Chapter 7
Wanda woke up when the sun did, while disoriented at first, she soon realized she was still on the couch from last night. Even more surprising however, was that Natasha was still here too.
She had obviously left at some point. The spy was sporting workout clothes and had a bowl of cereal in her lap. Sitting in a chair closer to the window rather than the couch that Wanda was now completely stretched out on, the older woman was gazing at the sunrise as she ate. Wanda couldn’t help but admire how perfect the spy looked, how she always looked, but the golden hour accentuated it even more.
As she felt Wanda’s gaze, Natasha turned her head to look at the younger woman, a small smile on her lips. “Good morning, little witch.”
Wanda felt shy under Natasha’s gaze. “Good morning, Natasha.” She turned to look for a clock but couldn’t find one.
“It’s 6:30.” Natasha provided helpfully.
“Oh, that’s good.” Natasha just stared at her until Wanda felt the need to continue. “It’s when I usually wake up.”
It was finally a worthy answer for the spy to reply, “Is that enough time to get ready and eat before we train?’
This wasn’t a question Wanda was used to her asking, Natasha never inquired about what she did in her time outside of training. “I don’t usually eat before.” Wanda could hear the regret in her voice, even if she was trying to keep it even, not knowing where the spy was going with this.
Natasha, as expected, kept her face and tone perfectly even. “Do you eat after?”.
The topic of food was not one Wanda was a fan of. She knew she didn’t eat enough, and she should be jumping at all the delicious and abundant food around her now, after years of food scarcity. But she wasn’t hungry. She was hoping no one would ever bring it up. But here was Natasha looking at her, asking her questions with a clear implication. Of course she noticed Wanda’s still too thin frame, it didn’t take a superspy to realize she was underweight.
“Sometimes.” It was a clear lie.
“How many times have you?” The spy didn’t miss a beat calling her bluff. Giving Wanda a beat to reply that she didn’t take, the spy continued, “We can move training back an hour if that would help. It would give you more time in the mornings.”
“That’s okay.” The witch was honestly surprised the spy even cared.
Wanda fought the urge to squirm under the look Natasha was giving her. Her perfect eyebrows scrunching in almost imperceptibly as she stared at the witch. “We’re going to train at 8 from now on.”
Her tone didn’t leave any room for discussion, and in a moment Natasha was up and in the kitchen, Wanda’s eyes didn’t follow her, mind too focused on the new situation to turn her head, but she heard the gentle opening and closing of cabinets and the fridge. Moments later a bowl of cereal identical to Natasha’s was gently placed in her lap.
“Order up.” The spy threw her a smirk before leaving the room. Wanda watched as she left this time, eyes diverting from the door the spy had exited and the bowl she had placed in her lap. Had all that really just happened? Or was this some bizarre dream? At least it wasn’t a nightmare. She poked at the cereal.
A door opening broke her out of her trace as the redhead emerged from a different door than she left. “Vision is okay with moving your magic training back an hour.” She sat back in the chair she had been in when Wanda woke up, picking up her own bowl as she did so.
As if Wanda’s lack of response was finally a concern to her, she continued talking, her face softening considerably from the neutral, if not reprimanding, look she had been holding for the rest of the conversation. “Is that okay with you?”
Wanda just nodded.
“Do you want something else to eat?”
Wanda shook her head. It’s not that she wanted to be non-verbal at the moment, but she couldn’t get any words to come out. She took a bite to try and appease the spy.
—--
Natasha could tell that getting Wanda to talk at the moment was a losing battle. There was a good chance the witch only started eating to stop Natasha from asking any more questions. It was a compromise she could take. It was obvious the girl didn’t eat enough, and the last month of training, where she burned even more calories a day, had just made the problem worse.
She went back to her own bowl, following Wanda’s gaze out the window, the sun was fully up at this point, but the grounds of the compound were still beautiful. The spy couldn’t help but steal a glance at the girl when she was sure she wouldn’t be seen. Guilt about her compliance in Wanda’s depression prominent in her brain.
The thought had nagged her since the hairbrushing incident. She saw the girl everyday, had learned everything about her that benefitted building a training plan, and had even begun to enjoy her company. But she hadn’t paid close enough attention to what really mattered. She knew the girl still spent most of her time in her room, barely talked when she was with the group, and still took most meals alone, if at all.
She promised Clint she’d look after the girl once Nathaniel was born, and she selfishly let Vision take over the first chance she got. Like some sort of toaster oven could properly care for the witch at one of the lowest times of her life.
Running into the girl in the state she was in last night fully steeled this resolve. Natasha had to help her.
Continuing to eat, Natsha couldn’t stop her mind running further with the topic. Wanda only ever wore the same two outfits to training. Was she too tired to pick out something new everyday? Or even worse and more probable: did she just not have any other clothes? Natasha could remember the closet that awaited her when she first joined the team. All the essentials, but plain as hell.
Thinking back on it more, Natasha can’t remember Wanda wearing any outfit post-Ultron that didn’t seem SHIELD-issued. What had even happened to the dress she wore during the fight? What had happened to the spy’s jacket? That didn’t matter now.
She stole another look at the witch. Long unkempt hair partially obscured the girl’s face as she looked down at her bowl, she wore one of her classic sweat suits, this one being gray. It fit her nicely, but she deserved clothes she picked out herself.
The conversation about food was obviously already a lot for the girl, so Natasha wasn’t about to bring up clothes right now. But she wouldn’t forget.
She finished her breakfast before giving the girl her space before training, feeling the girl’s eyes on her as she left the room.
—--
To Natasha’s concealed delight Wanda’s mood had lifted when she met her in the gym an hour later.
They worked out as they always did, but by the time they were preparing to spar, encouraged by Wanda’s mood, Natasha decided to make headway on her new personal mission, feeling angsty for progress “I hope I didn’t interrupt your night.”
“No of course not it was… nice to have the company.”
Nastasha nodded, hiding the pleasure she got from the comment, having to quickly remind herself the witch would feel better with anyone’s company. She teased to regain control, sending the girl a smirk “Yeah?”
Wanda blushed adorably. “Yes… I think I sleep better that way.”
“You can come get me if you have trouble sleeping again.” The offer came out of her mouth before she processed how big it was.
The witch seemed taken aback too, eyeing the spy as if she was searching for something before providing, “I have trouble sleeping every night.”
That wasn’t a no. “Well I guess: same time tonight then?” She sent Wanda another smirk before rushing them into a sparring session, not giving the witch time to respond.
—
True to her word, Natasha was already on the couch, book in lap, when Wanda came down at 1am, yet again unable to sleep.
“And I was starting to think you would stand me up.” The spy used a soft tone that seemed to be reserved for Wanda only.
Wanda sent a small smile in return as she turned towards the kitchen, “Has anyone ever stood you up?”
This earned her a laugh from the spy. “Can’t say they have, Rookie, I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself.”
The witch mustered a laugh at the thought while going through the motions of making tea. When she finally sat down, Natasha held the remote out to her, “More Malcolm in the Middle tonight?” she asked with a quirked eyebrow.
Still depleted from her thoughts of the night, Wanda couldn’t decipher why the spy was being so nice to her. The trainings had obviously brought them closer together, but besides their chance encounter last night, she hadn’t seen Natasha socially outside of team settings since she had asked her to train. She wasn’t going to complain though, she enjoyed the spy’s company immensely.
She tentatively took the remote from the spy’s grasp. “I like to change the show every day.” She turned on the tv, prepared to scroll through the options. Feeling the spy’s eyes on her she continued, “I like the streaming tv, there is almost too much to watch.”
Finally glancing over to Natasha, she saw the smile the older woman wore, “I’m glad you like them, now do you take recommendations?” Natasha’s eyes were pulled off Wanda for the first time since she entered the room as she glanced towards the tv gesturing with her hand. “You should try Friends, it’s one of the most popular shows in America.”
“Oh…okay.” Getting a sitcom recommendation from the world’s deadliest assassin was not something Wanda ever thought would happen to her, there was no way she’d say no. As the show started, both ladies settled into the couch.
Despite her enjoyment of the show, Wanda felt herself falling asleep only a few episodes in. On the brink of consciousness however, she could feel gentle hands guiding her body to fully lay down, and the warmth of a blanket being laid on top of her.