"Hey little brother," Pietro announced, greeting Peter, who had still yet to speak a word.
Peter offered him a slight wave, still unable to find his words.
Pietro nodded, "Still not talking, I take it?" he asked, raising a slight eyebrow at the teenager.
Peter nodded, a small frown playing on his lips while he stared blankly at the dark screened t.v.
Peter sighed, plopping himself down next to the smaller boy, "Come on small fry," he announced softly, "Just one word?" he asked, lightly poking the boy in the side.
Peter opened his mouth and closed it abruptly; he released a deep sigh and shrugged.
Pietro nodded, sighing to himself.
The ash-blond missed the younger boy. He missed the teasing attitude of the younger boy; he missed the boy who always had sarcastic remarks when he'd tease him. How he'd use his powers to get when he wanted something or just to tease someone who knew about them, his faked innocence when he did something mischievous. How he was always hungry, out eating most of the team, or how he always planned pranks with him, or watching movies with Kate. The ramblings about some science topic when he got excited about it and how he never really understood him, but enjoyed it nonetheless. But now there was none of that; the boy next to him hadn't spoken anything in over a month. It had been almost five weeks since he'd done any of those things; since princessa had been taken, a voice reminded him. Fortunately for the younger brunet, his grades hadn't slipped, they'd told the school he had laryngitis. It was an effective excuse for why he no longer spoke; Pietro found himself wishing that the younger boy was sick, instead of the unfortunate truth. The story that had been spun for Penny was that she was sick and unable to complete any of the work her teachers had sent home. It helped explain her long absence, as well as why no work was being completed. Peter still spent most of his time patrolling or doing school work. He ate small portions at every meal, but no snacks or multiple servings; he was wasting away. Pietro was worried about him, they all were. The sixteen year old had lost thirty pounds from not following his diet. He was back to wearing his old clothes; the ones from May, who'd had a habit of saving everything of Peter's just in case it was ever needed again. The brunet's sleep was slightly improved, he now slept every night in short bursts, for a few hours each night. The deep blue-purple rings around his eyes were almost highlighted by the paleness of his skin. Pietro sighed and leaned back in his spot next to the brunet, pulling out a smaller bag of gummy bears. He opened it, tilting it towards the younger boy, a half-hearted grin playing on his lips.
"Want some small fry?" he asked, shaking the bag at him.
The brunet didn't spare him a look; he just shrugged and shook his head.
Pietro groaned and popped one in his mouth, "You sure? They're really good," he asked, trying to make himself sound as cheery as possible, "You know you love these." he replied, shaking the bag at him.
Peter cut him a look, one that told him to drop the matter, the mischievous twinkle in his big doe eyes no longer visible.
The eighteen year old sighed, missing when a mere month ago the same teen next to him would shelf him the biggest set of puppy eyes he could muster. He felt something in him snap, a surge of anger burning its way through his bones, "Snap out of it, Peter!" he yelled.
Peter slowly blinked at him, wearing a blank and ungiving expression on his face.
Pietro groaned and ran a stressed hand through his ash-blond locks, "I mean it Peter! Snap out of it! I know you miss her, we all do!" he yelled, jumping up from his position on the couch, "Stop wasting away, can't you see you're killing yourself?! You're dying, you dumbass!" he reached out and started shaking the boy, wanting to shake some common sense into him, "Wake up Pete! Get out of your damn head, I know she's your sister, but she's mine too! I've always felt like she was my little sister, it's suffocating without her here. I know it is! She's not laughing or giggling or sneaking around with Kate. She's not reading in her room or in the training room with me. Sh-she's just gone..." Pietro took a deep breath, "But we didn't stop going. Pete, you can't stop. You have to keep going, for her, because she's not dead. I feel it. I feel it in my gut and in my bones th-that's she's not gone. She's just lost and we're bringing her home, but you gotta stop this. Snap. out. of. it." he replied, his voice hoarse with emotion, he was staring ino the brown-eyed sixteen year old's eyes that were blank and unyielding.
Peter continued to stare at him with a blank expression; there were a few tears brimming his eyes. He opened his mouth but nothing came out, just a small squeak that was full of emotion.
"Damnit Pete! Just say something! ANYTHING!" Pietro jumped up from his position in front of the couch, turning around to face him, "Come on, Peter. You're spider-man, you don't give up! You keep fighting, you don't want to stop, you keep pushing, you keep fighting. But you've given up! You know how upset she'd be if she saw you like this?! She'd be devastated. She'd hate herself. She'd hate herself for making you this way, for watching you wither away like you're nothing." he grabbed onto the boy's shoulders, he stared into his eyes, "You're important too!" his voice broke, "You're important too, you're not just her brother, you're my brother too! Peter, you gotta take yourself!"
Tears were starting to trickle down the younger teen's cheeks, he opened his mouth yet nothing came out. He just couldn't find the words.
"For fuc-"
Wanda appeared in the room, a red mist fading away around her, "What is going on in here?!" she asked, her volume half as loud as her brother's was.
Peter's teary expression was full of emotion, Wanda could hear his thoughts bouncing around in her mind.
She walked over to her brother and grabbed him by the ear, "Stop yelling at him!" she hissed.
"I'm tired of him killing himself, Wands! H-he's dying!" Pietro yelled, pointing at the brunet behind them.
She started pulling him out of the room, "I know that, we're trying to help. But yelling at him won't help anything Pietro! We need to be patient with him. You know he does this....j-just he's never done the not eating thing..." she sighed softly, "But yelling at him isn't helping anything." she replied, her voice firm.
"I'm worried about him Wands," the ash-blond replied, "he's so thin...and pale..."
Wanda could see the emotions in her brother's eyes, he wasn't one for crying, but she could see that he wanted to cry; she let go of his ear and rubbed his cheek with her thumb, "We all are P...but yelling at him won't fix anything. If we do that, he goes backwards, back to not sleeping and not eating. If he does that, it will kill him, at least this way is slower, it's reversible. His powers ensure that...." she swallowed thickly, "it gives us time to find her and bring her home."
"But Wan-"
"No buts Pietro...besides..." she paused, pinching the bridge of her nose an action that she'd picked up from Tony and their adoptive father.
"Besides what witch?" he asked.
"I heard what he was saying." she replied.
"Wands, I don't know if you've noticed, but Pete hasn't spoken a word in a month." her twin replied, looking at her like she'd lost her mind.
She shook her head, "Not out loud, but his thoughts are just as effective and just as loud. He's trying P." she paused for a second and squeezed her eyes shut; she opened her eyes and wiped away a stray tear, "He just can't get them out, it's like they're stuck in there. Like he's stuck in there. Don't think he's just shut down, it's a trauma response. Remember how he told us he did the same thing when his uncle died?"
"Yeah, he stopped talking for ten days...May was for five days, that stopped when princessa came."
Wanda nodded, her lips slightly pursed, "Now she's not here, she's missing. Peanut brought him out of that, because she was here. Tony told us the first words he spoke after he called him crying was, "Did someone ask for me?". You know when that was?" she asked, knowing that he knew exactly when that was, "It was right after Penny asked for him. She's the one that brought back his voice, because he knew she wouldn't want to see him quiet like that, she'd worry. He hadn't seen her in over eight years, yet he knew that she would be worried about why he was acting like that, why he wasn't speaking. Why he'd slowed down on his eating and slept less, why he was locking himself in his room. Tony told us all of that, so did Nat; she was worried for him when she left for her mission. But when she came back, Penny was here and he was better, he was eating and laughing and smiling. Now she's not here, so it's back. It's not like she's at summer camp Pietro, or down in Medbay with the flu again. She's missing and we haven't found her yet, the earth's mightiest heroes haven't..." she hiccuped with hard emotion and held back a sob; her hands were starting to tremble as she spoke, "we haven't found her. Peter needs silence, he needs us to be patient and understanding. Not to yell at him for it," she pointed to the other room where Peter was quietly sitting by himself, "so apologize to him because he's trying the best he can." the redhead replied, her arms crossed over her chest while she finished the lecture she was giving her twin.
Pietro sighed and nodded, "I know...I-I'm sorry." he replied.
"I know you are...but I'm not the one you need to apologize to." she replied, "Apologize to him, just be there with him. He's the closest to you out of any of us. I talk to Peter all the time, but not like you. We all talk to each other, but not like the two of you. The two of you are always together, you train together. He helps you with your homework, he tutors you. He's the one who came up with the typing to help you with your dyslexia so you can study. Go talk to him and apologize to him, he doesn't need us to be short with him, we need to be understanding. You need to be understanding with him, like he is with you. I'm going to check on Kate, he's not the only one who needs someone to talk to." she replied, patting his arm with her hand.
Pietro sighed and walked back into the living room, where Peter was staring emptily into the blank t.v. screen, his eyes were red, the sleeves of his sweater wet. He sat down next to the boy, who was now seated with his legs crossed.
"Pete?" he asked softly.
Peter slowly looked at him.
"I'm sorry...I know you're trying...I shouldn't have yelled at you." he whispered.
Peter nodded his head, a small, sad smile creeping up on his lips.
Pietro shrugged, "I'm just worried about you....we're all worried about you. You look awful little brother, not because you've barely showered or bothered to brush your hair...but because you haven't slept much and you're not eating like you're supposed to...you've lost so much weight, small fry. Calling you small fry now feels like an insult....Pete I'm begging you to take care of yourself. Princessa would be so angry with you and with herself if she saw you like this. She will see you like this because we're bringing her home." he grabbed onto Peter's hands, "I promise you we're bringing her home. But I'm sorry, I was wrong and I know you're trying....you just handle it differently little brother and that's fine, it's not healthy...but it's fine because at least you're still here. Forgive me?" he asked, opening up his arm for a hug.
Peter nodded and leaned against his shoulder.
Pietro sighed and wrapped his arm around him, "I've got ya Pete, you're going to be fine. You got that? Just fine."
In the abandoned warehouse in down-state New York, Loki and Penny were training once again. Loki placed his hands on her shoulders and adjusted her position to where they were in line with her feet. He held up his hands, palms spread out and motioned for her to follow suit. She moved her hands to the same position and followed his example when he started making a ball of energy in between his two hands. Her orange-yellow colored powers shimmering in between her palms before she practiced launching an orb at the metal wall of her make-shift holding cell. Loki smiled lightly at her and nodded his head curtly. She offered him another disarming smile and repeated the process, her magic starting to grow brighter and a deeper orange as she gained more control of her powers. Loki stood next to the thirteen year old, giving her pointers on how to improve her posture so her aim would improve.
"Straighten your shoulder pet," he reminded her.
The thirteen year old nodded and straightened herself up, her eyes flickering amber as she used her powers. She created another orb and threw it at the wall, which now had a small dent in the metal that encased her, the edges turning a dark charcoal color from the pair using the wall as target practice.
"Perfect darling," he replied, giving her a small measure of assurance.
Her eyes glistened the amber hue that was associated with the usage of her powers. She formed another orb of chaos energy, letting it dance between her two palms. Loki looked at her again, he noticed she was sweating fairly decently, it was causing her hair to stick to her face and neck. She coughed a little, her fingers started to tremble slightly and caught his attention even more. He started walking over to check on the brunette, growing concerned for her. The vibrant, light orange color dancing between her palms started to flicker before her knees buckled underneath her. Loki threw out and to catch her before she could hit the floor. The amber hue started flickering in her eyes, causing the deep brown hue to return to them slowly as they fluttered open and close. Loki lowered her to the floor as she started coughing droplets of blood spluttering on her hand. Loki brushed the hair out of her face, she felt warm, extremely warm. He could feel her body heat radiating off of her; her temperature was higher than he'd ever noticed.
"Pet? Pet?!" Are you alright?!" he called, gently shaking her in his arms.
She slowly nodded, her head starting to fall back.
He started to gently tap on her cheeks as he attempted to sit her up, "No, no, no. None of that now pet." he semi-frantically responded.
She nodded, her eyes continuing to flutter open and shut, sweat beading on her brow. The auburn hue in her eyes fully fading back to their deep chestnut brown color.
Loki gently started to shake her, "Darling stay awake, you hear me? Keep your eyes open, look at me." the god demanded, finding himself begging for the first time in his life to a midguardian as he wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the palm of his hand. "Odin Penny, you're burning up." he whispered.
"M-miser L-loki?" she slurred.
"Yes pet?" he called quietly.
"I d-don't feel s-so w-well...I-i'm tired...." she mumbled, her words slurring together.
She started coughing again, in harsh bursts that shook her body; more of the silky red liquid appearing on her sweater and lips.
He used the edge of his cloak to wipe off her face, not caring if it was stained, "Pet, I order you not to fall asleep." He hoped if she heard him ordering her to do something she'd follow through, usually she did and that's exactly what he needed at the moment. He knew she was too warm, "I'm going to cool you down darling. It will be extremely uncomfortable; however, it will help you feel a bit better. Your fever is too high at the moment. Brace yourself pet," he replied, gently tapping on her cheeks.
She nodded, her eyes slipping closed.
Loki held his hand out over her forehead, letting it turn a pale blue color before gently placing it on her forehead. He felt her tense up under his touch but soon fell limp under the cool touch of his frost giant powers. He felt her body slowly starting to cool under the touch of his iciness. He felt himself tapping into her mind, to make sure she was okay, speaking with her, assuring her that she'd be alright. He felt her temperature fall back down to the slight fever she'd had for the past two weeks; it refused to fall any lower. He gently rubbed her face with his fingers, like his mother used to do for him when he was a boy. He found himself brushing the hair off of her cheeks and face, so she could breathe better; he didn't know what he could do for her at the moment.
"Pet, you're going to be fine, I promise you." he replied, gently checking on her temperature once more with his usual cool touch, "You can rest, but don't you dare fall asleep on me." he ordered, his voice almost cracking, "Not yet. You will stay awake darling and I promise you that I will get you out of here. I will put you back where you belong. Just stay awake okay?"
She didn't respond or acknowledge him, but blinked her eyes slowly at him before they closed and didn't open up again.
"Pet?" he called, feeling her fall limp in his arms. He shook her, "Pet? Are you alright? Penny?" he called, his fingers falling to the side of her throat, checking for her pulse.
He sighed in relief when he still felt it; he was even more relieved when he found it was strong. However, he was slightly worried but one thing...her breathing was slowly becoming slower and more shallow. He knew one thing, he needed to get her out of her and soon, he wasn't so sure that she'd be able to make it much longer if he didn't.