Wanda opened the car door, jumping out. She had decided that she liked riding in it. She almost never got to in Sokovia. She and Pietro rarely left the orphanage, and when they did, they walked. Or raced. Pietro always won, obviously.

She felt a pang in her heart when she thought of her brother. She missed him so much. She wished that he was here with her. She looked up at the huge building, her mouth slightly agape. She shook her head, running to catch up with Steve and Bucky. They were such a nice couple, she was so grateful that they took her in.

Pietro and herself always had little hope of adoption. They ran away from the orphanage a lot. Next to no one wanted twins. And when they turned thirteen they gave up hope all together. Nobody wanted a teenager; much less twin ones. Especially brother and sister.

At first, the twins thought that they had a decent chance of adoption. After all, people looking to adopt two kids usually wanted a boy and a girl. But that turned out not to be the case with twins, at least in their orphanage. If people wanted twins, they wanted IDENTICAL twins. They probably had the most visual appeal. So the Maximoffs quickly gave up.

But, three months after their thirteenth birthday, a couple called. They were interested in adopting teenaged brother and sister duos. They twins weren't the orphanage's first thought. But their pictures and names were sent to the couple among other kids'. The couple took the most interest in the Maximoffs.

They had a few Skype conversations and the couple decided to adopt them. The twins were overjoyed. They were finally gonna get a home! They didn't care that Steve and Bucky were both men. It didn't matter. They'd have a family, who cared what it looked like, or what anyone thought if they were happy?

Then Pietro died three weeks before Bucky and Steve came. Wanda could still remember trying to run away after seeing her brother shot to death, but being grabbed and pinned down.

"Wanda Marya Maximoff! Are you ok?!" She heard Steve ask, breaking her thoughts.

She bowed her head, blushing. She hadn't meant to worry them. They'd clearly been trying to get her attention. "Yeah I'm fine. Just lost in thought."

Her parents exchanged unbelieving glances, but said nothing.

Wanda lifted her hands to rub her face. When she did, she felt wetness on her cheekbones. She'd been crying and hadn't realized it. No wonder Steve and Bucky were worried.

"I'm fine, I promise. Was just thinking about my brother."

Bucky reached out and squeezed her hand. "It's ok, Wandie."

Wanda smiled. Wandie was a mildly weird nickname, she got funny looks when she was called that. But Wandie was what Pietro has called her when they were babies, and it stuck.

They had arrived at the doors. Bucky gestured to a big silver button with the handicap symbol on it. "Go push that," He whispered into her ear.

She was confused, but did what she was told. She grinned ear to ear when the door opened by itself. Steve and Bucky laughed at her childlike reaction, but that's why Bucky had told her in the first place. They didn't know how often she had seen doors like that. (Random fact about me, the author. My siblings and I used to fight over who got to push that button. Was that just us, or did other people do that too?)

They walked into the building, and Steve started to explain the schedule. It was 10 o'clock right now. They would get some clothes and shoes and just kind of explore for a while. Then at 12, Natasha and Pepper, accompanied by little Morgan- Wanda had to be reminded as to who the last two were- would meet them for lunch. Then the women would take Wanda out to shop for underclothes, makeup, and the like.

Wanda was anxious about meeting these new people. Especially the Starks. But if Steve and Bucky trusted them, she was willing to give them a shot. They stopped at Starbucks- Bucky tried to make excuses for his obvious caffeine addiction- but Wanda didn't mind.

"Same thing as yesterday?" Steve asked her.

Wanda nodded.

"You allergic to anything?" Bucky asked.

"Not really. Just some herbs."

"Good to know."

Wanda turned her attention to the book she brought with her. It was her favorite that she had brought with her from Sokovia. She sat down at a small table that was somehow empty until Steve told her it was time to leave. She put her book into her worn backpack. She took the drink from Steve.

Bucky held out a pink lollipop looking thing. "Cake pop." Was the only explanation he provided.

She carefully bit it. It was really good. She grinned. They headed on their way to a clothing store. Wanda finished her snack, sipping it down with her drink.

Wanda looked at clothes as she was instructed to. She found a few dresses that she liked, and Bucky said she could get them if she wanted them. She said yes. Steve suggested that she pick out a few pairs of pants, something she wrinkled her nose at. She preferred dresses over pants any day.

Steve and Bucky laughed at her reaction. It was cute. She looked exactly like Morgan Stark did when her dad suggested that she might would prefer the Rapunzel costume over the Ariel one. A look of disgust that said for itself, "Are you crazy?!"

"Or not," Steve chuckled. "Dress however you want, sweetheart. Though you should try some shirts and skirts."

Wanda nodded, and went to find some, returning with three more outfits. They paid for all of the items, before heading to a shoe store. The main reason for this was that Bucky and Steve had noticed that she only had one pair of shoes. An old pair of obviously old, ill-fitting pair of converse that used to be white. They doubted that they were originally hers.

Once they were in the store, Wanda sat down on a bench.

"Do you know your shoe size?" Steve asked.

Wanda shook her head.

Bucky made her take her shoes off. Steve grabbed a weird looking metal thing. Wanda quickly figured out that it's purpose was to measure her foot. Steve measured her foot. "She's a size seven and a half or an eight. I would have thought that they'd be a little bigger than that. But, whatever. Let's find you a pair of shoes, Wanda."

Wanda nodded, getting to her feet.

"So," Bucky said. "You'll need some causal shoes, like flip flops or crocs. And some sneakers or tennis shoes, and you'll need some formal shoes."

Wanda looked at him, her eyes wide. "Why would I need three pairs of shoes?!"

"Because you do. There are different places were you have to wear different things."

"Why don't I just keep mine? Then you only have to buy two pairs!"

"Because your shoes are falling apart, kid," Steve told her.

Wanda looked down at them. "They're not that bad."

"Yes, they are," Bucky informed her. "They've gotta be hand me downs."

"And they're two sizes to small. And you've got bandaids and blisters all over your feet. Honey, you need new ones," Steve added.

"Ok," Wanda grumbled.

"C'mon, let's go pick out some."

Wanda settled on a pair of shoes that were identical to her old ones, just new. Her parents didn't object. She selected a pair of black crocs at her dads' urging. Then she picked black slip ons that would match the red formal dress that she had picked earlier. They also grabbed some socks.

As they were headed to the counter to pay, Wanda's eyes caught a pair of black combat boots. Steve noticed her looking at them sadly, and found a pair in her size. He grabbed the box and set it on the counter. Wanda looked confused about the fourth box, but he said that they were a gift for someone. She seemed satisfied with the answer.

Bucky asked if the cashier if she could take the tags off the converse so Wanda go ahead and wear them. She smiled and nodded, handing the shoes to Wanda when she was done.

She put on a new pair of socks before slipping on the shoes. They were more comfortable than her old ones, she had to admit that.

"C'mon," Steve said, glancing at his watch. "Time to head to the food court."

Wanda reluctantly followed them. She knew that she was soon going to be left alone with Steve's and Bucky's friends, and she was nervous. She sat at a table Next to Steve. Bucky walked off, returning a few minutes later with pizza and sodas. He handed out the slices.

Wanda took a small bite of her cheese slice, her stomach churning anxiously. It was slightly too greasy for her liking, and she patted it with a napkin. She took another bite, but didn't try again. It had triggered her gag reflex. Not because it was gross. It was actually some of the best pizza she'd ever had. But she was too nervous to eat.

She accidentally knocked her napkin to the ground. She sighed, leaning down. When she looked up, she took the panicked appearance of a deer in the headlights.

The strawberry blonde chuckled. "We won't bite."

"No bite! Biting is mean!" The toddler in her arms said matter-of-factly.

"That's right, Morgan!" The woman praised. She turned to Wanda. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. I'm Pepper Stark. You must be Wanda." She stuck out her hand. Wanda awkwardly shook it, giving her a slight nod of confirmation.

Natasha stayed silent, taking a seat next to Bucky.

"Hi! I'm Morgan!" The toddler grinned, introducing herself. "I'm this many!" She held up two fingers.

Wanda smiled. She had to admit, that was adorable. She always had a soft spot for kids. Which was good, because she was on babysitting duty a lot at the orphanage. "Wow! You're so big!"

Morgan grinned, giggling. She stretched her arms out to Wanda, who took her. Pepper set down Morgan's lunch on the table. The toddler giggled and took a bite of her chicken nugget.

Twenty minutes later, Steve was gently shoving her towards Natasha. "C'mon, Wanda. It's just for a couple hours. They're not gonna kill you."

"Pwease come?" Morgan gave her the puppy eyes, and Wanda caved.

"Alright."

"Yay! Hold me!" She flung herself at the older brunette, who quickly caught her.

"Morgan Alexandra Stark!"

The girl just giggled, making Wanda laugh. All the adults exchanged smiles.

First stop was at Victoria's Secret. Wanda immediately backed away, and Natasha had to drag her in. "Don't be a baby." The redhead scolded.

Wanda was embarrassed the entire time. She knew that she shouldn't be, but she was. It felt like the longest hour of her life. But then they went to her makeup and jewelry, which was much more enjoyable. Of course it was, those were two of her favorite things.

The best part was, they let her pick a lot. All of the makeup she needed at once, and several new pairs of earrings. She got a few more rings for her collection. She also got some bracelets.

Natasha and Pepper watched the girl with a smile. She was ecstatic about this portion of the shopping. She seemed bummed when Steve and Bucky returned.

She climbed into the car, her bags next to her. She looked down at her feet and smiled. The shoes really were nicer than her old ones.

"Did you have fun?" Steve asked.

Wanda smiled, answering his question with a nod. "Thank you."

"No problem, kid."

"What should we have for dinner?" Bucky asked. "I was thinking maybe some chicken and rice, with green beans and candied carrots?"

"Sounds good to me. Whatcha think, Wands?"

"Sounds good."

"Alrighty then."