tara chambler’s wife (real)

Words: 240ish

TW: none

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“What is it, love?” You ask in a sleep filled voice, adjusting yourself to look fondly at the woman, watching as her eyes almost burn with the question that’s stuck on her throat.

Wanda’s cheeks blush with the realization of being caught; under heavy eyelashes, the bright green eyes, wide as of a deer, run from your bashfully, almost daring you to go back to sleep. You can almost feel the words already on her mouth, so you allow your eyes to rest closed again, carefully waiting for her honey like voice to anoint your ears.

You do, however, miss the way a smile blooms on her; the time does not run from her when you’re around, rush turns into nothing but an estranged concept.

So when, instead, what you feel is her head burying itself under the crook of your neck, warm as the night-time sea, your heart understand the question immediately and you cup her head with the ghost of a touch.

“There is not an universe in which my heart doesn’t belong to yours” You whisper to the quiet room, not needing an answer back; but you receive one, anyway, as she sighs contently against your chest, grasping tenderly your shirt.

You feel as her heartbeat joins yours and, faster than a moment later, light snores tickle the back of your neck, lulling you to a sleep that hugs you blissfully before you can even dare to realize.

———————————————

"Why," she giggles quietly as she pluck a green and leafy plant from the wall that hangs on a red thumbtack, "did you hang mistletoe everywhere?"

The plant tickles your nose as she wiggles it just above your face, smiling as she serpentines around the maze of boxes towards the couch. Throwing your blanket off of your body, you wrap your arms around Wanda, pulling her into you as your lips find each other.

"It's so I can kiss you any time I want."

Wanda smiles softly as she twirls the plant between her fingers, "Don't you already get to do that?"

You look up at the ceiling, pretending to think hard on that question. Wanda watches you silently, fingers tracing unending shapes along your arm, "There was that time in the summer of '17."

"Oh my god," Wanda groans, standing up and peers out into the winter wonderland that the moving truck beat this morning, "I know we've just been unpacking all day, but you do know you're supposed to pack mistletoe after Christmas?"

Sitting yourself up, you happily pull Wanda back into your lap as she nuzzles herself into the crook of your neck, "Too busy moving heavy things. Memo wasn't received."

She hums, sending a buzz of electricity through your body every place her nose glides across your skin. Your fingers grip onto her waist tightly, closing your eyes and just breathing her in after the busy day you two have shared.

"The year's almost over with," she whispers against your skin, pressing a kiss against your jaw as you scoot further into the couch, watching her cover herself with your blanket.

You grin, "What tradition are you starting up now," you question carefully, eyeing with a suspicious glance.

"Nothing, nothing," she grins, "I just... thank you."

You clench your brows, "You're welcome?? I thought I forgot to close the window before the snowstorm."

Breathing in as she smiles, fingers massaging the back of your neck, Wanda sits herself into your lap, "For everything you've done here. Everything you did to get us here. Home."

With a soft chuckle, you try and keep down the howling laughter you actually want to let out. She can see it on your face though, three years together and she knows all of your tells. Wanda slaps your chest as you quickly shield yourself with your arms, your laugh breaking out over her attack. You curl up onto the couch as there's an assault of pillows from every direction, from the couches and the throw pillows still shoved into boxes.

Wanda jumps on top of you and pushes you down into the cushions, "Why are you laughing? I'm trying to be nice!"

Sucking in deep breaths, you finally control yourself to look her in the eyes and not laugh in her face again, "Wands, I just dragged some heavy stuff around today."

Sitting up as you turn yourself onto your back, hands resting on her thighs as you watch her pull the tie from her hair. Auburn hair falls from the messy bun it had been in all day long, green eyes resting on your glowing face.

"You literally built this place, Y/N."

You blow air out of your lips, "I poured out some concrete. Laid down the bricks, painted your picket fence white."

Wanda nods with you as you lay out the basic things you did to build a stable house that would fit housing codes. Cut some wood here and there, planted a tree for some nature diversity and hit in nails to stabilize that wood you cut. Looking around you right now though, that was nothing.

Pointing up at Wanda, you let her see the soft grin on your face, "I just made a house. Put up walls and drew boundary lines. It's what you did, my love. What you've done all along."

"What I did?" she breathes out, watching you nod, "If I remember right, the most I did was watch you electrocute yourself."

Pushing gently against her thighs, you roll out from under her and walk towards the fire. Stoking it to burn brighter and hotter, you kneel down and look back at her, "It's literally all around you and you don't even see it."

"See what?" Wanda asks, green eyes bouncing around the walls before settling back on you.

You stare into the fire that catches onto the new log you placed, wondering just how you can explain all of this. Glancing back at Wanda, you tap the side of your head and watch the small grin on her face. A soft red glow comes from her fingertips, her eyelids fluttering closed as you sit there, smiling to yourself as you remember the busy day you two had.

__________________

The two of you had been sitting on the wood floor of an empty house since before the sun had risen. Both of you had agreed that today was going to be a happy day after having to deal with a power company that wasn't going to turn power on until tomorrow. So, you grabbed fast food breakfast for your first meal inside of the house. Spending the rest of the time waiting and playing card games.

Just as Wanda slapped down a Draw Four card, you heard tires pulling up onto the driveway. Both of you glanced at each other before you were both sprinting for the window like two little kids waiting in search of an ice cream truck. On the other side of that pane of glass was the moving truck with boxes and boxes of both of your stuff.

There was a knock on the door and before you knew it, all of your stuff was inside the house in boxes on the floor.

Wanda opened up the first box, both of you let out a nervous chuckle knowing that there was so much to do. You grinned, watching her look around to where she wanted the two books she held to settle. As you saw the grin on her face, you felt the tightness in your chest coming to a realization that this house was going to become a home for two.

Her houseplant that survived disease and a sudden cold front brightened up the windowsill near the kitchen. Your board games filled the bottom of the coffee table with memories of fun.

'Oh, thank god," she had whispered, pulling out her favorite mug out of the packing foam as you stuck magnets onto the fridge.

You were just there helping make a house into a home.

You took a break from pushing in your new mattress and watched her put your photos onto the walls, filling the empty spaces on the shelves with both of your knick knacks. You watched her secretly smile to herself as she stared down at some of the pieces she pulled out. The sentimental memories attached to them strongly flowed through the house, replacing the shine of the sun that had hidden behind dark clouds.

Through the day, you knew Wanda had a pair of scissors to cut open the boxes. But every few moments, when she read your scribbled handwriting on the box, her voice would call out to you for help. And the two of you would cut open the boxes with your Stanley knife, laughing at the memories you pulled out of them as you unpacked your lives in this empty house together.

Slowly, you watched as your things combined together with each piece of furniture you brought in. Books that were in no way similar meshed together, her umbrella next to yours in the basket by the door. Shoes shared a space next to each other in the closet and your toothbrushes rested in your old cracked mug from college.

As you finished the bookshelf in your office, you stopped outside the doorway to the bedroom, smiling to yourself when you saw her favorite stuffed toy next to yours on the bed. Everywhere you looked, all of your prized possession were perfectly placed and living together so flawlessly.

You smiled to yourself as you walked down the stairs and looked at each photo Wanda had hung. Walking once again to hand her your Stanley knife to cut the tape from the boxes. To unpack both of your lives.

__________________

Wanda sits there for a moment, glistening eyes seeing exactly what you saw the whole day. Standing, you gently push the coffee table out of the way and pull the blanket from her limp hands. Quietly, she wipes at her eyes, chuckling when she sees you wrapped in the blanket before you plop down onto the rug.

"You helped," she says through a cracked voice, before finding herself right next to you, cuddling close to you beneath your blanket.

"Yeah," you chuckle, feeling her lean her head against your shoulder, "I moved myself into my own apartment but it wasn't a home until I met you."

Glancing down, those glistening emerald eyes watch you carefully as your blanket keeps both of you warm in the evening chill. Sighing, you kiss her forehead,

"You put the singing in the kitchen, dancing through a cramped living room. I can't wait to dance down that hallway after sleeping in with you on Sundays."

Wanda's hand rests on your arm as you rest yours on her thigh, stroking your thumb against her leg, "Did you spray yourself with the cleaning supplies again?"

You smile as you point towards the posters of concerts you two had gone to together hanging on the walls along your photos, "You bought all those frames that hold all our favorite memories. I'm so ready for the 'I love you's' you're going to leave on that brand new mirror with a lipstick heart."

"You're losing me," Wanda chuckles, your hands finding each other beneath the blanket and fingers intertwining with each other.

"Wanda. Without you, sitting right where you are, I'd just be surrounded by concrete and wood. You breathed life into my apartment and you're breathing life into every corner of this place. Into me."

Her chin begins to quiver once again, hands reaching out to you as they pull you into her and your lips finds hers again. Wanda's lips expand into a smile as you let out a quiet laugh, but she breathes in deeply. Lips moving together in a unison you prayed you'd never have to live without.

"You put the magnets on the fridge," she whispers as you wipe the fallen tears from her eyes. "What brought all of this on?"

You gently take her hands from gliding through your hair and place them onto her lap. Climbing out of the tangling of the blanket, you pull over a box you hadn't broken down yet and reach into it.

"I just... I don't want to ever be in just a house again."

Hidden beneath packaging foam and butcher paper is a small velvet box, and you gently hold it in your hand. Wanda's eyes flick between the dark velvet and up to your eyes, fingers gripping tightly onto your blanket. Resting your weight onto your knee, you grin as you pull back the lid and watch as the ring reflects in her eyes.

"Wanda, if you let me... I will spend every waking moment with you making sure you have a home. I'll build you a million houses just as long as I get to see you make them into a million homes."

Carefully, you pluck the ring from its cushion and hold it between the both of you, "We can paint the walls whatever shade you want. Watch the sun go down on the wrap around porch. A cat and a dog. I just want to live a home with you forever. So, marry me?"

As Wanda's glistening eyes rest on the band in front of her, your grin trembles as you wait for her response and hold back your own tears. The hot excitement rushes through you as you felt the tightness in your stomach grow as the silence continues. Then, as her eyes climb to yours, the raging fire behind you disappearing as a sense of calm washes over you and all you see is her.

You're exactly where you're meant to be and that sets the tears free from your eyes.

"We can't both be crying!" She chuckles, tears streaming down her face as she lunges towards you.

Arms tighten around your neck as you feel your own hot tears run down your face, your nails digging into your palm as you hold tightly onto the ring. Wanda covers every inch of your face with kisses,

"Yes yes yes yes!" Her forehead rests on yours as you try to clear your nose, chuckling as she kisses the tip of your nose, "I love you so much. Even your weird obsession of hoarding wires."

"You never know when-." Wanda's lips stop your counter points that she's heard countless times before.

As she kisses you, her hand rests in yours as you slide the ring onto her finger. Wanda stops for only a moment to glance down at how perfectly it rests on her hand before she finds your lips again. The two of you falling into this moment as you both finished unpacking your lives inside this home.

______________________

When Wanda's eyes opened as she heard your movement, both of you could see through any walls you two tried to quickly put up. The guilt was fresh inside of her and your uneasiness inside of you was too. It took you both back to the first months in the Compound when she kept her distance from you. That was out of suspicion and a strong distaste for you. Now, Wanda was fearful to even glance at you in case she hurt you again. Contemplating every move she made in your presence to not scare you.

You knew she could see how you clenched your jaw when she entered the room, the way your hands curled into a fist inside of your pockets as your feet turned, incase you had to move quickly. Every time you both were in the same space, your eyes would flash to hers, your subconscious searching for even the smallest flicker of red in those emerald eyes.

Nat dragged you to the side in private one day, noticing how you tried to hide how you quickly shut your journal when Wanda came into the conference room and always kept her in your sight. She told you that the drugs in Wanda's system left behind a paranoid haze in her mind. The chemicals were cleaned out of her system and wouldn't affect her at their full strength anymore, but they still haunted her.

Now that her memories are clear she could only feel the guilt of hurting you, of betraying your trust. Nat told you how she jumped at every small noise, constantly glancing over her shoulder even when she was around everyone. She wasn't trying to guilt you into forgiving Wanda, she could already see you were trying.

Once you relaxed your jaw and unclenched your fists, you'd try your best to grin at Wanda, to relax your stance and just say 'hi'. No matter how much you tried to show a flicker of trust to Wanda, her mind wouldn’t let her believe it. She couldn’t trust herself anymore and she knew that your trust for her was barely existent. Besides the fact you had to do deep breathing exercises when you saw her, you could never get Wanda to sit down to talk with her.

Eventually, you knew that you had to dig for yourself and see exactly what happened to you two. You decide to read through the file Nat left on your desk when your aching migraine finally disappeared. Flipping through it, you can see that it's thick with every minuscule detail of your thrilling stay, from the location of the prison you two were kept in to the injuries you both had sustained.

As you begin reading the team trying to connect this compound to other Hyrda cells, you nearly tear the file in half as you clench your jaw. There's a chill in your chest as you read a single name that nearly sends you into a blind rage. Your heart starts beating rapidly in your chest as your lip starts to quiver in anger.

Gripping the stair railing, you limp down the steps and towards the conference room. You can practically hear the music blaring out of Sam’s headphones, his shirt darkened with sweat as he makes a protein shake. Tony's in Italy doing something for Stark Industries with Pepper. Wanda has herself locked inside of her room. This leaves the two people you need to have a word with sitting in the lit conference room in front of you.

You slam into the door too fast, catching the rolling chair in front of you with a grimace on your face. Gently, you press against the twinge in your side from overstretching. Breathing out carefully, you fill the air before Steve or Nat speak.

“The minute you find out where those assholes are, you tell me. Me, first.”

Steve clenches his brows, glancing over at Nat who carefully looks you over as you stand yourself up.

“Y/N,” Steve sighs as he leans forward, “Even if we knew, I’m not going to let you attack them head on alone."

You scoff at his lack of faith, “I’m going to rip Strucker’s head off of his goddamn shoulders for what he did. Help me do that, Rogers.”

In the corner of your vision you catch a quick arching of Nat’s brow with a nod that agrees with what you're saying. Strucker had gotten his hands on one of his prized pupils again and nearly had you back in Hydra's claws.

Steve holds out his hands, “Hey, clear your head. You both are still healing from an extremely traumatic event.”

You sigh, pressing the bridge of your nose that’s now permanently crooked as he continues on with his online therapy advice.

“You’re back. Wanda’s safe. We’ll do everything as a team when you’re both healed and ready to go.”

You give an exaggerated roll of your eyes at his stickling to do this calmly and his horrible lying skills. Strucker’s done enough and not just to Wanda, every one of his experiments, every city he's ever set up in. He deserves nothing but death. And if you’re allowed, it’ll be a slow and painful one. As soon as Steve tells you where he is.

Nat breathes in deeply as she flips a file closed, crossing her leg as she adjusts her position. Her tick tries to hide behind her coffee and you see how Steve is looking at her for help. Nat watches you carefully, your brows rising as you silently tell her to give you the truth.

“We know where he is,” Her eyes glance quickly to Steve and back to you, you can see the same anger you feel buried inside them, “Call it an early birthday present.”

“When do we leave?”

Typing in a datapad, she flicks the screen and shows you the plan they’ve set up through the hologram in the air. You glance at the possible buildings that could be housing him, the nearby cities that could be used as a hideout. You read through everything as Nat sits on the table next to you, swinging her leg casually as she watches over your shoulder.

“From what we have, and I’m not a hundred percent, Y/N.” You glance back at her intense stare, “He doesn’t look like he’s going to move anytime soon. So, relax.”

With a sigh, you turn towards her and press your fist against the desk, your eyes pleading,

“I need to do something. Anything.”

“We can humor them.” Steve says from his position at the other end of the table, resting his cheek in his hand.

Nat lets out a quiet groan, obviously wanting to keep something to herself, “We were going in a few days." She quickly raises her hands at your glare, "Just recon. If you want to go, will you stay in the Quinjet until we need you?”

You grin, “I knew you weren’t just sitting around. When do we set up?”

Nat squeezes your shoulder gently, “We leave tomorrow to get our bearings and secure the area. We’ll leave for Strucker’s hideout from there and then lay low.”

Gently, you squeeze her arm and give Steve a nod, “Thank you.”

Before you can leave though, Nat grips your collar tightly and pulls you back. You grimace as you feel a tight twinge in your knee as you catch yourself from slamming face first into her,

“If you even think about sneaking over there and you die? I will bring you back from the dead and kick your ass. Do you understand me?”

You pat her cheek, “I follow your lead. You'll get my heart pumping again. Just like old times.”

She lets you go, shooing you out the door to go get more rest, she’d talk to Wanda later. Limping back up the stairs, you feel a pull to continue down the hallway. The rooms are all dark except of course, the room that's two doors from yours. A dim light shines out from underneath the door and you can hear quiet laughter from inside. Stopping outside of the door, you hover your fist close to the wood.

A knot forms in your throat as a million thoughts go racing through your head. Is this a good idea? Should you even be here? Are you just going to make things worse for her? What if she’s sleeping?

As you continue down the road of endless thoughts, there’s a small click that catches your ears. Glancing down, the door slowly opens with her powers as Wanda sits crosslegged at the end of her bed, clutching one of her pillows. She turns her head to face you, a small grin on her face that radiates only pain.

You stand there, frozen with your fist still in the air and mouth gaping open. This is the most eye contact you’ve shared with her in weeks.

“Your thoughts are loud when you’re worried.”

You try to chuckle, carefully stepping inside and watching her face as you move slowly. Closing the door behind you, her eyes snap to your hand but rest softly on your face. Wringing your fingers gently, you reveal a growing grin on your face, looking at the sitcom on the tv as you take a step closer to her,

“Did my thoughts also tell you that I miss slinging insults with you?”

Wanda raises a brow, “I’m not the only one in this Compound.”

With a nod, you watch her gently pat her hand on the other side of the bed as she watches you with dark circles beneath her eyes.

“Yeah, but Sam cries the minute you tease him.” You let out a quiet groan as you press your hand on the mattress and gently lower yourself down, “Steve just gives me a disappointed look. And Nat knows all my lines.”

Wanda brings in her knees as she squeezes the pillow tighter, keeping a fair amount of space between the two of you, “That sounds more like you just need new content.”

Letting out a breathy laugh, you glance over towards the screen as you breath a slow breath of air out of your lips. You both sit in the silence, watching the antics three roomates get into on the screen.

“I’m glad you don’t need those crutches anymore,” Wanda says, her eyes glued to the screen.

As you lean back onto your hands, you tilt a little closer to her as you lower your voice, “Honestly, I didn’t even use them.” Her green eyes fall onto your guilty grimace with a chuckle, “Don’t tell Steve.”

She lets out a hum, her eyes rest on yours for a drawn-out moment, the show becoming nothing bu mumbled words and disappearing laughter. Your body is still tilting towards her, the calming lavender soap she uses wafting off of her and you can feel the goosebumps rise beneath your sleeves.

A loud crash comes from the tv and both of you snap your attention back to the sitcom as you clear your throat.

"Does it still hurt?" Wanda's eyes gaze around your face, "And don't think about lying."

You grin as you hold up your right hand, "It hurts but I swear, I've been through worse."

As you place your hand down, you can just feel her cold fingers beneath yours. Neither of you move a muscle, breathing quietly with each other at this rare instance of a comforting touch. Her eyelids flutter quickly as she draws in a sharp breath and quickly stands. Your eyes follow her as she steps to the other side of her room, preoccupying herself with a basket of unfolded clothes.

Sitting up straight with a quiet groan, you clear your throat loudly,

“They found out where Strucker is. Denmark, if you can believe it.”

Wanda quietly nods, flicking out a shirt forcefully, the shirt snapping against the air. You catch her jaw clench as she stares blankly ahead of her while you continue, “We’re leaving tomorrow if… you know, If you want to come.”

She drops the nearly folded shirt back into the basket, gripping the edge tightly as she shakes her head. Wanda’s face tightens in pain as a heavy breath deflates her shoulders. You stay quiet, not wishing to interrupt her thoughts.

“What if he gets us again? What if I lose control?” Wanda picks up her head and you can see the moisture around her eyes that threaten to turn into tears, “What if I kill you this time?”

You shake your head, “He won’t touch you. No one will let him near you. I'll kill him the second I see him.”

She rests her hand on the clothes once more, “I can’t.”

With a firm push, you get yourself up onto your feet with minimal pain. Wanda watches you from the corner of her eye, watching you limp closer to her.

“Wanda, you can’t keep blaming yourself for what happened. I don't blame you.”

Wanda holds out her hands, “Y/N, stop!” Halting you in the middle of the room before you can get to her.

She doesn't want you to comfort her. From the painful glances she gives you, to her, she doesn’t deserve it. She doesn’t deserve forgiveness. She had you within a moment of death and here you were, ready to forgive her. You breathe in carefully, grimacing at a sudden twitch in your ribs and she points at you with wide eyes,

“I did that! I hurt you! How can you look at me every day and just get past what I did? My hands were around your neck… and I just watched.”

You sigh, resting your hands on your waist, “Wanda, they drugged you.” Glancing up with a small smirk, you shrug your shoulders, “If you really wanted me dead, you would’ve ripped my limbs off, not choked me.”

Tears break from her eyes and you clench your jaw, keeping your feet pinned to the spot you’re in. You don’t want to push her. You just want her to hear your words. To really hear them and let them sink in.

“They used you. They used your fears to make you into exactly what they wanted. A weapon. Listen to me, you are not that. A weapon doesn’t sit here and watch sitcoms,” You bend down just slightly, trying to catch her eyes as she attempts to stop looking at you, “Hey, look at me, Maximoff.”

You don’t move or say anything when she doesn’t look. You just wait for her. Eventually, she realizes that you aren't giving up. Wanda slowly picks up her head and meets your eyes, a small twinkle when she sees the large and goofy smile on your face,

“We have something in common now.”

Wanda lets out a heavy groan that she follows with a real chuckle, wiping her nose as she says, “Oh joy, just what I always wanted.”

You step a little closer to her, watching her movements carefully, “You ever need to talk about this, you track me down. I don’t care what it’s about. What time it is. I’m the only one who knows your pain, so unfortunately, you’re stuck with me.”

If she’s surprised, she hides it well from you. Wanda lets out a shaky breath, pushing back the hair that’s fallen in her face.

"Except Saturday," you take another small step forward, "Saturday's are for getting drunk with Nat."

“You should hate me,” she whispers with a broken voice.

You close the remaining distance the moment you hear the distress in her voice. Grabbing her shoulder, you make sure she looks at you. Wanda tries to step away but you softly take hold of her other shoulder, kneading them gently as you raise your brows.

“Don’t you be doing that.” You tell her softly, “And don’t you dare try and say you’re fine. You’re easy to read when you’re a damsel in distress, princess.”

Wanda lets out a sigh, pressing her lips together as you catch the sight of her quivering chin.

“You don’t scare me because of your powers. I don’t hate you. You’re not a monster, Wanda. You get that? You can try all you want, but I don't hate you.”

As you speak, the tears that brim her eyes grow and grow as you feel a tightness in your chest. When the last words exit your mouth, her arms wrap around you, catching you off guard. You can feel her knees crumble beneath her as you snake your arms beneath hers, holding her up.

A sob escapes her lips, fingers gripping onto your shirt so tightly you fear it’ll rip. Focusing on the pain that falls out of the witch that once chilled your blood with her deathly threats, you ignore the dull pain within you. You don’t dare let go until her sobs turn slowly into gasping breaths and settle to calming sniffs.

“You promise?” She chokes out, still uncertain if the words you just spoke were true or just smoke.

Gently, you stroke her auburn hair as your other hand pulls her in tightly, “I swear on my life.”

A warm sigh brushes over your neck as she turns her head into the crook of your neck. You hold her there, quietly reassuring her that you aren't moving until she does.

Slowly, Wanda releases the death grip she has on your shirt and rests them gently on your chest as she presses away from you. You let your arms slowly unwrap from her, resting your hands on your waist as you watch her. Wanda sucks in a congested breath, chuckling in embarrassment as she wipes at her reddened and puffy eyes.

Glancing down at your wrinkled shirt, you pull it out and point at the dark water stains that litter the front, “Oh man, now my shirt's all dirty.”

Wanda rolls her eyes, patting your chest with quiet gratitude as she tiredly falls onto her bed. Your hand presses against the spot she just tapped, feeling a heaviness in your limbs. Glancing over your shoulder, you catch her small grin as she finds her position once again at the edge of the bed.

“If I let you buy me dinner in Denmark, will you finally believe that I forgive you?”

Wanda gives a small shrug as she watches you slowly turn around, “It would absolutely depend on the dessert.”

You grin, making a mental note to find somewhere good for her. It’s the least she deserves. A calming moment before what will certainly be an emotional mission, even if you aren't going directly after the Baron. You eye the door and limp towards it, but your feet seem to want to hold you inside the room as they don’t move to cross the threshold. You know that Wanda sees this and you can hear her lean forward against her pillow.

“Hey, Y/N?”

Turning around, you raise your brows in question as your knuckles knock against her threshold, trying your best to relax the hard thumps in your chest. Wanda’s fingers spin her rings gently before her eyes flash up to yours,

“Do you like sitcoms?”

_____________________

Patting your stomach as you let out a heavy breath, you hold open the door as Wanda steps past you. You hadn’t felt this full for a long time, the way that steak melted in your mouth would be something you craved for the rest of your life. The quiet conversation you shared with Wanda, you could see the comfort fill her once again. Between the laughter you two shared, you watched the joy reenter her eyes.

A loud burp escapes you as you quickly turn to the side, to blow out the air. Wanda breaks into uncontrollable laughter as she stumbles across the street. You chuckle, jogging to catch up to her across the empty street.

“Damn, that potato dish? I’m going back for more."

Wanda laughs, following you closely as you lead her down to dessert, “I’m guessing you enjoyed my choice?

You give her a small shrug, “It was alright. I wasn’t too sure how good you were at choosing food.”

Her hand swings around to smack your arm, you flinch away from the surprising sting with a chuckle.

“I literally cook you dinner every week. Of course I know what I’m talking about.”

Nudging a shoulder into her as you take a wide turn down the street, you say, “You cook dinner for everyone. Besides, it could all be a ruse to poison me.”

Wanda’s brows raises in a teasing arch, “I’d only put poison in there if I was married to you.”

“And if you were my wife, I’d gladly drink it.” You just avoid her hit this time, sticking out your tongue at her misfire.

She points out towards a long line ahead of you, "You're joking."

"What, you don't trust me?" You say, spreading your legs as you bend side to side and carefully stretch out your tight body. Wanda counts the people who are lined up in front of you beneath her breath.

Holding her jacket tighter she looks at you, "I’m going to need a snack with this wait."

You stand there side by side for a moment, casually counting just how long it takes to move up one person. As you finally take a step forward, you take a breath and turn your head to Wanda. You’re bracing yourself for what’s sure to be a wounding comment about leaving this little ice cream shop.

Watching her blow warm air into her hands, you see a shiver run through her body as the breeze starts to pick up and bring in the clouds, “You know,” Wanda starts as she peers over at you, “This has actually been… really nice."

You follow your chuckle with furrowed brows but agree with a slow nod. Despite the chilling temperature, she stays next to you.

“I didn’t think I’d ever want to stand out in the cold for ice cream,” you slap your hands against your thighs with a shrug, “but here I am.”

Turning to look at her, Wanda pulls her beanie down further over her ears. The streetlights illuminate her glowing red nose as she sniffles quietly to herself. Pulling at her gloves, she looks at you,

“Y/N, I-.”

Before she can even begin to finish her thought, a huge rain drop falls from the sky straight onto her face. You laugh as she flinches away, a small smile on her face as you hold out your hand. The cold drops land onto your palm in a falling shower as everyone around you starts to murmur in discomfort. You both look up just as the skies open up to an unrelenting downpour.

The murmurings get louder and soon, people start to run out of the line in search of cover. Wanda gasps as the cold water starts to soak into her clothes and you see her start to turn to follow the smart people leaving. Before she can escape, you grab her arm with a large smile,

“The line just lost like ten people!” You shout over the pouring rain, quickling sliding your arms out of your jacket, “We’re not leaving!”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s pouring!”

You nod, holding out your arms over her head and shielding her from the frigid rain and wind. She steps closer into you, allowing you to drop your arm a little. Ducking down a little, you share the space beneath the jacket for a moment,

“This is the best damn ice cream in Denmark. We aren’t leaving when we’re only three people from the door!”

A few drops of water slink down your back as you let out an audible shiver. Wanda laughs, her hand pressing against your side and feels your shirt soaking up all the rain.

“Y/N, you’re going to get sick.”

You glance over at her smile, taking another step closer to the door “That just means you’ll have to take care of me. You let me do this.”

As she rolls her eyes, you both take another step. You wiggle your brows at Wanda, drawing another chuckle from her lips that keeps you warm in your drenched state.

Wanda takes off her gloves and wipes at the droplets that splatter onto your face, “I’ll stick a straw in some NyQuil. I’m not going to listen to more of your complaining.”

Feeling a tingle in your nose, you quickly turn your head as a sneeze comes out. You hear Wanda let out a hum and you don’t even have to look at her to feel that taunting glance she shoots your way. If you get sick, you’ll never hear the end of how smart and always right Wanda is.

Eventually, after every article of your clothing is soaked through, you step through the threshold into the not much warmer ice cream shop. Wanda tries to rub some warmth into her arms as you flick the rain from your jacket. You rub your damp hands down her back and she shoots you a weak frown.

Leaning towards the ice cream case to read the flavors you give a smile, “Come on, Wanda. I’m not eating a soggy cone.”

Finally, the two of you sit down at the counter that peers out into the rainstorm with Wanda’s simple vanilla with farm fresh cherries and strawberries and your two scoop waffle cone. As you lean onto the counter, you take a taste of the creamy treat that you’re glad you waited out in the downpour for. Hearing Wanda let out a quiet sigh as she closes her eyes to truly savor all of the flavors, there's a tightness in your chest.

As you turn the cone around your tongue, you raise your brows as Wanda looks at you, “See? I told you it’d be damn good.”

Taking another spoonful of ice cream, her free hand gives a few pats to your thigh, “Congratulations, you’re now officially right one percent of the time.”

Shaking your head with a breathy laugh, you let her have her comment since she trusted your plan. Eating your ice creams in blissful silence, you watch the rain continue its relentless pour. It’s quiet inside the ice cream shop now, only a few other patrons since the rest squirreled out of the rain as quick as they could.

“Hey,” you say quietly, “we’re good right?”

Wanda stops scraping the bottom of her cup to look at you, a curious look on her face. Chewing on your cone, you raise your brows as you wait for her response. Reaching over, she breaks a piece of your cone off, watching you carefully. Her green eyes glide over your face before finally resting on yours with a grin.

“I was so certain you’d hate me,” Wanda chews on the cone for a moment, “but now. I guess we can agree that you’re my...acquaintance.”

You clench your brows, “An acquaintance? I let myself get soaked out there for no reason.”

Wanda’s laugh spreads the smile further on your face, “Fine. My friend. I’ve actually started to enjoy having you around. Never thought I’d say that, but I have.”

With a grin, you rip the paper off the last of your cone, “Now, that’s more like it.”

But there’s more to your words, your tone gives that away and you glance to Wanda’s face worried she might have caught it. Her eyes rest on yours just a little longer, flicking away as she straightens herself in her seat. In all honesty, it wasn’t more like it. Friends was an odd term, one you rarely uttered but you weren’t sure if that term fit in this moment.

Glancing over your shoulder at a loud clang, your elbow knocks into Wanda’s arm. Staring down, you realize her patting hand had never left your thigh. Only to throw a napkin at the ice cream dripping off of your chin in laughter or to wave it around as she talked. It always fell right back onto your thigh.

“You know,” you grin cooly as you plop your trash in her finished bowl, ignoring the tension in your chest, “I’m not used to girls like you.”

Wanda’s brows raise in humor, “That’s because I’m one of a kind, baby.”

Nearly choking on the last bit of cone, you feel your face warm at the pet name. You cover your coughs with laughs as you glance outside of the window to capture your thoughts. Wanda leans onto the counter, her cheek resting on her fist as she gently chews on her thumb with a smile.

“Was there a question meant to be thrown in there?”

You breathe in carefully, clearing your throat as you adjust yourself before you look her way, “When did I become more than a mercenary to you?”

She nods as you see her eyes light up, trying to stifle a laugh, “It was probably when your pants ripped mid-mission.”

You clench your face in embarrassment, “I was almost stabbed to death and that’s what you remember?”

“You almost bled to death because you’re a stubborn dumbass!” She laughs, shaking her head at you.

Leaning forward onto the counter, you pick at some dry skin around your nails. That was an interesting mission, saving Wanda’s life twice before either of you really knew how much trust you could put into each other. It felt almost like a different lifetime from now, sharing ice cream and making jokes with each other.

“What about me?”

The question catches you off guard as you glance over at Wanda. Her eyes watch you carefully as you lick your lips slowly, thinking about it.

“What about you?” You counter, trying to buy yourself more time.

Wanda rolls her eyes, “Don’t start acting smart. It doesn’t suit you, Y/N,”

“Ouch,” you tell her as you take a sip of the waters you bought, “you were never an enemy, Wanda.”

Her brows raise, waiting for you to continue talking. She can see it on your face, your eyes glancing around the room as you find the right words. Clearing your throat, you smile over at the witch,

“Out of the whole team, you were the most genuine. I mean, first of all you weren’t scared to tell me you wanted to give me a horrible death.” You watch the red on her cheeks grow a little bit, “You don’t have an alternate alias you fall behind. You’re just Wanda. Just a person.”

Wanda lets out a hum, “Even when I was sitting outside your cell reading over files? You didn’t hate me?”

You nod slowly with a smirk, “You’d sit there chewing on a pen. A blue one,” Wanda meets your eyes with a wide stare at your memory but you catch the smallest scrunch on her nose. Your breath catches in your throat, you’d never seen her do that before and it knocked into you hard, “Captain America doesn’t chew on pens.”

Expecting at least a small chuckle from her, you feel a tightness in your chest when a sigh comes from her. Glancing over, you watch as her brows clench tightly as her eyes bore a hole into the counter.

"I’m sorry. Those HYDRA files..." she sucks in a slow breath and glances up at you, "they put in a sliver of doubt and... I shouldn’t have doubted you Y/N. Ever. I mean, look where my doubt got us."

Slowly, you turn around the empty ice cream bowl and give a soft shrug, "I mean, I only saved your life twice. Didn't really give you too much to trust."

Wanda groans and rests her face in her hands, "Don't remind me. I feel sick over what I did."

"Hey," you chuckle and lean your cheek against your fist, "Look at us, we're still alive and we're eating ice cream. Come on, Wanda. That's a win-win in my book."

Peeking out through her fingers, you catch the glow in those green eyes of hers and smile.

"I think," you lean forward and glance around suspiciously, grabbing her attention, "now's a perfect time to get to know each other."

Wanda rolls her eyes, "Really? Get to know each other?"

You make a face as you lean back into your chair, "Duh. I mean you 'invite' me out for dinner and I don't even know your favorite color. Or your middle name!"

"Yeah, you're never learning that," she chuckles, reaching out and touching your slightly damp jacket that you threw on the counter and glances out the window.

“You think if we run we’ll make it back to the hotel relatively dry?” You ask her, biting the inside of your lip as you watch her with a careful stare.

She cocks a brows at you, “Did I lose jacket privileges? I thought you liked the rain.”

You rip the jacket from beneath her hand with a grin, “I still get cold, Maximoff.”

As she stands up, you flick out the jacket once more and throw it over her head. Her slender fingers grip it tightly over as you open the door and you both stare at the downpour still going strong. With a pat to your full stomach, she slips past you underneath the awning. Stopping when she doesn't hear your footsteps behind her, Wanda turns with a teasing grin as she holds out her hand,

“My favorite color's red, I'm sure you could've guessed."

You smile, "I was thinking highlighter yellow."

Clasping and unclasping her fingers quickly, she leans forward, "Are you coming or not?”

And you went with her. Sprinting down the street in a fit of laughter when you splashed hard into a large puddle and soaked her pants. By the time the two of you stumbled into the hotel room, it looked like you had jumped into a frozen lake by how cold you felt in your soaking clothes. Wanda wasn’t any better, bumping up the heat in the room and taking the longest shower in the world.

As you both start getting ready for bed, you toss Wanda’s book onto the bed from the coffee table as you head towards the bathroom. Wanda is putting lotion on her face as you start to brush your teeth, both of you carefully glancing in the mirror. She reaches around you for her phone and asks,

“It’s cold, can we not roll up the comforter?”

The amount of times you’ve had to share a bed, it was tradition to roll up the duvet to keep you on your side. Wanda liked to curl into a ball and practically rolled around and you just sprawled out and took up way too much room. The duvet was the one thing that kept either of you corralled for the night. Putting down your toothbrush next to hers as you swish your mouth, you glide around her as she starts to set the coffee maker.

You glance back towards her, “As long as you stay on your side of the bed this time.”

Wanda rolls her eyes as she throws a packet of sugar at you, “I’m not the one who twitches in their sleep and snores.”

Climbing into the bed, Wanda flips open her book as you plant your face into the firm pillow you quickly claimed before she could. Your body falls quickly into sleep, faster than ever before. It could be the sprint through the rain that’s run you down but you don’t even hear Wanda flip pages as she reads her book in silence.

You can feel a soft shaking as you slowly come back around to the world. Sucking in a sharp breath as you start to feel a yawn climb up your throat, a hand slaps over your empty hand next to your pillow. Clenching your brows at the cool pressure on your hand, you turn your head as you blink tiredly at Wanda,

“What’re you doing?”

Realizing that your gun is on the bedside table and not beneath your head like every other time you’ve fallen asleep, Wanda retracts her hand quickly with a growing blush on her face,

“Sorry. I’m used to you snatching up your gun when I wake you.”

With a chuckle, you flip onto your shoulder so you can face her, “If you wanted to hold my hand, you could’ve just asked.”

She rolls her green eyes nearly to the back of her head, “Oh great, I’ve fed your ego.”

Closing your eyes as you grip the pillow tightly you say, “What’s so important, Maximoff?”

Wanda sighs, “Have you started sleeping in your bed?”

You chuckle and slowly open your eyes back up, bending your arm beneath your head as she glances over to you with a sincere stare, “You woke me from my nice slumber to ask me about my sleeping habits?”

She just watches you as she carefully folds the corner of her page, “You’re right, that could’ve-.”

“I’m joking,” you stop her with a smile to tell her she’s fine, “No, I don’t sleep on there.”

The mattress was still too soft after all this time. You upgraded to a nice sleeping bag though, so there was some kind of improvement after all these months.

Wanda lets out a hum, sinking down into the mattress for sleep as she reaches out for the lamp.

“Why,” you tease, “are you spying on me?”

Turning her head, you see the seriousness on her face, “The minute I turned on the sitcoms yesterday, you were out like a light.”

You furrow your brows at the accusation, “No, I was awake.”

“If you can see through your eyelids.” She glances over at your confusion with a grin, “You were having a nightmare. Had to jostle you through the night.”

Frowning at what she's telling you, things start piecing themselves together. That’s why she slept the entire ride over here. She was totally exhausted before leaving.

“You stayed awake?” You breathe out, no wonder you didn’t wake up in a cold sweat and a pounding heart.

The lamp clicks off and the room is shrouded in darkness. Wanda flips onto her side as she continues, “I know you don’t sleep good. Thought you deserved at least one peaceful night.”

You hum out quietly into the silence, “Do you get nightmares?”

There’s silence as you listen to Wanda’s quiet breathing. She pulls the blankets a little, the covers tightening around your body as you wait for her to speak.

“Sometimes,” she whispers weakly, “Last night was fine though, whatever that means.”

Rolling onto your back you let out a quiet sigh. As your eyes start to flutter asleep, Wanda calls out loudly into the night and sends your heart pounding at the noise. You flinch as you wake up again and hear her quietly laughing to herself,

“I forgot! I heard this joke I thought you’d like!”

You chuckle quietly, “This better be good.”

Trying to contain herself, you feel her roll towards you as she settles further into the mattress with a sigh.

Wanda starts the joke, “Why can’t your surf a microwave?”

You groan, already sensing a horrible punchline just over the horizon. Opening your eyes, you can see her eyes squinting with her growing grin as she waits for you. Mulling over endless possibilities, you give up and shake your head,

"Let me hear it."

Wanda snorts as her body shakes, “Cause the waves are too small!”

If you weren’t already comfortable in the bed, you would roll right out of these sheets and sleep on the floor, “That was horrible.”

As you try to hold yourself together, the ridiculousness of the joke mixes with your drowsiness just right. You find your chest starting to shake as any laugh is stuck inside of it. The bed starts to shake as you fall into a breathless laughing fit, your palm smacking against your chest as your laugh starts making a wheezing noise.

Wiping the tears from your eyes as the attack slowly lessens and all that’s left is Wanda’s quiet giggles and your breathy laughs. Both of you sigh out in unison, nearly starting you down another path of laughter but you hold it together. The ambient light from the stereo clock shines just right in the room that you can see the smiling creases near Wanda’s eyes.

Curling up her legs as she readies for sleep, her hand reaches out and pushes your shoulder, “Don’t snore too loudly. Goodnight.”

You let out a sleepy hum in response, playing off already starting to fall asleep, "Night."

But you can’t rip your eyes away from the world’s worst jokester.

_______________ Part 9