Chapter 7
As soon as Wanda's feet touched the ground, various loud screams rang out. She had forgotten how loud children could be, how she had been a child herself. It might be harder than she had thought.
A girl that was followed by another boy ran to Natasha's arms, who willingly led them into a hug. Wanda suddenly felt like she didn't belong there, as she was used to, until the boy started to talk while pointing at her – something his parents would scold him later for, since it was rude.
“Is this a friend from work ?” he asked with a small smile. The Sokovian noticed that he was older than his sister, he seemed calm and reflexive. She would easily get to like him, although she didn't know his name, yet. She had truly underthought this, which was very unusual.
“Her name is Wanda,” Natasha kindly replied, not commenting on the status of their relationship.
After her answer, both kids's excitement exponentially grew as their father had told them a lot about Wanda, as well as her twin brother, whom they weren't allowed to talk about, at least in front of her.
The witch was already feeling more comfortable, they appeared to be very nice. “We are great friends,” she stated whilst looking at a neutral Natasha, she wouldn't let her personal business be broadcasted out when the kids were there. And Wanda knew it, she could play a little with that, as a little revenge. “She gives me sparring courses so that I can fight bad guys,” she explained, they both seemed fascinated. “She's the best teacher.” She hadn't really meant to, but it was difficult not to compliment Natasha. The Russian woman was good at her job, even if she sometimes remained a bit harsh.
“Can you make dad's tractor levitate ?” the girl questioned, her voice sounding high and extremely enthusiastic.
“Come on, Lila. This is the weekend, even for superheroes. We're here to rest,” Natasha said as she lifted the girl in her – strong – arms. She was so gentle, Wanda could see why they loved her so much. “Where are your parents, little devil ?”
“Mom is trying to get dad away from the kitchen ! Did you know he was awful at cooking ?” Lila's honesty caused the spy to laugh softly, she could remember every each of his cooking attempts. Maybe international spies weren't meant to be good at cooking, nobody was perfect, after all.
As they were all heading toward the house that had become a second home for the redhead, the boy's pace slowed down so that he could walk beside Wanda.
“My name is Cooper, by the way. I'm the smart one, that's what dad says,” he declared, adjusting his glasses. His bold statement stole a laughter from the Sokovian, she had missed children's innocent sincerity.
“Lucky for you, I know lots of smart people. Do you like Tony Stark ?” Wanda asked, leaving the grudges she held against him aside. She wanted to have a normal conversation, or else she would feel left out.
“Not really. Mom says I'm too young to understand politics but he used to build bombs that get thrown in other countries. It's wrong,” he asserted, his eyebrows furrowing a little, displaying his disapproval.
“You were right, you're definitely the smart one,” she simply responded, offering him a smile that was glady returned. He seemed pretty flattered, it was adorable.
When they entered the house, an amazing smell immediately put Wanda even more at ease. Clint greeted her with a big grin on his face, very happy to finally see her again, even if it took him a long time – and a few promesses of favours – to convince Natasha to bring her along.
Her wife, apparently called Laura, generously welcomed her, joking about Clint's obstination to help her while she cooked. After spending most of her time surrounded by superheroes who were responsible of saving the world, Wanda had forgot what it was liked to be around normal people. People who had a regular family, with an ordinary house and a huge garden. It was refreshing to be in an unexceptional environment, she could understand why Natasha came here so often.
Then, they quickly settled around the dining table while Lila didn't miss the occasion to inform them that it had been made by her father, with his own hands. Laura's cooking remained quite incredible, which Wanda complimented her for as Clint kept giving his oldest friend looks that only her could decipher. Natasha seemed slightly annoyed – although she was laughing, whereas he couldn't stop grinning. No one asked questions, they had learnt not to when the two of them had those moments, Wanda didn't behave any differently, since she was trying to fit in.
After a bit of polite conversation and lots of interrumptions by the children, Clint asked a real question. The Sokovian looked comfortable, she had been talking a lot with Cooper, and laughing. Therefore, he figured it was time to seek for what interested him. “So, are you okay in the compound ? I hope Tony isn't being too much of an ass,” he joked, shortly reprimanded by his wife who whispered a “Not in front of the kids !”.
“It's great. The woods around the compound are beautiful, and everyone is really nice,” she affirmed whilst throwing a swift side look at the redhead seated next to her.
“Steve is her biggest fan,” Natasha added in a teasing tone. If only he was there so that she could make fun of him, not behind his back.
Silence reigned for a while, it didn't happen much in this house. “Where is Nathaniel ?” Wanda interrogated, truly curious. She wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Laura and Clint gazed at each other, the way they would when they had something big to announce. The bowman cleared his throat, “We didn't tell you, yet. His full name is Nathaniel Pietro Barton.”
Quickly, the Sokovian felt different emotions rush into her body, and she couldn't help but display a small tender smile with teary eyes. It was touching that they had honored her brother, because without Pietro, this man wouldn't be here, in peace, with his children. Wanda sensed a firm hand gently land on her shoulder, which helped her to feel more grounded. Without Natasha's surprising mark of comfort, she might have cried, which wasn't so bad but still, she barely knew them.
“He's sleeping, right now,” Laura finally answered, with a smile that showed how tired she actually remained. “This little nightmare never rests during the night.”
Suddenly, a baby started to cry loudly, as if he had heard his parents and decided to cause a little bit
of trouble.
“Speaking of the devil,” Clint said as he got up from his chair in order to head to Nathaniel's bedroom. His remark was quickly followed by another one from Natasha who was joking about how lucky they were that he couldn't understand what they were saying.
Succeeding a discussion about Thor's abilities as Wanda kept politely refusing more pie from Laura, a little someone named Lila started to get impatient and asked about the walk they were used to take, every sunday. Clint accepted, of course, while Laura stated she would stay to keep an eye on an almost-sleeping Nathaniel. It was as if he faked to fall asleep but then got back to his shouting sessions.
“I can look after him, you go,” Natasha kindly offered, staring at her best friend's wife. “You deserve a little rest.” She turned around to face Wanda, “And, you can also stay, if you want. I'm sure he’d like to play with you.”
Okay. That was new, Natasha suggesting to keep her company, as a timid small was hanging on her lips. It was a peace offering, an olive branch, even, so she took it, happily.
Wanda was now holding Nathaniel in her arms, after the spy made sure to explain how she was supposed to so safely. Natasha kept staring at them whilst she tried to hide a content smile, a beer in her hand. It felt so peaceful, and different from what she was used to, it felt less lonely.
Natasha stared as the Sokovian sat down on the couch, whose eyes appeared bright and glowy. She didn't feel like she was too much, for once, she remained in the right place. Wanda caressed the few hair growing on his face, “He's so small.” The smile hanging on her lips was definitely contageous.
“Would you want to have kids, someday ?” Wanda innocently asked, as the baby held her thumb with his whole hand. The vision was adorable and heart-warming, and it hurt, Natasha didn't think it would so much, but it did.
“Didn't you see my memories ?” the redhead replied, sounding a little tensed, but still calm and steady. It was her thing : her emotions were unreadable, no one could tell when someone truly affected her. Natasha wouldn't say she wasn't glad to have control over what she displayed, it made her feel protected from any additional pain.
“Yes, uh I did,” her uneasiness grew a bit. She sincerely hadn't meant to bring up Natasha's traumatic past, she really couldn't behave properly around the spy. “I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. But... you could still adopt, you know ?” It was a tentative, a dangerous one that could give the Russian another reason to dislike her.
Natasha gazed in the distance for a while, before she drank a bit more of her beer, as if she was contemplating the idea. Every each of her moves felt so calculated, it was fascinating. “I've given up on the idea of having kids a long time ago,” she admitted, nothing but raw honesty in her voice.
“Okay,” Wanda untensed a little, and dared a stare at the woman next to her. “It's your choice. Just remember you have different options if you ever change your mind.” She breathed, already feeling an ounce of nervousness invade her mind. The witch intended to give Natasha a bit of hope, but she was slightly terrified to cross a line. Natasha wasn't her friend, she was nobody to share her some life advice. “I mean, you don't need to have a family. It's not the sole purpose of your life,
obviously. It's just that, if you want-”
She had started to anxiously ramble, which, as much as it amused Natasha, caused her to interrupt the witch. “I got it, Maximoff.” A benevolent grin spreaded on her face ; realising that she made Wanda feel nervous lightly pleased her. She still had control, even if this witch knew more about her past than most of her friends. Maybe she wasn't so much in danger with Wanda aware of some of her biggest secrets.