A/N: Hey everybody reading!

This is going to be the start of a multi-chapter collection of one-shots following the events of Newfound Family! Like I mentioned before, I would definitely suggest reading the first story in the series first, as some parts may not make sense if you haven't already.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
-Kate xx

Smack.

A snowball right to the face.

"Hey!" Yelena stood up from the snow fort, a mock look of pain plastered to her face.

Wanda, stood up, giggling. Cooper and Lila followed, although they still had snowballs in their hands.

"I thought the rule was 'shoulders and down only?'" She complained, her voice was thick with a Russian accent.

Wanda shrugged.

"I guess I just have bad aim."

Yelena narrowed her eyes jokingly.

"I don't believe you!" She picked up three snowballs, laughing. "All three of you are going to get it now!" They all laughed, running in separate directions to avoid Yelena.

Wanda ran the fastest, booking it back towards her fort, her eyes watering from the cold.

She was smiling so hard her face hurt, and she wouldn't have it any other way. There was talk that they were leaving soon; she sometimes heard it at night when she pretended to be asleep. But Wanda never wanted to leave. If she could have it her way, her mum, dad, and Auntie Lena would live at the Barton farm with Uncle Clint, Aunt Laura, and her cousins forever.

She knew that wouldn't happen though. Her parents and Uncle were Avengers. Superheroes. The world needed them. It was their duty and obligation. And not only that, but the only reason they were here so long was because of Wanda in the first place.

Last month, she was kidnapped by an organization claiming to be a reincarnated version of the Red Room. There, she met Yelena who had helped her escape. They were both hurt, physically and mentally, but they were healing, which was the main reason they would probably be leaving within the next few weeks.

Things were definitely getting better for Wanda. She was slowly gaining her personality and independence every day. At first, she hadn't even wanted to interact with anyone other than her parents. Now, just a few weeks later, she was having a snowball fight in the yard with her cousins, her parents nowhere in sight.

But things weren't completely back to normal. Panic attacks and nightmares still plagued her thoughts often, which caused Wanda unnecessary guilt. She just wished everything could go back to normal. That she could stop feeling so broken sometimes.

Smack.

This time, a snowball straight to Wanda's face, courtesy of Cooper.

"Wands, what are you doing? Don't just stand there!" He laughed, but his face turned serious. "Everything okay?" He asked, concerned, "You kind of zoned out for a moment."

She shook her head, getting rid of as much of the cold water as she could.

"I'm fine!" She said. Secretly, she wished she could tell Cooper to stop treating her like a baby. They were all so concerned all the time. Besides, he was only two years older than her.

Wanda scooped up some snow, forming it into a ball.

"Come on, we have to get Auntie Lena."

They ran off and spread out, and quicker than Wanda realized, they were the only ones in the front yard.

"Hm," Cooper said, dropping the snowballs. Most of them were crushed anyway.

"I wonder where they went."

The crunching of the gravel road stopped them in their tracks.

"Oh! Uncle Steve and Dad must be back from the grocery store," He said. "Come on, let's go see what kind of ice cream they got for dessert."

Wanda rolled her eyes, following her cousin up the hill.

"Only you would eat ice cream when it's this cold outside."

Cooper shrugged.

"If it's cotton candy, you'll eat it too. I know you will."

She laughed.

"Yum! I love cotton candy ice cream!"

As the truck came into view, they realized it wasn't their dad's, but one they hadn't seen before. Well, at least Wanda hadn't.

Her breathing hitched. She hated people she didn't know. They scared her. Especially when the last time she trusted one it did not end up well at all.

"Hm, I don't recognize that truck," Cooper said in confusion. Wanda's heart dropped. He hadn't meant to scare her, she was sure of it, but it did anyway. She froze in place, starring at the driver. She willed away the magic creeping up her fingers, glad her mittens would cover any that managed to escape.

To most people, the driver just looked like a middle-aged man. He looked like he was mouthing the words to a song, singing as he came up the gravel road. But Wanda was always suspicious of everyone. It was the main reason they moved out to live with the Bartons in the first place. They lived in the middle of nowhere.

Cooper didn't seem to notice her distress when the truck stopped in front of them.

"Oh, Mr. Thomas, Hi. Did you get a new truck?"

The man hopped out of his truck. He looked right in place to live smack dab in the middle of Iowa, sporting a Carhartt coat and a Farmer's association ball cap.

"Hiya, Coop! Sure did!" He waved, noticing Wanda beside him.

"Your dad around? I was wondering if I could borrow his snowblower. Mine has decided to die in the cold."

Cooper nodded.

"Yeah, it should be okay."

"Great!" He smiled, "Who's your friend?"

"This is my cousin, Wanda. Her family is here to visit from New York."

He smiled, waving to the girl. She stared intently, a million different scenarios running through her head.

Finally, Cooper seemed to notice her distress.

Mr. Thomas looked confused, his gaze moving back and forth between Cooper and Wanda.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

She didn't answer, instead, backing away.

Cooper quickly interrupted.

"My dad isn't home right now, you can just help yourself. It's in the barn. Come on, Wanda." He herded her, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulder and heading towards the house.

Mr. Thomas nodded, still looking concerned.

"Tell your dad I say thanks!"

He called after them.

Wanda visibly flinched.

"Will do!" Cooper called back.

He drove back up the road a few minutes later. Wanda looked back every few seconds. She couldn't help it. Although she didn't say anything, Cooper could tell she was on the verge of tears.

"Wanda, it's okay." He tried to console her, but he really didn't know what to say. This was the first time she had completely shut down in a while, and to make it even worse, her mother wasn't here. But she was in the house, and he was going to bring her to her.

"Aunt Nat," Cooper came crashing through the door, Wanda still pressed to his side.

Natasha was situated at the kitchen sink, drying the dishes.

She lifted her head, immediately knowing something was wrong by the tone of Cooper's voice.

Tears were falling down Wanda's face silently. She still hadn't found her voice yet, too shaken to say anything.

"What happened?" Nat asked, concerned. She bent down to Wanda's level.

Wanda finally let out a sob, crashing into her mother's midsection. Nat dried her hands on a nearby towel before picking the small girl up into her arms.

"Malyshka, what happened?" She asked, concerned. Nat rubbed small circles on the girl's back, but she just sobbed in response.

Cooper took it upon himself to explain the situation.

"Mr. Thomas, our neighbour. He came to borrow our snowblower. But I think I scared Wanda because I told her I didn't recognize the truck. I'm sorry."

Nat's eyes softened at her nephew.

"It's okay, Cooper. You didn't know, and I know you didn't mean to frighten her."

He nodded, eyes fixated on his shoes.

"Why don't you go back outside, Coop?" She offered, mainly because she knew Wanda wouldn't actually tell her what was wrong in front of others. Laura was upstairs with the baby, so she could spend a few moments alone with Wanda, calming her down.

Cooper nodded, heading back outside to join Yelena and Lila, who were probably in the barn.

"Wanda, do you want to tell me what got you so scared?" She asked. She knew very well what; an unknown man drove up to her and started talking to her. Someone with poor Wanda's experiences would obviously be reminded of her past. But she knew from her experience that it was better to talk about it than keep it bottled up. Especially when you had someone you could trust.

Wanda opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out were choked sobs. She was jumpy; every time Nat put a hand on her shoulder or back she would flinch, but she was also starving for physical touch. She kept her head buried into Nat's neck, soaking her shirt with her tears, and her hands wrapped around her waist tightly.

"Take your time, milaya." Nat soothed, taking a seat on the couch. Wanda curled up beside her, staring intently ahead while Nat stroked her hair.

Eventually, she brought her knees to her chest, leaning her head on Nat's shoulder. Her sobbing had stopped, and the only noise that came out of the girl was small sniffs. Tears stained her cheeks, and Nat wiped them away.

"Mama?" She asked, her voice barely audible.

"Yes, milaya?"

"I wish I could just forget about what happened. I don't want to think about it anymore." She whispered, turning her face to bury it into Nat's shoulder. Nat turned, bringing the girl into her chest.

She sighed, taking a deep breath.

"я знаю, милая. I know."

"I thought he was going to take me because Cooper didn't know who he was at first." She admitted, her flushing.

"I almost used my powers, Mama. I could have hurt him. I wish they would just go away," Her voice cracked.

"Wanda, your powers are a part of you, they make you special, milaya. They're not a bad thing. They could help a lot of people when you grow bigger. And you're so good at controlling them. You've worked so hard. We're so proud of you. And it will get easier, malyshka. With time."

Wanda looked up at her mother, stray tears still threatening to spill.

"Promise?"

"I promise, malyshka," She said, squeezing the girl tighter. "I promise."

That was all they discussed, the end of the conversation coming very quickly. Wanda never had a problem telling either her or Steve what was going through her mind, but she never gave too much detail. But they also never pushed her to. She was a kid, after all, and she had already been through enough. They didn't need her to re-live every detail, just enough to help them understand what she was going through.

Wanda grabbed Nat's hand, absent-mindedly playing with the ring on her finger.

"When are you and Daddy going to get married?" She asked quietly, changing the subject.

Nat smiled against the young girl's hair.

"I don't know, we haven't gotten around to thinking about it."

Wanda smiled, still twisting the ring on Nat's finger.

"Lila and I have. We are going to be the people who throw the flower petals on the ground. What's it called again?"

Nat chuckled at the girl's mistake.

"Flower girls?"

Wanda nodded.

Nat just chuckled, giving her a squeeze.

"You two are already planning my wedding and I haven't even gotten around to it."

Wanda giggled.

"Lila thinks that you should ride one of the horses down the aisle. Like a princess or something."

Nat laughed.

"I think I'm pretty far from a princess, milaya. I think I'll just walk." She winked playfully, causing Wanda to giggle again.

The smile on her face made all of Nat's worries go away.

"You feeling better, milaya?"

Wanda nodded, curling back up into Nat's chest.

"Yeah. I'm sorry Mama."

Nat sighed.

"You know you have nothing to be sorry for, Wanda."

She merely nodded.

The door opened; a rustling of bags being placed in the kitchen.

Steve popped his head into the living room.

"We're back!"

Wanda lifted her head off Nat's chest.

"Did you get cotton candy ice cream?"

Steve came over, lifting Wanda up high into the air, causing her to giggle.

"Sure did, sweet pea."

"Yay!"

He laughed, placing her on the ground.

"Why don't you go help Uncle Clint put the groceries away?"

"Okay."

She skipped off, heading towards the kitchen like nothing ever happened.

Steve sat on the couch beside Nat, who instantly leaned her head onto his chest.

"Hey, is everything okay Nat? She looked like she had been crying." He asked, concerned.

Nat put her head into her hands.

"She had a run-in with one of the neighbours. It startled her. She thought he was going to take her away." She replied, voice low as to not be heard from the kitchen.

Steve sighed.

"She's getting better, but that doesn't mean she won't take a few steps back here and there. We know that."

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't make it less hard to watch though. Every single time she tells me she wishes she could forget, that she wishes she could just be a 'normal' kid like Cooper and Lila, it breaks my heart. I can't help but think it's my fault. I was the one who let her go out that day." Her voice cracked, but she didn't let her emotions get the better of her.

Steve sighed, pulling her to his chest.

"I know I've already tried to change your mind and you're too stubborn to believe me, but it's not your fault, Nat. I'll tell you every day if that's what it takes for you to believe me."

She didn't answer, instead just pushing herself closer to her fiancé.

"I know deep down you know that."

She nodded, opening her mouth to say something but a squeal from the kitchen interrupted her.

Wanda came running back in the living room holding a bag of gummy bears.

"Can I have some of these now?" She smiled, and Nat couldn't help but laugh.

"Sure, but don't spoil your dinner. Make sure you share with Cooper and Lila, too."

"Thank you!" She ran out the door with her coat, and they could hear the faint yelling of Wanda yelling their names.

Nat sometimes forgot how young she was, and in instances like this, it made her remember again. Only someone her age would be able to go from a full-on panic attack to being excited about candy in less than fifteen minutes.

Nat sighed contently, leaning back against Steve.

He placed a kiss on her temple.

"She's getting there, Nat. Just give it time."

She turned her head to kiss his lips, slow and sweet.

Pulling away, he could see a tear in her eye, but nevertheless, she smiled.

"You always know exactly what to say."

A/N: Translation: я знаю, милая- 'I know, honey.'

Thanks for reading, everyone! If you have any suggestions of prompts you'd like to see in this series, let me know, and I'll be sure to add them to the list!