I had to step away from writing for a time due to personal reasons. This story marks the beginning of my attempt to get back in and finish my other stories and do new ones. Hopefully it isn't too crappy.
Enjoy.
Wanda was growing desperate. If she didn't figure out a solution soon there was a very real possibility of her going insane.
It was something she had never before considered since Pietro was always there at her side, never away for more than a few minutes. But now her twin was gone. To make matters worse the last two weeks was nowhere near enough time for the fresh wound to stop bleeding let alone heal.
Wanda pulled her second blanket tighter around her petite frame while she curled up around the pillow searching for warmth. Still it did not help, the crippling chill and hollowness that was spread through her whole body did not abate.
When this began, Wanda assumed she was coming down with some kind of illness. It would have been the first Pietro wasn't there to take care of her, but not the first time she was sick. After several days the second youngest Avenger displayed no other symptoms, just a deep near crippling chill.
It lingered wherever she went, no matter where or what she was doing. Blankets, sunshine, a near boiling hot shower, it was always there.
A few days short of the two week mark of her brother's death was when Wanda figured out what was wrong.
Her twin's demise was part of it, but that pain was an entirely different matter. It came down to the fact that Wanda hadn't been touched in almost two weeks.
Pietro may not have seemed like it to any outsider watching him, but when it came to his twin sister the blonde man was very affectionate, always close to his sister. His hand would often find hers from seemingly nowhere or he would have a hand on her lower back, an arm around her shoulders, things like that. The gestures were so commonplace that neither he nor Wanda even noticed it anymore.
If Wanda had to guess, it began the day they lost their parents. Two children huddled together beneath the bed waiting to die. For two days they were there, clutching each other with all their tiny bodies had.
Even while they grew up as children, they would always hold each other. Especially during the freezing nights when they were homeless on the streets of Sokovia.
With Pietro gone, the touches she so badly wanted, no craved, ceased. It was like Wanda's body was going through withdrawals.
The whole thing made Wanda feel like a drug addict without their fix. This was why she kept it secret from the rest of the Avengers. It was more than a little embarrassing. She was supposed to be an Avenger, she didn't need to have physical contact with another person to live.
All she could do was hope it was going to go away after a while.
Only it didn't.
Around a month after Pietro's death it got even worse. Now it was starting to cause horrible sleepless nights alongside an inability to sit still. The lack of rest was also affecting her performance, not enough to be noticed by anyone else except her thankfully.
If it continued getting worse she would be caught eventually.
If she didn't have some physical contact soon she didn't know what she was going to do. She even considered literally just tripping so someone would catch her or just randomly hugging someone. Maybe she could just lie to vision and say it was something humans did. The embarrassment would be worth it just to make the feeling stop.
That idea was instantly smothered after a small talk with Steve.
Wanda had noticed the moment she began her training as an Avenger that everyone gave her a wide berth. No one was willing to get physically close to her, no one except for Vision but even he stayed just barely out of arm reach.
For a while she wondered why everyone was like that around her but she just assumed that everyone was just getting accustomed to each other. As time went on though she noticed that lack of proximity was directed at her only.
Sam and Steve would often share pats on the back or handshakes, Rhodes was the same toward the other two men, Natasha never hesitated to touch Steve, and so on.
Why was everyone so scared to be close to Wanda?
She wanted an answer so badly that she brought it up to Steve before realizing it.
Her initial answer was a muttered swear word and a groan.
Steve continued before she could ask what was wrong. "I was afraid of this, Natasha may have told them about umm... your powers."
"What about them?" Wanda looked at the leader of the Avengers quizzically. It would be important for the rest of the team to know what she could do.
The realization a moment later struck Wanda harder than a blow by Thor's hammer.
Wanda's eyes widened as she felt like her heart was about to stop. Natasha told the newer team about what Wanda did while following Ultron. How she hit almost all of the Avengers with nightmarish visions to stop them. Visions that left most of them scarred even til this day.
If Natasha told them about that, then she likely also told them about how the Hulk's rampage that day into a heavily populated area was her fault as well.
For that matter, Stark was the first person she attacked with her mental powers back in the lower levels of the castle in Sokovia. It was the vision she showed the genius inventor that led to the creation of Ultron, the near extinction of humanity, the partial destruction of her homeland alongside the death of god knows how many innocent people.
The death of her brother.
That last thought felt like a punch directly to Wanda's stomach.
Suddenly Wanda collapsed to her knees, breathing soon becoming difficult as her heart rate skyrocketed. The rapid thumping in her chest felt like it was going to explode from her ribs any moment.
"Wanda?" Steve dropped to one knee beside the young woman, his voice laced with concern. "Wanda are you okay?"
Wanda's eyes were glues to the floor as she began to hyperventilate. Her hands gripped the hem of her dress so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
By some miracle, her powers hadn't gone haywire yet.
"Wanda talk to me." Steve was sounding more worried by the moment but she barely heard the super soldier's voice. It was as if she were underwater and he was calling out to her from far away.
Everything was her fault.
Ultron would have never been created if she hadn't messed with Tony Stark's mind. She did so out of a petty desire for revenge. Her misguided desire for vengeance nearly led to the deaths of billions.
It did lead Pietro's death.
How on earth could she ever think she deserved to be an Avenger? Pietro was the true Avenger, sure Wanda came first in his eyes but he was always willing to help others when he had the ability.
She needed to leave, soon. Wanda had no right to be there among the heroes. All along she had been deluding herself into thinking she could be one of them, that she could be a hero herself.
The wild jumble that was Wanda's thoughts instantly stilled when she felt a strong but gently hand grip her shoulder.
The sudden warm sensation of physical contact did not dissolve the horrible chill she had been feeling but it did weaken it.
Before Wanda even knew she was doing it, her gaze snapped up to meet Steve's own blue orbs.
The blonde almost immediately pulled his hand back like he was caught doing something he was not supposed to.
"No don't!" Wanda all but shouted as she latched her hand onto his to keep it in place. Even she had to wince at how whiney and desperate her voice sounded just then.
Regardless, Steve's hand remained right where it was on Wanda's shoulder.
Wanda focused her mind on the contact to her shoulder in order to calm the raging tempest of her own mind. Before long her heart rate and breathing slowly lowered back down to normal levels.
While she calmed down, Steve remained completely silent.
Taking a deep breath, Wanda spoke in a hushed whisper. "Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for but what happened?" Wanda did not have any idea how to explain everything she was feeling without making herself sound so weak.
Sucking in another lungful of air, Wanda again focused her mind on the feeling of the hand on her shoulder, drawing strength from the physical connection to another person.
"You don't have to explain it." Steve began as he looked her over. "Just remember if you need help we're right here."
Not trusting her own voice, Wanda nodded slightly before rushing away.
Since Wanda's back was turned she didn't see the look on Steve's face as he watched her leave. "Hmm..."
Several days later, Wanda had just finished another round of training with the newer Avengers. The practice did more than just help with her control of her powers. Sometimes it helped deal with her other problem but not by much.
At least not as much as Steve's hand had.
She had been a little bit better after that but not for long. She slipped back into how she was before she got the contact from Steve.
Wanda was heading back inside after a round of power training outside when her mind ground to a halt from the feel of a hand at her lower back.
She let out a silent gasp at the physical contact and when she turned to see who it was Wanda was greeted by a smiling Steve. "Nice job today Wanda." The super soldier was gone before she could respond. Taking his hand with him.
Before she could even process what happened, Sam came up from behind her as well and lightly tapped her shoulder with his own. "Like the man said, but you'll never be able to fly as fast as me." Sam moved past her as well, his smile warm and tone with his normal friendly teasing.
The younger Avenger watched both men leave in disbelief, the hollow chill receding more from her body more and more.
Later that evening Wanda received a massive surprise.
"Clint?!" Wanda all but yelled as the archer strolled into the annex of the Avengers facility. By sheer dumb luck she had been walking by when he came in.
Clint smiled when he noticed her. "Hey there ki... oof." His words were cut short when Wanda rushed toward him, throwing her arms around his neck. She almost barreled him over in the process but he managed to catch both of them before they could fall.
"Whew, what has cap been teaching you kids? You almost took us both out." Clint laughed as he returned the embrace.
Wanda giggled as well but buried her face into his shirt to hide any tears that might threaten to slip out.
Clint was the closest thing to a father-figure Wanda ever had since the death of her parents. She did not care what could have possibly brought him here today but she didn't care.
This was it, this was the kind of affection Wanda so badly needed. For the first time since she had lost Pietro, that horrible feeling was gone. Leaving in its place a warmth like no other.
Probably going to do a part 2 of this one from Steve. Depends on reception.