Just then, Aryan walked back into the room.
"Water for the..." he started, then stopped.
He looked at the TV. He saw his own face plastered next to hers under the headline HERO DOCTOR.
"Wow," he said, blinking. He stood there, holding the glass of water, watching the footage of himself doing CPR. "I... I wasn't expecting the close up."
He looked at Wanda.
"They found my graduation photo?" he asked, sounding genuinely baffled. "I thought that was buried in a yearbook somewhere."
Wanda beamed at him. She reached out her hands.
"Come here," she said.
He walked over and handed her the glass. She took a sip, never taking her eyes off him.
"You are famous, Dr. Spencer," she teased gently. "The National Husband."
Aryan groaned, scrubbing his face with his hand, but he was smiling. "Oh god. The internet is going to meme me, isn't it? I'm going to be a meme."
"A very handsome meme," Wanda corrected.
She patted the spot next to her. He sat down. She leaned her head on his shoulder, watching the news cycle repeat the clip of them holding hands.
"They like us," she whispered. "They really like us."
"Who wouldn't?" Aryan said, kissing the top of her head. "We're adorable. And we have great hair."
…
The segment ended.
The anchor's face changed. It went from smiling to serious.
"In other news," she said, shuffling her papers. "We have breaking reports of a massive explosion in the Mojave Desert."
BREAKING NEWS: EXPLOSION AT CLASSIFIED FACILITY.
It showed a satellite image of a desert. A massive crater scarred the landscape. It was huge. It looked like a meteor impact.
"Government officials are confirming that a facility, believed to be a decommissioned energy storage site, suffered a catastrophic failure at approximately 3:00 PM Eastern time."
Wanda's heart stopped.
She knew that location.
It was the SWORD Headquarters.
"While details are scarce," the anchor continued, "spokespeople from the Department of Defense have issued a statement claiming the blast was caused by the accidental ignition of a subterranean natural gas pocket."
"Preliminary scans show no radiation," the reporter added. "Experts are baffled by the sheer magnitude of the blast, comparing it to a tactical nuclear weapon, yet the site is reportedly clean."
The screen showed aerial footage taken from a news helicopter hovering miles away. There was nothing left.
Wanda stared at the screen. Her hand tightened around the water glass until her knuckles turned white.
She knew what was in that facility.
Vision.
They were taking him apart. They were drilling into him. They were treating him like scrap metal.
She remembered the cold white lab. She remembered Tyler Hayward's smug face. 'He's three billion dollars of vibranium.'
And now...
She looked at the crater.
There was nothing left.
An overwhelming wave of emotion hit her.
They can't hurt him anymore, she realized.
It was a funeral she hadn't been able to give him.
Tears welled up in her eyes, the tears of a final goodbye.
Goodbye, Viz, she thought, looking at the smoking hole on the TV screen.
[Perspective: Aryan Spencer]
I watched the news report. I watched the crater I had made.
I glanced toward the lens, "Okay, I need to look shocked. I need to look confused. I definitely do not need to look like the guy who pressed the detonator."
"Gas?" I whispered, putting a believable amount of skepticism in my voice. "That doesn't look like gas. That looks like... a bomb."
I felt Wanda tremble against me.
I looked at her.
She was staring at the screen, her eyes wet. A single tear tracked down her cheek.
Her shoulders dropped. The tension that had been living in her spine since she arrived in Westview seemed to snap.
She took a shaky breath. She blinked and more tears fell.
I stood up. I walked around the coffee table and knelt in front of her.
I reached out and took the water glass from her shaking hand, setting it on the table.
"Wanda?" I said softly.
She looked down at me. Her eyes were swimming.
I reached up and wiped the tear from her cheek with my thumb.
"I don't know what that place was," I lied, looking deep into her eyes. "And I don't know why it makes you sad."
I paused. I let my hand rest against her face, cupping her jaw.
"And I'm not going to ask," I promised. "Because I don't want to make you sadder."
She let out a small sob.
"But you have to remember one thing, Wanda," I said, my voice steady. "I am here. Right here."
I moved my other hand to hold her face, framing it.
"Whatever was lost... you are not alone."
I looked at her lips. Then back to her eyes.
"I love you," I said.
The words hung in the air.
Wanda looked at me. She really looked at me. She saw the truth in my eyes.
A watery smile broke through her tears.
"I love you too," she whispered.
I leaned up.
I kissed her.
It tasted of salt tears and chocolate ice cream. It was a kiss of comfort, of promise, of a new beginning built on the ashes of the old.
She kissed me back, pouring all her relief, all her gratitude into the contact.
I broke the kiss, but I didn't pull away. I stood up, pulling her with me.
I sat back down on the sofa. I pulled her into my lap.
She wrapped her legs around my waist. She buried her face in my neck, her arms locking around my shoulders.
I held her tight. One hand on her waist, the other rubbing slow circles on her back.
I kissed her hair.
"I've got you," I murmured.
She nodded against my neck.
We sat there in the flickering light of the TV screen. The news anchor was still talking about gas leaks and geological surveys.
I reached out blindly with one hand and found the remote. I clicked the power button.
The screen went black.
The room was silent again.
I glanced toward the lens again, "The past is dust. The future is sitting in my lap. And if anyone tries to mess with this? Well... I can always make another crater."
I tightened my hold on her.
We sat in the dark, holding onto the only thing that mattered. Each other.
PS: This is the first bonus chapter for this week. Come on guys, push a little harder, haha. Let's see how many chapters we can unlock… don't make me fight the Power Stone boss alone.