PURE AND TAINTED ( wanda maximoff )

fifty-one → what happened to us

It was as if Aline hadn't known what she'd done back then. She understood what she did back then was awful, more than awful, and it was something the tribrid had no choice but to live with for the rest of her days. Yet it's not as if Rome hadn't done bad things 一 there were dark periods in their lives, ones each promised never to speak of again just as equally horrific as the next. "But I-I did!" Aline tried, holding one of her hands to her chest. "Look at me, I'm still the same Aline!"

Tilting her head, Rome asked, "Yes, but how long did it take? How long did it take for you to realize how much blood you'd shed? And for what?" She shook her head bitterly, biting her bottom lip.

Aline took another step back in defeat. She had a point 一 it had taken Aline fifty years to finally let her soulmate go, but how long did it take for her to realize just how much blood had been spilt by her hands? There may have been definitive truth to what her cousin had said, but that didn't mean the sting didn't hurt any less. "I'm sorry that my soulmate dying was such an inconvenience to you," Aline said, clenching her fists. "If Bucky was to you what Madelaine had been to me, you'd understand. You might have done worse!"

Rome squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head again. "Bucky is different 一"

"Wake up, Rome!" Aline had charged forward, hands tightly gripping Rome's shoulders and she shook her whole body. "That is bullshit and you know it!" Her hold loosened, enough for Rome to pull away but she didn't. Instead, the witch watched as Aline bowed her head and lowered her voice. "What happened to us? What... what happened to those little girls a thousand years ago that promised to be together forever? That swore we'd never leave each other's sides that day on the beach, to fight and keep the monsters away?" Her voice was quiet, barely audible, and she herself was surprised at how helpless she sounded. Some tears had fallen down her cheeks, but she didn't bother wiping them away. Aline looked up and locked eyes with Rome. "Why did you have to go and break that promise? What was that vow to you, Rome, s-some stupid bullshit promise made by naïve children?" As if she realized how much she had said, Aline regained herself and took a few steps away.

"That promise meant everything to me," she heard Rome say sadly. Looking up, there were tears in Rome's green eyes. "It still means everything to me. And I will always admit my faults but you must accept yours as well!" She walked closer to stand near Aline. "Do you remember the fifteen hundreds? When you found out what those men had done to your friend 一 how they tortured him and strung him up in front of his family? You slaughtered them, in cold blood. I had hoped I'd never see that pain and anger in your eyes again but I did." The witch nodded. "I was with you that day, when we found Madelaine, do you remember? I saw that rage again and I was so scared. Witch after witch, you hunted down all those who held a part in her death, and I thought this time, I wouldn't be able to pull you back from the edge. I thought you were far too gone."

Snapping her head up, brown hair flying around her face. "So you abandoned me, for what? HYDRA?" Aline growled, taking a step further back. She couldn't believe a thing Rome was saying. That rage, it was something she never wanted any part of 一 it had been her father's genes passed down to her, and with it came that werewolf fierceness that she never liked. Her cousin's father, a man neither girl had met, had been a simple man, a human man. All Rome is is a witch, while Aline had all the troubles of a vampire, werewolf, and a witch. She'd never understand what that felt like, to have three parts of her pulling Aline in every which direction.

Rome straightened her back. "Do you think I wanted to be with them?" she hissed. "They kidnapped me, tortured me, day after day until I finally gave them what they wanted." Rome too was crying, silent tears falling down her red cheeks. "What I did back then was unforgivable, I'm sorry, Aline, but you need to accept what you did was too 一"

"Too what?" Aline challenged. "Too over the top? Too Aline? Too monstrous?"

There was something in Rome's eyes that flashed Yes, and it was enough for Aline to step away. So... that's why Rome never came back, she thought to herself. I've been wasting all my time and energy on someone who doesn't even want me back... The thought nearly made her cry, and she could audibly hear her heart breaking.

The seconds ticked by slowly, until the door opened loudly. Aline didn't bother turning to look at Steve. "Are you all right?" he asked. "We heard yelling." Of course he noticed the two crying but said nothing.

Yelling 一 as if they couldn't hear every single word of their conversation. But Aline didn't comment, instead turning on her heel and towards the door. "We're fine," she brushed off, ducking her head so Steve wouldn't see any more tears on her face. "Just family matters." She tossed that last statement over her shoulder as she passed by the super soldier, disappearing down the stairs. Aline flicked her wrist and the door slammed shut behind her.

Once she reached the bottom of the steps, Aline tightened one of her fists as tightly as she could. Almost as fast as lightning, she slammed her knuckles against the metal wall and she nearly cried out. The metal bent with the shape of her fist, the sound echoing loudly in the warehouse. Pain radiated across her skin but she still used her aching hand to clamp down over her mouth. A sob had started to wretch itself out of her. All these years of searching and for what? Someone who doesn't want her?