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Nights were the worst for the Avengers. It was the time where the nightmares crept in, recounting the worst of everyone’s past; their fears, their hopelessness, their insecurities. It was especially rough for Wanda, who not only lived through her own worst moments, but also had the privilege of experiencing everyone else's fears whose minds she had infiltrated when she had followed Ultron.
Natasha knew this pain well. Wanda didn’t say much about it and was pretty cheerful during the days after getting to know everyone and meshing with the group, but her room was across from the Sokovian’s so she knew what she portrayed during the day did not last during the night. On multiple accounts, Natasha had either been awakened by the screams of the Sokovian or had already been awake, unable to sleep due to her own nightmares, and had heard the wimpers drifting across the hall.
After some time at the compound through practicing and general conversations, Natasha grew a soft spot for Wanda. Of course, she didn’t let onto it, but the woman had wormed her way into a special place in Natasha’s mind. With the increasing affection that had grown for the woman, it became harder to stand by and let her live through the trauma in her dreams. She never woke her, unsure of how Wanda would react, but she knew she wanted to do something and once the decision was made, she put it into action.
A little known fact to the team about Natasha was she loved to bake. She would do it in her downtime or when she became restless, the science behind it giving her a comforting structure to the time spent doing it. It also helped that she had a major sweet tooth and would thus be rewarded by sweet treats when finished with her efforts.
This would be the perfect way to alleviate her guilt for not being able to bring herself to go in and comfort the suffering Sokovian while also wasting the time until the sun rose and scared the nightmares away. Natasha decided she would make the girl Sokovian baked treats and leave them at her door to find in the morning. She told herself the reasoning behind leaving them at the door instead of giving them to her directly was due to her not wanting to embarrass her for knowing she had been suffering each night, but secretly she just wanted to make the girl happy and have her identity be a fun mystery for the girl to figure out on her own. She liked the idea of being Wanda’s little secret.
Stopping that train of thought before she let it get far enough to analyze the true sentiment behind it, Natasha began hunting down the ingredients for the chosen dish. She decided to go with krofne today. They were a Sokovian version for doughnuts and seemed like a good comfort food to start with. Natasha mixed the wet and dry ingredients together, stirring the yeasty dough by hand, preferring to use a spoon instead of an automatic mixer to avoid waking up the floor, but also to keep her mind and body occupied with the task.
Once everything was incorporated, Nasasha put spoonfuls of the dough in an already heated pan with oil, frying the dough into perfect fluffy balls, finishing them off with powdered sugar. Natasha seemed happy with the completed job, taking a bite of one of the krofne before cleaning the dishes she had used. After all, a chef always has to taste their food before serving it. Satisfied with the way the goods turned out and putting away the now clean dishes, Natasha grabbed the plate of goods and set them in front of Wanda’s door. She contemplated writing a note to go with it, but decided she would leave it up to Wanda to figure out where they came from, not wanting to risk giving away who had made them so early on.
It was currently 5 in the morning. Natasha knew Wanda got up around 6, so she had plenty of time to slip in and out of her room to change into running clothes and go on a jog while the woman woke up. She wanted to act normal so as not to hint anything to the woman about who left the goods. With a smirk at her new plan, Natasha left her room and went to the exit of the compound to begin her jog.
---
Wanda awoke from another night of plagued dreams. It was a common occurrence, but it jarred her so much each morning when she woke up that she had to take a few moments to bring herself back to the present. She looked around the room in an attempt to ground herself.
“Guitar Tony gave me to apologize for the mess he caused, okay,” she continued scanning the room.
“Box set of Full House, tv, remote,” she continued naming things around the room until she finally felt calm enough to begin the day, memories from the night fading as the sun shone through the windows.
Wanda got dressed in clothes for sparring and opened the door to head down to the gym before stopping when she noticed a plate blocking her path. She picked up the still warm plate and glanced at the food sitting atop it. Krofne. These were Sokovian treats she had eaten as a kid. Her eyes filled with tears remembering the times she had shared the sugary goods with Pietro, her mother bringing them home as a treat on special occasions.
Wanda glanced around the plate and floor, looking for a note or something to identify who had left the goods for her, but she came up short. She walked the plate over to her desk before sitting down and delving into them, savoring each bite that brought her back to a care-free time in her life. She figured Steve could wait for her to get to the gym as she divulged in the food. This was too good to pass up.
Wanda started to head down to the gym once she had her fair share of the treats. She was lost in memories, a gentle smile on her face as she headed down the hallway to the elevator. Not paying attention to where she was going, she crashed into a figure headed in the opposite direction and fell to the floor.
She glanced up at the figure who managed to stay upright after running into them, noticing it was Natasha, which caused her cheeks to go red. She looked up to Natasha since she joined the team, maybe even before once she saw everything the red-head had been through in her memories. The admiration of her skills and determination later turned into pining which Wanda did her best to tamper down, figuring Natasha wouldn’t date another team member, or anyone for that matter, too busy focusing on her tasks at hand than to have time for someone else. That didn’t stop her from becoming flustered around the woman whenever she was around.
“Shit, sorry Nat. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” She said rapidly.
Natasha laughed, holding a hand out for Wanda to grab onto in order to get up. “Don’t worry about it, little witch.”
With the help of Natasha, Wanda finally stood up, facing the Russian while trying to hold back a blush at the situation.
“I was just heading to the gym to meet with Steve,” she said, not knowing where to take the conversation, but not wanting it to end.
“Oh? Maybe I’ll join you for a challenge. Steve can be a little too soft on people who aren’t enhanced in the way he is.”
Wanda’s face lit up. “I’d like that.”
“Alright, decision made then.”
The two headed to the elevator together, spending the ride in silence. Wanda felt Natasha’s eyes on her during the ride and couldn’t stand the silence for much longer before turning to the woman and asking what she was looking at.
Natasha chuckled, walking closer to Wanda. “You got a little something on your face,” she said, wetting her finger between her lips before wiping it against the corner of Wanda’s mouth. She licked the finger clean before smiling.
“Powdered sugar, yum.”
Wanda’s brain couldn’t seem to form any coherent thoughts at the display that just happened in front of her. Thankfully, she didn’t have to suffer long because the elevator pinged their arrival to the bottom floor. Wanda walked out of the elevator quickly, leaving a smirking Natasha behind her to follow.
--
Wanda was beat from sparring with Natasha. She felt sore in places she didn’t even know could be sore. The two hadn’t sparred often but when they did, Wanda was always left battered and bruised, but also with a bit more knowledge on how to do certain moves better than she had before.
Wanda had just finished dinner with the team that was currently residing in the compound and was now sitting in the common area before turning in for the night. She was having a pleasant conversation with Sam about which decade of sitcom was the best, her rooting for the 80’s and Sam adamant about the 2000’s. Her mind had a hard time focusing on the conversation at hand though, wandering over to the goods left at her door this morning.
“Yoohoo, little red. Earth to Wanda,” Sam’s voice broke though her reverie.
“Sorry, my mind was drifting.”
“Penny for your thoughts?” He asked.
Wanda smiled, thinking back on the morning surprise. “I woke up this morning to a plate of food at my door. It was Sokovian food, which was really special, but the person that made them didn’t leave a note or a reason behind it.”
“Oooho sounds like someone has a secret admirer!” Sam announced loudly enough for the rest of the team in the room to look over at the two.
“Oh no, I’m sure that’s not it,” Wanda said, cheeks reddening under the curious gaze of the team.
“Someone left our girl here some special treat at her door this morning without a note!” Sam filled in for the team who now had turned in to hear the story.
“Definitely an admirer,” Tony said, a glass of whisky raised in his hand.
“I will say, it does sound like that,” Steve added, giving Wanda a warm smile.
“But I know all of you. Wouldn’t the person who did it just tell me they liked me straight out if that were the case?” Wanda asked, trying to rationalize it.
“Maybe they are unsure of how to put it into words or perhaps they would like to court you first instead,” Vision said from his position in front of the chess board, currently in the middle of a solo game against himself.
“Somebody liiikes you,” Sam teased, poking Wanda in the shoulder.
Wanda's face grew red from the attention, mind warming to the idea that she really could have an admirer.
“Okay, well now we need to find out who it is,” Tony said eagerly.
“Oh hell yes. I bet it’s Bruce. He seems like the quiet but romantic type,” Sam said.
Natasha stood up from her chair abruptly. “Knock it off, guys. She clearly doesn’t want to talk about it,” She said, hand gesturing to Wanda’s still red face, which grew even redder at the attention from the Russian.
Still a little afraid of the intimidating Russian to push the matter further, Sam spoke up, “Yeah, yeah, we’ll stop...for now.”
Natasha muttered something about men being insufferable before stalking off to her room.
“You think it was the mention of Bruce that got her panties in a twist?” Tony spoke up.
Steve shook his head. “Just let it go. She’s right, we shouldn’t pester Wanda into talking about something she doesn’t want to address.”
Wanda sent him a thankful smile before announcing she was heading to bed. She was happy for the time she got to spend with the team, truly, but sometimes they could be a little unbearable. They all had good intentions, but at times it was just a bit too much to handle.
She sighed before changing into a t-shirt and shorts for bed, hoping to get a restful night of sleep tonight instead of being plagued by nightmares. With that thought, she drifted off to sleep.
--
It was another night where Natasha couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw glimpses of her past, flashes of red growing before her. She jerked the sheets off of her before sitting up and hugging her knees, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. She stayed in that position before hearing shouts of, “Get off her! No!” from across the hall.
Natasha winced, not wanting to know what was going through the girl’s mind to elicit that response from her. She slid off her bed and headed to the kitchen, deciding to make the girl another treat to wake up to in the morning. It certainly sounded like she needed it. She decided to go with a torte cokolada this time, a rich cake with layers of nuts thrown in. Cake sounded like something the girl would need after going through whatever she was experiencing.
Natasha whipped the ingredients together and finished finely decorating the torte as the sun began to peak over the trees. She was a bit later than yesterday with the treat, but she still had some time left before Wanda woke up. She placed the treat down in front of the girl’s door, staring at it for a bit before quickly going back in her room to scribble something down and left it next to the cake.
Wanda opened her door just as Natasha’s shut. She raised an eyebrow at it, but all was forgotten when she saw the Sokovian good in front of her. She glanced down and saw a piece of paper sitting next to the plate this time. She eagerly grasped it and opened it. The note read “for the nightmares-your alleged secret admirer.”
Wanda smiled, holding the note to her chest before Natasha’s door opened in front of her.
“Hey, what have you got there?” She asked, glancing at Wanda.
“You didn’t see it when you walked in earlier? I heard your door shut a minute ago.”
Natasha held back from reacting at almost being caught, quickly coming up with an excuse.
“Oh, no, not the cake. I saw that. I meant the paper in your hands.”
Wanda’s cheeks reddened, thinking of the note still clutched in her hands. “Oh, this, it’s just a note from the person that made it.”
“And it says?” Natasha pried, not letting on to the fact that she knew exactly what it said.
Wanda let out a nervous cough, clearing her throat before reading the note to the woman in front of her-the woman she very much wished to be the person who had left the note.
Natasha let out a small chuckle. “Sounds a little cheesy to me, but it’s cute, little witch. Any idea who it could be?”
Wanda shook her head. “No, but I do have a hope,” she said leaning over to pick up the cake still sitting on the ground.
Natasha’s eyebrows raised. “Well, I hope it’s whoever you are wishing for as well,” she said, leaving the doorway and walking down the hall before shouting, “Enjoy the cake! Looks good.”
Wanda sighed, wanting desperately for the note and cake to be from Natasha, but growing doubtful after her convincing reaction to it. She placed the cake down on her desk before indulging in a piece. It was delectable. The torte was usually only eaten at certain holidays like Easter and Christmas so it was a rare gift to be able to indulge on a normal day. Wanda smiled, knowing despite the fact that it may not be Natasha giving her these treats, at least the person had been thoughtful enough to make something to remind her of her home life.
---
The days passed by much the same. Some days Wanda would receive a Sokovian good, some days she would just receive a note. Neither would give any indication about the person leaving the treats for her. She was absolutely clueless as to who the person could be which made Natasha even happier, seeing the girl’s delight when talking about each new treat made by the mystery person.
Wanda kept the notes given to her in a pile on her desk to read over before going to bed each night. Each note gave little indication as to who left it, but she was beginning to like the mystery of it more and more. The notes read, “For the nightmares,” the original note, “Something almost as sweet as you,” “A Sokovian treat for my favorite Sokovian treat,” and, “A sweet treat for sweet dreams.” Wanda thought they were very cheesy, but she loved them all the same.
Natasha had a lot of fun with making the goods and writing the cryptic notes for Wanda. She loved seeing how flustered it made the girl when someone brought it up, her secret admirer now becoming the big talk of the compound, people placing bets on who it was. Natasha rolled her eyes at the teams’ antics and smiled to herself while making Wanda’s latest treat, bundevara, a treat of thin pastry filled with pumpkin, spices, and other goods before being finished off with powdered sugar.
As always, she took one pastry for herself, doing her own quality check and indulging in the sweet. The treat took a bit longer than her original calculations to make, so the sun had risen for a while before she got to head down the hallway and place the goods by Wanda’s door. She thought nothing of it though, as she had done this multiple times before and after all, she was a highly trained spy.
She leaned over to place the goods at the door before seeing the door in front of her open wide. Her glance slid from the feet in front of her up to the surprised but amused face looking back at her.
“So it was you?” Wanda asked, smile growing wide.
“Uh, maybe?” Natasha said, not knowing what to say after being caught red handed.
Wanda walked forward, grabbing the plate from Natasha’s hands and placing it on her desk.
“You got a little something...” she trailed off.
She repeated Natasha’s actions from the elevator ride that felt like ages ago, wetting a finger with her tongue and wiping across Natasha’s face near her mouth before taking the finger again.
“Hm, powdered sugar.”
Natasha smirked. “Well, you got me.”
“I was hoping it would be you,” Wanda said, closing the distance between them and kissing the woman in front of her gently.