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Eleven-Year old Wanda Maximoff almost leapt from her bed at a loud clap of thunder, the flash of a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky, but she knew it was no use. Thunderstorms had always frightened her, but they frightened her even more now that she no longer had her Parent's bed to escape to. In the Group Home in which she and her brother currently lived, leaving your bed for any reason other than to use the bathroom was cause for punishment.
And yet, when Wanda did peek out from under the blankets, she found her twin about to crawl into bed beside her.
"Pietro" Wanda whispered, nervously glancing around at all the other beds and hoping that none of the other girls had seen him. Boys were definitely not supposed to sneak into the Girl's sleeping quarters. "You are not supposed to be here. You'll get in trouble."
"Nonsense, Sister" Pietro whispered Back, grinning. "I will leave in the morning before anyone knows I was here."
There came another clap of thunder, and both twins jumped.
"Are you scared too, Pietro?" Wanda asked.
"Of course not" Pietro puffed out his chest. "I just came to make sure that you were not scared. Besides, there is nothing to be afraid of. The thunder is just, uh.. Thor."
"Thor?"
"Yes.. some Thunder God hero guy. Father read me a book about him once. My point is, there is nothing to be afraid of, okay?"
While Pietro's fear of thunderstorms faded over the years, Wanda's did not. But that was alright, because she always had her brother to protect her.. until she didn't.
--
For a while, Wanda had managed to keep her fear of thunderstorms a secret from her new Avengers teammates. It just never came up, and she had never brought it up, believing her position with them to be too fragile, at least in the early days.
It hadn't been an issue until, on the way back from a mission, the Quinjet had to fly through a storm. Wanda took a few deep breaths, trying to keep calm, but it didn't seem to work. Her breaths soon went from deep and calm to shallow and panicked. Her hands tightly gripped the armrests of her seat on the Quinjet, tight enough that her knuckles were turning white.
None of Wanda's teammates seemed to notice her distress.. Except one. She had almost forgotten that Vision was sitting beside her, until he reached for her hand, linking their fingers and giving her a gentle squeeze, and flashed her a small, comforting smile, although he seemed ever so slightly on edge himself.
"Look at me" He whispered, trying not to draw to much attention to them. Took a deep breath in, then out, subtly gesturing for her to copy him.
Wanda focused on Vision. Breathed with him, feeling herself slowly calming down, and soon, the storm had passed.
She tried to thank him when they arrived back at the compound, but he told her that there was no need. Later, he explained that once, a massive surge from a storm had sent J.A.R.V.I.S into a full system shut down. He had been slightly antsy about them ever since, and Vision had carried that dislike with him.
--
Over the years, Wanda and Vision ended up weathering many more storms together, both literal and figurative.
They had endured the Civil War, they had endured Thanos, endured death and rebirth, picking up all the pieces and putting them back together.
Building a life, and creating new lives for which they were entirely responsible.
After all that, thunderstorms did not seem quite so scary anymore, at least not to them.
To the new little lives they had created, however..
--
Thunder crashed, but it was not the sound of the thunder that roused Wanda, but rather the small feet pattering down the hallway. Vision was also awake, and the couple looked at each other and smiled, silently counting.
One, two, three..
Five-year old Billy Maximoff burst into the room, panicked.
"Mama, Daddy, there's a storm! I'm scared.. can I sleep with you?"
"Of course" Vision smiled, shuffling over to make room.
"Hop in, Una Pretioasa" Wanda patted the empty space.
Billy hurried over and jumped into the bed, yelping at the sound of more thunder. Wanda and Vision smiled at each other again, starting a new count.
One, two, three..
Tommy came speeding in, leaping into his parents' bed.
"Are you scared of the thunder too, Thomas?" Vision chuckled.
"No" said Tommy, a little too quickly. "I was just coming to check that Billy wasn't too scared.
"Of course" Wanda's heart was warmed. Tommy reminded her so much of Pietro.
"And you know, boys" Vision cut in, "There is no reason to be afraid of thunder."
"Oh?" Tommy frowned.
"Why not?" asked Billy confused.
"Well," Wanda grinned, "It is probably just Uncle Thor.."