Newfound Family

Fireworks

The first boom erupted loudly as soon as it got dark, at around 9:30.

Bang

It echoed through the quiet house, causing both Nat and Steve to shoot up off the couch downstairs.

Bang

A few seconds later, another one went off.

"Shit. Shit, I forgot about the fireworks, Steve. I completely forgot!"

Nat ran up the stairs, with Steve following close behind. They ran into Lila in the hallway, whose face was etched with worry and a hint of fear.

"Auntie Nat, Wanda is scared of the fireworks. She's crying, and-"

"I know, sweetie. Can you do me a favour and stay down here with Cooper, Peter, and your parents?"

Lila nodded, heading downstairs.

Nat continued to make her way up to Lila's bedroom, internally swearing. How could she forget? Especially because she hated the fireworks, too. The loud noises sounded too familiar.

Upon entering, both of them froze in place. Wanda was curled up in the corner, uncontrollably sobbing. A red barrier surrounded her, and her eyes were shut tight, straining with power.

"Shit," Nat swore under her breath. "It's gonna be really hard to talk her out of this without being able to touch her."

But instead, the barrier dropped, and in between the loud cracks of the fireworks, she ran to them, engulfing them both into a hug so strong it brought them all to the ground, and she put the protective barrier up again, this time around all three of them.

Bang

Every firework that echoed through the house caused her to flinch, but she didn't let her fear keep her from protecting her parents.

Steve tried desperately for any sort of reaction from Wanda. Anything to let her know they were there.

"Wanda. Wanda! Listen to me. Can you hear me?"

Nat touched her shoulder, but the little girl wouldn't budge. She kept her face buried into Nat's chest, afraid of looking up.

"Wanda, they're just fireworks. I know they sound scary, but they're not dangerous at all. They can't hurt you, sweetie." Nat rambled, trying to come up with some form of words that might comfort her. But it didn't really help that Wanda had never experienced fireworks before. To her, it sounded like warfare echoing across the cornfields.

"We can't die. I won't let you die. I can protect you, even though I couldn't protect Pietro. I can do it."

Wanda was panicking, but her voice was barely above a whisper. Her eyes glowed red as she looked up at Nat.

Natasha held her face in her hands.

"Listen to me, Wanda. It's not guns. It's not bombs. They're fireworks. Фейерверк. They're not dangerous, they're supposed to be a celebration. I'm so sorry, milaya. It's my fault, I should've warned you about them, but I forgot."

Wanda's eyes lost their colour, and the force field slowly dropped. She still flinched with every bang, and she still held onto her parents for dear life.

"Фейерверк. Fireworks?" She asked. Her voice was shaky, and she barely got the words out due to the fact she was sobbing so hard.

Nat slowly picked her up, bringing her to the bedroom window.