The Scarlet Apprentice 2: The Multiverse Between Us

The bath

"You okay?" Y/n asked, briefly looking in the mirror that she stood in front of to see wanda's reflection through the condensation. Wanda didn't reply. Whether it was a simple case of mishearing or a blatant tiredness, it worried y/n. She turned, "Wanda?"

Her raised voice finally made it to wanda's ears, causing the witch to turn, "yeah, I'm alright."

One of the many rooms in the sanctum contained a beautiful bath that y/n had to fight for permission to use by arguing with Stephen. It was one of the only rooms in the sanctum that didn't fit the theme of the rest of the building. Old books and mahogany shelves lined the walls of the rest of the sanctum, darkening it with its antique. The bathroom that the witches occupied was a bright room with porcelain plates of clouds stuck to the walls. And in the centre of it all, a beautiful, deep bath.

Y/n filled the bath with hot water just before wanda made it in so that it was ready for her. Wanda sunk into the water, her aching body resting in the heat, her muscles softening with the gentle flow from its comforts.

While wanda pulled the water over her body, y/n stood at the sink in the rags of her clothes. The team were all just settling in, changing into new clothes, cleaning old wounds, drinking for the first time in a while. The two girls diverged alone before getting the chance to see if sam and bucky were alright, but y/n thought it best to leave them alone for a while. To leave them for their moment of calmness after nearly losing each other. She knew the love and joy that came from a reunion like that. After all, she was experiencing it herself, at the same time.

Y/n placed her hands on the edge of the sink, a soft sigh escaping. Wanda wasn't fine, and she knew that. Not just because of the empathic abilities her powers brought to her, but because of the love she felt for wanda. The love so strong that it burnt with wanda's happiness, and dimmed with her sadness.

Gently pushing herself off of the sink, y/n turned on her heel and crouched at the side of the bath, her hands hanging over the side to swirl the water. Wanda's eyes fell to her instantly. They were tired. Worn out. Which is exactly what y/n expected them to be like.

"You okay, my darling?" Y/n asked again. She hoped that the shine on her eyes and the water droplets on her soft skin would urge wanda to be honest with her.

Wanda gulped, looking down at the swirls her lovers hand made in the water she sat in. "I don't know what to say."

With softly furrowed brows, y/n rested her head on the edge of the bath, but her eyes did not leave wanda, not even for a second. "You don't have to say anything. Not if you don't want to."

"I want to," she finally broke her gaze from the water and met y/n's. "I just don't know how."

Y/n paused in thought. A moment of consideration, followed by a small and pained groan as she pushed herself to a stand. Without saying anything, she unbuckled the belt that remained around her waist and dropped it to the floor. It felt like a weight dropping from her, a restrain of memory hitting the ground, freeing her. Then, her trousers - or whatever was left of them. Her arms folded as she pulled her shirt off of her aching body, allowing herself, and wanda, to notice the many wounds she'd collected.

A blackish-purple bruise on the skin that quilted over her rib cage, an array of cuts and scratches along the side of her stomach from the times she'd hit the ground. Faint red stains from the blood that couldn't be removed with just a damp rag were painted over her skin. Taking off her shirt made her feel vulnerable, even if it was in front of someone like wanda. She wasn't worried about showing skin around her, but she was worried about showing her wounded skin. The bruises, the cuts, the blood. She didn't want wanda to see it. Any of it. She was always good at hiding her emotional vulnerability, but how does one conceal physical vulnerability if their body looks like a messy painting of wounds?

When she stood at the side of the bath, wearing nothing but her underwear, she felt weightless. She'd finally stripped herself of the clothes that she'd later throw away, the clothes that consisted more of holes and dried blood than it did of threads.

It had only been a number of hours that she'd been covered in dirt and dust and her own blood but, god, it felt like days since she'd been clean. Truly clean. She'd already washed the majority of it off when she was at the sink, but she couldn't rid herself of the feeling of uncleanliness. Perhaps not physically, but mentally. She hadn't felt clean since her first encounter with Agatha. The trickery, her own foolishness. It dirtied her mind, trapping her, making it unable for her to feel anything other than the guilt that weighed her down.

The shreds of her clothes were tossed to the floor, discarded and useless. Slowly and gently, she stepped into the bath while wanda pushed herself backward to make room.

Then, a smile came from her. Wanda's face seemed to light up when she realised what was happening. Her wet hair - slick and secure - remained tucked behind her shoulders. She brought her knees up to her chest and bit her bottom lip out of excitement.

"The things I do for you, miss maximoff." Y/n playfully rolled her eyes as the water submerged her thighs, her hips, then her stomach.

The very moment y/n was seated in the bath, wanda leaned as close to her as she could get before burying her head in the nick of her neck and shoulder. Y/n's soft and dry hair provided the comfort and warmth that Wanda longed for, so she stayed there for as long as she could.

After a few moments, y/n pulled her hands out of the water to frame Wanda's face and pull her in for a kiss. Their lips pressed together as if they had only that moment to do it. There was a hunger, a passion, but it was gentle. Soft. Y/n held wanda's face in her hands, her thumb tracing her jaw while the rest of her fingers held her neck. There was a protectiveness in her grip, that strong, loving instinct to keep wanda to herself. Soon, after their lips had relearned every inch of each other's mouths, they had to pull away to gain a breath.

Although, instead of seeing a kind of disappointment on wandas face, y/n was met with a giggle. The kind of giggle that burned like a fire in her heart, no matter how dull the mood was. Nothing particularly funny happened, but wanda was giggling. It was something she usually did - y/n began to notice it with every day she spent with Wanda. Over their time in the cabin, she realised that whenever wanda was happy, so overwhelmingly blanketed in love, she giggled.

Oh, to be back in that cabin, y/n found herself thinking. Oh, to be back there. Back there, where our biggest problem was SWORD. When we get out of this, Maximoff, we're putting a shield around that cabin. We'll block the whole world out, I don't care. All I need is you. All I want is you.

Wandas giggle turned to a soft smile. I cant wait.