Wanda found it so hard to leave Peter's side.
It had been two days since they had returned from their mission in Germany - and she tried her hardest to see Peter whenever she could. Holding his hand gave her assurance that yes, he was still here, and he was going to be okay…
Unfortunately, Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho just couldn't allow her to waltz in whenever she felt like she needed to.
They completely understood the emotional state Wanda had going into this, and sympathized with it, but they needed isolation in order to work on making sure Peter was going to be okay.
Oh yeah, May had visited too… that was so sad to see. She was so distressed over her nephew's condition when she first walked in, and Pepper and Tony had accompanied her the whole time she was in his room. There were probably a lot of tears shed in that room while she was there.
And yet, when she walked out… she had an optimistic, caring smile on her face. She had thanked everyone, including Wanda when she saw her, for taking such good care of him, asking to be informed as soon as he woke up so she could break literally every speed law and come see him.
Wanda envied her ability to have such an optimistic outlook show itself - that was really admirable to her. Aunt May herself was admirable.
Anyway, Wanda was now trying to just walk around the tower… just to clear her head…
When she heard Bucky and Sam laughing.
From inside Peter's room.
Wanda's hopes briefly flickered up, and even if they weren't to be realized, she made a mad dash for the room, and burst into the room.
...He was still asleep, but Bucky and Sam were smiling down at him.
"W-What… what were you two doing?" Wanda asked curiously, trying to act like she hadn't just done that.
Bucky smirked. "We're chatting about literally every argument we've had with the kid."
Wanda relaxed, realizing they probably were respectfully ignoring what she had just done. For the first time in two days, she genuinely smiled. "Wouldn't that take years, though?"
"He didn't mention it was only the week before y'all went to Germany," chuckled Sam. "Let's see… what juice flavor is the best, whether or not he's got a massive crush on someone, what day of the week really is the best…"
"...Interesting topics," Wanda said, leaning against the door frame, trying to ignore the big and obvious one.
Sam suddenly sprouted a smirk, and Wanda gulped. "What do you think, Wanda?" asked Sam. "You think the kid's got feels for some lady out there?"
Wanda blushed. "I-It's none of my business to comment on that. That is a 'boy's matter', nothing I should be involved with."
"Wanda, you're his best friend," Bucky smiled - gosh, she hated these two and their stupid ability to just connect. "You're bound to know if he does."
"N-Nope, nuhuh," Wanda shook her head sheepishly, trying not to become as red as her overcoat. Bucky and Sam gave each other a look, and turned their heads back to Wanda, those stupid grins on their faces once more.
"Well, we've been chatting with the kid for over an hour," Sam said, looking at his watch. "You wanna take the next shift?"
"Mhmm," Wanda nodded softly. "Thank you both… for keeping him company."
"Anytime," Bucky said softly, patting her shoulder as he and Sam walked out arm in arm.
Wanda then sat down in the same chair she had been in a couple of nights before, and relaxed as she let her mind calm at the sight of Peter doing okay. Not great, not terrible, just… okay.
Which was okay.
-0-
8:51 PM
Wanda was awoken from her nap by a sudden, soft knocking at the door.
"Hello? Anyone in there?" asked a voice.
"C-Come in," she stuttered out, trying not to yawn so loudly. After the door opened, Natasha walked in, looking worried and confused.
"Hey Wanda… you didn't come to dinner, honey," said Nat, walking over to Wanda and letting her rest her head at her side. "You never miss dinner when Steve cooks… Are you feeling okay?"
"Mmm… not hungry," Wanda muttered. "I… I also forgot… sorry."
"Oh, don't apologize," Nat assured her, rubbing the side of her head. "I just wanna make sure you're okay… and you're worried, aren't you honey?"
Wanda couldn't help but nod.
"I get it, I promise you," she said, rubbing her temple now - Wanda felt so much calmer at Nat's sweet touch, letting the soothing feeling of her caresses numb her soul with comfort for the first time in two days. "Hey, I can also promise you this - Peter will wake up soon, and the very first person he'll wanna see is you."
"You think so?" Wanda's precious brown eyes fluttered up to see Nat's, and she was met with nothing but care in return.
"I know so," Nat smirked. "I like to think I know the kid pretty well. All of do - he's got grit, and is stubborn as hell. I'm only positive he's still asleep because he missed out on so much of it during finals."
Wanda smiled gently, looking back at Peter with newfound assurance.
"Honey, how long's it been since you took a shower?" asked Nat. "I'm not trying to be harsh, I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourself too."
Wanda's silence, and a small, soft look was all the answer Nat needed. Her stomach then growled loudly, and Wanda cringed in response, clutching below her chest with her free hand.
"Okay honey, here's what we're gonna do," Nat said, never ever wanting to see one of her colleagues, much less Wanda, go hungry or without self care. "I'm gonna sit right where you're sitting, and keep a watch on Peter, okay?"
Wanda looked at her gently. "W-What do you want me to do?"
"What I would appreciate you doing is to go take care of yourself," Nat said. "It's what Peter would want you to do; you know that, right? If he knew you were neglecting yourself just to stare at him, he'd probably ask you what you were thinking - and his voice would crack like crazy."
Wanda giggled softly at the thought… Peter's high pitched, very teenage boy-ish annoyed voice was literally one of her favorite things on earth.
"What I would like for you to do is to go get some food that we've left for you on the stove - the lasagna is still nice and warm, so don't worry about heating it up," Nat said, kissing her hair. "Then, if you feel like it, a nice, long shower would help you so much."
Wanda nodded… that sounded like a good plan. "Okay. I can do that."
"That's excellent - so proud of you. Then, honey, you know what else you could do?" smiled Nat.
"Hmm?"
"You could go practice your steps."
Wanda's eyes looked up at Nat with a hint of surprise… gosh, how long had it been since she danced? She hadn't done it at least a week before the mission, much less during the two-week stint and after… but still, Peter wasn't there to watch her.
"Nat, I don't… I don't know if I could… I don't have my partner," said Wanda sadly.
"Then I'll get someone to come up and watch Peter, and you can dance with me watching you," said Nat. "Sweetie, you need to rest your head when it comes to this. Peter would want you to be happy - I know how hard that is, but if you could just do a simple step for him… do you know how happy that would make him?"
Wanda thought about Natasha's words… and how, no matter how much she wanted to deny them, they were gospel. Peter would want her to be happy, because that's the kind of soul he was.
"...Okay," Wanda nodded. "When do you want to come to my room?"
"Whenever you're ready, honey," Nat said softly, smiling and kissing her head once again. "You have no idea how proud I am of you. And Peter is so proud of you too."
Wanda found the courage to smile.
If Peter was proud of her, there was absolutely nothing she couldn't do.
-0-
10:23 PM
After a lovely, refreshing meal of Steve's tower-famous lasagna, a warm and lengthy hug from the cook/her adoptive father, and a long shower that was more therapeutic than literally anything before it, Wanda slipped into her favorite purple sleep shirt as she waited for Nat to come up, who had just texted she was on her way.
Her hair still damp from her shower, curls falling and dripping water every now and then, she knelt down in front of her bed and retrieved a pair of shoes from a special chest from underneath: her black character-style tap dancing shoes. She hadn't seen them in forever, it felt…
Wanda grabbed the heel ends of the shoes, and tapped the toes together. The clicks made her smile, almost with a child-like innocence. It felt like she was back where she should be. Wet hair, pajamas, and tap shoes seemed like the best combo in the world to her right now… if only her partner was here, though.
As she sat down on the carpeted floor, putting her tap shoes on, Natasha walked in. Her smile grew when she saw her adoptive daughter. "You look beautiful, honey," she smiled at the young Avenger.
"Thank you," Wanda said, smiling softly and buckling the second shoe strap. After receiving a hand to get up from Natasha, she walked over to her Marley floor in the corner of her room, and click-clacked onto it. "Who did you leave with Peter?"
"Loki volunteered - I'm really proud of him," Nat said sincerely. "He's really working on himself; and his therapist says he's making so much progress. Peter's been a big help with that."
"Mhmm," Wanda nodded with a soft smile. "He's helped all of us… I wish he was in here right now."
"He's probably dreaming about you doing this right now," Nat smiled, raising her brows cheekily.
Wanda nearly choked on her own saliva, so she tried to divert the conversation as quickly and easily as possible. To distract her thoughts, she did a little warm up improv. Her taps moved softly and gently against the floor as she tried to move away from the obvious thought plaguing her mind.
Stupid hormones… stupid feelings…
Then again, oftentimes she found the best solution was to just... tap it out.
"So… what should I do?" Wanda asked, settling her feet after her improv warm up. "Do you have any ideas, Мамочка?"
Natasha smiled gently at the very personal name Wanda only ever used when they were alone. "Hmm… let's work on your sounds tonight."
"Sounds?"
"Use them to convey how you feel - and tell me what they represent," Nat said, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "If you want, tap out how you feel right now."
Wanda folded her hands behind her back, trying to think of emotions to convey…
"Well… this one is…" she began, before moving her foot around, scraping it across the surface area of her board. "...Longing."
"Good, good," Nat nodded. "Do another one!"
Wanda smiled, feeling just so right to be back in her dancing shoes. "And this one…" she began to do a Broadway step, fast then slowed down to a near halt at the very end. "This one's… care."
"Oooh, very good," Nat said, highly intrigued by Wanda's natural talent at this. "You're doing so amazing, honey."
Wanda giggled in gratefulness. "A-And… uhh… ooh," she said, doing a series of taps while alternating feet. "This one's… clarity."
"You really have the hang of this, huh?" Nat smiled. "Look at how much you're going to have to show Peter when he wakes up."
Wanda smiled sadly. "I wish he could be here right now, though…"
"I know you do," said Nat, getting up and hugging Wanda. "You'll have to show Steve tomorrow. He'll be so proud of you - I know you only did three things, but still, you have so much to be admired, honey. And I can't wait to see where you take this."
"Thank you so much, Мамочка," Wanda said softly. "And I'll be sure to show папочка tomorrow too."
"That sounds wonderful, honey. And you can always visit Peter whenever you like too," Nat assured her. "I would never try to separate you two, but I need you to make sure you're taking care of yourself too."
"I will," Wanda nodded.
"Great," Nat smiled. She then kissed her head, "I'm going to go to sleep, but you can continue practicing. I love you, моя дорогая. Sweet dreams."
"I love you too, Мамочка," Wanda softly whispered back, accepting the oncoming hug with full reassurance that she and Peter and everyone else in the tower would get by this.
It would, sadly, take time… but they knew they would win.
She knew they would win.
After Natasha left, Wanda's thoughts were calmed, if only for a short while, after pondering over these things. Returning the board, she let the taps fill the air once more. And after doing some soft and sweet tap dancing for a few more minutes, Wanda yawned loudly… her feet were hurting, and it was getting late.
Even though it was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment, she sat down and took off her tap shoes. If her ankles would allow it, they were going right back on tomorrow. She didn't know why, but pressing her lips softly to the shoes reassured her that they would be there…
Just like Peter.
With this in mind, Wanda was able to tuck herself under the covers and sleep peacefully for the first time in two nights.
-0-
That last scene... gosh I love Wanda. I also love writing tap dancing. Are both obvious or nah? Hahaha
Dropping a review keeps the author motivated! Thank you guys so much for reading, I truly hope you are enjoying reading this story as much as I am writing it. Love you guys so much, and I hope to hear from you in the review box! *heart emoji spam*
