Work Text:
Wednesday found that she could breathe a little easier in here.
She supposed that's really why she came to spend time here so often as a child. She’d often find herself coming to this very place to think. All while twisting deft fingers around the smooth sand as her mind would spiral into a million different directions at once.
Her dark eyes tracked her fingers as they disrupted the once pristine surface of sand.
She knows that she really shouldn’t be using it in this manner. The family’s Soulbinding Slate was to be used for communication, or perhaps even with the summoning of her ancestor’s spectral forms.
Yet, the thought that she was possibly misusing something so sacred to her family didn’t seem to help at all in stopping her mundane and repetitive action.
Not that it would have under more normal circumstances. But especially now.
The mundane action worked well to ground her. If she was being honest, it was one of the only things that kept her tethered in this moment and prevented her from spiraling out and losing what little control she had left of herself.
True, she was aware that this situation was indeed rather ironic.
She always ventured to the dark crypt as a child to think. Yet, she realized that she now had fled here to find solace from the utter madness her stray thoughts would inevitably lead her to.
She hid in the dark shadows of the crypt, barely illuminated in only the darkest of colors and hues that filtered through the towering stained glass windows that encircled her. The deathly quiet brought her the smallest shred of comfort.
She’d take whatever little solace that she could at this point.
And it was here that she decided to remain, for a time. Hopefully she could continue to remain hidden for a while longer yet.
She’d much rather watch her hand draw absentminded circles into the dark plum sand that molded and shaped so easily to the pressure she applied to it.
Anything that would prevent her mind from doing any more thinking as long as time would allow.
Though, apparently, the cruelty of time had decided she had remained isolated long enough.
She should be more concerned that she didn’t hear any indication of the presence behind her until a familiar voice rang out loud and clear, but she was in a rather more serious predicament. She couldn’t find it in her to care.
Either way, the sudden sound was enough to startle her hand out of the pit of sand.
“46 hours.”
The temporary solace she had was violently ripped away the moment she heard her voice.
Her system was helpless to the way it broke down in an astonishing matter of moments.
Already sitting upon the floor, she immediately curled into herself as the violence of those images sprang back in flashes behind her eyes.
Bile rose in her throat, a fearful shiver ran down her spine. Anxiety flooded every ounce of her system.
The tightness in her chest clenched upon her so strongly she wasn’t sure she could get a full breath. Her eyes wrenched shut in the midst of a great deal of pain.
Her hand soon clenched at the dark fabric at her chest, as if the action would help to pull the unstoppable force back enough to offer a smidge of relief from this onslaught she suffered through.
Though she knows it's already too late for any relief now. She's too far into her head…sick with her own immense worry and overwhelming fear.
“Two fucking days plus some change of doing everything I can to find you.”
Wednesday somehow finds enough courage within her to turn to look at Enid fully since ‘it’ happened. Though still careful enough to not meet her gaze.
Her heart quickens as she falls quickly into a deeper mode of analysis.
She completely ignored Enid’s own terror-laced and pained statement in favor of studying intently for the rise and fall of her chest, even from this distance. As if she needed more proof that she was alive than the reality of the woman at the entrance of the crypt looking upon her with an intense blend of both pure anger and deep fear painting her face.
“Not even the rest of the Addams had a single clue as to where you disappeared off to. Do you even fucking care how utterly sick you’ve made everyone feel? How beside myself I’ve been?” The unmitigated anger struck her vocal cords low and dangerous.
Most would have already yielded, but Wednesday struck back with a bite of her own, practically ignoring everything that came before.
“Bianca and Yoko were supposed to make sure you didn’t leave their sight.” Wednesday’s voice matched that dangerous tone of her opposite.
“Of course you’d start with that. Don’t really give a damn that I’m just as sick with worry as you.” Enid practically growled.
Though she knew that pain must have been evident in her own eyes upon close inspection, Wednesday didn’t really make an effort to refute the claim.
“Well if this is how you’re gonna be, then do I have some wonderful news for you. You’ll be so pleased to hear that our friends followed your apparent demands to the letter. Hell, I couldn’t even so much as go to the bathroom without an audience.” She laced her words with as much sarcasm as she could muster.
“I’ve never once left their sight. Even now when we’ve all finally tracked you down, everyone’s still waiting just outside, guarding the entrance. We all decided to carpool. Lurch even has the engine still running, ready to cart your sorry ass home even if I have to drag it out of here myself.” The blonde finished with fire in her crystalline eyes.
Wednesday’s eyes trail to the door, but that action seemed to make Enid finally snap.
“Wednesday Friday Addams, look at me!”
Wednesday suddenly locked her dark eyes upon Enid’s stormy blues.
“This is downright insane, even for you. Not to mention beyond stupid. Asinine, even. What the hell were you thinking? You just get a sudden urge to disappear on your fucking own, while your stalker, who may I remind you, has hospitalized more than a few people as of now, is still on the run?”
Wednesday’s gulp was so small, practically unnoticeable to anyone but herself.
“Do you even care that you gave him the perfect opportunity to finally take you out for good? Do you care about what that would do to me if he succeeded?” Enid feigned a nonchalant shrug, though her deep hurt and betrayal evident in every inch of her said she was feeling completely otherwise about this all.
The raven remained silent. She bit her lower lip to stop that stupid quivering.
“Well, you plan on even trying to defend yourself?”
Wednesday continues to stay silent. She didn’t realize until now how difficult it was to hold Enid’s intense eye contact.
“Go on. I know you want to. Tell me how absurd of me it was to freak out, to worry that something terrible happened to you.”
“How can I?” Wednesday’s voice cracked in a rather heartbreaking way as she dared her voice to speak again.
The intensity of Enid’s anger dissipated like the morning dew and was immediately replaced with something new. Her expression softened greatly as worry now dominated her features as she looked upon the woman who seemed to curl into herself even more than she already was.
“What?’ Enid practically whispered.
“How could I convince you not to worry when my fear for you has completely paralyzed me?” The raven’s eyes fell to the ground under the weight of the confession.
“I know it was wrong of me, and I’m so sorry for putting you through that. Hurting you is never my intention.” Wednesday whispered softly.
“But I needed to disappear.” The raven suddenly tightened the grip she had on her arms. Enough for Enid to notice.
“Wednesday?” Enid’s voice works now to soothe. Her legs move forward without much thought, automatically trying to draw closer to her. Though she was startled by the intense reaction it caused within her counterpart.
As if she touched a burning stove, Wednesday’s body seemed to act on its own. Her deep seated fear caused her to yank herself back violently, tossing half her body into the open pit of sand as her palms dug into the grains behind her, holding her body upright. Chest rising and falling in spastic rhythms.
Enid stalls immediately, crystal eyes wide with deep concern. The action was so violent, that it reminded Enid of the moment that led them to this situation in the first place.
She decided she needed to start there.
“Talk to me, babe. What did you see in that vision?”
Wednesday opens her mouth to talk, but nothing comes out. She can still see flickers of it in the back of her eyes. She pulls herself back out of the sand and curls into herself instead of voicing a proper response.
“Bianca said she’d never seen you so frightened before, including that whole silver incident a few years back. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve even seen you so terrified. Not even when I fought that bear with you.”
Wednesday doesn't know how to respond to that, so she doesn’t.
“Wednesday, please-” She moves just one step towards Wednesday, and even that is too much.
“DON’T!” The raven’s tone is practically dripping with fear.
She knows how desperate Enid is to touch her. To do anything to just comfort and hold her.
In any other circumstance, she’d be desperate for the exact same thing.
“Please don’t, Enid. I can’t - I..”
Enid watches as if daggers were piercing her heart as Wednesday pleads with her while she can start to see her petrified eyes water from even this distance.
“I’m barely holding it together as it is.” she solemnly whispers so low that if Enid were not a werewolf, she’d doubt she’d catch it. The blonde could feel her heart shatter in her own chest.
“We’ll beat this, Wednesday. We already have him on the run.” The wolf pleads with anguish pricking at her chest. “Bianca and Yoko drove him into corner. Don’t forget that Div, Eugene, and Pugs are so close to cracking-”
“You don’t get it, Enid.” The raven cut her off as if none of that mattered.
“What? What am I not getting?”
Wednesday finally meets Enid’s eyes again. The dark purple light cast through the stained glass windows upon her features gave the raven a look of solemn finality to her gaze as if this is the last time she’ll be able to hold it.
“I can’t stop it.” Her voice shook with the heartbreak.
“There has never once been a vision I’ve been able to change. I can’t bear the.. Its..It’s completely hopeless.” She practically broke then and there.
“Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it's not possible. I-”
“I cannot lose you, Enid. And I’m constantly tortured with that vision as I watch you slip from my fingers over and over again..”Wednesday whimpered, both confirming her own guess as to what Wednesday saw.. all while making herself tear up in her own heartbreak.
“I’m not strong enough to weather..I’m losing my mind, E.” She digs a harsh hand in her hair, holding tightly to her skull which was grappling with immense pain.
Wednesday is on the absolute verge of breaking down. Enid is completely helpless to do anything other than to just watch from afar as Wednesday suffers, her own heart's already shattered to dust.
Enid doesn’t draw any closer, in spite of wanting nothing more than to do so.
But she doesn’t back away either.
“Should we give up then? Would it be best if I just lay down and die because a fucking vision says there is no other path forward?” The wolf challenges, hoping her persistence to remain strong will be enough for the both of them in this moment.
Wednesday’s shattered gaze fell back to the floor.
“As long as I’m breathing, I’m not giving up. And I'll be damned if I let you give up either.”
“It’s not that simple, Enid.”
“Your vision is a warning.” The wolf began without pause. “A rather sick and twisted gift, but a gift nevertheless. We need to be far, far more careful, sure. But I’m still with you, Wednesday. And there is a chance we can prevent your vision’s outcome.”
“Enid-“
“Enough Wends! Stop acting like I’m already gone!”
Her overly harsh shout rendered Wednesday to a quick silence.
Enid closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, trying to even her temper and work a new angle for Wednesday’s sake and her own.
“Listen. I can’t be the only one who is holding strong here. My life is in danger, yes. But I need you to not give up. I beg of you.”
Wednesday quietly looked back upon her as she spoke.
“Please Wednesday. I can’t handle this without you believing it too.”
A deep sigh echoed from the opposite end of the crypt.
“I want nothing more than for you to come out of this unscathed. Of course I’ll try everything that’s in my power to make that a reality.”
Enid felt a deep relief wash over her at Wednesday’s words, knowing they rung true for her.
“Though any way the future ends up panning out.. we’ll still be together. That’s all that really matters.”
The wolf’s heart ached at those last words of Wednesday’s. She really didn’t want her talking like that, knowing how serious she was about that statement.
Though she wasn’t really sure if things came to that, she’d act any different in the end.
“Listen, I’m already well aware that even death could never sever the bond between an Addams. That might have been the first thing I learned from your parents…”
“Though can we both promise to try everything we can to prevent it coming to that. I’d honestly rather let hell freeze over first before I spend the rest of our first full year of marriage in the afterlife.” Enid softly began to smirk at Wednesday, trying with everything in her to lighten the intensity of the situation that lie before them.
She earns herself a solid stare for starters.
Enid, now motivated to succeed, tried again.
“Besides, babe…spectral blue is so not a fetching color to throw for a first anniversary party, let me tell you. Not for me, and especially not for you.”
Enid felt her face brighten into a smile as she heard Wednesday helplessly echo her signature amused scoff while rolling her eyes at her wife’s stupid humor, shaking her head in disbelief that Enid’s hinting her greatest concern is as trivial as a party’s color theme all while fighting the smallest hint of a smile.
Enid always felt like she could do anything when she managed to succeed in causing that reaction alone out of her mate.
Though the mood is finally brightened, Wednesday doesn’t hide a single tear she wipes away before it falls fully from her eye.
“What do you need from me, right now? How can I help you through this.”
“Help?” Wednesday echoed back at Enid.
“What do you want from me right now more than anything?”
The raven fell into serious consideration for a few moments as she contemplated.
“I’m feel like I’d stop losing my sanity if I could just feel you breathe. More than anything, I wish to hear that your heart is still beating for myself.” Wednesday trailed off for a moment.
“Yet, if I touch you again-”
“You could trigger the vision again. I understand.” Wednesday nodded as Enid voiced her main concern.
“I’m not in the habit of touching anyone repeatedly outside of you. I don’t know if lighting strikes twice, but I’m terrified to risk it.”
Enid nods solemnly in understanding. Though she takes the moment to shift gears.
“Regardless of figuring out how to deal with that particular problem of ours, our first priority is for you to come back home and get some quality sleep.” Enid informs her wife, matter of factly, while the psychic couldn’t help but agree, nodding along to the plan as she felt the weight of deep exhaustion slowly began to creep upon her.
“And to think.. I thought you looked like death warmed over before..”
Wednesday fought another smirk.
“You flatter me.” She rolled those eyes in fake annoyance as she finally lifts herself upwards to leave the crypt and make her way back to their home.
Though before they can leave, and meet up with the crew waiting for them both, Enid gasps softly, an idea striking her like lightning.
Wednesday, still maintaining a decent distance between them, turns to focus intently at the wolf.
“I know that gasp anywhere. What are you plotting?” Wednesday quirked an intrigued brow upwards through a quizzical gaze.
“Go ahead of me and head to the car. I’ll meet you there after I ask Grandmama for something, Kay?” She blows a kiss in the air and soon shoos her wife to quickly leave her behind for a moment.
Wednesday thinks that’s odd, but does what Enid asks of her without further investigation anyways.
Either way, she’ll probably figure it out soon enough.
---------------------------
They all walk into the newlywed’s home, exhaustion taking over every person there in the early hours of the morning at this point.
The wolf and the raven’s friends and family have already set up camp throughout the many rooms and various sofas and beds set up on a semi-permanent status. At least until the threat at hand is finally eliminated and the safety of the girls is assured.
The two girls find themselves climbing their stairs, arguing lightly over who is taking their bed and which one of them will sleep on the floor for Wednesday’s sake.
Both arguing stubbornly that the other gets the comfier bedding. As incredibly stubborn as Wednesday is, she already knows that she’s losing this battle.
Honestly, it kinda startled her that she managed to marry the one person on the planet that was just as, if not more, stubborn than she was.
Even still, Wednesday doesn’t expect to get much sleep again. She knows that she needs it more than anything, especially for Enid’s sake. She needs to be on top of anything that could possibly happen.
And to do that, she desperately needed some sleep.
Enid takes off her coat and hangs it on the rack behind their door.
Curiously, this was the first time Wednesday had noticed that Enid was carrying a bag close this whole time, only noticing the thing when Enid set it by her feet for a moment.
Even with Wednesday’s sleep-addled mind, she recognizes the bag as odd for Enid to have. It Looked like it had been used hundreds of times, it was so worn.
Enid picked back up the bag and moved forward towards the nearest seating she could find, the far left edge of their bed.
She waved a soft set of fingers that silently indicated that she wanted Wednesday to follow.
Maintaining distance, the raven stood a safe position away as Enid sat on the bed. The wolf scooched as far to one side as she could, practically falling into the floor as she patted the bedding, hoping Wednesday would take the cue.
Wednesday didn’t move, instead staring at the bed and calculating in her head how even that would be too close to her. All it took was one accidental brush, one stray movement that would trigger enough heartbreak and hurt to cause a full on psychotic breakdown if she saw that scene again- and not the good kind.
Enid recognizes the look on her face and moves on from the silent request, hiding a hint of disappointment.
Instead, she opted to focus on picking up the small paper satchel at her side.
“Listen, Enid. I know that I get you a bag of cookies and sweets when you’re upset, but they don’t have the same effect on me.”
Enid stops ruffling the bag and looks at her dead in the face.
“You seriously think I got you sweets?” Enid blinks her eyes in disbelief.
That was one thing, but Wednesday quirked a brow at her antics as she dramatically raised her hands from the bag, palms open like an act of surrender.
“I know you didn’t just insult me like that.”
“Your first gift to me was a hand-knitted ‘snood’.” Wednesday said with a small air of amusement, knowing her statement made her point for her.
“And your first gift to me was Annabelle. What’s your point?”
“First of all, that doll was a great gift! And second, that wasn't my first gift to you. Or, did you forget why I always have a packet of cookies on my person at all times like an idiot?” Wednesday scoffed at Enid, incredulously.
“The cookies are caught on a technical and you know it. I didn't know you then and it was more of a way to comfort me rather than an traditional 'gift'.. And then there's' the more important matter at hand. Are you implying the snood wasn’t a good gift?”
“Well..”
Enid gasped in disbelief.
“Listen here!” She pointed an index straight at Wednesday as she spoke.
“And I could go on about all of the ten out of ten presents I’ve gotten you since.. However, I’m not gonna let this one slide. That snood was the perfect first gift from me to you.”
“Is that so?” Wednesday nodded along in full amusement.
“You can’t even pretend that you dislike the thing. I can see straight through your ruse, Wends. Not only did I go well out of my way to make sure that it was all in your signature colors. May I also remind you that its been keeping you warm and cozy in the winter for YEARS now.”
“In fact”, she continued . “I could march to our closet right now and find it still hanging. You could have thrown it away at any time.”
“I did leave it at fencing practice the same day you gave it to me, though.”
“Nope, still the weathervane. And Bianca was the one who found it, though I knew you’d miss it, so I thoughtfully brought it back to you.”
Enid smirked wider when she found that she’s finally able to make Wednesday’s face soften, even just a bit.
“Which I’ve still never received a thank you for bringing it back to you, even after all this time” Enid laced with fake upset.
She fought a full blown smile when she heard Wednesday take a slow and deep breath at that.
“If you’re going to be this insufferable about it, then fine. Thank you for bringing that wretched thing back. I’ve long since learned that I value my peace more than I value getting rid of that monstrosity and undoubtedly setting forth a series of unfortunate events where I incur the full brunt of your wrath.”
“Hey! I won’t tolerate snood slander any longer from you. You can’t fool me. You freaking LOVE that snood.”
“I only love the damn snood because I’m desperately in love with the idiot who made it for me.” Wednesday clicked her tongue pointedly.
“Hmm.. that may be so, but that little tidbit doesn’t change the fact that I’m still the world’s best gift giver. How incredibly lucky for you.”
Wednesday hummed in deep amusement at her wife’s antics.
“What was that, dear?”
“That was me choosing to value my peace, mi amor.”
“Alright then, I’ll just attribute that little silly comment from earlier to the fact that you haven’t slept in days. I know you don’t seriously think I’m dumb enough to get you freaking sweets of all things.” She smirks up at Wednesday.
“Well then, if not sweets, then what’s in the bag?”
Curiously enough, Enid’s face turned serious.
The wolf reaches into the rather strange looking bag.
Wednesday is always amazed. She truly doesn’t know why this fact always catches her off guard.
She could easily spend an eternity with Enid at her side and never figure the woman out fully. The stethoscope now in her hand was plenty proof of that fact.
“Huh.” Wednesday quirked a brow, and blinked. Staring at the peculiar object, doing her best to figure out why Enid is holding something she wouldn’t have imagined she’d make appear from that bag if she had a thousand chances to guess.
“I see now why you needed to see grandmama…but um. You have a stethoscope. Why?”
Wednesday finished her question with a hint of humor upon her tone. It was so strange to see Enid hold that odd thing with a rather serious looking face. How could she not?
Initially, she thought her wife was using it to set up some kind of elaborate joke aimed to make her feel better.
Her sleep addled mind jumped to another conclusion rather quickly though, before Enid could even begin to explain herself.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with those weird fantasies of yours you were hinting about…does it?”
The wolf’s jaw drops, last thing she expected to hear from Wednesday.
Those words that were on her tongue now caught in her throat. Her brilliant blue eyes shot wide. She immediately goes as red as a tomato.
“E-Excuse me?”
“Believe me when I tell you that it breaks my heart more than yours to regretfully inform you that this still doesn’t change the fact that I can’t touch you right now. Not even in that way. Apologies, dear. Your.. fantasies will have to wait till I’m more stable…”
The red gets impossibly brighter.
“That is NOT what-“
“Not to mention that if I do have a vision, my mind destabilizing would definitely kill any kind of mood of yours without a doubt, which would be the real tragedy.”
“Wednesday!” Enid shouts in a strangled squeak.
“Compounded with the fact that I actually haven’t slept closer to three days rather than two.. and you deserve so much more than me falling asleep in the middle of learning how exactly this fantasy of yours is to be played out.. which at this point is very probable judging on the overwhelming strength of my exhaustion.”
“Would you shut up and listen before I implode?!” Enid has to squawk to force Wednesday to stop talking so she could get a word in edgewise.
Wednesday blinks again, focusing her slightly bleary eyes on her fiercely blushing wife, who was apparently trying her best to calm down and shed her evident embarrassment.
Enid cleared her throat before pressing on.
“This has nothing to do with any kind of..fantasy, Wends.” Enid hummed low in deep embarrassment.
“Then what is it for? Because I’m at a loss, it seems.” Wednesday continues to question, not the least but phased.
Enid then turned serious again rather quickly, holding the object rather close to her own chest.
“You wanted to hear my heart beating without having to accidentally touch me…”
It was in that moment that Wednesday’s breath could be heard being stolen from her lungs. Caught in her chest from the utter surprise, being reminded so sweetly of Enid’s soft heart and rather brilliant mind.
Tears immediately sprung to her eyes at feeling the immense depth and force of that all-encompassing love she had for her wife that made her completely weak at the knees.
She settled on the end of the bed opposite to her before she collapsed into the floor.
Wednesday quickly tried to cover her mouth, but not in enough time to hide an ugly sob from wrenching free out of her wretched throat. She saw tears spill out of Enid’s eyes out of the corner of her own.
She turned enough to watch Enid press the chest piece upon her sternum. She then slowly extended the earpiece to Wednesday. She was so careful to allow her wife room to grab the object with ease, leaving plenty of room to avoid an accidental touch.
Wednesday puts the stethoscope upon her ears and is flooded with a familiar, steady drumming that originated from Enid’s chest.
A strong tidal wave of emotion had completely overwhelmed the raven, rivaling the emotions Enid had always easily drawn from her when gracing her ears with the magic she wrought from a piano.
Inundated with a sense of relief, not quite realizing how strongly she’d react upon hearing pure life continue to beat within her wife’s chest, Wednesday is helpless to the flood of tears and gut-wrenching sobs that had been bottled up tight until this very moment, only to begin to pour out of her without any consent.
Her mind completely abandoned in this moment, she shattered past her terror and ripped the stethoscope out of Enid’s and her own grasp to toss it to the ground, favoring to tackle her wife in pure abandon instead, vision be damned.
The need for her eternally comforting touch, she finally realized, far outweighs the risk she’d take to watch her greatest fear unfold before her eyes again.
Either way, the vision wasn’t real.. not yet, not ever if they had anything to say about it.
Yet her beautiful wife was, and still living, still breathing. Heart beating strong within her chest.
And that mattered more than anything.
Enid pulls her in close and starts sobbing as well, kissing her face and hair. Doing everything to bring that comfort they both so desperately needed in this moment.
Wednesday starts immediately shaking, greatly alarming Enid.
“Wends?! Nonono No!”
Wednesday pressed her face hard into her neck, quietly shushing away her fear.
“I’m okay, my Love. It’s alright. The vision didn’t trigger again.” The raven breathed softly against her throat, pressing a few soft kisses of her own against the warm skin.
Enid kissed her temple in a comforting motion in return.
“We’re gonna beat this, Wednesday. I swear it.” She hiccups between the waves of tears.
“I believe you, amor. I’ll personally introduce this man to hell, myself, especially for the damning act of keeping me from you for so long.”
Her voice was cut off with a deep kiss Enid pressed into her, returned by Wednesday with equal fervency.
Tomorrow had its own troubles, they both knew.
However, this moment was finally theirs, and nothing else mattered in the world to them than this moment right here and now.
They would overcome this, and they would figure out a way to do just that- together.