Love Me (Steve Rogers Fanfiction)

Chapter 18

AMERICA'S POV

I wake up yawning and check the clock. It's already three in the afternoon. I really must've needed sleep. Of course, everyone else in the compound will be up and moving, so I run over to my room and get dressed before setting off to find Wanda.

"Happy, have you seen Wanda?" I ask as he passes by in a hurry. He glances up from his clipboard.

"I think she went that way," he replies, pointing down a hallway. Then he dives back into his papers.

"Thank you." Instead of running, I walk. Not everything has to be done quickly. Soft guitar music catches my attention and I follow it to an open balcony, where I find Wanda strumming away. She looks up when I come out. It breaks my heart to see her back up instinctively.

"Oh, um, I'll go," she mutters, picking up her guitar to leave. I stop her.

"No, it's okay. Sit." She hesitates, but listens. I sigh and sit next to her, unsure of where to begin. "I'm sorry. Last night, that was... um, that was awful and terrible. I said some things I shouldn't have, I was sleep-deprived and messed up, but that's not an excuse. I am so, so sorry."

Wanda ducks her head. "I forgive you," she whispers. "I know it wasn't you. I knew that even last night. You would never say that normally."

"It's still not right." I take both of her hands. "I really am sorry. Sisters don't do that."

"We're not normal sisters, Valeria," she replies, smiling a bit. "I don't think we need to behave in the same way they do. As long as we're okay in the end, that's all that matters to me."

"Thank you so much." I smile back at my little sister, so beyond grateful that we were able to be reunited, even though the circumstances were bad. "Do you want to be my maid of honor?"

Her head shoots up. "I thought Natasha was going to."

"Nope. You are."

"You really want me to be your maid of honor?"

"I really do."

She throws her arms around me, knocking the guitar out of her lap. "Thank you!" She whispers in my ear. I laugh a little at her reaction.

"You're welcome. We are sisters, after all." I wink. "You play guitar? When did you learn?"

She nods, pulling the instrument back toward her. It's acoustic, very clean and new. "Yes. I taught myself to play when we were kids. Mr. Stark asked me if I wanted anything, and I asked for one of my own. I used to borrow our neighbor's guitar, but I haven't played in years."

"Show me?" Her eyes widen with my request. Last night, I freaked out when she even mentioned going into my mind. Now, I was openly inviting her in to uncover a memory. I'm a little scared, but I want her to know that I trust her. "It's okay, I promise."

"If you're sure. Close your eyes." I do as she says, and that same foggy feeling enters my mind. Rather than screaming, I bite my lip and sink into a scene from long ago.

"Look at this!" Wanda, probably no more than eight at the time, yelled excitedly from the front door. She ran into our tiny kitchen, where Pietro and I were playing cards at the table. Her hands clutched a beat-up guitar almost as big as she was. 

"Where'd you get that?" Pietro asked, hopping off of his stool to examine the instrument. I put my deck face-down before joining them, knowing full well that Pietro would peek otherwise.

"Mrs. Smirinov is out of town for the week, and she said I could have her guitar until she gets back!" Her smile shone bright with excitement.

"But you don't know how to play guitar," I pointed out, amused at my sister's antics.

"But I will! I'm going to teach myself, she already taught me the basic chords! Isn't it amazing!"

"That's really cool, Wanda. Have fun!" I gave her a side hug.

"You can become a famous singer," Pietro said, grinning broadly. "And when you're famous, you can have the fame, and I can have all of your money!"

"Pietro!" We all burst into laughter until Wanda disappeared with her instrument and Pietro and I resumed the game.

I blink once it's over, just to make sure. "Wow. That was actually really cool." I give her a smile. "Thank you."

"Anytime." She strums the guitar absentmindedly as she stares out at the grounds. I can tell she doesn't even know she's playing. It's just natural.

"Do you like it here?" I know how different America is from Sokovia or Hydra.

She shrugs. "Yes and no. It's so much nicer here. I don't have to worry about food or shelter anymore. But it's odd being surrounded by all of these people. It isn't home."

"I know exactly how you're feeling." I sigh, looking down at the scar on my wrist. America. "I know what happened to you during all of those years. Do you know what really happened to me?"

Wanda shakes her head, then begins to braid her long hair in a plait down her back. "I knew you didn't want to talk about it. Our relationship was kind of fragile at the beginning, and I didn't want to mess anything up. You don't have to tell me anything."

"I think you should know." I steel myself for the story and swallow any fears. I need to open up to the people I love.

I start at what I remember first. Hydra. Torture, training, enhancement. Bucky and the Winter Warrior. Then when I escaped, and I show her my tattoos. Then finding a home in New York, dating Hayden, finding him with another girl, and falling into depression. Swearing off love altogether. Then meeting Steve during the Battle of New York, and being captured by the Avengers. Slowly starting to open up and make friends. Falling in love right before Hydra captured me again. Reuniting with Bucky, and being rescued. Slowly remembering everyone again. Moving to Washington and really finding out who I am. Fighting Bucky and getting engaged to Steve. And finding Pietro in Sokovia. I finish and glance up at her for the first time since I began.

Wanda looks stricken. A single tear rolls down her cheek. Her brown eyes full of sadness, she takes my hand and squeezes it tightly. "I'm so sorry. No one deserves to go through that."

"I know. But it worked out in the end. We're together now. We're safe now." I close my eyes and wish for that to be true.

Hey!