Darlin', Come Home

Wanda rolled over on her bed at the Avengers Compound, pulling her blanket over her head. Everything hurt, her head, her eyes, her body, her soul. She had lost the last shred of hope she could cling on: her brother. Sleeping was useless, even though she tried time and time again to no avail. Her heart felt like a burnt-out chunk of hardened iron, cold and unfeeling. She shoved the blanket from her face and sat up violently, not allowing the tears to come. Her head swam with dizziness. Wanda shook her head and took a breath then crawled forlornly out of bed towards her small wooden dresser.

Wanda shoved her feet into her boots, preparing to take a walk. Her mind needed to clear from the thoughts swirling in a deadly storm inside it. Ultron was dead, Sokovia was safe, but Pietro was gone. The only family she had left.

Clint observed her from the doorway, leaning against the frame, his presence unknown to her. Her hair was a matted mess of red tangles and the dark circles under her eyes were borderline black from lack of sleep. Her body was sore, still healing from the battle a few days before, he could tell, as she moved slowly about her room, her back towards him. As she bent down to put a boot on, her skirt lifted above her knee, showing a rather nasty looking cut on the back of her thigh.

"That looks pretty nasty," Clint said, making his presence known.

Wanda jumped in fright. Usually she could sense when someone was there, but not lately.

"What does?" she asked, turning towards the voice. Clint. Don't get her wrong, she really liked Clint, but she needed to be alone.

"The cut on your leg. You should get it looked at."

Wanda shrugged. "Doesn't hurt." She yanked her hair into a tight ponytail and shoved her arms in her jacket. She shouldered past him and into the hallway. Clint limped after her, shuffling along. Battle had him pretty stiff and he'd messed up his knee pretty good running to get that last kid. When Pietro had saved him.

"Princess, that cut's barely scabbed over. No way that doesn't hurt."

"It's fine. I'll get it looked at later. Go away." Wanda trotted angrily down the hall.

"Mind if I ask where you're going?" Clint asked.

"Just on a walk."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Yes, actually," Wanda retorted. "I want to be alone right now."

"Not gonna happen, Princess. Nobody goes out alone for at least a couple days." Clint shuffled quickly behind her. "'Sides, I thought we could talk."

Wanda shoved open the door to the Avengers compound, breathing in the cool air of dusk. The sun had begun to set behind the trees.

"About what?" she threw back, keeping up a pace just fast enough that Clint couldn't keep up cause of his injury.

"Slow down, Princess," Clint said, hobbling as fast as his knee would allow him.

"I want to be alone," Wanda replied, increasing her pace to a trot.

"You can't be," Clint said, stopping and standing there, hands on hips. "Cap's orders."

"I don't care what Cap says."

"Well, you should, Princess," Clint replied, a slightly stern tone taking precedence in his voice.

"What do you want?" Wanda finally asked, whirling around to face Clint.

"We need to talk, Wanda," Clint said.

"About what? About my dead brother? Cause I already know he's dead, and nothing can change that, and I don't want your sympathy! Nobody can feel his loss like I did," Wanda yelled, tears streaming from her face. "He's the only family I had left! You can't possibly know how that feels!"

"You don't think I can feel his loss like you did? He saved my dang life, Wanda! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here! His last words haunt me! I hear them echo over and over. It's like he's right behind me constantly, haunting me, dripping blood over my shoulder!" Clint shouted back at her. "And maybe I can't feel his loss like you, but maybe I can feel it on my own way!"

Wanda shuddered, scrubbing away tears with her fists.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Darlin'."

Wanda started to turn around. "Care to finish my walk with me?"

"Wait. I need to show you something, Darlin'." Clint pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. Wanda turned and reached for it, scanning the document quickly.

"This- this is an adoption form," she said in disbelief.

"Yup. All you gotta do is agree."

Wanda took a deep breath. "I - I don't know..."

Clint cupped the back of her head with one hand, fingering the bandaged cut above her eyebrow with the other. "Darlin', come home."

Wanda nodded. "Okay..., okay, let's go home... Papa." She added that last ephitet as an afterthought. Clint's eyes lit up.

"Yes, Princess, let's go home." Clint wrapped Wanda in a tight hug, and they returned to the compound hand in hand.

...

The door opened and closed with a squeak and a bang, and bags and quivers were dropped to the floor. Laura turned around, giving a gasp of disbelief. She set the teakettle down with a bang and ran across the threshhold to the two figures at the door. She was swept into a tight hug from her dear husband. It was good to see him alive, albeit a little banged up and worse for wear. He kissed her on the forehead, and then allowed Laura to greet the newest member of the family. She gave Wanda a big hug and tender kiss on the nose.

"Welcome home, sweetheart," she whispered in her ear.

Wanda smiled and returned to hug. It was good to have a family again.