A Heart Break In Time

Some People Move On. But Not Us.

"Wanda, please call me. I'm so worried. I need to know you're okay. I hope you know how proud I am of you, and all your strength. I know everything seems impossible right now, please... I'm going to come find you. Please make it easy on me, call me. Wanda, I love you, and I hope that you're okay."

I hung up the phone and sighed. I've lost track of how many messages that makes. But her mailbox isn't full yet and the phone isn't disconnected. I have to hope that she's listening and will answer. Eventually. I don't have anything left, I can't lose any more.

I sat in my booth alone, sipping my milkshake, texting Agent Woo. When I asked about leads on Wanda, Fury gave me his number. And nothing else. I put the phone down and put my head in my hands. God, Wanda. Just come home. Please.

Suddenly I heard someone clearing their throat across from me. I lifted my head up to see Sam. "Hey, shortcake. You feelin' all right?"

"I guess now's a good time to tell you. I'm leaving the compound. I'm taking a leave of absence."

Sam's face looked exactly like Bucky's when I told him. "Talia, if this is about Steve, he's leaving. There's really no need. And I'm not taking the shield, I'm giving it to the government. Everything's going to work out."

"It's not about Steve, Sam. Though I think you need to rethink the shield. I think the uniform would look good on you." I paused and Sam gave a smirk. "It's really not about that, though. I just. I can't do anything until I know Wanda's back, I can't. Everything we've lost now, we don't even know where she is, if she's okay, if she's alive." My voice cracked at the final word so I stopped and cleared my throat. "I'm going to go find her. Fury gave me a lead. So, now I just wait and see where it goes."

Sam nodded and grabbed my hands. He smiled at me. "I have to go home for a while. My sister needs help around the house, the kids, the boat."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, Uncle Sam's gonna go save the day?"

He laughed. "Yeah, something like that."

We continued to drink our milkshakes and talked, he kept one hand on mine and I was grateful for the contact. I already felt like I was falling apart, the small sign of affection was keeping me together.

Flashback

I took a cab back to Tony's house, it was surrounded by emergency rescue and news reporters, but Pepper saw me and pulled me past everyone. She was holding an Iron Man helmet. "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to see if you were all okay..." my voice trailed off as I noticed there was a flashing light in the helmet. "Is uh... is it supposed to do that?" I pointed and Pepper looked again and gasped. She put on the helmet and I heard it talk.

"Stark Secure Server. Retinal scan: Verified."

I could hear her start to cry and Tony's voice played on the helmet. I couldn't hear well enough but based on her reaction, he was okay. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. When it was over, she took the helmet off and stared at me. I could tell she was about to fall, I reached out and grabbed her, holding her close to me as we slowly sat down on the ground.

"He's alive. He's okay. Tony's okay." She cried over and over and I held her.

"He's okay? Thank god."

A voice spoke and I realized I hadn't noticed the woman from earlier, Maya, was still there. "Tony's alive?"

"Yes, it seems so. He left her message." I replied and she nodded.

"I should go let some people know, especially Fury... You're okay with her?" I asked Pepper, referring to Maya.

"Yes, sorry, gosh that's embarrassing. Thank you." She stood up, straightening her clothing and brushing herself off.