ASHES ↠ b. barnes [II]

ten

        THE AVENGERS HAD SUCCEEDED ONE more. But it had come a cost that they hadn't seen coming in the beginning.

        Sokovia was absolutely wrecked.

        Pietro and Wanda were observing their home sadly, the two standing next to one another with tears in their eyes, and a heartbroken look in their gazes. They were holding hands, giving each other strength as their childhood memories came back— the good and the bad.

       They had fought so hard to save it. They had fought to protect it. They had almost died trying to protect it.

        Wanda was saved by Vision, who carried her out of the church just before it could demolish on top of her.

        While Pietro, trying to save Clint and a young boy— though he says he was only trying to protect the kid, was almost blasted by a weapon that would surely leave him lifeless before he could feel the blow. But like Allura told him, Ezekyel didn't take his eyes away from him, and was able to move every single shot with his hand and throw them back at Ultron— who had been the merciless shooter.

        The two twins were alive, and one of them owed it to another pair of siblings, who were sitting in a comfortable silence on the other cliff of the city.

        The two royalty members observed the chaos, green and yellow meeting every now and then but not truly knowing how to start talking. They had things to say, and they wanted to say so many things. But they had no idea how to begin.

        "You said you wanted to talk to me." Allura mumbled, her eyes turning to her little brother with a soft gaze. The last thing she wanted was to be rough. She didn't have a lot of her memories, but she was sure that it was hard for him to see her this way. She could tell because of how he would look at her, like he didn't know how to approach her, or how to talk to her.

        She appreciated that he tried, but she could see in the memories that she sometimes had that he didn't use to try, their moments and conversations would always flow— whether it was having fun, or fighting.

         "I do." Ezekyel said. "Do you want to come to the Avenger's base? I can show you something and-"

        "I'm not going to America, Ezekyel." Allura said simply, the boy sighing.

        "I'll bring you back here-"

         "No." She told him simply. "I can't go to America just yet." Her eyes were pleading. "James and I found something. Something important that can change the game, that can give us back our lives."

        "Then we can help you get it!" Allura smiled slightly, observing the younger boy who had aged slightly, because of his time in Earth.

        But he would always be her younger brother. And she knew that if she got him involved, she could get him into danger. Not that he wasn't in enough danger with the Avengers, but HYDRA wasn't something she just wanted to put on his back. She had dealt with the organization for years and she was aware that they were more than most people could handle.

        And her promise to protect him meant too much to her.

        "We have to do this alone." She said. "It's our mission." EzekyeI observed the look in her eyes, reminding himself that Natasha had told him how in love James and his sister were. But he could tell that right now, she wasn't doing this because of their feelings, but because they were partners. That's how they can fight so well, and move with such instinct and discipline, like muscle memory, around each other.