[ he gets that. it's a strange feeling, seeing it happen in front of him like that, knowing that she'd made her peace with it and being unable to do anything about it.
[ he doesn't respond, but there's a breeze at wanda's side to herald his appearance followed by a gentle touch to her ear, a white flower tucked behind it. ]
( even wanda's own perception of the world via her magic could not have prepared her for the fact that peter just strolls on by, speedy as he is, and manages to tuck a flower behind her ear.
the action, innocent as it is, is enough to fluster wanda—though she maintains a carefully-set expression, her cheeks flush and her brows knit together a touch.
it feels forward, for siblings that aren't quite siblings.
but wanda doesn't want peter to keep feeling like he's 'the wrong one' or doing 'the wrong things' when it comes to her. a lot of her fonder memories of pietro do involve flowers, so is it any surprise that this catches her off-guard? she pushes a hand to her ear, to the flower, touching it lightly. )
...I'll know if you got it from my garden.
( and she tries to hide feeling flustered by being a little harsh with what her words imply, even if it's immensely clear that she doesn't quite mean it. )
[ he watches her brows furrow, the little flush of pink on her cheeks, but she doesn't remove the flower. she touches it gently and lets it remain there, and something in him loosens. yeah, he looks a little pleased, even if he sounds like nothing happened at all. ]
I know.
[ what is she gonna do about it? hex him??? he hopes not. ]
( she could very well hex him, but she's past just turning random people into frogs for the sake of it (she never actually did do that). this boundary between them still seems to hold aloft, making it difficult to push into teasing or allowing themselves to show satisfaction; like estranged siblings, meeting only after their separated parents decided to bring the family together for hannukah.
wanda huffs, then motions towards the garden that she surmises he glided in from. )
Sheets and towels are hanging, but they should be dry by now.
( —before he can even think of rushing off to put them into a basket, she adds, )
Let's do it at a normal, boring speed. Okay?
( peter will thank her later, for there sure is a lesson to be learned here. she motions at the wicker basket in the small room opposite for him to grab. )
( 'no', she had said, and yet here she was—in the garden of her shop in the tertiary settlement, tossing some ingredients into a cauldron over the fire. proper witchy stuff, except it's smelling more like caramel and cinnamon than something otherwise mischievous. wanda even has a few glass bottles on the stone step of her shop, set aside for the concoction that she thinks ought to be something like coke.
and, maybe, unsurprisingly, with peter's speed, it won't be a wonder if he ends up here of all places, smelling caramel and thinking he's hungry enough for a snack or treat. )
[ he was, admittedly, going to see if he could try and convince her despite her saying no. because as much as carmy says it's not a big deal, peter understands that he's still going out of his way to source ingredients and figure out how to make things. and yeah, maybe peter doesn't like owing people things, so.
anyway, after not finding her in the primary settlement, he makes his way over to the tertiary one, and does pick up on that caramel scent. interesting. and like she expects, he's there to snoop, coming to a stop next to her cauldron. ]
( peter must be used to it by now, how biting wanda can be at times with her words. not because she actually dislikes him or his 'interrupting' her, as it were, but that's just how she defends herself when she feels she is giving too much away.
she grabs at the wooden spoon she keeps and starts stirring the mixture, now that the caramel has the consistency she wants. )
Don't get too close. Caramel burns like a bitch.
( (it probably says a lot that she swears around him—just how comfortable she feels to not have to keep up a façade around him.) )
[ he is used to it. admittedly, it was a little shaky at first, unable to tell exactly when she's being serious and when she's... giving him shit, as it were. he doesn't think he gets it right every time, but he likes the familiarity of it — most of the team back home treats him in the same way and it's nice to be able to feel it again. the swearing, too. even if that still catches him by surprise every time.
but okay, the bottles, the caramel... he's connecting the dots. he could bring it up, but he refrains, for now. just to be sure. ]
( the familiarity is easy enough, and comfortable, now.
wanda reaches to push him away a little more, because it doesn't seem like peter has a real sense of how much is dangerous and how much isn't. she doesn't mind, though, the company that his presence offers.
she does a raise a brow at the question. )
Feeling like you could brew a potion or two?
( she's teasing, and will continue to do so unless he brings it up. wanda is not about to admit to anything. )
[ okay, okay, he's stepping back. still close enough where he can still see what she's doing in the cauldron, but far enough where she won't chew him out. ]
I know I don't got the, [ he wriggles his fingers a little. ] Witchy vibe, but it looks fun.
( he wriggles his fingers, and wonders if he's taken that from the times he's seen her using her powers. she snorts, then hands him the wooden spoon she's been using. )
Keep stirring it at a normal speed for a minute. I think that'll make the cinnamon and caramel mix.
( and now she stands, a little at a loss of what happens next in the soda making process. )
We're making the Coke for Carmy. I've never done it before, but I think caramel and cinnamon are a place to start.
[ firstly, he absolutely did. secondly, he snickers a little, more of a heh heh than anything else, but he does take the spoon from her to stir the contents at normal speed. ]
What happened to saying no? [ he's gotta be a shit. but did she really expect anything less. ] I drink more of 'em than I've ever made 'em. But I guess the trickiest part is the fizziness. Unless you got, like, highly carbonated water lying around somewhere in your shop.
( she was being an ass to peter in specific, but she wasn't just about to deny carmy of having coke if that's something that he really wants. besides— )
He's taking requests from everyone, and that's got to be tiring. Sure, he's a cook, but it's not like it makes it any easier.
( defensive, much?
anyway, she sits down on her haunches, hugging her knees, and watching as the concoction emulsifies as peter stirs it. )
[ of course she was being an ass to peter in specific, she's a bully and he's accepted that. and yeah, he agrees with that, too — carmy deserves to have something nice also, which was why peter offered in the first place. but like, ma'am... ]
Why're you so touchy? No one's saying he's not. [ he squints at her. ] You like him, or something?
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