A/N: Personal experiences written down. Fun times.

To the guest. Not a whole chapter but a half. For now.

Btw I am basing my Sokovian ? on Slovak since Sokovia isn't a real country. The Russian and Slovenian are both translated from various pages on the internet since I speak neither of the languages. It won't be perfect so don't kill me.

S-B

Natasha was slowly limping towards the bathroom. While she did have her own bathroom, she was desperate for some painkillers and she believed Laura had some Tylenol or Advil in the cabinets in the big family bathroom. Ideally, she would like something stronger, but she had already emptied her own stock on everything she brought.

She let out a small groan and she could feel her ankle soon giving in. This hall had never felt longer. She fumbled into the room almost tripping over her own feet. Not even bothering to turn on the lights on she moved over to the cabinets above the sink ripping open the doors.

It was three different boxes. Two grape flavor Tylenol, 160 mg. Why is this even a thing? She pushed away the two boxes, hoping Laura also had something not only for kids up to 11 years … She grabbed the box in the back, begging for something not fruit-flavored.

"Only 350mg. You got to be shitting me!" Natasha mumbled as she picked up the red box.

"Not even Advil." Natasha let out another sight before swallowing 3 pills in one swift motion. Laura better has something with more strength in her room. She highly doubted this was the strongest she got. And if it was, she was forcing Clint to take her into town. This was not happening right now.

Natasha slowly stopped moving as she felt her senses go off. Slowly turning her body 90 degrees towards the door with her eyes scanning the black hallway careful not to make any sound. A dark shadow passed the door in a hurry before it jogged down the stairs. She took one step towards the door to get a better look at the person. Not that she needed to. It was no doubt; she already knew who it was.

She couldn't help but get slightly annoyed. It was like 3 am at night. Natasha carefully put back the box before slowly moving towards the stairs.

After a painful walk down the stairs, Natasha carefully slipped out the back door.

"Sneaking out, I was expecting better from you," Natasha said with a playful voice before walking out of the shadows. Wanda sat on a stomp looking into the darkness.

"Well, I wasn't quite expecting company either. Why are you here? And how did you know where I was?" Wanda said not turning around.

"Wanda, I know you. This. Leaving your room to go outside. I know you did this back at HQ too. And -" Natasha stopped to move over to a stump beside her and sat down smiling at the other woman.

"That is fine. I get it. I just want to make sure you are okay. Are you okay?" The way Natasha was looking into the dark, with her soft caring voice. It made Wanda feel bad, bad for not telling her. Like she was disappointing her.

"You know. Exactly where we are sitting right now Tony and Steve fought about the vision you showed Steve. But even when they were fighting, they weren't really mad at each other. Or you. They were mad at them self. About something they had no control over. What they saw wasn't real. And what we others saw, was in the past. It doesn't define any of us."

"Natasha. What happened back there, with Lila –"

"Doesn't matter." Natasha cut her off. For the first time, Natasha and Wanda's eyes met.

" I know you feel bad. But no one was harmed. And we know what happened wasn't intended. But you picked yourself up and got back the control you needed. You acted on instinct. On what felt right at that moment, clearly what you did, catching Lila, it was with good intentions. If you hadn't caught her I…- It would have ended differently. And not in a good way."

"But everything after. I… I… had no control." Wanda looked at her with a helpless look. Natasha only nodded and let her talk.

"Back there. In. In that room. They took me to this laboratory every day. They would force me to use my powers, to blast something or move something. Every time pushing me to my limits. When I failed, they… they would force this liquid into me. Something that made me… that made me feel stronger. But at one point I… I lost control. In the end nothing felt like… me… anymore." Natasha looked at the girl in front of her. She had never quite understood what had happened to Wanda. She knew they had experimented on her. But it was only now she understood what they had really done. What their ultimate goal with her was.

"Wanda." Natasha slowly moved over to her and kneeled in front of her.

"I know you feel hurt. After what happened back there, we should expect nothing less. But you were so strong back there. You still are." Wanda looked at her, and Natasha would see the tears in her eyes.

"I just don't know who I am anymore. If I can't even control my powers. Who am I then?" Wanda's head fell into her hands and Natasha could hear her low crying.

"You are still you. The same you. The same strong, beautiful Wanda. And you can control your powers. You just did back there."

"Only because you were there." Wanda whispered. Natasha slowly let her hands glide through her hair before whispering back.

"Hey, that's what this mentor thing is for right. I would be kind of useless if I couldn't come through to you right?" Natasha smiled as she felt Wanda chuckle slightly.

"You are never useless. Thank you. Natasha." Wanda said and dragged Natasha into a hug.

Natasha felt a familiar tingle inside and Wanda's voice filled her ears.

"Thank you"

Natasha pulled away and smiled at her. A small frown formed in Wanda's face and she tilted her head slightly.

"Did you mean to do what?" Natasha said slowly. Unsure if Wanda was actually making a telepathic connection her or if it was a mistake and her powers really were beyond her control.

"Did you know you get a slight red glow in your pupils when I do that?" Wanda asked slowly moving a bit forward to look at her. Natasha shook her head.

"No. Laura told me both of our eyes turned red back there. But she described them like yours when you get mad. So, no." Natasha looked at Wanda who was still studying her eyes.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Natasha was starting to feel that headache she had so actively tried to avoid with the Tylenol slowly creep upon her. But she could also tell Wanda was not as tense anymore. And right now, it was all that mattered.

"maybe I should go back inside," Wanda said with a tired voice.

"I haven't been sleeping so great lately." She said looking at Natasha with two almost sad eyes. Instead of replying Natasha only nodded and gave her one last smile before she watched Wanda go back to the house.

Pepper woke up early the next morning feeling the warmth from the early morning sun in her room. She grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and got dressed. She took a glance at her phone. 6:47 am. Pepper walked down the hall and into the living room finding Laura sitting in one of the couches by the window with Nathaniel on her lap.

"Good morning, Pepper," Laura said with a smile. The child on her lap laughed and Pepper smiled back at the two of them.

"Coffee and water for tea are in the kitchen if you would like to join me," Laura said putting down the almost 2-year-old down on the floor letting him run off to the Lego sets.

Pepper watched the child run before she went over to the kettle and poured herself some water and picked out a tea before turning back towards Laura.

"This really is amazing Laura. Thank you for letting us come on such short notice." Pepper sat down in one of the chairs looking at the other woman carefully moving around the teabag.

"Of course, Pepper. Clint and I always have Natasha's best interest at heart. We knew this was something she needs. But it seems like you needed it as well." Laura sipped some coffee looking around in the room with an almost mischievous smile.

"I really did. Just needed a small break from everything going on in Stark industries. It's so much… dumb stuff happening right now." Pepper rolled her eyes slightly and Laura let out a soft laugh.

"Well, I am glad I could provide." Laura finished her cup of coffee and stood up.

"I haven't started on the breakfast yet; I wanted a nice slower morning. But it is past seven now. The kids will be up soon, and when they wake so does the rest of the house." Laura walked over to the kitchen and rinsed the mug with some water before she put it in the dishwasher. Pepper stood up after her following her into the kitchen waiting for instruction. Laura smiled at her warmly before saying.

"There is some eggs and bacon in the fridge if you want to start on that."

Laura and Pepper worked great together, and Pepper found herself in a pleasant conversation with the other woman. Pepper hadn't had the chance to really talk to Laura outside of more serious circumstances, but she was so easy going. She had the perfect balance between calm and caring, with a bit of humor and wit mixed in.

Like she had predicted only 15 minutes later Copper and Lila came running down the stairs talking about how they both were dying of starvation.

"Guys calm down. Please go wash up. Breakfast is ready very soon." Laura said with a laugh.

"Do I smell bacon?" Pepper turned around to see Clint walk into the kitchen. He walked up to Laura kissing her on the cheek.

"Yes. Hope you like it crispy." Pepper answered moving the pan away when Clint tried to snatch some.

"Clint. How about waiting for everyone is here?" Laura laughed giving her husband some glasses to put on the table.

"Oh well" Clint mumbled back, but Pepper could see his small smile. He walked over to the table putting down the four glasses before walking to Nate and putting him in his highchair. She watched the cute scene between father and son. With a family like this Pepper understood why Clint retired.

"Wanda! Good morning" Laura's said when she saw the woman walk through the door. Her voice was welcoming, and she smiled kindly at the younger woman. Wanda looked a bit tired, and her hair was damp from a morning shower. The younger woman smiled to Pepper and Laura before she walked up to Nate saying,

"Ahoj krásavec". Giving him a small ruffle in his hair. The boy laughed while reaching out after her.

"She said Hallo, handsome" Clint said out loud, explaining before Pepper or Laura had time to ask. Wanda nodded at the man in confirmation.

"Yes. How do you know Sokovian?" Wanda said looking at Clint with curiosity.

"I don't. But Nat taught me Russian well enough to keep a decent conversation. It is not too different from that. I believe handsome is красавчик." Clint said with a rusty accent. Still, Wanda nodded with a smile.

"Wanda. Please sit." Laura noticed how the girl was still standing in the room. She gestured to one of the chairs, and Wanda had just moved over to the chair when just the two kids came running into the room.

"Mom, where is Auntie Nat?" Lila piped as she sat down on a chair. Laura sent Pepper a small look which made her throat dry.

"I don't know sweetie. I can go and look for her if you want?" Laura said with a calm voice talking to her daughter. Lila nodded enthusiastically before she leaned over the table to get some bread.

"Pepper?" Laura said short nodding at her. Pepper felt her body stand up following after Laura. Why did she have a bad feeling about this?

Laura walked in an extremely fast pace up the stairs making Pepper having to work extremely hard not to start running after her. Laura turned right at the first door-knocking softly at the door.

"Natasha. Honey?" Laura's voice was soft as she talked, knocking again when she didn't get any answer.

"Natasha?!" Laura raised her voice slightly. The way she was acting, with her fast walking and slightly tense voice, was making Pepper believe this wasn't normal.

"Natalia. I am coming in okay?" Pepper noticed how she changed her tone from calm and soft to something a lot more tense. She also noticed how she was saying Natalia now. Even though she had said Natasha the first two times.

Laura slowly slipped the door slightly open and started walking into the room but stopped almost immediately. Pepper slowly pushed the door open and walked up beside her. She looked at Laura before following her eyes to see what she was looking so intensely at.

The open door had lit up the room in a yellow glow from the hallway, and Peppers eyes found what she was looking for. Natasha was lying on the floor curled up breathing heavily. Pepper felt her heart sink. She hadn't even made it to her bed which was maybe 2 feet away from her.

Laura walked up to her with a fast pace before sinking down beside her. Pepper walked slowly up to the two of them silently watching as Laura started to go over the woman placing a hand on her forehead. Natasha let out a small moan and Pepper noticed her ankle twitch slightly. She recognized the movement knowing that was what she tended to do when, or if she was in pain.

"Natalia. Sweetheart." Laura said slowly trying to move Natasha's head to get a look at her. Natasha let out a distressed cry when she felt a movement pushing Laura away with her hand before curling up again before her hand fell over her face. Pepper saw Laura frown before she placed her hand on Natasha's.

"Pepper, close the door please," Laura said without looking at her. Pepper only stood up carefully closing the door before walking back to Laura.

"Natalia can you please try to stand up." Laura tried moving Natasha's hand away from her face. Pepper now realized how her eyes were closed and it almost looked like she was squinting. Laura pushed the girl slightly making Natasha tens up before she forcefully ripped her arm out of Laura's grip. Laura looked at her slowly letting her hands glide through her red hair.

"I know what this is," Laura whispered still keeping a close eye on Natasha.

"This is her head. A migraine." Laura said carefully letting her fingers glide over Natasha's hand which was covering most of the right side of her face.

"It is a painful, extremely powerful migraine she sometimes gets when she is sick or overworked. It makes her completely unresponsive. Draining every bit of energy she has in her body. She is awake, she is present, she just doesn't have the energy to respond or communicate." Pepper watched as Laura stroking her carefully.

"She gets extremely light and sound sensitive, to the point where that can make her pass out." Laura talked slowly still only looking at the woman in front of her.

"Natalia, sweetie. I'm going to go downstairs and tell them you aren't feeling so well okay? Pepper will stay with you. I'll be back after breakfast, so we don't start any fuss and blow this up more than necessary. I need you to calm down and try to get some energy so we can move you to the bed. If not, I will have Clint to come and help us. But you know that if he sees you like this he will talk to Steve." Pepper was wondering if Laura was trying to comfort or threat the girl. Either way, Laura wasn't expecting any response. She just stood up.

"Don't try to move her unless she hurts herself okay. Keep an eye on her right hand." Laura said before she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her leaving Pepper alone with an unresponsive, an extreme amount of pain Natasha Romanoff. Great.

Pepper had no idea what to do with herself. Natasha was still curled up and seemed in no mood to move. She sat down beside Natasha's head slowly letting her hands play with the redhead's hair. She almost jumped when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She fished up from her shorts before she turned down the brightness on her screen. She opened the text from Laura.

"No one seems to be too suspicious. Clint asked what was wrong. I told him she just felt tired."

"Wanda?"

"Seemed to be a bit more resistance. Didn't say anything but seemed to relax a bit more when I told her you were staying with her. Clint is taking the kids and Wanda into town to get food for the barbecue tonight. I'll be back in 20 minutes"

Pepper kept on playing with Natasha's hair ending up letting her head wander off.

She had no idea what was happening to Natasha. Why it happened, what it was and how long it had been going on. Whatever it was, she didn't seem to be in a mood to talk about it. Pepper had never been in any situation like this. But she was relieved Laura was here now. But it also made her wonder how much she knows. And how much Clint knows. Laura had recognized this from previously. But she also talked about it like Clint didn't know. How many times had this happened, and how had Natasha gotten Laura to not say anything to Clint? And why?

Pepper ended up getting completely lost in her thoughts and didn't realized time had passed before the door slowly opened and Laura walked into the room. In her arms, she had various boxes of what Pepper assumed was painkillers or medicine. She had also something black which seemed like fabric or something.

"How is she?" Laura said with a soft low voice as she put down whatever she was carrying down on the nightstand.

"I don't know how I am supposed to answer that question," she answered with a soft laughter. Laura smiled at her grimacing slightly. The other woman sat down beside her, and Pepper moved over to let Laura look at Natasha. Pepper noticed how Laura looked at her with a thoughtful look. Was it possible the spy had fallen asleep?

Laura was obviously thinking the same thing carefully shaking the girl. Natasha didn't did move a limb, but she moved her eyebrow ever so slightly.

Laura decided not to try to get her to move just yet, instead of inspecting the rest of Natasha's body. Pepper watched Laura's had glide over Natasha's body stopping at holding around various parts of her body. Pepper could tell Laura wanted to move her over to get a look at Natasha's injured shoulder which she had been lying on the whole time.

"Pepper do me a favor and go and see if you can find an icepack in the family bathroom. Door to the left end of the hallway" Laura said as she moved over to Natasha's ankle. Pepper only nodded before she stood up to look for the bathroom which she found rather easily.

She spent a good 5 minutes trying to open the childproof first aid kit and by the time she was back Laura had somehow gotten Natasha up from the floor and into the bed. What she hadn't been as successful in was getting the girl to move to the other side. She was still laying on her left shoulder, which seemed to annoy Laura quite a lot.

"You get the shoulder tomorrow," Laura said with a joking voice when Pepper handed her the ice pack. Pepper only nodded with a half-smile before she moved over to Natasha's head. Carefully she started to rinse cut above Natasha's eye with a damp cloth before she put a light coat of an antibiotic ointment, she had found in the same first aid kit. She was careful not to move Natasha's hand or apply to much pressure, but it didn't seem like Natasha cared too much.

By the time Pepper had cleaned the cut, Laura had finished Natasha's ankle which was now neatly wrapped in a black ankle brace and an ice pack.

"This should have been done way earlier," Laura mumbled before turning around towards Pepper waving to her, signalizing to follow her. Laura brought her out of the room before closing the door behind them.

"She is tried. She moved more or less on her own, so I think it has almost passed."

"So, what now?"

"We just let her sleep."