The sunlight streaming gently in between the pale blinds of her bedroom window slowly coaxed Wanda from her pleasant dreams. Her alarm clock was showing that it was just after seven, and birds were already chirping merrily away in the trees outside.
She stretched out slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she looked around her room. The book she'd been reading the night before was still open on her nightstand, and her phone was flashing a notification that Vision had messaged her.
The simple cream-colored walls were glowing with sunlight, brightening up the little bedroom, and the fan was still whirring lazily overhead to dispel the summer heat while she slept.
Rolling over in bed, Wanda snatched up her phone, detaching the charger before letting herself sink back into the pillows and opening her messages.
Wanda,
I was wondering if we could perhaps meet up after your work shift and explore the garden in the park together? The flowers appear to be starting to bloom.
Yours,
Vision
Wanda smiled, allowing herself a minute to cradle the phone to her chest affectionately before replying.
That sounds wonderful! Pick me up from the house at three? We can drop back by afterwards for dinner. Laura said she is making pizza from scratch tonight.
In another minute or so Vision replied, confirming the date, and Wanda climbed out of bed to get ready for the day.
She set the kettle on to boil just before she got into the shower, racing her tea to get ready. The water was boiling by the time she popped back into the kitchen, a towel bundled around her middle, and she poured herself a cup to steep before doubling back to dry her hair and get clothes on. She dropped into the kitchen one more time to put two slices of bread in the toaster and press the tab down before attempting to brush through her hair, and by the time she had her brown locks tamed down to gentle, relatively manageable curls, her toast was ready.
In one smooth move, Wanda plucked the bread out of the toaster and dropped it on a plate, spreading each slice with a generous amount of Laura's homemade raspberry jam before adding two spoonfuls of sugar and a little lemon juice to her tea and moving to the table.
Slipping into her usual seat, she took a moment to let herself relax, listening to the sounds of the little cul de sac waking up as she let her gaze wander out the window.
Birds were chirping quietly in the big street trees outside, the canopies lush and green overhead, dappling the ground with shade. Steve was just pulling his old Volkswagen Beetle out of its usual parking spot, and next door she could hear the television playing softly through the shared wall, the Langs already up and about for the day.
An elderly gentleman was outside, pruning the shrubs by hand as he squinted at the plants through a pair of thick, round spectacles, and across the way Wanda could just see Natasha opening her kitchen blinds to let in some natural light, a towel still wrapped around her red hair.
A knock on the door interrupted her halfway through her second slice of toast, and Wanda scrambled to go see who it was.
She threw the latch and pulled the front door open to reveal her neighbor, still in his pajamas, and with a coffee cup steaming in his hand.
"Hey, Wanda," Scott grinned, free hand running through his hair as he shifted his weight, looking awkward despite his grin.
"Good morning, Scott," she smiled, leaning against the door frame. "What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if I could ask you a favor...would you mind bringing Cassie over to Clint's with you? She's got a play date with Lila, and Hope and I were gonna try to spend the day together."
"No problem, send her over. I'll leave the door unlocked," Wanda smiled.
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver!" Scott beamed, turning to cross back toward the front door of his townhouse.
Wanda waved after him, biting back a big smile, before ducking back inside to finish her breakfast.
Cassie arrived as she was clearing her plate into the sink.
"Hi, Miss Wanda," the girl called, letting herself in the front door.
"Hello, Cassie, I'll be ready to go in a minute. Make yourself comfortable."
Wanda ducked back into her bedroom as the girl hopped up onto the living room sofa, the child kicking her feet absently as she waited. Wanda quickly retrieved her cell and stuffed it in her purse, putting some sunscreen on her arms and snatching her hat off the desk before heading back out to the living room to get a pair of sunglasses.
It wouldn't do to get sunburnt this early in the season, after all.
Wanda worked a little roadside produce stand for her adoptive father - "earning her way in the real world" as Laura had put it - in order to help pay for her own townhouse, now that she was old enough to think about moving out.
It wasn't a very big move, all things said and done. It was fairly close to home, just a few miles down the road, and she still ate most of her dinners over with her family, but it was a little exciting to feel like she was taking the next big step in her life and getting out on her own, even if she had only gone five minutes down the street.
Laura had still cried, of course, as she and the kids had helped Wanda to move out.
Her family had taken a weekend to help her unpack and get settled, and Wanda had spent the whole time alternating between pointing where items went and answering the door to her new neighbors, who were all dropping by to see who was moving in.
Scott and Hope, of course, lived immediately next door. When they had dropped by to welcome her, Cassie had taken to Lila from the minute the girls saw one another, so now Wanda tended to act as unofficial chauffeur for play dates between the two.
"All right...ready to go?" Wanda asked Cassie, grabbing her keys up from the little hook by the door.
"Yup!" the girl chirped, hopping to her feet with a grin.
Wanda ushered her out of the house, double checking that she had everything she needed as she stepped outside.
"Wanda!"
She looked up at the call, and caught a wave from the blonde woman who lived two houses down from her.
"Sharon," she smiled, turning to face the woman as she finished closing up the house behind herself. Sharon gave her a smile, a watering can balanced on her hip.
"You and Vision still coming to the Star Wars showing at the theater this Friday?"
"Of course! Vision can't wait."
"Want to meet up with me, Steve, and the others beforehand for dinner?"
"Sure, what time?"
"Bucky's meeting with Steve an hour or two before the movie to pick up some new dress shirts, and I think they talked Sam into meeting us at the food court forty-five minutes before the showing. So, sometime around then?"
"Sounds good," she grinned, fixing her wide-brimmed hat more firmly on her head as Cassie gave an impatient little tug to her hand, pulling her toward her car. "I'll text you when we get to the mall!"
"See you then!" Sharon called, giving her a wave before turning back to the flowers she had growing out front, and Wanda followed Cassie to the car with a chuckle.
"All right, I'm coming. Hop in and buckle up."
The trip to Clint's farm went quickly, just long enough for Wanda to catch one of her favorite songs on the radio, and she pulled into the shade of a little grove of pine trees as Clint was dragging a red wagon over to the produce stand at the end of the driveway.
She was quick to roll the windows down and hop out of the car, making her way over to her adoptive father with a smile as Cassie followed on her heels.
"You're late, kid!" Clint grinned, setting a basket of strawberries on the little shaded counter before giving her a one-armed hug.
"Sorry, got held up on my way over," she smiled, fixing her sun hat once more and giving a nod in Cassie's direction as the little girl in question ran up to Clint.
"Hi, Mister Barton!"
"What's up, munchkin," Clint grinned, reaching to ruffle her hair. "You have a playdate with Lila today?"
"Yep! Mom and Dad are doing adult stuff today, so I came here to have fun instead!"
"Well, you know where the front door is," Clint smiled, turning to watch Cassie as the little girl ran for the house, calling his daughter's name.
"And what about you?" Wanda asked, glancing over the denim overalls that Clint was wearing. "What's on your schedule today?"
"I've got a front porch to paint," Clint sighed.
"Would you like some help?"
"You're supposed to be manning the stand."
Wanda offered a little shrug.
"I can still see the stand from the front porch. I'll run back over if anyone stops. Besides, I like helping you."
Clint stared at her for a long second, eyebrows raised, before breaking into a grin.
"I love you, you know that?"
Wanda laughed, following Clint as her father began heading for the porch.
"No, really, I mean it," he said, hefting a paint can up onto the railing with a clank and plucking a few small brushes from his pocket. "I freaking adore you. You're perfect."
"You're only saying that because I'm the only one of your children that willingly does chores."
"I won't deny that is a large part of the determining factor."
Wanda laughed, easily catching the paintbrush he tossed at her.
"What color does Laura want the railings this time?" she asked, thumbing the bristles absently.
"Back to white, which means two coats to cover the blue. At least."
"Understood," she said, throwing a little salute. "You already shake the paint?"
"Should be ready to go."
Wanda hovered at Clint's side as he used a screwdriver to pry open the paint can, dipping her brush in before turning her attention to the railing and beginning to layer paint onto the aged wood. Clint set the can on the ground between them, grabbing a brush of his own and joining her a moment later.
"So, kid, we haven't really gotten to just sit down and talk for a while, huh? How's life out of the house?" Clint asked, sending her a smile. "Everything you've ever dreamed?"
"Well it's certainly a lot quieter," she replied, a sly grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "But it's pretty exciting, too."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
Wanda smiled, leaning to paint the back side of the rail.
"Well, it started the other day, when Shuri- she's the one that lives in the end house, with her brother - came over asking if I had any double-A batteries…"