#int; wanda maximoff | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

missmonsters2 · 7 months

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Mirror, Mirror | Five

Please do not copy, repost, or translate my work anywhere else.

PART FOUR

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader

Summary: Deleting the video evidence of Wanda's embarrassing confession only goes slightly awry, and in the end, she can't tell if she's relieved or disappointed with herself. Perhaps she can get advice from someone who was once in her position.

Warnings: best friends to lovers. shenanigans. jealousy, jealousy. sexual tension. pining. yearning. sexual thoughts. spicy (tumblr's version). stupid steve. neurotic nat. brat & stinky. bug as in shutterbug.

*explicit version will only be available on Ao3 & will be posted there after series is completed*

Note: There's still an epilogue after this!! But after that, it's done </3

Reminder there's no taglist but you can follow my library blog for notifications 💘

Series Masterlist || Library Blog || AO3

Count: ~4,6k

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Wanda jiggles her key through the door with a renewed rush. Her hands are shaky, and she should really just take her time. This wasn't making it go any faster.

Darcy had just dropped her off after they ate their McDonald's meal in the parking lot and was on her way back to get access to her laptop to help Wanda.

Finally unlocking the door, Wanda took her shoes off haphazardly and took off towards your room. Your laptop sits innocently at your desk, unaware of all the havoc Wanda will reap upon it if it doesn't give her access to your email.

She pulls out the chair and sits down before she opens it up. The first thing that greets her is the password page. Wanda pulls out the USB that Darcy gave her and plugs it in. All she can do now is wait since Darcy said she'd text Wanda once she made it home.

The next 15 minutes feel like a bottomless pit of hell. Wanda checks her watch every couple of minutes, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Come on, come on, come on," Wanda huffs quietly. She's extremely paranoid about what you might be doing. It's unlikely you'd be returning home tonight, and even if you were, it'd be a couple of hours from now.

Yet, the unhinged part of Wanda wants to pull out her phone and text you, "Hey, what's up? You're still busy sexing up Raye, right? Definitely not ideal, but you're not checking your emails or on your way home, right?

Wanda wishes she made Natasha go stakeout Raye's house to alert her when you were leaving the place. Before she can think more insane thoughts, her phone vibrates in her hand, and Wanda checks it with speed. It was from Darcy confirming she'd made it home and it'd be any minute now.

Wanda looks up at your laptop screen, pushing her finger against the mousepad to ensure the screen doesn't time out. The USB must give Darcy some kind of access because, true to her word, something does start happening.

Wanda watches the screen with mild interest as a separate window pops up. The background is black, but it's clearly some kind of coding as random words begin running. It takes a few minutes, but then asterisks fill your password box. It only takes 3 times before the right password is entered and Wanda's gained access.

"Yes!" She celebrates before she sends Darcy a quick text.

Wanda pulls up your email and finds the latest one sent to you is a link to a Google Drive. There are many videos and some photos, but Wanda recognizes herself in one of the thumbnails and clicks on it.

"I don't see what's so great about Raye—"

Wanda immediately stops playing it, unable to bear the embarrassment of hearing herself. She quickly deletes the clip, also going to the trash bin to make sure it's permanently deleted. Wanda checks everything several times to ensure there are no other clips and any trace of her confession is gone.

Mission completed.

Relief floods her system, knowing that the clip has been deleted.

Wanda closed everything she opened, making sure she changed the status of the email to unread. Once everything is as it was, Wanda closes your laptop and unplugs the USB.

Stuffing the USB into her pocket, she's about to send another text to Darcy when Wanda hears the front door open, and you call out her name. You must've seen her shoes at the door, but Wanda still doesn't answer. She hears you walking back down the hallway toward your room and panics.

Oh, god, she couldn't walk back out that door without bumping into you, and she couldn't jump out the window either with them living on the 10th floor.

Oh, fuck, what does she do? Wanda's panicking as she shakes her hands in hysteria and looks around frantically.

Shit, shit, shit, shit!

Wanda carefully makes her way to your closet, but it's filled wall to wall with your clothes, and the floor is filled with your shoes and other boxes. There was no room to hide in there.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Wanda's walking around your room and has no idea where to hide. She looks at your bed and internally groans. Dropping to her knees, she scoots herself until she's fully underneath, flat on her stomach, but her head is kept off the floor. She quickly opens her phone and turns it from vibration mode to silence—Wanda refuses to be caught. She would rather die than even try and explain all of this.

The door opens, and Wanda only gets a few of your slippers as you make your way back to your desk. She hears a soft clank on the desk, and Wanda can only assume it's the mug of tea you have every night.

Wanda hears you sigh quietly as you seem to settle in for the night. This is not good. This is fucking terrible.

Wanda can't tell how long she's been stuck under your bed. She's too worried about moving and accidentally making a noise. All she hears is the soft music playing and your mouse and keyboard clicking.

Suddenly, her phone lights up with a notification. It's a text from you.

Wanda bites her lip, trying to decide if she should answer. Ultimately, she decides she should because it's possible you might try to call her if she doesn't, and she definitely can't answer it if you do. Wanda would also feel bad about not answering you if you're worried.

But, god fucking dammit, she's going to have to lie. Again.

Wanda hears a breathy chuckle from you and tries not to smile.

Fuck.

Wanda doesn't know if she should say yes or no. If she says yes, will you wait until she gets home? Wanda can only dread how long she might be stuck under your bed.

The chair you're sitting scrapes against the floor a little. A reply doesn't come for a few minutes, and Wanda wishes she could see what you were doing.

Wanda stares at the text, trying to see if she can decipher your tone from just the words alone. It's something you've told her countless times when she told you she'd be staying at Vision's place. Yet, somehow, this feels different.

You stop replying to her after that. It's both a relief that Wanda could stop digging herself into another hole and a torture she's left without much to do again.

Wanda checks some of her other texts and replies to them, but her battery life is getting exceedingly low, and she doesn't want it to die on her accidentally if you do decide to text her again.

The last time she opened the phone to check the time, an hour and a half had passed. There's almost a desperation to give herself up and come clean to relinquish herself from the sheer boredom, but Wanda holds strong since she reasons she'd already made it this far.

"Hmm," Wanda hears you let out a deep hum. The mouse clicks a few times, and Wanda wishes she could see what you were staring at.

Definitely not her confession video; that much comforts Wanda.

God, she's bored. She's so bored that the fear has long left her body.

It's a miracle when Wanda hears you get up and stretch, a few cricks released from your back. You leave the room, and Wanda hears the bathroom door shut.

Wanda scrambles to get out from under the bed, nearly hitting her head 5 times. She quickly tiptoes out of your room, heading for the front door and opening it. Just as you're coming out of the bathroom, Wanda shuts the door as if she's just gotten in.

"Wanda, is that you?" You call from the hallway.

"Yep! You're still up?" Wanda calls back, laughing nervously to herself about how stupid this all was, but relief she was clearly getting away with it.

"Yeah, just thought I'd get a start on the editing stuff for Tony," you say as Wanda walks towards you.

"Oh, cool," Wanda doesn't inquire further but says, "I thought you were staying at Raye's tonight?"

"Oh, uh," you seem surprised that Wanda asks. "I was having a hard time falling asleep on her bed. The mattress is too soft and gives me the worst cricks."

"Oh," Wanda nods, knowing that your mattress is memory foam but on the firmer side.

"What about you?" You ask back. "Didn't go home with Darcy?"

"Uh, no," Wanda fumbles slightly. "Uh, it was good, but I, uh, was getting a slight stomachache from the McDonald's so I decided to go home."

You frown. "Do you want some tea? Maybe some Tums?"

"Maybe some ginger and honey tea?"

You nod. "Alright, I'll get some ready for you. Why don't you go take your makeup off and whatnot? We could watch some TV before we sleep."

"Oo," Wanda grins. "I think I saw some things come out on Disney+, let's see what they have!"

The rollercoaster of the night comes to a satisfying end for Wanda.

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The next three weeks are odd for Wanda. During the first and second weeks, she was so busy with her clients and a whole PR mess that she barely had time to see you.

She spends more time collaborating with her team about how they will dig one of their clients out of the mess they'd made or if they should just drop the client. She's barely been able to think about her feelings for you and what to do about it.

By the time the third week arrives, everything at work finally slows down, and she has time to herself like a regular person again. Wanda reflects back on her position and the entire video-deleting debacle.

With the fear and adrenaline long gone, Wanda can't actually tell if she's disappointed that you haven't discovered her feelings. Would things have just been easier if you had watched the video?

At the very least, it might be better in the sense Wanda wouldn't be stuck in the same place.

Wanda's sitting on the couch, lazily trying to focus on her book but can't with her mind continuously drifting. You haven't been home as of late—Wanda only realized you've been out a lot for a week and a half now.

Sighing, Wanda closes her book. She was getting bored again. You wouldn't be home until later, and she already spent an hour on the phone with Natasha earlier.

Just as Wanda was about to text you to ask if there was any possibility you'd be home earlier, the front doorknob jiggled, signaling someone was putting in their key.

Wanda smiles, hoping she'll see you walk through the door, but smiles even wider when she sees who walks through it.

Getting up from the couch, Wanda runs and jumps, latching onto the person.

"Oof," the voice was gruff.

"Bucky!" Wanda yells excitedly as Bucky catches her, wrapping his arm around her to ensure she doesn't fall, even though her legs are around him.

"Hi, nutball," Bucky says, but his mouth is muffled by Wanda's shoulder and some of her hair.

Wanda slowly slides back down onto the floor, taking a good look at Bucky. Of all the people she adores besides you, Bucky is at the top of her list, along with Natasha, which is why they both have key fobs to the apartment.

Bucky kind of reminds her of Pietro in certain ways, if Pietro would ever grow up and get a little serious. Bucky seems to know that and has cared for Wanda in Pietro's stead now that the guy has left for Europe since they turned 18.

"When did you get back?" Wanda asks. "Why didn't you call? I would've arranged to pick you up from the airport."

"It's fine. Steve picked me up from the airport and we relaxed a little bit before he had to leave to the station to do some kind of sketch for a case," Bucky says as he takes off his shoes.

They wander back into the living room space and take a seat. Bucky had brought her some coffee and pastries that Wanda delighted over.

"So," Wanda says after a sip of her coffee. "How was California?"

"Hot," Bucky smiles.

"You said you were going to train an upcoming actor in a movie, right?"

Bucky nods, sipping his own coffee. "Yeah, some new superhero movie. Pretty young; I think he just turned 18. Definitely now super ripped for an 18 year old," Bucky laughs.

"Does he need a PR agent?" Wanda grins.

Bucky rolls his eyes with mirth. "Probably not since he has his manager handling everything, but I did pass your card along."

"You're good people."

Bucky snorts, and they spend another half hour catching up before he finally comes to the topic he's been waiting to discuss. "You know, Steve brought up something interesting."

"Oh, yeah?" Wanda raises her brow.

"Steve was bringing up how Bug seems to be seeing someone," Bucky says slowly. "And she looks a lot like you...like everyone else Bug has dated."

Wanda lets out a huge groan. "Steve should eat rocks and jump into the ocean."

Bucky laughs, leaning back onto the couch, and smiles. "So? What do you think?"

"About what?"

Bucky gives her a side-eye, and she groans quietly this time.

"Fine," she grumbles. "It was strange to realize, but like, a good strange. I don't know. I want...I want her to look at me."

Wanda's blushing at the admittance to Bucky. It makes her feel shy, but also good that someone else close to her knows and will be on her side.

"Have you confessed?"

"Not exactly."

"Ah, so you haven't done shit except probably rope people into your weird schemes that turn out poorly."

Wanda's jaw drops. "I have not—okay, well, I mean, I wouldn't say they turned out poorly." She would never tell Bucky about the videotaping incident. She was taking that to her grave.

Bucky eyes Wanda, taking in the small expressions on her face and the muted longing in her eyes as she picks at her nails. "You're so much like me, sometimes I'm convinced that you're actually my little sister," Bucky grins, and Wanda mirrors him. "Don't tell Pietro that, though. He's gets so jealous."

Wanda just gives him an, 'obviously,' look.

"When I started realizing my feelings for Steve, I didn't say anything for a long, long time, and I've known I've liked Steve since we were boys making mudpies," Bucky leans his head back against the couch, the coffee resting between his hands on his stomach. "I kept thinking about what if Steve didn't feel the same? And then there was the whole Peggy situation, and I didn't want to break that up."

"You're better than me," Wanda sighs. "I would break them up in a heartbeat if I knew how she felt about me."

Bucky can't hold his laugh in for that but continues on. "I think a lot of those fears I had paralyzed me. I kept thinking I'd have more time and there was a right moment, or if I did certain things, Steve would feel the same. I just had to wait it out."

"So, what happened?"

Bucky gave her a wan smile. "Steve and Peggy, even though they'd be on and off, were getting more serious. One night, Steve told me he was thinking about proposing."

"What?" Wanda's jaw drops. She's never heard of this. "But obviously he didn't because you guys are together now."

"Yeah," Bucky laughs, "because I totally freaked out. I started saying he couldn't and then kissed him, and then started crying. It was a mess."

"Oh, god," Wanda rests her hand against her mouth. She could totally see herself doing that to you if you said the same thing. Now, she's starting to freak out if you're getting serious with Raye.

"I think you know what I'm getting at," Bucky says, turning his head to look over at Wanda, and she feels vaguely uncomfortable. "You need to say something—now. There's no perfect timing. There's nothing extra you can do to magically know, and you're not gonna always have more time."

Wanda lets her head fall back against the couch, closing her eyes. They start to sting with tears, and she feels that same fear creep into her belly. Yet, Bucky's words resonate with her, and she suppresses that fear until it settles into a muted nervousness.

"Fuck, I swear you and Steve planned this."

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Despite Wanda's talk with Bucky, she says absolutely nothing to you when you arrive home late in the evening. Wanda's eyes are glued to the TV, watching How I Met Your Mother absently.

You seemed to have a long day yourself as you carefully sat next to her on the couch.

The air feels weird, and there's a tension in your shoulders. It starts to make Wanda tense until you suddenly relax with a deep breath. You shuffle in your seat before scooting until you're pressed against Wanda's side, resting your head against her shoulder.

The smell of clean laundry and leaves fills Wanda's nose, and she relaxes against you.

"Wanna order in?" You say.

"Yeah," Wanda replies, pulling out her phone to see what she was in the mood for. The two of you quickly place an order and continue to sit in silence, watching the TV.

You seem deep in thought, but you grab Wanda's hand at some point, holding it with keen interest.

Wanda doesn't say anything. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears are warm as you stroke the back of her hand with your thumb. Her heart doesn't speed up, but it begins to thud noticeably harder in her chest.

It continues like that until the food arrives, and it's also eaten in silence with the background noise of the TV. Yet, whenever Wanda looks up, she finds you staring at her, and you don't break eye contact.

It's strange, and it's making Wanda feel somewhat nauseous.

When the food is done and put away, the two of you settle back onto the couch, but Wanda doesn't think she can handle the silence anymore.

"How was your day?"

You turn your head, staring at Wanda, and reply softly. "Okay...how was yours? Bucky told me he stopped by to see you."

Wanda tenses. "Yeah," she mumbles. "It was good seeing him again."

"It's nice that he's home," you nod. "I'm sure Steve is happy."

Steve doesn't deserve to be happy, Wanda pettily thinks. It was his fault that Wanda felt so nervous that she felt like she would puke.

Wanda needs to say something.

She knows she needs to say something now like Bucky told her to.

All those same fears and anxiety creep up, but frustration has also lingered in her since the day she realized her feelings for you.

Wanda's tired, she realizes. She's also sick of saying nothing and watching you be with someone else. She's scared but would rather say something and be put out of her misery than continue saying nothing.

Just as Wanda is about to say something else, you say something first.

"I broke up with Raye."

Just like that, the wind is blown out of her sails, and Wanda's brain stalls. "What?"

"I," you clear your throat, "broke up with Raye."

"When?"

"A week and a half ago."

"And you're just telling me now?"

Your brow scrunches, and you turn in your seat to fully face Wanda as you cross your legs on the couch. You're fidgeting with your fingers in your lap. "Yes...I needed to think."

"Think about what?"

You wet your lips. "If...if it was worth it potentially ruining our friendship for something more."

Wanda's heart drops like an amusement park ride. Her stomach feels the same way it does when an airplane is ascending.

She had all these things she was going to say to you just a minute ago, and now her head was empty, and all she could think about was what you were trying to say.

"I think it is...if you feel the same, which I know you do unless something's changed in the last three weeks."

"How do you know?" Wanda frowns. Then again, she wasn't trying to be sly about it the last few months. Maybe you've finally caught on.

Wait, Wanda pauses. Three weeks? That was when—

You pull out an SD card from your pocket. Wanda's around you enough to know what that is, and her stomach sinks.

"You know," you give her a small smile. "I was trying to edit the video together for Tony the night after the party, but as I was going through the footage, a third of the photos or videos were corrupted."

Wanda thinks back to the USB she returned to Darcy. Dammit, Darcy! That lying, sneaking, betraying—

"I didn't think much of it, but I had to meet up with the videographer to get the original files. You'd never guess what was on there," you smile wryly. "Or maybe you do since you've somehow deleted it from my Google Drive...and corrupted the other files, so I'd have to get the originals. Very conflicting motives I was getting."

"I didn't mean to corrupt the other files," Wanda mumbles. "But you should probably get your laptop professionally cleaned..."

You give her a weird look but chuckle with a shake of your head. "You're super kooky, you know."

"I do know," Wanda rolls her eyes. "I think you know as well."

"I thought I might've seen you on my first date with Raye. That rock that hit that car wouldn't happen to be something you know about, do you?"

"Not at all," Wanda replies quickly. "But if I did, I'm sure the person would want to say she wasn't aiming for the car or your head."

"So, just Raye's head?"

"Once again, not a clue what the intention was as it wasn't me."

You laugh, and Wanda joins in until it fades, and you bite your bottom lip. "I don't know how any of this works, Wanda. I've never dated anyone I consider my best friend."

"I would hope not," Wanda raises her brow at you. "That means someone else was your best friend and you've committed the ultimate betrayal."

You roll your eyes with a mirth and a smile.

"I haven't either," Wanda says softly, slowly turning fully toward you, grabbing your hand, and lacing your fingers together. "But I want to. And no matter what happens, we're gonna be okay. I don't think I'll ever love anyone the way I love you. I think I've loved you for a really, really long time."

"Me too," you mumble, squeezing Wanda's hand, feeling shy. "I don't think I ever really thought about it. I just love you. You're my best friend and I love you."

"Now I'm your girlfriend," Wanda grins, leaning closer and closing her eyes.

"Whoa, okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves now. What if we're not even sexually compatible?"

Wanda pulls back and looks at your face, shocked. It's stony and serious until your lip twitches and Wanda smacks you.

"Ugh, you're such a brat!"

"No, that's you. I'm stinky."

"Stinky."

"Brat."

"Bug."

"Witch."

"Oh, we're bringing back middle school nicknames, are we?" Wanda narrows her eyes at you. You're about to say something else, but Wanda's had enough.

Didn't she think something earlier about being sick of saying nothing? What was she thinking? Saying nothing sounds ideal.

Wanda launches herself across the seat into you, hearing you grunt as she topples you over onto the couch and presses her lips against yours.

It's not a dream this time, Wanda's very sure.

This was much, much better than any dream could give her. It feels better.

Your lips are soft, and you taste faintly like the cookie you split with her earlier.

Oh god, oh god, oh god, Wanda's mind is racing. She's finally kissing you.

Oh my god, she was kissing you!

You were kissing her back!

Wanda kisses you, pressing her lips over yours over and over as your fingers trail over the outside of her thighs and stroke up to her back. You're bolder than her as your fingers dip under her shirt, pressing her against bare skin.

It's thrilling; Wanda almost can't lie still on top of you. Goosebumps are forming, and it's forming everywhere.

You break the kiss, lips caressing her jaw, and scatter light kisses as they trail down her throat.

Your hand moves higher up Wanda's back and pauses.

"No bra?" You raise an eyebrow at her.

"I didn't leave the house today," Wanda mumbles, pressing a chaste kiss to your temple.

You hum. "No complaints here," you resume your caresses of her bare skin but pause again. "Wanna move to the bedroom?"

No, Wanda thinks. She doesn't want to detach herself from this position. She doesn't want your touch or your kisses to stop.

You can tell that Wanda's debating the pros and cons, and you try to persuade her. "A bed will give us more room to do things...and I want to do a lot of things..." You nibble on her collarbone.

Wanda lets out a soft moan, and her toes curl.

"Okay, fine," Wanda acquiesces, getting up and pulling you along with her. "Move quickly, though. No dallying."

"Dallying? I would never," you smile as Wanda pulls you down the hall. "I'll mirror you perfectly."

"I think you always have," Wanda says softly, turning to look at you. "That's why it's taken us so long to get here. We're stupid."

You laugh. "Seems like one of us deviated from our mirror, mirror dance."

The two of you enter Wanda's bedroom, and she falls back onto it, pulling you on top of her.

Your body heat spreads across hers, and Wanda thinks she's dizzy again.

"Good," Wanda mumbles, cupping your face, her thumb stroking your cheek. "I'm tired of us being chickens."

You press a kiss to her, smiling against her lips. One arm wraps around Wanda while the other trails under the front of Wanda's shirt.

"Speak for yourself," your fingers trail higher and higher. "Maybe I'm just stupid." You press another kiss, lingering a moment longer, and then pull away. "Chicken."

"Stupid," Wanda smiles, her lips grazing yours when she does.

"Witch."

"Bug."

"Brat."

"Stinky."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

Wanda feels something so peaceful settle over her. The butterflies in her stomach flutter around from your touch, but she's so happy. She thinks she might cry if she thinks about it too much because this was all she ever wanted.

Wanda focuses on the feel of your hands on her skin instead and how you're making her feel hot. She focuses on the feel of your lips against her skin, the sound of her breaths, and your soft moans.

There's no way the two of you aren't sexually compatible, but Wanda's eager to find out exactly how compatible they are...over and over.

As your lips trail lower and more clothes are removed, Wanda idly thinks that maybe Steve doesn't need to eat rocks and jump into the ocean.

EPILOGUE

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff fluff #wanda maximoff x y/n #avengers imagine #scarlet witch imagine #scarlet witch x reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #modern avengers au #Elizabeth olsen x reader #mm: my fics

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lovelybarnes · 11 months

Text

Flustered 2- B. Barnes

pairings: bucky barnes x reader, natasha romanoff, sam wilson, wanda maximoff warnings: flustered!reader, bucky teasing her. I haven’t written for him in so long i hope htis doesn’t suck about: flustered part 2!! requested

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

You say it very matter-of-fact, yourself nearly believable. Metal bumps against plastic, narrowed eyes trained on collecting the last of your yogurt.

“Oh, no idea, huh?” Natasha accuses, crossing her arms against her chest. “You’re a liar.”

You scoff, glancing at her for credibility. “I’m not lying.”

Sam frowns, leaning in close to your face. You stare right back at him over your yogurt cup, bewildered.

“I can’t tell,” he says, disbelieving. He turns to Natashs. “Are we sure she knows?”

“She is right here,” you snap. “And she thinks you both are insane.”

“His effect on you should be studied at universities,” Wanda quips.

“What effect?” you cry, letting what’s left of your breakfast clatter to the table.

“Come on,” Sam starts, observing you closely with a hopeful smile beaming although obscured. “You know you turn into a dopey idiot when RoboCop comes around, right?”

“Don’t call him that,” you mutter, a little quieter. “And I do not. We’re grown-ups, Sam. Who are together. In an adult relationship.”

“‘M not saying you’re not,” Sam shrugs. “I just…” He squints. “I need to hear you say it. You can’t seriously not see it, I’m concerned.”

“I don’t need your concern,” you argue. “And I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“You’re a competent person,” Sam starts.

“Thank you,” you deadpan.

“Normally. And then… Bucky, like, smiles at you, and you get all… gooey.”

Your brows pull together. “What does that mean?”

Immediately, all of your friends fall into an array of “gooey.” Natasha stares up at the ceiling with doe eyes while Sam fans himself, falling over the counter. Even Wanda has cradled her chin in her palm.

“You guys are awful,” you declare.

“I should film your interactions,” Sam says in turn. “Are we awful… or are we accurate?”

“You’re awful,” you respond promptly. “And I genuinely can’t see where you’re getting this from because--”

“Hello.” Bucky.

The show begins.

He catches your eye and smiles, eyes crinkling in a promise that it’s genuine.

Your reaction is immediate, features melting like butter in the sun at his appearance. “Hi.” You straighten and blink fast, clearing your throat. “Hi. Hello, Bucky.”

He raises an eyebrow and says hello again, curved in amusement. When he says your name, it’s devastating.

The others can see it happen, the moment your resolve begin to crumble in unsteady hands and trickle into Bucky’s. He sidles up next to you, familiar, wonderful heat kissing a bare stripe of your skin. Pathetically, you freeze up. It’s only for a moment because it’s him, because you’re overwhelmed, because your ribcage feels like it’s closing in around your heart, a shocking heat at the bottom of your stomach, but the team notices anyway, sharing a distinct look you can sense.

You turn to him, that line of itchy warmth crawling up your nose and into your eyes. He’s very pretty up close, eyes a green below ocean and smile a notch above cocky.

“You look nice,” he says casually, brushing his lips right below your eye.

“Thank you,” you breathe. He’s done this so many times, and not once has it dimmed your reaction. He looks at you like he’s proud of the fact and squeezes your hip. You feel as though he wants to kill you. “You.. you too.”

Unexpectedly, he dips down int the dip between your shoulder and your neck, his chin grazing your necklace. “Why’s everyone staring at us?”

You’re a little dizzy. With him, it’s like your surroundings are heightened and gone all at the same time, like it’s just you and him and the lovely sparks beneath your skin. You shrug. “They’re perverts.”

Bucky laughs. “‘Course. I already knew that. Don’t know why I asked.” He steps away from you in favor of the coffeemaker, but you’re stuck in the few seconds before, reminiscing on the heat of his skin sticky on your collarbone. Like a sweet, awful honey.

Natasha raises an eyebrow at you, you frown; you just get so caught up in his eyes.

“C’mon.” Bucky’s hand wraps around your wrist, tugging you from the kitchen and away from prying eyes. He has a mug in his fingers. One of yours, with a grinning Garfield dragging something along a faded white background.

“Do you know,” you start finally, standing close to him in the elevator, “that our friends think I act weird around you?”

“How so?”

“Gooey. That I go gooey around you.”

“Gooey?” he repeats thoughtfully, a canine concaving his bottom lip. “You? No.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Good,” he says. “‘Cuz that’s ridiculous,” he murmurs, leaning in to kiss you. As if expecting something, a hand goes to support the dip of your back quickly.

“Yeah,” you mutter indignantly, leaning into him. “Yeah…”

It’s love, you think. Prickly, overwhelming love that makes you want to hold his face in your hands and kiss him till you can’t breathe, and the cost of the image is the cost of the action when it comes to him.

He hums against your lips, grinning at you when you pull away. “You do this on purpose,” you accuse, its bite harmless with your breathlessness.

His pupils bounce between your features, his shoulders jumping with a shrug. “Dunno what you’re talking about.” He kisses you again, that same heat that stifles you crawling up his neck.

“Liar,” you croak.

Maybe, he thinks.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader fluff #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes ff #bucky barnes fanfiction fluff #bucky barnes fanfic fluff #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fluffy fanfic #bucky barnes fluff fic #bucky barnes fluffy imagine #bucky barnes fluff imagine #bucky barnes fluff

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whereianonymouslypostfics · 4 months

Text

Karma

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~2.7k

Summary: Family vacation

A/N: This came to mind when watching Evil Dead Rise, but don't let that fool you.

Warnings: Mostly fluff

You smile widely as you get out of the car with your dog right behind you. You’re a little late but you’ve brought something that will hopefully make up for this. Leaving work had taken longer than you thought, and just looking at the other cars here, you realize that your wife, brother-in-law and at least Nat is here. You are looking forward to the two weeks of relaxation that you will have with your entire family.

You take a moment to stop in your tracks, not paying any attention to Boone who’s running on ahead, as you take a deep breath. You look up at the clear blue sky and smell the fresh air that you’ve been looking froward to for weeks.

You’d practically begged Wanda to take this time off because you were both being overworked and you deserved a break. You’d convinced her to take the short trip to your lake house a few hours away from home. It was the closest of your vacation homes and you knew this made it more likely that Wanda would agree to go away with you. It had been her idea to invite family, and you were thrilled to have them along for the ride. You were also more than grateful for the fact that the house was plenty big enough for you and your wife to still have privacy.

“Y/n! Hurry up!”

You hear your brother-in-law call you from a distance, and you realize that Boone must have arrived to the lake and given you away. You walk around the house, seeing that it’s mostly empty and you quickly spot everyone sitting on the sand or standing on the dock waiting for you. Your dog has already run up to Fanny and followed her into the water, and you are grateful that you didn’t bother putting on his harness when you left.

“Hey everyone. Sorry for the delay.”

You place the brown bag full of booze that you’d brought before catching the tennis ball that Yelena throws at you. You smile as you look to your dog who is already swimming away, but he watches you carefully once he sees what you’re holding. You throw the ball a little past him before hugging both Yelena and Pietro with a smile. You tell Yelena that you brought her favorite booze and weed and she hugs you again before returning her attention to her barking dog. You leave her to throw the frisbee while you hop off the dock to greet your wife.

She’s lounging with Nat in chairs that give you a great view of your wife’s new swim suit. You’d asked her earlier this week if she’d packed yet, and she’d mentioned having a surprise for you. You’re not sure if this is it, but you’ll happily accept the gift that is getting to see Wanda in a bright red, almost too small bikini.

“Hey detka.”

“Hi there, kiddo. Get lost?”

You roll your eyes at Nat’s remark as you lean over to kiss your wife in greeting. You kneel down beside her, not caring about the sand as you kiss her again and roll your eyes. You hear a car door slam and figure that Bucky and Steve are here, but you’ll say hi to them later. For now you need to set the record straight.

“Good to see you too. No Nat. I just took a little longer to get here because I was getting someone’s favorite booze. If you don’t want it though, I’m sure Yelena will drink it.”

Nat’s eyes widen slightly as she looks to the dock where you’d left the bag of groceries you’d brought. Yelena was looking through it already and Nat jumps to her feet to make sure she doesn’t try to steal your gift. She mutters a thanks under her breath as she kisses your cheek before she’s gone and you smile widely as you settle down in the sand next to Wanda.

“Sorry I’m late. I hope I didn’t miss too much?”

Wanda smiles as she shakes her head and looks out to the lake that she hasn’t gotten in yet. Her plans had been to just sit in the sun, maybe take a nap until you got here and then to see how you felt about going for a swim. She was sure you and Yelena, and maybe Pietro would get into some sort of trouble sooner rather than later, so she’d like to spend some time with you beforehand.

“Not really. Nat had to help me with my sunscreen though since you weren’t here.”

You frown at the idea of missing out on getting to do this. It was only one of your favorite things about going to the beach with your wife. Other than seeing her like this of course, it was a perfectly convenient and innocent way to have your hands all over her without it being too much PDA.

“That’s too bad. I’ll just have to help you with it later after we swim.”

Wanda smiles at this as she puts her sunglasses back on because squinting at you is becoming tiresome. She watches as you move over to steal Nat’s seat just so you can take off your shirt and shorts that you wore over your suit for the ride here.

“Unless you need to finish up here.”

You shoot your wife a curious look and she just sighs contently before promising that she’ll be there soon. She just got comfortable and she knew that once she got in the water she’d smell like lake and she wanted to hold off for just a bit longer.

“I’ll be there soon. Just a few more minutes.”

You smile before folding your clothes and standing up with a stretch. You’re looking out at the water where your dog is paddling around, so you miss Wanda look you up and down appreciatively. If it was anyone other than family here, Wanda wouldn’t want you to show off the tanned and toned body that’s only for her to admire. She watches your muscles flex as you stretch out your back with a groan. She doesn’t get more than a second or two to think about feeling them beneath her before you speak up.

“Okay, Wands. I’m going to look for turtles then.”

Wanda laughs but just watches with a smile as you head for the dock. You may only work with cats and dogs, but one of your favorite animals are turtles. Any kind of turtle you loved and although sea turtles were your absolute favorite, that didn’t stop you from trying to spot another kind here. She watches as Bucky and Steve walk down from the house with a large cooler and yet another dog.

This one was a rescue that Bucky had found and adopted recently. He was a shepherd mix who had been abused by his previous owners who eventually put him out on the streets. You’d met him almost immediately after Bucky brought him home and you’d done your best to make him feel comfortable. Bucky had told you that Kit, he was named after the county he’d been found in, was only a foster, but he was going to try to adopt him. He was very skittish and reluctant to trust, but he’d bonded with Bucky quickly and has since made a lot of progress adjusting to his new life.

Boone sees him immediately and swims towards the dock so he can greet him. He and Kit hadn’t been fast friends. The two shepherds hadn’t fought, but they’d been wary when in each other’s company and never wanted to be too close. They’d never been left alone because neither you nor Bucky wanted to take the chance of something happening, but maybe this weekend you both would get the chance to try and improve their relationship. Not to mention Fanny’s presence always helped because everyone loved Fanny.

“Hey guys. Good to see you.”

You hug the duo that are dressed in swim trunks with t-shirts slung over their shoulders. They were obviously ready to swim, and it didn’t take them long at all to get wet. Everyone on the dock for that matter. Only Yelena and Pietro noticed as Boone jumped up from the water and shook himself out. You yelped and Nat narrowly escaped with her booze without getting drenched by a wet dog. You turned to him with a scowl, but the sight of your happy wet dog made you smile quickly. You didn’t pet him though because he was a little gross, and you just watched as he looked to Kit who was already starting to freeze.

“Boone be nice. Go see your mom.”

Your dog comes up to you with a whine but you shake your head before pointing to Wanda. She realizes too late what you’re doing and she’s ambushed by a wet dog licking her face. She shrieks and tries to get away, and you cringe as she falls out of her chair. You start to move so you’re hiding behind Steve, but Pietro’s laughing luckily takes the attention off of you for the moment. You watch as your wife stands up angrily and throws her sunglasses down on her chair. She ignores Boone as she glares at you in a way that makes you realize you’re definitely in trouble. You laugh nervously before muttering something that Wanda doesn’t hear, but certainly it doesn’t matter at the moment.

“I’ll be back. I’m just going to look for some turtles.”

You run off to the edge of the dock before diving in the lake and Boone barks as he follows you in from the shore. You swim out and just tread water as you wait to see what your wife does in response to your poorly thought-out decision.

“I should have gotten that one on tape.”

Wanda just glares at her brother as she steps onto the dock in search of alcohol. She’s going to need it if she’s going to relax on this trip. She had only been looking forward to this for months, and it was a quick decision to invite her friends and brother along. She tried to keep it a secret from Pietro for only a week before he found out. She’d told him that this was an important vacation for her and that if he was coming, he couldn’t be a pain in her ass.

So far, so good.

She nearly spits out the sip she’d just taken when she feels an arm wrap around her and pull her back. She sputters and curses before she begrudgingly accepts the side hug from the taller Maximoff.

“Alright, I know what you’re thinking. I’ll be good. Thanks for letting me crash your vacation.”

Wanda just mumbles something at him before nodding in thought. She takes another sip of her drink before she looks out toward the water where you’re swimming around seemingly aimlessly. Boone and Fanny are nearby but since you’re not doing anything interesting, they’re mostly keeping to themselves. She wonders how you’re feeling after this week. You’ve only been talking about being overwhelmed nearly every day. She hopes that this vacation will be relaxing for you.

“Sure thing, Piet. Just remember, three strikes and you’re confined to the basement.”

This wasn’t as harsh as it sounded because the basement of the lake house was equipped with everything that Pietro would need to get through these two weeks. There were a few bedrooms, two baths, a game room, and a full kitchen down there. He was actually going to fight Steve and Bucky to stay down there, but he would worry about that later.

He nods with a small smile before messing up his sister’s hair and stealing her booze. She shoots him a glare that he just waves off as he eyes you where you’ve already started your search for your favorite reptile.

“Duly noted. Now go join your wife, sestra.”

Wanda only considers doing something else just to spite him for a few seconds, but then you glance over to her with a smile and she’s already walking toward the end of the dock. She knows that this vacation probably would have been more relaxing without her family here, but she knew she’d still enjoy it. They deserved time off too and it was always nice to see you enjoying your time with family. That said, she decides that she’s going to spend some time alone with you for a bit. Even if she has to help you look for turtles.

She jumps off the dock and swims toward you with quickly. She’s intercepted by a dog and she just scratches Boone’s wet head before turning her attention back to you. You’re only a few feet away, and you’ve started swimming toward her once you realized she was in the water.

“Any luck yet?”

You shake your head before reaching out as you get closer to Wanda. She meets you half way and grabs your hand as you lead her further from the shore. You briefly look to your friends who are chatting and drinking, and you’re glad that they’ve joined you for your much-needed vacation. The house was large enough that everyone could get their own room, two honestly, so there would be plenty of privacy. You could go days just lying in bed and no one but maybe Wanda would force you to get up, but you are just excited to be away from work for a bit.

“Nah, they’re all doing their own thing, but that’s fine. I was just going to swim around a bit."

Wanda smiles at you and watches for a few seconds as you float on your back with a relaxed look on your face. She’s glad to see you so at peace after how busy things have been for you, and she sneaks up on you and reaches out to help you float. She kisses your cheek and her smile widens as you open your eyes and shoot her a knowing look.

“Having fun?”

You nod in agreement, ignoring the water that sloshes around your face as you continue to float. You feel Wanda’s hands on your back and you take a deep breath as you look back up at your wife. You reach out for her and bring her closer so you can kiss her again. You’re grateful to her for making this happen, and you’re very much looking forward to spending time with her during this vacation. Your family too, but your wife especially.

“The best. I’m glad to be here with you, Wands.”

You and Wanda float together for a bit before you decide to go searching for animals again. Wanda humors you for a bit before she decides to head back toward the shore. She’s getting hungry and the smell of the boys cooking draws her back to the group. The dogs are already there begging for food, and when you emerge from under the water again Wanda decides to see if she can tempt you away from the turtles for a bit.

“What do you say we get something to eat?”

Your eyes light up at the mention of food, and you only hesitate for a second before you nod in agreement. You reach out for your wife’s hand and she grabs yours with a smile. Yours grows as you pull Wanda toward you before shooting her a challenging look.

“I’ll race you. Loser has to babysit your brother.”

You don’t wait for a response before you duck underwater and are on your way to the food. Wanda catches up to you quickly, but she falls just short of beating you. You help her onto the dock before you consider pushing her back in just to tick her off. She must see the intent on your face because she grips your wrist tightly as she shoots you a warning look.

“Don’t you dare.”

Instead of shoving Wanda back into the water, you kiss her cheek and lead her to where your friends are grilling. Boone comes to greet you, but then he immediately runs back to Steve’s side to try and get some scraps. You can easily see that he’s already set aside a sizeable pile of pre-cut meat for the dogs as a present. You smile at this and have no complaints as you follow your wife’s lead toward the house.

This was going to be a great vacation.

Masterlist

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda x you #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x you #silver springs #silver springs drabble #mob au

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scarlet--wiccan · 8 months

Note

I feel like Pietro’s obviously had some variation in his costume, especially the color, but the core of the original works so well they just keep going back to it every time they step away—big white lightning bolt across the chest, which is a pretty good indication as to who he is and what he does as a hero, he’s a speedster. Meanwhile the closest equivalent for Wanda is her tiara, which has taken wildly different forms but is usually present (in 616 at least)—but it doesn’t really mean anything. It’s just a cool hat. It’s still a good signature, especially since other gals with similar headpieces (Storm and Polaris come to mind) haven’t kept them as consistently

Yeah, I like Pietro's basic costume a lot, and I always think he looks silly when they try to do something different just for the sake of being different. That's why I love his current design so much-- it's the iconic Quicksilver costume, but with just enough extra details that it reads as modern athletic gear. They perfectly contemporized it without actually changing the look.

You could argue that lightning bolts aren't a great symbol for speed when there are also a lot of characters with actual lightning powers, but, you know, it's better than a fast-forward symbol.

Wanda's headpiece is interesting because it didn't, originally, have any special meaning and it wasn't even really unique to Wanda. Funny shaped headgear with graphic silhouettes were very popular in the Silver and Bronze Ages, which I think was largely due to Jack Kirby. There are a lot of female characters, specifically, who wear these weird, face-framing crown thingies, but for whatever reason, over the decades Wanda's has become the most iconic-- but nobody ascribed it any real meaning to int until the 2015 Scarlet Witch series. Nowadays, being the "Scarlet Witch" is a legacy title that's been passed down Wanda's family for generations, and the headpiece is basically their emblem.

In Trial of Magneto, Werneck designed a magical crest based on the headpiece. I thought that was a neat idea, so I made different versions for each of the Maximoffs, and I did incorporate the lightning bolt into Pietro and Tommy's, as well as moons for Luna's.

#pietro maximoff #quicksilver #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #billy kaplan #wiccan #tommy shepherd #speed #luna maximoff

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luthientinu · 2 years

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ScarletStrange- One Shot 1- Stephen Strange x Wanda Maximoff

Pairing- ScarletStrange: Stephen Strange x Wanda Maximoff

Based off this- "Who knew babies were so exhausting!" "...said every parent ever"

AN- Hello Everyone! Nothing too much left to said. So I saw this discussion my fellow ScarletStrange shipper buddies had on discord (If anyone wants to join drop me a message- I'll send you the link to join. I am a member of this awesome group so feel free to join). I had to write this down based on your ideas. This little one shot is for you my ScarletStrange shipper friends. Hope you all enjoy

The bustling city of New York never slept and never felt quite peaceful. Yet, at 177A Bleecker Street all was finally quiet. The newest inhabitants of the New York Sanctum were asleep at last.

Stephen and Wanda have had a hectic time of getting the twins to sleep. The two month old babies were insistent on staying awake and if one cried, the cries would trigger the other. This put the extremely exhausted parents in quite a predicament as they did not want to deal with any accidental displays of magic…yet.

Billy was sleeping soundly on Wanda’s shoulder while Tommy was at the brink of falling asleep, slightly drooling onto Stephen’s shoulder. An extra bit of rocking helped and within minutes Tommy was fast asleep.

The parents heaved a relieved sigh and moved to place the boys in their crib. Once placed the twins curled into one another which made Wanda’s heart burst with a sudden rush of love and affection. She blinked back a couple of tears and followed Stephen out of the nursery.

CREAK, went a loose floorboard! The couple held their breaths. The twins stirred but thankfully all was quiet as they went back to sleep. Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, former neurosurgeon, Master of the Mystic Arts and the Master of the New York Sanctum would have been obliterated into nothingness if looks could kill. Stephen mouthed a hasty sorry, blanching at the glare Wanda gave him. They tip-toed out of the nursery and shut the door as quietly as possible.

They had a quick shower ("We look like zombies...at least let's be clean zombies." Wanda wholeheartedly agreed), heated up the leftovers of lunch for dinner and crashed on the couch, exhaustion finally taking over.

"Who knew babies were so exhausting!" Wanda murmured sleepily, cuddling into Stephen's side.

"...said every parent ever" deadpanned Stephen, throwing an arm around her shoulders and drawing her close.

Wanda hummed appreciatively and snuggled in closer to Stephen, on the verge of falling asleep.

All was quiet for a while. The dead tired parents were glad to have this quiet moment after a cacophony of baby wails and cries throughout the past two months.

“I did not ask about this in the afternoon as I thought my eyes were deceived”, inquired Stephen, remembering the distinct red magic of his wife. “Did I see Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch who is one of the most powerful beings in the universe, block pee using magic?” teased Stephen with a big grin, noticing Wanda stiffen.

“Circumstances change Stephen.” Wanda gave him a sleepy grin. “Tommy peed on me while I was changing him. So instinct took over”, shrugged Wanda. “I know for fact that you would not hesitate to do it if you were in my position.”

“No arguments there darling.” Stephen pressed a quick kiss to the side of her head.

“You both really fell asleep on the couch. Must have been really comfortable”, Wong’s amused voice woke Stephen up. He noticed a thing or two. One- His back was aching something fierce, Two- His Cloak was gently slapping his face, Three- Was it morning already?

“Stop it! I am already awake” Stephen moved his face away. The Cloak of Levitation straightened and floated to the side, faced him and looked at him expectantly almost as if to say ‘well aren’t you getting up?’

Stephen straightened up, the pain in his back flaring. Wanda woke up as a result and looked around groggily. Her green eyes widened at seeing Wong and the sunlight streaming into the room.

“Did we sleep an entire night without being woken up?” she asked joyfully, a dazzling smile lighting her face up.

“I believe so, yes” replied Stephen, mirroring Wanda’s grin.

The joyful moment was cut short as the twins began making their presence known. Wanda hurried to get up, almost tripped over her pyjama pants. Muttering a quick thank you to the cloak for catching her and a good morning to Wong she rushed up the stairs towards the nursery, hoping there won’t be any accidental magic that could flare up at any time.

Stephen gingerly stood up, mindful of his aching back when he noticed Wong, uncharastically grinning at him.

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Next- One Shot 2

Scarletstrange Master List

Main Master List

AN- Hope you all enjoyed it. Likes, comments and reblogs are welcome. Posted on Ao3 and on Fanfiction.net

#mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel #stephen strange #wanda maximoff #doctor stephen strange #scarlet witch #scarletstrange #stephen x wanda #wanda x stephen #luthientinuwrites

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aparticularbandit · 2 years

Text

Finding Family: Part Four: Chapter Five

Summary: When America begins universe-hopping again to try and find her moms, she realizes that’s too much scope for her. She looks for smaller scope, and instead she finds Wanda.

AO3

America lands in another universe.

Sometimes, she strikes a pose when she lands, one fist slamming into the ground and then a slow look up into the world around her, all heroic or something like that, and she waits to see if anyone notices. It takes a bit more effort to set that sort of thing up, because she needs her portal to open up in the sky that she can jump through it instead of against the ground to walk through it, but it’s been fun.

Most of the time, no one notices. That’s probably for the best. Seeing someone fall out of the sky and land in a pose punching the earth would probably sound off some alarms…and has sounded off some alarms. Someone in a previous universe thought she was an alien invader – which, while not technically true, wasn’t technically not true either – and called in their resident Skrull bashing hero to come bash her. It hadn’t gone well.

Whether the Skrull are good or bad really depends on the universe; America’s been in a few where they were the good ones and the Kree were the villains, and she’s been in some where they were both good and the universe was weirder for it, and she’s been in at least one where they were both very, very bad, and she’d made sure to get out of that one super quick. Probably the universe she likes least, other than, you know, universes out of left field like the paint universe, which does have its own special sort of charm – and, of course, Earth-838...and, sometimes, when she’s in the worst of her moods, even Earth-616.

America tries not to think about Earth-616 without some necessary, pressing reason, but each of the universes she’s gone through since leaving have only shoved it back into her face.

When she first ran from the Scarlet Witch, America kept running into Doctor Strange.

Now that she’s running from her again, America keeps running into Wanda Maximoff.

In every universe.

Very unintentionally.

Sometimes, she isn’t even Wanda. Sometimes, she’s Wayne. (In one of them, she was somehow Wayne Bruce – or, he was, in that case – and he lived in a cave with a lot of magic-powered super tech. Somehow, there weren’t any bats, but there were a lot of moths. He’d been the Scarlet Moth in that universe, so that was probably on brand for him.)

And in every single one of them – every single one – she – or he – or they – have kids. Usually Billy and Tommy. Not always. (Wayne Bruce had Sparrow and Baby. Which were weird names, but America wasn’t going to tell him that. He and Vision had still been together in that universe, though, which was cute.)

It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. America is just growing sick of running into whoever she is in whatever universe she goes to. She is trying to run from her. She isn’t trying to run to her.

Strange told America that her portals always opened precisely where she needed them to go. At the time, that had been helpful. It helped her to trust her powers enough – trust herself enough – to get into the fight with the Scarlet Witch, to open precisely the portal she had needed to....

Well, she hadn’t taken her down. Not in so many words. Wanda had taken herself out. She’d only needed to see—

You know what, America isn’t thinking about any of this right now. She’s thinking about her shit powers that are supposed to take her where she really needs to go and keep throwing her back at Wanda Maximoff or variations thereof. Her powers should know that she doesn’t want – or need – to be around Wanda right now. She needs to find her moms.

And the more she thinks about that, and the more she tries to get her powers to do what she wants, and the more they don’t do it, the more frustrated and aggravated and angry America gets.

It’s another form of rage that sits in the center of her chest, but it’s one that America can’t do anything about. She can’t punch her powers into doing what she wants them to do. This is just another form of lost control.

She hates it.

But here she is, in another universe, landing with a fist slammed down into the earth, but not so hard that she’ll crack anything, and slowly looking up, and hoping, hoping, hoping that she won’t see another Wanda Maximoff—

America takes a deep breath in. She closes her eyes. She counts to ten, just the way that Magda taught her to do, and she runs her fingers along the stitching in the bag that has grown more worn out the more wandering she has done, and she focuses on that instead of on the anger that is surging just beneath her skin.

Just ten feet away, standing in front of a frozen cream cart, is none other than who America assumes is this universe’s version of Wanda Maximoff. She has her back to her now, but America has seen Wanda so many times in so many ways that even now, she can recognize her, without even having to see her face.

Of course, the boys make that easier, too.

Tommy is a little younger than America normally sees him, and his eyes are bright and wide. He’s talking rapidly to his mother, probably trying to get her to let him get two or three or four milksicles – there are some universes where they are all the rage instead of popsicles, more like ice cream with a thicker, harder consistency – America doesn’t know how they’re made, but she knows that, most of the time, she likes them. Tommy’s words are a lost hope, though. There’s no way Wanda will get him more than one.

Billy, however, is staring straight at her, his mouth wide open, and if he had an ice cream cone, the top scoop would have fallen off in surprise. But he doesn’t have an ice cream cone; he has a milksicle with a top bite half-bitten that…still falls with a splatter to the ground. He doesn’t even notice that. Instead he starts tugging on his mom’s plaid shirt.

Wanda turns to him—

And it is Wanda, but happy, healthy – she’s not as thin as the Wanda of Earth-616, who always looked so haunted, or the Wanda of Earth-838, who seemed starved when they saved her – but the way she was meant to be, whole – even if she isn’t smiling—

America turns and punches a hole into another universe. She looks back just enough to meet the other Wanda’s eyes – Wanda reaches one hand out for her, and she seems to be saying, “Wait!”—

The portal closes between them.

America sighs and sits on the closest – it isn’t a bench; it’s more like a very long, very fuzzy beanbag. It might have been made of a sort of velvet once, but it’s a little more waterproof, and it doesn’t let the water of the rain pouring down from above seep into her as she sits on it. She doesn’t have an umbrella. If she stays here long enough, the water will sink through her hair and clothes, will drench her skin, regardless of where she’s sitting. That’s fine. It’s a cheap shower. Probably she should have soap if she wants to call it a shower, but she doesn’t much care about that.

She does care about the bag she still wears slung over one shoulder.

Her fingertips run over the stitching. It’s worn out – it was before Magda gave it to her, and it feels almost threadbare now – but it is blessedly empty. There’s no worry about any food inside it getting ruined. In fact, America takes the bag and carefully pulls it inside out. Crumbs of a variety of sizes and colors fall out. There’s something sticky and green in one corner, and there’s a red stain in the middle from a cherry bomb that she hadn’t realized was more bomb than cherry. Still edible, like rock candy, but only within a certain time period. It hadn’t hurt the bag, only stained it.

The rain will hopefully help with all of that, too.

It probably will not be in her best interest to try and sleep in the rain, but America doesn’t feel like going anywhere else right now. At least, she doesn’t feel like going anywhere big. There’s probably an underpass a few feet away or a bus stop. This universe might not be harsh on the homeless (not as many universes are as might be thought). She’ll find somewhere.

Right now, she just wants to sit.

Sit and stare and be glad that she is the only one out in the rain and that there is no Wanda Maximoff – or whatever she might be or be called in this universe – anywhere within sight.

Okay – not a universe that likes its homeless Earth residents, but not one that hates them either.

The bus stop is out of bounds for a homeless teen – really, it’s out of bounds for everyone; there’s one of those stickers that implies no sleepers here (in some worlds, that symbol is a red circle with a slash across it, but it isn’t that on every world, and it isn’t on this one) – but the nearby overpass is set up as a camp for traveling wanderers such as herself and for those who are without homes but also aren’t wanderers. There are tents (most full, but a couple empty, should America want one (she doesn’t)), benches (most empty, but a couple full, and it is one of these that America does want (one with a nice pillow not soaked by the rain and a blanket which might be a little bit damp with what she hopes is rainwater and not anything else (it does not smell, so that gives more likelihood to the rain))), a few fires roaring nicely (most of these have more than a few people around them, but America doesn’t feel particularly cold and doesn’t join them), and stations with food and many kinds of drink (some of which America isn’t old enough, even in this universe, to have; they would tell her so, but she doesn’t ask for anything like that, only for whatever this universe calls hot chocolate).

It’s all too easy – tired and soaked and full of nice, warm, comforting hot chocolate – for America to curl herself up in the slightly damp blanket and fall into an easy, easy sleep.

One that is woken less than easily by someone – or something – shaking her roughly. Roughly, roughly, even more roughly.

“Wake up, wake up!” hisses whoever is shaking her. “You need to go, you need to go! They’re coming!”

America snaps up, eyes opening, and asks before she can even see who she’s asking, “Who? Who’s coming? Where do we go?” She recognizes the green eyes the moment she sees them, but this—

Her eyes narrow, and she leans forward. “How old are you?”

The other girl’s head tilts ever so slightly to one side. It’s not a power play, as America has so often seen it used; this is confusion and idle curiosity. She nods once, slow, to herself. “Wendy. Seventeen in three months and two days, which is close enough, so I say it.” Then she takes hold of the edge of America’s jacket, just at her wrist, and gives her a sharp, but not rough, tug. “Come on. You’ve got to go.”

America stumbles towards her, half off of the bench, her bag swinging with her, and plants her feet on the ground. “Wendy,” she says, and the name tastes weird on her tongue, “you keep saying I have to go.” She struggles to think things through as the other girl tugs on the wrist of her denim jacket again. “Aren’t you going, too?”

“Sure, sure, I can come with you, but you have to go.” Wendy meets America’s eyes with her bright green ones – insistent, insistent, insistent.

America tumbles forward. She holds tight to her bag with one hand, and she grabs Wendy’s hand with the other. This is better than having her jacket tugged on. As she does so, Wendy interlaces their fingers together and gives her hand a harsh squeeze. There’s just enough time for America to swallow once before Wendy tugs her forward again.

They dash through the now evacuated underpass, twisting here and there around the tents and burnt out fire pits, going so fast that America doesn’t have the chance to say anything until they’re halfway to the other side. “Who’s coming?” she asks, followed quickly by, “Where did everybody else go?” and “Where are we going?”

Wendy just holds tighter to her hand. “Ultron,” she says, voice rough. She glances over her shoulder, and her eyes grow dark – but not scarlet – before she pulls America against her and hides them both between one of the tents and the concrete wall of the overpass. She raises one finger to her lips before America can say anything else and nods to the other side.

America quickly moves just enough to glance over the top of the tent towards the other end of the overpass. A robot, similar to the ones she had seen on Earth-838, clinks down the middle of the street, cold eyes sweeping this way and that. She blinks and moves back to where Wendy hides. “I can take him.”

Wendy raises an eyebrow, and in a move oddly reminiscent of Tommy, she crosses her arms and gives America a little look. “Prove it.”

Now. America Chavez is sixteen years old. She has admitted to herself on multiple occasions that Wanda Maximoff is super hot, and she’s said as much to Wanda herself. Wanda fits the hot mom stereotype to a T. But she’s never, you know, thought about it past that. Wanda is Wanda. She’s the Scarlet Witch. Just because America is aware of the stereotype doesn’t mean that she falls into it.

Looking at Wendy isn’t like looking at Wanda.

Wendy’s green eyes glimmer with defiance, bright against the dark of her eyeshadow, and a sort of self-assurance that America certainly can’t do what she says that she can. She crosses her arms and she wears the posture of a rebel. And when she gives America a onceover, America feels something in her raise. Not anger. Just a need to prove herself.

But not for nothing.

America glances to Wendy’s wrists, which bear a thick leather bracelet and loops of a single long bootstring, and her fingers, which have multiple rings of varying sizes and colors on them. Her ears are pierced three times each – twice at the top and once at the bottom – and her right ear has one ring through two of the holes. “If I do,” America says, “I want your bracelet.” She nods to the bootstring. “That one.”

Wendy shrugs. “If.”

Without another thought, America begins to make her way back through the overpass. She hides behind tents, trying to keep her cover for as long as she can. When she makes it to the Ultron bot, she grins and then pushes just a little bit past him. This will be cool. She just needs to creep up behind him and—

Just before America can punch him square in his tin head, the Ultron bot whirls around, meets her eyes, and grins.

She didn’t know they could grin.

She hesitates.

“Foolish mortal.”

The robot’s voice sounds different from the bots America had heard before. It’s deeper, somehow. Smoother. Not quite like honey, which is too sweet for this, and not quite like molasses, which is dark enough but too thick. Somewhere in between the two, the robot’s voice rests.

It unsettles her.

Then the robot punches her square in the stomach.

America coughs twice, wipes her mouth with the back of her hand (no blood, which is good), and then pushes herself up. Alright. This robot is different. Of course. It’s a different universe. It’s playing by different rules. Well, she is different, too. Sort of. Okay, not really, but she’s got something to prove, so this robot has got to go. She glances over to Wendy, who raises an eyebrow as her head tilts to the side again.

Okay, fine. Power play this time. Fuck Wendy.

America punches the flat of her hand twice and then runs at the robot again.

This time, when America hits him, stars bounce off of its metal form, some of them the size and shape of her portals, although she opens none of them. They’re only there, like the scarlet tendrils that make up Wanda’s powers, like the way her eyes blaze scarlet when she uses her magic – America’s own eyes blaze that blue so soft that it might as well be white, and she grins as she punches him.

It feels good to punch something again. Something other than the universe itself. Much better than punching Wanda, than seeing her blood staining her knuckles, than the way she had shook and shivered afterwards, unable to calm herself down until she was so many universes away that she couldn’t even keep count (she could, she always could, but she didn’t – and still doesn’t – want to think about that), and the way the robot’s metal skin folds and creaks beneath her strength feels better than the sharp, sickening crack of first Wanda’s nose and then her cheekbone as she’d continued to punch her.

She feels good about destroying this Ultron bot. She felt sick after what she’d done to Wanda.

(This is why she runs, this is why she keeps running, this is why she has to run. She can’t go back after that.)

When America walks back to Wendy with the Ultron bot’s head in one hand, completely separated from its body, cords trailing from one end, its eyes punched out in star shapes, and drops it in front of the other teenage girl’s feet, she can’t help the smug smile on her face. Then she holds one hand out flat. “Pay up.”

And Wendy does.

#bandit fic #finding family with wanda and america #neverland arc #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #america chavez #mcu #billy kaplan #tommy shepherd #queue

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