PURE AND TAINTED ( wanda maximoff )

thirty-seven → your great-times-fifty grandmother

PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
( your great-times-fifty grandmother )

WHEN ALINE FINALLY WOKE UP, it was very late in the evening and everything in her body hurt. There was a pounding headache, one that felt like something was kicking her in the side of the head, and it hurt to even twitch her toes. Dying was definitely not a new thing for her 一 she'd done it on numerous occasions over the course of a thousand years 一 but it always hurt, but never as bad as this. Then again, she'd never died from dozens of bullets piercing her body. It was always a broken neck here and a little poison there (there was even an incident when her sister Maggie had shoved a spear through her stomach, but whatever). It always sucked, too, because since she'd been dead for so long, no oxygen had entered her lungs so she typically coughed harshly until some air reached her system.

Aline coughed erratically, sitting up quickly and pressing a hand to her chest. She heaved in copious amounts of air, squeezing her eyes shut the moment she opened them, only to be blinded by the bright fluorescent lights. Seriously, who thought this was an okay idea? Slowly, as seconds passed by, she was aware that someone was holding her hand and rubbing her back. They were also saying something to her, but she couldn't hear them; she was too busy trying to do the simplest thing as breathe.

"Ow," she groaned, slowly opening her eyes to stare at her lap. The blanket had fallen to bunch up at her waist, and she cringed at the pattern on her hospital gown. Okay, who had dressed her? Her senses slowly came back to her and she could finally hear things fully. The ECG was beating quickly, keeping the same pace as her heart, and she could hear crying right next to her ear. Aline turned and her eyes widened.

It was Wanda sitting on the bed, one hand holding Aline's and the other pressed against her back. Tears fell down her cheeks at a quick pace, but she didn't bother to wipe them. Her exhales sounded more like panicked gasps, as she scooted closer to Aline, moving the hand on her back to cup her cheek. "You're okay," she whispered, "you're awake, you're alive."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah, I am." A groan fell past her lips as she straightened her back, hearing it crack and echo in the room. "Hey, um... what, what time is it? Too late for dinner or something?"

Wanda shook her head. "I felt you die," she sobbed, shaking her head again. "Aline, you died. How, how are you here? How are you alive?"

Aline felt her heart tighten in response. She didn't realize what not telling her soulmate would do to her. Honestly, she felt like she couldn't even look Wanda in the eye. It was because of her that Pietro was dead, that her brother was dead. If only she had said something to him or pushed him out of the way, maybe... maybe he'd still be alive. Pietro Maximoff was dead because of her, and Aline would never forgive herself for that 一 she did this to Wanda.

Clearing her throat, she smirked. "I'm feeling great, thanks." Slowly, she moved her arm and used her other hand to remove the IV. It hurt a little bit, and her muscles still ached but she continued doing so anyway. The IV and the drugs could help, sure, but she'd heal just fine on her own with a little bit of blood. She'd probably drain all the blood in her fridge back at the tower from all the pain and exhaustion from the past day. Looking up, after successfully removing the IV, she was glad to see Wanda's lips tug upwards enough to call it a grin.

"Right, right." Wanda nodded, adjusting herself so that she was sitting closer to Aline. She dropped both her hands, fisting the material of her dress. She noticed that the Sokovian girl had yet to change into something else. Had she stayed at her side all this time? "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, sore, like I got shot a few dozen times." She shrugged once again, groaning again at the ache. "I could use a drink. Scratch that, more like a few hundred drinks. Otherwise, I'm perfectly fine. And as to your earlier question, you know, about the whole how I'm still alive stuff... that's... that's kinda complicated. And I've been wanting to tell you for a while, I just... didn't know how to say it."