Matter of Heart - Act II - Part I
Pairing: Wanda/Fem!Reader Kate Bishop/Fem!Reader. Word Count: 4Kish Tags: angst, slow-burn, friends to lovers, Marvel Sapphic Translation: zutka = bit*h A/N: This part shifts between Y/N, Wanda, and Kate’s POV when needed. English isn’t my first language, so apologies for any grammar mistakes that slipped through. Italics indicate memories. This story is divided into three parts, all already written, so updates shouldn’t take long.
Y/N POV
The clouds are an intense dark grey. The smell of the upcoming rain permeates the air. Definitely a storm is arriving. The seconds before the first drop are always charged with something: anxiety, anticipation, dread. For some, there’s even excitement. Yet, no matter how you felt about them, the rain was inevitable.
Kate's hollow voice calls out your name, getting lost among muffled voices. Hurried steps on the wet pavement. The sound of water splashing against pavement feels far away.
You feel a presence next to you.
“Well,” you know you have heard that voice. Female for sure. “That was quite dramatic.”
Your head feels heavy. There’s pressure on your chest. Opening your eyes, the red and blue lights hurt them. You close them again, unable to place the commotion around you.
The smell of wet asphalt makes you want to stand. The heaviness of something stops your arms from moving. You can feel your fingers move but not feel them on your body.
The fear didn’t come immediately. There was noise. Voices loud and muffled, sometimes near. Sometimes far away.
The cold came after, the rain wetting your clothes. Warm liquid trails down your forehead, your cheek, your mouth. There’s a metallic flavor, something like dirt lingers on your tongue. You force yourself to swallow.
It hurts.
Something cold unfolded slowly beneath your ribs. Something had happened. Something bad.
“Ma’am. You can’t pass!”
The pavement shifted slightly beneath you as someone crouched beside.
Too close.
Warm compared to the rain. A familiar scent, though your mind fails to place it. Their breathing feels hurried.
You feel hands—warm and shaking—against your face.
“Hey Jellybean” Kate’s voice cracks. “Don’t move, I’m here, I’m here baby.”
Your throat burns. Like how it felt after the concert you went years ago and screamed your lungs out.
“Shhh. Don’t talk, please… just-”
Your sight is blurry, but you can still make out Kate’s silhouette—her red and black flannel brushing against your face. Behind her, a thin woman observes you. Her black hair is dry despite the storm falling. The green of her blouse looks too vivid against the storm.
“Mhm… this explains it.”
“Miss, we need you to give us space.” The familiar scent vanishes.
There’s a pang on your head. The pain has become unbearable. You close your eyes.
The feeling of hands on your body and the murmur of voices calling your name make you want to turn your head. There’s a stiffness in your throat.
“Don’t move your neck.”
Breathing hurts more. Where’s Kate?
“On three.” A male voice too loud next to you. “Keep her steady.”
Someone counted somewhere above you.
There is a coldness on your back. The world tilted violently despite how carefully they carried you. A hit of nausea. You open your eyes and see the world circling.
Then, the feeling of ten thousand needles entering your body.
The slam of metallic doors.
The telltale of rain becomes metallic and distant. The voices, hollow and far, are closer and warmer. The air smells like antiseptic and gauze.
Your body feels so tired.
“No, corazón. Not yet,” The same female voice whispers in your ear.
KATE’S POV
The car was technically parked.
Good enough to avoid a ticket, badly enough to convey I was in a hurry. Y/N’s location had stopped moving five blocks before the park.
I keep looking at my phone. I once crashed into a trash can at college for the same reason. Y/N never let me completely forget it.
My feet carry me toward the pin on the map. Carefully avoiding slippery patches of concrete. The storm pours down unannounced.
A loud siren followed by the blue and red lights catches my attention. My heart drops when I realize it’s turning right. Exactly where the park should be.
I speed.
Ahead of me I see people gathered around something.
I look for your face amongst anyway.
A glimpse of your Dockers makes my stomach twist. You painted the soles yellow to match the rest of the shoes. I almost don’t recognize you.
Then I see your sweatshirt.
Oh God.
“Ma’am. You can’t pass!”
“Watch me!” Ignoring the poor guy trying to tie a yellow tape on some perimeter. I kneel down next to you. My hands immediately cradle your face.
Blocking you from the rain. How come nobody has come to shield you?
“Hey Jellybean” my voice cracks. “Don’t move, I’m here, I’m here baby.”
Your mouth opens and closes. I feel your hand reaching weakly for my hand.
“Shhh. Don’t talk, please… just-” I brush your hair out of your face, putting it behind your ear. I feel the wetness on my face.
I don’t like this shape of red on you.
“Miss, we need you to give us space.” A young paramedic informs me, his hand on my shoulder. I know I should move. I know! My body feels like I’m stuck to the concrete.
“Miss, please, let us do our work” This time another paramedic, older, judging by the way she helps me up, maternal in a way, separates me from you.
A hard neck-brace is placed on your neck. I know it will bruise.
I hear them giving you instructions. “Don’t move your neck.” My eyes follow their every move. I know they are the professionals but there have been cases of bad practices and-
“Do you know the victim?”
Victim. I feel dizzy. I turn and look at a police officer. Figures.
“Yeah… she’s my… umm she’s my best friend.”
“What’s her name?”
“Y/N Y/L/N”
“On three.” A male voice shouts. “Keep her steady.” I see them lifting you into the stretcher. I walk towards them but I’m stopped by the hand of the officer.
“They’re going to transport her to Stark Memorial Medical Center. Maybe you want to meet them there.”
I yell a quick thanks and run toward the car. Hearing the loud sirens fade. My hand reaches for my phone. In my hurry I forgot to pay the Parking Meter. Shit, shit, shit.
No parking ticket yet.
I make a call. One ring, two rings, three rings. Finally on the fourth.
“I was taking my nap Kate Bishop”
“Yelena… It’s Y/N” again, my voice cracks just slightly but I’m pretty sure she caught it.
“Where are you?”
“On my way to Stark Memorial Medical Center”
“I’ll meet you there” the line ends.
New York at night gets chaotic. This Tuesday night it’s no different.
After finding a spot at the end of the hall, I run towards the elevators. Stark might be an egocentric guy, but his philanthropic nature made for one enormous parking lot.
Pressing the button several times in hopes the gigantic metal box will arrive faster, I can’t help but think of you. You’d probably slap my hand away and tell me pressing it repeatedly wouldn’t make it arrive faster. It probably would mock me and get there more slowly.
Minutes or seconds later, I don’t care, I’m finally at the emergency floor. I see the front desk, not a lot of people around it.
“Hi, yes, good night… Y/N Y/L/N.. I was told she was sent here”
The nurse behind the desk looks at me. Her blue eyes pierce my soul. She types something. The keyboard ticking loudly despite the TV noise and chatter in the room.
“Are you family?”
“I… not exactly. She’s… she’s my best friend” I say a second too late. Hospitals always needed everything translated into simpler terms.
“Then I cannot give you any information, miss.”
The receptionist goes back to her computer. I stare at her.
“I know.. I just.. Please can you just tell me if she’s here?”
Her eyes find mine again. I honestly would give her my PIN for my bank account if she asked it. Intimidating is a nice way to put it. Her stare feels like she has gotten information from aliens.
She looks toward the door. Goes back to work.
“They’re working on her. Stabilizing her from what I heard from the paramedics”
For now that’s enough.
I kept pacing back and forth. Has it been ten seconds or ten minutes? My knuckles hurt from cracking them too much. I know, a bad habit.
“Stop pacing before you make yourself dizzy” I crash against Yelena.
“Kate Bishop, you do have terrible peripheral sighting”
“My peripheral vision is just fine”
The smell of dark-roasted coffee, definitely without sugar reaches my nose. Followed by a syrupy one, like liquid cotton candy. I reach for it.
“No, no, no Kate Bishop. No sweets for you.”
I look at her. Expecting something more sarcastic or ironic. Instead, I find compassion in her eyes. I don’t want it. Because if she feels sorry for me, then something really bad happened to Y/N and that can’t be true. They’re working on her after all.
I feel the wind from outside come and go.
“Kate…” There’s a slight accent at the end of it. A sharp exhale.
“Oh my God, you’re here” Wanda’s voice is panicked, short out of breath. Desperate.
I feel my body tense up at hearing her. When I turn around I just feel her arms around me.
I hug her back.
Besides me, I feel Yelena’s presence step closer.
WANDA’S POV
I keep pacing the living room. Biting my nails, terrible habit I’ve tried to quit. I glance at the window, hoping to see your silhouette down the road.
I call again. And again.
Like the last few calls, you don’t answer me.
I text.
I keep asking you to come home, to talk.
To let me know you’re okay.
The storm rolls in quickly, and you left without a jacket. You get cold fast when it rains. You love the rain. Always have.
There’s still a piece of white crystal on the floor, a remnant of your favourite mug. The memory of the last hour won’t loosen its grip on me. A pressure that refuses to leave.
The edge of the glass is sharp enough to cut my finger. A thin line of blood beads against my skin, but it doesn’t flow freely.
I hear a knock on the door. For a brief moment, my heart jumps, hoping it’s you, drenched but safe.
I open the door. My brother stares at me.
“Calling me out on this weather? Must be something important.”
“We had a fight”
I pace.
I try texting again. All my messages are unread.
I feel Pietro following me to the living room.
“And? Haven’t you been fighting the last few weeks?”
"Yes, but-" Things were good this week. "This was different Piet. She left"
I call again. The rain pours down heavily now. Where are you?
"Just like that?" Pietro sits on the couch observing the apartment. Noticing seems out of place. Y/N's things are still there.
"Okay, sis. Wanna sit down and explain?"
No, I don't wanna sit down. I wanna hear Y/N's voice. I want to see her, and be able to... I just want to know she's okay.
I see my brother get up and go to the kitchen. He's making tea by the sounds of it. After a few minutes, he places a cup of steaming ginger tea in front of me.
"Drink this, it looks like you need it." He sits close to me. Waiting.
I grab the cup, something to distract me from biting my nails again or looking at the cellphone.
The warm liquid does nothing to ease the cold I feel inside.
"I messed up big time." Barely a whisper. The rain crashes against the window.
Pietro looks at me. I feel his stare sizing me up. Deciding on something before I speak.
"What do you mean?"
"She found the test"
Before he can ask more questions or say something else, my cellphone rings. I immediately answer.
"Hello? Y/N??
"Hello, is this Wanda Maximoff speaking?" I hear a female voice call me.
My stomach drops.
"Yes"
"Your girlfriend Y/N Y/L/N has been brought to Stark Memorial Medical Center.”
My hand loses all strength. The cellphone slips from my fingers. I'm getting dizzy. I need to sit down. My hand grabs my stomach.
"Yes, sorry, can you repeat the information?. I'm Pietro, Wanda's brother. Okay. Yes. We're on our way."
We're driving past the speed limit, and everything is blurry. The rain has slowed down, and the streets have that magical aura you loved. It's so cold despite the heater.
My brother's hands are anchoring me. His calloused fingers hold tight. He manages to find a spot closer to the Emergency Entrance. I don't wait for him to step out of the car.
I ran.
Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.
A mantra I keep repeating for the last few minutes. The doors open, and I look around. Hoping to see you there. You're not.
I see the front desk.
“Kate…” I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. “Oh my God, you’re here.”
I hug her. I feel her arms hugging me back.
Because if she's here, then it means it's not that bad. The call was just Hospital Protocol.
Next to her, I see Yelena patting Kate's shoulder.
I'm the one letting her go first.
"Where is she?"
Probably in one of their rooms. In a few minutes, they’ll let us see her.
"They're working on her right now. Trying to stabilize her, I tried to gain more information, but they told me just that."
I keep looking around, trying to catch a glimpse of you behind the desks. I see Pietro enter and give a thumbs-up.
Wait. Stabilize her?
I turn towards Kate to question her. That's when I notice it.
Her black hair is wet, plastered around her face.
There are red stains on her left sleeve.
Her hands have dried blood on them.
There's a bloody print smeared across her cheek.
Her eyes are puffy and red. She's been crying.
"Kate your-"
"I think you need to ask the front desk, Maximoff," Yelena interrupts my train of thought. Pointing me towards it. Her hand settled briefly against Kate’s sleeve.
"I... yeah, yeah. Sure."
I walk towards it, my steps suddenly feel heavy. Pietro grabs my hand as he takes me there.
The nurse behind the desk sips on a coffee, talking quietly with a male nurse. I try to get her attention.
The emergency room doors swing open, and a male doctor comes out. Scanning the room, he asks about any relatives for Y/L/N Y/N. There's a chart in his right hand.
I feel Kate's presence a few steps behind me. I turn around to look at him.
"Yes, we're here!"
He walks closer to me. Pietro steps aside.
"Are you Wanda Maximoff?"
I just nod.
"I'm Dr. Banner, I'm the Neurological resident. I need you to come with me."
"Can... can't you just tell me? Where's Y/N? I need to see her." I feel a sting behind my eyes. I hate crying in public, but why don't they let me see you?
He lets a sigh escape. I'm probably not the first person to ask him that. I don't care. His left hand takes off his glasses. He rubs his eyes. He looks towards the receptionist. He looks at me, folding his glasses and putting them into his surgical scrub's pocket.
"She was brought in this evening after a vehicle accident. Your partner sustained a significant head injury after the impact."
There's a gasp behind me.
"She experienced cardiac instability during transport, but the paramedics were able to stabilize her before arrival."
Didn't Kate mention they were stabilizing her? Does it mean Y/N crashed again?
"Right now... she’s stable." Dr. Banner informs while reading the chart.
Stable. The word seems fragile. Like it should give me some kind of comfort.
"We made the decision to place her under medically induced sedation to reduce stress on the brain. She’s breathing with assistance while her body recovers. We’ll be monitoring for changes in swelling, responsiveness, and neurological activity."
"So she's in a coma?" Pietro asks
I feel my legs tremble. You can't be in a coma.
"Medically induced. The sedation is for protection."
"Can we see her?" Kate's voice feels so far away.
My head feels dizzy. I need to breathe. I feel Pietro's hands around my waist.
"Not for the moment. They're taking her to the ICU for the night. We'll need some paperwork signed. Nurse Hill will give them to you, Miss. Maximoff"
He turns to leave but stops. "She’s young, which works in her favor." After that, he's gone.
My breathing feels constricted. I need to go out. I need fresh air. My legs shake, but I force myself to walk anyway.
"Wanda," Pietro's voice calls me back.
"I just need five minutes."
I walk out towards the entrance. I feel the cold air. The air smells like wet dirt. You loved it. No, I correct myself, you love the smell.
I recall the image of Kate's bloodied hand. She must have held you. Like she always does when you need her the most.
I hate myself for letting you storm out.
KATE'S POV "Not for the moment. They're taking her to the ICU for the night. We'll need some paperwork signed. Nurse Hill will give them to you, Miss. Maximoff" I heard Dr. Banner inform her.
Inform us?
I can't see you yet. And it’ll probably be a while before they let me.
I don't want to leave you. I resume my pacing. I need something to do. The urge to crack my knuckles again itches under my skin. The waiting room feels so quiet. Are we allowed to turn on the TV? Where's the coffee Yelena shoved into my hands earlier?
"Do you want coffee? I need coffee. I'm going to the cafeteria."
"Kate" Yelena's voice tries to call me. I keep walking.
The A/C is too cold for this time of year. What time is it anyway? My wrist is at my eye level, 9:54 pm. I notice a brownish spot on my sleeve.
I frown. This shirt was clean before I came to meet you-
I turn my hands over, palm up. I haven’t noticed the blood.
Maybe I noticed it before. My brain just refused to understand it.
It’s dried dark across my hands now.
Under my nails.
There's a sign close to the cafeteria. Bathrooms are on the left. I walk through the women's door.
Opening the tab, I let the water run. The soap dispenser button isn't working. I keep pressing it, harder and harder each time.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
I scrub at my palms in the bathroom sink until they turn pink. The metallic smell hits me before the sight does. The water never runs clear fast enough. I can’t stop looking at my hands.
Salt hits my tongue. I risk a glimpse at the mirror. My hair is wet, my ponytail messed up. There's a dried red line smeared across my cheek.
I don't stop the tears this time.
I feel someone hugging me. My body trembles between sobs. When I close my eyes, all I can see is your body motionless. Rivers of red around you. And your eyes. So full of life days before, looked at me with so much hurt and fear underneath.
I should have- NO. Stop this train of thought. Y/N's going to be alright.
The room suddenly feels smaller.
"Hey, hey! Bishop. Look at me!" Yelena's the one embracing me? I refuse to look at her.
"Fine, be a stubborn zutka. Just breathe with me before I slap you."
I feel her shake me a little. I gasp for air.
"Good. Again"
I inhale, letting my lungs fill with air. I count to five, just like you and I used to do when we were on finals, spiraling about failing the exam. I exhale.
"Good. Again"
I inhale. 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - I exhale. I inhale. 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - I exhale
"Is this a bad time to wish Y/N were here so she could clean your face from all the snot?" I hear her thick accent say. Yelena's accent becomes stronger when stressed or exhausted.
Just like Wanda. You used to refer to them as the "Accent Comes Under Stress Sisters". Neither found it funny.
For the first time since your call, I laugh.
"It's going to be alright," is it? WANDA'S POV
Emergency rooms at midnight are something of their own. It has been thirty minutes since I came back, and neither Dr. Banner nor Nurse Hill has come out.
I saw Kate seated close to the TV with Yelena, both nursing a cup of coffee. Kate's hands and face are cleaner. She seems lost, though. But... aren't we both?
I wonder...
"Miss Maximoff?" Nurse Hills finally calls my name.
I see her standing up behind the desk. Pietro stands at my side.
There's a bunch of documents on a clipboard.
"I know this is overwhelming, but I need a few signatures for ICU admission. These forms authorize continued treatment while she’s sedated. We also need to confirm who we’re permitted to give updates to.” She explains in a monotone voice, as if Y/N was just waiting for antibiotics instead of fighting to breathe.
I feel a migraine coming up.
Sitting closer to the middle chairs, my eyes scan the documents, all of them pointing toward the same terrible reality: you were hurt, and I let you leave alone.
My hand trembles as I fill out something called Consent for Continued Treatment. Why do they have to be so technical? I look at my signature, and it's shaky but readable.
As I keep filling form after form, I barely register the questions. I automatically write your name, birthday, address, blood type, and social security number.
You joked once about having this information written in our phones. I hate you for being so cautious.
I really don't. I pause at one question in one form, specifically:
Relation to the patient
I hesitate.
Trembling, I write "Partner".
My heart beats faster.
Allergies? I know you have some. I pick at my brain trying to recall them. Should I ask Kate? No. I know them. The emergency room doors swing open again.
"Kate? Wanda?" Your mother is here. And suddenly I feel so small.
I see Kate standing up, she's embraced by your brother.
"Have they told you her status?"
"Stable" is all I manage to say. There have been a lot of words, but I'm hanging on to that one.
"She's been transferred to the ICU."
Kate's voice sounds hollow. I have never seen her like this.
Your mother seems offended at that. Goes straight to the desk.
"Excuse me. Can you give me an update on Y/N Y/L/N"
"Are you family?" Nurse Hill asks without taking her eyes off the monitor.
"I'm her mother." Nurse Hill looks up then.
"Her partner has already been speaking with the medical team, since she's listed as the primary contact for medical updates. We’ll do our best to keep everyone updated, but we do need to communicate through the authorized contact first."
My shoulders tense up at hearing this. I look at your mom. She has the same kind of eyes you have.
"Can I see my daughter?" I hear your mom asks.
Hill's eyes look at me briefly before answering.
"Not for the moment."
Dr. Banner emerges again. His glasses are off this time. He stops at Nurse Hill's desk. Placing some charts on top of it, he grabs a pen and signs something. He spots me. "Miss. Maximoff, at this time, Miss Y/L/N is listed as full code. Is that consistent with her wishes?”
"Yes... Of course!" I find myself answering quickly. Too quickly.
I don't even know what a full code is.
"Right. Visitors might need to go one at a time. Would you let Nurse Hill know the approved visitors list once you have them?" He says while writing. A beep-beep. He looks at it, and then it's gone.
I feel two pairs of eyes on me.
Y/N'S POV
Warm. I feel softness.
Beeping.
Slow. Consistent.
Muffled voices. Like underwater.
"I thought you’d let go sooner.”
Clearer.
Everything disappears before I can comprehend it. ~~~~~~
Someone's crying. Distant. ~~~~~~
"--- stable right now."
A stranger's voice.
"Okay" too quickly.
There's a brushing on my forehead.
"Humans do love terrible timing," she whispers in my ear. ~~~~~~~
A hand around mine.
Warm. Calloused
A thumb moving across my knuckles slowly.
"You're making this remarkably difficult," she says. ~~~~~~~~~
There's pressure in my throat.
I want to throw up.
The beeping is fast.
I feel a strong grip on my shoulders.
"Hey, hey--"
The darkness returns. ~~~~~~ There's a light tap against my shoulder. Hard enough to pull me out of the heaviness.
“Oh,” she says softly. “Showtime.”
Shadows linger around me. Blurred and shapeless
Another light tap.
“Wakey wakey,” She whispers.
A loud beeping. Dripping liquid.
Crumbled sheets.
I feel my fingers twitch.
Breathing is hard.
I feel my body on fire. Everything hurts.
My head throbs. I swallow.
It feels like swallowing glass.
My body feels too heavy.
The muffled voices are becoming clearer.
Too loud. Too muddled.
There's a sensation in my stomach. Emptiness. I have felt it before.
Fear.
I feel a horrible understanding that something happened to me.
I open my eyes, only halfway, before the light forces them shut again.
Someone moves closer immediately.
Something shifts beside me.
Safe.
"Hey baby" // "Jellybean"
My mouth opens before any other thought fully catches up.
“Kate…aximoff.”
"Oh... that's unfortunate." She whispers in my ear again.
