✓ Lost at Home ≪Pietro Maximoff≫

Sweet Little Lies

The scream reverberated, scaring Pietro out of his uneasy sleep. He looked around for the source, only to find the apartment as it was when they got back home.

Pietro decided he didn't want to sleep after hearing the scream, he was too on guard now. His eyes drifted to Nadia sleeping fitfully on the couch, and he realized, she was where the scream came from. He wondered just what had happened when she was caught in the fire, clearly something was still wrong, if she was thrashing about like this.

Deciding he didn't have anything to do, Pietro walked over to the bookshelf that was so full that it looked like not one more book could fit. Scanning over the broad selection of books, he pulled out one with an exciting cover. 'The Princess Bride' Pietro decided that he would be up for a while, considering it was still very dark outside, and began to read.

Almost at chapter two, and an hour and a half later, Pietro decided he was liking the story and found it funny. Normally he was a slow reader, but he didn't mind taking time to read in this situation. He knew looking for Wanda would be a waste of time because the bombing would be everywhere on the news.

Pietro continued to read on in the silence. Until Nadia interrupted him.

"All my fault. All my fault. All my fault," she muttered in her sleep, then began thrashing around. "No. No!"

Pietro understood it would be better to wake her up, rather than have her suffer through whatever she was dreaming.He gently shook her shoulder, but that made her talk more.

"I'm sorry!" She nearly yelled.

Pietro backed away from her, not expecting such a strong response. Quietly walking towards her again, he got a firm grip on her shoulder, shaking her with more force.

"Nadia," he tried.

Finally her eyes opened. She seemed puzzled at first, then recognized where she was, and who was in front of her.

Just as Pietro thought she was fine, she started breathing really quickly.

"Where is Roman? Oh god is he okay?" She asked, anxiously.

"He's fine. He had to go do his job right now. He told me to bring you back here," Pietro told her calmly.

"How did I even get out? I should be dead!" She exclaimed hysterically.

Pietro noticed that she was in a state of panic, he decided to try and calm her, "The firefigh-" but he was cut off by Nadia, "I could have helped people, figured a way out of there, I could have done something to help!"

"Nadia, you're not going to help anything by blaming yourself for something that was out of your control!"

She looked at Pietro in surprise, calming down. "How many people died?"

"Don't upset yourself by finding that out, what matters is that you're alive," he assured her.

"No, you don't understand. I saw people die, I was trapped in a room above a fire, choking on the smoke. I couldn't find a way out and panicked, rather than staying calm!" She exclaimed, sitting back down on the couch then adding on miserably, "I couldn't save anyone."

"I do understand though," Pietro told her.

Nadia looked at him quizzically.

"When I was young, my sister and I were having dinner with my parents when a shell was dropped onto our house," he explained to her shakily, "Our parents died in front of us, there was nothing we could do, and I've come to accept that. I understand the feeling of being helpless. Another shell was dropped on our house, but it didn't go off. For days me and my sister stayed still, terrified that a single movement would set if off. I can never forget the fear and grief that event brought to me and my sister, but I can move forward," Pietro purposefully left out the part about his grudge against Stark, as it wouldn't help the matter.