Author's Note: Wow this got way better reception than I thought it would and now I'm super nervous about posting chapter two. XD Thanks so much for your support!
Also, sorry this is late. Unintentional, but I couldn't find the motivation to write this week.
Note: I wanted a language to base Sokovian off of, just because I love having an actual language to incorpurate into stories. After listening to Pietro and Wanda's accents and watching a deleted scene where one of the buildings has labels in Russian, I've decided that they speak Russian in Sokovia. ;)
Warnings: Some violence.
Chapter Two:
"Wanda." The soft voice is accompanied by a shake to her shoulder and Wanda jerks, hand snapping out to grab the wrist and dig her fingernails into their skin. Power thrums at her fingertips, the familiar red haze tinting her vision as the magic surges through her.
"Calm yourself, it's just me." The voice murmurs quietly in reassurance. Her sluggish mind insists threat, but she shoves it off, squinting into the dark and props herself up on one elbow. The steady thrum of the Quinjet pokes at her other senses, but she can still focus enough to see her brother standing in front of the couch she crashed on.
His silver hair is slightly damp, but a quick glance towards the rest of his person assures her it isn't from pain or sickness. Realizing that she's still holding his wrist with the intent to snap it, she loosens her grip and lets her brother go.
"Pietro?" she questions quietly, voice thick with sleep. She shoves up into a proper seated position and the blanket she can't remember falling asleep with lands next to her on the cushions.
Her brother fidgets, blue eyes flicking to the floor as a breath quietly escapes him. Her brow furrows, "Is something amiss?"
She doesn't know what could be. As far as she's aware, nothing has happened. They aren't headed out for a mission, neither of them are injured, their teammates are all accounted for and with them. The only thing she can draw on is that he's worried about meeting up with the rest of the team since Germany.
Pietro bites on his lower lip for a moment. "It is nothing." A breath, and then, "The Captain said we'd be arriving soon." He shifts on his feet as if debating whether or not to leave.
Wanda hesitates, debating whether or not to push. Knowing her brother, he'll tell her eventually, but that's why he woke her in the first place. If they were getting closer to the Barton farm, one of the other Avengers or perhaps even FRIDAY would have told her. Not Pietro. He would have been checking over their luggage for the umpteenth time.
He keeps insisting they forgot something, but he always has. They didn't. She checked twice to appease him before they left New York two hours ago.
Wanda scoots over some, inviting her brother to fill the unoccupied space. "But?"
Pietro remains standing, looking towards the floor. He gives a low shake of his head. "I'm being stupid. Really, sestra, it is nothing," he promises, looking up to offer a grim sort of smile. It does nothing to reassure her. Wanda pointedly glances towards the empty space again and Pietro sighs before taking it with an obvious stiffness to his stance.
Why is he so tense?
Has she done something to upset him?
She wracks her brain for recent incidents, but nothing comes to mind immediately. Honestly, their time spent together as of the late has been...admittedly small. Between training, Vision, and the missions, she hasn't seen her brother much. So for something to have roused his ire like this would have to have been from close to four or five months ago.
It's one of the reasons she's staying with him at the Barton farm. The Captain had suggested it, said that they needed to take a week off from the exhausting life of the Avengers and "focus on being the stupid barely twenty-somethings that you are." Wanda has no idea how to fulfill this task, but she'd nodded with pretend enthusiasm and braced herself to a week left to her thoughts and Pietro's nagging.
Taking a break seems more like a punishment, but she'd kept her lips firmly pressed together and voiced none of her thoughts out loud. Pietro seemed excited, and she'd hated to rain all over his parade by being a grump. Lila won't appreciate her ruining her birthday in the first place; the real reason that they're going to the farm anyway.
According to Laura, all she'd wanted for her birthday was "the whole family to come. All of them!" and this, apparently, includes her, her twin, and the endless amount of extended family members through their teammates. Although some of them had been less than enthused by this, they'd all complied and stuffed themselves inside the small Quinjet.
That was that.
Wanda glances towards her brother's face, noting the slight shadows under his eyes and how pale his skin is. He looks waxy. Wane. Exhausted. When was the last time he slept properly? Or slept period? Wanda was on a mission with a few of the others and only returned yesterday. They'd meant to be home a few days earlier, but complications had arisen and the extended period had been the result of that.
It had taken a little over a fortnight. She and her brother share an apartment at the Tower (have always shared their housing), but she can't honestly recall the last time she saw him sleeping. Usually, he'd have been passed out over various bits of furniture that aren't meant to be beds, like tables or the floor. She'd have to drag him to a mattress and put him to bed properly.
"Are you angry with me?" Wanda questions, putting her thoughts to the side and deciding to stop beating around the bush.
Pietro stops fidgeting with his fingers and looks up at her. "I am sorry?"
"You are not talking." Wanda says by way of explanation. "Have I done something? Does this have to do with Germany?" A part of her wants to add, I'm wracking my brain for what I did, and I'm finding nothing. What have I missed, but she knows that won't help the situation any. Her ignorance won't be a blessing in this department. Only further the sudden rift between them.
When did this start? Weeks ago? A month? Months?
"No." Pietro mumbles, beginning to tug at his fingers again.
"Then why did you wake me up?" Wanda presses. Something is obviously bothering him.
His expression flickers for the briefest moment and she feels a heavy weariness settle into the telepathic bond that's linked them since HYDRA. He shakes his head, and she braces herself for him to say "nothing" again, but both of them flinch when a figure steps into the doorway of the small nook Wanda claimed for a few hours. It only takes her a moment to recognize it as Natasha, but it doesn't help much.
The assassin leans against the doorframe, arms folded across her chest, expression lifted the smallest edge. "Nat." Wanda says on recognition, and glances at her brother for a moment as frustration briefly pours through her. She was getting close to getting him to talk, but it's all for naught now. "What are you doing here?"
Natasha's expression is blank. "Cap sent me to tell you we're about five minutes out and to see if someone rose our resident Sleeping Beauty from the dead. Maximoff, if you plan on checking your suitcase again, now's probably the time."
Pietro shoots a scowl in the assassin's direction. "I do not check that frequently." He mutters.
Natasha smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "You're cute." She promises, and tosses hair over her shoulder, walking out into the hall again. She stares at the back of Pietro's head for a moment, waiting for him to say something, but he doesn't. Wordlessly he offers her his hand, and she takes it, allowing him to pull her up to her feet.
The two of them quickly trek through the Quinjet to the main bridge in silence. Pietro doesn't check the luggage.
The rest of the Avengers not already on the farm are stuffed here, chatting idly among themselves or wasting away the time on electronics. She spots Vision standing beside the pilot's seat Clint is occupying and brightens somewhat, waving at him.
He nods in return, a faint smile on his lips.
Pietro's mood seems to darken further at this, and she shoots him the briefest look of confusion, but her twin is already left her side, moving to Bruce. Squinting at his back, she shakes off the vague sense of wrongness and instead focuses on moving towards the AI.
She steps up on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss on the side of his cheek and offers him a proper smile. "Hey, Vis." She greets. It's still so strange to her that they're a couple, even after all these months since it was made "official." Having spent so much of her life with no one but Pietro, the fact that someone wants her for her is almost magical. This man—machine—wants to spend the rest of his life with her.
He wants that. There is no obligation that she sometimes feels Pietro is weighted with. Maybe that's why he's angry with her. They're twenty now, almost twenty-one. He's spent so much time looking after her. He could be tired of it. Her stomach churns at the thoughts and she tries to brush them off, but can't.
"Hello." Vision answers, dipping his head in response and lightly taking her hand. "Did you sleep well?"
Wanda makes a face, humming under her breath. "The couch was discomfortable, but I slept well enough." After two all-nighters and the scramble to pack after returning, the hour and a half she'd managed to grab in the nook feels like nothing. Her head still feels heavy and the headache hasn't lessened, but she's no better off than Natasha or Steve are. They're all in the same boat.
Clint makes an obnoxious—but pointed—kissing noise.
Wanda feels a blush immediately heat her face and Vision tugs his hand away, glancing to the floor with embarrassment. Pietro's teasing she's beyond used to—he doesn't tease her about Vision. Hasn't since they started dating—but the other Avengers makes her feel like such a child. Clint snickers under his breath and Wanda lightly whacks the back of his sandy blond hair over the pilot's seat with the back of her hand.
"Not funny." She insists.
Clint only laughs, flicking up a few panels to prep the 'jet for landing. Wanda glances over his shoulder to see the familiar green patches of the Barton farm settle into view. The trees are beginning to yellow from the season and the crops look rich and full. She hasn't been here in autumn yet and it's already promising to be beautiful.
She breathes in the recycled air of the Quinjet and allows herself to relax the slightest bit. They're all off duty here, only to celebrate Lila's sixth birthday and spend a few days without their alter egos' jobs getting in the way.
No fighting.
No villains.
Just them, too much birthday cake, and the farm.
So why does she feel so much dread about seeing the familiar sights? Why does she want to be anywhere but here? A part of her suspects it's because Vision, like most of the other Avengers, is only staying one night. Another says she doesn't want to take a break. Too much time to think. An even quieter part of her suggests that Pietro's recent oddities and moods are the source.
The Quinjet lurches as it lands and Clint flicks off the power, locking the landing gear into place. He stands up and looks back at them, offering a half-grin. "Well, welcome back to paradise."
"Your paradise smells too much like sewer to be comfort." Pietro promises, moving to the shelves over the seats to grab for his luggage. He swings the suitcase over Bruce's head with ease and lets it land on the floor with a thunk as the other Avengers—Natasha, Sam, and Steve—grab for their overnight packs.
"You're just picky because you were raised in a garbage can." Clint snips, moving forward.
"No, I'm inclined to agree with Maximoff." Sam says, patting the archer on the shoulder as he passes. "Sorry Barton."
Clint scoffs, making a face. "Rude. Nat, tell them that they're wrong."
"You're wrong." The redhead says without conviction. Wanda rolls her eyes and moves to grab for her backpack as Bruce gets to his feet and squirms his way between her and her twin. He hasn't spoken since they entered the 'jet and Wanda briefly glances at him, but shakes it off. He's always been quiet. More so when Tony isn't around to bully him into talking.
But Tony, Rhodey and Pepper didn't come with them in the Quinjet. Tony had said it was because it would be cramped, but Wanda knows him a little better than to believe that now. Putting him and Steve into a small confined space for a few hours would have been a terrible idea, but none of them want to admit that.
Especially not after Germany and the Winter Solider.
And the Accords.
Or the pardoning ceremony that nearly started the second publicly dubbed "Civil War."
They're just masters at ignoring everything now. Wanda reaches up for the backpack and ignores the familiar sounds of her teammates banter in the background. It sounds almost tired, though, and she knows that the dread hanging in her stomach must be shared. Her fingers have scarcely touched the familiar black fabric before Vision's red hands take the strap and tug it down for her. Her heart does that hopeless flutter thing that her beloved can always seem to bring when he does something like this for her. She feels twelve every time it happens, not in her twenties.
His mouth opens to say something, but Pietro's familiar tanned skin and black jacket snakes up and snatches one of the straps, tugging it from Vision's hand wordlessly. He swings it over his shoulder and grabs her elbow, hauling her forward before she can say something to protest or apologize for Pietro's behavior.
"Thank you." Pietro says, clipped.
Mood.
It hasn't really stopped since she told him that she and Vision were considering marriage a month ago. If anything, it's gotten worse. What does he think will happen if they do marry? They're twins. They've been a part of each other's lives since the first heartbeat and will be to the last. He's as much a permanent fixture in her life as she is in his. They'll still be friends. Marriage won't change that.
"Pietro," she grumbles under her breath, but allows herself to be led out of the Quinjet past the other Avengers. They're staring. Her back itches with this, but she says nothing. "He was just trying to help."
"I can help just as good." Pietro snaps, and then forces a breath. He attempts for the familiar smirk, but she sees how tight it is around the edges. "You were making googly eyes at him. He lifted a bag, sestra, not present you with a box of chocolates." His tongue slides funnily over the last word, their accent swallowing the "ch" sound for a "sh." Normally it would only make her smile, but this time all it does is rouse a faint wisp of annoyance.
"He's my vozlyublennyy, Pietro. That's what he does."
Pietro only makes a noise of disagreement, but releases her elbow. Wanda grits her teeth and swallows a frustrated cry of stop it! and instead focuses on staring forward, pretending that she's not angry at him. Pretending that they're still close. That the strain on their relationship will go away instead of destined to get worse.
She doesn't know how to fix this. Can it be fixed?
She throws the troubles with her moody sibling to the side when a young girl's voice screeches, "Pi! Wanda!" at the top of her lungs and Lila comes crashing into her. Wanda staggers back a step at the sheer force of the brunette (her body tenses, honed fighting instincts ingrained, but she waves it off, because this is Lila) and a small smile spreads up her lips before she returns the hug.
"I hear it is someone's birthday." Wanda says knowingly, and Lila releases a few giggles, looking up at her with adoring eyes.
"It's mine." She says, grinning ear to ear. "'M seven today, Wanda. I'm almost as old as you now." No, she's not. Wanda feels ancient. "Because it's my birthday."
She sees her brother smirk from the corner of her eye. "Are you so certain of that?"
"Yes!"
"Then why do I not get a hug from this special girl?" Pietro questions, opening his arms. Lila laughs and releases her, all but throwing herself into the silver-haired man's arms. Pietro takes her weight with ease and hefts her into his arms, listening as she begins to talk rapidly about everything she's done today. Wanda watches, but her smile is slipping.
There was a time—
Stop it.
Wanda turns as the other Avengers approach. First is Clint, then Steve and Sam standing side-by-side. Beyond them she spots the dark hair of Bruce and Natasha's familiar red. Past that is Vision trailing behind quietly. The stiffness in their stances is obvious. None of them want to be here. And why would they? It's going to be a disaster. Tony and Steve have stood face-to-face since the pardoning.
Clint smiles brightly at the sight of his daughter and walks up to her, making an offended noise when they lock eyes. "What? You ran to them instead of me first? They're hobos. I'm the parent."
Pietro sticks his tongue out and Wanda resists the urge to bury her head into her hands. They're adults. Sometimes he can be such a child. "She has chosen the favorite, Clint. Reap your rewards." Pietro promises.
"Oooh," Clint draws out. Wanda stops listening with full intent, focusing on the house in the distance and the dread coiling in her stomach. Breathing out slowly, she continues to move forward, spotting Clint steal his daughter from Pietro. Her brother steps into pace with her again, but keeps a noticeable distance between the two of them.
Wanda represses a sigh.
He's still angry.
They quickly cross the distance to the house. In the driveway, stuffed into the small space next to Clint's old barely-kept-together truck is one of Tony's less flashy cars. A part of her is curious how far ahead he was of them if he drove, but she quickly determines it doesn't matter.
Wanda hangs back with the others on the porch as Clint pushes open the door and releases his daughter to the floor. She rushes forward, shouting something excitedly at the top of her lungs. Wanda's not paying as much attention as she should be. She can hear the faint noise of Tony's laughter and Pepper's.
Clint glances back at them, shoulders braced, expression grim. After waiting a moment, he takes a step into the house.
(The battlezone.)
Wanda follows after the archer with reluctance, her brother at her side. Laura immediately envelopes her and Pietro into a hug as soon as they're close enough, smiling widely. "Piet! Wanda." She exclaims and pulls back, resting her hands on their shoulders. She looks between the two of them, studying their faces.
Wanda realizes with a pang that she hasn't seen Laura since before Germany.
That was more than eight months ago.
"Hi." Wanda says, trying to come up with a more intelligible response, but finding herself incapable. None of the words that want to tip off her tongue will. They remain stuck.
Pietro only gives a slight dip of his head. Laura offers a wave to someone behind them and then bites on her lip, "Oh," she says, pointing to the luggage Pietro is carrying for the both of them. "I have the guest bedroom upstairs set up. You can take it or you can share with the others in the living room and I'll give it to someone else." The woman gives a slight laugh, "We don't really have all the space we need."
Pietro shrugs, looking to her. The thought of being cramped inside a single room makes something in her stomach churn, the stale smell of the recycled air of the Raft ghosting over her senses for a moment.
Wake up.
Wanda jerks her head a little to right herself and glances towards the living room. "I'd be more comfortable on the couch." She admits. Her voice feels small. Pietro nods without question and turns to the living room to drop their bags off in a corner that won't be in the way. She follows after him, spotting Natasha move to grab a chair at the table from the corner of her eye.
The others are occupying one of the couches, sprawled out in a way that suggests they've been there for a while. Tony is squished between Pepper and a teenager Wanda doesn't recognize, phone in hand. He looks uncomfortable. Rhodey is on Pepper's left and gives a slight nod to her when she makes eye contact with him. Her eyes stray to the braces guarding his legs and she worries her lip between her teeth, pulling her eyes away with effort.
She wasn't near the vicinity of this, but she still feels responsible.
However apprehensive she feels about seeing Pepper, Tony, and Rhodey again, Pietro doesn't share it. He drops the luggage off, steps across the room and pointedly drags the coffee table a little closer to the couch before plopping down on it. Pepper stops talking quietly with Rhodey to stare at him.
Pietro jabs Tony's knee with a pointer finger. She sees the teenager twitch from the corner of her eye, as if he wanted to stop Pietro's hand from making contact. Her lips thin. Power thrums on the tips of her fingers in a precaution, but she watches her brother from afar. He will not be the next cripple if she can help it.
"Did you get stuck on babysitting duty, Stark?" Pietro questions cheekily.
Tony looks up from his phone to glance at her brother, sigh, and then return to the device. "Hi, 3.14."
Pietro pokes him again. "Who is the kid?"
"He's right there." Tony gestures vaguely towards the teenager. "Ask him. He's my intern. And yeah, I did get stuck on babysitting duty. What's it to you?"
"'3.14'?" The teenager questions, looking between the two in confusion. "I thought you were Quicksilver. Not...are you some sort of math genius?"
Pietro laughs as she openly snorts. Their education is shoddy at best. They hardly went to school past ten in Sokovia and beyond the brief stint of schooling the Avengers provided for them in America, they are fairly helpless at basic concepts like math. Wanda can utilize it if she must, but it's not exactly a requirement with her job.
Tony sits up and lowers the phone. "No. Ha. That would be hilarious because he's an idiot. Lila couldn't pronounce his name right when they first met so she always called him 'Pi'."
"I'm not stupid." Pietro argues, folding his arms across his chest. "You just think everyone's an idiot."
"That's true." Tony concedes. "But not everyone. Mostly just you."
"Ha." Pietro says dryly. Through their bond, she can sense the slightest edge of unease, but it's heavily overshadowed. Something in her chest eases with relief as she sees how calm he is. He doesn't look worried about being stabbed through the middle or betrayed. Pietro has always had that with people, though. He trusts so deeply. Wanda can't. She doesn't know how; she's seen too much to have anything more than pessimism as a constant companion.
Her twin turns to the teenager, holding out a hand. "Zdorovat'sya. I'm Pietro Maximoff."
Looking a little frazzled, the teenager takes his hand, giving a polite shake. "I'd, uh, I'd put that together. Um, hi? I'm Peter. Peter Parker. What is zadtras...zadtraveste...strasvetche?"
Wanda's lip quirks. "It means hello." She inputs before her brother can offer another translation that will leave him confused and embarrassed if Peter tries to repeat this in front of another. Peter's eyes lift to her and his eyebrows shoot up as if he hadn't realized she was in the room. Tony tenses the slightest bit, gaze flitting across her for a moment.
Wanda pretends not to notice.
"Oh." Peter intones quietly and then looks up.
She feels rather than hears Steve take a hesitant step into the space behind her. A side effect of having linked their minds a few times when comms weren't working or would have been dangerous. She's done it with everyone on the team now since she joined. She doesn't need to turn to know they're there.
Pepper rests a hand on Tony's forearm and gives it a squeeze as Pietro quiets, twisting around. When Steve remains in the doorway behind her, Tony sighs with audible annoyance and looks past her towards the captain. "Clint's little demons are going to come running down that hall any moment now and unless you want to be barreled into, I suggest you take a step forward, Cap."
Steve remains still for a few seconds longer before taking the needed steps into the living room and positioning himself against the wall on her right. He folds his arms across his chest and frowns, lips almost white with how hard he's pressing them together. Wanda draws her gaze away, letting her eyes rove over the familiar layout and pictures.
The awkward silence only lasts for a few more minutes before Lila comes bursting down the stairs yelling at the top of her lungs. Wanda startles, twisting around and seeing a very unhappy Bruce being dragged down the steps behind the child. "We're all going to have so much fun! Mommy promised me a kitty!" she exclaims.
Wanda's eyebrow lifts. Did she now?
Lila drags Bruce past the doorway, wiggling her way into the room with ease and smiles cheerfully. "Who doesn't want a kitty? When I'm old, I'm going to have so many kitties that I won't be able to count them. Like the big fields filled up with cows, but it's kitties instead."
"Oh?" Tony asks, leaning forward on the couch. "And what does your dad think about this?"
"He agreed." Lila promises. "He said he'd help."
Of that Wanda has her doubts. Clint is a dog person. She doesn't think she's ever seen him go near a cat willingly before. Lila smiles innocently and turns around so she can stare at everyone in the room. The rest of the Avengers are huddled in the kitchen, if Wanda pulled her hair back she'd be able to see them with her peripheral vision. As it is, she doesn't need to. She can sense them well enough.
Lila offers a large smile. "I'm so glad all of you came, even though you hate each other now." Wanda openly sputters as a few of her teammates make similar noises. If Lila notices, she says nothing, "Let's celebrate!"
000o000
Wanda spends the following few hours making painful small talk with the others and almost clinging to Vision's side. She learns that if she nudges him to look like they're engaging in some sort of deep physiological discussion, that the other Avengers will mostly leave them alone. The party involves dinner, which is taken outside given the small space of the house. There's a wooden picnic table that's permanent, something that Pietro helped Clint repair when they stayed for a few weeks after he was shot. On top of that is a few foldable tables set up with flimsy chairs that are uneven and rock if she leans back too far.
It is, overall, a miserable experience.
This might have to do with the fact that she's not a people person, but the tenseness is so prominent between everyone and she wants to claw at it until it goes away. Will it help? She has her doubts. There's something deeply rooted here, and it isn't going to go away.
Vision, at least, doesn't seem to mind her sudden clinginess. He sits next to her at the table and, though he doesn't participate in eating anything, he engages in conversation and manages to keep it deflected off of her. She appreciates it. The meal is supposed to be some sort of sandwich bar, but she spends a majority of it flicking salad around her plate with a fork and watching Pietro do the same from the corner of her eye. She doesn't know if she's seen so much food be gathered onto plates and then ignored.
Lila wrangles a few of the others, including her brother and Peter, into some sort of ball game—she can tell that Pietro is cheating with his speed, even if the others don't—and they play that well until the sun has begun to set.
With dinner over and (thankfully) nothing beyond the presents and cake, Wanda tugs her sleeves down and wishes for warmer clothing as she scowls out towards where the sun set more than ten minutes. She's forgotten how cold the farm can get in the winter. It may be autumn, but the wind seems to have ignored that fact because a bitter breeze is sweeping over the field.
She rubs her hands together for warmth and scoots a little so she can lean against Vision's side. He wordlessly wraps his arm around her, letting her lean into his warmth. The other's are all gathered around the wooden picnic table as Lila opens her gifts, but Wanda hadn't been too inclined to move.
"Are you cold?" her beloved asks.
She nods, looking at him with a soft smile that feels more like a grimace. "It is not terrible. I will live."
Vision's head tips slightly. "I wish I had something to offer you. As it is, I can give nothing."
Lila makes an oohing noise and Wanda shifts some, trying to see over Laura's shoulder into the gathering, but can't. Whatever has made the seven-year-old offer this reaction is unknown to her. Wanda blows out a heavy breath and breathes into her palms.
The air around her jerks, but it's not a breeze and Wanda looks up to see her brother standing there. His silver hair is falling over his eyes, and the poor lighting shades his face with harsh, angry lines. He's holding a piece of cake out on a small plate with a plastic fork sticking off the top.
"Laura told me to give you this." He says.
She doesn't need the light to know that his gaze is lingering on Vision. She sighs and takes the cake from her brother and rests it on the picnic table without an intention of eating it. "Thank you." She says with as much sincerity as she can muster.
Pietro, as expected, doesn't move. "Why didn't you bring a jacket?" he asks.
Wanda raises an eyebrow. Both of them are well aware that Pietro watched her pack her bag silently from afar this morning. "I did. It didn't occur to me to bring it out here. I thought it would be warmer."
Pietro looks at Vision, something frustrated in his stare. "Well, your beloved seems to be more than enough of a personal heater, isn't he? I thought that metal would be colder."
"Do you need something?" she asks. She tries to keep the snap out of her voice but fails.
"My sister." He mutters. She doesn't think she was supposed to hear it, but even with the loud noises of the ongoing party, it doesn't deafen her. Her fists curl and she jerks a hand out to grab his wrist when he begins to move away.
"Stop. What are you talking about?" she demands. "Moe brat, I'm right here."
Pietro's shoulders tense, but he looks back at her, then Vision. "It's nothing. It just slipped out."
"That doesn't—" Wanda starts in frustration before breathing out slowly. "Listen. Vision and I aren't going to change anything. We are still family. You just don't seem to get that. You're always—"
"Stop it." Pietro cuts in, visibly tense. "Wanda, I don't want to talk about this now."
She shoves up to her feet, aware of how tense Vision is behind her. "We need to. You're becoming unbearable. Stop protecting me from him."
"I am not—"
"Yes, you are!" Wanda's aware that her voice is rising, but she doesn't care. This isn't the most opportune moment to have this discussion, but if it isn't now, when? They hardly see each other anymore since Pietro has been working his utmost to both ignore her and spend as much time as possible with her.
It's trying her insane.
Pietro's teeth grit. "Do you believe it would kill you to be less selfish?"
"'Selfish'—!" Wanda makes a noise she can't quite interpret. A sharp sensation washes through her, like she's been kicked in the stomach. "You're being ridiculous. How is me finding my vozlyublennaya selfish?"
Pietro throws up his hands. "He's a robot, Wanda. He rusts. He's not your one and only. He's barely above a vacuum."
Wanda bristles, feeling Vision backdown behind her. He was getting to his feet, and through the rolls of their telepathic link she can feel the hurt. Living things feel emotion, automated ones do not. "He is not!" she argues. "I love him!"
Pietro scoffs loudly. "How can you love a program?"
"He is not a program!"
"He is not even alive!" Her brother throws up his hands. "You do not have a future with him!"
How dare—!
Wanda grabs the front of his shirt and hauls him towards her. Her other fist is moving before she realizes what is happening, and for a wild, terrifying moment, she believes that she's actually going to hit her brother.
A hand grabs her forearm, and the moment passes.
Wanda struggles in the grip, attempting to wiggle free so she can properly tackle her sibling. "Take it back! How can you say that!?" Wanda shouts.
Pietro is yanked from her grip harshly by another figure, but her brother's eyes are wild.
"Wanda, enough." Steve's voice is flat and unamused. He pulls her away from her brother completely. She wants to protest, opens her mouth to do so, but Steve's heavy hand rests on her shoulder. Tony grabs Pietro's bicep and pulls his back a few steps. Wanda hadn't realized that her fist was beginning to glow until Steve's fingers sent a jolt through the limb.
She shakes her hand to ease the pressure.
"Wanda," Steve says quietly. His tone is almost pleading. She meets his eyes and he gives a small shake of his head in warning. Not here. Not now.
Wanda takes in the surroundings. The Barton farm. The decorations. This is supposed to be for Lila, and she's made a mess of it. Wanda exhales sharply through her nose and shakes off the remains of the power, shrugging off the hand from her shoulder. She sees the wide-eyed look of the Bartons behind Tony and realizes she must have been speaking louder than she thought. Only a handful of the Avengers are standing, the remainder still seated around Lila. Everyone is still.
Pietro is quiet, and then breathes out slowly in an attempt to calm himself. Wanda's muscles are beginning to ache from how hard she's clenched.
"Wanda, I am sorry." Pietro starts softly. His anger is still there. "That was out of line."
She scoffs, turning sharply on her heal. "No, you are not."
"I am!" Pietro shouts at her back. She doesn't turn and he swears. "Why are you so unsufferable!?"
The temptation to say something equally nasty crosses her mind, but she bites it back. She's said more than enough tonight. Their argument may have been brief, but it doesn't matter. They never fight.
They used to never fight.
But sometimes (often) she doesn't recognize her brother as of late. Especially since he fought against her in Germany.
000o000
She storms off to the barn and angrily grabs an empty milk tin. She hurls it across the room, but catches it with her powers before she can damage anything. This isn't hers to break. Clint is already on edge and frustrated enough. She doesn't need to add anything to his worries. She drops the tin and it clatters loudly, but is undamaged.
She's always been a better judge of her anger though. Her actions—if not words—are rarely something she'll regret when she's calmer. Pietro doesn't do that. He breaks things.
She rubs her temples and sighs heavily, leaning against a stall. One of Clint's two cows is present, watching her with soulless eyes as if casting judgement. She sneers at the animal, and then realizes how ridiculous she's being for doing so.
What good is angering the cow going to be?
The animal flicks her tail in annoyance.
Wanda remains in the quiet barn for some time, thinking, until she feels the familiar touches of Vision's mind growing closer. She turns towards the door, waiting expectantly. His red features slip into her line of sight a few moments later.
"Vis." She says tonelessly.
Vision sighs. "You're still upset."
Wanda pulls her gaze from him. "Pietro was being a brat. He didn't have cause to accuse you of being anything less than human."
Vision comes closer and gently takes her hand. "His words did not harm me."
"Liar. I felt your pain. What he said wounded you here," she taps his chest where, had he been made of flesh, a heart would have been beneath. It's never bothered her that he doesn't have a pulse, but she's suddenly very aware of it. His skin is cold beneath her touch. As if he's dead.
Vision catches her hand. "I am not alive, Wanda."
"How can you—?"
"Not in the traditional sense." He finishes. "Your brother spoke truth he tried to explain to me last month. It's nothing I have never heard before."
Wanda gapes at him. "When were you two discussing this? Did he—"
"It was my choice. I approached him, Wanda." Vision says carefully.
"Why?" she asks cautiously. "I can try and talk to him if he's bothering you."
His brow creases before he sighs and lifts her fingers to his lips. The sensation is faintly tingling, but her heart does that stupid fluttering again. "No. I…" he pauses, gaze locked with hers. "I asked...I asked his permission for your hand in marriage."
She gapes at him.
He…
It…
What?
They'd discussed it wistfully, but never seriously. She'd thought they would take more time. Perhaps it would never come, but he asked.
He asked for her.
"You…" she breathes out. Her fingers curl around his palm, and she suddenly feels dizzy. "We...us?"
"I want to stay with you, Wanda. For the rest of my days," Vision says softly.
Wanda's eyes feel wet. She wants to laugh and cry at the same time. "I do, too." She promises.
Vision looks around the barn before returning his gaze to her. "This isn't exactly how I envisioned this would go, but…" he slowly lowers to one knee, hand still gripping hers as his other lifts to his back pocket and Wanda feels her breath clench. Her hand lifts to her mouth. She knows her eyes are practically bulging from her face, but she can't—
Vision is—
He's—
Now?
"Wanda, will you do me the pleasure of being my—" the moment ends. The soft magic and light that had been surging between the two of them snaps shut. There's a brief moment where she feels two other minds touch her own, unfamiliar, before Vision makes a horrible gasping noise and a spear's edge is shoved through his chest.
The two of them stand still for a moment.
Wanda can't breathe.
What is going on!?
The blade twists and Vision gasps, trying to stagger away. She sees light flicker across his body as he tries to phase, but fails. How is that even possible? A scream of agony slips through his lips and Wanda snaps from her daze, magic thrumming on her fingertips. With a twist of her wrist, she sends red light across the open but dark barn, trying to see who the attacker is.
A tall woman with black scales etched around her yellow eyes meets Wanda's gaze. She flinches back from the light and sneers, but grabs the AI's shoulder and shoves him to the earth.
"Get off him!" Wanda demands, grabbing the woman with coils of the red and throwing her back.
"Nova!" the woman shouts as she slams against the wall. Wanda jerks, spinning around to try and find the other attacker, but thin, cold fingers wrap around her mouth and she's dragged back against a chest.
A dagger is pressed against her throat.
Wanda struggles against the grip, spitting out a curse in her native tongue that's muffled through his grip. She reaches for her magic, attempting to grab the knife, the man's boot—something, but the fingers around her mouth dig deeper, breaking skin and just as she's wrapping her red around his throat, everything seems to just...stop. A rush of cold smashes through her, causing her to shiver violently.
It's as if she's slammed into a wall at full force.
And it burns.
She gasps, hands wrapping around her gut. The light dies, bathing them in darkness again. The suddenness of it in contrast with the familiar red hue leaves her momentarily blinded.
"Wanda!" Vision says and attempts to get up to his feet. The woman is there again, and shoves her staff further through him. Vision cries out in pain and Wanda panics. She slams her foot against her captor's and shoves back with all her weight. Clearly unexpecting this, the two of them go tumbling backwards together onto the barn floor.
Wanda elbows her captor in the gut and twists, grabbing the dagger from his grip and rolling up to her feet. She moves for her beloved, trying to do something, but only sees him get thrown to the earth and the woman rip her staff from his chest only to attempt to dig it inside his head. Where the Mind Stone is. Vision lets out a howl of agony, and Wanda's veins alight with rage.
She reaches for her magic again, only to stagger into that wall again. Her free hand wraps around her gut and she tries to ignore the frantic panicking whirring through her mind. What did that man do to her!? It's not like the drugs the Raft gave to stop her. Those were ineffective. This is not. What did he do?
An audible noise escapes her, but she grips the dagger tighter and takes hazy aim. She only nicks the side of the woman's head, but it's enough to break her concentration. Wanda leaps forward and tackles the woman to the earth beside her beloved.
"Hands off!" she shouts, attempting to land her fist somewhere that will hurt. The woman makes a noise of pain and Wanda feels blood pool onto her fingertips.
"Wan…" Vision groans behind her.
The woman makes a noise of frustration before pain explodes through Wanda's gut and she's thrown backwards. Her back hits the ground before her head follows with a cla-clumping noise. The world spins. A moan slips through her lips and she attempts to breathe through the sudden tightness in her chest. Get. Up. Get up.
Vision. Vision. Vision.
She can't breathe. She reaches for the magic and cries out when the sharp pain coils in her gut. She can't do this. These people are here to kill Vision and she can't stop them on her own. She's useless. The man did something to her and now…
Wanda inhales deeply, swallows, and tries to shove up a little, but fails landing on her elbows. Praying that the group is still gathered in the yard, and doing her best to cast something mentally, "PIETRO!" she screams. "PIETRO! BRAT! HELP! HELP! WE'RE—mmmph!" The woman's fingers slam over her mouth and Wanda viciously brings her leg up to smash into her side, but the same fingers tear her lips open and grab for her tongue.
The sensation is sharp and painful. The woman's nails dig into the muscle when her grip slips from how wet it is.
"Try anything and I'll tear it out." The woman promises.
Wanda doesn't doubt her.
Her stomach plummets, but she remains firm. Please, please…
The other man does something to Vision—she can't see it in the dark—and he makes a harsh gasping noise, "Please," her beloved begs, "please…"
"We need to go." The man murmurs. Go where? What are they doing!?
There's the sound of a weapon being drawn. "Let me kill this one first. She'll cause a racket and Father told us to go quietly."
Fear pools in her stomach. Leather smacks against skin. "No, you idiot," the man argues, "a dead body isn't quiet. Give me a moment, I'll work with her head."
What—wait—
The woman openly scoffs. "Of course. Because you've done so well thus far."
Fingers brush against her temples and Wanda nearly snaps back, but remembers at the last moment that the woman is holding her tongue. The fingers are cold, almost painfully so and she flinches. A foreign presence touches at her head and Wanda panics.
What are they doing?
He said...he said that he was going to mess with her head. Her memories. He's going to—no! No!
"Wanda!" her brother cries. The fingers snap away from her temples and the man releases a swear under his breath. "Wanda, what—!?"
Pietro is here. He can help her fix this. He'll have the two defeated before they can exhale again. Relief smashes into her and Wanda grabs the forearm of her captor, attempting to loosen her grip by applying enough pressure. The woman hisses, and she feels her brother through their bond. He's near the entrance. He can almost see inside.
"Sestra? I swear—"
A wall of green light flares and she hears her brother let out a noise of pain. "He's enhanced," the man says roughly, "he's been touched by the Stone like she has."
The woman releases an expletive, pulling on her tongue for a moment. Wanda makes a gagging noise, both her hands moving to grab for the forearm in panic. "We don't have time for this. We'll have to take her, too." The woman hisses.
"We can't." The man argues. "She's dead weight."
"You're the one who didn't want to kill her!"
"Wanda!" Pietro cries. She flicks her gaze towards the source of the noise and through an awkward angle can see her brother smashing his fist against what looks like a wall of sheer power. It only glows a deep green when his skin makes contact with it, otherwise it's invisible.
Pietro.
No! No!
"Others are coming," the man hisses, "I can feel them. Let her go and let's take the creature. We can handle a few witnesses."
"Fine!" the woman releases her mouth and shoves her back. Wanda staggers several steps, hands going to her jaw by reflex as her tongue alights with a burning sensation. She hears the two move across the room and attempts to reach for her magic again.
Nothing.
Blue light whirls her peripheral vision, but Pietro only meets the same problem on the other side of the barn. "Captain!" her brother shouts, "Captain, help!"
Steve.
She doesn't let the relief distract her. A wave of light has begun to circle around the figures—Vision is slung over the man's shoulder—reminding her vaguely of the Bifrost. No! They're taking him. They're taking him and if she doesn't stop them now, there may not be another chance. She doesn't think, she just reacts. Throwing herself forward as far as she can, she grabs at an arm with a vice-like grip. The last thing she sees is her brother's wide eyes meeting her own.
And then, there's nothing, and she's jerked up in the light with the others.
Author's Note: Thanks again for your support, it's meant a lot.
Next chapter: November 22, 29th or sometime in between that.