The Edge of Darkness - Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Part 2

When you get home, the only thing you manage to do before going to bed is to take a shower.

The tiredness and stress of the previous day allowed you to sleep as soon as you lay down on the bed. However, your night was filled with nightmares, macabre and nonsensical scenes that made your body tense, causing you to wake up frequently.

So you gave up, and before lunchtime you were already at Miskatonic University. As you turn down the hallway to get to your office, you frown as you see Wanda sitting on one of the communal benches, a book in her lap.

"Hey," you greet with a smile as you approach and the brunette lifts her eyes to you, "you're here early." You observe and Wanda smiles, getting up next.

"I couldn't sleep properly." She tells and you nod your head slowly, "Yeah, me neither." Wanda offers you a brief empathetic smile at your answer. With a nod, you invite her to go to your office, and soon you are walking.

"Have you heard from Steve?" You ask as you and Wanda enter the room. "No," she replies and you turn to look at her once you close the door, "but he should be here soon."

You nod then and walk over to the desk, placing your backpack there. "What did you get from the library last night?" Wanda asks curiously.

"I found the book Professor Stark mentions in his diary, De Occultis Mysteriis." You tell and Wanda immediately widens her eyes in surprise. "I also found some newspaper articles. They-"

Your speech is interrupted by knocks on the door and you walk over to open it. On the other side, the blond man you had talked about a few minutes ago greets you. "Steve!" You say, making room for him to enter, "we have a lot to update you-"

"Stark's gone." He interrupts you, still standing in front of the door, not entering the room. "What?" you ask in a low tone, your shoulders slumping.

"He died overnight," the blond informs, a sorrowful expression on his face, "the funeral will be this afternoon."

You look at Wanda and the brunette looks back at you with watery eyes, brows furrowed in dread. You swallow hard.

Howard Stark is dead. Your favorite professor is gone. And he took with him the protection that kept the creature from leaving the farmland.

-----

The funeral is simple and everything is beautifully organized.

Once you arrive, you soon see Maria and Tony Stark at the entrance to the ceremony, and the three of you greet them as well as offer your condolences.

You see some familiar faces, from people you have studied with and professors from the university, greeting some of them quietly.

Wanda is crying, so you wrap your arm around her back in an attempt to comfort her and the brunette hugs you in response, resting her head on your chest.

After the ceremony, you, Wanda, and Steve step back a bit, not wanting to intrude on such a delicate moment for the family and close friends of the former professor. A few minutes later, you notice Tony walking toward your group.

"Hey," he greets as he approaches, and you three look at him, "you were the people in the hospital yesterday afternoon." It wasn't a question, but you nod in confirmation anyway.

"What did he want?" he asks, his hands shoved in his pockets in anxiety. You, Wanda, and Steve look at each other, uncertain. "Come on, I know it's something important, he wouldn't have called you guys the day before he died if it wasn't."

"Trust me, Tony, you don't want to know." Wanda answers truthfully, a small apologetic smile on her lips. "Professor Stark confided this to us for a reason."