"Zuko?!" He woke with a start and jumped out of his bed, flames in both hands as his mind still tried to catch up to what his eyes were seeing. Her long auburn hair hung in a braid down her back and she was dressed in different clothes- a white cloak over a red bodice red leather pants. There was a strange metal broach that clasped the cloak together at her chest; it looked like a five pointed star in a circle, only it had another metal line directly down the center of it. He didn't focus on that too long, but instead braced for an attack.
"Wanda?!" Zuko replied. Uh oh. What did this mean? How had she found Genosha? How had she found him? Were the others here? Was this an attack, or just her seeking revenge? "What are you doing here?" he spat out before his mind could go anywhere else. At first she seemed just as surprised as he did, then her eyes hardened into murder. He took a step back, but didn't see any hex flames.
"What did you do?" Wanda demanded of him. She threw her arm out towards him as if she were casting a hex, only nothing happened. He cringed then relaxed when he was still whole and standing, but her eyes went wide and she stared at her hand. "What…?" There was a soft, gentle tugging at the back of her mind that she had been ignoring until now. "Don't talk for a minute, ok?" she commanded.
"Excuse me? You're the one who showed up in my bedroom in the middle of the night!" retorted Zuko. She scowled at him.
"Just shut the fuck up so I can figure out what's going on!" she shouted. He wasn't happy about it, but if she kept shouting it would draw attention. When he crossed his arms Wanda closed her eyes and tried to let all of the emotions fade from her mind. It took longer than usual, but finally she was able to succeed and let the Craft speak to her. Without knowing how she knew, she understood completely. She hadn't lost her powers as they were still in her body. This wasn't her body, but some sort of spirit projection that was obeying her inner heart's desire. Fuck.
"So?" asked Zuko in an impatient tone. Wanda's eyes snapped open.
"It's none of your business," she growled.
"Considering that we're both standing in my bedroom, yeah, I think it is!" he challenged. He advanced towards her a few steps, but she held her ground and raised her chin to him defiantly.
"Well excuse me Highness, I had forgotten that you owned everything you touched! Please, forgive my intrusion to his royal bedchambers," she hissed in a sarcastic snarl.
"Why are you even here?" he inquired. "How did you get here?" Wanda crossed her own arms, itching to use magic that wasn't at her finger tips in this form. "You don't know, do you?" he mocked then gave a harsh laugh.
"Of course I know!" Wanda argued. "You assume that everyone has to tell you everything they know because you demand it? God you are so…so… narcissistic!" Zuko took another step forward. Again Wanda didn't budge.
"'Narcissistic'? You're one to talk! You always were such a stubborn-" he stopped himself but just barely. Wanda's eyes flashed dangerously.
"A stubborn what, Zuko? Say it!" He clenched his jaw tightly and glared daggers at her. "Say it!" she repeated louder.
"Bitch!" Zuko yelled at the same time the fire in his hands flared up with his temper. Wanda reacted with lightning speed by punching him in the jaw. He stumbled backwards in surprise and rubbed his face where she had struck him. "See what I mean?!" He didn't retaliate, though it took all of his strength not to. He had almost forgotten how she always enraged him so easily. Fighting her was like fighting fire with fire.
"Jesus Zuko! Has your head always been stuck so far up your ass? How did I ever love you?!" She had meant it as rhetorical but Zuko's body tensed visibly as soon as she yelled those words at him.
"'Did'?" he asked in a dangerously low voice. He took several steps towards her and this time she did retreat. "There's no 'did' about it." Wanda was now backed all the way against the wall behind her and Zuko was still advancing. "You know the truth; the fire between us hasn't died. It never even dimmed." Wanda clenched her hands but Zuko put his hands over her fists and pushed them down.
"How can you say that, after everything!?" she exclaimed. Then in a lower voice she muttered three more words: "I hate you." To her surprise he laughed. Her heart was pounding inside her chest.
"Don't lie Wanda, especially not to yourself."She tried to slap him but he caught her wrist and shoved her hard against the wall. He pushed his lips down on her and wasn't at all surprised to find hers were already waiting for him. Wanda's legs wrapped tightly around his waist and her fingers grabbed his hair savagely. His teeth bit into the skin at the base of her neck and she groaned deeply. A familiar burning ignited inside of her at the site of him, and it was one she wouldn't- couldn't- deny.
With swift, deft movements Zuko ripped the cloak from her shoulders then used his fire bending to rip the skin-tight leather from her legs. Wanda grabbed harshly at his hair, forcing his head back. She used this moment to push against the wall hard enough to force Zuko back, then shoved her heels into the backs of his knees. As soon as he fell to his knees Wanda shoved him- hard- against the floor. His fingers dug into the bared flesh of her shoulders and scraped down across the bodice that still clung to her frame. Wanda wasn't at all careful as she ripped his clothing from him, leaving long gouges in his skin where her nails raked against him.
"Dammit woman," he growled deeply. His hand reached to grab her by the base of her braid and yank her up into a kneeling position over him so he could sit up and shove her down to the floor once more. His lips crashed down on hers roughly then strong hands pulled her legs around his hips once more. Wanda felt him push into her and let out a hungry moan.
Zuko knew Wanda would never submit this easily, but still was taken by surprise at her level of ferocity when she bit into the muscles of his shoulder, and then her strength when she rolled on top of him. They had always been rough lovers, but this was the roughest she had been with him.
He loved every second of it.
She held Zuko down beneath her with hard rocking movements of her hips as she pitched into him. He allowed Wanda this position for a few moments more, but it wasn't long before his hands grasped her by the laces in the back of her bodice and ripped her backwards onto her heels. With her temporarily off balance, Zuko sprang upwards and used this momentum to plunge them both into the wall again. His strong fingers ripped through the laces at her back and the garment fell to the floor.
Wanda issued a string of curses between when their lips were entangled with each other. Zuko studiously ignored these words and continuously thrust himself as hard as he could against her- into her- to keep her pinned between himself and the wall. Wanda let out a violent cry which Zuko hastily smothered with his mouth in order to keep her noise from being heard by others.
They persisted grappled with each other, sharing pain and pleasure with one another, in a vicious dance for power. One never held dominance for long, only until the other forcibly took over. After Zuko had finally reached his climax, and Wanda found several of her own along the way, they finally collapsed on the ground next to each other. They were both covered in a sheen of a blood and sweat mixture and were gasping for breath.
"I knew you couldn't hate me," Zuko teased between heaving breaths.
"Shut up," Wanda replied breathily. "Of course I hate you. That's what makes this work so well." He knew what she meant. Their relationship was built on their passion, fervor and tempers. Without the sliver of hate in their love it wouldn't be the wildfire it was. He couldn't describe it, but he knew that he couldn't love anyone as deeply as he loved Wanda without that taste of hate that kept him so drawn to her. He wouldn't have it any other way, and now he knew she felt the same.
"Wanda," Zuko said in a graveled voice and turned to look at her. Her sapphire eyes were so full of life, and staring directly at him. Her hair had been pulled from its braid and now fell across her skin in long dark tendrils. Her face still held a redish hue, and her breathing was still ragged yet she watched him with such stillness.
"I know," she said finally and smiled gently at him. "I love you too." As soon as she said it, the energy that electrified her since seeing Zuko left her and she sighed deeply. All the pent up tension inside of her had been released, and now she smiled tiredly. "I can't stay much longer," she admitted as she felt herself slipping away. Zuko saw that she was beginning to become transparent.
"What the fuck? What's going on?" he asked her in alarm. She shook her head, though her exhaustion limited almost any motion at all.
"Don't worry, it's ok. I have to go back though."
"Go back? Where? What's happening?" he asked again but Wanda could feel her grasp on her spirit embodiment slipping away. He was still talking when she finally did give in to the fatigue and fell into a deep sleep, which released her spirit from the Craft that was being worked and returned it to her body.
Zuko watched her disappear in from of him and swore. What the hell was going on? He didn't know, but what he did know what that he couldn't afford to let anyone on Genosha know that Wanda had found a way to find him here, or that she had been here at all. With a tired sigh he heaved himself up and stumbled in to a long, hot shower.
Sunlight was streaming through the windows when Wanda finally opened her eyes.
"Agh," she groaned as she sat up. "Why does it feel like I've been hit by a truck?" she asked.
"That will happen when you overextend yourself to use the Craft," Agatha told her in an even tone. Wanda opened her eyes to take in her surroundings. Hadn't she been… No. Now she was in Agatha's cabin. Toad was sitting in the windowsill across the room from her, looking at her with a very worried expression on his face, and Agatha was regarding her with a stern look of her own from a chair next to her.
"What do you mean?" Wanda asked and rubbed her head. She had known that the visit to Zuko wasn't chaos magic, that it was another aspect of the Craft that decided to manifest for her, but beyond that she had no idea why or even how she ended up there.
"When I told you to rest, I did not just mean your body child. You have excelled in the Craft so quickly your mind, body and soul haven't had a chance to recuperate. Do you understand?"
"Uh…. No. Agatha, how could I be two places at once?" she asked.
"An astral projection. It is your spirit manifesting in another place to act as you when your body cannot." Agatha then arched an eyebrow at her. "Where was so important that you had to go right then, after you had already used up far too much of your energy already?" she asked. Wanda blushed and looked away. She didn't want to admit that a piece of her soul ached so deeply for Zuko that she had accidentally astral projected into his presence. She snuck a peak at Toad who still seemed worried, but also a little sad. Maybe he guessed…? But how could he?
"Are you feelin' ok now?" he asked her which allowed her to look at him fully.
"Yes," she said before she could stop herself. Surprisingly it was true. Even though a part of her ached for Zuko and, by extension, the world of the Avatar, now that she was here with Toad another piece of her was so blissfully happy she couldn't even begin to think about ever leaving again. It seemed one part of her was screaming for one thing, and the other part was shouting just as loudly for exactly the opposite. How the fuck can a person live like this? Wanda asked herself, then shook her head. She couldn't think about that now. "How long was I sleeping?" she asked.
"Two days," Toad said in a reserved voice.
"Two days?!" Wanda shrieked. She had only been with Zuko for a few hours at the most. Her astral projection must have taken more out of her than she thought. And no wonder Toad looked so worried, she must have been in a very heavy sleep for so long it might have seemed like a coma. "We don't have that kind of time! What if… Oh shit, Magneto. Has he-"
"Slow down, child. The world still spins without you there to watch it. You came here to learn the Craft. While you have excelled far beyond my wildest dreams and in a fraction of the time it should have taken you, it is still going to take a toll on you. When you use the Craft, you use your own energy to direct it with your will. You must be careful with how much you do in such a short span." Agatha let out a breath and frowned at her. "Honestly child, you are able to grasp the aspects and actions of the Craft so easily, I would think the rules of it might be a bit easier to comprehend as well."
"I know, I know," Wanda mumbled. Agatha had laid everything out from the beginning; the use the Craft is to use your own energy. She also remembered that Agatha had mentioned something about being the strongest spiritually when the moon was out, especially during a full moon. Well that explained why she was able to astral project, and why it crumbled so quickly after sunrise. "I'm sorry Agatha, I promise to be more careful," Wanda pledged. She looked up at the elder witch with a sheepish smile. "But, I am feeling much better. Do you think we can continue our lessons now?" she asked. Agatha frowned at her then stood.
"Yes, we are on a tight schedule. Meet me outside after you have fed yourself. Once you slow down you'll find you are famished from such use of the Craft." The moment Agatha left and shut the door behind her, Wanda realized she was right. She was starving. She went to stand and swayed a bit. Instantly Toad was at her side to steady her. She gave him a grateful smile and relaxed into his hold.
"I'm sorry I was out for so long," she said quietly. She wasn't used to apologizing to anyone, but it came easy for her with Toad. She felt different around him; calmer and more put together. She felt less likely to explode into flames and more inclined to think clearly. His constant stability and dependability was like deep breath after running for ages.
"'Ts ok, just lemme know next time you're gonna take off like that. A guy gets to worryin' if you're gone for too long, 'n all while bein' in front of me." He shrugged and gave her a shy smile. "I jus' worry, is all." Wanda slipped an arm around him and kissed him gently.
"I know, but you don't have to." He nodded.
"Look, I know you're workin' at becomin' this ultimate super weapon or somethin', 'n that you're more than capable of takin' care of yourself, but I still like to think I can be there for you, you know, if you ever do need me." Wanda stopped and locked her eyes on his. It almost broke her heart how sincere and tragic his golden gaze was when he looked at her.
"Toad, I do need you," she said before she could stop it. She never admitted to anyone that she needed them, not even to herself, but now as she spoke she knew the words were true. "You are the only reason that I was able to take this step. I couldn't have ever even dreamed of learning the Craft if I didn't have you support. You… You balance me," she said with a grin. "You are my center, and my reason for becoming who I am developing to be. I've never been this…together. When I'm with you, it's like I can do anything, because you believe that I can. You inspire me, and surprise me, every day." He gave her a timid smile.
"Really?" he asked. She hugged him gently then kissed him. The second their lips touched she felt as if she had been plunged into a cool spring of water while the rest of her life had been a whirling inferno. Instinctively her arms wrapped around his neck, which prompted his arms to slide around her as well. When they did part she gave him a coy smirk.
"Really." He positively beamed at her and kissed her again.
"We should prolly get some food in you so you can go learn somethin' with Agatha," he said after they broke apart again. Her stomach chose this moment to voice a ferocious growl which left them both laughing.
