As soon as Wanda said those words, I was a little surprised. After all, she had always been very reserved and, more often than not, rather shy when it came to expressing her own thoughts.

Her eyes met mine, and I could see a slight determination there that rarely appeared. She was nervous, I could feel it, but she was still forcing herself to take this step. It left me feeling disconcerted and, at the same time, a little relieved.

"Wanda..."

I began, trying to find the right words, but I didn't know exactly what to say.

"I just don't want to burden you with a task that I should be doing myself."

"Peter, I don't mind..."

Wanda said, responding to my comment, as she took a step closer to me.

"And I already told you that I would help you. After all, it's not fair that you have to do all this on your own just because you're new to the complex."

Natasha, noticing the small effort Wanda had made to try and get a little closer to Peter, decided not to intervene and, as she stared at them, gave a slight nod, as if telling herself that it was the right decision to make in that situation.

"Well..."

Natasha said in a relaxed tone, breaking the silence that had settled in.

"I think two pairs of hands are much better than one."

As soon as Natasha said those words, she was about to say something else. However, before she could do so, she was interrupted by Sam.

"So, it's decided: we'll leave the dishes to you two."

As soon as Sam said those words, he didn't stay in the kitchen for another second and then left, leaving only me, Wanda, Pietro and Natasha, who was already on her way out.

Natasha still had some doubts about leaving the two of them alone down there, but she put that thought aside when she saw the look on Wanda's face. After that, she didn't say anything else; the only thing I could hear coming out of her mouth almost imperceptibly were the following words: 'good luck'. But I didn't really understand who she was saying it to. As soon as she whispered that, she too left the kitchen, leaving only me, Wanda and her brother, who was glancing at me with a less than friendly expression.

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I didn't really understand why, but I could tell that Pietro didn't like the closeness his sister and I were having. For a moment, I even thought it was just something in my head, but when he said goodbye to Wanda quickly, without prolonging the conversation and without even talking to me, I realized.

(That's all I needed...)

I thought to myself as I turned towards the sink where the dishes were.

As soon as I did that, I could feel the atmosphere, which a few seconds ago had been a bit heavy, getting calmer.

"Wanda, if anything happens, just call me and I'll come running over. Understand?"

Pietro said, staring at his sister, his message short and to the point, but without a hint of rudeness in his words.

As last time, Wanda had answered her brother, this time she decided not to say anything and just nodded, confirming that she had understood his message. As soon as Pietro received his sister's confirmation, he turned and left the kitchen too, leaving just Wanda and me there to wash the dishes.

Seeing that, I couldn't help but get lost in a single thought that was running through my mind because of the situation.

(Crazy, I have to be honest: I've never seen a person as protective as this guy).

"He cares about me a lot."

Said Wanda, breaking the silence that had settled between us. However, there was a hint of apology in her words, as if she wanted to justify her brother's rude attitude towards me.

"I realized."

I replied, trying to keep my tone light, but my voice ended up coming out lower than I expected.

"It's nice to have someone who cares like that."

As soon as I said those words, I tried to push the intrusive thought out of my mind by shaking my head slightly, a gesture that Wanda noticed. However, she remained completely silent.

"What do you say we do the organization like this: I'll wash the dishes while you dry them. Is that all right?"

I asked as I glanced at her, doing my best to avoid eye contact.

As soon as I made that suggestion to her, I noticed a subtle movement at the corners of her lips, which slowly curved into a slight smile. The smile was so discreet that it seemed imperceptible. Her eyes sparkled for a moment, but the expression on her face didn't clearly reveal whether the smile was one of joy or shyness.

"That may be."

Wanda replied in a softer tone, picking up a cloth to start drying the dishes. The atmosphere between us had lightened. However, there was still a feeling of something unsaid in the air.

I was right in my deduction. As soon as I turned around and started washing the dishes, I could feel the tension in the air. Wanda, who until then had been silent, drying and putting away the dishes, turned to me. I was still on my back, but I could feel her eyes fixed on me. She broke the awkward silence that hung in the kitchen.

"Peter."

Wanda whispered almost imperceptibly, but I heard her clearly.

As soon as I heard her call my name, I stopped what I was doing for a moment, my fingers still dipped in the suds. I pulled a plate out of the water with a slow movement.

"What's wrong?"

I asked, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Wanda insisted, still with that soft tone, but loaded with a curiosity that was hard to hide.

I let the plate slide back into the water, the bubbling sound of foam filling the space between us.

"Of course, you can ask."

I replied, trying to stay calm, even though my heart was racing.