Natasha tipped the wine glass in her hand back, relishing its cool contents as it slid easily down her throat. The fire crackling gently before her warmed the soles of her feet, which were propped up on a stool in front of the fireplace. A worn, woollen blanket was draped over her shoulders, slightly scratchy from years of use. There was a large, marroon blotch stained on the front and Natasha found herself smiling at the memory of Steve spilling his glass of wine all over her some time before. His face, drained of colour and sporting an exceptionally guilty expression, was suddenly painted across her mind and the wave of nostalgia and longing hit her far harder than she expected it to. She missed those times, when things were easy – or, at least easier than they were in the present.
The moon outside was big and round and it seemed closer to home than usual. Maybe it just appeared that way because Natasha knew that the universe beyond Earth wasn’t as far away as it once seemed. Hell, Stark had actually been up there, even if it had only been for a few moments. Maybe one day she would end up there too. Who knew with her line of work, if you could even call what she done a job. If she was being honest, she wasn’t sure she would want to visit. Some things were better left alone, and space seemed like one of those things. There were enough dangerous unknowns down on Earth to deal with.
“Penny for your thoughts?” a small voice asked from the shadows. Natasha’s sharp green eyes could just make out the silhouette of a petite form hovering by the door.
“Your accent has gotten better, you’ve gotten better at masking it” Natasha responded, slyly dodging her question. By the way the figure chuckled, Natasha reckoned she noticed.
Wanda thanked her as she padded softly into the room and sat gingerly on the sofa across from Natasha. Her hair had been pulled up into a messy bun on the top of her head. That, as well as the fact that her face was void of any makeup, made her look like a little girl. Natasha immediately felt her maternal instincts kick in and she fought against the urge to smother the young woman before her. Wanda appreciated her and Steve’s concern, but too much made her feel claustrophobic. So, instead of asking her why she wasn’t asleep yet, Natasha kept her voice light and conversation casual.
“Did you see the news?” She asked with a sigh, draining the last of the alcohol left in her glass.
“Yes. They are offering people a lot of money to find us” Wanda replied with a tired smile. Natasha inwardly winced at the look of defeat etched on her features.
“They won’t find us. We’re smart. We just need to keep moving” Natasha reminded her in a comforting tone. Her words seemed to have the opposite effect though, as Wanda grew evidently frustrated.
“Don’t…don’t you ever grow tired of that though? The constant running?” Wanda asked, exasperation clear in her round eyes.
“Of course, but that doesn’t mean we can stop. We’re doing this to survive, Wanda”
Wanda looked like she wanted to argue that point, but at the last moment she decided against it, letting her mouth close with a sigh.
“Yeah…yeah, I know, you’re right.” She conceded as she slouched further into the cushions.
Silence accompanied them in the room for a while, with Wanda picking at her nails and Natasha swirling her newly poured drink rhythmically in her hand. From the other room, her trained ears could hear Steve pacing.
“Should I go get him?” Wanda asked, her eyes squinting at the wall between them and him. Natasha shook her head.
“No. I think it’d be best to leave him alone for a while” she advised. Wanda nodded in agreement and turned her head to gaze at the moon outside.
“Pietro loved stargazing” she commented absentmindedly. Natasha’s ears immediately pricked up, though she was careful not to show her interest outwardly. Wanda barely ever spoke of her brother, or her life before the Avengers, so any chance she could get to learn more Natasha was eager to seize. She sensed the young girl wasn’t finished talking, so she waited patiently for her to continue.
“He used to insist on sitting out on summer nights, so we could count the stars. He used to say there were millions and millions of them up there. I never believed him…I didn’t think there could be that many of them. I thought he made it all up to humour me” she recalled wistfully.
Her whole face seemed to change when she spoke of her brother; a hesitant smile ghosted her lips as her eyes danced in the firelight, childlike wonder mixed haphazardly with misery and grief. An air of maturity present in a person forced to grow up far too quickly, a sense of longing from a girl wishing to be young and naïve again. Nostalgia and sorrow fought for dominance in her muddled mind. A few stray tears slid down her cheeks, but she made no effort to wipe them away - vulnerability and strength that Natasha could only admire from afar.
“He wasn’t lying. There are millions of stars- billions actually” Natasha said softly, scared that if she spoke to loud she would break the delicate bubble of trust that had formed around the two of them. The information elicited a wet chuckle that shook more tears from her sad eyes.
“Billions” she repeated in awe, shaking her head in disbelief. “Who would’ve thought?”
Natasha merely nodded in response, unsure of what else to say and unsure of whether or not Wanda wanted her to say anything else. The pacing next door had ceased, and Natasha hoped that meant Steve was resting. At least one of them deserved to get some sleep.
“I miss him”
It was such a simple admission, only three words, but it shook Natasha to her core. It took a lot of restraint not to cross the room, sweep the broken girl up, and try and glue her back together. As much as she wanted to, she knew Wanda needed room to grow, space to learn who she was without her other half. History taught her that smothering her backtracked any progress she made, so Natasha reluctantly stayed where she was.
With an aching heart, she simply replied “I know”.
“It’s hard without him” Wanda whispered, her voice thick with grief.
Natasha swallowed roughly to dislodge lump in her throat. It didn’t work.
“I know” she repeated.
“Sometimes I don’t think I can live without him”
She met Natasha’s eyes from across the room and the sheer depth of emotion in them was crushing. Hope and fear and sorrow and confusion and longing and exhaustion were all painted in bold streaks across her face, highlighted by the tears still streaming from her eyes. She wanted answers, she wanted more time, she wanted him. It killed Natasha that she couldn’t give her any of these things.
“You can” Natasha encouraged, green orbs still boring into Wanda’s bright blue irises. For a moment that spanned out longer than a lifetime, Wanda never answered. The quiet hung in the air as Natasha waited with baited breath for Wanda’s reply.
“Can I?” She asked, desperation colouring her tone. She wanted reassurance, she wanted hope. Those were things Natasha was glad to provide.
“Yes”
Wanda considered this as she searched Natasha’s face. She gnawed at her bottom lip, brows furrowed in concentration. Her eyes were still pooling with tears, but Wanda seemed reluctant to let them flow now. Natasha’s heart thumped as she studied the girl before her. She was so young yet so brave, so damaged yet so strong, so dangerous yet so kind. In so many ways she reminded Natasha of herself, yet in so many ways Wanda was all but a stranger to her. She wanted to help her, but she had no idea how.
“Okay”
Natasha blinked in surprise. She’d been so caught up in her own mind that she hadn’t noticed Wanda curling back up on the couch again. Her head was laying on a pillow from the sofa and she had a blanket wrapped tightly around her small frame. Her cheeks were still blotchy, but the tears were gone. The grief in her eyes had been replaced with exhaustion and something else Natasha couldn’t quite place.
“Okay?” Natasha checked, unable to believe Wanda had been reassured that easily.
“Okay” Wanda said again, sending Natasha a small, tired smile.
Natasha couldn’t help but return a smile of her own and instead of fighting it, she poured every ounce of comfort and support into that one smile in the hopes that Wanda could decipher it.
“Thank you” she whispered.
“No problem. Get some sleep” Natasha answered, a hint of that smile still playing on her lips.
Wanda allowed her eyes to slip closed and soon her breathing evened out and Natasha was left alone with her thoughts again.
She never thought she would befriend the Maximoff twin that dug around in her mind all those months before, never mind become one of the people the girl would turn to for support. But, surprisingly enough, Natasha was touched that Wanda trusted her and she found herself wanting to erase the sad look on the kid’s face. After all she had been through, Natasha figured the kid deserved some happiness in her life, and she was more than willing to help.
Emptying the last of the wine from her glass, Natasha wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and lay down on the couch, being careful not to disturb Wanda. They had a long day ahead of them the next day, it was probably a good idea to squeeze in a couple hours rest.
Checking on Wanda one last time (whilst simultaneously straining her ears to ensure Steve hadn’t started pacing again) Natasha let her heavy eyes close and sleep engulfed her.