The Other Symbiote

Lilies and Roses

Raiva, Natasha and Clint all stood in the garden, the willow trees' long vines of leaves swaying in the wind around them. The sky was grey with overcast clouds, thunder in the distance as the Asgardian left the compound to wander the world.

"Hi baby." Raiva murmured as she knelt down in front of the two empty graves.

"I remembered how you used to come out here sometimes, so I thought it would only be right for you two to have your resting places by each others' sides, since you came into this world together."

The broken woman grabbed the gravestone from her side and moved around the graves respectfully, placing it into the groove that had been made for Wanda.

"You were everything good to me. You were the light of my life, the reason I got up every day and the reason I kept going. You still are - I will live as long as it takes for me to pass, so that I may rejoin you in the clouds."

She pressed her forehead against the gravestone, not even trying to hide the tears as they spilled forth and stained the stone.

Nat and Clint said both of their short parts before they left Raiva alone, her symbiote crawling around in the back of her mind but staying silent.

"God, Wanda. I don't know what to do without you. You motivated me every day and I loved waking up by your side." Raiva took her left hand in her right and fiddled with the ring on her finger.

"You know, I was planning to propose to you today. The day we could have had if Thanos hadn't won. We would have gone to your favourite restaurant..." Her voice broke as it trailed off.

"I would have taken you to the beach, since I know how much you love the squishy sand between your toes. We would have climbed along the rocks with me leading the way to our secret spot that I would have had Peter and Nat set up."

She sniffled as she spun the ring around her finger, a soft yet pained chuckle chuffing out of her lungs.

"I would have asked you to keep your eyes shut so you wouldn't see the big bold letters in lights. I'd have moved behind you and told you to open your eyes before I would have taken out the box with this ring in it. God, Wanda, I would have fumbled it trying to get it out of my pocket before you would turn and catch it. You always caught me."

She took the packet of flower seeds from her pocket and sprinkled them over Wanda's grave before using a different type for Pietro.

"I always knew how you liked lilies. And Pietro liked roses, so... God, I'm a fucking mess without you, Wands."

She broke down next to the headstone, tears flowing freely as her eyes became puffy and bloodshot.

No more words rang from her lungs, for they were too busy trying to grasp air through Raiva's sobs. Unbearable pain ripped through her body as she realized she'd never see Wanda's face again, never hear her laughter nor feel her warmth again.

And that was soul-destroying.

IIII

Raiva spent most of her time by Wanda's grave, keeping her mind sane as it tried to hallucinate the light of her life to be next to her when she woke up, to be dancing in the kitchen when she entered the room or when she was staring in the mirror.

The nights were the hardest of them all.

She'd take hours to fall asleep, only for memories of Wanda to plague her dreams and to wrestle her awake to be met with the other side of the bed to be cold, lifeless. Her mind had to be entertained constantly, otherwise she knew she'd spiral.