𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 ━━━ ❪...

WARNING: mild cursing

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ELEVEN
𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴
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STEPHEN STRANGE SAT up on the couch, his skin was slick with sweat as he heaved, trying to relax. He placed a hand to his head, it ached.

He muttered to himself as he shook gently, "It's okay...it's alright."

Stephen didn't 'do' sleep, he hadn't tried to for a long while because every time he did he had dreadful visions of his accident.

Usually, he would spend his evenings astral projecting, watching over his body and reading books - trying to collect as much knowledge he could stuff into his brain before morning.

It was an avocation to escape the truth, that he was scared of going to sleep, even closing his eyes.

He brought his hands to his eye level, to see they were visibly shaking, "No..."

Then he felt hands wrap around his shoulders, holding him in a hug. He didn't need to look to know who it was, he held onto her arms tightly, "You're back..."

"I am," Wanda nuzzled into his neck, placing a small kiss there, "I'm here for you."

"I was waiting for you," Stephen explained, "I...fell asleep. And I..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She ran her hands over his chest, "I know you've been having nightmares about your accident."

Stephen turned towards her, "How do you-"

"I read your mind," Stephen's face immediately looked irritated, "I realise that we agreed not to but I didn't mean to...you kind of reached out to me."

"Oh," Stephen moved over, letting her sit next to him, "It's okay then."

They sat in silence, Wanda watched as he gathered his thoughts and brought himself back to earth.

"I wasn't just dreaming about the accident..." Stephen's words made Wanda turn to face him, "I also think about dying."

"Strange..." Wanda grabbed his hand, it was so sudden it surprised them both.

Stephen felt a warmth in his heart as she spoke again, "You don't have to worry about dying. I'm not going to let that happen."

"I'm getting old, it's going to happen either way," Stephen said, making them both laugh.

"Stop it," Wanda scolded, "We're trying to be serious..."

"Okay," Stephen sighed, "Well, if we're being serious...I dream about you dying too."

"I can tell you that's definitely not going happen." He expected her to move her hand, in anger but she just grabbed onto his hand tighter.

"Does this happen often?" She asked, wanting to help him more, even if it was just in talking about it.

Stephen ran a hand over his face, "No. I don't usually sleep- well, I do but not in the way you'd think."

He tried to give a simple explanation of how he entered the Astral Dimension and she seemed to have some understanding. "So you fly around like a ghost instead of going to sleep?"

"Well, no. I read books."

"Oh, that makes it all better," Wanda voiced sarcastically, "You've got to get sleep, Stephen."

"I actually do sleep, I just don't physically sleep-"

"I don't care about the technicalities of it. You're getting some sleep whether you like it or not."

"Ooh," Stephen felt a smirk arise at the corner of his lips, "You trying to take care of me now, Maximoff?"

"Maybe..." Wanda tried to be subtle but changed her mind, "Actually, yes."

He took her face in his palm and pulled her in for a kiss, it was slow and satisfying, wanting to make it last as long as he could.

Wanda detached from his lips, "Don't try and get out of this with seduction."

Stephen laughed, "I wasn't even thinking of..."
Wanda gave him a look, which made him break out into a smile, "Okay, maybe I was. A little."

"Another day," Wanda assured him.

The conversation led her to thoughts about their first time together, "Did you do that astral thingy after we slept together?"

"Yes," Stephen answered honestly.

"Oh no," Wanda shook her head, "You are definitely getting sleep because that is not happening every time we have sex."

"Really? You could do it with me."

She laughed, "No."

After a minute, there was silence again. It was mainly because the topic had drifted to yesterday, which reminded them of what happened this morning.

Stephen turned to face Wanda again, "I'm so sorry. I was a complete dick."

"It's alright. I'm sorry too." Wanda gave him a reassuring smile, "It was my fault...I was being stupid. I-I will join the Avengers."

"Are you serious?" Stephen asked.

"Yes." Wanda was serious, she had never been surer of anything else right then. She was ready to start a new phase of her life that didn't mean running or hiding or plotting...

And, she was more than ready to see Pietro again.

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WANDA FIDDLED WITH the sleeves on her cardigan, she fumbled her fingers around them as she followed Stephen nervously.

Stephen noticed her odd behaviour, she was usually scared of being recognised on the streets but this was a whole new level.

"Stop worrying," He told her, "It's going to fine."

She felt slightly more relaxed when he told her this but she still felt an ounce of panic when the doors opened and she was face to face with the Avengers.

Around her was Captain America, The Vision, Colonel James Rhodes, The Falcon, Hawkeye and...Quicksilver - her brother.

Wanda returned the small smile that Pietro gave her when she saw him, "Hey, Piet."

"Come here," He extended his arms and she ran into them, giving him a full, warm hug.

"Doctor," Steve Rogers addressed him.

"Rogers..." Stephen replied, "Will Mr Stark not be joining us?"

"No, he's busy with some...business," Steve said.

"What of Banner and Thor?"

"Wish we could tell you," Clint interjected, "They've been MIA a few months after the whole Vision situation."

Stephen took a moment to briefly look over to Vision, he noticed how since Wanda had walked in, he hadn't taken his eyes off her.

However, he wasn't intimidated of him at all and made it known as he spoke to him. "You doing okay? With the mind stone?"

"Yes, I'm alright. Thank you, Mr Strange."

"That's good for you."

"Enough with the chatter," Clint changed the topic, "Where are we on the situation, Maximoff?"

"I'm sorry for all that happened. I know I caused you pain and...I didn't mean to, but I lost control. Now I've learnt from my mistakes I'm hoping to do some good," Wanda stepped away from Pietro, facing the Avenger that had the most ill-will towards her, "And I'm ready."

"Good," Clint pointed a finger in her face, "Just know that if you slip up...if you so much as to make a mistake..."

"I won't," Wanda said, with confidence and Stephen smiled at her proudly.

*

Wanda sat on the couch, the very same one Captain America had squat in all that time ago. She picked at the fluff on the pillows and drew circles in the leather.

"Bored already?" Stephen Strange appeared in the hallway ahead, her head shot up and her eyes immediately warmed at the sight of him.

"No," Wanda stood up, getting close to the man before her, "I was only thinking."

"About what?" He took her hips into his hands, gently pulling her to him.

She had been thinking about him, she was wondering when she was going to see him again.

With her busy helping these heroes and him occupied with his missions. What would happen to whatever they were?

"What's going to happen between...us?" Wanda asked, trailing a finger down his sideburns, "As much as I love seeing you dissolve into old age, I don't want to see you gone."

Stephen chuckled, it was light-heartened but Wanda heard the traces of worry and sadness, "I'll visit sometimes."

Wanda bit her bottom lip, trying to contain the smile of joy that invaded her face but failed miserably and gave him a peck on the lips to try and hide it.

"Promise me you'll play nice," Stephen scolded pretentiously and Wanda rolled her eyes.

"When have I not?" She gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I will, only if you promise me you'll stay safe."

"Worried about me?" Stephen joked but Wanda didn't show any hint of appreciation.

"Stephen," Wanda grabbed a hold of his wrist with a red band, before he used his hands to conjure a portal.

He groaned before answering, "Okay, Wanda. I promise."

"Thank you," She let go of his wrist, "Then I promise too."

Stephen gave her a small nod, she wasn't sure what it meant but she knew it wasn't one of certainty. Wanda watched as two of his fingers raised, into a circular motion and he departed into the glowing ring.

She turned around, adjusting herself, pulling down the edge of her shirt that Strange had hitched up to hold her bare hips to look less dishevelled.

It had taken them so long to finally get over themselves and just kiss each other...

They had wasted so much time on trying to work out their feeling and she was yearning for more of him.

She wanted more of his skin on hers, of his gentle words in her ear and harsh ones too. She didn't even care, as long as it was Stephen.

"What was that?" Wanda's head snapped around at the sound of another Sokovian accent.

"It was...nothing," She replied, shrugging.

"Sure," Pietro scoffed, "I don't think it was."

"It's just another part of the job," Wanda joked, "Visit from the doctor."

There was a moment's silence, remembering points in time that remained undiscussed. They both knew what they were thinking, it didn't take a single word to register that Pietro had been worrying about her and vice versa.

"Thank you," Pietro moved towards his younger sister, "This can't have been easy for you."

"It was difficult," Wanda admitted, running a finger under her nose, "I just..." She took a breath as if it was hard to say, "It's just complicated."

"I know," Pietro nodded, "But this is good for us. We're together again."

"Yes," Wanda placed a hand on his shoulder, "That's what's important." Pietro gave another nod in agreement and she noticed that he was being quiet, which she knew too well meant he had something else on his mind. "What?"

"Hmm," Pietro smirked in amusement and she noticed; a grimace already on her face, "I was simply thinking about what the relationship is between you and your friend, no?"

"I thought we agreed that was not a thing," Wanda said, agitated. She pushed her brother's shoulder lightly with her fingers, letting go of her hold on him from previously.

"Oh, I never agreed to anything," Pietro had on his infamous cheeky smile, "What's going on between you two?"

"Is..." Wanda smiled to herself, "Is it legal to have an intimate relationship from your...doctor?"

"Legal?" Pietro took a minute to put it together, "No. You had sex with him?"

Wanda nodded, "Yeah. Pretty fucking amazing sex."

Pietro looked more surprised than she thought he would be, they didn't normally concern themselves who they hooked up with in their free time.

"I guess I just thought you would be too busy with trying to survive and training to have a...boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Wanda sighed, "At least not now. We haven't made anything official, we're just spending time with each other."

Wanda was clueless, she had no idea where things really stood between them. She definitely knew that they had feelings but she wasn't sure how strong they were just yet.

"So it's just a fling?" Pietro was anxious for his sister, he had no idea what it was like being on the run from the law for that long.

He had adjusted to life as an Avenger quite well and was getting used to playing by the rules.

"I guess we're a little bit more than just a fling," Wanda sighed in frustration, "We'll figure out."

"Whatever you say, I just don't want to see you get hurt," Pietro's voice was far less light, his blue eyes were piercing as he talked to her sternly. "I'm not fond of how old he is either."

"I can take care of myself," Wanda said to convince him but she knew that she had to heed his words.

Pietro let the tension die down from their previous conversation before continuing, "Are you excited for next week?"

"You bet I am," Wanda smiled.