"Thank you for lunch, uncles!" Morgan walks backwards as she waves at Thor and Loki, my hand placed gently on top of her head to help guide her as she walks.
"Of course mini Stark, tell those two to bring you back as much as possible because we miss seeing you every week." Thor's voice echoes around the quiet cafe and Morgan laughs loudly when Loki hits the back of Thor's head telling him there is no need to shout.
"I will see you soon little apprentice." It takes me slightly by surprise how soft Loki's tone is and how genuine his smile is as well, since he is usually up to no good and all you have to do is look at his little smirk to see it.
"Goodbye point break, bye reindeer games!" Wanda looks at me with a brow raised in question at Morgan's nicknames for them and I smile shaking my head.
"Who gave them those nicknames honey?" I ask Morgan as we leave the cafe, Wanda's attention going between the sidewalk and my sister as Morgan walks between us holding one of our hands each.
"Dad of course. I don't know why but those are the names he gave them. He calls Y/n's dad Legolas. All his friends have nicknames."
"Does Y/n have a nickname?" Morgan looks up at me humming as she thinks.
"She does but it's not for other people to know." Morgan looks across to Wanda, my girlfriend smiling down at her as I keep an eye on the sidewalk making sure we don't walk into anyone as we are taking up the whole sidewalk.
"Do I get to know this name, or is it just between you, your dad and your sissy?" Morgan hums, moving her lips to the side as I see the cogs in her brain turning.
"Eleos." Morgan states simply before going back to looking ahead and swinging both her arms causing mine and Wanda's to swing too.
"Eleos?" Wanda looks at me in question and I simply nod to Morgan and Wanda squeezes her hand gently getting her attention. "Why Eleos?"
"Follow me." Wanda looks back to me and I shrug my shoulders as Morgan leads us over to central park, even though we came here before going to the cafe, I don't question it and let her take us where she wants; Wanda seems to think the same thing as she just smiles at the young girl who has gone back to swinging our arms.
I let my arms roam the park as Morgan leads us around the park, down a path I recognize to be leading us to the pond to a specific patch of ground. I smile to myself and the thought of her bringing someone else to this spot that only me and Sarah were allowed to bring her to. To anyone else it might just look like a small patch of grass between two trees in a slightly more secluded corner of the pond, but it's where Morgan comes to unwind.
I take my trench coat off, laying it out on the ground so there is a barrier between us and the cold ground as we all sit down. Morgan stays between me and Wanda, keeping our hands in hers as she rests them on her legs as she sits criss-cross applesauce. I kiss the top of Morgan's head, looking at Wanda whose other hand is gently twirling the end of some of Morgan's hair around her finger.
"Eleos is a Greek goddess. She is the goddess of compassion and clemency." Morgan starts reciting what her dad taught her, her eyes looking over the pond as she does, missing the way Wanda watches and listens to her intently. "Among all the gods she is the most useful to human life in its vic- vici. Sissy what's the word?"
"Vicissitudes." Morgan finally looks away from the pond to me and then to Wanda, my girlfriend's smile growing as Morgan moves to sit with her back to her so she can still see the pond; Wanda presses a kiss to Morgan's hair as the young girl continues what she is saying.
"The word means change, and it's normally not a good change. Sissy come cuddle."
I chuckle as she keeps interrupting her own story but am quick to sit behind Wanda, my legs laying flat either side of hers and my arms wrapping around her waist as my hand rests on Morgan's stomach; slouching slightly to rest my chin on Wanda's shoulder.
"Anyway, the goddess would be there during these changes and would help humanity through it basically because she was kind and caring and very compassionate. I'm not sure what that word means but dad says it's a good thing to be, so that is what she was. Dad says she was a kind and gentle goddess who would give succor to anyone who asked for it. I'm not sure what the big words mean, but he tells me that sissy is very much like the goddess, always doing good for others and helping all of those who ask for it without hesitation. So that's why sissy is Eleos."
"Wow she does sound just like Y/n doesn't she?" Wanda starts weaving her hands through Morgan's hair turning her head to kiss my temple as my eyes fill with a few tears.
"She really does. But what does, compassionate mean, and clemency and also succor. Dad tells me all the time about Eleos when I ask and he always says those words but I'm only little and don't understand." I chuckle as Morgan turns herself around on Wanda's legs to face us with a curious gaze.
"So succor means to give support when someone is distressed or going through something that they need support with." I explain in the easy way I know how.
"So like when we supported you after Sarah and nugget died?" I smile at the nickname, watching as Wanda brushes some of Morgan's hair behind her ear.
"Exactly. You and your parents helped me through one of the hardest times in my life. You gave succor when I needed it."
"Who is nugget?" Morgan looks at Wanda with a wide smile.
"It was my nickname for Evie."
"That's adorable." Wanda says with a soft smile. "And compassionate little one means that you have understanding of what someone may be going through, even if you have never been through it yourself. You are able to help them in a way that others may not because some people struggle to understand what a person may need or want when they are going through something bad. But there are those, who are compassionate, who may not know how it truly feels but they are able to give more support to a person because their minds are full of understanding."
"I don't understand." Me and Wanda chuckle at the young girl's confusion, but she is right knowing when someone is compassionate over someone who is just saying things they think you want to hear can be difficult and trying to explain that is even harder.
"Okay, how about this little one. What did most people say to you when you went to Sarah's funeral?" Wanda asks the question with caution, not sure what Morgan's reaction will be but I smile when I see how she is going to explain it.
"They said sorry, which is silly because it wasn't their fault and mom always told me never say sorry if something isn't your fault."
"And how did them saying sorry make you feel?" Morgan's full attention is on Wanda as I just sit and observe the two of them, already loving the bond between them after only a day nearly 2.
"Well it didn't make me feel good, it made me more sad."
"Okay, so we know that your sissy is compassionate so what did Y/n tell you at the funeral." Morgan hums as she thinks and I kiss Wanda's cheek, her eyes flicking to mine as I mime out a small thank you and she kisses my forehead in return before her attention goes back to Morgan.
"She told me she would be there for anything I needed and would help to her best abilities whenever I asked for it." Morgan's eyes light up as she comes to some understanding in her own mind. "Being compassionate is about making sure that the person knows you will support them and be there, instead of just pushing the problem away. Like when people say sorry."
"Exactly. So you know what succor and compassionate mean. What was the last word?"
"Clemency." Wanda hums in thought for a second.
"Clemency is like mercy, or leniency. So you can be merciful to those who have wronged you, or you can have a leniency with them so not quite forgiving them or forgetting what they did but also not making their punishment for their acts worse than they are already getting. So if you were to, let's say, someone did something to hurt you and they got in trouble for it. If you were to forgive them for their acts that hurt you, then you are showing acts of clemency. It is very hard to try and explain because it is a term mostly used in the court of law. So Eleos may have forgiven criminals for acts or shown them mercy when it led to how they got punished for breaking the law."
"So it's about forgiving people that you think can be forgiven but making sure that they are still punished and told what they did was wrong." A look of utter confusion passes Morgan's features making me and Wanda chuckle as we both nod.
"Yeah kind of like that, little one." Morgan smiles at Wanda then at me.
"Well then sissy is definitely Eleos." She decides, turning back around to face the pond, a silence falling over us as we all just take in the moment.
The sound of the trees swaying in the wind, branches creaking at the strain of moving one way then back the other. The leaves rustling, the sound building with the wind and slowly dying with it too. The birds sing all their different songs, from high pitched melodies to the low coo of the pigeons; our surroundings never once in silence as the world continues to move around us. The sound of water splashing as the ducks dive below the water, to catch their meal or simply to bathe themselves can also be heard if one is to listen closely enough.
However, in our little spot - where Morgan comes to think and unwind - not a sound can be heard apart from the soft gentle breathing as all three of us simply take in the moment; and hold each other in comfort. I smile as I feel a soft kiss being placed on the side of my head, my attention turning from the pond in front to Wanda who subtly nods to Morgan. My eyes slowly move to look at Morgan who is shivering a little, her body moving so she is sitting sideways on Wanda's lap, her eyes half closed, letting out a small yawn as she relaxes into Wanda more.
"Why don't we head back to the house and get some dinner started." I move my hand to weave through Morgan's hair as she nods against Wanda's chest.
"Can we have Stroganoff?" Morgan's eyes flutter open as much as they can to look up at me, a tired smile growing on her lips.
"Of course we can honey."
"Yay." She whispers cheers causing me to chuckle slightly as Morgan's eyes move to look up at Wanda. "Can you carry me please sis?"
"Of course, little one. Let's get you back in the warm."
I stand up from sitting on the ground, looking out to the pond as Wanda wraps her arms around Morgan's body slowly standing up. Morgan's head finds home in Wanda's neck, her small arms wrapping around the back of her neck and her legs around her waist. Wanda's arms wrap underneath Morgan's bum keeping her up, as I pick my coat off of the floor; hanging over my arm since it is now cold and wet from being on the ground. I wrap my arm around Wanda's shoulder pulling her closer to me as we start making our way out of the park.
"Why don't you call Karen and have her drop the boys off to mine, and we can have a small family meal before I drop Morgan back off to Papa T's?" I keep my hand on the small of Wanda's back helping to guide her through a small crowd of people as she tries to keep Morgan safe and comfortable.
"My phone is in my back pocket, the passcode is 2800." I hesitate slightly at her ease to just hand over her phone.
"Uhm, I can take Morgan and you can just call her if you want." Wanda furrows her brows in confusion looking up to me, as I continue to lead us out of the park.
"It's okay, just grab it from my pocket and go into my contacts."
"But I don't want to invade your privacy." I state not looking back at her, as I get us to the crosswalk so we can start heading back to mine.
"There isn't anything on my phone that I am not happy for you to see. Here." Now we have come to a stop Wanda is able to quickly move one hand to her pocket keeping Morgan against her with her other and passes me the phone.
"Uhm, what's the passcode again?" I anxiously tap the screen, it's not that I don't trust her, it's more that she trusts me enough to just go on her phone. Sarah and Steph never allowed that.
"2800." Wanda wraps her arm back around Morgan, hoisting her up a little as she has started to slip down. I type in the passcode, smiling when the phone unlocks and the home screen is a picture of me running around Natasha's backyard with the boys.
"I didn't know you had a picture of this day." Wanda hums as I turn the phone to show her the home screen and she smiles widely at me as we start to cross the street once the traffic stops.
"Yeah, you all looked so happy and I couldn't not take a picture."
"Can you send this to me?" I question as I open up the contacts searching for Karen's name.
"Of course I can dorogaya." I wrap my free arm back around her shoulder as I press the call button lifting the phone to my ear.
Karen: Hello, Wanda.
Me: Hey, Karen it's Y/n.
Karen: Oh, hello dear. Is everything okay?
Me: It's perfect. Me and Wanda were just wondering if you were able to drop the boys around mine so that we could introduce them to Morgan and have a family dinner tonight.
Karen: Of course I can. Just send me your address and I will have them outside the door in the next hour or so,
Me: Thank you Karen. And thank you for keeping an eye on them for the best day or two.
Karen: It's no problem, I love the boys no it was no hassle.
Me: Well thank you anyway.
Karen: Okay, I will get the boys ready to go, just send me the address and we will be there. Oh and say hi to Wanda for me.
Me: Will do, see you soon Karen.
Karen: See you soon dear.
"Karen says hello." I pass on as I put Wanda's phone, after sending Karen my address, in my coat pocket, swapping it out for my house keys as we make our way onto my street.
"When can she drop the boys off?" Wanda shifts Morgan to her left hip, her right arm dropping to her side and pulling my left arm down so she can link her hand with mine giving it a gentle squeeze.
"She said within the next hour or so, but with New York traffic at rush hour she could be longer. But we can cook dinner and just keep it warm in the oven until the boys turn up."
Wanda pulls me to a stop before I can walk up the stairs to the house and when I raise an eyebrow in question she tugs my arms down more causing me to bend down and she connects our lips in a soft kiss. When our lips part and I look at her in question she simply shrugs her shoulders, grabbing the keys from my hand and making her way up to the stairs. I shake myself out of my daze of confusion quickly jogging up the few steps, and through the door that Wanda is holding open for me.
I lean down leaving a small kiss on Wanda's forehead, as I kick the door closed and start taking my shoes off. Once I have hung my coat up and put my shoes on the rack I make my way to Wanda, to take Morgan from her arms so she can get her coat and shoes off but the moment she goes to move Morgan her small arms grip tighter around Wanda's neck.
"Morgan, honey you need to let go of Wanda so she can get herself sorted." I say softly trying to pry her arms off of Wanda but using her super child strength, it's ridiculous how strong a young child's grip can be, she whines shaking her head.
"I wanna stay here." She nuzzles her face into Wanda's neck more and I give Wanda an I'm sorry smile and she simply shrugs her shoulders as she kicks her shoes off.
"Looks like I am keeping my coat on." She turns around bouncing Morgan gently in her arms. "I am going to take her to one of the bedrooms and lay down with her for a while. I think she just wants to be held and sleep. Are you going to join us in our little sleep fest?"
"Maybe later, I'm gonna prep everything for dinner." Wanda hums with a nod, whispering sweet nothing in Morgan's ear as she whines a little more.
"I will set an alarm for an hour so I can be up for when the boys will roughly get here." Wanda presses a few kisses to the side of Morgan's head as she starts making her way upstairs.
"It's okay, I will just come and get you once food is ready."
"Okay. I love you baby." Her soft voice and words make a small blush grow on my cheeks and a soft smile makes its way onto my lips.
"I love you too princess." My eyes move to see Morgan's tiredly open to look at me giving me a small wave.
"Night night." I chuckle as her eyes flutter closed again and Wanda shifts her back onto her hip more.
"Night night honey." I start walking past the stairs as Wanda restarts her journey up them, only to come to a stop again when I hear Morgan tiredly mumble.
"I love you Eleos."
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Word Count: 3154