The soreness in her lower back was hard to ignore, making it difficult for Wanda to focus on the science worksheet Vision had given her to check on her progress for the week. The usually adequate desk chair that she could normally spend hours sitting in and getting lost in her studies now seemed impossibly uncomfortable as she struggled to find a position she could keep for longer than five minutes that relieved her aching. Even using Junior, the whale shark stuffed animal Maria had given her, as a pillow could not bring her relief. She attributed the pain to perhaps making a wrong move in training, but it was accompanied with a strange sensation, like something pulling down on her abdominal muscles that increased her discomfort. Wanda tried to ignore it, wanting to be done with her homework so she would not have to worry about it later, but that only lasted until she felt something wet in her underwear. Not like she had peed her pants, though the feeling was not dissimilar.

Quickly the little witch hopped out of her desk chair and went into the bathroom. On instinct she pulled down her shorts and sat on the toilet. She stared for a moment in confusion at what she found in her underwear. There was an alarming, vibrant patch of red staining them that made her breath catch in her throat. Blood, Wanda came to the startling realization before snapping her eyes shut so she would not have to look at it. Taking in a few deep breaths, the teenager steeled herself to try and use toilet paper to stop the bleeding between her legs. Her panic only grew when instead of fixing the problem, the white tissue continued to come back smeared with red.

She did not know what was going on. Well, Wanda had an idea of what was going on. There had been some clinical class in the orphanage about young women's bodies changing and Natasha had asked closer to her arrival whether or not she had her first period yet, which she had not. Dr. Cho talked to her a little bit about it too. After Wanda's brush with illness, Helen had become the teenager's primary care physician, and took to monitoring her health and development. She said that there was nothing to indicate that she could not have her period and theorized that she might just be a late bloomer due to the stress of her environment and malnutrition while growing up. Truthfully, Wanda had not been interested in knowing about it at the time, this possibility seeming like it would never actually become a reality. So when her mother pressed to see if she had any questions, the girl declined in favor of trying to forget about the whole thing.

The girl regretted that decision, because now she had questions. Was it supposed to be like this? Was it supposed to hurt like this? It was not the most pain Wanda had ever felt but it still felt as though her body was betraying her. And was it supposed to keep coming the way it was? Was there supposed to be this much blood? The little witch knew there was supposed to be blood, but this seemed like too much blood for her to be losing and Wanda did not do well with blood. She whimpered, wondering if she was doing something wrong to make herself bleed more. Already past her breaking point the girl asked meekly, "FRIDAY, will you get Mama please?"

"Of course, Miss Maximoff. I've informed her and she is on her way presently." The AI stated briskly and reassuringly.

With how fast Natasha got to her bathroom door it made Wanda think that the computer system had perhaps summoned her mother before she asked. There was a light, urgent knock on the door, "Wanda, honey? Are you sick? Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Wanda answered tremulously, pressing her knees together and hunching over in discomfort.

"What's wrong malyshka?" The Black Widow's worried face came through the door as she entered the bathroom.

"I'm bleeding." The witch claimed with tears welling in her eyes.

Her mother scanned her frantically for the source of the bleeding before realization flashed across her face, "Oh, that's alright baby girl. That's supposed to happen."

"But it hurts, and it won't stop. I think there is something wrong." The panic mounted back up within her and her breathing started coming in shuddering gasps while she tried to blink back the tears. Natasha rushed to her side, slipping her arms around the girl as she buried her face in Nat's stomach.

The woman soothed her, "It's alright. That's normal. Periods don't stop for 3 to 5 days and having cramps is just part of it. You're alright, sweetheart."

"I don't know what to do." Wanda's muffled voice floated up from where she still pressed against her mother's stomach. Worry still gnawed at her, but Natasha's warm touch and her steady presence smothered the jittery panic that had threatened to overcome her.

"That's okay." Tasha kissed the top of her head and ran a hand up and down her back, the gentle pressure easing some of the ache there. "I can show you what to do. I just have to go grab some things really quickly, alright?"

After the little witch nodded, pulling back while she twisted her fist around the hem of her shirt and pulled it down taut in a nervous gesture, Natasha kissed her forehead and strode away, promising that she would be right back. Wanda waited feeling exposed, but as her mother said she came back shortly with a new pair of her underwear, loose, black sweatpants and something packaged in thin blue plastic. Mama offered her a warm smile as she set the items on the counter, "Here we are. Go ahead and take off your shorts and underwear the rest of the way down."

Wanda did as instructed and placed them into her mother's outstretched hand who then inspected the frighteningly large spot of blood. With a quiver in her voice, the Sokovian asked, "Is it a lot?"

"No baby, it's not." The older woman reassured her as she tossed the clothing into her hamper then went about opening the blue package she had brought with her, "It might seem like a lot, but I promise it's normal. Now these are pads."

Natasha handed her a smaller, pillowy square wrapped in green plastic as well as the clean underwear, "There are other ways to absorb the blood, but we can talk about that later. I think these will be the best for now."

The teenager nodded but simply stared at the things in her hand, having no clue where to begin. After a beat, her mother swooped back in and sat on the edge of the tub next to her before reclaiming the items, "Here, I'll show you. You can just pull this tab to unwrap the pad like this."

The crinkly plastic unfurled to reveal a cotton pad that had been folded inside of it. Next her mother laid the underwear on her thigh so she could peel the pad off of the lining and place it on the inside, showing her as she went, "This side is sticky so it will stay in place. And then you'll take this bit of paper off here and you can fold the wings down like this to secure it. You'll be wearing the underwear usually when you do this so it will be easier to lay it down inside. But you can put these on as is, okay?"

"Okay.." Wanda said as her mother handed her the newly protected underwear and she pulled them up her legs to about her knees before then taking the sweatpants Natasha offered her next and putting those on as well.

Natasha started washing her hands as Wanda stood to finish dressing herself. As she dried her hands, the woman looked at her daughter through the mirror and asked, "How does that feel?"

"Okay, I think." The girl decided, though the extra padding in her underwear felt foreign. Despite the unfamiliar feeling, it was also reassuring to have it there wicking away the blood, and the uncomfortable dampness from earlier was barely noticeable now.

"Good." Her mother tucked some of her long hair behind her ear as she continued to explain things, "You'll want to change your pad every 3 hours or so. We'll keep these under your sink now. Do you have any cramping?"

"Yes," Wanda ran her hand across her lower stomach and slumped into Tasha who caught her in a warm hug. "It feels bad."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Unfortunately that's normal too." She nestled her nose into her daughter's hair then held her back slightly. "You finish washing up and I'll go get you some Tylenol and a heating pad. That should help."

Wanda did as she was told then went and sat on the edge of her bed to wait for Natasha to return. Once again she came back with various things in her hands- a glass of orange juice, a bottle of painkillers, and a gray, quilted pad with a cord running from it. Handing her the glass, the redhead then took two pills from the bottle and gave them to Wanda to take while she took the heating pad to plug it in behind her nightstand. Mama beckoned her, "Come on up here."

She readily complied and shuffled up the bed to sit against the pillows as Natasha made sure the heating pad rested correctly against her lower back, "How's that?"

The woman asked as she sat next to her on the edge of the bed. The cushioned device was already warming up and it felt soothing against the tenseness of her muscles. Sighing, Wanda marginally relaxed, "Good. Better."

"Good." Her mother echoed with a pressed smile, "Do you have any questions?"

Wanda fiddled with the rings on her fingers for a moment before asking, "Why do I have a period?"

"Menstruating is just a part of growing up. It happens to most young girls." Natasha described, trying to keep it simple yet informative. "When your body matures, it starts releasing different hormones and it causes the lining in your uterus to build up so that an egg from your ovaries can attach, but if the egg isn't fertilized then the lining breaks down and bleeds once a month."

"It happens every month ?" Wanda nearly yelped.

"Yes, malyshka." Natasha gave her a sympathetic expression, "I know it's not fun, but you'll get used to it. It will get easier."

Despite her mother's assurances, the anxiety was building back up and she was barely thinking as she said, "I don't want a period.. You don't have a period."

"That's right. I don't have one." The Widow said in an overly controlled tone; however the little witch missed the terseness as her anxiety clouded over her thoughts.

"Can't I get rid of mine too? I could have the procedure-"

No sooner had she said the words did her mother suddenly grip her upper arms and shake her firmly, her voice verging on sharp, "Don't say that. You don't want that, Wanda. Do you hear me? That's not an option, ever."

Her words and action startled Wanda for a moment, as she gave Natasha a wide-eyed expression. Mama rarely lost her temper with her, and the little witch despised it when they fought or when she disappointed Natasha like she had evidently done now. And in her current state, with her residual fear, and nagging pain, and her need for her mother's comfort more than anything, this disappointment she caused felt absolutely devastating. Rapidly her face crumpled into despair, her brow wrinkled in pain, her lower lip trembled, and tears slipped down her cheeks. She choked out, "I'm sorry, Mama."

"Oh malyshka, come here." The Russian instantly softened and coaxed Wanda into her arms, the teenager eagerly pressing her face into her mother's neck as her hands came to grip the back of her shirt and she sobbed earnestly. One of the woman's hands slid into her hair at the base of her skull and the other rubbed her back as she went on in her usual dulcet tenor, "I'm sorry, baby. It's alright."

"I'm sorry." Wanda forced out once again through her tears.

"I know baby, I know. It's okay. Sh, sh, easy baby girl. It's okay." The girl felt herself being rocked gently, the motion and Mama's words steadily grounding her and helping ebb the flow of tears.

/

"I'm bleeding."

Wanda's words rattled her, and she immediately started searching for any potential wounds on her daughter though could not see any. Then it clicked with her. Her daughter had started her first period. It was a relief that the little witch had finally gotten it, another milestone of health finally reached and a reassurance to the Black Widow that she was giving Wanda the right care, yet simultaneously a lump formed in her throat. Natasha pushed past it, her natural instinct to care for Wanda effortlessly overriding the emotion. She easily slipped into a more relaxed posture, adopting a soothing tone while stepping further into the bathroom, "Oh, that's alright baby girl. That's supposed to happen."

"But it hurts, and it won't stop. I think there is something wrong." Wanda stuttered then her breathing became shuddering gasps while she valiantly fought off tears. Natasha rushed to her side, slipping her arms around her daughter as the girl buried her face against her stomach. As she cradled the back of Wanda's head, she felt a little pang of guilt too. She had tried briefly to talk about menstruation with the teenager a while back, but she had been so disinterested, bordering on avoidant that Nat had simply let the topic go. She should have pushed more so that Wanda would have been more prepared.

Quickly, she hurried to assure her and put her at ease, "It's alright. That's normal. Periods don't stop for 3 to 5 days and having cramps is just part of it. You're alright, sweetheart.."

After a few deep breaths with the spy feeling the warm puffs of her daughter's exhalations through her shirt, Wanda said with a soft, confessional tone, "I don't know what to do."

"That's okay." The Widow bent her head to press a lingering kiss in Wanda's hair, moving the hand around her shoulders to run it up and down her back in a way that never failed to make Wanda melt more against her mother. "I can show you what to do. I just have to go grab some things really quickly, alright?"

Fortunately she had been preparing for this potential moment and had stashed away some supplies in her bathroom to be ready for it. Natasha darted across the hall to grab the pads from underneath her sink, then grabbed a clean pair of underwear as well as comfortable sweatpants from her daughter's dresser on the way back to the bathroom. Wanda looked completely forlorn at her predicament while her mother tried to stay supportive for her, "Here we are. Go ahead and take off your shorts and underwear the rest of the way down."

Following the instructions, Wanda tugged them off from the bottom half of her legs and handed them to Natasha in a crumpled ball when the woman reached for them. She just wanted to see the amount of blood there, just to put her mind at ease and soothe her daughter's fear that something was wrong. She had been sure nothing was out of the ordinary since everything had been contained with no excessive blood loss spilling onto Wanda's legs or hands, and her assumption had been right as she checked the stained underwear. She turned to look at the girl when she heard the worried question from her, "Is it a lot?"

"No baby, it's not." The older woman tossed the clothing into her hamper then went about opening the blue package she had brought with her, "It might seem like a lot, but I promise it's normal. Now these are pads."

Natasha handed her a smaller, pillowy square wrapped in green plastic as well as the clean underwear, "There are other ways to absorb the blood, but we can talk about that later. I think these will be the best for now."

Tampons or a menstrual cup seemed like they would be too traumatic for the teenager right now. Wanda nodded along with her, but simply stared at the items she had been given. Her bottom lip got caught in her teeth and she looked back to Natasha who quickly took them back from her and sat on the edge of the tub that was next to her daughter. She said lightly, "Here, I'll show you. You can just pull this tab to unwrap the pad like this."

Pulling at the white bit of plastic she pulled open the one end and then the one underneath to unfold the sanitary napkin, Wanda peering at her movement intently. She peeled it off the remaining plastic and held it up, "This side is sticky so it will stay in place."

Then the mother laid the pad into the underwear she had placed on her thigh so she could properly apply it. Holding it up, Nat showed her how it stuck there then continued her demonstration, "And then you'll take this bit of paper off here and you can fold the wings down like this to secure it. You'll be wearing the underwear usually when you do this so it will be easier to lay it down inside. But you can put these on as is, okay?"

Wanda accepted the garment and put it on as Natasha stood to get her the sweatpants she left on the counter and throw away the trash in the wastebasket. Natasha started washing her hands as Wanda stood to finish dressing herself and she asked, "How does that feel?"

"Good." Her mother tucked some of her long hair behind her ear, running her fingers down the silky strands. "You'll want to change your pad every 3 hours or so. We'll keep these under your sink now. Do you have any cramping?"

"Yes," Wanda brushed her hand over her lower stomach and leaned her torso against her mother who drew her into her arms. The girl rested her forehead in the crook of Nat's neck, telling her quietly, "It feels bad."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Unfortunately that's normal too." She nuzzled her daughter's hair then held her back slightly so they could get her more comfortable. "You finish washing up and I'll go get you some Tylenol and a heating pad. That should help."

She left Wanda once again to grab the required things- a glass of orange juice from the kitchen, painkillers from her bathroom, and the heating pad from the hall closet. When she got back, Wanda was sitting on the end of her bed looking forlorn with tension in her brow that would not quite fade away. Natasha's heart went out to her daughter. This was a big change for her, a step towards womanhood that one could never really prepare for, though Natasha again wished she had pressed Wanda a little harder to talk about it.

The Widow remembered her first period. Unlike Hydra, the Red Room had no tolerance for liabilities and thus kept the recruits in peak physical condition with balanced meals and regimented sleep schedules; a weak, exhausted girl was a dead girl. At the age of 12 her menstrual cycle began as Madame B had said it would and one of the older girls matter-of-factly explained to her what to do for her time of the month then left her alone. She had been scared too, like her daughter had, but no one had been there to offer her any assurances. And she could never have admitted to being frightened. That would have just resulted in Madame B utilizing her cane. Fear is a useless emotion, a voice said icily in her head. So the spy had done what she had been trained to do, push down the emotion and feel nothing.

"Come on up here." Natasha cleared the thoughts from her head as she moved past her daughter and drew her up the bed to get situated with the heating pad. There had been nothing to be afraid of whether she knew it or not at the time, and besides now it did not matter, she told herself as she positioned the warming cushion beneath Wanda. The only thing that mattered now was that she could be there to reassure her little witch, "How's that?"

The woman asked as she sat next to her on the edge of the bed and watched as Wanda seemed to finally relax a bit. She exhaled heavily, "Good. Better."

"Good." Her mother said with a pressed smile. With the teenager more comfortable, she could alleviate any lingering concerns, "Do you have any questions?"

Wanda spun the silver and sapphire ring around her index finger for a minute as she thought, finally landing on the question, "Why do I have a period?"

"Menstruating is just a part of growing up. It happens to most young girls." Natasha described, keeping it informative but still sticking to simple terms, trying to avoid going into too much detail so she would not overwhelm her already overwhelmed daughter. "When your body matures, it starts releasing different hormones and it causes the lining in your uterus to build up so that an egg from your ovaries can attach, but if the egg isn't fertilized then the lining breaks down and bleeds once a month."

"It happens every month ?" Wanda nearly yelped.

"Yes, malyshka." Natasha said sympathetically and placed her hand over top of her daughter's resting in her lap, "I know it's not fun, but you'll get used to it. It will get easier."

She said this though with no real experience. Natasha supposed her period had gotten easier, but seemingly as quickly as she had gotten it, it had been taken away when she graduated at 15 years old. At the time Tasha tried not to think much about it, like she had tried not to think much about her period when it had first started and the life-altering repercussions of them. Sterilization was just an inevitability and to question it would be to question the cause. Once again, the older woman had to shake away the thoughts and refocus on Wanda who looked more panicked once again with her eyes beginning to water.

"I don't want a period." She claimed desperately. "..You don't have a period."

"That's right. I don't have one." The Widow said in an overly controlled tone even as her throat constricted a little at the statement suddenly feeling inadequate to be giving her daughter this talk.

"Can't I get rid of mine too? I could have the procedure-"

"Don't say that." Natasha suddenly grabbed Wanda's upper arms and shook her lightly, yet firmly. Her words were adamant, almost forceful as she told the girl, "You don't want that, Wanda. Do you hear me? That's not an option, ever."

The mother would never let anything like a forced hysterectomy happen to her daughter, the very idea of it made her stomach churn painfully. In her fervor Natasha had unintentionally startled Wanda who blinked at her with a wide-eyed expression for a moment. Then her brow furrowed, her lower lip trembled, and tears slipped down her cheeks. Her voice shook as she cried, "I'm sorry, Mama."

"Oh malyshka, come here." Guilt bubbled up inside her and her gut reaction that upset the little witch. Wanda was quick to forgive though as she fell into her mother's arms, clinging onto her for comfort she needed. The hot tears on her neck only added to her guilt as she sought to soothe her child, her fingers sliding into her hair to cradle the back of her head and her other hand running methodically up and down her back. She offered her condolences in a low, calm tone that belied her inner thoughts berating herself for the small outburst, "I'm sorry, baby. It's alright."

"I'm sorry." Wanda forced out once again through her tears.

"I know baby, I know. It's okay. Sh, sh, easy baby girl. It's okay." Nat began rocking her gently, shushing her until the tears began to slow and eventually her sniffling ceased. She let Wanda stay pressed tightly against her, still not giving up an inch of space between them as her daughter turned her face out slightly so she could more clearly speak.

"I didn't mean to-" She started to say but her mother gently interrupted

"It's alright. I know, sweetheart. Here, can you look at me for a minute?" Natasha carefully maneuvered the little witch out of her hiding spot, cupping the girl's pouting face in her hands and brushing away the remaining tears from her cheeks as she went on. "I'm not upset. Just having a procedure like that is a very big deal, Wanda. Having a monthly period can be overwhelming, but it's part of being a healthy girl, honey, and drastically altering your body like that is bad unless there is a real health concern. You would lose your period, but you'd be losing more than that, malyshka. You understand?"

Wanda nodded but tucked her lower lip into her mouth and placed one of her hands palm up on Nat's thigh. The mother understood the silent request and immediately took her hand as some of the girl's magic bloomed there, running her fingers through the warm, swirling red in a familiar soothing gesture for her. After a moment, the Sokovian half whispered, "I'm sorry they did that to you. I'm sorry.. you can't have your own baby."

"Thank you, malyshka.." The redhead gave her a sad smile as she idly continued her ministrations through Wanda's magic. "It makes me sad sometimes, but it's not about that." -At least not anymore- "It's about having the choice, milaya. You may never want to have children of your own and that would be fine, but I want you to have the choice, okay?"

"Okay." Wanda said quietly as she leaned forward more to rest her forehead against her mother's. Natasha felt the magic faded from where their hands were connected, the warm hum appearing in her temple then as the little witch sought to join their minds. She opened herself to her child willingly, opened herself to feeling Wanda in her head and chest, like her heartbeat had a comforting little shadow. When her daughter did not say anything, Natasha sent her own thoughts through their mindspace.

" I love you, malyshka. It doesn't matter that I didn't give birth to you. I love you completely. I was always meant to be your Mama. "

" I love you too, Mama. No one else could be my mother except you. "

The pair were quietly wrapped up in each other for a long time with Wanda keeping the line between them open. Natasha began to feel overly tired, something that confused her until she realized the feeling did not stem from within her. Moving to kiss the girl's forehead, Natasha asked, "Are you tired, baby?"

"Yeah, a bit." Wanda admitted as she allowed herself to be rested back against her pillows and the heating pad.

"That's a common symptom too." The mother delicately stroked Wanda's hairline. "How about you rest until dinner time?"

Wanda glanced over the woman's shoulder to her desk with a frustrated expression, "I haven't finished my science worksheet."

"It's alright. I can help you with it after dinner, okay?" She offered, which seemed to appease the teenager enough for her to roll over on her side and pull the heating pad up a little to hold it against her stomach. Tasha grabbed the girl's plaid blanket and covered her with it, "Do you want me to stay?"

"I'm okay, Mama." Wanda shut her eyes and let herself begin to drift off.

Pressing a final kiss on her daughter's cheek, Natasha stood up and left to let Wanda take a nap. On her way to the kitchen, the Black Widow felt her daughter fall asleep as their connection dissipated. The mother kept her stride though as she continued her mission to make sure they had everything they needed to make ice cream sundaes for dessert that night.

/

The next morning Wanda woke up and practically glowered at the empty side of her bed. Her mama had slept with her last night, but she had slipped out of bed without rousing Wanda. The little witch twisted in a stretch to try and stretch out the twinging feeling in her abdomen, but the discomfort persisted. She grimaced a little, wishing Natasha were still there so she could shuffle into the woman's arms and soak in the comfort of them, using her mother's warmth in place of the heating pad. Instead the Sokovian had to haul herself out of bed and go to the bathroom. Then after she had herself sorted out, Wanda wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and wandered out in search of Natasha.

Unsurprisingly, it was not a difficult task to find her. She found the spy exactly where she thought she would be, at the kitchen table with a black cup of coffee and talking with Steve about a pending mission. The little witch paid no mind to her parents' chatter as she plopped herself down in Natasha's lap, laying her head against her shoulder. She could hear the warm grin in her mother's voice as she greeted her, "Oh good morning, malyshka."

Steve added his own, "Morning, little bird."

"Morning." Wanda mumbled with her eyes half-closed.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Nat inquired.

"Good."

"Are you still sleepy?"

"Maybe. Yes."

"You could go back to bed if you need to, sweetheart."

"No." Wanda nuzzled against her mother's collarbone.

The arms around her tightened and Tasha sounded amused as she said, "Alright, whatever you want, milaya."

The little witch did not fall asleep though. Instead she drifted in a state that was somewhere between conscious and unconscious with her parents' voices not taking any solid form in her mind. Their indistinct murmuring acted as white-noise, and she could use it to tune out the dull ache that persisted in her lower back by focusing on the shifts in Papa's tone and the soothing vibrations she felt being pressed against the side of Mama's throat. She would have been content to stay there all morning, if not for the louder, excited voice that entered the room, "Oh my god, that is the cutest thing I've ever seen."

Cracking one eye open and then the other, Wanda looked to see Sam and Sharon joining them, a large, impish grin on the Falcon's face at finding the little family sitting at the table, particularly Wanda sitting across her mother's lap, "Does anyone have a camera to document this precious moment?"

Sam walked past them further into the kitchen and Wanda hooked her chin over Mama's shoulder so she could give him a flat glare, "Just because I love my mother, doesn't mean I'm soft. I still can- and will - kick your ass in training, Sam."

Under normal circumstances, the teenager would have perhaps laughed sheepishly at Sam's teasing, not really minding it. However, on today of all days, Wanda felt pricklier, not that she was taking his playful statements very seriously, but she also wanted to let him know that she would not let his jokes ruin her morning cuddle session with her mother. Sam's mouth dropped open in surprise and Steve snorted into his coffee cup mid-sip.

"Damn, why are you Eastern European ladies always so quick to resort to violence? Can't a man have one meal without fearing for his safety?" He asked dramatically.

"It might be more of a mother-daughter thing." Steve muttered from behind the rim of his mug.

Sam addressed Natasha, pretending to be scandalized, "And did you hear that language? You're going to let her get away with that?"

"I'm sorry. What language?" The Black Widow feigned ignorance. "I didn't hear her say anything."

The man threw his hands up in the air in defeat, "That's it. I give up."

Wanda felt more than heard her mother chuckling and the girl tucked her mouth back against Nat's shoulder to hide her pleased smile. The teenager might still be uncomfortable as she tried to get used to the fact that she was actively bleeding and she could use some breakfast with a side of Tylenol, but she found she did not mind these things so much when she had her mother around to help her.

/

Another chapter showing Wanda continuing to grow :)

Hope you enjoyed! Love to see your thoughts and reviews!