The morning light filtered through the branches and leaves of the old scholar tree in the garden, casting mottled light and shadows on the slate path.
The lavender flower spikes swayed gently in the breeze, and the purple waves extended from the iron gate all the way to the steps of the Villa.
A few bees busily shuttled among the rosemary bushes, emitting a buzzing hum.
Wanda sat on the steps, holding a cup of tea in her hand, watching the woman watering the flowers in the garden.
She was wearing that linen-colored long dress, her auburn long hair loosely tied at the back of her head, stepping barefoot on the slate ground. The watering can tilted slightly in her hand, and clear water droplets like fine rain sprinkled on the leaves of the sage, refracting shattered rainbows in the morning light.
Wanda had lived here for a full month.
A month ago, she stood on these steps, her whole body tense, like a fully drawn bow.
Her gaze would sweep across every corner, her ears would capture every subtle sound, and her fingers were ready to unleash Chaos Magic at any time.
She did not trust this place, did not trust these people, and did not trust this place that seemed too good to be true.
But now, she sat here, holding her teacup, watching Mavuika water the flowers, without the sense of urgency of being ready for battle at any moment in her heart.
It was not because she had lowered her guard, but because she discovered that this place truly did not require vigilance.
No one would suddenly push open the door and order her in a cold tone to "go to the Training Ground".
No one would tie her to a chair and inject unknown liquids into her veins.
No one would look at her with eyes that viewed weapons, tools, or experimental subjects.
Here, she was just Wanda.
Pietro walked out of the house, holding a plate of freshly cut fruit in his hand.
He sat down next to Wanda, placed the plate on the steps between them, took a piece of Apple, and took a bite.
"Wanda, guess how far I ran this morning?"
Wanda glanced at him. "How far?"
Pietro grinned. "Ran from Long Island to Manhattan, round trip. Took less than twenty minutes."
Wanda raised an eyebrow. "You didn't run into anyone, did you?"
Pietro rolled his eyes. "I'm fast, not blind, I dodged whatever I should have dodged."
Thor's voice came from inside the house, carrying a hint of curiosity. "You ran to Manhattan? What did you go there to do?"
He walked out, wearing a dark gray T-shirt and black sweatpants, holding a cup of coffee in his hand. His hair was still a bit wet, obviously having just taken a bath.
The sunlight shone on his golden hair, emitting a warm luster.
Pietro thought for a moment. "Went for a stroll around, there are many tall buildings, many cars, many people, and a park, very big, with a lake inside, and ducks on the lake."
Thor's eyes lit up. "Central Park! I've been there! The ducks there are very interesting, if you feed them bread, they will follow you."
The corners of Pietro's mouth lifted slightly. "Next time I'll go try it."
Loki walked out of the house, wearing a dark green shirt and black trousers, holding a book in his hand. He sat down on the garden bench, crossed his legs, opened the book, and said without raising his head.
"You run so fast, aren't you afraid of being photographed?"
Pietro shrugged: "Not afraid even if photographed. They can't catch up to me."
The corners of Loki's mouth lifted slightly. "Confidence is a good thing, but excessive confidence makes things easy to ruin."
Pietro looked at him, wanting to retort, but found that whatever this God of Mischief seemed to say was right.
He snorted, took another piece of Apple, and took a huge bite.
During this past month, Wanda and Pietro gradually got used to the rhythm of life here.
Awakened in the morning by sunlight and bird song, rather than being disturbed by harsh alarm sounds.
Breakfast was made together by everyone — Mavuika cooked porridge or noodles, Thor was responsible for frying eggs, Loki made tea, Wanda cut fruit, and Pietro set the table.
In the morning, everyone had their own activities; Mavuika watered flowers and read books, Thor watched TV and practiced with his hammer, Loki drank tea and read books, Wanda and Pietro walked in the garden or went for a run in the nearby woods.
Lunch was simple, sometimes noodles, sometimes sandwiches.
The afternoon was quieter, Mavuika would take a nap for a while, Thor would watch a movie, Loki would play a game of chess, and Wanda and Pietro would sit in the garden, doing nothing, just sunbathing.
Dinner was a proper meal, Mavuika would make four dishes and a soup, and everyone sat around together, eating and chatting.
After dinner, Thor would grab the remote control, Loki would read a book, Mavuika would boil hot cocoa, and Wanda and Pietro would sit by the window watching the night view.
Days like this repeated day after day.
But Wanda did not feel weary. Because in the HYDRA Base, every day was the same, the same corridors, the same rooms, the same instructions, the same fear.
But here it was different; every day here had subtle changes: a new flower bloomed in the garden, Thor learned a new internet slang term, Loki won another game of chess on his phone, and the hot cocoa Mavuika boiled had half a spoonful more sugar than yesterday.
These changes were too small, too small to be worth mentioning.
But it was precisely these unmentionable changes that made Wanda feel that she was alive.
Pietro had the same feeling.
He found that he was no longer always in a "standby" state like before, with his body leaning slightly forward, muscles slightly tense, ready to sprint at any time.
Now, he could relax and sit on the steps, eat a piece of Apple, watch Mavuika water the flowers, listen to Thor and Loki bicker, and think about nothing.
This feeling was very strange, and it took him a long time to adapt.
Over the course of a month, Wanda and Pietro's understanding of Mavuika and the other two also increased a lot.
Thor looked carefree, but actually he was very attentive.
He would notice whether Wanda was full and whether Pietro was wearing enough clothes.
When Wanda had a nightmare, he would turn down the TV volume so that she could hear someone was outside.
He wouldn't knock on the door and ask "Are you okay", because he knew that would make her even more nervous.
Loki looked cold and aloof, but he would inadvertently appear when Wanda and Pietro needed it most.
Once, when Pietro was running in the garden and accidentally sprained his ankle, Loki walked out of the house holding a bottle of ointment, placed it on the steps, said "Apply it yourself", and then turned and left.
Pietro looked at that bottle of ointment and was stunned for a long time, because he hadn't called out to anyone, and it was impossible for Loki to have seen him since he was reading inside the house at the time.
Later he figured out that Loki had always been keeping an eye on them, just in his own way.
Mavuika was the most inscrutable of the three to Wanda.
She rarely lectured with grand principles, rarely actively inquired about their past, and rarely tried to "enlighten" them.
She just did her own things—watering flowers, cooking, reading, drinking tea—and then, when they needed it, handed over a cup of hot cocoa or a quiet smile.
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