Picture is Elizabeth Olsen by unknown.
Music is "Redeemer" by Paul Cardall.
All rights go to their rightful owners.
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"Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, doesn't mean they can't be saved." ~Charles Xavier
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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The walls caved in. The room went black again and the heat from the fire burned my skin. Black flames raged around me, pushing against my skin. It was not a pleasant warmth, not a enchanting fireplace fire.
This was hell. This was rage. Demons are to blame.
I see a dark figure cloaked in destruction and death appear in the fire. A wicked smile forms on his lips, and his eyes shown with evil intent. "Ready or not, Gloria," his voice echoes, a memory. "Here I come."
"Glory, wake up!" a Sokovian voice shouts. "Wake up!"
I sit up straight, drenched in sweat and tears. My hands are out in front of me, and my power has a hold on many objects. Books, lamps, picture frames, boxes. Anything that is loose, I have in my power's grasp. They levitate mid air, waiting for my hand's commands.
I yelp and pull my hands back, releasing the objects to the ground in a crash. I hold my hands to my chest; it heaves under my touch. I can barely breathe. They keep coming out in short, sparatic motions.
I feel a gentle hand on my back, and I jump away from it, literally flying off the bed and into the corner of the room. I face the person who touched me, only to find my sweet Pietro looking at me with concern and fear.
"Glory, it is okay." His hair is a mess, like it normally is every morning, and he is still only in his boxers. The sun is just starting to peak through the curtains. It must be early morning, just at sunrise.
Normally I'd be thrilled at this sight, early morning in bed with the man of my dreams, but today is oh so very different.
Pietro attempts to come closer, slowly getting off from the bed. I hold out my hand, putting up an invisible wall of impenetrable space. I try to speak, but nothing comes out. Just whimpers and squeaks.
Pietro frowns. "Возлюбленная, please let me closer." His voice is gentle and smooth, calming even. "I can help, if you just let me in. I will not hurt you." My breathing slows a bit. "I will never hurt you."
"D-Don't touch m-m-me, please," I whisper, lowering the wall with a wave of my hand.
Pietro puts his hands up and nods at me, moving very slowly to sit on the floor a couple feet away from me. "Is this alright?" I nod, slowly. "Do you need anything?"
I shake my head. "N-No. I'm fine. Just a-a bad dream."
Pietro gives me a sad smile and slowly scoots closer to me, inch by inch, careful not to set me off. I allow him, not putting up walls of empty space or pushing him away.
He's not him. He's Pietro. He loves you. You love him.
Pietro slowly moves his arms around me, pulling me into his arms, wrapping me up in his warmth and love. He sets me on his lap, holding me close, but not too close. We are half a foot apart, but close enough to feel each other's body heat.
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, sighing. "What can I do?"
I shake my head, still shivering from the touches from him. I shouldn't be scared of it. I shouldn't back away, but he has forever ruined a lot of things for me. "I d-dreamt about him again," I whisper, closing my eyes while trying to not let my power control me. "It was just as bad as l-last time."
Pietro lays his hand on top of mine. "He is not coming back, Возлюбленная-"
"-But he is!" I shout, tears streaming down my face. "He is! We might even see him today! He's back and he's going to hurt you all!"
Pietro wraps his arms around me, holding me to his large chest, near his heart. I can feel the rapid pace of it; he must be scared, too. "He will never touch you again. He will not speak a word to you. I will make sure of it." He looks down at me and whipes my tears away. "We do not have to stay. We can leave anytime."
"I told you. W-We have to stay, for them. No matter how scary h-he is." I bury my face into his bare chest and wrap my arms around his torso. "Don't leave. Please."
I hear a knock on the door, and Wanda enters without hearing a reply. Her face is terrified. At first, she glances at the destruction that my power had caused, but then she sees me and Pietro in the corner of the room and rushes to us. "Are you okay, Сестра?" Wanda grasps my hands in her own, searching my eyes. "I felt your emotions when I woke up, not five minutes ago."
I nod, shaking my head to clear it. I rub my nose and under my eyes, trying to clear away any signs of a mental breakdown. "I'm fine, Wanda. Just a bad dream."
Wanda looks to Pietro for affirmation, but he simply gives her a small shake "no" of his head. She turns back to me, a mothering look in her gentle, green eyes. "Maybe you should not go to the Avengers meeting with us."
"I'm going, guys. Don't worry." I try to give them a smile, but I'm pretty sure it looks horrifying. "I need to beat something up. If we're going to the field, I'm in." I hop up, heading uneasily towards the bathroom door. "I'm getting a quick shower."
I close the bathroom door to Pietro and Wanda talking, probably about me, but at this point, I don't care. I cut the water on and turn it to warm. I start to take my clothing off, but only get down to my girl boxer undies and my black tank top before the panic hits. Fear hits me like bullets, piercing my will and composure like flesh.
I bend down, lowered by the sudden urge to be sick. The water hits my hair, and I decide that maybe it will help me wake up from this nightmare.
At least fifteen minutes pass of me sitting under the water raining down on my body, but it could be more. I'm out of it completely. My gaze is through the wall in front of me, and my arms are crossed over my chest. My knees are pulled up as close as they can get. I want to become a ball, a small creature who doesn't have to face these dreads that have come up in the past 48 hours. I feel like Vesper Lynd from Casino Royale when she first saw a man murdered. Sitting in the bottom of a shower, not knowing how to cope, wanting nothing more to be anywhere but here.
A faint knocking sound comes on the door. "Glory? Возлюбленная?"
I open my mouth, but no words come out.
Pietro knocks again. "Bозлюбленная, are you okay? You have been in there for a while."
The only thing I can whisper is, "Pietro..." but he hears me and understands.
Pietro pulls the handle off the door and opens it, dropping the locked handle to the ground. Seeing me on the shower floor, his blue eyes grow wide and he rushes to aid me. "Are you okay? Did you fall?"
I shake my head, tears forming in my eyes again. "No, I just... I didn't..." I can't finish. I can't do this. I can't get up. I can't go on like this. It's too much. Maybe he was right.
Pietro's eyes soften and he turns the water off. He then slips his arms under me and pulls me into a warm embrace, keeping me close as he walks me to the bedroom. He doesn't bother to put me down. Just sits on the bed with me cradled to him like a small child would to their parent. I bury my face into his neck, and my arms find their way around it. My body shakes as silent tears make my body tremble.
And he just takes it. His hands make soothing circles on my spine, like he knows I love. He kisses my forehead and strokes my hair. He does everything that normally would help, but nothing will work today. Today is different.
After minutes if crying and probably cutting Pietro's airway off from holding onto him so tightly, my spasms of emotion are starting to be kept at bay. My eyes are red, my nose is running, and I feel like a hot mess. "I'm so sorry," I pull back from him. "God, I'm so sorry."
"Do not be sorry, Glory," he whispers, stroking my hair. "Are you okay? Be honest."
It takes me a moment, but eventually I nod. "Yeah. I'm so drained, but I'm better now." I look into his eyes for the first time in a while. "Thank you, my love."
Pietro smiles a little at me. "Wanda and I had an idea."
"Yes?"
"She has a charm she enchanted. It was used when I... died to help her emotions keep at bay, but she doesn't need it anymore. She wondered if it would help you, so I said I would ask."
I nod, smiling a bit for the first time this morning. "Yeah, that sounds good. Anything to help. I think I'm PMSing or something, because you know me. This isn't normal."
"It has been a long couple days," he says. He looks me in the eyes, trying to read me. "Can I kiss you? Or no..."
I chuckle, a genuine laugh. "Of course, silly."
He smiles and pulls me in for a chaste kiss. "I wanted to ask because, well, I do not want to be thrown across the room."
I roll my eyes and kiss him again. "I'd never."
"Do you still want to go to the Avengers meeting?"
I nod. "Yes. I'm okay now. I got it all out of my system. Just... keep an eye on me, okay?"
He nods and hops up. "I'll be right out from a shower. Will you be okay?"
"Y'know," I say in a suggestive tone, "I never really got my shower."
He smirks, an eyebrow raised. "Oh really? Care to join me?"
END CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
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Russian words:
"Сестра."
English translation:
"Sister."