It was almost an hour later before Wanda finally emerged from the shower, dressed and returned to her own room. Seeing that the door between her suite and Natasha's was ajar, she shyly went up to the door and knocked.

"Come on in, Wanda."

Wanda stepped through the doorway to see Natasha folding clothes on her bed. Several garment bags and luggage cases were scattered around the floor.

"Hey," Natasha greeted her with a warm smile. "Come in. If you can navigate through all the debris. Today's moving day. Obviously. All cleaned up?"

Wanda made a face. "I think so. It takes a really long time to wash all that paint off. It goes everywhere - even places you really don't want paint to go."

"Oh, I know all about the perils of paintball, believe me," Natasha grinned. She seated herself on the edge of the bed and gestured for Wanda to do the same. Wanda sat beside her, snuggling close; Natasha put an arm around her and gave her a comforting squeeze. "I expressly told Clint and Sam they weren't to paintball you. I'm still working on an appropriate punishment."

"Please don't be mad at them," Wanda begged. "They really were just trying to help me. And I actually had a good time."

"I heard you laughing," Natasha nodded. "That was nice to hear."

"I got so caught up in the game, I even..." Wanda hesitated. "I forgot about... things. For a little while." She gave Natasha a pleading look. "Is that bad?"

"Oh, Wanda." Natasha sighed. She hugged her tightly. "No. It's not bad at all. It's healthy and normal. And in time, that is what's going to help you heal."

"I don't ever want to forget my brother."

"You won't."

"But how do I -"

"Hush." Natasha hugged the young woman again. "The love you feel for Pietro, and the love he felt for you, you'll never lose that. You'll remember that he died, and how badly it hurt. But the pain will fade. It will take a long time, but it will, I promise. And the love will always be there."

Wanda burrowed into Natasha's embrace, seeking comfort. Natasha held her tightly, stroking Wanda's soft hair, gently rubbing her back. Wanda drew in a sharp breath suspiciously close to a sob, and Natasha left a maternal kiss on her forehead. Then they sat together in companionable silence for a time.

When her emotions calmed, Wanda sighed deeply. "I'm so glad I met you."

"I'm very glad I met you," Natasha agreed. She cast a glance around the room. "Somewhere in all this mess is two suitcases full of outfits for you. But, you and I both missed lunch. So I think before we begin the treasure hunt for your clothes, we should go down to the kitchen, and have an early supper. What do you think?"

"Sounds great," Wanda sniffed discreetly.

As they stood up, Wanda winced slightly. Natasha regarded her friend with a knowing smile. "So, how sore are you, after your first full day of training?"

"Ugh! I ache all over," Wanda admitted. "I'm just one big bruise, from head to toe."

"I'll bet," Natasha said sympathetically. "It will feel worse in the morning, trust me. Remind me to introduce you to the joy and wonder of ice packs." She held out her hand. "Come on, partner. Let's go hunt and gather ourselves some nourishment."

Arm in arm, the two women left the room together.

The following morning, Natasha came down to breakfast at what was for her a disgracefully late hour. She had gone to bed fairly early and slept in, far longer than she had intended. To her surprise and delight, a piping hot breakfast was already prepared for her, courtesy of the new chef, and she was also happy to see Steve Rogers, once again dressed in civilian clothing, also taking a late breakfast. She walked up to the table.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Hey, Natasha. Please. Sit down. I was actually about to come look for you."

"I'm seeing lots of familiar faces around here this morning," she commented, taking a seat. "It's almost like S.H.I.E.L.D. in miniature."

Steve nodded. "We were lucky. A lot of the people who helped make S.H.I.E.L.D. exceptional were willing to come work for us, in spite of all that's happened. This is nothing on the scale of S.H.I.E.L.D., but we have the beginnings of a solid organization now. Maria vetted almost all of the staff personally."

"So, we should be in decent shape to go out and protect the world again," Natasha quipped.

"That's the plan," Steve agreed.

"What did you want to talk to me about? Or should I say, who."

Steve smiled. "You're getting to know me pretty well. Yes. I wanted to talk about Wanda. More specifically, your relationship with her."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem. But I've been watching how the two of you interact. It's obvious Wanda looks up to you. She also sees in you someone she can confide in, and someone she can turn to for comfort."

"Are you suggesting I stop?"

"Actually, I was going to ask you to keep doing what you've been doing. As long as Wanda has someone on the team who keeps her anchored emotionally, she's much more likely to stay with us. It's not fair to place that burden entirely on you, but you're the person she's chosen to bond with. And I know how you feel about babysitting."

"Wanda doesn't need babysitting. She just needs a friend."

"Then I'm asking, for the good of the team, be her friend. What's the term they use these days? BFF. I need you to be Wanda's BFF."

Natasha smiled. "This isn't going to be a problem for me, Steve. Honest."

"Good. It's one thing to ask you to do that for a couple of weeks. It's another matter entirely to ask you to make a long-term commitment. I was hoping, since you vouched for her initially, you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all. So, you're planning to take her out into the field with us?"

Steve shook his head. "Not yet."

"Can I ask why not?"

"It's... complicated."

"Yeah, and I'm calling bullshit," Natasha declared. "Wanda's more than proven herself, Steve. We couldn't have stopped Ultron without her help. It's obvious she knows how to handle herself in the field. I can't think of a single valid reason why you'd want to keep her on the bench."

Steve gave Natasha a questioning look, so she added, "Hey, you appointed me your second in command. That means I'm supposed to speak up, if I think you're making a questionable call."

"You're right." Steve took a long sip from his coffee mug. "There's one other thing I need to see from Wanda, before I know we can take her into the field with us. Just one."

Natasha nearly groaned as the realization came to her. "Stark."

"I'm the first to admit, I find Tony hard to work with sometimes. But I can work with him. And I do. I just need to know that Wanda can, too."

"You're asking her to forgive an awful lot, Steve."

"Tony didn't drop that bomb on Wanda's home personally. I'm not sure Wanda sees it that way. They don't have to like each other, but I need to know that they can work together. Tony's flying out at the end of next week, and he's bringing the Vision with him. While he's here, I'd like to arrange for Wanda and Tony to have an... ahh, unscheduled private meeting."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Accidentally on purpose?"

"Even if he's not going to be suiting up as often, Tony's still part of this team. We wouldn't even be in this facility, if he hadn't stepped in after S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed. Tony's not going anywhere. So if Wanda is going to be an Avenger, she needs to understand and accept that."

Natasha sighed. She could see Steve's point, but it wasn't an easy sell. "What if she says no?"

"Then she can't be on the team. Not until the answer is yes." Steve leaned forward in his chair. "And don't coach her on this, Natasha. We need to know how Wanda truly feels, in her heart, without any prompting from any of us. This can only work if Wanda can accept the situation as it stands now, both the good and the bad."

"So, you want me to say nothing."

"You can tell her that Tony and the Vision are coming here. But leave it at that."

Natasha mulled that over. "She's worth bending the rules for, Steve."

"I know she is. Sam and Clint will be working with her for the rest of this week. Before Clint goes home, we'll have a private sit-down with them to evaluate Wanda's readiness." He managed a tight-lipped smile. "Unless you have any further comments to make about their paintball session yesterday."

"Nope. No comments."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Wanda enjoyed it. And she needs all the positive reinforcement we can give her. I was actually planning to drop a word in Sam's ear on that subject."

"Give Sam some credit," Steve said. "He knows he's not working with a jarhead. He'll take good care of her."

Natasha wasn't as sure, but she decided to let the matter drop, for now. "What about the Vision?" she asked. "Have you come to any decision about him?"

Steve sighed. "I want to believe the Vision is everything he claims to be. But he was an offshoot of the Ultron program, and, well, I just can't shake off my concerns that easily. Erik Selvig will be out here next week, along with a couple of other researchers, and I'm hoping they can work with him, and convince me that my concerns are unfounded."

"Wanda and the Vision could give this team some serious firepower, Steve. And firepower is one thing we're sorely lacking right now."

"I'm fully aware of that. But I can't let their enormous potential blind me to other concerns. I need to know they can be the future of this team, not the end of this team."

"Well, I can't speak for the Vision, but in Wanda's case, I'm sure that bringing her on the team is the right call."

"I hope so," Steve answered thoughtfully. "And I hope that by the end of next week, that's something we can make official."