More Than Just Friends? | Wanda x Reader (1/3)

Chapter 1 ~ Dr. Y/N L/N

Hey there! I originally wrote this story as he/him but later changed to they/them. If you see any missed he/him pronouns, pop me a message and I'll switch them. Thanks.

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Y/N L/N had been a scientist at Stark Industries for most of their early adult life, after impressing the famed Tony Stark during the early days of Stark Industries' Gifted & Talented Internship Program, at just 17 years old. When SHIELD launched the Avengers Initiative, Stark asked Y/N to move their work from Stark Industries' Experimental Development Lab in Washington, into Stark Tower. It was an easy yes from Y/N, as they'd be moving from a small apartment to SI's US headquarters - put simply, a bigger apartment, greater accessibility to resources, and of course a larger salary that were sure to help with college loans.

Y/N had no family to speak of, remembering as far back as joining the orphanage, but even then their childhood was a blur. When Y/N got their Internship at Stark Industries, they were overjoyed, Y/N had finally made a success of themselves, something many orphans thought was impossible. Even so, Y/N had always thought badly of themselves, why did some orphan deserve an internship at such a prestigious company.

"I guess I must've got lucky" Y/N often thought.

After the Battle of New York, and the rebuilding of Stark Tower, (now known as the Avengers Tower), Y/N's lab space and equipment were massively improved upon, allowing Y/N to split their time and ridiculously large budget between developing for Stark Industries and developing for the Avengers. Y/N was incredibly grateful to their Boss, but they were advised by Pepper to stop telling him so.

"His ego doesn't need to be inflated any bigger." She had said.

Y/N had become really good friends with all of them, especially with Wanda Maximoff, who had joined the Avengers a couple of months after Loki's Invasion. They were best friends and the other Avengers could often find the two hanging out around the Tower. When Wanda and Y/N had first met, both aged 23, they found that they shared a lot in common. They'd both lost family at a young age. For her, it was her parents and her brother Pietro during her country's Civil War, and for Y/N, their Grandmother. Y/N didn't remember her, but the orphanage had told Y/N she had carried for Y/N when their father left. Y/N's mother died shortly after giving birth, their father left soon after and sadly their Grandmother passed a few years later when Y/N was just 11.

The two were close, bonding over their traumatic childhoods with Y/N only ever telling Wanda theirs. However, deep down Y/N knew they wanted to be more than that with her. Y/N had never expressed these feelings to her, for fear of losing the cherished friendship they'd built. Y/N's mind raced with thoughts saying they were wrong to have feelings for their best friend; that they were slowly destroying the friendship by thinking them, and that Wanda only talked to Y/N out of pity anyway, so why push for something more.

Despite understanding the unhealthy nature of these thoughts, Y/N's lack of confidence and self-esteem, plus the irregular panic attacks had long since convinced them these thoughts were true. They hid these thoughts fairly well, so well Y/N was sure no one, not Wanda, not Stark, had picked up on them. Even as these thoughts of self-hatred began to slowly increase in frequency, they still hid them. They'd done this for years - what was a few more?

"I'm 23, for God's sake, I can fix my problems, just fine."