It was their last day at the Barton farm, and Nat was so proud of Wanda's progress. She had become more talkative increasingly every day, and she was even gaining more independence. Her nightmares had become increasingly shorter every night, although she still hadn't slept by herself yet.
Because Wanda and Nat were leaving the next morning, Lila insisted on having a "sleepover" inside her room, and Wanda didn't want to. But she didn't want to upset Lila, so she ignored Nat's protest, saying she didn't have to, and stayed with Lila. They had talked for a while, laughing and giggling, until they had gotten tired.
Well, until Lila got tired.
Wanda laid on the makeshift bed that Laura had made for her, wide awake, until she was sure Lila was asleep. She didn't want to wake Lila up, mainly because she didn't want Lila to see she was acting like a baby. She got up as quietly as she could, heading down the hall towards Natasha's room. Wanda felt guilty for needing Natasha so much. But she was so afraid of losing her, like her mama, papa, and now her brother. She couldn't lose Nat too, and the only way to make sure of it was to constantly be with her, reminding herself of her presence.
The door creaked open, and Nat shot up out of the bed. Wanda cringed. She had hoped she wouldn't have woken Natasha up, but it seemed like she wasn't asleep anyways
"Everything okay, Wanda?" Nat whispered, her voice full of concern. But she wasn't surprised. Although she was tired, she kept herself awake for this reason. She knew Wanda would crawl into bed with her eventually, and Nat wanted to make sure she was awake for it.
Wanda nodded. Nat could just make her outline in the dark. Her hands and eyes glowed red, the first time she had seen in a few days, and it gave off a dim scarlet light in the darkness.
"What time is it?" Wanda asked. She played with the hem of her shirt.
Nat looked at her phone. "It's only one o'clock."
"I'm sorry I woke you," Wanda said tiredly. Nat patted the space beside her on the bed and she crawled under the duvet.
"You didn't milaya. I was already awake."
Wanda curled into Nat's chest. Her red eyes and hands slowly dissolved, leaving them in complete darkness. Nat stroked her hair, softly humming a Russian lullaby.
Nat took a moment to get lost in her thoughts, which was no issue due to the repeated movements of stroking Wanda's hair.
What was she going to do? Eventually, she would have to go back on missions, Wanda would have to go to school. She couldn't leave this poor girl all by herself when she'd been through so much.
Chill, Natasha. It's only been a week, Wanda has every right to be so attached. She'll get over it eventually. She still has at least a few more weeks until I have to go back to work.
Wanda's breathing eventually slowed to even, rhythmic breaths, indicating she was fast asleep.
---
That morning, Wanda woke up to an empty bed. A wave of panic almost instantly came over, and she shot up out of bed. Every day before, Wanda had been the first to wake up, but today, Nat wasn't even in the room. She searched around, in the bathroom, kitchen, living room, but Nat, or Clint and Laura for that matter, were nowhere to be found. Tears pricked her red eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.
Stop it, Wanda. You're acting crazy. Nat has proven this past week that she would never leave you.
Wanda couldn't help it though. Her whole life, no one, other than Pietro, has ever cared about her. None that she could remember anyway. She couldn't help but think Nat was the same as the rest, even though deep down in her heart she knew it wasn't true.
A shadow ran past the window outside, and she knew it was Cooper. A relief set into her. They were outside.
Wanda quickly wiped away the stray tears that escaped and headed out. Nat was sitting on the porch swing with baby Nate, and Clint and Cooper were carrying the last of the bags back to the Quinjet.
"You're finally awake, milaya. How did you sleep?" Nat gave a quick smile to Wanda but looked back almost immediately.
"Have you been crying?"
Wanda played dumb. "No?"
Nat didn't believe her. Her voice was full of concern.
"What's wrong, milaya? Did you have a nightmare? Do you not want to leave? I'm sure the Barton's wouldn't mind if we stayed a few more days..."
Wanda shook her head. "No, nothing like that."
Nat got up to put Nate in the baby swing. She sat back down, taking Wanda into her arms.
"What's wrong then, sweetheart?"
"It's dumb, and I'm fine now, so don't worry about it okay?" Wanda mumbled into Nat's sweatshirt.
"Nothing is dumb, Wanda. You know you can tell me anything honey."
Wanda sighed, lifting her head. Nat's eyes were so full of care and concern it made her feel even dumber to think that she would ever leave her.
Wanda looked away. "Okay, but I'm telling you you'll think it's stupid."
Nat kissed her hair. "I highly doubt that."
"I know you always say that we're a team and that you'll never leave me, but sometimes I still get scared that I'll be left alone again. And now that Pietro is gone forever, I'll really be alone."
Nat hugged her tighter. She knew exactly what this was about, and she mentally kicked herself for not thinking about it sooner.
"This is about me being gone this morning, isn't it?"
Wanda's voice shook. "When I searched the room, and then the house, I kept trying to tell myself to stop acting like a baby, but I couldn't help it. I'm sorry."
Wanda took a deep breath. Nat wanted to interrupt her, but she just kept on rambling.
"I'm trying to be better, I really am. I hate acting like this. I used to be brave and strong and be able to fight for myself. And now I can't even sleep by myself."
Nat felt like her heart broke into a million different pieces.
"Wanda...You're eight years old. You should never, ever have to feel like you need to fight for yourself. Right now, as a child, your job is to let me take care of you. I'm so sorry I scared you this morning, I wasn't even thinking."
"You shouldn't be sorry. You didn't ask for me. I feel like a..." She couldn't put the English word on it. "A... A ответственность."
"Wanda!" Nat cried. She had no idea the poor girl was feeling this way. "You are not a burden.
That was it. A burden.
"You have every right to feel scared all the time. But I want you to know that I will never leave you. I love and care about you more than anything. I'll tell you every ten seconds if that's what it takes to drill it into that little head of yours."
Wanda let out a pathetic chuckle.
"You have been through more than a hundred people put together have been through. And don't you worry. Within a few more weeks, you'll feel better. Everything will start to feel normal again. I promise."
"I know, and I'm really sorry again Nat."
Nat gave her another squeeze.
"You have nothing to be sorry for honey." She kissed her forehead.
"Now, why don't you go get dressed. Lila wants to go for one last family hike before we leave.
Wanda got up and stretched. "I don't think I have any clean clothes left."
Nat laughed. She wished that was the least of their problems. "I'll go find something on the Quinjet." She held her hand out to Wanda. "Want to come to help me look?"
Wanda shook her head. "I can stay here with Nate. As long as you promise to come back."
Nat gave a sad smile. "I promise milaya."
Nat started to walk away, but Wanda stopped her, wrapping her little arms around her waist."
"Thank you, Nat. I love you."
Nat's heart jumped into her throat, and tears pricked her eyes. This kid was turning her soft.
"I love you too, milaya. I'll be right back."
She headed towards the Quinjet.
Clint spotted her a few feet away. He could've sworn Nat was teary-eyed. It was the first time he'd seen her cry in a really, really long time. Actually, come to think of it, it was the first time he'd ever seen her cry.