TIME TO TALK
CHAPTER 8: TIME TO TALK
Wanda and the others hadn't said a word during the flight so of course, Ellie expected her to talk once they landed. But she didn't. When they arrived at the mansion, Yukio and the others hadn't returned yet but they were on their way back. Colossus had told everyone to rest and take the rest of the day off which they did. Ellie tried to stop Wanda on her way to her room because it was odd for her not to say a word to her and look so...far away.
“Are you okay?” Ellie asked obviously concerned.
“Yeah I am, I should be the one asking you that.” Wanda stated but her words seemed as distant as she looked.
“You look off Red, what's wrong?” Ellie asked.
And so Wanda stopped in her tracks and the both of them were face to face in the middle of the stairs.
“Why were you alone Ellie?” Wanda asked looking upset.
“Sam got hurt, Natasha wanted to help Steve and I told her to go. I thought I had everything under control.” She hated having to explain her choices in mission but she didn't understand why Wanda was upset right now.
“You shouldn't have. Steve can handle himself Ellie. You never face an enemy with unknown powers on your own!” Wanda's voice grew loud and angry.
“It was my decision to take Wanda! No one could have planned what happened and everything is fine now, why are you being like this?” Ellie said obviously getting upset.
Wanda snapped.
“Why am I being like this?” She almost screamed as she talked to Ellie which wasn't her at all. “You have no idea what could have happened Ellie! If you had stayed just a bit longer in this state, even I wouldn't have been able to get you to come back. All of that would never have happened if you hadn't told Natasha to go. She knows the signs indicating such an attack and she would have never left you if you hadn't told her to!” Wanda lost her temper a bit and was moving a lot as she spoke.
Ellie hated having her decisions questioned like this.
“I'm not the Black Widow but I'm capable of taking care of myself Wanda.” Her voice was cold as she spoke.
Wanda couldn't believe how Ellie didn't see the gravity of the situation.
“You don't get it do you? This is not about pride Ellie, Jenkins could have ruined you!” She screamed, arms in the air as she did so.
“You don't know that! You don't know me that well!” It was Ellie's turn to snap.
Wanda froze for a moment. She looked at Ellie and her words weren't angry anymore, they were sad.
“Maybe not. But I know me.” She stated and left, going straight to the hallway the Avengers stayed.
Ellie didn't have time to answer and she was processing what Wanda had said. How did the fact that Wanda knew herself had anything to do with what happened to Jenkins? She didn't know and she was too upset to think about it so she went to her training spot, hoping to clear her mind.
As Wanda got closer to her room, Natasha got out of hers and she looked straight at Wanda.
“What was that about?” She asked knowing there was no point in being subtle about this with Wanda.
“I guess you heard.” Wanda said looking at the ground and kicking the floor a bit, but that wasn't really a question.
“I did, come.” Natasha invited Wanda into her room and they both sat on the bed.
“Why were you yelling Wanda? It doesn't sound like you.” Natasha started after a few minutes of quiet and seeing Wanda wouldn't make the fist move.
“I thought you heard.” Wanda simply said.
“I heard you yelling, I didn't want to intrude though so I backed off and waited for you to come back.”
Wanda smiled at Natasha's concern but her smile quickly faded and she met Natasha's gaze.
“I just...I snapped… How could she be so reckless Nat?” She said starting to feel her voice tremble with sadness.
The Black Widow gave her a gentle smile.
“Wanda, she wasn't reckless and deep down you know it. She was reacting to a change in the mission, we used to do it all the time.” Natasha said calmly knowing that this wasn't about Ellie's attitude at all.
“But she shouldn't have let you go. There were other options.” Wanda said sadness evident in her eyes.
“Which options Wanda? Steve needed back up and we thought we had Jenkins.” Natasha tried, knowing that if she could show her friend how this wasn't a matter of logic, they could focus on the real issue at hand here.
“But we don't underestimate our enemies, we stay in pairs.” Wanda said trying to remain on the logical path she had created in her mind.
“C'mon Wanda, how many times did we actually respecte that rule? Things change in battle. Plans don't last long. Things like this happen and they happen often in our line of work. You know that more than anyone.”
Natasha had a point there. Wanda knew it. She knew deep down that Ellie was proud but not reckless. She wouldn't take unnecessary risks as Wanda insinuated she would and no one could have had predicted what happened. A tear left Wanda's eye and Natasha wiped it away.
“Don't cry little witch. You just got scared for her and didn't know how to handle it. It's normal Wanda and I'm sure she'll understand.” Natasha told her reassuringly.
“It's not just that Nat, she wasn't just hurt in battle, her mind was toyed with. A telepath did that to her Nat.” Wanda said, tears threatening to fall.
Natasha put her hand on Wanda's shoulder.
“Yes Wanda, a telepath, not you.” Nat said knowing Wanda felt responsible, her relation with her powers being more complex than Nat could understand.
“But it could have been me. It could have so easily been me.” She said in a quiet voice and looking at the floor once more.
“But it wasn't Wanda, it was Jenkins.” Natasha couldn't bear seeing Wanda like this after she was the one that saved the day. “Jenkins entered her mind but you handle that. You pushed him away and protected her from further damage. You got her back Wanda and you saved the day so stop blaming yourself. You didn't do anything wrong you hear me? You did nothing wrong.”
Wanda looked up at her and smiled weakly. Natasha arched an eyebrow waiting for a confirmation that Wanda understood that she hadn't done anything wrong. And the latest eventually nodded.
“Thanks Nat.”
“You're welcome. Maybe you should go and apologize to the girl now.” Natasha smiled wildly at the sound of her own statement.
“You're unbelievable.” Wanda laughed “but you're also right. I'm gonna go find her now.” she said with a smile and determination showing on her face.
“You do that.” Natasha smiled at her. She was happy to be able to know the Scarlet Witch that much. Wanda didn't know it but every time Natasha was helping her with her struggles, she was helping herself and healed a tiny piece of herself.
Ellie was training at her usual spot that she had shared with Wanda not so long ago, letting all of her frustration out with little yet powerful waves of fire. She felt calmer for a time. She couldn't stop thinking about Wanda's reaction. Why did she react like this? How did she get rid of Jenkins so fast? She was sure the others were too busy to come to her and she felt Jenkins' power yet Wanda seemed to have taken care of him in a matter of seconds. She couldn't understand any of it or even how Wanda knew she needed help and why was she that upset again? She grew frustrated again but as she was charging herself once more to let it out, she heard Wanda's voice behind her.
“Hey.” Wanda said quietly. She didn't know if Ellie was still mad or not but she felt like she was.
Ellie turned around, her eyes dark orange with frustration and the use of her powers. She didn't say a word expecting Wanda to get mad again so Wanda spoke again.
“I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to lash out like that, specially not on you. That was uncalled for.”
Ellie clearly didn't expect that. Her eyes went back to their brown selves.
“Care to explain more now?” So Ellie was talking. That was progress in Wanda's book.
“When Jenkins entered your mind, I felt his power.” She paused. ''It felt like I was the one using it and then I saw you and I saw what he was doing to you with a power that is also a part of me and I...I just couldn't.” Emotion was clear in Wanda's voice and Ellie finally understood.
“You were scared because you saw yourself in him.” It wasn't a question Ellie was asking. She was stating it but Wanda decided to answer anyway.
“I was him Ellie… My brother and I were on the wrong side of this whole hero thing not so long ago and I've used my powers on the Avengers. I broke into their minds and did the same things Jenkins did to you.” She couldn't face Ellie as she spoke. The meeting with Jenkins reminded her of the pain she had caused when fighting for Ultron and the shame and disgust she felt at the time for what she had done. But Ellie wasn't about to let her feel like this.
“Red, I know you don't know that but before Colossus and I met, I wasn't good. The things Jenkins showed me? The things you saw in my mind?” She paused and breathed hard. Emotional talks were definitely not her thing. “It hurt because not so long ago, I would have been able to cause that much pain without even thinking about the consequences. I have. And my power comes from anger, at least that's where I always go to use it and I know that gives me hell of temper and it's really hard to master but I know I'm not the same person today and obviously you're not either.” Ellie told her with a reassuring yet firm smile.
“How can you be sure of that?” Wanda asked.
“Because you didn't hesitate to face him for me even though he could have attacked you.” Ellie said coming closer to Wanda.
“My mind can't be entered, benefits of being a telepath.” Wanda said smiling at Ellie who returned her smile.
“Maybe, but he was also an ex-military with impressive fighting skills.” Ellie said knowing that probably didn't even cross Wanda's mind at the moment because if roles were reversed, she wouldn't have thought of it either.
“Yeah, I didn't think about that.” They both laughed at that. And as Ellie got closer to Wanda, she didn't hesitate this time. She put her hand on Wanda's cheek. Wanda felt the warmth coming from it and she smiled at the fire girl in front of her while closing her eyes finding comfort in Ellie's touch. They stopped smiling and Ellie looked deeply in Wanda's eyes, the girl who put herself in harm's way because she wanted to protect her. Of course Wanda couldn't tore her eyes from the ones in front of her either.
“That's my whole point.” Ellie said drawing her hand back but still smiling and looking at Wanda. “I think today was a long day for everyone.” Ellie started suddenly feeling self conscious about their proximity. She wasn't the shy type usually but it appeared a lot of things were different around the scarlet witch.
“Right, We should sleep I guess.” Wanda said guessing it was what Ellie was trying to say.
“Well I was going to suggest a game night but sure if you want to sleep I understand.” Ellie said looking a bit disappointed.
“What? No...I mean I thought you wanted to sleep. Game night sounds good.” Wanda said smile fully spread on her face and they both returned to the mansion not without laughs along the way and small talks about the upcoming game night. Once there, they parted ways and agreed to meet an hour later so they could have time to shower and try to find other players among the people presently in the mansion.
Wanda couldn't stop the smile spreading on her face as she was thinking about the night's events, the fight with Ellie wasn't her best memory but the making up part was the reason behind her smile. The way Ellie comforted her, the way she could still feel her hand on her skin. She wondered a bit about the lingering look they shared as she couldn't quite make sense of it. Ellie's brown eyes on her were as mesmerizing as her yellow ones and Wanda couldn't look away. If she wasn't so used to listening to everything without thinking about it, she probably wouldn't have heard Ellie when she spoke after that. And Ellie suggesting a game night meant she probably wanted to spend time with Wanda as much as the witch wanted to herself and that only caused Wanda's smile to grow wider.
Of course Nat's room is where Wanda found herself once showered. She's always the first person Wanda goes to to talk and has been for a while now. She guesses that's what close friends are for even though the only one she ever truly had was Pietro. She knocked twice before entering. The loose shirt or even the yoga pants Wanda never wore yet find herself wearing tonight could have been what caught her curiosity yet the smile on her friend's lips was what she wanted to know about. So, as she stepped further out her bathroom door, she decided to ask the issue directly. Even though subtlety was one of the many Black Widow's forte, she didn't need it with Wanda, they had learnt to trust each other and openly talk to each other since their first training sessions months ago.
“What's the smile for?” She asked, herself smiling because the last time she had talked to her friend, she was on her way to apologize to Ellie. Judging from Wanda's expression it must have gone well.
“Ellie and I sorted things out” Wanda said casually as if that was the bottom line and the only reason behind her suddenly enlighten mood. Of course Natasha wasn't buying it.
“And ?” She asked expectantly.
“What do you mean and ?” Wanda asked.
Natasha raised her eyebrow at her. Of course Natasha would notice. She was the one who knew her more than anyone now so Nat waited and Wanda eventually gave in and sat on the edge of the bed as her friend joined her.
“Alright. Ellie and I, we had a talk, a good one. And after that something kind of changed.” Wanda started to explain.
“What do you mean things changed?”
And so Wanda told her about their talk and the way they laughed until Ellie's hand found its way to Wanda's cheek. Until their eyes locked on one another. And until game night just became a thing. Natasha listened carefully. Of course she did and as she let each detail print itself into her mind, she knew her friend felt something she barely started to question and obviously she needed a push. Natasha thought about game night. Maybe that could be the push she needed and as she nodded making her friend understand she had listened and was happy everything went well, an idea popped into her mind and a smirk crept up her lips. It was time for Wanda and Ellie to figure things out so before Wanda even had time to ask, Natasha said joyful.
“I'm in, let's get the boys!”
About ten minutes later, Steve, Sam and Vision walked into the living room with Nat and Wanda where Colossus and Ellie were talking. They turned around when they heard them arrive. Everyone seemed ready to chill after today. Sam was the first one to speak up.
“Let's begin!”