Two of a Kind | Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 30: Just Talk Already

"Jemma, is everything okay?" Wanda asked. Jemma could faintly hear the Sokovian accent in her voice, and it pained her a little bit to hear the beautiful sound fade, evolving into a standard American accent. Jemma huffed. "No, Wanda. I'm not okay. I'm in agony because of you and this stupid thing you have with Claire. Just talk to each other, damnit!"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Jemma lied, pasting on a fake smile to help sell the lie. Wanda stared at Jemma a little longer, accidentally slipping herself into her mind.

"I know you're lying to me," Wanda said narrowing her eyes. Jemma saved her document and closed her laptop before turning in her seat to face Wanda frowning. She knew the brunette had poked through her head—whether or not on purpose she didn't know—but she decided not to bring it up.

"You're right. I am lying. I'm not fine, Wanda. This whole situation aggravates me." Jemma waved her arms around, gesturing to the invisible awkwardness and the empty room. "You and Claire haven't spoken—let alone been in the same room in weeks. It's uncomfortable to be tiptoeing past you two. The awkwardness is so uncomfortable that people have been filtering out of the house for hours just to catch a breath. You two need to talk, and now. I know you're uncomfortable and embarrassed and whatever negative emotion you're feeling, but—and I cannot stress this enough—it will not get any easier the longer you wait. It's just gonna be more uncomfortable and more awkward. So please, for our sake and for yours, just talk already damnit!"

Wanda stared dumbfounded as Jemma exhaled and played with her hair. Jemma breathed out a little laugh, finally able to get that off her chest and looked at Wanda with softened eyes. Wanda looked down at her rings, twisting the simple silver band around her left ring finger. Her brother gave her that ring; Jemma remembered her telling her that one day after she asked about her different rings.

Wanda opened her mouth to speak, but the soft creaking of a floorboard interrupted her, snapping both their heads at the intruder. Her breath hitched when her eyes met Claire's red face that was dripping in sweat. Her long red hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and she was dressed in a black sports bra with a white t-shirt over it that was a couple sizes too big and black yoga pants with black and white sneakers. A white towel hung around her shoulders and she was breathing hard. She must've just gotten back from her run.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," the redhead spoke as she backed out of the room, but Jemma threw her hand up.

"No, no. It's okay. You can come in." Claire hesitated, but entered the room and headed over to the kitchen area behind them.

"I'm only getting a water, and I'll be out of your hair," she said opening the fridge and grabbing a water bottle. Jemma gently grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving the room.

"Please stay. This pertains to you too." Claire thought about it; the growing tension in the room smothered her and she didn't like it, but she gave into Jemma's pleading eyes and sat in the other chair next to the older woman, sitting directly across from Wanda. Wanda looked down, avoiding Claire's gaze as she twisted the cap on the water bottle and took a long sip.

"Okay, you two. I know what happened between you, and I'm here to help you put an end to whatever this uncomfortable mess is since you two are incapable of doing it yourselves." Jemma paused and between Wanda and Claire who were trying hard to not look at each other. "So, acknowledging the gigantic elephant in the room, you two kissed. Now that we've addressed this, we can move on and get to the aftermath of the kiss; your feelings. Wanda, you told me that you were confused about your feelings. Do you care to express the turmoil you were experiencing?"

"Not particularly," Wanda mumbled, but shrank under Jemma's unamused expression. "Fine. I was confused because...I liked the kiss. I liked how it felt and...I don't know." Wanda looked away. Talking about her feelings like this wasn't something she was used to. Claire frowned a bit as she looked at Wanda.