Chapter One: They'll Never Split Us Apart

"Ello mate." Sixteen year old, Wanda Maximoff began, trying out her new English.

"You will most definitely fit in better with that." Her twin brother, Pietro teased her. She made a face at him and turned back to the mirror she was practicing in front of.

"Howdy." Wanda said hesitantly, still sounding out the strange word. She sighed and tossed her brother an exasperated look. "Does that sound American?"

Her brother shrugged. "How should I know?"

He did have a point. Both of them were just learning English and they had never been to the states before today. They were meeting a family who was interested in adopting them. The adopting agency had taken them from their home country of Sokovia after they had been found wandering around on the streets.

This family was their last shot for adoption or they could be thrown out on the streets. Plus, since they were minors, they didn't really have a say in anything that happened to them. Although, Wanda hoped they had a little say in who adopted them.

Wanda was very nervous and she could tell her brother was too. This family could adopt both of them or just one of them. They didn't want to be split apart. "It will be all right." She reassured her brother, laying a hand on his arm.

He forced a laugh. "Of course it will." A knock on the door startled them both and Pietro hurried to open it. They both plastered smiles on their faces and followed their social worker, Beth, out to the car.

The ride to the family's house was silent with built up tension. Wanda and Pietro sat in the back, what little luggage they had in the trunk. They were sitting at opposite ends of the back seat but they were clutching each other's hand tightly, just out of sight of Beth.

They pulled to a stop in front of a pristine looking house. It was painted white with red shutters and didn't even look like it had been lived in. In short, it was spotless.

The long wraparound porch held a nice deck chair and bright flowers were positioned along the sidewalk leading up to the house. Wanda gave Pietro a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand before they both climbed out.

Their potential new family was gathered on the porch standing in an impossibly straight line. A man, who Wanda figured was the father, introduced himself as Walter, his wife as Monica, and their two children as Alaina and Timothy.

Monica examined the twins, quite critically, Wanda thought. She had thought that her clothes and Pietro's were suitable, but maybe they weren't. Wanda glanced at Pietro's outfit, which consisted of a white track shirt and blue sweats.

Looking down at her own red dress and black jacket, Wanda suddenly felt very unconfident in her appearance. Monica and Walter stared at them for a few more seconds before inviting them inside.

Monica passed out cups of lemonade and everyone sat around the kitchen table. Wanda had to admit, it was a nice place. Yellow lace curtains hung on the windows, and the kitchen was very big. It had all the newest stainless steel kitchen appliances. The kitchen was connected to the living room which was very clean. One of the things that Wanda had noticed about the house, was that everything was spotless. From the white couch and carpet to the bathroom Wanda saw around the corner.

"Excuse me, girl, are you listening to me?"

Wanda realized that Walter had been speaking to her and she gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, sir, I did not know you were speaking to me."

"I was asking if you can do household chores, like cooking and cleaning?" Walter repeated himself, sending her a disapproving look. Wanda nodded. "Yes, I can clean. Although, I don't really know how to cook, I can learn fast."

After another hour of questions for Wanda and Pietro, Monica stood and motioned for her family to do the same. She addressed the social worker, ignoring the twins. "We've decided that we will only take one of the twins. "

"Only one of the twins…." The words echoed over and over in Wanda's ears. She heard her heart pounding loudly. This couldn't be happening. She looked at her brother and saw that his panicked face mirrored her own.

She had to fight for her family. At least what little family she had left. Wanda stood and addressed Monica and Walter somewhat angrily. "Do we not have a say in this? I want to stay with my brother. We don't want to be split apart."

"It's not up to you." Monica cut in rudely. "We're taking either you or your brother and since you've got such a big mouth, we probably won't be choosing you."

Wanda couldn't let her brother stay here with these people. They had to get out of here. She glanced at her brother and tried to communicate with her eyes that they needed to run. He seemed to get the message and he nodded at her, determination gleaming in his blue eyes.

"Well that's that." Monica said, rubbing her hands together, like she could wash her hands of the situation.

Wanda nodded at her brother, then took off running. A second later, she heard Pietro run after her. She stopped at the gate so he could catch up and they both vaulted the gate together.

Running at their top speed, they didn't even look back. Wanda vaguely heard shouting and a car being started.

They cut through the woods next to the house and didn't stop until the sun was setting. By now, they were both trudging along, too exhausted to move very quickly. Pietro was shivering so Wanda put her arm around his shaking shoulders. "We should stop for the night." She told him softly.

Pietro didn't argue. He dropped to the ground and in minutes he was fast asleep. Wanda took off her black jacket and put it around him to warm him up.

As she watched him sleep, she knew that she would do anything to protect her brother. Even if he was twelve minutes older than her. Wanda stroked his face softly and eventually laid down next to him.

Wanda opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. The sun was shining brightly in her eyes. She forced her eyes open again and shook Pietro awake.

Pietro woke up, looking disheveled, but when he saw Wanda he grinned. "So they didn't find us, I guess." Suddenly his face turned worried. "What if they find us and split us up?"

Wanda put her arms around him. "I won't let them. They can never split us up. Ever."

Pietro smiled. "I won't let anyone split us up either." He shook himself out of her grasp. "Come on. Let's go find a stream and get some fish."

Wanda laughed lightly. "Of course you're thinking about food. Let's go."

The two siblings walked arm in arm, content in the knowledge that they would never let anyone split them apart.

A.N- Please, please review. I love reviews so much :D I like to hear if I'm doing okay or not.