sunset. [wanda maximoff]

0.4

Tony watched from the viewing balcony of the newly purpose-built training room as Scottie carefully unwrapped her hands below. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he listened to her peaceful hums of some song that she had been playing on repeat in her room for the past few days. He was glad that she was settling in easily, and her progress in the limited training sessions that she had been a part of so far was also making him more comfortable at the idea that she'll start to be sent out on missions soon.

He felt the presence of Natasha and Steve next to him before he actually saw them come into the edges of his vision. No words needed to be spoken; he knew what the silent question hanging off their slips was. They wanted, no, they NEEDED his permission before they even started considering to properly train her as part of the Avengers. Everyone knew that it was a lot more fragile with Scottie than the others. She had fled once before and no-one wanted to push her before she was ready.

"Just bring her home," Tony gruffly spoke, knowing that nothing else needed to be said between the trio. They all had a more protective side when it came to the younger girl and while everyone was certain she could probably wipe the floor with them all, Scottie was still just learning how to manage her powers while balancing her progression into an adult. "I don't think I could handle losing her again."

There was no hesitation when Natasha spoke, a hard determination in her eyes as she watched Scottie joke around with Sam as they finished unwrapping their hands from the boxing they had just completed. The man had easily fallen into Scottie's life as the uncle she had never had and Steve was pleased that they were getting along so easily.

"We won't lose her. Not again."

__

Scottie waved slightly to Vision as she moved into her room, dumping her gym bag at the entrance and making sure that the door clicked firmly into place behind her. Moving cautiously, Scottie headed straight for the ensuite bathroom that she shared with only herself. She knew that something was happening to her, but she couldn't bring herself to share it with the rest of the team.

Tugging her shoes off her feet, she sighed in relief as she dropped them on the floor. Her bare toes sunk into the softness of the new carpet and she already was beginning to feel a little ease flood into her bones at the familiar comfort.

Entering the colder room, the blonde immediately ran the water to cold, slamming the plug into the sinkhole and allowing the white basin to fill to the brim with freezing cold water. Not even bothering to roll up the sleeves on her jacket, Scottie slammed her hands into the coldness, feeling the relief instantly spreading through her palms and up her arms.

She hadn't told the team that she had long finished learning about her powers. No, she had easily gained control over them a long time ago. She just didn't know how to tell the team that she was losing that control with every minute of every day of every week. Each thought of the sunlight that seemed to burst from the skin in her palms would send her into a downward spiral of regrets and worries. Each activation of her powers left her hands scarred until her skin re-knotted itself overnight to leave nothing but the smooth and flawless new layer. Each beam seemed to burn her hands to a red raw, the only form of relief being instant coldness.

Each time she thought it was getting better, it just seemed to be getting worse.

Sitting on the edge of the bath as she watched her skin begin to re-knit itself together five minutes later, she wondered on how long she could possibly keep this a secret. She knew that hiding it from Sam, Rhodey and Vision would be easy - the three of them never had an reason to be looking at her for long enough to notice how her breath would disappear for a second after exerting herself or how she would tuck her hands into her pockets as soon as she could afterwards.