The loud chatter of the diner only intensified the awkward air around us. Pietro sat in the middle on one side of the booth while Wanda and I sat on the other side across from him. His hands were folded on top of the table and his eyes flickered between us. His face was void of any emotion and he remained silent for multiple minutes. The whole table was quiet, neither me nor Wanda spoke, the both of us just wrapped up in our own thoughts. In the time that we sat there, a waiter filtered past our table a total of five times, each time asking us if we were sure we didn't want anything? On his fifth return to our table, just to get him off our backs, I ordered a burger, fries, and a large soda. Wanda and Pietro looked over at me, their brows knitted in confusion.

"What?" I asked. "I'm hungry and he wouldn't leave us alone."

Wanda turned around and faced Pietro again while he shrugged and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair, messing it up even more. He took one deep breath and slowly released it, laying his hands flat against the table.

"Okay. In a calm and rational way, please explain to me what exactly is happening," he said in a quiet and calm voice. Wanda dropped her hand down onto the leather booth and reached out, grabbing mine. Very briefly my fingers brushed against her pulse point, feeling the erratic beating that amplified her nerves louder than her facial expressions.

My fingers laced around hers, calming her down instantly. Slowly, I raised our conjoined hands and rested them down on the table, watching as Pietro's eyes moved down to our hands.

"Wanda and I are...together. We just got together and didn't put a label on it, but if you had to call it something, I guess you could say we're dating," I said, tightening my grip on Wanda's hand. She surprised me by reciprocating when I expected her to try to pull away. Pietro nodded. Wanda's other hand wrapped around my arm and pulled herself closer to me.

"Claire and I confessed our feelings for each other earlier this week, and since then we've been testing the waters and so far, we're happy." She looked over at me and smiled such a beautiful and bright smile I thought I would go blind. I leaned my head down and kissed her forehead before resting my head against hers.

Our waiter came back again and placed a big plate in front of me and left. I picked up my knife and cut my burger in half and took a bite. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and I moaned at the taste, the grease dripping down my chin. Wanda grabbed a napkin and wiped the grease off me and took a French fry off my plate, popping it in her mouth. I nudged my plate towards her, silently offering her the other half of my burger. She smiled and hesitantly took the knife and cut the half again. Wanda excused herself and climbed out of the booth, disappearing as she walked towards the back.

"So...you two are on the same page...?" Pietro asked gesturing to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my mouth full after I took another bite.

"You know what I mean."

"I really don't."

"You two feel the same way about each other? There's an...understanding?"

"Well, if I'm being honest, I'm not entirely sure the extent of her feelings, but as far as I know, yeah, we're on the same page."

His hands folded once again as he sat up and leaned forward a bit.

"How do you feel about her?"

His question shocked me. I froze as a went to take another bite of my burger. Looking up at him, I set it back down on my plate and wiped my mouth. I looked down at the table in silence, collecting my thoughts. It was a silly question, honestly. I mean, now that he knew about us, it was clear to see that my feelings for Wanda were nothing short of genuine. But, maybe that's not what he asked. What else would it be though? What other answer could I possibly give him besides that? Wait a second. That's not even the main concern.

What are my feelings for Wanda? I knew I liked her and felt a deeper connection with her, but was there anything more to it? Wanda was beautiful—there was no doubt about that—and she wasn't the first girl that I found myself sexually attracted to, but my feelings for her went beyond that, I think. I wanted more from her than the usual women I found myself dating. With Wanda, I saw...I saw a future, which is something that I never saw before. I saw myself happy with Wanda years from now; I saw it after our first real conversation, and...I loved it—craved it.

When I was with Wanda, everything felt right. The way she made me feel could only be described as right. She could always make me laugh and smile when I was having a bad day, or whenever things got on my nerves or I was frustrated or angry or just in any kind of bad mood, Wanda was always there with a hug and an ear to listen to my problems. She's a good person and an even greater friend and I in no way, shape, or form deserve to have her in my life. She got me more than any of the people—both men and women—that I've dated. She made me feel like I was valid as a person, like...like...like I deserved to be here. I never felt that way until I met Bucky and his family, and even then, sometimes the thought of being a burden crept up on me, and I felt more like the Barnes family's obligation rather than their daughter. But ever since I got to know Wanda, I never once felt like that. I never wondered if she was only being nice to me out of pity or generosity or if she pretended around me. She was so...genuine. And I loved that about her.

But what were my feelings about her in terms of our relationship? Well, let's think about this. Whenever I saw her, my heart sped up and skipped a few beats, and when she smiled I couldn't help but smile back. When we touched, I felt those lame cliché tingles and when we kissed I swear there were fireworks going off. No person ever made me feel like this. Maybe it's because I didn't just like Wanda...Is it possible? Could this be love?

Pietro sat across from me expectantly, staring deep into my purple-contacted eyes. His hands unfolded and he drummed his fingers on the tabletop. My heart started to race in anticipation. If he was trying to intimidate me, I gotta admit, it was working. I took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and released it, pretending not to hear not-so subtle trembling.

"Look Pietro, I'll admit, I'm not quite sure how I feel about Wanda. But, I can assure you that I don't want to hurt her. She means a lot to me and I am so grateful to have her in my life. She helps me in more ways than I deserve and has been there for me through a lot of shit. I don't know a lot of people like her and—"

"I don't think that's what I meant," he said, raising his hand as he interrupted me.

"Fine! Ever since Wanda came into my life, I've been feeling really weird about everything. I'm happier since I've met her and I feel really warm around her. I think...I think I...l-l-love her."

"You love me?" My head snapped over to behind Pietro's head where Wanda stood, her face flushed in a dark red that covered her whole face. Her green eyes stared at me but her fingers played with the many rings on her fingers. I felt myself freeze. "Claire? Did you say you loved me?"

I stood up from the booth and walked over to her. Pietro looked at us, still sitting in the booth.

"Yeah um..." I scratched the back of my head and drummed my fingers against my thighs nervously. "I...I think I love you."

"Really?" Wanda's eyes welled up with tears. My heart ached a bit and I stepped closer to her, taking her nervous hands into mine.

"Yeah. I love you, Wanda."

"You really love me?"

Her uncertainty pierced me and I kissed her forehead and brushed my hand against her cheek.

"Of course, Wanda. Do...do you think I would lie to you?" The tears spilled from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks, onto my hand. Wanda wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my neck and shoulder, her tears falling onto my jacket.

"No one ever said that to me," she whispered. "At least no one really meant it. It was just something they said to get me into their bed."

My heart broke as Wanda cried on my shoulder. I ran my hands up and down her back, rubbing soft patterns over the fabric of her sweater and placed a kiss on her temple. Pietro stood from the table awkwardly and looked at me, mothing that he was going to the bathroom, his face looking a little red. I nodded my head and he disappeared in the direction of the bathrooms, giving us some space.

I walked us back over to the booth and sat her down in the spot where Pietro was just sitting, still rubbing her back soothingly. Her muffled cries started to quiet down until it was just a soft whimper, and after a minute, she pulled her face from my shoulder and wiped her face. Her face was red and blotchy and though she was only crying for a few minutes, her eyes were starting to puff and the little bit of make-up that she was wearing smeared from her tears and from burying her face into my shoulder, staining her cheeks. And yet, she was still incredibly beautiful.

I scooted closer to her and draped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheeks, helping her wipe her tears and make-up away. She slowly turned her head and looked at me with her large green eyes and a little pout.

"Please tell me this isn't a dream," she whispered, her hands flying to my arms gripping me tightly. I pulled her into me, resting her head against my chest, her ear right above my heart, and placed a kiss on the top of her head while inhaling the scent of her hair.

"This isn't a dream, baby. I love you, Wanda, with my whole entire heart. You make being at this school away from the only family I've ever known worth it. You make me happier than I've ever been and when I see you, I feel things that I've never felt before. God! My life got infinitely better since you came into it. I wish I was able to explain to you how you make me feel and what you do to me, but at the moment, I can only show you."

Before she could question what I meant, I pressed my lips against hers, slightly pushing her against the back of the booth. Her arms instinctively snaked around the back of my neck as she moved against me. She briefly took control of the kiss and pushed back against me, making my back hit the booth as she moved and sat in my lap, straddling me. I moaned against her lip and shoved my fingers into her thick hair, gripping tiny fistfuls and tugging just a little.

The sound of a throat clearing scared us and Wanda jumped up and quickly climbed off my lap. Her long hair fell over her shoulder and into her face, creating a curtain of hair that hides her from Pietro's stare. I feel her shift in the booth, resting her forehead against the back of my shoulder, "increasing" her stealth. Pietro stood beside the table with his arms crossed over his chest and his face contorted in a playful smirk.

"You two do realize that you're in the middle of a quite public diner, right?" he asked with a sense of humor in his husky voice. He sat back down in the booth and looked over at us, this time, seeming more at ease. "Look you guys, after a bit of soul-searching, I've come to the conclusion that I'm not angry with the fact that you two are dating. I understand that I pushed heavily for this, and that my reaction in the library was completely out of line, and for that I'm sorry. Claire, I had no right to doubt your feelings for my sister or suspect your intentions. Please understand that Wanda is all I have and unfortunately she's been hurt before by people that she cared about. I don't want that to happen again."

I nodded in understanding. I knew where he was coming from with the whole overprotective brother act; Bucky was the same way with a lot of my past relationships. "Yeah no, I get it. But you don't have to worry, I would never hurt Wanda the way that those assholes have before."

"Not that I don't believe you, but I've heard that before. But...I trust you Claire." Pietro gave me a small smile and stretched out his hand. I reciprocated and grasped his hand firmly and gave it a curt shake. Wanda grabbed onto my arm and leaned her head against it, beaming and blushing.

The rest of the evening was much smoother. Now that we had gotten the "business talk" out of the way, Wanda and Pietro ordered some food and I got another order of fries and some onion rings. We ate and laughed and acted as if this whole day wasn't incredibly awkward.

○○○

Wanda leaned against the closed door of our room and sighed heavily. I got up from my bed and walked over to her, taking her into my arms and kissing her temple. She nuzzled her head against my shoulder and her hands fell to my lower back.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Hmm."

I looked around the room, my eyes landing on Wanda's things and I started to chuckle. The vibrations reverberated through me and Wanda chuckled too.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I just thought of something."

"What?"

"We're like a wall and a flower: me being the wall and you the flower."

Wand looked up at me, her chin against my chest. "Why?"

I smiled sweetly at her and kissed her forehead and said, "Because you grew on me."

Wanda laughed and laid her head over my heart.

"You're such a dork," she muttered quietly.

"That may be true, but I know you love me anyway."

I froze a bit, accidentally tensing up and stared straight ahead. What if I crossed a line? I mean, Wanda didn't really tell me that she loved me back. What if she wasn't there yet? What if I was rushing her to reciprocate? I didn't want to come off too strong. God! what is wrong with me? I always do this. I always move too fast in a new relationship and it always backfires on me—

Wanda's chuckling snapped me from my thoughts and her grip on me tightened. She pulled away a little bit and kissed my cheek.

"That's right. I do love you. You're my little loveable dork." She pinched my cheek and walked away from me, grabbed her shower caddy, towel, and pajamas and left the room, leaving me grinning from ear to ear probably looking like a fool. I thought it wasn't possible, but my smile grew and my face started to hurt. She loved me!