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“Sad.”
The soft murmer from behind her made Wanda jolt in surprise a moment before she let a rueful smile pass over her face. Cassandra was the best at that, these days. Almost as good as Pietro had been. She always seemed to know what Wanda was feeling, even when Wanda herself might have struggled to put a name to whatever she’d been dragged into feeling by her subconscious. Wanda allowed herself to lean back against the warm line of Cass’s body and settled her own hands over where Cass’s hands had fallen on her stomach. “Yes,” she decided after a moment and nodded once. Sadness was as good a word as any.
“We still hurt people,” Wanda said with frustration, lifting one hand to wave it in front of them as though the images of her actions would appear anywhere other than her mind. “We help people, we help more people than we hurt. But we still hurt people. We are better than we could be. You are not an assassin and I am not working under HYDRA, but is this what our future is? Aren’t we more than just hurting people?”
Cassandra’s sigh was nearly soundless, though the air still moved the hair by Wanda’s ear. “We are more. You are more. Someone has to stop them from hurting other people.” The frustration in Cass’s voice eased some of Wanda’s own. Of course if anyone would understand the struggle it would be Cass, who had decided for herself so early on that killing wasn’t the future she wanted for herself. They’d all thought about it at some point, Wanda thought. Someone had to stop people from hurting other people, even at the cost of their own comfort. Even at the cost of their own lives.
Wanda lowered her hand back to cover Cass’s and gave them a gentle squeeze. “Someone does have to stop them and we are good at protecting people. That is the most important thing. Maybe there will be a day when no one will have to make the choices that we have had to make,” she allowed before gently tapping Cass’s hands. When Cassandra released her, Wanda shifted forward enough to twist and smile at her. “Until then… Do you want to go spar?”
Cassandra nodded happily and stood before reaching down to offer her hand to Wanda. Wanda smiled up at her before accepting her hand and standing. She allowed their hands to stay linked as they began walking towards the elevator, a reminder that their hands weren’t only for violence.