Lab Incident

"I'm just saying that you don't need to adhere to every suggestion, you can pick and choose. This is an English essay not a science experiment," Lucy explained to Wanda who was hunched over "The Great Gatsby".

"My problem is that I don't even understand what the purpose of any of this is. What is analyzing a book going to teach me?" the young witch complained and Lucy only shrugged her shoulders in reply.

"I have no idea but it's gonna haunt you till you finish school. You might actually start enjoying it though… it's a nice escape from real life." Lucy twisted her body back to smile at Wanda and grab another chocolate bar.

The girls had been lying on Wanda's bed and doing school work the past few hours, surrounded by chocolate and snacks. Wanda had to prepare work before school started in order to join normal classes as soon as possible and Lucy was always up for an opportunity to help. Peter had come over in the morning as well because May had to work during the weekend so he spent the next few days with them. He was currently badgering Bruce about some questions on his suit's improvement that he'd told Lucy about but she was sure Bruce wouldn't indulge the spider.

A knock on the door interrupted the study session and before Wanda could answer, Peter tromped into the room.

"He's not helping me with my ideas for the suit," he huffed angrily as he made his way towards the bed to grab a piece of chocolate. "He said we need more time to think it over but I ran all the calculations and it's fine."

"I told you," Lucy drawled after exchanging a long look with Wanda.

"They're going upstate for the rest of the afternoon until late tonight anyway," Wanda tried to console Peter. "You wouldn't have time to work on it anyway."

Lucy knew Peter planned something by the way he suddenly perked up when Wanda finished.

"They're all leaving? Is anyone staying home?"

Wanda seemed to sense something too. "Happy is staying home to babysit – what are you planning?"

"Nothing." The answer came too quick and the girls gazed at each other before sitting up and challenging Peter with expectant looks.

"Fine," he grumbled. "I thought if no one is home, we could spend some time in the lab, figure out where we're going with our improvements –"

"Oh no," Wanda interrupted him. "No, no, no, you are not working in the lab without supervision. That's the dumbest idea you've had so far."

Lucy pondered the idea a bit longer. "Let him finish. You're not the one needing the lab for your fighting."

Wanda shook her head. "Please tell me you're not endorsing this!"

"I'm just saying that no one will realize we were even in there if we don't stay the whole night. I just want to get ahead on my blaster calculations, they're still slightly off," Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

Peter gave her a triumphant look while Wanda's eyes just wandered back and forth between the two of them with clear exasperation written in them.

"You guys are idiots and I'm telling you now this is a bad idea," Wanda narrowed her eyes. "Don't complain when I told you so."

"We won't," Peter promised. "You coming?" he asked Lucy.

The blonde girl slid of the bed and gave Wanda an apologetic smile.

"I just wanna get ahead on my work and it's nothing dangerous. Don't worry."

Wanda huffed. "Oh, I'm not worrying, just commenting on your stupidity."

Peter and Lucy grinned and left the room, heading towards the labs. Happy was in the garage tending to the cars and he had muttered something about catching up on paperwork so he wouldn't even come close to the labs.

At the door to the main workshop, Peter scanned his palm and the doors slid open to reveal the biggest workshop. None of the really dangerous materials were kept here, they were all under lock in one of the other labs and none of the kids had access to it. Technically, they weren't allowed in any lab without supervision, not yet at least, but there was nothing hazardous in this one. Once inside, Peter went towards the back where he had his station and Lucy wandered to her own desk and pulled up a hologram of one of her blasters. The two of them started working silently with a pleasant, quiet atmosphere in the lab.

Lucy concentrated on calculating a better ratio of blasting force and size and weight of the blasters. She ran the new specifications through the printer and assembled one of her armpieces. It felt heavier than before but the blasting power should have improved. Lucy called over to Peter.

"Hey, spidey, have a look." She turned her arm that was coated in the red piece. "Whatcha thinking?"

Peter inspected the armpiece. "That looks awesome. You improved the blaster force?"

"Hopefully," Lucy narrowed her eyes at her arm. "I mean I can't try it out until we're working with Tony again, but –"

"Who says you can't?" Peter gave her a challenging look while walking back to his desk and slapping on his webshooters.

Lucy frowned and Peter continued explaining. "I developed webs that should withhold blaster shoots. Perfect opportunity to test it out!"

Lucy grinned. "Alright!"

Peter stood himself at the end of the lab, while Lucy positioned herself close to the door. Peter shot a web towards the back wall just as Lucy fired a blaster shot at the lowest setting. She had underestimated the force of the blast though. Apparently, her calculations had been too good and the shot had such power behind it that it easily tore through the web and hit the wall full force. A deafening crash was heard and Peter jumped back towards her as bits of the wall flew off and a hole formed that broke into the next lab. Bits of glass flew around and the windows on the other side easily shattered, opening access to the storage room behind them. Lucy and Peter stared in shock as the extent of their actions became apparent in front of their eyes. After a minute of silence, Lucy turned to her partner in crime.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" She asked him worriedly. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea that blast was so strong!"

Peter shook his head. "No, I'm good, what about you? And I'm sorry, I thought the webs were a lot stronger than this."

The teens leaned back again and breathed heavily.

"This was pretty cool though," Peter carefully admitted.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, we definitely found out we need to work better on our calculations." She grinned.

Looking around the lab stopped her smile though and Peter next to her also got very quiet. It was a picture of destruction and the fact that they shouldn't have been in the workshop in the first place only made things worse.

Lucy took a deep breath. "We really messed up, didn't we?"

Peter nodded dejectedly. "We've definitely got it coming."

Lucy's stomach turned at that. So far, she'd avoided any great punishment from Natasha and the most she's incurred had been a few glares that were enough to nip any disobedient behavior straight in the bud. Nervousness overcame her – not because she was scared of Natasha or anything she'd dish out, but because she didn't want to face her disappointment and stern demeanor. And just because she wasn't scared didn't mean she was looking forward to it. She threw a worried glance to Peter who tried his best calming smile.

"It'll be fine," he attempted to calm her down. "They'll be angry, we'll be disciplined and then everything will be fine." He didn't really sound convinced.

Lucy swallowed hard. "I've just never been in trouble with Natasha before…" She trailed off.

Peter threw her a sympathetic glance. "Yeah, I wouldn't wanna be in trouble with Nat."

Lucy open her mouth in disbelieve and shook her head. "Not helping!"

"Sorry." Peter sounded sufficiently apologetic.

"What do we do now?" Lucy sighed. "Why couldn't we just stop when everything was ok?"

"I ask myself that every time," Peter admitted. "One of the things Tony's trying to teach me apparently… to 'think before I act'." He used air quotes to support his last statement. "The alarm probably notified Tony already – he's got it installed just in case something like this would happen," Peter explained at Lucy's questioning look. "No idea why he wouldn't trust us…" He gave a tortured smile. "I say we just wait outside for the inevitable judgement," he declared in an ominous voice and Lucy just stared at him, causing his smile to vanish.

The two kids dropped down outside the lab door and sat in silence. Lucy was trying to sort out her thoughts. She was dreading Natasha's arrival, but she also wanted to get the punishment over with. With a heavy heart, she realized that the others, including Steve, would also know of her actions and she felt a knot forming in her stomach. Steve would be so disappointed that she wasn't living up to her grandma's example – what if they decided she was too much trouble? She'd lived at the tower for barely a week and she already wrecked the lab. Lucy pushed that thought away. If she entertained it, it'd drive her crazy even though she didn't know why; she'd always managed on her own, she could just continue that way. But thinking about how disappointed her grandma would be in her for having blown her shot at training with Shield and the Avengers made her feel physically sick. She leaned her head back and almost closed her eyes when she heard movement coming from the elevator and Peter and her scrambled to their feet as Tony, Natasha, Bruce and Steve turned around the corner with foreboding expressions on their faces.

Lucy threw one look at Natasha and immediately sunk her head. Yes, this would be worse than anything so far. The four only stopped when they stood in front of the two offenders. Tony raised an eyebrow at them.

"One of you care to explain why I got called by my lab alarm when no one was supposed to be in there because everyone authorized to do so was upstate?" His voice was calm but Lucy knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.

Peter swallowed hard and managed to look into his mentor's eyes. "Lucy and I thought it was a good idea to get ahead on some calculations while you were out." He sunk his head again. "You'll see once you go inside."

Tony threw the two kids a pointed look before opening the door to the lab and entering, followed by the other adults. Silence greeted them. A lump formed in Lucy's throat as she saw the destruction they'd caused once again. For some reason it looked worse the second time. Next to her, she could feel Peter slump and knew he was thinking the exact same thing. Slowly, the adults turned around after Tony and Bruce inspected the extent of the damage and Tony ordered to robots to start the cleaning process. When Natasha's eyes hit her again, Lucy averted her eyes, but Steve's disappointed gaze was no better and only brought images of her grandmother to her mind. She settled on inspecting her shoes instead.

"I think we'll start this discussion in my office," Tony declared, still in a calm voice but the displeasure was clearly heard.

Natasha nodded and, clasping Lucy's shoulder in a firm grip, maneuvered her out the door and down the corridor towards Tony's office. Lucy squirmed under her mentor's hand but submitted to it. She would do anything she could to show Natasha that she was willing to follow her, to convince her that she shouldn't get rid of her.

The adults placed the contrite teenagers on the sofa and stood in front of the desk with expectant expressions. Bruce had stayed back in the lab to oversee the cleaning process and Steve left the office with one last look towards the kids that had Lucy's heart sink even further.

"We still haven't heard a real explanation for what happened." Natasha had her curt, sharp agent voice and fixed her stare on Lucy who was still unable to meet it. She tried to answer her mentor but when she opened her mouth no sound came out. Lucy never had anyone to answer too – her nanny and grandma sometimes asked her to explain herself but it never concerned actual punishment. The most Peggy ever had reason to use was a stern voice and Lucy would comply or stop whatever she had planned. This was different. She'd never lived with someone who would care personally whether she followed the rules. School was school and breaking rules there meant having to serve some detention but the outcome, even taking the consequences into account, was usually worth it. Lucy was sure that none of today was worth anything. She felt rotten about the disappointment she'd caused Nat and Tony and the look Steve had thrown her cut deep. She wanted to explain herself but there wasn't much explaining to do. It was stupid and idle disrespect for the rules that motivated her, with no further goal but a cure to her and Peter's boredom. It was hard to admit and Lucy's pride stood in her way, but apparently the fear of having to leave was even greater – it was an unexpected feeling.

"We're sorry," Lucy started. She threw Peter a quick glance but he looked just as lost as her so she decided to save whatever could be saved.

"I know it doesn't change what happened. But – we don't have an explanation, we just – we thought… - we didn't think actually." She kept her gaze focussed on her knees but continued nevertheless. "We were bored and we thought if we just ran calculations and specifications, nothing bad would happen, but we got carried away and reckless and tried the new additions without proper precautions and we destroyed your lab, and I'm so sorry, I wish I could reverse what happened, it was stupid and I swear it won't ever happen again and, please – please, just.. don't send me back to school." Lucy got faster and faster during her monologue and spewed the last words out so quickly that they were almost impossible to make out, especially as her voice got more distraught and her breathing heavier.

Without missing a beat, Natasha slipped from her place before the desk directly in front of Lucy and crouched down. She placed her finger under the young woman's chin and forced her to look up.

Lucy winced as she felt Natasha's finger under her chin and squirmed as she had to look into her mentor's eyes. They were serious but there was no anger in them, Lucy recognised surprised.

"We will never get rid of you, Lucy. You are a part of this family now and whatever happens, I will still love you and care about you, do you understand? There is nothing you could do that would make anyone in this family hate you or want you to leave." Natasha's voice was serious but gentle and she never broke eye contact with Lucy.

Lucy felt tears pricking at her eyes as she heard Nat say that they cared about her. She nodded softly and her mentor placed a hand on her head to calm her.

"There is nothing that we won't be able to deal with, today included," the older woman continued and while her voice was still calming, it also got sterner.

Peter threw a worried glance towards Lucy.

"If getting into trouble meant leaving this family, I would've been thrown out ages ago," he joked and elicited a smile from his friend.

"Exactly," Tony chimed in. "We won't always be happy with your choices but making mistakes and getting into trouble are part of being a teenager. That doesn't mean we want you to break the rules but in case it happens, we have our little handbook and our consequences. You think we'd go through all that trouble if we planned on throwing you out if something did happen?" he challenged the girl.

Lucy shook her head mutely and relief settled in her chest. A look to Natasha's face had her smile smothered though because the disappointment had returned to the woman's eyes.

"I think we should probably move on to the punishment then?" Nat prompted.

Tony nodded. "You are both grounded from all labs for two weeks. Also, you can expect to not be allowed in any lab without supervision for the foreseeable future."

He recognized the teens' dejected looks but continued with a sternness Lucy wasn't used to from him.

"We were very close to giving you additional privileges, specifically allowing you to work on certain projects unsupervised in the main lab. This is not going to happen now because you've just proven that apparently our trust and confidence in your maturity was misplaced."

His words hit Lucy hard. She couldn't deny any of them but hearing it laid out so plainly made her feel ten times worse.

Natasha sighed loudly. "I think Lucy and I are going to continue this discussion upstairs."

Lucy's eyes darted up and her stomach turned because she knew what was coming. With weak knees, she stood up and let herself be led out the office and towards the elevator with Natasha's hand on her shoulder.

On their own floor, Lucy's mentor steered her towards her bedroom door and Lucy got inside without hesitation. Natasha sat herself on the bed and eyed Lucy with a firm expression. Lucy's breath hitched and she didn't attempt to conceal her nervousness.

"This is the first time we have to do this and I don't expect it to be the last one." Natasha didn't sound disappointed but spoke rather plainly.

"Unbutton your jeans."

Lucy obeyed immediately and as soon as she had followed the order, Natasha took her wrist and pulled the younger woman gently over her lap. Lucy huffed on impact and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at the childish situation. Then again, her actions had been nothing but childish, her brain conceded and embarrassment over what she'd done took over again. Natasha placed a comforting, stabilizing hand on Lucy's back before pulling down her pants causing Lucy to bury her head in her arms.

The first swat took Lucy by surprise but it wasn't as bad as she feared. Natasha continued spanking methodically, covering the entirety of Lucy's backside. After the first cycle, Lucy found it much harder not to squirm as the continued blows were hitting already sore spots. After the second, Lucy started sniffling and felt a constant stinging pain that got worse with each smack.

Natasha stopped and rested a hand on Lucy bottom.

"Why are we here?"

Lucy had dreaded the question and hoped Natasha wouldn't ask her to speak during the punishment. She felt emotionally upheveled already and didn't think she could form coherent sentences. Nevertheless, she tried. She didn't want to disappoint Natasha any further today.

"I broke the rules and went into the lab without supervision." She stocked and Natasha agreed while rubbing her back, encouraging her to go on.

"I was reckless and destroyed the lab while trying out armor we weren't allowed to."

Natasha stopped rubbing her back.

"Correct. You and Peter are lucky that you didn't get hurt. You know full well that the lab is not a playground and I expect better. That wasn't just reckless and dangerous behavior but also a violation of the trust we put into you. You heard Tony, we were thinking of letting you work without supervision but that requires maturity and a degree of trust that neither you nor Peter possess right now. Before we let you work on your own, you'll have to show us that you can be responsible and build that level of trust again."

Lucy sniffed. "I will do, I promise!"

Natasha smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. This will also never happen again. I don't expect having to correct you for the same issue twice. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lucy agreed.

She could feel Natasha pull down her panties and closed her eyes. She should've known this wasn't over yet.

Natasha continued delivering smack after smack to Lucy's bare now. Lucy couldn't keep the tears at bay anymore and they slowly made their way to her eyes as her bottom turned a deeper and deeper shade of red. She started to apologize and cry earnestly. Natasha tipped her forward and started spanking Lucy's sit spots, so that the effects of the punishment would be felt every time Lucy sat down during the next few days. Lucy tried to hold herself together as the sensitive area was attacked but it wasn't long before the first sob escaped her and she went limb over Natasha's knee.

This was the sign her mentor had been waiting for and as soon as Lucy completely submitted to the punishment, Natasha stopped and started rubbing her back.

"Shhhh… it's over, pticka," Natasha quietly said, trying to sound as comforting as possible.

The nickname that Lucy hadn't heard in years hit her right in the gut and she couldn't control her sobbing anymore.

Natasha decided Lucy wouldn't calm down over her lap, so she carefully pulled her clothes back in place and straightened her up before placing Lucy in her lap and hugging her tight.

"It's alright, it's over, shhhh…"

Lucy still showed no sign of calming so Natasha placed her head on top of her protégé's and quietly sang a lullaby in Russian. It had the desired effect and within minutes, Lucy's sobs had quieted down and her breathing got slower. Natasha smiled. She had known Zora, Lucy's nanny, who'd been a Russian Shield agent before she herself came to the organisation. She knew that Zora and even Peggy sometimes had spoken to Lucy in Russian and that the language was probably her first or at least one she'd learned from birth.

She decided to try again. "Are you okay?"

Lucy gave a tired nod. "Yeah, I'm fine." She looked up at Natasha with curious eyes. "Zora always sung that to me when I couldn't fall asleep."

Natasha smiled softly. "Yes, I figured it would calm you down."

"I'm so sorry," Lucy sighed again. "I don't know why I did it but it will never happen again, I swear!"

"I know, and now that you were disciplined, it's all over." Natasha smiled at her charge.

"We're good."

Lucy snuggled closer.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you," she murmured almost to herself.

Natasha let out a deep breath and in response held on to Lucy tighter. "I think the better question would be, what did I do to deserve you."

Lucy looked at her with incredulous eyes. Natasha smiled and rubbed her arms.

"I never in a million years thought I'd ever be anything close to a mother. But believe me, this is the best feeling I've ever had."

"Better than defeating an entire army of Chitauri? I don't buy that," Lucy grinned.

Natasha let out a short laugh. "A hundred times better, even though it's the first time I'm doing this."

Lucy smiled. "And yet you're doing a damn good job."

Natasha smiled but Lucy could definitely make out some sparkle in her eyes.

"You know my parents and how absolutely terrible my mother is," Lucy sighed. "And I've only ever had Zora and grandma and ever since they passed away… I was alone, but now – now I have you and you're the best mother figure I could wish for."

"Lucy…" Natasha interrupted her softly but Lucy didn't stop.

"You're tough and brave and a Shield agent and everything I ever wanted to be and now you care about me and you understand me and it's everything I ever wished for and I can't believe it's actually happening to me and I'm just so grateful and whatever I do, I never want you to forget that." Lucy's voice had started to crack by the end of the sentence and there were definitely tears glistening in Natasha's eyes.

"Thank you, pticka," Natasha responded quietly, placing a kiss on Lucy's forehead.

"I won't forget it if you promise me to remember that we will always want to have you in our family, no matter what. You could burn this entire tower down and I will still love you." The glint in Lucy's eye caused Nat's voice to become strict. "That doesn't mean I'll be pleased if you do it."

Lucy grinned and Natasha pulled her close again, placing her chin on top of the younger woman's head. Lucy pressed against Nat's chest and listened to her heartbeat. They sat like this in silence for a few minutes, processing everything they'd admitted to each and Lucy reveled in the comfort she hadn't experienced in a long time.

After a few minutes, the two pulled away and Natasha considered Lucy with a firm look.

"I think you should apologize to Tony and Bruce as well, considering they are the ones responsible for your lab work."

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely! I just hope they won't decide we're too stupid to continue working in the lab."

Natasha smiled. "I highly doubt that."

Lucy grinned and Natasha ruffled her hair before the two went downstairs to the others. Bruce and Tony were both still in the lab and as soon as the two women got there, Lucy apologized and was hugged by both. Bruce had assessed the damage and concluded that it wasn't too bad and quite easily fixable. Tony assured her that by the time she was allowed back in the lab everything would be fine. As Lucy turned to leave, he called after her that Peter was in his room but that wasn't the first order of business Lucy wanted to attend to.

She went to Steve and Wanda's floor and knocked on Steve's office door. Lucy heard the firm voice of the Captain answering and slid inside, pulling the door shut after her. Steve's office was exactly what Lucy expected. Forties style, quite spartan, yet he still managed to give it a distinct feeling of homeliness. Lucy took a deep breath and focused her attention on the blond man behind the desk who looked at her expectantly but not unfriendly.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute," Lucy asked politely.

Steve pointed to the chair in front of the desk. "Yes, of course, have a seat." He leaned back in his chair. "What can I do for you, Lucy?"

She held his gaze although it wasn't easy. "I would like to apologize. I know you're not my guardian or responsible for the lab but I know that you were disappointed in my actions and I promise it won't happen again."

A smile crept on Steve's lips and his features relaxed. "Thank you, Lucy, it means a lot to me." He considered her twitching on the wooden chair with a twinkle in his eyes. "I assume you had a discussion with Natasha?"

Lucy smiled ruefully. "Yes, and it wasn't pleasant but we talked afterwards and we're good now."

"I'm glad," Steve nodded slowly.

Silence settled in the office as Lucy carefully thought over her next words.

"I was trying to figure out why your disappointed look hit me so hard."

Steve cocked his head in curiosity.

"I know why. Every time I see the disappointment in your face I think of grandma and what she would think of me." Lucy bit her lip and took a deep breath.

"I don't know if she'd be disappointed as well – probably, considering I have a chance with the Avengers and all I do is create trouble."

Steve intervened without missing a beat. "That's not true. You made a mistake which is something all teenagers do - just, you know – most teenagers don't have access to an entire private lab." He gave Lucy a smile which she reciprocated.

"I think your grandmother would be very proud of you for owning up to your actions and accepting the consequences. You're a wonderful kid, you're brilliant and respectful and generally a delight to be around. I'm sure Peggy is very impressed with the young woman you've become and she'd want you to continue like this."

For the second time in one day, Lucy felt tears of emotional upheaval pricking at her eyes.

"I can see so much of her in you and believe me when I say that you will become just as accomplished as she was. I will always be proud of you for that." As Steve finished, he got out of his chair and walked around the desk to lift up Lucy, who now had some errant tears running down her face and hugged her tightly. She clung onto him and started sobbing.

"I just miss her so much, every day I miss her and it's not getting easier, she's gone and I miss her and –" She stopped and just cried into Steve's shoulder.

Stroking the girl's hair, he sighed heavily and was reminded of his own pain; pain of having everyone he'd known dead upon returning from the ice – everyone except Peggy. Her death was hard-hitting in a way he couldn't describe. But he had something to focus his grief on now. Wanda had helped a lot, then came Peter and now Lucy who connected to his own ache in a way no one else could. He had to work through this himself and help Lucy work through it too, by providing comfort and a safe and stable home. It's what Peggy would expect him to do and he was not going to let her down – not again. He had the opportunity to raise three kids, including the granddaughter of the strongest woman he'd known and he was going to do the best he could. Steve was glad that Nat was the primary guardian for Lucy though, the two were two peas in the same pot. The spy was able to handle Lucy's impulsive tendencies that so often reminded him of Howard. He couldn't help but be convinced that Peggy would be overjoyed with the home her granddaughter had found.

Lucy had calmed down a little and pulled away from the hug but Steve held onto her shoulders and with a gentle smile, locked eyes with her.

"How would you like for us to go visit Peggy's grave tomorrow? We'll bring her some flowers, light a candle, read her some poems, tell her about you living with us… I don't think you've told her yet."

Lucy stared at him in disbelief before her smile spread and gratefulness swept across her face.

"I'd like that a lot."

Steve smiled and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "We'll go right after breakfast and afterwards we'll get some lunch, how does that sound?"

"Amazing," Lucy responded with glowing eyes. "And thank you. I don't know how I kept going before but now I couldn't imagine getting along without all of you… it's scary in a way though."

"But we'll always be here," Steve affirmed her. "I promise – and you know what I think about those."

Lucy nodded. "Unbreakable."

Steve smiled. "Exactly."

She left the office, feeling so light in the chest that she could scarcely believe it. Since she was already on this floor, Lucy decided to visit Wanda, if only to give the young witch the satisfaction of going –

"I told you so" was the first thing that greeted Lucy upon entering Wanda's room.

Lucy gave her a good-natured smile. "Yeah, ok, I admit it, we were stupid."

The other girl hugged her and pitifully inspected her.

"How was your first punishment? I mean Natasha is strict enough during training, I couldn't imagine handling her discipline."

Lucy shrugged. "It didn't feel great, obviously, but we talked afterwards and got quite emotional. I was a bit terrified they'd decide I was too much trouble and send me away."

"Never!" Wanda exclaimed. "I ran away twice on the first day we were back at the base and not even exonerated yet. Once you are part of this family, you'll never get out."

Lucy grinned. "Sounds like a cult."

"It is, but instead of world peace we get chocolate milk and ice cream sundaes if we obey," Wanda giggled.

Lucy couldn't help but laugh and the girl kept snickering until a knock on the door interrupted them. Peter entered and Wanda proceeded with the same treatment that she'd given Lucy before. He was good-natured enough to take it in stride and also inquired after Lucy's first experience and was impressed by how well she handled it.

"I bet Cap was happy that he didn't have to handle you today," Peter smirked.

Wanda grinned. "Oh, you bet, though he is getting more comfortable with it… I gotta stop that."

Lucy sighed. "I could tell he was disappointed as well."

"Obviously," Wanda said without missing a beat. "He cares about all of us, he's the Captain for a reason."

Lucy nodded. "I went to apologize to him too –"

"Oh, I bet he loved that," Peter interrupted but stopped after seeing Wanda's face. "Sorry, continue."

"I got a little emotional, because it just reminded me of my grandmother," Lucy sighed. "But he was nice and said we'd work through it together. We're gonna visit her grave tomorrow."

Wanda had a proud grin on her face. "I told you we all care. It's gonna be great and you'll heal, I promise."

Lucy gave her a serious look. "Have you?"

Wanda considered the question carefully. "I'll always miss Pietro deep down but that doesn't have to stop you from healing. I didn't, not for a long time and it only really began when we got here and became a family. It still hurts but I can feel it getting better with every day. It's not easy but having everyone here around you is an opportunity for the heart to repair – it can't do that when you're on your own."

Lucy nodded thoughtfully and rested her head on Wanda's shoulder.

Peter smiled at the girls and climbed onto the bed, hugging both.

"I'm always here, remember? The three of us are a team and nothing will ever tear us apart."

Lucy closed her eyes and soaked in the comfort her friends were offering. She couldn't believe she was happy but it was real and true so she might as well enjoy it.