The Scarlet Apprentice 2: The Multiverse Between Us

Set in stone

While guiding Wanda through the halls with her arm, y/n gently traced lines on Wanda's arm with her thumb for Wanda to focus on instead of the bad things. The aching witch spent the entire car journey back sobbing weakly in y/n's arms, which brought tears out of y/n just to see her like that.

Then, when they got back to the sanctum, Katy helped bring her through until she went to her own room. Y/n had stopped herself and Wanda outside of their room and gently made her turn to her.

"I'm just gonna go say goodnight to the boys and go thank Katy, okay?" She lied, but Wanda was too tired to realise it, "you get yourself into bed, I won't be long."

"Okay," Wanda softly smiled to her before turning into the room and closing the door.

By the time the door shut between the two, y/n's soft and loving expression had already burned into a rage-fuelled scowl. Without taking a moment to think about it, she headed straight to Stephen's office where she knew he'd be, even though it was late.

She would've knocked if it was any other occasion, but her respect for Stephen had melted away when his name poured with Wanda's pained words. Opening the door unannounced wasn't spiteful enough, so, without slowing down her pace, she outstretched her leg and kicked the door with a force that flung it open.

Stephen looked up at the noise, but instantly dropped his head back down to continue what he was doing when he saw that is was y/n.

"How the fuck could you not tell me?" She immediately shouted at him once the door slammed behind her.

Without lifting his head to pay her any attention, he calmly mumbled back, "Y/n, I'm working, you cant just-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she quickly shoved everything off of his desk with one swift motion and stared at him with her cold eyes while he watched everything crash and fall to the floor. Not even the noise of glass and ancient artefacts crashing to pieces could make her flinch or break her stare at the man.

"You still working now?" She asked, scolding him with hate in her eyes.

He finally moved his eyes from the mess to look at her, shock evident on his face, "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

"You not telling me my prophecy, that's my fucking problem."

"What are you talking about?" He furrowed his brows, flailing his arms like he didn't know what she meant.

"You've known since the day I got my powers that I was meant to die for Wanda and you didn't think to tell us- to tell me?" She admitted, her words venomous with hatred.

That's what got him. When he realised what she was talking about, he couldn't offer a reply. He just froze. Y/n knew that guilt and regret was what froze him.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Y/n continued shouting at him when he wouldn't provide an explanation or, most likely, an excuse, "what gives you the right to keep something like this from me?"

"I did it to protect you, y/n. It wouldve been too much to tell you right away, " he lied as he made his way around his desk to remove it from being between them.

"Oh, don't bullshit me, Strange," she scoffed, "you know I could've handled it. What the fuck made you keep this to yourself?"

Thinking it would work like the way it used to, he equipped his stern tone, "don't talk to me like that-"

But she instantly cut him off, "don't try and hit me with that again. It might've worked when i first met you, but I'm not scared of you anymore. Especially not now- not when I'm THIS FUCKING ANGRY AT YOU!"

"Watch it," Strange warned her. His tone was harsh, but his eyes didn't look like they meant any harm towards the girl.

"Or what?" She shot back without moving a muscle - without feeling any slither of fear whatsoever.

When he thought about what he was saying, he sighed, "y/n, i don't want to argue."

"Hmm, i wonder why that is," she sarcastically announced, "probably because you know you're the fucking asshole in this situation, does that sound like a good reason to you?"

After a while of her shouting at him, he finally grew tired of it and groaned, "why do you care so much? You know now, why does it matter that I didn't tell you right away?"

"Now isn't good enough. If you'd have told me this sooner, I wouldn't have spent my last days alive arguing with Wanda, I WOULD'VE SPENT THEM LOVING HER!"

"Y/N, YOU DON'T-..." his anger was immediately flushed from him when he finally heard what she meant, "your last days alive?" He asked, his breath getting heavy once he realised what her words meant, "you're not seriously going to do it, are you?"

"Of course i am. You'd have to be fucking crazy to think I wouldn't."

He shook his head, speechless once again, but for a completely different reason, "you're not doing this, none of us will let you- we..."

"You what?" She cut him off.

"We care about you too much to let you die," he admitted.

"If I'm not the one who dies, then it's somebody else. Let me tell you this, Strange," she looked him in the eyes, "I'd rather die myself then watch people die before me for nothing. I'll die at peace knowing I've died for the people I love. Especially for Wanda."

"There's no way wanda will let you do this," he shook his head, mentally panicking as he thought of reasons to convince her to go against it.

"Its not up to wanda. When it comes to saving the world or myself, I choose the world. Every fucking time. You wanna know why?" She asked, then answered when he wouldn't, "because the love of my life needs this world."

"You can't do this," he reverted to repeating the same argument, mostly because he was at a loss for words at how compliant she was with the plan.

"The Scarlet Apprentice," she quoted, followed by a small laugh, "this is why I'm here, this is why my plane crashed. Everyday before this, every decision has led to this. I have to do it, Stephen. It's set in stone."

He hopelessly and desperately shook his head, "you can't do this."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't," she ordered.

"Because the people who love you, we-..." he choked on his words as a lump formed in his throat, "we aren't going to just watch you die. We can't lose you, y/n."

She looked at him, tears staining her eyes, "you've known from the start. You knew I'd eventually have to do this for Wanda, you just never thought we'd care about each other so much."

"No, I knew Wanda would care about you at some point," he nodded his head, slowly, while biting the skin on his lip, "I just never thought that I would as well."

The words hit her, but she needed to stay strong. No matter what, she was going to go through with it. Gulping down her urge to cry or hug him, she stayed strong.

"I'm doing this, Strange. Whether you let me or not, you know I don't need anyones permission," she told him.

He couldn't help but smile through the pain on his face and in his voice, "I know."

"Do me one favour and don't tell anyone what I have to do," she looked at him, pleading, "I can handle many things, but seeing their faces when the look at me knowing I have to die, isn't one them."

It visibly took a lot for him to say it, but he finally did. "I promise," he assured her. And he was always the kind of person to stick to a promise.