Bloodbound

2. It calls for a celebration

Before going into the story I want to give a shout out to @BlackSoulBlackRose for being an amazing and supportive friend. She really motivated me a lot and gave me confidence to proceed with this story. I dedicate this chapter to her. Also check out her story Unexpected Turns. It is really great.

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The ride home was uneventful. Wanda was in her own world imagining about her dream job. She wore an ever-present smile in her face as she knocked the door of her and Pietro's shared apartment. Ever since their parents passed away, they had only each other. They had moved to United States for their studies only returning shortly to their home country upon hearing their parents' demise. Their neighbourhood reminded them too much of their parents so they decided to leave. After graduating Pietro had straight away landed on a job as free-lance reporter. Wanda had worked for few years as scientific assistant and then as accounting associate. Finally, when the job offer for personal assistant to Steve Rogers came up, she diverted her attention to the new post. She aimed at joining Rogers Innovative and she had succeeded. It was really a dream come true.

Pietro opened the door to see her grin plastered face. He didn't need a psychic to know that she had landed the job. Pietro swooped her into a bear hug, crushing her bones.

"I got the job" she squealed unable to conceal the amusement. She felt herself floating above around as Pietro lifted her with a laugh.

"Pietro! Let me down" she laughed.

The elder twin obeyed her as he gently put on the ground. "We are going out to celebrate" he stated.

"Just now we came in" said a voice from behind Pietro. Wanda peeped around to see that it was Thompson.

"Congrats" he said to Wanda, extending his hand. She accepted his hand.

Pietro who had not even removed his coat since he came in stood near the door expecting to go out again.

"Can we stay in and cook dinner?" To a good measure Wanda added, "Please?"

He noticed the wrinkles under her eyes and the tired smile. She was shifting from one foot to another. Her legs must be sore. Without much thinking, "Why don't you relax? I will cook us dinner" he said. She smiled at him softly and gave a small hug.

"You guys enjoy your dinner. I will be on my way" said Thompson. "Congrats, once again" he shot a smile at Wanda and headed to the door.

Pietro moved to open the door for Thompson. They should in the doorway and chatted for some time.

Wanda took that as her cue to leave and went to room to freshen up. She ditched the old clothes in the laundry and took a short shower. She slipped on an old t-shirt and shorts and made her way to the kitchen. The room was filled with aroma of roasted beef. The steam from boiling potatoes hovered over the kitchen top. Pietro was chopping onions on the counter.

"Have I ever told you you're my favourite brother?"

"No"

"If the dinner is as delicious as the smell, I will tell you" she laughed. Pietro chuckled in response.

.....

To say it had been a good dinner would be an insult to Pietro's cooking. It was marvellous. It was incredible. They were sitting in the dining table not willing to move. They shared the day's events and incidents. Wanda was excitedly filling in Pietro about the labs in Rogers Innovative. She described every aspect of the day without leaving out any detail. Pietro listened to every word she said and sometimes passed teasing comments. He had a sweet smile on his face as he admired his sibling.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nah. Nothing. Just wondering how proud our parents will be right now. Something tells me they will be beaming at you with pride"

"Don't you make me cry" Wanda slapped on his shoulder. After a pause she continued, "You're right. They will be proud of us."

The silent moment shared by the two was interrupted by the ringing of Pietro's phone. As he slipped from the table to take his phone, Wanda started clearing out the dishes.

"Leave it in the sink. I will wash them" called out Pietro before answering the phone.

Wanda heard one sided conversation happening between her brother and the caller. Her brother's tense voice piqued her interest. She leaned slightly towards common wall between the hall and kitchen. She picked up few parts of the phone call.

"........ when was it?"

Silence.

"Right now?........ tell me ....."

Silence.

"I will be there"

Pietro hung up the phone and looked up to see Wanda starring at him.

"Work." That's all he stated as he made his way to his room to change into pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Wanda decided to wait for him at the couch. When he came back, she raised her eye brows expectantly. He sighed, "I got info about an animal attack in the city and I got to to cover the story."

"Animal attack?" gawked Wanda. "In the city?"

"I don't know much details" he said dejected.

"Okay. Be safe."

"I will." Before Wanda could ask any other questions, Pietro bid her goodbye and made a bee line for the door. Wanda stared at the empty space where her brother had been standing few seconds ago. She blinked her eyes few times before shaking her head and turning away. She wondered if the matter was serious. Her mind swarmed with questions overwhelming her. She remembered her dream from last night. The man with red blood eyes. She shivered even though it wasn't cold. She wanted to talk about this again to Pietro. Even though he had consoled her it was just a dream she wasn't able to let it go. It kept surfacing again and again. She was tired to stay awake any longer. She went to bed.

Wanda woke up early in the morning. She assembled the work clothes in her bed. While showering she remembered the conversation which happened previous night. It caused a visible shiver to run down her spine. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and concentrated on the present. She has work at Rogers Innovative and that's what matters right now. She stepped out of the shower, dried herself and wrapped herself in bathrobe. When she entered the kitchen, she noticed Pietro sitting the dining table with his heads in his hands. She approached him slowly placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and gave a tired smile. His eyes were grim, his hair tussled and his clothes rumpled.

"Is there anything I can do?" she inquired softly.

He nodded his head no but the concerned look on her face made him stop halfway. "Just a coffee."

Wanda nodded, "Why don't you clean yourself up? I will cook some breakfast along with it"

Pietro agreed and went to his room. He peeled his sweaty clothes and stepped into the shower. He wasn't a free-lancer as he said to his sister. His work is weirdly different from normal work but what he saw today was weird and scary even for him. The mangled body was the only thing in his mind. Something at the back of his mind kept telling him that this isn't some animal attack. He is missing something he thought. He felt like he knew the answer to this in the shadow of his brain. He was afraid that his higher officials won't take him seriously. He could only take orders for now. He has to search within rather than roaming the city following dead leads. He decided to wait for the right time to do some private investigation. He stopped the shower and stepped out to the smell of cooked eggs. He got dressed and prepared for the long day.

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Hello everyone! I hope today's chapter was good. Thanks for reading. Please leave a vote if you like.