Philophobia ➤ W.M.

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New Avengers Headquarters; With Astrilde's POV

  "Why are you being nice to me?" Wanda asked quietly, her worn out voice barely understandable. Astrilde hummed in thought, hand rubbing against the part of her arm that the navy t-shirt didn't cover. The duo were currently in Wanda's room, sitting on her bed. It had been a few days since the battle in Sokovia, as well as Pietro's untimely demise. Even so, Wanda had gotten better, albeit not by much. While her outward appearance didn't show anything wrong, Astrilde could tell Wanda was still broken up about her brother.

  "Ultron manipulated you in a time of grief. It is unfair to place all the blame on you," Astrilde responded smoothly, glancing away from the Sokovian as she spoke. She could feel Wanda's gaze on her, but she didn't dare turn.

  "But-"

  "I know what you are going to say- what you are thinking right now. I'd rather not hear it aloud." Wanda, despite being forgiven by all the Avengers, was insistent that she had a bigger part in what she had done when with Ultron and HYDRA. Each Avenger had turned down her claim, yet she still made it.

  "Thank you." Astrilde turned toward Wanda, having not expected those two genuine words be uttered from the Sokovian's mouth. Wanda's gaze was no longer on Astrilde, instead pointed at a lamp near the bed.

  "Of course," Astrilde responded, slightly hesitant. She sighed, before pushing herself to her feet. There was no use in sitting around in the room any longer, especially when Steve had instructed them to be at training in half an hour. "No more moping. 'Tis time to train. We can't miss our first day as Avengers, can we?"

  Wanda nodded in agreement, "You go without me, I will meet you there." Astrilde smiled softly, before leaving the woman behind.

  Her pace was slow at first as she walked down the clean halls of Avengers headquarters, golden cape from her pale pink Asgardian armor barely fluttering. Her thoughts drifted as she tried to think of anything but what had happened mere days ago. Thor was planning on returning to Asgard, and Astrilde wasn't sure that he planned on bringing her with him. Something about "finding her own path". She had snorted at his words last night, but internally she felt her heart slowly break.

  Astrilde brushed away a stray hair from her face nervously. She diverged from her original path, heading outside. She knew Thor was leaving soon, and she wanted to be there when he left. Even if she had promised herself that she wouldn't be there to see her only surviving sibling leave her stranded on Midgard. There was no changing Thor's mind. There never was.

  It hadn't taken long to find a place to stand outside in the shade. She had chosen a particularly inconspicuous spot, away from prying eyes. She watched the exit she assumed Thor would be coming out of, the same place Tony would also be leaving to go back to Avengers tower. As predicted, less than a minute later passed, and Steve, Tony, and Thor walked out of the building. The group was laughing and talking, which caused a smile to grace her own lips. She didn't want to interrupt the group just to confirm or deny rumors. Finally the three men stopped, and Thor walked out past the two other men.

  Shock echoed through her body when Thor turned and looked straight at her. She was confident that her spot was hidden enough, but her brother was always smarter than he portrayed himself. He smiled softly, and nodded a barely visible farewell. Her heart clenched, and she raised a hand in a "see you later". Thor then turned back to the two confused men in front of him, and he smiled one last time at them, before the Bifrost opened and her brother disappeared into a rainbow of colors.