Story: The Baseball Stud
Genre: Drama/Hurt/Comfort
Pairing: Steve/Wanda
Summary: "She ignored Steve's shouting in the distance with a heavy heart." AU. [Steve/Wanda].
A/N-Should I continue this or not? Tell me what you think.
The first time she meets him is when she's running away from home.
She runs for miles, past the neighboring apartment complexes, past the busy streets, past all the shopping boutiques and markets. She needed to feel her heart on fire, adrenaline pumping through her veins with every step her foot made against the ground. Running away never solved anything but she'd be damned if she didn't try. Her dark red hair remained in a ponytail, the backwards red and white baseball cap on her head, her hazel orbs trained on the road ahead. Run, she thought.
Eventually, her feet could no longer carry her and she decided to stop running, falling on the grass beneath her. She leans on the silver metal fence with her eyes closed, hearing the sweet sound of tranquility. The sun is currently setting, painting the sky in a mixture of reds and yellows. Everything seems so normal.
Too normal.
Wait.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! She turns her head and sees a beautiful sight.
The boy swings his bat each time as the baseballs fly out the machine. He never misses and each swing brings the ball farther into the distance. The girl squints, trying to get a closer look. She still can't see him that well. Upon noticing the silver gate a few feet down, she runs over and enters it.
She's walking across the field towards the bleachers and sits directly in the front. The seats are cold and uncomfortable but she lets those thoughts escape her mind while she she watches the show in front of her. It continues for a few more minutes and she takes the time to admire the boy.
He's a blonde with a muscular build, that much she can tell. His back is turned and he's putting all his strength into every hit. He has a baseball uniform on; it's the typical white and dark navy blue she's seen plenty of times on many baseball players. The shirt reads ROGERS 4 in big bold font.
She's so busy analyzing his outfit that she doesn't notice when the machine stops and he's stops swinging his bat. He carries it over his shoulder while walking towards the bleachers. A small fraction of a smile is on his face.
"Do you like baseball?"
The question startles her for two reasons: one, did he catch her staring? and two, does his voice always sound smooth like velvet? She responds with a simple, "No."
"Well," he says, leaning on the bleachers front railing, "I wouldn't think that from the way you were looking at me minutes ago."
And her face turns bright red.
He chuckles. She shakes her head. "Very funny."
The boy comes to sit by her and holds out his hand. "Steve Rogers."
She thinks about shaking his hand, if only for a slight second, then goes and shakes his hand. "Wanda Maximoff."
Steve tilts his head. "Maximoff? Sounds familiar."
"Trust me," she tells him, confidently, "I know my last name isn't special at all."
Despite the warning signals going off in her head, Wanda remains relatively calm. Of course the name Maximoff sounds familiar to him; when you're the daughter of the richest man in town, people will always recognize you.
Except Steve. He didn't know of her status or, at least, he knew and didn't mention it. They talked for several minutes and she found herself enjoying the company. The way his blue eyes would sparkle when she told a joke, his sweet laughter and his entire positive attitude was getting to her. In such a short amount of time, Wanda knew almost everything about him.
"You're an only child?"
"Yeah," he says, smiling, "But I have friends to keep me company."
"That must be nice." she says.
"You've never had friends before?"
She shook her head. "Just me and my brother. We're the only friends we have."
"What do you want to know?" she asks, sitting up and taking her cap off her head.
He could tell she was dreading whatever question he had, so he kept it simple. "If you had to choose, what's your favorite movie?"
"I don't have one."
"Really?"
Wanda shrugged. "I never have time to watch movies."
Steve took the cap out her hands and read the label. His eyebrows furrowed. "But you have time to watch Cardinal baseball games?"
Wanda let him keep it, not feeling the need to take it back. "It's my brother's. He's a huge fan."
Steve nodded. "I prefer the Yankees."
She giggled. "Well aren't you America's patriot?"
They locked eyes for a moment; neither looks away and they hold gazes for quite some time until her phone buzzes. She jumps while he shakes his head. Wanda answers quickly.
"Hello?"
"Why aren't you at Clint's yet?"
She sighed. "Pietro—"
"You were suppose to go straight there! You know him and Laura worry."
"I'm sorry."
On the other end, she hears him release a long winded sigh. "Look, just promise me you'll get to them safely, alright?"
She was never one to break her promises. "I promise."
All too soon, Wanda's up and moving away from Steve. She's running towards the gate and her feet begin taking off on their own again. She ignored Steve's shouting in the distance with a heavy heart. It was time to start running without any distractions. That's what this was, right? A beautiful distraction protecting her from the world she's grown accustomed to living in.
And it pains her to run when he felt like something she hadn't had in a long time.
Home.
'''
She wakes up that night with a start. She knows how this will play out. She's read the stories numerous times.
Because he has her baseball cap.
And unless this is some sick twisted fantasy, Wanda realizes how she made the mistake of accidentally leaving him the cap like Cinderella's glass slipper was left behind when the clock struck 12 at the royal palace.
She lands on her pillow with a soft thump.