Two of a Kind | Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 1: The Screen

The blank white screen of Jemma's four-year-old laptop sat staring back at her. The gentle sound of string and woodwind instruments played softly in the background, not masking the guttural sound of Jemma's frustration. Why couldn't she just come up with a great idea for a novel? She never had this much trouble when it came to smaller pieces, but whenever she thought of her dream novel, all ideas left her brain. Her fingers tapped on the granite countertop in annoyance. Jemma threw her head down onto the keyboard, groaning. From behind her, a chuckle interrupted her thoughts and the music.

"Having trouble are we?" Lily asked her, in a playful manner. She got up from her spot on the loveseat and moved toward Jemma, until she stood behind her stool. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around Jemma's slumped body.

"Why is it whenever I even attempt to think of my novel, the writing gods choose not to inspire me?" Jemma's voice was muffled by the keyboard beneath her face, but Lily heard all the same. She laughed again at her wife's childish nature.

"I don't think they choose not to inspire you. I like to think that they're busy trying to find you the best and greatest idea they have. You don't want them to give you a shitty idea do you?"

"No."
"Okay then. Have patience. A good idea will come. I'm sure of it." Jemma lifted her head off her keyboard and stared at the blank white screen again; the bane of her existence. Lily leaned forward and rested her chin atop Jemma's curly auburn hair. The smell of her jasmine shampoo filled her nostrils and she sighed with content. Jemma leaned into Lily's embrace, taking comfort in her warm arms. Jemma reached her arms around her to try to hug Lily, only to fail and awkwardly catch her, holding her in a weird and uncomfortable position.

Lily giggled and placed a light kiss on the top of Jemma's head before moving to her right temple, then her left cheek, and finally her lips. Jemma smiled into the kiss and leaned her head up to gain more access to Lily's lips. After a minute, Jemma broke the kiss, and shifted in her seat. She turned around, now facing Lily, and wrapped her arms around her slender waist. Once again their lips met with more passion than the first time. Lily's hands found their way to the back of Jemma's head, and her fingers tangled themselves in her long wavy hair, pushing her deeper into the kiss.

Much to both of their disappointment, they both pulled away, breathing hard. Nothing but love and adoration shone in their eyes as they gazed at their significant other.

"Why don't you give the writing a rest for today? You've been writing since noon." Jemma jumped from her stool in panic, looking for a clock.

"What time is it?" she asked frantically. Lily laughed at her again and grabbed her wife by her shoulders and brought her into her arms once more.

"It's almost five."

"Oh."

"Hey, I'm starving. What do you want to do for dinner?"

"I don't know," Jemma said as she pulled herself out of Lily's hug. She walked over from the island in the kitchen of their apartment to the refrigerator. Disappointment filled Jemma as she looked inside it. They didn't have much food, and because Lily worked ridiculous hours, sometimes Jemma was on her own for dinner, so she always ordered out. "There's eggs, some ground meat, I think lunch meat, some meatballs and sausage that my parents made—"

"Don't eat the lunchmeat. It went bad the other day," Lily said interrupting Jemma as she walked over to join Jemma by the fridge, also looking in. She took the lunchmeat and threw it in the trash. "How do you survive without me?"

"Usually, I order out."

"Well, we haven't had a real date in while. Why don't we go out tonight? I know a nice place a few blocks away." Lily offered, peering away from the inside of the fridge. Jemma too removed her head from inside the fridge and smiled up at her wife.

"I'd like that. Do I have time to hop in the shower really quick?" Lily laughed at her adorable wife who was jumping in excitement.

"Yeah, go shower. I'll get changed and make a reservation." Jemma kissed Lily lightly on her cheek and skipped to the back of their apartment towards the bathroom, before stopping and looking back at Lily.

"Ooh! A reservation! So, it's a fancy place? Maybe I'll wear that little black dress that you love," she said, flirtatiously as she bit her lower lip and winked at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes, blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Go get in the shower." Both women laughed as Lily heard a door close and the shower turn on. She mumbled words of affection and playful annoyance to herself about the younger woman. How was I married to her? She often wondered how she and Jemma were even compatible since they were pretty much complete opposites. Lily was more laid-back and less serious than Jemma was. Jemma was always stressed and worried about her work, and granted so was Lily, but unlike Jemma, Lily knew how to be lazy and to relax and take time off.

Lily walked into their shared bedroom, still thinking of Jemma's tendencies to overwork herself when it came to her writing. She opened the closet and examined the clothing in it. She reached into the left-hand side of it, which consisted of Jemma's clothes, and pulled out the black dress that Jemma mentioned wearing. Holding it out at arm's length, Lily examined the dress and sighed. Jemma was right; she did love this dress. Laying it neatly on the bed, Lily left the bedroom and walked to the bathroom. Still hearing the water in the shower running, Lily knocked loudly, hoping not to scare Jemma.

"Hey, you said you wanted to wear that black dress, right? You were serious about that?" she asked, hoping to not sound too hopeful that her wife was indeed serious about wearing the dress.

"Yeah, why not. It's a special occasion," replied Jemma from inside the bathroom. Even behind the door, Lily heard the smugness in her voice and could picture the small flirty smile in Jemma's voice almost perfectly.

"Okay, I put it on the bed."

"Okay, thank you."