Chapter Text
Unknown location. Unknown date.
The flash drive was gripped in one tightly closed fist.
Even at 12-years-old, it was easy enough to sneak onto the train. With the large amounts of people hardly anyone would take a second glance at a child. It also made it easier to hide from those chasing her, hiding her dark hair under a hoodie she had snatched from a passing teenager.
She had felt bad about it, but she had no doubt those chasing her would shot anyone in their path to get her if they saw her.
It had been hard to find an empty seat; she had to travel across three different cars before she came across one. A window seat, luckily, but right by an elderly couple. They tried to engage her in talking, asking where her parents were and why she was alone. They were speaking perfect English, an American accent drifting over the other languages being spoken in the cart.
“I am visiting my grandparents.” She smiled brightly at them, her thick accent making it known where she was from. The elderly woman returned with a sweet, grandmotherly smile of her own. “My parents could not make the trip and thought I was old enough to make it myself.”
The train starting to move and she pretended to fall asleep.
The flash drive never moved from her hand. The picture almost burned in her pocket, reminding her of what she had lost.
It took everything in her to cry silently, to let her tears roll down her face without noise. A crying child was noticeable and she didn’t want anyone else to notice her.
It any of them had made it onto the train, it would lead them to her.
The hoodie helped hide her tears as she watched the train leave the only home she’d ever known.
Chapter 1: Home Sweet Home
Avengers Compound. May 2017.
The rest mist danced around her fingers as Wanda sat in her old room at the Avengers Compound. A year was too long to be away from what had become her home. She had missed her room, missed the open area it was around. She had missed Vision and his attempts at cooking, but he was still a little wary around her.
She couldn’t find it in herself to blame him.
He had been trying to protect her - after getting out of the Raft, she had seen what had made Stark what her to stay in the safety of the Compound. People were angry with her, riots raging across the world.
Seeing the first ‘Burn the Witch’ sign had scared her so much, she had folded herself into a corner of the QuinJet.
Steve and Natasha and even Sam had done their best to reassure her. But she had better control of her powers. At 26, she had had them for eight years. Something sparked in her in that moment, though, and she lost control.
No matter what Steve said, that had only added to her death count.
It made her understand Stark’s guilt complex a little bit more.
Sighing, she made her way off of her bed and out of her room. Nothing had changed, her clothes and things were still in the same place. Her room had been cleaned, but she could tell it was done carefully has to not disrupt anything.
Her thin arms wrapped around herself as she made her way towards the common area, seeing Sam and Clint playing a video game. Lucky was by Clint’s feet, but perked up when he saw her and came to her.
“Hey, Wanda! Wanna come play? I’m getting bored kicking Sam’s ass.”
“Man, you won twice out of four games - don’t get so high and mighty.”
She laughed, bending to her knees to pet and kiss Lucky. Dog drool got on her face and in her hair but she hardly cared. “I will play whoever wins the fifth round.”
Both men agreed and focused on their game.
This.
She had missed this so much. Everyone being carefree, laughing and being a family. Having lost her own so young, having lost the other half of her soul, she adored having this. It couldn’t replace her own, but she loved it all the same.
“Where are Steve, Natasha and Bucky?”
Scott, she knew, was back in his home city. He had the offer of working off his parole as an Avenger but they all understood he needed to be near his daughter. Wanda admired that. The love he has for her warmed her a little bit every time she thought of it.
“At Toni’s mansion.”
There was no harsh tone to Clint’s voice, not anymore, but it was hesitated. He still felt bad about what he had said to Stark in the Raft. It had hurt her deep, as Stark called him by his last name when they spoke instead of one of her nicknames.
It was getting better. Stark had called Clint, Sam and Wanda by their first names last week. But things were still tense when it came to the genius.
‘ We all played this wrong ,’ Natasha had said. Steve had agreed, to Wanda’s shock. He spoke little about it, but Wanda could see the regret in his eyes and feel it pour out of him. He had no regrets saving Bucky; he regrets what happened between himself and Stark.
No one was sure about what happened but he said it was partly his fault. He and Stark had spoken a little between their so called ‘Civil War’ and them coming home. She had told them to stay away and keep their heads down; she was working on getting them home.
And she did.
“Stark let them in?” Wanda stood, moving to fold herself into a loveseat just off to the side. Lucky laid in front of her, knowing he wasn’t allowed onto the furniture.
Sam shrugged, moving his whole body with the controller.
“Natasha said they all had a long overdo talk. It’s between the four of them and honestly, we shouldn’t pry into too hard. Whatever it is, it was enough to almost end the relationship between Steve and Stark.”
Wanda saw Clint’s jaw clench. She could feel the regret mixed in with longing. While she didn’t pry into people’s heads anymore, she couldn’t help the vibes she would get sometimes. It was hard to turn that part of her powers off or down.
The woman wanted to reach out and hug Clint but held herself back.
She wouldn’t want to distract him from his game.
It was nearly three hours later when the missing three came home. Steve still hadn’t shaved off his beard - the divorce beard, Clint had tried to joke once with only a flitch from Steve - and was rubbing at it. Natasha and Bucky followed, the redhead holding the mail.
“You three were here all day and couldn’t be bothered to get the mail.” It was not a question and said with a very deadpan voice.
Wanda had put down her controller when the three had walked in and looked sheepishly up at Natasha. “Sorry, we got a little. . . distracted.”
The older woman snorted and playfully hit Wanda on the head with one letter.
“This one's for you. No return address or even our address.” There was a hard tone to Natasha’s voice. Glancing over at Steve, she saw his jaw move and his brows drawn together in thought. Unless Stark wrote it out herself - which never happened; Wanda wasn’t even sure she used pens or pencils anymore - it could be from anyone.
And not the good anyonies.
Brows furrowed, Wanda grabbed it and ran her fingers over it. Just her name, nothing else. She could sense everyone looking at her and so, she opened it.
Her heart stopped and she felt tears gather in the corner of her eyes.
No, no, no, she chanted in her mind. She could hear the other’s calling her name but didn’t answer. It was as if water was pouring over her ears and her throat was closing up.
On the letter, in bold black writing, was one of the dates she couldn’t forget.
August 12, 2009.
Steve stared hard at the letter, having picked it up after Wanda dropped it. The date meant nothing to him, or anyone else, but it did for Wanda. The young woman had raced to her room and shut the door, keeping it locked in place with her magic.
“That was the year she joined HYDRA.” Next to him, Natasha sipped on her water. Bucky, Sam and Clint were in the other part of the building so Steve felt comfortable talking about the organization and Wanda’s part.
“Do you think this was the day?”
Red hair shook as she took the letter.
“No, she joined in early February. She had already been there for a few months by that time and had gotten her powers near March.” The files on Wanda and Pietro weren’t much, many gaps between the years that they worked and they could never find any videos. But they did have some things.
Wanda was trying to make up for what she did in the past and so, no one questioned her too deeply. And whatever this letter was about, it was enough to rattle her.
“Did you look through the cameras? This wasn’t addressed to the Compound. Someone had to of put it in directly.” Which in itself was hard to believe.
Outside of the team and the government, no one knew the address of the Compound. Any press conferences that happened, the reporters were brought in with blackout window cars. The Compound didn’t even appear on Google Maps.
Their mail was delivered directly by Toni, Rhodes or their liaison. It was still directed to Stark Tower, who would sort it out and pass it on to be brought to them. It was left in a box on the inside of the main entrance. And no authorized personnel could even get into the area. Their home had heavy serectury massures. The forest around them had not only wiring, but sensors that alerted a member of the Iron Legion and sent the alert directly to all of their phones.
“There was nothing. No one saw anything.” Natasha looked bothered by the fact. It rattled Steve as well. Someone got onto the property without them knowing and left. Stark tech was one of the best out there, second only to Wakanda. Then there’s the fact that was always someone at the Compound. Their Accords liaison, Theodore Rhee, had an office here and usually worked from it. “We need to tell Toni.”
Steve tensed up. Their meeting with Toni had gone less than ideal. While she had accepted that Bucky was just the gun, she still hadn’t forgiven Steve or Natasha for not telling her. The betrayal that was still in her eyes, the way she called them by their last names but called Bucky by a nickname or even-
“What do you want to be called, Freezy Pop?”
“. . . James.”
“Alright, Frosty, James it is. Mostly. If I feel like it.”
-actually made his chest flare up in jealousy. He had no right to feel that way, not after what he did. But his feelings never changed. He could blame what happened on ‘in the heat of the moment’ but it doesn’t change what happened. Doesn’t make Toni’s hurt any better. Steve doesn’t think they can get past this and he can’t find it in himself to blame Toni if she decides never to repair their friendship or rekindle the relationship they almost had.
But he’d do anything, anything, to try.
A slim hand rested on his shoulder, and he peeked down at Natasha. Her face was unreadable but she squeezed his shoulder and stood up.
“I’ll call her.”
“Natas-”
“It’ll be easier on both of you if I do, Steve.”
He had nothing to say to that and thus, didn’t. He simply nodded and watched the small redhead leave the kitchen area. His chest ached and he rubbed at the spot above his heart.
They’d been back for a few weeks and Bucky had made more progress than Steve did when it came to Toni. Rhodes spoke and acted like they were old friends returning from war and while Vision was still wary around Wanda, he was polite to them as if nothing changed.
They didn’t know what happened.
Neither did the others that sided with him, but it made him feel weird about Toni’s side. He nearly killed Rhodes’ best friend and the woman who was basically Vision’s mother and they didn’t know. Pepper had even smiled at them and welcomed them home. And while the world was still divided them coming back, many were glad to see the Avengers (mostly) working together.
Toni had done what she said she wanted to - she helped fixed the Accords up into something that Steve liked. That Steve agreed with. After Shuri had gotten rid of the triggers in Bucky’s head, Toni set him up with a trusted therapist when they first got back.
“The triggers might be gone, but you’ll still need help. Dr. Singh is the best I know. And the B.A.R.F. will help you as well. But whenever you’re ready, Sugar Plum.”
Toni just kept giving and giving. And asked for nothing in return but for Steve to keep his distance. Clint had made one, ill-placed joke about it two months when they got back but Toni simply turned her back and-
“Hope I don’t break my back on the way out.”
Steve had never seen a full body flitch before, but Clint had done one.
But that was within the first month of them being back. Clint was getting better at his timing when he did see Toni, the genius joke a bit with Sam and she and Wanda even smiled at each other.
And now this. Someone sneaking onto the Compound and leaving letters for Wanda. Steve knew she was the least popular Avenger. There was footage of her and her brother with Ultron and everyone knew she had a shady past. The media still won’t shut up about it and, shit, those riots.
Steve had no idea that was going or he would have never asked Clint to get Wanda. Clint had been taking his first vacation in years in the middle of nowhere and had no idea either. Otherwise, the archer had said, he would have said something. Since, they’ve all made a point to be as up to date as possible.
But whoever had sent that letter had to know more about Wanda than any of them. And Steve wanted to question Wanda on it. He wanted answers - the fact that someone broke in not only pisses him off but puts the team in danger from anyone.
Steve won’t let his team be in danger in their own home.
The home Toni gave them.
Stark Manor. May 2017.
It had been hard going back to her childhood home.
The place hadn’t changed since she left in 1992, but had been kept clean and maintained. Her mom’s grand piano was still in the same place, the awful couch Toni couldn’t bring herself to get rid of and even the rugs and the carpet and the paintings were still perfect.
Stepping back into it for the first time in nearly 25 years had sent her back to both good and bad memories.
Cooking with Ana and Jarvis. Playing the piano with her musically gifted mother.
The screaming matches with Howard and the first time he slapped her across the face.
But she has the chance to create new memories. Keep the good and replace the bad.
Howard’s old lab had been torn apart and rebuilt into her own, though his study remained firmly locked. She had refused to go in there or let anyone else. Toni had stepped into once after their service while drunk and she hated to think what it looked like now.
She hated to think of that room at all.
Most of the rooms had been updated, the entire manor redone into the style she liked. The pieces she kept was the awful couch her mother loved, her mother’s piano and the paintings. Everything else she had donated.
She didn’t want anything else from this place.
But with almost everything replaced and only the good things still around, it became easier to breath. Stark Tower was her home, always will be, but she needed this. To be able to separate herself and work, to separate herself and the Avengers sometimes.
Every corner of the Tower holds a memory with the original team. Ultron still haunted those walls and Jarvis still burned from the top to the bottom. It was still her main office, but she no longer kept her lab there and only a few members of the Iron Legion stayed to make sure her employees were safe.
It helps that the tower itself has a new A.I, Tadashi, to keep it running while she moved Friday.to the manor. She had thought about putting Friday, or another A.I in the Compound but talked herself out of it. The team was wary of her A.Is after Ultron and it wasn’t worth the headache. Even now, while things weren’t as bad as they were when they first came back, she didn’t want to tempt it.
They had emergency access to Friday; that was enough.
“Have you eaten today?”
Toni would deny the squeal that popped out of her until the day she actually died.
Auto footage be damned.
Spinning around in her lab chair, she held a hand over her chest as she squinted at Vision. He looked innocent enough, but she could see the amusement. The pain of hearing Jarvis’ voice from his mouth wasn’t as bad anymore, thankfully. But the ache would never go away.
“Viz! Sneaking up on a lady with heart condition! I have raised you better than that, young man.” He still looked amused and Toni did not pout. Not at all.
Video footage be damned.
“A balanced meal might help with that.” It was then she noticed the plate in his hand and smell that drifted over to her. Her mouth may have watered at the sight and smell of the Risotto. Vision had taken up cooking classes and it was showing. His cooking was much better now than it was last year.
Toni made grabby hands.
“You’re one of my favorites, dear. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” With a chuckle, he gave her the plate. In one spoonful, she had her mouth full and a moan left her throat. It tasted just like what she has when she’s at her villa in Italy.
She gave him a thumbs up.
“I take it my second attempt is much better than the first?” He slide in next to her, standing by her workstation as she swallowed.
“I prefer the meat dish over the fish one anyday. Not your fault your teacher taught you the fish one.” He threw her one last amusement glance before his face turned serious. Damn. The good food was a trick - he wants to talk. Deep talk.
Fuck.
“Captain Rogers pulled me aside today.” Double fuck. “He. . . wanted to speak to me on Wanda’s behalf. Wanda. . . She misses me. Captain Rogers made me think - and now I’m wondering, just how can we repair what we had?” Very deep talk. Taking another bite, she put the plate down and laid a hand on Vision’s forearm.
“It takes time and patience and, shit. She hurt you and you need time. It seems like she understands that, as she does give you your space. But never forget, your feelings are valid.” God, how many years did it take for her to understand that? Hell, she didn’t understand it until last year. Until she started seeing Dr. Singh.
There was a brief pause before he spoke again.
“I miss her. I miss what we had.” There was a ghost of a smile on his face. Why did he come to her? She sucks at this so hard. Toni has the whole thing with Rogers to wonder about and the whole team and what their future is.
“And that’s okay.” Toni stood up, moving her hand from his forearm to his shoulder. “It’s okay to miss her. All of this goes at your pace, buddy.” Vision nodded, moving to place his hand over hers.
“I know but I think I-”
“Boss, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Agent Romanov is on the line. She said it’s an emergency.” Toni raised her eyebrow as the call with Romanov’s picture appeared.
“About what?”
“There was a possible break in at the Compound.”