I am so, so, so very sorry that I haven't uploaded in so long. I've been stressed and busy with getting a job. I finally succeeded and I can't wait to start.

Another reason I haven't uploaded in so long is because I wanted to get it right. A couple of people have been waiting for this and I didn't want it to be crap. Writer's block severely affected me during this chapter and everything that I did manage to write just didn't seem great so I've spent a while perfecting and editing it.

So, here it goes:

I snapped back to reality where, every second, I landed a blow of some sort on the bag in front of me. Steve had let go, clearly waiting for me kick it off which was inevitable. I couldn't get a grip on my actions and with a few more kicks, it flew across the hall and landed with a thud. Everyone in the room halted to see me breathing heavily, fists still raised and ready to beat the living daylights out of something else.

When I actually realised what I was doing, I lowered my hands and stood up straight. My sudden consciousness of my feelings had shocked me to the core and I didn't know what to do.

I had an urge to just hug Wanda and I think she knew because she sidled up to me and wrapped her arms around me, resting her body against mine. I responded immediately and held her close, placing a kiss on her forehead. I didn't want to let her go again but she would cotton on to the fact something was wrong if she didn't know already.

In fact, thinking about it, she probably did know already. She can read me like an open book. We released each other and Wanda gave me a smile before wrapping up her hands. Steve had placed the punching bag back on the hook whilst I calmed myself down. I took the bandage from Wanda's hands and did it for her, smiling gently at her. I got caught in her gaze for a few moments, her brown eyes warm and welcoming, before looking back down to focus on what I was doing.

As soon as I had tucked in that last stray piece of bandage, she turned around to give the punch bag hell. I grinned and walked towards the mats in the corner. I settled myself into the press-up position and started on my usual 100 press-ups within two minutes. As soon as I complete them, I sit up, catching my breath back and give my arms the opportunity to recover. I look next to me to see that Sam had joined me at some point. He appeared to be struggling and so I gave him a few pointers and adjusted his body position and they flowed a lot more naturally.

I looked up to see that my best friend had paused to have a drink. I hopped to my feet and wandered over to where her, Steve and Nat were conversing between themselves.

"Hey, guys." I poked my best friend in the back. She didn't even react. She just raised an eyebrow when she caught my eye. I shrugged and smirked in response.
"Hey, Piper! You've recovered from earlier then?"
"Yeah, I just had a lot of stuff on my mind and well, the punch bag became an excellent place to think and vent."
"We could tell," Steve smirked.
"So, what got you so wound up?"
"Oh, it was just something and nothing but it just got to me, you know?"
"Was it about your past?" Wanda was staring at me with a piercing gaze like she was reading my soul.
"No, no, not at all. I'd be way angrier if it was about that and you, my dear," I nudged Wanda with my elbow, "would have to prevent me from doing something stupid." She shrugged.
"That is true." There was a teasing manner to her tone.
"No, it was just about the fact that Doom still has my hunting knife and I want it back."
"We'll be going back there, don't you worry, and we'll be taking him down," Nat patted my shoulder reassuringly.
"Good. Well, I genuinely think I've sweated enough moisture to fill Lake Superior so I'm gonna go take a shower, is that cool?" I started towards the exit.
"Yeah, no problem. See you at dinner?"
"Since when do I skip meals?" They laughed. "You coming, Maximoff?"
"I'll be up in fifteen, after you've showered."
"Okay."

I took my time to shower, trying to calm my thoughts and racing heart. This was gonna be difficult to cope with and I needed a clear head to think rationally and calmly. I heard the door to our room open and close which meant that Wanda was back and she'd probably want to shower. I turned off the water and started drying, pulling on my suit again.

I opened the bathroom door to see Wanda sitting on my bed with an odd look on her face. I took a seat next to her and instantly she laced our fingers together. I smiled to myself and turned to look at her, studying her carefully. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as though she was trying to work out how to say something before it clamped shut altogether. She turned to face me after a minute of sitting there in silence. I could hear the cogs in her head turning.

"Are you okay?" I whispered after another minute of silence. She nodded and smiled lightly.
"I want to say something and I don't know how."
"What about?"
"You." She paused. "Me. Us."
"Us?"
"I never ever want to lose you, Piper, ever. I can't cope with you gone. I need you by my side, causing trouble together, forever, no matter how old we get."
"You will never lose me. I'm with you until the very end. I will never leave you, no matter what happens; I will fight to have you by my side for the rest of our lives."
"Please, I need to get this out," she sounded desperate so I closed my mouth and waited for her to continue. "Ever since we were captured and then you taking the majority of the beatings, saving my life and then we were rescued, I realised something about myself, about you, as well." Wanda was staring me dead in the eye as she was speaking to me. "I realised just how far our connection ran. I can't communicate with anyone else on our team the way I can with you. I can read you on an emotional level and the only other person I've had some form of communication with was Pietro and that was because we had our psychic twin thing that we were born with. Which was then enhanced because of our abilities," she trailed off, a distant look in her eye.
"My dear, you're mumbling." My heat had started racing faster and faster with every word she spoke.
"Sorry, anyway. Sure I can read what everyone is thinking but we, us," she gestured between us. "Connect on a level that no scientist or psychologist could ever explain and it would probably baffle even Strucker. We can talk in our heads and I can't do that with anyone else but I've realised why it is; I had a dream last night that explained it." She was smiling, like, full-on beaming as she paused and I waited with baited breath for the explanation of our deep connection.
"And that is…?" I prompted.
"We're soulmates." She grinned. Holy shit, is it hot here, or what? "And I know you feel it too; - god, your thoughts are loud, by the way - when you nearly destroyed the punch bag in the gym, every thought process you had, I could hear as though you were telling me directly. Every emotion played out in front of my eyes like a movie. I don't get that with anyone else. I didn't even get that with my twin brother." I didn't know how to react. She just dropped a massive fucking bombshell on me that we're soulmates and possibly she feels the same way too. I take a deep breath and noticed that all of a sudden, my best friend was extremely close. Had she leaned in or was it me? Or had we both moved closer to each other? My eyes flickered down to her lips a few times. I really wanted to kiss her but I have to confirm what she is saying to me.
"Do," I started unsurely; this was unfamiliar territory for me. "Do you feel the same way?" She nodded with a barely-contained grin, causing me to smile.
"Do you think I would be telling you all this if I didn't feel the same way? If I didn't feel we should take that step further? As soon as I heard your thoughts in the gym, I knew I was going to tell you my dream. If I hadn't heard you then, I wasn't going to say anything and just file it away, let the more-than-platonic feelings fade."
"I have to say now, mine will never fade, not ever."
"Good, because neither will mine." We moved our faces impossibly closer without actually touching. "So, what do you say, Ice Queen?" she licked her lips. "Are you ready to take that step further?" There was a hint of nervousness in her tone and so I responded by finally connecting our lips, my eyes closing straight away. Actions spoke louder than words, right?

Any feedback for me? I always like to be told how I can improve. or, if you have any suggestions for the story or something you want to see, let me know in a review or PM and I'll try and add it in.