𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 ~ {𝐏. 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫} ~ 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐎𝐧𝐞

Ch. 28: Fault

*** Steve's Pov ***

I become uneasy. A strange, and weird feeling, I can't shake slips under my skin. I furrow my brow, doing the best I can to focus on the conversation between me and the rest of the team.

"You should just let her come on missions. Her powers help out a lot. Plus, you've kept her cooped up in the compound long enough," Natasha crosses her arms, leaning back in her chair. I let out a sigh, still trying to figure out why I have this feeling. I didn't forget something, did I? How did Y/n's powers even come into this conversation?

"I don't know. I'm still not sure. It's not that I don't want her coming along, I'd actually prefer that. But with Hydra keeping an eye on her, far closer than I'm comfortable with, I'm just worried she could get caught while we're on a mission. I don't know, this-" a familiar wooshing sound cuts me off from my next sentence, drawing our attention to the source. Staring at a, very out of breath, Pietro, as he sets Wanda down. I'm immediately pulled into their expressions. Fearful. Troubled.

"We are so sorry,"

"It just happened,"

"Steve, you have no idea how sorry we are."

"Guys, slow down, please. One at a time," the two of them take deep breaths, looking at each other to see who wanted to explain what's going on. Wanda seems to take another deep breath, preparing herself, but as soon as she opens her mouth, Pietro blurts out.

"It's my fault! It was all my fault..." Pietro puts his face in his hands, trailing off as I can hear that hint of sadness in his tone. I raise an eyebrow, watching the movements of the twins, noticing Wanda trying to quiet with consoling her older brother.

"What was your fault?" my words come out rudely, not what I was going for, but it certainly seemed to catch Pietro's attention. He looks back up at me, the tears brimming his eyes. Odd. From a glance to the side, I can see, Tony, Sam, Rhodes and Vision, all stand-up, the same looks on their faces.

"I- I left her for a second. This man, he baited us, made me turn away from Y/n. I turned for a couple of minutes, I swear. Hydra got to her," my worst fears play out, all the different kinds of scenarios filling my mind. I let out a gasp, holding back what tears are trying to fall from my eyes. My fists clench, an unbelievable wave of rage, and guilt hit me. I knew something was wrong. I knew something didn't seem right. I knew that I shouldn't have let her go.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., see if you can get into the traffic cam footage, locate where Y/n was last seen." I can hear Tony from behind me, ordering around F.R.I.D.A.Y. trying to help out. Whether he cares to admit it or not, it's clear that Tony cares for N/n. He's just too proud to admit it.

"It's not all Pietro's fault. The streets were too loud, I couldn't hear anything. Everyone's thoughts were mangling together. If anything, it should be my fault, I still can't hear her thoughts, something blocks me from trying." Wanda pipes up, her accent getting thicker, her fears becoming worse as she tries to fend for her brother, but she's wrong. This isn't her fault. It's his.

I look at Pietro, a glare that could kill.

"This is your fault. You know the rules. You know what's going on. Why would you leave her side for even a second? It doesn't matter if you told her to keep her hood up, stay out of view, Hydra is obviously watching her every second, waiting for the perfect time to grab her. You just left her in the open, vulnerable!" I point at Pietro, getting into his face as my blood boils. Pietro cowers away for a second, but regains his composer, standing up tall. Challenging me.

"Perhaps, did you think of running after the van that took her?" Vision speaks in his usual, monotone, boring voice.

"The van was already gone before we realized what happened," Wanda keeps eye contact with Vision, silently asking him to not make matters worse. Pietro's mood changes again. His challenging stance drops, the room falling silent.