Two of a Kind | Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 24: Bring it On

The past few months of being on the run were hard for the nomad ex-Avengers. Always moving around and never staying in one place for more than a week proved to be exhausting and stressful, especially on Wanda. They had to leave San Pedro pretty quick after one of the other tenants in the motel caught a video of Claire shifting into her wolf and Wanda using her magic and didn't hesitate on uploading it to social media.

The stress was getting to Wanda, and within the last few months of being on the road, she had experienced four panic attacks (it was actually closer to six, but neither Wanda nor Claire counted them since they stemmed from her nightmares rather than the stress of being fugitives constantly on the run). Their stolen Quinjet felt empty and incomplete since Clint left to return to his family the month before. He heard that the government was willing to place him on two years' house arrest rather than jail time if he turned himself in right away, and he did, not wanting to hurt his family any more than he already has. Wanda understood the obligation he had to his family, and while she was sad to see him go, she didn't blame him.

Claire and Jemma noticed how Wanda's behavior changed since Clint left. Jemma explained to Claire about Wanda's depression and how because she only had her brother for a long time, tended to cling to people like lifelines and whenever they left she became an emotional wreak. And that's how she's been since Clint left. The rest of the team did everything in their power to keep Wanda from spiraling into her depression; keeping her busy with training exercises or games. Claire took a special interest in trying to cheer up the brunette and created a list of all things that worked to make her feel better for the time being (through process of elimination, of course).

The team now lived in the small village of Victoria's Island (it wasn't an island) on the coast of Northern Canada. Out of all the places they've stayed at so far, this village was more ideal for them. They stayed in a series of small log cabins surrounded by nothing but dense woods and tranquil mountains, perfect for a small rag-tag group of enhanced individuals fleeing the law.

Claire liked the woods that surrounded them because it gave her the perfect cover to exercise her wolf to keep her from fighting to get out. She also liked it because it allowed her to train with Wanda, letting her use her powers without any fear of hurting anyone or having someone see. Claire trained with her a lot, since that was the best thing to help distract her from her depression, and Wanda liked it a lot. She liked the feeling of her magic being in her control, her newfound confidence surging through her like adrenaline. She also like training with Claire, thought she wasn't sure what made her different than Steve or Natasha.

Wanda still felt weird when it came to Claire; always second guessing her movements and overthinking every action that she directed to the redhead. She wasn't uncomfortable around her, but ever since Natasha made that comment in their motel room in San Pedro, she started thinking on their connection. She wasn't blind; she obviously felt it before that night in the motel room, but now...it was different, and she didn't understand why.

"Hey Maximoff! Come on, we training or what?" Claire yelled at her from across the hidden field. They made sure to check the surrounding area of their "training ground" every time they went to train, just in case. Wanda snapped out of her thoughts and sent a smirk at Claire as she jogged over to her. "What were you thinking about? No, wait, let me guess. You were thinking about me, right? It was definitely me. You were thinking about how I'm so beautiful and the best person that you know." Wanda laughed as Claire batted her eyelashes and leaned her head on Wanda's shoulder staring deep into her eyes and smiling brightly. Wanda pushed Claire's head off her shoulder and rolled her eyes. She's such a child.

"It's hard to believe you're two years older than me," she muttered under her breath.

"Why do you say that?" Claire asked as she got back into position on the other side of the field.