Pick a Card
Choosing a paint color turned out to be much harder than you thought. When you finally narrowed it down to your top two, Wanda put the swatches behind her back and asked you to close your eyes.
"Okay, Y/N. Left hand, or right?"
"Um... right!" You said impulsively.
"And the winner is... mountain pine green."
You opened your eyes, and Wanda handed you the swatch. It was a pretty color, and you hoped it would make the large room feel cozy and less like a luxury hotel.
"Wanda," you started, still staring at the swatch. "Am I a bad person?"
Wanda stared at you, confused. "Because you picked a paint color? If you want, we can do an accent wall. It might look nice."
"I'm such a coward. I should've said goodbye to Kilroy before they took him." Your face was hot and you clenched your jaw to stave off the wave of emotion that surprised you both.
"Y/N..." you felt Wanda's hand on your arm.
"Sorry," you shook your head, trying in vain to shake away the guilt.
"What would you say?" Wanda's voice was pure curiosity, and you couldn't help but stare at her bright green eyes as they focused on your face. She sat down on the edge of your bed and motioned for you to join her.
"I..." your brain tried to find an answer as you sat. What would you say? The last time you'd attempted an honest conversation, you almost strangled him to death. "I know I shouldn't, but I care about him. As fucked up as it is, he's the only family I have left."
You could feel Wanda's shoulders droop at the mention of your family. It was her magic, after all, that had cost your two brothers their lives.
"I didn't mean ––" you stumbled, wishing your throat was still too sore to talk. How could you be so stupid? But before you could apologize, Wanda's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and quickly answered.
"Hey, Nat." Wanda covered the speaker but it was pointless against your enhanced hearing. Natasha's reply on the other end was as loud as if you'd been standing right next to her.
"We've been ambushed. Keep Y/N safe at the compound. Clint's headed back to help."
Before you realized what you were doing, you ripped the phone out of Wanda's hand. "Nat? Is Kilroy okay?"
Nat yelled over a flurry of gunshots. "Stay there, Y/N! It's a trap."
Your panicked eyes found Wanda's. "We've got to do something."
"You heard Nat. We need to stay here and wait for Clint."
"I can't." Your body was halfway to the door when you felt a tug around your waist. You looked down and saw Wanda's red magic curling around your abdomen. You twisted your neck and stared at Wanda in shock. Her hands glowed as she moved them rhythmically, controlling the tether.
"Wanda, let me go."
"I don't want to do this, Y/N. But we have to trust Nat. What if this is part of Dreykov's plan?"
You stopped fighting the tether and you could feel Wanda relax her grip, though the magic still swirled around your waist. "You think this is Dreykov?"
Wanda shrugged as the red tendrils dissipated. "You were in the same meeting I was. Nat seemed convinced it wasn't a matter of if, but when. Let Nat and Steve handle it."
A lump caught in your throat, and you turned your face away from Wanda. "I need to take a walk."
This time Wanda let you open the door, but just as you were about to leave, something brushed your hand. You looked down to see Wanda's fingers curling around your own.
Your eyes met and Wanda gave you a small, reassuring smile. "It'll be okay."
"You okay?" Steve crouched next to Nat as she slid another clip into her gun.
"Never better," Nat replied, using the flipped SUV as cover while she lined up her next target. Her raised arm revealed a gash running down her side that Steve eyed with concern.
Nat pointed to the lead SUV, still right side up and surprisingly unscathed. "You think we can make a run for it?"
Maria and Fury were already outside, using the engine block as cover while Kilroy cowered in the backseat.
"Get behind my shield and run on three." Nat nodded and ducked behind Steve's shield, ready to sprint.
"One, two, three." They ran in perfect unison. Nat counted the bullets as they bounced off the vibranium. There were over a dozen direct hits before they reached the intact SUV.
"Look who decided to show up," Fury said by way of greeting.
"Where's Clint?" Maria asked as her eyes found the same gash on Nat's side. It looked deep and Maria didn't like the dark red stain spreading across Natasha's jacket.
"I sent him back to the compound."
"You think this is Dreykov?" Maria asked, skeptical.
"Let's move, people," Fury commanded.
Steve provided cover as Maria jumped into the driver's seat and Fury joined her in front.
"Shit," was all Natasha said as she slid in the backseat with Kilroy.
"What?" Maria asked as she gunned the gas and the car sped forward.
Nat stared at the bullet hole in Kilroy's chest, feeling his neck for a pulse she knew wasn't there.
"He's dead."
Natasha winced as the SHIELD doctor stitched the gash on her side, already angry at the recovery that lay ahead.
Kilroy's body reclined on the gurney next to her while Hill and Steve paced around the room.
"I don't understand." Steve said for the fifth time since they arrived at SHIELD's New York field office. "Why ambush us? Why kill him? It doesn't make any sense."
Maria was more composed, her face a stoic mask as her brain ran all the possible scenarios. Finally, she spoke. "Who knew the Avengers had Kilroy in their custody?"
Nat ran through the list, just as much to participate in the conversation as to distract herself from yet another stitch. "The three of us, Fury, Clint, the rest of the team, and Y/N."
Maria looked at Nat. "You sure this is Dreykov?"
Nat sighed. "I honestly have no idea. It doesn't make any sense to me either. Kilroy is pretty small potatoes. Unless he had some well-armed enemies we didn't know about, it has to be about something bigger."
Nat's phone started to ring, and Maria answered it on speaker. "Clint, you back at the compound?"
The archer's voice echoed through the room. "Yeah, I'm here. Wanda and Y/N are making dinner."
Everyone in the room seemed to breathe a silent sigh of relief.
"Great. Because I'm starving," Steve said, trying to lighten the mood.
"We'll be back soon, Clint. Just hold down the fort." Nat stood as the doctor secured a bandage over the stitches.
You motioned for Clint to hand you the phone as you stirred tomato sauce on the stove. "Nat?" you said, your voice full of nerves. "Can you give Kilroy a message for me?"
Your timid voice caught everyone off guard and all eyes snapped to Kilroy's corpse. Nat took the phone from Maria as she tried to keep her voice neutral.
"Of course, Y/N. What do you want to tell him?"
Wanda squeezed your arm as she chopped peppers next to you.
"Tell him I forgive him." You whispered into the phone, your voice thick. A tear dropped into the sauce and you stirred, hoping neither Clint or Wanda noticed.