Variation - W.M.

Chapter 54 - December 28, 2016

"I want to die" I grunted painfully, laying on my back on top of my bed since each breath was a struggle.

"I told you this was a bad idea" Pietro chastised, moving to help me stand."Wanda's going to kill both of us when she finds out you did this."

"Just go get her" I instructed, shooing him away. He shook his head, slipping out of the room to go find his sister.

"So you can't come to the kitchen and talk but you can set up the inside of Santa's workshop?" Tony's voice asked from the doorway and I grunted, moving to lean against the dresser.

"I can barely breathe without a shit ton of pain so coffee is off the table. I'm not even supposed to be out of the medical wing right now, much less on my feet but Wanda has been avoiding me even though she wants to talk to me about something-"

"She hasn't talked to you yet?" Tony asked and my eyes narrowed, glaring at him.

"Spill. What do you know?"

"Not my place" he shrugged, taking one last glance around the room before turning and leaving. I heard his voice again in the hall and after a few seconds Wanda appeared, her eyes widening.

"Hi, uh, merry late Christmas" I bumbled, wincing as I pushed myself into a full standing position before gesturing around the room. "I know I missed the actual day but I wanted to make it up to you so..." I trailed off, peeking at the brunette who was still staring at me with wide eyes. Shit. "I had this big plan with illusions to let you see your favorite Christmas with your parents but then I kinda ended up unconscious on the day and the doctor says if I mess with my powers too much I'll kill myself so I thought maybe illusions aren't the best idea, so I wanted to give you a cheesy American Christmas with movies and gingerbread houses and-"

I was stopped when a pair of hands cupped my cheeks, my eyes being drawn to deep green ones. "You are supposed to be resting," Wanda murmured, eyes surveying me before she moved her hands down to mine, leading me over to my bed. "Didn't we just talk about you taking care of yourself?"

"I messed up Christmas and I wanted to fix it" I whispered, tears gathering in my eyes. "You've been upset at me and I figured if I could make it up to you..."

Wanda sighed, sitting down on my bed and pulling me down with her. "I'm not upset with you, Olivia. I just" she paused, seeming to fight with herself in her mind before saying "I don't think you should go on any missions."

"I mean I'm injured so I plan on getting better-"

"At all" Wanda pressed, her eyes boring into mine. I blinked in surprise, my body stilling.

"What?"

"I don't want you going on missions" she repeated and I scoffed, freeing my hands from her. I sure as hell didn't appreciate the controlling side that was showing itself.

"Listen, I get that you're worried but-"

"It's more than that" she interrupted, her gaze diverting to the tv. "We have a connection because you got your powers from the hex; it's why I can hear you so loudly and why it's more noticeable when you block me off. It also means that when you were dying I knew. I could feel it. I could feel you slipping away and I couldn't do anything about it."

The way her voice shook and the look in her eyes took me back to when she told me about her parents and I realized that I had caused her to relive that. I felt my mouth open and close although no sound reached my ears. The silence stretched to fill the room until I finally found my voice.

"Wanda I'm only living here under the assumption that I'll help with missions and I only get paid because of that too."

"I talked to Fury and he said you could help us from here. Stark said if you helped him with his suits he would still pay you" Wanda told me and I felt a rock settle in my stomach, my heart weighed down uncomfortably.

"You talked to them before me?"

"Just to keep you safe. You aren't strong enough to help us on missions. Maybe after you train for a year or two you can start helping us" she proposed and I felt my jaw lock before catching the hopeful look in her eyes. I sighed, taking a deep breath and letting it go.

"Okay" I nodded, shoving down the feelings that threatened to bubble up. Other Wanda's words echoed in my head and for once instead of making me angry or hurt they made me feel uneasy.

"Okay?" she repeated, surprised by how easy I agreed.

"Okay."

The brunette smiled widely, finally taking a look around the room I worked so hard to put together in my crippled state. "This looks amazing, although you should be resting."

"I, uh," I stumbled over my words, my excitement from earlier evaporated. "I have a present for you."

She turned to me in surprise. "This wasn't the present?"

I took in her giddy attitude and almost visible excitement and I let any bitterness from our new agreement melt away, deciding to focus on our little Christmas.

"Of course not, I worked hard to get this present" I grinned. "Now close your eyes."

She raised a brow but did as she was told. I struggled to try and stand, pain shooting through my torso before I gave up, huffing loudly. Wanda peeked an eye open, concern painting her features.

"If you could assist me in standing then I'll give you your present" I grumbled. Wanda giggled, flicking her hand to stand me up. I hummed a thanks, motioning for her to close her eyes again. When she did I shuffled behind her, pulling the chain out of my pocket and carrying out one of the most cliche movie-moments that I knew she would love. When I had secured the clasp I grunted and flopped back onto the bed, suppressing a yelp from the pain. "You can open your eyes now."

She did, the grin on her face dropping as she noticed what was on the chain. "Where..."

"I may have gone back in time and stolen them" I muttered, my face burning. "Not my best moment but-"

I was cut off by a tight hug that squeezed my ribs in an uncomfortably painful way. "Ow, please, this hurts a lot" I gasped and Wanda quickly let go, tears in her eyes as her hand reached up to finger the pair of rings that hung from the chain.

"Thank you" she whispered and I smiled softly, pushing through the pain to lean over and kiss her forehead gently.

"Come on, let's have our little Christmas before Dr. Cho comes and yells at me" I chuckled, although the action caused a jolt of pain. I helplessly eyed the remote that sat on the bedside table before turning to Wanda, pouting pitifully. She shook her head, a smile on her face as she used her magic to present it to me. I grabbed it from the red mist and clicked the play button, the tv beginning to play It's A Wonderful Life.

"I watched this movie on Christmas with my parents and Pietro almost every year" Wanda said softly, her hands twisting the rings around her neck. "Pietro would always complain but I think he secretly liked it."

"I'm sure he did" I grinned, watching the beginning scene on the screen. We sat in silence for a couple seconds before I grimaced, a particularly deep breath sending an unbearable pain through me.

"What's wrong?" Wanda fretted, her eyes wide and looking over me.

"I'm okay, I promise" I said, clenching my fist as I shifted to face her, attempting to keep the pain off my face. "So after the movie we can make a gingerbread house and-"

"Let's just watch movies, okay?" Wanda murmured, one hand cupping my cheek. "You already did so much and I know you're still hurting."

I hummed, not truly wanting to argue against the idea. Instead I let Wanda pull me back into her, laying my head on her chest. One of her hands linked with mine while the other fidgeted with the rings on the chain, a small smile on her face.

If it wasn't for the swirling feeling in my stomach and the consistent pain that came whenever I breathed it would have been perfect.