explosion | OPEN POST.

[ Her other birthday wish was to poke him… and now that's no longer coming true. Perhaps if she had insisted they could have two wishes, she'd be able to continue annoying him. ]

I'm wide awake now because of you!

[ But Wanda makes a show of closing her eyes as she tries to very slowly fidget to poke him. It's hard to. His arms are like very tight vines. ]

Squeezing me like this. You are such a bad cuddle.

[He growls softly, but loosens his hold enough so she can move her arms more freely.]

All of this complaining, and you wonder why I am old before my time. The grey hair comes from you, and I have found six more today.

I found another.

[ With her arms now free, she glides her hands through his hair roughly before she starts to tug at the tips. When she isolates an allegedly grey strand, she clucks her tongue in pity. ]

It's a good thing you look decent grey.

[ Not good. Not handsome. Wanda needs to leave herself some wriggle room here to insult him. ]

Wrinkles are coming in, too. [ With her other hand, she brushes the pads of her fingers firmly between his brows. ]

Only decent?

[He scoffs, mildly offended, and he would claim he's several tiers above decent if he didn't think it would only provoke more comments out of her. He takes her hand in his and moves it away from his face even as he furrows his brows deeper to make the lines more prominent.]

Those are also your fault.

[ Wanda fights him, pushing against his hold to try and touch the skin between his brows again. So many alleged wrinkles need to be touched… ]

I'll claim the very ugly wrinkles, although you looking half-decent while going grey is your fault.

[ He's dropped in good looks in a span of a minute. Wanda pushes up off the bed with her elbow to roll into him so she can see all these grey hairs and wrinkles close up. ]

[Wanda is so insufferable and Pietro doesn't respond to her comments, only sighing in exasperation and letting her climb on top of him. He intends to try to ignore her the way she does him when he's just as bad, only he always gets annoyed so much easier and he won't be able to keep it up for long. He can hope she gets bored, or actually tired, before he hits his breaking point. There's a 50/50 chance.]

You're bonier than before. Must be age.

[ Although Wanda wriggles on top of him, she threads her hands forcefully beneath his back to cuddle him to her. Resting her head against his shoulder, she sighs loudly and stops moving. Sometimes she wonders if her staying still is as annoying as her fidgeting.

After everything she's learned today, she thinks it's only fair she tests this out, too. ]

[Pietro fails so easily in his effort to ignore, making an irritated noise and squirming a little as she shoves her hands under his back. It's uncomfortable.]

Then find something softer to lie on. Like the floor.

[He shoves at her a little, as if he might be contemplating shoving off the bed entirely.]

No. You can lie on the floor.

[ Despite saying that, she doesn't roll off him to encourage him to do that. They've spent so much of today apart and together to be ripped apart again. She's lying here on her bony pillow. She tugs her hands out from underneath him and rests them against his chest. Lying impossibly still, Wanda, if she was actually a fast sleeper, could be believed to be asleep. ]

I will get you a padded shoulder shirt next birthday so this is more comfortable for me.

[He rolls his eyes and wraps his arms around her, she's chosen her position and she'll stay there now.]

Are you done?

[Pietro winds a section of her hair around one finger, idly playing with it, but ready to tug if Wanda continues to be obnoxious.]

I may have to change my wish after all if you won't be quiet.

[ She clucks her tongue and shakes her head disappointingly, but stops in fear that he'll remove his hand from her hair. Even a finger twirled around it is enough to satisfy Wanda. She's always enjoyed his hands in her hair. ]

You can't anymore. The deadline has passed. Seems you are too slow, Pietro. So sad.

I have to wait another year to be rid of you.

[He looks at her with resignation.]

I was so close.

[ She pouts and clucks her tongue once more. ]

So sad for poor, sad Pietro.

[ Even if he had the chance to be rid of her, he wouldn't. She knows that even on her worst of days. She knew that today, deep down.

Wanda bows her head and kisses his shoulder, uncaring that her lips meet fabric. ]

Maybe next year you will be lucky, and then you'll spend all your birthdays wishing for that cool, little sister that you wish you were more like and had kissed more.

[He untangles his finger from that knotted lock of hair, switching to stroking gently, and no longer bothered by her weight or the heat of her pressed against him. She can stay there as long as she wants.]

So nothing changes. Getting rid of you would be a wasted wish. Your point is made.

I don't know why you would wish for something you will regret. I am the funny one and the life of the party.

[ And she knows he would even if he insists he wouldn't. She'd regret wishing him away even on his most annoying and ridiculously aggravating days. Who else would tangle her hair up and ignore the knots he's made to go and tangle more of her hair? No one. Not even her next stupid crush. ]

Don't knot my hair!

You're too late. It has been done.

[He says it with finality like she'll never get the knot out, but he's already threading his fingers into it to fix it, too gently for the way he sounds annoyed by her complaint.]

I thought you were tired? Let an old man sleep.

I was until the old man knotted my hair, and now I am worried about starting tomorrow off all on the wrong foot.

[ She sighs loudly, even though she can tell from how he touches her that he's untangling the knot he's created. Wanda closes her eyes and smiles, liking that this is a ramification of her usual wish.

Although she's tempted to blindly run her hand across his face and into his hair, she keeps both hands tucked against her chest and his. ]

You need a haircut. You look very ugly today.

[She never stops.]

Well, I'm tired now, of listening to you.

[He pulls on the hair he'd just freed from its knot.]

I might go sleep on the couch.

No.

[ She ensures to lie heavily on top of him as though he's not stronger and quicker and able to shove her off. She relaxes against him, boneless and hopefully heavy enough to discourage him from slipping away and onto the couch. ]

I'll stop now. No more talking. I promise.

[It's exactly the reaction Pietro expected, and she won't be a nuisance again until morning under threat of him squirming out from underneath her and sleeping in the other room. He brushes her hair out of the way to rest his hand on her back between her shoulder blades.]

Good.

[He needs to have the last word, it's his birthday.]

[ Wanda remains quiet, enjoying the feel of his hand in her hair and against her back. She could fall asleep if she let herself, but she doesn't want this day to end. Tomorrow will be just another day, and it won't feel special anymore. She's always been greedy on their birthday; she likes sharing a day with Pietro, one where their parents feel closer than they have in years.

After a few moments, she begins to hum The Addams Family theme song. While she promised to not talk, she didn't promise to be completely quiet. ]

[He'd almost fallen asleep, almost, and there she goes. Pietro twitches, and he's very tempted to follow through on his threat and go sleep on the couch. But she's comfortable-ish at this point, and he doesn't like to sleep on the couch - it's scratchy and lumpy and too small. What he does instead is wait, like he might be too far gone to hear her, and then snore loudly. He will keep that up as long as he needs to to drown out theme songs.]

[ That's a fake snore if she ever heard one, but Wanda continues to hum before she stops and plays along. At least he's not shoving her away.

But as he snores, she pretends that she's barely awake and shoves her hand in his face, blindly searching for his mouth. There's his nose, then his forehead, and oh, there's the mouth. She pushes her hand firmly over his lips so she can hum again in quiet. ]

[He barely restrains himself from making an irritated noise as she paws at his face, but in the end, he lets her have her way, as usual. He'll deal with the humming until he actually falls asleep, the only indication he isn't there already is one harder press of his fingers at her back.]

Ow.

[ It's quiet, but it's audible enough for him to hear. She presses her hand flat against his mouth in retaliation as she keeps her cheek tucked against his chest. It's stupid, she knows; she'll lose this fight as she often loses most fights. He has the upper hand due to his position, and while she can win by poking him in the eye… that's hardly what she wishes to do.

But she does poke him on the tip of his nose. It's deserved. ]

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