Trust goes two ways | N. Romanoff *discontinued*

| seven |

The tension that filled the locker room containing Pietro, Wanda and Lexi was suffocating. Lexi had barely muttered a word to them, instead choosing to nod at the various pieces of equipment they could have. She was on high alert as she checked her weapons carefully, unsure of whether or not Wanda may try some of her mind tricks on her again.

"I am sorry," Wanda's voice cut through the silence. Lexi didn't turn around to face her, keeping her eyes trained on her weapons, despite knowing the young girl was talking to her. "I understand if you don't want to forgive me. Or talk to me. But I am sorry."

Lexi threw her head back in frustration, sighing loudly before she turned around to face the girl who was looking at her apologetically. "What you showed me," she began, "Was it real?"

Wanda looked confused at the question, of course it wasn't real. Sure, she seen some questionable things in Lexi's mind, but surely the woman knew that it was all based on her fears. "It was in your head. None of those things actually happened."

Lexi nodded angrily, waving her hands around, realising that she probably hadn't phrased her question the right way. "Yes, I know that. I'm not stupid. Just- was... you can't create people? With that magic shit you do? It's based on people I already know."

"I- I'm not... sure," Wanda stuttered, struggling to come to terms with what Lexi was asking. "What did you see that you don't think was real?"

"It doesn't matter," Lexi brushed her off, turning back around to check her weapons and internally cursing herself for even asking the question. She was overthinking... spiralling. And the person that normally calmed her down was being held captive in a completely different country.

Lexi was waiting beside the Quinjet with the others for two minutes before Pietro and Wanda were finally ready to leave. As soon as she seen the two approaching, her eyes narrowed at Wanda... or more specifically, what she was wearing. "Where did you get that?" she grabbed the witch's arm as she was passed, nodding down to the jacket that she wore.

"Steve said I could wear it," the Sokovian shrugged before shrinking back at the glare the brunette was sending her, clearly angry at this fact. "Is it yours? I'm sorry, you can have it, it-" she began taking it off before Lexi stopped her.

"It's fine," she said bluntly, dropping the girl's arm. "Get on the jet. You've already made us late."

Wanda nodded quickly, moving around the woman as she boarded the jet. Lexi took a deep sigh before going to follow her, being stopped by Steve who had heard the interaction from behind. "Go easy on her. She's been through a lot."

"She messed with my head, Steve," Lexi narrowed her eyes at him, hating how easily he trusted people. "And Nat's. And yours. And Dad's. And Bruce's. And Thor's. She showed us all shit we shouldn't have had to see. How can you trust her that easily?"

"Because I can see she regrets it. And if I'm being honest, I think we all needed to see what she showed us. Maybe you should think about that."

Those words hit Lexi harder than she realised, but she masked her emotions, letting out a small scoff before she brushed past Steve, taking a seat next to Bruce. Steve followed her in, giving the team his normal pep talk as Clint readied the Quinjet. "Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."