hello you lovely lovely people. this is such a filler chapter, but it's cute :)
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"I messed up."
"No. They're just still adjusting. And-"
"I never asked the boys how they felt. All I wanted was for Lia to be happy. I didn't even think about how they would feel about all of this. And now my children don't want to speak to each other and my daughter ran off to god knows where and my 8 year old boys act like 16 year olds and I just failed as a mother and now they're gonna ha-"
"Wanda, darling, this rambling isn't helping you or me. Judging by Avelia's patterns of behaviour, we can easily predict that she has gone to Natasha's. And if it makes you feel better, I could call Alexei or Melina if that would calm you down?" Surprisingly, Vision was being impressively comforting as his wife had a mini breakdown at the kitchen table, tears mixing with the leftover spaghetti and meatballs on her plate.
Wanda ran her hands over her face as she exhaled, her auburn hair getting tangled in her slender fingers. "She hates me."
"She doesn't hate you. It was just a shock."
"Tommy didn't talk to me on the way home either, so he probably hates me too. Billy is the only one I have left now and he's gonna follow his brother and then I'm going to end up being alone and-"
The doorbell chiming cut her off mid-sentence, sending a wave of relief through Vision's rigid android body. If he could physically feel emotions, one would see him slump down in his chair as he watched Wanda get up to answer.
Yelena stood outside of the door, bouncing on her heels and listening to the snow crunch under her boots, her breath puffing out in a little cloud as she exhaled. Her fingertips were frozen as she pressed the doorbell and she prayed for Wanda to hurry up. Grabbing a coat on her way out didn't exactly come to mind as she ran from home.
The door creaked open and Yelena was met with a slightly red faced Wanda who was surprised at the 12 year old on her doorstep. "I'm sorry to bother you Miss Maximoff, I just wanted to say that Lia is at ours and Nat is taking good care of her. Mama asked me to ask you if it was okay if she stayed the night? Judging by the grip Natty had on her waist, I'm not sure she's gonna let her go anytime soon."
Wanda was taken aback by the girl's rambling, but found it sweet nonetheless. She blinked a couple of times and then nodded. "Yes, yes of course. Is she okay?" She desperately wanted to see Lia but knew that her daughter would want space.
Yelena looked hesitantly back at her house before glancing at Wanda again. "She's um- well- Nat will make sure she's okay. I'm sure of it. She's kind of fiercely protective over Lia, so she's going to be fine."
Wanda's heart warmed at the story. She was glad Nat lived so close purely to pick up the pieces that she inevitably failed with when parenting.
"Okay thank you for letting me know. Can you just ask her to text me when she gets a chance?" The mother's desperation to check on her daughter was making her fidgety, and Yelena took note of this right away. Her fingers were linking and unlinking, so Yelena quickly said goodbye and then dashed across the lawns, trying not to slip on the ice that had formed on the pavements.
"Okay, I told her. She knows so no one needs to panic." Yelena announced as she burst through the door. She was met with Nat and Melina making tea in the kitchen, and noticing the lack of Lia, she immediately lowered her voice. "Wanda is itching to see Lia but I told her everything is okay. Where um... where is she?"
Nat glanced up the stairs before back to the mug of tea she was making. She didn't speak, but her actions showed her sister everything she needed.
"I- umm..." without any true reason, Lena rushed forwards and wrapped her arms around her sister. The whole events of the day, including the fight had made her realise just how lucky she was to have Nat as a sister. She didn't have to put up with some dickhead brother who didn't accept other people. Natasha was the most caring and warm hearted person she knew. Yes, she was tough on the outside and was known not to be messed with, but Nat had a huge heart, of which a large part was taken up by Lia.
Natasha tensed up as her little sister attacked her in a hug, not used to this level of affection. Slowly, and rather awkwardly, she patted her sister on the back, her movements robotic.
"Just hug me goddamit. I'm not gonna do this for another 10 years." Yelena complained into Nat's tshirt, where her face was smushed.
Nat laughed and hugged her back, her arms squeezing the blonde tightly. "I like this. You're a softie." She ruffled her hair which made Yelena whine.
"Shut up." The blonde pulled away, punching her sister lightly in the stomach. "You ruined it."
Nat grabbed Yelena's head and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. The sisters were close, but very rarely showed affection like this. But it was a sign of appreciation and respect, which was something they had in copious amounts of.
Melinda watched her girls with a warm smile, wishing she could capture this moment forever and keep it within a locket around her neck. She was beyond proud, but didn't show it as much as she should.
"I've got my sleeping girl to attend to, so Yelly, keep the noise down please."
"Roger that."
Nat headed to her room once more, balancing 2 mugs of tea in one hand as she quietly opened the door. The curtains were pulled shut and the faint outline of Lia's still shaking body could be seen in the hallway light, the covers tucked high into her neck. She was curled up; a natural protection instinct that left her feeling small in Natasha's large bed.
Placing the cups on their coasters, Nat climbed into bed beside her girl, pushing the brunette hair from her face to properly see her features. Even though her eyes were closed, it was clear on Lia's face that she was exhausted and the tear tracks were still evident on her cheeks.
Nat stroked her cheek with the back of her hand, her touches featherlight and comforting as she watched Lia sleep. She wasn't intrusive, or over compensating for anything, just letting her girl know she was there if needed. Avelia stirred in her sleep and subconsciously leaned into Nat's soft touch, which didn't help the plethora of butterflies erupting in the redhead's stomach.
After placing a sweet kiss to Lia's temple, Nat picked up the copy of 'Little Women' that she kept on her bedside table (courtesy of Lia) and flicked to the first page and began reading. She didn't know how long Lia would be asleep for, probably not too long, but she wanted to read to her all the same.
"Christmas won't be christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
"It's so dreadful to be poor!" Sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.
"I don't think it is fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy with an injured sniff.
"We've got father and mother and each other," said Beth contentedly from her corner.
"I never thought you'd actually read it." Came a weak voice from beside Natasha's thigh.
"Oh hello sleeping beauty," Nat smiled, looking down at the angel in her bed. "How are you feeling?"
"My head hurts. But it helped waking up next to you. What time is it?"
Nat grabbed her phone to check the time before turning back to Li, who was shuffling around to get comfy with her face on Nat's lap. "It's 8pm. And you're adorable." Lia smiled as Nat kisses her on the nose, which made her scrunch it up adorably.
"8? Oh, I'm sorry I should go." Lia sat up to leave before Nat grabbed her waist and hauled her back down, so they landed on top of each other.
"You, my girl, are not leaving. You come running here in a full blown panic attack, and you cannot leave until I get at least some sort of explanation."
Lia went quiet. She'd forgotten for a split second about her fallout with her brothers, and her sudden drop in expression made Natasha frown.
"Hey." She said softly, hooking her finger under Lia's chin. "Take your time. We've got all night."
Grabbing Nat's pillow and hugging it, Lia let out a sigh. "My brother. I don't know what's going on but he hates me."
"Billy? or Tommy?"
"Tommy. I don't know what happened at school, but one day he loves it when we pick him up and then the next, he doesn't want anything to do with me. He hates me Nat! He said he wished I wasn't his sister. I don't know what I did wrong." Tears were streaming down her cheeks once again and she buried her face in Nat's chest.
"Hey hey hey shhhh it's okay." Nat pulled Lia fully on to her lap, holding her thighs and stroking them slowly.
"I messed up. I messed up and now he's going to hate me and Mama is gonna hate me and you're gonna hate me and I-"
"Okay baby slow down. I don't hate you okay? I'm never going to hate you. And your mom doesn't hate you. She couldn't. You're too perfect for that."
"And Tommy?" Lia eyes were big as she looked at Nat, and the redhead swiped her tears away with her thumbs.
"Well, if it's the same thing that got Lena into that fight, then just know he was sticking up for you. He loves you, and he's stubborn so he fights anyone who says anything bad against you."
"Lena got in the fight?"
Nat sighed. "Yeah. Said some dude was picking on your brothers and bad mouthing you and sometimes me. So she showed them who's boss. And apparently your badass little bros pack a good punch too."
Lia slumped against Nat's chest, looping her arm sound her neck to play with her scarlett hair. "He just seemed to hate me. I don't want him to hate me and I never even asked if he's okay with me dating you."
Nat pulled Li's arms away and grabbed her wrists infront of her chest. "Lia hold on. Who you date is none of his business. It's none of anyone's business apart from yours and mine. And besides, he's 8 years old. He's too young to understand everything that's going on."
"He's smart Nat, you know that. They both are. And all I want is their acceptance. I don't want to be cast out by them. I just-" Lia slumped forwards and groaned, the whole situation hurting her head too much.
"Hey, we don't need to do this now. You wanna sleep some more and have another go?" She wrapped her arms around the brunette and smothered her in hugs, knowing Lia would get too comfy and fall asleep.
"If you sing to me, I'll go straight to sleep."
Nat groaned. "Ugh okay fine. Which song?"
Shuffling down so she was laying on Nat's lap, Lia smiled sweetly up at Nat, her green eyes still shiny with tears. "The tangled song."
"I could have guessed." Nat said with a smile. She flicked her lamp off so the only light came from her fairy lights, and wriggled down the bed so they were both laying down. Lia moved her head to rest on Nat's boobs, mumbling "pillows" as she got comfy.
"Comfy?" Nat asked as Lia sighed.
"Pillows. Boobs. Baby. Check."
"You're so cute."
"Shush." Lia pressed her finger to Nat's lips. "Sing."
"Okay. Now close your eyes." Lia did so with a smile. Nat started to sing, her voice barely above a whisper but still as rich and raspy as usual.
"Flower gleam and glow,
Let your power shine.
Make the clock reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates design.
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine.
What once was mine."
Lia was out like a light. Asleep like an angel on Nat's chest, her breath evening out by the time Nat started the second verse. The redhead smiled and switched off the light, not caring that it was only 8:30pm. If Lia wanted to sleep, then so would she.
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A/N: I'm sorry for the late upload! I had absolutely no ideas or motivation, so here's a little filler chapter and hopefully next week's will be better and longer! Plus... christmas is coming up soon. Which means all the fluff and cuteness that comes with christmas with a gf. I love you all so so much and thank you for reading :)