Hey reader! Hope you enjoy this new chapter even though I'm currently writing this is Latin cause I'm so bored and this one is so long so go me (keep ur mind out of the gutter)
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"Americaaaaa?" I draw out her name playfully, as I catch sight of said girl hiding behind an apple tree. A very thin apple tree may I add.
I pretend to ignore the giggles coming from the girl, proceeding to check behind a few more trees that I knew she wasn't behind.
Billy and Tommy used to find great joy in me playing this same game with them, when they would hide from me, and I would playfully pretend I didn't know where they were.
"Is she behind... this tree?!" I dart to look behind a tree a few feet away from the giggling girl.
"Huh..." I place my hands on my hips, in mock confusion. "Where could she be?"
I hear increased stifled giggles, making me smile.
I pretend to walk past the tree that America was behind, before spinning around quickly. "Got you!"
America squeals, running away from me so I couldn't catch her.
"I'm gonna get you!" I chase after the laughing girl, purposely going slower so I didn't catch her right away.
I eventually reach America and grab her body, pulling her into me.
"Got you!" I hold the girl as she wriggles about, trying to get me to let her go in between laughter.
"Wanda! Let me gooooo!" She squeals as I lift her slightly off the ground, careful not to shift her healing arm to much.
"Never!" I say jokingly, before falling backwards against the wall off the house, pulling America down with me.
We both laugh for a few seconds, before falling into comfortable silence as I hold America close to my chest.
I missed this. Holding my boys close so I knew they were safe, and just feeling absolute content for a short amount of time.
America has finally settled in, and is fully relaxed with me. I can't say I'm not enjoying taking care of her.
"Come on, princessa." I kiss America's forehead softly, pushing her off my body gently, so I could stand up.
"Nooo!" She whines, sounding a lot younger than she was. "Your comfyyyy!"
I laugh at her argument, poking her in the ribs, which made America squeal with laughter and shy away from me.
"Is that so?" I tease, tickling America which made her shriek loudly.
Her laugh was the most contagious thing on the planet, and it automatically made me smile whenever I heard it.
"Still comfy?" I ask, pausing my tickling for a second.
"No." America huffs, pushing herself up from my lap.
I chuckle at the girls pout. "Thought so." I stand up from the grass, putting my arm around America's shoulders as we walk back to the house.
"What's for lunch?" The teen asks, all traces of her annoyance gone.
One thing that I had learned about America was that she could eat for the entire country. She never seemed to get full, apart from the other night when she had one too many pizza balls and spent the next half an hour with her head in the toilet bowl.
So after that I was more careful with not letting her eat TOO much.
"I was thinking pasta." I propose, remembering the left over sauce that I had in the fridge.
America nods eagerly, slipping out of my grasp and running ahead into the house.
I smile softly and chuckle to myself at her antics, as I kick off my boots.
"You did take your shoes off didn't you, America?" I call into the house, knowing full well that she hasn't.
I hear the hurried taking off of boots, before a pair of shoes are thrown into the hallway.
"Yeah!" She shouts back.
I shake my head with a smile, putting her shoes more neatly on the shoe rack, before going into the kitchen.
I nearly had a heart attack when I saw America on the counter, trying to get a glass from the cupboard with one arm.
"Get down from there, sweetheart." I rush over to the pre-teen, lifting her down off the counter and getting a glass for her, before she falls and breaks her neck.
"Sorry, Wanda." America blushes, taking the glass and walking over to the fridge.
She opens the door and frowns. "Where's the apple juice?!" She demands, spinning around to glare at me.
I raise an eyebrow at her sudden attitude. "A change of tone would be nice for a start."
At my words, America immediately apologises, asking again more nicely.
I snap my fingers and a fresh carton of apple juice appears on the counter.
"Thank you, Wanda!" America grins, immediately pouring herself a glass of the sugary juice that she adored.
"Your welcome, sweetheart." I kiss her forehead, as I walk past her to make a start on lunch.
"Wanda?" America asks, sitting herself on one of the bar stools.
"Hmm?" I hum to show that I was listening, not taking my eyes off the the boiling pasta.
"Can we go outside?" She asks, making me frown in confusion.
"We we're just outside, sweetheart." I tell her pointedly, not knowing where this was going.
"No... I mean like... Out of here and to a town or something."
I freeze at her words, dropping the wooden spoon onto the counter with a clatter.
I had come out here so I couldn't hurt anyone else. People we're looking for me and wanted me dead. I've hurt so many people.
"Or not." America quickly adds, after seeing my reaction. "Sorry for suggesting it..."
I snap out of my trance, turning to face the brunette.
"I don't think that's a good idea, America." I start, softly. "Remember what I told you about Westview?"
America nods. I had explained Westview briefly to her, mainly just about Vision and the boys though.
"Well after that, I don't think I'm safe to be around a lot of people." I admit, unconsciously pulling my sleeves over my hands to hide them.
America tilts her head in confusion. "But Westview was an accident. And you put it right in the end. You never meant to hurt anyone."
Her words nearly made me burst into tears. "Well not everyone thinks like that, princessa."
She frowns, before getting off the stool and walking over to give me a hug.
I wipe a tear away from my face, hugging America back tightly.
"I still want to go, though..." She mutters, making me sigh.
"No, America." I say firmly, pulling away from the girl and going to give the pasta a stir.
"Come on, Wanda!" She whines. "How can people like you when they don't even see you?"
"I said no." I repeat, wishing she would drop the topic.
"But whyyyy?" The brunette questions, throwing her head back in annoyance.
"I said no America, and I will not repeat myself again!" I snap, making America immediately close her mouth and look slightly scared at my outburst.
I had never snapped at her before, and I felt awful for it.
"I'm sorry." I apologise immediately. "I didn't mean to snap."
I quickly walk forward and pull America into my arms.
She doesn't hug back immediately, but after a few seconds she relaxes into my arms.
"No, I'm sorry for pushing you..." America mumbles, her voice muffled with my hoodie.
"I shouldn't have snapped." I counter, burying my face into America's hair, which smelled of my coconut shampoo.
America pulls away, a small smile present on her face. "I'm happy here."
A part of me feels bad for America. She's never seen this world properly, and keeping a child locked up in a bubble in the mountains is not good for them.
"How about we wait until you've got the hang of your powers a bit. Then we can go to the nearest village." I offer, not wanting America to accidentally open a portal and suck us into another multiverse.
"Do...Do we have to?" She asks, looking nervous at the mention of her powers.
"They are a part of you wether you like them or not, sweetheart." I place a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me when I say you can't run away from them. You just need to learn how to control them."
Nat and Steve had helped me control my powers, and now I was going to help America do the same.
Thinking of Nat and Steve makes my heart ache, as I remember that they were both gone. And I was alone. Again.
I wanted to go to Clint for a while, but he had his family, so when he called me I assured him that I was fine. That was before Westview. Before I hurt so many people.
And now, I don't feel so alone anymore.
America nods nervously, unconsciously cracking her knuckles, a nervous tick which I had picked up on.
"But for today, let's eat some lunch." I walk over to the stove and take the pasta off the hob, draining it and pouring it into two bowls, adding some sauce that was left over from the other night.
I place one of the bowls in front of America, and she immediately digs into the food, shovelling it into her mouth messily.
She is so much like Tommy, it's uncanny.
"Slow down, America. You'll choke." I remind her, for what feels like the hundredth time.
"Sorry." America mumbles out, subsequently choking on said pasta.
I quickly grab some kitchen towel and hold it in front of her mouth.
America coughs up the half chewed up pasta, her eyes watering slightly.
"And that is why you don't stuff your face." I tell her pointedly, balling up the half chewed pasta, and throwing it into the trash.
"Sorry..." America mumbles, coughing a few more times.
"Just eat more slowly, princessa. No one is going to take it away." I remind her.
I suppose years of multiverse hopping has taught her to scoff the food she can get her hands on, as she didn't know when her next meal would be.
"I know." America takes a deep breath, before eating her food more slowly.
~~~
"Oh my god, America Chavez!" I gape in disgust, looking at what she was watching on the tv.
"What?" America asks innocently, grinning at the screen, where people were being brutally murdered.
"What are you watching?!" I shriek, turning off the tv and putting my hands on my hip.
"Wanda!" She protests. "Turn it back on! Tate was just about to kill the school girl!"
"Why are you watching that?!" I ask, in disbelief that she isn't terrified.
"It's American Horror Story, and it's really good!" She whines, pointing at the blank screen.
"What age rating is it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.
America mumbles something that I couldn't hear.
"I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that."
She sighs. "It's an 18+..."
Why is she watching 18+ things?! They are 18+ for a reason!
"You are not watching that." I declare, turning back on the tv and switching it to a cartoon.
"But Ma-Wanda!" She quickly corrects her slip up.
"I said no, America. That is completely unsuitable." I try to keep my voice even, trying not to draw attention to the name slip as I knew she'd be embarrassed.
"But it's not even that bad! It's all fake and the story is really good! There's like 10 seasons!"
"I don't want to hear any more about this, America." I sigh, taking the remote and walking away from her.
"Wandaaaaa!" I hear her complain, shouting after me. "Wandaaaaa!"
I ignore the whining child, as I make my way into the kitchen to finish the washing up. This was the first time that America had properly tested my patience since getting here.
I hear footsteps running into the kitchen, but I keep my back to the irate brunette, who was having a tempter tantrum.
"Wanda! Give me back the remote!" I hear her demand.
I carry on ignoring her, cleaning a plate in the sink. I could use my powers, but washing them like this just makes me feel normal for a few minutes.
"I want the remote!" She shouts, obviously annoyed at me ignoring her.
"The Tv is on, go and watch that." I tell her calmly, putting the plate on the drying rack.
"I don't want to watch stupid cartoons!" America protests.
"Well then go read a book." I suggest, not wanting to turn this into an argument, although I was curious to see how far America was going to push me.
"Your so mean and boring!" She stomps her foot on the ground childishly, before I hear footsteps storming upstairs and a door slamming.
Well that went well. I thought to myself sarcastically.
I finish doing the dishes, and as I'm walking up the stairs I hear the Darkhold calling to me from where I had hidden it.
Maybe it would tell me how u could get my boys and husband back... Maybe even my brother...
I push these thoughts aside. No. That book was dark magic. Look what it did to Agatha.
I knock gently on America's bedroom door.
"Come in..." I hear her voice call from inside. Well at least she has seemed to have calmed down now.
I push the door open gently, looking at America who was curled up on her double bed, with a guilty look on her face.
"I'm sorry for shouting at you..." She whispers, jumping off the bed and running over to crash into my arms.
"I forgive you. But do you understand why I don't want you watching that stuff?"
I feel her nod into my chest, and I smile, blocking out the whispers of dark magic coming from my room.