New ScarletAmerica story set years back in the MCU. I know Steve and Wanda especially, have developed a lot since Age of Ultron but I wanted to share the story anyway. I started writing this after the movie premiered but never felt it was perfect enough to share. I found it a bit ago and decided to wrap it up and post it for any of those still shipping these two in 2021. Hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER ONE: Alone
New York City Monument Unveiling
"Today, we mourn those we've lost and cherish those we have. Sokovia was once a country..." Wanda tuned the presenter out and let her eyes graze over the large crowd that had amassed in front of the podium she stood on. Today marked six months since Sokovia had been destroyed by Ultron. In respect, a large ceremony was being held tonight to unveil a monument in honor of those that had fallen.
She hadn't wanted to attend but, looking now at so many Sokovians in the crowd, she understood why they had pushed her to. The people of Sokovia had lost their home, families, and everything they've known. All they had was their each other. She scanned the desolate people. Even in the evening light, she saw many with tears in their eyes. SHIELD had been able to save so many but as she looked through the crowd, all she wanted was to see Pietro's face amongst the survivors. She would've done anything to trade places with him that day.
"Ms. Maximoff?" Wanda's head snapped up to look at the host who was watching her eagerly. Her expression relayed her confusion. "Would you like to say a few words?" She rubbed her hands nervously, looking at the hushed crowd waiting for her response. She shook her head hastily and had to blink a few times to keep tears at bay. If she spoke, she'd break.
Steve observed Wanda from the opposite side of the podium. He had told Maria that bringing Wanda out was a bad idea. She wasn't ready for this and her current state made that evident. Regardless, Maria had insisted that she go to represent and show they stand with the Sokovian survivors. The people looked up to Wanda as their bright hero that came from the country's ashes, even if she didn't want to accept that responsibility.
Looking around, he wished more of the team had shown up. It was Steve's duty as Captain to look out for his team and as their newest member, Wanda was now on his list. Otherwise, only Barton had come along with him to support her and stood dutifully next to her in his suit. A sudden voice crackled through both Steve and Wanda's coms. As they listened in on the mission report, the crowd lit lanterns, ready to be released into the night sky, in honor of the departed.
Wanda glanced over at Steve and he nodded to her. Duty called. They both waved and took off as the lanterns were released. Entering the building behind the stage, Steve loosened his tie, preparing to put his uniform on once the quinjet arrived. Barton came through the curtains a moment later.
"New mission?" he asked, walking up to them.
"Nearby. Possible Hydra raid," Steve replied as he looked up through the glass windows for a sign of the jet. "Any chance you want to tag along?"
"The wife says I'm a retired man," Clint chuckled.
"Worth a shot." Barton nodded and glanced over at Wanda. She was stone-faced as her fingers kept fidgeting with her dress.
"Are you okay?" Wanda looked up at Barton, her expression hard to read.
"I'm great." Clint sighed at her short response.
"If you ever need me kid, I'm here." Trying not to show too much emotion, Wanda just gave him a brief nod. Steve spotted the quinjet and they said goodbye before sprinting to the landing zone.
Once on the jet, agents briefed them on the mission and they changed, preparing for the fight. Wanda kept to herself, not wanting to talk to anyone. She was heartbroken over the memory of Sokovia, Pietro and angry… so angry.
Steve eyed her cautiously. His compassion yearned to talk to her but he was wise enough to know when to leave her be. Even though Wanda had joined the Avengers, she never joined the team. She was always detached and preferred it that way. Steve tried to reach out a few times as his nature willed him to, but she was quick to close him out. Each conversation attempted with her was strained and brief. He couldn't lie and say it didn't nag him that he wasn't able to reach her somehow. He was supposed to look out for his team but he couldn't with her. She would lash out and be unpredictable in her actions, ones that often opposed his morals.
"The mission is clear." Steve stood as they arrived at the target location. "We go in quietly. Grab the hostage and clear out. We're not looking for a fight." The agents nodded at him but Wanda stared out the window, making Steve nervous. She didn't have a great track record of following orders.
As they landed and exited, his worries were justified. Men rushed an indiscreet Wanda and she turned the site into a full-blown firefight. She was sending men flying and alerting more of their presence. She didn't care. She came here for a fight. Her anger got the best of her and she began to stretch her abilities to do the most damage.
"Wanda!" Steve tried but to no avail. Her mind was made up. She was angry and she intended to take it out on the Hydra agents. Steve redirected the SHIELD agents to draw all enemy fire on her. If she wanted to fight, she could have the fight. They'd use it to their advantage and get a team into the site unnoticed. They made their way through the base and split halfway in.
It wasn't long before Steve found their hostage. He entered a small room and found a teenager sitting in a corner, Hydra agents surrounding him. As they began to fight, Steve rushed the men closest to him to get the kid.
"You need to come with me," Steve yelled in the chaos. He extended his hand out to the boy in front of him. "We don't have time," he ushered but the kid didn't move.
"Captain America? Bro, this is wicked." The kid pulled out his phone and to Steve's disbelief started recording.
"What's your name?" Steve asked, grabbing the kid's arm.
"Aaron," he said and waved the camera in front of Steve, momentarily blinding him with the flash. Steve pushed the light out of his face.
"Get the hostage in the Quinjet. Hydra just sent more men," Wanda called out running into the room. She sent an energy blast out, knocking out the remaining Hydra agents. When she looked over and saw how young their hostage was, her brow furrowed.
"This is him?" The disappointment was clear.
"I've cleared a path," Steve heard an agent say through his earpiece.
"Let's go," Wanda eyed the kid. He shone his camera light towards her. "What the hell?"
"You're that new Russian chick. Hell yeah," the kid laughed and nudged Steve. Steve was for once at a loss for words.
"Sokovian, not Russian," Wanda corrected him. Her accent, which had been improving a lot, returned to full flare. She used her telekinesis to make the phone fly across the room to her where she proceeded to crush it.
"Dude, what the hell?" the kid exclaimed.
"If you don't get your ass on that plane, you're dead. Now."
"Wanda!" Steve reprimanded but it didn't phase her.
"No." The kid defiantly crossed his arms. "I don't know you. You guys could just be-." Wanda sent a hex that stopped him mid-sentence and made him drop to the floor. Steve's eyes went wide at the unconscious boy. "We don't have time to argue with a child. It's only a sleeping hex. He'll be fine in the morning." She glanced towards the door, clearly unbothered.
"You cannot do that," Steve gritted. No one really knew the limit's of Wanda's power and he feared she herself included. Seeing the kid's still body, gave him little to no reassurance.
"We're running out of time. Pick up the kid and let's go," Wanda growled. Steve wanted to say something but decided it could wait until after Aaron was safe.
"We're not done here," he slung the kid over his shoulders and turned to her.
"We never are," she taunted and they ran back to the Quinjet where an agent was already beginning to lift the plane off the ground.
When they were a safe distance away Steve finally spoke, "So who's the kid?" Wanda walked over, looking at the boy on the floor.
"His name is Aaron Fields, sir. His father is a wealthy broker," an agent explained, pulling files up to a holographic screen. "As for why Hydra wants him, we're not sure yet. We have people on base working on it now."
"What do we do with him?" Wanda asked, crossing her arms.
"Glad you asked," Maria Hill popped up on the jet's main screen, making a perfect entrance. "We've redirected the Quinjet to take you to a SHIELD safe house just outside of the city's suburbs. This could be nothing but if there's a chance this kid is vital to a Hydra operation, we have to keep him safe and out of their reach until we can bring more agents in for a safe escort. Rogers, Maximoff you're to protect this kid at all costs until we figure Hydra's motives." They exchanged exasperated glances. Maria turned to the agent next to them. "Owens, circle the safehouse from afar and keep watch for any sign you were followed. Clear?"
"Yes ma'am," Steve replied.
"We'll be in touch soon." Maria disappeared from the screen. A moment of silence passed.
"He's not waking up until we leave that safe house." Wanda looked at Steve and lifted her hand. He caught her arm instantly.
"You can't invade people's minds like that," Steve barked. Wanda turned to level his glare, creating a deafening tension in the jet. They stared at each other as Steve firmly stood his ground.
"He's your problem." She yanked her arm out of his hand.
"You can't just do whatever you want out on the field. It's reckless and dangerous to your team."
"What I did got us out in time," she hissed and got in his face. She always had opposing approaches to everything and they were almost always more violent. She was a wild card who often forgot about orders and that enraged him. Orders were orders. They were made to be followed.
"This time. What about the next time?" He tried not to let her get to him but it was difficult with her. She was smart and knew how to push his buttons.
"We saved the kid, didn't we? What is your problem?" She yelled in annoyance.
"My problem is you didn't think before you hexed him!" He was a hair away from her at this point. "You have no idea the extent of your-"
"I don't know?" She flailed her arms out dramatically. "You're a self-righteous-.".
"CHILDREN!" Natasha yelled over them. She had appeared on the screens without their notice. Steve took a steadying breath and Wanda dropped her arms. "Are we done now?" Wanda looked as infuriated as he felt and walked away. He let out an exasperated sigh. He found himself arguing with her more than talking to her and he hated it. She was a good person and had a good heart but her way of showing it wasn't always all that great. He should be helping her not arguing with her.
"We are ready for landing," JARVIS announced through the jet's speakers. They had a smooth drop-off on a patch of open field in the middle of seemingly nowhere.
"There is a cabin half a mile north of the quinjet. That will be your safe house," Natasha relayed. "Keep your coms on and stay hidden." Steve nodded and she disappeared off the screen. Steve picked up the kid again as the back doors opened. Aaron shifted and mumbled something incoherent.
"Just say the word," Wanda mocked and brushed ahead of him. Steve sighed in frustration and looked around them. It was dark and hard to tell but they were entering what looked like a thick forest. They arrived at the cabin not long after. It was a cozy, small house whose backyard trailed into a large lake. It looked like a picture-perfect home for an outdoor lifestyle. Wanda used her magic to open the door and they entered into a grand living room. "Nice." She glanced around the house and started shuffling through things.
"What are you doing?" he looked over at her. She opened up what looked like a memory box with a picture of an old woman on it. To Steve's surprise, it was full of knives and other little weapons.
"I was curious where they'd stash the weapons," Wanda closed the box and moved on. She walked over to a huge glass cabinet full of liquor. She grabbed a bottle and popped it open before proceeding to grab a glass and drink. He squeezed his eyes shut, needing to walk away.
Steve turned around and started towards the first door in the hallway. To his luck, it was a bedroom. He dropped the kid on the mattress and looked around. It was simple with just enough decorations to look like a real room. SHIELD always took care of the details. He looked over at the kid again. Why was Hydra after him? He pulled out his tablet from his suit side and glanced through the mission files. He stayed there a long while, reading about the kid and his father.
When Steve left the room he decided to explore the rest of the hallway. He found a bathroom, two more small bedrooms, and a master bedroom. Nothing crazy. He walked back into the living room to find Wanda taking of swig out of a bottle. She set it back down on the table as he walked up to her. Whiskey.
"I got you a glass too," she poured some into two glasses on the table. "To another fun mission." She raised her glass up but Steve didn't move. "Oh come on, one drink won't kill you."
"I can't get drunk. How many have you had?" He eyed her.
"Enough," she shrugged. Truth be told, she was already feeling a light buzz, probably from having skipped all meals today before the ceremony. "But, it won't hit me for a little longer," she smiled. He grabbed the glass out of her hands.
"We're supposed to be protecting the kid. You can't be so reckless."
"I'm not reckless, Captain. I just know how to have some fun." Her expression had changed from playful to now annoyed. Wanda could be hard to manage sometimes but even this wasn't like her. Her temper flared more today than any other day and now she was drinking? He had never seen her pick up a glass of champagne, much less hard liquor.
"Why are you acting out today?"
"I'm not 'acting out'. I just don't feel like being bored in the middle of nowhere for god knows how long. Especially with a buzzkill." She grabbed his intended glass and in a blink drank it.
"Wanda!"
"What Steve?" she stood up to meet his glare. "What are you going to do?" Then it hit him- the ceremony. Six months since she'd lost her brother. She'd been off all day. He remembered how devasted and inconsolable she'd been for weeks after the battle. It being brought up again today must have triggered something. Wanda seemed to noticed his mood shift and backed down a little.
"I know you miss him," he said softly but it only made her grit her teeth. "But you can't do this."
"Don't talk about Pietro," she snapped and pushed past him to go outside. Her emotions got the best of her and she needed to get some fresh air and avoid letting Steve see her as the mess she had been all day. She took off, ignoring his calls.