deercountry | ( CLOSED ) I JUST WANT YOU FOR MY OWN.

[ she shakes her head. ]

No.

[ she had the avengers, but wanda doesn't consider herself one. she's merely wanda. ]

What I am — [ she gestures towards the wanda in the sky, dressed in her full scarlet witch garb. ] — I'm not meant to be with a team. And I think that it's right. I have to be alone. I know it doesn't make sense, but it's for the best.

If that's true, why am I here?

( she wasn't alone right now, was she? he kept showing up around her and with her in things like this. he doesn't know why. )

Or do I not count because I'm not a witch?

You're not a witch.

[ hence, he wouldn't count. but she knows what he's implying. very gently, she drops her hands and the two of them descend as the dark red walls surrounding them break into a clear blue sky. wanda and agatha descend, too. ]

But you can count in a different way.

How do I count?

( he's not going to push for being some coven member. he doesn't care that much. )

As a friend.

[ for anyone else, that may seem like a very lame compensation. a witch in a coven is something profound and coveted by a lot of people. it represents power. but wanda's been alone for most of her life, it made worse by the absence of her family. the avengers had been a great band of people, but she'd been so lonely in those crowded rooms. ]

I didn't have a lot of them before I came here.

Don't got too many friends.

( and before you ask, wanda, that doesn't mean he doesn't want them. it's just an observation. )

Think you could stomach being my friend?

[ she'd been expecting him to refute her completely. this is a nice change of pace. clearly, her talking about holden's pants has worn him down.

wanda smiles and shrugs. ]

I've been through worse. It's not desirable, but... [ her smile widens. ]

It's not desirable?

( he laughs at that one because of course. he appreciates that she's going to play along with him a bit. )

What would be more desirable than being friends with me?

[ she thinks to give him a list of things—an ice cream cone, jewellery, a nice, juicy burger, meeting holden. but none of those may see him smile. it's a nice look on him. it's good to know he can do that. ]

Driving the Rocinante.

[ steering? captaining? is this the proper word? ]

No.

( yes, he thinks she could probably do it but he's not going to be responsible for her flying them into a planet or something. he shakes his head. )

No way. I see you up there, you don't need to pilot the Roci. You can fly.

[ he's too nice. ]

But the Roci — [ it sounds strange to her to not say the full name. ] — is in space, and I've never captained a spaceship before.

[ she's learned how to drive. now, it's time she learns how to drive a ship. seems fair, no? ]

I think it could be fun bossing you around.

You wish.

( amos rolls his eyes. holden might be his captain but even holden doesn't get to boss him around. he's his own man and he does what he wants.

she might be pretty but she's not going to boss him around either. )

You're good but you're not that good.

[ she smiles. ]

We'll see.

[ peering above his head, she sees the blue skies of westview. she doesn't particularly want to see the hex come down. it's too much to see it when she relives it every time she goes to sleep. ]

I think this is ending. [ she's making it end before she can see the boys and vision. she won't be able to leave if she turns around and spies them approaching. ]

So, what happened to the other one?

( he points up at the sky, towards the area where the other witch had been. )

Did you just let her go? Be friends or something?

[ wanda makes everyone in the memory disappear so that it's just her and amos standing in an empty, quiet, and strangely eery westview. it's better this way. even if she may find herself taxed from the magic later, she doesn't want to see her family. it hurts too much to be near them.

while wanda wants to look away, she doesn't. she has to own what she did to agatha. it's a punishment that fits the crime. ]

When she came here, she pretended to be the nosy neighbour. Before I left here, I made her believe she was the nosy neighbour. She lives here still, playing a role from a television series. [ in simpler terms: ] I manipulated her mind.

Oh.

( right, that's something she can do. he looks at her for a long moment before nodding. )

Why not just kill her? Leaving her alive means she could do something like this again.

I don't want to kill people.

[ she's killed enough of them by accident. it's not her way, even if it would make things simpler. ]

I think a part of me knew I'd need her later. She's a very old witch and I'm very new to it. And she's the only witch I know.

[ it has to come in handy sometime in the future, surely. ]

Maybe it's silly to keep her alive.

Just seems like asking for trouble unless you think you can keep her in line.

( she's powerful, sure, but she's still human. she has weaknesses. amos crosses his arms and shrugs. )

Your life, though. Your choice.

[ she sighs quietly, ] I know.

[ agatha is a dangerous person to keep alive, but she's also burning with knowledge. wanda has a feeling agatha will be useful and friendly sometime in the near future. ]

I'd offer to take you on a tour, but I fear if I do I might never want to leave.

I don't knw if that's really a choice you have either. If we're here because of that city, they're gonna take you back.

( somehow.

he sighs and looks around. )

Seems...okay.

[ she chuckles. ] You don't like it.

[ she isn't surprised. she thinks amos likes space, all the darkness, the lack of being grounded so permanently. she thinks he's someone who likes to move about and not be trapped.

amos is definitely not mike brady. ]

It's very... [ her brows furrow as she considers her words. ] Do you know the Patridge Family?

Yeah, but I don't hate it.

( at her question, he shakes his head. )

No, they friends of yours?

[ wanda can't help but laugh. ]

Kind of. They're a fictional family—a TV show I used to watch when I was younger. Everything in their world was perfect. Not a hair out of place.

[ to her, anyway. there was clutter and mess and problems, but to wanda, it was perfect. ]

I wanted this place to be like that.

Ain't nothing perfect in the real world.

( but hey, if that's what she wants, he's not going to argue. he scrubs a hand over his face. )

I didn't really watch television when I was younger. Even if I did, I don't think they had these shows.

No?

[ her brows lift in surprise. sokovia had little, but what it had kept wanda afloat in times of distress. it's strange to her to think not everyone had the brady bunch to keep them company or the addams family to encourage them to be weird. ]

Maybe I will make you sit and watch an episode one day.

[ the memory begins to fade. ]

( CLOSED ) I JUST WANT YOU FOR MY OWN.

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