Surprise bitch, bet you thought you'd seen the last of me. Hello, I'm back. Only with a one-shot but I'm finally getting back into writing so hopefully I'll be able to update all of my unfinished stories pretty soon. As you can see, I've also started writing for the MCU, which was as much of a surprise to me as it probably is to you guys. I did use google translate for the Russian words (which are in italics) so please let me know if any of it is wrong and I'll correct it. Anyway, please enjoy this self-indulgent fic that I wrote on my phone at work.

Natasha sat in the window seat reading as she listened to the thunder break overhead. She found the noise of the rain soothing and was taking advantage of the almost empty Compound. The boys had gone on a trip for the weekend that didn't interest Natasha, so it was just her and Wanda left in the Compound. The newest member of their team had kept to herself for the most part, Natasha had only seen her in passing a few times over the past few days. It had only been a few weeks since they had come back from Sokovia, and Natasha was quite happy to leave the girl to her own devices as she was still grieving her brother. As long as she was still eating and sleeping Natasha felt it was best to wait for Wanda to open up to them rather than forcing her to talk. There was still a lot they didn't know about the witch, they only had the bare minimum that was in her HYDRA file, there wasn't even a birthday in there, it was mostly just observations from experiments and training. The team had guessed that the twins were around 20 years old, but Natasha privately thought they were younger than that, it was something in the way Wanda acted that made Natasha think she was younger than she seemed.

"Miss Romanoff?"

Natasha glanced up at the ceiling out of habit as FRIDAY's voice cut through the silence of the kitchen.

"FRIDAY?"

"It appears Miss Maximoff is experiencing distress and as the only other person in the building, I felt it prudent to inform you."

Natasha frowned. She wondered if this was the first time Wanda had been upset enough to warrant FRIDAY informing someone or if she had been hiding it from them all.

"What's wrong with her?"

"She appears to be upset by the thunderstorm. She asked me not to inform you, as always, but she appears more distressed than usual, so I overrode her request."

Well, that answered Natasha's question then.

"Where is she, FRI?"

"She is currently hiding in her bedroom closet."

Natasha stood, flinging her book onto the window seat as she made her way to the elevator. Wanda had moved into a room on her floor, Tony citing that it would be good for the girls of the team to stick together. Natasha rather thought it was so she would be forced to keep an eye on the younger girl, but she didn't call him out on it.

"Take me up to our floor, FRI."

As the elevator moved upwards, Natasha thought about what she was supposed to do here. She had not spent all that much time around Wanda and was unsure as to how she would react to her arriving when she was upset.

Natasha stepped into the hallway and was greeted with silence. Not that she was expecting anything else, but it was slightly unnerving nonetheless. She stopped outside Wanda's door and strained to hear any noise from inside. Hearing nothing, she knocked softly.

"Wanda, it's Natasha. FRIDAY said you were upset."

She waited. Thunder boomed overhead and she heard a soft whimper.

"I'm gonna come in, okay?"

Natasha stepped softly into the room, her eyes zeroing in on the soft red glow coming from the closet in the corner of the room. Thunder cracked overhead again, and the red glow pulsed. She made her way over to the closet and pulled open the door before sitting on the floor in the doorway. Wanda was pressed into the far corner of the small room, her legs pulled up under her chin and her hands clamped over her ears. Her magic pulsed around her, never keeping the same shape for long. More thunder rolled overhead, and Wanda squeezed her eyes shut tighter, a few tears escaping. Natasha tapped on the door frame lightly.

"Wanda? Can you hear me?"

Natasha watched carefully for any reaction and was rewarded when Wanda turned her head slightly towards her, the red wisps of magic mimicking the movement.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

The was no movement this time but Natasha watched warily as a wisp of red extended slightly towards her. Taking this as a yes, Natasha shuffled into the closet, and sat as close as she could without touching the girl or her magic. She observed Wanda for a few moments, taking in everything about her. She was shaking fiercely, her breathing shallow as she pressed her hands tighter over her ears.

"Is it the thunderstorm upsetting you?"

Wanda jerked her head, but Natasha couldn't tell if it was a yes or no.

"Can you tell me why?"

"Bombs?"

The whispered word was phrased as a question and Natasha felt like she could cry.

"No, no. It's just a thunderstorm, dorogoy."

The red wisps twitched, and Natasha wasn't sure if it was because of the Russian or the term of endearment.

"It's just thunder, you can hear the rain too, if you listen."

Thunder cracked again, louder than before, and Wanda squeezed her hands over her ears again, a soft whine escaping her. Natasha scooted forward slightly, a passed a hand gently through the cloud of red surrounding Wanda. It felt like a slight buzzing across her skin but otherwise Natasha would not have known it was even there if she couldn't see it.

"Is it okay if I touch your hands, detka?"

The red wisps danced around Natasha's outstretched hand, encouraging her. Slowly, Natasha reached her hands out, cupping Wanda's hands that remained around her ears.

"It's alright, dorogoy, I've got you. Come on."

Natasha weaved her fingers between Wanda's and gave a gentle pull, trying to convince her to let go. Natasha kept murmuring to her and slowly Wanda allowed Natasha to pull her hands away. As she did so, the red wisps began to dissipate. Thunder crashed again, causing Wanda to flinch and try to bring her hands back up to her ears, her magic responding as well, but Natasha didn't stop what she was doing.

"It's okay, it was just the thunder again. I've got you; I've got you."

Natasha angled herself so she was sat directly in front of Wanda, their hands now cradled in her lap. Wanda still had her eyes screwed shut and her shoulders tended up around her ears, but the shaking had subsided a little bit. Faint wisps of red still danced around her but much less than before.

"You don't have to open your eyes or speak if you don't want to, just squeeze my hands. Twice for yes, once for no. Is that okay?"

Two squeezes, good.

"Do you want to leave the closet?"

One hard squeeze, definitely not then. Thunder boomed overhead again, and Wanda flinched, her hands tightening around Natasha's.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

One squeeze, and then a softer one a few moments later.

"Not yet?"

Two more squeezes.

"That's okay, detka."

Natasha let the silence sit for a few moments before tentatively asking her next question.

"Would you like a hug?"

The pressure was barely there but Natasha still felt the two little squeezes.

"Come here, little witch."

Natasha tugged on their joined hands until Wanda moved forwards enough for Natasha to wrap her arms around her. The second she did, all the tension drained out of Wanda's frame in an instant and she fell against Natasha, her arms coming up to wrap loosely around her waist. Natasha barely noticed that the rest of Wanda's magic receded as well.

"I have you, dorogoy, you're okay."

A shuddering sob wracked Wanda's entire body as she began crying earnestly, pressing her face into Natasha's neck. Natasha ran one of her hands through Wanda's hair, trying to comfort her the best she could.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Shh, detka, you've got nothing to be sorry for."

Natasha pressed a kiss to the top of Wanda's head, continuing to whisper reassurances every time Wanda apologised. Every now and then, thunder would break again, making Wanda flinch but Natasha could tell the storm was moving away from them. After a while, Wanda's sobs began to subside, and she sat quietly while Natasha played with her hair. After a moment, Natasha spoke quietly.

"Are you ready to talk about it?"

A soft sigh escaped Wanda.

"I'm sorry. I had a nightmare, and then I woke up and it was still happening."

Natasha sighed before asking a question she already knew the answer to.

"Do you have nightmares a lot?"

Wanda gave a small nod.

"Why haven't you told anyone, detka?"

"Nobody really likes me, and I did not want to be a bother."

Natasha hugged Wanda tighter and continued carding her hand through the younger girl's hair.

"You'll never be a bother, malen'kiy, we all want to help you. And I don't know about everyone else, but I like you just fine."

And to Natasha's slight surprise, she found she meant that.

"But…but I did bad things, and I hurt you all. What happened in Sokovia is my fault."

Natasha pressed her lips to the top of Wanda's head as she thought carefully about what to say.

"I won't deny that some of the things you did were not good. But you did what you thought was right at the time. We've all done things like that. You…you saw what my life was like, I've done some bad things too. But then I joined SHIELD and the Avengers, and I'm slowly making up for it. You can too if you want."

Natasha noticed that Wanda had briefly stiffened in her arms but just continued playing with her hair and waited for her to speak.

"I…those were memories? It wasn't, I didn't mean to. It wasn't supposed to do that."

Natasha sighed softly.

"I know, little witch. That's why I'm not holding it against you. It's not your fault my fears are based in memories."

"I'm sorry."

"I know, dorogoy, it's okay."

"It is still my fault, though. What happened to Sokovia. If I hadn't done what I did to you all, Sokovia would still be there and Pietro…he would still be with me."

Natasha wished she could do something to alleviate Wanda's guilt.

"Listen to me, detka, it is not your fault. Tony and Bruce's actions are their own. Nobody forced them to build Ultron, they did that of their own volition. Nobody else acted on what you showed us. Nothing that happened in Sokovia is your fault, especially not Pietro's death."

Wanda's breath hitched and Natasha was worried she would start crying again.

"No one else says his name right. It is why I don't talk about him."

"I am Russian, detka. Of course I pronounce it right. Part of why I changed my own name is because no one said it exactly right."

Natasha felt Wanda shifted her head slightly to look up at her, but Natasha didn't look at her just yet.

"What was it before?"

"Natalia Romanova, my last name is Romanoff now."

Natasha felt Wanda tap her fingers idly on her back.

"Natalia. You were born at Christmas?"

Natasha hummed.

"I don't know. The Red Room never told me. I picked my own birthday when I defected. December 22nd. I don't know the year either, so I made that up too, 1980."

"That's a nice date."

"I thought so. When is your birthday, little witch?"

Wanda sighed.

"We were born on February 15th…2000."

Natasha barely stifled her reaction. The twins were only 15 years old. She had thought they were young, but they really were just children. Natasha had many things she wanted to say about that, but this was not the time.

"That's a nice date, too."

Wanda's fingers tapped against her back again.

"Could you not tell the others please? They already treat me differently than everyone else and I do not want them to think I am too young to understand things."

"Don't worry, I'll let you tell them when you're ready."

Natasha reasoned that it really wouldn't help if the team found out how young Wanda really was.

"What was the nightmare about? It will help to talk about it."

Wanda sighed, pressing her forehead into Natasha's neck.

"Pietro and I, we were born into the war. It was not always bombs and gunfire. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Cold War did not suddenly end. Sokovia was used as a base to deal weapons and information. We spent our early childhood playing with toys made from gun parts."

Natasha was stunned. She had no idea what it was like in Sokovia. She had spent her childhood isolated in the Red Room, virtually untouched by the everyday repercussions of the Cold War.

"The bombings began when we were six or seven, I think. I do not know why it started. But suddenly there were soldiers in the streets and Stark weapons everywhere. I have had nightmares since then. But the one today was about when our parents died."

Natasha heard the hitch in Wanda's voice and didn't want to push her too much.

"It's okay, detka, you don't have to tell me if it's too hard."

"No, I want to tell you."

Thunder rolled in the distance, far enough away now that Wanda didn't flinch at it.

"It was a Friday. That was English day in our house. Mama and Papa wanted us to know what some of the soldiers were saying in case we needed to run. We used to watch sitcoms, old ones, I think. My favourite is the Dick Van Dyke show. We just started dinner when the bomb hit."

Wanda paused, and Natasha could feel tears soaking the collar of her shirt. She tightened her hold around Wanda's waist, letting her know she was safe.

"It came in through the ceiling. Pietro pulled me under the bed and all we could see was where our sofa used to be, it was just a hole in the floor. A few moments later another bomb landed right in front of the bed. It didn't go off. Pietro and I were under the bed for two days before someone found us and all we had to look at was a bomb branded with Stark's name. When I woke up, I forgot where I was, and it sounded like I was still there, and I panicked."

Wanda shifted so she was almost sat on Natasha's lap. Not that Natasha minded, she just wrapped her arms more tightly around Wanda.

"I'm sorry, Pietro always used to calm me down after nightmares. It has been hard without him, everything feels empty."

Natasha drifted her fingers up and down Wanda's arm, not sure what to do to help.

"Empty how?"

"We were always close because we are twins. But after I got my powers, I linked our minds together. They had us in separate cells at HYDRA and I could not always see him. It is one of the first things I learnt to control. We were always connected after that. I felt it, when he was suddenly just gone, it felt like half my soul had disappeared. It still feels like that sometimes."

Natasha sighed. She had figured that Wanda had somehow felt it when Pietro died but had no idea it was something as intrinsic as their minds being connected.

"Did you know I had a sister? Or have, I suppose, somewhere."

"No, I did not."

Natasha sighed. She had not told anyone on the team about Yelena, but she thought it might help Wanda feel better in some way.

"When I was 10, I was sent on an undercover mission as part of a family. It was me, another Widow playing the mother, the Soviet equivalent of Captain America as the father, and Yelena. She's younger than me, she was only three or four at the time, I think. I knew it wasn't real, but Yelena was not from the Red Room, I don't know where they found her. But she thought she'd been adopted into a stereotypical American family. At first, I tried to keep my distance. I knew it would end eventually, and Yelena would be taken into the Red Room, and I would probably never see her again. Melina and Alexei never really felt like parents, but Yelena was truly my sister. I'd never had anyone look at me with such adoration before, only fear or disgust."

"What happened to her?"

"We got made somehow. We flew to Cuba where Dreykov and his men were waiting for us. I tried to protect her, I was only halfway through my training, and I pointed a handgun at fully armed men to try and keep her safe. They took us both and separated us when we got to the Red Room. I didn't see her after that, but I know she's still alive, at least she was when I defected. They took great pleasure in telling me that she'd beaten most of my scores."

"It sounds like you are proud of her."

Natasha smiled wistfully.

"I am. She beat my scores which means she figured out how to survive in there. I can't be anything but proud of her for that. I hope I see her again one day, I don't know if she'll remember me, but I never forgot about her."

Wanda tapped her fingers on Natasha's back again.

"I think I would have liked to have a sister as well as a brother, it sounds different but still good."

Natasha hummed in agreement.

"Sisters are the best."

Natasha let silence settle over them again. There was no thunder anymore, but she could still hear the rain drumming on the windows.

"Do you think we could have hot chocolate, please?"

Natasha let out a little laugh at the question.

"Of course, malen'kiy, but we have to get up for that."

Wanda tensed slightly but did not move.

"What's wrong, little witch?"

"I…it's nothing."

"It's okay, you can tell me, detka."

Wanda sighed.

"It's that. The Russian. It reminds me of our Mama."

Oh. That's not what Natasha was expecting.

"I can stop, if you want?"

"No! I mean, no, it's okay. I like it. Pietro was her krolik because he had so much energy even back then. I was her zvezda, she said I shined even in the darkest times. I miss them."

Natasha smiled, that was very sweet.

"If you ever want to talk about them, I'll listen. It sounds like you had a wonderful family, malen'kiy, I would like to hear more about them one day."

"Not today, but I think that would be good. It will be nice to have someone else who knows about them."

Natasha sat for a moment before remembering they were supposed to be getting hot chocolate.

"Come on, dorogoy, up you get. We've got hot chocolate waiting for us in the kitchen."

Wanda slowly unfurled herself from Natasha's lap before standing. As Natasha stood, she noticed that Wanda was very determinedly looking at the floor. Stepping closer, she reached out a hand and cupped Wanda's face.

"Hey, it's okay, detka. Come on, look at me."

Slowly, Wanda raised her head until she was making eye contact. Natasha could almost feel her heart breaking at how young and utterly lost Wanda looked. Natasha stroked her thumb across the younger girl's face, wiping away the remaining tear tracks.

"Come here, little witch."

Natasha pulled Wanda in for a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around the girl's shoulders. Wanda pressed her face into Natasha's neck again, seeking comfort in her warmth. Natasha was willing to stand there as long as Wanda needed. She often thought that this was what she had missed out on when she defected to SHIELD. Of course, she had Clint, but he was not great at emotional comfort and often just tried to tell her that everything would be okay. She had just needed someone to quietly be there with her. Wanda eventually pulled away, swiping her hands under her eyes to get rid of any remaining tears.

"Thank you. Sorry for being such a mess."

Natasha laughed lightly.

"I'd be more worried if you weren't a mess. You don't have to thank me, though. I'm glad FRIDAY told me you were upset, you shouldn't have to deal with everything yourself, not when there's so many people here who want to help you."

Wanda shrugged, clearly not sure what to say to that. Natasha wrapped an arm around Wanda's shoulder, tucking her into her side. Absentmindedly she noticed that Wanda was not far off being taller than her. By the time she was an adult she would no doubt be at least a few inches taller than Natasha.

"Come on, malen'kiy, let's go get some hot chocolate."

Russian Translations:

dorogoy - sweetheart

detka - baby

malen'kiy - little one

krolik - bunny

zvezda - star

The title of this story is lyrics from Neptune by Sleeping at Last

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