A/N: Prompt fill: "vision trying to comfort wanda in some way after her brother's funeral?"
This one was a hard one, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I hope you do as well.
At least there's a body to bury.
Wanda remembers. She remembers the thousands of distraught families in her country - the ones who mourned collectively for those who were lost in Ultron's attack. She remembers those who felt the pain of their relative's disappearance; it is almost certain that they are dead, but they will never, ever be sure, and there are days when she almost feels guilty for her own grief because, in a lot of ways, she caused this.
Then Pietro's body is actually laid out on the funeral pyre that the Avengers build (and they're all standing there, like people who've seen too much war and are used to this, and she realizes that this will be her life now. That's fine; she's been fighting for a long time). Her composure holds all through the ceremony, and when she speaks over her brother her words are not full of sadness, but bitterness.
It startles Hawkeye. She sees him stare at her out of the corner of her eye. She does not care.
It is later, though - later, when she is helping to sift through rubble alongside Vision - that she sees two children. One is clearly the older sister. She is carrying her younger brother on her shoulders. Her face is tiny, but it is grim, and she disappears around the corner before long.
Wanda isn't aware that she's fallen to her knees until Vision kneels next to her, asking if she is alright. She blinks, opening her mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. He seems to understand, because he carefully sits beside her, drawing his knees to his chest.
It's movements like that that remind her of how young he is, and how old she suddenly feels.
Vision does not press her to speak, and she does not have anything to say. How can she possibly describe this - like she will never be a whole person again? That's the closest she can come to explaining, and even then it will be enough. They all have their demons. This is a new one for her, but it is hers to carry.
"Perhaps," Vision suggests quietly, after a moment, "we should continue to aid in the clean up. Unless you're tired?"
That snaps Wanda out of it. Maybe one day, she'll have the opportunity (and the courage) to have a complete breakdown over Pietro. But today is not that day. She nods at Vision and stands. She isn't going to fail people like that girl and her brother again.
She has a job to do.