Wanda woke up in her bed, though she did not remember getting into her bed last night having drifted off to sleep on the ground with Natasha, who she was laying against even now. The woman must have helped her there and settled them in for the night. Despite feeling alert, the teenaged stayed relaxed and still. It seemed like she had slept for ten years, well rested but like there had been some fundamental shift in the world that had occurred while she was sleeping.

And in her world there had been a shift. Yesterday it had just been Wanda and today it was Wanda and Natasha. She did not have to live with the fear that it would all come to an end, like every moment with the woman was a stolen sliver of happiness that was slipping through her fingers. Because she did not have to go to the farm, Natasha did not want her to leave, and Natasha was her Mama. She remembered their conversation more by the rolling waves of emotions that went through her- the distress at having exposed herself and the wrenching fear that she would have to hear Tasha tell her she was not important enough, then the exhilarating uncertainty of standing of right on the edge of a precipice as the woman told her nothing was more important to her than Wanda, and the weightless feeling of letting go of her doubts as made that leap of faith.

And Natasha had been there to effortlessly catch her the way she always did, in the way that made Wanda forget why she had been so frightened in the first place. Da, moya lyubov. Ya tvoya Mama. Yes, my love. I'm your Mama. Remembering the words ignited warmth in her chest and contentedness loosened her muscles as she rubbed her cheek against her mother's chest where her head rested. The arms around her tightened pleasantly and Natasha's sleepily greeted her, "Good morning, malyshka."

"G'morning.." Wanda mumbled in response. She wanted to stay cozily cocooned in bed with her mama indefinitely, but the outside world had already started to creep into her thoughts. As relieved and happy as she was, the little witch had some questions. "Mama?"

"Yes, malyshka?" She could hear the smile in Natasha's voice at the appearance of her new title and the teenager allowed a little smile of her own at saying it before continuing more seriously.

"Will they be upset?"

"Will who be upset about what?" The woman asked with real confusion.

"Mr. Fury, Clint.. that I want to stay with you." Wanda recalled their conversation from when she first arrived and all of the stipulations that had been laid out in order for her to stay. Going to stay at the Barton farm had not been one of Mr. Fury's rules but going there eventually had been a part of the agreed upon plan and she worried that going against it would be a problem.

Natasha kissed her reassuringly forehead, "No one is going to be upset. Even if Fury was upset, he has no say in it. And Clint will only want you to be happy."

"I'm happy with you." She affirmed pressing her nose up into Natasha's neck and the woman thread her fingers through her hair to gentle scrape against her scalp.

"I'm happy too, baby.. Wanda.." The Black Widow then gently moved her away enough so that she could shift herself down to look the girl in the eye, "It's not just you wanting to stay you know. I want you to stay too. I would fight to keep you with me, milaya."

She stared back easily into Natasha's green eyes, a shade not so dissimilar from her own, with a bit of curiosity but no worry. The woman reached up to cup her cheek, "I'm sorry you heard those things I said in Malibu, I'm so sorry I said them. None of it was true."

Wanda did not doubt her; everything from Natasha emanated bright and true and purposeful. Still she sought to understand better, "Why?"

Not needing her to elaborate on the question, the spy answered carefully, "I thought you going to live with Clint and Laura would be the right thing for you. I thought you would be better off, happier on the farm than with me. But, I didn't know how to say that, so I lashed out and said those things instead. Sometimes when we're scared, or angry people say things they don't mean."

"Why were you scared?" It was hard to imagine Tasha as afraid of anything.

Their tears had been all spent last night, but that did not lessen the depth of their quiet, honest conversation. Wanda preferred it, feeling calm and safe as Natasha sighed softly, gently stroking her fingers along Wanda's hairline, "It's complicated, baby. In the Red Room, they made it so that we had only one purpose.."

Wanda knew without the Black Widow having to explain what that purpose was having seen enough of her memories when she had forced herself into Natasha's mind what seemed like a lifetime ago. She felt a pain in her chest, not the woman's pain from the memories, but her own sorrow for what had happened to her Mama. Natasha continued with a little sadness tainting her voice, "I was scared I wasn't capable of caring for you as much as I do. I thought you deserved a better mother than me."

"You're wrong. You always know what to do, you always care.." The little witch tucked herself back against Natasha's chest, trying to press into her how she felt not just with her words but with her whole being, "My family, Pietro, they would not want me to be alone, like- like you said. And you make me not feel alone. I couldn't imagine anyone better than you. I want you to be my mama."

"My sweet girl." Natasha held her back with equal fervor, "I couldn't ask for a better daughter than you."

They let the morning pass peacefully for another moment, comfortable and warm huddled up in bed with their most important person. Then Wanda felt a gentle tug of grief, like a solitary strum of a low, melancholy note in her chest. It was not terrible or debilitating the way in had been, rather nearly nostalgic, though it made the girl's thoughts start up again, "Mama?"

"Yes, malyshka?"

"Can we visit Pietro today?" Wanda did not usually ask Tasha for permission to go out to her brother's resting place. She would only ask if she wanted the older woman to go with her otherwise she would sometimes walk out there with Vision or go on her own these days.

"Of course, do you want to go before breakfast?" Natasha asked, seeming to sense the urgency of it.

Wanda agreed, "Yes."

"We should get up now." The Black Widow kissed her forward one last time and sat up, helping Wanda in upright position with her. "We've slept in enough for today."

It was close to ten in the morning, much later than either of them usually stayed in bed, as the pair climbed off the mattress to get ready to go out. Changing out of their pajamas and putting on their coats, Wanda and Natasha headed out into the brisk, cool morning. Pietro's grave was a bit of a walk from the residence and other Avenger buildings, hidden away in the tree line for privacy from the comings and goings. The little alcove of trees was tranquil and smelled like the green of the forest. The little witch breathed the air in deeply as she sank down close to the marble headstone as Tasha stood a few steps behind her, giving her some space but obviously there if the girl needed her.

Running her finger along the engraved 'M' in their last name, Wanda thought about her brother. She could not try and reach for him outside herself anymore; it still hurt, the void where Pietro was supposed to be. She could remember him though, remember how his quicksilver spirit lit up in her chest when he was running full tilt through the trees and the comfort of his deeper voice crowding inside her head with her own voice as their Sokovian slurred together. Letting those memories fill up within her, she started talking to Pietro in her mind.

Hello, brother. I miss you.. so much. I wish you could be here and know everybody. Sam is kind and funny, I think you would get along with him best. Steve is nice too, and he would always be there for you if you needed him. And Sharon is great. She is easy to talk to and she shares everything so easily. Vision, well, you would probably think he's weird, but I like him. He would grow on you eventually. Then Tasha..

Her lower lip trembled as she thought of the woman and how much she had done for her, how much she meant to her and how sad she felt that Pietro had never known how much better it could be. Wanda sniffled a little as her internal dialogue continued.

Natasha is patient and courageous and selfless. She takes care of me. She loves me, and I love her. I wish you could know her the most Pietro because she would feel the same way about you. Mama would have taken care of you too.

Her magic unfurled behind her, finding her mother's hand and swirling around it before gingerly pulling just enough so that the woman started towards her. Natasha sat on the ground with her and wrapped her into a hug as Wanda immediately finding the crook of the woman's neck to rest her head. The Russian pressed her nose into Wanda's hair and murmured, "I know, my love. I know."

She started humming that delicate, swaying tune. The little witch pushed into the vibration from her mother's throat. That hum, that soft vibration was the closest thing to her own magic that Wanda had ever felt, her Mama's magic that she seemed to give just to her. It soothed her as they took the morning to be sad and be happy and to remember.

/

Natasha poured Wanda a short glass of orange juice and one for herself as well. Wanda drank hers at the counter while she drank hers while looking into the refrigerator, considering whether they should have breakfast or skip to lunch. She was deciding on French toast with strawberries when Steve, Sam and Sharon came into the kitchen probably from the gym by the looks of the trio. Steve grinned at the sight of them, "Hey guys, we were wondering when we'd see you."

"Steve," Wanda ran up to him and threw her arms around his waist. "Guess what? I'm not going to the farm. I'm going to stay here with you guys."

Captain America let his arms encompass the girl with an even broader smile as she looked down at her and then looked over to Natasha clearly elated but perhaps a little surprised that they had already had the conversation. The redhead simply shrugged at him with her own content expression as he said, "That's wonderful news! I'm very happy to hear that."

"I'm sorry. Am I hearing this correctly? You're going to send our kid away?" Sam interrupted with shocked as he maneuvered around Nat to grab a couple water bottles and apples for himself and Sharon who went to sat at the kitchen table.

Raising her eyebrow, the spy asked him incredulously, "Were you not listening? No, she's not going anywhere. She is staying with us."

"But you just decided that today and prior to now the plan was for her to still go live with Clint?" The Falcon inquired more insistently.

"Yes, but-"

"I can't believe you were going to send our kid away." Sam continued to sound scandalized.

Natasha said with exasperation, "Wanda isn't going anywhere."

"But before she could have." Now Steve joined in on tormenting her, "You know what? I'm sorry, but you've lost your Wanda privileges."

He picked up the teenager as if to keep her away from Natasha. Laughing in surprise, Wanda steadied herself against his should as he managed to hold her so she was sitting in the crook of his elbow, a feat that would be much more difficult if he were not Captain America, "Steve! Put me down."

"I'm sorry Wanda, this is for your own good." Steve said with mock seriousness though if the girl had actually sounded upset he would have released her.

"Mama, help." The girl implored. The three other occupants in the room froze at the name Wanda called her, but Natasha did not miss a beat.

"Steve, give me my daughter back."

Steve recovered from his surprise quickly and he was looking at her with the biggest smile on his face that she had ever seen as he told her, "No."

"I don't want to hurt you Captain Rogers." She warned.

"You'll have to catch me first." And with that he took off running with Wanda laughing at his antics. Natasha smiled fondly and watched them go but did not give chase.

Sharon drew her attention, "Congratulations, Nat. We're so, so happy for you both."

"Thank you.." Natasha knew her eyes were shining but she noticed that the Sam's eyes were as well, "Sam, are you crying?"

"No." He tried to say forcefully, however his voice wavered, "I'm just allergic to.. the air."

The women shared amused grins, and Natasha shuffled through a few different ways to tease him, but she heard from somewhere in the residence Wanda yell out, "Mama!"

It was ecstatic and a little pleading and sounded absolutely perfect, a child happily asking for her mother. It was something she never though she would have, never even knew it was something she could want for. All thoughts of mocking Sam vanished from her mind, and Natasha walked out of the kitchen in search of her daughter, calling out in a no nonsense tone, "Quit horsing around you two. Wanda needs to eat some breakfast."