How To Save A Life | Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanoff

4.

"Wanda Maximoff!" a loud bellow startles the witch when her chosen mother finally loses her temper.

This morning was off to a rocky start. For one, waking up in Natasha's bed and recalling opening up last night, Wanda felt incredibly stupid and ended up getting angry at herself for allowing her mouth to divulge such precious information. Letting people in is one of the most dangerous things, in her opinion. She had to learn that the hard way. You allow people to see a hidden part of you, and they instantly have access to use it against you as has happened to her many a time. And the moment she realized what she had done, she closed herself off again. However much of the wall that was broken, has been put up again, shielding her heart from any more damage. And of course that means not sticking with Natasha's whole 'honesty' plan.

Gone is the gentle and understanding Nat from last night, replaced with a very frustrated assassin. Trying to get Wanda to eat this afternoon is proving difficult. She let her off this morning since they woke up later anyway, but now it's twelve-thirty and she refuses to let her best friend go hungry.

After wasted efforts, Natasha has had enough.

"Wanda Maximoff, you will eat something right now! Or you're not seeing your phone for a week."

"I'm an adult, Nat! You can't take away my phone!"

"I can and I will." The bite in her voice gives the warning that she is not to be messed with or disobeyed in this moment. Wanda knows that tone all too well, and knows to bring it down a notch. Or a few...

"You are so controlling!"

"No, I'm just not prepared to lose you to something I can help you get through. I just need you to cooperate with me."

Wanda then goes quiet, staring at the plate of carbonara in front of her that Nat whipped up a couple of minutes prior.

Instead of facing her problem, she goes to default mode and does the most logical thing in her mind.

The art of avoidance has become the witch's normal. Don't wanna face your grief? Create a fake reality in which you're living happily with your family in a nice little village. Don't wanna eat, on the other hand, flip the bowl over onto the floor so it goes everywhere and hope that your Russian best friend doesn't get mad about it.

"That's it!" Natasha yells, slamming her hand down on the table and making Wanda flinch. "You act like a child, you will be treated as such!"

Very quickly, the phone belonging to the younger woman has been snatched off the table and placed into the pocket of another extremely angry redhead.

"Hey! That's mine!" Wanda shrieks, now close to tears from how irritated she is at herself.

"I know it is, and now I've got it. Go to your bedroom, please."

"No."

"Wanda-"

"Okay, fine!" she shouts, using her magic to push over a chair as she stands up and begins trudging to her room.

"Real mature," is the last thing she hears before she slams her door and is once again left on her own.

And it's a good thing she is, because she can finally use her favorite method of coping. The strategy that works best.

Natasha is good, of course she is, she's a trained spy. But apparently she isn't good at hiding things since Wanda had found where her lighter was hidden in only a matter of minutes. There was a small time window when Nat was making the food that was used as the perfect time to search.

Reunited with the hot flame that can do oh so much harm, Wanda doesn't waste any time in holding it up to her arm, keeping it in the same spot for as long as it takes to make a mark. It hurts good. So, so good.