Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 23

It was the subtleties that made the butterflies in her stomach rise, and Steve didn't even have to speak in order for her to understand the kindness of his actions. Wanda could only imagine how distraught she looked. Her eyes still felt puffy, and her cheeks were most likely warm with melancholy. 

The giggles of laughing children shook Wanda's mind, and she felt Steve's embrace loosen. 

"You were gone all morning. Is everything okay?" 

"Did Tony ever tell you where Pietro is buried?" she noticed is jaw clench, but he looked away before she could make sense of it. 

"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask. I'll ask him tonight." 

"I just need to know." Wanda cleared her throat and rubbed her hands together. She never realized how drained her mind was, and when Vision said she needed rest, she knew he was right. She'd been thinking way too much lately, and it was taking a toll on her abilities. Once Steve told her where Pietro was buried, maybe she'd find some form of closure. 

___

"We have a problem." Steve stepped out of the farmhouse and into the barn, where he held the phone tightly against his ear. "We have a big problem."

"Okay Cap, relax. I just woke up." Steve could hear Tony moving around, and he grabbed a ratchet that was beside him and started whipping it through the air. 

"I'm serious Tony, we've got a huge problem."

"Okay, okay I heard you. What's wrong?" 

"Wanda...she's asking questions. She wants to know where her brother is buried." There was a growing silence, and Steve worried that Tony had ended the call. But eventually, Tony sighed, mumbling curse words under his breath. "What do I do? She's smart, you know this, she'll know something is wrong if I don't have a legitimate answer. She's gonna find out."

"Not so loud, Rogers, you'll wake the neighbors." Natasha stepped out, her bright hair making Steve blink a few times. "I'm here," she said into her bracelet, and a few seconds later, Tony grumbled something. 

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked her, still holding his phone up to his ear. 

"I'm here to help, obviously. You almost just had a panic attack because she asked you a simple question." Tony chuckled over the phone, and Steve hung up, slamming it down on the table behind him. "You're stressing yourself out. You have to learn to how to act under hard circumstances. You know that." Natasha pressed something down on her bracelet and took her jacket off. "She can't see you break." 

"I'm not breaking, Natasha. I'm tired of lying and I'm tired of telling myself I can protect her when in reality I can't." Steve chucked the ratchet across the barn, and it slammed against the thick wood, making a large dent. "I don't want to lie anymore," he said, his hands releasing from their fists. 

"If she finds out now, then you'll really be putting her in danger, and the outcome will be out of our hands. She's safe right now, and that's all that matters." 

"You seem incredibly optimistic."

"That's because I trust this team, and I trust that we can do this. Don't you?" Natasha walked up to Steve and handed him the hard drive. He looked down at it, and held it up. "We can beat them, and secure the twin's safety. There is always a loophole." 

"A loophole?" Natasha nodded her head and grinned. 

"Everyone and everything has a weakness." 

Steve held the hard drive between his fingers and closed his fist. At this point, he'd do anything for Wanda, even if it meant risking his own life. 

___

Pietro stared at the glass, staring at his reflection in disbelief. Wanda saw him. She saw him and she chased after him. And he ran away. 

He only had a few more weeks left before he could see her, but it seemed like years before he'd get the chance. He didn't want to wait anymore, not when she was so close. 

"You need to eat something," Katarina's voice echoed through his room, but he didn't look up. He just stared at the glass with an empty mind. Pietro felt utterly weak. "It's pancakes," she said in a cheerful voice, but he didn't respond. He didn't feel like talking to anyone. 

Katarina sighed, sliding the tray of food through the small portal in the wall. It slid across the floor to Pietro, hitting his foot. 

"Please leave," he said to her as politely as he could. But she didn't go away, she just stood there, watching him through the glass with pity. "Please," he said, but it came out as a whisper. Katarina held her tablet to her chest and backed away, her heels making a tapping sound against the steel floor. 

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked him. 

"No. Just leave," he stood, kicking his tray aggressively across the room until it hit the wall with a sharp crash. Pietro walked over to his bed and flopped down, pushing his pillow against his face. In the darkness of his mind, he saw Wanda, staring deep into him. Her face looked soft to the touch, and her eyes were filled with hope and relief. 

But now that he knew she was suffering from hallucinations, he worried that she'd think of herself as insane. He didn't want this for her, she deserved better. 

Katarina gave off grunt and walked off, clutching her tablet so close to her chest that her knuckles turned white. 

Pietro listened as her heels faded into the distance, and he sat up and held his face in his hands. He could feel Wanda getting worse by the day, in his chest, like a cavity. And the worst part was was that he couldn't do anything about it.