The Warning
“Run.”
The whisper in the darkness sends chills down your spin.
“Run.”
Your heart begins to pound as familiar screams fill the silence.
“Run.”
Your throat begins to close with fear as incomprehensible images flash rapidly.
“RUN!”
“No!” The scream rips out of your throat as your eyes shoot open. You expect to be in danger but you're far from it. You're in the cozy bedroom of the Institute, lit by the yellowish lamp on the bedside table. You take a moment to realize Wanda is sitting beside you as well, her hands on your face and her eyes locked on yours, filled with concern. You see her mouth moving, but you can't hear a thing, so you focus on repeating the breathing exercises she's taught you, and slowly the room stops spinning around you.
“Honey, please, talk to me.” It's the first thing you hear your wife saying, and the sound of her voice is like a drug to you, soothing your every sense, your muscles relaxing. You take a deep breath then, resting your forehead against hers, and Wanda does her best to give you the time to calm down, biting her tongue to stop her questions from coming out. So she takes her hands to your hair, playing with it between her fingers to try and calm you down. But not long after you're crying, and the brunette can't hold it back any longer.
“Was it her again?” Your wife's voice is concerned, hesitant, and when you pull away to look at her and find her eyes shining with uneasiness, you know you can't do this anymore.
“You have to leave,” you ignore her question completely, standing up from the bed in the clumsy manner of a troubled person.
“What?!” Wanda asks in disbelief, watching with her eyebrows furrowed as you shove her stuff back into her suitcase.
“You have to go home. You can't be here.”
“No, Y/n, I-”
“No, Wanda!” She stops getting out of bed at the same moment, startled by your sudden scream. Her eyes fall to your trembling hands for a moment, and you sallow harshly, the tears pooling in your eyes as you say more gently, “I almost lost you once, I can't go through that again. I can't…” You break down crying, sitting on the floor with your hand on your face, and Wanda is on her knees in front of you in record time, her own eyes watery with concern. She hugs you tightly, and swallows the lump in her throat when the action only makes you cry harder.
“Honey…” She calls softly when you wrap your arms around her, so hard she almost has trouble breathing, but she doesn't stop you. “You're not going to lose me.” She reassures you gently, and doesn't stop her soothing words until you are no longer sobbing, and your grip around her is not as desperate anymore. “What did you dream about?” She tries again, and this time you let out a long sigh, pulling away from her to look into her eyes as you tell her about the nightmare you had.
“She'll have no mercy if we don't leave. And I have to do it, I have to stay. But you... You can't stay here.” You try again, but this time the brunette doesn't contradict.
“No, can't you see?” She says instead, a smile on her lips that confuses you just as much as her question itself. “She's scared!” She claims, letting out a low chuckle. “She already knows she’ll lose. That's why she's trying to make you back down. She's trying to scare you because of how terrified she is.” Wanda explains her line of reasoning, and you frown, pondering that possibility for a moment. “We can do this. You, me, and everyone else. We’re trained. We’re a team. She has no one. We can do this.” Your wife whispers at the sight of your thoughtful expression, the smile never leaving her face, but you shake your head.
“You-”
“I know,” she interrupts you gently, that easy smile of hers that you fall in love with every time you see it. “You can't lose me. But you gotta understand, I can't lose you too. I couldn’t forgive myself if I wasn’t there to protect you. The same way you wouldn’t be able to if the roles were reversed.” She says, both hands on your face. “You're my everything, my love. A life without you has no meaning to me. And we…” She takes a short pause, and you're too shaken by the events of this night to notice her hesitation. “We still have a lot to live for. Still so much to fight for.” You would never be able to tell that it wasn't what she initially intended to say, so you just smile back, resting both hands on her thighs to caress them.
“We do,” you agree gently, offering her an apologetic grimace as you add, “I'm sorry. For trying to push you away again. I promised not to do that.” The brunette lets out a low chuckle, letting her hands fall to her neck so she can play with your hair.
“It's okay. I know it's hard for you to get it into your head that you don't have to be the hero all by yourself. But I’m here and we have a team.” It's your turn to laugh at the teasing, shaking your head in playful scolding.
“I love you so much,” you tell her honestly, moving her hands to her hips so you can pull her closer.
The brunette smiles as she leans her face towards your own, your lips brushing as she says, “I love you forever.”
You both smile against the kiss when your mouths meet, and all the worries you had when you woke up are sent to the back of your mind. How your wife had this power over you, you'd never be able to tell. All you knew was that you could not possibly live without her, and you'd just have to hope that you would never have to. “We should get some sleep now, we’ll have a long day tomorrow,” you suggest when the kiss ends, but the smirk on Wanda's lips lets you know she's not up to that idea.
“Hmm, I'm not sure I can sleep right now. Maybe you can help me work out this extra energy.”
“Oh?” You let out, in a mixture of suggestiveness and amusement, smiling at the brunette's eyes fixed on your lips. “And what would you like for me to do?” You ask in that low tone that makes her skin tingle.
Her eyes only go up to yours so she says, “let me show you.” You're the one who breaks the kiss instead, swallowing her giggle when you get up from the floor with her on your lap. You walk with her towards the bed then. And, when her back hits the mattress, neither of you is thinking about the fate of the multiverse laying in your hands.