Wanda and Remy

[x-scarletwitch.livejournal.com]

Wanda and Remy catch up as she prepares dinner. It doesn't appear she'll poison him - at least not tonight.



Wanda had propped open the door to her apartment with a box of wine. It had seemed appropriate. The place needed airing out after she'd come back with an armful of groceries - something the apartment was in short supply of. Now she stood in the kitchen and tossed bits of things into the pot on the stove; she hadn't cooked in ages, too many hotel rooms and government kidnappings had seen to that. Wanda wasn't the most gourmet of cooks but she'd been taught to cook hardy meals to keep her strong.

It was soothing and it made her miss the sounds and smells of the caravan.

There was a metallic scraping sound from the hall, and a moment later, Remy stepped in and placed the fire extinguisher on the floor by the kitchen.

"Remy figured if you cooking again, you gon need dis."

The sounds of chopping slowed slightly as she tilted her head, a slight smile appearing. "You have too much to drink one time and set the electric stove on fire and I routinely find fire extinguishers on my doorstep. At least you brought the gift in with you."

"You mean dis box of Chateau de Brooklyn you got by de door? Told you before, Wanda. Life is too short to drink bad wine willingly."

"This is what happens when I arrive home after eons of not being here - my home is depleted of wine and I end up buying the first thing I see that was made with grapes. That isn't pie related, anyway." She scooped up another handful of carrots and dropped them into the pot. "If I promise that this won't kill you, will you stay and have some? Or are you on your way to see Ororo?"

"Think dat she went shopping. She'll message me when she gets in." Remy said, settling himself into a chair.

Wanda thought fondly back to the shopping trips she'd taken with Ororo and made a note to seek out her friend after a while. It had been far too long. She glanced over at Remy thoughtfully. "I might be low on good wine but ..." After she made sure nothing would burn, she headed over to one of the antique locked bookcases she'd installed. Hidden behind several boring looking books on various historical topics sat one of her good bottles of scotch.

Remy simply shook his head and pulled a couple of glasses from her cupboard, pouring a healthy measure into each before returning to his seat. "You got de rest of you stuff coming over or is dis it? I'm seeing less of de crazy grimoires and things den before."

"Some are squirreled away - I asked Amanda to hide some of the crazier and darker ones where it was harder to find by accident. But I'll be bringing pieces of myself back slowly into this apartment. My stuff became a bit scattered these past few months." Wanda grimaced slightly. "I find it worrying that my prize possessions these days are dark, mysterious tomes filled with mystical energy. I used to covet shoes, Remy. Shoes."

"We all have things dat we put on hold for dis job." Remy leaned back and grinned. "After dey ripped out my brain and dumped me on de street, do you know what Remy really wanted to be? One of dem fancy bartenders. De ones wit' de bottles in de air and pouring twelve martinis at once? Looked too young and didn't have de money to get ID dat would stand up for more den a few nights work under de table here and dere, but dat was my plan. Know all de ladies, all de movers and shakers, and dey'd all come to watch me," he picked up the scotch bottle and tossed it up in a tight arc, centrifical force keeping the liquid in place as he caught it deftly by the neck. "make dem drinks."

She laughed, delighted, as she popped back into the kitchen to check on the food - she had no desire to use Remy's little gift. "It's a real shame you could not get hired under the table," Wanda said as she came back to sit across from him. "I'm thinking that the amount of customers you would have brought in would have been worth the legal trouble. Still, I suppose when you compare that life to dealing with insane Germans, evil foreign governments and the occasional Elder God, it pales significantly." The scotch burned delightfully as she took a sip. "Though after Genosha, the idea of being bored out of my skull has a certain ring to it."

"Not me. Bored means dat I have nothing to worry about, and dat means I'm not getting de information dat I need." Remy topped up his drink. "Den again, Remy vacations wit' Ororo. Bored is not a word that ever comes to mind wit her." He said, with a slightly evil expression.

"If the two of you couldn't kick my ass on a regular basis, I would feel ill just about now," she said, shaking her head with a smile. For all her teasing though, Wanda took a quiet joy in the happiness her friends had found. God knew that if anyone deserved to be truly happy it was Remy and Ororo. "But I have never won a match against you without cheating and 'Ro can drop a lightening bolt on my head, so ..."

"Dat's how she keeps me in line." He took another sip, looking reflectively into the liquid. "Said dis years ago, Wanda. Dis life changes people. Too many years balanced on de edge not to expect dat your mind learns to adapt. You learn how to come to terms wit' hard decisions and take de people out of dem. Every year, it becomes a little harder to get you headspace back into what is normal at de end of de day. It's funny, but for a little while, Remy wanted to be an X-Man."

He paused, rolling the glass between his palms. "I wanted to be able to put on a pair of leathers and forget all dat I knew 'bout how de world really worked. I wanted to believe dat going out and playing de hero would let me believe dat I was one, and dat I could change things. To look at things wit' hope instead of cynicism." Remy smiled ruefully. "But dat's not who I am."

"When wet, those leathers chafe," Wanda joked before sighing and rubbing at her face. "When I was forced to leave you and Jubilee behind, when you both bought me the chance to get out, I did not look back. I didn't have time, of course, not with the crush of Magistrates and soldiers barely inches from either capturing me or putting a bullet in my back. But I don't think I would have looked back regardless. You gave me an out and I took it. That was not the person who wore the leathers all those years ago."

Time to check on the food. She got up and wandered into the kitchen to stir the pot. "But that is the person that I have become. You never promised me the decisions we would have to make would be easy, Remy." Wanda looked at him. "You just promised they'd be important."

"Dat's what every day is about, Wanda. It's messy and hard and very likely will get us killed far too young. But it is important. More so because when we do it right, de X-Men going out to be heroes actually can change things too."

"God knows no one ever said it would be easy," she said with a tired laugh. "It scares me sometimes to realize how extraordinarily lucky we've been considering all the shit that we've faced over the years."

"Dat's soemthing I try not to think 'bout. Don't like de idea dat one day de odds are going to catch up wit' us hard."

She nodded, putting the lid back on the pot. It would need to simmer for a while as the original recipe had served to soften any tough game (or older meat) that the clan had to put into the pot. It worked just as well here with meat purchased from the local shop. "I can agree to that," she said, thinking of the close calls over the years. Wanda shook herself. "Well, then we just keep moving forward, doing the best we can and, when we can, enjoy what we do."

"Dere is something to be said for living in de now." Remy said, and fished out his phone. "Dat being said, Remy tell 'ro dat dinner's almost ready."

"Tell her to bring her shopping over! I want to see what she bought!"