Newfound Family

I Love You

It was their last day at the Barton farm, and Nat was so proud of Wanda's progress. She had become more talkative increasingly every day, and she was even gaining more independence. Her nightmares had become increasingly shorter every night, although she still hadn't slept by herself yet.

Because Wanda and Nat were leaving the next morning, Lila insisted on having a "sleepover" inside her room, and Wanda didn't want to. But she didn't want to upset Lila, so she ignored Nat's protest, saying she didn't have to, and stayed with Lila. They had talked for a while, laughing and giggling, until they had gotten tired.

Well, until Lila got tired.

Wanda laid on the makeshift bed that Laura had made for her, wide awake, until she was sure Lila was asleep. She didn't want to wake Lila up, mainly because she didn't want Lila to see she was acting like a baby. She got up as quietly as she could, heading down the hall towards Natasha's room. Wanda felt guilty for needing Natasha so much. But she was so afraid of losing her, like her mama, papa, and now her brother. She couldn't lose Nat too, and the only way to make sure of it was to constantly be with her, reminding herself of her presence.

The door creaked open, and Nat shot up out of the bed. Wanda cringed. She had hoped she wouldn't have woken Natasha up, but it seemed like she wasn't asleep anyways

"Everything okay, Wanda?" Nat whispered, her voice full of concern. But she wasn't surprised. Although she was tired, she kept herself awake for this reason. She knew Wanda would crawl into bed with her eventually, and Nat wanted to make sure she was awake for it.

Wanda nodded. Nat could just make her outline in the dark. Her hands and eyes glowed red, the first time she had seen in a few days, and it gave off a dim scarlet light in the darkness.

"What time is it?" Wanda asked. She played with the hem of her shirt.

Nat looked at her phone. "It's only one o'clock."

"I'm sorry I woke you," Wanda said tiredly. Nat patted the space beside her on the bed and she crawled under the duvet.

"You didn't milaya. I was already awake."

Wanda curled into Nat's chest. Her red eyes and hands slowly dissolved, leaving them in complete darkness. Nat stroked her hair, softly humming a Russian lullaby.

Nat took a moment to get lost in her thoughts, which was no issue due to the repeated movements of stroking Wanda's hair.

What was she going to do? Eventually, she would have to go back on missions, Wanda would have to go to school. She couldn't leave this poor girl all by herself when she'd been through so much.

Chill, Natasha. It's only been a week, Wanda has every right to be so attached. She'll get over it eventually. She still has at least a few more weeks until I have to go back to work.

Wanda's breathing eventually slowed to even, rhythmic breaths, indicating she was fast asleep.

---

That morning, Wanda woke up to an empty bed. A wave of panic almost instantly came over, and she shot up out of bed. Every day before, Wanda had been the first to wake up, but today, Nat wasn't even in the room. She searched around, in the bathroom, kitchen, living room, but Nat, or Clint and Laura for that matter, were nowhere to be found. Tears pricked her red eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.

Stop it, Wanda. You're acting crazy. Nat has proven this past week that she would never leave you.

Wanda couldn't help it though. Her whole life, no one, other than Pietro, has ever cared about her. None that she could remember anyway. She couldn't help but think Nat was the same as the rest, even though deep down in her heart she knew it wasn't true.