Missing Moments (Starting Over Universe)

Nightmares

Set pre-ch.3 of "Starting Over"

Natasha ran a hand over her face as she leans against the counter, waiting on her morning coffee. She had decided to head to the community kitchen as to not wake the sleeping girl on her floor with her own thoughts. Wanda had consistently had nightmares for the two weeks that she had been there and Natasha wasn't quite sure how to handle it. The first night had been different Wanda had been the one to seek out comfort, whether she intentionally stumbling into the kitchen in search of another person or not. Now the nightmares seem to plague her every night, the first time they happened the spy had rushed into the room. Wanda rattling off a series of apologies mixed in Russian and English, before she promptly wiped away her tears and said she was okay.  Natasha knows that defense mechanism better than anyone. So she listens to the girl, no matter how much it pains her, dealing with her nightmares alone. Natasha's thoughts are interrupted as the coffee is ready, Sam walking into the kitchen in his work out gear.
"Morning, Nat." He says as he watches her make her coffee a much larger cup than usual. "Rough night?"
"Something like that." The spy says sighing at the first sip. "Where's Steve ?"
"Did another lap, I couldn't keep up." Sam shakes his head. Natasha chuckles.
Sam is half way through cooking his scrambled eggs when Natasha speaks up.
"Sam, can I ask you a question?" She asks
"Yeah, shoot." He replies, turning to give her his attention.
"I'm struggling on whether I should give Wanda space or let her deal with things alone. She's been having nightmares every night..." Natasha says, sipping her coffee.
"Well I mean that is understandable, she's been through a lot. Plus, the fact that she's just a kid..." Sam replies "Look Nat, obviously Wanda trusts you to some extent. She's still pretty weary of the rest of us, but she seems completely calm around you. She might just not know how to ask for help."
"So you're saying I should just follow my instincts." Natasha says
"Yeah... I guess that's not very helpful is it?" Sam chuckles. They're interrupted by Wanda entering the room, taking a seat at the counter next to Natasha.
"Good morning, kiddo."
"Morning, 'Tasha."
"You sleep okay?" Natasha asks brushing a curl behind the girls ear.
"Better than yesterday." Wanda mumbles her voice thick with sleep and her accent, before burying her face in her arms.
"Want some coffee?" Natasha asks bumping the girls elbow with her cup, Wanda flinches at the contact eyes ghosting red before relaxing and mumbling a thanks.

The coffee tastes bitter and sweet, but Wanda finds herself finishing the remaining liquid anyways even if she does not necessarily like the taste. She finds herself feeling slightly more awake, the caffeine doing it's work. Natasha said she's not healthy enough to train yet, the fact bothers her when Clint told her she could be an avenger. So she busies her time after breakfast watching movies or silently reading in the training room as the others work. She watches as Natasha looks over at her ever so often, checking in, making sure she's still there. Sometimes Wanda wishes she wasn't. She would never tell that to anyone that what she sees in her nightmares, feels just like her reality. She's alone. She watches in her dreams as Pietro and her family fade away, and she wishes she'd join them. She snaps out of her thoughts as Natasha sits down next to her on stack of mats sipping from her water bottle.
"Hey, little witch. Feeling hungry?" She asks
"Sure." She replies placing a bookmark in her page. Natasha seems satisfied with her answer and soon the two are in the kitchen, Natasha making them peanut butter sandwiches behind the counter.

Natasha passes Wanda a sandwich across the counter, already cutting the girls sandwich in half. She'd been wanting to introduce the girl to new foods, but Wanda's diet had basically consisted of bland foods for years in hydras so she'll settle for things that will be easy on the girls stomach. She pours the girl a glass of lemonade from the fridge and slices an apple, placing a few slices on the girls plate. Wanda eats half of the sandwich and apple as usual, a habit the girl can't seem to break. Afterwards, Wanda watches a show on TV on their floor while Natasha showers, and then joins her on the couch.