Hey all! I'm sorry for posting this so late again (it's nearing midnight where I am). This one is another longish one. It might be a bit boring but I wanted to make sure this story was more than just WinterWitch moments. I'll leave that for another fanfic.
Anyway, like always, I don't own any of these characters or anything relating to them.
X_X_X
What the hell? the Winter Soldier thought to himself.
His mind was a storm of emotions and thoughts he'd never had before and it was frustrating him.
Right after you told her the kiss shouldn't have happened you go and kiss her again!
Mentally, the Soldier had given himself a good beating. In the real world though, he was emotionless as he walked down the hallways down to meet with Pierce. The man had insisted in a report of the twin's first practice with their powers. Stopping at the door leading to the office, the Soldier knocked once.
"Come in," came out the reply.
Walking in, the Soldier stood in front of the desk for five minutes before Alexander Pierce finally glanced up from his computer.
"Report, Soldier?" he asked.
"Today's practice went well," replied the Soldier. " The boy was nearly invisible in the fight making it impossible to land a hit."
"That's good," Pierce said, typing notes onto his computer.
"Would you say he's good to go onto the field?" he asked.
The Soldier thought about it for a second.
"If the goal is to distract, yes. However I don't think his fighting skills are enough to fight on a mission. We've been practicing one-on-one which can be rare on the missions we do for HYDRA. I've also been thinking about working on his strength so that he can be useful for evacuation," the Soldier answered honestly.
"Get started on that for tomorrow, then," Pierce said.
The Soldier nodded and moved on to his next topic.
"The Maximoff girl showed her ability to read her opponent's mind while being active in a fight. She used her powers to anticipate her attacker's moves and avoid being hit," he said.
"That will be useful for future attacks," Pierce said, already thinking of where he'd like to send her to.
"Sir, if I may," interrupted the Soldier. At Pierce's nod, he continued. "The girl's powers drained her during training today. I would give her more time to adjust to them before sending her out as well."
Pierce leaned back in his chair and considered his options.
He was eager to get the twins out onto the floor and join the Asset for missions. However, the Soldier still had his doubts about their strength. He could give them another month and then have them do a test run. At different times, so that HYDRA could keep them in control should something go wrong. These kids were something new to him and he was unsure of how to proceed.
"Very well," began Pierce. "From now on the boy will be training with Rumlow and his team. There he will gain the experience needed to fight multiple men at once. I'll also tell Rumlow to work on his strength."
The Soldier nodded.
"As for the girl… I want you to keep training with her. I'll give you both access to the north field and I want you to take her out to practice real scenarios. If she can detect a Soldier like you sneaking up on her, she'll be able to sense anything. I also want you present in her training with List so you can understand her powers better and find a way to incorporate those into her fighting style," Pierce said, furiously typing on his computer.
The Soldier nodded before turning to leave, fighting the small flicker of happiness growing in him at having to spend more time with Wanda.
X_X_X
"Pietro, I'm telling you this as your sister, because I want you to live a long, happy life… You need to dye your hair back to brown," Wanda said with as much seriousness as she could muster.
Pietro snorted and shoved her away.
"Please. You're just jealous that my hair's blonde and yours isn't. Don't think I don't know you've always secretly wanted blonde hair," he said, opening the door for her as they walked out into the "backyard" as they called it.
It was only a fenced area where the guards could go during their free time but no body used it, so List had gotten them access to the area. "To burn off energy," he had said.
"I'm serious, brother. It washes you out. And those roots are absolutely horrendous," she said, flipping her hair back.
Pietro's laughter echoed around the open field as the twins walked around the courtyard.
"So how's your training going?" he asked.
It felt weird to ask her something like that, as he was so used to doing everything with her and just knowing from experience.
"It's alright," Wanda said, fighting off the blush that threatened to rise.
Pietro immediately noticed.
"Whoa, what's that? Are you actually blushing? Wanda you have to tell me everything," he said, pulling her to a stop.
Wanda looked around and made sure there was no one near.
"The Soldier and I may have kissed… a couple of times," Wanda finally admitted.
She would've found her brother's open mouth and wide eyes funny if the situation were different, but at the moment she was terrified of his response.
"Wanda!" he whispered yell.
No one could have heard them, but Wanda still made shushing motions and glanced around them.
"I know Pietro, I'm-" but she was cut off.
"How was it? Did he kiss good? What did he taste like? Smell like? Wanda-" but this time she cut him off.
"Pietro?" she asked, the "what the hell?" clear in her tone.
"What?" he asked. "You're the more thoughtful one of us two, which is why your powers are related to the mind. I know you know the dangers of getting close to him, but if you think you can do it then I won't stop you. Besides, when was the last time you kissed a guy?"
At this Wanda groaned.
"Year five, wasn't it? When that Luka guy kissed you during recess?" he asked, a slight teasing to his words.
"If you weren't my brother I would have thrown you across this field," Wanda said throwing him a glare.
His resulting laughter was cut short when the doors to the field opened and Pierce walked out.
Afraid of doing something wrong, the twins stood up straight and kept their mouths shut. Their eyes were glued to Pierce's movements, which seemed to be bringing him closer.
"Hello Pietro, Wanda," he greeted with a smile.
"Hello Mr. Pierce," the twins answered hesitantly.
"Please, call me Alexander," he said, his face softening. "I realize we haven't had the chance to talk much, so when List said I'd find you out here I came as soon as I could."
Wanda looked at Pietro and he returned her questioning stare.
"Did you need something, sir?" Pietro asked.
"Oh, no, not at all. I just wanted to chat. Get to know you two. I know you're afraid of me, if that look was anything to go by, but you don't need to. I'm your friend here. In fact, I admire you so much for the work you're doing for HYDRA," he said, placing a hand on each twin.
Wanda got a read on him while his hand was on her shoulder and she could tell his words were true. Before she could dig in deeper, he took his hands off.
"I know how hard it is to work for HYDRA. All the things you have to give up and all the struggles you have to go through. Working with the Winter Soldier is no easy thing and I really respect you two for being able to stand your ground against him," Pierce said.
"Mr. Pierce," Wanda said, needing to stop his praise.
"Please Wanda, call me Alexander," he said with a gentle smile.
"Right. Um, Alexander-" but she was cut off.
"You know, you remind me a lot of my daughter. She's reserved and doesn't talk much, but when she does, people are blown away by her intelligence," he said. "I imagine it's the same with you, with your powers. At least, from what I've seen. And by the way, I do apologize for what happened the other day with your training. I hated having to make you do something like that but I hope you understand it's part of the job," he continued.
Wanda was beginning to wonder if he would ever shut up.
"It's alright, Mr. Pier… Alexander," she corrected.
He smiled at her before turning to her brother.
"Pietro, I've heard such wonderful things about you from my soldier. According to him, you could be on your way to going out on missions soon," he said.
Wanda's heart clenched at the thought of her brother going out into battle.
"In fact, we're switching you off to another trainer, Brock Rumlow. He'll help you get an idea of what it's really like in everyday missions for HYDRA. The Soldier, while the best of the best, doesn't take on as many missions as Rumlow."
Pietro furrowed his eyebrows before a grin broke across his features.
"Yes, sir, I can't wait to start," her brother said.
"Very well," Pierce said, "It was great getting to talk with you two. We'll have to set up more times to chat," he said, turning around and going back inside the building.
Wanda's heart was left feeling uneasy as her brother began to talk about "this exciting new opportunity to prove ourselves."
X_X_X
A timid knock shook the Soldier out of his sleep.
Cautiously, he neared the door and listened for activity on the other side.
"Soldier? Are you awake?" the barely audible voice of Wanda reached his ears. He quickly opened the door and pulled her in.
"Wanda, what are you doing here?" he asked in a whisper. Glancing at his alarm clock told him it was ten to midnight.
"I couldn't sleep," she said before her eyes widened. "I mean, I was sleeping just fine but then I had a nightmare and I couldn't go to sleep after that and I remember Alexander saying that if we ever needed anything to go to him or you and I just thought that since you're closer-"
The Soldier stopped her rambling with a finger to her lips.
"Wanda, breathe. Come here, sit on the bed," he said, gently pulling her towards his bed. As she sat down he pulled his desk chair over to her and sat across from her.
"I'm sorry," Wanda said, looking at the floor, causing her hair to fall around her and cover her face.
"I was just so scared when I woke up and it made sense to come to you. But I can see that I've woken you. I'm sorry," she said, softer than he's ever heard her.
Something inside him ached for the girl sitting on his bed.
"It's alright, Wanda. My door is always open to you and your brother. It's my job as your trainer to help you in whatever you need," he said, lifting her head up and looking into her eyes. He was shocked to find tears.
This wasn't in my training, he thought to himself, but put on the appearance of a listening friend.
Or at least I hope that's what I'm portraying, he thought.
Wanda could tell he was uncomfortable. It was rolling off of him in waves, but she appreciated his attempt at comforting her.
Wiping away the tears in her eyes, Wanda told him about her nightmare.
"I'm just scared that something might happen to him," she finally told him, getting to the root of her distress.
"Pietro's the only family I have left. If something were to happen to him I think I'd die," she said, wringing her hands.
Another set of hands grasping her own made her look up. The Soldier's eyes bore into her own and she could feel a sense of peace at that moment.
"I won't lie to you, Wanda," he said. "Missions can be dangerous. Sometimes we lose soldiers. But," he paused, bringing her hands up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on them.
"I promise you I'll look out for your brother when I take him with me," he said.
Relief washed through Wanda and she threw her arms around the Soldier.
"Thank you, Soldier," she said. "It means a lot to me."
You shouldn't be doing this, he scolded himself.
The Soldier hesitated for a breath before wrapping his arms around Wanda.
"Anything for you, Little Witch," he said, pressing his lips to the side of her head.
