Chris held up his promise a week or so later. As Sierra answered a knock on the front door, both surprised and not to see her three closest friends standing on the porch, all carrying large backpacks and bags. Des grinned, her appearance in her default; dark brown hair, medium-tanned skin, with brown eyes, though Sierra did see a flash of iridescent shimmer cross her sclera.
"Y'all actually showed up,"
"Gee, don't jump for joy, you're gonna break the floor," Lucas remarked with a wry smile. She chuckled, giving them all hugs and welcoming them inside.
Des dropped her stuff near the bed, lounging on her back.
"Nice place you've got,"
"Yeah, well, it's still a work in progress."
"Have you been living on this floor so far?" Chris inquired, to which Sierra gave a quick nod.
"Yup."
"Haven't gone upstairs?"
"Not even to fight the nest of raccoons."
"Sweet. Always wanted to take on one of those fuckers." Came Lucas as he went to the bathroom, to which Des rolled her eyes. Sierra had managed to fix the plumbing and got the water running once again. The call to the water company was… interesting.
"Whatever. Anyway, this is the state of everything so far. I've managed to fix the plumbing, still working on the electricity."
"Ah well, we can survive without electricity," Des assured.
"Sure, but we can help you speed up the repairs, make this place livable again." Chris offered, patting one of the walls, and Sierra smiled at him. He had always been the most level-headed and supportive of the three. Throughout all their trials and tribulations over the past few years, he had been steadfast, remaining by her side, even during the battle of Wakanda.
"Well, that is the goal. And help is always appreciated." Once Lucas emerged from the bathroom, Sierra went over the plans for the house, and what she'd already covered. The boys were quite impressed with the progress she'd made by herself.
She revealed the architectural layouts of the house that she acquired from the company that had owned her family's property since the attack (thanks SHIELD). She expressed wanting to focus on the first floor, mainly the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and her parent's old office. The wiring of the house and the electrical outlets needed to be examined and fixed accordingly, especially so that Sierra could get internet here.
Luckily Chris knew what he was doing, being the most responsible.
"Still can't believe you actually decided to come here and help me compared to being at home with Ari and the baby," Sierra remarked one afternoon as she was cleaning the light switch plates in the kitchen, and Chris was inspecting the wiring.
"Hey, Ari understands that a lot of people need to rebuild their lives, you especially. She doesn't mind." He assured, "Let me help you get a somewhat normal life back."
"Fair enough."
The wiring problem proved to be a bit more challenging for Chris than he could handle. So he contacted an electrician to come by and do an inspection and estimate. When the company truck showed up, Sierra opted to be out in the woods behind and surrounding the house while Chris handled the electrician.
Memories flashed through her mind of being out in the woods, playing in the dirt, getting all muddy as she built little fairy houses. She got so many splinters, tons of cuts, and scrapes. She spent one summer building a whole fairy village from scratch in a small opening, with one tall pine tree covering the area. She was so proud of herself, having constructed the little houses of mud and grass, even building actual structural support. She fondly recalled dragging her father out to show it off, and he praised her.
"You have a brilliant mind, Sierra. Look at what you can do!"
She'd been riding the high from that praise ever since. What she'd give to have her father here with her, rebuilding together. With him having gone missing that day, and SHIELD never finding a body, she found it fair to assume he may still be alive somewhere. She was his beneficiary, and once she turned 18, she received his life insurance policy, as well as other benefits that came with being a high-ranking agent. And she'd been using what money she had to restore the house.
To others, it didn't seem like much, but to her, it was the whole world.
She plugged in her Bluetooth earbuds and selected a peaceful ambience playlist to soothe her thoughts. She could feel a series of waves of her powers coursing through her veins, the tips of her fingers pulsing, emanating a violet glow, begging to be let out. Taking a few focusing breaths, she allowed herself to feel her power. The aura that radiated from the swirling violet cloud around her was strong, almost like it had a life of its own. It was like a heartbeat, pulsing loudly even through her earbuds.
She wiggled her fingers, the movement feeling like she was swimming through water, the ripples grew, bouncing off of her like sonar. This had been one of her training exercises growing up, that sometimes when her powers were screaming to be let out, she didn't need to destroy anything, but just take a moment, and feel.
Together, she and Natasha would sit through one of these moments, the pair mediating, listening to peaceful music. At one point, Bruce joined the two, as he needed peaceful moments as well to quiet the Hulk. Having shared those little moments with them was deeply comforting, and a reminder that life with SHIELD wasn't nearly as rough as it could've been.
Natasha made it easier for her, and Sierra had so much to thank her for. She also wished that Natasha could be here to see her rebuilding and taking her life back into her control, she knew that Natasha wanted that for her someday, and she would've been so proud to see it finally happening.
Her mind now felt quiet, and all she felt were her powers coursing through her. Sometimes it felt like little creeks softly murmuring in a forest, other times it felt like a raging river on the verge of flooding; like a dam about to burst. And she had gone from the feeling of about to explode, to something much calmer.
The stress of fixing the house was taking its toll on her, and she would likely need more moments outside to calm herself down and not make the house explode. But for right now, she felt better, both physically and mentally. With an exhale, the feeling of a weight being removed from her shoulders, she disconnected her earbuds, and in doing so, Chris's contact popped up on her screen, calling her.
She answered the phone, and as she spoke to him, she realized she'd wandered further into the woods than expected, so the service was a bit spotty, but he managed to get through that the inspection was complete, and that all of the outlets needed replacing, and the wiring was on the verge of causing a fire, so the electricians needed to come back ASAP to avoid that fate.
She arrived back at the house, tying her hair up in a ponytail, greeted by Des, who did not need to ask questions as to where Sierra had been and what she'd been up to. Des's abilities ranged from mind-walking/reading to illusions, on top of being able to read people to a T, her gut feeling was never wrong, as she could sense people's 'true colors'. The two women felt a kinship with each other, both having lonely childhoods and powerful abilities to boot, having Des around was a great comfort, and the two could always talk about their problems and empathize with each other.
As she entered through the rear door, she and Des exchanged a quick nod, with Des essentially saying "We can talk later if you need to".
Sometimes Sierra genuinely believed Des was telepathic but never told anyone.