*C31 - Hauntings of the past!

E/d note: C31 and C32 is MTL 28, however I will NOT be using the scenes from MTL 28 because I changed Wanda and Natasha. I will also be writing Luke having a breakdown in this Chapter, as I have been teasing it to happen since the start. So, if anyone thinks it's stupid why Luke is having a breakdown at seeing Wanda, then I think you've been skipping the story O_O

'Inner dialogue/thoughts'

"Normal dialogue"

[System]

[Diary entries]

(Word count: 1,510)

~ With Luke, in the café. ~

The café buzzed with the usual morning hum – a blend of chatter, clinking cups, and the soft hiss of the espresso machine. Luke had just finished preparing the beverages and was walking towards where April and Pepper were seated.

"And I'm telling you sis, this café is all the rage in this area. I know it's opposite Stark's building, but trust me, I read the reviews and I hear the rumours. Apparently, this is one of the best location in LA to just have a cup of coffee while enjoying the atmosphere." The soft jingle of the doorbell barely registered as Luke recognized the voice of the person who had just entered the café.

Luke, hands still holding onto the tray with April and Pepper's beverages, allowed his gaze to drift towards the owner of the voice. Luke was in disbelief as his gaze locked onto the silhouettes of the newcomers, especially on the one that had not spoken.

As her features became clearer to his eyes, she transformed from an everyday stranger into a spectre from a life that Luke had 'lived'. Wanda. Alive, standing at the entrance of the café, her eyes scanning the room, as if looking for someone.

Wanda's presence acted like a key, unlocking something that Luke had tried to bury deep within his psyche. His fingers slackened, and the tray he had been holding slipped through his grasp as if it were nothing more than a mirage. Porcelain met hardwood with a sound akin to ice shattering on a winter's night. 

(Crash)

The sounds of the breaking cups sliced through the morning hum, causing heads to turn and conversations to pause. However, all of that became background noise to Luke, whose world had suddenly narrowed to the space between him and Wanda.

(E/d note: Play "Love me like you do" by Ellie Goulding when you read this chapter. Start from 00:16 from this point. This was pointed out by a reader, and apparently, if you time it well, the feels hit at the right time.)

Wanda flinched, snapping her head towards the source of the crashing noise. There, amidst a slowly expanding sea of ceramic debris and dark liquid, stood a man – motionless, pale, with an expression on his face that seemed to have been struck by both lightning and tragedy at once. His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that was almost palpable, carrying waves of emotions that Wanda could not fathom.

She had no idea who this man was, yet the sheer intensity of his stare rooted her to the spot. It was as if he were looking not just at her but through her, seeing something beyond a customer who had merely come in for coffee.

In those eyes, she saw a myriad of untold feelings unfold; nostalgia that draped around him like a familiar coat, melancholy that clung to the edges of his gaze, shock that held his posture rigid, surprise that slightly parted his lips, love that seemed to pull at the very fabric of the air between them, and pain. Pain was the most pronounced of all the emotions that she had seen, distilling into a single tear that trembled on the brink before it journeyed down his cheek.

Luke's hands hung limply by his sides, as if they had forgotten their purpose after releasing the tray. The silence of the café was broken by the murmurs and whispers of its' occupants.

Customers craned their necks, some standing to get a better view of the odd spectacle, their curiosity piqued by Luke, whose world appeared to have come undone in the span of a heartbeat. The café employees exchanged puzzled glances, wondering what had happened to Luke.

However, Luke was deaf to their silent questions, blind to the concern etching their faces. Luke was currently lost in the timelessness of the moment, an epoch where only the figure of Wanda, as impossible as a dream given form, occupied his reality.

~ With Natasha ~

Natasha had been walking back to the lower floor of the café after she had finished taking her break in the lounge, when she heard the sounds of shattering ceramic. Natasha's footsteps quickened, the shattering sound below beckoning an urgency she could not ignore. As she reached the final step, her eyes instantly found the source of the commotion.

There, standing by the entrance, was Wanda. The name whispered through Natasha's consciousness, a ghostly echo from countless conversations with Luke, where he had mentioned a person that he had once loved and lost. A person she knew to be Wanda through reading the diary entries of Luke.

Natasha was informed by Fury a few weeks ago that he had sent both Wanda and Pietro to live in Los Angeles. Aside from monitoring Luke, she was also tasked to keep an eye on the Maximoff twins. So, she knew that one of these days, Wanda would undoubtedly walk into the café, since she was also a diary holder.

A soft expression painted itself across Natasha's face as she observed Luke. He stood as if petrified, his gaze locked onto Wanda with an intensity that spoke of deep-rooted yearning and sorrow. It was clear to Natasha. Wanda's presence was the embodiment of a past Luke had mourned. Apast that had suddenly and inexplicably stepped into the present.

"Luke?" Natasha's voice was tentative at first, barely slicing through the thick air of anticipation. No response. She tried again, louder, the concern in her voice more evident, "Luke!". The occupants of the café looked on, their earlier whispers fading into silence, eyes shifting between Luke and Natasha.

"Luke!" Natasha's call became more insistent, piercing the veil of shock that cocooned him. At last, at her third callout, something flickered behind Luke's eyes, a semblance of awareness that began to crack the invisible barrier separating him from reality.

His name, carried by Natasha's voice, seemed to echo from a distance, reaching out to him like a lifeline tossed across the tumultuous waves of his turmoil. Slowly and painstakingly, Luke's gaze broke away from Wanda, landing onto the familiar and concerned face of Natasha. His eyes, though clouded with the remnants of memories, acknowledged her presence with a silent plea for understanding.

Luke's fingers fluttered upward, an involuntary response as if to catch the tears he hadn't realized had escaped. His touch confirmed the wetness streaking his face, the warmth they left on his skin was a stark contrast to the cold shock that he was held in.

Luke stood still, bewildered, as the café employees exchanged concerned glances. They had never once seen Luke in this state, so to see him unravel like this was akin to witnessing the unthinkable.

"Luke, are you okay?" April asked, worry evident in her tone. However, her question remained unheard by Luke.

~ With Luke ~

'I'm crying?' His thoughts echoed, as he felt himself slowly losing his composure. 'I. . . I have to get out of here!' Panic clawed at his chest, urging him to flee from where he stood as the suffocating vulnerability threatened to consume him.

In the next instant, Luke pivoted on his heel and took off. His movements were clumsy, propelled by sheer desperation as he made for the staircase leading to the only place that he thought would provide him sanctuary, his personal office on the upper floor. The café blurred around him, as the hushed whispers of the café occupants faded into the background.

April, who had been next to Luke, watched him retreat in confusion. However, as Luke had caused the commotion, April, as the café manager, had the responsibility to ensure that things would return to normal.

Taking a deep breath, April stepped forward, "All right, everyone, let's give Luke some space." Turning to the counter, April continued, "Linda, could you get the broom and dustpan please. Crystal, I need you to go to the kitchen to get the mop." Her confident tone cut through the confusion, resetting the atmosphere that had been abruptly disrupted.

However, April's words did not reach Crystal, as she had already gone after Luke, worried for her friend.

- End of Chapter 31 –

Next time in C32 - Luke has Collapsed?!

Luke's chest tightened, a cruel grip clamping down with each ragged breath he struggled to take. "Luke! Luke! You have to calm down, Luke!"

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.

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Luke's hands clawed at his collar, desperate for relief from the invisible chokehold. "I can't breathe, please help me! I can't breathe! I can't..." His voice trailed off into a whisper, the last word a silent plea hanging in the air.

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