𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃 - 𝐖. 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐟

fifteen

               LOKI stood outside of Wanda's door, chewing on the inside of his cheek, deciding on if he should knock or not. He had seen the little witches far away look lately, and he could see the hidden pain behind her eyes. He wanted to make sure she was okay, she was - after all - like a little sister to him.

He had never gotten to be a big brother before, because of Thor, but with Wanda it was different. He helped teach her how to control her magic, helping her master it and train with it. He was the big brother, and she was the little sister.

The door in front of Loki opened and he lifted his eyes from the doorknob to Wanda's tired ones. His eyes scanned over her and his lips pulled into a slight frown. Her hair was knotted, as if she had just been sleeping. He knew that she usually woke up around seven, and it was a little past noon. She was clothed in an oversized, long-sleeved grey shirt that Loki was fairly certain was Yelena's.

He couldn't keep track when it came to the girls clothes, they seemed to share closets with one another.

"Why are you standing outside of my door like a creep," Wanda's tired voice snapped Loki out of his thoughts as his eyes flickered back to hers as he gave her a small smile, his tone soft.

"I came to check on you."

"I'm fine, Loki. I don't need you to check up on me," she went to close the door in his face but a gentle, yet firm hand held the door open, not allowing her to retreat in on herself like she did after Pietro died.

He wasn't going to allow her to suffer in silence; she had done that for far too long already.

"I know something's up, little witch. Talk with me."

Wanda sighed, running a hand through her knotted hair before opening the door wider so that he could slip into her apartment. She closed the door behind him before making her way over to her living room couch, curling up under the large, fluffy light-pink blanket that Kate had gotten her for Christmas one year.

"What's happened, little witch," Loki questioned, taking a seat on the same couch and leaning his back against the arm rest, his legs curled up under him as he looked at her, his eyes scanning her face for any sign of a lie.

Wanda sat up, mimicking Loki's position yet keeping the blanket wrapped tightly around her, as if shielding her from the outside world.

"I know her," Wanda croaked out, her lip quivering slightly as she took a deep breath, not meeting the God's eyes as she tried to keep her together.

"You know her," Loki repeated, his tone questioning as his brows furrowed slightly.

"Sha-" Wanda cut herself off. "Katerina."

"What do you mean by you know her," Loki asked, his head tilted to the side slightly as he looked at the redhead who seemed so small, so broken. He had a semblance of an idea of what she was talking about, but he wasn't going to confirm or deny his suspicions until she did.

"From back then," Wanda whispered, her voice so broken it shattered Loki's heart. "She used to train Pietro and I when we first joined HYDRA."

Loki watched as she swiped furiously at the tears that slid down her cheeks, betraying her. She had told herself she wasn't going to cry when she let Loki in, and yet here she was, crying.

Loki let her take her time, grabbing the tissue box on the coffee table and handing it to her which she took with a small, sad smile.

"When they first realized we had powers they locked us in separate cells and ran tests on us," Wanda started, picking at her fingers slightly to which Loki just pulled her hands apart, giving her tissues to pick at instead of the skin around her fingers.