Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 25

||"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."||

She was so close. Just seconds away from finding out what Steve and Natasha were talking about in the barn. She hated herself for even thinking about doing such a thing to Steve; invading his mind for her own purposes, but she had no choice. She could feel the truth crawling underneath his skin, waiting to burst, but he wouldn't say anything; no words came out of his mouth. 

And she figured it was for the best. Whether she knew what they were talking about or she didn't. Wanda was lucky enough to be a part of the Avengers, lucky enough to even have the company she does. So why try and ruin that with her curiosity?

But she wanted to know, she desperately wanted to know why they were discussing the twins. What would be so important that they would need to talk about the twins without her? She had every right to know. Didn't she?

Steve kept fidgeting in bed, moving from side to side in his sleep like a child. He did that sometimes. It was rare that Steve slept peacefully through the whole night without having one of his nightmares. Wanda would usually let him sleep it out on his own, but that night, something was different. 

He wouldn't stop shivering, and he began to sweat lightly under the covers. Wanda scooted closer to him, pulling him close to the warmth of her body. Almost instinctively, Steve wrapped his arm around her, and she stilled. She didn't move for a few minutes, afraid that she'd wake him if she did. 

His head fell against her chest, and Wanda tried her best to soothe him. The sun was no where near, and judging from the sparkling stars in the sky, she knew it was still late. 

"Bucky...," the name had no meaning to Wanda, but she wanted to know. 

She brought her hand to his forehead and closed her eyes. 

Images of a handsome man showed up, along with men in uniforms; snow covered grounds and bullets lighting the air in smoke. Bucky was his war buddy. Bucky was his friend.

Wanda retreated her hand and let Steve rest. She took away the dark images in his mind and replaced them with pictures of his friend. Maybe that would help him sleep better. 

When she woke that morning, she felt the spot beside her and noticed that it was empty. Steve was already awake. He was sitting by the window, his back turned towards Wanda. He was wearing only sweatpants, and she felt her cheeks burn up at the sight of his arms. She climbed out of bed, walking slowly over to him and placing her hand on his shoulder. 

He jumped, his hand clasping her wrist tightly. 

Wanda gasped, and her eyes turned red in defense. But Steve's face fell, and he released his grip on her after realizing it was just Wanda. She swallowed, finding her breath as her eyes returned to their normal state. 

"I'm sorry," he said to her, staring back out the window into the blue sky. She sat beside him and stared at his side profile. His light brown hair looked blonde against the sun, and Wanda felt herself wanting to touch it. His skin looked smooth and warm, nothing compared to what he looked like a few hours ago during his sleep. "I'm sorry for everything." 

Wanda leaned in, trying to figure out what he meant. But Steve didn't elaborate, he just stared out the window and breathed evenly. With shaky fingers, she wrapped her hand into his, and finally, he looked at her. He really looked at her, and she felt herself melt from the inside out. She always knew he was handsome, it was obvious, but in that moment, she saw raw emotion, and there was something about seeing him so open that made her breathless. 

Everything around her stopped moving, and his fingers held onto hers in response. 

It felt...right.