The Scarlet Apprentice

Afternoon reading

They remained sitting on the blanket, enjoying their picnic for the rest of the day until the sun began gently setting in the distance. Once the sun had said it's goodbyes, the two packed up their little picnic and returned to the inside of the cabin.

The evening set calmly and the fire was lit once again by wanda. After setting the fire for the two, wanda sat on the couch, her legs stretched across it with a book in her lap, as she usually did. Whereas y/n stood in the kitchen, occasionally stirring the infamous soup she was making once again, since wanda requested it.

In all honestly, y/n was overjoyed when she found out that wanda wanted the soup again, and she didn't mind standing around making it at all. Again, there was a silence between the two. But, like it always had been, it was comforting and calm.

On one of the occasional glances y/n would send to wanda, she finally noticed the book in her hand and furrowed her brows.

"What are you reading?" Y/n asked, purely out of curiosity.

Without looking at her, wanda replied, "Killing eve."

"What?" She asked, "we just watched the show, you already know what happens."

"We watched season 1, I'm about to start the second book." Wanda clarified, finally looking up at her.

"Oh, okay." She thought to herself, "Let me read it with you."

"How do you expect to read it with me?" Wanda sarcastically asked, "we can't both read it at the same time."

"Oh, yeah." She chuckled through the slight embarrassment she felt, "I didn't think that far ahead."

To hide the embarrassment on her face, y/n turned fully to the soup, which wanda noticed. Wanda was also able to figure out why she turned, which made her realise that she needed to find another way of bringing the two of them together.

"Why don't I just read it out loud?" Wanda suggested, eager to spend as much time as she could with her.

"What, like-." She paused, "and I'll listen? You want to read it to me?"

"Yeah, come on." Wanda nodded her head towards the vacant half of the couch.

With one last check of the soup, y/n deserted the kitchen and walked around to the couch to join wanda. Wanda held the other end of the blanket out, highlighting the area she wanted y/n to sit on. Of course, y/n obliged and sat herself down on the couch, facing wanda.

She slid her legs under the blanket, and without realising, intertwined them between wanda's. Now, the girls were physically closer then ever as they sat opposite each other on the couch, their legs between each other's.

The warmth the blanket naturally gave out made both of them feel comfortable, and the warmth they got from their bare skin touching resting against each other's only amplified the existing comfort.

Inside, wanda was screaming with excitement. She kept a calm face, but in reality, she was trying her best to ignore the tingle the butterflies in her stomach brought her.

After composing herself, wanda looked up at y/n to find that she was already looking back at her, "You comfortable?" She asked, cocking her brow.

Taking in a deep breath to calm down how internally excited she was, y/n nodded, "of course."

Wanda cleared her throat and gripped the sides of the book even tighter as if it would improve the overall experience. After her adjustments, she began reading.

"Cruising through Muswell Hill on his carbon-framed bike, his hands resting lighting in the alloy handlebars, Dennis Cradle feels a pleasing exhaustion. It's a longish ride from the office to his north London home, but he's made good time."

As wanda began reading the introduction to the book, y/n locked her hands together and held them above the blanket to prevent herself from getting the urge to fidget.

"it's something that he would hesitate to confide to his colleagues or his family, but Dennis sees himself as the upholder of certain values. The hard cross-town ride satisfies the Spartan in him." Wanda's voice gained more life as she continued reading, even if the words so far seemed dull.

Y/n's attention began focusing on wanda and only wanda as she noticed the way she'd say each part with a different tone, which gave away how she felt about what she read. The more she listened, the more she realised that she actually really liked wanda's soft sokovian accent.

"Cycling keeps him lean and mean, and, incidentally, looking pretty damn sportif in his form- fitting Lycra shorts and tactical-fabric jersey, given that he's going to be forty-eight next birthday."

What seemed like the boring words of a slow introduction was like music to y/n's ears. The rest of the world began to fade away, leaving wanda's reading voice as the only thing she could hear.

"As the director of D4 Branch at M15, responsible for counter-espionage against Russian and China, Dennis had reached a level of seniority where he can, if he wishes, get chauffeured home in one of the Service's fleet of anonymous, mid-range vehicles."

The words wanda read were boring, and she knew that, but she didn't want y/n to get bored at any point during it. But, of course, how could y/n get bored of hearing wanda's beautiful sokovian accent?

However, to prevent the possibility of y/n getting bored, wanda decided to add some more life to the words she was reading. Yes, the words were dull and slow, but she read them in a tone that made them seem thrilling and mysterious, which y/n instantly picked up on.

Y/n's smile grew every time wanda would say a dull word with such life, or end a simple sentence with a theatrical gasp. During her entranced smile, it hit her.

She could no longer deny it. In fact, she didn't even want to at this point. Y/n was helplessly and undeniably in love with wanda maximoff.