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It was already hard being in love with Wanda when she was in love with Vision. It was hard to know that you weren't the one who made her happy. That you were only ever destined to be a friend.
But nothing hurt more than seeing her hurt. When she ripped the mind stone out of Vision's head you could see her heart breaking in her chest. You could feel it because she was your heart. You'd never felt such pain in your lifetime.
That was until you saw it again. Except this time it was Thanos ripping the stone from Vision's head. Wanda was screaming, crying, pleading for it all to end. It had taken so much out of her to even be convinced to remove the stone from her lover only for it to not matter in the end.
She crumpled to the and you were right behind her. With your arms around her trying to give her any comfort you could. You didn't know that it wouldn't matter in the end. It only took a few moments for her to turn to dust in your arms.
She looked into your eyes before she was completely gone. What was left from her hand caressed your face. She was speaking to you and over the years you've convinced yourself that she was telling you she loved you. But you knew that couldn't be it not when the love of her life was just stolen from her.
Maybe she had gone delusional from the sensation of being blipped. Maybe she was talking to his lifeless body. Maybe she said it because she thought I could save her. I couldn't; I was too weak.
I wanted to be sad and I wanted to mourn but I didn't have any time. The world was in panic so many people were gone. So many had lost loved ones too much to prioritize your own.
In the weeks before Tony returned it was chaos. It wasn’t much better when he got back. You went looking for Thanos and you found him but it was too late the stones were destroyed.
Most of the team separated after that. They gave up on this but you couldn't. Giving up on bringing everyone back would be giving up on Wanda and you couldn't do that.
So you stayed by Natasha's side. You used this time to become stronger both physically and mentally. She wasn’t doing work for the weak. Natasha was trying to figure out how to bring everyone back, while helping the people who were still here, and tracking down Clint. You were right there with her getting stronger was the only way you could keep up.
" Y/n can I ask you something?" Natasha had sat her thick stack of papers down to look at you.
You did the same," Ya what's up"
" Why did you choose to help me? You could've gone off and built a life for yourself but here you are with me going over files"
You pondered for a minute," Well you're doing this to bring everyone back but you're also trying to save Clint right?" She nodded," Well it's the same with me but I'm doing this for Wanda"
Nat's eyes lit up with realization," You were in love with her weren't you"
You breathed out through your nose," I was, I still am. I know that Vision was her everything but she was mine. I held her in my arms as she turned to dust and if I don't get her back it'll eat me alive."
" There's no way she couldn't love you if she knew everything you're doing to get her back"
You shook your head," If Wanda ever chooses to love me it can't be because of what I'm doing now. I don't want her to love me because of all of these hoops I'm jumping through. I'd want her to love me for the person I was before this. I'm so different now"
Natasha got up from her spot and walked over to you. She took your hand in yours before speaking.
" You're still just as good as you were then Y/n. You have a heart of gold and everyone can see. We could all see it then and I can still see it now. Maybe you're a bit stronger and you have a better head on your shoulders but at heart you're still the same girl"
It was comforting to hear that you hadn’t lost yourself like you thought you had. Before the blip you two hadn’t been the closest but now she was your best friend.
" We're going to bring them back," it was a statement that you weren't willing to waver on.
Nat's head fell on your shoulder," Of course we will, we're the Avengers after all"
You thought you'd be prepared for when you finally made a breakthrough but you weren't. When Scott Lang emerged from thin air proposing time travel it was brilliant.
Getting the stones before Thanos could even procure was a genius idea. It was genius enough to get Tony, Cap, Clint, and Bruce back on page. Having them by your side you almost felt invincible. The impossible was so close possible and it was all within grasp.
It was all coming together until Clint came back with the stone but without Natasha. Bruce losing his temper was expected but none of the guys expected you to lose your cool.
You started fighting Clint but you weren't really trying to hit him. When he caught your wrist you fell into his arms. Natasha had been your rock for 5 years and now she was gone. She was the only thing you had for that time being and she was so violently ripped away from you.
" Clint I need her, I still need her please," The tears wouldn't stop flowing. This was your first taste of hope in years and it was snatched from you yet again.
How would you do this without Nat. If it weren’t for her none of these men would be here trying to restore the world. Without her you would've been stuck doing this all on your own. It wasn't fair, nothing about it was fair.
" I tried to stop her Y/n, she just-"
You steeled yourself," She bested you didn't she."
He nodded solemnly," It was supposed to be me"
You chuckled dryly," She would've never forgave herself if it was you. You have a family Clint, this whole time she's been fighting for you"
You saw a single tear trail down his face," This is bullshit"
You remove yourself from his arms," We're fighting for her now. All of this because without her we wouldn't be here. We're winning this for Nat"
" For Nat," the team says in unison.
You didn't think it could get more personal but losing Nat made it more personal. You were going to win this war for Nat and you were going to bring Wanda back home.
The fight wasn't easy. You were pushing your body as much as you could. In the past it was questionable if you could really hang with the other Avengers but not anymore.
" I see you've grown as a fighter," Thor huffed as you guys ended up back to back fighting off enemies.
" Tapped into the potential," you said, switching positions with the God of thunder.
" Still no powers though," he grunts as he cuts off the head of one of the creatures.
" I wouldn't say that," you said, stabbing the enemies all around you.
" Ya right Y/ln"
You smirked and teleported behind the guy Thor was fighting and smashed your knuckles against it's skull.
" Super strength?"
" Titanium fists"
" That's fantastic," Thor wastes no time lifting you by your ankles and spinning you around at the enemies. You harden your body so that it's entirely metal. When you're no longer surrounded Thor stops spinning you.
" You're an asshole for that," You try to keep your balance and Thor slaps you on the back.
" Had to test out the powers"
You parted after that. Both taking your own paths in the battle. It was getting intense and you were losing people. However Thanos fleet was only growing; holding your own was becoming more and more of a struggle.
It had all come to a stand still Thanos and his army on one side and the heroes on the other. The air was thick with tension.
And then it happened.
Portals started to open up around you and saw everyone that had been gone return. You couldn't help it as your eyes searched for Wanda. You were glad to see so much backup but there was only one person that could give you some relief.
You found yourself buzzing with anticipation as you watched more and more portals open up. This was the boost you needed if you could get a glimpse of her.
" Looking for someone," Clint says and you nod, " She's over there"
You follow his finger with your gaze and almost tear up when you see her. There she is. She was wearing the same thing she had turned to dust in. Her eyes were shining with something fierce, her hands were engulfed in her magic, and she had a neat smirk on her face.
This was what you were fighting. This is why you couldn't lose. You just had to see her one more time.
" AVENGERS," Cap shouts making everyone shift into a battle stance, " ASSEMBLE"
The two groups charged forward ready to sacrifice everything to put an end to this war.
Subconsciously when the battle started up again you made your way towards Wanda. You were doing your best running through the battlefield trying to make sense of what's happening.
" Y/N!"
You heard Clint call your name and before you could comprehend what was happening you had the infinity gauntlet in your hands. He pointed towards a beat up brown van and you took off.
You were teleporting with the gauntlet as far as you could. However you kept ending up in hordes of enemies. So instead you started to just run as fast as your legs could carry you.
You had gotten considerably far when a spear was chucked at you causing you to drop the gauntlet. You quickly picked it up but before you could stand Thanos was in front of you.
Before he could get to close Wanda appeared in front of you. Her eyes glowing and her body full of rage.
" You took everything from me"
" I don't even know who you are"
" You will"
You saw her begin to lift the ground behind you and as much as you wanted to stay and help her, you had to get this gauntlet to the van.
You cursed yourself and ran from the showdown that was about to happen. You didn't get far before the no nosed motherfucker swept you off of the ground.
Peter snatched the gauntlet from you and that evil creep followed him, dropping you to the ground. You took this opportunity to go back towards Wanda and Thanos.
You saw as she broke his sword and bound him with her magic. All you could do was stare in awe of her power.
" RAIN FIRE"
You saw his ship prepare to shoot missiles. Thanos didn't care about his troops, he couldn't lose right here.
" Wanda!" You teleported to her wrapping your arms around her before teleporting away from the missiles.
Your body was shielding hers as you waited for all of the shots to be fired. Your titanium form ensures that the woman wouldn't be harmed.
When the ship cannons changed directions you peaked at the woman under you. She was already looking up at you, it startled you and backed away from her. Then you offered her your hand.
" Hi" was the only thing you could say
However she smiled sweetly at you," Hi"
You stared at her and she let you. You were going to hug her before you saw Carol Danvers fly through Thanos's ship reminding you of the war surrounding you.
" We've gotta go"
She grabbed your hand and dragged you back into battle. You hurried over towards Carol and Peter to help her get past the army.
" Oooo isn't this a powerful woman sequence," You couldn't help but say as some of the most badass women you knew began to appear to back Danvers.
Wanda dropped your hand and together you all began to fight off Thanos's forces. You fought to get Carol a clearing to the van. It seemed to be going well until there was a big explosion.
You could see Thanos and your teammates fighting to get the gauntlet. You had seen him put it on and you made your move towards him. You saw Carol stop him from snapping but you continued towards him.
He shot Carol off and you saw him begin to brawl with Tony. You teleported to Thanos and snatched the stones from the gauntlet. He swatted you towards Tony.
You clutched at your ribs but nonetheless slinked up besides Tony. You opened your palm to show him the stones. No one had noticed that you had gotten the stones. Tony stared at you in shock briefly before he took them from you.
" I am inevitable," you saw Thanos snap and watched his bewilderment as nothing happened.
Tony moved away from you before putting the stones in his suit.
" And I am Iron man"
When Tony snapped you saw him fall backwards. You ran towards him and propped him up against some discarded piece of metal.
" Tony," he was pale and his pulse was dropping by the second.
" Tony please. You have to be okay, Tony."
He sputtered," You got a heart of gold Y/n… the world needs people like you"
You had tears streaming down your face as others began to surround Tony. You let others have their time with him, putting space between you and the hero.
There was a hand resting on your shoulder. You looked up and Wanda was behind you. She was stronger than you, she didn't have any tears going down her face.
You took this moment to wrap your arms around her even though your ribs were screaming.
You broke down in her arms. She held you as your body from your silent sobs.
" I've got you," she whispered into your hair. You tried to collect yourself but you couldn't. A lot of the tears were sorrowful for how much loss you had suffered but some of them were tears of joy. It was finally over, the war was won and Wanda was here.
Wanda had to drag you off of the field for your own good. When she did, she asked you about everything. You told her about your 5 years, about your powers, about Nat, you didn't leave out any details. By the end of it she was looking at you differently. It wasn’t pity or sorrow, it was just different.
You asked about the blip but she didn't have much to say about it. It was like she was gone and then all of sudden she was back. It was instantaneous for her, mere seconds.
She told you that she was still mourning Vision. It was like a blow to the heart. You expected it but it hurt more than you thought it would. After five years of doing anything that you could to bring her back here, back to you; it was easy to forget that she was never even yours.
You're sure she saw the change in your behavior after she mentioned him. You said you would be there for her and she said she would be there for you. Your heart fluttered at the thought but you ignored it. She needed someone and so did you. You weren't going to let your feelings get in the way of this.
After Tony's service the group divided again. Except this time instead of you sticking with Nat, you stuck with Wanda. You still did hero work though mostly because of what Tony said to you. Wanda was retired for the most part not getting involved in that world which you completely understood.
She wanted to settle down in woods somewhere and all you wanted was to be wherever she was. So you and Wanda moved up into a cabin. It was there that you really began to get to know each other. It was just the two of you and it felt right to you.
" Y/n can I ask you something?"
" Go ahead," you were sitting at the counter reading the paper.
" When did you know?"
" Know what?" You sat the paper down to give her your full attention.
" That you were in love with me," she said so nonchalantly that you thought that you had misheard her.
Your body tensed slightly before relaxing," I've always known I guess, since before the blip."
Wanda was a bit shocked," That's a long time"
You smiled to yourself," It is but I wouldn't change anything about it"
Wanda walked to the opposite side of the countertop and leaned towards you," I knew I loved you when I saw you on the battlefield"
You were going to speak but she started up again," It was definitely too soon for me to do anything about because I was still mourning Vision, but I definitely knew it then. You were shielding me with your body after the missiles had launched. I was taking in your appearance; the color of your hair, the tone of your muscles, the tiny wrinkles on your forehead. Then you just stared at me with all of the adoration in the world. I hadn't been back an hour and you were already risking it all for me."
You were pretty sure you had that same look of adoration on your face right now. This had been years in the making. You never thought this day would ever come.
" Can I-"
She kissed you. Right in the middle of you asking if it would be alright, her lips were already on yours. You let yourself sink into the kiss, softly sighing when you felt her tongue prod at your lips. You were going to give it access but you ended up smiling which caused her to smile too, effectively breaking the kiss.
She had a playful grin on her lips," Oh I'm sorry were you saying something?"
You mimicked her look," Just that I love you"
She broke out into a wide smile," I love you too"
You never expected Wanda to love you. Not after everything the both of you had been through. Such great loss and pain lived within the both of you. However Wanda didn't mind dealing with the pain and loss with you. She was there for you just as you were there for her. It may have taken awhile but she loved you and you love her and that was enough.