Loki's Little Witch [en]

chapter 16. home, sweet home?

"You sure you don't want more?"

Romanoff asked her young niece as she took a blackberry from the small bowl in the center of the tray filled with food she had surprised her with that morning.

Strange could not even imagine how overwhelmed his daughter must have been after yesterday's day, since he had been the one who had comforted her when she came back into the house crying uncontrollably, after Loki had made the bold decision to go back to Asgard. And although he and Tony did their best to convince her that Thor would never allow them to take him away from her side, the three of them knew full well that nothing could guarantee that, and that was how Stephen knew that the only thing he could do for his daughter, and to try to preserve her sanity, was to call the only person who cared as much about her as they did.

And he didn't have to ask twice or give a single explanation, Natasha Romanoff flew as soon as she hung up the call with Strange to that safe house that could very well be the new Avengers Compound by now, to surprise her niece, without knowing that she would end up being the one surprised, because what Strange didn't warn her about was that the reason Wanda needed her was't simply because the confinement had overwhelmed her.

"I mean, may as well now that Sam is down there cooking as if this was a buffet," she mentioned, bringing the piece of fruit to her mouth, while Wanda took a bite of the waffle she held in her hands while chuckling.

"I'm really glad you're here, aunt Nat."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that," she said, looking down for a moment, long enough for Wanda to frown in bewilderment, "why the hell was I the last one to find out? I often rub it in your parents' faces that you trust me more than them and you decided to go with Clint instead of me, I mean, Clint? Really?"

The redhead relaxed her frown, letting out a soft laugh at her aunt and her ironic reproach, "I'm sorry. I honestly don't know what went through my mind, I was so confused and I think I thought he would understand me better than anyone because—

Wanda stopped her words from one second to the other, making her eyes widen as she realized what had almost come out of her mouth after she had spoken without thinking. Never again, since that day ten years ago, when Wanda had been persuasive —not to say obstinate— enough to get Nat to tell her about her days in the Red Room, had they brought up the subject again. Wanda had always tried to be very careful with her words, because even though she never had the courage to ask her again, she believed she knew how much she wished she could have lived that opportunity those monsters had taken from her.

But Nat couldn't help but notice the young woman's action, and although of the two, she was the one without have any telepathic powers, she knew exactly what went through her young niece's mind.

"Honey, you don't have to do that," Romanoff blurted, licking her lips to draw a grin on her face, "I've come to peace with that a long time ago, besides, you and Peter showed me that I wasn't cut out for it. Not like you..." she mentioned, causing the redhead to raise both eyebrows, "I think you'll be an amazing mother."

"You really think so?"

"Oh, so now you care about my opinion?"

Wanda rolled her eyes, causing Romanoff to laugh, a laugh that she didn't take long to copy, just as a soft knock on the door was heard, and neither of them had a chance to say anything before this one opened, revealing Steve Rogers behind it.

"Well, hello, just in time," Nat blurted out without missing a beat, "is Chef Sam ready for the second course? 'Cause I was feeling like poached eggs."

She exclaimed with a big smile on her face, causing the redhead to laugh again, something that made Steve let out an almost imperceptible sigh, without taking his eyes off the scene unfolding in front of him, managing to disconcert Romanoff, who couldn't help but frown even with that same ear-to-ear smile on her face.