8246/Live for the Present

Live for the Present
Date of Scene:	10 July 2019
Location:	Josh's Apartment, Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Tough revelations by Wanda and Josh leave both feeling closer together.
Cast of Characters:	Scarlet Witch, Elixir

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Scarlet Witch has posed:
It was already getting late when Josh left Avenger's Mansion. There was a night to sleep on things. For Wanda is a very bad night. She spent much of it sitting in front of the fireplace, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms hugging them. Jarvis turned the air conditioning up something fierce so she could have a fire in it and not roast. The firelight reflected in her eyes as she searched the flames for answers that were not forthcoming.

The next morning she got up early, showered and left the mansion. Not knowing where she was going. Walks were something she did a lot, and sometimes she just walked and would see where she ended up.

When she found herself in Bushwick, the auburn-haired woman found herself swallowing. A passing kid recognized her and came over asking for her autograph. Wanda gave it to him, managing some semblance of a smile for the 10 year old, though her face felt nothing like smiling. Soon she found herself outside of Josh's apartment building, her arms wrapped around herself in a tight hug.

She didn't remember making the decision to move from that spot on the sidewalk and go inside and up to his room. The only thing she remembered was, that she needed to be there. At his door. Wanda lifted her arm, hesitating a moment and then finally rapping on the door.

Elixir has posed:
Josh had left the Avengers Mansion and taken an Uber to Bushwick. He stopped at the Sailor and had a few drinks with some people he vaguely knew. But truth was he felt like crap. He went home after last call.

Standing in the doorway of his sad little apartment, he felt worse for knowing he had just screwed up with the one person who lit it up.

He tried to get some sleep, but was woken up at 4 am by Amelia from the floor above him knocking on his door. She had a bloody nose and black eye. He knew how it happened, everyone in the building knew what kind of guy her boyfriend was. But there she was. Josh had let her in, fixed her up and she said she was going to leave Luke. This time.

After that Josh dozed a bit then gave up on sleep. He had a shower and decided it was time to listen to Jubilee's warning. And re-think a few things.

He was busy packing things into large plastic tubs when Wanda knocked at the door. He sighed and walked over to open it.

"H...." the words catch in his throat when he sees Wanda. "Wanda? What..."

Josh moves aside to let her in. He looks utterly perplexed when he closes the door behind her.

"You shouldn't be here," he says tiredly, unhappily. He wants nothing more than to wrap her in arms, but stays where he is.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The unhappy expression on Josh's face is like an icy hand gripping Wanda inside. She clears her throat though and takes a step closer to him. "I'm not giving up on this," Wanda tells him. She swallows and shakes her head. "If you really want me to go..." she says. And then she pauses and her eyes dart about for what to say next.

"I... won't?" she says, giving him a little bit of a double-raised eyebrow, the expression just bordering on cute. It isn't entirely cute because there's too much dark mood in the air for cute. But boy is it approaching cute.

Wanda takes another step closer to him. "Don't pull away from me. I like the person that you are, Josh. I did harm to the world at one time too. I'm not perfect. I don't ask it of you either. I just ask you to be, you. That's the guy that I'm falling for," she tells him. Wanda will reach out a hand, meaning to rest it softly on his chest near to his heart.

Elixir has posed:
The emotions inside war plainly on Josh's face as Wanda comes closer. He melts at her final words and pulls Wanda to him once she touches him.

"God I'm sorry, Wanda," he says quietly. Wanda can feel Josh's heart pounding in his chest. "I... I'm sorry. I was sick when I realized what I'd done last night. I don't want to walk away from you."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
When he pulls her to him, Wanda presses in against him. Her cheek to his chest, head tucked just beneath his chin. Her arms go around him, the woman clinging to him with a tightness that seems to hint at the strength of the emotions in her. "I know you didn't mean to. You were hurting," she tells him. "But, yeah, don't walk away. Please?" she says, looking up at him and a hand goes to wipe quickly at one of her eyes.

She tells him in very slowly delivered words, "You /might/ have noticed. But I'm kind of crazy about you." Wanda slowly rubs her hand over his chest, smoothing his shirt, not that it needs it. "So far I've liked everything about you that I've gotten to know. I see a man making the right choices with his life now. And if you had to come through rough times to reach that? It just tell me what a strong character you have, to have made it through."

Elixir has posed:
Josh holds Wanda to him as if he is afraid the older woman might vanish if he let go. He swallows hard and blinks a couple of times.

"I won't, I promise. I'd never forgive myself," he says and kisses Wanda's forehead. He squirms a bit under her comments about his character.

"I won't argue with the great Wanda Maximoff. I'll just count my lucky stars," he says and runs a thumb gently along Wanda's cheek. He grins a bit, only a touch ruefully. "I'm so, so far over my head with you. It's a nuts."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The woman's relief is writ on her face as Josh tenderly brushes his thumb along her cheek. Wanda gives a soft laugh at how he refers to her. "Not so great. Just a girl. Falling for a boy," she tells him warmly as she gazes back up into his eyes. Wanda reaches up to gently take Josh's cheeks in both hands as she brings her lips to his, to kiss him in a slow and tender way.

"I don't want to make you talk about things that upset you. But I want to get to know you," she tells him softly when their lips have parted. "I want to learn everything there is to learn about Josh Finkelstein," she says. And yes her eyes are twinkling as she intentionally butches his last name, just to show how much she still has to learn.

Elixir has posed:
Josh's eyes say so much he could not say and might not even know himself yet. He kisses Wanda so very gently and lingers there with her. He laughs when she mangles his name.

"Yeah, I think that's what they call me," he says dryly. Josh sighs in relief as he feels them come back from the brink of what could have been one the bigger mistakes of his young life.

"It's alright. I'll... tell you whatever you want to know," he says. "And listen to anything you'll share."

Josh slowly lets Wanda go and looks into the main area and galley kitchen. Everything is half-packed.

"I don't have much to offer," he says apologetically. "I can dig out some glasses if you're thirsty?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda looks around at the apartment in its current state. She reaches a hand over to rest on his back and she tells him, "I hope it wasn't all so bad that you thought you needed to move to get away from me, Mr. Finkelstein," she tells him, eyes going from the apartment back over to him.

"How about if I help you pack. And then we can go and get some lunch together?" she suggests. Wanda glances around the apartment. "What is the situation with the apartment?" she asks him quietly. "Are you looking for a new start?" Her hands on his back gently pats him and then she moves over to begin helping with putting things in boxes.

Elixir has posed:
Josh smiles when she suggests lunch.

"Thanks. This won't take long, I don't have much."

That much is true. The furniture might have even been in the apartment when he moved in. The dishes look like he grabbed a packaged set from Ikea. He has some clothes, books and his computer. There are no family pictures, decorations or the odds and ends of personal knick knacks a person picks up over time.

"No, no, it wasn't you," he assures Wanda with a smile.

"I'm getting more people showing up at my door asking for help, and it's gonna get out of hand," he says with a sigh. "And if I'm gonna have a chance of competing with the rich wunderkinds for a spot in med school I've gotta stop working at Stark and put more time into classes. So time to swallow my pride."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda puts dishes into a box, and if Josh doesn't have something set between the plates to keep them from chipping, she makes due with paper towels or something along those lines. "And so where will you be moving to then?" she asks as she finishes up the stack of plates and moves on to the next thing. "You have a new place lined up?"

Wanda walks over across the room and pauses, looking at the couch, and then over to one of the windows with a view of Mutant Town. When she passes by him again, she reaches over to touch his shoulder. "I liked this apartment. But maybe there will be good memories to be made in the new one."

Wanda pauses thoughtfully for a moment. "The people that needed help, I'm sure you left them in good health. Are there any that you worry about though? Their circumstances?"

Elixir has posed:
"You like it?" he asks, confused. When he sees Wanda standing by the window, memories come back to him. He smiles and leans against the wall. "I think there will."

"Circumstances?" Josh asks as he starts closing up his kitchen tubs. He looks pensive.

"Nobody here is doing great. Fatima across the hall, she's on her own with three kids. Her youngest had leukemia, and they couldn't pay for treatment. I sorted that out, but I could feel Aliya isn't getting enough to eat. Amelia came down last night after her boyfriend beat her. That's happened a couple times, she keeps going back to him for some reason. And helped a couple people that got attacked at the Nachesko Building. I dunno. Bushwick's a rough place."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
As Josh's smile about the apartment grows, Wanda shares it back with him. She gives a small nod as he starts to tell her about the people in the apartment. She moves over to help Josh finish up packing. "After we have your things out... why don't we go and pay them a visit? Fatima and her children, and... Amelia, you said?" Wanda suggests. "I'll see if maybe we can't find a little good luck for them in their futures, if you'd like?" she offers, head tilting to the side slightly to see what Josh things.

"It reminds me a little bit of one of the first semi-permanent homes we had. We moved around quite a bit. But there was a little village we stayed in when... oh how old was I? Maybe six? We stayed for a half a year in it," Wanda says. "The place was about this size. But the walls were so drafty. We ended up moving on during the winter because it was so difficult to keep warm," she remembers.

Elixir has posed:
"Really? That would be really cool," Josh says of Wanda's offer. "They could really use it."

Josh moves to the bedroom and starts tossing clothes into a couple garbage bags.

"Did you move around a lot?" Josh asks through the open door. He glances around. "Kinda hard to picture you in a drafty old place after seeing you at the Avengers Mansion. Didn't have a lot growing up then, I guess?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff follows Josh to the bedroom, helping get the clothing from the closet. When she sees him just stuffing them into a garbage she makes a noise and starts folding things instead. "Oh yes, we were seldom in one place for long," Wanda says. "I did not have the kind of warm, rosy childhood that you hear about it in the children's stories, I'm afraid. Pietro and I were raised amongst Romani. There is always suspicion about them, I'm afraid. Superstition. Few places that we went, were we welcome at. Some with us had skill at mending things, fixing pots and the like, and people would employ them but then once their needs were met, we were shown the road as quickly as possible," she tells him.

"And it got worse over time. As our powers revealed themselves. Imagine a place that is already teeming with superstitions, and how they would react to mutants," Wanda says. She looks about to say more, but instead just gives a little sigh and shakes her head.

Elixir has posed:
Josh notices Wanda's reaction to him tossing his clothes into the garbage bag. He watches her fold for a half second, opens his mouth to tell her she doesn't need to do that... And then decides on just going with it and folding his stuff.

"I don't really know anything about the Romani," he admits. "But I can see superstitions and mutation being a Bad Thing. What'd you two do after your abilities came out? Move again?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda gives a tentative nod of her head, though there's an extra bit of motion to it that suggests not exactly right either. "Well, when we were younger, yes, we'd move on to the next village. Into Serbia, and the neighboring countries. Transia is mostly one large city and then a bunch of tiny villages," she tells him.

She pauses and bites her lip. "There is more to me than just my mutant powers. At some point when I was a child, I was... affected by an Elder God. It is... not a good entity," she says quietly. "And it hopes to affect the world through me. When we were younger, before our own powers developed to the point of defending ourselves... we were hunted by cults in service to this Elder God. After a certain age, as they became aware of me, we spent most of our time on the run, and in hiding."

Wanda is watching Josh's reaction to having heard this. Watching with a little bit of concern. There is also hope, and trust. Enough to have shared this with him. But after the emotions of the past day, she can't help but worry a little at how he might react.

Elixir has posed:
Josh frowns, instantly worried for Wanda. He takes a seat on the bed so he can look at her.

"That's crazy. I don't really know what that all means, but it sounds... I'm really sorry, Wanda. How long did you have to hide? Are you safe now?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff folds one of Josh's shirts, putting it carefully in the bag, and then moving over to sit with him on the edge of the bed. "It made for a less than ideal childhood," she agrees. "It's also part of why I'm so close with my brother. Even when it was too dangerous to stay with the Maximoffs, the family who raised us, Pietro was always there for me. And, I hope that you'll like each other when you meet. He can be brusque. But he wants to see me happy, even if probably no one will ever be good enough in his eyes."

Wanda rests her hand on Josh's, fingers resting against his. "His followers have not come after us in years. Not since we proved how capable of defending ourselves we are. I will always have to deal with it. The power is there in me, but one that I'll never use, as I cannot open up the world again to His touch," she says.

She lets out a sigh. "So?" she asks in a tiny voice. "Have I scared you off yet?" she asks, grimacing slightly.

Elixir has posed:
Josh's face softens another step. He reaches around Wanda's shoulders and pulls her against him so her head rests on his shoulder.

"Not a chance," Josh says and kisses the top of Wanda's head. "Scared for you, but not of you. Not even a little."

"A couple of the guys who heard about you and I at Evolution tried to warn me off. I guess they heard some of that stuff that goes around about you sometimes," he confesses, both to their opinion and knowing about the mixed public perceptions of Wanda. "But I don't see it. I don't see you that way at all."

"Now I am scared of your /family/, but that's like, /legit/," Josh adds with a grin.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Perhaps Josh has found out one of those reasons Wanda's past relationships haven't lasted very long. The look that results from Josh's acceptance of her nature shines with such warmth. Her hand squeezes his tight, as if nervousness she'd held can finally be released.

Wanda looks down then, grinning softly. "That isn't unwise, with my family," she agrees. "Speaking of... when I told Pietro about you, he mentioned something about... no intimacy until he'd approved of you." Wanda's cheeks flush a bit. "So, um, maybe best not to mention, things," she tells him, and laughing just a little.

The laughing smile gives way to a little bit more playful of one. "So when I told Lorna that I was interested in someone from her school, and told her who? She said something interesting," Wanda says. Her grin for Josh grows a bit. "She said, oh, that's why he was blushing when he saw me! And why was asking me question about my sister!" Though Wanda has teasing tone, it's pretty obvious she is pleased to have found out he was showing that interest in her.

Elixir has posed:
"Uh, how about not mentioning /things/ ever!" Josh laughs. He can't help but find Wanda's blush endearing.

"Ah, that might have happened," Josh admits. Now it is his turn to get red in the face.

"What? I wanted to know if you'd mentioned me," he admits with a grin.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The smile that results is almost ear-to-ear. "She does now. Which was the first we'd talked since you and I met," Wanda assures him. She moves from where she's sitting, swinging a leg astride Josh's legs to sit on his lap, facing him.

"She and I were never very close. We didn't learn we were sisters until just a few years ago," Wanda says. "And we're trying to make up for that now. I should have embraced her more than I did, before this. But I think we're finally off to a good start," she says with a warm smile.

"So does Lorna know you well enough to tell me all sorts of stories about you? Or do I need to get together with some of your friends from the club?" she asks teasingly.

Elixir has posed:
Josh gathers Wanda easily into his lap. Having her there releases the last of the tension he did not even realize he was carrying in his shoulders.

"You've got her around now, that's all that matters," he says. Then he clears his throat and teases.

"Ah, did I mention I was lying and I'm actually a total recluse? No stories.... Nope."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The auburn-haired woman runs her hands slowly over Josh's back, and breaks out in a grin at his claim to have a lack of stories. "Well then, we will just have to create a few stories of our own, I think?" Wanda suggests.

She glances from one side to the other. "But these... will not be good ones to tell my brother," she adds. And then she begins kissing him.

And though they will visit the others in his apartment building before leaving, and Wanda will use her chaos powers to alter probabilities in their favor, those visits will have to take place much, much later in the day.