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[Wanda's imagination isn't far from the truth, then - never underestimate the power of little girls on a mission, and she's picturing a small army of them demanding he brush out their hair.]

I'm glad your muscle memory is so good.

[She can't help but wonder how often he gets to have soft moments like this. Not as often as he deserves, if she had to take a guess.

Her tone turns playful.]

But if you ever decide you want to practice, I volunteer.

[ He considers her hair thoughtfully as he finishes working the shampoo through. ]

Might still be able to remember how to do a five strand plait.

[ Really it's just remembering a lot of numbers. It's probably somewhere in the depths of his brain, tucked between a couple of Shakespeare's histories. Once he's made it his business to learn something, he never forgets it.

It was an odd thing, to have such moments when he wasn't focused entirely on battle, but sometimes duty can take an unexpected form. ]

[Wanda makes another soft, pleased sound - his hands running through her hair feel so good.]

Well, we need to make sure that your memories stay sharp.

[It's probably a lot easier when you can see what you're doing. And she would proudly wear that braid even if it comes out a little lopsided, though she doubts it. Shaxx is a man of many, sometimes unexpected talents, and it's been well-established how talented his hands are.]

I don't think your hair is long enough to make any good braids but I can give you a scalp massage.

Let's rinse your hair out.

[ Which is a thing he also gladly helps with, gently easing his fingers through any potential tangles. ]

I must have a better memory than Saint because I don't headbutt everything.

[ He chuckles softly. ]

I keep meaning to shave it all off. Less of a problem now, I guess. I still wear my helmet all the time, but it matters less if I have a bit of hair tickling my ear.

[Wanda shifts forward so that she can properly lean back this time, supported by her powers.]

It's your hair, but I think it looks good.

[And it's nice to run her hands through or clutch at. She'd certainly miss it, but of course it's his hair and his choice.

Once her hair feels properly rinsed out, Wanda shifts back to a seated position. Time for the conditioner. She uses her powers to summon the bottle to her hand and turns to hand it to Shaxx. Her eyes roam appreciatively over his wet body and she grins and leans up to kiss his cheek.]

This goes on the bottom half only and needs to sit for a few minutes. We can look at the bath bombs while we wait.

[ He makes a bemused little hum. He certainly knows he's attractive, but it's always been about his muscles and body. It's always strange to be reminded he has a face and... hair, in this case, another thing that's normally hidden. ]

If you like it, then I'll keep it.

[ It seems like a small thing to do for someone else, really. It's not like his hair actually bothers him--if it did he would have shaved his head long ago.

He grins back at her and takes the bottle. The directions on the use are simple enough to follow. Just a small amount, which he gently works into the bottom half of her hair. ]

Show me your water explosives.

My hero.

[She grins. He has a very nice face too! And a nice smile, and kind eyes, and--

--don't get Wanda started, she'll go on for a while.

Wanda sighs happily as he runs the conditioner through her hair. It's a quicker process, but one still very much appreciated.]

I have many kinds. Maybe too many, but I can never buy just one or two.

[She summons the container to her hand and opens it carefully - imagine if she accidentally dropped it and all the bath bombs went in at once. While she's sure Shaxx would love the resulting color explosion, she'd really rather not, thanks. There are some that are clearly floral, others that are just brightly colored, and some that look like they were inspired by the four gems.]

Do you have a color preference? Or something you want to smell like?

I try to be. [ He's teasing. What he wants, always, is to be Wanda's supportive friend. ]

So you collect them... [ As someone who collects guns, he can understand it.

Shaxx pulls the container a bit closer to him so he can poke through it. Finally he picks out one that's bright red--it's a color he likes, and has something of a spicy scent. ]

This one?

[Shaxx is the best thing that's happened to her since she came here, and that's not an exaggeration in the slightest.]

Not exactly. You can't reuse them.

[Although they're such a luxury item that sometimes she does struggle with actually using them. Even something so small as this was completely out of the reach of the Wanda of a few years ago.]

You can drop it into the bath once we wash the conditioner out of my hair. [The grin is evident in her voice.] Just try not to blink too much.

That still counts as a collection.

[ The transient nature of life, etc. Collecting ammunition versus guns.

He sets the orange sphere carefully where it won't fall into the bath, then slides his hands slowly around her sides to rest low on her stomach. He leans down to delicately kiss her shoulder. ]

You tell me when it's ready to be washed out.

Mmmmmm... [She shivers in obvious pleasure.] It needs another minute or two, I think. But I'm sure we can find something to do while we wait.

Can I do anything for you?

I think so.

[ He rests his chin lightly on her shoulder, hands moving slowly across her stomach, coming up to cup her breasts as he murmurs in her ear: ]

I have drunk the water of life from my beloved’s lips.
I have drunk the wine of spirit from the cup of unity.
I know neither disbelief nor belief.
I have tied belief and disbelief with the knot of love.

You can be as you are.

[And she is so very weak for that - she turns her head to kiss his temple before relaxing and letting her cheek rest against him. She has no idea what that is or where it's from, only that it's beautiful and that it's probably not Shakespeare. She shivers again, and it's the combined approach that has her nipples stiffening under his hands again.

She murmurs something appreciative when he finishes before fully surrendering to the sync with a conscious effort to open herself as much as possible to him. All of her love and admiration and trust, her softness and fierceness, even the parts of herself that she's not very proud of - the very shape of her soul is on display for him to peruse if he wishes, her own powers reaching to embrace his mind and draw him closer. If he wants her as she is...well, here is all of her.]

[ He makes a low murmur, his eyes slipping half shut as he sinks fully into that synchrony, his head tilting to rest lightly against hers. His fingers move in light, slow caresses with his attention elsewhere.

He has never expected perfection of anyone--not even himself, a very rare thing amongst his fellows--and the imperfections are part of the whole of her, what builds Wanda to be who she is. He can have no objection, no desire but to see her released from the chains others have placed on her, so that she can be herself wholly. ]

There is such Light to you.

[She is content to drift in the synch, held and seen in her entirety. She's not sure why the Guardians see her so differently, but perhaps it's something to do with having lived through the Dark Ages and seeing what it looks like when someone is given great power and intentionally abuses it. For all the mistakes she's made, she's always tried to do the right thing.

(There's a hairline fracture wrought of grief and loss that might one day be the cause of tragedy, but for now it's protected by the companionship she's found. Wanda Maximoff is a woman both torn apart and held together by love.)]

And you are so warm and bright...like the sun. Not just your Light, but all of you.

[Sometimes she feels like a flower who has been blessed with the chance to bask in his radiance and grow stronger from his love and support. He was her light when she'd lost all hope. He'd believed in her when she couldn't believe in herself. And what he sees when he looks at her...that was what she had always wanted to be when she'd agreed to the experiments and when she'd joined the Avengers.

Her hand comes up to gently stroke his hair, born of the need to reciprocate physically. A dual approach is always stronger.]

[ He half closes his eyes in contentment at her fingers in his hair, then captures her hand so he can press his lips on her palm, still slick with water.

It's strange, in a way, to hear her speak as if he's somehow separate from his Light. He supposes there must be something, or else Guardians like Osiris would cease entirely after losing their Ghosts and Light. But it's certainly not something he's ever thought about himself.

He chuckles softly against her palm, another fragment of poetry coming to him. ]

The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light.
Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light.

[For Wanda, they're both separate and part of a harmonious whole, but there is a difference. Any Guardian's Light would feel the same to her, aside from the differences in attunements, but Shaxx's "light" is unique to him. A choice he makes to be, rather than something he is; a harmonious whole.

Wanda makes a soft, almost imperceptible sound as he kisses the scar on her palm.]

And am I a butterfly or a flower?

[Her voice is soft, fond, like she doesn't want to break the spell he's casting on her.]

Why not both?

[ He smiles and kisses her palm again, then closes her fingers lightly around it. ]

You contain multitudes.

[She shivers.]

So do you.

[Wanda knows her limitations. She is no poet. But she can share what Shaxx feels like to her: the sea of light ever supporting her is accurate, yes, but there's the psychic impression of petrichor, the charge and anticipation in the air just before the storm comes, the warmth of the fire in her cabin against the bitter cold all those months ago. A warrior's strength, the softer heart of a poet. Hope. And so much love.

She will not call him the sun - the sun is too distant and impersonal, and Shaxx is someone she is proud to stand beside. The butterfly and the light dancing together, rather than one hiding within the other. They complement each other well, and Wanda is eternally grateful that he'd been the first person she'd stumbled across after Malachite ripped her away from her world.

After a moment more basking in the feel of him, she turns to kiss his cheek.]

Whenever you're ready.

[It certainly won't hurt her hair to leave it on longer if he wants to stay like this a little more.]

[ In many ways Shaxx's view of Wanda is far more simple; he sees her much as he sees all Guardians, the complexities of inner light that interweave to become something far greater, something that has potentiality to change the world with a simple act of defiance against the Darkness, an almost incomprehensible strength that waits to be called on in defense of others. She may not have a Ghost, but he knows with certainty that she can and will move mountains or break her own heart trying.

And that is all that has ever really mattered to him.

He holds her close for a bit longer, basking in that inner warmth from her before he presses a kiss against her temple. ]

Let's get it washed out so you can show me the bath explosive.

[ And he's just as careful and gentle with that, reverent almost, as he was in getting the conditioner into her hair in the first place, carefully finger-combing out every potential knot. ]

[This has been a lovely treat and once the conditioner's fully rinsed out, she turns to kiss him sweetly. Gratitude shines through the sync - he didn't have to do this and she appreciated the great care he took.]

Here.

[The bath bomb levitates over to him.]

Bath bombs aren't for throwing. You just drop it in, and then you watch.

[ The gratitude is unnecessary as far as he's concerned. He was hardly going to fuck and run. But he's certainly glad she feels loved, because she deserves that.

He takes the bath bomb. ]

You make it sound less exciting with every passing moment.

[ Yes, he's teasing.

He deposits the bath bomb into the water. ]

[Wanda laughs.]

You'll see.

[The bath bomb starts fizzing the second it hits the water. It begins releasing waves of sunset color and soon a nice spicy scent fills the bathroom. This one has a few large confetti inclusions but no glitter. It's one of the few that she has that doesn't.]

What do you think?

[ He rests his chin lightly on her shoulder as he watches the bath bomb do its thing. ]

As a way to make water smell nice and look colorful, it certainly works.

Can't recommend it as an explosive.

Baths are for cleaning up, not making a mess.

[Well...okay, that really depends on how you want to define 'mess' here.]

Not that kind of mess. But we can make other messes next time if this isn't exciting enough for you.

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