The Scarlet Apprentice

A realisation

"You need to stay still." Wanda reminded her for the second time.

As the show played in the background, the two girls sat, cross legged, facing each other on the couch. The blanket was laid over both of their legs to keep them warm, even though it wasn't cold outside.

The weather was slowly getting hotter and they both knew that. It was obvious by the way the need for a thick blanket at night decreased and the windows weren't strong enough to keep out the burning warmth.

During the fourth episode of season 2, a conversation about wanda's rings started up. Then, from there, it turned into a conversation about her black nail polish. Eventually, wanda offered to paint y/n's nails for her, using the exact same polish.

Of course, y/n accepted the offer without hesitation, which led to them sitting, cross legged, opposite each other on the couch.

Wanda had positioned a pillow in her lap which y/n rested her hand on, making the process a lot easier. However, even though y/n absolutely loved the moment she was having with Wanda, it didn't revoke the fact that she was a naturally fidgety person.

"I can feel your leg bouncing." Wanda noticed with a small smile.

She sighed, "what else am I supposed to move?"

"Cant you just stay still?" Wanda suggested.

"No, that's impossible for me." She shook her head, "it feels like I haven't moved in ages."

"We've been doing this for 3 minutes." She explained.

Y/n groaned, "wow."

"You really are impatient, aren't you?" Wanda squinted.

"Is it that noticeable?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah." She chuckled softly, "you're just lucky I'm so patient, otherwise we'd be a mess."

"Whatever would I do without you?" She dramatically asked, her hand moving slightly in the process of her charade.

"You need to keep your hand still." Though it was an order, the threatening tone was drowned out by her giggle, "i can't have black nail polish all over my furniture."

With an annoyed groan, y/n dropped her head back, "how do you expect me to sit still?"

"Just find something to focus on other than the fact you're sitting still." She suggested, "think of something, or look at something, do whatever."

With a faint huff, y/n allowed her eyes to aimlessly wander around her vicinity in case anything would catch her attention. Nothing did, at first, which only discouraged her.

She soon dropped her head down, unknowingly giving her eyes the perfect thing to gaze upon. Wanda held the lid of the varnish between her fingers, lightly brushing it across y/n's fingernails, but that wasn't what caught her attention.

On almost everyone of wanda's fingers was a ring with some kind of red on most of them. For example, one was a small red gem with black wiring intertwining around it, locking it in place. Another one was a slightly thicker one with a red line through it, which was on her middle finger.

Y/n gazed at the rings on wanda's fingers whilst wanda was heavily concentrated on painting the nails. Wanda's hand was gently gripped onto y/n's leg - as if it would keep her more still - but y/n's eyes stayed glued to the rings.

Feeling y/n's gaze on her, wanda asked, "You like them?"

Then, her stare was broken, "oh-... yeah, I do. They're really pretty."

"You can have one, if you want." She told her.

"Wha-." She furrowed her brows, "seriously?"

Then, wanda finally looked up at her and smiled softly. Their eyes remained connected, sending a thousand messages that they didn't have the courage to say out loud - not right now, anyway.

However, their little moment was cut short by the loud scene that played in the background, which caught their attention. Their reactions to the violent scene was very different, but it wasn't acknowledged until one them decided to speak up.

"Oh, wow. That's... violent." Wanda squinted, looking at the tv.

Unlike wanda, y/n was purely entranced by what they'd just seen, "It's lucky she's so fucking hot, though."

Y/n's attention was completely fixated on the scene that played, whereas wanda looked at the way the light hit y/n's face.

"Yeah." Wanda answered, "she really is." Although, she wasn't talking about villanelle.

Moments past and neither of the two had taken their eyes off of what they were focused on. Wanda began to notice every little movement y/n's face made as she reacted to the scene. She focused on it so much that she didn't remember there was a show playing in the background. That was, until, she snapped herself out of her trance.

Clearing her throat, wanda turned her head back round, "Your nails are done, by the way."

That caught y/n's attention, "oh, really?" She asked before looking at them, "wow, thanks, wanda."

"No problem." She smiled, "You look good."

Without looking back up at wanda, y/n big her lip to hide the smile she wanted to let out. She kept her head down so wanda wasn't able to see her flustered, but little did she know, wanda could feel it.

"Oh, before I forget." Wanda gently slid one of the rings off her finger, "for you."

She began shaking her head, "Wanda, you don't have-."

"I want to give it to you, shut up." She smiled playfully as she cut her off, "give me your hand."

She squinted, "you're not gonna... put a rock in my hand, are you?"

Wanda chuckled, "no, that's your thing. Just give me your hand."

Without any further hesitation, y/n offered her hand to wanda, and wanda gently took it. Wanda held the entirety of y/n's hand in her own whilst she slowly put the ring on her finger.

Y/n couldn't take her eyes off wanda - not even for a second - whilst the ring was being put on. Even when wanda finished putting the ring on, she didn't want to remove her eyes from her. However, eventually she did have to look down to see how her nails had turned out.

"Wow." Y/n not only looked at the nail polish, but the ring on her finger, "you basically just proposed."

Wanda couldn't think of anything to reply with. Even if she did, she wouldn't have been able to get it out clearly due to the smile that took up her face.

A warmth sparked in her heart as she watched the way y/n's eyes glazed over the ring, even if the ring seemed plain. To y/n, the ring wasn't plain. It was a part of wanda, and she loved it. Just as she loved every other part of wanda.

The more y/n's smile grew just looking at the ring, the more the fire in wanda's heart burned with a passion.

That's when wanda realised something that struck her to her core. It faded her smile and knocked her out of her daydream state.

She was getting attached. So attached that even the thought of y/n not wanting to do something with her made her ache. It wasn't the attachment that worried her, it was that, in that moment, she was reminded of the fate that the people she loved seemed to get.

The attached feeling brought a familiarity that she was able to feel once again, but along with that familiarity came the painful memories of those that she'd lost.

Her parents, her brother, vision. She loved them all, but they never seemed to survive in the end, and she didn't want that happening to anyone else, especially not y/n. Wanda never considered the possibility of losing another loved one when she first saw y/n because she never saw their relationship blossoming into something that made her feel whole.

The reminder caused a worry to grow within her. A dangerous, poisonous worry that gained the possibility to ruin how their relationship furthered. It wasn't a feeling she could just forget about, either.

Part of her wanted to be as close to y/n as she could, but another part of her wanted to distance herself for y/n's safety.