PURE AND TAINTED ( wanda maximoff )

fifteen → i need to not say nineties' slang

PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
( i need to not say nineties' slang )

AFTER MONTHS OF FADING, Madelaine's soulmate mark was gone. When it finally disappeared, Aline had cried for days in her room. It was as if the last bit of her previous life was leaving her and she wasn't ready to let go. Both Steve and Natasha had tried to comfort her as best they could, but eventually failed. Instead, they just sat with her as she cried, listening helplessly as she wailed into her blankets and pillows. And the day when Aline had finally gotten out of bed with dried tears on her cheeks, she hadn't been as chummy as she usually was.

While yes, Aline had decided to finally let go of Madelaine and her past, it still haunted her. She lost Madelaine slowly over time; she started to lose her in all sorts of different ways 一 she forget the way she smelled and danced around the room in that ridiculous dress of hers and how much she showed Aline how much she loved her. Having her ring was just a constant reminder of what she lost. Losing that soulmate mark, it would've been nice to have held onto one thing of the past.

Then a few short days later, Aline had woken up in bed at a sudden sharpness forming on her ribs. She played with the green gem necklace around her throat, tugging at it so hard she thought it would break, and she gripped the sheets tightly. Once the pain started to subside, she let out a long breath of air and sighed.

She sat up in bed, lifting her nightshirt up to see the new mark. The words were smaller now, written in a much smaller and more delicate handwriting than Madelaine's. Aline touched a hand to the new mark; she rubbed at it, as if to see it was a prank. When she realized that this was real and this wasn't coming off, for a quick moment, she hoped that whoever her soulmate is was nothing like Madelaine but at the same time, she wished they were just like her.

Then she realized what had happened. She has another soulmate. The mere thought made her want to throw up. This shouldn't be possible! In some sick and twisted way, it felt as if she was replacing Madelaine. She loved her and she doesn't want to replace her... but perhaps this is what she would have wanted. No matter what happened between the two girls, Madelaine has always wanted Aline to be happy; would she be happy to see this is where Aline ended up?

Hunching over, Aline groaned as loudly as she could. Of course she wanted to pursue her new soulmate 一 everyone always did 一 but it just didn't sit right. It just felt like she was throwing Madelaine away...

A knock at the door made her jump in her spot, and she rushed to cover the new mark. She didn't want to tell the others just yet. Aline stood up, kicking her sheets away from her legs just as she heard Natasha shout to her. "Aline!"

Rushing to the door, Aline opened up and hoped that there was no trace of her previous anxiousness. "Hey, what's up?" She poked her head out into the hall, seeing that Natasha was already dressed and ready for the day.

"What's up is that you didn't answer after me shouting for you," Natasha replied. "You okay? What's wrong?" The woman tried to look over Aline's shoulder, as if there was something worth seeing.

Aline rolled her eyes. "What, a girl doesn't answer the door and suddenly there's something wrong?" she quipped, tilting her head. "I just didn't want to get out of bed. I'm a lazy bum."

Natasha hummed to herself and nodded. "All right. Just wanted to let you know that breakfast is almost ready."

"Okay," Aline said and nodded. "I'll see you there in a minute. Just let me get changed," she started to shut the door but stopped and stuck her head out, "or are you gonna question that too?" She playfully stuck her tongue out.

The ex-assassin chuckled and turned down the hallway, throwing a "Well, hurry up!" over her shoulder. Aline quickly watched as Natasha disappeared down the hall before pushing herself back into her bedroom. She leaned her back against the door, staring at the opposite wall. There were a few pictures that were staring back at her, most of them recent ones with her and the entire team. One of her favorites was a picture of her and Tony grinning at the camera, Steve's backside facing them with a KICK ME sign taped to him 一 it was something so stupid and moronic, but she wanted to feel childish and Tony was more than happy to comply. Aline didn't have many pictures from her past, mainly because she had gotten rid of them and they were holed up in storage units across the country. Why would she want to keep pictures of people who've hurt her and she's lost?

Looking up at the ceiling, Aline pursed her lips and sighed. "It's fine, it's fine, you're totally cool as a cucumber," she whispered to herself. At realizing what she said, she pushed herself off the door and straightened her back. The tribrid shook her head. "I need to not say nineties' slang." With that, she headed to the bathroom.

___

In the beginning of the afternoon, the sun just starting to roast her pale skin, the brunette felt something sharp touch her inner arm. This wasn't the best time for this, she realized, but it's not as if she planned for this to happen. She let out a hiss and gripped the closest thing to her, which happened to be her brother.

"Sestra?" her brother asked in a soft tone, eyes already wide with alarm. He reached out and wrapped a gentle arm around her.

"I'm fine," she panted, tightening her grip on the poster in her hand. With her free hand, she reached out and touched her aching arm. Now was not the time. She looked around her; there was no way they'd get back to the back of the crowd safely, with the other rioters pushing them closer and closer to the line of police officers. "I'll be okay."

"Well, you don't look okay!" Her brother turned his blue eyes glared at the officers. "Did they hurt you?"

She nearly rolled her eyes at the thought. While she had to admit that their government was currently going to shit, her brother was always prone to blaming them first. "No, no, it's not that." The brunette finally let out a sigh of relief, feeling the pain start to surpass. "I'm fine, i-it doesn't hurt as much anymore." She gently rubbed the sore spot on her arm.

Her brother pursed his lips, rubbing soothing circles on her lower back. "Here, let me see," he said softly, and it was a wonder that he could be heard through the yelling and cursing.

The girl nodded and adjusted her shirt to see the mark. She looked down at her pale arm, eyes wide with surprise at the black inky words tattooed to her side. She'd heard of these in fairy tales and stories her mother and father would tell her before they had died. She'd heard only rumors of soulmate marks, never once believing them to actually be true. Hell, she'd never even met someone who had this, it was apparently that rare. But here it was, clear as day, written in a rushed handwriting.

She found herself smiling, giving a light giggle that only a few people too close had heard. The brunette bit her lip to suppress her laughter, which caught her brother's attention. "What? What is it? Are you okay?"

The girl smiled wider and looked up into her brother's eyes. "Oh, Pietro," she said and hugged him tightly, "I've never been happier."