The Scarlet Apprentice

Fire in the moonlight

Despite the fun they were having, their time in the lake had to come to an end as the day began fading away into the night, and the heat began slipping into a slight chill.

The two settled surprisingly well after spending almost the whole day in the lake, whether it was splashing around in it or sitting on the bank with their feet in the water.

Y/n sat on one of the two chairs they'd positioned out by a fire, silently waiting for wanda to return. Luckily, wanda didn't take too long to grab what she'd promised to get. After setting up the chairs, she quickly returned inside to grab some drinks for the two, and that's what y/n was waiting for.

The recent fire they'd lit began crackling in the moonlight, sending flickers of its ashes away to the grass below it. Y/n's attention was completely captured by the fire, so much that she didn't notice when wanda had returned to the outside with two drinks.

"Here." Wanda cleared her throat, snapping y/n out of her entranced gaze.

Y/n furrowed her brows as she took the bottle wanda offered her, "You've had these in your fridge this whole time?"

She shrugged while she sat herself down on the chair beside y/n, "No, I just turned two bottles of water into this."

"Oh, right." She hummed to herself as she - without any further hesitation - began drinking it.

"You're not gonna question if it's safe to drink or not?" Wanda cocked her brow, watching the way she reacted.

With a shrug, she answered, "I trust you."

"Wow." Wanda hummed in surprise, although deep down, her heart fluttered, "that's surprising, I thought you'd be persistent on an answer."

Y/n chuckled softly, "no, I'm not-." She tried to explain, "I'm not gonna be that annoying anymore."

"I don't think it's annoying." Wanda told her, taking a sip from the bottle.

"What? You-." Y/n quickly turned to her, mostly in shock, "you don't find it unbearable?"

Wanda laughed, "no." She assured her, "Dont get me wrong, I can see why people would find it unbearable." She received a light scoff from y/n, followed by an ever so slight chuckle. "But i don't find it annoying. Even though it nearly costed you your life, on multiple occasions, I think it makes you, you. And the world needs people like you."

Then, in that moment, y/n felt a warmth, but not from the fire in front of her, instead it was from the comfort that burned inside her heart. Maybe it was the way the light of the fire highlighted every perfection on her face, but for some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off wanda.

When she finally did, her eyes fell to the fire. They fell to the fire which dance before them. That was until her mind highlighted something that she thought she should clarify, even if it was obvious.

She took in a breath, "I don't hate you, wanda."

Confused by the seemingly random comment, wanda furrowed her brows, "what?"

"I just-... I want you to know, that I don't hate you. I was difficult and annoying at first, and I acted like you were a monster, but... that's not what I really think of you." She explained, "and I appreciate everything you've done for me. Even if I don't show it."

Looking at her in disbelief, wanda smirked, "wow. Are you okay after that?"

Even though wanda hid it with a joke, y/n's words genuinely hit a part of her she never thought could be reached by anyone. A part of her that not even wanda herself could reach.

"Oh, my god." Y/n rolled her eyes playfully and turned away.

"Do you need water?" She jokingly asked, "was that enough for your heart to handle? Do you wanna lie down?"

Still lightly chuckling, y/n replied, "You're on thin ice, maximoff."

While y/n drunk from her bottle, wanda bit the inside of her cheek as she thought. She thought about what y/n had just told her and how much it impacted her.

"Thank you." She said, her eyes fully focused on the ground until she gained the courage to look into the eyes of y/n, "seriously."

"You don't need to say that." Y/n assured her, "it's the least I can say, after everything you've done for me."

Even when y/n turned her attention to the fire, wanda's eyes still stayed glued to her. While staring at the side of y/n's face, she thought about explaining her side of the situation. Even though y/n hadn't requested an explanation in the slightest, wanda felt like she had to tell her in order to get closer to her - almost as if that was going to be a deal breaker later on.

"When I went to west view, I never had any intention of doing what I did." She began explaining, which caught y/n's attention, "I was driving through it and I saw how happy everyone was... how quiet and peaceful the town was, I-... I had no intention of hurting anybody. I tried to get vision back... but he was gone. I guess I just couldn't accept that. I tried to stay calm, I really did, until i just couldn't anymore, I-." She paused her sentence to swallow the lump that formed in her throat, "i didn't mean to hurt anyone, i never wanted to..." she gulped, trying to explain herself, "I just couldn't stop myself, it-."

"Wanda." Y/n cut her off. Wanda stared into her eyes, watching the flames dance in the reflection as she waited for her to finish what she was going to say. "You don't need to tell me... I believe you."

That was it. The seemingly unconditional belief and support y/n had just confirmed she had for wanda made her realise. It all hit her at once, turning every suspicion, and every feeling into a clear answer.

Her suspicions became nothing less than distinctive all in that one moment, and no part of her attempted to deny it.

Wanda Maximoff was in love.