Between Time- MCU

The Tower was quieter than usual. Post-mission fatigue always had a way of dampening the air, leaving only the faint hum of tech and the occasional shuffle of teammates heading off to rest.

Alex lingered in the kitchen, nursing a glass of water, replaying the night's rhythm in her head, the way she and Wanda had moved as if they'd trained together for years. It still buzzed through her like static, almost unsettling in its intimacy.

The soft pad of footsteps drew her attention. Wanda, hair pulled loose from its braid, drifted in, moving with the ease of someone who belonged in every room she entered. Her eyes softened when they found Alex.

"You're awake," Wanda said, quiet but not surprised.

"Couldn't sleep," Alex admitted, setting the glass down. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Too much still in my head."

Wanda tilted her head, studying her. "About the fight?"

"About... everything, really," Alex said, and her laugh came out more tired than she meant it to.

Wanda crossed the room, slipping onto the stool beside her. For a long moment, they sat in silence, the only sound the distant hum of New York outside.

"You trust me," Wanda said suddenly, not as a question but a fact.

Alex blinked at her, caught off guard. "...Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

Wanda's gaze was steady, searching. "You move with me like you know I'll be there. Like you don't have to second-guess it. That's... rare."

Alex's throat tightened, words catching somewhere between instinct and caution. "It's the same with you. I don't... I don't really know how to explain it. It just feels right."

Wanda's lips curved, faint but warm. She looked down at her hands for a moment, then back at Alex. "I feel it too."

The silence that followed wasn't heavy, it was charged, waiting. Alex could feel her pulse in her fingertips, a nervous energy building. She wanted to say more, wanted to crack open the words pressing at the back of her throat.

Instead, she let herself meet Wanda's eyes, just for a little too long, until the air between them hummed with everything unspoken.

Wanda's voice dropped, softer than before. "You don't have to explain it yet. Just... don't doubt it."

Alex exhaled slowly, a smile tugging at her despite herself. "I won't."

Wanda's hand brushed against hers on the countertop, not a grab, not quite deliberate, but not an accident either. Just enough contact to leave Alex's chest tight with possibility.

And then, as if the moment itself had stretched too far, Wanda rose from the stool. "Try to sleep, Alex. Tomorrow will come quickly."

Alex watched her go, a thousand unsaid words pressing against her ribs. She leaned back in her chair, heart pounding, knowing that whatever this was... it wasn't just in her head.