Emerald Eyes | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 2: Chaos

The Romanoff household settled down for a relaxed evening, but the same couldn't be said for the Maximoff residency only a few states over.

"TOMMY! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T STOP MESSING UP MY ROOM I'M GOING TO SELL YOU!" 

"MOM! LIA KEEPS YELLING AT ME!"

"BECAUSE HE WON'T STOP SPEEDING THROUGH MY ROOM WHEN I'M TRYING TO PACK!"

Wanda sat at the kitchen island with her head in her hands as her eldest and youngest argued from their rooms upstairs. She had been doing some research on her computer, but with three kids running around like maniacs, her seemly simple task became increasingly difficult.

Listening to her 17 year old daughter thump around above her was enough to make Wanda shut her laptop and go and intervene. She made her way up the stairs, carefully stepping over boxes and piles of clothes that needed to be thrown out. She could hear music playing and so she pushed the door of her daughter's room open. Tommy was stood on his sister's bed, clearly trying his best to annoy her as she folded piles of sweatshirts.

"Hey Tommy why don't you go and help your father and brother pack up the garage. I'm sure they could use your speed in there, rather than have you terrorise your sister" Wanda said, bringing Tommy to a halt.

"But mom" he complained, dragging out the word for emphasis "that's boring!"

"Tommy" Wanda warned, her head tilting slightly. Her son took quick note of this and ran off, leaving a hazy blue trail in his wake. Wanda turned her attention to the girl sat on the floor and she knelt down to join her.

"Hey, how are you getting on?" She asked.

The girl shrugged. "I'd be doing better if Tommy wasn't being such an asshole."

"Avelia, be nice. That's no way to talk about your brother" Wanda picked up a hoodie from the pile and began folding it to try and help out. "He may be annoying, but they'll both be out of your hair when we move. The new house has a bigger back yard for them to run around in."

"So they can terrorise the neighbourhood instead of me. Yippee" Avelia said sarcastically and Wanda picked up on her odd tone.

She shuffled closer to her daughter and grabbed one of her hands. "I thought you were excited to move? What's going on in that head of yours?"

Avelia sighed, placing down a college hoodie she had in her hands as she turned to look her mom in the eyes. Two pairs of identical green eyes stared back at each other, Wanda's trying to search her daughter's to find the source of her worry. "I don't know. It's just- we've moved around so much and I never feel like I got the chance to settle."

Wanda instantly felt a pang of guilt as she listened to Lia speak. It was true. They had moved around a lot, going from Sokovia to New York, to Russia and Scotland, and finally New Jersey. "I'm sorry Lia. I know moving is a lot, but I promise you that after Ohio, that's it. It's safer there, so we will be ok."

Avelia's brows furrowed as she heard that last sentence. "Mama, what do you mean by safer?"

Wanda was silent for a minute, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to find the right words without worrying her eldest. "Nothing, it's nothing. I just- our new house is in a closed neighbourhood, so there's more people around."

Avelia didn't buy her mom's attempt at a cover up, but she didn't press it. They all had a lot left to do, and only 3 more days before the moving vans came. The hallways, both upstairs and downstairs, had become a dumping ground for miscellaneous items and they all had to step over boxes just to use the bathroom.

After they finished folding Avelia's clothes, Wanda left the room to give her daughter some space. She slowly walked down the stairs, her hand brushing over the banister as memories replayed over in her mind. The day the boys learned how to slide down the hand rail, Avelia's walking down the stairs all dressed up ready for her first formal dance. Happy memories flew through her mind and she smiled to herself.

She entered the kitchen and looked around the room, taking in the heart of the house. All the birthday cakes that had been cut, Christmas dinners eaten, rushed breakfasts before school. And the day that Avelia came home in floods of tears, begging for Wanda to pull her out of school. Which she did without a second thought.

Through the kitchen window which was situated above the large sink, she could see Vision and the boys running around with plastic swords which they had clearly found whilst clearing out the garage. Wanda chuckled to herself and she sent small wisps of magic sailing out the window, causing Vision to fall onto the floor. The twins piled on top of him, bringing their swords down onto his chest to signify his defeat.

"This doesn't look like packing the garage to me" Wanda called out as she passed through the open french doors. Her husband and sons quickly turned their heads to see her and they scrambled up from the floor.

"I think you'll find, my darling, that these boys are incapable of focusing for more than 5 minutes at a time." Vision commented as he pressed a kiss to Wanda's forehead and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Both boys grimaced at the sight and ran off into the house, still chasing each other with swords.

"BOYS! DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THOSE TO LIA'S ROOM!" Wanda yelled. She knew how badly that would end.

The couple waited in silence for a minute, expecting to hear the frustrated yells of their 17 year old daughter. But there was nothing. Nothing to disrupt the birds chirping and the sound of a breeze moving through the branches. Wanda leaned her weight into Vision and let out a deep sigh.

"Are you alright, my dear?" Vision asked, turning his wife around so they were facing each other. He placed his hands on her cheeks and looked into her eyes lovingly.

"I spoke to Avelia and she's worried about moving. I didn't even consider what the kids would think of us moving again."

"Billy and Tommy were very excited when I asked them about it earlier. They couldn't wait to start at their new school." Vision wasn't exactly the best at comforting Wanda, but he tried his hardest.

"Oh god! I enrolled Lia in high school. What if- what if it happens again? Oh no. Maybe we should stay? No- no we can't stay. It's not-"

"Wanda. Look at me" She turned to face him. Her eyes were flickering a dangerous red colour as her thoughts raced. "It will all be alright. Avelia will get a fresh start and she will make a load of new friends. You need to stop worrying."

Wanda took a deep breath, glancing up to one of the windows on the top floor which happened to belong to Avelia. Soft guitar music floated out of the open window and Wanda felt herself relax.

It was all going to be fine. No one would know who they are in Ohio. A chance for the Maximoff family to start again.

Without the eyes that followed them unknowingly.