We'll Make It Alright

Chapter 2

A few weeks had passed and the Avengers compound settled. Though that didn't mean they had settled in a good way, Natasha thought with a sigh as she walked out of the gym, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a towel. She had been spending a lot of time in the gym, anything to exhaust herself during the day to try and stop the nightmares that continued to haunt her dreams. The Black Widow would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with images of ballerinas dancing until they collapsed and staring down the barrel of a gun pointed at a faceless man. The gunshot would ring out and she would be violently ripped out of her sleep. She wouldn't be able to fall asleep for several hours after, if at all, and the routine was beginning to wear on her.

Natasha made her way to her floor to go take a shower, but paused at the hallway before hers to listen intently. She did not hear anything, she never did, but she always stopped to see if she could detect anything from the Sokovian who lived down that way now. Wanda always seemed to be on the edge of her thoughts despite the fact she rarely saw the younger woman. She wanted to blame it on some kind of resentment towards her over the nightmares that kept the witch in her thoughts, but she could not even pretend it was that. The times she thought of Wanda Maximoff were pretty much the only times that she was not trying to keep her own pain at bay.

The woman remembered the feeling when she saw Wanda on the cusp of a little state. It was that feeling of your stomach dipping- startling and exhilarating. Natasha suddenly realized she should be moving and started forward again to get to her room. She sighed again. The Black Widow couldn't let herself slip up like that. Thoughts like this would only lead to more heartbreak for herself and Wanda. She would be no good for her.

Not that Wanda seemed receptive to anyone caring for her. Before Clint left to go back to the farm he had done his best to get her situated. It was decided that the Sokovian would stay with the Avengers, having fought along side them in the battle against Ultron she had proven herself to be a worthy ally. And the girl was so clearly broken, she was not a threat to them or anyone else anymore. The witch seemed entirely indifferent what happened to her actually.

Clint had asked Wanda if he could get her anything, any supplies, heavily implying to see if she would want or need anything for her little state. If she had any supplies they were lost in the destruction of the city but Wanda had shook her head no.

"Not necessary." Was the only short, flat answer they got on the matter from the girl and it was left at that. Clint with Nat's guidance got her some clothing to wear, just leggings and joggers and t-shirts and sweaters for her to be comfortable in and that was it. He tried to check in on her before he left but from what the archer said it seemed like she wanted to be left alone and never was in her little space.

Some littles could be like that, Nat supposed. Preferring to drop alone than with strangers she did not trust. And maybe her little self was a bit older, and Wanda could cope better than if she was very young. The Widow cursed herself then, realizing she had become overly preoccupied with Wanda's little being as if it were any on her business.

The younger woman made it clear that it wasn't anyone's business by staying holed up in her room almost all the time. Despite Wanda's room being on Nat's floor it was Steve who took up the task of checking in on her occasionally though he reported the same behavior Clint had- withdrawn, elusive and sad.

Still Natasha kept tabs on her in her own distant way. She could count on one hand the amount of times she had found Wanda in the shared kitchen, usually late at night when everyone had retired to their rooms for the evening. They didn't really speak. Wanda would get startled and stare at her with big watery, green eyes before quickly excusing herself. So Nat would pay attention to the food that would go missing, noting the Sokovian mainly would grab things to eat that required no cooking, though mostly it seemed to be slices of bread, which was not the healthiest diet. She started leaving slices of apples and carrots sticks and yogurt cups in easy to reach places in the fridge, hoping the girl would start eating them as well.

Not that it was her concern, Natasha once again reminded herself. And prepping the food made it easier for Nat to grab snacks too. That was what she told herself at least.

----

Wanda lay curled up on the bed, her stomach gnawing with hunger but she couldn't get up yet. The chances of running into one of the Avengers was too high. They had agreed to let her stay but it still felt like she didn't belong here at the compound. It didn't feel like she belonged anywhere. A whimper escaped her lips as she once again smothered the little feeling that threatened to pull her under.

She still would not allow herself to drop though. Not when Pietro was not there to take care of her. She couldn't subject her little self to this pain but it was getting harder and harder to stop herself from being little. Along with her stomach, her head throbbed in pain. She knew it was bad for Littles to put off dropping for too long, though she was not entirely certain how bad it was. Right now she just felt terrible with an awful pressure inside that she needed to be released. Wanda wasn't even sure if she would have the strength to get up later to get herself food.

Wanda put her thumb to her lips but won't let it passed her teeth. She had to stay big. And Natasha had said hands were dirty and you shouldn't put them in your mouth. She didn't know why what the woman had said to her so tenderly stayed with through the past few weeks. The witch stuck her hands underneath her arms to resist the temptation. Turning her face into the pillow further, Wanda began to sniffle, hoping that hiding her face would muffle the sound. The girl shut her eyes then, hoping at least to escape temporarily into sleep.

----

Natasha came out into the kitchen, her hair still damp from getting out of the shower. She was surprised to find Steve already there leaning against the counter. She raised an eyebrow at him expectantly, "Hey Steve. What's going on?"

"Hey, I was just trying to check on Wanda but she wasn't answering the door." Steve informed her, sounding worried. "Have you seen her today?"

Alarms went off in Nat's head, like an adrenaline spike. She managed to maintain a stoic mask though, "No, I haven't. Did you try going in her room."

"I didn't.." He said with a pointed look, "I didn't want to startle her if she was.."

If she was little, Natasha finished his sentence in her head. He was much bigger and imposing looking than Natasha. Seeing him for the first time as little might not be the best idea. From the continued meaningful look the Captain gave her, Nat easily picking up on his implication. He wanted her to go check on Wanda. The spy wanted to protest but she also knew that she was the best choice to go in physically and check. And if she were being honest with herself, the woman would already be at the Sokovian's door.

"Yeah, I can go check on her." She finally said.

He breathed out a sigh of relief, "Okay, thanks. I'm sure she's fine but she's always at least answered when I've knocked."

"Yeah, I'm sure she's fine." Nat agreed automatically.

"Do you want me to stick around just in case?"

"No, no." She waved him off. "I'll have Friday call you if something is up."

"Thanks for doing this, Nat." He said warmly, unaware of how his words stung a bit, "I know this isn't exactly your thing."

"Right. No problem." The Black Widow nodded and gave him a dismissive wave. Finally she turned to head back towards the bedrooms. Steve hadn't meant anything by his statement that this wasn't 'her thing' but didn't help boost her confidence as she was about to go knock on the girl's door and she had no idea what to expect.

No matter how uncertain she felt though, Natasha had to see with her own eyes the Wanda was alright. Expelling the air heavily from her lungs, the woman reached up and knocked on the Sokovian's door. No response. She knocked again, calling out, "Wanda? Are you okay in there?"

Again no response. Something didn't feel right so she called out again with a gentle warning, "Wanda, if you don't answer by the count of 3, I'm coming in. One.. two.. three.."

Nothing. Natasha was done waiting. The Widow turned the doorknob, "Okay, Wanda. I'm coming in."

//

Hello again! This chapter was still kinda sad, but hope you're enjoying it! If you like it, I'd have to hear about it. Let me know if you'd like more or have any thoughts. Thank you!