Falling for a Maximoff

Chapter 35: Processing

A/n: Surprise update XD
I'm around 20 chapters ahead of this with writing so I thought I do a surprise update.
Also we reached 10k reads! That's amazing, thank you so much!

TW: mentions of injuries

Pov y/n

Our moment ends when the door opens and Bruce walks in. Before he can see anything, Wanda pulls back from the kiss we just shared and blushes. I grin a little, too happy to hide it and take her hand, squeezing it lightly. She smiles at me before her attention shifts to Bruce.

He has a clipboard with paper on it in his hand and looks up at me when he reaches the end of my bed. Mom follows him and shortly looks between Wanda and me before she sits down next to me.
Bruce looks over the file again.

"We did a check-up on you while you were knocked out by the sleeping chemical. You are mostly good to go. There are just a few things you should take care of." He starts and looks shortly at mom who nods, taking in the information.
"Your left ankle is slightly strained so you should be careful with walking. We got you crutches, just in case." He points to them, standing in one corner. I didn't notice them so far but nod.
"There are some cuts and bruises we needed to take care of but they weren't that bad and should heal soon. We bandaged your shoulder because there was a bigger wound. Change it ever 24 hours and if it starts to hurt even more, come to me so I can have a look at it." I nod along while he talks, taking a mental note to remember the changing.
"Right now you're on light painkillers. If you need some, just ask, we have them in stock. Apart from that, you are good to go. But no training for the next week or so and rest as much as you can, your body needs that now." He ends. I nod as an answer and he leaves the room.

"Doesn't sound too bad." I think out loud and catch Wanda smiling at me, lost in her thoughts.
"Let's get you to your room, that's more comfortable than staying in here." Mom suggests and gets up. I swing my legs out of bed and notice that I'm wearing some sweatpants and a simple long sleeve.
"I changed you into some more comfortable cloths." Mom explains as she notices my confused expression. I thank her and get up. A small pain shoots up from my leg but it's not as bad as the last few days.

Since I'm used to walk around like this, I slip into my shoes. When I look up again, I see mom holding the crutches out to me. I wave her off, it's not that bad.
"It's better if you take them, at least for the first days." She reasons and slightly raises an eyebrow at me. I take them and bite the inside of my cheek, feeling some nervousness rising up inside me that I can't tell where it's coming from.
My attention shifts when Wanda comes up to me and leads me out of the room, mom following us.

At first it's weird to walk with crutches and I have to remember to not use my left foot but I get the hang of it pretty quickly. We ride the elevator in silence. The atmosphere is difficult to describe. Wanda and mom are still distant towards each other but not as much anymore and mom doesn't seem to hate Wanda anymore, which is good, considering she is my girlfriend now. I'm not sure how she feels about her now but if I'm being honest, I have other things in my head right now.

We arrive at my room and I put the crutches aside, looking around my room. It feels kinda weird to be back in here after the time I spent at the Red Room. Even if it wasn't that long, I got used to it and my mind settled with the fact that I'm trapped there forever.
The feeling I always got when I laid in my bed there at night creeps up in me again. Feeling lost and alone, no hope for it to get better.

I gulp, feeling my throat slightly tightening. Trying to push the feeling away, I remember that it's now the past and that I'm safe here. I feel mom's eyes on me as she watches me closely.
"You should lay down and rest some more." She says softly and I immediately follow her request and lay in my bed. Her eyes show a slight concern at my fast reaction but she doesn't say anything. She turns around to Wanda, her lips tight but with a tiny smile.

"Would you give us a moment?"
Wanda nods and looks at me before she leaves the room and pulls the door shut. Mom turns around to me and sits next to me.

"Are you okay?" She asks, her eyes worried again and she scans my face. I take a deep breath and look around my room again.
"I don't know. It's...strange to be back here. I thought I'd be stuck there forever. With every passing day I lost more and more hope to get out. Being here makes it all seem a little surreal. Not just my room but also my absence. It kinda feels like I've never been away and at the same time like I wasn't here in years." I try to explain what's going on inside me. Mom's eyes are still on me and when I look at her, she nods.

"I get that, it's hard. And it's gonna take a while to recover but we will try our best to help you. It's okay that you feel whatever you feel and we won't pressure you into anything you don't want to, including school. You missed some time but right now it's more important that you recover physically and mentally. I'm here if you want to talk. Of course I don't know exactly what you're going through but I have a similar experience. Maybe talking helps you, but only if you're up for it." Mom smiles softly at me and presses a light kiss on my temple. I lean into her and think about her words.

"Thank you. I will try my best to communicate how I feel and what I need." I reply. "If I'm being honest, I don't know what I want right now. A part of me wants to talk about it, get it off my chest but the other wants to forget about it and shut it deep inside my head."

A sigh leaves my mouth as I lean a bit more into mom, letting her embrace me. She was there with me but only a few days later and when we were separated, I never told her what I did or what we learned in training. She was my comfort but I still needed to process on my own and I think I still do.

Another thought comes to my mind and I lean back a little to look at her.
"How do you feel about Wanda? You seemed a little more relaxed around her today." I speak out my observation. Mom nods slowly, thinking about my question, her hand unconsciously stroking my arm.

"We had a little talk when we flew back in the quintjet while you were asleep. She really wanted us, and especially you, out of there. Steve told me she wouldn't let go of it. So, that's a plus point. She definitely seems to care about you and doesn't seem to mean any harm. I don't know how I feel about her but that's a different subject. After the time in the Red Room, things shine in a different perspective and I don't want to argue with you about this. I can't change how I feel about her, not quite at least but I can't expect from you to stay away from her just because I am unsure. You seem to get along great and she makes you happy, that's all that matters." Mom states and I smile a little at her, relieved she is okay with Wanda now.

"Thank you, that means a lot to me. And you are right, it seems kinda unnecessary to argue about that, considering what happened..." I agree, trying to push the memories away.
Mom nods slowly and holds her arms open for me to hug her. I do so and lean my head against her shoulder. We stay silent for some time before mom speaks up again.

"I'm really glad we got out of there. I hoped you never had to experience that. Now I'm happy you're mostly healthy and safe." She whispers as if talking louder would make it come untrue.
"Me too. It was a lot and I'm glad to be back here." I whisper back, letting a few of the feelings come back. Here in the compound, in the arms of my mom I'm safe and it's okay to feel strongly about this.

My body starts to shiver slightly when I think back about my time there and mom rubs my arm and back to comfort me. We stay like this for a while until I feel myself getting calmer again, my thoughts wandering to other topics now. I think about Wanda and what my mom said about her wanting to free me so badly. I'm very thankful she did and I will never forget that.

Thinking about her reminds me that she's probably waiting to come back in and I lean back.
"Would it be okay if I spend some time with Wanda? Even if it was in my room?" I carefully ask. Mom tugs some hair behind my ears and nods.
"Sure, you deserve some rest. Just don't do anything stupid, you still need to recover." She allows and a smile creeps onto my lips.
"Thank you and we won't." I assure her with a smile. She gives me one last kiss before she gets up to walk to the door and open it for Wanda to come back in. Mom closes the door and leaves us alone.

A/n: A calmer chapter where we slowly get used to being back at the compound.
Thanks for reading and love to you all <3