
Ghost Spider’s na was a deliberate “reveal” by Coulson to show they could still surprise him in the information departnt. Perhaps to show he could still benefit from joining their side.
Dante kept a faint smile, refusing to flinch. “Silvija, they really are as capable as you said.”
Silvija’s mouth curved. “I got half my intel on you from Coulson, actually. You could say he was our wingman.”
Phil’s smile looked like it had been glued on by policy. “It was nothing at all, Miss Silver Sable.”
Dante rested his hand on Silvija’s back. “I owe you for that, Phil. This woman changed my life. You probably know that too.”
Silvija glanced at him. The warmth in her expression was unconcealed. “You made my life better and complicated. I’ve never been happier.”
Coulson cleared his throat gently, trying to stop them from getting lost in their own romantic bubble. “I’ve been aning to sit down with you for a while now. The timing kept being wrong.”
“By threatening my girlfriend.” Dante stared at Coulson without any warmth in his eyes. “Has anyone said you folks at SHIELD are governnt sponsored gangsters in fancier suits?”
Coulson paused, then chuckled like he agreed with half of it. “We do what’s necessary to protect the world.”
“And who protects the world from you? Who will stop you from suppressing mutantkind?”
“Sotis we take asures we aren’t proud of.”
“Very PR answer.”
Silvija gestured to the chairs and then, with a glance at Dante, indicated her chair behind the desk.
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“It’s a chair,” she said, like he was being dramatic. “It’ll be yours anyway when I go back.”
He would officially be the CEO of her New York branch while having no working knowledge of the rcenary corporation business.
Silvija stepped up and kissed his cheek. “et when you’re done with your Find Natasha sidequest.”
“I promise,” he said. “Silvy, did Laura go too far?”
She shook her head. “She apologized to already. I forgave her.”
So that was where Laura had gone after she left the shower. Laura had known that what she’d done was wrong, but she still followed through for the sake of his “order.” Perhaps that was how her logic and reasoning had been shaped from her days in Weapon X. So neural wiring wouldn’t change the personality shaped around following orders.
He had to handle the romantic relationship that Laura wanted with care. One wrong step and she wouldn’t just get hurt. She would close herself off to the rest of the world.
Silvija squeezed his hand and left.
Dante sat across Phil and Clint and noticed the photofra on the desk. The photo Emma had taken on the celebration night. Probably one of the best nights of his life, and the sentint was shared by a lot of people who had been there.
“Phil,” he said, pulling his attention back. “What brings you here?”
Phil took the seat, but Clint stayed up and vigilant.
“Romanoff,” Coulson said. “Her disappearance is tied to you. My instinct on these things has a reasonable track record.”
Clint stopped pretending he wasn’t paying attention, eager to know of his comrade’s whereabouts.
“Your instinct is correct.” He leaned back. “Where she is isn’t accessible to SHIELD. Go back and wait. She’ll co back in a few hours.”
Coulson sat with this for a mont, calculating whether pressing would be more effective than waiting.
In the end, he stood up and extended his hand across the desk. “We’ll wait.”
It wasn’t worth offending a powerful person for just a few hours, or so Phil had decided.
Dante shook it. “The delay was on . I’d have gone sooner if I hadn’t been out cold for two days.”
A deliberate reveal so Fury wouldn’t think he was all powerful without any weaknesses. They would believe two days’ cooldown for his Hyperion’s powers, when in reality, it was for his Death’s one. He would never use that form again to the point of collapse again.
Coulson showed a troubled smile. “That sounds… concerning.”
“With great power cos the great need to rest.”
Phil gave a fake, diplomatic laugh. “Please bring Romanoff back. SHIELD needs her more than she needs it.”
He turned toward the door.
“Coulson.” Dante stopped him. “What was Fury’s response to mutants using their powers publicly?”
Coulson showed a complicated look. “He said it’s fine. They did it for a good cause.”
Dante had no reason to take that answer seriously. Whoever was controlling Fury and others had big plans for mutants. He only hoped he wouldn’t be caught up in it, but he knew that was just his wishful thinking. Having connection to Emma, Piotr, Laura, Logan, and Jean would inevitably pull him into this conflict.
“And Laura?”
Coulson turned back slightly. “He said she’s welco to stay with you. She seems happier. His exact words.”
Coulson left the office.
Dante looked at Clint, who seed like he had sothing on his mind.
“Look,” Clint said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m supposed to say ‘thanks’ for the symbiote hell. So… thanks.”
“I didn’t save you.”
“Skullfire’s involvent was the variable that changed the outco. That’s what the after-action analysis says.” Clint tilted his head. “That’s what everybody who was there says. I believe it’s the truth.”
“I only did it for my girlfriend.”
Clint’s grin returned as he pulled on his jacket. “Try not to kill another billionaire for her. We only have a handful of those.”
Dante snorted. “As long as they don’t bark in my yard.”
Clint walked to the door then looked back. “Bring Nat back. She matters… to a lot of people.”
Dante took one more glance at the photofra then whispered, “Death.”
***
Natasha had never relaxed this much as she did in the past few days. Right now, she was watching the Ancient One—who went by as Yao—playing Go against a flaming skull. The sight didn’t stop being absurd despite seeing it everyday.
Life had been weird for Natasha ever since the Ancient One saved her from Odin’s wrath in Asgard. She could train with the sorcerers, read their scriptures and books, browse the internet because they had wifi and MacBooks here, and have relaxing tea parties with other sorcerers.
It wasn’t terrible.
Yao set a piece down.
“Tch.” The Spirit let out a displeased sound. “You sly old fox.”
Yao showed a thin smile. “You aren’t as intelligent and wise as you assu, Demoness.”
Natasha walked over and put her hands on her hips. “Can I leave now?”
“No.” Yao glanced at her. “He isn’t here.”
She had, at various points, considered taking the Spirit’s power and brute-forcing through the door. The Demoness had declined to support this plan. She had tried sneaking out during their training and ditation sessions. Every ti, Yao had intercepted her without apparent effort.
“Odin has him,” Natasha said flatly. “How do you think he’ll co here for ?”
Yao cleared the Go board and gestured to the Spirit for another match. “Dante is not soone Odin or Asgard can imprison. They—”
She suddenly looked up. The Demoness flew over to Natasha’s side.
Natasha’s body went tense.
‘It can’t be…’
The air shimred, and Dante materialized from nothing.
His eyes swept the room and landed on Yao. “Thanks for helping her.”
“Nothing worth ntioning.” Yao waved it off. “Your patience and restraint in Asgard are comndable.”
“I don’t hurt innocents.” He shuffled over to Natasha’s side with a smirk, looking insufferably pleased with what he was about to say. “Wife, did you miss ?”
She crossed her arms, a subtle smile played at the edges of her mouth. “When did you leave Odin’s prison?”
He blinked. Whatever reunion he had pictured didn’t involve on-the-spot interrogation. “About four days ago.”
Natasha’s almost-smile beca a smirk. She wiped it away and replaced it with cold. “Why are you only coming now? You call WIFE, but you pull this shit on . I’ve had enough of your gas.”
His eyes went wide. “Nat, I’m sorry?”
“I’ll accept it if you tell what you were up to.” She glared at him. “Why was I sidelined?”
“Norman and Odin were a pain in the ass so I killed them both. I had to rest two days for overusing my powers.”
Natasha stepped forward and hit him in the arm. “Jerk.”
“Hey—”
She closed the distance and put both arms around him. A brief one to feel his presence. “Sideline again and you’re paying for every therapy session.”
“Of course, wife.”
She drove her elbow into his ribs and looked at the Ancient One. “Can I leave now?”
“Patience, Natasha,” Yao said, looking at Dante. “You’re the enigma who has been shifting the tides of ti. The entire tiline has gone awry because of your actions.”
He shrugged. “Am I supposed to care about it?”
The Demoness laughed at his nonchalance in the face of the Sorcerer Supre. “There are infinite futures. What exactly is the problem with him pushing toward a better one?”
Yao reached forward and flipped the Go board. It folded inward in a cascade of geotric shapes that shrank until they were nothing.
“You underestimate what he has set in motion. There were no futures impacted by him.” She folded her hands in her lap. “Not a single probability related to him.”
“And now?”
“The life and death of our reality hinges on his choices.”
The Demoness eyed Dante with her burning eyes. “Cosmic entities and their apostles are not to be trifled with.”
Natasha understood about as well as a middle-schooler in a university lecture. From the tone of it all, she realized, at the very least, that they were saying it was good and bad that Dante’s choices had this much impact on the future. To the point he looked awkward like a young maiden caught by two elders who wouldn’t stop praising her.
“He will make countless powerful enemies,” Yao continued. “But the biggest concern is not his enemies.”
The Demoness raised an eyebrow. “Then what?”
“His allies.”
Natasha realized what that ant. She had thrown herself into Asgard for him to repay a debt. But what about his cosmic entity who loved him? Wouldn’t she just go on a rampage and destroy the world for him in case anything happened to him?
That was what Yao was afraid of.
“I’ll live the way I want,” Dante said. “Not by fearing the what-ifs and what-nots.”
Natasha found herself… impressed. It took courage not to be owned by fear in the face of such heavy consequences.
He turned and held out a hand to Natasha. “Let’s go.”
Yao crossed her thin arms. “I know how it must feel to have this level of power and be loved by many. I understand both. But I am asking you to think before you take action, because they might reshape reality.”
He took his hand back and narrowed his eyes on her. “I’ll try.”
“Selene Gallio,” Yao said. “She will be resurrected if other High Lords aren’t killed within a small ti fra. The revenge you’re planning against her, take that into account.”
“I appreciate the warning.”
Natasha hooked her arm around his and gave a slight bow to Yao. As much as she disliked being kept here, she appreciated the knowledge and wisdom Yao had provided.
The Demoness vanished in a quiet breath of fla.
They teleported to the parking lot of Silver Sable International. The chill made Natasha pull her hoodie up and tuck her hands in. January was terribly cold this year.
“Dante, is Clint alright?”
“He dropped by with Coulson to ask about you.” He tucked his hands in his coat pockets as he faced her. “I want to call you an idiot for going into Asgard the way you did, but I’m choosing not to. Because you’re a grown-ass woman.”
“You would’ve done the sa.”
She still vividly rembered him risking his life against the Spirit. He might’ve done it to save the prisoners, but the results remained the sa.
“Don’t do it again. I don’t want you to beco a widow.”
Taking her phone, she scrolled through her phone to hide her smile. It was a terrible joke, but it still got her. “I went to war with the Norse Gods for you. All I’m saying is Frodo got a boat to the Undying Lands for less.”
“Let’s say I’ll bail you out if you’re in trouble again.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “See you around.”
He was gone before she could put a single word together. She stared at the empty space for a few seconds.
The conviction behind his promise made her smile against her will. “He thinks he can make blush with this intimacy. Unbelievable.”
She reached into her jacket and found the Sling Ring—Yao’s parting gift. The Ancient One had too many of these in her treasury.
Natasha fitted the ornate ring to her fingers and began tracing a circle. Golden-orange sparks flew with each pass until the portal opened wide. She saw her apartnt on the other side, the one in Massachusetts.
“Ho sweet ho.”
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