"What's wrong with Ophelia?" Tristan asked the people in the kitchen as they prepared lunch.

"What do you mean?" Minnie spoke.

"I haven't seen her that depressed since Zayn left One Direction" he said.

"Oh, that was a dark day" Romeo agreed.

"Ophelia likes One Direction?" Tony was surprised and confused as we're the others. Apparently no one can picture her as a Directioner.

Ophelia passed by the kitchen making sure no one sees her. It's true, she's been carrying the sadness of Ben's sudden reappearance around her like a thundercloud. It casts a gloom upon everyone else and they wondered what could make snarky and loud Ophelia sad and quiet. Of course the only two who actually know are Clint and Pietro, but the rest are in the dark.

The trip to the museum with Pietro did make her feel better but the sadness was still there the next day, and the next and the next.

Stupid Benvolio. What the hell does he want? She told herself that she would ask him that the next time he called, and he did call again but Ophelia just stared at her phone as it rang until the call was sent to voicemail.

He didn't leave a voicemail.

He hasn't called since.

This just made her sadder and angrier at herself and Ben. She wants her brother, but just like the avatar, Ben vanished when she needed him most.

With a sigh, Ophelia reached the third floor of the house and as she made her way to Ben's room, she passed the library which takes up part of the first, second and third floors of the house. She glanced inside and spotted Wanda sitting in an armchair and slowly turning the globe that's perched on a small table near her.

"Are you okay?" Ophelia softly asked when she entered the library.

Wanda looked over at her and smiled small when she nodded. "It was getting too loud downstairs so I came up here. It's quiet here"

She wondered if Wanda meant it was getting too loud because of all the people talking and the cooking noises or because of the mind reading thing? She's noticed there are times when everyone is gathered that Wanda is wincing and rubbing her temples. All the people and the talking and on top of that their thoughts, it must be exhausting.

It is exhausting.

A similar thing happened with Ophelia when she was younger, always hearing the books and couldn't keep their voices quiet, it drove her crazy.

"Yeah" Ophelia agreed and looked around the library. It looks like dark academia aesthetic straight out of Pinterest and Tumblr, complete with a spiral staircase and upper levels in the library with beautifully carved wood and reading nooks all around. All levels of the library are like this, bookcases filled to the brim with books. And everything is so, so quiet. No more voices. "It's quiet"

Too quiet. Ophelia doesn't hear the books, Wanda can't hear Ophelia's thoughts. It made her think back to the salvage yard when she tried to mess with Ophelia and Romeo's minds but couldn't. It didn't work on them. Why?

"I'm sorry" Ophelia suddenly apologized. "You want quiet and I just came in here and disturbed you. I'll just..." She went to leave the library but Wanda stopped her, telling her it's alright if she stays.

So she did, forgetting all about going to Ben's room and snooping through his things. Ophelia sat in an armchair across from Wanda. There was an awkward silence at first, neither woman had any interaction with each other since the day they met. Well, there was that incident at the salvage yard but that was more of a threat. And there's also the time when Minnie, Cass, Pietro, Wanda, Romeo and Ophelia spent the morning in the wizard world. But they were in a group then and didn't talk much to each other, in fact, if she remembers correctly (which she does) Minnie and Wanda were hearteyes for each other but like those cliche tropes, two idiots and mutual pining but obviously they don't see it. Ophelia can even pinpoint the exact moment Minnie was all hearteyes for Wanda, it was when she challenged Snape for a duel.

"It was amazing" Minnie had told Tristan and Natasha. Yeah. Minnie was gone by then.

Oh god, this really is like a fanfiction. Ophelia thought. Mutual pining hearteyes with Minnie and Wanda. Love is requited, they're just idiots, with Cass and Romeo. Slight enemies to lovers with Ophelia and Pietro. Oh, and let's not forget the eye-fucking between Tristan, a cold case detective, and Natasha, an avenger and master assassin. Wouldn't it be wild if Natasha turned out to be the killer of one of Tristan's cold cases? The angst, the pining. Wade and I really need to stop reading fanfictions.

But fortunately the awkward silence didn't last long because Wanda spoke up. "So, you're dating my brother"

"Looks like it" Ophelia answered. She thought Wanda was gonna say something along the lines of 'you hurt him and I'll fling your body to the sun' but she was surprised when Wanda only said,

"I'm sorry. You can do much better than him" she smirked when she said this and Ophelia snorted. The girls laughed.

It was pretty easy after that. Wanda has noticed how stupidly happy her brother has been since he and Ophelia started...fooling around?... hanging out?... dating?... whatever's going on between them. She noticed how Pietro would spend time with Ophelia, skipping outings to be with her, going out who knows where and coming back at night with dopey smiles on their faces, giggling like idiots and holding hands. That's not even mentioning the hand brushing and soft caresses, and ugh, the kissing.

The other day Wanda went to Pietro's room just to mess with him, like true sibling do. She saw a Lots-o bear on his bed and when she asked him where he got it from he said Ophelia gave it to him, that same dopey smile on his face he has when he's around her. And when Ophelia is being her usual snarky and sarcastic self playfully gagging at Pietro's flirting he acts all shocked and Emilia clings to him because the little girl has a crush on him. Wanda's not sure if they do that for Emilia. In public Ophelia acting like she's fed up with Pietro's constant flirting and Pietro shocked but not giving up, while in private it's a whole different thing.

It must be. Everyone knows there's something going on between them, they're just keeping appearances for the little girl. Ophelia did tell Pietro not to break Emilia's heart.

They started talking about the stay at the house and how she's liked the trip to Italy so far, they talked about Wanda's new life as an avenger and in New York, if she'll go back to Sokovia since the Silvertongues managed to save it and Hydra is gone. Sokovia is her home, it's all Pietro and Wanda ever knew, but so many terrible things happened to them there, moving to New York might be good for them.

"So you're not scared?" Ophelia asked.

Wanda tilted her head a little to the side. "What do you mean?"

She gave a one shoulder shrug. "About living in a new country. Being so far from home and everything you know. You know, get homesick"

"Maybe. But I have my brother"

I wish I had my brother.

"A few months after I moved to New York I was really homesick. I never thought I would miss this place" Ophelia casted a quick glance at her surroundings. "I was so sad and everytime I saw something that reminded me the slightest of home, I thought I was going to burst into tears. And I didn't want to call my grandparents because they would be all like 'come back home' and I'll be 'no, I can't be there because it reminds me of mamma and papà and then Ben abandoned us'"

Maybe I also abandoned them. No. I come back, Ben doesn't.

"So I went to Tristan's and I spent a few days with his family and his mom cooked a bunch of meals from home and we would speak Italian and Arthur, he's Tristan's grandpa and Poe's brother, he told me stories of his childhood. And the whole experience did make me miss home but...it hurt less? I suppose. I guess I was just lucky I have family in New York"

Ophelia didn't realize how lucky she is until people started pointing it out. When Romeo would point these things out, Ophelia would brush his comments off, she assumed Romeo was in awe because he spent his life in the system, an orphan running away from homes and living on the streets. But then she realized many people, even those who didn't grow up in the system, would give anything to have a stable home and loving family.

But it wasn't until the Avengers came to stay did she realize she has more than them. Sure, they're a family and Clint is married with kids, Tony is filthy rich, and Thor is from Asgard and a prince- how do you beat that? She remembers the night she sobbed in front of Pietro and how he and the others must find her ungrateful because everytime they fawned over something, Ophelia would scoff and roll her eyes. Now it makes her smile how the avengers have unofficially adopted William and Sofia as their own grandparents and would do everything to protect them.

If there's anything Ophelia could give them, it would be the love of grandparents they've never had.

"So if you're ever homesick" Ophelia told Wanda "I promise to do anything to make you feel less homesick"

Wanda smiled and thanked her. Yeah, they'll get along great.

"Are you hungry?" Ophelia asked. "I think they're still cooking downstairs but I suddenly got a craving for sushi and mochi"

"I've never had sushi or mochi. What's mochi?" Wanda questioned.

Ophelia gasped. "You've never had sushi?" Without a second to lose, she stood and told Wanda to meet her at the front door in five minutes.

Ophelia went one floor down to her room, put on some shoes and grabbed the small backpack she always carries. As she exited her room, Pietro was entering his. They stopped and stared at each other, a small smile on Ophelia's lips. Without a word she moved to Pietro, took his face between her hands and kissed him. It took him off guard but he returned the kiss when he felt Ophelia's warm lips against his. His hands are on her waist pulling her body flush to his. Her fingers trace along his jaw, past his neck until her fingers thread through his hair and gives it a light tug. He let out a soft moan and Ophelia smiled into the kiss, this is something she'll have to revisit later.

Ophelia pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, across his cheek, along his jaw and down his neck until she reached his pulse point and sucked and nipped on the skin. It made Pietro's pulse quicken and his breath hitch in his throat, his grip on Ophelia's waist tightened. She raised her head and pressed a kiss to his lips before pulling away and winking at him.

"See you later" she walked away leaving a completely flustered Pietro frozen at the open door of his room.

The young Verona woman was almost at the front door when she felt a soft pair of lips on her cheek followed by a rush of wind and a blur of blue and silver which moved toward Wanda who just got to the door. She winced when she felt her brother flick her ear. The poor man thought he was fast as he made a quick exit but Wanda tripped him with her powers and he sprawled on the cold ground.

"Oh, you knocked the holy ghost out of him!" Ophelia exclaimed.

"I'm okay" he groaned. Clint who so happened to be passing by doubled over in laughter.

───── ⋅♛⋅ ─────

"So how do your powers work? I mean aside from messing with people's heads" Ophelia asked Wanda.

After their lunch of sushi and mochi, which Ophelia can't believe Wanda has never had before, but she supposes it makes sense since Sokovia is a small country that always seemed to be in war, and if not then in some form of political conflict.

They began to walk aimlessly, talking and going into a store or two.

"I can move things with my mind. I can also read people's minds" Wanda spoke. "I can do more things, and my powers are still developing and sometimes I can't control it when I read people's minds. Thoughts can also be loud and I pick up on it"

"Oh. Well I understand why you would want quiet while at the house. Everyone is loud. I don't know how Nathaniel sleeps through it" Ophelia smiled. "So at the restaurant were you fine then? People didn't muddle your thoughts?"

Wanda smiled and shook her head. "No. I was fine. Thank you, by the way. I've never had sushi. But I did see it in a movie once when I was little"

"No problem"

They were quiet for a while and then Wanda asked Ophelia about being a Silvertongue. She's learned some from William who talked about it with the Avengers when they asked. For someone who hates being a Silvertongue, Ophelia seems to enjoy talking about it. At first she hated it. When teaching Romeo she struggled to freely talk about it, but for Romeo to succeed she had to put her personal feelings aside and teach him everything she knows.

Then when her family met Romeo they took him under his wing and when they found out he doesn't have any family and grew up in the system, well they were almost giving him the family name. Then the avengers came along and she told them straight to the point what they do. She got annoyed at the stupid questions they asked but it's normal. The ability is only known to the people who have the ability and those related to them.

"And not everyone in the family inherits it, right?" Wanda inquired.

"Right" Ophelia nodded. "Juliet's is unstable, but you've seen what she can do with origami. Poe's sister isn't a Silvertongue but she can read really fast. Tristan can't bring stories to life but he's also a fast reader and he has this incredible talent of, ugh, how do I say it? Okay you know how he's a cold case detective?"

"Yes" she nodded.

"Well when he has the pictures of crime scenes laid out in front of him, he gets lost in them. He can put himself into the crime scene and see everything unfold. The pictures tell him the story" Ophelia explained.

"That's amazing"

"Yeah. When you see him do it, it just looks like he's spacing out"

They call it Silvertongue magic. Those who didn't inherit the ability but maybe inherited in a different way. They took that magic and turned it into something different. So maybe they are Silvertongues but not in the way of bringing stories to life. Oh, and let's not forget about how it's an evolving ability. It feels like everyday they're learning something new about it.

"Ophelia, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. You can ask me anything"

"If you hate being a Silvertongue, why did you date an author?"

Ophelia nervously chuckled. She should've seen that question coming since the avengers found out that her ex-boyfriend is a published author and her family read his books. They still do, they were all there when Minnie got Denny's newest book which he dedicated to Ophelia.

To Ophelia, it was an honor having my heart broken by you.

And she didn't think it could anymore worse. Oh no. It was trending. Everyone in the book community who was eagerly awaiting the release of Season of the Witch, went wild when they saw the dedication. Who is Ophelia? Has she seen this? Why did she break his heart? Fortunately it all calmed down once people began to rave about the book, received amazing reviews and it was the most talked about book of the season.

"It's because, according to Cass, I have daddy issues" Ophelia answered. She saw the look of confusion on Wanda's face and continued to elaborate. "My father was a university professor. He taught literature. And so apparently every guy I've dated is older than me and in the teaching department. Denny just so happened to fall in that department. He's a professor at Columbia and he's a published author, but he keeps his writing separate. For his professional life he writes as Denny Prince. For the other side of his life he writes under Elihu Prince"

"That's the name on Minnie's book" Wanda spoke. Ophelia nodded. "Did you read it?"

"Why? Because he dedicated to me?" Ophelia teased. "No I haven't read it"

The conversation changed topic and they started talking about random things they saw and sharing jokes. They continued to walk around and Ophelia shared memories from certain spots and Wanda told her stories about Pietro because is she even doing her job if she's not embarrassing her brother to the girl he's dating?

This must be what it feels like to have a sister. Wanda thought. She's seen Ophelia and Juliet interact. One year age difference between them is nothing. They mess with each other and annoy and sometimes just gently slap their hand on the other's arm or shoulder for no reason. She's seen how when they're eating something sweet and it's different from the other's, they silently share portions of whatever they're eating and exchange them so they can try. The same is with drinks.

Wanda has seen Minnie and Emilia. The age difference between them is larger. So their bonding is different. They also share things but their interests are so different. Sure there can be some interests they share, like watching Winx Club or Avatar: The Last Airbender. Or maybe books that they can read together. But what they like to do is make fairies. They have many boxes with supplies for their fairy making. Using fake flowers for dresses and colorful thread for hair, it can be curled or straight, braided, long or short, any hairstyle and dresses and wings. Ribbons in the hair, little plastic gem beads to stick on the dress to make it look like dewdrops. When Minnie and Emilia are making their fairies the age gap between them seems to disappear.

Cass and Fenton have their own bonding sessions. And when all four get together it's a mess. They may have age differences but when they get in trouble it doesn't seem to matter.

"You know, I would take you to this little french cafe that I like, but I took your brother there two days ago and we got a thirty day suspension" Ophelia scoffed. Wanda laughed.

Don't take Pietro anywhere nice.

───── ⋅♔⋅ ─────

It was dark by the time they made it back. They went to leave their things in their rooms and joined the others downstairs. Ophelia went to the library where Cass told her Emilia is holding Pietro hostage. Upon entering the library she knew her cousin was being dramatic. Pietro is following Emilia around the library as she grabbed books from shelves and handed them to him.

"I like this one" she gave him a book. "And I also like this one...ooh! This one is funny! And this one has a talking fish!"

Pietro smiled at the enthusiasm of the little girl, and was nothing but nice toward her. Humoring her and accepting each gift she gives him.

"Em" Ophelia called out. The little girl looked up. "Cass said he wanted to carry you on his back like he always does" she gasped and ran out of the room.

"I hope she wasn't bothering you too much" Ophelia moved closer to Pietro.

"No. She's really sweet" he began to put the books back in their place. Ophelia helped him.

When they were done Pietro grabbed Ophelia's face between his hands and kissed her like she kissed him earlier that day, leaving her breathless and flustered. "Payback" he pecked her lips and then her nose, then cheeks and lips again.

"What's this?" Ophelia looked down at the turtle necklace hanging around Pietro's neck.

"Hmm? Oh. Emilia gave it to me" he smiled. She gave the speedster a turtle necklace. Cute.

Pietro asked Ophelia what she's been doing with Wanda all afternoon and she recounted the events. Pietro was a little hurt because he also wants to try sushi, but she reminded him what happened at the cafe two days ago.

"30 day suspension, Pie!" She frowned. He laughed and apologized. "Hmm, come, I wanna show you something" she took his hand and walked toward the spiral staircase in the library. They went up, until they reached the second level of the library. They moved through room until they reached a corner and moved behind a bookcase to reveal a reading nook.

It's a comfy bench under a large window, books under the bench, in the bookshelf around it and over it. There are many pillows and and blankets in a basket nearby. Ophelia flicked the lights on, fairy lights illuminating the area and two built in lights above the bench for reading.

"Mamma used to read to Papà here" Ophelia spoke softly. She motioned Pietro to sit down while she looked through the bookshelf for the right book. "He used to read to her too. But this is where she told him about being Silvertongue" she smiled when she found the book and sat down next to him, turning her body to face him and he did the same.

"She had to pick a book that wouldn't make him freak out, but no matter what you read anything can come out and freak the person out, so Mamma picked this book" she showed him a blue book with an Italian title. It looks old and worn but it holds up nicely.

"No, wait, Lia" Pietro stopped her when he saw her open the book and flipping to the first page of chapter one. "You don't have to read, I know you don't like it"

Ophelia smiled warmly. "I know. But I want to"

"Are you sure?" He doesn't want her to feel uncomfortable or maybe experience a flashback to that day of her parents accident. Ophelia cupped his face with one hand and stared into his eyes.

"I'm sure" she kissed him slowly for a few seconds.

When they pulled apart Ophelia began to read and once again Pietro was enthralled to hearing her speak in her native language. Somehow it sounds different when she's reading. When she's talking her eyes sparkle and her face comes to life and her voice just goes fast and fast and hitting different pitches when she says each word. But when she's reading it's soft and the pitches are still there but she's not reading as fast, she's reading quietly and clearly and– oh.

In the space between them appeared a small galaxy. The colors are rich purple and pink with hints of orange. Little stars appeared, they hovered over the book. Then little planets flew around Pietro's head and moved through the air and the area around them. He reached out to touch the galaxy but as his finger got closer it all went away. Ophelia watched Pietro's expressions the whole time, from the look of amazement when the galaxy appeared and the look of wonder when the planets went around his head like a little crown and the little frown when everything was gone. She continued reading and stars fell from the ceiling, bouncing with the force as they're hanging from strings. They swayed gently for a moment and Pietro touched a star, it felt warm but that was all he could feel.

It too was gone after a few moments and then the whole area around them was engulfed in darkness, all light was swallowed. A large galaxy appeared over their heads, stars twinkled around them, planets slowly moved through the room. It's all so beautiful, and looks so real and it is because whatever she reads comes to life but it can easily be read back in like she'd done moments before. But this time she closed the book and left everything around them shimmer and glimmer and swirl. Not to be confused with Shimmer, Glimmer and Shine from the hit movie Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale.

It felt weird looking down and seeing nothing underneath him, Pietro can feel the bench and pillows but it looks like he's sitting in space, just floating about like everything else. They moved around to get comfortable. Pietro sat across the bench, his back against the cool wood of the bookcase and Ophelia sitting between his legs, his arms around her pulling her closer as if she isn't close enough.

He pressed soft kisses to the side of her face and they kissed in the middle of the galaxy. They spent a while in each other's embrace and they finished the night by making Nutella stuffed pancakes for dinner.

Author's note
I can't believe it took me five months to write something. I had no idea what to write for Ophelia and Wanda. And this was the best I could do so I'm sorry if it's bad. And I really wanted to write a murder mystery with the whole group but at the end I didn't feel like writing it. Maybe another time.