wanda maximoff (fears) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-02-03 23:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | peter quill (star-lord), wanda maximoff (scarlet witch) |
WHO: Wanda Maximoff & Peter Quill
WHERE: Wanda's terrible apartment
WHEN: Sunday; Feb 3rd
WHAT: Peter gets a chance to look at Wanda's leaking sink; friendship unlocked
WARNINGS: Cute? None else.
STATUS: Complete.
It was one of those non-descript places‎ that Peter had always assumed were verging on the edge of condemned, and therefore perfect for college students. Not that he really knew, anyways, seeing as he'd obviously barely passed high school.
Still. The media had informed him well because that was exactly what was in front of him.
When he'd learned where Wanda lived, he knew there was little to no chance the landlord would deal with the leak. Keeping Hayley's words in mind about passing on good karma, Peter knew he'd at least take a look at the leak. With a toolbox in hand, he walked up to the door and knocked.
When she'd arrived in Orange County, a good few months back, Wanda had assumed she'd trade up, eventually. That the student pricing would just be a starting point and she'd find something different. And then she got into her studies, and then she remembered how expensive college was, and trading up never really seemed like the time. She didn't mind the building most of the time, it was close to campus, she had her own space, she didn't really need anything fancy.
But she was out at class most of the day, and her bathroom sink was leaking near constantly, and it was just getting worse. Soon she'd need to put a gallon tub under it just to make sure it didn't flood while she was out. So the offer on the network, where people were fairly friendly and willing to help strangers, it seemed like a decent place to start at least.
Knowing the Peter was coming by, Wanda didn't bother checking the door to be sure she should answer, letting the chain off the door to open it, slowly at first and then fully when she confirmed it was Peter, going by the toolbox. "Hello," stepping to the side, Wanda offered a bright, friendly smile, hoping she didn't seem too anxious, "thank you very much for this, really. I'm not sure where else to start on what's wrong." Aside from water coming from where water should not come.
Peter gave a nod and a smile. "No problem, happy to help. I mean, I can't promise any miracles, but we'll see what I can do." Stepping inside, he looked around -- he couldn't help it that his first instinct was to scope the place, see where the exits were, see if there was any other type of repairs that could be done. Contrary to what Leon kept assuming, Peter had no interest in getting back into a life of crime. He'd learned his lesson, and after all, wasn't that what prison was for? "You said the bathroom right?"
Wanda knew not to get her hopes too high, although she did hope that Peter could fix things and she could offer small payment and trade, or even work out a plan of payment over a few weeks. Other tradesmen could be so expensive, and she couldn't exactly afford to toss money away because someone decided to overcharge her. "Yes, the bathroom, it's just through here."
Her apartment was small, designed for a single person and not much more, the living area and kitchen were just the same room, with a small bathroom off the side and next to it was the only bedroom. It was nothing terribly fancy or upscale, but it did just fine really. "It's rather small, sorry." But she could at least direct Peter through, let him see what it was and wait outside to hope it was something simple and not something that would cost her too much. "Right under the sink there, I have a basin under it right now."
Following Wanda, Peter had to agree: the bathroom was small. The whole apartment was, really, but hey, who was he to judge? He was living with his psuedo father figure and that was just weird in and of itself. He hadn't lived with someone since he was in high school. Peter put his tool box down and hiked his pants a little bit before getting down on his knees. The basin was already a quarter filled, and he could see the steady drip. With a small frown, he peered up at the pipes, touched it a little before sitting back on his legs. "Right. Well, it's definitely a leak, which you know. Could just be something that needs to be tightened up, or maybe even add some tape. Do you know where the water switch off is?"
"I do, it is in the kitchen," a stone throw away from where they were, but still a little away. "I can turn it off. I can also make you something to drink?"
Considering Peter was being so kind to come and look at things without knowing what was wrong, or indeed knowing anything about Wanda at all, she thought it was only right to offer him a drink, or even maybe a sandwich, she could make a sandwich for him. "Let me get that, and I will give you space. I will be right over there if you need me?" She didn't want to hover over him while he was working after all.
He replied with a grunt, already digging through his tools for what he needed. What he thought was potentially a 10 minute quick fix, turned into a half hour swearing session. A few bloody knuckles later, he was confident that it wouldn't leak again. Hopefully at least. Plumbing was one of his least favourite trades, even if it was a handy one to know, so the fact that he did manage to make a difference? Made him happy. When he called out to Wanda to put the water on, he waited and watched and after a few minutes, felt satisfied that it was all good.
Walking out of the bathroom, he wiped his hands on his jeans, leaving a dirty streak behind. "Well, I think that should hold, but if it doesn't, you know how to get a hold of me. You got any band-aids? I'm not too manly to admit I bleed. I just bleed behind man-tears."
She almost felt bad when things got a little complex it sounded; she understood most of the words Peter was muttering or grumbling, and those she didn't know she understood the concept behind. They weren't good words at least. So when it seemed like Peter had managed to fix things, Wanda was so much more than grateful. "Thank you so much, Peter." Of course when he showed that he'd hurt himself she automatically turned on the kitchen tap, wetting a dish towel to hand him to clean off his hands.
"You do not need to worry about that, I won't tell anyone." The concept of macho men not crying when they hurt was so odd to her, but Pete didn't seem to have issue with it. "I have a first aid kit, let me look at that." The kit was under the counter, decked out in what Google told her she needed for her first aid kit.
An unbidden flashback streaked through his mind as he watched Wanda gently tend to his cut. His mother tended to get the washcloth out too, clean his wounds, soothe thing with songs.... When was the last time someone did that? He barely knew this woman, and the care she was showing was unbelievable. It made him feel uncomfortable, and when that happened, he couldn't help the posturing. "Nah, first aid kit? what? Nah, I'm good, honest. Nothing wrong with some good, clean air hitting an open wound. That's what Vikings did all the time, and they conquered the world, all covered in blood and shit." He gave her a smirk, along with a smile. "I'm good. Honest. Hey, is that a sandwich?"
Wanda raised an eyebrow at Peter, given that he'd just been under her sink battling metal and porcelain, and that he'd hurt himself doing it -probably bashing his hands rather badly. "It is, but given that you are working with your hands, I'm going to insist you let me put bandaids on them at least." She didn't want to think about them getting infected or anything, she didn't like the idea that his hands might needlessly hurt, not when she had the bandaids.
"If it entices you, they're Hello Kitty?" Because they were the cheapest and Wanda had them for emergencies. "And then I made a sandwich and there's some soda there? As a thank you, because really, I appreciate this so much."
Peter himself to a sandwich, always grateful for free food, and grudgingly let Wanda dress his knuckles. "Hello Kitty is perfect," he said, around a mouthful. Swallowing hard, he reached for a can of pop and leaned himself up against the wall, putting a little bit of space next to them. Being that close to someone (that wasn't Yondu) was strange when he'd gone from five years of absolutely no touch. He'd never really given much thought of it but just that small hand hold brought a rush of feelings that he needed to stamp down immediately. Didn't help that Wanda was really cute and had this air of innocence about her that was intoxicating.
It was nice to know he wasn't dead inside though.
"And don't sweat it. I'm glad to help. I'm kind of crashing at my mom's friend's house right now, so it's nice to get out. I like keeping busy too. Keeps me out of trouble." He took a swig of his drink and lifted a finger. "Oh, and before you say anything? That cost a sandwich and a pop, so we're golden. It's like you read my mind."
She was rather glad she'd assumed correctly, that Peter wouldn't mind a cute little kitty on his injuries, even if he was just humouring her and would take them off later, at least it would give time for his hands to start to heal and hopefully avoid any infections. "Well, I'm glad my plumbing emergency was suitable to get you out of the house." She understood needing to get out and be productive, for sure.
"Are you sure? I put aside some money to pay you, a sandwich and a soda is hardly going to help pay your bills either?" Although, as she wrung her fingers together, the swell of appreciation probably clear on her hopeful face, Wanda offered a bright smile, "You will need to be careful to not be so kind, some people will take advantage of you."
Oh, she was killing him. How could he explain to her that actually he was the kind of guy her mom probably warned her about? He was usually the one taking advantage of people, seeing through their chinks to get whatever he wanted out of them. That was in the past though, he reminded himself. He really was trying now. "Yeah, well, it goes both ways, so, don't sweat it. I really can't see you trying to screw me over at any point so let's call this a 'nice to meet you' favour, and go from there, kay? If anything else goes wrong in this place" he motioned around the room, raising his eyebrows, "which will probably happen, give me a call." He took another large bite of his sandwich, surprised at how famished he was. "Good sandwich, by the way."
A 'nice to meet you' favour where she found out about a kind person, prepared to help her with home repairs, was probably exactly what she needed if she were entirely honest. It was nice to be trusted too, given that so many at home never trusted her or her kind, that Romani were supposedly tricksters and thieves, the worst of their people. "You're very sweet, and I'll remember to give you lots of good reviews if anyone ever asks." Because if Peter made a habit of this, he'd never get paid properly.
"Oh yes, my sandwiches are legendary. I'm the best sandwich maker in all of Romania. That was a real treat you got to try." She couldn't help but smile, enamoured with his attitude and relaxed. Maybe making friends wasn't so hard after all.
Romania? Peter had no idea where that was, but he knew it wasn't in the US. That would explain the twinge to her voice. "Hey man, always appreciative of food and uh, maybe don't advertise I came over. I'm still new here, and yeah... not the greatest reputation yet." He could still remember Officer Dickface's comments about how no one should trust him in the house. What the fuck would Peter do with a microwave anyways? "Not that you need to worry about that," he added in a rush. "I was a pretty messed up kid, made some stupid choices, and well, those kinda hang over a man's head hey." He smiled again though, trying to put her at ease.
"Romania though....that's ballsy, moving so far away. And alone.....you did move alone right?" That would explain why she needed help. "I know what that's like, being all alone in the world. If you ever need to bitch, or vent, or rant, feel free, okay?"
"We all make mistakes, it's not like anyone is perfect." Wanda believed in second chances, she got one. She might not have made poor decisions, but she still got a second chance to have and do things she might not be able to do. "If anyone asks about home repairs, I'll tell them honestly. You were professional and sweet and very honest." Because if Peter was trying to do better then he shouldn't be held back by something he was trying to make right.
"I didn't really have much choice. There were... issues at home, and some bad things happened. I was taken away for safety and the best treatment was here." The medical facilities that helped her and the agencies involved had donor groups or something in California, and afterwards her application for education went through to UC Irvine. "I am, yes." She still wasn't sure where her brother was, but maybe some day she'd find out, "I appreciate that, and you know, it goes both ways, okay? If you want to talk about anything. I am a good listener." And she felt like maybe Peter might need that from time to time. "I guess those of us who don't have anyone just need to find new people, right?"
If Peter had been alone, he might have let himself really let loose. There was such a genuine honesty and innocence about Wanda that was making him want to cry. Instead, he swallowed the rest of his sandwich and nodded at her. He wasn't going to probe and ask any questions, because he was grateful that she wasn't probing or asking any questions. "Sure, Wanda, sounds good. We're friends now, so you're kind of stuck with me until you tell me to fuck off because I'm way too old to be in your space." He gave a wink to show he was teasing and reached for his tool box. "Anyways, I should probably get going...it was super nice to meet you. Seriously."
She wasn't about to tell Peter right then that she'd never tell him to 'fuck off', not just because it wasn't in her to do, but because she was already short enough on actual people friends, she wasn't going to make one that was so nice to her go away. "Then I guess I'm stuck with you for good."
There were worse fates, she was sure of that. And if Peter didn't mind being handy with things, when needed, and they could come to agreements on when Wanda just fed him and when he'd accept money, Wanda was sure it would be a wonderful friendship.