Two of a Kind | Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 2: The Plan

The atmosphere of the restaurant was romantic to say the least. The two women sat across from each other, spending the evening talking and laughing. Lily gazed lovingly at Jemma, who looked enchanting in the black dress. Her wavy auburn hair was braided and pinned up nicely, with choice strands falling down, framing her face. Her pink lips were now painted red as Jemma used this as an opportunity to apply makeup. Her brown eyes sparkled in the light of the candles that decorated the middle of their table. Jemma knew that Lily was staring at her, but being her awkward self, chose to pretend that she didn't notice. Jemma stabbed her salad with her fork, as she told a story about a co-worker of hers from the local newspaper that she wrote for.

"And I told Tom, you remember Tom; tall, going bald. Well, I said, 'Tom, you can explain that template to Kathy 100 times, she's still—'"

"You're so beautiful." Jemma blushed at Lily's words and her light brown eyes looked up from her salad to star back into Lily's striking blue ones. As they stared at each other, Jemma's face reddened and she started to sweat from the heat in her face. Lily smiled at her wife's awkwardness as her left hand abandoned her food and landed gently on Jemma's free hand. Almost on instinct, Jemma intertwined her fingers with Lily's. Despite the weird awkwardness of showing displays of affection in public, Jemma smiled at Lily. It was a small smile, but it was genuine and displayed every ounce of love that she had in her heart for the woman sitting across from her.

"I love you so much," Jemma said as she brought their hands up and placed a delicate kiss on Lily's hand. They both forgot about their food in front of them. Lily's smile grew larger as did Jemma's. Jemma was thankful for this nice night out with Lily. Oftentimes Lily's job as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and part-time member of the Avengers meant that Jemma was sitting alone in their apartment, the only company being Jemma's cat, Griffon.

Griffon was a gift for Jemma from her parents the day she graduated college and proceeded to move to New York to work on her writing. Her parents knew that she hated being alone, so Griffon acted as a roommate until she met Lily after the Battle of New York in 2012. While Jemma loved Griffon, Lily did not, and her and the jealous feline often had a lot of disputes. But, because Lily loved Jemma and couldn't bear to make her choose between her or her cat, decided to tolerate the little furry asshole, and Griffon did the same, as if they had an unspoken agreement. But, whenever Jemma wasn't in the apartment, Lily and Griffon were free to get on each other's nerves.

After the two women finished their dinner and split a dessert (even though Lily was full, she knew that Jemma had a weakness for sweets), they left the nice restaurant, hand in hand and smiles on both their faces.

"Do you want to drive home or do you want to take a walk with me?" Lily asked as they walked to the car. Their apartment wasn't too far from the restaurant, so she wasn't too worried about leaving the car, and there was a large park at the end of the block.

"How about we drive home, change into something more comfortable, and then we can go for a walk?" Jemma offered, still smiling. Lily nodded her head and unlocked the car doors.

The cool spring New York air blew, caressing the two women, but didn't make them uncomfortable. The park was empty, save a few other couples who also spent their evening sitting and walking with their significant other. The two women sat together, their hands in their familiar embrace, on one of the many metal benches in the park. The sun had gone down hours ago, and the only light that illuminated the park were its streetlights. Jemma sat with her head resting against Lily's shoulder; the one good thing about being short. Her eyes were closed as she listened to Lily's soft voice as she hummed a little tune. Lily looked down at Jemma's dark hair. She could faintly see the smile that decorated her freckled face as she sat against her. She leaned down, trying not to disturb her, and placed a kiss on her head. Jemma's smile grew, but her eyes remained closed.