𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐧 ➳❥ 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬

chapter two: pressure points

Vex and Steve walked together, hand in hand, towards Wanda's room. They were conversing silently, debating on what they would say to the teen. They still hadn't decided fully but Vex knew that she had to be careful when talking to the distraught Sokovian.

"I'm not mad at her, I'm just disappointed," Vex tried to reason with the man, explaining what had happened from her point of view.

"She's just a kid-"

"A kid who killed people," Vex cut him off, receiving a somber stare in return. Vex sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she realized how bad her words had sounded.

"Look Steve, I'm not saying Wanda should be punished or anything; but she wasn't prepared. She caught that blast at a bad time. She wanted to prove something and innocent people died because of that."

"Is that what you're going to tell her when you see her?" The blonde asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction. Vex shook her head, letting out a long breath.

"No, she knows what she did wrong, I'm not going to keep bringing it up, that won't help anything," she replied, knowing from personal experience.

Vex knew that someone with powers similar to hers, shouldn't be put in too much emotional distress, it wasn't good. The brunette didn't want anymore people getting hurt. Steve smiled, pulling the brunette close to him.

"No, you don't get a kiss, Mr. I'm-so-reckless," Vex shook her head, pushing Steve's face away from hers gently. "You don't just jump into buildings filled with poisonous gases."

"Need I remind you the chaos that you've managed to submerge yourself in?" Steve raised an eyebrow, looking down at her expectantly. He smiled cheekily when she opened and closed her mouth multiple times, no words coming out.

The woman scoffed in annoyance but allowed Steve to pull her in for a kiss, reaching on the balls of her feet to pull him closer to her.

"Parent mode is on," Vex muttered, hesitantly backing away from her boyfriend and grabbing his hand, leading him towards Wanda's room. She knocked once and waited a moment before she entered, with Steve following closely behind.

Wanda offered them a half-smile, her green eyes tired and her face tearstained. Her cheeks were painfully red and it didn't take a genius to know that she had been crying, sulking alone in her room. Vex frowned, removing Steve's hands from around her waist and making her way to Wanda's bed. She sat down next to the brunette and felt Steve sit beside her.

"Wanda..." Vex tried to comfort the teenager but she was stopped before she could even go on.

"I know, you're disappointed in me. You told me in Lagos," she muttered, pushing loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"Yes she is, but that's not why we're here, talking to you," Steve replied, making Vex nod in agreement.

"What happened in Lagos, that was an accident. You thought quick; you were faster than me, which is a bad thing. I should have seen him, instead I was berating you for doing your job, I wasn't focused. If anything this is on me," Vex placed her hand on top of Wanda's, her eyes connecting with the teen's.

"Well I guess since we're shifting the blame at the moment, you can go ahead and blame me too," Steve chimed in, not wanting Vex to take all of the blame. "I should've caught it, he was right there in front of me. Rumlow said 'Bucky' and all of a sudden I was that sixteen year old kid again in Brooklyn."

"People died," Wanda reminded them, shaking her head and looking away from the couple. "It's on me."

"It's on all of us," Steve and Vex chorused at the same time, offering each other pained smiles.

Steve placed his hands out in front of him, trying to find the right words to say. Trying to comfort the teenager. She was only a kid. A kid with a power greater than her. "This job...we try to save as many people as we can. But Wanda, sometimes that doesn't mean everybody; but if we can't find a way to live with that, next time...maybe no one gets saved."

His last comment made Vex stare at him with a small frown but before she could say anything Vision walked through the wall making Wanda jump in surprise, along with Steve and Vex.

"Vis! We talked about this!" Wanda said, staring at the man oddly.

"You know," Vex began quietly, "that last sentence was kind of..." she trailed off, trying to find the right words to say so she wouldn't anger Steve.

"What? You don't agree?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. He clicked his tongue, narrowing his eyes slightly as if to challenge her.

"Don't try me Steve," Vex warned softly, though her threat wasn't taken lightly when her eyes illuminated a dark purple, a color Steve had never seen her emit before.

"Vex, Steve!" Wanda called, gaining the couple's attention. She was standing next to Vision with a small smile on her face as she beckoned them. "Come on, Tony is here; and so is the Secretary of State for some reason."

The pair shared a wary look, all of the angry tension completely vanished as nerves filled them. Vex immediately thought of Wanda, already knowing that whatever he was here for, had to do with what happened in Lagos. Part of her feared Wanda would be taken away, locked up somewhere for her actions but Vex knew that she would never let that happen. She had gone through those horrors; she had been locked away at a young age, and the trauma was nauseating.

After a few seconds of silence, Vex stood up with a long breath escaping her mouth, dusting her clothes off. She walked past Wanda and Vision and she rushed the trio.

"Let's go, I have a lot of tension built up and if that asshole says something I don't like, I'm punching him in every major pressure point."