Chapter 1
She didn’t know what day it was, how many days it had been. Time had completely stopped the moment she saw her brother’s lifeless body on that jet.
Wanda laid in bed, staring at the wall. She had spent her days watching the light change with the sun’s movement. Her nights were spent waiting for the sun to come up. Her sleep was full of nightmares, so she didn’t even try anymore. The only sleep she got was when she’d succumb to it on accident, she hadn’t eaten anything in who knows how long.
She was in a new country, completely alone.
The Avengers were here, a group of people who were recently her enemy, who she had recently physiologically tortured. As much as they claimed forgiveness before the battle and after, there was no way it was sincere, that she actually had their trust.
Clint had come to her door on multiple occasions, every morning, and most nights. He’s knock gently, invite her to a meal, when she didn’t answer he’d be back, leaving a plate of food at her door.
She had taken it once, but couldn’t keep it down, it didn’t feel right to eat when Pietro would never eat again. What was even the point.
There was a knock on the door now, Wanda didn’t move, she knew Clint would go away on his own. It was nice of him to try, but not only did she not deserve his kindness, she didn’t even want it. She didn’t want to be in this stupid place with these stupid powers.
It had been Pietro’s idea to sign up for the Hydra experiments in the first place. He had claimed it was to help his country, but Wanda knew it was more than just that, he could’ve just enlisted, he wanted powers. He was excited at the idea of being a superhero.
And look where that led them. Him, dead, in some big grand heroic move. What an idiot, how could he have done that to her.
Wanda was so caught up in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed someone had entered the room.
“So are you just planning to waste away in here?” Came the voice in the room.
Wanda jumped. She looked over her shoulder and saw fiery red hair. Definitely not Clint.
Turning more in her bed, Natasha came into full view, an unreadable expression on her face.
“I didn’t hear you come in” Wanda said, or at least she thinks she did. Her own voice sounded unrecognizable to her.
“I knocked” Natasha’s face was still unreadable.
“I… I heard that” There was a long pause. Despite this being Wanda’s room and her wanting to be alone, she felt the need to fill it, “I assumed you were Clint”
The side of Natasha’s lip curled up ever so slightly. “Well, it didn’t seem like he was getting through to you”
“Okay,” another silence, “you think walking through my door will have a bigger impact?”
That was snarkier than Wanda wanted to be. If anything, she should be apologizing to Natasha again. What she had dredged up from her memory was completely unforgivable. She opened her mouth to apologize but was cut off.
“This is the first time anyone’s heard you speak in the last three days; I’d say that was a plus.” Her expression was unreadable again. Her arms were crossed. She hadn’t moved from her spot between the door and the bed for the whole interaction. Why was she here?
“Let’s call it a day then.” Wanda didn’t wait for an answer before she turned back to her original position on the bed, pulling the covers up higher than before.
She heard footsteps leaving the room, and then coming back a few moments later. Before she knew it a plate of pasta and a glass of water was being placed on her bedside table. Natasha didn’t look at her. But, after Natasha had turned to leave, she reached a tentative hand towards Wanda. A moment later Wanda felt a squeeze on her shoulder, and as much as she wanted to be alone, she couldn’t help but relish the human contact.
The hand wasn’t on her shoulder long, and before long her bedroom door was closing and she was alone again.
She was suddenly aware of her hunger. And the food didn’t look so bad.
--
Natasha stood outside the closed door. Wanda had been in a lot worse shape than she imagined. She knew the witch wasn’t coming out of her room, but it also didn’t seem like she was even getting out of bed. Wanda was wearing the same Shield issued clothes she had changed into after the battle. And the room appeared to be untouched apart from the bed.
Natasha made her way back into her own room, which across the hall from Wanda’s. She was met with the sight of her best friend, seated in the same place he was when she had left.
“I heard talking! Did she actually answer you?” Clint had hope in his eyes.
“Yes, she answered me”
“I can’t believe she actually let you into her room, did she open the door or just tell you to come in?”
“She didn’t invite me I opened the door”
“You just walked in?”
“She didn’t answer my knock”
Clint sighed and went back to the defeated look he had worn since the battle. “I don’t know how to help her.”
Natasha was done with this topic. Clint had come in her room practically begging her to reach out to Wanda, saying she might respond better to a woman. The idea was absurd, and she had only done it because she owned Clint more favors than she could count. In her opinion, if the witch didn’t want help then why would they force it on her. But Clint had always been a better person than her.
“Do you think you could try to talk to her again tomorrow? At breakfast?” Clint asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“Nat, come on she talked to you! She’s on our team now. There’s no reason to be weary of her.”
Natasha was caught off guard by this turn in the conversation, not that she showed it. “I’m not weary of her.” Lie.
Sure, the witch reminded her of herself when she first came to America. Sure, the image of her in bed pulled at a heartstring Natasha didn’t know she had. Sure, part of her hoped the interaction would go better.
But it would be stupid of her not to be weary. Even if Wanda never intended to use her powers against the team again, she was unstable, it could happen by accident. Having her guard up was the only way to protect herself.
“Okay, sure, whatever you say Nat, I’ll ask again tomorrow.” He shot her a crooked grin, and got up to leave, squeezing her shoulder as he passed on his way out.