Wanda Maximoff One-Shots

Chapter 1: The World Crumbles

"I don't wanna die." Wanda choked on the blood that was filling her lungs as she spoke.

"Shh.  It's okay, you're okay, sweetheart.  You're not going to die." Your words were futile.  There was nothing anyone could do for her.  The explosion caught her off guard and she wasn't able to cast any defensive spells.  "You're gonna be just fine," you lied as you pulled her closer to her chest.

"I'm so scared," she whispered between sobs and coughs.  The tears streaming down left clear streaks on her otherwise dirty and bloody face.

"I know," you choked out.  You felt your eyes welling with tears as you rocked her back and forth as you sat on the ground, the battle still raging overhead.  You didn't notice.  While the world was teetering on the verge around you, yours was crumbling in your arms.  You held her tighter as she coughed up more blood, the crimson warmth speckling your face and shirt. 

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.  Her breathing was shallow and labored.  She weakly reached up to place a blood-stained hand on your face.  "You don't deserve this."

"You don't have to be sorry for anything," you told her.  Your hand found its way to the one resting on your face.  You placed it atop hers and grasped it tightly.  You didn't want to forget what holding her hand felt like.

Wanda went to speak but all she could do was cough.  You wiped the blood from her mouth as she laid back on your legs, gasping for air.  Her eyes were glued to your face.  She didn't want anything but you to be the last thing she saw. 

"Hey hey hey, don't speak, okay?  Just relax, okay?  I'm not going anywhere.  I'll be here until..." The words formed a lump in your throat.  You didn't want to finish your thought because saying it made it real.  And this had to be a nightmare.  You couldn't be holding your girlfriend in your arms as she died.

She was barely breathing by this point.  Her hand had fallen away from your face but you held onto it for dear life.  As she looked into your eyes you could tell they were full of fear.

"Wanda," you said.  She attempted to move her head in your general direction.  "It's okay.  You can go be with them.  I'll be okay.  You can rest now."

That was what she needed: the reassurance that you would be okay.  Her eyes became fixed and the grip on your hand loosened as she slipped away.

As the finality of it all finally hit you, you realized that there was no way you'd ever be okay.  Not when you felt the engagement ring that she would never see sitting in your back pocket.