The Scarlet Apprentice 3: Annihilation

Reminiscing

"Are you okay?" Wanda asked, her fingers massaging her hair, "you've been quiet."

The two girls were hunched over, sitting close in a bath in one of the many bathrooms. Wanda was behind y/n as she gently washed her hair for her, while y/n stared at the white tiles ahead of her, mindlessly running her fingers along Wanda's thighs under the water.

"I'm okay," she quietly assured her.

Wanda paused for a moment, "don't lie to me."

"I just," she instantly gave in, "I'm worried for the future of Wakanda, you know?"

"Why?" She asked as she continued rubbing the conditioner into her hair, "this is the safest place to be right now."

"I just can't stop thinking about that night," y/n mentioned, and Wanda simply listened, "I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen, arguably, the worlds strongest army been so shook up, you know? I thought this place was so secure and safe so I haven't even thought about fighting for ages. And then that happened and everyone's taken a real hit. I just don't know what to do."

"It's not all on your shoulders, y/n," Wanda lightly kissed her back as she said so, "you don't have to take it all on by yourself, you know?"

"Shuri wants me to train with her tomorrow," she told her, "privately."

Wanda optimistically answered, "that's good, no?"

"Wanda, why is she training me privately if there's nothing to worry about?" She asked, "if there's nothing she needs me for?"

"Because you're just so good at it," Wanda shrugged, washing the conditioner out of y/n's hair. Y/n chuckled softly to herself and Wanda suggested, "it could just be to make sure you're comfortable with the arm."

"What do you mean? I am comfortable with the arm," she assured her.

"It's literally been hanging over the side of the bath this entire time," wanda reminded her, which made them both look at how it was indeed hanging over the side of the bath. When y/n sighed, Wanda lovingly added, "you do know it's not going to electrocute you if it gets wet, right?"

"You can never be too sure about these things," y/n joked.

"What's the real reason behind it, huh?" Wanda asked, gently resting her head on y/n's shoulder while she wrapped her arms around her waist under the water. "You ever gonna tell me?"

Y/n sighed once again. Her fingertips traced patterns in the water on Wanda's arm, but she didn't say anything for a while. Wanda waited patiently in case she was preparing to admit anything, while y/n fought back any convincing she got from her subconscious. 

"No," she finally said, which wasn't what Wanda wanted to hear but she didn't push it, "there is no real reason, Wanda. Just being cautious, that's all."

"Cautious, hm?" She teased, "and why do you need to be cautious?"

"What are you talking about?" Y/n turned her head and smiled, her face inches away from Wanda's, "I am a very cautious person. It's a fact, ask anyone I've ever known."

"Right, okay. So you're telling me you didn't fly miles through the air and takedown jets literally the second you woke up from a 2 day coma?" She reminded her.

"Okay- first of all, how do you know that?" Y/n asked in shock, "and second of all, what else was I supposed to do? You were kidnapped, I couldn't exactly wait and book a ticket for a plane, could I?"

"Darcy told me. You bragged about it to her, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," she turned back and slumped to lie completely in Wanda's hold, "I did do that."

"Yeah, you did," she giggled softly.

"I miss those guys," y/n mumbled, "I think I just miss life back then. Everything was so much easier. I miss when our biggest problem was the rain or the fact that you didn't have a proper TV."

"We we're so different back then," she reminisced lovingly, "if you were to go back in time and tell old me that the moody, independent, and downright stupid girl who'd just kicked my door down with an injured foot would some day be my fiancé I think I'd need hours to process."

"Yeah- and if you were to go back in time and tell old me that the witch who I'd spent my whole life being told to fear would one day be washing my hair while we cuddled in the bath I'd probably tell you to fuck off," y/n added, causing Wanda to laugh.

"But seriously, I don't know how you survived that long back then. You'd just been in a plane crash, your leg was impaled, you'd just kicked a door down WITH THE SAME LEG, and you wandered off into a forest and almost got eaten by wolves. Not to toot my own horn, but you'd be dead without me," she proudly bragged.

"Yeah?" Y/n cocked her brow, "without me, you would've been killed by Hayward, lost in the multiverse, or killed by Agatha. I think we're even. No- not even, you owe me one."

"Okay- you didn't need to one-up me like that, it wasn't a competition," she playfully rolled her eyes and chuckled, "but you're right. It's my turn to save your life next, isn't it?"

"It is," she nodded, "let's hope it's something good, because you cannot top saving your girlfriend from an evil witch and thousands of other universes."

Wanda lightly slapped her arm, "don't say that! Let's not hope it's something like that, I don't want that to happen to you."

"Oh, you know what I mean," she assured her, "it's got to be worth it. It can't be something like saving me from a bird attack or some shit like that."

"A bird attack? You scared of birds?" She teased.

"No, I'm not scared of birds. I mean- on some level, yeah, I'm a little concerned when it comes to flying mammals that can peck your eyes out and fly off with them, but everyone is."

"Oh, my god. My big tough girlfriend is scared of birds. And she doesn't like the skin on green apples. She's so big and strong,"

"I-," she turned quickly, "you remember the green apple thing?"

"When Shuri delivered the fruit basket the other day, why do you think there were only red apples there?"

"My god, I love you so much, you know that?"