"Brave New World"
Chapter One
By darthelwig
*** I own nothing. I'm just having fun. ***
A/N: This story is complete and utter self indulgence on my part. I've never written Carol before, so this should be interesting.
These characters are in high school, and will be romantically involved, so knowing me, there will be some sexual situations involved (though I have nothing planned yet). I am writing them at around 17-18, so if that bothers you, please leave now.
The Maximoffs had been kicked out of the new Avengers facility. Well, not kicked out, per se, but they'd been "relocated" for their own good, or so Steve kept telling them.
"The compound is no place for a couple of teenagers. You're too young to be going on missions or training with the team. We want you to finish your education, then you can come back when you're ready and your places will be here."
So basically, they'd been told not to come back anytime soon.
Tony had hired tutors for them for a while, because they'd been so far behind in their schooling thanks to living on their own for so long. Both of the twins caught on quickly, their minds eager for knowledge. Pietro was impatient and easily bored, but his quick mind more than made up for that. Wanda was highly intelligent as well, and more studious. Together, they were doing very well. Which they pointed out to Steve, hoping they could just continue their tutoring, but he was insistent.
They would be going to high school. He'd already had them take their placement tests, and apparently they'd been enrolled in a school without even knowing about it. Everything had been set up already. The Avengers worked fast.
Only, they weren't staying at the compound. They were headed to Clint's home. He would be taking them in while they finished their schooling and their "growing up," as Steve called it. Both twins had chafed at that. They'd been taking care of themselves for years. At seventeen, they could be considered adults in many places, but Steve was having none of it. Perhaps it was because Pietro had come so close to dying in Sokovia. He wanted to protect them as long as he could. Still, they didn't want to be treated like children.
Pietro scowled as he disembarked the Quinjet, looking around with a raised eyebrow at all the empty space around them. Definitely not what he had expected from the archer. He hadn't been surprised to learn the man was a father, he seemed to slip into that role all too easily, but he definitely hadn't expected a farm. This was new.
He looked over at Wanda, who was taking it all in with wide eyes. He took her hand in his and gave her fingers a light squeeze, and her lips quirked up into a tiny smile.
"What do you think, Wanda? I could run us away if you like. Just say the word, sister." He thought he had spoken quietly, but Clint answered as he walked past them off the jet.
"Nobody's running away. Come on, you two. Bring your stuff." He gestured for them to follow, and Pietro hefted both his and Wanda's heavy bags as they trudged forward to their new home.
Settling in wasn't so bad.
Clint's wife seemed nice enough. What was her name again? Lydia? Linda? Something like that, anyway. She was a warm person, very tactile, and while the twins had always been welcoming of each other's touches, they had avoided the same from others. They trusted only each other, needed only each other, but things were different now. Pietro had to remind himself of that often. These people could be trusted.
This woman left no room for argument anyway, and honestly, he didn't really mind it, deep down. She had a mother's touch, both soft and strong, caring and guiding, and he hadn't experienced that in, well, too long. He found himself craving it, and he saw the same hunger in his sister's eyes as well.
So yeah, not so bad.
The kids were a trip. Cooper and Lila. He could remember their names already, seeing as how often their parents yelled at them, especially Lila. She was a handful. Pietro tried to blame Wanda as a bad influence, but she just gave him a dirty look as Clint rolled his eyes. He made the mom laugh, though, so he counted it as a win. He really wished he could remember her name.
They were given all of a day to settle in before it was time to start their new lives as "high school students from abroad." He and Wanda were both a bit nervous about it, but he figured they were as prepared as they were ever going to be, so there was no use putting it off.
Clint drove them to school the first day. Wanda was trying her best to appear calm, but her hands twisted in her lap until Pietro took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. She sent him a small smile in thanks, and leaned against his shoulder as they watched the landscape pass by in comfortable silence.
Well, it was silent until Clint turned on the radio and ruined it with his truly awful music.
"And it was such a nice drive until now," Pietro said, making his sister smile. Clint glared at him in the rear view mirror, and Pietro gave the man a nice, big grin.
"Don't knock it, kid. You ever heard the saying 'Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cakehole'?"
"No. Should I have? Besides, I am not riding shotgun. I am in the back, or are you losing your sight in your old age?" Pietro was playing it up for his sister, trying to tease more smiles from her, and was very pleased with himself when her body shook with silent laughter.
Laughter that quickly faded as they arrived at their destination.
"Okay," Clint said as they climbed out of the car. "Remember, no powers of any kind. You're just two kids from Eastern Europe being fostered here."
"Don't worry," Wanda said. "We'll be alright." She didn't look convinced, but at least she was trying.
"We survived the streets of Sokovia and Hydra's experiments. We can do this. Should be no problem," Pietro said arrogantly. He and Wanda had been through so much already, and she needed to remember that. This? This was child's play. His words seemed to bolster his sister's courage. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin.
Pietro still took her hand as they walked into the school, though. Being strong didn't mean they couldn't hold on to each other. After all, they were always strongest when they were together.
