That evening, after spending an entire day out in the field riding horses, the comforting, warm dinner of pizza was all Wanda needed. Dinner was much calmer this time around, probably the calmest meal she's ever had. The kids were happy, babbling about their day, and Wanda happily complimented Clint and Laura on their beautiful horses.

But now? Now, the witch had time to herself. Lila, Cooper and Nathaniel were being tucked into bed, and she was able to be by herself for now. Wanda spent that time in the bathroom, planning on taking a shower--but she was distracted by her reflection in the mirror, ignoring the sound of running water from the shower behind her.

It was strange, seeing such a different face peering back at her. No longer did she have the long, dark hair, nor the sallow, pallor skin with protruding cheekbones. She was beginning to look healthy, with blonde curls pulled away from her face and her face finally healthy and with some glow to it. She no longer looked like a whisper of a human being. She no longer looked like she would wither away at any moment. Wanda almost wanted to stand there all evening, staring at herself, and it took nearly all of her willpower to pull herself away from the mirror and toward the shower.

After stripping off the clothes she wore that day, she stepped into the shower. Her toes almost instantly curled at the feeling of the cool floor beneath her bare feet, and she flinched at the water pouring all around her. Too cold. Wanda reached blindly for the handle, turning it desperately so it would point at the red section. Almost instantly, the temperature rose, and she let out a sigh of relief.

Wanda's mind began to wander as she stood there stiffly, letting the water wash over her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a shower and hadn't been scrubbed down like some animal. HYDRA never let her alone unless she was in her cell, and that meant stripping her down and hosing her off, following up with scrubbing her skin raw. According to Baron Strucker, it had been important for her to be clean, though it seemed like the agents didn't quite agree, from how gingerly they'd scrubbed at her skin.

And then there were the Avengers. They felt it too dangerous for her to stay by herself, especially in such a bad mental state as she was, so they'd enlisted Steve to help her bathe. The poor soldier had been so helplessly embarrassed the entire time, but he'd ended up scrubbing her just as HYDRA had. He didn't know it was hurting her, as it was the only way he knew how to do it.

But now, she was free to shower alone. And to say it felt nice would be such a massive understatement. Wanda peered at all the various soaps nestled on the shelves hanging from the shower head. None were of any interest to her. Besides, she thought it disrespectful to use someone else's soap without permission. 

And so she stood there, underneath the water, and let it wash over her body. It was nicely warm and brought great comfort to the witch. Her mind wandered yet again as she stood there in deep thought, her hands remaining by her sides. She wondered how different her life would be now if Pietro were still alive and by her side, just as he had been for most of their years. She imagined he would rather die than let her become an Avenger. He was the one who hated them the most; if he knew she was one of them, he would be so angry.

No, he wouldn't be angry. Pietro never got angry at his precious sister. She was his everything, and if she ever made a mistake, he would calmly tell her that it was perfectly fine, and he didn't mind. Wanda remembered one day when they were young, when she had accidentally gotten her candy stuck in his hair after too many dramatic gestures with her arms. She'd spent many minutes apologizing, yet he told her it was all right between the many grunts as their mother wrenched the sticky candy from his brown locks.

Her thoughts then shifted to how different he had ended up looking. As children, they had been identical, with long brown hair (Pietro's was close to his shoulders while Wanda's was long and framed her face) and emerald eyes. However, the experiments had changed his appearance, causing his hair to become a brilliant shade of white and his eyes to become electric blue. She remembered seeing him for the first time after this transformation, remembered gasping in shock, before hearing him utter oh so simple words: I guess I'm an old man now, huh?

The water suddenly shutting off caused her to jump, and she shuddered at the sudden cold air, immediately moving to wrap herself in a towel. Her bare feet padded along the ground as she walked back to her bedroom, getting dressed once more. She brushed through her hair with a comb that rested on her dresser, closing her eyes as she worked.

Living here already began to seem like a nice change.