It was such an unassuming door, yet Kate had raised her hand, and failed to knock on it for the fourth time in a row now.

She cleared her throat and lifted her fist again, preparing to try once more,

"Just don't embarrass yourself" she whispered to herself, sighing in frustration,

Her knuckles then made contact with the wood of the door, making a gentle tapping noise.

"Come in" came the response almost immediately,

The ravenette straightened the strap of her bag resting on her shoulder once more, and opted to ignore the wet patch that was forming from her dripping hair on the sleeve of her t-shirt. She then put her hand to the dull brass handle and put a gentle downward weight on it, until the door gave and cracked away from the frame. Kate pushed the door open into the room as silently as she was able to, cringing slightly at the faint sound of the door's rough bottom edge scraping across the thick piled carpet, the splinters snagging on loops of polyester and tearing them over and over again.

The room was dark, lit only by faint sunlight coming through opaque curtains, a fireplace set into the wall, and a desk lamp that sat on the end of the dresser.

The head of the lamp was pointed down, shining light onto the man himself, Erik Magnus Maximoff.

The elderly man was sat in the same impressive wing backed chair from the family portrait, and he was wearing almost exactly the same outfit, the summer warmth clearly not getting to him in his private quarters,

His pale blue eyes then raised up from his book and landed on Kate, peering over the lenses of his wire framed glasses,

"Miss Bishop I assume?" he asked softly as he took off his spectacles, folding them and tucking them away in an inside pocket of his smart burgundy jacket,

"Yes sir" she nodded, gripping her bag strap like a life line once more,

"Well come in" he said gesturing to a second, slightly less stately seat that was sitting opposite him.

Kate nodded obediently and quickly closed the door behind her, rushing over to the chair she was offered,

"You don't mind if I record the interview do you?" she asked setting her bag in her lap, avoiding eye contact as much as possible,

"Not at all" Erik responded, crossing his legs.

The ravenette took her notepad, pen and Dictaphone out from her bag and fumbled with the device, trying to find the right button to start recording, and failing to do so over and over, her nerves making her hands shake,

"There" she said softly, finally getting it to work, she then placed it on the low coffee table that sat between them.

Kate finally looked back up at the elderly man,

He was sat staring at her, his impatience clear but unspoken,

She bit her lip and flipped open the notepad, getting to the small list of questions she'd written weeks earlier.

"I did a little bit of research and I noticed that you donate a lot to the Xavier foundation each year. I was wondering, where does your interest in the charity stem from?" Kate began, hoping that she sounded as professional as possible, and that she was starting the interview on a high that might get the man on her side,

Erik licked his dry lips and shifted in his seat slightly, "Well apart from the fact that Charles Xavier, the charity's creator is a… an old acquaintance of mine, I also appreciate the work he does" he then looked sideways, feigning disinterest, "It may surprise you to know, but this successful man you see before you came from humble beginnings. Like the children that Charles supports, I lived in poverty for much of my young life and if there had been a charity such as the Xavier foundation around then- and if I weren't so proud, I would've jumped at the opportunity to receive that kind of help",

"I had no idea" Kate frowned,

"Most people don't" he replied, "Whenever that detail of my life comes up in an interview, it's always failed to make it any further than the journalist's notepad… if that",

At this the young ravenette swallowed and awkwardly looked down to her notes.

Using her pen, she underlined the question she had just asked the eldest Maximoff family member several times, making a big show of doing so,

She then moved onto the next question, grimacing as she read it- what had possessed her into thinking that that was a good question to ask?

"You wouldn't happen to be willing to clarify just why you and the Starks don't get along would you?" Kate winced as the question left her mouth,

Erik seemed to consider this for a moment however, "One of the first arguments I can remember having with Howard Stark was about the prices of my materials. He thought I was being unreasonable in asking the price I had in mind, and I thought he was being pig-headed and stubborn in not agreeing to it" his shoulders then rose a little into a casual shrug, "I'm not sure that's where it started though. But now the Maximoffs and Starks have an organised business agreement of course. Even if Anthony Stark isn't my favourite person in the world, nor my daughter's or my son's. Wanda's marriage to Victor makes it easier of course",

"Speaking of your company-" Kate said swiftly, trying to turn the conversation in a slightly different direction now that that awkward question was out of the way, "-you've being running Maximoff Industries for nearly fifty years now" she began, "What are you going to do when you're too-"

"-once I'm 'too old' to continue?" Erik suggested, cutting her off as she spoke,

Kates gulped again- how had she thought this was a better question?

"Yeah" she added with a blush.

"It's no secret that I haven't exactly got the relationship with Pietro to pass the company on to him- he doesn't want it, and I don't think he's ready to take it. I'm not sure whether he'll ever be ready to take over the company" the senior Maximoff answered,

"So what are you going to do then?" Kate asked,

"I do have a plan Katherine, but I'm afraid I can't tell you" he paused, "Just yet. Certain aspects of the deal still have to be determined" he concluded, looking sideways again.

The journalist was starting to become a little frustrated with this,

Erik Maximoff was proving difficult to get answers from in some respects, but for the questions which were more embarrassing to ask, he was more than happy to make her feel uncomfortable and bad for having asked by holding back nothing.

Kate regarded her notepad once more, "You and your family are rarely seen away from the mansion. Why do you choose to keep such a low profile?",

"This mansion is vast" Erik began, "Each of us could spend all day here doing whatever we wanted without even bumping into one another" his face was a picture of seriousness and the ravenette didn't think for a second that he was joking, or even being sarcastic, "That's not to say that we do that however" he added, "We eat dinner together every evening and spend an hour or two together in the study afterwards", perhaps he had been being sarcastic- this was what Kate had been worried about.

The journalist's mouth was then moving before she even thought about what she was saying, "I'll be honest, that's a little unexpected",

A thick silence fell between them.

That comment had clearly been a mistake,

"Why?" Erik asked, his tone becoming a little sharper, "Is it so hard to believe that I enjoy spending time with my children and my grandchildren?"

Kate was starting to see why everyone thought him a bitter old man. The reports and articles that accused him of being one were turning him into just that,

"Despite his reputation as 'hot-head', Pietro is rather good at chess, regardless of our tendency to argue, we play often. Wanda and I frequently read the same literature, and we discuss what we've read in depth most evenings. Victor, when he's here, is a perfect gentleman who provides me with some of the most intelligent conversation I've ever experienced. Thomas is surprisingly interested in travelling; in fact, he's planning an around the world trip for when he turns eighteen, and being a travelled man myself he constantly questions me to improve his travel plans. And William is one of the kindest, must unique young men I've ever met, getting the opportunity to simply talk to him about his day is a genuine pleasure"

The atmosphere was quiet once more until-

"Who wins?" Kate asked softly,

"I beg your pardon?" Erik asked with an aggravated sigh,

"When you play chess with your son, who wins?" she repeated.

The man seemed taken aback by the question at first, "I do of course" he responded after a long pause, "I taught him how to play when he was very young. I know exactly how he plays, he's all attack and no defence"

Kate smiled softly and nodded, "Thank you for your time" she said as she collected her Dictaphone from the table and turned it off,

"You've made quite the impression on my family" Erik said as Kate packed away her writing materials, "They all hold you in high regard",

"I'm glad" she nodded, giving away only a small smile,

"Your friend Theodore too, he's been a welcome presence in our home- he's a very pleasant young man",

Kate blinked, "He thinks very highly of you too sir",

"I'm glad" Erik nodded.

Kate stepped slowly down the stairs, going over the interview she'd just had over and over again,

Erik Maximoff wasn't a monster, he cared about his family- it seemed unfair that the press had turned him into what they had.

As she neared the bottom step, Kate's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of conspiratorial whispering,

Wanda, Pietro and Tommy were stood in the library around a small table discussing something with serious expressions,

The ravenette watched them through the open door, hoping to pick up on something they were saying, but in a bid to get a little closer, a floorboard beneath her footing creaked, and all three Maximoff's looked up at her suddenly.

Wanda was the first to react and she quickly left the library, closing the door behind her, a large smile now on her face, "Kate" she beamed taking the young woman's hands in her own, "How was the interview?",

"What were the three of you talking about?" the journalist asked, ignoring the question,

"Oh, nothing" the brunette told her, "Just family business",

"Family business that doesn't include Billy?" Kate enquired.

Wanda's smile faltered for a moment,

"Family business about Billy?" she then suggested,

Mrs Maximoff's smile then faded entirely and she let go of Kate's hands, "It might be, what concern is it of yours?" she asked folding her arms,

In that moment, all of the pieces suddenly came together in the girl mind.

"You're trying to get Billy and Teddy together" the ravenette said folding her arms,

Wanda shifted awkwardly at this, "And?"

"How can I help?"