love you always

3.10

"What's this?" Aurora asked Wanda slyly.

Wanda held her hand out, a small key on a chain dangled from it "It's a key," She replied and handed it over to Aurora.

"What's it for my love?" Aurora asked again.

"Why don't you find out?" Wanda gave her a kiss on the cheek. There was a small tag on the keychain and Aurora turned it over and read the writing.

"You bought us a house!" Aurora exclaimed excitedly. Wanda nodded "I did, it's in Wakanda because I know how much you want to live there."

"How, how did you afford this Wands?" Aurora looked at her worriedly.

"I used the money from selling the flat in Scotland and I used the money that was left from what my parent gave me and Pietro." Wanda explained.

"You didn't have to do that Wan-" Aurora started to say but was interrupted by Wanda "But I did, you deserve this- we deserve this. You know a nice early retirement, a couple of kids maybe a dog?"

Aurora smiled and pulled Wanda in for a tight hug "Kids huh?"

"Only in the future my love."

"How about we make dinner for everyone? I'm in a cooking mood." Wanda asked and got up off the sofa in their shared bedroom in the compound.

"Only if we cook lasagne and garlic bread," Aurora bargained and followed Wanda out of the door.

"Cheesy or not?"

"Cheesy, always cheesy garlic bread." Aurora said.

Wanda and Aurora walked hand in hand down to the kitchen. The compound was extremely quiet for a Sunday night. After the battle with Thanos Aurora had a slow healing progress, two weeks in the ICU, a further three in a hospital bed in the recovery wing, then one more week bed rest in her own room.

All while this was going on the Avengers had been slowly fixing everything. Bucky and Sam had gone off to visit his sister and deal with someone called Karli Morgenthau, Steve returned the stones and was now living back in Brooklyn.

Tony and Pepper had moved out of the Compound all together and Nat moved between the Compound, Stark Tower and Budapest to visit her sister. Most the time it was just Wanda and Aurora living in the Compound which Wanda loved but at the minute everyone was back for Thanksgiving.

After dinner Wanda and Aurora settled into bed and decided to watch a movie.

"When do we move?" Aurora asked.

"I was thinking after Thanksgiving and that means we could be all moved in by Christmas and the holidays," Wanda suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, and we will be coming back here for Christmas?" Aurora suggested.

"Maybe, I thought you might have wanted to spend it with T'Challa and Shuri though?"

"I guess I can decide when the times closer."

"Goodnight Aurora,"

"Night Wanda, I love you."

————-

Wanda slowly woke up and looked out of the window, a light drizzle was falling out of the sky- a grey summers day. It was one of those days even though it was raining it was warm- but not a humid warm, a nice warm that kept you hot but not too hot and it was still cold enough to keep you cool.

She reluctantly pulled herself out of the bed and grabbed a nearby blanket and wrapped herself up. Wanda then slowly wandered down the hallway and paused outside of Auroras old room. The bed sheets were still how they were left and the dust hadn't moved off the drawers.

She then continued her journey through the compound until she reached the door that lead outside. Wanda gently pushed the door open and wandered outside, she then wrapped herself up in the blanket she had brought along.

Wanda wondered across the grass lawn towards the lake and sat down on a small wooden bench that looked across the lake. She sighed and watched the small ripples spread across the surface of the water.

After a while Wanda looked down at a small black plaque that was sat on the grass in front of the bench. She refused to read it at first because she knew- even though she had read it before that the words written in stone, would tell her the truth, make her face reality.

With much regret and anger Wanda started reading the words engraved on the plaque:

Aurora Stark
In loving memory
Now isn't our time love

Tears fell silently from her eyes as she felt another presence next to her, Natasha had sat down and joined the girl giving her comfort. They both sat in silence before Nat spoke up "It still hurts doesn't it? I keep needing to remind myself she's gone. I mean what idiot would choose to do that, would choose to sacrifice themselves for everyone?"

Wanda nodded in agreement "What a fucking idiot." A small laugh escaped her lips "Now I finally know what all those sappy movies mean. Because if you love someone, you need to let them go."

And that's how love ends: not with a bang but with a whimper, a sigh, a sarcastic remark, a contact broken a moment too soon, hearts broken an inch too.

————-
And that's the end of book 1 😕