Starting Over

Ch. 3

Weeks went by, Wanda becoming more accustomed to a somewhat normal life. Her nights were often filled with nightmares but then Natasha was there, whispering comforting words and lulling her back to sleep. She quickly got used to her life at the compound. She was the youngest there, but she still felt included. The avengers were close, a family in some sense. Sam had dubbed Natasha and Steve, "mom" and "dad" and in a sense they were, to Wanda at least. Her parents had died when she was just 10, leaving her and Pietro to fend for themselves in a cruel world. It's no suprise they had accepted Struckers offer when he promised warm beds and full bellies. Still they reminded her of the parents she saw on the shows she watched in her free time from training. She was lucky to have them, whether they were her family or not. Sam's reasoning referred to the "love" he saw between them. He said he'd seen it for years, making comments like "Kids entering the room, keep it PG." while covering Wanda's ears or "I'm expecting to be best man at the wedding." All of which made Wanda laugh and Steve and Natasha roll their eyes. But Wanda could tell too, there was something there, she just knew. The press continued to talk about the avengers, sokovia, and the girl with the "red magic", practically every news station covering it.
Wanda sat at the counter feet swinging beneath her as she ate a bowl of cereal. One of her favorite things about America was the diversity of food. She was munching on lucky charms when Steve walked in.
"Hey Wands, how was your training?" He asked grabbing orange juice from the fridge pouring it into 3 cups and handing one to Wanda.
"Good, exhausting... Nat killed me today..." Wanda replied taking a sip of juice, as if on cue Natasha entered the room followed by Sam.
"You're getting better Wands, but you still have to learn to fight hand to hand. You can't always rely on your powers to protect you." She said walking to stand next to Steve. He handed her the other cup of juice.
"Also we need to talk to you about something, kiddo." Natasha said which interrupted Wanda's chewing.
"Am I in trouble?" Wanda asked wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt.
"Are you two finally getting married?" Sam asked, earning a small laugh from Wanda
"No, Sam!" Natasha and Steve both replied earning a fit of laughter from both Sam and Wanda.
"you're not in trouble, Wands. The press have been getting really bad and there's a lawsuit going around for the damages that were caused during the battle. We just think it would be best for you to not have to be involved, so we were thinking you can spend a few weeks with Clint."
"Why do I have to leave? why can't I just stay here?" Wanda asked
"You love spending time with Clint..." Natasha said "it'll just be for a week or two, until all of the dust settles."
"I want to stay here with you, Steve, and Sam. Please?" Wanda asked jumping off the counter and walking to the opposite side "please, Tasha?"
The expression Wanda was wearing right now could be dubbed as her "puppy eyes", the same look that got her movie requests picked on movie nights, pick of  the restaurant when they get take-out, and kept Sam from giving her plus 4s in uno. Honestly, Natasha probably would have caved then and there but Steve was there to provide some support.
"Wands, we don't like this anymore than you do but it's a good idea. The decision's made in a few weeks and then you can come home, I promise." He said reaching over to pull the girl into a hug.
"Nat and I will take you this weekend, we'll stay a few days while you get settled."
She could do this for them. she wasn't happy about it, not in the least but she could do this. For now she'd enjoy two more days at the compound, then go visit Clint. She hadn't send him in a while but he sends pictures, mostly of his children whom she will soon meet. She's currently debating what clothes to shove in the black duffle bag Natasha had given her.
"Hey, can I come in?" Wanda turns her head at the knock on the door frame.
"Are you upset with me?" Natasha asks
"No... I don't want to go but I'm not upset." Wanda replied putting on a small smile.
"Promise me you'll call if you need me okay? I don't care what time it is." Natasha said pulling the girl into a hug.
"I promise." Wanda said allowing herself to relax in the spies embrace all tension leaving her body.
The truth is Natasha was worried about the girl. She had nightmares pretty regularly, not as often anymore but still. The girl would wake in a daze surrounded by clouds of red, searching for an anchor to tether her back to the world. Whether this was Natasha or occasionally Steve, Wanda needed someone to help pull her out of the dark. It was still very evident that the trauma of Wanda's past haunted her. More times than not, Natasha would awaken to find Wanda asleep next to her, her simple presence enough to provide the girl comfort. Overtime Wanda began to thrive, smiling more, and relaxing more in her new environment. Natasha worried that the situation would mess with Wanda's progress.
"We love you a lot little witch, you know that? Now come on, it's movie night." Natasha said finally breaking their embrace, leading the young witch out of the room.
Wanda could hear Sam and Steve's conversation before she even reached the common area.
"Look man all I'm saying is I see it okay, I ain't blind. Even little witch knows somethings going on between you two!" Sam said
"Nothings going on, Sam, will you lower your voice please... look it doesn't matter, we have more important things to worry about." Steve replied. Wanda and Natasha entered the room ending the conversation.
"I'll go grab some popcorn." Nat said leaving the room. Wanda takes a seat on the same couch as Steve leaving Natasha her usual spot between them.
"What are we watching?" Wanda asks
"Sam, it's your pick tonight." Steve replied
"Gee, thanks dad. I was thinking we should introduce Wands to the fast and furious movies." Sam said earning a laugh from Wanda and a glare from Steve but really could he be upset with Wanda laughing.
Shortly after Wanda moved into the compound, she formed a bond with Steve. He quickly found himself slipping into the routine of making her hot chocolate or tea after nightmares, making sure her favorite foods were always stocked in the kitchen , and introducing her to art. She particularly enjoyed watching him paint or sketch and he didn't mind the young girls company. It was no surprise he grew close to her, he was always hanging out with Natasha anyways. He would be lying if he said the girl didn't remind him a ton of the redhead. They all had their own trauma and nightmares but things seemed a little more bearable when they had each other to lean on, but he was a little surprised when Wanda would ask for him after a nightmare. So he'd sit and tell her stories until she would fall back asleep. Maybe Sam was right he took this "dad" role pretty seriously.
By the time Steve had got done explaining why that probably wasn't a good idea, Natasha had returned with the popcorn. Squeezing herself in between, Wanda and Steve on the couch.
"It'll be fine Steve. She's almost 16, you know." Natasha reminded him
"Okay, fine. Sam play the movie."
"Mom to the rescue" Sam mouthed at Wanda, which earned him a "I heard that" from Nat.
Soon the movie was finished.
"Will you teach me how to drive?" Wanda asked turning her attention from the screen to look at her mentors.
"I think we can do that." Natasha nodded
"When you turn 16 of course." Steve added
Wanda nodded a smile on her face
"You should head to bed kid it's already 10..." Steve said
"Can't I stay up later tonight? I'm not a little kid, I don't even need a bed time." Wanda pleaded
"You need your rest for training tomorrow, Wands. We just want you to be well rested." Steve added
"I'll be fine for training tomorrow. I don't have to have 8 hours of sleep. I'll be fine."
"Wanda, now's not the time for an argument. You need your rest." Natasha said intervening
"But-" Wanda started to be cut off by Natasha again
"Bed. Now." Natasha said. Wanda reluctantly extracted herself from Natasha's side with a huff, making her way to the elevator.
"I'm going to head out too." Sam said standing from the couch.
Soon Natasha and Steve were left alone.
"Maybe we should have let her stay up a little later." Steve said
"You know her powers will be all out of wack tomorrow if she isn't we'll rested. She'll get over it, Steve. I promise." Nat said "Plus this is her first relatively normal "moody" teenager moment which I have to say makes me pretty proud."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"Steve asked
"She's comfortable around us enough to feel like she doesn't have to be reserved all the time." Nat replied
"Well, Tash, we are her family now." Steve said. Natasha smiled at the nickname leaning further into his side.
"Yeah I guess we are." She replied