Variation - W.M.

Chapter 30 - November 27, 2016

Starting Saturday morning, Lila and Cooper upheld their agreement to behave, resulting in a much better weekend than I had envisioned while tied up on Friday.

After another round of bickering- and getting over the apprehension of yet another person in the house-the two decided they wanted donuts from a place Clint had taken them in New York.

Quite a waste of an opportunity if I must say so myself, but I happily obliged while Wanda stayed with Nathaniel at the farmhouse while he took a nap.

When we got back, Lila presented Wanda with a donut and the two focused on the witch's powers, pestering her for the better part of the day until she departed, leaving me with the Bartons.

Then it was my turn to show off what I knew about my powers.

By the time Clint and Laura returned the kids seemed to think I was one of the coolest people alive; maybe not beating out their parents or Nat but definitely ahead of the rest of the Avengers.

"Mama! Watch" Lila called when Clint and Laura showed back up, returning from their trip looking refreshed and happy.

The little girl pulled me away from the house a little, bouncing excitedly. "Come on, come on!"

I chuckled tiredly, allowing the nine year old to climb onto my back. In a flash we were in front of a large flower garden in Holland that Lila had found on the internet.

The girl clambered off my back and picked a couple tulips before climbing back on and giggling happily. When we got back to the Barton's she slid off and ran over to Laura, holding out the purple flowers.

Clint eyed me disapprovingly and I raised a brow, gesturing for him to come over. He did and I put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I get that I probably shouldn't be shepherding your kid to Europe to pick flowers-"

"Europe?!"

"-but day one was not the best and now they like me" I finished, ignoring his interruption. He sighed and looked over at his wife, who was talking to his daughter while smiling happily.

"As long as they're safe." He turned back to me, taking in my appearance. "Are you okay? You don't look too great."

I didn't feel great either. I hadn't slept the entire time I had been here despite Wanda's concern on the first night and I had been using my powers an overwhelming amount.

"Nothing a little coffee can't fix" I assured him. He hummed doubtfully, eyeing me before walking back over to the rest of his family.

I grabbed my bag and ruffled Cooper's hair before waving to the Bartons and popping back to my room in the Avengers compound.

Now that I was away from people I could feel the exhaustion seeping into every limb, my energy sapped.

I discarded my bag onto the floor and fell back onto my bed, the silence of the compound a welcome change from the Barton house.

Unfortunately that silence didn't last long.

"Ollie! You're back!" Pietro chirped, bursting into my room.

"And you knew this how, exactly?" I asked, rubbing my eyes while stifling a yawn.

"I told JARVIS to tell me when you got back. Do you want to play a game?"

I hummed, my eyes drooping closed before popping back open. "Sure. I just need to take a shower really quickly."

Pietro frowned, eyes narrowed as he surveyed me. "You look tired. Did you sleep?"

"I've had coffee?" I offered as if it was a viable replacement for proper sleep. It was apparent by Pietro's look of concern that it wasn't.

"You need to sleep. Do you want me to get you something to help you sleep?" He asked and my eyes popped open as I shook my head harshly.

Taking sleep medicine always meant I fell asleep, and it was when the nightmares were the roughest. They had been worse than usual lately, which was why I had been avoiding sleep at all costs.

"I'll just get myself some coffee" I waved him off, stumbling to my feet, blinking roughly before spreading my arms out. "See, I'm good."

Pietro clearly didn't believe me, and I suppose it was good that he didn't because he had to keep me from falling multiple times on the way to the kitchen. When we got there I waved him off, fixing myself a cup of coffee and gulping it down. The only problem was that I was past the point where caffeine would do its job. Instead, the warmth of the liquid only seemed to make me sleepier.

"Are you feeling better?" Pietro asked and I sent him a thumbs up as we made it to the couch.

When we sat down I felt my body sink into the soft material, the drowsiness taking over. It only lasted a couple seconds when a flash of red sent my eyes wide open, my heart pounding.

"You are definitely not okay" Pietro sighed, looking over my shoulder. I turned to follow his gaze, seeing a woman. I blinked lazily at her, my brain still playing catch up as to who had entered the room. It took a couple seconds before I realized it was Wanda.

"Is she okay?" She asked, approaching us. I waved her off, turning back to the TV.

"I'm peachy. We were about to play Super Smash Bros." I paused, my mouth forming the words silently before I let out a giggle. Pietro looked at his sister and shook his head.

"I don't think she's slept in a while."

"Ollie, you said you were sleeping" Wanda scolded, sounding like an annoyed mother.

I missed my mother.

She used to get mad at me whenever I would stay up late. It got worse when I could drive and I started coming home late. She would yell at me saying that I would wake Oscar up.

Another flash sped across my thoughts and I flinched. Not sleeping meant no nightmares, but it also meant that I had no defense whenever the memories wanted to surface.

I was beginning to doubt that the memories were better.

"Let's play" I said, gesturing to the TV.

"We are not playing, you are going to sleep" Pietro commended, turning off the TV.

"If you don't want to hang out with me then I'll go see if Steve needs help" I huffed, standing up from the couch. My head began to feel dizzy and I felt nauseous, the room swaying a little as spots decorated my vision.

I guess I stood up too fast.