Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 34

||She wanted love to consume her in ways she couldn't possibly imagine.||

Armed S.H.I.E.L.D agents took watch over Wanda's quarters for three days after her escape from her room. She was being watched all hours of the day, and Bruce and Tony made sure to keep her brain from receiving too much activity. They were holding their breaths, hoping the twins seeing each other didn't boost off her synapse. 

And for those quiet three days, Wanda wasn't visited, or even talked to. They sent the nurses down to feed her and give her her medicine, but that was it. She was alone for what felt like forever, and she hated it. Being alone isn't something she liked very much, and all the hours she spent in that room by herself meant spending hours alone with her thoughts. 

Day four came by slowly, and she sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. With the help of her hex, she managed to cut the electricity from the bulbs in her room, keeping her in utter darkness. If they were going to treat her like a prisoner, she might as well have been living like one. 

The vibrations of the door down the hall opening forced her eyes awake, and she quickly huddled up on her bed. The bulbs in her room came back to life, making her flinch, and she threw her arm over her eyes to shield the bright lights. 

"Hi," his voice was a sound she missed deeply, and after letting her eyes adjust, Steve's familiar face came into focus. "Why are you sitting in the dark? How long have the lights been out?" he asked her, but she kept her head down and pushed away her gnawing need to stare at him. "Agents, why didn't you inform us that her lights were out? We should have been notified," he said boldly, and Wanda could sense the agents down the hall tensing up. 

"We're sorry, Captain, but we have strict orders not to engage with the fugitive."

"She's not a fugi--never mind. You can leave your post for now, I'll take over from here."

"Captain, we have orders..."

"Leave," he said once more, and Wanda heard the men walking off. A few minutes later, she heard the steel door that kept her closed in unseal, and her head shot up, watching as Steve stepped in, looking straight at her. 

"Get out," she told him, and she pushed herself farther back against the corner, but he ignored her and walked towards her. 

"I'm not leaving you alone, not anymore." 

Her body began to shake, but she dug her nail into her palm to relax herself. 

"Please... just go," she whispered. 

"I'm not here to beg for your forgiveness, I'm just... I'm here." Wanda breathed out slowly as she gathered up enough energy to move her eyes from the dark hollows of her arms, up towards Steve's wretched face.

"I am so tired of this," she admitted, holding herself together. "I was starting to accept that he was gone, I was finally starting to move on." She dropped her arms and let her shaking consume her. She knew the truth, there was no point in pretending to be all right. She put up this front that everything was okay and that she was fine but she was so wrong and now her mind was paying the price. 

"We don't have to talk, we don't. Just, let me stay here with you." 

Steve made his way over to her and kneeled down in front of her, and Wanda looked at him, waiting for him to speak. But he said nothing, only stared back at her with shameful eyes. She didn't want to be angry at him, he didn't deserve her scorn. And the longer she stared at him, the more she felt herself give into the guilty feeling that settled in her chest. 

Quietly, Wanda scooted towards him, and he stayed put down on the ground. She let her legs dangle over the bed, and after a few moments of silence, Steve finally moved forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her lap. Wanda was taken by surprise, and she felt her body go still when he touched her.