Chapter 5
Wanda was in the gym 5 minutes early, not daring to be late after Natasha’s stern request about their training schedule. 7am training seemed horrible though, and the witch was already hoping that didn’t include weekends. However, even though she knew little about Natasha, she knew enough to guess it probably did. Fuck. Maybe agreeing to training wasn’t the right move. But how was she supposed to know the spy would be the one to train her? Steve had been the one to ask, he probably would’ve let her pick her own schedule. Should she leave?
“Hey Rookie.” A raspy voice came from behind her. Like she could read her thoughts Natasha had emerged from a door Wanda hadn’t even noticed before, trapping Wanda in the situation. She couldn’t leave now without looking like a complete fool. Attempting to match the older woman’s even demeanor Wanda adjusted her ponytail in a move she was hoping looked nonchalant. She suddenly felt self conscious in her sweats and haphazardly thrown up hair next to the spy in her matching workout set and slicked back ponytail. The crop top the spy was wearing showed just enough of her perfectly toned stomach, flexing with every step she took towards the witch. Wanda didn’t realize she was staring until Natasha was stopped in front of her. She was met with an amused grin when she brought herself to meet her trainer’s eyes. “Are you ready?” The woman teased.
Well at least she’s in a good mood. “Yup.” Wanda replied, fighting a blush and suddenly interested in the ground.
“Okay, time for some quick tests.”
–
The tests did not go by quickly, but that was definitely Wanda’s fault.. She couldn’t recall ever having to run a mile, let alone three. And the sparring? She had never been very coordinated with her hands, and found herself on the ground seconds after Natasha started. The rest was a blur, trying to throw a punch, planks, crunches, lifting weights, the whole deal. There were no tests of her powers which, while she found strange, she didn’t mind.
She had woken up too many times now from a nightmare to find what little possessions in her room strewn about due to some small explosion she undoubtedly caused. This lack of control unnerved her completely, while she wanted to wrangle them, she realized this might be a task she could only teach herself. What did any of the other Avengers know about magic?
“Not bad rookie” The spy said, the same glint in her eye she walked in the room with. The whole ordeal was probably very entertaining to watch, since Natasha no doubt could do all these tests flawlessly by the time she was 5.
Wanda just sighed, “thanks,” and suppressed an eye roll. She’d never use her powers on Natasha again, and today needlessly solidified that the spy could kick her ass, so she wasn’t about to be sassy.
Natasha’s eyes softened at this and, to Wanda’s surprise, the older woman continued, “Hey it was just your first day, you’ll get better at all of this.” Her hand flippantly gestured to the room as she finished her sentence.
They stood in silence for a beat, the witch too flustered by the kindness to come up with a response. Natasha thankfully relieved her of the duty. “Same time tomorrow?” Without waiting for an answer the spy headed out of the room. Leaving Wanda standing lamely for a moment before following in her footsteps.
—
Training had only lasted two hours, but it left Wanda exhausted, collapsing into her bed for the remainder of the day. She was only interrupted in her I Love Lucy marathon when Vision brought her dinner. The gesture reminded her of the early days when Natasha would do the same. When Vision took the task over and the spy stopped seeking her out Wanda would have sworn the spy hated her. The newfound kindness of the day had her second guessing that assumption.
She was almost excited for the next morning. The exhaustion leading to her first peaceful sleep since she came to the compound.
—
Natasha could appreciate the level of work Wanda put into all of their training sessions. It was obvious the girl was not a natural at any of these things, but she sure did try. And as the weeks went by she absolutely got better, making faster progress than the spy would’ve ever guessed based on their first assessment.
There was one thing she couldn’t help but noticing however: the witch’s long hair, despite being in a ponytail, was constantly getting in her way, especially during their sparring, it seems as though it blinded her at times.
As Natasha pinned the witch to the mat for the dozenth time that morning, she finally decided to address it, without getting up from her position on top of the other woman she started, “You need a new hairstyle.”
Wanda’s baffled look at the comment let her know she had to elaborate. “Your hair is constantly getting in your eyes when we fight, it’s inefficient, and in the field it could be dangerous.”
“You fight with your hair down all the time.”
The witch finally responding was the cue Natasha needed to stand up, reaching her hand down to assist the girl. “Yes little witch, but I’m a professional.”
Wanda giggled at this, face still red from the sparring (definitely not from the nickname), before self consciously touching her ponytail, “What style are you suggesting then?”
“Braids, for your length of hair, are the best option.”
“Oh,” the witch replied, a beat went by where she looked at her feet, “I don’t know how to do those.”
“Oh…well I can help with that.”
The witch’s eyes lit up in a way that Natasha couldn’t help but grin at, “Really?”
“It’ll be part of training, c’mon.” Natasha began walking at this until noticing Wanda stood dead in her tracks.
“Right now?” The witch was almost scared.
“Yeah, is there a problem?”
“My hair just… isn’t brushed right now.” Wanda muttered the last part, not making eye contact.
The spy almost retorted the obvious “we’ll brush it out” before realizing the probable severity of Wanda’s statement. Sure the girl had also made great improvements in eating and socializing with the team, but that didn’t mean her depression was just gone. Brushing her hair might feel like too much most days.
Natasha felt guilty at the oversight, finally responding, “That’s okay, the braids will help keep it de-tangled too.” Before softly gesturing for the girl to follow her again, this time she did.
When they made it to the locker room Natasha sat first, after retrieving her hairbrush and some leave-in conditioner, patting the bench in front of her for Wanda to follow. “I can do this first one for you and we can do an official lesson some other time.”
Wanda didn’t sit, this suggestion making her look more freaked out. “No no it’s okay, I can at least brush it myself.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I do.”
The two women stared at each other. Natasha knew she would have to break first, letting out a sigh, “Wanda, please let me help you with this.”
It was like she could see one of Wanda’s walls come down with this request, and after a moment she finally sat down and Natasha began her work.
A few minutes later a soft “thank you” came from the younger girl. Earning a smile she couldn’t see from the assassin’s lips.
—
“I guess it wasn’t what I was expecting.” The witch said with a laugh.
Once her hair had been detangled and the braiding started, Wanda had loosened up significantly.
“What were you expecting?” Natasha prompted, her mood lifted by the other’s .
“I don’t know, Steve I guess, he’s the one who asked me.”
The spy let out a small, genuine, laugh at this. “Yeah and then he asked me, said he was afraid of breaking you in half”
The witch scoffed, muttering “I could hold my own against him”
“Without your powers?”
“That wasn’t the question, Natasha.”
The spy couldn’t deny the pleasure she got from hearing her name come out in that accent. It felt like a glimpse of home she didn’t realize she was missing. She shook her head subtly and quickly though. She couldn’t be having thoughts like these. She tried to reroute the conversation “You are making good progress, and now that you’ll be able to see with your hair out of your eyes, you just need to train your mind to not wander from the fight.”
A beat went by before the younger girl answered.
“I don’t know, maybe a real fight I would be less distracted.”
“You think you’d be less distracted in a real fight?”
The witch let out a small chuckle, and without thinking before she spoke responded, “You are just so crazy strong… sometimes when you pin me to the mat and then we stand up and reset… I don’t know, I can't stop thinking about how much stronger you are than me.”
Natasha, genuinely surprised at this point of view, let out a real laugh at this admission, something Wanda’s ears coveted, even with the blush spreading across her face.
“You’re distracted by my body, but you wanted Steve to train you?” The spy asked, still highly amused.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He’s much more muscular than I am.”
“I wouldn’t get distracted by him.” She muttered, only realizing how forward that sentence was after it had left her mouth. She hoped in vain Natasha somehow didn’t hear, or at least wouldn’t acknowledge it.
She got her wish on the latter, however if she would have been facing Natasha in that moment she would’ve seen the brief moment of shock come across the spy’s usually cool face at the younger girl’s words.
“I just mean he’s such a dad to me, I’d never see him like that.” Wanda rushed, trying to recover.
In the anonymity of Wanda not being able to see her, Natasha allowed herself to look at the witch affection. It was cute she thought she could get a lie like that past her. She would let it slide though, for now, only replying instead with a hum and a “Of course.”
She finished the braid in a comfortable silence, the witch’s face showed she was delighted in the result, even if she was obviously trying to downplay it. This was a habit of the girl’s that Natasha wouldn’t let herself admit was adorable.