~Upper East Side, Manhattan~
West of Lexington Avenue, the neighborhood was dotted with elegant semi-detached villas.
This area was known as the Gold Coast, and was among New York's most expensive and coveted residential districts, a true enclave of the ultra-wealthy, long cherished by the affluent...
Many claimed that even the air here carried the scent of Franklin bills and the conservative values of high society.
As the orange-gold hues of sunset sank below the horizon, Sean stepped out of a black sedan, a bottle of premium red wine from Château Canon-la-Gaffelière in hand. He rang the doorbell of the Maximoff residence.
Almost the instant the chime sounded, a silver blur yanked the door open. Pietro stood there, wearing custom-fitted headphones and humming Jimmy Cliff's 'I Can See Clearly Now', appearing like a ghost materializing out of thin air.
Sean glanced down at the doormat. It was scorched black in one spot, no doubt the result of Pietro frequently greeting visitors this way.
"Whoa, Sean! What a surprise! My sister's gonna be thrilled," Pietro said with easy familiarity, slinging an arm around Sean's neck and snatching the elegantly ribboned wine bottle. He immediately bellowed upstairs, "Wanda! That jerk you keep talking about is here!"
Sean's eye twitched slightly as he watched Wanda come rushing down the stairs in casual loungewear, fluffy slippers on her feet, her long hair tied back in a loose ponytail.
Her delicate face was bare of makeup. She appeared far more natural and homely compared to her usual polished, professional look at Umbrella Corporation.
"You pull this stunt every single time! Aren't you tired of it– Ah!" Wanda, who had been storming down to scold her brother, froze mid-step on the staircase the moment she saw the man standing beside Pietro.
Then, with a startled squeal, she bolted straight back upstairs to her room like a frightened deer.
Sean watched the sibling duo with exasperated amusement, though his thoughts briefly drifted to a certain little girl.
Sometimes, when he returned home and didn't hear Mindy's cheerful chatter, he actually felt a little… off.
Those two girls, Mindy and Gali, were currently driving their RV all over the world, but Sean wasn't worried about their safety in the slightest.
One was the descendant of an ancient cosmic being; the other was Hit-Girl, a killing machine in her own right. Anyone who crossed them would be the one in real trouble...
Seated on the living room sofa, Sean chatted idly with Pietro. The young man from Sokovia had adapted remarkably quickly to life in New York.
Under Raven's (Mystique) training, Wanda had become a capable executive secretary, while Pietro had joined Blonsky's newly formed Umbrella Protection Unit.
Initially, Sean had considered sending Pietro to Professor Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. But Pietro preferred the rigors of combat training over spending his days surrounded by children in a classroom.
The position came with a generous monthly salary, excellent benefits, and most importantly, outstanding operatives could receive formal commendations from the White House, earning them the honor and recognition of decorated soldiers.
All of this filled Pietro with excitement. Back in Sokovia, he had wasted his days in a factory, his dreams of becoming someone great buried deep inside, never given a chance to bloom...
After a short while, Wanda descended the stairs wearing a flowing Bohemian-style dress. Her bare face now bore the faintest trace of subtle makeup.
"I thought you didn't want to see me, Wanda," Sean said teasingly.
"Having a boss who harasses his employees even after work hours is such a headache," Wanda said stiffly.
She shot her brother, who was grinning like a spectator at a circus, a sharp glare, then marched into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.
Unlike Betty or Gwen, Wanda Maximoff was no sheltered flower... She was born and raised in war-torn Sokovia and had known hardship early on.
During the time Sean had stayed with them, he had been thoroughly impressed by Wanda's cooking. Now, watching her graceful figure move about the kitchen, he smiled and said, "I've really missed your smoked salmon and your meat sauce penne."
Wanda huffed, putting on a cold front, but the corners of her tightly pressed lips betrayed an irrepressible smile. Then, 'coincidentally', she reached into the fridge and pulled out freshly cured salmon, silently justifying it to herself: 'It's only proper hospitality for a guest.'
"Need a hand? I'm pretty good with onions," Sean said, slipping into the kitchen unnoticed.
He casually picked up a chef's knife and began dicing onions and mincing garlic to mix with meat sauce for the stir-fry.
"Don't flatter yourself. You were completely hopeless the first time you tried this," Wanda retorted, watching his practiced movements with a slight pout.
She remembered those days back in Sokovia...
Life in New York was undeniably more comfortable now, yet she often found herself longing for the past. That tiny apartment of theirs held so many warm memories... not just with her brother Pietro, but also with quiet, tender feelings she'd kept hidden deep in her heart.
"I'll be leaving for a while soon," Sean said as he sliced the smoked salmon into thin pieces, rolled them into delicate flower shapes, drizzled lemon juice over them, and arranged them neatly on a plate, "Raven will handle things at SHIELD, and I'm leaving Umbrella in your and Gwen's hands. If anything comes up, you can consult Dr. Connors or Dr. Hansen."
Wanda, stirring the simmering meat sauce, paused mid-motion. A spatter of hot oil jumped from the pan and landed on her pale forearm, drawing a soft whimper from her.
"And you still have the nerve to call me clumsy? Let me do it." Sean, having just finished toasting the bread, gently pulled the slightly dazed Wanda aside.
For a moment, the kitchen fell into quiet stillness...
"You're going somewhere very far this time, aren't you?" Wanda said softly after removing her apron and standing quietly behind him, "I saw Dr. Richards' reply email stating the Dark Elf ship's been repaired. You're planning to leave Earth?"
"I've received some intelligence from Asgard," Sean admitted without hesitation, "Though I currently hold the upper hand in this game, the ultimate outcome doesn't seem to have changed. To be safe, I need more leverage."
He was indeed preparing to pilot the Dark Elf vessel on a deep-space journey.
The Orb (the fifth Infinity Stone) had fallen into Star-Lord's hands and would soon be delivered to the Collector.
As expected, Thanos would likely offer the destruction of Xandar as payment to Ronan, Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire, to hunt it down.
After obtaining the Eye of Agamotto, Sean had used the Time Stone to sever his own past and future timelines. During that temporal regression, he'd glimpsed a vast, ominous shadow looming over the future.
Undoubtedly, it was the silhouette of the Mad Titan, Thanos.
Even though Sean already possessed four Infinity Stones and logically should have secured a decisive advantage, Thanos would still pose a massive threat to him in the future.
This puzzled Sean deeply. Because of the butterfly effect, the future was no longer clear to him, making it impossible to discern the true reason behind this paradox.
"Will it be dangerous?" Wanda asked quietly, her voice tinged with worry.
"No…" Sean began.
But before he could finish, soft red lips pressed gently against the corner of his mouth. Wanda stood on her tiptoes, her eyes brimming with tenderness.
Oil sizzled in the pan, the meat sauce bubbled unnoticed, and the two in the kitchen melted into each other, utterly forgetting the world around them.
On the living room sofa, Pietro sniffed the faint, unmistakable scent of burning food and grumbled resentfully, "Do single guys have zero presence anymore?"
Fuming with righteous indignation, Pietro stormed out the front door, heading straight for the Burger King two blocks away, determined to drown his sorrows in two large pizza burgers.
Sean and Wanda exchanged glances, then shared a quiet, mischievous laugh. Under the warm, golden glow of the kitchen light, their two silhouettes merged into one...