A scarlet rose in the witches garden

Chapter 6

"I'm okay, a little sore." Roman starts to sit up.
Wanda gives a small smile.
"That's to be expected after exhausting yourself...you used a lot of magic, you really tuckered yourself out honey."
"I guess so" he gives a little smile.
She looks at him with endearment. His hair messy from sleep warming her heart.
"I was worried about you, you scared me when you passed out like that."
"I'm sorry..."
She tilts her head.
"Oh honey, you don't have to apologize, you did nothing wrong. It's my job to worry. Just don't scare me like that again." She brushes her fingers against his cheek.
"Okay." He nods.
Wanda smiles slightly and looks away. She's hesitant to bring up how she saw his dream, but she feels it should be addressed.
"While you were asleep...I saw your dream." She doesn't look at him.
"...huh?" He furrows his eyebrows.
Wanda takes a deep breath.
"You had a dream while you were unconscious...and I saw it. I looked into your mind."
"Oh..." He's shocked. Scared, embarrassed, so many emotions.
Wanda can tell his mind is reeling by his expression.
"It's okay honey, I just want to talk about it a little bit."
"O-okay..." his cheeks are red and he looks away.
Wanda can tell how nervous he is. She speaks gently, wanting to reassure him.
"It's alright, honey. You're not in trouble or anything, I just want to know...what were you dreaming about?"
Roman is quiet for a moment.
"I...I guess just a life I could have had...that I...wish I had."
Wanda's heart clenches, her stomach twisting as he speaks about wishing he had the life he dreamed of. But her motherly instincts take over and she speaks gently.
"What kind of life...can you tell me, sweetheart."
Roman swallows the lump in his throat.
"With...a mom, and siblings, and a house, and a haircut, and straight teeth, and glasses, and clean clothes, and...and you." His eyes start watering.
Wanda is silent, she thought she knew what he was dreaming of, but hearing it straight from him makes her even more emotional for her; seeing how much he wanted a normal life, and a family... especially with her as his mother and her sons as his siblings.
"Oh...sweetheart..."
"I'm sorry" he chokes out "I know you just met me and you have your own kids and I'm completely overstepping my boundaries."
"Shh...it's okay, honey, it's okay. You're not overstepping your boundaries. Just...let me explain something to you alright?"
"Okay." Tears slide down his cheeks.
Wanda's heart wrenches watching Roman start to cry. She carefully moves him so he's sitting in her lap.
"Listen to me honey...you have nothing to apologize for, okay? You have nothing to be ashamed of either. So don't you dare apologize, you hear me?"
"I promise that after we find America Chavez and get your boys back I'll leave you guys alone, you won't have to worry about me anymore, I promise." He sniffles.
Wanda feels a pang in her chest at his words about leaving as soon as they're done their mission. Her motherly nature rises in her and she responds, her grip on him tightening.
"You...you won't be going anywhere, sweetheart."
Roman looks up at her "W-what?"
Wanda looks down on him softly, her own eyes getting misty. She speaks again her tone firm.
"You're staying with us after we find America, sweetheart. You're not leaving anytime soon."
A new kind of tears start falling from Roman's eyes, warmth spreading out through his chest. Little flowers pop out of the sand all around them.
"You'll be staying with us...with me and my boys, honey. We're not letting you go so fast." She wipes a tear off his cheek. "No more talk about leaving us anytime soon. You hear me? You're staying with us. You're family now, honey..."
Roman chokes out a sob. His mind races with thoughts of his future. A family. He has a family. A field of wildflowers flourishes around them.
He knocks Wanda over with a hug, crying into her shoulder.
"Thank you, thank you so much." He cries.
Wanda holds him tight against her chest. She feels his emotions through the moment, tears slide down her cheeks too, feeling more than ever like his mom.
"I love you." He sniffs.
Wanda opens her eyes, it felt like her heart stopped beating.
Here she is. On a mission to find her sons, having just lost everything she's ever loved. And she stumbles upon this scraggly teenage boy. A dirty, smelly, traumatized, lonely little boy. And somewhere along the way, he finds a way into her heart. He became the light in her darkest hour.
And as he sits in her lap, crying into her shoulder, she realizes-
He's made her a mother again.

"I love you too."