ASCENDANCY / P. MAXIMOFF

white roses

Anastazya never thought she'd have to trust Pietro with her life. Or her family's life. She never expected to have to trust him with anything, considering the man was the bane of her existence. But, here she was. Walking aimlessly around New York to find the rendezvous spot Coulson had arranged them to meet at, with him at her side.

"Are you sure we can trust this Phil man? I am not sure if I can trust anyone now. Can I trust you?" Pietro grumbled. Ana elbowed him.

"Shut up."

Ana became more alert as she passed through Jackson's Marketplace, a strip in the middle of the city filled with a hundred vendors trying to sell their goods. Steve, Natasha, and Clint took her to this place once when she was younger.

"What do you want Anastazya? Literally I will buy you anything. Tony gave us 100K to go shopping here, and I want to blow this money in every way possible," Clint snickered, swinging Ana's hand in his own.

Ana examined the place and took a deep breath, taking in the smell of fresh produce. To some, it was unpleasant. To Anastazya, it reminded her of a farm she used to live next to in Russia. It was beautiful there.

"I can not think of anything I may want here," Ana told Clint. "I do not really need my own personal head of lettuce."

Nat chuckled, ruffling Ana's hair, before her eyes traveled to a man selling flowers to their right.

"Will you settle for a rose?" She asked.

Ana blinked a few times when she realized she had stopped walking. Pietro looked down at her intently.

"Are you alright?" He asked, placing a hesitant hand on her shoulder. Ana shook her head, trying to shake the memory from her thoughts.

"I'm fine," She muttered, looking up and to her right to see the old flower stand right where it was all those years ago. The man who gave her and Natasha roses still stood there, his hair grayer, but his smile still as wide.

Pietro wrapped his arm around Ana's shoulders and ushered her ahead, but he couldn't get past the same persistent flower vendor, Rick.

"Flower for your girlfriend?" He asked, grinning suggestively. "You never know when you could get lucky!"

Ana ducked out of Pietro's hold awkwardly.

"No, no, we aren't together, we are just-"

"Come on, darling. Do not be shy!" Pietro cooed, waggling his eyebrows at Anastazya. He turned to the vendor.

"Do you have any flowers that could possibly compete with the beauty of my princessa?" Pietro asked the vendor, teasingly.

Ana glared at him and was about to grab him by the ear and drag him to hell, until she saw Rick pull out a single white rose, similar if not identical to the one he gave her and Natasha years ago.

"No flower could possibly compete with that beautiful lady of yours, but this one flower is the one all the women go crazy for. I'm sure this will suit you well," Rick grinned.

Pietro pulled a five dollar bill out of his pocket and went to hand it to the vendor as he wrapped up the rose, but Rick refused the money.

"I've only done this one other time, but this one's on me," Rick chuckled, looking at Anastazya with familiar eyes. He handed the rose to Pietro.

"Stay safe you two," Rick told them. He pointed at Pietro. "She's a keeper! Don't break her heart kid."

Pietro nodded and thanked the man profusely, handing the rose to Ana with a cheesy smile. She stared blankly at him, causing his smile to falter.

"You seemed upset, Ana. I wanted to make you happy," He sighed. Anastazya rolled her eyes at his sentiment.

"Thanks, Maximoff," She mumbled, nudging him with her elbow. He smiled at her.

"It is no problem. We have both had a rough couple of days," He told her, slinging his arm around her shoulder again. He looked down on her. "You want to talk about it?"

Ana shook her head, chuckling bitterly. "It's just that Natasha, Steve, and Clint took me here once. I have gotten roses from that man before."

Pietro seemed surprised that she actually told him what was on her mind, and didn't know what else to say but "I'm sorry."

Ana shrugged started walking faster to the end of the marketplace strip, where Coulson promised to meet the two of them.

"Who is Coulson to you?" Pietro asked Ana, struggling to keep such a fast pace at just a walk.

"A friend," Ana replied. "And technically my legal guardian in the Avengers absence. So, he's probably ecstatic that he gets to finally use that title."

Pietro snickered and shook his head before his expression turned serious.

"Do you think we can do this? Do you think we will rescue our them?" Pietro sighed. Ana squeezed her eyes shut.

"I don't like to think about that. One thing at a time," Ana mumbled, patting his back and moving forward when she spotted Coulson, dressed like a tourist. He wore a yellow striped shirt, a red visor, golf pants, palm tree knee socks and a black fanny pack.

Idiot.

"Phil! What are you doing?" Anastazya whisper-yelled. He smiled at her.

"Blending in! Let's go to that Starbucks to talk! When was the last time you kids ate?"

Anastazya rolled her eyes and shrugged, a crooked smile making its way on her face.

"I don't know," She sighed, following Phil as he power walked to the nearest Starbucks Cafe. She glanced back at Pietro and he looked at her incredulously.

"This is our last hope?" He asked. Ana slapped him on the shoulder.

"Be nice," She hissed, tugging him along by his jacket sleeve.

By the time Ana and Pietro had arrived inside the shop, Phil had ordered them all flat white expresso's and scones. He sat in a booth, waving at them enthusiastically. Ana narrowed her eyes at him, dragging her feet over to where Coulson sat.

"Nice job blending in, Coulson," She grumbled. Phil rolled his eyes at her.

"In case you haven't noticed, this is blending in. I'm a tourist," Phil mumbled, playing with the end of his polo.

Ana sighed and looked around her, realizing he was right. Most of men sitting in the Starbucks looked similar if not identical to Coulson.

"Fine. Fine. Alright," Ana mumbled, rubbing her eyes furiously. "Is the ship still ready for us? If not, we are all collectively screwed."

Coulson nodded. "Jemma and Leo are guarding it back down at the Bakery Headquarters. From there we will fly to Sokovia, and plan battle strategy on the way."

Pietro scoffed. "This is suicide mission, why bother?"

Ana slapped his arm. "You know damn well Wanda and the rest of the Avengers will die if we don't rescue them soon," Ana spat, angrily, shocked by his pessimistic attitude. "Chin up, Maximoff." She sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Coulson eyed them suspiciously before clasping his hands together like he has just made a final decision about something.

"I ship it." He stated.

Ana's eyes widened and Pietro looked confused, and they spoke at the same time.

"Shut the fuck up Phil."

"What?"