Avengers Stories //Oneshots//

Regrets

Day five of whumptober: Regrets.

Note: this is my first time writing Wanda. It may not be entirely in character and I apologize for that.

The Avengers Compound was a big adjustment to Wanda. For years, she had lived with people who faked care and ordered her and her brother around like watchdogs, preparing them for the day they would take on the Avengers. Only a month ago, she would have thought the heroes were the worst people on the planet, the bane of her existence, but now they were the ones who had saved her. Saved her from a life trapped within steel, cold walls and loneliness. Her handlers were no longer able to reach her and, for the first time in a long time, she was finally free. No one told her what to do, how to act, to stay silent or not - she was gaining control of a life she never knew she lost until she met the people she was convinced were trying to destroy her. They had helped her onto her path to becoming a hero. 

 But at what cost? She was safe and secure while Pietro had suffered. Her brother was gone. Her twin. Her confidant. Her best friend. He had followed her onto the same path of heroism, but his life was cut short far too soon. She was proud of him for what he had done no matter how sad she was, though. He had saved Clint and a young boy, one a hero and the other with so much more life to live, and sacrificed his own life in the process. Wanda had felt the pain the moment he breathed his last breath, the pain of losing a brother affecting her physically and mentally, sending her powers into a mad frenzy of grief as the emotion tried to consume her. Beating Ultron had grounded her, given her a purpose, but now she felt lost as she wandered through the halls. 

 The compound was nothing like the Hydra bases she had spent her life in. Unlike the dank, barely illuminated halls and rooms she had been kept in, this new building was an array of different, though not crazy, colors. Some rooms had dark hardwood, others with different patterns of tile. Walls varied from white, blue, and grey in the hallways and main rooms, but bedrooms were different. Each had been asked what color schemes they wanted for their rooms and Wanda had barely held back the tears at being able to make her own choice. It was such a mundane thing to many, but being able to choose on something simple as the color of her walls was the first choice she had been able to make on her own since she had chosen the show for family night - the same night her house had been bombed - and when she joined Hydra. Her last choice had been her biggest regret in her life. 

 Two choices. One mostly insignificant and the other impactful to the rest of her life. It was a strange pattern, but maybe history could repeat itself with a different outcome. Maybe she had made a good significant choice this time: to be an Avenger. She could change her life for the better. It pained her to not have Pietro here, but she knew that her moving forward was what he wanted. 

 There was also another huge difference in the compound. She had always been surrounded by people, but here was like an entirely new world. The Avengers were in the same building at nearly all times, but most already had bonds with each other, leading to familiar banter that she found herself strangely drawn to. In the labs, all there had been was the monotone voices of scientists and the barked orders of Strucker. Back then, she thought that was the best way to live. To only rely on her brother and work to protect the people. She thought she was protecting people, anyway. Hydra had really twisted her brain, manipulated her in ways she was still trying to comprehend. Here, there wasn't monotone and harsh words, there was laughter and communication. People actually wanted to know what she felt. It was so different from her old life that it almost gave her whiplash every time she had a conversation. 

 She didn't voice these thoughts out loud, mainly because she herself barely knew how to articulate them. She was finally beginning to adjust and she worried that if she told anyone how hard it was, they would unintentionally hover over her. The only person she had told was Vision and the android seemed to understand her need for space. He was still learning emotions and took time to process every word she said, actually listening to her when she spoke as he tried to communicate and empathize. He paid her so much attention when she needed it and gave comfort to her without even knowing it. All of this caused butterflies to begin flying in her stomach whenever she saw him and slowly but surely, she knew she was falling in love with him. Was that real? Was it possible? She wasn't sure, but she didn't want to contemplate that today.