Wanda's job started to become stressful. As the seasons changed, and winter arrived in New York, different snow storms ravaged the city, causing hordes of people to rush into the store to buy the essentials; milk, bread, eggs, booze, different snacks, etc. She was called into work a few hours before her shift every day and had to stay until the store closed, which often left Wanda feeling short-tempered and so frazzled that she started to forget simple things like eating a balanced meal.

I grimaced as Wanda ran out of our apartment in a hurry, only grabbing an apple for either her lunch or her dinner and murmured a goodbye as the door slammed behind her. I didn't like this; Wanda wasn't taking care of herself, but whenever I brought it up to her, she would brush it off and say, "It's fine." Like hell it's fine. I jumped up from the couch and grabbed my phone off the coffee table and opened my contacts, scrolling until I got to his number and pressed the call button. The phone rang a few times before his gruff voice answered, greeting me with his usual nickname.

"Hey Claire Bear," Bucky said, obviously smiling. I rolled my eyes and smiled back, though I knew he couldn't see.

"Hey Buck. You busy?"

"Not really, just drinking coffee with Sam. Why?"

"Is that Claire?" I heard Sam mutter in the background before a loud yell came through, causing me to pull the phone away from my ear, "Hi Claire!"

"Tell Sap I said 'hi'," I told Bucky, laughing at the immaturity of the Falcon. I heard Bucky relay the message and my smile grew as I heard Sam mutter something along the lines of "I miss her."

"So, what's up, Claire?" Bucky asked, sounding serious.

"I need your help," I said.

"What? What's wrong? Did something happen? Is it Wanda?" Bucky started rambling as panic flooded through him. I chuckled a little at his worry. It made me happy to know that Bucky cared for and loved Wanda like family and that Wanda felt the same. It made our relationship feel...validated in some way.

"Bucky, I need you to relax and take a breath. I promise, me and Wanda are fine. It's just...can you come over? I think it would be better if we talked in person."

Bucky paused for a moment before he let out an uneasy breath and said, "Sure. I'll be over in twenty minutes."

The call ended and I tossed my phone onto the couch and paced the floor. I brought my thumb up to my mouth and nibbled on my nail as thoughts raced through my mind. I was worried about Wanda; her work schedule often fluctuated between calm and hectic, and Wanda didn't handle stress well (granted she handled it better than me).

Like he said, within twenty minutes, Bucky arrived and knocked on the door of my apartment. His face glowed in happiness as he saw my face. His burly arms opened and circled around me, pulling me into tight hug, and my body vibrated as a deep chuckle reverberated through his chest. I stepped out of his embrace and led him into the apartment and walked to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of his signature Yuengling beer and holding it out for him. He muttered a thank you as he grasped it with his mettle arm and opened it, taking a long swig.

"So, what's up?" Bucky said as he swallowed and sat at the island. I sighed and walked to the other side of the island, standing across from Bucky, and bent down, leaning against the counter.

"It's...Wanda," I said, not really sure what to say. Bucky sat up straighter and his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed.

"You said she was fine."

"She is. It's just...she's really stressed out about her job, and she's not taking care of herself as well as she should and...I'm worried."

            "Well, what's going on?"

            I sighed, hearing my wolf growl. In the time that Wanda and I have spent together, my wolf eventually warmed up to her, allowing herself to become more comfortable with her and accepting her as a partner. My wolf loved Wanda as much as I did and it pained her and made her angry when Wanda was hurt or angry or stressed or...any negative emotion really. I ran a hand through my hair and slammed my palm on the countertop, biting my lip in frustration.

            "She's...putting her job first. She won't take a break and it's affecting her sleep and her diet. She doesn't sleep well at night and as far as I know, she only eats an apple that she grabs when she leaves."

            Bucky thought a moment, a scowl making its way onto his face. I knew he was bothered by this, and for some reason I expected it to make my wolf and I feel better, but it didn't. It just aggravated the both of us.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking of making her dinner tonight. She always does the cooking, so I thought I could take the reins tonight. What do you think?"

"That's a great idea and she'll definitely appreciate it, but there's one problem with it."

"Which is?"

Bucky laughed and took another sip of his beer.

"You don't know how to cook, Claire." I groaned and sighed loudly and placed my head on the counter in a dramatic fashion. Bucky's laughter grew louder at me. I leaned up and glared at him in warning; my wolf and I were not in the mood right now. Bucky saw my face and stopped laughing and looked at me seriously.

"I know I don't know how to cook, Buck, but it can't be that hard. I just follow a recipe right? It's not that hard. Literally anyone can do it," I said, softening my gaze. "Do you want to help?"

"Sure," he said smiling. He stood up from his seat and came around to the other side and stood next to me and began taking out different things that we might need. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well..."

○○○

            Well, it turns out I can't cook.

            The smoke detector blared as smoke billowed throughout the apartment. Bucky stood in front of the stove desperately trying to take out the burning potatoes while I grabbed an old magazine and ran over to where the smoke detector sat hanging on the wall. I started fanning the air and I cursed under my breath when it didn't work because it was too high and I was too short. Truth be told, Bucky should've taken this job. Eventually, the aggressive beeping stopped, and Bucky and I stood, looking at the mess and breathing hard.

            "So...what was it you said about cooking not being hard?" Bucky said, smug dripping from his voice. "I believe you said, 'literally anyone can do this'?"

            "Shut...the...fuck...up...Bicky," I growled and pulled at my hair, tying it in a loose ponytail. Bucky breathlessly chuckled and started to clean up. Flour was poured over almost every surface, dusting it in a weightless white power. Smoke still lingered in the kitchen and the smell of burnt food hung in the air, choking me. Egg shells sat on the counter and puddles of olive oil made the island slick. Dirty dishes took up the rest of the counter space and occupied most of the sink. It looked like a bomb went off.

            Before I could try to clean up the mess, the sound of a key in the lock filtered into the kitchen. Bucky and I froze at the sound and stared wide-eyed at the doorway as Wanda's dark hair came into view. She had her head down and didn't see the mess right away, but when she did look up, she froze as we did. Her left eyebrow raised and I panicked on the inside at the idea of making her more upset, but the panic morphed into confusion as a small smile crept onto her face and her frame shook with held in laughter.

            "What uh...what happened?" she asked us as she tried not to burst into a fit of giggles. Her green eyes shifted over to me and I couldn't help the blush that rose up on my cheeks. I looked over at Bucky, waiting for him to explain, to help me out, but as soon as he opened his fucking mouth I instantly regretted it.

            "Hey Wanda," Bucky said meekly. "Claire told me that you've been having a rough time at work lately, and she called me here to help her come up with a surprise for you. This was all," he gestured dramatically to the mess, "her fault, I swear."

            I smacked my forehead with my palm and bowed my head, letting out a groan. Wanda laughed and stepped towards me. Her soft hands gently caressed my cheeks and pulled my head up, forcing me to look at her in the eyes. Her green eyes sparkled with adoration and her thumb brushed against my cheek, wiping off a few flour smudges.

            "You tried to surprise me? What were you trying to do? Because, I gotta admit, this is definitely a surprise." Like Bucky, Wanda gestured to the entirety of the kitchen and the mess, still laughing; her cheeks tinted a light pink as her smile brightened. God, I loved that smile. I gave her my own small goofy smile (which I only gave around her) and leaned into her left hand. I loved feeling the warmth and softness of her delicate fingers caressing my cheek. I heard my wolf purr in happiness.

            "I...tried to make you dinner," I muttered, casting my eyes downward before quickly looking back at her. "I know you've been stressed with work and haven't really had the time to eat right if at all, so I wanted to save you the trouble, and make you dinner."

            Wanda's laughing smile softened to one of adoration. Her eyes sparkled with unshed happy tears and her pink cheeks darkened and turned to a rose color. She stepped closer to me and enveloped me in a tight but loving hug. She rested her head on my shoulder and pressed her lips softly against my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist, falling just below where her long hair ends. After the incident in Wakanda, Wanda stopped dying her hair and with time, her original dark brown hair returned, overtaking the light red and blending together to create an entirely new color that was just as beautiful as her natural and dyed color.

            "You can't cook though..." Wanda said, starting to giggle again. I rolled my eyes and pulled away from her a little, though I smiled at her. I nodded over to the mess and Bucky who was picking at the burnt baked potatoes and chuckled.

            "Yeah, I gathered that." Wanda laughed and hugged me again and planted a kiss on my cheek.

            "You're the best, you know that?"

            "I've been told that once or twice..."

            "Do you need help? Cooking I mean?" Wanda asked, pulling away and looking into my eyes. A light playful smirk graced her stress-free face.

            "Please."

○○○

            "Okay, so what do I do now?" I asked, hold a (now clean) pan of freshly cut potatoes. Wanda turned from the stove and the pot of pasta that she was stirring and smiled at me.

            "You can put that in the oven for half an hour. Half an hour."

            "Yeah, yeah," I said playfully waving her off. I opened the oven and placed the pan inside, setting the timer. "What happens now?"

            "Well, now, we can start on the dessert, if you want..."

            Though she wasn't looking at me, I could picture the smirk on her lips. I produced my own smirk and looked down, preparing another pan for the dessert; chocolate salami. Wanda told me that her mother would make it every year for her and Pietro's birthday (it was his favorite), and when asked what dessert she wanted, it was the first thing that came to her mind.

            I take the pack of almonds and walnuts and dumped them on the pan, spreading them evenly. I then took some butter and placed it in a bowl along with the chocolate and brought it over to the stove where another pot of warm simmering water sat waiting next to the pot of pasta that Wanda was working on. While I waited for the chocolate to melt, I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her and planted many kisses along her neck and cheek. She smiled and giggled, making little remarks about how I was tickling her and Bucky—who was sitting back at the island—groaned.

            "Oh, please! Get a room you two! Jesus Christ, there are other people!" Bucky said as he sipped at another beer. I pulled away from Wanda and glared at him, my purple eyes glowing just the tinniest bit. Bucky's eyes widened a little and he went back to playing on his phone. I huffed and returned my attention to Wanda who only chuckled.

            The chocolate soon melted and I followed the rest of the directions and stirred along the way. The delectable chocolate scent filled my nose and I sighed in contentment. Taking a quick glance in Wanda's direction, I stuck my finger into the bowl and licked the melted chocolate off it. I hummed at the taste and dipped it back it, repeating the process a few more times. And like each time, I tried to remain quiet as to not alert Wanda, but it didn't work.

            "Claire, what are you doing?" Wanda asked, laughing and placing a hand on her hip. "Stop eating the chocolate; there's not going to be any left if you keep eating it."

            I smirked at her and dipped my finger back in before flicking it at her, sending chocolate flying and hitting her face. Drops of chocolate mostly hit the left side of her face, starting from her eyebrow and ending at her cheek. She gasped and her mouth hung open in shock. She froze, and I chuckled. After several seconds, Wanda snapped back to reality and reached over, dipping her whole hand into the chocolate and flicking it at me, sending a large amount of chocolate hitting my face which equated to being much more than what landed on Wanda's face. When she saw the results she couldn't help the uncontrollable fit of laughter that racked her body and she doubled over. I scowled and grabbed the bowl and copied her, dipping my hand in and flicking chocolate at her, staining her face and clothes.

            I instantly regretted it when I saw the look on her face after I struck. My eyes widened and my reflexes kicked in, causing me to take a big step back and move the bowl away from Wanda's reach just as she made a lunge for it. I squealed and dipped my hand back in and rubbed it against her face, laughing at her. Wanda lunged again, taking the bowl from me and proceeded to do the same, though she trailed her hand from my face down to my shirt.

            Immediately after, she ran away from me, taking the bowl with her and running over to the other side of the island, standing by Bucky who was trying to get out of the line of fire. I chased after and reached for the bowl, narrowly snatching the rim, causing it to jolt away from her and splash a little bit of chocolate around the room (even hitting Bucky). Holding the bowl to my chest I turned away from her and scooped up a bit of chocolate and flung it at her, but in my rush I missed and once again hit Bucky who was trying his best to get out of the way. He let out an annoyed yelp, but I didn't care. I took the bowl and ran over to Wanda and dumped the rest of the chocolate onto her head—which in retrospect was probably a step too far.

            I laughed and placed the bowl on the counter and stepped towards her. Wanda laughed too and brushed her hands over her face, wiping the chocolate off her face and head. I followed her actions, helping her clean herself off and placed a kiss on her lips.

            "I'm sorry," I said still laughing. "I think...that maybe I went too far."

            "I think that's an understatement," she replied, her laughter winding down to a light chuckle.

            "Yeah, I'd say so!" Bucky exclaimed looking angry. We both ignored him and Wanda wrapped her arms around the back of my neck and kissed me. I smiled into the kiss and snaked my arms around her waist, pulling her close. I heard her chuckle which made me smile more and when she pulled away, her green eyes sparkled. A low loving growl vibrated through my mind, coming from my wolf at the sight of Wanda happy. We loved that sight.

            "Maybe I should get a shower..." Wanda said chuckling. I reached up and wiped some chocolate out of her hair and gave her a guilty smile.

            "Yeah, maybe you should. I'm sorry," I said looking into her green eyes. Her smile softened and looked sincere. She placed a hand on my cheek.

            "You don't have to be sorry."

            I loved over towards the stove and the oven. I saw the smoke starting to seep from the oven and I mentally groaned. Wanda followed my gaze and chuckled a little, resting her forehead on my shoulder.

            "Shit!" I exclaimed, laughing a little. I ran over to the oven and opened it, taking out the second burnt pan of potatoes and placed it on the counter. Smoke billowed out of the oven and filled the air. Wanda started fanning the air with the same magazine that I used earlier, doing a much better job than me. Wanda chuckled at me the whole time and I giggled too. "Perhaps we should order a pizza?"

            "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."