Starting Over

Ch. 18

Natasha yawns, stretching as she shuts off the alarm clock on her night stand.
"Come back to bed." Steve mumbles into her shoulder.
"I promised Wanda we'd go out for the day, just the two of us. Our last trip got cancelled because of the flu. Plus it's only 2 weeks till Christmas, I need to do some shopping." Natasha replies, turning to place a soft kiss to his lips. She smiles at the the slight pout he puts on as if he's upset, she's leaving. "Do me a favor while I'm gone? I need you to help Lia write her Christmas list."
"I can do that." He says kissing her again, on cue tiny footsteps make their way into the room. "Hey munchkin, come'ere." Steve says lifting Lia onto the bed, she cuddles into his side.
"Good Morning, Malysh. Sleep good?" Natasha asks running a hand over Lia's blonde curls. She nods in response into Steve's chest. "You be good for your daddy while I'm gone okay?" She makes her way to the bathroom changing into jeans and a t-shirt before making her way to Wanda's room. She's surprised to find Wanda already up.

"Hey kiddo, I didn't think you'd be up yet?" She asks walking in the room to find Wanda sitting on her chair near the window, scrolling through her phone.
"We're still going out, yes?" Wanda asks looking up as Natasha enters the room
"Yep, you ready?" Natasha asks, Wanda nods in response slipping her shoes on before they leave the room.

An hour later and they're in the city, Natasha finally manages to find them a parking space. She notices it's surprisingly crowded for a week day, which was chosen intentionally as Wanda had never been in a crowd much larger than the one at the grocery store closest to the compound. Wanda looks around hesitantly at the cars for a moment, before unbuckling her seat belt. She feels Natasha's hand reach out for her own.
"If you ever feel like you need to leave or you get overwhelmed let me know okay?" Wanda nods

The malls extremely crowded and Wanda doesn't know what to think. There's too many people, probably more than she's seen in her whole life in a single building. She stays close to Natasha, tucking her hands into the pocket of her jacket in order to remain close. She almost runs into her a few times as they maneuver through the crowds and Natasha pulls the girls hand out of her pocket, placing it inside her own. Inside the stores the crowds lessen and Wanda exhales in relief. Natasha continues to hold the girls hand until she feels them quit shaking. She gives the teen a small smile for encouragement before letting her go. Wanda is currently looking at a rack of clothes, cringing at the loud pinks and purples before finding a much softer pale yellow in the same shirt. She runs her fingers over the sleeves a few times. Her eyes constantly look up for Natasha in the room. Natasha is a clothing rack over, currently looking for a Christmas present for Laura.
"See anything you like?" Natasha asks making her way over to her side.
"People actually wear these colors?" Wanda asks as she glances around the store, seeing a few girls laughing carrying piles of clothes towards the dressing rooms.
"Apparently...you do look good in yellow though." Natasha says seeing Wanda's hand still on the fabric, before putting it into the cart. Natasha smiles as a light blush makes its way to Wanda's cheeks.
"You don't have to get me that." Wanda says giving Natasha a somewhat pointed look.
"I know kiddo, it's Christmas. You're allowed to get a few new things." Natasha says holding up a dress off the rack to Wanda's body. She nods in a approval before placing it in the cart. "I think I know a place you'll like better." Natasha says as they check out.

As Natasha leads her to the store, Wanda immediately thinks she'll like this one better based on the decor. It's much darker, in a good way. Wanda's hands roam the racks of sweaters and cardigans, when she eyes a jacket on the rack on the opposite wall. It's black leather, very close to the one Natasha has on right now. Her fingers glide over the zipper.
"I like that one." Natasha says from behind her, stepping to pull the jacket of the rack, before helping Wanda put it on.
"Perfect fit. We should get it."
"Mama, you've already bought me a lot of stuff..." Wanda sighs " I don't need a lot of presents. I have everything I could ever want at home." She hadn't had Christmas in years, even then it was never a large celebration, a family meal and a single gift under the tree was all they could afford. After the bombing, her and Pietro hadn't had money for presents. They had each other, warmth from within a small church, sitting on a pew sharing a sandwich from a kind stranger. Natasha looked at her intently, hands finding their ways to Wanda's where red mist floats from her finger tips, covering it with her hands. Sometimes Wanda hates how Natasha can read her so well and how comforted she immediately feels in her presence, but she mostly just hates how she was lacking it for so long.
"I know, Malysh. Last one then?" Natasha asks, she knew Wanda felt a overwhelmed. Wanda nods, shrugging off the jacket before they head to check out. Wanda feels slightly better as they exit the mall, anxiousness leaving her body.