Wanda sat on the couch in the living room reading a book, quiet instrumental music played gracefully in the background, loud enough that she could hear it and not get distracted, but not loud enough to disturb the rest of the house. She picked the trick up from Jemma who used the technique whenever she was trying to write. The living room was empty except for Jemma who sat at the dining table with her laptop trying to write. Most of the team was out doing different errands, and those that were in the house were in their rooms doing God knows what.
Jemma paused her writing, stopping in mid-sentence and looked over towards where Wanda was sitting on the couch. She was sitting curled up in the corner, turned ever so slightly to catch the sunlight streaming in through the window. Jemma caught the few stray rays that illuminated her green eyes instead of the page, and she couldn't help but smile. Ever since Wanda confessed her feelings for Claire, she saw Wanda in a new light. She gazed at her with admiration in her eyes as she thought back to the scared, grief-stricken and closed off girl that came to live with her and how she had grown into someone who wanted to open themselves up to the possibility of a relationship. She believed, with every fiber of her being that Wanda and Claire were perfect for each other. Although it didn't feel like that now.
The awkwardness between the two died down pretty quick, which was a relief to everyone else in the house, but not in the way that Jemma hoped. They still hadn't talked, and they somehow always managed to avoid each other in any possible situation. When it was time for meals, one of them would eat in their room or at a later time; if one of them was in the living room, the other waited until they left. They made sure not to run into each other when going into or coming out of the bathroom that sat in between their rooms. Claire was responsible for that; her wolf senses always picked up the sound of Wanda's footsteps and she would wait until she didn't hear them anymore.
Jemma sighed as she watched Wanda, lost in her own thoughts on the situation. Even though her and Wanda were definitely not related by blood, it amazed her how much the brunette picked up on her mannerisms and traits after living together for such a short time. She had come to find that Wanda was a very stubborn person, regardless of how action oriented she was. She also noticed that ever since the incident in Sokovia, whenever Wanda was faced with an uncomfortable situation, she would freeze and avoid it as long as possible, so it didn't surprise Jemma when Wanda still hadn't talked to Claire about her feelings. Not that Wanda hadn't tried. She tried to do it earlier in the week, but Claire wouldn't open the door, which made Wanda clam up and go back to avoiding it until it miraculously fixed itself. Newsflash Wanda, it doesn't work that way.
Jemma went back to her writing, figuring it was less painful than thinking about the relationship status of a teenager. She was annoyed though, because this situation was so familiar to Jemma and it made her want to grab Wanda by the shoulders and scream at her saying she was wasting some much time when she could be happy. But she couldn't do that. She understood where Wanda was coming from, and that this couldn't be rushed, no matter how much more Jemma knew. So, she took out her frustration and grief on the poor letters on her keyboard, sending the loud clicks and clacks through the air of the safehouse.
Wanda looked up from her book, the sudden loud typing infiltrating her headspace and throwing her off her mental rhythm. She watched as Jemma's fingers moved faster and harder across the keyboard, vigorously typing out her growing hostility. Wanda placed her bookmark on her current page and placed the book on the cushion next to her and got up from the couch and sat in the chair next to Jemma at the dining table. She laid her hand on top of Jemma's closest hand, keeping it still and interrupting the flow of the sentence. Upon feeling Wanda's hand on hers, Jemma stopped typing and turned her brown eyes away from the glaring white screen and looked at Wanda's worry-filled green ones.
"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.
"If you liked the kiss why did you freak out and run away?" her eyes shifted a slightly lighter shade.
"I've never kissed anyone before, and I've never been in a relationship like that before, and I don't know...I guess it scared me. You're my friend, Claire, and if we entered into something that's beyond friendship and it went wrong, I don't think I could handle losing you too." Wanda gulped, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat. Claire's eyes softened and returned to their normal shade.
"Wanda, no matter what happens, you'll never lose me as a friend."
"I've already lost you as a friend. This is the first time we've spoken in weeks. It's already happened." Wanda blinked the tears away and Claire's heart broke and she didn't know what to say. "I...I like you Claire. Like, like you. I don't know when exactly I started feeling these things for you, but one day I looked at you and...I ran away from the kiss because I was afraid of my feelings; afraid that maybe I misinterpreted something or made out your friendship to be something more than it really was. I'm sorry."
Claire's heart beat faster and her eyes slowly filled with tears. Wanda liked her. She liked the kiss. Claire couldn't believe it and she couldn't stop the small smile that graced her face along with a deep red color. She let out a giggle and tucked a stray hair that came out of her ponytail behind her ear.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be laughing, but...Wanda I like you too. I guess I've had a small crush on you since our time in the Raft, or hell maybe even when we bother were with Strucker, I don't know, but all I know is that after seeing you in the parking garage in Germany, I couldn't get you out of my mind, and frankly, I don't want to. You're one of the very few people who don't look at me as if I'm some kind of monster. You see the beauty behind the beast, and..." she paused wiping the small tear away. "And maybe that's why I've felt some connection to you and felt drawn to you. You see me."
Claire reached forward and grabbed Wanda's left hand, holding it gently between her own, tears glistening in her eyes and a huge smile stretched on her face. Wanda let out a choked laugh as she cried a little, tightening her grip on Claire's hands, and beamed bright. All her worst fears melted away as she looked into Claire's eyes, seeing the amethyst geodes that had crystalized in the dark caverns of her iris'.
Claire let go of Wanda's hand and got up from her seat and walked around the table to Wanda's chair and enveloped the brunette in a tight hug, pulling her up from her chair. Wanda giggled as she felt Claire nuzzle her face into the crook of her neck and Wanda did the same. Both women laughed as they cried in each other's arms, feeling a huge weight lift off them as the tension and awkwardness melted away. Jemma beamed at them and pressed her hands together and brought them up to cover her mouth.
"Claire, I say this in the nicest way possible, please go take a shower," Wanda said as she moved her head from Claire's neck, but didn't pull out of the hug. Jemma and Claire laughed and she tightened her hold on Wanda before breaking the hug and giving her a big smile.
"Sorry," she said with a sheepish grin. Wanda laughed and brought her hand up and caressed her cheek. Claire leaned into the touch before leaving the room to take a shower. Jemma came over from the table and wrapped her arms around Wanda, hugging her from behind and planted a small kiss on her left temple as she rested her head on her left shoulder.
"I'm proud of you. Don't you feel better?"
"Yeah. Thank you, Jemma." Wanda turned her head to look at Jemma and gave her a smile.
"Of course, little sis."
"You know I'm not that much younger than you, right?" Wanda asked laughing. Jemma shrugged and returned her smile.
"You're still younger than me."
○○○
Claire's shower was short, and when she was done, she found Wanda curled back up on the couch with her book. Jumping onto the cushion next to her, Claire laid her still wet head in Wanda's lap that shook as she laughed. She lifted the book to reveal Claire's smiling face and closed it slightly, placing her finger in between the two ends to keep her place, and lightly hit Claire's face with the paperback. Claire blinked and scrunched up her face as she let out a fake groan of pain before bursting into a fit of giggles.
"What was that for?" she asked still giggling. Wanda sent her a mischievous grin as she shrugged, placing the book on the coffee table. They settled down after a few seconds, and the two gazed into each other's eyes as Wanda played with the damp ends of Claire's red hair. Claire grabbed Wanda's free hand and intertwined their fingers, caressing her the back of Wanda's hand with her thumb. Wanda let out a low hum of content, brightening Claire's smile. "What are you thinking about?"
"Just...I don't know where we go from here." Wanda stopped playing with Claire's hair, and she sat up from Wanda's lap, scooting closer to the brunette, their faces a couple inches apart.
"We can go wherever you want us to go. If you want to move on to something more, that's fine, and if you want things to stay the same and you want me as a friend, that's also fine. Whatever you want Wanda, you'll have me." Claire pressed a gentle kiss on Wanda's hand, sending shivers down her spin.
"I want you," Wanda said in a hushed tone that she couldn't explain. No one was around; Jemma went for a walk to clear her head; Sam was in his room and Steve and Natasha went out a few hours ago for supplies. "I want to take a chance." Claire smile and her purple eyes shone brightly. She brushed her hand against Wanda's cheek as she leaned in slowly, as if asking for Wanda's permission. Wanda nodded her head and closed her eyes, meeting Claire's lips. Like before, she wrapped her arms around her neck and Claire's wrapped around her waist.
The kiss was over soon after it started, but the two still held onto each other, refusing to let go. Claire leaned in again and planted a small kiss on Wanda's forehead before resting hers against it. She sighed contently as she felt Wanda tug her closer, pulling her into her lap. Pulling away, Claire gave Wanda space and went back to her original position and laid her head in Wanda's lap and taking her hand again.
"Don't worry, we can take it as slow as you want," she whispered, answering Wanda's silent prayer. Wanda smiled and leaned down to place a kiss against Claire's forehead. Claire closed her eyes in content, but her scar glared at Wanda, piquing her interest. Wanda moved her hand and gently trailed her fingers over the raised scars of claw marks that ran through Claire's left eyebrow and eye. Claire's eye snapped open as she felt Wanda caressing the scar and her heart beat faster as Wanda's question brought forth the memory she tried hard to forget.
"What happened? Did someone do this to you?" Claire hesitated to answer and instead she sat up on the couch and pushed her hair over eye covering the scar and crossed her arms over her chest. She coughed and cleared her throat, doing anything to keep from answering, but she knew Wanda would never give it up.
"Umm...it happened after the first few months of me being held captive by Strucker. It was after one of the tests that he put me through; when I was done he returned me to my cell, and when I woke up, I was in excruciating pain. I know now that it was because I was shifting for the first time. I felt each bone break and shift and reattach, and I was...freaking out. I couldn't stop it and I couldn't control it. I felt my wolf's fury for the first time, and as my hands shifted into paws with claws, I tried to stop it, but instead I clawed my face. After they sedated me and I shifted back, they took me to the infirmary and the doctor told me that I was lucky that my claws were spread apart and passed by my eye otherwise I would've lost all sight in that eye." She paused as she inhaled.
"The scar shouldn't even be as noticeable as is, but the idiot doctor did the stitches wrong, so when it healed, it ended up like this." She gestured to her scar that was still hidden behind her hair. "It's the reason why I keep my hair so long; so I can cover it."
Wanda frowned, and reached out and pushed Claire's hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Claire looked at her, tears in her eyes as Wanda laid her hand against the raised coarse skin, caressing it gently. Claire's hatred for this unseemly blemish rolled off her in waves, and each one crashed against Wanda's heart, stabbing her. Wanda shifted in her seat, moving to sit in Claire's lap, and rested her other hand on Claire's opposite cheek.
She gave her a small and loving smile as she leaned forward, tilting her head to the left, and placed gentle kisses along the length of the scar. Claire closed her eyes, pushing the tears that had formed out and down her cheeks. The one tear ran into Wanda's lips, but she ignored it as she continued to tenderly show love to something that had been denied it for years. Claire speared her lip with her teeth, stifling the sob that tried to escape. She was left flabbergasted. How could someone even stand to look at it? It was grotesque, hideous, monstrous. And yet, Wanda showed it love. Wanda didn't cower away from it.
Pulling away, Wanda placed her hand back on the scar and looked into Claire's eyes as she continued to cry at the gesture.
"I know you see this scar as a sign of the monster you believe dwells in you, but you know what I see?" Claire shook her head, she had no idea what Wanda saw, and something about that terrified her. "I see you. I just see Claire Stowell; a lovable sarcastic bitch who loves fiercely. Claire who is loyal to those that she trusts. Claire who on a number of times has risked her life to save me. Claire who is my best friend. Claire, the woman who I've been waiting for. You are no monster, Claire. You never have been and you never will be."
Claire leaned forward wrapping her arms around Wanda in a gentle embrace and placed her head on her shoulder. Wanda rested her hands against Claire's back, rubbing them up and down like Jemma does to help calm her down. She felt Claire's tears soak into the thin fabric of her shirt, but she didn't care.
"You see me," Claire mumbled as she cried, and though she couldn't see, Wanda nodded her head.
"I see you," Wanda repeated in a reassuring voice. "I see you and you hear me."
"I hear you," Claire said, her cries turninginto a soft whimper. "I hear you."