||"There was a wall inside of her mind that was protecting her from the truth."||
Vision didn't stay long, even though she wanted him to. But instead of returning back to the farmhouse before everyone woke from their sleep, she decided to stay in the woods near the cliff for a little while longer.
Wanda gathered the grapes that were scattered across the ground and placed them back in the bowl. She thought of walking down to the water to wash them off, but when she noticed two squirrels walking around her, she chose to feed them.
They were hesitant at first, but eventually gave in. They were tiny, but quick, and every time Wanda rolled a grape towards them, she giggled. Both of the squirrels ran around her in circles, grabbing grapes as they went. Wanda hadn't realized how loud she was laughing until she heard a twig snap in front of her.
When she looked up, she saw him.
Pietro.
Her face went blank, and the squirrels scattered off. She wanted to look away, but she was afraid that if she did, he'd disappear. Very slowly, she stood from the ground. Her legs began to tremble, but she forced herself to keep her balance.
He was so close.
"Pietro?" she asked quietly. Wanda felt her heart pound with life like never before, and she was about to step forward, but she saw his lips move, mumbling something she couldn't hear. But he was gone before she could even take a step closer. But she chased him, unwilling to let him go.
She ran, quickly, through the crowd of trees and brushes. Her breath staggered as she picked up her pace, not wanting to lose sight of him. But as she cleared through a path, she saw nothing but a plain field. She didn't understand, and she didn't want to accept her insanity. There was something different about seeing her brother standing there; some force of connection that flickered between them.
Wanda looked around the field, wishing Pietro would just appear so she could tell herself she wasn't crazy. But there was nothing in her sight. No trace of his bright hair and scruffy face. She was alone.
She fell to the ground and began to cry; a downpour of tears that felt too hot and heavy. She stared down at the field and let her tears end on their own. The flicker of connection still lingered inside of her, and she held her stomach as a wave of nausea took over.
She could have sworn on her life that her brother was standing right in front of her, that he was physically there, able to touch and hold. Something was different this time, she could feel it in her spine. It was in the way he looked at her, and in the way he sped away, like he was afraid that she'd seen him.
But if he really was there, Pietro would have never run away. He would have hugged her until the end of time. Pietro would not have left her alone.
Wanda stood, her head hanging low as she walked back through the thick woods to the farmhouse. And as she disappeared into the crowded woods, the building in the field slowly came back into view.
It took Wanda some time to return to the farmhouse, but when she arrived, she saw Steve pacing on the front porch. He was wearing a flannel that looked peculiar on him, and she wondered if he borrowed it from Clint. And as she made her way towards him, she silently hoped that he wouldn't question her for being gone for so long.
She eased her way onto the porch, and Steve turned to her, eyes screaming with worry. But it only took a second for him to sigh in relief, and he walked over to her and pulled her in for a hug. She froze, unsure if she should hug him back. But when his arms pulled her closer, she finally wrapped her arms around him, digging her face into his chest.
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.