Two of a Kind | Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 48: It's Been a Long, Long Time

Wanda and Claire ordered their food and waited, finally taking the time to enjoy one another. They chatted about anything besides their jobs, hoping to forget the stress for a moment. Light live jazz music played in front of the establishment, and Claire smiled, silently thinking Bucky. The light violins and enthusiastic trumpets drifted through the room, complimenting each other, and the subtle drumbeats sent small vibrations through the floor. To fulfil the esthetic, the singer was dressed in a way that resembled how people dressed in the 1940s. When Wanda noticed the décor and esthetic, she grinned at Claire. She had made her wish come true; live in 1940s New York.

"Never thought that you would be standing here so close to me. There's so much I feel that I should say, but words can wait until some other day. Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again. It's been a long, long time. Haven't felt like this my dear, since can't remember when, it's been a long, long time."

"I've really missed you," Wanda said, taking Claire's hand in hers. "The past few weeks have just been..." She paused, sniffling a little. Claire knew that it hurt her too.

"Hectic? Stressful? Shitty?" Claire offered, laughing a little, hoping to lighten the mood. Wanda chuckled in reply and wiped her nose. "It'll get better, babe. I promise. This isn't going to be our life. It's just...a rough patch; we'll make it through."

Wanda lifted her red-rimmed eyes up to Claire's face, eyeing her reassuring smile, and giving one of her own back.

"You'll never know how many dreams I've dreamed about you, or just how empty they all seemed without you. So kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again. It's been a long, long time."

Claire moved her hand to her pocket, feeling the lump, and smiled. The band moved to a new song though it kept the same romantic undertones as the last. She carefully took the small flat square box out of her pocket, holding it a bit as her other hand squeezed Wanda's.

"Hey. I got you something." Wanda knitted her eyes together in confusion. Claire didn't wait for her to question the occasion and lifted the box up onto the table, placing it in front of Wanda.

"Claire, you didn't have to get me anything..." Wanda said as she looked from the box over to Claire who was beaming. Claire shrugged and laughed a little.

"Technically, I did, but I think it's so cute that you're not even aware of why. But don't worry about that, just open it."

Wanda slowly opened the lid of the box, eyeing Claire with a curious and cautious intensity. She wasn't used to getting presents, and whenever she did Pietro would get jealous. Claire's face never altered as she sat waiting patiently. Wanda finally removed the lid and gasped when she saw its contents. Inside the box sat a small beautiful necklace with a garnet stone in the center, surrounded by small diamonds along the circumference of it. It was simple, but still elegant and matched Wanda's tastes.

"Happy birthday, baby," Claire whispered with a smile when Wanda looked back over to her, eyes wide and mouth hung open. "I tried to find one with a purple stone, but they only had the red, which suits you better I think."

"I love it," Wanda whispered, grabbing Claire's face into her hands and kissing her passionately. "Thank you. But it's not my birthday."

"You're right," Claire said giggling. "It's not your birthday today, but it was on Monday. I meant to say something sooner, but whenever I got a minute to talk to you, something would come up. I swear I didn't forget." She held her hands up in defense and Wanda laughed, a small tear rolling down her cheek. She had forgotten her own birthday; hers and Pietro's. While it wasn't her first birthday without him, it still felt like it, at least it kind of did. Since she met Claire, her birthdays have been a little brighter.

Claire stood up from her chair and walked behind Wanda, taking the necklace and pulling it over her neck, she clasped it. Wanda turned in her chair and pulled Claire down to her, kissing her. Pulling away, the redhead returned to her seat.

"Where did you find this?" Wanda asked as she raised a hand and gently touched the cool stone.

"You're gonna think it's silly..." Claire said becoming bashful.

"I am not," Wanda reassured her. "I'm genuinely curious."

"I got it in Wakanda."

Wanda immediately thought back on their last visit to the kingdom of Wakanda and froze. She wondered when Claire found the time to buy the necklace with everything going on and why she thought that was the right time to do it. Almost as if she sensed what Wanda was thinking, Claire shook her head.

"Not the last time we went," she said and Wanda relaxed, "the time before that. When we went to see Bucky."

"You bought this then? Why?"

"I...I wanted a way to gather my courage and tell you I loved you, but...It got lost in all my shit that I almost forgot about it. I was really scared after I bought it because I wasn't sure if this was the one—"

"What do you mean the one?"

"I watched you looking at the jewelry in Wakanda, and I saw you linger on one necklace, and I thought it was this one, but if it's not I'm sorry." Claire looked down a bit but brought her eyes back up to Wanda when she reached over and grabbed her hand.

"Claire, I can't believe you pay this much attention to me. I love you." Claire smiled and placed a kiss on her hand.

Wanda smiled and looked down at the necklace again. The ceiling light above her struck the stone, filtering it's fluorescent light through each fracture, illuminated the inside of the stone, creating an illusion of red misty magic similar to Wanda's.

"It's beautiful, Claire. Thank you, again."

"Anythingfor my best girl."