PURE AND TAINTED ( wanda maximoff )

forty-one → you're making me ruin my makeup

PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
( you're making me ruin my makeup )

THEIR DINNER, SO FAR, WAS going very well, despite the rocky beginning. The hostess had taken one look at them and naturally assumed that they weren't on the list, to which Aline was ready to cause an incredibly loud scene and call over the manager. But Wanda, being the level-headed girl that she was, calmly spoke to the hostess and manager, making sure to include that their reservation had been made by Tony Stark himself, and then the two were taken to their table. From there, they had ordered their food and drinks and toasted to the fact that Aline had stolen one of Tony's many credit cards to pay for the meal. It felt even nicer that because of how dark the restaurant was, no one had recognized Wanda or given her a harsh look. Towards the end of their meal, the girls were laughing and enjoying the rest of their night.

Aline chuckled, leaning on her enclosed fist as she nursed a glass of red wine. "I can't remember the last time I had a date go so well," she muttered to herself.

But Wanda had heard her, and the world flew out of her mouth before she could even think. "With Maddie?" Her eyes went wide as she realized what she said, one hand moving to cover her mouth. "S-sorry, I didn't think, I 一"

"No, no, it's... it's okay." Aline nodded, suddenly looking sad. "I totally killed the mood, didn't I?" She chuckled humorlessly as if to lift the tension but failed.

Wanda watched the tribrid from across the table, pursing her lips. "No, it's my fault." She shook her head. "You know you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. It was the Red Witches' fault."

Aline rolled her eyes and shook her head. "She'd still be alive if I hadn't met her. Madelaine would still be alive if it wasn't for me." She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to set her glass down. If she held it any longer, she was afraid she'd snap it between her fingers. Looking up, she locked eyes with Wanda. "She died because... because she loved me. And now..." She trailed off, afraid to say the words. Aline was scared that if she said it aloud, it'd somehow come true.

"You are not going to lose me," Wanda said firmly, reaching across and grasping her hand in hers.

She snapped her eyes open, her tone coming out harsher than she had expected. "You don't know that."

Wanda sighed, shaking her head. "I do," Wanda said. "I know that because things are different than they were fifty years ago. Your enemies are gone, remember? No one's going to come after us."

Yes, those enemies were technically gone 一 Aline had made sure of that. But that didn't mean she was allowed to relax; just because the Red Witches were gone didn't mean that the rest of her enemies were. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before someone in her past came back to haunt her. And sure, the Red Witches and Ultron were defeated, but that didn't necessarily mean that their lives would be easier from now on. Who knows 一 maybe Rome or Maggie could make a reappearance, but she seriously doubted that. Her sister wanted absolutely nothing to do with her, and Rome had cut off any connection with her shortly after Madelaine died. Besides, why the hell would they want to stay with a monster like her?

"Aline, you know they're gone," Wanda repeated. "You know this, I know this."

"It's not that simple, Wanda," Aline sighed. She looked down at their interlocked hands, sadly smiling. "I know I told you a lot of things, but there are just some things you don't understand. There are certain things I can't walk away from, things I can't let go of." With her other hand, she reached for her glass and downed the rest of her wine.

"Like what?" Wanda asked, eyeing her soulmate. Of course she wasn't an idiot; she knew that there were certain details Aline had omitted back in the hospital room, but she hadn't minded. There were just some things Aline wasn't comfortable with telling her yet and she was okay. What she wasn't okay with was Aline holding back like this, not bothering to explain herself. Wanda wanted to understand, but she wasn't letting her. She made sure to squeeze Aline's hand harder. "Like what?" she repeated.

"So much." Her voice was quiet, shaking as she spoke. "What I am, it didn't come without consequence. The things I've done, I've collected a lot of enemies in my incredibly long life, maybe even including family." Aline shrugged, turning her head briefly to the side. There were a few other couples out enjoying their dinner, but none of them spared a glance at the two girls.

"Like... Rome and Maggie?" Wanda tested carefully, only to have Aline laugh mockingly in her face. She knew to test the waters very carefully when it came to Aline's family. She remembered that her father and brothers were killed in an attack on her village, her mother died shortly after because of the spell she used on Aline and her sister had used all her strength, and that she had spent most of her immortal life with Maggie and Rome. Her cousin, a witch whose life was permanently linked to both hers and Maggie's, was named Rome and hadn't seen Aline in half a century because of what occurred with the Red Witches. Maggie had disappeared decades before that, declaring that she never wanted to see her younger sister again, and that was the last time Aline had seen her. Wanda had wanted to ask more about them, but seeing as how the last (and only) time she heard about them, they were both in the hospital room and it didn't really seem appropriate at the time to ask.

"When I first turned," Aline started, hesitant to speak, "it was because I made a selfish decision, because I wanted to do something for myself and not for what was right for my village. And because of that, I got my father and brothers killed. I blamed myself for years... a small part of me still does." She gulped, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "My sister hated me because of that, and when she finally got fed up with me, she left. Maddie died because of something I did, and when I took my revenge, Rome left me."

It felt strange to air this all out to Wanda after holding back for so many years. Even when she joined the Avengers and told them about her past, she hadn't revealed this to them. For them to know her deepest fears, it was horrifying. And it was even scarier knowing that Wanda had seen these fears. As carefree as Aline appeared, she was subconsciously aware of her actions and their consequences. All her life, the people she loved died or got hurt because of her, and she couldn't let that happen again. But it was only a matter of time before something happened to her friends, to Wanda...

"I can't lose you too." Aline's voice came out as a whisper, barely audible over the quiet chatter of the other patrons and the clattering of utensils scraping against the plates. If Wanda hadn't been listening, her statement would have been lost to the wind.

Wanda scooted her chair closer to the table, and in doing so, was closer to Aline. She brought their joined hands up to her lips, kissing Aline's knuckles gently then caressed her thumb over her knuckles. "You won't," she said, and when she saw the look Aline gave her, she repeated herself in a more confident and stronger voice. "You won't. I won't let those monsters from your past take you away from me; you're stuck with me, okay? And once we face certain..." She paused for a moment, thinking of what to say. There was the whole immortality thing they were facing, but Wanda didn't want to think of what to do about that. "Obstacles, I guess, we will figure it out once we get there. We'll be okay, Ali."

She couldn't help the smile growing on her face or the tears swimming in her dark eyes. Lifting her free hand, she quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. "Oh, you bitch," she muttered through a laugh, "you're making me ruin my makeup. God, Nat's gonna be pissed with me for ruining her masterpiece."

"I'm sure she'll get over it," Wanda grinned. "Now why don't we get out of here? I'm sure we can get some dessert back home."

A/N: ahh this chapter is hot
garbage i apologize ;-; ;-;

BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE I
AM SEEING ENDGAME THIS
WEEKEND!!! AHHH also if i
see any form of spoilers, with or
without context, i will not
hesitate to delete, block &
report your ass :)

Y'ALL THINK THIS IS
A GAME?!???!????