Between Time- MCU

The night was still, the city below softened by distance and dark. Lights twinkled across the skyline like scattered constellations, and a breeze carried the faint scent of rain from somewhere uptown.

Alex sat on the rooftop ledge, legs crossed, a cup of tea warming her hands. She had slipped away from the common room after everyone had gone quiet, the kind of contented silence that follows full bellies and too many bad jokes. She hadn't meant to be gone long. Just... needed air. Space. Stillness.

She didn't expect Wanda to follow. But she wasn't surprised when she did.

Wanda approached without a sound and didn't speak right away. She just sat beside Alex, close but not crowding, and let the silence stretch comfortably between them.

"I didn't think anyone noticed I left," Alex said after a while, voice low.

"I always notice," Wanda replied gently.

Alex smiled faintly into her tea. "You have a sixth sense about these things."

"I have a you sense," Wanda said softly. "It's more specific."

That drew a quiet laugh from Alex, small, genuine. The kind she never used to allow herself.

They looked out at the city together, shoulders brushing lightly. Wanda's presence felt like gravity and moonlight, soft but anchoring.

Alex hesitated. Then: "Some days I forget how much things have changed. Then nights like this happen and I remember I'm not alone anymore."

Wanda looked at her, expression unreadable but open. "Does it feel like too much?"

"No," Alex said. "It feels like... I'm finally breathing again."

Wanda reached out, gently taking the empty cup from her hands and setting it aside. "You don't always have to be strong."

"I know," Alex whispered. "But I want to be. For them. For me."

Wanda leaned down then, slow and easy, resting her head lightly against Alex's shoulder. "Then start by being soft. It takes more strength than people think."

Alex exhaled, closing her eyes for a moment. The city kept moving below them. But up here, it felt like time paused just for them.

She turned slightly and let her head rest against Wanda's. "Thanks for coming up."

"Always," Wanda murmured.

And for the first time in a long time, maybe ever, Alex didn't feel the need to be anywhere else but right here.