explosion | OPEN POST.

[ Pietro could wrap a small empty box for her in brown paper and she would think it's the best thing in the world. But what he ends up giving her is better than anything in the world he's given her.

Wanda gasps, her eyes widening almost comically at the gift. While she may drop the brown paper and frayed twine onto the floor without too much care, she holds the gift delicately like it's the most prized thing she owns. Aside from Pietro and her DVDs, it is. ]

Pietro…

[ She smiles brightly as she gently holds it up by its wire and watches it spin as though there's a gentle breeze twisting it around. ]

It's beautiful. [ More than that. Wanda smiles widely, brighter than the sun, and looks at him past the bright yellow petals. ] I love sunflowers.

[ Something he knows, given she's always loved them. If she had her choice, their apartment would be covered in them, but they've become so hard to find given the war.

Carefully placing it down on the table, she launches herself at Pietro and hugs him tightly. ]

[Wanda's reaction is everything Pietro wanted, and even though he complains about her tight hug, there's quiet laughter in it.]

You're going to crush my spine.

[He makes no move to let go of her either, holding her almost as firmly. Pietro's gifts have never been things he'd truly put much thought into, as neither of them cared enough about material objects over the meaning behind gestures, not since that day everything changed irreparably and all they'd had left was each other. It's why he steals mostly for other people and not himself, not things that aren't essential. They'd gotten by with almost nothing sometimes for years in a row and that had always been okay, because they were together.

Only now, they're living more dangerous lives, have done things they can't come back from, involved themselves in serious and risky endeavours, and it's hit him that it might not turn out well. HYDRA experiments could have gone terribly and fatally wrong, and had for everyone else. Separating them had done nothing but fuel more possessive tendencies in Pietro, knowing Wanda was right there on the other side of that wall, so close and he was unable to touch her or even look at her see for himself that she was alright.

Every moment has become more important, and he wants to make her smile like this whenever he can, allow her every back-breaking hug she wants, give her something special on their birthday because maybe they won't be together for the next one. He can't give her a field of sunflowers to look down on instead of the dirty snow out in the street, but Wanda has a vivid imagination and can do the rest herself.]

I'm glad you like it. It was a lot of work.

[For Izak, but Pietro had gone glass hunting for him and technically helped, so he's sure to make it sound like it was a personal effort.]

[ Wanda doesn't ease up on her spine-crushing hug. Perhaps she should show him some mercy, but Pietro should have thought of that himself before gifting her something that she'll go to the ends of the earth to defend. If his spine is crushed, then it is his fault, not hers.

Pietro gave her a sunflower. This is her sunflower. Of all the things he could've gotten her, never in her wildest dreams did she think he'd give her the one thing she wished Sokovia would allow to flourish.

She presses her cheek against his chest and scrunches her nose in happiness before she stands on the tips of her toes and kisses his cheek. She breaks the spine-crushing hug to cup his cheeks and pepper his face with kisses. Perhaps those of the face-crushing kind? Wanda's not gentle. ]

Telling Izak to make this for me was a lot of work? [ Her laughter bubbles out of her as she leans back but keeps her hands on his cheeks. ] Tsk, tsk, Pietro. You outdo yourself.

[In a good enough mood not to get annoyed by the over-enthusiastic kisses, Pietro only continues to smile for a moment, and what was supposed to be irritated scoff on principle is just a light chuckle. He brings one hand up to gently grab Wanda's wrist, but doesn't move her hand from his face.]

You're worth the extra effort.

[He furrows his eyebrows and looks like he might be wanting to take that back the second after he'd said it, an accompanying dismissive hand gesture as he corrects himself.]

Sometimes.

[ He's so transparent.

Wanda rolls her eyes, unable to stop smiling. She gazes up at him like he's hung the sun for her—and, in a way, he's done just that. What he's given her can never be trumped by anything else, even when he's leaning heavily into his Pietroisms. He can't ruin this.

Squishing his cheeks to annoy him, Wanda lifts up onto her feet and presses a quick kiss to his mouth. ]

It's perfect. For once, you are the best gift giver.

[Pietro finally moves her hands from his cheeks, Wanda's gone too far with the squishing. Keeping his fingers wrapped around her wrists, he looks down at her in feigned disappointment.]

'The best' and that's all the appreciation I get?

[He drops one of her wrists to cup her jaw and leans down for an example of a better 'thank you' kiss - lingering and insistent, running his tongue along her bottom lip as he pulls back.]

That is for the cupcake.

[ Ah. She likes it when he's like this.

Wanda lets her hand hang, not wishing to place it back on his face and possibly draw his attention away from the path he's travelling down now. This is another present for her, even if he doesn't see it. She smiles up at him, wishing that he'd kiss her once again as another 'thank you'.

There's a way she can have that birthday wish come true.

She cocks her brow as she gazes up at him haughtily. ] The whole cupcake? You ate my piece, too. You don't seem very grateful for that at all.

No?

[He's quite willing to accept that assessment, though, letting her other hand go and snaking his arm around her as he goes in for another kiss. Harder and more focused, exploring her mouth thoroughly, just to be sure it's appropriately appreciative.]

That grateful enough?

[ Wanda knows she's sporting a rather dumbfounded expression as she peers up at him. Ah, yes; this is what it means when the girls say they know when a boy knows how to kiss. It's something she's always known about Pietro, but sometimes she finds herself gobsmacked by it. She licks her bottom lip absently and wonders if she's still breathing at all. ]

No. [ She says it too quietly. Her face is flushed and the apartment's starting to feel a little warmer than before.

That kiss had been more than grateful, but Wanda wishes to be selfish on her birthday. Even more selfish, given everything he's given her already. ]

I had that cupcake especially made for you. That was like you were thanking me for having gotten any other cupcake.

[Pietro snorts, but it turns into more of an amused huff of a noise.]

You are pushing it.

[He runs his fingers along the side of Wanda's flushed face, studying her expression and debating whether he should give in this early.]

But... it is your birthday, and it was especially made.

[After that statement, his hands are at her sides and he lifts her without warning, turning to set her down on the edge of the table. He slides the suncatcher out of the way, careful not to do so hastily. Leaning over her, he braces one arm on the table and kisses her again, abruptly but as long and slow as he can manage. Before he's done, his hand is wandering along her thigh.]

[ Quietly incredulous, ] I am pushing it.

[ But Wanda presses her hand back against the table, glancing over her shoulder to ensure that the sun catcher is nowhere where it could possibly break. It's the one thing in Sokovia aside from Pietro that Stark's bombs are not allowed to destroy.

She slides a little along the table to get comfortable, parting her legs even more so she can hook her feet beneath his ass and capture him. She ignores her shiver at his hand on her thigh. She wishes that she'd opted to wear just her underwear without the little pyjama shorts Inessa hadn't lifted for her. It'd make for a better landing for Pietro's hand. ]

I merely state facts, Pietro. [ She declares it with an upward tilt of her head. Brushing her other hand against his face, Wanda wonders when he'll grow tired of her legs trapping him in one spot. ] It is a very special cupcake. No one else will ever have that cupcake. I think you can be a little more grateful in your old age, hm?

[His fingers just starting to creep under the edge of Wanda's shorts, Pietro pulls them back with an annoyed sigh as she continues harping. He can't really make as big of a scene as he wants to with her trapping his legs and her hand on his face while he leans on one arm, but he's going to try. He settles for waving his free hand wildly and leaving his arm outstretched like he would have done with both of them, one half of a 'what now?' gesture, and rolling his eyes in exasperation.]

This is not grateful enough for you? What is it you want, hmm?

[He shrugs and levels an expectant gaze at Wanda.]

I'm waiting.

[And Pietro hates waiting, he's being very patient with these antics this early in the morning.]

[ Pietro must mean it if he's waiting. Wanda thinks to stall, but it's his birthday and he's twelve minutes older than he was last night, so she considers it a kindness that she shows him mercy on such a day. Reluctantly unwrapping her legs from around him, she lets them hang off the edge of the table as she withdraws her hand from his face. Resting her other hand behind her, she peers up at him and sighs dramatically. ]

I want kiss here. [ She taps the corner of her mouth before she smiles knowingly up at him. If he wants to know how he should show his gratitude, then she'll encourage him to do it at her pace: nice and slow. Appreciative. ]

[His initial smugness over getting her to tell him what she wants is short-lived. Pietro scoffs, mostly to himself, after she brings her finger to the corner of her mouth and smiles like that. It's going to be slow, and not more of something like he'd expected, but less. Pushing Wanda into being direct was a bad and poorly thought out move.]

Really.

[It's not even a question, he's just resigned to the fact that Wanda can always find a way to undermine him, and Pietro will go along with it the majority of the time, no matter how much he might protest first. She has so much power over him and he doesn't think she even knows.]

And you always get what you want, don't you?

[It's chiding, but rhetorical. Even though her legs are no longer wrapped around his, Pietro feels just as rooted to that spot as before. One gentle hand on her neck, twirling a strand of her hair idly in his fingers, he gives her that kiss - too light and slow, and with more reverence that he'd ever admit to thinking Wanda deserves.]

Yes.

[ Not always. What Wanda often wants is fantastical. She wants the perfect picket fence life where bombs don't break walls and floors and suck parents into black holes. She wants to have the reaffirmation that Pietro will never leave her, even though she knows he never will by choice. Telling Pietro as much will only encourage him to roll his eyes and erect his walls. He sees the world for all the black in it while she tries to find all the cracks of light.

He's the biggest burst of light for her.

She smiles as he entertains her request and swings her legs gently for a moment before stilling. She sighs wistfully and smiles. This kiss is enough, but she's always been greedy for more of him.

She gazes at him softly, almost as though she's sated with merely that. But she's Wanda, and she'll keep asking for more of him as long as he continues to give himself to her. ]

Here next. [ She tilts her head to the side and taps her fingers on the underside of her jaw. ]

[With the way Wanda looks at him right now, a reflection of his own internal contentment for the smallest of affections he in turn gets from her, everything else falls away. This moment is hers, theirs, and Pietro will kiss her anywhere she wants, as slowly and attentively as she wants... for as long as he can stand it.]

You're impossible.

[It's nothing but affectionate, murmured against the delicate skin underneath her jaw, his typical grousing still habitual but downplayed on this one day. He can give her that.]

[ Wanda briefly closes her eyes as she hums in contentment. She rests most of her weight against the table, thinking next about how to continue to be as impossible as Pietro claims she is. She should be content with what he's given her, but Wanda never is. She always wants more from him, especially in the moments where he's willing to give anything silly she demands. ]

Here.

[ She brushes her fingers against her collarbones, looking at him expectantly. ]

[Pietro holds growing vexation for his inability to refuse her on this, sighing internally as he obediently kisses her collarbone. Not in one spot, but very very slowly going along the entire length, gently aiming to make marks, and issuing minor complaints every moment he isn't actively tonguing and sucking on her skin.]

We go any slower here and we'll be here all day.

[Despite his best effort not to show it, that does come with a tinge of actual irritation, but it's not for Wanda.]

You're not even dressed yet. Don't you want breakfast? Have other plans? It is your birthday...

My plans were to spend it with you.

[ Wanda feels vulnerable admitting as much. What if Pietro had other plans and other people to see? What if he wanted to spend some of the day away from his twelve minutes younger shadow? Sometimes Wanda's surprised by when both of them seem to make plans that don't involve the other. It feels as though the world is inside out and upside down when that happens.

She smiles at him and brushes her fingers roughly through his hair. ]

I will have breakfast when you have breakfast and I will get dressed when you get dressed. Although, I think I am dressed fine.

You're slow. I've done both of those things.

[He rolls his eyes in exasperation. Granted, 'getting dressed' had just involved putting on sweatpants and a warmer shirt and Pietro looks no more ready to leave the apartment than she does, and the cupcake hardly counts as breakfast.]

But... I'm not going to complain if you decide to wear these all day.

[He plays with the hem of Wanda's shorts while there's no current demand for kisses.]

Now, your plans? Awful. You've given this no thought at all and you've had an entire year to plan things. Of course you want to spend the day with me, but what do we do?

[And before she even suggests it:]

No television. That is your other gift to me.

[ She pouts. Although, she does intend to press him later in the day to see if he'll give in and watch television. Wanda enjoys it when Pietro concedes much to his own displeasure. It's cute when he pouts.

She sighs dramatically and glances down at her shorts. Perhaps she can wear these for him for his birthday. Sometimes Pietro is so easy to give gifts to.

She fingers his shirt. ] We need to go to the park. [ The park that still looks like a park, even if the flowers look like they're dying and there'd dust along the benches. It's still a nice hideaway from the world around them, and a nice spot to sit and enjoy. ] Your friends will want to see you before the wrinkles set in.

[ Wanda quickly brushes her fingers between his brows and traces the slope of his nose. ]

[Pietro knows that look, and she'll use that same little pout to convince him to watch something horrible later, picking from the worst DVDs they have available. Her suggestion gets an affirmative shrug, though.]

We'll go to the park.

[He remembers when it used to be nicer, he thinks, when someone manicured the grass in the summer, there were flowers most of the year that weren't the way they are now, more like twisted weeds among barren patches. It's more inviting in the winter now, when a layer of snow or a hard frost covers everything and they can pretend it isn't a poor reflection of what it used to be. Even then, it somehow manages to have a serenity to it every time they go, infrequently, and he attributes more than half of that feeling to nostalgia for things that aren't ever quite the way he recalls them. Wanda will want to sit on the benches and 'relax' forever, but Pietro intends to wander around and she'll just have to come along with him while he talks (and flirts) with people that aren't her and maybe gets distracted playing with someone's dog.]

Will you stop?

[Pulling Wanda's hand away gently, he frowns just to make the most exaggerated wrinkles, and looks at her with pity.]

Maybe I have one or two. It's you they're not going to recognize. So much scrunching your nose, now there are lines everywhere and you look ten years older. It's getting embarrassing to be seen with you and claim you are my twin.

[ Speaking of scrunching her nose, she does so on purpose as she pulls a face at him. She taps his nose once more with her other hand, unable to help herself. He may be quick and restless, but Wanda likes to press buttons until things and people almost explode.

She tilts her head to the side as she eyes him curiously. ]

If I look like I am ten years older, does that mean you will now listen to me?

[ Of course, she knows the answer. No. He will never listen to her. Even if she was to physically age more quicker than him, he would still laud the fact that he's twelve minutes older over her head. It's exasperating most times, but Wanda knows what it is. It's his way of being there for her and looking after her when he won't admit that's what he wants to do. ]

Never.

[He scoffs like that isn't even an option worthy of being entertained, nevermind the fact that Pietro does what she wants a great deal of the time. Especially when he can ignore something was Wanda's idea to begin with and take it as his own, which is exactly what he's going to do with the park outing.]

No matter how old and wrinkly you get, I am sorry to say.

[He runs his finger down her nose like she had done to him, then abruptly dismisses anything they'd started, the suncatcher wobbling on the table top as he quickly slides past to go searching through cabinets and the refrigerator for a few seconds as if he's going to make a hurried breakfast because they're late for something, a frying pan clattering on the stove, a carton of eggs balanced precariously on the edge of the sink. Pietro looks over his shoulder with an impatient raise of his eyebrows, gesturing at Wanda with a spatula.]

Will you get off the table and stop playing around? I would like to get to the park sometime today, Wanda!

[It's loud enough for the neighbour across the hallway to hear - everyone has to know he's the one in charge here, unfortunately stuck with the worst and slowest sister possible, just imagine what he has to deal with.]

[ Wanda sighs as she twists on the table and ensures that sun catcher isn't going to topple off and over the side. It'd be a pity to lose something so beautiful to the consequence of Pietro's impatience.

Sliding off the table, Wanda pivots on her foot as though she's about to leave the kitchen and get ready… but she approaches him and leans against his back, wrapping her arms around his middle. She rests her cheek against his back. ]

Once we have breakfast, we can go. I'm all ready.

[ In her pyjama shorts, which he insisted she wear, and he can wear his track pants that aren't quite as impressive as some of the stupidly tight pants he chooses to wear. How he moves in them is beyond her. ]

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