Good Luck, Babe!

Nothing More Than His Wife

Twelve Years Later

A defeated sigh tiredly left her lips as her eyes gradually fluttered open, adjusting to the dark room as mere slivers of moonlight peeked through the gaps in the curtains, only partly illuminating her shared bedroom. The light reflected off the gold band wrapped around her finger as she adjusted her position on the bed as quietly as she could, her despondent green flickering over to the clock, noticing how it had just gone past midnight before letting her gaze drift to the other side of the bed, taking in the sight of his short blonde hair as he slept peacefully, an occasional snore escaping him.

Wanda couldn't stop the other sigh that fell from her lips, her fingers pushing back her auburn locks carelessly before holding her head in her hands, trying to untangle the mess of thoughts swirling around in her head as she struggled to sleep. The weight of the day pressed heavily on her shoulders as she thought back to the argument she had with Vision, his words and the ring on her finger a reminder that she was nothing more than his wife, nothing more than a mother to their children, the one thing everyone told her should be enough. It should be. She was supposed to be lucky to have this; a 'loving' husband, a family of her own, a large house and a steady income, she should be grateful but she wasn't because this wasn't what she wanted. She wanted more, she wanted... to be loved, to be appreciated, to be seen. She just wanted to be seen again, her mind unable to stop herself from thinking back to the last person who ever made her feel this way.

Her heart fluttered at the thought of you, your soft, playful and casual smile that you always offered her, the way your eyes overflowed with mirth and joy as you teased her and did everything you could to make her laugh and smile, to make her feel as though she was the only thing in the world that mattered. 

The warmth and longing that wrapped around her heart was quickly stripped away as she continued to think about you, the wound on her heart that had never healed making its presence known as that broken look in your eyes resurfaced in her mind, the way despite your world was crumbling around you, you still tried comfort and care for her.

Your soft words painfully rang around her head, haunting her as the guilt of that day consumed her, that familiar nauseous feeling stirring inside her as she sighed once more, giving in to the thought of that day. She hated herself for hurting you, she regretted choosing others over herself that day and lying to you, for saying she didn't love because she did- no, she didn't, she couldn't face the truth. She still couldn't. It was engraved into her, her mind punishing her for wanting to be different, to be something other than normal. It was wrong, yet she still wished to think of you that way, needing an escape from the unfair world she was stuck in.

She missed you. Her mind, her body, her heart, had missed you, her entire being craving you in every way possible. She longed to feel your soft fingers brush back her hair, to tuck it behind her ear and gaze at her with love overflowing from your eyes, to smile tenderly at her as she propped her head on your chest, listening to the steady beat of your heart to help her relax. She needed to feel your laugh stir warmth in her as she endured your light-hearted teasing, to feel the blush rising to her cheeks, tinting a vibrant pink as you would continue to tease and torment, making it up to her with a delicate kiss or a more sinful one, not that she minded. She also missed playing with your fingers, a habit you didn't judge her for as she grew anxious about something, simply offering yourself to her comfort and console her, something she desperately needed now. She just wanted to be understood.

At the conflicting emotions flooding through her and overwhelming her confused mind, she groaned quietly in frustration, sliding her hands down her tired face before checking on Vision to make sure he hadn't woken up, a snore confirming he hadn't and causing her to swiftly sneak out of the covers, pulling a dressing gown over her shoulders to cover her body as she made her way over to her drawers. Carefully, she opened the wooden furniture as quietly as she could, pushing away the various clothes hiding the small box tucked away at the back, her fingers gently wrapping around it before pulling it out, holding it close to her chest as she slipped out of the bedroom, making her way downstairs to sit outside on the patio chairs.