Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 47

||Some of us have to make mistakes. Some of us are human.||

The farmhouse stood quiet under the crescent moon, and they were only a few feet from the front door when Clint took off in a jog. Wanda couldn't help but smile, and soon after he entered the house, the sound of giggling children erupted through the home.

Wanda's hand came up to open the door, but Pietro stopped her. She was expecting him to say something about Steve, and how she shouldn't involve herself with him, but miraculously, he said the opposite.

"I left you alone for months, I should not be surprised that I was replaced," his eyes crinkled with a smile, and she sat down on the steps and waited for him to follow.

"You are my brother, Pietro, no one can ever replace you." There wasn't any man in her universe who could replace him, not even Steve. "I think I like him," she spoke softly. "He once took me around New York one day, and that was the first time I felt happy in weeks. I don't know how he does it, but ... he makes me happy."

There was an undeniable pull Wanda felt for Steve, and it's as if her body craved his touch. She wasn't sure any man in the world could ever make her feel that way.

"I think he likes you, too," he said to her, and she couldn't hide her cheeky smile from him. "But if you are looking for approval, you don't need mine. He's a good man, and an even better one to you." She never really admitted wanting Pietro's approval of Steve, but once he said it, she realized that she actually did want it. Pietro was always chasing the boys she liked away, and it made her wonder if the guys she did like weren't good enough.

But there was Steve--Captain America--who was a loyal man who treated her with respect. Even Pietro couldn't deny him.

"He's more than I deserve, Pietro. He forgives me for what I did to him--they all do." Thinking of their time with Ultron burned a hole in her soul that she wished she could forget. One by one, she dismantled them, and they still treated her with so much kindness. It bothered her how easily they managed to forgive her. Perhaps they felt terrible about the girl who lost her only family. 

"We were being manipulated, you know that," he said, looking down at his hands. "Is that what you did while I was gone? Blame yourself?" he finally turned to face Wanda, and she brought her knees up and held them to her chest, resting her chin on her knee, hoping he wouldn't scold her for spending so much time hating herself for something she couldn't change. 

"None of this is our fault. It was Strucker and Ultron, using us for selfish reasons."

"We volunteered..." she muttered. 

"Because we thought we we're doing right by them," he pointed up, his eyes burning into hers. She knew he was talking about their parents. "Wanda--" his voice had dropped dramatically, and he brought his hand up, lacing it around her neck. He held her face firmly before speaking. "We can't change the past, but we can help to protect the future."

Before she could even realize it, she was crying. They weren't rough tears, just little droplets of wet pain. Pietro pulled her into his arms and he cuddled her until she stopped sniffling away her sadness. Her head felt heavy against his chest, and she grabbed his hand, putting it on top of her head, and she waited for him to massage her head. 

After the experiments, Pietro got a hang of his powers a lot quicker than Wanda, and when they were able to spend time together, he would massage her head, using quick vibrations with his hand. 

Within seconds, she felt his hand vibrating on her scalp, and she relaxed against him, feeling herself calm down. It was chilly outside, but the vibrations that Pietro was causing warmed her up immediately.