Behind These Shining Eyes (Discontinued!)

It had been weeks since Lainey had been brought home from that abandoned warehouse and she was still in the same condition. Maybe even worse.

She wouldn't speak to anyone and she wouldn't acknowledge anyone who was speaking to her. Her toys remained untouched and her beloved scooter was beginning to collect dust. George sat lonely on her rocking chair in her room, wanting nothing more than to be held by his best and trusted friend, but Lainey hadn't so much as looked at him when she got home.

It was breaking Natasha's heart and tearing her apart from the inside out. She was at a loss for what to do. The girl wasn't eating and she wasn't sleeping well, if at all. She tried her best to be patient and then firm, but she just couldn't get through.

"The same." She shrugged, glancing at Steve.

The man was such a great help to her and her daughter. As soon as they arrived back at the Compound, he constantly checked up on them and eventually just moved himself onto their floor, opting to spend his nights on the couch instead of his comfy bed.

He'd do anything for Lainey. He didn't like seeing his special little buddy like this and he was going to do everything in his power to help her come back to them.

"She'll come around, Nat." He assured her. "Just give her some time. Who knows what happened in there…...or what they told her. It's going to take a while to process it."

That was the worst part; not knowing. Tony called Dr. Cho in from Seoul to take a look at Lainey after they got back, but no matter how many tests the woman ran, she just couldn't find anything wrong with her.

This was a battle Lainey was going to have to fight on her own. There was nothing physically wrong with her.

"I wish she'd talk to me…..she'd always talk to me." Natasha began to absentmindedly mix some salad Steve left sitting on the counter as he finished making dinner on the stove. "She used to tell me everything….and now— I miss her little voice waking me up at the crack of dawn, and I miss her giggles when she's done something she knows she isn't supposed to do. I miss her smile and her big, bright eyes looking up at me….."

"You'll get her back. I promise."

"How is Lainey today?" Wanda asked, stepping out of the elevator.

She, like Steve, spent most of her time on Natasha and Lainey's floor. She would've moved in the way Steve did if Natasha hadn't forbidden her from doing so. It wasn't that she didn't want Wanda there, of course, it was the fact that when Wanda was there, she tried to do everything that needed to be done. She'd clean, she'd cook, she'd stay up late with Lainey and read to her. Natasha already had one kid who was doing less than stellar, she didn't need two. She loved and appreciated Wanda's efforts, but she couldn't allow the teen to run herself ragged like that.

So, Wanda was allowed to stop only if she promised not to overdo it.

"She's still in her room."

"May I go see her?"

"Go ahead." Natasha nodded.

"Wait." Steve held a hand up, passing her two plates full of food, mac and cheese, Lainey's favorite. "See if you can get her to eat something. I have a good feeling about today."

Wanda just smiled and made her way to the ten year old's room. It was a pretty big room, bigger than the one she had at the Tower. The walls were painted a bright white, with lights and pictures decorating it. Her full-sized bed sat smack dab in the middle of the room with pink bedsheets and a baby blue quilt. The rocking chair was beside her bed, closest to her window and her toys were in a chest at the foot of her bed.

Lainey loved this room, she helped decorate it with Natasha. As soon as they moved in, they bought paint and covered the floor, before getting to work. It wasn't a professional job and they were covered in it by the time they were done, but they had done it together.

"Lainey?" Wanda gently sat down on her bed, setting the two plates down on her nightstand. "I brought you some food just incase you were hungry."

That garnered no response.

So Wanda tried a different tactic. "What happened in that warehouse, Lainey?"

The question was blunt, but everyone had been walking around as if they were on eggshells with the girl and Wanda wanted to try something different. And after FaceTiming Sam over the phone, she felt that was exactly what she needed to do.

Parents and Uncles always had a tendency to treat children with kid gloves. But older siblings never did.

Maybe that's what Lainey needed. An older sibling to shock her and pull her out of it.

The brunette's eyes widened at the question and her head snapped to Wanda's direction.

"What happened in that warehouse?"

Wanda could feel every single emotion radiating off of the child. Anger for having been kidnapped and held against her will, shock that Wanda wasn't treading lightly with her, annoyance that Wanda didn't seem to want to leave her alone, and desperation because despite thinking that Wanda was annoying her, she didn't truly want her to stop trying.

Sam was right. They did need to push her a little.

"I woke up and I was tied down in a room….there was a nurse and she was gonna put something in me with a needle, but I cut myself loose and I— I think I killed her." Lainey swallowed a lump in her throat as stray tears trickled down her cheeks. "I didn't mean to! But I wanted to get out and she was gonna hurt me!"

She could remember the woman's cry of pain when she jumped at her and attacked her that day. She remembered how scared she looked as she left her there to suffer alone.

She had hurt her.

"You did the right thing." Wanda slowly reached out and stroked the girl's untamed hair. It hadn't been brushed properly for weeks, so it was messy from sitting in braids for that long. "And you didn't kill her. She was alive when we found her."

"She was?"

"She was, I promise." Wanda held her pinky finger out for her to link her own. "You didn't do anything wrong. That woman was going to hurt you if you didn't do what you did."

"But she looked so scared….."

"Weren't you scared?" She asked, her thick accent slipping. "You come first, Lainey. Always. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. What happened after that?"

"Three men tried to stop me from leaving…..they were so much bigger and stronger than me…and I just wanted to go home, but they wouldn't let me. I tried to fight them off so I could get away, but I lost."

"That's when you woke up in that strange room, huh?"

"Yeah. And the man that was there? He said he's my father."

Lainey grew chilly just thinking about being related to him.

"He lied."

"How do you know?"

"I looked into his head, and his DNA doesn't match."

"How did you—" Lainey cut herself off before she could even ask her question. She didn't want to know how any of that worked. She was just glad it did. That was a huge weight off of her shoulders. That crazy man was not her father. She wasn't related to him. She wasn't going to be anything like him. But there was still a problem…..a few, actually. "He said he enhanced me…to work for Hydra…like the Winter Soldier. And I saw the empty syringes next to me…..he did it when I was asleep…..he changed me."

"Oh, Lainey." Wanda frowned, wanting nothing more than to be able to take this all away from her.

At least when she and Pietro signed up for experiments, it was their choice. This had been done to Lainey while she was asleep and without her consent. She had no control over any of it.

Lainey let out a heartbreaking sob, the first of many, lifting her hand and wiggling her fingers the way she often saw Wanda do it in practice. And from her fingers, came a glow of an indigo-like blue.

Wanda's eyes widened and she studied Lainey's face. The child was not happy about this at all. She was crying and she clearly wished this never happened.

And more than that, she was frightened.

"It's okay, Honey." She soothed, wiggling her own fingers. "Look, see my red? You love it, don't you? You always tell me it is cool, yes?"

Ever since Wanda joined the team and Lainey found out about her red tendrils, the little girl was constantly asking her to show her the 'magic' that came from her fingers.

Lainey never treated her like a threat and she was never afraid of what she did or could do.

She had been there for Wanda when she needed her. So now it was time for Wanda to be there for her.

"Y-Yes." Soft hiccups filled the air.

"Now you have some blue. And together." Wanda wiggled her own fingers. "We make purple."

A hiccuped left Lainey's mouth and she looked up at Wanda with her doe eyes before she let her blue tendrils escape and dancing alone with hers.

And Wanda was right. Together, they did make purple.

And Lainey had to admit, it was a bit remarkable how their powers mixed like that.

"Can you tell me what you're feeling?"

"Scared." Lainey sniffled, watching their powers interact with one another. "What if I hurt somebody?"

"You're not hurting me."

"But what if I do?"

"You won't." Wanda assured her. "Because I will teach you how to control it."

"You will?"

"I will."

"And you won't tell anybody? Пожалуйста?"

"Lainey, I don't think this is the kind of thing you should keep to yourself. I think you should tell your mama."

"No!' Lainey burst into a new set of tears. "What if she doesn't want me anymore? I wasn't good enough for my first mama, I have to be good enough for her! Don't tell her!"

"Alayna—"

"—Обещай мне!"

"Обещаю, Алайна." Wanda didn't feel right about keeping something like this from the rest of the team, especially the child's mother, but just looking at how worked up Lainey was getting over this made her think twice. It was better that she told Wanda instead of telling no one at all. And she trusted her. She couldn't let her down.

It would have to be kept a secret for the time being. Maybe when she got a hold of her powers and felt confident in herself, she'd tell Natasha all on her own.

Wanda just wished she'd talk to her mother about this. It was one thing to gain powers, but it was an entirely different thing to have them forced on you.

It was something Lainey was going to need to learn to live with. Having a choice like that taken away from her and experimented on without even a thought to what it would do to her. She needed to talk to somebody about it.

But Wanda already promised not to say anything. Her hands were tied. There was nothing she could do now.

Nothing except hold her, and wish for the best.

"Better now?" The teen asked once Lainey stopped crying.

"Yes." The ten year old nodded.

"Your mama is worried about you, мышка." Wanda tucked a stray hair out of the child's face and sent her a warm smile. "What do you say, we go out there and have dinner together?"

"I'd like that." Lainey smiled for the very first time in weeks and followed the older girl out to the living room, plates in hand.

"Look who I found."

Natasha, upon seeing her daughter up and out of bed for the first time in a long time, rushed over to her and cupped her chin. The girl's eyes were not as blank as they had been before, and her posture was not as slouched.

It seemed like whatever Wanda said to her while they were in her room, worked. She was going to have to take that girl out for dinner or something to thank her.

"Hi, Mama." Lainey greeted her.

"Hi, Babygirl." It was so good to hear her voice again. "How're you feeling?"

"My sister made me feel better."

It was the first time it had been vocalized. Wanda always thought of Lainey as a little sister, but she wasn't sure about how the girl saw her, so she never imposed. She didn't want to force her way into the little family dynamic they had going on here. Staying quiet about it felt like the right thing to do.

But Lainey felt the same way all this time. She never had a girl around her age to look up to. When Wanda came along, she had to stop herself several times from latching onto her in fear that she'd scare her away. She just lost Pietro and even though Lainey was young, she knew that Wanda needed time before she let anyone into her heart like that again.

But she couldn't keep it to herself any longer. She and Wanda connected in a way that they never had before.

"Your sister made you feel better?" Natasha spoke in a tone she reserved for Lainey alone. Not even the Barton children heard her speak that gently before. "I'm glad she was there for you when you needed her. She's very nice, isn't she?"

Natasha was making it a point to build Wanda up even while comforting Lainey. She knew the girl was having a bit of a time adjusting. She tried to help her, but it seemed like Wanda's guilt from the vision she showed her was keeping her from getting close to her. And Natasha wanted to let her know that she wasn't angry with her in the slightest.

She was part of the family now.

"Yeah." Lainey nodded. "Uncle Steve, I'm hungry and my food is cold."

Steve smiled and took hers and Wanda's plates, sending the older girl a knowing wink. "Well, then I guess I'd better put these in the microwave, huh?'

"Yeah." Lainey giggled when he kissed her forehead before tickling her neck. "You're silly, Uncle Steve."

Natasha couldn't help herself. She didn't care if the mood was now light again, she lifted the girl up and set her on her hip, cradling her head and holding her close. She had been deprived of these hugs for weeks and now she was cashing in.

Nothing felt better than those little arms wrapped around her neck and all that hair tickling her face.

"I was so scared, Mama." She heard her whisper.

"Me, too." She admitted. "But Mama's not gonna let that man near you again, I promise."

She didn't need to promise. As soon as she burst through the lab doors with her gun drawn, it took less than a second to take care of the man responsible for all this. He wasn't going to hurt anyone again. She made sure of it.

"Love you, Mama."

"I love you more. You have no idea."

"Uncle Tony?" Lainey tugged on the man's arm.

"How many times do you have to be told not to come down here?"

"I never see you anymore."

"Is that any reason to break the rules?" The man stopped what he was doing to glare at the child beside him.

"You never cared before."

Even after her little 'baby fiasco', Lainey always came down to the lab to watch Tony work. Although, learning from that incident, she never touched anything again.

"Yeah? Well I care now. Go back to your room before I call your mother and tell her exactly where you've been."

"You wouldn't tell on me." She smiled, not picking up on how tense he was.

"Friday?"

"Yes, Boss?"

"No!" Her eyes widened. "Don't tell on me! You'll get me in trouble!" She latched onto his arm after realizing that he might have actually been serious about his threat.

"I suggest you start leaving."

"How come you're being so mean? What'd I do?"

"You didn't do anything. I just don't want you here. Go!"

Lainey jumped at his stern tone of voice, making a flood of guilt course through his veins. She gave him one last look, before making her way to the doors of his lab.

"Hey." He stopped her at the very last minute. "Come back here."

Lainey rubbed at her eyes and did as she was told, stopping to stand right in front of him. But she refused to meet his eyes. Obviously, she had done something to make him upset. Maybe he was going to tell her what it was and then tell her mother she was down here.

All she wanted to do was hang out with him a little bit. She hadn't seen him since she got back because he didn't live in the Compound, he still lived in the city with Pepper. But even then, Pepper stopped by once in a while to see how she was doing. And when she couldn't, she called.

Tony hadn't done any of that. In fact, Lainey didn't know he was even in the building before Friday told her. And it was only because she was bored and looking for something to do.

She and Tony weren't as close as she and Steve were, but she thought they had a special type of Uncle-Niece relationship. He'd spoil her and allow her to do all the things she wasn't supposed to do (within reason), and he'd play Lego with her. Sometimes, if he was in a good mood, she could get him to play Tea Party with her, too. But that was supposed to be their little secret.

"I'm sorry."

Lainey froze and stopped rubbing her wet eyes to actually take a good look at him. He didn't look like he was mad at her anymore. He just looked..…sad.

"I'm sorry." He repeated, tears in his own eyes to mirror hers. "This is my fault."

"What's your fault?" Lainey tilted her head.

"What happened to you was my fault. That's why I haven't come to see you." He admitted. "I should've gotten there sooner and I should've been there to pick you up, but I wasn't and look at where that got you."

"It wasn't your fault." Lainey spoke softly. He was one of the main reasons why they were able to find her so quickly. If it hadn't been for him, who knows what would've happened. "You saved me."

"I was the one who put you in danger in the first place. No ten year old should be walking the streets of New York like that. I messed up."

"I don't blame you." Lainey figured if she couldn't convince him that it wasn't his fault, then she could convince him that he was forgiven.

Tony surprised her as a whimper escaped him and he completely broke down right in front of her. At first, Lainey was at a loss for what to do. But then, she decided to do what her mama always did when she cried.

She wrapped her arms around him, and stroked his hair. She didn't say anything, she just held him. Whenever her mama did that, she always felt better when the last of her tears dried up. Of course, she always somehow fell asleep right after, but she didn't think that would be the case with Tony. He was a lot older than she was. She didn't think big people fell asleep after crying like kids did.

But only time would tell.

For now, all Lainey could think about, was how loved she was. She had never seen Tony cry up until this point. So she must mean a lot to him. They had come along way, those two. From him being paranoid about her every move, to him being worried sick about her.

She was so very loved.

Bonus Scene:

"Hey, you don't need to do that." Natasha stopped Wanda from picking up some toys Lainey left lying on the ground. Usually she wouldn't allow that to happen, but since the last several weeks had been wacky, she let this slide. It was good to see toys lying haphazardly on the living room floor. "I'll clean that up."

"It's alright." Wanda smiled, scooping up a doll that had seen its days. "Poor thing."

The thing was missing an arm, one of its eyes didn't blink, and its dress was stained from Lainey spilling tea all over it.

"I don't know why Lainey holds onto it. She won't let me get rid of it. I promised to get her a new one, but she wants to keep that one. It must have some sentimental value."

"Well, then, this doll is loved, yes?" Wanda joked, placing it in the toy bin by the couch before sitting down. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. I'm better, actually." Natasha turned to face her. "Thank you. I don't know what you did, but thank you. I appreciate it. I really do."

"It was nothing." Wanda waved her off. "I was glad to do it...But I should say goodnight and get going. It's late."

"Do you want to stay?"

"The night? Like a sleepover?"

"Yeah, and if you'd like, there's an extra room right next to Lainey's. Fully furnished."

Really, Natasha had it furnished with the purpose of having Wanda move in when she was ready. It had always been part of the plan. She didn't like the thought of the teen bumbling about on her own without anyone to turn to if she had a nightmare or just needed someone to talk to.

"But I thought you said you didn't want me to move in?"

"No, I said I didn't want you to stay here while Lainey was still upset because while you were here, you were overdoing it. I didn't want you to make yourself sick, sweetheart. I'm sorry, I didn't explain that to you correctly. Of course I want you to move in."

"Oh." Well, that changed things. Wanda always thought that of all people, Natasha would have been the last one to accept her. After all she had done to her, she wasn't really expecting much of a welcome wagon. But clearly, she had been wrong.

"What's going on up there, kiddo?"

"Just thinking."

"I don't blame you, you know." Natasha didn't need to be able to read minds to know exactly what Wanda was thinking. "You did what you thought was best and when it turned out that you were on the wrong side, you did your best to make things right. We're okay."

"Thank you." Wanda felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "I will stay."

"Great."

"Yay!" The two women heard Lainey's little voice come from her bedroom.

"Alayna Romanoff?" Natasha did her best not to laugh, but Wanda wasn't as successful. "You're supposed to be asleep in your bed."

"I can't sleep, Mama! I'm too excited!" Lainey peeked her head out of her room with an infectious smile. "Wanda's staying!"

"Yes, Wanda's staying. Now it's time for bed. She'll be here in the morning. Sleep."

"Can I have a story?"

"No. Uncle Steve already told you one. Sleep, or the Tickle Monster is gonna get you."

"Goodnight, Mama! Goodnight, Wanda!" Lainey giggled, shutting the door behind her as she headed back to bed.

A familiar warm feeling bubbled up into Wanda's chest, causing her smile to grow, nearly splitting her face in half. It hadn't been felt in a very long time, but today, it came in tenfolds.

She was home.