#Growing Pains | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whereianonymouslypostfics · 3 months

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Growing Pains Part 3

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~12k

Summary: Little Nat is almost 13 and school’s a bitch. Retired mob boss turned stay-at-home mom Wanda has to figure out how to deal with bullies at her daughter’s school.

A/N: Credit to @rianncreates for this fic idea. Enjoy 😘

Warnings: Fluff, teen angst, injury, reference to previous injury/trauma, bullies, and mentions medicinal drug use

When Wanda wakes up in the morning, she can immediately tell that you’d left bed for a while at some point during the night. The faint smell of marijuana wasn’t one that she particularly liked, but she’d certainly gotten used to it over the years. She hated whenever you smoked because nowadays you only did it if you were in a lot of pain. She almost misses the days when you would just kickback, relax and smoke a little or too much with Yelena. The stress she’d felt then at seeing you high was less traumatizing than having to see you in pain.

You stir a little after she does and you sigh as you realize that you’re still very tired. Luckily you get to relax all day today and if you got your way, you wouldn’t have to leave the house at all. When you open your eyes, you smile at the sight of your wife with her beautifully mussed hair and sleepy eyes.

“Morning, Wands. Did you sleep well?”

Wanda smiles as she leans in to kiss you, and you hold her close as you try to force yourself awake. You’re still groggy when Wanda speaks up, and she runs a hand through your messy hair smiling as you grumble a bit.

“I did. What about you? Are you feeling better?”

You nod immediately because your cold trip outside to smoke for a bit had helped a lot. You’d taken Boone with you because you’d practically tripped over him on the way upstairs and he’d wanted to be near you. Wanda smiles at the fact that you had your dog outside with you at 2 in the morning. She sighs as she flops onto her back with a frown. You notice immediately and sneak a hand out to squeeze her side. You stifle a laugh as she jumps in surprise and shoots you a glare.

“What’s on your mind, love?”

You hadn’t realized that Wanda was thinking about last night too, and you quickly tune in to the conversation as you consider what is going on with your daughter.

“Did Pietro tell you what he and Natalya talked about last night?”

Wanda’s fidgeting and playing with the hem of her shirt as she thinks about what her brother had said. He was being a good uncle. What could that mean? Yelena had already said that Natalya had asked for advice but they’d been given no other hints. She frowns when you shake your head before relaying the very vague explanation that your brother-in-law had given you.

“He said that she had ‘girl trouble’ and that he gave her advice. Whatever that means."

Wanda frowns at all of the things this could entail and she forces herself to sit up with a sigh. She half-heartedly fixes her hair as she shakes her head. She shoots you a look that you can’t help but laugh at, and you push yourself up into a seated position before glancing at the clock.

“That’s terrifying to think about.”

You don’t really know what to say because even when you went upstairs to think about it you couldn’t figure out what was wrong. The only real hint you had was the question that Natalya had asked Wanda the other day. Maybe she was lonely and she wanted to figure out how to fix it. You really had nothing and you smile slightly as you lean against your wife with a shrug.

“At least she also went to Yelena.”

You think about your options and you realize that you’re just going to have to leave it be for now. You need to trust Yelena and Pietro, as well as your daughter to handle everything.

“I think we just need to see what happens. Asking her about it will only stress her out and keep her from going to them again.”

Wanda’s still frowning. She realizes that you’re right and that she’s going to have to leave this in the trio’s hands. She’s still trying to convince herself that she shouldn’t feel hurt by this. She was glad that Natalya was comfortable going to her uncles and aunts. She just wishes that she could be that person for her daughter.

“That’s also terrifying to me.”

Natalya is downstairs making a breakfast of heated leftovers when her parents emerge from their room. They all usually sleep in on Sundays, but Nat had woken up early and couldn’t go back to sleep. She’d hung out with Boone and Fletcher for a while before letting the former out and heading to the kitchen. There were plenty of leftovers to eat and since there was more than enough for lunch, dinner, and breakfast, Nat eats some cheesecake and some chicken before she hears her parents’ door open upstairs. She hurries to put the cheesecake back into the fridge, but her moms knew her too well.

“Don’t bother, Little Nat, I’m going to eat some of it too.”

“Please tell me you’re going to eat something else too.”

You’re not even sure who Wanda’s talking to, but you nod anyway before smiling as you greet your daughter in the kitchen. You hug the brunette and plant a kiss on the top of her head before you glance around the kitchen to see if any food was left out. You’re thinking of what you’ll eat for breakfast when Wanda comes up for her hug.

“How did you sleep, milaya?”

You release Nat as you walk to the coffee machine to get your wife caffeinated as quickly as possible. You’re more concerned about what you’ll eat, but you keep an ear open for what your daughter says. You’re grabbing some leftovers with a loaf of bread on top for your wife’s usual toast. Nat’s yawning as she hugs her redheaded mom before pulling away quickly. She shakes out her hand with a scowl as she berates herself for continuing to forget that she’s hurt.

“Ow, I slept well. I just woke up hungry.”

You laugh at this as Wanda rolls her eyes because of course her daughter is hungry. It’s hard to find a time when she’s not hungry, and it actually was a very good indicator when she was younger that something was wrong. It still applied most days.

After grabbing everything you’ll eat for breakfast you leave briefly to go walk the dogs. Rogue and Boone were sitting at your feet and begging with their sad eyes to eat. You let them out for a minute on their own as you fill their bowls and grab their meds. You hurry through your routine of hiding them in wet food before placing them in the designated bowls. Rogue comes in first as usual and he tries to stick his head in his brother’s bowl. You redirect his attention to the other one before looking over your shoulder as Boone comes running inside.

“It’s okay bud. I kept him from eating your breakfast. You’re welcome.”

Wanda can’t help but smile as you have a conversation with your dog before joining them for breakfast. Nat’s already sitting at the table when Wanda sets down her plate and glances at you curiously. She’d already made sure you took your meds this morning, and as she watches you pile food onto your plate, she can’t help but smile.

“All good over there, detka?”

You nod before running over to the table and setting your mostly milk coffee down. You kiss your wife’s cheek before rounding the table to kiss Nat’s too. You know that you both decided not to ask Natalya about what she told Piet and Yelena last night, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t encourage her to mention it.

“Did you have fun last night, kid?”

Natalya is already smiling as she takes a bite of her breakfast with an enthusiastic nod. She waits until she’s done chewing to offer a verbal response, but you’re patient as you run back to the kitchen for your food. Once you sit down beside your wife you are immediately flanked by both of your dogs who are looking for a second meal. You pat both of them on the head before turning your attention to Natalya.

“Yeah! It was great. I loved the food, and Bucky’s present is so cool!”

You stop short of taking another bite when you realize that you’d forgotten about Bucky’s unconventional gift. One glance at your wife tells you that she did too, and now you’re both wondering if she’d taken it upstairs with her. Wanda frowns as she sets down her coffee and tries to figure out where the very large knife that their friend had given Natalya was.

“Where is it, Natalya? I didn’t get a chance to look at it. “

Little Nat is up and running upstairs to grab it before you can even roll your eyes at your wife’s less-than-subtle question. You just watch your daughter disappear before you turn to Wanda with a smile. She shoots you a look that you just shake your head at before continuing to eat your breakfast.

“I didn’t say anything.”

Wanda doesn’t have time to respond before Nat is returning to the table. She luckily stops before running into the table, and she sets the large knife down carefully beside her mom’s plate. You watch as Wanda picks it up and looks it over carefully. She’s less interested in the design and she’s paying more attention to the fact that Bucky seemed to be right. She tugs on the handle and tries to free the knife, but with no success. Natalya’s gone back to her breakfast at this point, but she glances up to see her mom struggling and she shakes her head.

“I tried for a while, Mama it’s not coming out.”

Wanda frowns at this before handing it across the table to you. You sigh as you take the weapon and look it over with a frown. You still can’t believe that Bucky gave this to your daughter. You only try to get the knife out for a few seconds before you shake your head. You hand it back to Natalya but as she goes to blindly grab it you hold it back until you have your daughter’s attention. Nat looks up and you shoot her a serious look.

“You can keep this for now, but if you get it to open you have to give it back to Bucky.”

You turn to Wanda to make sure she’s okay with this plan, but when she just sighs you figure she has no objections. Nat takes the knife back with a smile before taking the last bite of her food.

“Thanks! Do we have any plans for today?”

Despite not sleeping well last night, you’d been on board for Natalya’s idea to spend some time outside. She wanted to walk the dogs up the mountain and regardless of the fact that exercise is not something you want to do today, you suck it up. You and Wanda get changed before heading outside to meet Natalya where she’s sitting outside on the deck waiting for them. Boone and Rogue were wandering around with their tails wagging excited to be going on a walk. Despite being older, they still loved hiking and could go for a few miles before getting too tired. They moved slower, but you did too so you didn’t mind at all. You smile as you greet your daughter and then dogs before turning to your wife.

“Alright, ready to set out?”

Natalya smiles before nodding happily and grabbing Boone and Rogue’s leashes. You don’t usually keep them on leashes when you go out, but you let Nat do what she wants. You figure she’ll let them go off leash a little later. You grab your walking stick from Wanda before you usher her off of the deck with a cheeky smile.

“After you, milady.”

Wanda rolls her eyes but she steps down from the deck before taking your free hand with a sigh. She hopes that Natalya doesn’t want to go too far because she has a date with you and the couch later and maybe her cat. She’d wanted to be lazy today, but she does enjoy seeing how Natalya happily leads her dogs up the path.

“Boone slow down!”

You consider taking one of the dogs from your daughter, but she seems to be having fun trying to keep the duo on the path and walking side by side. You hold Wanda’s hand as you two walk behind your children watching them carefully, but letting them get a ways ahead of you. You turn to your wife as you think about what tomorrow will bring.

“I should be able to leave work early tomorrow so I can drive with you to Nat’s game.”

Wanda smiles at the reminder that her daughter had her first game of the season tomorrow. The two of you had talked to Natalya about her interest in sports early on when she started middle school. Rather you’d had to encourage her to give them a try. She had been very against doing anything that involved other people. She wouldn’t join any clubs, and you and Wanda were worried that she wouldn’t have any friends. When she finally agreed to try and play basketball it only lasted for a week, but she made two friends in that time. Natalya was still friends with both of them, and they were the ones to convince her to try out for softball which went a lot better than basketball. She was a little too inattentive to play such a fast-paced game.

“Okay, just let me know if you’re running late.”

One perk of being an administrator/vet was getting to choose your own schedule to accommodate your daughter’s schedule. You usually worked longer days on Tuesdays and Thursdays so you were free for game nights. You and Wanda made it to every game, and depending on what your friends were up to they’d come along too. Natalya pretended to be embarrassed when her aunts and uncles all showed up and cheered for her along with her parents, but you knew that she secretly appreciated it. She also loved it when Boone and Rogue could come, even if most of the time they sat in the grass and were pet by small children. The last game of the previous season, everyone had come out and Pietro had been so into it that you’d filmed him to show Nat later.

“Pietro will be there, but I don’t know about anyone else. He’ll probably meet us there.”

You nod as you step over some rocks in your path with a huff. So much for staying on the path. You’re glad you brought your stick because it helps with your balance, but it can be a pain to carry. You make sure that Nat and the dogs aren’t too far ahead before you turn back to Wanda with a questioning look.

“Sooo… has she told you what she wants for her birthday yet?”

Nat forces herself to slow down a little bit and she lets Boone and Rogue walk ahead of her. She always forgets how much her dogs like being outside and in the woods. They stop briefly to sniff something and Nat takes a deep breath before looking around curiously. They’ve strayed from the path a bit, and she winces at the fact that she hadn’t even noticed. She’ll get them back on track once the dogs get their noses out of…what was that?

“Guys, come on, what’s so interesting?”

Nat pulls the shepherds back a bit and her nose scrunches up in disgust at the sight of a giant pile of shit. She mutters under her breath before leading the dogs back to the path with a smile. She stops to pet both of them for a bit until she hears her parents’ footsteps behind her.

“Is it okay to let them off leash?”

You smile as you nod and wave the two dogs to run ahead. They both look to you once they’re freed as if asking for permission and you just wave them off again with a sigh.

“Yes, you can go. Be free, but be good!”

The two dogs run off side by side and you smile at the sight of how adorable they look. They’re running so close to each other that they look like one large furry blob with too many legs. They’ve really come a long way from what they were when they first met each other. You’re so glad that they managed to grow close, and over the years you’ve seen them take care of each other in ways that bring you to tears. You don’t realize you’ve spaced out until you feel someone tug on your hand. You look up to see Natalya smiling at you, and you nod in response before letting her lead you.

“Ready, Mom?”

The next twenty minutes or so pass quickly as Natalya chats with you and Wanda about how school is going and her friends. She talks a little bit about softball and what she expects Monday to go like. You’re glad that Natalya has liked the sport more than you both thought she would. Honestly, she was just super competitive and liked the idea of being on a team with her friends more than the actual sport, but still. You were glad that she’d found something that she enjoyed.

“Moms can Taylor and Alyssa maybe come over after the game? For victory pizza?”

You smile widely at this while Wanda sighs in defeat. This was a tradition you’d started with your daughter when she first started playing sports. It was mostly to encourage her to put in effort, and just as it did for you, food was your daughter’s greatest motivator. You’re already nodding at this and you look to Wanda to see that she’s shooting you a look that just makes you laugh. You know that you’re a bad influence, but luckily this is just a seasonal thing, and your daughter eats healthily otherwise. If anything, she’ll get pizza with some sort of vegetable on it.

“That’s a great idea. Now you just have to make sure you win.”

Nat’s about to feign offense and insist that they will definitely beat the team they’re playing tomorrow, but the sight of the dogs running toward them stops her in her tracks. She’s frowning because they usually don’t run home, they usually drag their feet because they’re tired or they don’t want to leave. This is odd. You seem to think so too and you stop in your tracks with a frown before you look between your two dogs curiously.

“What is it you two? Tired already?”

Boone’s whining and Rogue is already trying to herd you back the way you came, and you’re not sure what to make of this. You look out to where they came from and don’t see anything suspicious, but you didn’t really expect to. Wanda is trying to push Rogue away from her, but he keeps rubbing his head on her legs trying to push her back down the path.

“Rogue, stop it.”

When he barks at her you realize that something is up. He only ever barks to get attention and you decide that it might be best to listen to him this time. You realize you don’t have to convince your wife because she’s on the same page as you. She’s shooting her dog a confused look, and when she reaches out to pet him, he mouths at her hand. She pulls her hand back quickly and shoots him a glare but he just whines as he starts to head back the way they came.

“Ow, fine we’ll go. Come on let’s go.”

Wanda turns back to wave you and Natalya with her, but she stops short when she sees that you’ve walked away from them up the path. She opens her mouth to shout for you, but she doesn’t get a chance before you’re turning around and walking back down the hill and reaching out for both her and Natalya. You look mostly calm, but Wanda can tell from your wide eyes that you’re worried.

“Okay, okay. You’re right let’s go. Quickly.”

Wanda frowns but doesn’t hesitate to follow you and Rogue as she grabs Natalya’s hand. She’s a little confused and she speaks up before Wanda gets a chance.

“Wait, why? What’s going on?”

You look behind you before reaching out to pet both of your dogs as they continue on the trail occasionally looking back to make sure you’re following. You then put an arm around your daughter’s shoulders and then one around your wife’s waist before whispering under your breath.

“The dogs wanted to let us know that there is a mama bear with her babies over that hill.”

Wanda’s eyes widen in surprise and she turns to make sure they’re not being followed. Luckily all she sees is green trees, dirt and rocks. No animals in sight. She picks up her pace a little though and you smile before looking to Natalya who’s smiling in awe.

“That’s so adorable!”

Despite thinking this, she knows what her mom is going to say. It’s a good thing that the dogs were with them because stumbling on a family of bears could be a dangerous situation. You’re not sure that your knife hidden in your walking stick would be enough to prevail.

“It is, but we stay very, very far away from them, right Little Nat?”

Your daughter is already nodding as she runs ahead toward her very good dogs with a wide smile. She scratches both of them and kisses their slightly sweaty heads as she praises them for their smarts.

“Yes! You two knew that too, huh? Such smart boys!”

You can’t help but smile proudly and Wanda links her arm with yours as you both watch your children walk ahead of you. Your mind wanders to the other fur child at home and you scoff before muttering under your breath.

“Fletcher would have led us right to them, I’m sure.”

You laugh when your wife turns to shoot you an offended look, but she really can’t argue with you. In her old age, Fletcher has gotten even less tolerable of disturbances in her daily routine. She napped, groomed herself, ate, and chased the balls of dog fur that she found on the floor. She had a pretty good system and the idea of her going outside at all made you laugh. You’re sure that she was too lazy to go far at all. One time Nat was young and accidentally left the door opened, and Fletcher had escaped and immediately run up a tree. You found out later when feathers floated down to the ground, that she’d just gone up there to catch a poor bird.

“Oh hush.”

You and your family arrive home without further incident and you quickly lie down on the couch in the living room with a dramatic sigh. You are going to stay here for a little bit and you ignore the hustle and bustle around you of the dogs getting resituated after a quick drink and a treat from Natalya. You feel someone jump on your stomach and you know without looking that it’s Fletcher saying hello. She digs her claws in you right as you open your eyes and you glare at her before promptly lifting her off of you.

“Ow! Fletcher you little –grrr.”

You shake Fletcher in the air for a bit until she starts to try and get away. You wonder if she’d still land on her feet if you threw her, not that you ever would, but that thought is quickly cut short by her being snatched from you.

“Y/n, don’t be mean to her! Poor baby.”

You aren’t surprised in the least to see your wife standing over you cuddling her cat in her arms. Fletcher’s such a ham and she stretches out all of her legs before rubbing her face on Wanda’s chin. You roll your eyes before sitting up and looking around to see where your daughter is. She’s unsurprisingly in the kitchen getting a snack so you speak in a hushed whisper that only Wanda and her cat can hear.

“She’s full of it. She clawed me that little shit.”

Wanda shoots you a look that you just wave off before you lie back down and reach for the remote. You let your wife fuss over her cat while you find something to watch on TV. You’re not really in the mood for anything dramatic, you just want white noise as you rest for a bit. You yawn as you drop the remote back on the table and get curled up on the couch with a groan.

“Tired?”

You shake your head despite snuggling further into the couch and hugging a pillow with your eyes closed.

“No, I’m good. I’m good. I was just going to stretch out here for a bit.”

Wanda just nods thoughtfully at you, not that you notice, before she sets Fletcher down and looks over to her daughter in the kitchen. It’s about lunch time and Nat’s gotten an early start, but Wanda’s not hungry yet and she’d like to lie down too. She eyes you where you’re sprawled out on the couch and instead of getting possibly elbowed or kicked off, Wanda decides not to surprise you.

“Can I join you?”

Your eyes open immediately and you’re smiling as you hold your arms out for her. Wanda grabs your hands before crawling on top of the couch carefully so she doesn’t squish you. Not that you seem to mind because you wrap your arms around her waist and pull her down so she falls on top of you. She yelps and you laugh as Natalya looks over her shoulder at you two and she just rolls her eyes before turning back to her food. You and Wanda finally get settled and neither of you bother with the TV as you lie on your back with your wife cuddled up beside you.

“Comfy?”

Natalya’s question is answered with a hum from you and a nod from Wanda who opens her eyes to confirm that her daughter is standing over her. She watches her put her food down on the coffee table before grabbing her phone, but she doesn’t realize she’s taking a picture until it’s too late to stop her.

“Natalya, don’t. No pictures.”

This makes you open your eyes and you see that Little Nat is indeed taking pictures of you, and you scowl before turning to hide your face in your pillow.

“Noo, Little Nat listen to your mom.”

“Aw come on! You look so cute! I won’t send it to Uncle Pietro.”

Wanda shoots her daughter a look that makes her laugh but she still nods in confirmation because she doesn’t want to get in trouble. She wouldn’t do something that dumb.

“Don’t you dare.”

Natalya just grabs the remote and sits at the end of the couch so she can still be nearby her mothers but not in their way. She grabs her food and starts to look for something to watch. She’s pretty sure her moms are going to sleep soon, and she might as well after lunch, but for now she’d like some background noise. Maybe she’ll watch a Disney movie.

An hour later, her parents are asleep as she suspected, and she’s still snacking as she watches a Disney movie she’s seen 70 times at least. She is watching her favorite song scene when her phone vibrates on the coffee table. She hurries to grab it so it doesn’t wake up her parents, but they are too relaxed to notice or care. You don’t even stir because you’re the heavier sleeper, but even her redhead mom barely moves at the sound. She smiles at the sight of you cuddling before she glances to the last bit of the song playing on the screen before turning her attention to her phone.

Got us this today.

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Nat almost forgot that her friends had gone to the mall today. She had considered going, but she enjoyed the time she’d spent with her parents and dogs today. She’d see her friends tomorrow and then they had a game after school. If they won, when they won, she’d get to have them over for pizza.

Nat looks at the picture of a t-shirt that she’s definitely seen before, but never got around to buying. It was a shirt that had the words ‘two moms are better than one’ on it. She and Taylor had mentioned getting these, but the other brunette had joked about wearing them to school together. Now they actually could. Natalya considers how this would go. She would definitely feel better to have Taylor do it too despite the fact that Stacy hadn’t really bothered her about having two moms. She was a little surprised, but she didn’t seem to care about that detail. She mostly harassed her for being a loner.

Natalya feels the urge to open up to her friend. The transient feeling of courage at the idea of walking into school wearing the shirt makes her type out a text and send it without thinking.

T, I need you to teach me how to throw a punch.

To be honest her aunts had taught her when she was younger, maybe 8, but she hadn’t practiced at all and she’d since forgotten. She knows that her friend will have her back and if she really chooses to go after Stacy, or at least retaliate, she needs to be prepared. She sets her phone down and allows herself to panic for a few seconds about the commitment she’s made. She knows it the right one. Maybe not the violence part, but she has to stand up for herself, right?

Nat’s still freaking out a little when her phone vibrates a couple seconds later. She ignores her movie and texts her friends for a bit mostly to ask about how the rest of their time at the mall went. Taylor seemed to realize that beyond agreeing to do as Nat requested, any other conversation about it should be in person. She didn’t want to put her on the spot or make her change her mind because she wanted Nat to do this. After talking to her moms briefly, Taylor decided that she was going to do everything she could to get Stacy off Nat’s back. She’s glad that Nat seems to finally be on board with it. She’ll just have to see how things go.

Despite the fact that she loved games and would always look forward to them, Natalya couldn’t deny the nerves that always plagued her during her first at-bat or first time in the outfield. She had just finished warming up and the she glances to her friends as they take the field first since it’s a home game. She watches Taylor throw one more practice pitch before the game begins. Taylor gets the ball back from the shortstop before turning to the batter that now waits for her.

The stands were all full and most of them with their fans. Nat's family alone took a whole row, and she smiled at the sight of her moms talking to Taylor's and Alyssa's dad. Her aunts sat beside you and then her uncle Pietro is between Steve and Bucky. They all scattered their arrivals. Her parents arrived first together while Nat and Yelena carpooled with Steve and Bucky. Pietro was later than he'd said he'd be, but he was sliding into a seat beside you before the first pitch was thrown.

After a quick stop beside the bleachers to greet their families, Nat, Taylor, and Alyssa all had to get ready to start. Nat did her best to remind herself to focus today despite the excitement of the first game, and the promise of pizza afterwards. She assumed they'd win and maybe that's why her attention was so hard to win over today.

She doesn't truly realize that she's spaced out until she's hit in the face by a ball. She'd been waiting for Taylor to throw the first pitch, only to realize she had thrown two and this third one was now sailing toward her. Despite her distracted state she'd had her hands up already, so when she spots the ball out of the corner of her eye she can catch it. However it hits her cheek first before falling into her glove, and she curses in surprise as she looks down at the ball with a frown.

"Well that works."

Natalya mumbles under her breath before she throws the ball back to the player at second base who shoots her a concerned look that she's already waving off. She's fine. It just aches and burns. When Taylor gets the ball back, she calls a timeout much to Nat's embarrassment. When her friend waves her toward the infield she shakes her head, but Taylor doesn't accept this. She waves her over and mouths "come here" and Nat finally relents with a sigh. She studiously avoids looking toward the stands, but she already knows she has far too many eyes on her.

"What's up?"

Taylor shoots her a look before glancing at her reddened and patterned cheek. She frowns as she smacks Nat's shoulder with her glove, and shoots her a questioning look.

"Do you want to go ice that?"

As expected, Nat shakes her head and manages a smile that's not too mangled before shrugging. She'd rather not dwell on the fact that she got so distracted so quickly and get on with the game. Taylor gets this and resists looking to the stands as well as she nods and sends Nat back to her post.

"Alright, your funeral. If you can focus and get through the rest of the game without getting hurt, you can have some of my pizza."

Nat's face lights up and Taylor just laughs before turning back toward Alyssa who had to resist the urge to come over too. She knew Nat wouldn't want all of the attention, and she'd rather not have to stand up only to squat down again.

"Really?"

"Yes, get to it."

You cringe and you hear Wanda gasp as you both watch the ball head toward your daughter who you quickly realize wasn't paying attention. Instead of her just missing the ball and having to scoop it up off the ground, it meets her face with an audible smack.

"Oh shit."

You hear your brother-in-law mutter this under his breath and you just nod in agreement as Nat manages to hold onto the ball. Well that's something at least. You only have a moment to wonder if someone's going to address this before Taylor's calling a time out and waving Nat in from the outfield. Your stubborn daughter tries to resist, but Taylor is equally stubborn and you watch as Nat runs in to talk to the other brunette. They have a short conversation before Nat's smiling and heading back. You can see her face is red and looks a little splotchy, but you're mostly worried about her mouth. Specifically if she knocked any teeth loose.

"Of course, she's just going back."

You turn toward your exasperated wife with a small smile as you pat her hand with a sigh of your own. Wanda turns to you and you kiss her cheek before whispering something that makes her roll her eyes.

"So stubborn. She gets that from you, my love."

Instead of arguing uselessly, Wanda just squeezes your hand before leaning against you with a sigh. She's glad that you were able to get off of work early today. You hadn't been sure when your day started because a potential emergency had been called in and they couldn't be seen until the end of the day. You'd been willing to see them then or earlier, but they'd ended up making other arrangements leaving you free to leave right on time. You met Wanda at home and debated bringing your dogs but that was a lot of fur and higher maintenance than you wanted this to be. You figured your many family members and exuberant daughter would be enough to keep you busy.

"Are you thinking about your fur babies?"

You consider trying to lie, but as you watch your daughter's friend make a fairly difficult play look easy you just sigh. You're honestly a little worried about your boys. Rogue is having a lot of trouble walking on hardwood floors, and it takes him a little longer to get up in the mornings. Once he gets going he's better, but watching him slip and struggle to get his footing is hard. You feel bad for him, but he's still a happy, healthy dog otherwise so you just do what you can to help him. There are a lot of carpets and rugs around the house to help him out, but the moment he touches hardwood he slows down. You think about your other dog and how he's better at getting around since he's a little younger, but his hearing is spotty at times. You remember when he could hear you shift in bed upstairs, and he'd come up to try to wake you. Now you could sneak up on him and startle him despite calling out his name.

You forget about these concerns for now as you wait for the third out. Regardless Wanda knows where your mind went because you've already discussed your concerns with her. She knew how difficult it was for you to talk about your fur children aging, and bringing up the subject of them dying made you cry. Despite having Boone longer, you love both of them and hate to see them suffer. You'd already told Wanda that if Rogue gets worse or Boone starts to struggle similarly, you'll need to have this discussion again.

"You know me so well."

Wanda squeezes your hand, but any response she'd had is cut off by the crack of a bat against a ball, and you both look up at the sound. Wanda spots it first and once she realizes it's trajectory is past the infield you both sit up a little.

"Take 2."

You wait to see what happens, and you smile as Little Nat runs to get under it. You had never been particularly athletic when you were younger. You played softball at Nat's age too mostly for something to do, but otherwise neither you nor Wanda played any sports. When you realized that Nat had a talent for sports you didn't feel the need to make her play more than this one. She enjoyed being on a team and playing for the most part, but she never expressed interest in anything else.

Seeing her smile as she chases after the fly ball, you're grateful that she's found something that she enjoys. You're also grateful that when she catches it she doesn't fall on her face. Unfortunately this has happened before. When it's time to switch sides, you get a better look at Natalya's face to see how angry it is. You didn't even realize that Yelena had snuck off to the concession stand until she's placing a bag full of cold on your lap. You jump in surprise and turn to glare at your friend before you hear your wife's voice.

"Natalya!"

That tone coming from her mom makes her stop in her tracks and look around for the older Maximoff. She sees her mom holding something, and she hurries over to her with a smile.

"Food?!"

You and Little Nat's uncles laugh and Natasha rolls her eyes at the predictable question. Wanda just shakes her head before shaking the bag with a pointed look.

"No, ice."

Natalya frowns slightly but she takes it with a nod, and a thank you before darting away. You pat your friend on the back with a smile before sliding over to pull her up with a groan.

"Thanks, auntie Yelena.”

She nudges your shoulder, but when you nudge her back it starts to escalate to full-blown shoving. You grumble under your breath at the blonde who just responds in kind before you hear your wife speak up. She takes your arm to bring you back toward her side and away from Yelena before addressing you both. You’re the only one who looks chastised through, not that you’d expect any different.

“Kids, settle down. Natalya’s up soon.”

You nod obediently while Yelena just sighs dramatically before turning her attention to the field. Not so secretly, Yelena is super into these games and you’re often competing with her to see who can cheer loudest. When Yelena learned that Nat was going to be playing a sport she’d read up on it and bought everything she’d need to practice with her niece. You found it adorable but didn’t dare make fun of her out of fear that she’d stop. You loved seeing how much Nat loved spending time with her aunt, and you didn’t want to do anything to mess that up.

For this reason, you just smile widely as Yelena stands up in anticipation. Leading off is someone that she doesn’t recognize because she only really pays attention to Little Nat and her two friends. This girl is tall and she’s clearly first because she can get a hit and get on base. She sends the ball in between the left and centerfielders and the latter falls just short of catching it. It ends up being a double and Nat’s cheering along with her teammates as she steps up toward the plate. She smiles widely as she hears her family cheering behind her, and she resists the urge to turn around as she steps into the box and lays her bat across it.

“Let’s go, Natalya!!! Crush them!”

Yelena is practically shouting in your ear and you can’t shove her off of you because she has an arm wrapped around your neck. You’re about to ask her to let go because she’s leaning on you a lot, but as soon as Nat’s on base she turns to you with a sigh. She glances to the bleachers beside them that houses most of the away team’s family. She catches some of their gazes, but they turn away quickly so Yelena ignores them for now.

“So, I brought you something. A new strain to try.”

You turn to watch Yelena reach into her pocket and pull out a bag of marijuana. She pushes it into your hand and you mutter a curse under your breath. Despite being grateful, you quickly stuff it in your pocket so no one notices, but as usual your wife catches on quickly. You will have to remember that you have this on you so you don’t lose it because you’re very excited to try it. Your current prescription was okay, but you weren’t above trying new things. You wanted as much control over your symptoms as possible, and since Wanda was aware of this she didn’t give you too hard of a time. That said, your daughter’s game was not an ideal setting for a drug deal.

“Holy shit, Lena not right now. But thank you.”

“Really, Yelena?”

Yelena nods before watching the next person go to bat with a sigh. She reaches out blindly for Wanda who leans away from her with an unconvincing glare.

“It’ll help Y/n, don’t be mad.”

Wanda sighs in defeat before she focuses back on the game. Specifically, her daughter on first base. She’s bouncing impatiently ready to run, and Wanda wonders how the brunette has so much energy. She’s seen her run around the backyard chasing Yelena’s dog and Wanda’s convinced that she could go for hours before getting tired. She imagines that her daughter’s chasing one of her pets as she runs to second. Belatedly, Wanda realizes the ball was hit directly to her destination. Luckily the ball hits the base and bounces off toward the outfield, so Natalya gets there safely. She considers running to third but the outfielder snags it quickly leaving her stuck at second. When Taylor steps up to the plate, everyone but the pitcher and catcher take a step back. The brunette has a reputation of being a consistent hitter, and she often gets doubles, if not triples. She doesn’t disappoint and when the first pitch is a strike low on the outside, Taylor sends it to the fence.

Everyone's cheering and standing up as they watch the rest of the players on base run home. Natalya gets there in plenty of time and she gets out of the way but watches as Taylor rounds second and heads for third despite the outfielder having the ball.

“Run Taylor, run!”

She and everyone else watches as the ball’s thrown when Taylor’s only half way to third. She sees the other player ready for the catch, so she quickly gets down and tries to avoid the tag. She’s covered in dirt but her hand's on the bag before she feels someone smack her with their glove. Luckily the call is made quickly and she gets a time out so she can stand up and brush herself off. Her team and family are cheering for her, and she offers them a little smile and a nod of her helmeted head. Alyssa’s up next and she knows that the blonde will bring her home. She relaxes a little and waits for the wind up of the pitch to get ready to run. She’s a few feet off the bag when she sees Alyssa duck out of the way. Once she realizes the ball is behind the catcher she keeps running and hits home before the pitcher can run up to help with the tag.

“Nice!”

“Get us to 4 to 1? No pressure though.”

Alyssa shoots her a glare but Taylor just laughs before heading to the dugout. She’s covered in dirt and it’s only the first inning, but similar to how Nat’s always hurt, she always goes home covered in dirt stains. She shares some of them with Nat as she hugs the other brunette with a wide smile. She pulls away and is holding up some snacks that Taylor immediately grabs with a grateful look.

“Way to go! We’re one step closer to pizza!”

Taylor rolls her eyes but she can’t argue with what Nat’s saying. Instead she turns her attention to Alyssa who has only been thrown one strike out of 4 pitches. She briefly glances toward the bleachers with a frown. Despite being a lot better than this team, she hopes that the game has at least been entertaining.

Wanda is talking to her brother when you hear the first insult that the other team’s crowd throws. You hadn’t given the opposing team much thought, but hearing their variety of insults makes you wonder if it’s better not to. Your daughter and her friends run out of the dugout back onto the field when the woman speaks up. She’s dressed in a simple sundress, and she has heavy makeup on that’s noticeable even with her sunglasses. Her long red hair is clearly dyed but you and Yelena are more concerned by her snide comment. You’re unaware that she’s loud enough to catch your brother-in-law’s attention until he responds almost immediately. Your brain is still trying to process what she said and how you could appropriately respond. Pietro beat you to it though.

“No wonder they’re doing so well. They’ve got a bunch of dykes on their team.”

Now your daughter has never explicitly told you anything related to her sexuality, and that’s fine with you and Wanda. You don’t care either way as long as she’s safe and kind to whoever she’s with, and they’re the same to her. The details are less important. You don't know how Taylor or Alyssa’s parents feel, but the looks on their faces is hint enough. They look as confused and pissed off as you feel.

“What did you just say?”

“Excuse me?”

You turn back to your wife when she speaks up. She looks furious and it only takes a few seconds for her to be standing up next to her brother who’s shooting the redhead a glare. She doesn’t seem fazed by it or the nearly half dozen set of eyes on her. She simply elaborates in a way that brings those she’s talking to into it, and specifically blames them.

“It makes sense after all. Dykes raise dykes.”

Pietro goes to get off the bleachers to most likely yell at this woman, but Wanda stills him with a hand on his chest and a stern look. She sizes up the other redhead with a scowl. She needs to be smart and not let her anger make her say something she’ll regret. She sees Taylor’s parents look equally mad but they seem to be waiting to see what she says. She’s not sure if she prefers this or not.

“Can you explain to me what you mean? I’m not sure I get how one relates to the other.”

You wince because you know where your wife is going with this. You aren’t sure if anyone else has caught on at this point, but you’re sure they’re suspicious since they know Wanda’s smart. Pietro is confused though while Nat and Yelena wait in silence to see how this plays out. Steve and Bucky were honestly the only ones paying attention to the game at this point.

When the woman speaks so matter of factly, Wanda has to resist the urge to smile at how well her trap worked. Wanda hates it when people are so blind and bigoted in general, but when that ignorance is directed toward anyone she loves she gets murderous.

“Simple. Growing up around those people makes them more susceptible to falling into similar unsavory ways.”

Nat has to grab her sister’s arm because she’s trying to jump off the bleachers to do who knows what. Steve’s picked up on the conversation at this point and he’s frowning as he turns away from watching Alyssa gets walked. You’re still tense with anticipation as Wanda moves from her seat and steps off the bleachers so she can speak without shouting.

“First of all, Natalya has grown up around many different people.”

She gestures to the annoyed people sitting behind her.

“Most of those people are her family, and yes one is my wife, but the idea of my daughter being influenced by anyone is laughable. She’s her own person, and no one is going to change that.”

She could say more but she holds back because cheering catches her attention. She turns toward the field to see that she’s missed Alyssa getting home, but another batter is tagged out in a double play leaving them with 2 outs. Wanda doesn’t hear a response or at least one worth taking note of, so she heads for the fence behind the batter’s box to watch for a while. She needs a moment to calm down, and she steals a glance at her daughter in the dugout. She’s a little surprised to see her already looking at her, and she offers a smile at her concerned look. She’s always so attuned to her parents feelings so she shakes her head so as not to worry her as she finishes up her game.

“Hey, that was badass.”

Wanda turns at the sound of her brother’s voice and at the same time she notices that you’re talking to Taylor’s parents with a small smile. She’s sure you’re making jokes or trying to make light of the situation, but she knows you’re not saying anything against what she’d done. You feel the exact same way about things as Wanda. You might be slightly more curious, but you would never ask outright. Wanda sighs before she shakes her head and looks back to the field.

“It’s just going to keep happening. Piet.”

Pietro frowns at the thought and the fact that he’s certain that his sister is correct. He’s honestly a little surprised that this is the first time that he knew of, or at least witnessed. Given how open Natalya was to her friends about everything, he doubted that his niece would hide the fact that she had two moms. In fact, he’s certain that she would defend them in any situation like this.

“I know, but all of us will do exactly what you just did. Natalya too. She would probably be less diplomatic about it though.”

Wanda laughs at this despite the fact that she doesn’t want her daughter cursing out anyone. She doesn’t need to get in trouble. She glances back toward the dugout to see that Natalya’s standing up and smiling as she cheers on her friends. She’s so proud of the younger Maximoff that she could cry just thinking about it too much. Her daughter’s become an intelligent, kind person who’s capable of taking care of herself. Wanda couldn’t be prouder.

“I know she will. I just hate that she has to deal with it.”

You shift so you’re turned toward Taylor's parents, and you prop your elbows on your knees with a sigh. You know that they’re still irritated at the redhead who’s looking at them as she whispers to the people beside her. You do your best to ignore it as you smile slightly.

“I’ve always disliked sore losers. Despite occasionally being one myself.”

Leah, Taylor’s brunette mom, laughs quietly as her wife relaxes slightly at your words. You know she’s the one who’s more prone to take offense at these types of things, and you don’t blame her. However, you don’t want the mood to be too ruined. It was the girls' first game of the season and they were winning so far and probably would in the end. You want to enjoy that. You want all of the parents present to enjoy that.

“I’m sure you’re much more gracious when you lose.”

You can’t help but laugh at this as you turn your attention to the blonde. She’s squeezing her wife’s hand in a way that reminds you to check on Wanda briefly before offering the couple a response. Wanda’s talking to her brother in hushed tones, and you can tell that they’re not speaking English based on how their lips are moving. You decide that Pietro has her covered for now and you focus on everyone else.

“I’m afraid Wanda would tell you differently if you asked.”

It’s not until the last inning where Nat’s team is up by 8 that you hear another insult worth noting. Taylor’s pitching and she just needs to hold them for another out before they win. She’s thrown two balls so far and she’s a little stressed because she can feel herself fading. She’d had a slightly violent tag at home, and despite getting the out the runner had slammed into her side in a spiteful yet somehow not ejection worthy play. Taylor had ended up on the ground and now being a little sore had become a lot sore as she continued to pitch. She threw another ball and she had to stop herself from cursing audibly as it hit the dirt.

“Shit!”

Taylor turns her back to the batter and tries to take a deep breath. She’s getting frustrated and whenever that happens she gets even worse at pitching. She looks out toward the outfield where she sees Nat looking at her with a small frown. When she sees she has the other brunette’s attention she gives her a wide smile and a thumbs up.

“Quit flirting and get on with it!”

Taylor tenses in surprise and anger at the words and she’s spinning around before she can stop herself. She looks to the stands opposite of her parents to try and figure out who spoke but she can’t figure out who it is. She decides to just throw the last pitch and get someone on first. She’s confident that if she tries to steal second Alyssa can catch her.

Wanda stiffens at the familiar voice and Taylor’s parents turn to glare at the redhead who they’d hoped had shut up. She ignores their looks and watches with another smile as Taylor throws the fourth pitch that’s a ball with a grimace. She curses again as she watches the girl walk to first and she turns back to Alyssa to catch the throw. The blonde hesitates as she shoots her friend a worried look that she just shakes her head at. She squeezes the ball tightly in her hand as she looks to her coach for guidance. She’s told to just do whatever which she loves and hates at the moment.

She tunes out the cheering from her friends on the field and her parents as she twists the ball in her hand. She can do this. One more out and she’s done. Then she gets pizza. This thought makes her smile slightly and she takes a deep breath as she winds up and throws a pitch right over the plate.

“Strike one!”

Taylor’s smile widens as she sees Alyssa smile before she turns to make sure the runner on base isn’t trying to steal. She watches her out of the corner of her eye as she catches the ball with a sigh. She glances at her coach and gets the same signal before winding up again. She feels her side spasm right before she releases the ball and she grimaces as she nearly doubles over.

She doesn’t throw a strike but the batter was anxious and she swings and makes contact sending the ball between first and second. She should have tried to get it but she can still feel her side throbbing so she just stands in the circle following the ball with her eyes. She watches it reach the outfield and she sighs in defeat when the first runner rounds second.

“Go three!”

Taylor breathes a sigh of relief as the ball is thrown to second and then third just in time for the lead runner to be tagged out. Once the game is called, she doubles over and rests her hands on her knees with a loud groan. She’s definitely getting a lot of pizza for this.

“How are you feeling, honey?”

Taylor offers a pained smile as she finishes chewing her victory pizza with her friends and all of their parents. They’d decided to go to the closest place and gotten the largest table to fit all 14 of them before ordering 5 pizzas. They were all glad the game was over for different reasons, but Taylor was probably the most relieved. Immediately after she’d come to the dugout her coach had been waiting with a bag of ice and Alyssa had promised to have her mom take a look at her side. She’d met them at the pizza place after her shift ended and she’d looked at Natalya and Taylor before they all sat down to eat. Other than being sore, she figured that the duo would be alright. They were young and resilient and she had no doubt that they would bounce back quickly.

“Tired, but good. I’m glad it’s over!”

Nat and Alyssa nod in agreement as they continue to eat their own pizza. Nat was sitting between her parents and Alyssa was next to her mom and Taylor who was leaning on her a little bit.

“Same! I was getting tired and angry.”

You’re surprised by this and you turn to your daughter to ask why she felt this way, but Alyssa beats you to it. You hadn’t realized that Nat could hear all of the insults that had been thrown out by the very sore losers.

“Me too. I forgot how annoying hecklers could be. And uncreative.”

Everyone nods in agreement as their minds go to one incident or another before Wanda decides to change the subject. She doesn’t want to dwell on the annoying woman who she hopefully wouldn’t see again. She takes out her phone and opens her dog cam app before handing it to her daughter. She knows that Nat loves to see what the dogs are up to and since she’d been about to check anyway she figures she’ll let Nat do it.

“Natalya, do you want to check on them?”

Nat immediately knows what her moms talking about, and so do her friends but most everyone else is confused. You understand of course and you smile before watching the brunette excitedly grab Wanda’s phone and quickly look to the screen.

“Yes! How are you doggos?”

Pietro just laughs before he smirks at his sister who’s about to take another bite of her pizza. Conversation continues as he eyes his niece curiously before speaking up.

“Are you sure you should give her free reign of your phone? Don’t you have nudes on there?”

Both you and Wanda shoot the older Maximoff an annoyed glare and Wanda considers slapping him. Instead, she’s surprised to hear her daughter speak up in only slightly choppy Sokovian.

“Ew, that’s gross Uncle Piet. I didn’t need to hear that.”

Wanda shoots her brother a smug look when he struggles to find a response for a few seconds. Although they’re not sure what is being said, Taylor speaks up with a curious look. She mutters mostly under her breath but everyone hears her.

“Do we even want to know?”

Taylor's well aware that despite loving him, Nat’s uncle can be trouble. He mostly liked to bicker with his sister, but he also made sure to be a good and embarrassing uncle when at all possible. Natalya shakes her head as she continues to look through the many cameras in their house for her dogs. Fletcher was unsurprisingly just lounging on the couch.

“Definitely not. He’s being gross.”

You’re still smiling as your mind wanders to what could be on your wife’s phone. You don’t get very far because Wanda’s hand falls to your leg and she squeezes it as she mutters something that you only nod at.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.”

No promises. You smile and Wanda rolls her eyes while Nat shakes her head with a sigh. She’s spotted Boone who’s walking out of her parents’ room, and then Rogue who’s waiting on his bed downstairs for you all to come home. She shows the phone to her friends, and despite being less interested than her they still smile at the sight of Nat’s pets.

“Now mom’s being gross, but look at the good boys!”

Dinner ends and the trip home seems quick and Nat nearly falls asleep twice in the car. Once they arrive, she nearly runs out of the car to greet her dogs. You go to the backseat to grab her forgotten bag before reaching out for your wife’s arm with a smile.

“How is she still running around?”

Wanda just shakes her head as she follows you inside to find Nat greeting your dogs excitedly. After a round of scratches, both shepherds run toward you in greeting and you smile as you hold out your hand to them. Boone gets there faster as expected, but Rogue still makes good time as he runs into Wanda’s legs. Your wife laughs as she releases your arm and scratches her dog behind his ears.

“Hi good boy. We missed you.”

Both dogs bark in agreement and you decide then and there to take them to the next game. Maybe they’d scare away any hecklers. The dogs follow you around as you complete your nightly routines. Nat sits at her spot in the dining room with her book spread out over the table as she starts on her homework with a yawn. She’s always especially tired after a game, and she struggles to finish up as a couple hours go by and she's constantly yawning or distracted by Boone at her feet or Fletcher jumping on the table.

“How’s it going, Little Nat?”

You’d just finished up answering some emails for work, and after finally remembering to put up your pot, you decide to check on your daughter. Wanda’s cleaning up a mess Fletcher made, but you’re sure she’ll come downstairs soon to start busying herself in the kitchen. She usually makes Natalya’s lunch the night before and if she’s finished with homework, she’d help out. Since she’s finishing up work, Wanda might get started without her but cooking with her mom is one of her favorite activities. She loves spending time with her parents in any capacity, but if it involves food, dogs or movies she’s usually the most excited.

Nat looks up with a sigh before shaking her head and telling her mom the truth. She’s distracted as usual, but for the first time in a while it’s by something specific. She wonders if she should even bring it up given how quickly her other mom had changed the subject at dinner. Maybe she just hadn’t wanted to talk about it in front of other people. Or maybe she didn’t want to talk about it at all. That’s why she’s bringing it up to her vet mom first.

“Slow. I keep thinking about that mom at the game today.”

You had not been expecting this and you’re sure it shows as you frown and sit down across from your daughter with a curious look. You would like to see where Nat’s going with this.

“What about her?”

You’re not dense. You’re sure that your daughter’s thinking about her homophobic comments that she’d shared as the game went on. That said, you can’t say for certain what it is that’s specifically bothering her. Nat’s surprised you plenty of times in the past, and she really was a great reminder that assuming things was just a way to make a fool of yourself. You watch as scowls at the thought of what she’d heard and then been told by her friends earlier today.

She had faced very little backlash over having two moms. Maybe because she kept to herself mostly and no one paid that much attention to her. Or maybe she’d hoped that even young teens wouldn’t be so petty and close minded. The truth that she still didn’t know was that Taylor had played a large part in why no one bothered her. People made the mistake of coming after her first and unsurprisingly she fought back and warded them off from doing the same to her friend.

Nat finally looks over your shoulder as if checking to see of you’re alone before she finally admits what’s on her mind.

“I was just afraid that everyone would be like her, but I guess I wouldn’t know. I don’t remember people bothering you and mama when I was younger.”

You try not to react too much at what Nat says because this is a sensitive subject that you don’t want to mess up. You remember when Natalya was first born and Wanda was still very well-known despite being retired. No one dared to come after them or even look at them wrong after that first year with Nat. Whether this was Strucker’s doing or simply another example of your wife’s far-reaching influence you could only say that you were grateful.

Occasionally when Nat was 2 or 3, and you and Wanda would venture out together, you’d get stared at some, but that only lasted so long. Steve and Bucky hung out around you three at first because Wanda didn’t want to risk anything happening, but fairly quickly she realized that no one seemed to care about her anymore. It was a strange feeling because Wanda had spent so much time being at the forefront of her business, and as a very public figure she always turned heads and warranted people’s attention and respect.

One day after work, you’d come home to find her in the bedroom with a napping Natalya. You’d been concerned when you realized she was crying, and you’d immediately dropped down beside her and tried to figure out what was wrong. You’d been a little thrown off when she’d told you that she felt invisible. You automatically wracked your brain for what you could have done to cause her to feel this way. When you’d asked, she’d simply shook her head and told you what she meant.

No one pays attention to me anymore when I go out. It’s like they’ve forgotten who I was.

The smile after Wanda had said this clued you in to the fact that your wife was actually happy instead of upset. She’d never thought that she’d be able to walk through life without being noticed, without being a target, but she was and she was thrilled.

Your mind wanders back to the present moment and you shake your head as you shoot your daughter a smile.

“We didn’t really have this problem when we first met. This is the first time in a while for sure. I can assure you that even though there will be more people like her, she’s not the majority, Natalya.”

Nat nods absentmindedly. She believes you but she also wonders how you dealt with something like this. She needs a little advice now that she’s committed to try to get Stacy to leave her the hell alone. She wants to know how her mom would handle this. That said, she didn’t ask this immediately because she’s side tracked by the idea of her parents first meeting. She smiles slightly before tilting her head in a way that reminds you of your wife.

“How did you and Mama first meet?”

You chuckle under your breath as you shoot Natalya a curious look. You reach out your free hand to pet Boone who’s come to sit beside you before tilting your head in response. You don’t notice that Wanda’s finished up cleaning and she’s on her way downstairs when you respond.

“You’ve heard this story many times, Nat.”

The brunette nods in agreement because she certainly has, but she never gets tired of hearing it. She can’t help but adore how her parents just happened to be in the same place at the same time. She also loved how the story changed a little bit each time, and depending on who told it.

“I know, but I wanted to hear it again.”

Wanda sneaks downstairs as you tell Nat about how you two met decades ago. Both of you still thank whatever higher power brought you two together. Wanda occasionally wonders what would have happened if she had given up trying to find you. Would she be married? Or more likely would she be working still? She’s honestly not sure that she’d still be alive, but she pushes this thought aside as she quietly comes up behind you while you’re speaking.

“I still think that she skulked around until she saw me again.”

Despite the truth of your words, Wanda still rolls her eyes in exasperation as she sets her hands on your shoulders with a sigh. She’s smiling when you turn around to face her, and a hand covers hers before you pull her down to sit beside you.

“I did not. I just happened to be in the area.”

You scoff at the ridiculousness of this statement. Something that Natalya may never truly understand. You shake your head before squeezing your wife’s hand with a knowing look.

“Sure, Wands.”

Nat just smiles at her parents’ interaction before she debates telling them what she’d really like to know. She’s felt like she had it handled, but since getting burnt she realizes that maybe she’s just become complacent. She glances down to her hand that was mostly healed at this point with a frown. It only bothered her because it was itchy but she knew better than to scratch at the newly forming skin. Nat mutters something under her breath that her parents don’t hear, and she’s not brave enough to say it again.

“I want to be happy like you two.”

Wanda looks up at the sound, but she can’t make out what her daughter said. You’d been lost in the memory of meeting a beautiful, mysterious brunette, so you’d missed it completely.

“What was that?”

Nat quickly shakes her head before she wipes the tears she didn’t realize were welling up in her eyes. She’s happy for her parents. She feels so grateful to have two moms who love each other and her so much. Even when they’re scarring her when she walks in on them making out or she overhears them talking about nudes. She sighs as her mom walks around the table to pull her into a hug. She sinks into the redhead’s side before hugging her tightly.

“I’m glad you two found each other.”

Masterlist

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff x you #wanda x you #growing pains #post mob life #natalya maximoff

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flyboytracy · 19 days

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#Thunderbirds Are Go #John Tracy #Growing Pains

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daughterofcainnnn · 22 days

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growing pains

requested by @angelsforever

#carpet bed ep #ethelcain #hayden anhedönia #southern gothic #southern gothic aesthetic #preachers daughter #pinterest girl #pinterest #source: pinterest #dark moodboard #moodboard #growing pains

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marril96 · 8 months

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The Vampire Diaries 4.01 | Growing Pains

#damon salvatore #vampire diaries #the vampire diaries #tvd #tvdedit #tvedit #tusergabs #ian somerhalder #4x01 #growing pains #my gifs #edit

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moon-witchs-world · 11 months

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Growing Pains - Remus J. Lupin

Growing Pains – part one

A Hogwarts Tale

Remus Lupin x Fem!WitchReader

2,8k words

Summary: In 1994 both reader and Remus Lupin are newly appointed teachers at Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. They meet again after 13 years, when they last saw each other at the very same school. Remus struggles with his secret being shared with the full staff and Y/N struggles with feelings she has for a certain someone.

This is part one of a multiple part series.

Masterlist

You saw him at exactly the same moment he saw you. Thirteen years had gone by ever since you saw him, in this same castle before you both went your separate ways. You were pleased to notice he hadn’t changed much. Sure, he had gotten older, just like yourself, but you would recognize those green eyes and kind smile everywhere. Remus Lupin was standing by himself, surrounded by the other teachers, some of whom were your own teachers during your time at Hogwarts.

As soon as Remus caught your eyes, he smiled and quickly approached you. He seemed happy to see a familiar face.

When he got closer you noticed he had definitely changed more than you assumed at first. His eyes, still kind and friendly, were lined and his face was covered in scars. His clothes were old and repaired at different places.

‘Y/N L/N? What a pleasant surprise to see you here,’ he said after he placed his hand on yours for a moment.

‘Or did you end up changing your last name?’ he added with a grin. His comment made your blood freeze. You shook your head in response.

‘It’s just L/N. How are you, Remus. I wasn’t expecting you here.’

His grin turned into a proper smile.

‘Really? I always assumed you would marry your high school sweetheart as soon as you left Hogwarts as Head Boy and Head Girl.’

You didn’t respond right away. Maybe lying would be easier, but then again, the truth always came out and you weren’t looking forward to having explain why you lied about such a crucial part of your life story. Something that had changed you forever.

‘We did actually. Get married,’ you said softly, hoping no other person but Remus would hear your words. His eyes widened, observing you with a puzzled look in his eyes, as if he was trying to solve a mystery.

‘You got divorced.’

‘He died.’

Remus took a step back, creating more space between the two of you and you immediately wish you never told him. His smile had disappeared as easily as it had appeared and he looked at you with worry written all over his face.

‘I’m so sorry I asked, Y/N. I had no idea.’ He extended his hand, but never let his fingers touch you. Instead he let them float in the air, as if he was not sure where to put them.

‘It’s okay, Remus. It happened five years ago. He got into an accident at work,’ you explained with a weak smile. The widow part of your life story was always a bit awkward to discuss and you tried to avoid talking about it whenever it was possible.

‘I didn’t know you were a professor,’ you mentioned casually, desperate to change the subject but at the same time genuinely surprised.

‘I’m actually new here. Starting tomorrow as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.’ He said this with a proud smile.

‘We have that in common. Not the Defence part, but I start tomorrow as well. Charms.’

‘Obviously,’ he said matter-of-factly. You raised your eyebrows in question.

‘I remember you were an excellent student, even for a Ravenclaw. Professor Flitwick used to rave about your spell work all the time,’ he explained. You averted your gaze when you felt your cheeks burning.

‘It’s only natural you take over from him during his sabbatical,’ he added. Professor Dumbledore had contacted you personally to ask whether you would be willing to return to Hogwarts to teach Charms for a year while Professor Flitwick was away travelling. You felt deeply honored he even considered you and replied by returning owl you would love the job. It was very different from your usual work at the Ministry, where you had been working for the Department of Magical accidents and catastrophes. But Remus was right, your spell work was impeccable.

‘You weren’t a bad student yourself, Remus, you were a prefect as well.’

He chuckled and shook his head.

‘Dumbledore mainly made me a prefect so I could keep my friends in order. I was weak of course and let them misbehave all the same while conveniently looking the other way,’ he said with a smile on his face. You laughed at his comment.

‘What have you been up to after graduating? I can’t believe we never crossed paths again,’ you asked him. His expression changed and he averted his eyes. But he never answered, for you were interrupted.

‘Lupin. Seeing you here is living proof the headmaster is very desperate to fill the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor to let someone like yourself teach our young witches and wizards,’ you heard a sly voice behind you. You turned around and saw yet another familiar face from your time at Hogwarts.

Severus Snape was looking at Remus Lupin with a look in his eyes that was something between disgust and confusion.

‘Severus, lovely to see you as well. It’s always nice to see a familiar face when you’re about to start a new job. Takes some of the tension away,’ you said sarcastically before Remus could reply.

‘Y/N? I didn’t recognize you right away. I see you’ve found your way back to Hogwarts as well.’ Severus’ voice had softened. The two of you had never been friends, you were simply too different, but you and Severus had always had some sort of unspoken respect for each other. He was smart, cunning and a bit shy. You used to partner during Potions from time to time because you both enjoyed to work with someone who was quiet and studious.

‘I have. And since we’re all colleagues now, maybe it’s time to leave the past in the past,’ you said urgently. Remus’ friends James and Sirius had always bullied Severus and even though you were fairly sure Remus himself was never involved, Severus despised him by association.

Severus didn’t get a chance to respond, because Albus Dumbledore had started talking.

‘Welcome everyone. Before we go to the Great Hall to welcome our students, I have a few announcements to make. First of all, I’d like to thank each and every one of you extraordinary witches and wizards for returning to Hogwarts to teach our young minds. It’s an incredible honour to be in the presence of so many talented and dedicated people.’

Professor McGonagall coughed, which seemed to remind the headmaster he was going somewhere with his speech.

‘But let’s not dwell on that for too long. Firstly I’d like to introduce and welcome miss Y/N L/N. she kindly agreed to teach Charms this year while professor Flitwick is away travelling. Her magnificent work for the Ministry is proof she is more than capable to teach our students everything they need to when it comes to Charms.’ The headmaster beamed at you and started clapping. You felt a bit shy when the other teachers joined in and you were glad when professor Dumbledore spoke again.

‘The other announcement is a bit more serious. I’m very happy to welcome Remus Lupin, who will fill the vacancy of Defence against the Dark Arts professor. He is very capable and intelligent and I look forward to see our students learn from him. However, there is a matter that needs to be addressed about a certain… condition.’

You felt a lump in your throat when the headmaster spoke these words. It sounded ominous. You tried to catch Remus’ eyes, but he was staring at professor Dumbledore, seemingly unaware of your attempts to look at him.

‘Before I explain I have to mention that this piece of information should not travel further than this room. It must not be shared with the students. As a young boy, Remus was bitten by a werewolf. This forces him to turn into a wolf every full moon.’

The entire room had gone quiet and it felt like all there was no oxygen left in the room.

‘Fortunately, we have a very talented Potions Master in our midst who will provide our new professor with the Wolfsbane potion to ease the symptoms around the full moon. I’d like to remind you all again that this information is not to be shared with anyone else, especially not the students. Are there any questions?’

The headmaster looked around the room and a content smile appeared on his face when no one spoke.

‘Thank you for listening and please follow me to the Great Hall.’

~~**~~

All throughout the feast, you tried to get Remus’ attention, but you were unsuccessful. You sat in between Rubeus Hagrid and Sybill Trelawney, the game keeper and the Divination professor. Both were kind and asked lots of questions about your work at the Ministry and why you decided to return to Hogwarts.

However, the feast seemed to last forever and even though you had looked forward to be able to enjoy a Hogwarts feast after all these years, you could barely eat anything. The news about Remus had upset you and you wanted nothing more than to talk to him. To ask him how he was doing and to ask if there was anything you could do to help him.

It was a relief when the desserts had disappeared from the tables and the headmaster had send the students off to bed. You got up quickly as well, but you felt a strong grip on your wrist. When you looked up, you saw Sybill staring at you.

‘Be sure to visit me soon, miss Y/L/N. Your aura is uncommonly strong, I’m sure I’ll be able to see all about your future in my crystal ball,’ she said urgently. You nodded quickly and was relieved when she let go off your wrist. Sitting through an entire feast with her next to you had been dreadful and you had no intention of ever visiting her office, but you were just trying to get away from her.

Remus was already leaving the Great Hall and you quickly followed him. When you pasted the headmaster, you smiled and wished him a good night.

The corridor was deserted and you walked a bit faster. When you turned right, you saw him again.

‘Remus!’ He didn’t respond and you were no longer walking but running.

‘Remus! REMUS! WOULD YOU STOP WALKING AWAY FROM ME AND LISTEN?’ you yelled. You had completely lost your temper. Whereas you were always calm and collected, him ignoring you made you so angry you yelled at him. Your sudden rage felt embarrassing, but at least it was effective. Remus had stopped walking and turned around to face you.

‘I’m not really in the mood for small talk, miss L/N,’ he said without looking at you. This angered you even more.

‘Excuse me? Miss L/N?’ you repeated. You were so surprised at his sudden cold approach to you there was nothing else you could say. You started to tremble slightly.

‘We’re not doing this,’ he said coldly. When he finally looked at you, he looked even more tired than when you met earlier, his eyes bloodshot.

‘Doing what?’

‘Being friendly. Dumbledore explained everything. I’m dangerous.’

You shook your head in disbelief.

‘You’re hardly dangerous right now. The full moon was two days ago. You’re as dangerous as I am for about a month.’

‘You’re not stupid, Y/N. I am dangerous. I don’t want to get close to anyone. I’m grateful to Dumbledore for getting me a job and that is what I’m here to do. Teach.’

‘This is crazy, Remus. I’m not afraid of you and like you mentioned, I’m not stupid. I’m perfectly capable of choosing my own company and I choose you. I don’t care about your stupid problem.’

A tiny, careful smile appeared on his face, though it didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

‘You’re the first person to ever call me being a werewolf a ‘stupid problem’,’ he said gloomily.

‘Well, it is. It’s just a stupid thing. You were a child when you got bitten. There’s nothing you can do to change what happened. The only thing you can do is take responsibility and make yourself less dangerous. And according to the headmaster, you did exactly that. Please don’t isolate yourself, Remus. There’s no need to.’

He shook his head.

‘I’m sorry to tell you, but I have to. It’s safest for everyone.’ He turned around, but before he could walk away, you started talking.

‘Why did you act so nice then? Earlier? You knew Dumbledore would tell the staff about your condition. Why bother being nice to me if you were planning to give me the silent treatment afterwards?’

There was so much you didn’t say. Like the fact that you felt happier than you did in a long time when you saw him. How he had made you feel a little less insecure about teaching when he complimented your spell work from over a decade ago. How proud it made you feel that he had remembered your full name, even though you had been sorted into different houses and were never friends.

‘I was genuinely happy to see you, Y/N. I stupidly forgot I intended to keep my distance. I felt drawn to you,’ he said softly. The silence felt heavy. So many things were left unsaid.

‘But I have remembered it now and that’s just in time. Good night, Y/N.’ Once more he turned around and this time, he walked away.

‘I will not let you get away this easily. Trust me, you’ll want to have a friend around here.’ You had no idea if your words were going to persuade him, but you weren’t just going to let him deal with this all by himself.

Part two

#remus lupin x reader #remus lupin reader insert #remus lupin x y/n #remus lupin x you #remus lupin x fem!reader #remus x reader #remus lupin imagine #remus john lupin #remus lupin series #growing pains

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andrhomeda · 4 months

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GROWING PAINS a short comic I made last year for Synth/ORG vol.2 an Italian comic anthology by Attaccapanni Press instagram | twitter | support my art!

#comic #growing pains #comic art #webcomic #gore #body horror #comics #indie comic #gorecore #body gore #original comic #web comic #drawing #my art #andrhomeda #artists on tumblr #art #my comic #webtoon

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mediumtires · 8 months

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Toto is in his office, the distinct sounds of sharing a space with someone dulled by heavy wood, and he’s staring at his bright screen, and somehow his throat has closed up enough for him to clear it, twice. There’s a strangely tight feeling right behind his sternum, in the middle of his chest, one that he can’t quite seem to reach.

short sequel to Growing Pains, from Toto’s POV. 2.6k

Christian has crow’s feet. On the right, it’s eleven deep lines, four of them curving upwards when he smiles, the rest fanning down, and off to the side of his face. Left, it’s seven. A few less, but still just as deep. They pull in his cheeks when he smiles.

Toto loves those lines. He was there when there were only four on the left, six on the right. Deeper though. They were even deeper back then, for some reason.

Toto was also there for the teeth. He was there when Christian started to let his stubble grow, he was there for the first grey hairs that led to a life changing haircut. He was there when Christian quietly started to size up his jeans.

He was there when Christian got appendicitis on New Year’s Eve, was there for food poising more than once, was there for broken toes and bruised fingers when they were renovating the farm. He was there when Christian’s brother got diagnosed with cancer. Was there for the party too, when he was finally cancer free.

What Toto wasn’t there for was Christian winning his first title in eight years. It’s not a secret, he knows, Christian knows. Of course they know; it’s one of the biggest hurdles they ever had to overcome, the fact that he wasn’t there for it.

He’d made his position crystal clear; December 2021, and the months after shaped by the decisions he had made. Toto had his team to worry about that night. Lewis, Valtteri, Bono, Andrew, James, everyone else. Himself. He’d had enough to worry about. He didn’t think about Christian very much that night. Not about his crow’s feet, or the ring on his left hand, or the fact that they were in big big trouble. He’d done it deliberately, knowingly. And he doesn’t regret it. Hasn’t, since, mostly because he can’t allow himself to. He’s regretted many things, the aftermath, the months of fighting. But he doesn’t regret standing up for his team that night.

Only now… Now Toto is in his office at home, behind his big desk, with the door closed, the distinct sounds of sharing a space with someone dulled by heavy wood, and he’s staring at his bright screen, and somehow his throat has closed up enough for him to clear it, twice. There’s a strangely tight feeling right behind his sternum, right in the middle of his chest, one that he can’t quite seem to reach.

There’s a video playing, one that he’s not sure he even clicked on himself, one that he really shouldn’t be watching. What he should be doing is preparing for his meeting with the Petronas people first thing tomorrow morning.

Instead, his eyes follow Christian, champagne soaked, shaky handed, teary eyed, on his way from the pit wall to the garages to the podium back to the garages. He looks—Toto can’t think of the right word for it. He can only think about the look on his face, equal parts mind shattering relief, pure joy and pure devastation, though Toto knows that part is only for him to see. And his crow’s feet. Eleven deep lines accompanying his watery smile.

He looks devastating to Toto. It’s a strange realisation because until now, Abu Dhabi has only ever been painful to think about. And it still is, in most ways. Only now that he’s looking at his husband through a screen, watching him getting celebrated, congratulated, touched by a million other people, Toto is kicking himself that he wasn’t there to see him like this when he had the chance. He never got to see this joy on Christian’s face in real life. Instead, what they did was so much worse, so much more painful.

Toto has trouble swallowing around the knot in his throat. Suddenly he has the stupid urge to put his hand to his computer screen, touch his fingertips to the bright lights and follow the soft lines of Christian’s face, sweaty and champagne wet, teary eyed and grinning so wide it must’ve hurt his cheeks. Toto wants that version of him, badly, so badly in fact, that his heart seizes in his chest, thudding hard.

Christian is in the kitchen. He’s making dinner, the dogs at his feet following his every move with big hopeful eyes. Christian doesn’t turn around when Toto comes in, his voice drowned out by the extractor fan as he says, “Dinner’ll be another few.”

Toto couldn’t care less about dinner right now. He stalks up to where Christian is watching over sizzling eggs in a pan, and a second later he’s got him pressed to the counter, licking into his mouth. Christian makes an undignified noise at the back of his throat and the spatula he was holding topples to the floor. Toto doesn’t care. His hands are on Christian’s cheeks, and he can feel his crow’s feet beneath his thumbs. He tastes salt and the tangy sweetness of cherry tomatoes.

Christian presses his palms flat to his chest and pushes. “Hey!” He tries to bring distance between them, and Toto lets him, of course he does, but he still curls himself around Christian’s body, tucks his face into his neck, kisses the leathery skin there too.

“What the fuck has gotten into you?” Christian’s arms come up around Toto’s back only reluctantly. “I’m going to burn the bloody eggs!”

“Sorry.” Toto should be letting him go. Christian has put effort into making dinner, and Toto respects that. Still, he has a hard time moving away from him.

“What’s—” Christian’s face is one big question mark. “Darling? You alright?”

Toto bends to pick the spatula up from the ground and turns away to give it a quick rinse in the sink. “Ja,” he says. “I’m fine.”

Christian’s expression is critical when he takes the spatula back. He goes back to stirring the eggs, stocky and yellow, then turns the heat down with a flick of his wrist. Toto wants to kiss him so badly. The images of Christian, victorious in Abu Dhabi won’t leave his mind. Nor his chest.

Christian turns back around and this time it’s he who pulls Toto in by the hips, presses their bodies together. He leans in and there’s a kiss to the corner of Toto’s mouth, feathery light. Toto can’t help but wrap himself around Christian again, breathing him in, relieved. “What’s going on?” Christian asks carefully, fingertips dipping beneath the waistline of Toto’s chinos.

He feels so familiar in Toto’s arms. Toto has so many regrets right now, but he can’t possibly tell him. Not with everything they’ve been through. Not with how hard they’ve worked to come out the other side, he can’t bring it all back up again.

“Nothing,” he murmurs into Christian’s hair. Eyes closed. He smells familiar too. Toto would recognise him anywhere by this alone, the musky notes of his cologne, a hint of leather from the wristband of his watch, undertones of sweat mixed with laundry detergent. “I just wanted to kiss my husband.”

“Come here then.” This time it’s Christian’s fingers on his jaw pulling their faces close, and then it’s gentle brushes of lips, painfully meaningful, tongues coming together in deep licks, Toto brushing the roof of Christian’s mouth, the back of his teeth, tasting everything. He wants all of it and more, and he’s so mad at himself for everything that happened in 2021. He wishes he could turn back the time, make better decisions, just a couple. Not even to win, it’s not about that. Just. For them. He should’ve done better.

Christian kisses back with the same intensity. One of his hands is on Toto’s cheek, fingertips brushing into his hair, lightly stroking his temple, his cheekbone. His stubble rubs against Toto’s top lip and Toto wants more of it, wants this forever.

“‘m sorry.”

Christian pulls back, confused. “Mhm?”

Toto wants to kick himself. “Nothing.” He leans in again, but Christian doesn’t let him get away with it.

“What do you mean, you’re sorry? Sorry for what?”

Toto breathes around a deep sigh. He lets his forehead tip to Christian’s but keeps his eyes shut. Breathes him in. So familiar.

“It’s nothing.”

“Toto,” Christian warns.

“I was watching something. That’s all.”

“Porn?”

Toto pulls back with an offended puff of breath and when their eyes meet Christian is laughing. “Darling, it’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“I wasn’t watching porn in my office, Christian.” He’s genuinely offended Christian would think— “I— Come on.”

A grin spreads over Christian’s face, making his crow’s feet crinkle, fanning deeply up and down the sides. “Whatever you’re doing in there is fine with me, darling. No hard feelings.”

“Just—shut up,” Toto tells him even though his heart is still cracked wide open. He turns away. Walks over to the stove to stir the eggs. They look a little more brown than yellow now.

“Hey.” Christian brushes both of his palms down Toto’s back, then wraps his arms around him from behind to press a kiss between his shoulder blades. “Sorry. You’re upset. What is it?”

“It’s nothing.” Toto sighs softly.

“It’s clearly something. You ambushed me in the kitchen. Something’s up.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Toto. Darling.” Christian’s arms tighten around him, both palms pressed to the softest part of his stomach now, left and right to his navel. He tingles from the inside out.

“I was watching a video about Abu Dhabi.” He admits to it quietly, half of him hoping Christian won’t hear him over the sizzling of the pan. “I don’t even know… It just popped up, it was attached to an email. But I didn’t mean to bring it up again, I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about it again.”

Christian doesn’t say anything for a few very long seconds. He holds Toto in the same manner as before, his face mushed to the planes of his back, his body warm against Toto’s, over a decade of familiarity to the touch. Then he says, “You said.”

Toto’s face scrunches up in confusion, but he doesn’t move, just keeps staring down at the pan.

“You said you were sorry,” Christian clarifies. “For watching the video, or for what happened in Abu Dhabi?”

Toto’s chest smarts, pulls into a tight hard knot. “I don’t think… Let’s not talk about it again.”

“Because you’re uncomfortable?” Christian asks. “Or because you’re afraid I haven’t forgiven you yet?”

Toto doesn’t have an answer. The only thing he knows is that the eggs are burning. Christian doesn’t let him go but now his hold feels like it could crush Toto any second.

“I know you’re sorry,” Christian goes on. “And we’re past Abu Dhabi. Things are okay, yeah?”

Toto swallows hard. “Yes.”

Christian presses another kiss to his back, soothing this time. “Good. So why are you sorry?”

“I—” Christian doesn’t let him go. “I didn’t see you.” Toto’s voice breaks on the last syllable. “That night in Abu Dhabi. I was too concerned with other things, I didn’t watch the podium, I didn’t even leave the garage. So I didn’t know what you looked like that night until just fifteen minutes ago.” Heart in his throat he adds, “And I regret that. Not being there for it. Because you looked—”

Beautiful. Proud. Relieved. Real. Heartbreakingly authentic.

“I could’ve shared that with you, that night, the win, your success, but I didn’t. And I regret that. More than anything I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I wish I—” And now he’s fucking choking up.

“Oh.” Christian moves then, unfreezes and untangles himself from Toto’s back to turn him around by the hips. “Oh, darling, no, come on.”

Toto can’t look at him, but then again, he can’t really look at anything because tears are blurring his vision.

“No, darling, no, come here.” Christian wraps him up in a hug then, pulls him in, one arm wrapped around his middle, the other around his shoulders, and he presses the side of his face to Toto’s neck. “It’s okay. We’re past that.”

Toto doesn’t say anything. It doesn't feel like they’re past it. This is the first time he has allowed himself to cry about any of this in front of Christian. It’s been months, and it doesn’t feel like they’re past it.

“I know you would’ve been there if things had been different. But it was complicated, I know that. I’m not mad.”

“I’m mad,” Toto croaks, and as he says it, he realises it’s true. “I am so mad, Christian. I’m mad I didn’t get to share any of it with you. It was such a significant moment, and I wasn’t there with you. We won’t ever get that back.”

Christian takes a moment. “Okay,” he then says quietly. “Now I understand. I get it. I’m mad too.” Toto stills. “Not at you. At the whole thing, the circumstances leading up to it. It’s no one’s fault. We knew it would be difficult to keep things separate, and in the end, we didn’t manage. That’s okay. And it’s okay to be mad about it.”

“I’m not trying to bring it all back up again, I know we’re past it. It’s in the past.” Toto curls his arms around Christian’s back and pulls him in tighter, noses the side of his face, the imprint of the lines around his eyes. “I just didn’t realise how much I missed out that night. You looked so—”

“What?” Christian probes, curious.

“Sexy,” Toto croaks and there’s a second of silence before Christian breaks out into a loud, husky cackle.

“Are you— Toto, are crying because you didn’t get to fuck me that night?”

“Maybe.” Toto cracks a small grin and smothers it in Christian’s hair. They both know it’s more than that. But they also know there’s no way they can turn back time. What happened happened. It’s in the past.

“Oh fucking hell. You have no idea how badly I wanted you to be there that night.”

“Ja?”

��Yeah,” Christian says, and then he pulls back and looks Toto in the eyes and says, “Yes, darling. Of course I wanted you to be there with me. I wanted to—Look, I wanted to come and find you too, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. So I get it. I have regrets too.”

Toto has to pull him in again and Christian goes willingly, presses their foreheads together, noses brushing, and kisses Toto once more, deep. “I get it,” he murmurs to his lips. “But we’re okay, yeah?”

“Yes,” Toto agrees. Eyes closed. Christian smells like home. “Next time.”

“We’ll do so much better this year,” Christian agrees. “I’ll even let you spray me with champagne in front of everyone.”

Toto rolls his eyes, a small grin pulling stubbornly at the corners of his mouth. “You will let me, yes? That is very generous of you.”

“I know,” Christian agrees smugly. “You’re allowed to do it in front of everyone, too.”

“If you’re not careful, I will be doing something very different than shower you in champagne in front of everyone, darling.”

“Oh, don’t threaten me with a good time, darling.”

Toto hates him a little bit, his pleased smirk, the self-satisfaction, the green of his eyes twinkling, daring, his crow’s feet so deep, seven on the left, eleven on the right.

Toto doesn’t stand a chance. Not this season, but more importantly, not tonight either.

#since we were talking about growing pains today #i remembered this little snippet i wrote a while ago #lil bit of angsty hurt/comfort on a sunday night anyone?#old men yaoi etc #take this as a token of my affection and also catnip #seven years #growing pains #toto wolff #christian horner #christian/toto

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lynxgriffin · 1 year

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One day, your mom's gonna get sick of you, you little freak.

Part three of what will be a real short four-part series. Based on this total crack theory! Susie's finally past the hard part of this, and then of course, the other shoe drops.

Start | Previous | Next

#deltarune #lynx art #susie #susie deltarune #growing pains #cw: parental abandonment #not sure if there's other tags I should use?#either way! her parents still suck #also give Susie ham!!!#at least Ralsei gets her a nice room later

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taleasnewastime · 1 year

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Pairing: Jimin x reader

Genre: Unrequited love; brothers’ best friend; mafia au; smut; angst; fluff

Warnings: relevant warnings will be posted on each part, there are some dark themes in this so please make sure to read them first, death, murder, poor mental health and internal thoughts, explicit sexual content in some but not all parts, slow burn.

GROWING PAINS

growing up is hard, growing up in a gang the only female where everyone looks down on you is harder.

Part 1 | 15.6k

IN THE WAKE OF YOUR LEAVE

six years since you’ve been here and this time you don’t plan on leaving, at least not until you’ve gotten what you want no matter what.

Part 1 | 16.2k

Part 2 | 11.5k

Part 3 | 13.6k

Part 4 | 14.5k

ALL THAT REMAINS

you betrayed them all, acted on your own selfishness; will Jimin ever forgive you?

Part 1 | 7.4k

Part 2

#growing pains #growing pains masterlist

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crucifysam · 5 months

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i keep thinking about, ya know like. “you’ve always been a happy drunk” that, right? yes yea yea so just. the first time sam getting drunk, with dean, at like 16 maybe bc deans all like ‘if ur gonna try it ur gonna try it with me’ sorta deal. in a dingy motel room, maybe out in some field or in the middle of the woods, and sams all clingy and flushed. hes saying all sortsa stuff and hes so whiny & giggly and i cant stop. dean just. his stomachs all whirly, swimmin w butterflies and his hearts beating soooo fast and the feeling in his gut is all want and dread and like. i’d like to think sometimes dean contemplates drugging sam and keeping him like that, all for himself, silly & in love with his big brother

#samdean #wincest #growing pains #word vomit

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gracebriarwoodwrites · 8 months

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There are half a dozen paper bags haphazardly arranged next to my mini fridge on my couch. I think tomorrow, I'll cut them up into pages, if I can find the motivation. I've been wanting to learn bookbinding, and I've been wanting to learn to draw, and I can slap these two dreams together out of my own garbage, isn't that lovely? I like the idea of that. I like knowing that since it's already trash, I won't spoil it with the clumsy flailing of a novice. The stumbles of every learner are beautiful, except when they're mine, but I am beating myself at my own game this time.

#poem #poetry #spilled ink #spilled thoughts #learning #growing pains #diy #recycling

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whereianonymouslypostfics · 2 months

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Growing Pains Part 4

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~9.2k

Summary: Little Nat is almost 13 and school’s a bitch. Retired mob boss turned stay-at-home mom Wanda has to figure out how to deal with bullies at her daughter’s school.

A/N: Credit to @rianncreates for this fic idea. Sorry for not writing much. I've been very unmotivated and kinda depressed, but I'm working on it!

Warnings: Fluff, teen angst, injury, reference to previous injury/trauma, bullies, and pranks

It’s almost 1 in the morning and sleep isn’t coming easily for you tonight. The usual culprit, your chronic pain, isn’t to blame tonight for once. You are thinking about what Natalya had asked tonight, and how you suspect that she was unintentionally, possibly coming out to you. Despite your claim of not caring one way or another, you’d love to know if she liked someone. Especially if that someone was a friend.

After considering this for too long you start to worry that your daughter was being bullied. It seemed like a stretch just going off of what she’d mentioned tonight, but as you rolled it around in your brain it didn’t seem unreasonable. She was shy and a bit awkward when she wanted to be, and you and Wanda loved her for it. That said, if someone found out that she had a crush especially on a friend you could see them taunting her about it.

You hate to think that your daughter could be targeted like this, but you blame your restlessness for the current spiral. Nat would tell you if she was having trouble. Wouldn’t she?

“You’re tense, detka. What’s wrong? Are you hurting?”

You’d failed to realize as you got more anxious, that your body was starting to reflect this without your consent. Given that Wanda’s in her usual spot right snug up against your side, she can feel how you grow stiff beside her. She shifts carefully in case you’re in pain, so she can see your face. Or at least try to. She sees that you’re looking down at her with a caught expression, and given that it’s late you don’t waste precious time trying to deceive your too smart wife.

When you don’t respond immediately Wanda frowns as she starts to sit up. You don’t let her go far as you tighten your hold on her with a shake of your head.

“No, Wands I’m fine. I was just thinking about Little Nat.”

This surprises Wanda for a couple of reasons. Usually, you can’t sleep because of your pain or you had caffeine too close to bed. She hadn’t guessed that you were worrying about their daughter and she wonders if she missed something earlier tonight.

You don’t let her fret too much as you kiss her head and take a deep breath before shifting to get more comfortable. You’re a little cold and pull the covers up higher as you shiver beneath them.

“She seemed concerned about facing more people like that woman today, and I just can’t help but think she was trying to tell me something.”

Wanda doesn’t say anything at first, and the silence leaves you time to continue thinking about what you might be missing. Wanda’s mind is working in a similar way, and she frowns at the thought that she’s missed something important with her daughter. She’d believed Natalya when she said she didn’t like any of her friends, but she allowed her faith in her daughter to blind her to the simple fact that Nat may have just been scared. Wanda hated to think that her daughter could fear her in any capacity. If she wasn’t being truthful because she feared her reaction then Wanda had failed as a mother.

She feels you squeeze her arm and she turns to see you with a knowing look. You shake your head before leaning in to kiss your wife’s hair with a smile.

“You’re a wonderful mother, Wanda. Anyone with eyes can see how good you are to all of our children.”

Wanda sighs in defeat and she shifts so she’s facing you as she tangles your legs together.

“You’re a little biased, detka.”

You don’t get to refute this before Wanda’s voicing her fears, stopping you short from responding with a joke. You frown at the thought of Wanda thinking of herself as inadequate when she’s no such thing. You never thought you could love Wanda more than when you’d married her, but then seeing her become a kind, fair, and loving mom had proved you wrong.

“If I’m such a good mother, why doesn’t Natalya trust me?”

Your heart sinks and you’re twisting in Wanda’s grasp so you can be face to face. Despite struggling with this question a little yourself, you really just had to remember how you’d first felt when you had a crush on someone. Regardless of who it was, you’d been terrified to consider the truth and you’d lied to multiple people just to keep your secret. You don’t know if Natalya’s doing the same, or if she even has a secret, but you have to believe that she’s just scared like a teen tends to be when something seems daunting. You know that Wanda has experienced similar fear, but now she’s also contending with her desire to have Nat tell her everything, and it’s making things complicated.

Wanda grumbles in annoyance as you move out of her arms, but you continue to sit up so you’re hovering over her. She can’t see your face anymore because it’s obscured by darkness but she hears the smile in your voice as you offer her reassurance that she’s not a shitty parent.

“My love, it’s not about trust. You know Natalya trusts you with her life, but she’s a teenager, and things were scary back then if you recall.”

The memory of one of her most terrifying high school experiences makes her practically recoil. You have a point. Everything at Natalya’s age seemed too daunting to commit to. It was a time that was supposed to be exciting and new, but for some it was overwhelming and terrifying. Trying to figure out who you were and what you wanted from life was a task that couldn’t be taken too seriously. It was a sure-fire way to psych yourself out and become totally apathetic.

Wanda realizes that her daughter has a lot on her plate, and that she shouldn’t take this personally. Knowing that and accepting it however are two different things. She sighs heavily before she reaches out for you wordlessly. You take her hand in yours but she just shakes her head as she pulls you closer until you’re almost face to face again. You hover over her feeling her breath against your cheek as she speaks up.

“That was a long time ago, Y/n.”

Wanda’s tone tells you that she’s accepting what you’ve said and that she doesn’t want to dwell on it. She’s changing the subject and you’re more than willing to go along with it if it means you can go to sleep soon. You shake your head before leaning in to kiss your wife chastely. You pull back just enough to respond and you feel Wanda’s hands fall to your waist.

“Not so long, beautiful. That was what? 20 years ago?”

You don’t need to be able to see your wife to know that she’s rolling her eyes as she huffs in disbelief. She squeezes your sides which makes you flinch and laugh from the ticklish feeling. The sound makes her heart swell and she kisses your cheek in thanks before urging you closer.

“You’re either really bad at math or you’re full of shit.”

“Why not both?”

Instead of responding and continuing the banter, Wanda decides she’d like to do something else. It’s late and you have work tomorrow, but it’s been a while since the two of you had done more than kiss and cuddle. Most of their time at home together was spent with their daughter which they loved, but it was nice to have time alone occasionally. You can tell what your wife is after as she pulls you close and then flush against her front as she captures your bottom lip between hers. You groan as you deepen the kiss and shift so you’re settled more comfortably on Wanda’s lap.

“I love you.”

Your hands begin to wander to your wife’s soft stomach, and you run your fingers along the faint stretch marks that you committed to memory long ago. You wish you could see your beautiful wife, but for now you’ll settle for touching her and holding her close as you make her writhe and gasp in pleasure. By the time you’re satisfied and Wanda’s left feeling boneless, it’s almost 3 in the morning. You’re exhausted and you’re pretty sure that Wanda’s already asleep where she clings to you. You sigh quietly as you lay your head on your pillow and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow you’ll figure out what you’re going to do for Natalya.

The next morning, Nat’s bruise has darkened and looks a little purple when she comes downstairs for breakfast. You watch as Wanda sets her coffee down and grabs the plate of food she’d made for Nat. The younger Maximoff yawns before she walks up to you and then Wanda for a hug.

“Hi moms.”

When your daughter pulls back, you take a moment to look at her face and you can’t help but frown slightly. You gently brush her cheek before setting her off to get her breakfast.

“How’s it feeling?”

She shrugs as she walks back around the counter to where her other mom is, and she has to resist the urge to grab her food and immediately start eating. She looks up at her redheaded mom because she’s certain she’d like to look at her eye as well. Natalya lets her mom fuss for a bit before she hugs her while taking her plate with a grateful smile.

“I’m really fine, Moms. It’s just another reminder to pay attention.”

Wanda frowns at this and you can’t help but roll your eyes as you watch your daughter sit down at the table. She’s already dressed for school and Wanda double checks to make sure Nat’s lunch is all set before joining the two of you at the table. You’re grateful for the cup of coffee Wanda brings you with a knowing smile, and you just shoot her one of your own before you turn to Natalya who’s practically scarfing down her breakfast.

“Slow down, kiddo. You’re going to choke.”

“You have plenty of time before we need to leave.”

This comment from Wanda makes Little Nat pause and her fork stops halfway to her mouth as she realizes she’s caught. She tries to resume eating like nothing is amiss, but her parents had been watching her closely and it was impossible for them to miss her reaction. You raise an eyebrow at your daughter who’s failing to look nonchalant, and Wanda decides to broach the subject before you head out to work soon.

“What is it?”

Natalya pauses as she considers how to tell her parents that she’d come home and immediately texted Taylor about coming up with a plan to get Stacy off her back. She had agreed to come to school a little early, but she didn’t want to tell her parents about this. She tries to come up with a believable lie on the spot. Something she’s never successfully done.

“I just might need to go to school a little early.”

The vague answer makes both of her moms frown, but Nat focuses on her breakfast and tries to buy herself time.

“I forgot about a science project that I was supposed to work on with Taylor, but we’re meeting before school to do it.”

Wanda immediately checks the time and sees that there is less than an hour before the first bell rings. She’s not sure how Nat thought this would work out, but she’s already worried for her. You’re a little more focused on the fact that Natalya hadn’t mentioned anything about this last night. You’d asked her twice once she was finished with her work if there was anything else that she had to do. You knew that your daughter could be forgetful, so you just try to ignore your nagging suspicion and try to believe that she’d simply forgotten.

“When’s it due? Are you going to have enough time to work on it? What is the project about?”

Natalya quickly finishes the rest of the breakfast before addressing her mom who was already stressing out. She shakes her head before realizing that she should have come up with a different lie, but it was a little late for that. She smiles at the duo before she shrugs and mentions that it’s not a big deal.

“It’s due today, but at the end of the day. It’s just a presentation about an element from the periodic table. It’s a little dumb honestly. We just have to list different things that are made from silver.”

This does sound a little pointless to you, but Wanda’s more focused on the fact that their daughter apparently completely forgot about an assignment. This hasn’t happened in a while because Wanda made a point of getting Natalya a planner that helps her keep track of all of her assignments. She takes it to school every day and she’s gotten in the habit of taking it out for each class and writing anything she’d need to do for it.

It helped her organize her sometimes jumbled thoughts, and both you and Wanda started to notice that she was forgetting fewer things.

“Have you started on it at all, milaya?”

Wanda was a little anxious about this, but her daughter, just like you, smiles at her and insists that it was fine. She had it covered.

“Yeah, it’s easy! A lot of things are made of silver. Jewelry, knives, swords, bullets…”

Wanda’s frown deepens at the fact that Natalya basically just named all weapons for some reason, but you just shake your head as you set down your empty mug. You’ll need more coffee given your late night, but you’re going to take it to-go at this point. You stifle a yawn as you sit back in your chair and look to your daughter with a small smile.

“Bullets aren’t made of silver, Little Nat. Unless you’re a vampire hunter.”

Wanda rolls her eyes at this comment and is about to make one of her own about your priorities, but Natalya beats her to it. You don’t seem particularly thrown by her question, but Wanda holds her breath as she waits to hear what your response is. She tries not to think about the dozens of guns in the basement that she needed to get to her brother asap.

“How do you know that, Mom?”

You realize your mistake fairly quickly but luckily you have an easy answer for this question that doesn’t include bringing up Wanda’s past. You had learned a lot about guns during your years with Wanda, but it had been a very long time since you touched one with the intent to shoot it.

“When dogs are accidentally shot while hunting, they’re brought in for lead poisoning. Not silver.”

Natalya stops short of petting Boone and thinks about this with a frown. She supposes it makes sense that her mom would see a couple of these cases at work. They live in the mountains, of course people are going to hunt. Her frown quickly turns to a smile as she scratches her panting dog’s head. He’d come up to check and see if she has any leftovers, but unfortunately for him she’d eaten everything. Nat’s distracted by Rogue coming around too, so she misses the quick exchange between her parents before Wanda decides to get things moving. If Natalya really needs to be at school early, she might as well get ready now.

“Okay, Natalya. Go on and clean up so we can get ready to go.”

Little Nat nods before she goes off to do as her mom says. She hugs her vet mom bye in case you leave before she comes back, and you wish her good luck on her project before watching her retreat to the kitchen. You turn your attention to the furry head nudging your leg before smiling at your wife.

“What do you have planned for today, Wands?”

Your wife has to think about this because she hadn’t really gotten any further than taking Natalya to school. She doesn’t have too many errands to run today. She just went to the store, but she supposes she could run by the pharmacy and the dispensary for both yours and her medications. She shrugs before finishing off her coffee with a smile as she thinks of one more thing she can do.

“Just a couple of errands. Might stop by Piet’s to give him some boxes.”

You immediately know what she’s talking about, and you smile as you steal a glance at the basement door that you made sure had a lock on it years ago. Although it was mostly an out of sight, out mind type deal, occasionally you or Wanda would think about the guns down there and worry about Nat finding them. Despite the fact that she used to have nightmares about the basement, Natalya wouldn’t avoid it forever, and you’d rather not have to explain what was in the heavy, locked boxes that certainly were covered in dust and spiders.

You stand up to get more coffee and you grab Wanda’s cup as well with a questioning look. She smiles in thanks and you plant a quick kiss on her lips before going to see how Nat’s doing. She’s finishing up with her dish as you arrive, and you laugh as she hugs you one more time before running upstairs to get ready. Regardless of what they’d be doing, she’d promised Taylor she would be there in about 20 minutes, and she had to leave soon if she didn’t want to be late.

“Bye Mom! See you tonight. I’ll be right back!”

When you return to the table, Rogue is trying to climb in Wanda’s lap and Fletcher has jumped up on your chair. You shoot her a glare, but you don’t move her because you’re about to head to work anyway. Still you give her a hard time before you set Wanda’s cup in front of her with a sigh.

“Fletcher, you’re the worst.”

Wanda shoots you a look that you just smile at before you bend over to kiss her goodbye. You need to head to work soon, and you forgot that you’d agreed to have someone shadow your appointments today. You need to be slightly more prepared than usual, and this would require a little extra time this morning. Wanda catches your chin as you try to pull away and gives you one more kiss before smiling at you.

“If you’re not too busy for lunch today, let me know?”

You nod in agreement before you head upstairs to finish getting ready. You walk past Natalya’s room and she nearly barrels you over as she comes running out with her backpack slung over her shoulder. You cringe as she slams into you and the sound catches Wanda’s attention from where she’s petting Fletcher who’s still sitting in your spot. She sees you stumble slightly before you hold up your arms to steady your overly enthusiastic daughter.

“Oh, sorry Mom!”

You shake your head as you offer your daughter a stern look that is softened by your small smile. You take a deep breath and pushed away the soreness you feel before waving Little Nat downstairs and heading to your bedroom.

“Slow down, kid. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Natalya just nods before hugging you quickly and hurrying down the stairs, only a little slower than what she’d originally intended. You just roll your eyes before retreating to your room, and Wanda stands up at the sight of her daughter ready to go.

“Ready?”

Taylor arrives at school before Nat, and she heads to their meeting spot on the hill outside of school. It’s nice out and she can tell it’s going to be cooler than it was yesterday. She’s glad because she doesn’t want to sweat too much at practice when she’s barely able to bend over. She’d taken something when she’d gotten home from the game last night, and she’d iced the largest bruise on her side before going to bed. However, she woke up stiff and angry all over again at the fact that she’d been body slammed with zero consequence to the other player.

She took another pain reliever and tried to forget about it as she got ready for school early this morning. She’d agreed to meet Natalya to talk about what she wanted to do regarding Stacy’s continued bullying. Taylor was ecstatic that her friend was going to do something about it, and it took a lot of self-control to not tell Luke and Alyssa too. She wonders what the other brunette had come up with. Or maybe this would be a brainstorming session.

When it’s almost time for Nat to get here, Taylor decides to go wait for her at the car circle. She’s a little antsy and wants to get started on plotting Nat’s revenge. She finds herself pacing as she waits for her friend, and at the sound of a car pulling up she’s immediately turning to see who it is.

“Taylor!”

She smiles at the sound of her friend’s voice and she hurries to greet the brunette who’s practically out of the car before it’s stopped.

“Hey, Nat. Mrs. Maximoff. How are you?”

Nat resists the urge to roll her eyes as Taylor smiles at her mom. She grabs her backpack before closing the door behind her and getting out of the way so the two can chat.

“Hi Taylor, I’m well, how are you? Ready for your presentation today?”

Nat stiffens and Taylor looks a little confused before she turns to Nat for a split second. She realizes she’s missing something and she decides to try to cover this up as best as possible. She offers the older Maximoff an awkward smile before her gaze shifts back to Natalya.

“Umm, I thought this was a paper?”

Nat just sighs in defeat and she doesn’t have to turn around to see her mom’s suspicion. She instead groans under her breath and opts to take advantage of her friend’s comment. She shoots her mom a sheepish smile before grabbing Taylor’s arm and leading her away.

“Clearly, we have a lot of work to do. See you later, Mama!”

Wanda is still frowning as she watches Nat lead her friend toward school. She notices that Taylor’s hunched over slightly so she can listen to whatever Nat’s saying, but Wanda definitely can’t hear it. She decides to just let it be and check in later. For now, she’s going back home to sit with her cat for a bit before figuring out what to do with her day. She’d like to get around to planting the few vegetables she’d bought for her garden. It was supposed to be a nice day, and given that she’d put this off for a bit, she had at least a dozen vegetables to plant.

She thinks about what she’ll be able to harvest, if anything, on the way home. She yawns before getting out of the car to greet Rogue who as usual was waiting for her return. He wags his tail, and Wanda scratches his head before she steps into the house. She looks around at the kitchen and the living room, and she heads toward the couch when she sees Fletcher sitting on one of the pillows. She sits down beside her and pats her lap with a smile. Her cat gracefully makes her way over and plops down in her lap with a loud purr. Wanda pets her for a while and scratches Rogue where he sits at her feet.

She grabs her phone and texts her brother while she’s still thinking about it. If she remembers correctly, he’s busy for most of the day, but she’s in no rush to get this done. She considers what she could do with the basement after it’s cleaned out. Their house already has everything they could want, and far more than they could need. What could they put downstairs in a dark room?

This thought makes Wanda realize that she can change this if she wanted to. She shakes the thought away for the moment because she wants to get outside before it gets too hot. She decides to go upstairs and get changed and then take Rogue with her to the garden. She would let Fletcher go, but she’s sure to just run off and Wanda was too high anxiety to let her cat just wander the woods.

When she’s dressed and ready to go, she opens the back door and waits for Rogue to follow her out before she heads toward the shed. The very large backyard that basically extended toward the woods was empty for a long time. You and Wanda just enjoyed the natural beauty of the place when you first moved here. You loved seeing how the grass stretched out to the trees, and you hadn’t wanted to change that. Five years ago, Wanda had brought up the idea of having a garden where she could grow flowers and food. You’d mostly been interested in the food and after Wanda had told you her plans to grow a bunch of vegetables, you’d been game. You and Steve had built the garden according to Wanda’s carefully laid plans, and over the years you’ve only had to make a few modifications.

Wanda had grown a majority of the vegetables you ate, and the extras went to their friends. During late summer, she’d grow pumpkins that are ready for Halloween so Little Nat would have them for her pumpkin carving contest. First it was a thing between the family, but she’d since introduced the idea to her friends and given her creativity she usually won.

When Wanda arrives to the garden, she’s smiling as she opens the gate and lets Rogue amble through first. He’s been in here many times and he knows that there are only three rules. Don’t step on the plants, eat the plants or pee on them. One of the modifications you’d made includes a small area for Rogue to sit comfortably while still watching his mom closely. He loved spending time here with her, and despite the temptation of the food grown, he was well behaved. Although he couldn’t eat any of the plants, Wanda sometimes fed him some of the veggies, mostly carrots after she washed them. Boone was less interested in the view of the garden and more interested in the food, and after trying to eat one of the tomato plants, he wasn’t allowed in for long and without direct supervision.

“What should we do first, bud? Plant or pick?”

After receiving no answer from the shepherd, Wanda decides to plant the tomato plants she’d bought recently along with some flowers. She’s almost finished when she hears her phone beep from her pocket. She takes off her gloves and wipes her sweaty forehead with a sigh before she reaches for her phone. She’s surprised to see a text from her brother already, but she’s quick to text back when he suggests stopping by this afternoon to pick up the guns. Wanda sends him a smile and agrees to 3pm before she puts her phone up and checks on her dog. He’s napping beside some lettuce and Wanda can’t help but smile widely at him.

She picks up her trowel before adjusting her hat with a frown. It’s predictably gotten sunnier, but it’s still pretty nice out so she decides to keep going. After the last plant is in place in the bed, she grabs one of the baskets and decides to start picking some of the ripe vegetables.

“Rogue, are you ready for the fun part?”

He stands up excitedly and pants as he follows her lead along the paths. This was his favorite part because he got to follow her to each bed and sniff the food that she picked. She grew things all year round, but honestly summer was her favorite season because of the food she grew. She knew you liked it too, and she fills an entire basket with kale and okra. She’s going to need to grab some more soon, but she stops to take a break when she gets another text message. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed and it’s nearly 11 when you text her.

I’ll be free for lunch, if you’re still interested?

Wanda considers this carefully as she looks around her garden. She still has a lot to do, but she supposes it can wait until tomorrow. She’d rather have lunch with you, and if she can bring you something that she’s made from the garden that will just be a bonus. She starts to text you before she has to scold Rogue for pawing at the basket she left at her feet. He knows that anything on the plant is off-limits, but once it’s in the basket or on the ground, he thinks of it as fair game.

“No, bud. You’ll get some later, okay?”

He only whines and lays his head on the ground before Wanda turns back to her phone. She smiles as she types out a response before getting to her feet. She’ll go find another basket and finish up with the tomatoes and green beans before leaving the rest for later.

I’ve been in the garden all morning, so I’ll bring lunch.

When you see this a little later you can’t help but be excited. You loved when your wife brought you lunch, but when it was something she made you knew it would be amazing. You text her back before returning to your last couple of appointments before lunch. You’re certain that your mind will be on food until your wife comes to visit, but luckily these last two appointments should be pretty straightforward.

Thanks, Wands. I’m already excited.

Once Wanda’s finished gathering the ingredients for lunch, she washes just what she’ll need before she puts it in the fridge for a few minutes as she jumps in the shower. She only does it so it will be out of Rogue’s reach, but she’d cut up a carrot for him and put it in his bowl, so hopefully that will keep him happy. She doesn’t wash her hair, but she makes sure to get rid of any dirt and sweat from her time outside before she gets ready to cook.

Rogue sits outside of the kitchen watching her carefully as she prepares a salad and a few things to go with it. Wanda has to shoo Fletcher away a couple of times, and when she bats at a carrot on the counter, she has to banish her to the living room. It’s 12 when Wanda finishes up packing everything for lunch, and she checks her appearance in the mirror briefly before she kisses her pets goodbye.

“I’ll be back soon, kids. Be good.”

She supposes she could take Rogue, but he’d spent a lot of time out in the sun this morning, and she wanted him to relax. She also didn’t want you to have to leave him alone anywhere in the office because he undoubtedly would complain. He could always hang out with Boone but that required their supervision and maybe they could save that for next time.

When lunchtime rolls around at school, Nat’s smiling as she meets Taylor, Luke, and Alyssa at their normal spot. She and Taylor had discussed their plan at length, and after getting everything set for phase one before the first bell Nat was near giddy in anticipation. Taylor had to remind her to tone it down or else she’d risk tipping someone off. The brunette knew her friend was a shit liar and would probably spill everything. She loved her for her inability to keep a straight face, but it would not help in this situation. She’d done a lot of things like this, which is why she had the necessary supplies in her locker already, and Taylor was used to just watching and waiting.

“You know, this is the first time that you’ve done something like this, isn’t it?”

Taylor was mostly musing to herself, but when she thinks about it a little more she can’t help but smile. Her friend has always been one to abide by the rules which is something she respected, but didn’t concern herself with nearly as much. She got in trouble more, but it was never for serious things. The worst had been when she’d been accused of fighting. Both of her moms had shown up, as well as the parents of the boy she’s smacked and they’d all had it out before it was decided that she acted in self-defense. Either way, Natalya had only ever gotten in trouble for forgetting an assignment, but nothing that was really noteworthy. If everything went according to plan, she also wouldn’t get in trouble for this, but they’d just have to see.

Surprisingly, Natalya just smiles widely before nodding in agreement. She was a little terrified, but also, she feels eager to see how this all plays out. It’s only the first step of several, but with her friends’ support and her newfound albeit tenuous confidence, she was going to get Stacy to leave her alone.

“It is! It might sound dumb, but I am really looking forward to this.”

The trio all shake their heads at the thought. They’re still a little surprised by how long Nat’s gone without putting her foot down or seeking help. They felt guilty for not stepping in earlier, or convincing her to do something, but they were making up for that now. They would have the brunette’s back, and they were also looking forward to what happened next.

Luke’s smiling the widest because he’s imagining how Stacy will react to what Taylor and Nat had done. She was always a bit of a drama queen, and he knew that he was going to flee and encourage Nat to do the same if it came down to it.

Alyssa had been against the idea because it seemed like they were asking for trouble. She knew that Nat was against going to anyone for help, but this was just going to cause a confrontation that she probably wasn’t ready for. If she was lucky, it wouldn’t involve her parents, but if she was particularly unlucky, she’d have Stacy’s there too. Still, she decided to keep her objections to herself because she really hadn’t seen Nat like this in a while. At the risk of losing their sleepover privileges this weekend, she was going through with this.

“When do you think she’ll go to her locker?”

It was almost as if Alyssa had summoned her by asking this, and the group sees an irate Stacy burst through the cafeteria doors at the bottom of the hill. They can hear the faint sound of muffled laughter as the door closes behind her and she immediately searches for them. Nat has to stifle her laughter at the sight of the blonde’s face. Her anger was less amusing than the fact that she was covered in silver and gold glitter.

She and Taylor had gone back and forth with the idea of a while before she’d decided to go for it. She hated glitter because it never went away, and she refused to open gifts that were wrapped in glitter paper if she didn’t get gloves. You found it ridiculous, but Wanda seemed to understand and avoided the decoration like the plague. She mostly realized how much of a pain it was to get out of the carpet, and she didn’t want to worry about it. The one year that Fletcher had been covered in it made her reluctant to cuddle with her until she got a bath which neither of them enjoyed.

“You little shit!”

Nat was already standing up to avoid getting any glitter on her, and her friends followed suit as the brunette started to back away.

“Hey, Stace, I love what you did with the…”

She gestures vaguely to the blonde’s face, but she continues to back away from the glitter that she did not want to get on her. She watches her friends back up as Stacy comes storming up the stairs leaving glitter in her wake. She starts to run at Nat and the brunette quickly turns tail and runs. She has a destination in mind and she hopes that she makes it there scot-free.

“Get back here, bitch!”

Wanda arrives to your work a little after noon with a bag of food to find you waiting at the front desk. You are talking with one of the receptionists, but as soon as you see her you trail off with a smile. You move forward to greet her with a kiss on the cheek before you look toward the bag curiously.

“Hey, Wands. Glad you could make it.”

Wanda just rolls her eyes before she’s kissing your cheek and grabbing your hand. She’s reaching out to hand you the bag so she can fix your hair that’s a little all over the place. She doesn’t have time to ask before you put an arm around her waist and lead her back toward your office. Wanda smiles as you attempt to explain your appearance, but she honestly doesn’t mind. She feels like she looks a little rough too.

“Follow me, my love. Yeah, sorry, I had a puppy in my hair earlier.”

Wanda doesn’t even have time to ask as she follows you up the stairs and past a few assistants that she just offers a smile. She visits a couple times a month probably. She is free to do it more often, but she doesn’t want to get in the way or disturb you while you work. She knows it’s important for you to have your time at work without her, and she wants you to have that. That said, sometimes when days are hard or you’re freer than usual, you’ll ask her to lunch like you did today.

“That’s adorable. You’ve had a good day so far?”

You hold the door to your office open for your wife before following her in with a nod. You shut the door behind you and quickly clear a spot on your desk for the bag of food that Wanda brought. You resist the urge to dig in immediately as you explain how most of your day had been very good so far. You were glad that Wanda was visiting too, and you move over to the small couch along the wall that you’d bought after Wanda mentioned that having a place to sit together would be nice. The first couple of times, Wanda had just sat in your lap or you’d borrowed a chair, but this was so much better. You hold your arms out for your wife and she obediently grabs the bag and sets in at the end of the couch before sitting beside you.

“It’s been great. Nobody’s been sick yet which is nice. What about you? Did Rogue behave while you worked?”

Wanda smiles at this as she nods and curls up beside you with a sigh. She’s glad to take the time to relax after being on her knees in the dirt for so long, and she stretches out before offering you a response. She doesn’t notice that you’re just smiling at her as she thinks about her dog that she left at home.

“He was very good. Only tried to eat out of my basket a couple of times.”

You laugh at this and the image of Rogue scrounging for food in the garden. Boone was banned from it for a while since he dug up nearly a whole row of carrots. You sit up when Wanda reaches for the bag she brought because she knows you’re hungry. You probably have been for most of the day. She takes out the first container that has your lunch and then a smaller one that contained dressing. You smile and accept it with a kiss and a thank you as you take a peek at what’s inside.

“Wow, this looks so good. Thank you.”

Wanda just nods as she takes out her own lunch which is basically the same as yours, but with chicken instead of salmon. You open the container and have to hold back a moan at how good the salad looked. You loved that your wife enjoyed growing food. It was your favorite thing, and you swore if you had the time and patience for it, you’d join her.

“Of course, detka.”

You two eat in silence for a minute and you hum happily as you spear another green bean through a leaf of kale. The excited noise you release as you realize you’ve snagged a tomato too makes Wanda smile widely at you. You’re so adorable she can’t stand it sometimes.

“So is everything else looking good?”

Wanda smiles at your predictable question, and she tells you about how the other vegetables are growing. You didn’t help much in the garden, that was Wanda’s thing, but sometimes when it was time to change crops you would pick up seeds or dirt for her. One time when the fence had been destroyed by something looking for easy food, you’d had to rebuild it, but beyond this you mostly just benefited from Wanda’s hard work.

“It’s all looking great. We’re going to make Nat a fan of cauliflower in no time.”

You laugh at this because despite your daughter liking a lot of different foods, this is the one vegetable that she couldn’t stand. She could tell if it was in a dish even in the smallest amounts and she wouldn’t eat it. It was almost a game to you sometimes. You were trying to get her to like one of your favorite vegetables by exposing her to it more, but so far, you’ve failed.

You’re still eating and plotting how to make this happen when Wanda’s mind wanders to the only other thing she had to do today. She’ll go home and finish in the garden before organizing the boxes in the basement to help Pietro out. She doesn’t worry about that now though because she wants to run something by you.

“How’s the rest of your day look, doc?”

You smile before shrugging and only glancing at your computer for a second. Your afternoon will be a little busier than this morning, but that’s fine you’ll be ready now that you’re well-fed and motivated by the fun appointment you get to see at the end of the day. You tell Wanda this and she smiles before setting her mostly finished lunch aside for a minute. She wants to ask your opinion on something, and she waits until you’re in between bites.

“What about you, Wands? Any plans?”

This is the perfect opening and Wanda nods before telling you her plan to have Pietro come over and remove hopefully all of the guns that they had down in the basement. You’re happy to hear this and you wonder what Pietro’s going to do with them. You and your friends didn’t go into details about how they were going to leave their mob lives behind. The general consensus though was that they would lay low and not walk around armed anymore once the dust settled and they seemed to be in the clear. You and Wanda had packed all of your guns away and you are pretty sure Steve and Bucky did too, but you couldn’t but sure about Nat and Yelena. That said, you and Wanda were the only ones who really had to hide your guns from anyone, namely Nat. Although she sometimes visited her relatives, she never stayed long enough to find any of the guns they might have lying around.

Wanda would make sure that these stayed locked up or at least out of reach of her daughter if she ever visited Pietro in the future.

“Now that it’s cleared out, I was thinking about doing something with it.”

This catches your attention, and after you finish chewing you shoot your wife a curious look that she only sees out of the corner of her eye as she looks down at her hands.

“What were you thinking?”

Wanda hadn’t really come up with anything yet. She thought that it could be a work out room, or a movie room, although that’s what the den was for, so she wanted to ask you if you had an opinion. Maybe it could be a game room, or another bedroom.

Wanda shrugs as she mentions her plans, or rather lack of plans, and you just nod before trying to think of something that could be done. The house had anything that any of you could need, and you’re not sure what would be worth doing.

“If the dogs handled stairs better, I’d suggest giving them a floor of their own. Confine the dog hair to one place.”

Wanda rolls her eyes at this because even if the dogs were younger and spryer, you would never try to keep them tucked away downstairs. Sure you would consider giving them extra space, but you wouldn’t want the door closed so they could come and go as they pleased. Still, Wanda imagines what this room would look like and she’s sure you would like it as much as the dogs.

“Maybe 5 years ago. We could have built them a pool.”

You freeze with your fork halfway to your mouth and Wanda frowns as she considers what she just said. You’re smiling by the time she looks at you and she can’t help but return it as she quickly wonders what all of this would involve.

“A pool?”

“A pool.”

Natalya curses as she turns down the hallway back toward the main office where the principal spent most of her time. She hadn’t been to the office except maybe once in her first year here, and she hopes it’s still in the same place. She doesn’t have time to think much about it before she hears Stacy at the end of the hall accompanied by her friends’ voices. Natalya barely waits after she knocks on the principal’s door before she’s opening it and apologizing. Her heart is thundering inside her chest from the run here and her nerves now that she’s arrived at her destination.

“Sorry, Ms. Lewis! I just had to tell you before she--.”

Natalya’s cut off and she mutters a curse in Sokovian under her breath as she’s tackled from behind. She puts her hands out to stop herself from falling on her face, but she still feels the carpet rub uncomfortably on her cheek as Stacy pins her down.

“You’re dead, Maximoff!”

“Ms. Jenkins!”

As Nat continues to struggle beneath the blonde, she hears new voices and she’s lifted off the ground slightly as someone tries to get Stacy off her. Nat’s trying not to think about the glitter that she sees falling on the carpet and her clothes. She squeezes her eyes shut as she waits to be freed from underneath the irate teen. She could get her off if she really wanted to, but she was trying to appear like the passive party, and it only took a few seconds for Luke and Taylor to yank Stacy off.

“Get off of me!”

“Chill, Stace. You’re getting glitter everywhere!”

Luke backed away from the copious amounts of glitter flying everywhere, and he’s almost out the door when their principal speaks up again. She’s a little bewildered by the sight in front of her. She wouldn’t have expected to have the daughter of the PTA president and quite possibly the quietest student in school in her office together, and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“Everyone sit down now! Explain to me what’s going on, please.”

Wanda’s back at home and in her garden again when her brother arrives. She’d taken Rogue back outside and with her sunhat, and his umbrella, they both got to work. Well, she did most of the work, but Rogue supervised her and sniffed every basket she laid nearby him.

The sound of a car coming up the road catches the shepherd’s attention, and Wanda hears the sound of a car door slamming. Rogue starts to get up to investigate, but Wanda shakes her head before telling him to stay put. She texts her brother that she’s in the garden, and less than a minute later, the older Maximoff is appearing from over the fence.

“Hey there, sestra. Looking good.”

Wanda rolls her eyes but says nothing as Rogue stands up as soon as Pietro walks through the gate. He sniffs him before huffing and turning back to his mom who had three baskets full of vegetables that she’s picked.

“I didn’t realize how late it was. I just have to finish this section, and then I can help you.”

Pietro shakes his head as she watches his sister cuts a few stalks of asparagus before tossing them in a basket. He’s always found his sister’s interest in gardening fascinating. He was mostly interested in the food, but he knew that his sister had it down to a science after all these years. He walks over to where one of the baskets is and glances at Rogue before he starts to pick it up.

“It’s fine. I can take these in and then meet you there?”

Wanda just nods before she finishes up and wipes her gloved hands on her already dirty pants. She’d changed again after getting back from lunch with you, and she would need another shower before she made dinner tonight. She watches Rogue follow her brother who’d grabbed two baskets before she collects her tools and goes to put them in the shed. She walks back into the garden as her brother’s returning and she hands him a basket before grabbing the last one and shutting the gate behind her.

“Thanks for coming by, Piet. This is definitely overdue.”

Pietro smiles at his sister’s visible relief at getting all, or at least most, of the guns out of her house. They’ve been in the basement for years and he knew that this was an important thing that kept his sister from being comfortable with guests. Sure there were other reasons, but the two dozen guns definitely stressed her out and would require an explanation if anyone stumbled upon them.

“Of course. I hope you know they’re just going in my basement.”

Wanda laughs at this as she follows him into the house. She takes off her shoes and shakes her head at the idea of them being so similar. She’s seen his basement and it’s more of a man cave, but there’s a huge vault down there as well behind the water heater that holds his guns and other illegal, valuable things. Wanda sets her hat down on a nearby table before she runs a hand through her hair and heads for the stairs.

“I’m going to get the key. I’ll be right back. I made some chicken earlier if you want some. It’s in the fridge.”

Pietro barely waits until his sister’s finished speaking before he’s searching for the leftovers from lunch. He’d eaten already, but he can always eat more and he’s on his second piece by the time Wanda reappears with some keys on a chain. In addition to the basement key, she has keys to several cars that she’s kept but not used often, in the safe. She knows she’ll probably have to part with them at some point because she pays more for the maintenance than she should, but she can’t help but be a little nostalgic.

“It’s six boxes, right?”

Wanda nods as she unlocks the door and flips on the light with a sigh. She hasn’t been in here in a while so she’s not surprised by how dusty it is and she hides a grimace before she starts to walk down the stairs.

“Yeah, did you bring the truck?”

Pietro nods even though she can’t see it but she figures that he wouldn’t bring his sportscar to move all this. She was a little surprised when he’d arrived at her house one day with a giant pickup. She had wanted to give him grief about it, but apparently, he’d gotten it to go camping with Natalya. They’d done it a couple of times and it was always a struggle to pack everything that Pietro wanted including a list of nearly 40 items. Natalya had been so young she could barely get in the truck without help and Wanda couldn’t help but imagine her daughter just disappearing under it.

One time you’d gone with them and brought the dogs and it was apparently a lot of fun. This is what Natalya claimed anyway, but you and Pietro were less vocal about your opinions to the point that Wanda had to ask you later what had happened.

Apparently the two of you had been surprised by a bear the last night and your two dogs had chased after it leaving you to chase after them. You haven’t gone camping since, but Pietro tried to take Little Nat out a couple times a year.

“It’s filthy down here, Wanda.”

Wanda just nods in agreement because she’s sure there are plenty of things living down here that she doesn’t want to know anything about. She knows she’s going to have to deal with it if she really wants to build a pool down here, but that’s a task for another day.

“I’d be surprised if it wasn’t, Piet. Let’s get these upstairs.”

It only takes a few minutes with the two of them working together before the boxes are stacked in the foyer ready to be taken outside. Wanda wanted to clean them off first, but Pietro argued that there was really no point. They were just going to another dusty house and she eventually acquiesced when she heard her phone ring as she stepped out of the house with their third box.

“Shit, I should get that sorry.”

Pietro sighed dramatically, but he lifted it just fine on his own and headed to the truck while Wanda went back inside. It stopped ringing as soon as she got there, but she only got to see the number of the caller before they were calling again.

It was Natalya’s school.

Wanda didn’t hesitate to answer and she completely ignored her brother as she listened to the woman on the other end of the line. Her jaw continues to drop with each thing this woman, her daughter’s principal says and she’s already looking for her keys when she’s told what is needed of her.

“Mrs. Maximoff, if you and your wife could come at dismissal for a meeting, I’m hoping we can resolve this issue.”

Wanda’s so stunned by what Natalya apparently did today at school that she can’t answer immediately. It’s not until she sees her brother shooting her a confused look that she gathers her wits and nods in understanding.

“Of course. We’ll – I’ll call her and we’ll both try to be there.”

Wanda honestly doesn’t hear the woman say anything in response before she just stares at her phone after the call’s ended. What the hell was going on?

Masterlist

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda x reader #post mob au #growing pains #natalya maximoff

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