You and Me
On reflex, the first thing Wanda did when she opened her eyes in the morning was reach out to the other side of the bed... The only problem was the space that used to be occupied by you was empty. Cold. Wanda couldn’t help but feel empty from your absence just the same.
Images of your smiling face greeting her first thing filled her mind, but it brought her no comfort. The only thing that would brought her comfort would have been the sight of your loving eyes and being wrapped in your warm embrace.
With a heavy sigh, Wanda pulled the sheets back over her head, not wanting to start the day without you by her side.
Footsteps pounded up the stairs just as Wanda covered her head. Her mind beginning to race with thoughts of the night before. “Mom, are you coming down soon?” Charlie asked, as the twins skidded to a stop beside the bed.
Billy nodded along in agreement. “Something weird is happening with our game.”
After not receiving a response Charlie tentatively reached out to poke Wanda with a finger. “Is she asleep?”
Wanda pressed her lips in a line at her children’s antics. “Mommy’s not sleeping, honey. She’s just resting her eyes.”
“Mom, my head feels weird too. It’s like… really noisy. I don’t like it.” Billy added worriedly as Wanda pulled the sheets down tiredly.
Her mind was still racing as she felt the lack of your presence even more. “Resting. Her. Eyes.” She mumbled. Wanda understood Billy’s dilemma, but she figured it could be addressed later. When she didn’t feel completely at a loss anymore.
Billy and Charlie shared confused glances before slowly backing out of the room.
The peace and quiet was short lived because the twins began arguing loudly downstairs almost immediately after they left. With a sigh she flung the sheets back, rubbing her hand down her face as she prepared to become a functioning human being once again.
____________
When your eyes opened once again, you immediately began searching for emerald eyes that you had grown accustomed to waking up to. Instead you were greeted with the sight of patchy grass. The confusion that muddled your mind made it almost impossible to sit up because you had no idea where you were.
Eventually you stumbled to your feet, rubbing at your eyes in annoyance as the residual fear that remained from the night before slowly began fading away.
The fear quickly vanished when you were finally took in the sight of a- “Circus? What the fu-”
“Oy! You there! You the new trapeze artist? You’re late and your partner has been waiting!” A man in tights marched over to you, poking your shoulder with a rigid finger.
It took a calming breath for you to not sweep the man’s legs out from under him. “Try that again.” The dry retort fell easily from your lips as you met the man with a challenging stare. You couldn’t help but feel pleased at the way he sputtered.
The man became flustered at your tone, clearly not expecting anything other than submission from you. “Just… Follow me.” He grumbled and walked off.
As he began walking off you couldn’t help but notice a certain bespectacled woman chained to a tractor off in the distance. The image of her worried face flashed briefly in your mind’s eye.
The woman from last night.
You slowly began making your way over to her because there was a connection to her and life outside of Westview. She could be the key for you.
Her head tilted slightly in a mocking nature when you came to a stop in front of her. “Can I help you or were you just planning on staring at me all day? Because if you are just know I plan to charge.”
“You don’t recognize me from last night?” Her eyes widened. “We locked eyes. We had a connection.”
For a moment the woman just stared at you. “Um… Hard pass.” She pulled off the prop chains and began walking away.
"Wait, what?" You made a face at the implication that you were hitting on her, confused to how you had even gotten to that point.
After a minute you shook off the confusion and ran after her. "Wait up!” Despite calling after her, the woman continued briskly walking away. “Um, excuse me? You tried to help me.”
“Doubtful. I’m notoriously selfish.” She flippantly called over her shoulder.
In one final attempt, you stepped in her path to stop her from advancing any further. “Please, just hear me out. I think you were part of a team trying to figure out what’s going on in Westview but well, now you’re a part of Westview.”
A blank stare was all you received in response until she sighed. “Fine. I’ll go out with you. I expect to be impressed. I’m talking flowers and chocolates.”
“What?” You whispered to yourself in confusion as she turned to leave again. The tingling in your fingers sparked again. “Oh look! A puppy riding a unicycle!”
When she turned to look you hovered your fingers over her temples, feeling the energy travel from the air around you, into your hands and disappear in her mind. “Woah.” She mumbled stumbling slightly on her feet. You reached out a hand to steady her.
“Are you alright?”
The woman rubbed at her eyebrow. “You know, I secretly wanted a spot on the show, but wow. That sucked.” She lightly stroked her own arm. “I missed you, Darcy.” She mumbled quietly to herself.
You couldn’t help but make a face at her odd behavior before you continued on. “What’s your name? Your real name?”
“Darcy Lewis.”
You snapped your fingers in recognition. “Dr. Darcy Lewis… From the email I read with Ellie!”
“Oy! I’m not going to ask you again! Your partner is waiting for you!” The man in tights shouted from the entrance of the tent.
Ignoring him, you turned back to Darcy. “Dr. Lewis, I have questions.”
Darcy nodded, a look of understanding in her eyes. “I have answers.” She gestured vaguely to van off to the side of the road. “I think we should probably get out of here first.”
Before you could make a getaway, the man marched back over to you. “Are you deaf? I said you’re up! Both of you!”
You pouted dramatically. “Oh, that’s too bad... We’ll be leaving now. Bye!” You said cheerfully.
The man grabbed Darcy by the arm, pulling her back. “She’s not going anywhere!”
Before you could react, Darcy spun around and punched the man in the nose. You nodded approvingly as you both scrambled into the van locking the doors behind you. “To the Maximoff residence I presume?”
You nodded vaguely at her question before rushing to ask her questions. “Dr. Lewis, my questions. Are the twins safe?”
Darcy grimaced slightly as she started the car. “That I don’t know.”
You frowned but moved onto your next question. “And Anna and Pietro. They’re not really Anna and Pietro, are they?” Darcy shook her head slightly. “Who are they and why are they here?”
Darcy shrugged. “Beats me.”
“Has anyone ever told you how helpful you are?” You asked sarcastically.
Darcy grinned as she began driving. “All the time.”
________________________
The only thing that seemed capable of bringing Wanda even just a brief sense of comfort was wearing your robe which she pulled on after getting dressed.
Before she began to trek downstairs, she allowed herself a moment to take in the scent that lingered in the clothing. If she closed her eyes long enough, it felt like you were there, and she was in your arms and things were simple again.
Again, the peace was disturbed by the twins screaming. Dazedly she made her way downstairs, barely noticing the way the two children watched her as she made her way into the kitchen.
The glitching of the milk made Wanda weary, but she couldn’t find it within herself to care enough about the issue. What did it matter if you weren't there? This lifestyle didn't matter if the most important piece wasn't there.
All she had was the twins now.
Feeling herself begin to spiral, she quickly decided to move on. There was nothing she could do to fix the situation at the moment. Not with the milk. Not with you.
What she could fix was her hunger as she took a bite of her cereal and made her way into the living room with the twins. “Have you seen your Mother?” She knew it wasn’t likely, but she hoped maybe you had come home.
Billy’s focus shifted from the game over to Wanda, a look of concern on his face. “No. Do you want to go look for her?”
Despite feeling anything but, Wanda shrugged nonchalantly. “Well if she doesn’t want to be here there’s nothing I can do about it.” She said in an exceedingly chipper voice before reaching for the remote to distract herself.
Once again Billy and Charlie exchanged worried looks. “Um, Mom,” Wanda hummed, keeping her eyes on the TV. “Last night uncle P said that thing… That thing about Momma dying again?”
Wanda tensed before turning to face the twins again. “That man is not your uncle. Don’t believe anything he says.”
“Aunt A was also telling us something about Momma and Ms. Hart-” Charlie began, her nose scrunched slightly.
The knuckles on Wanda’s hand became white as her grip on the remote tightened. “Don’t listen to her either. Nothing they say is true. There is nothing with Momma and Ellie.” She snapped. “Those people are not your aunt and uncle.”
“Who are they then?” Charlie asked cautiously.
For a moment Wanda just stared at the twins before she put her cereal down. “Here’s the thing. I’m your mom and you count on me to have all the answers, right?” The twins nodded hesitantly. “Well I don’t. I have no answers. Zip, zero, zilch. Nada. Niente.” A hysterical laugh fell from her lips that made the twins eye her warily.
Wanda could feel herself grasping desperately at the last strings of her sanity but she couldn't stop. It was as though the floodgates had opened once she opened her mouth. The censor she would usually use around the twins long gone.
“I’m starting to believe that everything is… Meaningless.” Both Billy and Charlie’s eyes widened. “You’re welcome to draw your own conclusions of course, but that’s just where I’m at.” Wanda said cheerfully as she moved to sit in between them.
Billy grimaced. “Mom, are you o-”
A knock on the door interrupted him as Wanda lazily waved her hand to open the door. “Hi, Agnes. Come on in.” Wanda muttered distractedly, her eyes once again locked on the TV as she leaned back against the couch. “I’d get up, but I just don’t want to.” She added with an unhinged laugh.
Agnes approached the couch as if she were approaching a wounded animal. “Hey kiddos, why don’t we give your mom some me time?”
With a soft gasp, Wanda perked up. “Agnes, are you sure?”
Dismissively waving her hand, Agnes nodded as she ushered the twins to their feet. “Oh, of course!
“Do we have to, Mom?” Charlie said with a groan.
Billy frowned slightly. “Someone needs to be here to take care of you.”
Wanda laughed. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Just go with Agnes.”
“I promise I won’t bite.” Agnes added, laughing along with Wanda. Almost as soon as Agnes ushered the twins out of the house, everything around Wanda began glitching. An unnerving feeling settling in the air as she wearily waved her hands to reset the room to its former appearance.
Despite her attempts to reset the home the room around her continued changing. Wanda felt anxiety build in her chest. Control was slipping through her fingers like grains of sand and she was worried she had no way of getting it back.
___________________
“So… a giant purple thumb wiped out half of the universe including me and Wanda, then when we came back I was taken down by the same purple thumb and an organization who was supposed to help me tried to kill me and or turn me into a weapon?” You asked disbelievingly.
Darcy pursed her lips but nodded. “That’s the gist of it.”
You anxiously began spinning the ring on your finger. “And Wanda had to watch all of these events happen to me.” You mumbled, feeling the guilt begin to build from your recent treatment of her.
“What was even more heartbreaking was that she had just gotten you back. When Steve told me the story I almost cried.” Darcy added solemnly, her expression pitying.
Faintly you nodded, remembering pieces of what Darcy had told you about your life. “And he was my mentor?”
“Yup. You seem to be catching on.” The van came to a stop. “Another red light? What’s the point? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
As you glanced around, you quickly realized what was happening. “Yes, there really is no point.” As Darcy began to drive forward, construction workers took over the street preventing her from driving forward once again. As you pondered the information you couldn’t help but have questions. “I’m a bit confused.”
Darcy turned to face you since it seemed she wouldn’t be driving anytime soon. “About?”
“The director, Hayward, was keeping me in a coma in order to wipe my memories and turn me into a super solider?” Darcy nodded. “And he was going to use my DNA to create an army of mutants?”
Again, Darcy nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“And do I… Will I survive outside of the world Wanda has created? Am I even real anymore?” You questioned resignedly.
A deep sigh fell from her lips as she seemed hesitant to answer. “To be honest… I don’t know, Y/n. I would have said yes but seeing the way you seemed to shut down outside of the hex makes me unsure.” You looked away.
"Okay..."
Darcy scrambled to raise your spirits. “What I do know is I’ve been watching you and Wanda on this show for the past week and it's clear the love you two have is special… You belong together.”
You quirked your lips up halfheartedly. “Yeah… I think so too. I just don’t want her to hurt again if I’m not… You know.”
A heavy silence hung in the air for a moment.
“Hey, how about some music to cheer you up?” Darcy asked in an overly upbeat voice, reaching over to turn on the radio.
You reached out to stop her a moment too late. “Darcy, no-”
“There's something about you now that I can't quite figure out. Everything she does is beautiful. Everything she does is right.”
The music that quietly filled the room was familiar and it took you a moment to place it, but eventually you remembered. You knew the song choice was intentional. It was the song that was playing the first time you had seen her. How could you ever forget that?
You’d never forget anything about this woman. You never wanted to.
Even though you couldn’t see it, you could feel the soft touch of her hand sliding against yours. Her fingers intertwining tightly with your own. All you wanted was to be able to squeeze her hand back. To tell her you love her. To tell her everything was okay… To start your happy ending.
You couldn’t though. Every single signal your mind sent to your body went unanswered and it made you want to scream out of frustration.
Except you couldn’t even do that.
“I miss you, Y/n... I know you’re still there, but I need you to wake up.” The shaky tone of Wanda’s words made you want to open your eyes but again your signals went ignored by your body. “I need to hear your voice making your stupid jokes and saying something sarcastic. I need you to hold me and tell me everything is going to be okay. I need to see your eyes and the way they shine under the moonlight.”
Tears began falling on your skin and you hated the pain that you were putting the woman you loved in. There was a brief moment of silence and you could feel her shifting slightly. “I need to tell you how much I love you. How much I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Her hand squeezed yours lightly and there was a brief pause. She was waiting for you to respond. “I want to give you the ring I’ve been carrying with me the last few months, waiting for our story to start again. I want to start our life together. Remember? The house in the nice neighborhood with two kids? Just us. I love you. I need you… Please.”
Her words broke, and you could hear sobs fall from her lips, the feeling of her lips against your hand made your heart break. You needed to wake up.
With a groan you rubbed at your temple. “That transition never gets easier.”
Darcy blinked back at you in surprise. “What?” You waved a hand dismissively as you turned off the radio with an aggressive flick of your wrist. Darcy chose not to comment.
Just as she was about to begin driving again a group of children began crossing the street. “How is this even possible? There’s not even a school near here!”
You stared blankly at the dashboard as you allowed your mind time to catch up with all the information you had to take in. “I was so hard on Wanda.” You mumbled to yourself. “I had no idea how much she had gone through before coming here.”
“How much you both had.” Darcy added gently.
You rubbed at your head again. “I guess. I can’t remember it though. It just-… It all feels like it happened to someone else… But for her this is all so current.” Darcy gave you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, which seemingly snapped you out of your daze. “What am I doing here, talking to you? No offense, but this is absurd! I need to get to my wife!” Without waiting for Darcy’s response, you flew out of the van.
“I’ll just meet you there then!” Darcy called out the window to your retreating figure in the distance.
________________
Wanda turned on the radio absently, her mind wandering as she was overcome with the heavy emotions attached to this song. The fond memory. She willingly gave herself over to the moment.
“It's you and me and all of the people and I don't know why. I can't keep my eyes off of you…”
The music floating around the compound was almost obnoxious in the moment, but Tony refused to turn it off. Especially when Steve requested everyone’s attention. Despite the music playing the group eventually faded out their chatter as they all turned their attention to Steve. Some more willing than the others.
The one sight that seemed to pull your focus was the woman sitting by herself, her gaze locked on the floor. Despite the refusal to look up, she could feel eyes on her. For some reason she felt her stomach flutter.
“Everyone, this is Y/n. She will be training under the Avengers for the next few months to give us an edge. Her abilities might prepare us for situations that are a little less predictable.” You stood by his side, the words he was saying muffled because you couldn’t, for the life of you, tear your eyes away from the stranger. There was something about her.
The room could have been full of hundreds of other people and you still would have only been able to see her.
A cough and soft nudge finally caught your attention. “Hi. Glad to be working with you all.” You mumbled awkwardly finally looking around the room at the rest of the team. That when she allowed her gaze to raise and her stomach flipped at the sight of you. She made no effort to speak to you though. Still desperate to get out of the room as soon as possible.
Slowly but surely you made your way through the group, greeting each person until the only one left was the girl shrouded with mystery. The one you were desperate to know. “Hello.” You greeted softly, with a tentative smile. Completely caught off guard by the breathtaking sight of her emerald eyes up close. “I’m Y/n.”
You offered a hand which she just looked at for a moment before taking it in hers. Your heart stuttered at the sensation. The feeling completely new but familiar. Like you were home. “Wanda.” She replied quietly, her gaze once again falling to the floor.
“Oh, I remember you. Steve told me about how you just joined the team.” You leaned in closer as if you were sharing top secret information. “Between you and me, I think you’re the strongest one in this room by far.”
Her lips turned up in a small smile and your heart raced at the sight. As if realizing what she was doing, the smile fell immediately, and she quickly pulled her hand away. “Nice to meet you.” She mumbled as she rushed out of the room before you could even consider replying. You couldn’t help but stare after her retreating form, wondering if you did something wrong.
Steve clapping your shoulder caused you to jump in surprise. “Did you get a chance to meet everyone, kid?”
You nodded distractedly, your thoughts still tangled up in the girl with sadness in her eyes. Wanda. You were mesmerized. Something in your chest told you that she was meant to be in your life.
Even though you didn’t know it, Wanda felt exactly the same.
“Wanda? Wanda!”
The woman in question jumped in surprise, flicking her wrist to shut off the radio as she turned to face the sound. Her mind still lost in thoughts of you. Until she saw who burst through the door at least.
Her body tensed as she moved forward. “What are you doing?” She demanded. “How did you get in here?”
Monica raised her hands slightly. “Listen, this whole thing, it’s about Y/n-”
Wanda’s jaw clenched at the mention of your name. As if she didn’t even trust anyone with thinking it let alone saying it out loud. “Get out of my house!”
“Hayward is the reason that she-”
Before Monica could continue Wanda felt her anger boil over as the red energy wrapped around Monica and began pushing her out of the home. “Don’t talk to me about that. I don’t want to hear about it.” Wanda hissed as she continued to follow Monica out of the house, lifting her higher in the air. “The drones, the missiles, Pietro and Anna?”
Despite the red energy wrapped around her, Monica shook her head. “Wanda, Pietro and Anna wasn’t us. You have to believe me.”
“All you do is lie.” Wanda gritted out through clenched teeth, throwing Monica back down to the ground, stepping back in surprise when the other woman caught herself.
Monica stared challengingly back at Wanda. “You’re lying to yourself.”
The red energy flickered threateningly in Wanda’s hands. “Careful what you say to me.”
“Do it then. Take me out.” Monica challenged. Wanda’s breath became heavy at the thought, though the red energy remained. Monica nodded and moved hesitantly towards Wanda. “See? That’s where you and Hayward differ. You’re good, Wanda. He’s going to destroy everyone in Westview to get what he wants – to get Y/n. Don’t let him make you the villain.”
Every moment from the last few days flashed vividly in Wanda’s mind. Of your terrified face. Of the unease that the twins shared. Her hands fell to her side. “Maybe I already am.” She said quietly.
Despite her words, Monica continued to move forward. “I’m not scared of you, Wanda. I understand you. I lost the person closest to me too. The worst thing I can think of has already happened to me.” Wanda’s brows furrowed as she took in Monica’s words. “I can’t change it. I can’t undo it. I can’t control the pain and I don’t want to… because it’s my truth. Just like your pain is yours, Wanda.”
Wanda’s lips quivered with emotion, Monica’s words clearly impacting her. Before either could utter another word, the moment was broken. “Young lady, I think you have overstayed your welcome.” Agnes appeared and rubbed Wanda’s shoulders soothingly. Wanda’s eyes were still glazed over in thought. “Poor Wanda has been through enough.”
“This doesn’t concern you. Wanda?” Monica tried again, hoping that she had gotten through to her.
Agnes began pulling Wanda away, sending a small smirk towards Monica. “Go home.”
“Wanda. You have to take it down.” Monica called to her retreating figure.
Wanda spun back around, held back by Agnes. “No.” She pointed a finger threateningly at the other woman. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
On numb legs Wanda followed Agnes into her home barely processing the questions she was asking as she desperately attempted to shake Monica’s words from her mind.
It wasn’t until she saw the unfinished sandwiches and the children’s show playing on TV that an unsettling feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. “Where are the twins?”
“Oh, they’re probably just playing in the basement.”
Cautiously Wanda stood and made her way down the dimly lit stairs, calling out for the twins along the way but receiving no response. The pit in her stomach grew as she wandered further into the basement and into a room filled with tall arches and vines growing up the walls. The smell of decay filled her nose and the anxiety in her grew when the twins were nowhere in sight.
The slam of a door made Wanda turn her head, only to find Agnes wandering into the room. “Wanda, Wanda, Wanda… You didn’t think you were the only magical gal in town, did you?” Wanda’s brows furrowed. “The names Agatha Harkness. Lovely to finally meet you, dear.”
Before Wanda could utter a word, the purple energy that had drifted from Agatha’s hands disappeared into her temples.
.
.
“Listen, pacing back and forth isn’t going to do anything. So just… stop.” Natasha mumbled in annoyance.
Steve kept pacing, Natasha’s words falling on deaf ears. “She was right there, Nat. And I wasn’t fast enough. Again.” As the frustration began to mount, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.
"We have Rambeau inside now. All we can do is hope she can talk some sense into Wanda now." Fury added sharply. Not amused by the situation. Not amused that they had been just short of communication two times.
With a clenched jaw, Steve nodded. "Fine. I'm waiting by the hex. I"m not missing another opportunity." He said before storming out.
With a sigh, Natasha followed after him knowing that if they had another opportunity it would be the last.