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[For Wanda, this does help with the earlier awkwardness; this is also something she is used to helping her teammates with, even if Shaxx's armor is something completely foreign to her. It's very light, but even Wanda can tell it wasn't designed for this weather. Halfway through, she has to take a few seconds to rub her hands together to warm her fingers up again.]

And you don't have any dry clothes to change into...what about halfway? You can use these blankets?

[Ah--there's an obvious solution, isn't there? Wanda retrieves the folded blankets from the floor and hugs them to her chest, closing her eyes as she concentrates. She doesn't want to accidentally set them on fire, after all! But since they don't have any heated blankets and Wanda doesn't exactly want to hug anything cold and wet, it'll have to do.]

Here. This should help you warm up.

[ He laughs, if a little unsteadily. ] I don't have any other clothes. [ Why would he need anything else? This is a ridiculous situation that should not be repeated. ] It can go halfway.

[ The under armor is much easier to unfasten since the armor itself is off; that, he can handle himself, by giving it a sharp pull at each of the shoulders. He peels it from his arms and chest and does have to silently admit that the air is warmer against his skin than the armor was.

He shakily takes the blanket from Wanda and wraps it around his shoulders. The change in temperature is borderline painful; he inhales sharply and closes his eyes, then clutches the blanket more tightly. ] Thank you.

[Wanda gives him a look that's somewhere between concern and horror.] Have you been sleeping in this the entire time we've been here?

[Is he that worried about someone barging in and trying to...stab him? Or something? This is definitely not the way to handle it, but that line of inquiry is going to have to wait. Wanda's hovering, hands mere inches from his shoulder, as soon as it looks like there's even a chance he might be in pain.]

Are you all right? Is it too warm?

What else would I sleep in? [ There isn't a trace of sarcasm in the question. It's as if it hasn't ever occurred to him that he could sleep in something other than his armor.

He quickly offers her a smile. Her face looks subtly different not on his HUD, he can't help but notice. Not at all bad, just... different. He resists the urge to squint. That shouldn't feel like such a surprise since he has seen her without the mediation of his helmet before, but neither of them had been at their best in those moments. ] No. No... this is good. Thank you. You're very kind.

Edited (wanted to add a little more) 2021-02-17 02:09 (UTC)

A regular shirt and sleep pants?

[Wanda is definitely giving him a Look at this point. He can't be serious, right? But that didn't sound like a joke.

...would she know if he was joking?

She makes another face and sits, patting the floor next to her.]

Right, walls definitely don't wear pajamas or anything comfortable. My mistake. I won't tell anyone about your blanket cape.

[She's teasing - but it's masking real concern. He'd fought her about resting and gone straight for his armor after they'd been rescued from almost dying in the crater. And he doesn't have any other clothes? He can drag her Avengers-supplied outfit all he wants but at least she has warm clothing for this occasion.

She's getting the distinct impression that if he's going to get any other clothes, it's going to have to be because someone else bought them for him.]

[ ...that's probably not an unreasonable answer, from Wanda. Other people no doubt sleep in the sort of thing she's got on, now. He certainly doesn't expect other Guardians to sleep in their armor if they're in a safe place.

He just... does. It's not from a feeling or superiority or paranoia. The habit of centuries is difficult to break, perhaps.

Shaxx sits next to her, obliquely relieved that she's made it into a joke. It's not a topic worth talking about or even thinking about; he'd rather just enjoy her company. ]

Of course not. Walls don't sleep. But if they did, their armor would be very comfortable.

[ Hopefully that's the reassurance she needs. Because his armor is very comfortable. After this long, it feels more like his skin than his actual skin.

At the mention of the 'blanket cape' he actually shoots her a sly--or as sly as he gets--grin. ] Shh. I'm pretending I'm a Hunter.

Edited 2021-02-17 17:41 (UTC)

[Wanda has a vague, ridiculous mental image of knitted armor, even though she knows that's not what he means - it would certainly be more comfortable than his actual armor.

~~New quest step: Acquire Shaxx-sized comfy clothing. Possibly apply Sad Witch Eyes until he accepts it.~~]

Not a witch hunter, I hope. Should I be scared?

[She's teasing, obviously.]

[ Though she doesn't strike him as a witch, since the only witches he knows of are the Techeuns. But he's actually enjoying being teased, so nitpicking about terms can wait. He's a Titan, not a Warlock. ]

I wouldn't dare unless I was really up for a challenge. I've seen what you can do now. [ Shaxx laughs, leaning enough to lightly bump her shoulder with his. ] Maybe once I've warmed up.

[Wanda strikes a pose of feigned shock before dissolving into laughter.]

I think we have made enough of a mess in here already. [Between all of the various things that are still on the floor and all the snow he tracked in that's started to melt.] The only hunting you should be doing tonight is for sleep.

[It's warm and comfy by the fireplace, so she's just going to dip back into her Manna reserves to start levitating her things back to where they belong. But after all the training today she's definitely starting to feel an unfamiliar strain.]

[ She's never seen a Mayhem match if this is her standard of mess. We could make it much messier--is right on the tip of his tongue, but for once in his life he manages to stop himself.

She's not a Titan. Right. That particular voice of reason in his head sounds much too like Osiris for his own comfort. ]

I thought we already decided that walls don't sleep. [ He's definitely joking. He does feel some exercise of power going on from Wanda; curiously, he turns his head to watch all the levitating objects.

He's starting to finally feel warm again, and he has a feeling Wanda's cabin is much warmer than his; she's even radiating a wonderful amount of warmth next to him, and it's very tempting to lean into her. But that wouldn't be respectful of her person or her space, and he can't bring himself to ask. She's already done a lot for him and certainly owes him nothing else. Though he does remark: ] I have built a fire in my cabin, most nights. It hasn't gotten nearly warm.

[ Maybe he managed to get the terrible, draughty one. That would explain why no one else wanted it. ]

[She risks the gentlest touch to his upper arm, over the blanket.] I'm not asking you to be a wall right now. This is my cabin.

[She does speak banter, but she is not in fact a Titan and does not like having messes to clean up. Now that she has living spaces of her own, she wants to keep them cozy and nice - even this borrowed living space.

~~and you can have plenty of fun without making a mess...~~]

Maybe a Ruby's fire is stronger than regular fire? We still feel the cold, but we also create much more heat than anyone else. I could try to make friends with your fireplace? It can't hurt.

[ But a Titan is a wall. It isn't a matter of asking or not. He's not sure how to explain that. ] Hm. A cabin with an extra wall in it would be very strange. But then you'd have more space to hang paintings, so it might work out.

[ He leans into that light touch, not really thinking about it. Intellectually it might feel unusual to even feel a touch lighter than a solid blow, but the physical hunger for it is there even if he doesn't realize. ]

Possible? There's much we don't know about these new powers. [ He hesitates. ] If you'd like to try... [ What could he even give her in return? Oh, right. ] I ought to at least be able to help you recover the energy you've used.

Edited (sorry, final edit. my word choice was bothering me.) 2021-02-18 15:23 (UTC)

Or string lights.

[She's wiling to drop it this time. This time.

Wanda sighs and slumps against his arm and shoulder, just like she does with her friends during flights home on the quinjet. Wanda's a physically affectionate person by nature, but Shaxx hasn't really had a chance to see that side of her with his armor in the way.]

I'm not used to this. My powers have always been...if there is a limit, I have never found it. If I am tired after a mission, it's from physically running around or not getting enough sleep.

What about you? How are you feeling?

Very festive. Perhaps some paper decorations, depending on the season.

[ This is... nice. It's certainly not the first time someone's leaned on him like this. The situation is simply a little different. Sitting in front of a fire in an apparent time of peace, rather than sitting on a rock overlooking a battlefield. It does feel different, though, with her resting much more directly on his skin rather than weight distributed by armor plating. Different isn't necessarily bad; in this case, he finds he likes it. ]

I, too, have noticed a much harder limit on what I can do. I get tired. [ Slight laugh. ] I get cold. I can only make a few grenades before my energy is nearly exhausted. [ Really, that's the most actually offensive part. ] I don't like it, but a limit is a challenge that will be interesting to meet and find techniques to get around.

[ Even if he doesn't like the underpinning that such limits will make it more difficult for him to do the work he must. But there's nothing he can do about that, any more than Osiris can change the loss of his Ghost. It could always be far worse. ]

I like a challenge. And I'll find new ways to fight. I've found we can recover some energy at the end of training by... hugging it out. [ And it's something he really doesn't mind. It's good to foster trust and build relationships between warriors. ] Even if it's strange to everyone to have to go about it that way.

[ After assessing that everything seems good and comfortable, he decides to do the same thing he would if he was still wearing his armor. He loosens the blanket to give himself a bit of room to move, and he carefully puts his arm around her. ]

All right? [ Always better to ask. ]

Edited 2021-02-18 18:02 (UTC)

[Odd that she is the walking space heater when she's so used to curling into others for warmth. But there's still a simple comfort in being held and Wanda lets her eyes fall shut.]

Mm-hmm. You aren't freezing on my watch. [The smile is evident in her voice; he really likes grenades, doesn't he?] No grenades needed.

[He isn't wearing a shirt, and maybe she should have thought about that first, but if Shaxx is fine with it so is she...and, well, she's definitely not complaining...

She can feel the untapped connection between their gems and after a long moment allows her end of it to open. The wound in her mind where Pietro was torn away from her is always present, but it is quieter now and this time she is much calmer and at peace. She feels safe right now, right here, with him. Even the swirl of her innate powers is languid, almost sleepy, as it acknowledges him.

Someone who knows how could absolutely ease her to sleep right now.]

My hero and savior. [ It's a gentle teasing. ] But I always need grenades. [ If he didn't, everyone would know there was something wrong with him.

This isn't the first time he's experienced synchrony with Wanda, but it feels different, perhaps because he isn't trying to communicate something to her. The sense of simply being in someone else's presence is one he's rarely experienced, and it offers its own sort of peace and warmth. It overrides the mental itch of how strange it feels to bare any part of his skin to the world; there's the low echo of that disorientation to be found in the depths of their link, but it would require searching through the simple warmth and pleasure at her company. The points where skin touches skin feel good, enough so that he has to carefully throttle his own urge to want more. Contentment isn't in his nature, but for this moment, he finds he has enough.

The ever-present sense of her loss feels less raw now, though no less familiar. Life is a cycle of loss and survival, hurting and healing, as familiar as an enemy known so long it has become something like a friend. But this is no moment of crisis, and rather than offering up some piece of himself, he simply accepts the whole of what she is, strong and wounded and beautiful.

Gently, he rests one cheek on the soft fall of her hair and thinks of the Last City at night, when the regular noise of life becomes a murmur that sounds like a low, slow heartbeat. ]

Edited (don't mind me just restructuring a bit to get rid of some repeated words arrrrrgh) 2021-02-19 23:09 (UTC)

I'm surprised you aren't a Ruby too. It is much easier to make things explode.

[Although he keeps bringing them up, so she's sure he's working on some kind of earth-magic-based grenade. Somehow.

This time the sync just feels good, and while it's very tempting to just let herself melt into it, there's something nagging at Wanda that it could be even better. So she shifts just a little bit, careful not to jostle his head, to loosely wrap her arms around him. Yes. That. And it'll keep them both a little warmer.]

Okay? [Because yes, asking is good.]

[ He laughs softly, his breath ruffling her hair. Normally he would never be so quiet, but something about this moment feels... not fragile, but perhaps peaceful in a way that he does not wish to shatter. ] Having seen the gems at work, I'm... also surprised by that. Osiris told me that Emerald is the scholar. I don't think anyone would accuse me of being one of those. [ Did he simply get placed in the wrong elemental box by mistake? The incorrect judgment of a being that does not know him? But it doesn't feel entirely wrong. There's always been a lot of earth in Titans, the stones that make the Wall.

He becomes very still as she puts her arms around him. He's controlled enough to suppress the shiver of sheer physical pleasure that rolls through him, though he shuts his eyes.

It's been a very long time. He didn't think this was something he missed, not the way he misses the friends he's lost through either final death in battle or relationships he's destroyed with his own actions. But the skin remembers, and wants, and maybe that's one more reason he sleeps in his armor and keeps to himself. ]

Yes.

[ Can I touch you more? The question is on his tongue, eager to be asked. He swallows it down as unsuitable to this moment and unworthy of him to speak. He certainly owes Wanda better than that for the trust she's offered him and the duty that is his toward anyone he would teach.

But it is all right, he thinks, to enjoy the light floral scent her hair carries. To enjoy the act of being so held. To desire to know more of her as a person, and not because that can make him a better teacher but because she is a bright Light worth knowing. ]

Edited (argh typo) 2021-02-20 17:40 (UTC)

Remember when I asked you to keep talking to me and you read me an entire poem from memory?

[Sounds scholar-like to her.]

Rubies are the warrior, the sword. I understand it, but...I am tired of being a weapon.

[Which is why she treasures quiet moments like these so much. It's not that she doesn't get them but rather that she doesn't get enough of them. She was so used to having a neverending well of brotherly affection in Pietro and has never recovered from losing it...and without it, and in the face of so much loss and general distrust, she's been left starving for any kind of affection she can get wherever she can get it. She has not minded being used as a human space heater if it means she can be held for a while - but with Shaxx it means almost as much as if she were clinging to one of her teammates. He saw what might be her biggest mistake and he still hasn't thought any worse of her. Even if it's probably for the best, it's been harder than she expected to have no one at all that she knows here.

But at least for once she's not alone in being "weird." The Gembonded have each other if nothing else. And there is someone who sort-of knows her...this should be enough. It's more than she deserves.]

[ That draws another laugh from him. ] Memorization is a trick for entertainment. If you had as much time as me, I have no doubt you'd do better. [ A brief memory: the old keep he watched over as a Warlord. A group of children sitting around a barely adequate fire, the best he had been able to do in those lean days. Keeping them and their parents distracted from the pinch in their bellies by acting out Twelfth Night. Laughter is no substitute for food, but it's better than nothing.

They are what they have been made to be, him by being chosen, Wanda by choosing for herself, even if she hadn't known the full weight of it at the time. There is no escaping the power or the responsibility that comes with it. Though there is one subtle point on which he disagrees.

One of his hands is occupied with the act of holding her, but with the other, he finds one of her hands, smoothing his fingers over hers. ]

A warrior and a weapon are not the same thing, and it's wrong to conflate the two. You are no one's tool to wield.

[Shaxx can't see her smile from this angle but he can probably feel the way it echoes through the sync. She's very familiar with the power of a good story from her years in the orphanage.]

It's easy for you to say. You have your own powers. You don't need mine...either mine or the Ruby's. [Syncing is different. The Gembonded need it to survive, yes, but someone else needs that Manna too.] But if you didn't...imagine what you could do with me.

[The phrasing is deliberate, like she's a tool to be picked up and used, but uh. Despite their current positions, the other implications have escaped her.]

It doesn't matter what I think. I have power, but I am not in charge. [They are two very different things, and without a clear idea of what the people who are in charge here really want...well, she's met plenty of world leaders at home. She can take an educated guess.]

[ "Imagine what you could do with me."

She doesn't mean it like that. He wishes he was wearing his helmet, but at least she's not looking at him. Because he can feel the now-familiar sensation of an absolutely searing blush coming over his face.

It does not help that Titania is laughing in the back of his head. You're enjoying this, he thinks at her accusingly. Her only answer is more laughter.

This is a serious conversation. This is not the time to be thinking about what he'd like to do with her in any other sense. He shouldn't be thinking about that at all.

Taking off his armor was such a bad idea.

He does his best to quickly strangle those thoughts, hopefully before any echo of his desire can make it across the synch. Her question and the conversation is much more important than how touch-drunk he's become. ]

You have your own powers as well. You showed me.

[ It was the most unbearably attractive thing he'd experienced since his days of punching Felwinter's head off. No, thinking about that does not help.

The basic concept of her question, when he reaches past his own childish thoughts, is something he finds almost repugnant. He knows that this isn't uncommon behavior; there were many reasons he was feared by the other Warlords, and his aggressive hatred of the way they used other people was but one of them.

He owes her an answer. He can only reach through his own context, because he does not know her world. ]

If you were under my command... [ Slight emphasis there, because a warrior is commanded, not used. His breath is a little unsteady as he continues; this is a feeling close to lust, though perhaps one that would be less shocking to her from what she knows of him. His voice goes low, a tone more suited to whispering to a lover in the dark. ] ...we would tear ships from the sky and raze fortifications to dust. Our names would be whispered in fear, like a curse, by all who would hurt our people.

[ We would. Because he does not ask of others for a fight he will not engage in, himself. Because he leads in the field. Because he is a warrior, too. He tries to shake the mental image of Wanda, the bloody hem of a proper warlock's coat streaming in the hot breeze like a flag of war, the enemy devastated at her feet. Her power like iron bonds, her teeth at his throat.

She doesn't need the burden of his want.

He curls his hand around hers, wrapping her fingers into a fist that he holds in his own. He clears his throat, finding a more normal tone with which to continue. ]

We are the playthings of powerful beings, but they cannot control our wills. What you think, what you want matters. And anyone who thinks otherwise here will answer to me.

[Wanda noticeably stiffens beneath him, unable to help a shiver when his voice drops to that tone. She did not in fact mean it like that, which is why that odd spike in his emotions is so strange. She's serious! Why have his emotions turned to this odd, dark, almost-lust?

Was it something she said? Or is he just...Like That...? She will give him credit where it's due; she knows he sees her. This must just be some fantasy she's accidentally blundered into...right? For all of her skill over the mind, there are places she does try to stay out of unless someone is actively doing the equivalent of shouting at her - and she has little experience in this area, even as an infiltration ruse.

This isn't the most uncommon thing - some people, rather than being afraid, seem to have this utterly bizarre desire for her to 'step on them' - but she's not...she can't. Or rather she knows all too well that slippery slope into the darker side of the Scarlet Witch and doesn't want to inhabit it any more than is strictly necessary. Because sometimes that side of her is necessary for the greater good, but that doesn't mean Wanda doesn't scare herself sometimes.

She will do him the courtesy of trying to pretend she hasn't noticed anything amiss. Because beneath this swell of feelings, she hears the 'we' and knows that he cannot answer from the stance she has asked him to consider because it simply is not in his nature. And so at long last she forces herself to relax. Whatever she's blundered into, she's still as safe with him as she would have been, once upon a time, with any of the other Avengers. Even Vision. Before she'd destroyed all of that.

She should just perhaps be a little more careful in the future. More intentionally considerate, now that she knows of his, ahem, inclinations. She knows what is expected of her here, but that's not yet a step she's ready to take with anyone.]

...you're a good person. I'm glad things are different where you are from.

[This is not quite an acceptance - only time will tell if she can ever feel truly safe here. But she feels safe enough right now.]

[ He's made a mistake. He knows he's made a mistake, as close as he is to her, as aware of physicality and the emotion of that link.

She's not a Titan. It's not even that he hasn't gotten it through his thick skull, it's that it's been so long since he interacted with someone who didn't have the fundamental understanding of what he is, and he doesn't know how to do it. She's not a mortal human, and she's not a Guardian, and it's confusing. Ultimately, it reflects ill on him, because she deserves more respect in answer to the vulnerability she has shown.

He holds himself carefully still even after she has relaxed and keeps his gaze fixed on the fire. He doesn't shut off the link that is the synchrony, but he pulls mentally back from it, as pleasurable as it is, and tries to hold it at the same distance he would for any student.

It would be easier to pretend that nothing had happened at all, but that would be the coward's way out. He's never been a coward, even if that means he's often a fool. ]

I'm sorry. You're not a Titan, and you deserve better than for me to have forgotten that.

[ He uncurls his fingers, holding his hand flat under hers. She hasn't done anything so dramatic as retract her permission, and he's not going to embarass them both by fleeing into the snow like a spurned boy. He's still glad for the contact between the two of them, happy to be a wall for her to lean on, honored by what she's shared even if he's reacted unsuitably. But the offer is there, silent: If she'd rather he left, it's an order he'll take without question. ]

Edited 2021-02-21 09:15 (UTC)

[There's a definite spike of fear that leaks into the sync - she isn't upset with him and it definitely didn't rise to being worth cutting off one of the few friends she's made here and the one who knows her best. She doesn't want to be alone here.

If he'll allow it, she'll lace her fingers with his. It was just an accident, and this is far from the first time she's sensed something she shouldn't have.]

I don't know what that means. I'm me.

[A point could be made that he keeps telling her she's not a tool but also keeps hiding behind this Titan/wall concept. But this is not the time or the place.]

Stay?

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