explosion | OPEN POST.

[He hands over one of the cinnamon donuts, placing it in her outstretched hand automatically, idly licking the powder off his fingers before taking a second donut for himself, one with icing.]

Yeah?

[It is nice to hear, even if Pietro doesn't act like it, simply shrugging it off and making an annoyed noise at Wanda's elbow-nudging. Vasili is a genuinely nice person and very tolerant, but Pietro had definitely pissed him off the last time they'd spoken, over something trivial he's sure, but doesn't actually remember what it was about - an unfortunately very common scenario for them and has been since they were kids. It's awkward now sometimes, because Pietro feels guilty for keeping up with appearances and not realising until it's too late that he'd said something too insensitive or completely tactless when he knows the state of things with Vasili's family.]

How is his mother?

[He tries to make it sound like he doesn't already know the answer is "not good" at the very least.]

Oh, you know…

[ Wanda lets her words trail off as she keeps her head bowed and rips her donut. She eats her small bit, turning to face Pietro although she keeps her gaze on his hands. She wishes she had something positive to follow it up with, but instead, she lets her shoulders sag. ]

Not good.

[ One day, she wishes to have good news. That the people around her aren't suffering anymore, that someone she likes isn't going to lose their mother just like she and Pietro lost theirs. She likes Vasili's mother a lot, given she used to be friends with their mother. Her not getting any better feels like yet another personal slight from Stark. ]

But he says that she enjoys the books from the secondhand bookshop still. She has a growing pile of books she's read that he needs to read soon. [ She smiles at that.

Ripping her donut again, she pops that piece into her mouth. ] You should say hello. [ Whatever insensitive thing Pietro said to upset Vasili must be long gone by now. Sometimes she wishes Pietro didn't run from everything. ]

Always liked her books.

[Anytime they'd seen her even as children, Vasili's mother had a book on hand - while she watched her son at the park, while standing in line at the supermarket, a thin paperback sticking out of one pocket or another as she carried a basket of clothes down the street, ready to spend the afternoon reading at the laundromat. Pietro has only recently started to appreciate books, even if it's mostly for killing time and mild entertainment value. He'd never had the attention span for them before, and preferred television despite Wanda's sitcom obsession, and music. Now those are worse - plodding and droning on for him, music sounds weird and it's just noise. He's consequently read more books since HYDRA than he probably had in his entire life previously. Taking another jam-filled donut from the bag, he finally sets it down between them where Wanda can grab a second one herself if she ever gets around to actually finishing the first.]

I will...

[He says it like it's going to be a sacrifice, but he'll go through with it.]

It stayed nice.

[He lifts one fingers towards the sky, shifting to lean further back against the bench and fold one leg underneath him. It's the beginning of maybe a half-hour of fidgeting before he absolutely has to get up, but he's prepared to have a nice quiet time with Wanda just sitting here and talking casually, something he's sure she wishes he'd make an effort to do more often.]

[ Does she purposefully eat slowly to annoy him? Sometimes. More often than not, Wanda gets distracted by conversation, what she's reading, or what she's watching. She has no intentions of eating every donut in the bag, but she does hope to eat at least two before Pietro inhales everything.

Looking up at the sky, Wanda smiles. With a quarter of her donut left, it does seem like it's going to be a nice day. After this morning, she thinks they both deserve it. It's nice to be outside rather than cooped up, even if Wanda likes the indoors more than Pietro. ]

Was this your birthday wish?

[ She looks at him, cocking her brow softly. He's not meant to confirm or deny or, by her superstitions, it means the wish he made when he blew out his candle won't come true. ]

You think I would waste it on this, a nice day?

[A nice day, with Wanda, and being able to sit still for more than ten minutes... maybe.]

Besides, you know I cannot tell you. Finish your donut. Wait-

[He's breaking his streak of peaceful bench-sitting already to run off somewhere, but he's back in twenty seconds with one tiny candle and a cigarette lighter - taking the other cinnamon donut out of the bag and presenting it to Wanda, candle aflame and stuck in at a slightly tilted angle.]

You didn't get to make one.

[ By the time she thinks about asking him "What?", he's back beside her and her hair's an absolute mess on her head. She peels some of it away from her face and blinks a few times before she looks at him. She'll never get used to it when his speed slaps her in the face like that.

She smiles widely and laughs. But she did! Secretly! Piggybacking off of his wish, whatever it is.

With her donut thankfully finished (she's not that slow all the time!), she delicately takes the donut in his hand, not wishing to knock the candle out and ruin this. ]

I wish for… [ Making a show of catching herself, she keeps her wish to herself. It's similar to the one she wishes for every year. Just a good year with Pietro where nothing happens to him aside from a bad mood here or there.

She blows out her candle and smiles at him. ]

Thank you for my birthday donut. [ She wrinkles her nose. ] Even though I bought it. Does that mean I need to thank myself?

[Seeing her smile like that, where nothing at all could dull that radiance for however long it lasts - that's something Pietro would have wished for, might have even. A simply thing is all it takes to produce it, but Wanda glows when she laughs like that, when her smiles reach her eyes, and when - for a moment - nothing around them is falling apart. He's careful not to smile back as much, he has appearances to maintain.]

And where did that money come from?

[He throws up his hand in mock exasperation, which doesn't translate much differently than real exasperation with him, but Wanda can usually tell the difference.]

No, you thank me.

[It could have been his money, could have been hers. Neither one of them has an actual job, unless Wanda's been moonlighting. He steals, he knows she does odds and ends for people like shopping, helping with someone's kids. There's not many secrets Wanda could keep from him, so Pietro maintains his conviction that 80% of their collected money stashed in an old tin in the back of the bedroom closet comes from his efforts alone.]

[ Wanda rolls her eyes, but nothing dims her smile. What's his is hers and what's hers is his. She thinks to remind him of that, but she doesn't wish to ruin the mood and bicker about money when they've never had much to begin with.

Instead, she nods, pursing her lips playfully. ] You're right. [ And the way she thanks him is simple: she kisses his cheek.

Biting into her donut, she ignores the cinnamon around her mouth as she shifts happily on the bench from side to side before settling back against it. She's happy. She's actually happy. Even if in a few hours that happiness will burst, she'll remember sitting at the park on a nice day with Pietro and feeling happy. ]

Thank you, Pietro.

[Despite his efforts not to let it, Pietro's smile stretches a little wider after that kiss. He almost makes a comment about Wanda fidgeting so much as some kind of payback for all the times she calls him out on it, but he doesn't. He's just going to let her be happy.]

You're welcome. Happy Birthday, Wanda.

[He can say it as many times as he wants today. A moment later, Pietro furrows his eyebrows and scratches at the side of his mouth, nodding to her.]

You've got cinnamon all over. Right there. Eat properly, we're in public.

[ She feigns a gasp and furrows her brows before swapping the hands she holds the donut in. She wipes her cinnamon-coated hand deliberately against her cheek. ]

Really? Where?

[ Why bother eating properly when she can exasperate him and possibly make him laugh?

She wipes her hand against her face again, feigning concern as though she's got paint on her hands and not invisible bits of cinnamon. ]

Did I get it? Is it gone?

You're making it worse.

[On purpose and in a painfully obvious way, which is why he laughs. Turning to face her, shifting closer on the bench, and cupping her jaw in his hand, Pietro runs his thumb across the light dusting of cinnamon.]

I got it. Hm... Most of it. There is still some right here.

[The tiniest bit on her lower lip, or so he implies. And he licks it away with his tongue only after he's taken the opportunity to kiss her, slowly and gently, and where anyone can see them right in the middle of the park.]

Now it's gone.

[ Heart pounding, Wanda's paralysed. All they ever do out in public is hold hands and bicker. Sometimes even hug, although that's often her initiating it given Pietro often characterises himself as some emotionless husk of a young man.

She thinks of gently scolding him, but Wanda stares at him instead. If he's feeling so bold as to be so affectionate in public when the girls he likes to tease and flirt with and thinks about taking it further with right near them, then she thinks it'd be rude of her to reprimand him for weighing the pros and cons of such an act. And a part of her feels possessive. This is hers. No one else gets Pietro dusting stupid cinnamon off their face but her.

She licks her lips and glances at the park before looking down at the half-eaten donut in her hands. ]

What would I do without you? Aside from walking around with cinnamon on my face on such a nice day.

[Pietro knew exactly what he was doing and how close they are to some of his most frequent targets of flirting - Rahela, Jelka, Gertie. His actions can't be misinterpreted as platonic, not something like that, so deliberate and open. Pietro can talk someone's ear off, but if he tried to express himself with Wanda, in the presence of so many people, to say things that have meaning and significance on another level, that aren't hidden in rude comments and dismissive sarcasm - it would be incoherent and stumbling and a disaster of a public confession. He would make a mockery of it, even if he didn't want to. So he'd done it like this, quietly, but enough of a show where intentions won't be questioned, his fealty exposed.]

You'd be so lost.

[He brushes a loose strand of Wanda's hair behind her ear as she stares at her donut.]

Utterly hopeless.

[None of it holds anything but soft affection.]

Very. I wouldn't know how to find my way home.

[ She tsks and shakes her head as though that's the worst thing that could ever happen. But if something was to happen to Pietro, if she was to lose him, she knows she wouldn't be able to leave their apartment. She'd be so utterly hopeless and helpless without him. It's not something she wishes to burden him with when he carries so much already.

She looks at him and sighs loudly, drooping her shoulders. She rests her head against his shoulder, knowing that he'll nudge her off when staying still becomes too troubling for him. ]

It's a good thing you gave me that sun catcher. At least I'll be able to find my way home with that.

[ The suncatcher's close to overtaking him as her favourite thing ever. ]

[For now, he doesn't mind her head on his shoulder, and there's not even a twitch of annoyance, feigned or otherwise.]

You got me figured out. That was my plan with it all along.

[He fishes for another donut almost absently, and his free hand finds hers to entwine their fingers, though he's already back to typical provocation with his words.]

Oh, but you didn't hang it up in the window, did you? What if I go off tonight with Zrinka and you can't find our apartment? You'll have to sleep in the street.

[Zrinka, who is conveniently not in the park to have witnessed Pietro's earlier display and therefore will potentially still respond to flirting and attention enough to irritate Wanda.]

[ She's so glad she's eating her donut when he mentions Zrinka. She can't sigh. Back to the usual already.

Zrinka is nice and noticeably missing. Perhaps that's why he names her specifically; if any of the girls saw his display from a few minutes ago, they'll be gossiping, perhaps plotting to get Pietro alone to ask for the finder details, or believing Wanda had been the one to do something so inappropriate. Sometimes Wanda wishes she didn't feel this little twisting tug in her gut every time he mentioned one of his girls.

When she sighs, it's intentional and dramatic. ] Then I guess I sleep on the street. Or I wander all around Sokovia until I find it while you are busy with Zrinka. [ She tsks, shaking her head. ] Too busy to make sure your little sister finds her way home on her birthday. That is very cruel, Pietro.

[His loud exhale is just a dramatic, and he looks off to the side as if there's someone nearby to shrug at and silently ask "what do I do with her?"]

Trying to guilt me for something I haven't even done yet, and I am the one who is cruel?

[The last donut is now his. Pietro tears it almost in half and offers the smaller piece to Wanda that he expects her to refuse while he continues.]

I will take you home first then. The least I can do on your birthday.

[The clear solution.]

[ And refuse she does, shaking her head and her hand. Even if she accepts it, he'll be the one to eat it. She's got a quarter of her donut left. Sometimes she purposefully eats very, very slowly, just so she can see Pietro grow more and more exasperated. ]

So chivalrous despite your old age.

[ To her, especially. She wonders how she can make him choose to not go out after he supposedly drops her off. While Wanda's aware some of her plans are never needed as Pietro always seems to think better of what he originally intended to do, she likes to make them just in case. ]

You will walk me home and then leave on my birthday. Tsk.

[ She eats the rest of her donut and holds her hand out for the donut she had originally refused. ]

[Pietro tends to go against his better judgement when he's started in on bantering arguments and suppositions, but he really had been trying to make this a nice day for her. He should stop. He can't simply do so without a reason though, so he latches on to one part of Wanda's comments to shift things around, while making it sound like it isn't a deliberate turn towards acquiescence. He fidgets, in a different way than usual, as if it's not due to excess energy but to the pains and stiff joints inherent in a much older man.]

I am getting old. It would do me no good to stay out too late... and it is a long walk back. I may have to stay. You know, tired old bones...

[But he snorts when she holds out her hand, and pops the rest of the donut in his mouth, shrugging. Too late, it's his.]

[ His tired old bones will only be tired and old when it suits him, but Wanda isn't going to question the validity of his statement. She smiles, pleased by what he's not saying. He won't be seeing Zrinka today. Perhaps tomorrow, even if Wanda wishes for him not to see her in that way at all. ]

Oh.

[ She furrows her brows as she leans away from him so she can look him over. There's some cinnamon on his face that she reaches out to wipe away with her thumb without thought. She makes a show of scrutinising him before leaning close to him again and pressing her ear against his chest. ]

I think I hear it. Lots of noise, like the Tinman from Oz. It's like creaking. [ She rubs his upper thigh. ] You are getting so old, Pietro.

[Wanda playing so much into it makes him smile, as if she's concerned he'd go back on his statements a moment later and change his mind again. Pietro runs his fingers through her hair, and they may have jam on them.]

So old. And you are a tease, Wanda. We're in public.

[He whispers the last part, but as soon as he does, he covers her hand, keeping it pressed against his thigh. He raises his eyebrows pointedly.]

[ He put jam in her hair, didn't he? She'd sigh if he wasn't distracting her by being so bold and uncaring about what their friends might see. What might get back to Zrinka or Rahela.

She should pull back and rest against the back of the seat, but no one's paying attention to them. No one says anything and no one thinks anything, either. All anyone can seemingly think about is how the park is still standing, when the next riot will be, and what they'll do if the police so much as raise their batons at them again. ]

How am I a tease? [ She laughs lightly, but she's not as clueless as she wants to portray. She squeezes his thigh and shifts her hand beneath his, moving it up as she keeps her gaze on his face. ] I am sitting here, cleaning up a mess you made of jam on your thigh. [ She shakes her head. ] I am not teasing.

[It's only a moment, but Pietro looks away just to see if they're being watched. They're not, but that doesn't mean he can't act as if they are, waiting to see how far Wanda will go with it. He gasps audibly as she squeezes his thigh, loud and too exaggerated.]

Oh, did I drop some?

[His voice carries, and he spreads his thighs a little, trying to get her hand to shift to a more scandalous position 'accidentally'. He shouldn't have worn such tight pants, they're not helping in his plans and he just kind of squirms instead of doing it with any fluidity or appeal.]

[ She rolls her eyes as she faces him, although she looks to her peripherals to ensure that no one's paying them any attention. Knowing Pietro, he's already been sociable enough to warrant a break from talking to the rest of their friends. Wanda's never been the social butterfly Pietro is, so she doesn't worry about being approached.

Looking down at his leg, she shakes her head and clucks her tongue. ]

So clumsy, Pietro. Sometimes I think you can never leave the house.

[ Rather than pull her hand away and place it where she knows he wants it, she glides her palm up his thigh, right up to the crease of his hip. Wanda considers making that where the jam has allegedly dropped, but she instead brushes her fingers against his crotch, the pressure light at first before she makes it reminiscent of how she had pressed her foot into him earlier. ]

You'd like that, wouldn't you?

[He scoffs, shifting again to press up against her fingers. They hadn't gotten anywhere this morning, and his reactions are quick as a result.]

I think you're just rubbing it in. You always make more of a mess.

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