Chapter Text
Wanda sighed contentedly as she surveyed her hospital room. Peter was sat at the foot of her bed, with his legs bent beneath him in a basket. She smiled fondly at the look of concentration etched on his face as he scribbled down answers to various maths equations in his homework. Bruce was stood behind him, casually leaning over his shoulder every once in a while to point out an error or nod approvingly at his work. Wanda wasn’t as familiar with Doctor Banner as she was the rest of the team, but his presence was a nice surprise. He seemed a kind man, if not a little quiet, and his intelligence was astounding. He had treated some of her minor injuries a couple of times before, but other than that he hadn’t been around much. He was often in the lab with Tony (a place that Wanda often tried to avoid as she never understood a thing the two geniuses were discussing, and she always felt like she was intruding) or simply relaxing on his own. Wanda understood that Bruce appreciated solitude, but she wished she could get to know the gentle man better. To say she was pleased when she awoke to him standing awkwardly at her bedside whilst reading her chart was a slight understatement.
Tony, quite easily the biggest presence in the room, was sat in a chair in the corner. He had his laptop balanced precariously on his lap and his fingers were dancing wildly across the keyboard. He huffed and sighed in irritation almost every other minute and Wanda fought not to laugh at his dramatics. Pepper - who was outside Wanda’s room giving sass to the idiot who thought contradicting Pepper Potts was a good idea - had been the one who forced Tony to reply to the weeks’ worth of emails he had missed. He had tried to start with the fan mail, but Pepper and Wanda mutually agreed that if his head got any bigger it would explode, hence why he was grumbling over meeting times and overdue payments.
Natasha and Clint were sat in chairs beside him playing cards. They had asked Wanda to play, but she had politely declined. It reminded her too much of Pietro who, no matter the situation, always had a pack of cards handy. They battled against each other silently, the only communication between them being quirks of eyebrows and slight upturns of lips. Wanda found herself watching them play for a few minutes, not because she was interested in their game, but more because their dynamic was just so familiar. The way they didn’t even need to talk to know what the other was thinking; it was like watching her and Pietro from afar.
Eventually, with a triumphant grin, Natasha presented her cards proudly and Wanda chuckled as Clint’s face fell. He marked down yet another tally point under Natasha’s name on the napkin they were using and gathered the cards up to play another round, mumbling under his breath about her cheating. She rolled her eyes affectionately and mouthed ‘sore loser’ to Wanda. Smirking, Wanda replied with a mere nod of her head.
Just then, Steve walked into the room with both hands full of cardboard cups. The smell of coffee immediately filled the air and Wanda couldn’t help but feel jealous. She still wasn’t allowed coffee due to the nature of her injury.
Noticing her sour look, Steve smiled sympathetically and said “Don’t worry, you’ll be better before you know it”
“Everyone keeps on saying that, but I feel like I’ve been stuck here for decades” groaned Wanda miserably as she watched Steve hand out the cups to everyone in the room. When he reached Peter, he slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out an energy drink and a chocolate bar, which Peter accepted gratefully. Wanda couldn’t help but laugh as Peter bit into the chocolate without actually taking off the wrapper first. He chuckled sheepishly and lightly kicked her leg.
“Hey!” she cried, giggling more.
“You were laughing at me” he protested, but he was laughing too.
“Ah! Coffee! I could kiss you, Cap” Tony declared after taking a ravenous gulp from the cup.
Steve raised his eyebrows at the comment before glancing outside at Pepper, who was still arguing down the phone.
“I don’t think Miss Potts would appreciate that Stark” he joked, an easy smile slipping onto his face. Tony shrugged in reply, his mouth otherwise preoccupied gulping down the caffeinated liquid.
Almost as if she could sense them talking about her, Pepper walked back into the room wearing an apologetic smile, her heels clacking loudly on the floor.
“Sorry about that everyone” she said, but she was looking at Wanda.
“It’s alright, honestly. You don’t all have to be here, I know you are all busy” Wanda answered in her best impression of nonchalance. If she was being truthful, she would have preferred it if they stayed; their presence made her feel less lonely and their banter was always good entertainment. Plus, anything was better than being alone with the incessant pain in her side. But, she was increasingly aware of how much time they were all spending with her, and she felt more and more guilty as the hours wore on. It was clear from Tony’s frown lines that he was stressed about the amount of work he missed, and the simple fact that Peter was completing his homework there in the hospital told her that he was falling behind too.
“Oh, don’t be silly! We aren’t going anywhere sweetheart” Pepper assured her kindly as she fluffed Wanda’s pillows. A warmth spread through Wanda’s chest when she was met with several smiles identical to Pepper’s.
“Nah, the WiFi here is surprisingly good. And, they sell burgers now! Sure, I had to raise their salaries but they were due a pay rise anyhow” Stark dismissed.
“We’re going to watch Star Wars now anyway, right?” Peter checked, his brown eyes sparkling in excitement.
“Yes, of course we are” she replied affectionately. Peter nimbly hopped off the bed and began fumbling around his rucksack for his laptop.
“Here, kid, use mine. I’m done for the day” Tony announced, eyeing Pepper warily from the corner of his eye. She rolled her eyes, but said nothing, probably reluctant to dampen Peter’s mood.
“Really Mr Stark? Thanks!” he grinned.
It didn’t take long for Peter to set the movie up and clamber back into the abnormally large hospital bed. With a little bit of manoeuvring (and a couple stifled whimpers on Wanda’s part) Peter and her were settled and ready to go.
“You’re going to love it Wanda. It’s, like, the best movie series in existence” Peter rambled giddily. Wanda simply nodded and smiled along to his antics, already knowing that she would be befuddled by the film before even starting it. She didn’t mind watching though as it made Peter so happy.
As the film played, one by one the avengers shifted their chairs so that they were all crowded around the screen. It wasn’t a perfect arrangement - Bruce and Tony debated in whispers the entire time about the believability of the plot and were constantly hushed by Peter and Clint, who was surprisingly into the film, whilst Steve and Wanda shared looks of utter confusion and Natasha switched between idly shuffling cards and sharpening knifes in the corner – but it was nice. Wanda found herself wondering what she had done to deserve such a family. They were dysfunctional and crazy and often arguing, but they were her’s. She couldn’t be more grateful.
“Thank you. All of you. I really appreciate it” Wanda blurted out near the end. Several pairs of eyes settled on her and she felt heat rising in her cheeks.
“For what?” Peter asked bewildered.
“For everything” she replied. She hesitated briefly, before continuing.
“I…I have never had a family before. It was just Pietro and I for so long. I never knew what it was like. But now, I have you all. You have done so much for me, I am eternally grateful. I don’t know how to repay you”.
Tears welled in her eyes as she picked at the bedsheets, she didn’t have the strength to meet anyone’s eyes.
A warm hand enveloped hers and squeezed it gently.
“You don’t owe any of us anything Wanda. We help you because that’s what family is for” Steve said softly, and everyone murmured in agreement. Peter awkwardly wrapped an arm around Wanda’s shoulders and gave her side hug.
“Thank you” Wanda replied, too choked up to say anything more.
“Stop thanking us! We want to be there for you- wait, shhhh this is a good part!” Peter exclaimed, his excitement was almost palpable. Wanda giggled but obediently stayed quiet and watched the screen. She still had no idea what was happening, and judging by Steve’s expression, neither did he. At least she wasn’t alone.
Her life nowadays was chaotic (hell, she was in a top secret hospital because she – an enhanced teenager with telekinesis – had been stabbed) but the pros definitely outweighed the cons. She had a family, for the first time in years, she had a proper family. And she had friends (Ned and Mj were actually really cool, and Peter even said that she could meet Betty, whoever that was). But, most of all, she wasn’t alone, and she never would be again.
After Pietro died, she felt like a part of her died with him. He was her other half, her best friend, the only person she ever truly loved. The grief had threatened to suffocate her but worse than that, for a while she felt like the isolation would swallow her whole. The only person on the planet that understood her, who knew her better than she knew herself, had been cruelly snatched away from her forever. She had been so devastated, so afraid, and so very alone.
But then, the avengers, her light at the end of an extremely dark tunnel, saved her. They gave her reason to continue, reason to live. They fought for her harder than she ever thought they would and in doing so returned her hope and happiness. Little by little, they filled the hollow shell she had become with pieces of herself until, one day, she started feeling less empty. It was a slow and laborious journey, and she still had days where she couldn’t find the energy to get out of bed, too overcome with sorrow to consider moving. But, with their help she was getting there.
There would always be pieces of herself missing; her parents, Pietro, everyone else she lost. But the gaping holes they left were gradually being filled with new pieces; new likes and dislikes, new knowledge, new memories. Wanda felt guilty at first, but she realised that this is what Pietro and her parents would want. For her to be happy and whole again.
When she had been stabbed, and she was lying alone in a pool of her blood, one desperate thought kept crossing her mind – I want to go home. It took her a while to realise it, but home wasn’t a place, at least not to her. Home was the people she was surrounded by. Home was the avengers.
And Wanda was overjoyed to finally have a home.