AN: I highly recommend to listen to the song the song No Retreat, No Surrender by Audiomachine while reading and it should be above or on the side.
Destruction is all I see. My home, Pietro's home, Wanda's home—Sokovia itself is in two. It is all a mess. Our home is dividing into two, half still on earth, and the other half floating in the air—which happens to be the half most of the civilians, the Avengers, and myself are stuck on.
My throat is raw, dry from dehydration. My lungs start heaving from the smoke and dust in the air. My legs buckle as my whole body is already worn out. My eye sockets throb from lack of sleep. Still, I ignore it all. I push forward. Every step in whichever direction I take, I find myself listing to the sound of my boots crunching on pieces of broken rubble, glass, or concrete.
Anger boils up from very deep, deep inside of me. Anger I have been holding back ever since I first started this mission. I don't remember the last time I felt this angry. Maybe when I had to fight against Ultron, against the twins, maybe when I was fighting for my life at my birthday party. Or maybe when I was fighting for my freedom to escape Project Insight.
I know that I have never felt the sudden urge to crush bone—or metal—in my bare hands until I finally had a mental break and tried escaping that place. I have never felt the urge to run, to scream out my lungs ever since I was left to losing my sanity in that cell. But this. . .oh this makes me sick and tired of killing his clones and end this war once for all by killing Ultron myself.
Soon enough, Ultron starts to make a speech that comes from not only from his mouth, but from all of his clones. They all send us the message. "Do you see. . .the beauty of it? The inevitability—you rise. . .only to fall." The whole city is silent, the only sounds made were from Ultron and his arms and the crumble of Sokovia still tearing in half. "You, Avengers, you are like meteor, like swift and terrible sword. The earth will crack with the weight of your failure." I try to tune him out the best I can. "Purge from your computers, turn on my own flesh against me—it means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world. . .will be metal."
Ultron thinks he can explain the reason behind his actions for what he has in mind for our planet. He knows we already don't understand him, but he still tells us his plan as if we will reason with him. He thinks he can explain himself, why he separated half of Sokovia by not destroying it, but having it float in the air. What he thinks his main goal is—is genesis. Ultron thinks it's best to exclude mankind to start over for only him and his clones. But that's downright inhumane. Killing us for his kind is not reasonable.
Unfortunately, for Ultron, I cannot just stand around and watch him decide the fate of our home. I will not let all of this go to destruction. I will continue to do my job. That's when the idea of covering blind spots throughout the battlefield come into mind. I have to try to cover as many as I can for the safety of the other civilians roaming through the city.
I turn around, walking towards an alleyway that I can use for a lookout. I teleport myself there, looking in both directions between buildings and for clones that could be hiding. But right now, all I see are more shards of glass, pieces of bricks, cinderblocks and they all lead to broken memories on Sokovian soil.
It hits me harder than I expected. I never thought this war could lead to. . .to. . .to all of this.
Steve must have realized by now, that we all need a little motivation. He speaks up, a voice literally in our ears, talking to us through our comms. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city down safely," he commands, "The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed. . .walk it off."
As I run through the long allyway, I decide to stop and take a breather once I reach the end. In doing so, I happen to crash into a wall of soft arms and hard muscle. Before my nose crushes into the center of whomever's chest I ran into, I catch a bare glimpse of cerulean from the material of clothing they're wearing. Pietro.
I feel Pietro's big arms surround me, cushioning me from our collision while steadying me at the same time. He puts my feet back on the ground.
When I look up at him, our eyes meet, and I find myself in the middle of the ocean. I say the first thing that comes to my head. "Hi."
His hands slide down to the back of my waist. "Hi."
I step away from him, dropping my arms to my sides. My hands feel heavy as I raise them to examine them for myself. Pietro still looks to me as he rubs his hands against his arms as if he's cold. He ends up balling his hands into fists at his sides.
I hold one of my hands in the other, cracking my knuckles in spite of being nervous to approach this new tension between us.
Pietro seems to feel the same thing I do. Well, I can't tell exactly until he flashes me a look of mourn and devastation. It's written all over his face, especially with his eyes—his emotions are always sitting there like they say "windows of the soul". That look is unmistakeable and it hurts if I were to ignore it.
"I know," I whisper, looking back at him, trying not to look as crushed as I look.
Suddenly, I act on an urge that is small as a baby step, but large enough to walk across the finish line. I pull one of the most important people in my life into a hug by throwing my arms around his neck, resting my face on his shoulder.
I feel Pietro hug me back, his arms wrapping around me that his hands meet together in the middle of my back.
We share this small infinity of comfort and peace during all the wreckage. Just two people whose home is now ruined.
My fingertips dig into the roots of Pietro's hair as my other hand presses against the back of his neck. The muscles there relax underneath my fingers, and I am closer to feeling like mush.
I pull back then, reminding myself where I am, about what's going on. But the moment I lift my head up, I find those same eyes pierce mine and my mind stops making up reasons not to do this in an instant.
I'm suddenly aware of things I never was aware of before, like our height difference—how my forehead meets his mouth. How my insides are warm and loose every time he holds me. How my lips are suddenly chapped. I'm also aware of how sweaty my palms are and how my fingers are shaking as I slide my fingers down his neck, grazing each of his shoulders. Even then he doesn't let go. I don't want him to.
If I were to hold on longer, I'd know I will begin to feel more comfortable around him again. I won't be kept on my toes, hesitating for what Pietro might say or do next. I'll feel comfortable. But then, he tightens his grip around my back, stopping me when he notices when I start actually letting go. Though, the moment ends itself once we hear sounds of Ultron's clones come from behind us. And they start getting louder, which means we both know they're close.
I quickly react, tearing myself out of his grip and bursting into a run. Without having to look back, I know Pietro has already taken off the same time I teleport when I feel a brush of wind from behind me. If I had teleported a second later then I did, I knew the small graze of my collar meant that I could have been caught by the hands of one of Ultron's clones.
Instead of landing the way I usually do, I find myself in a trap. My instincts had shut down at that very moment. I try to think of where Pietro is, but the pain in my body overcomes the thoughts in my head. My brain just caught up to my hands after I was hit with just one single blow. I'm ambushed by machines—and they had a surprising good attempt to make the first move. They beat me as my reflexes are slowed down. I try to gain control of the fight, but they have the advantage.
I turn around to swing again for no good reason, but one of the clones jumps from their spot and uses their metal hands to push me down. The weight of the metal was pushing me to the ground but just in time, I start to use my power to push back every swing so the moment that metal had collided with my body, the impact did not hurt as much.
The moment I was out of breath and about to scream in pain, a small voice spoke in my head. For once it wasn't Steve. It was that voice from earlier. It told me I'm going to lose. That I will lose this fight if I do not let myself lose control.
No.
I will not let that thought overcome my strength. I want to be stronger than this. I need to be stronger than this if I'm to call myself an Avenger.
Fatigue rushes its way to my arms and wrists. My muscles start screaming at me for all the energy I'm using. My powers continue to push back against the machine's strength, but as my vision becomes blurry, I realize that I feel close to passing out.
I move my hands forward for another push, once more as hard as I could. I let go of the clone with my right hand, bending my arm backwards like a catapult. I put as much of my power in that hand that I could, so the instant my fingers touched the clone, it explodes.
Yet, even when I had finished fighting this clone, I knew I could not simply rest. A lot of my energy has been drained. But, I knew I still had control over my legs to keep me standing. I feel pain afterwards as heat collects in my wrists, my blood burning inside of me. I feel sweat drip from my forehead, my hair now clinging to my face.
There's a brick wall behind me, so I knew if my back was against it, it means I'll lose. But instead of the wall, one of the machines comes behind me and takes a hold of me. Then, I'm flying across the street. I land right on the bumper of a parked car in the end of the alley.
Pain is all that becomes of me.
My landing shatters the glass from the windshield. But what broke my fall—maybe even my back—is the car itself. I can feel the shards of glass slicing my leg, a couple maybe stuck in them. I can feel multiple cuts, wounds that would bleed much more than it is if my suit didn't have the fabric to handle a cut.
I land on the car in a horizontal position with my back facing the black colored metal. I feel the dent I create beneath me. As more of those brutal, strong machines start to come towards me, noticing how I'm injured, I force myself to lift my legs while the upper half of my body begins to lift itself. I put my weight forward so I can sit up, using my arms to support me. In that moment, my legs are numb, my back drowns in pain and it shoots straight up to the back of my neck. I look around for somewhere safe to teleport, worried what is to come of me. But that's when I feel a sudden gust of wind, and a familiar flash of blue.
I'm in relief. I know I'm safe.
One second, the group Ultron's clones were heading towards me, but in a blink of an eye, they're all on the ground—in pieces. I find myself staring at Pietro, whose standing in front of me as if he had nothing to do with it.
In one swift motion, Pietro scoops me up in his arms again, taking us away from here to somewhere safer. He helps set my feet back on the ground, slowly as I try not to let it show that my body is in agony.
One again, Pietro rescued me.
Pietro keeps his hand against my back, pressing it gently against my back when he hears a groan escape my lips. He carefully scans his eyes up and down my body for any wounds, or at least anything worse than he was already seeing at this moment. Pietro does this without my consent, but I allow myself to take in that feeling of being cared for. It's been so long, and I didn't think I'll have it again after us being enemies.
When he places his hands on both sides of my face, examining me closely, I see a change of look in his eyes. They're tentative, almost as if he trying to figure out how to solve a mathematical equation in his head. He continues to stare into my eyes, as if they hold the answer. This look seems almost familiar. But I recognize it as the same look I saw that he wore the time Wanda was shot with one of Clint's arrows. . .but yet it feels different being given that look. It's the look that frightens me.
"I'm okay," I say, taking his hands off my cheeks.
"It didn't look like it," he says, nodding his head towards the car. "Not how I watched you fall."
I suddenly have the urge to run away.
I want stop this from becoming a debate, but for a reason. In the pit of my stomach, I knew I wanted to get away from Pietro, yet at the same time, there was a larger part of me that hopes he doesn't let me go. "I'm fine," I reassure him. "There's more of them coming so we should get back to work."
"You can fight?" Pietro asks me, still unconvinced.
No answer would make him okay with the possibility of me getting hurt. But I've been hurt before, and I've still walking through the pain. Still, knowing that I could get hurt again, means he won't leave me alone. The only reason Pietro is allowing his sister to be alone at this second is because of the stubbornness they both share. Wanda has a control over Pietro of her own. She can convince him to let her fight on her own. Unlike me. . .I don't exactly have that power. . .but I can try.
I look straight into Pietro's eyes, giving him another, better way to convince him besides my words. I reply not only with the most confidence I have felt in a long time, especially when I know it's the most vital choice to help mankind. "Yes."
Pietro sees the fire in my eyes. The determination behind them. He realizes that look from our childhood.
Ever since we were children, Wanda and I were always the ones who would run into trouble, wanting to only seek adventure. That meant Pietro has always carried the burden to watch over us, that Wanda and I would be his responsibility. The weight would always be on his shoulders, but he would also want to take care of us. I barely come to realize where this side of him was coming from.
Pietro nods an 'okay' right after we saw a group of Ultron's clones coming straight for us. As we both run into the other end of the alley, they start to come from each end. They have us trapped. Many of them were heading for us. I have to think of something quick before we get swarmed from the group of clones soon starting to grow. Seeing Pietro switch his weight from one leg to the other, I come up with an idea to take all of the machines at the same time.
I push out my hand, along with a strong burst of wind that pushes the machines back. Unfortunately, others come from behind them seemingly to be lined up one after the other. I push my other hand out and take a hold of the machines. Then, I curl my fingers into a fist that tear them apart in the process.
I grasp those same broke pieces of Ultron's clones in my mind, I sweep my hand in a 'C' formation, making ever single piece laid out on the alley floor levitate. After that, I make them move towards Pietro and I. Then, I control the pieces to turn and combine together in the way I have it pictured in my mind.
Pietro must have gotten the hint as soon as I begin to form the metal pieces into the closest version of a staircase I could create. I knew Pietro went with my idea as he took off in a run to the top of the alleyway and took out machines that were hidden on the rooftops. He comes back down shortly and I go along with the idea that comes in my head. I use the opportunity to take those floating pieces of metal and throw them at more machines that were already heading our way.
I must have missed a piece, because suddenly, Pietro has my back against a wall. I look up and watch it land at the spot where I was just standing. It definitely would have hit me right in the head.
It only takes a moment to digest what was happening. Pietro was standing right in front of me, his chest right against mine. With my height, he was only inches taller then me. But that was of course due to the heels of my boots. I always remember Pietro being taller then me, but he has not been this close to me to know exactly how much taller. Then I thought about it again, he is standing close to me—really close to me.
I try to sidestep out of his way, but I feel my wrists stuck in his grip. They're pressed against the wall, right beside my hips. "I was careful," I tell him as a reaction, regretting I spoke at all.
"I know," Pietro teases as he flashes a grin. Damn that grin.
"If your intention is to impress me," I pause, glaring at him, "It's not working."
I figure he can tell I was blushing, because he seems unconvinced. "Sure it's not," he tells me, taking a step back, letting go.
"So you admit that you were trying to impress me?"
"Maybe I was." He is more of a flirt than I remembered. Not that he is flirting with me. He couldn't! "How else would I get your attention?"
I shake my head, hiding my own smile as I turn around to continue fighting in this war that felt like it was one to never end. I feel the air blow through my hair as Pietro ran off to another spot in the battle. Then, a part of me tightens. Pain is becoming my best friend during this battle, because it reminds me of why I got injured in the first place.
I know my injuries are my fault, but I let myself get lost in Pietro's lust. I let myself forget I was in this war. I shouldn't need Pietro to worry about me from every blow and bruise. There is a war in our backyard that we cannot ignore—not now—not ever.
As I walk out of the alley, I allow the pain be a reminder. I can't let myself be distracted again. I don't want to feel like I need to be protected, to be saved. But I do. . .and I wanted to be saved—to be saved by Pietro. My head was listing the things I should not to prevent to get myself injured just like I was already. . .but my heart wasn't so sure to agree.
**
Ultron destroyed Sokovia for a reason. It's flying above the air, ready to destroy all life on this plant for his own good. This is a problem. The human race will be annihilated if we don't find a solution to get rid of this floating land. But besides that, we have to find a solution to get these people off first. Not only is the world in our hands, but the lives, the fate of the ones left on this half of Sokovia is our responsibility. I have to admit it to myself that it doesn't exclude the team and myself being stuck on the wrong side as well.
Then it occurs to me that my team and I are stuck on the half of Sokovia that could destroy the world. That fact only leads to the multiple possibilities of what might happen because the odds are stacked against us. Right now, I would do anything to be beside Pietro, Wanda or even Steve on the battlefield. I feel cold, and I start feeling more hallow the longer I stand here by myself. I decide to go find them myself and soon enough, I find myself making my way to find the others of my team.
I walk towards the open deep in the city and being out in the open, I can see Steve and Natasha not to far from where I stand close by. They stand near the edge of the broken land. In front of us all is a bridge—or was—as it was broken in half when the earth split apart. And on the torn road, multiple cars were scattered, reminders that people were once having a normal day before hell fell down on them. Steve and Natasha both seem to be looking out at the view of the sky and the clouds passing by. They also seem to be enjoying the view. But, I have a hunch that that is not exactly what they are doing. I thought about why we are in danger due to us being up here, and how the ratio from us against those below us is a lot lower—I wouldn't be surprised if I could guess what exactly they were actually doing.
Right now, there's a moment of peace throughout the battlefield that means the fight has paused. I start to bite my thumbnail because of the thought that time is slipping through our fingers as we stand around hoping for a miracle. Time is slipping away from us, lessening our chances to do something about the innocent Sokovians (and ourselves) stuck on this floating rock. The look on my teammates faces deepens, now I don't want to know what they are talking about.
Suddenly, in the earpiece, Fury's voice brings us hope. "Glad you like the view, Romanoff," he tells us, "It's about to get better." Sharp wind bats at my ears, causing my hair to be blown behind my shoulders. The churning sound of the engines come from below us, close to the edge of the bridge that was torn in half.
"Fury, you son of a bitch." Steve curses under his breath after he was taken by surprised.
"Ooh hoo, you kiss your mother with that mouth." Fury teases Steve.
Then, as if on cue, small carrier ships start coming out of the main aircraft and land in front of us. I sigh in relief, feeling a large weight fall off my shoulders when it appears that there are plenty for the civilians to board. We are given enough time to help all the Sokovians to get on the carriers. And Wanda is one step ahead, genuinely leading the civilians to the ships so they can board. It feels good to witness them feel relief as they board the carrier ships, the same relief I had knowing our job is almost done. I smile to myself, watching their expression as they know they are getting the chance of survival.
I put my hands on my hips, surveying the area to see if anyone needs help on board and to protect them just in case any clones decide to rain on our parade. I turn my head to the left and I manage to catch a glimpse of a middle age women holding her kids close to her as they boards one of the carriers. Then, a gust of wind come from behind me. I use my fingers to cover my lips, hiding the smile that immediately grows on its own because I know exactly what caused the wind, or, well, who caused it. As I turn around, the first thing I see is the smile Pietro wears just for me. But what seems like seconds feels like minutes and I come to realize that I am staring at those lips—his lips.
I feel my chest constrict as I inhale. It's only becoming harder to be around him. Before I entered this battle, I allowed myself to cope with the fact that fighting in this war might be the cause of my death. But the longer that I stare at Pietro, I'm unsure. Maybe instead, he would be the death of me.
Pietro comes up beside me, leaning towards me to whisper, "Hey."
"Hey," I repeat, unable to think of anything better to say.
My head tells me to keep this weird feeling buried inside of me. But these feelings are familiar, just enough to know that if was okay to accept them, yet strange to have them, especially when they distract me from the cause. A part of me was somehow wondering how my feelings towards Pietro apart from the feelings I had in the past are now beginning to piece together.
After this moment of silence, it had became awkward between us. I looked to the ground, hoping my hair could hide my cheeks once I feel the color rise in them. I decide to change the subject, "So it looks like Fury came to rescue."
Pietro walks towards the view in front of us, his attention on the aircraft hovering above Sokovia. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?" He asks, seemingly stunned by the sight.
"This is what they're suppose to be," Steve says aloud, answering his question. I turn to my right where Natasha stands and she smiles in agreement. Then, I train my eyes on Pietro and his reaction towards the smaller ships.
Right as more carriers came towards us, more of the Sokovians that were inside burst out. That cluster of civilians start to board the aircrafts, trusting that they are in safe hands.
"This is not so bad." Pietro says.
I'm actually caught off guard.
I snap my head towards Pietro, who, only stares straight ahead. I feel pleased to know that he's finally accepted S.H.I.E.L.D. for what it is like I have. That he sees the good in it that I always have and have tried to get him to understand.
Pietro's face lights up, his eyes filling up with the same hope that S.H.I.E.L.D. has given to Sokovia. At that moment, I was witnessing a change in the way he sees S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. Also, at that very moment, I realize that it never mattered to me how he saw them. It was all about how he saw me that mattered.
"Let's load them up," Steve orders and then each of us took off separately, returning to the battle we need to win.
**
"Thor, I got a plan!" Tony says through the earpiece, as he flies through the air. As the carriers were taking off, Ultron's clones were trying to take them down. Tony and James Rhodes (a.k.a. War Machine) were above us, making sure the carriers were delivered safely to the aircraft.
"We're out of time," Thor warns us, "they're coming for the core."
I remain below with the carries, supervising what is going on for myself. I help protect the people that are still boarding. I protect the Sokovians to ensure they are safe and comfortable before take off. I have the ground while Iron Man and War Machine have the sky.
"Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board," Tony orders.
"On it."
I decide to wait to take off after another carrier has left the ground before I made my way to the core. As I turn around, walking to the direction of the town square, Tony says from his earpiece to ours, "Avengers, time to work for a living."
Motivated by Tony's words and with the help of a little adrenaline, I break out into a run, ready to activate my teleportation and head to the core. Once I have arrived to the building made out of arches, Thor, Tony, and the red man that sounds like Jarvis is already at the core. I don't hesitate to join in and fight the clones that just happen to come towards me.
In the corners of my eyes, I catch small flashes of blue around the core—meaning Pietro has arrived. Then Steve appears while finishing off one of the robots he seems to be fighting before he got here. Once the fighting has calmed down inside at the core, Wanda and Clint enter. Instinctively, Pietro walks up to greet his sister.
"You good?" he asks her, reaching out his arm to hers.
Wanda connects her arm with his. "Yeah." She sighs, almost too haste to answer. Her eyes avert from her brother's and gaze over his shoulder, seeing me standing behind Pietro. "You?" she asks, nodding at me.
I hesitate to answer as multiple responses start flooding my mind. I would have made a joke at a time like this, but it's not only Wanda who notices that I'm taking too long to answer. Pietro turns around and suddenly both of their eyes are on me. "I'm okay." I didn't know if that was a lie, but it felt as if it were one. A half lie, a half truth. I continue the show with a small smile that only lasts for a few seconds before Romanoff makes an entrance that involves a truck running over some of Ultron's clones.
"What's the drill?" she asks, taking a few steps to the core.
"This," Tony pauses, pointing to the core, "is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose."
Right when we were preparing ourselves for the next wave of Ultron's clones to attack at any time, Bruce—as the Hulk— arrives while smashing a few robots during his entrance. Then, Ultron appears in front of all of us. The whole team turns in his direction, and I was sure we each were fighting the urge to take him down ourselves.
Only a second later, Thor screams out, "IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO!" He decides to make the attempt to taunt our enemy towards the open battlefield.
In the distance, the whole team heard the sound of metal clanging against the stone ground throughout the rest of the town square. They all appear behind Ultron, as he held out a hand for them to standby.
"You had to ask. . ." Steve teases.
"This is the best I can do." Ultron says, "This is exactly what I wanted, all of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"
"Well, like the old man said," Tony pauses, sharing a look with Steve, "together."
With a roar coming from the Hulk, the largest fleet of Ultron's army comes charging at us. We all stood still, having to wait for it to come and fight their way to get to the core. But of course, we won't let that happen, or Sokovia would explode before the rest of the innocent civilians caught in the middle of this battle won't have the chance to get to safety.
Once the army starts circling around us, we cover different spots—any spots we could to protect the core. Under one archway, Natasha and Clint were using their arrows and bullets to take down their side of the clones one-by-one. Thor and Tony have it covered at the south side, using their sources of power. Steve and Wanda have the east side, Steve throwing his shield and using his combat skills while Wanda wipes out multiple clones all at once with her power.
Meanwhile, the Hulk takes down a lot with his bare hands. The red man—who sounds just like Jarvis—has taken care of the clones above us before the clones could fly their way to the core and activate the bomb. In-between the Avengers and the clones, Pietro and I use our powers to fight the clones off. Pietro uses his speed to put the clones into pieces and I teleport around the clones while using my other ability to crush them. Each of us have a job to do.
Together, we form a team who devotes theirselves to not allow a single piece of metal to come close to the core. We all combine our powers, working beside one another like a system. A pretty damn good one in fact.
We notice that the fleet begins dying out. Thor, Tony, and the red man combine their powers to take down Ultron himself without his army to back him up. Their powers didn't destroy Ultron, but it definitely weakened him. Right after, Ultron tries to tell us something but Hulk throws a wide swing that makes him fly through the air to who knows where he lands. Then, the rest of Ultron's clones decide to retreat, suddenly afraid of us.
"They're trying to leave the city," Thor warns us.
"We can't let them, not even one." The clones take off in the air, Tony instantly chasing their tails. "Rhodey!" Tony calls out to his friend.
"On it!" he responds.
As the rest of our team who couldn't fly, stands by the core. Steve turns to us and decides what to do next. "We need to move out. Even I can tell the air's gettin' thin." Steve points to Clint and Natasha, "You guys get to the boats, I'll sweep for stragglers. I'll be right behind you."
"What about the core?" Clint asks.
The rest of us are surprised by who volunteers. "I'll protect it," Wanda speaks up. I could see the tension between her and Clint, as they share a telepathic look. "It's my job." Clint nods, seeing how serious Wanda is to stay at the core.
I thought about her being alone to protect the core, a familiar feeling ran through me. A feeling towards Wanda staying here which I didn't like. So I volunteer next, "I'll stay as well."
From the corner of my eye, I can see Steve turn towards my direction, his eyes holding something in them that show he is surprised. But as he can tell by my face, he knew I have to stay.
"Nat, this way," Clint ushers Natasha as they both took off in a different direction from the core.
I glance from them to Steve and he shares his own telepathic look with me. It may have been stiff, almost emotionless, just enough that I might misread what it means, but no words need to be said between us. There's something inside his eyes that tells me that there's enough to clear the air. In spite of the silence, I tell him, "Good luck."
As fast as flickering a light switch, Steve gives me a smile as he replies, "You too." With those words vanishing into the wind, he takes off in the opposite direction, leaving me to watch him walk away.
I suddenly feel a burn in my throat, realizing I was holding my breath. When I turn around, I see Wanda finishing off another clone. Pietro walks over to us until he is standing in front of us both. "Get the people on the boats," she orders him.
Glancing from me to her, Pietro immediately says, "I'm not going to leave you here."
"I can handle it." Wanda reassures him, firing another blast of her power at a clone who tries to come against the three of us. Pietro watches in amusement, although still in doubt if he should leave the most important people in his life. Realistically, I don't know how important I am on his scale. "Come back for us when everyone is off, not before."
Pietro straightens his back, shifting his weight on both of his feet. He stares into the debris at our feet, trying to think it over. When he doesn't respond, Wanda asks him, "Do you understand?"
"No," he says simply.
That guy just doesn't quit, I think to myself.
Seeing that Wanda was failing to convince her overprotective brother to allow us to fight on our own, I decide that it is my turn to try to speak up for us. "Your sister's right," I tell Pietro, walking up to him, passing by Wanda as she stands in the center. "We got this covered, Pietro," I gesture to Wanda and myself, glancing at her over my shoulder and I turn back to Pietro. "Wait until everyone else is safe." I step closer to him, deepening my look so he would hopefully take the hint. "They need you out there. I got your sister's back if that is what you're worried about—"
I am cut short of my words as I realize Pietro has vanished from the spot he was once. A gust of wind shoots at me, causing my hair to fly in my face. I quickly fix my hair from my eyes to find Pietro towering over me. I suck in a breath, petrified as all the alarms in my brain went off because of the small amount of distance between us.
Up close, I easily can smell the sweat, dirt, and wind, but there's a tang of spice coming off of him that strikes all my senses. Pietro takes another step closer to me, questioning if there is even enough room between us to do so since we seem so close already. But close doesn't seem to be close enough. . .
Then without me as so much attempting to back away, Pietro softly cups my face in his hands, his thumbs caressing my cheekbones. He gently tilts my head up to force me to look up at him, his slow movements racking my brain even more. They cause me to question everything I know. I feel the need to stop myself, but there has always been a part of me that yearns for moments like these with Pietro. And coincidentally, here out of all places, here happens to be the one place where we would share something I never saw coming.
Pietro does one of the things what could ever be on my 'The Most Unexpected Things That Could Happen Today' list: he kisses me. Without hesitation, but much intensity coming from his behalf, he presses his lips right against mine. I quickly place my hands on either sides of his waist, feeling awkward that my arms are just hanging at my sides.
A fire burns between us both, a feeling of light and electricity that were once only little sparks—now bursting into fireworks. Powerful, passionate, timeless—there are too many words to describe this moment, so much more just to describe the kiss alone. I have to admit, for a first kiss, it's even better than the movies make it seem.
Every thought that was once in my mind before Pietro kissed me has dissipated. I've forgotten how to breathe, how to hear, how to do anything. Though, one thought remains in my head that tells me that I need this kiss, that I need Pietro. I don't want to allow myself to get swept away by this moment, to let ourselves get distracted. But I wrap my hands around his neck, letting my fingertips run through the roots of his hair, because either way I just don't care.
I push my lips along his, wanting this more than I could have ever expected. Wondering why this part of me has always craved for him, knowing it always will. As I try to grasp onto this a little longer, it really did feel like time has stopped for us. Only us.
Inside the kiss, inside this space that we have created between us, it seems like there is nothing bad in our lives. But on the outside, there is a possibility of us dying in this war. I might have forgotten about the war itself if Pietro hadn't broke it off.
Pietro leaves just enough room for us to breathe, sharing the same air. He brushes his forehead over my own, taking advantage of what there is left of our endearment and says, "That is why I saved you—when Ultron kidnapped you—and that is why I worry about you. I can't help it. . .I always will."
There's a rush of adrenaline and confusion that keeps my eyes from looking into his. Instead, I look to the ground as my mind collects memories to figure out what Pietro means. Then it hits me, my birthday party—the one I didn't ask for. Ultron had crashed in and had knocked me out for some reason—or at least one of his clones had gotten to me first. Ultron had done this so he could take me to use me against them. To keep them in line.
But Pietro and Wanda protected me before Ultron had the chance to do anything with me. He protected me, for more reasons then I could have known.
I'm speechless.
Pietro finally breaks the silence, "Promise me you'll stay here. For you and Wanda." I see how it would be better for him to carry the burden of leaving two important people in his life if they were in the same place. The higher chance of safety if Wanda and I fight together, if we work on the same task together.
Say something, I scream at myself. But I can't. I release the grip I still keep around his neck and I take a step back. The guy who once watched over me as if I was his own sister—or so I thought—cares for me in a way I didn't think he ever would. Well, he obviously does from what I felt in that kiss.
As I continue to stare into those eyes, the way reel me in like magnets, I find them detach from mine and gaze over my shoulder where his sister stands behind me. Then, I find myself able to think correctly. I think of the right words to say, which I manage to do, "I will."
Once I look back to Wanda, I realize we both forgot she was standing by. I only become more embarrassed to find Wanda half staring at us, and at the last second, she pretends she wasn't looking at us at all.
Pietro side-steps me, giving each of us one meaningful look that had the words he couldn't say out loud, and turns around, beginning to walk away from us, heading east of Sokovia. Only, instead of taking off, he stops patiently, telling Wanda, "You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you."
"Go!" Shooing him off, in spite of making her laugh.
When Pietro is gone and leaves us with his wind. Wanda turns to me, forming her lips into a smirk. From the face she makes, I can mentally hear her cheering me on. I roll my eyes, knowing she will say something about what just happened.
"Go ahead and say it," I tell her, giving up from her suddenly concentration turning into excitement.
"What?" Wanda says. "I don't have to say anything."
"Good because that was. . .well that was. . .we were. . .uh. . ."
Wanda turns around to guard her half of the core. "Don't worry," she says over her shoulder, "you have my permission."
I roll my eyes again. Permission for what?
Wanda has it in for me. Maybe she knew about the way Pietro thought about me after all this time. She is in fact the one person closest to him. Wanda may have been waiting for this moment as much as I had not expected it.
"Although," she says, "I wonder whom I would have to go after if either of you break the other's heart," she teases, mixing her threatening voice with something else that lets me know she's just joking.
"Well, I don't think you have to worry about that any time soon." I tell her, returning that grin she gave me. Not only was I smiling at her, but I was smiling to thank life for giving me these irreplaceable moments with the person who has always been like a sister to me.
With that in mind, I turn to guard my half of the core. I keep my eyes out for any more of Ultron's clones. I am ready for another round. Hell, I felt ready to finish this myself. I could not feel at more peace with what I have, that I will fight with Ultron and his army just to keep it. I lost it once, and I do not intend for anyone, or anything, to take it away from me.