Chapter 3
Shopping is hard. Wanda wants to look at everything, but doesn’t seem to actually want anything. She’s all but prancing around the shops, sorting through the racks of clothing, but when Natasha asks if she sees anything she likes, she gets no response.
They get through four shops where Wanda doesn’t seem to like anything before Natasha puts her foot down.
“Wanda, listen, you need clothes, okay? And Steve and I are getting fed up of going from store to store without any results. So you’re going to pick at least three shirts and three pairs of jeans or trousers from this store, then we’re going onto the next one. Does that make sense?” she asks, and she hears Steve snicker from behind her, and knows she’s gone into her ‘mommy mode’. That’s what they all used to call it, when she would get strict with Wanda and Pietro.
God has she missed that.
Wanda looks uncertain for a moment. “I should pick the ones I like?” she asks, eyes blinking a few times. “And I’ll have them?”
Natasha narrows her eyes, trying to figure out which bit is confusing for her. “Yeah, honey,” she sighs eventually, giving a small, tight smile. Maybe she needs to be a little more patient. A little more aware that she has no idea what’s going on in Wanda’s head right now. Yeah, she should try to be more patient. “You want some help?”
“Yeah,” Wanda says, without any hesitation, eyes flickering around the store. “What’s nice?”
Natasha swallows, raising her eyebrows. She has a very different style to the type of clothes Wanda used to like. But then again, the girl had shown up in a basic shirt and shorts, without any shoes, so maybe her style has changed.
“Well… here, I think this would suit you,” Natasha says, pulling a shirt off the rack, “But if you don’t like it, that’s okay too.”
Turns out Wanda likes most of the things in the shop. She finds a few shirts, two pairs of jeans and some leggings. Steve even picks out a summery dress for her that Wanda likes, both of them oblivious to Natasha’s small fond smile as she watches them.
Steve pays using the Stark card while Wanda is distracted looking through some scrunchies. She seems to be fascinated by them, which Nat finds quite amusing. “Hey, if you want some you can have them.”
Wanda blinks, and then shakes her head, standing up straight and crossing her arms over her middle tightly. “No, it’s okay.”
She doesn’t say anything other than a few monosyllabic responses until they get back to the tower. Natasha decides she’s had an overwhelming day, and let’s her slope off for time alone.
-
Wanda joins them for breakfast. Natasha is surprised when she comes through the door, and even more surprised to see her in the dress Steve picked out. It’s yellow, though, and definitely a lot more ‘Wanda’ than any of nat’s clothes.
“Hey, Wanda. Cute dress,” she greets, mostly just to alert everyone to her presence, because they had just been discussing her a few minutes ago, but also to see the shy smile that she gives. Just the same smile that she’s given whenever she was complimented, ever since Nat met her when she was thirteen.
“Steve has good taste,” she says softly, smile a little hesitant as she looks around the table, eyes jittery. “Hi.”
It’s Tony, Sam, Clint, Nat and Steve. She’s already greeted them all, Sam and Clint only briefly, so this is the first proper congregation. Clint and Sam are staring at her, and Natasha knows they can’t quite believe how much she’s grown up. She was just a kid last time they saw her, now she’s a young woman, technically.
(Although, Natasha hates to say it, but Wanda seems a lot younger than she ever did before in the way she acts. Her naivety… uncertainty… all the questionable behaviour; she doesn’t seem like she could be much older than sixteen.)
“Maximoff, come sit,” Sam says, after a silence that extends maybe a little too long, patting the back of the empty seat between him and Natasha. “Save us from hearing more of Clint’s anecdotes,” he says, and Wanda manages to crack a small smile as Clint throws Sam a glare and a ‘hey!’
“You want pancakes, little one?” Tony asks absentmindedly, carrying over the plate, and Natasha doesn’t miss the conflict that flickers over Wanda’s face at hearing the term of endearment.
She was always ‘little one’, to all of them, even when Pietro was still around. She was the little one, the one they looked after; the baby of the family. Nat knows that a lot has changed, but she hopes Wanda still trusts them. Trusts them to look after her.
“Yes please,” Wanda says quietly after a while, tucking away her uncertainty and giving Tony a small smile. Natasha can’t tell whether it’s fake or not, which is… disturbing, because usually she’s good at that, but either way she smiles to herself a little.
The meal goes off without a hitch. They include Wanda in the conversation, but Natasha is glad they don’t pressure her, because it seems like she’s okay just to listen and eat. Afterwards, she seems to be hovering a little, legs angled outwards, but still staying seated at the table. Natasha can read body language well enough to understand that she’s overwhelmed and has had enough.
She leans over to Wanda, placing a careful hand on her forearm. “It’s alright. You can go back to your room if you like,” she murmurs softly, giving an assuring smile when Wanda casts her an uncertain glance. “It’s okay. I’ll be by later, alright?”
Wanda looks content with that, and gives Natasha a soft peck on the cheek before she leaves the table. Nat’s surprised at that, but she doesn’t react. She figures Wanda’s readjusting to being close to them. She’s glad; she knows it’s been hard for Steve not to hug her.
They were talking last night, in bed, and Natasha has finally figured out that he feels guilty. Guilty that his job is to protect the entirety of America, and the one person he couldn’t protect was the little girl they were meant to care for. Their kid, basically.
She hopes Wanda opens up soon.
-
It’s late, almost two in the morning, but Steve and Nat have only just tumbled into bed. They were binge watching some trashy reality show, and she got pretty worked up from a makeout session on the couch, and things escalated… here they are, legs tangled in the sheets and bodies pressed close.
They don’t notice the door crack open, nor the soft footsteps, nor the body that settles herself on the other side of the bed. Not until Steve does, and he’s all but yelling out, grabbing the covers to pull over them.
Natasha scrabbles for them, eyes flying wide as she realises it’s Wanda, lying on the bed, looking up now with wide confused eyes.
“What the fuck, Wanda!” Nat shouts, unable to help it, because what the fuck.
Steve is scrabbling to pull his pants on and Nat grabs her shirt from the end of the bed, pulling it over her head as she pushes the girl away from them, glad it’s dark as she shuffles her panties back up her legs.
“Wanda what the fuck?” Steve snaps and Natasha leans over, gripping the girl’s shoulder firmly, barely noticing as Steve makes sure she’s dressed before snapping the lights on.
Wanda looks confused; bewildered even, and Natasha can’t figure out what’s confusing. She’s baffled, enough that it translates into anger. “What the hell are you doing? You can’t climb into bed with people while they’re having sex!” she snaps, “You shouldn’t even be in our apartment! Why would you think that was okay?”
“I’m sorry, I-I.. just, I... I thought,” she stutters out, disjointedly, and neither of them really give her a chance to finish.
“If you need something, you tell JARVIS. You don’t come in here, not at night!” Steve snaps, pulling his own shirt over his head, pacing back to the bed, face contorted in something that Wanda hasn’t seen before.
“You can’t do what you just did, that’s not okay Wanda. It’s- sex is private. What you did is not okay,” Natasha says, squeezing the girl’s shoulder maybe a little too hard in her anger. Her rational brain knows she needs to calm down, but she still has adrenaline in her veins. Her other hand moves up to brush the hair out of her face firmly, holding onto her cheek, making sure Wanda can see her. “Do you understand?”
Wanda has tears pooling in her eyes and she just stares at Nat, looking a little dazed, cheeks flushing red.
“Nat...” Steve murmurs lowly, and she can tell he’s still frustrated but trying to calm down. She doesn’t quite feel the same.
“Wanda! Do you understand?” Natasha asks again, eyes scanning over Wanda’s face, anger only just starting to fade as she notices a couple of tears escaping the girl’s eyes. Ah shit.
“I-it’s private. I’m… I’m not okay. What I did is not okay,” Wanda repeats, voice sounding a little hollow, staring down, not quite at Natasha, eyes uncertain.
Natasha isn’t angry anymore, not as she stops to take in the girl’s face. Her eyes are shiny with tears, cheeks red, she looks… Natasha can’t describe it with words, but she hates it. Hates that look on Wanda’s face. It’s harrowing, and she wants to make it go away.
She glances over at Steve, who seems to be feeling the same. His anger is gone, and his eyes are just soft as he looks at her. “It’s okay,” he mouths at her, and she gets it.
“Alright, okay,” Nat sighs heavily, cupping Wanda’s face, wiping her tears away with a small shake of her head. The girl’s cheeks are flushed red, lip trembling, and Nat wants to make sure no more tears are coming. “Okay, baby, it’s alright.”
Wanda finally looks at her, big green eyes looking scared and tired, and Natasha’s heart aches a little, partially in pain and partially helplessness. “Alright honey. You’re okay, it’s okay,” she murmurs softly, brushing a soft circle on Wanda’s cheek, and she finds herself guiding her into a lying down position again. “Okay, lie down. It’s alright, Wanda. It’s okay, just go to sleep, alright?” she says, guiding the girl’s head into her lap. She strokes brown hair lightly as she feels a hand curl into the fabric of her shirt. “It’s okay, go on. You’re okay. I’m here,” she says, softening her voice more, trying to pretend that she’s just soothing one of thirteen-year-old Wanda’s nightmares about Sokovia.
She wishes she was. Those were easier. At least she knew what the fuck was going on in Wanda’s head.
“Nat...” Wanda says quietly.
“It’s alright. You’re safe, just go to sleep. I’m here, sweetheart. I’m here,” Nat murmurs, continuing to stroke soft brown hair until her breathing evens out. She carries on even then until she’s satisfied it’s been long enough, and then settles with just wrapping a protective arm around her.
“Jesus Christ,” Steve murmurs, and Nat raises her eyebrows, because that’s strong coming from him, but she quickly decides it’s fitting.
“Yeah. Jesus Christ.”