10 x protective but basically in the dark
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Somehow, Wanda managed to convince everyone to leave Pietro and I alone for a while. The best part (in my opinion at least) was that she didn't even use her mind powers. (I mean, it was at least impressive.)
As happy as I was at the opportunity to actually get to talk to my boyfriend about . . . everything that had unfolded recently, I was also extremely nervous. Which was understandable, right? It felt understandable. I had just encountered my ex, which had caused me to lose control of my powers, in front of my boyfriend.
And my ex was a lune that belonged in a nuthouse and instead had a cape that allowed him to turn invisible for however long he could hold his breath. Did I mention he was crazy in the head and wanted to take over the world? And was also painfully crazy? Because all of that, too.
"I'm kind of concerned because you're moving at a normal speed and also if you don't talk soon I'm going to keep talking, and it probably won't go well, because the nervous talking and I can't tell if I'm scared or if I'm just accidentally psyching myself out of talking about what we need to talk about--"
I only stopped because I ran out of breath. Not joking.
The entire time I rambled Pietro had fixed me with a look of legitimate concern, and as I went on, his head slowly tipped to the side. When I stopped to, y'know, breathe, he moved toward me and reached for my hands, taking them in his own and squeezing in an attempt at being reassuring. "Megan," he said slowly, which was so not helping my paranoia, "please breathe."
I was pretty sure I was hyperventilating as I stared up at him with wide eyes. "I am breathing," I insisted, squeezing his hands back.
He chuckled quietly, bright blue eyes focusing on me in a way that made me feel like maybe, just maybe, we were the only people in the world for a few moments. "Yes, but you are not doing it well," he mused, smiling slightly.
I cracked a hesitant smile at that. Given I couldn't think of anything to say to that (because my brain has two options when nervous: babbling, or fried) I pulled my hands out of his and stepped toward him, wrapping my arms around his middle and hugging him as I actually tried to breathe like a normal human being.
(It's funny because I am abnormal. It'd be funnier if I didn't feel like I was going to explode.)
Thankfully, he hugged me back, arms squeezing tight as his chin rested on top of my head. I felt his chest rise and fall in a sigh, before he spoke, not letting go of me in the slightest. "This Parker Robbins . . . he is actually crazy?"
"You remember Killian in London?" I asked, my voice slightly muffled given I refused to pull away from him.
"Yes . . ."
"He's crazier than Killian."
Pietro hummed at that, and I could feel one of his shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. "Am I allowed to look at your face yet?" he asked, though he still made no gesture to move away.
"Not yet," I mumbled, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Pietro was safe. Being so close to him registered in my mind as complete safety, and helped me to actually become myself minus the insane panic. With him, everything could actually turn out all right. I let out the breath in a quiet sigh, and gently pulled away from him, looking up at him carefully, relieved that my heart rate was actually down to a semi-normal rate. "Okay," I said carefully. "I'm all right now."
"Eh," Pietro shrugged. "Perhaps you are better, but . . . all right is debatable." He smiled, pressing a fast kiss to my forehead before making steady eye contact with me. "Talk to me?"
"Without rambling?" I clarified, brows rising.
He chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Given you do not breathe so well then, yes, preferably without rambling."
"Okay," I said slowly, taking another deep breath. "Parker Robbins and I met . . . before density alteration. And I was young, and dumb, and mad at the world for . . . a lot."
Pietro chuckled quietly. "Something we have in common."
I smiled at that, relaxing slightly. "Yeah, well . . . anyway. We went around for a while, kind of playing hero, until I realized he was more interested in himself. And as that went on, my power . . . panics started happening more frequently. Then he started talking about taking over the world all the time. At first I kind of let it pass, because he'd always been way too big on big ideas that would never happen, but then it got worse. And he gradually got more insane. At some point he tried to attack me when I disagreed with him . . . which was when I definitely knocked him unconscious. Telekinetically."
Pietro watched me all the while, kind of nodding at some points, until I paused completely. He licked his lips and arched a brow, silently asking if I had more to say.
I took a deep breath and kind of made a few, glancing around the room before focusing back in on him. "He hit his head so hard I was kind of hoping he got amnesia. But ah . . . apparently he didn't."
"Apparently," Pietro mused, making a face in return. He gave me a small smile then, lifting my chin up to better face him when my gaze began to drop. "I told you everything would be fine, didn't I?"
"Mhmm," I nodded slowly, attempting a smile.
"And it will be," he promised, smiling reassuringly at me. "I won't let anything happen to you, even with this . . . crazy ex. Isn't that usually something people joke about?" he asked then, giving me a skeptic look.
I gave a quiet laugh and nodded slightly. "Yes, it is."
He hummed at that. "Well then. Moving on. I am not going to let anything happen to you, no matter what, no matter who we are up against. I promise."
My smile became more genuine then, and when he pulled me in for a kiss I relaxed completely. When we pulled apart he smiled at me. "Better?" he asked.
I grinned and nodded, ignoring the fact that my cheeks were now flaming red. "Much better," I said, pecking his lips again before pulling away somewhat. "Remind me to tell your sister thanks for giving us a moment."
He scoffed, still grinning. "I might," he teased. "I'm sure she knows you're grateful."
>>
"All right," I said, stretching my back and rolling my shoulders before looking over to Evangeline. "You ready for some one on one?"
Her wild red curls were tied up into a ponytail high on her head, her emerald green eyes shining as she straightened from a stretch and turned toward me. The look on her face said she was by no means up for physical training, but she nodded all the same. "Okay, yeah. Let's do this."
"No powers," I reminded her, moving onto the mat and watching as she followed suit.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she sighed, approaching me and getting into an appropriate stance. "Though -- and this is not me being difficult -- aren't you almost always indestructible, or something?"
"Or something," I answered, giving a slight shrug of admittance. "Can't help it. Think of it like if you had green skin as a side effect of your powers."
Ev made a face of slight disgust before nodding. "Fair enough."
"You first," I said, watching her expectantly.
We circled each other for a moment before she made a swing. I redirected her force and stepped away appropriately, watching as she straightened herself back up. "Do I get to know what's been going on lately?" she asked as we continued circling each other.
"No," I said shortly. I swung at her this time, and she got me into an effective hold, but before she could further execute it, I retaliated, hitting her a little harder than necessary in the arm and pulling back before continuing to circle.
"Why not?" she whined, scowling at me.
"Because you don't need to know," I said, giving her a pointed look.
This time she attempted to kick me, which was probably not her best move. At all. I caught her foot and twisted, sending her spinning backwards before pushing her down. She caught herself before she hit the ground, and I watched as she got back to her feet. "There were two Captain America's, Megan. I think it'd probably be good for me to at least know something."
"It's not," I said firmly. "Right now, we don't even know that much. So really, you don't know as much as the rest of us. Happy?"
She lunged at me, a new attempt at a technique, which I was definitely not prepared for. We both hit the ground, her a little harder than me, but once we were there it became an odd sort of wrestling match. After some struggling, several odd headlocks, and attempted twisting of essential limbs, I had her pinned on her chest with a knee in the middle of her spine.
"Not really happy in this position," Ev said in a strangled voice.
"Yeah, well," I released her and got to my feet, offering a hand to help her up. "You need more practice. Run through more routines with Peter."
She sighed as she accepted my hand, and I pulled her to her feet. "Yeah, all right. He's a pretty okay punching bag, I guess."
I offered a crooked smile at that, laughing and shaking my head. "He's also a pretty decent teacher, from what I've seen. Maybe actually listen . . . it might help. Just a suggestion."
Ev smiled at me, and took in a deep breath then. "Yeah. You're probably right." She paused, and gave a breathy laugh. "As usual."
"Glad someone's finally picked up on that," I chuckled.