Gabriel Wolfe (cantcontrolit) wrote in thecityof, @ 2017-12-29 00:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | gabriel wolfe, wanda maximoff |
WHO: Gabe and Wanda
WHAT: Gabe hates his job, Wanda makes it worse
WHEN: Bendy time
WHERE: The Last Bookstore
WARNINGS: Language, suggestiveness, violence
On second thought, maybe Los Angeles wasn’t all that bad. He was away from the Institute and Zetes in general. He wasn’t living for anyone. He wasn’t dying for anyone either and besides the fact that Lewis was here and they were in a link, Gabe had managed to block him out. No, he couldn’t do it all the time, so the fucker did creep in, but it wasn’t enough for Gabe to want to kill him. Yet. His omelettes were alright. That was about all he had going for him.
Most times Gabe just stayed in his room anyway. The quiet was what he needed. If he opened himself up, he felt too overwhelmed. He’d get a headache and instead, Gabe just insisted on the silence of his room and the television. He had already fed but he knew it would be days until he needed to do it again. He needed the life energy to stay alive. He’d do it differently next time so Robin Hood wouldn’t come after him or anyone like him. The last thing he needed was to have the hunters on his ass.
Today though, he wasn’t in his room. He was walking into the bookstore that he was apparently working at thanks to the text he got. He had his headphones ready and after a short discussion with the manager, Gabriel found himself going in the backroom. The place was empty except for the obvious boxes of books and the conveyor belt that was pushing more boxes along.
He glanced around and swallowed before rolling his eyes and he walked over to a rolling cart full of books. From looking at the spines, he could tell already they were out of order and would need to be organized before they went out.
Looking down at his phone, he turned on spotify and found a playlist before he put his headphones on so he could start his workday. Fuck, he hoped it went by fast. The last thing he wanted was to be here any longer than he needed to be.
Wanda was the type to keep to herself. She didn’t go out of her way to talk to strangers and rarely did she go on the forum to speak to anyone unless it was Sam or Pietro. It was...quiet. Wanda’s life was very dramatic free and she didn’t put herself in harm’s way. There were no Avengers here in Los Angeles and Wanda kept her powers under lock and key. She didn’t think she needed to play superhero as her life in LA was simple enough. Go to work, live her life and repeat the process.
She was on time today as usual, Wanda coming in through the employee’s access way through the back of the bookstore. She had a routine - clock in, put away her belongings and then get to work in the backroom. It was an easy job and most of the time Wanda was by herself.
Most of the time.
Wanda didn’t really pay him any mind. He looked familiar but it was known that some people in LA had twins who weren’t really their twins. Wanda couldn’t place his face but that wasn’t the issue, nor did it concern her. The witch gave him an odd look since he wasn’t exactly reacting to her entrance, her eyes falling on his earphones. She could almost hear his music.
Hello to you, too. Wanda voiced the words in her head, not realizing the psychic connection that was trembling to be built between her mind and his. There needed to be a balance. Always two pathways when it came to another psychic although Wanda didn’t know of anyone else like her.
The brunette turned from him, her attention falling on unopened boxes of new books that needed to be taken out and sorted so that they could be taken to the front of the store.
Gabriel knew she was there, he just didn’t care. It wasn’t that he could see her, but he could feel her like he felt most people. Gabriel just continued to work and listen to the music that was thrumming through his ears in order to block everything else out. Or so he thought. He stopped what he was doing and looked back at her. No, it wasn’t the web. He would know that and besides, the web only consisted of the four others and only one of them was here. Lewis. The least tolerable one. Well, not exactly. Rob would have taken that. Gabriel hated Rob but that mostly had to do with the fact that Rob thought he was the best at everything and they had drama years back. But on top of that, Rob and Kaitlyn were together and he hated that.
Jealousy? He’d never admit it, but at this point it didn’t matter. Gabriel turned his back on all of them for a reason. He would have gotten nowhere with them anyway. They didn’t trust him and now Gabriel didn’t trust them. But Gabriel didn’t trust anyone, so that was no surprise there.
His eyes looked her over and she didn’t seem bothered. Maybe he imagined it. He turned back to the rack of books and continued to organize them. There was nothing but silence in the back room besides the movement of books and boxes and Gabriel didn’t go out of his way to introduce himself to her. He didn’t care about being here and besides being eye candy to him, there was no reason for Gabriel to talk to her. He pushed racks and racks of books back and forth from the backroom until the manager came in and looked over at Wanda.
“Oh, I suppose you met Gabriel,” he said, looking at her and he smiled over at Gabriel - which Gabriel of course, hated.
There was an awkward silence for a moment before Gabriel finally spoke.
“Can I take a break?”
“Sure, why don’t you both take a break.” And then he was gone.
Gabriel looked at her, his gaze once again sweeping over her. “Hello.” He paused. “To you too.” Gabriel pushed the headphones back in his ear after basically telling her that he heard her words toward him nearly two hours before. He wasn’t harping on it. He was just making her aware that he knew. He walked over to the back door and opened it before going outside to get some air.
One thing about not caring was that Wanda was exceptionally well at doing so. It mostly had to do with her very secluded sense of lifestyle when she lived at the Avengers tower in New York. The city itself was overwhelming and going out by herself was often frowned upon because of Wanda’s gifts. Steve called them special but Tony Stark would rather call Wanda a problem than make any attempts to help her. Either way she was a problem to them, to the world when she had used her powers to save Steve only to kill innocent people in the process.
Her guilt weighed heavily but over time Wanda outgrew it, got over her fear and now here she was, trying her best to fit into a city that had its own fair share of strangeness. For once Wanda didn’t feel like she was the freak. There were vampires and werewolves. Angels and demons. Wanda and her abilities were practically normal in comparison.
Soft eyes lifted from her duties when the manager walked in, Wanda raising both eyebrows when it was advised that she take a break. She had barely gotten there but of course she wasn’t going to argue, her head nodding gently before her eyes drifted to Gabriel.
“I didn’t say anything,” she said, half thinking that her coworker was just being snide, not thinking that he had actually read her mind because who else besides her could do that in this city?
Gabriel didn’t respond to her and instead just went outside and sat down on the curb while he looked at his phone. He didn’t mind the solitude, actually he preferred it. But the break went by quickly; it was only fifteen minutes and then Gabriel had reluctantly gone back inside. Did he want to be here? No, he didn’t but the money he had when he got here was nearly gone and he knew that he would need more. It wasn’t as if he was waiting on a fat paycheck by Mr. Zetes anymore, if he would have even gotten one from him.
The days that he was here, he had been thinking a lot and things just didn’t add up. He knew he was just a pawn in whatever scheming shit he was doing and Gabriel was partially glad to be out of there and out from under his thumb. Because that’s all it was.
When he got back inside, the girl seemed to work through - either that or she was fast. A lot of boxes were cleared and a space was clearly getting ready for a delivery. So he threw himself back into his work, his music on once again. He began clearing the rest of the boxes and he glanced over at her every now and then. He was curious about her, but not enough to ask anything - yet. He knew there were others out there. Others like him and Kaitlyn and Lewis. Some were do gooders, some were assholes like Frost and Jackal Mac.
And then there was Gabriel - stuck in the middle. He felt himself buzzing, like he was being charged almost. It was the most oddest feeling and as he turned to grab a box, she was there. He pulled the headphone from his ear and looked at her. “I got this,” he said, his stare lasting longer than he intended. His gaze dropped at her nametag.
“Wanda.” He might have smiled the tiniest of smiles, but he said nothing after that.
Wanda only gave Gabriel a small glance in passing, watching him take his break while she went back to work. It was...maybe cheating a little, using her powers as she flicked her wrist and unleash that red wisp of energy that surrounded a few books left on the table, lifting them up and putting them back in place, her powers doing her work for her as she stopped, knowing that soon Gabriel would return and of course she wasn’t going to use her powers with him watching her.
Again she paid him no mind, her eyes on her work as she moved to grab a box she had meant to grab before he came back. The moment she did he was there, standing in her way and of course he had his earphones on so she had to wait for him to take them out, her eyes staring up into his as she regarded his words, not sure what his issue was. It was just a box and she was here first.
“It’s my box,” she said, as if that was the reason she was here, needing to take it from him because really, did he even know where these books were supposed to go? She tugged a bit, waiting for him to let go and was a little surprised when he didn’t, her eyes narrowing.
“I got this,” she countered, another tug but she had no smiles to give him, just a small bitter look as she half tempted to just use her powers so that he would just let go.
Gabriel furrowed his brows when she proclaimed that she ‘had this.’ Had what? A box? He was amused by her attempt to show him that this was indeed her back room. Work might have sucked, he might not have wanted to be here, but now at least there was a challenge. He was bound and determined to make this his backroom, just because she all but said it was hers. Gabriel apparently had a thing for women who more or less put him in his place.
“You seem angry,” he said, his tone serious as he let his eyes sweep over her. “But you’re right. You definitely have it.” When his eyes met hers, those dark stormy greys, he jerked the box from her and stood up. “Just not this box.” He smiled then, but it wasn’t friendly. Or even cruel. There was something else hidden on those lips as he turned and walked away, putting the box down.
“Where are you from?” He asked, turning his head to look back at her. Her accent wasn’t exactly thick just then but he did notice she wasn’t from here. When he turned fully and headed back to pick up another box, he realized he liked it. Her voice. It was odd to just pinpoint that and pick that out from all of her obvious qualities that he had been appreciating over the course of his work day.
Gabriel was just like every other hot blooded guy. He knew he couldn’t get close to people and he chose it that way because he knew the moment he did, they would regret it. It felt like he had a disease, one he couldn’t escape and one he couldn’t control but thinking a girl was hot was something that just came natural to him. He just never thought it would be her voice.
“Nowhere,” was her response, her arms crossed defensively as was her pose now. She didn’t like him and she made it very clear by her demeanor. Gabriel’s overwhelming need to be top dog was more annoying than attractive but she was sure that some people fell for that. She didn’t. It was quite possibly the last thing she looked for in a man. There was no room for arrogance and she wasn’t going to stand there and answer his questions when he was just aggressively rude.
Because Wanda was one to get the upper hand as well she made the mistake to look into his head. It was by force, too. Wanda’s eyes blazed red as she took a nose dive into his mind, not caring what she would see because all she was looking for was the beginning, the place where Gabriel was born so that she could throw it in his face, to know something that she didn’t deserve to know.
Of course what she was something else, so many flashes of things she couldn’t comprehend, her eyes closing as she felt her mind being scrapped, like nails on a chalkboard, the flashes coming and then going, Wanda stopping when she realized that he knew what she was doing. He could see into her head, too.
“You’re…” A monster. A killer. I hurt someone. Those were Gabriel’s words, silent whispers he made to himself in the darkness, cold and alone, afraid of himself and now of what he was capable of because he couldn’t control it, not this power, the need to feed.
Gabriel felt it. He knew what she was doing the moment she did it but he was more stunned than anything. Don’t, pl He cut himself off from that thought as Wanda stood by and saw things she shouldn’t have been seeing, poking where she didn’t need to. Why couldn’t people just leave well enough alone? Why was she even doing this? It made him angry and most of all violated. His secrets, the past, his personal thoughts were there, laid out for her and in that moment there was nothing more he could do - the damage was done.
He kicked a box out of the way to get to her and he pushed her against a wall, pinning her there.
“I’m what?” His eyes grew dark as he looked at her, the redness in her eyes being ignored because Gabriel’s need was too strong in that moment. “Say it. Tell me what I am, Wanda,” he baited. He was daring her to say the words, to tell him to his face that he was a killer. That he wasn’t worth anything.
His hands squeezed her wrists before he finally let go.
“You had no fucking right.” Was all he said. He stepped back from her, the look in his eyes cruel but he was just tired at this point.
A few employees just then walked in as they stood there, not saying a word. They received a few looks but nothing that stood out and when they were alone again, Gabriel looked at her. “I guess you do have it after all.” He pulled out his name tag from his pocket because of course Gabriel didn’t put it on. He set the name tag down on the counter.
“I quit.”
She couldn’t say it. Wanda didn’t even know what it is that she saw. There was so much that she didn’t understand and she hadn't’ meant to, didn’t think that her powers would take her so far in but she knew why it happened. Gabriel was a psychic and the moment that Wanda’s mind touched his they became linked. A psychic connection that only they shared because Wanda tangled herself up in his web, in whatever sort of connection that he had with these other psychics - Kaitlyn, Rob, Anna, Lewis…
Wanda saw so many things but most of all that stood out was a shiny crystal. It stood there in the center of his mind, fragmented, glowing with the colors of the rainbow, its shade of solid white reflected in sun. It was beautiful but reaching out to it was dangerous. She didn’t. Wanda was pushed out before she could and then she was being pushed against a wall.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, frantic and in pain because Gabriel was hurting her, his fingers tightening around her fragile wrists. When he broke from her they had caused a scene but it was over. Gabriel suddenly made his decision of what he would do next.
I quit.
“Gabriel, I didn’t mean…” She didn’t know what else to say and he left, walking out of the backroom and Wanda couldn’t leave it alone as she followed him, determined to make amends, to apologize for venturing into his mind, not knowing that he himself was just like her.
“Stop,” Wanda made a move to grab him and just like that she was zapped, like static electricity bouncing off of his skin, stinging hers which sparked her ability, red energy billowing at their point of contact before it disappeared.
It was easier to run. Gabe was a runner. When things got hard, he took off. When he didn’t want to deal with something, leaving was the best option and that’s what he was doing now. He wasn’t impressed with what she could do because he was so angry to the point that if he saw her face again, there might not have a chance he couldn’t hold himself back. The easiest thing he could do was leave so he didn’t have to deal with this.
He made it out of the store and onto the sidewalk and she attempted to stop him. He felt the shock of it and it made him turn around, his dark eyes casting a stare right above his arm where the red energy was disappearing. Again, he wasn’t impressed. He was just annoyed. This was for nothing - this was such a waste. That’s all it ever was. A waste of his time. But he didn’t move and instead, he looked at her, but he expected nothing. Because nobody ever really gave him anything but lies and excuses and in return, Gabriel just did as they expected.
“Why do you want me to stop? So you can apologize? Tell me you didn’t mean it - again. You’re a liar. You meant to do it, you meant to literally go in my mind and see what I was about, but now you got more than you bargained for.” Gabriel almost wanted to smile, but not even a cruel smirk could be mustered in that moment. He was so beyond pissed that literally, anything could have happened.
“Stay away from me if you know what’s good for you,” he warned her, knowing full and well that he literally just threatened her, but now Wanda knew that he was capable of following through.
“I didn’t mean to do that!” Wanda yelled, her voice rising a few notches higher than it needed to be but that was ultimately because Wanda was just out of breath at this point. Of course she hadn’t meant to do that, to learn all those things. It should have been easy to just pick what she wanted but Gabriel was different. He wasn’t like any of the others she had met. Another psychic who could read her thoughts and know that it wasn’t intentional.
“It wasn’t something I should have learned. I know that. I can’t apologize.” What would apologizing do? It wouldn’t wipe the memories, the visions of Gabriel in jail, prisoned for doing something he had no control over and then being turned into a psychic vampire. It was too much. There was so much buzzing in Wanda’s head because Gabriel’s memories were pouring in, Wanda’s mind splashing in them like puddles.
It even hurt, the feedback that made Wanda flinch, her eyes closing as she swallowed, not knowing how to actually shut off her mind to what she had learned.
She kept seeing the crystal in her head and for a moment Wanda became lost to it, its power, it was like it wanted her, wanted to touch a piece of its fragment to her forehead. Wanda could also see someone else, a strange man, his words like whispers.
“Zetes…” Wanda said his name, her eyes still closed as she saw him perfectly, watched as he got close, jumping from Gabriel’s mind into hers, invading her will.
It was Gabriel’s own fault. If he had put his walls up, those cold dark walls that nobody seemed to be able to break through, then maybe this could have been avoided. He didn’t count on her being able to know, he didn’t think that she would purposely go into his head to pick apart his shit of a life. Gabriel wasn’t perfect, in fact, he was far from it and having it thrown back in his face was something he hated. As if anyone else was better, right? But he bet Wanda was better. He bet she had the life that he could have only wanted. A stable home, powers that she could control. He didn’t want to believe there was darkness that surrounded her.
He didn’t look - he just assumed and he had no idea how wrong he actually was, but that didn’t matter.
Gabriel shut down then, closing off his mind as he watched her. This wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want her to know things about him that nobody else did. He didn’t want to know that there was someone out there who knew his secrets and his mistakes in order to use them against him.
“Stop,” Gabriel tried - but it was too late. She knew too much and the name that fell from her lips made him turn pale almost. Zete’s was a dangerous man. All this money and he just wanted more. That and power. He would have done anything to get it, up to and including taking people like him, psychic’s from all around the world and turning them into his own personal gang so to speak.
“Just stop,” his voice was a little more desperate and a little more quiet then as her eyes opened and he saw her. He saw how frightened she was. He saw that she regretted it, how could she not?
It was horrible. Wanda couldn’t displace her feelings even if she wanted to. She knew too much. She felt too much when it came to Gabriel and his past. It felt like she knew him, as if she had grown up with him his entire life, as if she was there when he was changed from a telepath into this person who needed to feed on psychic energy in order to stay alive, on a life force because if Gabriel didn’t, if he didn’t feed then he would die.
The question that hit her was clear as day and when Wanda opened her eyes. She knew that in place of fear came worry, worry for this psychic who needed to feed, to sustain himself on other people because the alternative was just giving up. It wasn’t hard to see that Gabriel had fed already, had probably consumed someone’s essence, leaving them for dead.
“How are you feeding?” Wanda asked, deliberately prying further but only because she didn’t think that she could just let Gabriel walk away after discovering his method. It was dangerous. Wanda could think of so many ways that Gabriel could hinder himself. The people that would go after him if he slipped up, if he happened to take a little bit too much.
“What?” He asked. Maybe he wasn’t as surprised by the question. She was just in his fucking head. She knew things she wasn’t supposed to know. She saw things she wasn’t supposed to see. Nobody was supposed to know, but now she did and he hated it. He hated her. Gabriel nearly felt defeated but as usual, Gabriel always had to have the last word. He had to come out on top. Nobody was going to push him around again. Not Zetes. Not Kaitlyn or her little stupid fucking friends. Definitely not Rob and not this girl. Wanda.
“You want me to feed from you?” Suddenly, he was on her, his hands on her hips as he once again pushed her against the wall. Not as hard this time, but enough to get her attention. Enough for her to know that what she was asking was dangerous. Kaitlyn had done the same thing. She allowed him to feed from her because she could handle it.
“You want to know what it feels like?” His words were softer as he regarded her, his body pressed against hers and she must have been shocked because he couldn’t feel any movement from her.
“It’s not your job to save me. I don’t want you to,” he chose to say, his words cold. “So don’t even fucking try.”
Maybe it was a mistake to question Gabriel. Wanda knew that she didn’t know him. It wasn’t her place nor was it her problem. She should have left it all alone but of course all Wanda could think about was the safety of others and of course her fellow psychic who was feeding off people who couldn't give Gabriel what she could. She knew that she could supply it. Gabriel could feed off of her if he wanted to.
Of course she didn’t think anything of it until he was asking her, repeating the words in her own head. Wanda was surprised when he grabbed her, pushing her against the wall. It was shocking. Wanda had never felt so humiliated in her entire life, her cheeks reddening because of the closeness. She had never known the touch of a man, of anyone sincere or willing. It was too much.
It was Gabe’s mistake to touch her, Wanda’s eyes burning red as the energy from within her body literally exploded, crimson tendrils slapping Gabriel’s body, sending him flying into a nearby car. She hadn’t meant to attack him, her powers activating willingly, she was shocked to see how he landed, the metal crunching around his frame.
Something changed in that moment. Gabriel knew he had gone too far, but that was just how he was. He went too far, he crossed the line, he pushed the envelope, anything to make his point across, but he felt the shift. He felt that inaudible snap between them. Like a stick breaking. Suddenly and violently, Gabriel’s body was moving against his own will and he crashed against a parked car. The pain radiated throughout his body as he fell on the asphalt, leaving behind dented metal along the car.
He breathed for a moment, trying to catch himself as people seemed to stop. Someone even walked up to him and he yelled at them to get away from him. To not touch him. It was a minute later he was on his feet and Wanda was still standing there. There was something in her eyes that he didn’t want to recognize, so he didn’t try to. Besides, it wasn’t she who fucking just crashed into a car. He didn’t care how she felt at all right now.
“Fuck off, Wanda. If I don’t see you again, it’ll be too soon,” he told her honestly. He was embarrassed and he was angry and he was the one who basically mind raped because she couldn’t mind her own fucking business. They always wanted to know, they always wanted an explanation for the way Gabriel acted and now Wanda knew.
He didn’t stick around after that. He quit his job and he didn’t plan on going back. He headed back to the complex where he nursed his bruised ego with a few beers hellbent on never seeing her face again.