marvel oneshots

maximoff | so scarlet it was ( f )

summary - life with wanda was so scarlet, it was almost maroon

word count - 3.1k

AGE OF ULTRON

You shouldn't have fallen in love so easily, especially not with her, you were a trained Avenger for thors sake, love was supposed to be at the bottom of your priorities barrel. That was easier said than done, because from the very first time that your eyes met across the battlefield, everything inside of you froze, skipped, and stuttered all at once. You should've been alert enough to detonate the blast before it could wound Clint, usually you were steps ahead of it, but her eyes were absorbing all the explosions around you and the soft watercolor green was alight with fireworks so beautiful you couldn't look away. After that, you stood no chance of ever clearing her from your head. Even if she was supposed to be the enemy, even if you'd never experienced love before. Nat and Clint gave you the benefit of the doubt at first. You never missed your mark on a mission, but the cold temperatures and the fact that Helen said your heart rate was alarmingly high for your average bpm had given them the slightest indication that something was bothering you. That maybe, you hadn't been so recovered from your history with Hydra as they thought. So, they sent you back to therapy.

Truthfully, therapy distracted you from her for a while, revisiting your past could distract you from anything for a short amount of time, but then you started having dreams. Not the nightmares that tickled your belly and drenched you in sweat and had you knocking on Natashas bedroom door at three in the morning looking for evidence that you really had been saved, but dreams of what ifs that all included her. Dreams where Natasha and Clint weren't the ones who found you barely clinging to life in an abandoned facility in Russia, dreams where it was her. That should've been the second indicator that you were never going to escape the curse she laid upon your heart without a single word. But you still tried to convince yourself that you could get over this, that you could see straight with clear judgment.

When she got inside of Natasha's head the second time you crossed paths, you should've been enraged. You should've been cured of any delusion you harbored in your heart, but the attack only made you hurt for her. If things had played out differently, if Natasha and Clint had found her like they'd found you, maybe she wouldn't be the enemy. If Natasha and Clint hadn't found you, maybe you'd have ended up in her shoes, afraid to go against the only orders you knew. In moments like these, where Natasha's half unconscious lost in her mind, and Clint is rolling in panic, and Tony is enraged and defeated, you seem to be the only one aware enough to recognize that maybe this is all she knows. That maybe, she's just trying to not to get hurt again.

Natasha sees your feelings for what they are a few hours after landing at the farm. You had been sorting through your small selection of clothes that Laura organized in the back of the guest room closet while Natasha took a shower. You wanted to find something loose that didn't irritate the healing wounds on your side from the first mission, but you were so far in your head you'd looked at the same shirt four times without realizing. Natasha had watched the entire event unfold, and like she never could when it came to you, fought feelings of rage and pride. You are the closest thing she's ever going to have to a daughter, and watching you fall in love with someone so dangerous, she doesn't know what the appropriate reaction is.

"You like her." The assassin's tone was even, not giving away if she felt one way or another about the predicament you've landed in, but keeping her posture open so you wouldn't shut down like you had a habit of doing. She and Clint knew you like the back of their hand, how had it taken them this long to realize you weren't just reeling at the confrontation of your past, but falling in love with the enemy. You hadn't even noticed she was still in the room with you, and that the shower water hadn't been running at all. Every muscle in your body tensed, you were caught, and this could only go so many ways.