The Other Sister [1] [EDITED]

Chapter Seven

Edited: 12/4/23

Claire stood in the middle of the training room, looking around at all of the equipment. She couldn't sleep, her brain was moving a mile a minute and she couldn't calm it down. It didn't matter that it was three am, she needed to let some of her energy out.

She moved quickly and quietly over to the punching bags, not bothering to wrap her knuckles before she started pummeling the bag with punches and kicks.

Her blows were precise, neat, and most of all hard. The bag swung with each punch, gaining more and more momentum until the chain finally snapped, the bag falling and spilling sand onto the floor. Claire stood there, small beads of sweat trickling down her forehead.

She left the bag there, figuring at some point or another it would be cleaned up. She walked quietly around the compound, making her way into the kitchen noting that the time was now four thirty. She had been in the training room for an hour and a half.

She looked through the contents of the fridge, deciding on just a protein shake. "Cant sleep?" A voice asks, startling Claire out of her own thoughts.

She turns around and sees Bucky leaning against the wall watching her. "Something like that." She states, opening the protein shake and downing half of it in one gulp. Bucky looks at her bloodied knuckles and his brows furrow.

"You should clean those up." He says pointing to them and she looks at him with a blank expression.

"I'm fine."

"Claire, we're cleaning them up." Bucky says sternly, walking over to her and gently - but firmly - grabbing her wrist and pulling her behind him to the lab. Claire reluctantly follows him, sitting on the lab table and letting Bucky slowly clean her knuckles.

"So why are you up?" He asks as he wipes an alcohol wipe over the bloody knuckles. Claire doesn't even flinch and Bucky was impressed.

"I couldn't sleep." She states and Bucky looks up at her.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No." Claire says, taking the gauze from Buckys hands and wiping the last of the blood off of her knuckles before standing up and walking out of the lab leaving Bucky by himself.

*5 hours later*

Everyone was sitting in the living room, Claire included, talking. Although it was rather everyone else talking and Claire observing and listening, she was still there which was what counted.

She still hadn't said a word to Yelena, Natasha, Melina or Alexei and every time they tried to talk to her she would immediately leave the room. Wanda on the other hand was becoming a sort of "friend" to Claire. If Claire needed something or had a question, she would go to Wanda.

"Guns or knives Claire?" Clint asks and she looks up at him.

"Guns." He nods before turning to someone else and Wanda looks over at Claire. "What?" She asks, looking at Wanda with a curious expression. Wanda just shakes her head, smiling slightly and looking away. Claire narrowed her eyes slightly at the Sokovian, trying to figure out what the look she had been given was for.

"Claire what do you think about the tower life so far?" Melina asks and Claire ignores her. Melina sighs and looks down as Claire stands up, walking over to the bar and pouring herself four shots of vodka, downing them each quickly before looking up and seeing all eyes were on her.

"What?" She asks annoyed and Tony just laughs, shaking his head and going back to the discussion. Claire rolls her eyes, walking out of the room and down the hall and into her room.

Not even five minutes later Natasha walked in, shutting and locking the door behind her. Claire looked up, her gaze immediately hardening. "You can't keep avoiding us Claire." Nat states and Claire looks away from her, not wanting to talk. "I get you're mad about what happened, I get it I am too, but we really did try okay?" She says, sitting down on the bed next to Claire.

"Just leave me alone Natasha." Claire states and Natasha shakes her head.

"No. No you cannot keep pushing us away we are your family Claire."

"Yeah and you left me!" Claire snaps, standing up and glaring at her eldest 'sister'. "You left me and you expect me to just come running back? Everything that I knew when I was with you guys was completely fake. The red room was all I really knew, and I completely betrayed it." She practically shouts.

"Claire you-"

"No!" She yells, and a moment later the door swings open and Wanda walks in followed by Yelena. Claire glares at all three of them and Wanda walks forwards, looking up the two inches height difference and placing her hands gently on the side of Claire's face.

Claire diverts her attention to Wanda, her eyes looking into Wandas. "It's okay, calm down." Wanda says calmly and Natasha and Yelena glance at each other knowing that Wanda was already falling for Claire.

"I'm sorry Wanda." Claire states before pulling away and walking swiftly out of the room. Wanda sighs, pulling her hands down and looking at the two sisters.

"Give her time. She's hurt." She states before walking out of the room to try and find Claire again.

Wanda runs around the whole compound looking for Claire and ends up not being able to find her anywhere. She slows down in the hallway, "FRIDAY, where's Claire?"

"On the roof Miss Maximoff." She responds and Wanda smiles, taking the stairs to the roof and finds Claire sitting on the edge, her legs dangling as she looked at the sky.

Wanda walks over, sitting down next to her. "You know I ran around the whole compound looking for you." Claire chuckles, looking over and Wanda.

"You didn't ask FRIDAY where I was huh?"

"Oh no I did," Wanda says smiling, "after I ran around the whole compound looking for you." Claire laughs again and Wanda nudges her with her shoulder. "What's up?"

"Nothing Maximoff. I'm fine." Claire says and Wanda raises an eyebrow.

"Come on Claire, I know that's not true. You can talk to me."

"Some things I just can't talk to you about." Claire snaps and Wanda looks away from her, slightly hurt. Claire takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and sighing. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay... I get it, it's hard going from the red room to this... and it's hard seeing your family again but they are your family." Claire was now the one to look away. "Claire they love you. They're trying to make it up to you and you're just pushing them further and further away."

"I can't just let them back in Wanda... I'll only get myself hurt again."

"They've changed. Trust me. They love each other and they love you. Give them one last chance, if not for them then for me?" Claire looks back at Wanda and Wanda makes an executive decision and placed her hand in Claire's, holding it.

Claire's eyes shoot back up to wandas and a small soft smile forms on her lips. "Okay."

"Okay?" Wanda asks and Claire nods.

"Okay. I'll give them a chance." Wanda grins and both girls continue sitting on the roof, completely unaware of the prying eyes by the doorway.

Nat and Yelena sniggered, knowing that Wanda was clearly falling for their sister, and they were going to do everything in their power to get them together.

(A/N) I'm sorry it's so short I didn't know what to write 😩