E/d note: REMINDER! One of my favourite chapter is up next! If you want the best experience, please listen to "Maybe in another life" by Ryan Carter now to get used to the song! Next chapter is another "Song" chapter, but I did it in a different format, so buckle up!
'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 1,670)
~ The following morning, with Luke in his apartment in Los Angeles ~
'What the hell is going on. . .'
Luke had just ended his daily meditation routine for the morning and was currently in a state of confusion. During the previous night, Luke had gotten the advanced body enhancement reward from the system. However, the 'Increased Mental Capabilities' had caused an unintended consequence for Luke.
Previously, Luke had issues in containing and separating his mental perception on Wanda. He had written in his diary more than once regarding the amount of love that he held for her, and this was then transferred to real experience for Luke whenever he went into the simulation.
The inability to solve this issue had accumulated into the mental collapse that Luke experienced just a few days ago. Since then, Luke had found it much easier to start separating his feelings for Wanda from the diary and from real life.
Despite all this progress Luke had made, it was all for naught when he received the rewards. Just as how the Super Soldier Serum had amplified Steve's good nature, the 'Increased Mental Capabilities' had amplified Luke's feelings for Wanda.
'This reward. . . I never thought it would create such an issue for me, and just when I thought I could finally move on past it.' Luke thought in exasperation. 'But why is this happening? Even the system wouldn't answer me when I asked about it all throughout the night.'
'The increase in mental capabilities should not have equated into an increase in emotional resonance. Moreover, I have written so much in the diary, including feeling despair and huge amounts of loss, and also about my strong inclination to the heroism I hold as an Avenger for over 10 years.'
'And yet, only my feelings for Wanda were amplified. Nothing else. It did not amplify my "with great power comes great responsibility" bullshit I wrote in the diary, nor did it amplify the familial bond that I have for Natasha.'
Luke had spent most of his time awake thinking of the various reasons that had caused his current dilemma.
'Is this a cliché? Is someone f*cking with me right now? It's almost as if me and Wanda being a thing is a God damn nexus event in the timeline. . .' Luke pondered as he looked around his surroundings, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that had put him in his current situation.
Not finding anything out of the ordinary, Luke could only sigh to himself. While Luke found that this did not necessarily force him into suddenly loving Wanda, it had however caused Luke to start paying more attention to the nostalgia and love that he has for Wanda from the simulation.
'I hope this does not mean that for anything I write about Wanda in the future, it will also get amplified. . . Although, it's not as bad as I think it is. This amplified emotion is not overriding my other emotions or mental capacities. It's more like an ever-present itch that if I scratch, would only lead me to Wanda.'
'But now that Wanda is here in Los Angeles presumably thanks to Fury, then the chances of me and her interacting with each other would only get higher since Wanda is also a diary holder. The only thing I don't know is how she feels about me and of the things I wrote about us from a parallel world.'
'This is only going to give me more headaches in the future, isn't it?' Luke speculated, unaware that just as he had raised flags for Wanda, he was currently raising more flags for himself again.
Concluding his morning routine, Luke made his way to the café earlier than he normally would have, as he felt a need to release some of the pent-up emotions that had been built up and only now noticeable due to the increased mental capabilities that he received.
'Maybe if I play a song or two, it could help ease my current state of mind and emotions.'
~ At the same time with Natasha, Wanda and Pietro, in the Maximoff siblings' apartment in Los Angeles ~
"What are you doing here?" Pietro inquired hesitantly. Pietro had woken up to the smell of fried eggs and toast just a moment ago. However, he knew well enough that Wanda was no cook, and Pietro had always been the one to prepare the homemade meals for himself and his sister.
Realizing that someone else was in their apartment and possibly cooking, Pietro cautiously left his room and checked Wanda's door. Confirming that it was locked, Pietro then slowly made his way to the kitchen to see who the intruder was, although he had a guess as to who it was.
When he saw who the person was, Pietro sighed in relief as he confirmed that it was indeed Natasha who had entered their apartment.
"I'm making breakfast, can't you see with your own eyes? Or is it too early for you?" Natasha remarked.
"Wha- how did you even get in here?" Pietro asked incredulously. Before Natasha could reply, Pietro spoke once again, "Don't even answer that, it was a rhetorical question."
Seeing that Pietro was the only one who came to greet her, Natasha voiced her question to Pietro, "Where's Wanda?"
"Let her sleep in, she's going through some things that I'd rather not talk about." Pietro replied as he took a seat at the dining table after preparing the plates and drinks for breakfast.
Natasha gave a grateful nod to Pietro for assisting her with breakfast preparations. "I'm guessing you're the one who's making the meals among the two of you?"
At this, Pietro stared directly into Natasha's eyes as he replied in a serious tone, "Listen, whatever you do, whatever Wanda says, never. And I mean NEVER, let her anywhere near cooking."
Natasha responded by simply raising her eyebrows as she saw the figure who appeared at the hallway behind Pietro, at which Pietro decided to elaborate further, "It's not that Wanda can't cook. She can. It's just that she takes such a long time to do so. When we first got here, she wanted to cook us a simple dinner, and it took nearly three hou-"
"Took me nearly what, Pietro?" Came the voice of Wanda.
Hearing his sister behind him, Pietro's body stiffened and with widened eyes, he mouthed to Natasha "Please help me."
Thinking that Pietro had suffered long enough, Natasha decided to throw a lifeline to Pietro, "Wanda, Pietro was just telling me about how much he enjoyed your cooking." Natasha said smoothly.
"Sure. . . This smells great by the way." Wanda complimented as she rolled her eyes when she saw Pietro visibly deflate at being saved.
"Good morni- WANDA?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Turning around to face his sister, Pietro was shocked to see that there were heavy bags under Wanda's eyes. When Pietro took a closer look at Wanda, he concluded that she had also cried at some point during the night.
"I'm alright Pietro, just tired." Wanda said softly.
Pietro walked up to Wanda and asked her directly, "Has it got to do with what we talked about last night?" Pietro held his gaze on Wanda, unwilling to let his sister go through her emotions alone.
Wanda, seeing the protective side of Pietro that she saw many times in the previous orphanage, gave him a warm smile before replying, "It is, but don't worry. I'm alright, really. There's just a lot to think about lately."
Hearing Wanda's reply, Pietro then gave a gentle hug to her as he whispered, "Remember Wanda, I am your brother. I will always stand by you, and I will always love you. No matter what."
Wanda returned the hug as she murmured her thanks to Pietro.
"Ahem, not to break up this familial bonding time, but you both look like you could have breakfast while the food is still hot and fresh." Natasha untimely interrupted. At her interruption, both Wanda and Pietro looked embarrassed at their display in front of a relative stranger in Natasha.
Seeing their abashed looks, Natasha shook her head in amusement as she finished plating the breakfast meals for the three of them.
'It seems that what was written in the fifth entry had taken a huge toll on Wanda. I can't imagine what it would feel like to suddenly find out that whatever emotions you have been having and building is not justified. After all, Luke literally pointed out that everything that happened to Wanda's family, was all caused by Stane without Tony knowing anything about it at all.'
Like this, time passed by for the trio as they talked about mundane things throughout breakfast to get to know each other better. Once finished, Natasha ensured that Pietro would clean up the dishes before she left the siblings.
"I'm heading off for my work now at the café, if you do drop by anytime today, do remember to come say hi to me." Natasha said as she made her way to the café to start a new day.
- End of Chapter 49 -
Next time in *C50 - Maybe in Another Life.
'Oh, I have an idea on how I can raise Natasha's trust value. It's time to pull on some emotional strings.' Luke mused to himself.
.
.
.
♬♪ It's four AM. I've been staring at these pictures once again. Hoping they'll come back to life. ♬♪