Chapter 7
They made their way back to the car. It was getting cold out but the walk wasn’t long and Wanda thought her body might be numbed from the use of her powers. When they made it back, they both reached for the heat once the car was going, trying to get some warmth back. It heated up quickly, and they were back on the dirt road.
It wasn’t until they made it to the paved road that Steve spoke.
“Wanda, I just wanted to say thank you for everything you did back there.”
“It was nothing.”
“No, you don’t understand how much it helped. When I first realized Bucky was alive all I could think about was getting him back. I know he’s not the same person he once was, and that he will never be able to go back, but I just need to know that he’s safe. I have to know he isn’t in anymore pain. It may seem pointless or even hopeless, but I want to see to it that he never suffers again.
Wanda didn’t look at him but kept her focus on the sky as she spoke softly. “Paprikash was the last meal I had with my parents. Pietro and I were ten years old when the bombings started. They’d been going for a while, but never close to us. It must have been the first one that day that went straight through our apartment, no warning, no siren, nothing. Our parents went through the hole in the ground because of where they choose to sit that night. Pietro grabbed me and we hid beneath the bed while everything around us crumbled. The sirens were going off by then but everything was falling and there was no escaping it. We were trapped together. A second shell crashed not far from us, and I held my breath waiting for it to explode. I thought I would die then, but it didn’t go off. It said Stark Industries and I read it over and over.”
She licked her lips, feeling the stinging tears and the way her voice began to shake. Steve said nothing but she could tell he was watching her as much as he was the road. “We were in there for two days, looking at that shell just waiting for it to finally blow. All I could taste was dust and thought the dehydration might kill us before the bomb did. Through it all, I don’t think I would have ever bothered to take the rescue workers hands when they finally broke through had Pietro gone through the hole in the floor with our parents. My brother is with bad people right now and doesn’t know it, and we will never get back what we used to be, but you’re right. Just knowing he isn’t in pain anymore… or me… that might be enough to start over. It’s not hopeless, Steve, it’s how we learn to do more than survive.”
She didn’t look back at him, and she kept her powers close to the chest, choosing not to listen to his thoughts or feel what he was feeling. She flinched when his hand clasped her shoulder but relaxed into the firm hold after only a minute while trying to get control over the stinging behind her eyes.
“Wanda, I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
She was exhausted after a day spent on the road and perhaps the overuse of her powers, at least more than she had practiced yet. Emotionally, she had drained herself after opening up to Steve like she had. They still drove in a comfortable silence through the dark, but she knew something had changed between them. It wasn’t bad, but she knew he must see her as something different than he had when they first left D.C.
Either way, she let herself nod off with her forehead pressed to the glass window. It didn’t work out so well given how bumpy the old road was, not to mention all of the turns there were. She would slip in and out of sleep but Wanda wasn’t sure she was ever out for more than five minutes before there was another pothole.
She gave up on getting even a light nap in when her head bumped against the glass.
“Sorry,” Steve’s voice was deep. She looked over at him and didn’t need to summon any of her power to see that he was equally as tired as her.
“I don’t think you can drive all the way back to D.C. tonight. Let’s just get a room.”
A testament of his own fatigue, he hardly put up a fight. “You sure? I can get us back to the apartment tonight, just got to take my time.”
“See, right there,” she pointed to a sign that advertised a town not far from them, “even you must need sleep after a while.”
He gave her a small smile and nodded, “yeah, even I sleep.”
She sat up and tried to keep herself awake until they found a place, mostly because she was afraid he might try to keep going if she stayed out. They pulled up to a small motel just off the road. It was older, but appeared clean and advertised vacancies.
“Be right back.”
Wanda nodded, and sunk into her seat. She felt something, like a whisper at the edge of her mind that she couldn’t quite hear. Not that she was really listening to that whisper, she was too busy trying to keep her eyes open.
Steve came back not long after she started to really nod off. “Got a room with two beds, that okay?”
“Mhmmm? Yeah, that’s fine,” she mumbled as she forced herself to sit up when they pulled up to the exterior door.
They both grabbed their bags and stumbled into the simple room. Now that there was a bed right in front of Steve, he stopped pretending to be so awake. His usual good posture disappeared and she thought he might just go to bed then. “You mind if I wash up first?” Wanda asked.
“It’s all yours.”
She was quick in the bathroom to change into her pajamas and wash her face. She didn’t even bother to brush her teeth before she went back into the bedroom where Steve was waiting. “Night,” she nodded to him.
“Goodnight.”
Wanda collapsed onto the bed furthest from the door. She just barely got the covers over her and was asleep before Steve even came back into the room.
Her body locked up physically. Mentally, she was woken so suddenly that it was a jolt to her heart.
Wanda!
The growing panic melted into disbelief.
Pietro?
Wanda, where are you? Are you okay? He asked through their fragile connection. She strained to hear him but realized this must have been part of the whisper she heard earlier in the car. Like a bad phone connection, she had to listen very closely to catch his words.
I’m fine. Tell me where you are and I’ll find you. She shouted through their mental bond.
Strucker. I tried to find you but he said… hurt- thought dead.
Wanda knew she was losing him, but he was alive and he was there somewhere in the world talking to her.
Pietro please, we don’t have much time. Where are you? You’re in danger, they’re liars.
There was nothing but her own thoughts. She reached out into that void and screamed.
Hey! Give some warning before you do that.
She gave a cry of relief, I thought I’d lost whatever this is.
Wanda, where are you?
In Washington, I’m safe.
Washington! In America? Why are you there?
It’s okay. I’m okay, but where are you?
There was another long pause I don’t know.
What do you mean you don’t know?
I mean, we’ve been on the move for a while.
So, get away from them, Pietro. Get away and meet me in America.
Wanda, you need to get out of that country. Are they keeping you prisoner? The second you see an escape just run and I’ll find you.
I’m not a prisoner! She yelled it, but she wasn’t sure it carried over to him. She repeated herself, I’m not a prisoner, I’m safe. You’re in danger. Pietro, please leave them.
You can’t be safe. Who has you? They’re liars, Wanda. Don’t trust any of them.
But I can trust one of them, I know I can. She told him without thinking, the memory of meeting Steve for the first time at the forefront of her thoughts.
Who is that?
Somebody we can trust. And another. She pictured Nick Fury the last time she saw him, with his one good eye looking back at her and promising he would find Pietro.
Don’t be naïve. Now tell me truly, have either of those men hurt you?
Pietro, no, they’re good people. She thought of Steve he’s my… he’s my friend.
There was a void and she felt the magnitude of their distance from each other. She really was losing him this time as their minds began to separate back to their own bodies.
Pietro, I love you, please be safe. She called when she thought he might be able to hear.
Love you. She heard his familiar voice before she was alone in her thoughts.
She gained back control of her body, but she felt stiff from her muscles being so tensed through the conversation. She was on her stomach, her eyes wet against her pillow when she lifted herself up and took a deep breath. It had been real, that much she was sure of. It had been well over a month since she’d spoken to Pietro, the longest she’d ever gone without talking to her twin. But he was out there, alive albeit in an unknown location, and he had found a way to open a conversation with her. Wanda thought over every word he’d spoken to her, imagined him somewhere far away thinking the same about her.
And she cried. She cried so hard that her breath came in fat ugly gulps around each sob she couldn’t contain. She cried for everything she’d lost and everything that was missing from her in that moment. She wept until she woke Steve up, much to her guilt, and she waived him away before he could say anything, “I’m sorry, go back to bed.” She sniffled.
“Wanda, what happened?” he sat up, snapped to consciousness without a hint of exhaustion in his voice.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
She sat up and fumbled for the light, but Steve beat her to the lamp and she put her hands in her lap while she tried to calm down even if she kept crying.
“Pietro, I spoke to Pietro just now.”
“How?”
“I’m not sure, but it was like he was right here. Somehow maybe my powers?”
They sat on the edge of their beds, their knees nearly touching. “Earlier when we were at the cabin,” Steve spoke in deep thought, “and you used your powers to see when Bucky was there, do you think that had anything to do with it?”
She was reigned in her crying and focused on relaxing her body. “Maybe? I did tap into things in a way I haven’t really done before. When you were getting this room, it felt like there was something in my head but I thought I was just tired.”
“Do you feel anything now?”
She closed her eyes but the disconnection had been so strong when Pietro departed that she was certain he was well and truly gone. “No, he’s… he’s not here anymore.”
This fresh absence was worse than the first time when they’d been separated in Sokovia. She’d been on the defense, then. Had to watch her own back and figure things out from there. So much had happened in those first few days that being alone had to come second. Now she felt safe if not a little lonely, but to have spoken to Pietro and then have him ripped away again? There was a wound open and raw from that sort of pain.
“I don’t know what to do.” She admitted to Steve.
“About what?” he spoke softly and she appreciated it as much as she wished she could just forget everything.
“Any of this,” she shrugged, “but you must understand. It’s frustrating that they’re out there and we’re right here. I told Pietro I was in Washington but I don’t think he’ll be dropping by anytime soon. Just got to keep chasing I guess.”
Wanda knew he’d understand. He wasn’t exactly hiding his location from Barnes, either.
“Sometimes it’s easier to not think of what’s been lost.”
“Yeah,” Wanda agreed reluctantly. He was right, because for all her fortune and comfort, there was no enjoying it when she wasn’t sure where her brother was or how he was doing. If only he’d known his location…
“At least we have an idea of Barnes’ location.” She added as an afterthought, for all their troubles they’d made some progress, “will you go to Romania?”
“Now that I have a general idea I’ll start looking for any leads there. But no, I won’t leave until I have something to go off of.”
“I’ll go with you,” she spoke immediately, “Romania isn’t far from Sokovia, I know a bit of the language.”
Steve nodded, their knees bumped together when he shifted. She was calming down, enough that she might actually be able to go back to bed. “Fury might not like that.”
“But would you be okay with it?”
“As long as you stayed back, at least until you got some training in.”
She perked up, “would you be willing to train me?”
“We can start practicing. How’s your hand to hand?”
“Not so good,” she admitted. She’d never been much of a fighter, but after surviving the experiments she knew she relied too much on the red energy she wielded rather than her physical body.
“We can start working on that. I’m not sure how much I can help you with your telekinesis, but we can practice with that too.”
Wanda still felt down after their long day. Being torn from Pietro again was another slap, but she couldn’t help but be excited that Steve would help her get stronger. “I’m still not joining the Avengers,” she reminded him.
Her words rolled off him with a slight shrug, “you should probably learn to defend yourself, regardless of where you end up when we find your brother.”
“You know, all things considered, you and I are very fortunate.” Because at least we have each other. Not alone through this. But she wouldn’t say that bit out loud.
“Yes, we are.”
Wanda brought her legs up and sat crisscross. It was cold outside and they hadn’t turned on the heat when they got in. The blankets had been heavy though, so she hadn’t noticed. She drew the comforter up around her but didn’t lie down quite yet.
“Let’s be grateful for our lives and freedom,” Wanda told him.
“How’s that?”
“I’m not really sure,” she confessed, “but I don’t think it would be so wrong for us to do things for ourselves once in a while. Is there anything you enjoy?”
Steve was silent and she knew she’d made him uncomfortable. “Well don’t you have any hobbies?” she pushed, but she was slow to realize he probably didn’t take a lot of time for himself. The soldier, the leader of the Avengers, the man looking for his friend. He read a lot, but other than that she never saw him do much else but work and go for runs with Sam.
That was okay. She didn’t really do much herself or have many hobbies. Before Strucker, she’d been more or less on the streets and had to focus on day to day surviving, and she had long lost her childhood interests.
Like pulling teeth, he finally gave her an answer that seemed semi-true, “I like movies.”
“I haven’t watched many, but we should try to see some.”
Steve smiled, “we will, but what makes you happy?”
“I’m still learning that for myself,” she was honest, “but I’d like to find out.”
They settled back into their respective beds not long after that. Wanda’s body was relaxed and sunk into the mattress when she reached out and tried to find Pietro. No luck, whatever connection they had opened before was closed for now. She did feel Steve beside her. A steady, warm, and safe presence that she held onto lightly. Her breaths matched his and she thought they might have fallen asleep at the same time.
It didn’t take them long to get to New York the next morning. Wanda insisted on seeing the city, and so they took a detour and went into Brooklyn. With the traffic, it took it was a while before they were in Steve’s birthplace. He managed to find parking and the two of them jumped out to go for a walk around the neighborhood.
Once again, Wanda admired the skyscrapers and the constant noise. This time, however, she was seeing it through Steve’s eyes. Their stroll was lazy down the various blocks, directionless too, but very enjoyable for Wanda who had never been exposed to so much life around her. With her powers, it was a consistent hum of thoughts and feelings. Some good, some bad, but a different sensation than she was used to that made it all okay.
Steve’s nostalgia might have been obvious even without the benefit of her abilities, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it was sad to see this place different than he once knew.
Putting herself in his shoes, she wasn’t sure she could wake up decades in the future and walk through Sokovia with such peace. She knew she would probably be a mess in his position.
“I like it here,” she admitted, “it’s full of life. Lots of different people. Back in D.C. everybody is so focused on agendas.”
“Is it getting easier for you to read thoughts?”
“I haven’t really been practicing, just picking up on things here and there… back in Strucker’s lab when they gave me the tests it seemed so hard. It’s getting easier now.”
They slowed down and took a seat in a smaller park. Not the famed Central Park, but a cute one with lots of flowers and kids running around. Wanda brought her leg up and relaxed on the cold metal bench, “what was it like before?”
“It was home, full of people I knew. Not like this, but I think I can see some of what it used to be.”
She hesitated but her curiosity got the better of her. “Will you show me?”
“How?”
“Just… think of how you remember it.” She reached up slowly, giving him time to decline or shoo her away. He didn’t, and her hands rested against his temple very lightly.
“Just think of it?”
“Yeah,” she whispered, feeling the pull in his memories.
Brooklyn was home, and it was beautiful. Wanda took a deep breath and felt that wave of love he felt for this place. There was the longing for what it used to be and the acceptance and welcoming to what it was now. But maybe not, since he was hiding away in Washington. No, that was for Bucky…
She pulled out of his mind, realizing it was getting to personal.
“Thank you,” she told him, bringing her hands back to her side, “I wished I could have seen it the way you did.”
“Apparently, you could.”
“That woman thinks we’re a couple.” Wanda nodded discreetly to a mother a few benches from them. She was pretending to read a magazine while watching her kids and now side eyeing the two of them.
“Oh yeah? What did she think when you had your hands on me?”
Wanda huffed a small laugh, “that I might be breaking up with you.”
“Better than her magazine.”
“Oh, much more entertaining. Now she’s not sure it’s over. She’s rooting for us.”
She took it as a personal victory that she got Steve Rogers to give a real chuckle.
“Seal the deal for her,” she asked him, “get me hotdog and soda?” she nodded to the vendor at the center of the park.
“Any condiments?”
“Mustard.”
He wrinkled his nose, “never been a fan. What kind of soda?”
“Surprise me.”
Wanda waited patiently for him to return. She checked her phone but there was nothing new, so she enjoyed the sun and the people around her. Sokovia had beautiful days, but so often it was overcast and rainy.
“Any updates from our magazine reader?”
“We’ve lost her interest now that there won’t be a dramatic dumping.”
She was slow to eat her lunch and sip on her drink, Steve doing the same with his own meal. Around them, people remained oblivious to Captain America and, well, whatever they might have called her. They sat back and watched those around them, two anonymous figures just finding what peace they could. “What’s he thinking?” Steve nodded to man sitting alone across the park.
“Take a guess,” she listened to the man and got the gist of what was going on.
“Wearing a suit on a Saturday and all alone, doesn’t look to happy either. Got called into work on the weekend and had a bad day?”
“Nope, two more chances.”
“Okay, was it a bad date?”
“That would make somebody unhappy wouldn’t it? But you’re still wrong.”
“Visiting his parents?”
“So close. His brother’s getting married and today was the engagement party. He’s in love with the would-be bride.”
“That’s not good.” Steve breathed out after a beat.
“No, it’s really not. But he thinks it’s for the best and wont stand in the way. Still not easy, though.”
They watched the man in the suit for a while before Steve nodded to a woman walking quickly across the park, “what about her?”
“Oh, you’ll never guess this one.”