A/N: I have spent hours and hours trying to figure out the Barton home. I've even drawn a blueprint of the first floor (of all the room shown in the films) to understand how it looks and the feel of it.
Laura said in age of Ultron "if they are sleeping here, some of them have to double up." Technically this can mean both one or two pairs. (two or four). They were originally 5 on that trip, but Thor left, and Laura saw that, and "some" doesn't mean all. So that means only two have to pair up. That equals 3 guest rooms. (and no, I am not counting sleeping on the couch because no I do not think Laura would ask Steve Rogers to sleep on the couch. But the house is seriously not that big because Laura and Clint's room is about A THIRD of the second floor. And Natasha's room is almost as big. Which btw is the only room with an on-suite bathroom which is very interesting. They literally gave her the master bedroom. And no, I am not kidding. It's almost as big as theirs, got a bathroom and an amazing view. Their room is kinda weird and doesn't seem like it was originally one room, it looks like it once was two.
MY POINT IS their house is really not that big, and it's complicated. Also, the sunroom. Where the heck is the sunroom and the dining room. They literally don't have any space for that. Or they do. But also kinda don't.
Also, this is a longer chapter again. Felt right.
S-B
Pepper sat quietly in her seat in the Avengers Quinjet reading one of her favourite books. In the driver or pilot seat, Bucky sat humming low. His eyes were glued out the window and she could see the frown on his face. He was in deep concentration. Pepper didn't think Bucky was a humming kind of person. But was nice.
Pepper knew that they technically didn't need a pilot, Friday could probably just have flown them there herself, but Steve had insisted on having a human pilot.
Getting Steve to let them go had been easier than Pepper originally thought. But with Tony's blessing and Natasha's bad state, Steve had agreed to let them go on this "one-week holiday" as he called it. Natasha probably needed more than a week to fully recover, even if she didn't admit it. But Pepper couldn't take more than a week anyway, and at this point, she took all she could get.
Wanda sat in the copilot seat wrapped up in a blanket fast asleep. The girl had been more than happy when they had asked her if she wanted to come. She, like the other two women, had tried to pack as fast as possible to get on with the flight as fast as they could. But of course, three women packing for a one-week holiday didn't happen in a flash, and they hadn't gotten up in the air before closer to 4 pm.
They had been flying for a couple of hours now, and last time Pepper had asked Friday it was approximately 40 minutes before they were at their destination, so it was probably a bit less now.
Pepper's eyes drifted around in the jet and eventually, they fell on Natasha. She was lying in the seats in the back of the jet with her eyes closed. She hadn't told her, but Pepper was certain she had drugged herself down before the flight. By the looks of it, it seemed whatever she took was starting to lose some of its effects as the woman seem to get tenser. Occasionally Pepper could see the woman twitch and she was wondering if it was her camps again. She hoped Natasha didn't have a full seven days of this. If so, she felt really bad for her.
Pepper slowly got up from her seat and quietly made her way over to Natasha hoping to not wake up Wanda. She threw a fast glance towards the front of the jet to see if Wanda was still asleep, which she was. She met Bucky's eyes for a second, but he only nodded at her before he turned his head back to the sky.
The older woman grabbed two of the blankets from the nearby seats and carefully threw one over Natasha, wrapping it around her. The other one she folded together neatly before slipping it under her injured ankle to levitate it. Natasha didn't even look at her while she worked, and Pepper was wondering if this was Natasha starting to let others help her. Or at least let Pepper help her.
Pepper's stomach twisted in worry when Natasha let out a small whimper. It was only loud enough for Pepper to hear it, but it still made her drown in worry. Natasha started to curl up moving her legs up close to her abdomen and Pepper put her hands on the woman's knees to stop her from moving them.
"Natasha, stop. Breath. You'll only make it harder to breathe now. Please stop." Pepper whispered softly as she tried to guide her legs out away from her stomach. Holy crap why was this woman so strong, Pepper thought as she felt Natasha fight her arms.
"Yes. That's it, Natasha. Breath." Pepper praised as she heard the woman take some deep breaths. She was happy Natasha was listening to her, but it still hurt so much every time Natasha whimpered. Eventually, after a pretty intense fight with the spy's legs, Natasha was starting to give in, relaxing her legs a bit more. Still, Pepper had to but a protective hand on her shoulder whenever a wave hit.
"We're here. Prepare for landing." Bucky's voice was calm as she spoke. Pepper turned around and while he didn't look at them directly, she could see some worry in his eyes. Pepper moved away from Natasha and started to go through her bags to make sure she got everything.
She couldn't help herself as she walked up behind Wanda's seat and looked out of the window. They were hovering over a big meadow just on the outside of a forest. In front of them, it was a white big house and small barn. It was beautiful. She could understand why Clint and Laura loved this place. Living somewhere like this was Pepper's dream. But right now, it could never happen.
Pepper noticed how Wanda also was scanning their surroundings. She looked as she was just as in awe as Pepper was. And by the looks of it, Pepper was guessing it was her first time here too.
Behind them, Pepper could hear Natasha mess around in a bag. She could hear a box with something in getting opened, guessing it was her mysterious painkillers. Deciding not to ask Pepper forced herself to keep her head point forwards and she smiled slightly as she felt the Quinjet touch ground.
Both Pepper and Wanda turned around and started to walk back into the jet when Bucky let the ramp down.
"You guys want some help with your bags?" He asked politely. Wanda smiled at him warmly before saying.
"Yes, that would be great thanks." He nodded and walked over to the pile of bags in the back of the aircraft. Pepper noticed how Bucky looked around him carefully before he picked both of Natasha's bags in his left hand and just grabbed another random in his other. She couldn't help but smile at that. While Bucky might seem a bit cold, he was obviously a very caring guy. Pepper noticed how she wasn't the only taking note of this. Wanda was smiling after him before she walked after him with picking up her own two bags on the way out.
Pepper made her way towards the ramp. She picked up her bag before she watches Natasha slowly make her way after her. Wanda and Bucky were waiting outside for them. And while none of them said anything it was obvious they were both watching Natasha very carefully.
Bucky had parked the aircraft pretty close to the house but still partly covered by the threes, maybe 300 feet to walk or so. Wanda and Bucky walked in the front, while Pepper held a bit back walking with Natasha. At this point, she wasn't even trying to hide her pain as she limped slowly towards the house with 70% on her body weight on Pepper.
When they got closer the front door opened and Clint and Laura both walked out on the terrace. Pepper could feel Natasha straighten up beside her, but she still kept a tight grip on her shoulder. Laura had a concerned look on her face, while Clint was more on the happy side. He jogged down the stairs and walked over to Bucky and Wanda, dragging Wanda into a big hug. Wanda smiled warmly at Clint. As Natasha had once told her, Clint had practically adopted the younger woman. Taking her under his wing very early on. Clint grabbed Wanda's bags before walking over to Natasha and Pepper. Pepper accepted the hug from Clint but felt weird because his best friend was hanging over her shoulder struggling to even stand.
"Thought you didn't let other people fuss over you?" Clint said with a playful tone.
"No. I just don't let you fuss over me, old man." Natasha said back. While she seemed to have her normal dry humor in place, they could all hear her voice slightly cracked. Clint decided to ignore it, instead offering to take Pepper's bag before leading them into his house.
Laura gave Wanda a hug and Bucky a smile when they passed her. Even when she hugged Wanda Pepper saw Laura's eyes glued on Natasha.
The second Clint disappeared around the corner into the house Pepper felt Natasha leaned on her again.
"Oh my" Pepper breath out when she felt the sudden shift. It surprised her that Natasha was so actively trying to keep her pain and distress away from Clint.
"Natalia. Honey" Pepper watched the interaction between Laura and Natasha. The older woman went systematic down Natasha's body. From the cut over her eye, down to the burses visible on her arm, to her stomach, to her ankle. Every injury was checked upon. Pepper saw Laura stare and fell around Natasha's ankle maybe a bit longer than necessary, but decided not to say anything. Instead, she walked in front of them into the hall and closed the door behind them.
The second the door got closed they heard footsteps running down a hallway on the second floor before Lila and Copper came running down the staircase.
"Lila WAI-" Both parents yelled out the second the girl came flying down the stairs, but not before she had thrown herself into her aunt's arms. Pepper felt the other woman let go of her shoulder the second Lila made impact throwing Natasha into the door making the woman throw herself around as the pain ripped through her body.
Pepper's heart stopped. It all happened so fast. Natasha's body was reacting on a high on adrenaline. It was like a movie where everything happened in slow motion before it all zoomed back to full speed again. Natasha's eyes were screaming in sheer pain and panic when she fell into the door and at the same time dropping Lila's, who she never really had a grip around in the first place.
The red glow in the room was intense and when Pepper felt herself falling back into reality Lila's was held completely still floating in the air surrounded by the red mist. It was like the room held its breath.
Wanda's eyes were shining in an intense, almost angry red, and honestly, Pepper had never felt the nickname "Scarlet Witch" suit her so dangerously well.
Lila was slowly getting pulled back and landed softly on the floor beside her father who embraced her from behind. Natasha was slowly coming back from her shook gradually straightening up. Still, it wasn't her they were paying attention too.
Wanda was hovering above the floor with her eyes wide-open shining in that powerful red. The room was still in a strong red glow, oozing out of the young woman. She herself wasn't moving, but her hands were forming a circle and her fingertips were slightly moving, making small red sparks fly out of her fingers.
Unlike the few other times Pepper had seen her use her powers this seemed very out of control. She seemed out of control
Around in the avenger's headquarters, Wanda had used her powers pretty regularly. Or at least before she and Nat had disappeared. Pepper had seen her spar a few times, plus flying things around in the room. She had even seen her pick up a kitchen knife flying it straight at Natasha's face when she had snuck up on her once. She had stopped it millimeters from her face. But Natasha hadn't budged. It was all so controlled, and Wanda trusted herself, and so did Natasha.
This wasn't like that.
Somehow Natasha was the first one to get herself together slowly moving forwards towards the flying woman. Her movements were slow and careful not to startle the other girl.
"Wanda, can you hear me?" Natasha's voice was soft, and there was no hint of worry, fear or pain in her voice.
A low gasp came from Laura as Natasha started to glow as well. Her normally green eyes got eaten up by the red light filling her pupil and iris. Unlike the others in the room, Natasha seemed to almost relax by the sudden change. She didn't say anything. She just slowly moved her hand towards Wanda's arm, softly letting her fingers glide down her arm and hand.
The interaction was so pure, and Pepper couldn't help but feel a bit warm inside. Wanda slowly made her way to the floor landing carefully letting the glow burn out. Natasha's eyes turned back to her normal green and Pepper saw the corner of her mouth almost forming a small smile.
"Well then" Clint broke the silence, and everyone got forced back to the awkward standing in the middle of the hallway situation.
"I think maybe I should, um… you know. Go back to HQ" Bucky stemmed and put the bags down before heading towards the door.
Yet again Natasha proved herself to have the most grounded head as she kindly said. "Thank you, Bucky. And you can tell Steve it went even more painless than he thought it would!" Natasha's statement made Bucky slightly smile before he disappeared out the door.
"Nat, you already know where your room is, why don't you get settled in? Wanda, I'll show you your room. Babe? You show Pepper, right?" Clint sentence was followed by the two kids both asking what they were going to do now. Laura only answered that they could set the table. Truth is, she had already finished the dinner and would have set the table herself if they hadn't come exactly when they did. But giving them assignments like this made them feel involved. She also reminded Clint to check up on Nate who was sleeping in their room.
Wanda, Clint, and Natasha all walked up the staircase while Pepper fell into a comfortable silence following Laura down the hallway.
"So that door, end of the hall is the toilet and bath. The door to your right lead into the kitchen and this is your room" Laura slipped open.
"Oh my gosh" Pepper let out.
"It's beautiful Laura!" Different from the other parts of the house Pepper had seen so far, this room seemed a bit more modern, if that's the right word. The house itself was pretty old and retro. And so seemed the design and furniture choices. This room had older furniture as well. But it was a cleaner look. Absolute minimal furniture and clutter. Only a bed, a dresser and a desk with some shelves above the desk.
"It was Natalia's room until recently. I think maybe she moved upstairs five or six years ago. When Lila started to run around. She was the one decorating the room. At one point I actually think she even replaced the old flooring here. She moved upstairs to get more privacy with fewer kids running around. They are usually good, but they get restless. The rule is no running or yelling upstairs in our rooms. That's our personal space. So, playing yes. But yelling no. Not that they are really yelling, but a Black Widow working on some very top-secret SHIELD stuff. Better not bother her to much right." Laura was moving around in the room helping Pepper with her belongings and making the bed.
"So how was the flight?" Laura asked while she brushed out a small wrinkle in the sheets of the bed. They both knew she wasn't actually asking about the flight.
"I just don't know anymore. I am a hundred percent sure she took something to help with her pain before the flight." Pepper said with a sight.
"Makes sense"
"Yes. But whatever she takes doesn't seem to have the most lasting effect. Powerful yes, but not very long-lasting. Around 30 minutes before we landed she seemed to be struggling again. I don't know where the pain is because she never tells me. But every time she falls into a fetal position. And like I said earlier. It makes her struggle to breathe."
"Haven't really seen that problem before."
"And her ankle just seems to get worse and worse. She can barely stand on her own. It seemed to be the reason she dropped Lila when she jumped on her. I saw her right shoulder get pulled back by the weight, but it really didn't seem like she cared. It was her ankle that gave in.
"Yeah, I saw."
"But I also don't get the Clint situation. She seems to be actively trying to hide everything from him. Sure, she doesn't tell me everything either. But at least she lets me look at her. And so do you. But Clint..."
"Pepper. I know this is a hard and new situation. I don't know the answer. But I think trusting yourself is the best call. She seems to trust you. And you just have to trust her. She won't tell if you push her too hard. Just make sure she is okay, and she will do the same for you."
Laura and Pepper finished up in the bedroom shortly after and moved out into the open concept of the living room and kitchen. Laura was talking low with Pepper and as they walked into the room they saw Lila try to set the table. Just out of sight they could hear Natasha's voice. But it wasn't her normal voice she used with Pepper. It was softer, almost like the one she uses with Wanda.
"Lila! Remember. Etiquette. Napkin, fork, plate, knife. Glass for water right above for the knife, and wineglass to the left. Or in your fathers' case. Bottle of Beer." Pepper smiled by Natasha's attempt of teaching the 7-year-old some etiquette, even if it was just setting the table. Natasha's nature was well above an average well-disciplined and polite human so it was no surprise.
"Did I hear beer?" Clint walked into the room followed by Wanda, joining the others in the kitchen.
"Yeah, I am teaching your daughter some manners. Right ребенок." Natasha warmly at the girl. Lila nodded at her father with a twinkle in her eye.
"But you don't know anything about that. I mean you eat with your fork in your right hand. And you're left-handed." Natasha mumbled. Pepper smiled at that, and she could hear both Wanda and Laura giggle behind her.
"Well, I don't think I need to follow those rules in my own home." Clint huffed but smiled at Natasha.
"Does he actually eat with his fork in his right hand?" Pepper whispered when she helped Laura put the food on the table.
"Yeah, he does... You know, I don't understand him. I get why kids do it. Especially if their dominant hand is their right hand. But him. No idea. He is a great shooter, but everyday life is apparently very hard."