First Period
All things considered, Wanda was doing well. The other Avengers had gotten over their initial resentment of her, and while they were still cautious, they didn't go out of their way to avoid her. Wanda mostly kept to herself, usually only leaving her room for training and mealtimes, though she had been hanging out with the others more and more. Sure, she wasn't much of a talker, but she had to admit it was nice to be around people.
The person Wanda had gotten the closest to was definitely Natasha- the Black Widow. To Wanda's surprise, the woman actually had a bit of a soft side. She would be lying if she said she didn't scare her sometimes, but being the only two women in the Compound certainly played a part in their close friendship. In addition to this, she was Wanda's mentor in combat, and they spent a lot of time together training throughout the day.
On this particular morning, Wanda woke up early. She and Natasha had agreed on a morning run, and she had to get ready for it. Sitting up, she immediately sucked in a gasp as she felt an agonizing cramp in her midsection. Now that she thought about it, she had been suffering from cramps for the past few days. It was strange, yes, but she probably just ate some bad food a while ago. I'll survive. She didn't want to upset Natasha by being late. Forcing herself to sit up, Wanda scrunched her eyes shut and winced as the pain worsened. God, what had she eaten?
But despite all this, Wanda pushed through. If her time with Hydra had taught her anything, it was that complaining and showing the pain you were in only led to you getting more hurt than you already were. She doubted the Avengers would be as cruel as Hydra, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
One arm clutched around herself, she managed to brush her teeth and change into workout clothing- long black leggings and a slightly cropped top. It was comfortable but not too revealing, just how Wanda liked it. Walking slowly out of her room, she went downstairs and almost bumped into Clint.
"Oh, hey kiddo," he greeted with a grin. Seeing the way she was hunched over and holding herself, he tilted his head, concerned. "You okay? You look a little paler than usual." Eyes widening, Wanda shook her head. She couldn't let him know the pain she was in.
"No, I'm fine," she assured him, "just an upset stomach." Clint seemed to accept that answer, and he shrugged and nodded.
"If you say so. Hey, after your run make sure to head on down to the kitchen- I'm making waffles!" With that, he jogged off. Letting out a tired sigh, Wanda tried her best to straighten up and look normal- that was too close of a call. Gritting her teeth, she exited the Compound to meet Natasha.
The woman was already there, tying her red hair up in a ponytail. As soon as she noticed Wanda's presence, she looked up with a warm smile. "There you are! Ready to start the run?" Pausing, she narrowed her eyes. "You look tense. What's up?" Wanda forced a smile and laughed weakly.
"Didn't get much sleep last night, that's all," she lied. Unlike Clint, the woman definitely saw through her lie, but she didn't push. "So, uh, the run?"
Natasha gave a slight nod. "Yep. Since you're tired, we'll just do two times around. Got it?" Wanda hummed in confirmation. "Ready, set, go." She set off, and soon she was so far ahead that she was out of Wanda's sight. Their running track was rather nice- many trees dotted the edge of the path, and you could hear the birds and other animals milling about. Unfortunately, Wanda couldn't focus on that today, as her mind was too preoccupied with the growing pain in her midsection. It only got worse as she picked up the pace, but she tried her best to ignore it.
Eventually, she had to stop and doubled over in pain. She hadn't even made one full loop around the track yet, and she already wanted to give up. Pathetic. She had to get up; she had to. How could Wanda be an Avenger if she couldn't even get over a stupid cramp? Straightening up, the girl started running, even faster than before. She had to keep going- she had to be strong.
At some point, she zoned out. The only things she was aware of was the pain in her abdomen and the need to keep running. Suddenly, she felt another sharp rush of pain, and was forced to pause once more. Wanda found herself sitting on the ground, letting out a hiss of discomfort as she did so. Then, she felt something... strange, in between her legs. What the-?
Looking down, a surprised squeak escaped her lips as she saw reddish stains in the crotch of her pants. Panic rose in her throat. Blood. Why was she bleeding? How had she hurt herself? God, Natasha was going to be so upset with her. What was wrong with her? She must have had some kind of disease.
Wanda was vaguely aware of her breathing speeding up and knew she was on the verge of a panic attack, but there wasn't much she could do to stop it. Her vision became blurred with tears, and she wrapped her arms around herself, knees brought up to her chin. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't-
"Wanda!" It was Natasha. The woman jogged over to where she was and crouched down, a hand on the small of her back. "Are you okay? Actually, never mind. We can talk later, you just have to breathe, okay honey?" Wanda was frankly pretty confused- why was she not mad?- but she didn't argue. "Just do what I'm doing. In, out. In, out." Natasha rubbed the girl's shoulder with her other hand, and took in exaggerated breaths to illustrate her point.
"Can't-" Wanda choked out. "Can't breathe." Natasha whispered words of encouragement into her ear, while also continuing to take in exaggerated breaths for her benefit. Eventually, Wanda was able to calm down somewhat, and Natasha smiled.
"Good job," she said. "Now, you wanna tell me what's got you all riled up?" Wanda pursed her lips together, not wanting to tell the woman why she was so panicked. For one thing, she didn't want Natasha to see her as weak, and frankly, it was just an embarrassing situation. But Natasha continued to look at her expectantly, so she relented.
"I- I've been having really bad cramps for the past few days," she began quietly. Natasha's eyebrows raised ever so slightly, but she remained silent. "And just now, I started bleeding down-" she gestured towards the area between her legs- "here." She looked up at Natasha, eyes wide and nervous. "Am I sick? Is something wrong with me?"
After a moment of thought, Natasha spoke, phrasing her words carefully. "Wanda- have you gotten your first period yet?" Wanda shook her head. She didn't even know what a period was. "Okay. I suppose I'll have to teach you how to use pads then," she guessed. "Come on, we're going back to the Compound." She offered Wanda her hand, and the girl didn't even bother to argue before taking it.
She winced at the sudden movement, and Natasha noticed her discomfort and wrapped an arm around her waist to support her as she walked. Wanda looked up at her gratefully. Who knew the Black Widow could be so nice?
Soon, they reached the Compound. Ignoring the looks from the other Avengers, Natasha dropped her off in the nearest bathroom and quickly ran upstairs to get "stuff". Wanda didn't know what the stuff was, but it gave her some time alone with her thoughts. From what Natasha had told her during the walk to the building, periods were completely normal, and they were something all girls got, usually around age 12-13. Then, something occurred to Wanda.
All this time, she had been lying to the other Avengers. While they thought she was 18, she was actually 16. A child. She didn't know much about the foster care system in America, but she did know she didn't want to be an orphan. Not again. This was building up to be a real family... she didn't want to be torn away from them.
But with Natasha knowing that this was her first period, everything could be ruined. The woman was a spy- she was bound to figure it out soon enough. Wanda didn't know what she would do when that happened.
She was torn out of her thoughts by Natasha coming back in, holding a plastic bag in one hand and a small wrapped object in the other. Placing the bag down, she unwrapped the item and showed it to Wanda. "This is a pad. It soaks up blood so that it doesn't ruin your clothes- in other words, it's a lifesaver." She smirked, then showed her how to use it. It seemed simple enough, and Wanda hurried into one of the stalls to put it on. Natasha slid the plastic bag under the door- it contained a spare set of pants. Wanda called out a quick thank-you, then started trying to change.
It took a while, but she finally managed to change her pants and put the pad in. To be honest, it felt a bit weird- not annoying, but weird. Exiting the stall, she gave Natasha an awkward thumbs up. "Great," the woman said with a smile. "Now, let's go up to my room- I have a couple of questions." Though her tone was kind, Wanda felt her heart sink. She knew.
~~~
Nonetheless, Wanda trailed after Natasha on their way upstairs. No words were exchanged until they reached the room and were settled on the bed. They leaned against the headboard, and Natasha turned to look at her.
"How are you?" Wanda shrugged and wrung her hands together nervously. "It feels... strange," she admitted. "And my cramps still hurt." Natasha chuckled and looked at her sympathetically.
"Yeah. I can give you some medicine for that later," Natasha replied. She remembered her first period- like Wanda, she had gotten hers late, around age 15. The Red Room wasn't really all that concerned with making sure the girls had sufficient nutrition, so that was most likely the reason. She had a sinking feeling that the reason for Wanda's late period was similar.
After a moment of hesitation, Natasha took a deep breath and asked the question. "How old are you?"
The answer clearly came as a surprise to Wanda. They both knew the answer, so there didn't seem to be any point in asking. Secretly though, Natasha was hoping that Wanda would tell her the truth herself. The girl opened her mouth and closed it a few times, then let out a defeated sigh, shoulders slumping. "Sixteen," she mumbled.
Natasha had expected that to be the answer, but it still came as a shock. She knew what Wanda had gone through, and now that she knew just how young the girl was... it was heartbreaking. "Why did you tell us you were eighteen?" Her tone was nonaccusatory, she just genuinely wanted to know.
Wanda ran her fingers through her hair. "It just made everything much easier. Less paperwork and all that." There was a pause. "I don't- I don't want- please don't kick me out." Her voice was small and pleading, and Natasha could see tears starting to form.
"What? Why would we do that?" She took Wanda's hands in her own. "Look, kid. You're stuck with us, and that's that. Sure, this complicates things, but you're still a part of our family. That doesn't change, and it will never change. Okay?" The wide green eyes staring back at her grew wide.
"I- okay," Wanda stammered. There was a hint of hope in her tone. "I would like that."
Natasha smiled and ruffled her hair, then sat up straighter. "Now that that's out of the way, I'm gonna find you some pain meds for your cramps, and some... other stuff." She winked, making Wanda very confused but also a little excited. The woman left the room and soon came back with a bottle of medication, two small bowls and spoons, and a tub of ice cream. Most people would have dropped something, but this was the Black Widow. Dumping the items onto the mattress, she handed her the bottle. "Ibuprofen, for the cramps. Take two right now, we can give you more later if needed."
After Wanda took the medication, Natasha jumped back onto the bed and smirked at Wanda. "Personally, though, this is the best treatment for cramps- ice cream." She filled both bowls and handed one to Wanda. The girl grinned, resting her head on Natasha's shoulder.
"Thanks Tasha," she murmured. The spy slung an arm around her and grabbed the T.V. remote, putting on the Bachelor. They both recognized how silly the show was, but they enjoyed making fun of it. The two sat like that for a while, eating ice cream and enjoying the other's presence. Natasha glanced down at her after about an hour and saw that the girl was starting to fall asleep. Seeing her like that, Natasha knew that whether they were dealing with periods, training, or anything else... she would be there to support her. Always.