Who: Steve Rogers and Wanda Maximoff What: She knows how to pick up a relic, too When: Back before his talk with Nat Where: The park to the Farm Warnings: No Status: Complete gdoc
Steve was beginning to feel very exposed standing in the park, in his sweaty tank top and work out pants. People were staring. He’d been used to that back home, but after learning that he...or a version of him...had been here before, he couldn’t help but wonder if the people looking at him recognized him. He hoped Wanda arrived before things got even weirder.
It seemed an eternity before she pulled up to the curb. The relief of seeing Wanda, alive and well, overwhelmed any awkwardness he’d been feeling as he opened the passenger side door. “Hey!” he said, obviously pleased. “You look great!” He slid in then pulled the door shut. “Thanks for coming to get me.”
“Of course,” Wanda said, pleased to see him as she leaned across the cab of the truck to give him an awkward hug. “It’s wonderful to see you.”
There was a lot that she needed to tell him. Part of her wanted to tell him the truth about what happened to Natasha and Tony, but she would refrain for the moment since Natasha didn’t want him to know yet. She knew that he would inevitably find out though. Too many people here knew about it.
She figured that she should ease him into things as she drove back towards the farm. “I have adopted two children here,” Wanda said. “An eighteen year old boy named Carl and his four year old sister Judith. I… was married for several years, though my husband is no longer in town.” That was still a delicate subject for her.
“Oh ah!” Too late. She hugged him. Steve smirked a little as he hesitantly returned the hug. “Sorry. I wasn’t kidding about that shower.” And he wasn’t properly dressed. Sticky tank top. Work out pants. He felt gross and now Wanda was probably going to feel gross too.
“Really!” he said in surprise as he latched his seatbelt. “Wow.” He gave Wanda a smile. She’d be a good mom. He guessed he’d find out for himself.
But then she hit him with that last bit. “Wanda, I’m sorry.” He reached out to touch her hand with his. They’d been close. He considered her a little sister to be protected. He hadn’t done a very good job of that back home. But getting a good look at her she wasn’t a kid anymore. She seemed to be as old as he looked.
Considering all they’d gone through together, a little sweat from working out was hardly offensive to Wanda. She managed a smile in response to his touch and words. “It was difficult, but Carl and Judith are a wonderful distraction. I’m also taking college classes for social work.”
When Steve had disappeared, she’d been sad that she hadn’t made more of an effort to spend more time with him. They had just been so busy with their respective families that it was difficult. This time, she was determined things would be different.
“Fair warning, Judith is rather obsessed with glitter and it’s everywhere in my house,” she said.
“That all sounds perfect for you,” Steve said with a smile. Wanda had such a gentle nature...surprising after the all-encompassing revenge she and her brother had undertaken...that he could easily see her as a good mom. Social work suited her as well. People felt safe around her. And it was probably easier for her here where there was no history to overcome.
“Glitter?” His brows shot up. He let out a breath. “Glitter.” A reluctant nod. “Ok. I guess it won’t kill me.”
Wanda flashed a smile at him before refocusing her attention on the road. Not that there was a ton of traffic in Madison Valley. “My house is full of chaos and noise most of the time,” she admitted. Left unsaid was the fact that she loved it. Of course, it was a little less rambunctious these days and she missed John, Ian, Rodney, and others who had stayed there over the years, but she generally chose to focus on the good things. Like Steve’s return.
“No, I do not think a man such as yourself could be felled by glitter,” she teased. “And everyone’s lives here are quite different from home.”
She didn’t have to say it. Steve could see it in her smile. They had been rare enough back home. Seeing now made him wish things could have been different for her and Pietro. Vision had been good for her until…
“I’m figuring that out,” he said then went quiet for a few moments. “Nat said Fury has a ward.” Yeah, that baffled him more than a little. “Apparently, running the Avengers and SHIELD prepared him to be a dad, but I still want to see it for myself.”
The mention of Fury as a dad made Wanda’s smile falter a little. She’d been planning to wait to tell Steve about his own family until they were sitting at her cozy kitchen table, but she had seen that woman’s comment on his network post and felt like this was an opening.
“Yes, well, he is not the only one,” she said, her tone hesitant. “I’m not sure there is any easy way to tell you this, so I am going to say it. You were married and had a son before.”
There was a lot more to that, some of it she had only heard third hand, but she felt like he deserved to know everything.
Steve went silent for a long time, his eyes fixed on the road in front of them. There had only been one time he’d even considered being married. As for a family...Steve swallowed hard before he finally spoke, his voice haunted and small.
“I wasn’t sure I could even father a child,” he said. Those baby blues with just a hint of green seemed a little more shiny. “I never wanted to know. Never wanted to ask. And now…” His brows came down as he turned his head a little to look out the side window.
Wanda kept sneaking glances at him while she drove though she let him take the time he needed. They were close to the farm by the time he spoke and she waited a minute after he stopped before responding.
“I am sorry,” she said, her voice soft and gentle. “I cannot imagine how difficult it is for you to hear this.”
It was easy to get caught up in a life here that they could never have back home. As long as you could manage the knowledge that it might all disappear in an instant. “I wanted you to hear it from me though. Not a stranger.” And not over the internet.
That brought his attention back to Wanda with a saddish smile on his face. “I appreciate that. It does help.” It was still...difficult.
But now came the really difficult part. Steve looked at the dash. “And the mother?” He sucked in a breath. “Is she still here?”
There was a bit more hesitation before Wanda replied. “She is,” she said. “Though your son is not.” That was confusing and she knew required more explanation. “Your entire family disappeared at the same time,” she said. “Veronica was the only one who returned.”
She hadn’t gotten to know the other woman very well, so she wasn’t sure if she’d returned with memories of her life here or not. “I should probably tell you that your family was a bit bigger than just the three of you.”
How would he react to the next bit? Wanda had no idea. “Bucky and his wife, Kara, lived with you. And you and Bucky adopted a young woman named Molly together.” The implication of the relationship between he and Bucky hung in the air though she chose not to confirm that just yet.
Veronica. Steve made a mental note to watch for her name to come up on the network. He didn’t think approaching her would be a good idea. He didn’t remember her, but she would remember him. He could only imagine how much his arrival must affect her. It would be like Peggy showing up and not knowing him.
“Thanks,” he said to Wanda in a quiet voice.
Then she hit him with a real...what did they call it?....record scratch? Bucky had been here and married! And then he and Steve….all he could do was stare at Wanda, unblinking. The implications were pretty obvious. It wasn’t as if Steve was against same sex relations. He’d seen enough of that in the field during the war...it just never got mentioned. But you couldn’t put a bunch of young men into life or death situations without things getting intimate. But he and Bucky?!
If he didn’t ask, Wanda wasn’t going to tell, though she suspected his silence meant he came to the right conclusion about the nature of that relationship. In all honesty, she didn’t know many details about how it all worked, had never asked or wanted to know, but it was pretty much accepted that the four of them were not all just friends.
Luckily, she turned into the driveway for the farm then and pulled up in front of the house she’d inherited from Clint and Laura all those years ago. “This is it,” she said.
Steve was going to need to digest that before he could have an opinion on it. He had to evaluate how he felt about any of it, but he needed to start with Veronica and his...son...first. It was a testament to how stricken he was that he physically shook his head as if trying to clear his head.
He smiled when he looked at the house. “Looks like them,” he said quietly. “Bet they loved it.” After seeing Clint in his home with his wife and kids, Steve could easily see his teammate living here. He opened the passenger door to step out, still admiring the house. “Chaos and glitter you said?”
Wanda smiled at him as she climbed out of the truck. “It is not unlike the facility in New York,” she teased. “I’ll introduce you to the kids. I do not believe my housemate, Carson, is home at the moment so you’ll have to meet him later.”
And then she’d send the kids off again, like she had when Natasha first arrived.
Steve had nothing but what he was wearing and the welcome packet some Coulson like guy had given him. Well, it wasn’t as if he needed his shield for this...not that he’d had it back home anyway.
“Tony preferred silly string to glitter,” he countered with a grin. “But lead on.”
As soon as they entered the home, they were greeted by an eager four year old. Wanda took care of introducing both Judith and Carl to Steve and then slipped her son some money to take his sister out somewhere while she helped Steve get settled. She was happy to offer him a place with them if he preferred, though she would understand if he wanted to live on his own instead.
“Do you want coffee now or would you like to shower first?” she asked.
This was Steve. He would be more comfortable living with friends so he could keep an eye on them, make sure nothing disrupted their happiness. Coming into Wanda’s home, meeting her children, and seeing those heart-filled eyes pretty much cemented it for Steve. If Wanda would welcome him. He’d stay here.
He watched the kids head off as he answered Wanda. “Shower, please.” Then he turned a smile to her. “Thanks.”
“Of course,” she said, taking him up to the guest room. The bathroom was well stocked with clean towels and whatever toiletries he might need. “I will find you some clothes in the meantime.” None of the men that had lived here were quite as well built as Steve, but Wanda was confident she would find something that would work for him.
She gave him one last quick hug. “I’ll be waiting with coffee when you’re done.”