The next morning came with warmth.
Sunlight spilled freely across Luke's face, far too bright and far too direct to be accidental. He groaned, shifting onto his side and dragging the pillow closer.
"Who opened the windows this early…" he muttered, voice thick with sleep as he rolled again, trying to escape the light.
Something felt off.
The pillow was… rough.
Too rough.
Half-awake, Luke frowned, fingers curling slightly as his senses caught up.
Why does the pillow feel like grass?
Before he could fully process that thought, a soft hand nudged his shoulder—gentle, deliberate, very much not part of a dream.
"Hm," Luke mumbled, eyes still closed, a lazy smile forming. "I need my morning kiss."
A familiar voice answered, calm and amused.
"Open your eyes," she said, "and you'll get more than a morning kiss."
Luke slowly opened them.
"…What?" he muttered, pushing himself upright.
He stood up, brushing his hand through the grass like he was double-checking reality.
That explained the situation even less.
"…Why," he asked calmly, "is there a forest in my room?"
Then he noticed Natasha.
She was standing a few steps away, arms crossed, frowning hard enough to be a warning sign on its own.
That made this worse.
Luke stood up and stretched, stepping over a vine like it was normal. "Okay. New question. Why am I here?" He glanced at her. "And did you kidnap me?"
Wanda was nearby, slowly turning in place, eyes wide as she took everything in, clearly just as confused.
Natasha didn't answer immediately. She just looked at him, unimpressed.
"Do you ever take a break?" she asked flatly.
"No," Luke replied without hesitation. "It's kind of part of me." He glanced around at the trees again. "Which brings up a better question—why are we in the middle of a forest?"
Natasha's stare sharpened. "You should be the one explaining. I went to sleep in a different room than you." She crossed her arms. "And I woke up next to you. Out here."
That much, she was absolutely certain, was his fault.
"Let me check," Luke said.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
When he opened them again, his expression shifted—subtle, but real.
"Well," he said, motioning for Wanda to come closer, "I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?"
Natasha didn't hesitate. "Bad news."
Luke nodded. "You remember how I talked about other worlds?"
Natasha hesitated, then nodded slowly. She hadn't fully believed him last night—but after waking up in a forest that definitely wasn't anywhere on Earth, that doubt was disappearing fast.
"We're in another world," Luke said calmly. "And for the time being, we can't leave."
Both Natasha and Wanda froze.
"What?" Wanda asked softly.
Natasha's eyes narrowed. "You're saying we're stuck."
"For now," Luke confirmed.
There was a brief, heavy silence as that sank in.
Then Luke smiled.
"And the good news?" he continued. "This world is going to be fun."
Natasha frowned. "That's not reassuring."
Luke looked up through the canopy. "Trust me," he said. "Out of all the worlds we could've landed in…"
His grin widened slightly.
"…this one's a classic."
***
After ten minutes, Luke moved through the forest at an easy pace, an apple in hand. Wanda and Natasha walked beside him, their attention fixed on everything at once—the towering trees, the unfamiliar silence, the way the air itself felt different.
"So… other worlds are real," Natasha said at last. It wasn't disbelief anymore. It was acceptance, forced by standing proof all around them.
"Yeah," Luke replied.
Wanda looked from the roots under her boots to the canopy above. "Then everything you talked about yesterday was true? Vampires, werewolves… zombie apocalypse worlds?"
"True," Luke said. "All of it. And this one's a fantasy world. Elves, dwarves, dragons—the usual lineup."
Natasha let out a short breath. "What the hell. Did we get dragged into some kind of fairy-tale world?"
"Sort of," Luke said. "Just a darker version of it."
Wanda hesitated before asking the question she'd been holding back. "Can we go back?"
Luke slowed, his expression tightening slightly. "Normally, yes. But my powers are glitching. Getting back to Earth isn't an option right now."
That alone was bad enough, but Luke knew the real problem went deeper.
This shouldn't have happened at all. Dimensional travel required strict conditions, and neither Wanda nor Natasha should've been pulled along. Without registering companions through the system, cross-world movement wasn't supposed to trigger—yet here they were.
The glitches were spreading.
"So," Natasha said, folding her arms, "how long are we stuck here?"
Luke took another bite of his apple, then shrugged. "No idea. A week. A month. A year."
Wanda stiffened, but Luke reached over and patted her head. "Relax. I don't think it'll take that long."
Natasha shot him a sideways look. "You sound awfully confident for someone who just said 'no idea.'"
Luke shrugged, unbothered. "Then think of it as a vacation. Fresh air, new scenery, no missions breathing down your neck."
He glanced at the forest around them, sunlight filtering through the leaves. "And you get free sightseeing—with me around. There's really nothing to worry about."
*****
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