in the medical wing
Arriving at doctor Cho's lab had been a mess.
As soon as the twins had noticed the first person in a white coat, they had freaked out. Pietro had picked up his sister and in a flash of blue and red, they had been gone.
Natasha and Clint had looked at each other, both of their faces saying "This is going to be a challenge.".
Now Natasha was following Jarvis's directions towards the twins while Clint had stayed behind to help Cho set up the lab.
It seemed that they both were currently hiding in Wanda's room. As Natasha came to a stop in front of said room's door, she knocked gently. "Wanda? Pietro? It's me. Natasha.", she called out but the twins remained silent.
"Can I come in?", she tried again, but there still was no answer. "Listen, guys, nobody is mad at you. I just want to talk about what happened, okay?", Natasha called out a little softer than before.
As she heard the door click in front of her, she figured that it was safe to go inside. When she laid eyes on the twins, she noticed that both of them tried to dodge her gaze, staying glued to their seats. Wanda on the bed and Pietro next to the window.
"Are you okay?", the spy asked gently, closing the door behind her. Pietro shrugged, still staring out of the window. He seemed to be watching the lights of New York at night, just like his sister had earlier.
Natasha smiled to herself. They were more alike than she had thought. The redhead moved her gaze towards Wanda, who looked a little more shaken up than her brother.
Slowly, Nat made her way over to the bed, realizing how Pietro let her be around his sister without feeling the need to protect her, which means that he trusted her.
Maybe Wanda had something to do with it.
As Nat sat down next to the younger woman on the bed, she tucked a stray chestnut lock behind her ear. "Wanna tell me what happened back there?", she asked, watching Wanda's cheeks turn a fade shade of pink in embarrassment.
Before Wanda had the chance to say anything, her brother spoke up. "Wanda is scared of doctors, so I ran her away from them.", he said, trying his best to mask his own fear.
Natasha nodded slowly. "I see.", she said, turning to look at Wanda again. "Because of what Hydra did to you?", she asked carefully and the younger woman nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry. We thought we could do it but... When we saw them, we panicked. We got stuck in our memories again.", Wanda tried to explain, running a hand through her hair. Natasha gently took Wanda's hand into her own.
"What if it was only Clint, me and doctor Cho? Would that be better?", she asked, watching as Pietro turned his gaze away from the window, to share a look with his sister.
"Maybe. We can try.", the brunette twin answered slowly, looking at Nat again, who smiled. "Do you want to get it over with or should we try again tomorrow?", the redhead asked.
Natasha knew that they needed to be checked out by a doctor as soon as possible, but she was also aware of the fact that overwhelming the twins would only cause more damage.
Wanda seemed to know what Natasha was thinking, which is why she stood up from the bed, walked over to her brother, took his hand and dragged him up on his feet as well.
Meanwhile Natasha texted Clint to get everyone except for himself and Cho out of the lab, so she could return with the twins.
-
When the three of them reentered the lab it was only them, Clint and Helen, who had taken off her white lab coat and was instead wearing normal blue jeans and a shirt. Natasha nodded at her with a grateful smile.
She'd have to thank the woman properly later.
Doctor Cho smiled friendly at the twins, holding out her hand in front of her. "You must be Wanda and Pietro, it's nice to meet you. I'm Helen Cho.", she said as Pietro shook her hand hesitantly.
"Uhm yeah. Sorry about earlier.", he supplied, feeling rather awkward as his sister shook hands with Helen. As soon as they were done, Pietro took his sister's hand into his own once again.
He would never admit it but he needed her just as much as she needed him.
As Natasha stood next to Clint, Helen began to explain that she would only check their bodies for any serious injuries and if necessary, take care of them. The twins, though hesitant, seemed alright with that, though
Natasha noticed Wanda looking at her before agreeing, as if to make sure she was still there.
Pietro went first, sitting down on the examination table, taking off his shirt so the doctor could do her job properly.
His back and chest were littered with scars, some looked fresher than others.
There was one long, open wound on his back that looked like it was one or two days old already, which Natasha furiously realized had been caused by a whip.
But what made them all go pale (except for the twins themselves) was a burn scar on the boy's ribcage that read "017".
Helen shot the two Avengers a look, before she began taking care of the wound on Pietro's back, taking her time to explain exactly what she was doing.
Though the boy tried to mask his pain, Nat saw his muscles tense, everytime the doctor touched him.
After she had finished, Pietro put his shirt back on. "I would like to take a bit of your blood, to see if you have any internal issues that need to be taken care of.", Helen said carefully.
Natasha had told her about the place which the Avengers had rescued the twins from, so of course the doctor was hesitant with bringing needles into the mix.
Pietro swallowed but nodded nonetheless, reaching out for his sister to take his hand. He had put on a strong face the whole time but for the needle part he would need his sister's support.
In an instant, Wanda was by his side. In hopes of distracting him she held his hand and started drawing tiny circles on the back of it with her tumb.
When Helen started disinfecting the inside of Pietro's elbow, the panic became obvious in his face and his breath quickened.
Before the doctor inserted the needle, Wanda turned her brother's head by his chin so he wasn't looking, while whispering comforting words into the space between them.
"All done.", Helen said a few seconds later, putting the needle away as fast as she could. Pietro exhaled, visibly calming down.
"You can choose a band aid, if you want.", Helen added, showing him the many colors she had to offer.
Pietro shook his head, still holding onto his sister's hand for dear life.
Wanda noticed that her brother wouldn't be able to answer and pointed to one of the blue band aids."This one please.", she requested politely.
Helen smiled and nodded. "Alright, the blue one it is.", she said before putting it onto the spot where the needle had poked his skin.
As soon as the doctor told him that she was done, Pietro was off the examination table, putting some distance between himself and Helen without beeing too far away from his sister, who was now slowly sitting down where her brother had sat seconds ago.
"I'll be waiting outside.", Clint muttered towards Natasha, before leaving the lab. Wanda looked after him, confused.
"Where is he going?", the younger girl asked. Natasha looked at her. "He's waiting outside to give you some privacy.", she answered, watching as Wanda nodded slightly, obviously not used to such a privilege.
"Do you want me to wait outside as well?", Natasha asked but Wanda shook her head quickly. "No... Please, stay.", she requested and Nat nodded.
As the brunette took off her shirt, the same one her brother has been wearing since their arrival, Nat made a mental note to go shopping with the twins as soon as possible. The redhead's eyes immediately moved to Wanda's ribcage, catching sight of a burn scar that read "018".
Apart from that her body was littered with scars, just like her brother's, and she had a few bruises, mainly on her hips and chest. Nat was furious on the inside but kept her cool on the outside. She knew those kind of bruises too well for her own liking.
Helen applyed a cream onto the bruises so they would heal faster before Wanda put her shirt back on and Helen looked at her. "I would like to take some of your blood as well, if that's alright with you.", she said softly. Wanda nodded, holding out her arm for Helen.
As the doctor started wiping the inside of her elbow with some disinfectant, Pietro took his sister's hand, like she had done for him.
Before Helen could insert the needle though, Wanda spoke up. "Wait!", she said, effectively stopping Helen in her tracks. Everyone looked at her now.
Slowly, Wanda met Natasha's concerned gaze from across the room. "Can you do it? Please?", she requested hesitantly, her voice barely above a whisper but Nat still caught it.
The redheaded spy looked at Helen, who nodded, before she came over to the table. "Are you sure?", she asked, taking the needle from the doctor.
Wanda nodded. "Yes, please.", she answered, more confidently this time, making Nat smile slightly. "Look away, malyshka.", she said softly.
After Wanda had turned her head into her brother's chest, Natasha started the process of taking a bit of Wanda's blood. As she poked the needle through her pale skin as softly as possible, a small whine escaped the brunette's lips.
Nat finished up quickly and handed the needle back to Helen, who began labeling and storing away the little ampullas with the twins' blood.
"Which color do you want for your band aid, malyshka?", Nat asked as Wanda raised her head from her brother's chest to look at her options. "The red one, please.", she requested politely, making Nat smile.
"Good choice.", the redhead smiled, before she pressed a red band aid to the younger girl's skin.
"I'm proud of you, malyshka.", she whispered, coloring Wanda's cheeks in a slight pink as she smiled.
"Thank you, Tasha.", she answered, making Nat smile at the nickname, before she looked at the other twin.
"You did good, speedy.", she praised him, which made him roll his eyes.
Secretly though he smiled, finally understanding why his sister liked the russian spy so much.