The week had been long, sleep was not a comfort that they were able to indulge in very often, catching a few hours here and there whilst they helped the ones in need caused by their destruction. It was the least that they could do.

Though the team did feel a bit short-staffed, Banner was missing, Clint had gone back to his home for retirement, and Tony was doing more things on the admin side. So, the three women of the team plus Steve and Vision had their hands very full. But it was soon over, and they could return to the tower to recharge their batteries.

Eleanor was glad to be having a rest, but she felt guilt. She didn't feel like it was well-earned, it wasn't as though they saved the world from an external threat. It was a threat made from within the Avengers, how is that rest well-earned if they were saving the world from themselves?

Regardless, she did need it. They all did. Wanda was particularly nervous about going back to the Tower. She was still unsure about being an Avenger, especially due to the destruction of her home country. But she had nowhere else to go and knew no one else in the country. Natasha and Eleanor made her feel safe when everything else in her life was falling apart, and as she wouldn't have as much work to throw herself into, she knew that she would struggle without Pietro. Tagging along with the both of them made sense to her.

Tony had informed them that he was in the midst of making an 'Avengers Compound' that would be completed within a few weeks. He was worried about the team's safety with the numbers growing with new recruits and the fact that he wouldn't be around as he was going to retire as well. A giant tower in the middle of New York wasn't exactly the safest place to stay hidden away, so upstate New York in a hidden compound was the decision that was made for them.

Eleanor and Natasha were both a bit sad to be moving again, it was a similar feeling to when they had to move out of the Triskelion and their D.C. apartment. A new era when they weren't quite ready to move on from the old one. But it was understood that it was for their safety, so they were more than happy to comply.

In the meantime, they were to stay at the Tower until the construction was done. As it was only a few weeks, Eleanor and Nat insisted that Wanda use the spare room that was within their apartment area. The spare apartments were eerily empty, which would not feel welcoming for a new person who was mourning a family member, and it meant that they would be able to keep an eye on her without forcing their way into her bubble. They would move at her pace, and her pace only.

---

"What are you doing?", Natasha faced a frantic Eleanor in the kitchen who was trying to balance four dishes in her arms filled with various lunch items. Toasties, fruit salad, noodles, and some omelettes with different fillings.

Eleanor spun on her heels to face her wife before realising her mistake as the plates began wobbling, causing her to quickly try and get her balance again. "Do you think this is enough?".

"If you're trying to feed a tribe, yes", Nat laughed, "Why do you have so much?".

She slowly moved out of the kitchen and towards the spare room where Wanda was residing whilst Nat followed, "Wanda hasn't come out to eat for about a day and a half now, and I don't know what foods she likes, so is this enough of a selection to choose from?". Eleanor looked genuinely worried that her efforts weren't enough, which Nat found amusing but also very sweet.

Smiling softly, she replied, "It's more than enough детка".

"Thank you, this is why you're my favourite wife", Eleanor grinned, an amused sparkle present in her eyes.

Natasha's smile immediately dropped as she spoke in a low register, "I'm your only wife".

"That you know of", she walked away to Wanda's room after sending a wink in Nat's direction.

Natasha stood idly as she watched her walk away before she turned around and rolled her eyes, "Сука".

---

Wanda sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed staring into space whilst clutching a cushion to her chest. It was how she had been for most of her time in the Tower. She appreciated being given a place to stay and not being left alone, but she couldn't bring herself to go out and interact with anyone, and she had been forgetting the basic necessities such as eating.

So, when she heard some raps on the door, her whole body tensed at the new stimulation. "Hey, sorry to disturb you, I just want to make sure that you're eating". Wanda relaxed at hearing Eleanor's muffled voice through the door, but couldn't bring herself to use her voice to respond.

After a few moments of silence Eleanor assumed that Wanda wasn't going to answer, so let out a small sigh and was about to place the dishes on the floor so that Wanda could get them when she was ready to. But she was pleasantly surprised with seeing the glow of red tendrils near the handle, allowing the door to move open slowly.

Even though Wanda hadn't outwardly shown any emotion since getting to the tower, she couldn't help but give a small smile at seeing the balancing act happening for her benefit. Eleanor cleared her throat and cautiously stepped through, "I didn't know what foods you liked so I may have brought over the entire kitchen".

"Thank you", Wanda nodded with a croaky voice, making it clear that she hadn't used it for a while. "Do you... do you want to sit?", she pointed to the space to her, which Eleanor gladly accepted. After placing the different foods on the bed, she carefully placed herself next to Wanda, also sitting cross-legged.

"Please eat", she said in almost a whisper at seeing Wanda avoiding looking at the various foods, and her heart broke when Wanda turned to face her as she pushed back tears.

"Okay. I don't know what to have though".

Eleanor gave a half-smile as she looked at the food, it was a bit much. "Maybe the toastie? It's got some carbs and protein, very healthy if you ignore the butter". Wanda chuckled and picked up the sandwich before hesitantly taking a bite.

The two sat in silence whilst Wanda ate half of it before eyeing it guiltily. "You don't have to eat all of it", Eleanor spoke in understanding, and again the two were in silence.

It took another ten minutes before Wanda made any more attempts at showing that she knew Eleanor was sitting next to her. She turned her head slightly whilst playing with her rings and watched Eleanor closely, causing the slightly older woman to look at her. "Have you ever lost anyone?". She had a feeling that she had due to seeing glimpses of the nightmares that she had caused but didn't want Eleanor to know that she had seen the inner workings of her mind.

"Uh... yeah, my parents during different parts of my childhood, some close friends in the field, a father figure at work", she pursed her lips and looked down at her hands. Thinking about those that were lost is always hard.

"How- how do you move past it?", Wanda spoke with a broken voice, desperate for something to ease the feeling of drowning.

"I don't think you can really, not 100% anyway", Eleanor's lips tugged down as she frowned, before looking up at Wanda with a more reassuring look on her face, "But it gets easier, it really does".

"I don't know how to make it feel easier", she dryly chuckled with sad eyes, "So how did you get into the easier stage, you seem happy with Natasha but I just don't ever see myself reaching that point".

Eleanor shot her a sympathetic look before smiling at the mention of Natasha, even just her name could make her feel better in any situation. "In all honesty, she's part of the reason. She helps me forget. You have to give yourself time and lean on your support system, you can lean on us, Wanda. Any of us".

The younger woman nodded in thought before looking away. But snapped her head back to Eleanor when it looked like she was about to get up. "He liked you, you know? Said you seemed cool, 'the only one who didn't seem like a dick'", Wanda gave a gentle smile.

"Yeah, the others are pretty dickish", Eleanor laughed as she eased herself back onto the bed, causing Wanda's eyes to go wide with a small smile.

"What, even your wife?".

"Ohh, especially my wife", she smirked, but then her face dropped as she whipped her head around to face the door, "Don't tell her I said that", she turned back to Wanda who let out a loud chuckle.

"Your secret is safe with me". Eleanor nodded as they went back into a comfy silence which brought both of them to look back on what happened in Sokovia.

"I thought he was cool too".

Wanda once again looked at her curiously, "He made a reference to you two speeding around the city, I want to know more about his... last moments. What was he talking about?", she let out a shaky breath while waiting for a response.

Eleanor frowned slightly, but Wanda was making sense. She wanted to know if he had been happy on his last day, or if he had died in a battle that had been sucking the life out of him. "Well, it was just after you had left us after Nat had a stick up her arse about your jacket", they both smirked slightly.

"He came zooming up to us holding a robot hand of all things. Told us we were being way too slow, so I shouted after him when he tried to run, thinking he wouldn't hear me. Buuuuut he did, and ran back asking if I wanted a ride, which I obviously said no to".

Wanda nodded, "Yeah, it takes a while to get used to".

"You're telling me! He dragged me along behind him like a ragdoll because 'my wife wouldn't have been happy if he picked me up'. I thought I was going to throw up".

"Wait, he didn't pick you up?", the brunette began laughing, hard.

Eleanor shook her head and smiled, "No, he did not, and he thought it was the funniest thing in the world when I almost collapsed, I'm glad you do too".

The pair shared a moment of laughter before it went quiet again. Eleanor began to tap her fingers against her leg feeling the anxious energy that had now spread across the room.

"So he... he had some laughs then throughout?". Eleanor nodded in confirmation and placed a firm hand on Wanda's shoulder. "Thank you", Wanda let a tear slip before pawing it away swiftly with the palm of her hand.

"Not a problem", Eleanor shook her head. "You should come and eat dinner with me and Nat today, I'm gonna do some chicken skewers and a side salad so it's nothing too heavy". She was conscious of the fact that with Wanda understandably not feeling her best she would probably not want a meal that would leave her feeling stuffed.

"Are you sure I won't be imposing?".

"Oh no, you won't be at all, Nat's already been talking about how to incorporate your powers into training when we go to the new compound. You're one of us Wanda, you'll never be imposing".

Wanda gave a shy smile at the thoughtfulness and nodded stating that she would show up to dinner. It would take her a while to bounce back, but it was a step in the right direction.

---

"I'm glad she got out of her room for a while", Nat smiled down at Eleanor as she propped herself up on her elbow on their bed to look at her.

Eleanor leaned into her wife's touch when she began to tuck stray hair behind her ear, "Yeah, I was proud of her for making that step".

Nat hummed in agreement and leaned down, "Didn't hurt that the food was good too", she muttered into Eleanor's neck before peppering light kisses from her neck and up to her jaw, her hair tickling in the process.

"Thank you", Eleanor giggled from the sensation and felt Nat smile against her skin before she stopped to lay herself down and bring Eleanor into her hold.

Nat mumbled, "You're welcome", as she started running her fingers through Eleanor's hair, detangling any small knots that the pillow had caused. "How do you feel about the move?".

Eleanor hesitated slightly as she tried to think how to put what she felt into words. Natasha felt this and so gave her a quick squeeze of reassurance. "I'm gonna miss this place, we made it feel like home, but I know we'll be okay, we have been before. It's gonna be weird going back to living in a place that's also riddled with Agents again but I'm sure we can re-adapt to that lifestyle, especially because Tony said there is an Avengers-only area, right?".

Nat hummed in confirmation at the question, "Yeah, we'll be fine. You're my home anyway, doesn't matter where we are". Eleanor felt herself melt even more into Nat's hold if that was even possible.

"I love you".