Two of a Kind | Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 44: New York

The rest of their time in Wakanda was spent with Wanda and Claire glued to computers and their phones as they searched for the perfect place for them (within their price range). Tony offered to pay for whatever apartment they wanted as a peace offering and apology for what happened in Germany and the Raft, and though the two women were still wary of Tony Stark, they appreciated the offer but ultimately declined.

Eventually they found a good enough place—after Wanda had the brilliant idea of searching for available apartments in the same complex that Jemma lived—in Manhattan. They were excited to move in, especially when they learned that Jemma kept paying the rent on her old apartment, so they would still be together, just not as close. Wanda felt a little guilty about leaving Jemma all alone in that big apartment, knowing that sometimes the memories of her and Lily living there could become too much for her, but Jemma assured her—many times—that she was fine and would be fine on her own. Wanda only let the subject go because she figured that if anything happened, she and Claire were close by and could go see her.

The first few weeks after they moved in were by far the hardest for them. Surprisingly, neither of them considered that the apartment was unfurnished and that furniture (and literally anything else they needed like toiletries and food) was even more expensive when you rent an apartment in New York. Jemma was gracious enough to let the two of them crash in her apartment while they both got jobs to pay for furniture, and to help make up for the fact that they were eating her food, Wanda would often cook the meals for them when she got off from her job at a local grocery store.

Between the both of them working, they were slowly making the money they needed to furnish their apartment. Within a few months, they had a bed, two bedside tables, a small couch, dishes and silverware, a microwave, a less than decent coffee machine that Wanda was wary of using (Claire found it sitting out on the street with a sign that read, "take me" and decided to bring it home), and a stocked pantry of minute-ready meals.

Wanda was glad that their apartment wasn't as big as the one she shared with Jemma, this one was cozy with just the two of them, and it was less space to fill with furniture. At night, when both of them were home from work and after they ate dinner, they would curl up on the couch together with Wanda's laptop that she found in Jemma's apartment and watch either reruns of The Office, Friends, or a dumb romantic comedy.

Unlike Wanda, Claire got a job in an office working as a secretary/assistant to the higher-ups, and she hated it. She hated how she had to get dressed up in clothes that weren't jeans, a t-shirt, and a leather jacket. She hated that she had to put make-up on every day to "look presentable" and how she had to use it to cover her scar. She hated how almost everyone in the office took advantage of her and showed her no mercy when they needed something done, not caring that she was already in the middle of another task. She hated that she was never really listened to because of her work status; but the one thing that she hated more than all of those things combined was one of the managers, Brad Matthews. No doubt Brad was the child of a well-off asshole who owned the company and employed him to get him out of the house and some "work-place experience". She hated everything about him, from his greasy slicked back brown hair to his cocky grin. His whole aura practically screamed "I was a frat boy in the alpha house in college".

Because he was only a co-manager, he wasn't in the office every day, but he was there much more than Claire would've liked. Brad was one of those guys who was way too narcissistic and tried to make everyone get onto their level. He was a slacker who diverted his work to lower people like Claire and then took the credit when it was completed, and whenever he was in the office, he openly flirted with all the female employees, Claire included. And for some reason that Claire could only think of it as the fates messing with her, Brad paid particular attention to her.