WHAT: Having a talk about recent changes as they settle into the cottage more comfortably WHERE: Wanda's forest cottage WHEN: Early August WARNINGS: It's very soft, Wanda has a third son STATUS: Complete
It was nothing she couldn’t handle. Wanda had restrained herself plenty in Vallo, choosing to pursue other resources to accomplish things in most cases than to rely on her magic - since the core of it was creation, rewriting atoms to fulfill her desires. Her latest memories from home further proved the point that, unchecked, she was dangerous. But change was a whirlwind and time was not kind, and the place she had once called a home had faded into nothing around them with the disappearance of one Stephen Strange.
(Stephen Maximoff-Strange, technically, but not like Vallo gave a shit.)
She and Peter, they were the permanent residents (alongside her demonic knights) that had been left homeless. The options were there, though - Morningside was a reliable route. Lodging was free there but she did not care to be in the city anymore. The other, however, was nestled deep in Vallo forest. It had been her wedding present from Stephen.
It wasn’t meant to be theirs, a quiet respite from the hustle and bustle of urban Vallo sprawl. A stone pathway, a kaleidoscope of colored flowers spread about wildly, winding vines up the side of the building - beautiful. The inside was a gothic kind of rustic, fully furnished and functioning with all the bells and whistles (television, and streaming services which were important to her because no doubt that she will be crying on the couch at some point watching The Office). The issue was that it had one bedroom, and since she was making sure Peter had some kind of homebase with her no matter what route he would take in the future that would just not do.
Magic added more to it, the building blocks of chaos piling on top of one another to create something straight out of her imagination - a bedroom for him, one for the twins (should they ever wanted to spend the night) and a spare in case because who knows when that would come in handy. There was a Waypoint nearby for transportation. It would work well.
“I know this is very different from what you are used to,” Wanda told him, watching him carefully from the corner of her eye. They had picked up some groceries to stock up with - most of their things had been moved in already, and the Knights of Wundagore were dormant statues appointed in each direction (north, south, east and west) for protection. “Forest dwelling and city living are two extremes, but I hope you will be comfortable? There is no pressure to stay, Peter.”
Wanda was never going to kick him out, no - but she worried that he stayed with her because he felt like he owed Stephen something, and the last thing she wanted to do was hold him back. She was fine.
(She was not fine. But she will get there.)
When Peter had received the text about Stephen’s disappearance, it had felt like the ground had fallen out from under him. It was the first time that Peter had had someone he care about disappear, and for it to have been Stephen felt like losing Tony all over again.
He tried not to think of it like that. Tony had died, Stephen had just gone home, where he was still very much alive and healthy. But it wasn’t like home was safe, exactly, and he and Stephen had talked about how Vallo was like a second chance, a place to do better, a place where they could actually build a life instead of just going from one threat to the next.
And so maybe ‘going home’ wasn’t that much better.
Wanda, at least, was still here, and that counted for something. He’d never been quite sure if she liked him, exactly – she was friendly, generally, but he’d been half-convinced she was only putting up with him because Stephen wanted him around. He’d grown attached though, nearly as attached as he’d been with Stephen, and so when she said she’d wanted to keep living with him, he’d felt nothing but relief. Not because he owed Stephen something, but because he owed Wanda something. She’d taken him in when she didn’t have to, and he wanted to be there for her now. Because however much she was acting like she was holding it together, he was pretty sure she probably wasn’t.
“The Sanctum was pretty different than what I’m used to too,” Peter pointed out. “And like, Vallo in general. I mean, there’s magic everywhere. Besides, the Waypoint isn’t too far, and there’s like, trees and stuff, so I’ll have lots of space to practice web-slinging in forestry areas. Maybe I can even practice hunting or something! Catch us dinner the old-fashioned way.”
Peter would not be taking up hunting. The idea of killing, and then skinning, a rabbit was enough to make him blanch. But it was the thought that counted. Probably.
“I think it’s kind of nice? The cabin’s really nice, and I think it’s good to switch things up a little. You know, so you don’t keep falling into the same routines. And… And I wanted to stick by you, so even if it is kind of weird, this is where I want to be.”
Practice hunting. Wanda snorted to conceal a laugh. The door opened on its own when their presence was detected, though, and inside they went. It smelled like herbs and incense, lavender and maybe a hint of sandalwood - and greeting them was a chirp from Cloud, circling their ankles.
Every bit of it was bittersweet. Everything had an echo of Stephen. There was always something she saw that made her go yes, Stephen picked that or yes, Stephen would have like this. It brought a mix of comfort and ache, and she had to keep telling herself I’m used to this.
The best she could do was move forward.
“You will always have a home with me,” Wanda told him as she led the way to the kitchen, setting down the recyclable bags. Having a normal fridge again was going to be an adjustment. “I mean that. You are one of ours. And I know you were closer to Stephen but I like having you around.”
Peter knelt down to give Cloud a scritch behind the ear, smiling a little as he arched his back for more pets, which Peter was happy to do for him before he jogged after Wanda to the kitchen.
He frowned a little, tilting his head to the side. “I hope I didn’t make you think that I was only hanging around because of Stephen,” Peter said. “I mean, we had all the history from home,” and he suspected that Stephen had felt guilty about what had happened there, and Peter had wanted to make sure that he didn’t hold it against him – that whole mess had been Peter’s own stupid fault, “but I like spending time with you too. And you make a mean lasagna, so I’d be stupid to give that up.”
“I’ll make sure to make that soon, then.” Wanda wanted to stay occupied anyway. The shop was still here - hers now, completely - and while she knew that it wouldn’t be completely world ending if she vegetated on the couch and mope, she didn’t want to make that a regular occurrence.
The world would spin on. The days would continue to pass, people would go on and do their best. Life didn’t stop because she had lost again. It wasn’t even death this time; Stephen was back home, swept away by some mysterious woman to stop an incursion (with no recollection of his time here). Wanda was dead to him there. It was what it was.
Sighing, she started putting away all the fridge staples. “I suspect not much will change though - Tommy and Billy will be coming in and out regularly. This place is protected against most of what Vallo may throw at us. Do you think you’ll be bringing MJ around here?” Wanda asked, glancing over her shoulder with a wry smile. “I could always make the two of you dinner and mysteriously vanish. It wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Even if it wasn’t magic, with an Avenger and someone who’s practically an Avenger living here, I don’t think most things would stand a chance if they tried to attack.” He shot her a cocky smile, which quickly wavered when he thought about the MJ question.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I would like to, I think. But I uh… I still haven’t told her I’m Spider-Man? Or about everything that happened back home. All our history.” He ran his hand through her hair. “Man, she’s going to be so mad that I waited so long when I finally do tell her. If. If I finally tell her. I should probably tell her, right?”
Practically an Avenger? Oh, no, Peter was definitely one - he’d fought with them, was traumatized like them. Those were basically the qualifications. But regardless, she was sure they were secure here. Wanda would be delighted to see someone or something threaten them here.
“Umm,” she blinked, shutting the fridge doors and turning towards him. “I think you should? In the scheme of things it won’t be the strangest thing to process, considering -” Wanda gestured at everything around them, the fact that they were here. In Vallo. “And she clearly didn’t want to forget you. Losing her memories of you wasn’t her choice.”
That made Wanda think, though.
“I could always try - restoring her memories too, if she wants?”
“No, it wasn’t. But not telling her was my choice.” He frowned. “I don’t know if it was the right one. Back home, I’m still not convinced it was the wrong choice. I don’t think it was the right choice here.”
And if he told her, and she wanted nothing to do with him afterward, well, that would be his own fault. He owed her the truth.
“Could you really?” he asked. He didn’t know why he was surprised, because when he thought about it, of course that was something Wanda was able to do. “Yeah. Yeah, if she wants to, and you think you can, then yes, please. Please do that.”
Wanda didn’t dabble in the fine art of mindfuckery anymore unless there was explicit consent. She had done it with Mobius, with Adora - and both times they had reached out to her. It was a skill that came to her with frightening ease. “I had to work around a memory suppressant spell with a friend before,” she hummed. “It was a little more complex but not impossible. I should be able to bring hers back without an issue.”
But, of course, it would be MJ’s decision. She deserved being able to make it.
“You should definitely have that talk with her,” she said, maneuvering around him to move some stuff into the cupboards - but not before she gave his shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “After your birthday. Enjoy it before you make any life-changing decisions.”
Peter didn’t know much of anything about magic, but he wanted to believe that any sort of spell that had to be cast over the entire world couldn’t have been too complicated on an individual basis – anything that was applied over multiple objects had to be pretty simple at its base. Too many moving parts, otherwise. At least, he hoped so.
“Thanks, Wanda,” he said, moving in next to her so he could help put things away. “And yeah, I’ll let her know that you could do that for her. If she wanted you to.” He hesitated for a moment, and then he stepped closer to give her a hug: a thank you for everything, from sticking around, to letting him stick around, to the advice. It was… nice.
A hug wasn’t expected but the surprise was pleasant - Wanda wasn’t in the position to shy away from an embrace lately. It was returned tightly. “Thank you,” she laughed, pulling away after a long moment. She cradled his face between her hands, squishing a little. Peter was too young to endure what life has put him through, but trauma and danger didn’t discriminate when it came to age. She knew that too damn well. “For even wanting to be here.”
Stephen had so much guilt about what happened with Peter, and she had been onboard with the idea of taking him in from the very beginning. That thought wasn’t changing despite his absence. “If you want to finish putting up the groceries for me I will order us takeout. Thai sound good to you?”
Her husband’s (yes, she still considered herself married) favorite.
“Thai sounds great,” Peter said, already turning toward the groceries. It reminded him of dinners with May at Prachya Thai – it hurt, but not necessarily in a bad way. “Order me some larb? Oh, and some sticky rice pudding please!”