Chapter 2

"Wanda, I know you're over there," Natasha spoke quieter know. She thought speaking more softly would coax Wanda out of the corner she was in. I feel like I'm trying to lure a scared cat out of hiding. She wasn't completely wrong in this assumption. Natasha knew Wanda wanted to be alone and that she had scared her into hiding. Natasha also thought that Wanda's big green eyes sometimes resembled that of a cat, not that she ever mentioned it. Deciding to take a different approach she walked forward to the edge of the tower where Wanda had just been sitting, and promptly sat down. She didn't attempt to look at Wanda, even though all she had to do was turn her heard 90 degrees to the right to see her. Instead, she sat, looking out at the skyline, and waited for the girl to join her. "C'mon," she said casually, indicating that she should join Natasha.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you or anything. I should just…I'll go back to my room." Wanda began to walk away before Natasha intervened.

"Sit," Natasha said a more forcefully, but still gently enough. "Please." Wanda made her way over silently, looking as if she expected to be scolded for being out of bed so late. Natasha knew she was a hard person to read, she prided herself on looking indifferent most of the time. As a spy it was her job to be unreadable. So it was sometimes, well more than just sometimes, hard to open herself up. She had let Bruce in, but he was gone now. She knew it had more to due with himself and his insecurities rather than her, but it still hurt. Natasha, who still hadn't looked at Wanda for her benefit as much as her own, took a deep breath. She decided to start with a fact. "I've known for the past three days that you've been getting out of bed and coming out here." Natasha could feel Wanda stiffen. "I didn't mean to invade your privacy. I noticed how exhausted you've been at training these past couple of days, so I did a little investigating. I was worried. You should know, as a spy and all, it's kind of my job to know when people are hiding things." Wanda was still rigid and Natasha knew why. They were both anticipating for the moment when she brought up Pietro.

Wanda's grief was easy enough to see, especially during her first few weeks with the team. Natasha wasn't fooled though; she knew Wanda was carrying a lot more inside than she was letting out. That's probably why she comes out here, to let out some of her grief when no one's around. "You didn't want anyone to know you were here. I can understand that. Talking about my feelings isn't something I…excel at, either." She took a deep breath before continuing. "When I was really young someone in my life didn't tolerate weakness," she wanted to shudder at the thought of Madame B, "and this person definitely thought that emotions were a weakness. This person-she made me-" Natasha was stumbling over her words now. She hadn't intended to bring up her past. She just wanted Wanda to know that there were people here who cared for her and who would listen to her. She wanted Wanda to know that she didn't need to go through this alone.

Natasha turned to face Wanda and met the gaze of the scared kid who was going through so much. She wore a long black t-shirt and red pajama pants. The lights from the city illuminated the wet path of tears that kept flowing down her cheeks. "You knew Pietro better than anyone. You spent your entire life together, but now that he's gone…" Wanda eyes went to the floor between them. "He was such a big part of your life and you have to talk about him. All the good and bad memories you two shared, you should talk about them. It doesn't matter if it's with me or Steve, hell even Tony, just don't keep it inside, okay?" Natasha looked at Wanda expectantly to confirm that she understood.

"My brother and I loved looking at the stars when we were little. They were much easier to see in Sokovia, so when it was warm enough we would lie outside on the roof of our building and fall asleep together under the stars. Sometimes my parents would join us, before…before everything changed. It feels like a lifetime ago now."

Natasha didn't know what more to say. She didn't have the answers for her; she'd be lying if she told Wanda the pain would go away. She knew all she could do was listen as Wanda told her more stories about Pietro and her parents. She instinctively put her hand on Wanda's backas more tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Even Natasha lost track of time as the two sat together, perched edge of the Avengers tower. Wanda had mostly told her about times when the twins were little, and their parents were still alive. She told Natasha about the mischief they caused together, about how many headaches the twins gave their parents. "It seemed like we were always laughing about one thing or another," she had said with a sad smile.

"We should probably go to bed. I didn't mean to keep you up this late," Wanda continued.

"We can go in if you like, or we can stay here. I didn't really know Pietro and this seems like a good way to get to know him, but if you're tired we can talk more later." Wanda nodded. She was noticeable tired, but she seemed more at peace, like talking about her brother had helped her.

"That would be nice. Thank you, Natasha," she replied. The redhead smiled and they both got up, silently making their way to their rooms. They finally departed when they reached Wanda's room, as Natasha's was further down the hall. They gave each other a small smile as Wanda closed the door. They would both be tired tomorrow, but it was worth it. Natasha didn't plan on telling anyone else about their encounter, besides Steve. As co-heads of their little team he just wanted to reassure Steve that Wanda would be okay. She didn't plan on going into detail about their conversation; she would just tell him that they talked. Natasha entered her room and groaned silently when she saw the time. It was well past four and they would have to be up in only a few hours for training. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day.

Okay, I had a hard time characterizing Natasha. I think that Natasha would want to help Wanda, but has so many emotional issues herself that she represses so she has a somewhat difficult time comforting her. I also wanted to show a family type bond between the two were Natasha takes a more protective role over Wanda. The third chapter will be the next morning and introduce the other avengers. Expect more lighthearted humor than what you have seen already. I hope you guys like the story so far!