Nate and Wanda and...oh dear.

[x-scarletwitch.livejournal.com]

Nate happens by Wanda's room when she's going for a different kind of stress relieve. (No, not that kind! Pervs.) As the crazy from the past few weeks settle down, she's doing something to remind herself that she is in control.





Snip, snip, snip. The noise of the scissors was prooving oddly...relaxing, Wanda thought, staring out at not very much. The door to her room was cracked but no one would come calling at this time of night and it also allowed a bit of a breeze to come through. It stirred the small lockets of hair as they floated down to the basin perched in her lap.

Nathan, on his way back upstairs - he'd forgotten a book in his office that he needed - paused as he passed by Wanda's slightly open door - Hide quoted text -and heard the unmistakable sound of scissors. #Wanda?# he called, bemused by the oddly jangled thoughts he was picking up from her. She didn't usually project. #Are you all right?#

Of course. But she wasn't irritated. #Yes, I am. Lighter, actually. You can come in, if you wish.# Reaching up, Wanda ruffled the back of her hair to remove some of the loose hair. She was going to, she realized with a laugh, need a professionals touch after this.

Nathan pushed the door opened - and blinked at the sight before him. "Odd time of night to decide you need a new hairdo," he said a bit helplessly, tilting his head as he looked at her. "It looks... good. Different."

"When is a good time?" she asked curiously. "And thank you. I believe that my hair dresser is either going to scream at me in a bad way or faint in a good way--and then fix what I have done." Standing up, dumping as much of the hair on her into the bowl as possible, she headed to the mirror. Where long, nearly mid-back curley hair had been was now...

Well, still incredibly curley, incredibly short hair. She could almost see her ears. "I've never cut it," she told him, amused.

Sticking the book under his arm, he gave her a long, thoughtful look. "I can believe it. What brought this on now, then? And yes, your hairdresser probably will have at you in one way or another..."

"I lost control of my powers and I've been having some trouble sleeping." Frank and to the point. "I visited with Haroun's spiritual leader which was...interesting. And with the anniversary..." Wanda shot him an aggreved look. "I wanted something I could control and...oh my God, my head is light...this really seemed like the way I should go. I dislike tatoos and no one was around to drink."

"Ahh," Nathan said, a bit helplessly. He moved closer, reaching out a bit hesitantly and taking the scissors from her. "Hold still," he said. "You missed a piece."

She managed to catch it as it fell and she smiled at him. "You think I'm insane?" she asked, teasing a little but wondering if he was worried. Running her hands through her hair sharply, Wanda was suddenly very aware of how short it was. "It...does look good, yes?"

"I think things come out in unusual ways, sometimes," he said with a sigh, then clipped another piece that was a little uneven. "But it's cute, Wanda. Makes you look a little younger, even."

"I kept as much of it as whole as I can, donate it to charity. It is certainly long enough. And thank you. Not something I was going for, but certainly can't hurt. Not that I was really going for anything, really, I just...wanted change." She sighed but was careful not to move her head. "I think it is a combination of many things. Not the least because of the lack of travel and...missing people."

Nathan snipped the last stray lock. "There," he said, handing the scissors back to her handles-first. "It makes sense, you know," he said, going over to retrieve his book from where he'd set it down on her desk. "We look for something we can control. Even something as simple as the length of your hair can maybe help ease the fact that there are things that happen in spite of everything you do..."

"And considering who you are talking to," Wanda laughed, "I don't know if that is horribly ironic or just right with who I am. I do feel better, you know. Light headed, but better. And part of me simply cannot wait for people to see. It is a rather dramatic change." Glancing up, she tilted her head at him. "How're you doing?"

"Hanging in there," Nathan said with a ghost of a smile. "A little sore and broken around the edges still, but much better. I've been playing Mr. Mom, while Moira's been so busy helping Haroun. It's helped."

"Soothing and keeping you busy at the same time, I suppose. I like children well enough, when they belong to others. Imagine me being a mother..." She tossed a discarded shirt at him at his obviously faked horrified expression. "But Rachel is very cute. Even if Cain thinks she will one day take over the world."

"Oh, she will," Nathan said with a perfectly straight face. "Kitty should open the book. I'm betting that she has most of the Western Hemisphere under her cute little thumb by the time she's eighteen. I may be overly cautious in that estimation."

"Oh, give her a little more credit than that," Wanda laughed. "Just most? Where's that fatherly devotion at?" Swinging her head, she felt with fascination as it swept around her ears. "I'll be playing with this all night."

"How does it feel?" Nathan asked, tilting his head at her again. A faint smile slipped out. "How do you feel? Any better?"

"Different." Well, it was the truth. It took her a few seconds to think on the other one. "A bit better. I think it calmed me down, when the meditation refused to take. A few more days of relaxation will probably be good for me. I so need a vacation."

"You and half... maybe more, of the rest of the staff," Nathan murmured wryly. "Certainly the entire medstaff, after the month we've had..." He gave her a long, thoughtful look. "You at least could take some time off and head out somewhere."

"Oh, I wish. But most of the places I go are really for Cambridge and my research. I suppose you could accuse me of still overworking myself." Wanda glanced down and shifted, ignorning the pang of how much she still missed Stephen.

"Try it," Nathan suggested, not missing the change in her expression. "Just a weekend. Reserve a hotel room in the city, go spend some quality alone time, spoil yourself a little... you'd be surprised by how much it would help, I think."

Giving it some thought, she nodded. "I will try. I cannot promise I will be able to pull it off but I can certainly poke around at my options and see what I can come up with. Ever been too stressed to think beyond the next thought?"

"Frequently," Nathan said wryly. "But believe it or not, it passes. The sources of stress fall away, one by one... and suddenly, you can breathe again."

"Well, that's good to know." Grinning, she put her head in her hands and laughed. "I am going to cause such a commention when people see me, aren't I?"

"You'll knock them dead," Nathan said with a brief grin as he turned back towards the door. "And have even more of the teenaged male demographic around here drooling at you. Possibly some of the teenaged females, too."

"Shame that I dont' generally go for the females," she remarked dryly, picking up the bowl with the clippings in it. Laughing felt good right now. "Or the teenagers. But I will catch you later, yes?"

"Absolutely. Sleep well, Wanda."