Darkened Shadows

Chapter 7

Wanda broke the silence.

"Nat, that was beautiful. That was quite unexpected."

She turned back to her closet, "Yeah, well, don't expect anymore sappy shit. That's all you're getting from me for the foreseeable future."

I turned to look at the Sokovian sitting crossed-legged in the chair. She just shrugged before gesturing to Natasha. I nodded slightly, and then walked over to the woman who was buried in a sea of dark clothing. I had never seen so many clothes or colors before. There were a couple pieces that stuck out here and there for being drastically different from the others, but I didn't like those very much.

Nat emerged with a dark blue button up and a black tank top that didn't seem to have a backside.

"Alright," she held up the blue shirt. "This is a flannel, it's warm and I stole it from Steve. It's going to be absolutely massive on you, but that's the best kind of flannel to own. We'll cut slits in the back so you can slip your wings through it."

"But-"

"Don't worry about Steve. If he tries to say shit, I'll just mention how he ruined one of my bras when it was his turn to do the laundry because he doesn't know shit about women."

Wanda chuckled from across the room.

Next she held up the black shirt.

"This is a halter top. This is going to be your new best friend. No altering necessary. They come with either low backs or ties in the back, like this one, so they're perfect for your wings. We'll get you more eventually, but for now we'll just use whatever I have in my closet.

I just nodded and went with the decisions she was making for me. In all honesty, I didn't care what she gave me to wear, I'd wear anything besides my Hydra clothing at this point. She had also given me a pair of black leggings that she raved about because they had pockets on either leg.

Before helping me get changed, Natasha had made it blatantly clear that there was no way that she was going to let me wear her, or Steve's, clothes without being clean. She led me into her bathroom and told me to take a shower. When I told her that I had never taken one before, she was baffled.

"How the fuck did you clean yourself then? You don't look like you've got eighteen years of grime on you."

"Well, every week or so, they would take me into this room and spray me with some disinfectant and then blast me with cold, high-pressure water for about ten minutes."

She was pissed at that discovery.

The next fifteen minutes were spent being taught how to use a shower and Natasha texting Bruce to find out if my wings were okay to get wet. His advice was to wash them very gently with mild soap and to let them air dry afterwards. Once they were dry, he also said that he would set the splints again. Yay.

Once she was certain that I knew what to do, she left me to strip down and clean myself up.

"Holler when you need help with your wings. Wanda and I will come in and do one each to get it done faster."

With that, I was alone for the first time since arriving at the Avengers' compound.

Slowly, I removed my ruined shirt and cotton shorts and then just stared at myself in the mirror. I was thin and dirty, covered in scars and burns. Gathering myself, I then removed my underwear, remembering how Mason had-

"No, I will not think about that."

A knock at the door.

"You alright in there? I don't hear the water running, did you forget how to work it already?"

I shook the last remnants of the memory away before answering.

"Yeah, I'm alright, sorry."

A sound of acknowledgement and footsteps told me I was alone again. I tore myself away from the mirror and started up the water. Twenty minutes later. I called in the two women to help me clean my mangled wings. I faced the wall as they gently scrubbed and cleaned the entirety of each wing.

It took another hour to get my wings clean. Once that was done, Natasha gave me the set of clothes and let me get dressed. I put my head through the loop in the shirt and tied the fabric behind my back and under my wings. Nat had also given me some underwear that she had called 'boy shorts' and then told me that when I was fully healed and when the other Avengers trusted me, we would go get my own clothes.

The leggings were super comfy. I liked being able to cover all of my legs, well, most of my legs. I was a couple inches taller than Natasha. I once again looked at myself in the mirror, and almost smiled. I looked leagues better than I did before the shower.

I walked out of the bathroom and back into Natasha's room. She and Wanda were sitting on her bed watching people on the screen.

"God, Abby Lee is such a raging bitch."

"I want to look in her mind just to see why she thinks she has the right to treat those little girls the way that she does."

I cleared my throat to alert them of my presence in the room. They both turned to me before Wanda turned the screen off and they made their way over to me.

"Here, I'll help you with the flannel. Until your wings are healed, it'll be a bitch to do by yourself."

With some struggle and cries of pain, my damp wings had been put through the shirt. I was starting to feel really comfortable around these women, despite the fact the shorter one had invaded my mind this very morning.

"Alright, now that you're dressed, the others have been texting me asking about you for the past hour."

Wanda was glancing at her phone as she continued, "they want us to come to the kitchen so we can question you," there was a ding, "oh, and dinner is ready."