Story: Scarlet
Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance
Pairing: Steve/Wanda
Summary: "Despite what Maria told me, I don't think you're weird." [Steve/Wanda].
A/N- Because as much as I love Romanogers and Brucetasha and even Vision/Wanda, I have thing for Steve and Wanda. Who knows, I might write an actual story on them when I feel like it.
"Despite what Maria told me, I don't think you're weird."
She stares at him for far too long, causing Steve to scratch his neck nervously. He wonders if he might have been upsetting her or if his statement stunned her until she was at a loss for words. He hopes it's the latter.
Wanda analyzes (more scrutinizing than anything else, really) his face and narrows her eyes. What he didn't expect was her saying, "You are one strange man, Captain." And her tone is deemed more towards amazement and wonder. The smile that dawns on her face diminishes his worries.
Peggy had that effect on him. His heart ached at the mere thought; unknowingly, the grief came for a brief moment, the ends of his lips curving downward. He almost forgot that he was in Wanda's presence, in her personal space, breathing the same air as her. The sigh that escaped his mouth distracted him from noticing Wanda's hand reaching for his face. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw it and grabbed her hand.
"Don't."
She was now giving him her full attention. "You're thinking about someone, aren't you?"
Damn this girl and her perceptiveness. They shouldn't even be having this conversation and he knows it, yet he doesn't shy away from the conflict. His answer is bold. "I just happen to be in the right place in the wrong time."
She states, "I saw her in your head, that special someone, that girl."
He almost forgot about the incident. Immediately, he regrets not answering her previous question. He leans his head against the wall behind him. Shame easily finds its way through his heart, mind and soul. "It isn't her I'm afraid of." When did the tables turn and everything become about him? About the life he would never have if it wasn't for—
Wanda grips his hand tight like she's trying to snap him out of it, out of this black hole he's dug himself in to. For his sake, she changes the subject. "Pietro and I were experimented on because we thought we could help Sokovia. We did it for the greater good, thinking it would help our country. You would do the same thing, wouldn't you?"
"I already did."
Silence. It was harsh on Steve's part seeing as the last thing he needed right was eerie silence. She started staring again, then looked past him towards the door. They both had the same thoughts in that moment.
That he could leave but he chooses not to.
The back story is something he can tell without sadness in his voice. Without wistfully recalling the events and thinking he could have done things differently. Without breaking down because he's done it a thousand times before and doesn't want to shed tears anymore. That vision, that sickeningly horrifying vision, is what prompts him to just spill his life story to her.
And by the end, he realizes he had nothing to fear.
(For now.)
"You and I, we're not so different." she said, sympathetic. Wanda rests her head on his shoulder, the scarlet red from her magic forming in her hands. A momentary distraction. "What does that tell you?"
Steve scoffs. "How normal the both of us are?"
"Wrong." she clasps her hands together, the magic vanishing. "How our powers shaped who we are, made us the people we are today."
She's the highlight during his day. Honestly, they should be meeting the rest of the team for training, but he finds this too comforting and too enjoyable. Another thought hits him.
"Earlier, you called me Captain."
She lifts up her head and nods.
"You know, you can call me Steve." he said. "I mean it is my name."
She smiles. "And you can call me Wanda."
He crosses his arms, smiling. "I got a better name for you."
They hear someone shout, "Steve, if you don't get your patriotic ass in here this second—"
Ah, the soothing voice of his close friend Sam Wilson.
The two are prepared to leave until Wanda reaches for his wrist and instinctively turns towards her. "Yeah?"
"What's your name for me?" she asked. Her eyes were full of pure curiosity and interest.
Steve contemplates his next few words. Then, it's as he's brushing a strand of bright red hair behind her ear, that he says, "Scarlet." At first, he assumes the name isn't that special or unique in the slightest. Only when Wanda's face is the color scarlet does he get it's importance. He meant it as a nickname...though a cute pet name could also work.
As she rushes past him, embarrassed and possibly flustered, he concludes that the name fits her well.
Really, really well.