CHAPTER EIGHT: The Club

New York City Club

The entire car trip to the bar, Wanda teased Steve. Whether it was a casual hand on his thigh or a lean down in the cab to pick up her supposed earring. He was trying desperately not to have such a reaction to her but it had proven difficult. They got out of the car and joined a long line coming from the front door.

"Wait here. I know a guy." Sam left them and disappeared towards the front of the line.

"You are testing my restraint," Steve mumbled into her ear. Wanda bit her lip and smiled.

"I might like that." Steve's eyes darted to her playful ones. "I'm sure there's a bathroom somewhere in there." Steve's eyes went wide.

"Wanda, we're-."

"Never say never. Look there's Sam." They saw him waving and followed him up, getting nasty looks from people in line. As they entered the bar, which Wanda now realized was a club, she could barely hear herself think. There was loud music playing as crowds of people lounged around or danced on the lit platform. It was packed and they had to push people to get through. Steve's hand quickly found Wanda's back and kept a grip on her as they made their way through. They both tried to take in the scene, something completely foreign to both. Wanda now saw her dress could be deemed conservative compared to how slinky the others were tonight.

Sam motioned towards an upstairs booth and they followed him up decorative stairs. The music was quieter on the second-level. They made their way to a booth where they found SHIELD agents sitting around, drinks in hand. They cheered as Sam walked in and then again when they spotted Steve and Wanda.

"Come in!" one of the agents ushered and they all made room. One figure got up and made her way to Steve.

"Sharon," he greeted politely. The agent smiled up at him.

"I'm glad you came." She boldly took Steve's arm and dragged him over to where she had been sitting. Sam had gone over to greet everyone, leaving Wanda standing there awkwardly for a moment. She noticed Aiden and decided to sit beside him.

"Hey." He looked up at her and immediately glanced at Steve who was being introduced to new agents. "Don't worry about him anymore." Aiden eyed her, cautiously.

"Steve Rogers does not dictate who I can or cannot talk to." Aiden relaxed after a moment.

"Okay." He smiled as a waitress brought over a tray of shot glasses. Wanda thanked her and grabbed two, throwing both back in a second. If she was going to get through this night, she needed a buzz. Aiden laughed beside her and put an arm around her.

Steve greeted all the agents as Sharon talked to him. In her second of distraction as she talked to another agent, he glanced back to see Wanda take two shots as Aiden put an arm around her. His jaw clenched as he thought of how he had warned the agent to stay away from Wanda.

"Steve?" Sharon called, getting is attention back. As the night passed, Sharon seemed to take Steve away from the others and talked to him alone. They had good conversation and even had a few laughs. She was a wonderful woman, really. Steve's eyes would eventually always fall on Wanda though as she kept taking drinks. He watched her progressively get drunk. When Aiden finally left her side for a moment, Wanda wandered off. Steve swallowed and asked Sharon if she wanted to go for a dance. They got up and he moved out to the balcony to see Wanda reaching the bottom of the stairs. As soon as she hit the dance floor, she was swarmed by men. As they descended, he could see her eyes were closed and she just seemed to sway while being moved by the bodies.

He tried not to run over and grab her because he had no reason to at this point. She was just having fun. But he didn't like seeing her in this state, or the men eyeing her hungrily. Sharon got his attention again as they stepped onto the dance floor. She had to help him figure out how to dance to the pounding music, but once he did, it wasn't so bad. He tried to keep his focus on Wanda.

Sharon stepped away as he felt a vibration come off of her. She pulled a phone out from under her dress, on her thigh and looked up at him.

"They need me to go in," she yelled over the music. She gave him an apologetic look.

"Go, I'll be fine." She nodded and turned to leave. Something made her stop and turn back around to plant a kiss on him. Steve was taken aback.

"I had to do that," she smiled and disappeared. Steve stood there a moment, unsure of how he felt. He glanced back at the dance floor, looking for Wanda but she was nowhere to be seen. He kept looking and spotted her being almost carried out by Aiden. They were heading down towards the restrooms. He sped through the crowd and made his way to them. He grabbed Aiden and pushed him against the wall.

"I told you to stay away from her."

"Steve!" Wanda yelled, trying to balance.

"She said-."

"I said to leave her alone." Aiden put his hands up almost in surrender. Steve let him down and the men took one look at Wanda before leaving.

"What the hell?" She fumed. Steve caught her arms as she swayed unsteadily. She jerked her hands back, stumbling a bit. "You have no right."

"Wanda he's not a good-."

"That's not your call!" She cried out. "You get to go have dates and fun with Sharon. Why won't you let me do that same?"

"It's different. He's not-."

"Stop, just stop. "

"I'm just trying to protect you."

"I don't need your protection." She swayed and fell over. He caught her just in time and picked her up.

"I'm taking you home." Wanda began to cry into his chest and he carried her through the hall and found a back exit. He got a taxi quickly and took them back to the tower, careful to use the back hallways for privacy as he made his way up to the quarters. He didn't want anyone to see Wanda like this in the morning so he took her to his room and gently put her on the bed before grabbing her some water.

"Drink," he encouraged and nudged the bottle towards her. She sat up and drank half the bottle.

"Thank you," she finally said. He sat down on the bedside, facing her. She was still very drunk and dizzy but had sobered up a bit. Steve leaned over and wiped a smear mark from her mascara with his thumb. She leaned into his hand and he cupped her cheek. "I'm sorry"

"Me too."

"Why won't you let me talk to Aiden?" Steve sighed.

"I overheard a conversation he had with another agent. He's not genuine, Wanda. It's just a game to him." Wanda laughed but her laugh soon turned into tears. She wasn't even necessarily that upset about Aiden. She'd barely pay him any mind anyway. It just felt like everything that she had been suppressing for so long with finally coming up and she couldn't control it. She began to sob and Steve quickly pulled her into his chest. "Talk to me." She let out another great sob.

"I don't know what I'm doing. I feel like- like I'm barely keeping it together everyday." Steve pulled back to look at her, unaware of any of this. "I go into training, missions and debriefings day in and day out. I have nothing but this job. My family is gone. My home is gone. Everyone I've ever loved is gone." Her body shook in his arms as she continued. "I didn't even get a chance to see my child and I lost them too. Anything I love dies."

"Wanda, that's not true." He felt tears of his own begin to pool. "I wish there was anything I could do to fix this. That day at the church- that fault is on me, not you. I think about it everyday." He tried to steady the light tremble in his hands. "I want to help you, be there for you. I just need you to let me in. Please don't shut me out." Fresh, hot tears fell down her face. She raised her hand to gently brush the stubble along his jaw.

"If I let you in, I'll lose you too and… I couldn't survive that." Her eyes pierced his, saying what she couldn't out loud. He leaned over and kissed her deeply, passionately. This wasn't like any kiss they'd shared before. This one was deep, emotional and spoke what their hearts wouldn't let them say. She latched onto him and pulled him in closer. She needed this. Needed him. He wrapped his arms around her body, his heart never wanting to let go. When they finally came up for air, he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Wanda, I… I…," he tried.

"I know," she hushed and put her forehead against his.

"Me too." When he kissed her again, it was sweet and gentle. They laid there for a long time, not doing anything but kissing, initiating something more intimate then they had ever planned.