Come Rain or Come Shine

“Alright, sweet girl.” Natasha set Alya down on the ground. “Have a good day at school, Daddy and I will come around to pick you up later.”

Despite her husband advising her not to, she carried Alya into the school building, worried that the child would need some extra comfort today. It was her very first day of kindergarten and Natasha could see that she was nervous.

“Don’t wanna go to school.” Alya clung to her father’s leg. “Too many people.”

“You’re gonna have such a good time, Alya.” Bucky encouraged her with coddling her. “You’re gonna learn so many things and you’re gonna make so many new friends.”

“I don’t want friends. I wanna go home.” She raised her arms.

The look in her eyes almost made him crack and pick her up. He wanted to run out of the building and take her home where he could keep an eye on her, but he knew that wasn't an option.

Luckily, Wanda, who had been watching the whole thing exchange, suddenly got an idea. “Can I try?”

She figured that since she was Alya's big sister, she might be able to convince her that school was actually pretty fun. Alya practically did everything she told her to do, even if it got them into trouble.

There was this one time, where a very annoyed Wanda told Alya to make snow with all the flour in the kitchen. The poor child thought that her sister wanted to play with her and ended up in hot water.

Still, she hung on Wanda's every word.

Their parents shared a look and shrugged, motioning for her to go for it.

“Alya, Mama and Daddy have to leave because they have things to do.” She bent down to her little sister’s height, which, in all honesty, wasn't very far down. “We have to go to school, but it’s gonna be so much fun.”

“How?” Alya raised a brow.

It seemed like everyone was trying to trick her into staying in this place. With all these kids running around and screaming their heads off, she could feel herself becoming more and more skeptical with the idea.

The lights were too bright and there were way too many people wandering around for her to immediately feel comfortable.

“Well, I’ll bet you’ll get to read new books and play lots of games with other kids. You’ll get to show your teacher what you know.”

Wanda knew that Alya liked to show off her 'big girl' skills to anyone who would give her the time of day.

“I know lots.” The small child brightened slightly. That did sound intriguing. “I can read and write!”

“I’ll bet that in kindergarten, your teacher will let you show her.”

“Are you coming?”

The only thing that would make this better, would be if Wanda could go with her. She would really enjoy having her sister around all day.

“I can’t go with you.” Wanda shook her head. “I’m in the fourth grade. I have to go to my own class, but I’ll see you during recess and we can play together then. You can even eat lunch with me if you want to.”

She normally spent lunch and recess with her friends, but Alya needed her today. Maybe her friends wouldn't mind. Maybe they'd welcome the five year old into their little group for the day.

Or however long it took for Alya to feel comfortable.

“Promise?” Alya was still not confident, but at least now she had something to look forward to. 

Plus, she didn't have to eat alone.

Eating alone was the worst, she should know. Whenever she refused to try to eat something on her plate, her father made her stay at the table until she at least took two bites of the food she claimed not to like.

She was so stubborn, sometimes she claimed not to like mac and cheese!

By the time she was ready to comply, dinner was over and she was the only one at the table. She always promised herself that next time, she'd just do it the easy way, but somehow, she always ended up right back there.

“Pinky swear, ready to go in now?”

“Yeah.” Alya nodded. Natasha and Bucky already met her teacher prior to this, so there was no need for them to enter the classroom with her. Her teacher told them that it would only make it harder for her to adjust. “Bye, Mama. Bye, Daddy.”

Bucky knelt down in front of her and cupped her chin. “Mama and I will be here at 2:30 to pick you up, alright?”

“Okay.” Alya smiled, she knew how to tell time, so if she needed to, all she had to do was look at a clock. “I’m a big girl now.”

“Such a big girl. Give me a kiss and then say bye to Mama.”

Alya smiled and pecked his cheek before launching herself at her mother, snuggling in close. “Bye, Mama.”

“Bye, sweet girl.” Natasha fought back tears at the thought of her littlest baby leaving the nest. “Have a good day.”

“Okay.” Alya waved one last time and ran inside her classroom, leaving Wanda with their parents.

“Alright, big girl.” Natasha composed herself. “Would you like us to walk you to your class, or do you want to go by yourself?”

She knew Wanda was reaching the age where she was going to be a little embarrassed being seen walking to her classroom with both of her parents, but after having watched Alya run away with no issues, Natasha really needed to have a little time with her eldest. 

In response, Wanda smiled and took both her parents’ hands, swinging them back and forth as they made their way down the hall.

For now, she didn't mind spending time with them. Maybe they would have a few more years before the big change kicked in.

Whoever said that kindergarten was better than staying home all day and watching ‘Sesame Street’ or 'Curious George' was a liar.

This was the worst day ever.

Alya’s little pink Converse scuffed against the tiled floor of the hallway, making a distinctive speaking sound, and her eyes blurred with rapidly falling tears.

Kindergarten was definitely not working out for her. She got the shock of a lifetime when she entered the classroom and found that her teacher wasn't actually there. Instead, there was a substitute.

But Alya adapted.

It was nice at first, but then a girl she didn’t know started to tug on her braid. Alya tried to tell her to stop, but then their substitute teacher told her to be quiet because it was ‘independent time’.

That meant, no talking.

Of course, the girl tugged on her hair again and this time, Alya pushed her hands away.

Unfortunately, her substitute teacher decided to look their way just as she did it. And she wasn’t happy.

She told Alya to apologize, but the five year old refused. So, as a result, she sent her to sit in timeout before telling her that she was going to send a note home to both her parents.

Alya sat still for about five minutes before she snuck out of the classroom and began to wander through the hallways in search of her sister without anyone noticing her.

Her original plan was to leave the building and go home, but she didn’t think her parents would like that. She was already in enough trouble.

Besides, she would only get lost and that would be counterproductive. What she needed right now, was comfort, not adventure.

She’d been wandering the halls for what felt like hours. It was hard to find her sister’s classroom. She had to look inside every single room just hoping that Wanda would be in one.

But, finally, she did find her all the way at the other end of the building.

She didn’t knock, but she did stand in the doorway, hoping Wanda would notice her.

“Well, hello, there. I’m Mrs. Henderson. May I help you?” Wanda’s teacher gave her a friendly smile once she saw her.

She seemed like a very nice lady, her smile made the skin right by her eyes crinkle and her voice was very pleasant.

“I want my sister.” Alya pouted deeply.

“Where’s your sister? Can you point her out for me?”

Alya nodded and pointed directly at Wanda, who had been so into her workbook, that she hadn’t noticed her little sister at all.

"Wanda?" The woman double-checked.

"Yeah." Alya nodded in confirmation, unable to control the urge to bounce on the balls of her feet.

“Wanda? Will you come up here, please?” 

Wanda's eyes shot up as they lost concentration, only to find her little sister at the front of the room. The first thought that entered her head, was to wonder what on earth that little girl was doing here instead of in her own classroom. She knew something must've gone wrong just by looking at her blotchy face.

She nodded and acquiesced, walking over to where the two were, by the blackboard, not the least bit shocked when Alya wrapped her arms around her waist. 

“It looks like she needs you." Mrs. Henderson spoke gently. She was going to call Alya's kindergarten teacher to let the woman know exactly where she was, but for right now, she wanted to make. sure that Alya was all settled. "Why don’t you bring her back to your desk and have her work alongside you?”

“Okay.” Wanda took Alya’s hand and led her back over to her desk, pulling her to sit on her lap. There were a few spare chairs, but she knew that Alya would want to be as close as possible. “We’re working on addition and subtraction. You’re good at this, right?”

“Yeah.” Alya sniffled, rubbing her eyes.

She was glad that Wanda didn't ask why she was crying. She didn't want to talk about it right now.

“She’s so cute.” One of Wanda’s friends asked. “What’s her name?”

“Alya.” Wanda rubbed the girl's back the way that she had seen their mother do it. "Can you say 'hi'?"

Alya waved politely and shoved her thumb into her mouth.

“Awww.”

“Don’t do that. Daddy’s gonna rub vinegar on it again.” Wanda pulled her hand out of her mouth.

At first, Alya had started out on sucking her first two fingers for comfort. After a while, that didn't seem to help, so she moved on to her thumb and it had been that way ever since.

Bucky was concerned about what the habit was doing to her teeth and speech. Her pediatrician said that rubbing a little vinegar on the effected digit would probably deter the child from doing it again.

But boy was she wrong.

Alya couldn't stand the taste, but her desire for comfort from her thumb was a lot stronger. Bucky and Natasha would have to try something else.

Even though the first part of Alya's day hadn't gone very well, the second half had been pretty fun. Mrs. Henderson allowed her to sit in for the rest of the day and even asked her to be her little helper.

That meant that Alya had the very important job of passing out worksheets and collecting them when everyone was finished.

While everyone else did their assigned work, Mrs. Henderson also has Alya read a few pages of a picture book she had lying around to keep her busy.

All in all, it hadn't really bad of a day. She got to spend it with her sister instead of with that little girl that wouldn't stop pulling her braid.

But now the day was over and Alya felt as if all her problems were just beginning.

“Come on, Alya. Don’t you wanna go home?”

Alya shook her head with a frightened look etched on her face.

Of course she didn't want to go home. Once they got home, she was going to have to explain everything to their parents.

How was she going to justify getting into trouble on her very first day of school?

“Why not?” Wanda, on the other hand, wasn't sure why Alya was so hesitant. It wasn't like their parents were wildly unfair and wouldn't listen to her side of the story. They wouldn't do anything to hurt Alya and she knew that.

“Cause I’ll get in trouble.” The younger of the two eventually said as the older girl blew out a breath.

“All you have to do is tell Mama and Daddy the truth. They’re not gonna get mad at you.”

“Alya, we stopped by your classroom and you weren’t there.” Natasha spoke to the child as they walked through the streets of New York. It was a very nice day, so they didn't really see the need to rush back home. “We had a very interesting conversation. She said that you were very disruptive. Is that true?”

Alya chewed on her bottom lip and looked down at her shoes. Wanda had a pair just like them, but in red. When she got them, Alya begged their father to get her a pair in pink because she didn't want to be left out. 

Now, she rarely ever took them off.

“Alyona?” Bucky stepped in, pulling her off to the side, tilting her chin. “Mama asked you something.”

It was very unusual for Alya to blatantly ignore her mother when she was speaking to her. She hung on Natasha's every word and looked at her as if she hung the sun, moon, and stars, just for her.

He wanted to know what changed.

Unfortunately, Wanda didn't take his questioning very well. The girl frowned and pulled Alya back into her arms, as if she were guarding her. “Leave her alone.”

“Wanda, we’re not the enemy here.” Bucky raised his hands in surrender to show her that he wasn't upset. “Mama and I just want to know what happened earlier. We only want to help, but we can’t do that if we don’t know what’s going on.”

“Alya came to my class today.” Wanda chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes darting over to look at all the people passing by.

Some of them were too nosy for their own good. Wanda wasn't sure why they thought that her little sister's business was any of their business.

Bucky noticed her small glares and followed her gaze, turning his own glare on these prying people. "I didn't realize that my daughter's problems were entertaining for you."

After that, no one stopped to look at them again.

Natasha's focus remained on Alya, the girl looked like she was on the verge of tears. “What happened?”

“She was crying and she wanted me….but she won’t tell me what happened. She was really sad, Mama.”

“Come here, Alya.” The redhead lifted her youngest up onto her hip and kissed her cheek. “Why won’t you tell us what’s wrong, hm?”

Alya just cuddled into her and allowed her small fingers to play with her red hair. “Kiss.”

“You want another kiss?” Natasha questioned, getting an emphatic nod in return. “Okay, mwah!”

“What happened in kindergarten today, Scamp?”

“I got in trouble.”

“Why?”

“Cause a girl kept pulling my hair.” Alya shrugged.

“Who?”

“I don’t know?” Alya pouted. “I didn’t like it, but my teacher said I had to sit in timeout."

She was still confused as to why she was the one who got in trouble. Whenever she was at home and she decided to antagonize Wanda, it wasn't Wanda that got in trouble, it was her.

What was different about today?

“Is that when you went to find Wanda?” Bucky's nostrils flared.

He was not happy about the fact that Alya's very first day of school had been a tough one. She was sent there to learn, not to be intimidated by her teacher. He and Natasha trusted these people that were in positions of authority with both of their children.

“Uh huh. I wanted to go home, but I might get lost.”

“Very good for not leaving this building.” Natasha praised. “Daddy and I never want you to wander around outside all by yourself. That’s dangerous. The next time something like this happens, I want you to find your sister or go to the office and have them call home, okay?”

“But what if you’re busy?”

“Alya, can you look at me for a minute?” Natasha brushed some hair from her face. “We will never be too busy for you or Wanda. When you need us, we’ll always be there. No question. Yes?”

“Yes, Mama.” Alya nodded.

“Wanda?”

“Yes, Mama.”

"Good." Natasha was calm now, but come tomorrow morning, she would be giving this teacher an earful as to why she made her daughter feel like she had to leave and find help. "Now, who wants some ice cream?"

"Don't even ask me for anymore sugar." 

Alya grinned as her father handed her a bag of jelly beans. The very same jelly beans that she cried for after he told her that she already had ice cream.

"And don't eat the whole bag off by yourself. Some of that is your sister's."

"Mine." Alya hugged the bag to herself.

"Um, no." Bucky fought back a snort. "All of that is not for you. You need to share."

"No. Mine." Alya shook her head, walking away to find her sister in the kitchen with Yelena. "Sissy, look."

Wanda looked down at her and smiled. "Yeah, they're jelly beans."

"Share." The five year old opened the bag and offered her the candy.

"Don't let her fool you." Bucky chortled. "It's yours, too."

"Yeah." Alya nodded in agreement, totally unaware that she was being made fun of. "Have the red ones."

"I'll take that." Natasha came out of nowhere and snagged the bag, sealing it shut before she placed on the top of the refrigerator. "You both can have some tomorrow, but you're done for the day."

"No jelly beans?" Alya huffed.

"No jelly beans, but you do need to take a nap. You had a really busy day."

"I'm a big girl now." Alya smiled sweetly. That morning's events was the furthest thing from her mind. She didn't even care about it now. 

Ice cream made everything better.

"Well, you, big girl, are going to take a nap." Natasha lifted her up, surprised when she didn't make a fuss even though she always did.

She must've been tired.

Alya proved her point when she rested her head on her shoulder and waved goodbye to everyone in the room as her mother carried her up the stairs and into her room.

School was a lot of work. She wasn't sure how Wanda had been handling it for so many years. 

Maybe she'd learn to like school if it meant that after each day, she'd be able to come home and snuggle with her mama.

"Okay, tell me about something good that happened today." Natasha spoke as she sat down with Alya still in her arms.

"I like Wanda's teacher." Alya played with her mother's arrow necklace. "She's nice."

"So other than what happened this morning, you had a good day?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "She let me hand out papers and I read a book! Can I go back tomorrow?"

"You can stop by before school starts and say hello, but you have to go back to kindergarten."

"I don't like kindergarten." Alya sighed. 

"You had one bad experience." Natasha kissed her forehead. "But that doesn't mean you should quit before you really start. You're not a quitter, are you?"

"Yes."

"No, you're not." She laughed. "You're gonna walk right into that classroom tomorrow morning, and you're gonna have a good day."

"Will I make friends?"

"You will. Anyone would be happy to be friends with someone like you."

"I hope you're right, Mama."

"Wanda, you can read a few more pages of your book, but after that, it's lights out."

The nine year old nodded, looking up from her book to let her mother know that she had heard. Wanting to talk, she saved her place and set it down on her bed, scooting over to make room for the redhead to sit down.

"You know, your dad and I are very proud of what you did today." Natasha smiled as she accepted the silent invitation. "I know that your sister appreciated it, too. Thank you."

Wanda returned her smile with a sheepish one, shrugging her shoulders as if it was no big deal. "Daddy told me before you came in. I didn't do anything. Alya needed me."

"You made sure that she felt safe and you kept her with you all day when you didn't have to. It might not be very much to you, but I know it meant the world to her. You're a really good big sister. You should be proud of yourself."

"Do you think Alya's gonna like school?"

"I think she's gonna be just fine."

Alya's feet kicked back and forth as she sat in her seat.

Despite all her attempts, her parents sent her right back to kindergarten the very next day as promised. She wasn't very happy about it, but she had to admit that she was a little amused to see both her mother and father confront her substitute teacher.

The woman had been so shocked by the confrontation that tears gathered in her eyes. Neither Bucky nor Natasha were moved by her crocodile tears. In fact, they only fueled Natasha's anger. She even threatened to check in every once in a while to make sure that nothing like this happened again.

Luckily, this woman was only filling in for Alya's teacher for the next few days and then she would be gone. 

As an incentive to get through the day, Yelena had promised to take her and Wanda to the park after school.

So that's what Alya was thinking about now. Her class' assignment was to read the book their teacher handed out and to answer a few questions. She finished after about fifteen minutes and rested her chin on her crossed arms.

Once she got to the park, she was going right for the monkey bars to do some flips.

Wanda was too afraid of the monkey bars, she would probably head for the swings and Alya would going her after she got her fill of excitement.

It was gonna be so much fun.

"Hi."

Alya's gaze darted up to the little girl sitting in front of her and she furrowed her eyebrows. She saw her yesterday, but they didn't really cross paths.

"Hi."

"Do you like berries?" The little girl asked, pulling out a little container full of fruit.

"Yes." Alya nodded quietly.

"I'm Sarah. What's your name?"

"Alya." The brunette took a piece of fruit that was offered. "Thank you."

"Wanna be friends?"

Alya hated to admit it, but her mother was right. It looked like kindergarten wouldn't be so bad.

Not as long as she had a friend.