Wanda Maximoff (vrajitoare) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-01-07 21:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | kurt wagner / nightcrawler (616), wanda maximoff / scarlet witch (616) |
Who: Kurt Wagner, Wanda Maximoff (616)
What: Kurt doesn't want Wanda to think he's stringing her along
Where: The Cabin
When: Before the jump and after Betsy and Warren’s wedding.
Rating: low.
Status: Complete in Gdocs
For the past few days, Kurt had been vacationing with the newlyweds and other X-folk at the Inn where Warren and Betsy's wedding took place. It was a nice change of scenery, and fun playing on the slopes, but all the while his thoughts drifted to a conversation that he knew shouldn't be delayed. Once he returned to Tumbleweed, he contacted Rogue and used a visit to see his niece as an excuse, knowing full well Wanda would be there.
Wanda and Rogue had gone shopping. They went to the local Target to fill up Wanda’s room. Wanda had found a nice wall tapestry and some framed pictures. She thought it would look like home soon enough.
When Kurt arrived, Wanda was in the living room, not far from Rogue and Anka Irene. The TV was playing a children’s show, and Wanda was barely paying attention, just staring into space.
Coming from the kitchen with a mug of hot cocoa, he saw Wanda alone, and decided this was his chance. Trying to be casual, he greeted her with a friendly, “Hullo, what are we watching?” even though he’d noticed her eyes weren’t even on the screen. He sat down in a chair apart from hers, deciding it was better to keep some space in between.
She didn’t answer him right away, in her own little world. When Wanda finally turned to look at him, she smiled as if she didn’t hear him. “Hi, Kurt! … I think it’s the Wiggles?” She shifted in her seat to direct her attention at him. “Did you come to see Anka Irene?”
Kurt pulled his legs up on the sofa in a crouch that was more comfortable to him than sitting directly upon the cushions and sipped his cocoa, Her non-response was troublesome, but he didn't comment or react to it - he simply watched the images on the television until Wanda finally replied, and then Kurt continued the conversation as nothing happened. "Ja, she's a cutie. Wanted to check up on Rogue, and you also. What have you been up to? How are you feeling?" Kurt hoped Wanda might reveal what was distracting her mind so much, but wouldn't pry - she would tell him if she wanted and was ready.
“I’m fine, Kurt.” She sounded a little frustrated. People were treating her either like a monster or a fancy Christmas ornament. Too harshly or too delicately. Only Rogue had treated her like a person since she got here.
“You don’t need to check up on me. Thank you for bringing me wedding food, it was nice. I just hope they don’t find out.”
The frustrated tone of Wanda’s voice wasn’t missed, and Kurt’s eyes shifted a little guiltily for a moment, but he quickly responded, “Even if they do find out, there’s not much they can do about it now. I was the one who did it, so they can get angry with me. I don’t mind.” He paused, as a thought came to him. “Do you not want me to check up on you?” he asked with hesitation. “Because if you’d rather…?”
Wanda tilted her head from one side to the other in a smooth motion. “Then that’s fine.” She noticed his guilty look. “It’s okay if you check on me, but I don’t need it. I’m okay, Kurt.”
She leaned on her chin on her arm, looking up at him curiously. “Why do you think I need checking up on?”
Kurt searched Wanda’s face as if to find a confirmation of what she’s said. There was a strength to her voice that convinced him that what she said was true, and he nodded his head. But then he shrugged one shoulder and answered her question, “It might have something to do with how a lot of X-Men are not happy you’re here. I thought you might be feeling isolated and sad. Not to be included.” He grimaced. “I meant it when I said you were family, and you still are to me I always feel that way toward fellow X-Men, but you in particular are a special case.”
Wanda smiled softly. “I know they’re not happy. That’s why I stayed away so long. But now I’m kind of trapped here.” She looked down at her hands, opening and closing her fingers. “I’ll find someone to talk to besides Rogue.” When he said she was family, the smile appeared again. “Is that so?”
“I’ll hope you consider me part of that list,” Kurt offered himself as one of the people Wanda could talk to. He then nodded his head. “Ja, das ist so.” He hesitated for just a moment, then decided to plunge into the topic by adding, “I’m not even counting the connection with T.J., which is her own sort of category of strangeness. Alternative Universes, huh? Who would’ve thought, you and I together?” He tried to sound as blithe and casual as possible.
Wanda’s smile opened up so her teeth showed. “It’s not all the far fetched. I could see it. Maybe not here, but in another life. Anything could happen with the right circumstances.” She had thought about Kurt, and how she did find him attractive, but she was in no place for a relationship right now, especially not one build on the fact that they happen to be together in another timeline.
A sheepish glance was cast in Wanda’s direction, as Kurt tried again to read what was on Wanda’s mind by her facial expression. He’d come for a reason, and from what she just told him, Kurt thought maybe he’d gotten his answer. But he didn’t want there to be any doubts.
“Maybe not here,” he echoed the words, agreeing with her. A pause. “Wanda. I just… I just want to say that me being kind to you… I’d be doing it anyway, even if TJ wasn’t in the picture. I hope to be a friend.”
Wanda nodded, just barely. “I appreciate it, Kurt. You were always a kind person. I’ve not known you well, but I know of your good deeds. And I know you’re a man of the church, so… it must be hard to put up with someone who practices witchcraft,” she laughed a little at that.
“I need friends. I’ll take all I can get.”
“And I look like a devil, the son of a demon.” Kurt started chuckling, too, but it faded into a calm smile as he looked Wanda straight in the eyes. “I don’t put up with anybody. I try to understand. To empathize. Because I have been hated, hurt, and hunted, I know how it feels to also be alone.” He paused a moment, then continued with a quote, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’, and: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ That’s what the Church should be about. I don’t know anything else besides this.”
Wanda smirked. Of course he’d quote scripture. She shouldn’t have expected less. It didn’t bother her but it amused her. “That’s very big of you, Kurt. Considering you’re an X-Man. I hurt your people…” She looked down at her palms again, a little lost for a moment. “But if you believe in second chances, I’ll take it.”
“I don’t know how to make this any clearer,” Kurt said with a smile, “but you’re one of my people, too.” He lifted his mug to his mouth, but just before taking a sip, he wryly added, “Besides, what’s a family without a little drama? And the X-Men is filled with that.” He was a lot more confident now that his fears had been laid down on the table and he knew that Wanda wasn’t assuming something that wasn’t there. However, this it was still a matter to be taken seriously. “The trouble you caused was… pretty bad.” A deliberate understatement, but Kurt’s stress upon the words revealed they both knew that. “But you were under a lot of stress, and not in your right mind. Even the law dismisses crimes on that basis. It doesn’t take away the sting of what you did, it doesn’t lessen the impact, but I do happen to believe in second chances. Especially when it’s obvious you’re remorseful for what you’ve done, and are trying to be better for it.”
“It’s hard to see myself as anyone’s people when I destroyed so many of them…” Wanda said bleakly. She listened to Kurt and tried not to wince when she mentioned her crimes against mutants. “Rogue believes in second chances too. That’s why I’m here. Why you’re here. I suppose the rest of them don’t, or at least don’t believe in it for me…”
She looked like she might cry. “I am remorseful.”
Kurt’s eyebrows rose as a wave of empathy took him. Sometimes, in instances like these, words were impossible to convey what you wanted to say, and so in a soft voice, Kurt offered, “Do you need a hug?”
Wanda held up one hand to stop him, a flat palm. But then she dropped it. “Sure.” She stood up from her chair, and waited for him to come to her.
Once Kurt got Wanda’s permission, he crawled on all fours like a cat across the sofa to bridge the gap between them, before standing up and wrapping his arms around her in a embrace that meant to convey comfort and acceptance.
Wanda enjoyed the feeling of someone against her chest, someone holding her. She tucked her head over his shoulder for a moment, before pulling away. She didn’t want it to last too long, especially since they were walking on eggshells about the nature of their relationship. “Thank you, Kurt. I think … I think I’m going to go lay down. This show is giving me a headache,” she laughed a little.
She didn’t need to say anything more, Kurt understood. After taking a step back give Wanda space, he nodded his head once and said, “I’ll be hanging out here for a little while longer before getting back home. I’ve got a lot to do, and I’d like to procrastinate a little longer.” He paused, then told her, “Take care.”
Wanda gave him a little wave. “I will, Kurt. Thank you. I won’t forget this.” And she disappeared into another room.