Wanda folded her hands in her lap, eyes roaming over the peaceful water. The soul world had a similar place to this one, or maybe it had only been a fabric of her imagination. She still wasn’t sure if what she had experienced had been the afterlife, or something constructed by the soul stone to trap their souls. Either way, she had always found water to be the most calming. So sitting here next to Bruce lifted a little bit of the heavy burden she felt, now that death was no longer there to bring peace to her.
She listened to his words, an absent smile flickering across her lips. Always the optimist. Even after all those years, she could still remember her conversations with him, while they had all been on the run together. Back then, Bruce had always insisted that there was a better life out there for all of them and that they would find it one day. She had found hers for a little while, before it had been ripped from her again. Maybe that just was her fate; nothing good could ever last. A witch’s curse. “I think I am done helping people”, she said softly, gaze dropping down to her hands. It was probably a selfish decision, but given she didn’t even have an ounce of will to live left, helping others was the last thing on her mind. She had given her life, her future, vision and so much more in the fight for humanity. Maybe it was time to retire.
His following words caused her stomach to twist in a nod and she exhaled heavily. Nat. Given the eventful turns of the last two days, Wanda hadn’t been able to wrap her mind around her loss yet, so whenever it was brought up, it felt raw and painful, like acid slowly dripping into an open wound. For everyone else, her death had been weeks ago, but for those who had just returned from the dead, time was entirely different. Not that a few weeks made it any better. “I am sure she can see us now and she is PROUD of what you all achieved. She died for this. At least it wasn’t in vain.” Too many had lost their lives for nothing, Vision being one of them.
The smile he had shared with the other was far from his features as his eyes focussed on the gentle glimmer of the water below. It was hard to talk about her, to talk about that loss with another. In fact, Bruce understood that it might have been the first time he spoke about Natasha out loud since everyone had returned. Half the universe had experienced a great loss, all losing loved ones and friends- he felt somewhat selfish that the smallest part of him felt bitter about it all. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, he would have always taken the steps to bring them all back, but it came at such personal cost. He and Hulk had taken their time, alone, after the Titan had been defeated. She wouldn’t want him to stay upset.
Bruce empathised with Wanda’s situation, he understood how she felt- the want and need to keep to herself, to do what she wanted for a while. He had kept to himself after Wakanda, locking himself away for months inside a lab for his work- though it had been more to just be alone, to handle his grief in private. Wanda hadn’t been afforded that luxury, not yet. It would be a shame to see her go after spending so long apart, though the last she would want to do with her new found life was to spend another second with the rest of the team.
With Natasha and Tony gone, Thor leaving for the stars and Clint with his family, Bruce wasn’t too sure what he was going to do himself-perhaps pay Valkryie a visit in New Asgard. As kind as Wanda’s words were, he knew there was no chance of Natasha knowing, having died for them all but not knowing of the success that would have prevailed. He frowned, thinking about speaking for a moment, holding his tongue before turning to the younger woman with the faintest of smiles, a whisper of a look as eyes returned to the water.
“When I did it---when we did it and everyone returned...when we had the gauntlet on. I---,” Bruce shook his head, his free hand tugging slightly at greying curls, “This is going to sound stupid but when the power of the stones was all going through us...I felt her. I know she’s dead and gone but...I felt her there. I know its just wishful thinking, my brain must have been going crazy with the infinity stones but. Yeah.” he stopped himself from embarrassing himself further, not looking at the woman beside him.
“Canada’s pretty this time of year, you know.”
andulkaphoto
dailybridgerton
stormborns
yousharknotpass
