You felt it deep in your chest, deep in your soul, when Pietro died. The pain coursed thru your veins like molten lava, your tears stinging your face as they flowed. He was your love, your partner, your reason for being. In the years that you had spent with him and his sister Wanda, you became a family of your own when you had no other. Even when the pain of the experiments became almost too much to take, the three of you were determined to help each other survive; you would all make it through together, or not at all.
Pietro could see your powers for the beauty they could create, not the destruction that Hydra wanted to use them for. He was patient as you learned to control them, as you were for him when his speed became almost uncontrollable. It didn't take long to fall in love, and to form the bond that you felt ripping you apart now. Even though you had been separated for months now, it had been there all along.
When the Avengers first attacked Strucker's base, the twins escaped, believing you to be behind them as they ran. When the guards were alerted to the disappearance, you were quickly locked away and taken to another lab to be kept hidden from the world, and from the twins. Pietro was forced to leave you behind, as much as it destroyed him to do so. He had promised himself that he would return once he knew he could keep Wanda safe. You now know that the day would never come.
~~~
In the months that followed, your powers grew to strengths that you never thought possible. Your control and manipulation of the elements was easy for you now, almost without thought. Without your family, you had nothing in life other than your power to keep you sane, so you practiced. You controlled both fire and ice, wind and water, and began to work with a control of gravity. It began to feel like your power would one day become limitless.
"We are under attack!"
You were jolted from your studies by the sounds of yelling and gunfire, loud explosions and shaking ground beneath you. Running to the control center of the base, you gasped when you saw them on the monitors.
The Avengers.
"I'll take care of this." Determined, you commanded the door open with your mind, focusing on your targets and how you would stop them. They were the reason he was gone, and they would have to pay for that; they would have to pay dearly. Stepping into the sunlight, you were taken aback by the glare burning your eyes; most days were lived underground, and acclimation to the light was slow, if at all. With an almost unnoticeable twitch of your finger, the clouds gathered and moved to block the sunlight, darkening the battlefield quickly.
"Guys?" The group had stopped briefly to question the sudden change. The redhead, Black Widow, was only a few feet away, unaware that you were watching her. You brought a strong wind towards her, pushing her back against a nearby tree. With barely any effort, you withdrew the roots from the ground, wrapping them around her to keep her firmly in place until you decided what to do with her.
Shots hit at your feet, fired by a man in a metal suit flying overhead, having seen what you had just done to his teammate. You recognized Iron Man, a leader in the attack on Strucker. If there was ever a time to quickly master gravitational manipulation, it was now. You closed your eyes for just a moment and felt the weight of the earth within you, pulling you down with a strength that you struggled to control. Your body gathered the force and pushed it away towards him, draining you for a moment as you dropped to your knees and watched the man being pulled to the ground.
"Son of a bitch! Someone needs to take that chick out! Cap, watch your back!"
You stood quickly when the next man approached, throwing his shield in your direction. It was easy to deflect, sealing it in ice; ice that now shot forth from your hands to encase Captain America as well. The ice crept up his legs as he struggled to break free; this one was much stronger than the others and you needed your full concentration to hold him.
"(Y/N)! Stop! Please!"
It was the voice of an angel in your mind, but also the voice of a ghost from your past. Your heart skipped when you saw her, but why was she with them? What did they do to her to manipulate her into helping them? Your hands shot up in front of you, prepared to attack her if you had to.
"Wanda?"
"Yes, it's me, (Y/N). Please, let them go; they are not the enemy. Not anymore."
Your eyes glanced for barely a millisecond behind her, summoning the winds to gather a wall of fire, blocking the team from their jet, and their only means of escape. You willed a large boulder to fly thru the air towards her, but she quickly broke it to pieces before it could connect.
"Don't do this, (Y/N)"
"What choice do I have?" In your periphery you saw the man breaking free from the ice that held him, but you quickly stopped his progress. "I suggest you stand down, Captain. You can't possibly hope to stop me." A ball of flame shot at Wanda from behind, but again, she was somehow able to deflect your advances. She had clearly been trained since the last time you saw her; trained by them.
"I'm so sorry, my love. Please forgive me."
Before you could react you were encompassed in red, her power swirling around you. You started to feel lightheaded, squeezing your eyes shut as your sense of reality began to fade; Wanda had begun to show you the thing you feared most in the world, finally breaking your hold on her team. When you finally reopened them, your surroundings had completely changed.
The sky was hazy and the sounds of explosions filled the city. You spun around to see several of the Avengers there, directing people away from the city and onto a large aircraft. It was a city you had never seen before, but the accent of the screaming voices around you was familiar.
The man called Hawkeye was running past you, reaching out to grab a small boy, shielding him from incoming gunfire. You knelt down, holding your arms over your head and turning away from the barrage of bullets and debris, when a flash of silver crossed in front of you towards Barton. The silence fell almost immediately, and the sounds of heavy footsteps running your way became louder as they approached.
"You didn't see that coming."
Oh my god.
The crushing pain in your chest returned in that moment; the pain that took your breath away and pulled your insides out. You knew what you would see if you looked. You knew the life was gone from his body, from the eyes that used to be full of love for you. But you had to see him. It was the only way you would ever believe that he was really gone. As you turned, you were allowed only a glimpse of him, and somehow his eyes were on you in his final moment. Your hand reached for him, but your mind was being pulled back before you could connect.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, (Y/N)"
Your sobs were intense and your breath caught in your chest as she held you to her. The others had been freed while she held your mind in her control, now watching cautiously for your reaction as you returned to the present. You looked to each of them, and saw a familiarity in their eyes; they had experienced the power Wanda had used on you, and they still feared her.
"It was the only way I could stop you." Wanda held you tightly, stroking your hair as she rocked you slowly. "Please, say something."
With a slow, deliberate breath, you looked up at her and took her hands in yours.
"Thank you, Wanda."
Part 2
"If you don't hit me harder, we're never going to make any progress, (Y/N)."
"Well I could say the same to you, Wanda. What are you afraid of doing to me? You've already been inside my head more times than I can remember."
Natasha had thought it best to head upstate to the training facility for your work with Wanda. Working within the tower didn't allow for your skill with the elements, and risked causing too much damage. Wanda was almost as new to the team as you, so Captain Rogers felt you could both benefit from working together under Nat's guidance.
"Tell you what, ladies. You both need to go full throttle here." Natasha stepped between you, her hands raised to either side towards you both. "I want to see a full-out fight if I'm expected to evaluate and set a plan to train you. I need to know what you both can really do. So stop being scared to hurt each other; it's a part of the job. Put your personal history aside." She dropped her arms and stepped away, "Now go."
You took a deep breath and summoned the winds to push Wanda back, lifting her off her feet and throwing her into the wall of the building. The impact took the breath from her chest, her eyes wide as she regained her footing. She stumbled forward to gather her energy, her hands turning in front of her. Before she could release it at you, you pulled a tree by its roots, hurtling it towards her. Her deflection was just in time, and you couldn't help but feel relieved, but your relief left you vulnerable.
When her energy hit, it felt like your force was being sucked out of you, and your body was numb. It scared you to feel...normal; like you had felt before the powers were given to you. You hit the ground with a harsh force, your head banging against the firm ground. When you opened your eyes, she was standing above you with a sad look in her eyes, but still continuing her assault. "I am so sorry, (Y/N)" she whispered as you felt her enter your mind.
You could feel the leather straps on your wrists and ankles, binding you as you pulled at them, tearing your skin from the friction. The room was blinding white, the fluorescent lights burning your eyes; it was drenched in the smell of antiseptic and bleach. The experimentation was exquisitely painful, and you screamed at the sensation of the needle entering your arm...
You willed your mind back into your control, fighting Wanda's influence. It was something you had never been able to do before, but your mind needed to escape this memory that you had blocked for so long. You pushed her back and away from you, your control of gravity holding her to the ground. Struggling to your feet you moved weakly to hold yourself above her, releasing your power but pinning her to the ground with your own strength. You both looked to Natasha to end the fight.
"Well, that's a start."
~~~
You sat quietly on your bed, recovering from the training, but Wanda paced back and forth in front of you. You couldn't help but feel poorly about the attack you set against her, and you could only assume that she felt the same, given that she hadn't said a word since you got there.
"I'm not sure if I can do this, (Y/N)." Her voice was a whisper and you struggled just to hear her. "When we joined the Avengers, we wanted to do what was right. We never thought that we wouldn't both see the end." She paused to finally stop moving and sat down next to you, resting her head against your shoulder. "I wanted to continue to do something good, and to help people. I never once thought that we would find you, and now that you're here..." her voice trailed away, and more thoughts weren't coming.
"Wanda. You didn't hurt me, I'm okay." You rested your hand on hers, trying to convince her that you didn't hold any negative feelings, and that it was just in the name of training. "I'm sorry too, you know? But we need to keep working, to be strong enough to protect each other and our team. You convinced me to be here, and I believed you when you said it was the right thing to do."
There was a long pause before she spoke again; her voice cracked and you heard a small sniffle when she finally did. "I know how much you loved Pietro."
The ache in your chest returned at the mention of his name, but not as strongly as it had been in the past. You were trying to move forward. "Yes. I know you do."
"What if I said...if I said that...I love you too?"
Her words shocked you, and when you looked at her you didn't know what to say. Her eyes were pleading and full of pain. Words had escaped you now, completely unsure of how to proceed and process what she was saying. You were about to speak when she raised her hand to your face, leaning hers up to kiss you. It surprised you at first, but then you found it soft and warm and perfect.
~~~
"(Y/N), you need to take her down!" Natasha yelled as you found yourself cowering away from Wanda's approach. Her assault was unyielding, but not enough to harm you, only to keep you at bay. "(Y/N), now!"
The lightning sparked and crackled from the sky, hitting the ground and creating a crater between you and Wanda. The light and the sound stunned her enough to end her attack and throw her to the ground. You stood to see her, but were taken aback by the fear in her eyes; you stopped the storm above her head and ran towards her, wanting to apologize. Before you could reach her, her hands lifted and shot you backwards, draining your own powers away. You gasped at the sensation, shaking with fear and anxiety.
"No, I can't do this anymore!" She yelled, running towards you to help you from the ground. "(Y/N), I'm sorry, this it too hard." Her hands smoothed your hair as you stood, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine," you panted, trying to catch your breath from the blow. "I'm fine, really."
Looking from you to Natasha and back again, Wanda backed away and returned to the building without saying anything further. It would be days before you saw her again.
Part 3
Things were more of a mess than ever. You hadn't seen Wanda in nearly a week; she missed every one of her sparring sessions with you so Natasha had to take her place just so you could stay in top form. It was confusing what was going on; she was scared to hurt you in a fight so she was avoiding you, but the avoidance hurt more than any of her attacks. She was more than a friend to you; Natasha was your best friend, but Wanda was so much more.
It didn't feel right to prepare for a mission without her, but you couldn't say no and you couldn't wait for her to come around. Standing in the hangar at the rear of the jet you watched and waited for her, but she would never arrive. You finally had to give up when Steve came to collect you.
"She's not coming, (Y/N). She told me last night."
"And you didn't think to share that with me?"
"I don't need to share anything with you, (Y/N). All you need to know is your task for this mission, and how to do it without getting yourself killed." He stepped back into the jet, expecting you to follow, but not looking back to be sure that you had.
"Right, then," you mumbled under your breath, "don't get killed." You believed what Steve had said, but you still watched until the last second as the jet door closed, hoping she would change her mind.
~~~
"We're getting killed out here, Cap!"
Steve ran past you, pulling one of your knives from its holster on your thigh to throw at a Hydra guard behind you. As he passed, you grabbed his shield and threw it with all of your strength in the opposite direction, knocking down two more. The shield bounced back and connected with his arm while you pulled your weapon from the body it was impaled in. He gave you a curious look as you wiped it off and put it back in its place at your side.
"What? It's my favorite."
The Captain was panting, looking around the area for the rest of the team and for any more threats on the periphery. "We really could have used that girlfriend of yours out here."
"That girlfriend of mine?" You weren't sure if you should be offended or if he had just chosen his words poorly, so you tried to not jump to angry conclusions too quickly. "What is that supposed to mean?" It was no accident that your hands were resting on your hips so that your fingers grazed your weapon.
He took a few quick steps towards you with his hands raised. "It didn't mean anything, I swear! I'm just frustrated that she skipped out on us, that's all!" He followed your gaze, trying to be sure that he had convinced you. "Really, (Y/N), that's all I meant. I may be an old man, but I've got an open mind."
You started to walk away to find the others, but he followed still trying to explain himself. "Do whatever makes you happy. I mean...who am I to judge, right? I can be a modern guy, you know? You can fondue with guys or gals or whoever you want!"
"Steve! Please, stop." You were laughing now, stopping to catch your breath. "Just quit before you dig the hole any deeper." He broke into laughter along with you, holding his side as he tried to breathe, but the lighthearted moment was abruptly interrupted by a scream in the distance.
"That was Nat!"
You both broke into a sprint, heading towards the source. "Stark, where are you?" Steve called out over the comms, "I think Romanoff is down!" As you both came over a small hill, you saw Tony next to Natasha, picking her up to take back to the jet.
"What the hell happened?"
"I'm fine." She said weakly. Her face was pale and sweaty, leaning fully against Tony.
"Yeah, you look great."
Once back on the jet, Tony took the controls to get you back home while you and Steve worked together to get Natasha's uniform off so you could assess her injury. He pulled away her shirt to reveal a large gash from under her arm to her hip, still bleeding and not looking to stop any time soon.
"Lay down, Nat."
"I'm...fine. I'm okay."
When she began to sway a bit, you pushed her onto her side to lay her across the small cot. "You will stay down, understood?" Steve tore open the supplies, hurrying to give you what you needed to get the wound under control. "Cap, keep her there while I work." After a shot of pain medication she finally stopped fighting back so you could get the job done.
~~~
Your eyes opened slowly from your brief nap to the sounds of Natasha waking up as the medications wore off. "You talk in your sleep. Not very stealth for a spy, if I must say."
She grimaced and groaned as she sat up, moving slowly to test her tolerance for the pain in her side. "Oh yeah? Well you snore."
"Do not." Taking time to stretch as you stood, you moved next to her to look at her bandages. "I'm gonna have to change these already. How's the pain?" You started slowly removing the first bandage and heard a small laugh escape her lips. Maybe you had imagined it? You began to remove the next one, and there was the sound again.
"Are you...laughing?" Moving to stand in front of her, you looked at her skeptically, wondering if she was laughing or trying to cover how much it actually hurt. You reached to her side and pulled another, watching her face this time. Sure enough, she was laughing. "Oh my god, are you ticklish?"
"No...no, I'm just a bit loopy from the meds, that's all."
"Mmm hmm." As you removed the rest of the bandages, your hand moved to her uninjured side to test your theory. You dug your fingers into her ribs, making her laugh out loud and try to slap your hands away. "Ha! I was right!" Your hands moved quickly to take control and keep her laughing too hard to fight back. You were gentle enough to not make her injury worse, but energetic enough to have the advantage. When the laughter filled the jet, all your teammates could do was stare.
"Ladies, you're treading in dangerous waters here. Don't make me pull this jet over."
You pulled your hands back quickly, a look of disgust on your face. "Ew, Tony, no. Never gonna happen." You quickly sat next to Nat so she could lean against you, keeping your hands to yourself for the rest of the flight. All you could do now was wait for the jet to finally arrive home so you could track down Wanda and get to the bottom of this problem you were having once and for all.
~~~
Bruce had met your group in the hangar to take Nat to the infirmary. She held your waist as you helped her from the jet, leaning on you to support most of her still weakened body. You helped her onto the gurney, then gave her a kiss to her forehead and smoothed her hair, trying to be reassuring. "I'll come check on you in a bit, okay?"
You watched her leave, knowing she would be fine but still a bit worried for your friend. "Here," Steve handed you your pack as he passed by. "you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just need to find Wanda."
He sighed and nodded in agreement, "well, good luck. If anyone can fix this, it's you." He began to walk away but paused and put his hand on your arm.
"What's wrong?" When you looked up at him, his eyes were fixed forward, leading you to where she stood. She looked angry; like you had never seen before. "What the hell did I do now?" you whispered, grabbing your belongings to move towards her. Before you could move even a few feet, she was gone.
~~~
"Maybe if I conjure up a hurricane she'll have to come home for shelter."
Nat laughed quietly, but looked at you with empathetic eyes, feeling sad that you were suffering and hadn't seen or spoken to Wanda in two days. "She'll be back. Maybe she just needed a break?"
"A break from what? From me?" You stood from your seat at the kitchen table, turning to lean against the countertop with your arms crossed over your chest. You were feeling anxious without her, but couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened. "We were fine until that day in training. She's been avoiding me ever since."
"(Y/N), that was two weeks ago, now. You have no idea where she might be?" Natasha spun around when she heard Wanda quietly clear her throat behind her. "Well, I guess we have an idea now." She slowly stood, being careful to not pull the stitches in her side, and moved next to you. She leaned in close and spoke in a whisper, "are you okay? Do you need me to stay?"
You wordlessly shook your head, keeping eye contact with Wanda. Nat excused herself, leaving you alone to see her for the first time in weeks. You wanted to be mad; you wanted to be furious, but all you could do was feel relieved that she was okay. "Where were you? Do you know how worried I was? How worried we all were?"
She looked nervous; she was wringing her hands together and pacing now, avoiding your eyes. "I am so sorry, (Y/N). I was with someone else, and I didn't think you cared where I was anymore."
"What the hell are you talking about? I've been worried sick." You paused, needing a clarification to alleviate a fear that just gripped you. "What do you mean you were with someone else? Wanda, what did you do?"
"You are with Natasha now, so I moved on as well. I knew for sure when I saw you together, returning from the last mission."
You felt like you were punched in the stomach, your breathing growing erratic. "Wanda, Nat is my best friend. There's nothing going on there." Taking a few steps away from her, you stared at her in disbelief of what she was telling you. "I think you've made a terrible mistake."
She began to panic now, realizing her error and that she hadn't lost you as she thought she had. "Wait, (Y/N), wait don't leave. Oh, please don't leave. I...yes, I've made a mistake that is unforgivable." Tears began to spill from her eyes and her hands were shaking, "you will never forgive me."
You were frozen in place. You wanted to go to her and tell her you forgave her, but you wanted to run the other way and never look back. "I need a little time, Wanda. I don't know how I feel about this yet." When you tried to turn to leave, she grabbed your arm to stop you. "If you want me to consider this, you need to let me work through it. I've lost Pietro, and now I'm losing you too."
"Otherwise my answer is no."
~~~
Steve assigned you to this mission together, you were sure of it, and you would make sure he knew just how displeased with that decision you were. Why did everyone want to try to help so damn much, when all you wanted was time to get your head straight and decide what was right for you? Sure, they meant well, but they needed to back off. The only benefit to how pissed off you were, was that it only strengthened your powers and tightened your control.
"(Y/N), I am so very sorry."
"You need to stop apologizing. I've heard it enough, believe me."
You stood back-to-back on a building roof with Wanda, using your powers together to create a safe zone for your team to work at hostage rescue below. "It was a mistake. Can't a mistake be forgiven?"
"Not if you keep pushing me like this. I don't work that way."
"It was only a kiss, (Y/N)."
"You really need to stop talking now." Every time she said something, your control of the fire wall you had created would slip and weaken the perimeter. A few minutes of silence went by before she couldn't help but say more.
"I love you."
"Ok, that's it." You dissolved the wall you had built and turned to grab her arms and spin her to face you. "I understand that. All of it. Okay?" You sighed and shrugged your shoulders in defeat. "I love you too."
She pulled you into a kiss, and you realized just how much you had missed her over the last few weeks apart. After lingering there together for several minutes, you were startled apart by Steve calling out to you. "I can't believe I had to stage a mission just to get you two back to work."
"Outrageous."