Upstate New York, USA
Spring 2016
To say Pietro was in a foul mood was an understatement. But really, he'd been in some form of a foul mood for months now.
How could they just ground him?! And look what had happened because they did. No matter the niggle of doubt in the back of his mind at his twin's—everyone's, actually—reminder that he had no way of knowing, he was positive things would gone much better in Lagos had he been there. He was certain.
Then Wanda wouldn't be on the verge of retreating into her own head with guilt and uncertainty and fear. She wouldn't be bearing the brunt of the condemnation for what had happened...
Pietro sighed, struggling to rein his thoughts and his temper back.
That wasn't all true. He knew it wasn't that simple. He wasn't as naive as he had been; Ultron had seen to that. The Team had made sure it was a lesson that stuck, Romanoff and Ms. Ryker forcing him to actually take the time to think before he did anything over the course of training, not letting up until the habit stuck...for the most part. Even though he knew they all worried that he hadn't internalized one thing they'd said, he had listened to what Ms. Ryker and Romanoff and Captain Rogers had said to him. He'd listened to Nina. He knew he was hot-headed. He grudgingly understood why the Captain has benched him despite the huge asset he knew he was to the Team. He knew there was no guarantee that, had he been in Lagos, things would've fallen out any differently, much less better. He knew things might very well have been worse.
But he also knew people were calling for Wanda to be locked up because she was 'too dangerous'. No matter that everyone had all but banned him from watching TV or hopping onto the internet, he wasn't oblivious.
Hard to be anyway when apparently they were under house-arrest, now. Wanda had been almost frightfully pale when he'd walked into the common room to hear Vision explaining that Stark had made it clear neither of them were supposed to leave the Compound. Pietro had nearly lost his temper at that. Even Vision's calm explanation that it was for their own safety and that it was the best of several alternatives did little to ease either Wanda indignation and pain or Pietro's outrage at the directive.
He bit back a groan, scrubbing a hand over his face before speeding around the track again. Several laps and barely a second later, genuinely panting this time from the effort of pushing himself further and faster still, he spared a glance at his time. He smirked. An extra two laps with barely an extra millisecond added to his time.
But the expression faded quickly in the face of his aggravation. He needed to cool down, he knew that. Normally Wanda's presence was enough to help him relax and get his head back, but given how his guilt and worry threatened whenever he so much as looked at his twin just now? Wanda had all but banned him from her presence. He unnerved her right now, she said. Really, he was unnerving himself...
And his other option was effectively off the table too...though, he was seriously considering just ignoring Stark's directive and slipping away to visit Nina. Right now? His girlfriend was the only one who had any true success in helping him get his head back, her sunny features and the quiet way she just listened helped more than he thought she knew.
But...tempting an option as that was? To sneak away to find some manner of comfort in Nina's soothing presence? He was just as reluctant as he was longing. And not just because it was potentially dangerous to risk revealing just how closely linked she was to the Avengers. She could be formidable when her temper was up, too. She could go just as cool and hard as her mom, when she was upset. And right now?
Nina had every right to be upset.
And she was. Quite. He'd found that out when she'd called him, expecting it to be his turn to be the listening ear once she'd heard the news Romanoff had passed on that Ms. Ryker has been arrested in Bucharest right alongside Captain Rogers and Wilson.
Only to realize within moments of answering the phone that she didn't know yet, having only just gotten out of class...and having been unable to get through to her aunt. To say she had sounded on the verge of panic went without saying.
"I just heard: Steve's been arrested?" she'd said, barely pausing long enough to breathe or even properly say hi, she was so worked up. "And Sam?" It was then that his stomach had dropped and he'd realized was had—or hadn't, as the case was—happened. He very much hadn't wanted to be the one to tell her. He'd hoped she would've checked her messages already. Wanda had said Natasha told her she was going to tell Nina when she'd told him the news.
"Nina—"
"What for?" she'd continued, as though she hadn't even heard him. "They're—"
"Did you talk to your aunt yet?" Pietro only just barely managed to break in, but Nina's mind was effectively glued to the track it was on.
"It keeps going straight to voicemail," she blurted out anxiously before returning to her previous thought without even hesitating. "They said something about—" Pietro had honestly felt sick in that moment as full bore dread mingled abruptly with stinging shards of furious disbelief, his breath catching painfully as it felt like he'd just been kicked in the chest. The realization had burned in his chest—it still burned, really. How could Romanoff not answer? This was Nina and her mom they were talking about?! This was something she needed to know. As Nina had let her nerves run away with her mouth, Pietro had wavered between shock, anger and his own set of nerves. It was something she needed to know. Between one heartbeat and the next—an eternity for him, at times—he'd made his decision...and wished silently that he had his twin's tact... But there had been nothing for it.
"Nina!" He cut her off mid-sentence, easily able to picture her with her mouth still open and ready to continue. At least until he continued. "Nina, it wasn't just Rogers and Wilson arrested."
Nina was silent for so long Pietro was afraid the call had dropped, even going so far as to open his mouth to ask if she was still there.
"They have my mom too, don't they," she had whispered fearfully then, though there was an edge to her own voice that had sent a nervous shiver down Pietro's spine. She sounded like her mom in that instant. Or rather, like The Ghost.
He hadn't even had a chance to answer, to confirm what she'd realized on her own.
She'd hung up on him. Actually hung up, without a word.
Pietro's gut still ached at the realization that that's what had happened. He'd honestly stared at his phone's screen for almost a full minute, unable to quite process what had happened. Any of it, not just the hanging up part.
And then he'd promptly let out a string of colourful curses that Wanda would've vehemently disapproved of.
But what was really not helping? He could get it. He knew why she'd hung up. Not only because he knew Nina, but because of the virtue of his twin sister ensuring that he was not quite so oblivious to the mysteries of the female mind as many other males. Or, at least, he was pretty sure that was the case. He'd learned fairly early on what was prudent when dealing with girls purely because his sister was his other half.
So he was pretty sure Nina had hung up because she was just too shocked and scared and angry to think straight. Similar to how Wanda had screamed at him and physically shoved him from her room when he'd tried to make her feel better about Lagos. Of course, he'd gotten carried away and, in retrospect, gone about it the wrong way, but that was beside the point. Wanda had been too hurt and guilty and angry with herself to be receptive and he should have known that. He had known, but had recklessly assumed that because he was her twin, he would easily be able to get through to her.
Yeah, looking back, that had been a stupid assumption.
But he'd learned from it. He'd backed off—as much as he could, at least—and let his twin come to him. That had worked out much better.
So here, he intended to do the same for Nina. Let her fume and process for as long as she needed and once she was ready for comfort or talking or whatever, he would be right there already.
Really, if he wasn't so worked up and anxious himself, he'd be smugly proud at what a good boyfriend he was being.
It wasn't that simple, sadly. Pleased with himself as he was over how maturely he was taking his girlfriend's reaction, it was still getting to him. The whole situation was. The Accords, whatever was going on in Bucharest with Ms. Ryker and Captain Rogers, Nina's obvious terror and anger over the whole thing. Wanda and her fearful reaction over the Accords and Stark's directive for them both to stay sequestered away in the Compound especially was getting to him.
And the fact that, despite his resolve to wait until Nina was ready to talk, he was antsy over how long she was taking. Surely she should be ready to talk by now, right?
Really, he might not even have minded if she'd stayed on the phone and proceeded to yell and cry and vent. He'd done it with her...except the crying part, of course. And she'd always listened. He could do that for her, no problem.
Okay, perhaps that was wishful thinking, he mused, knowing how short his own fuse was just now and how he had a well known tendency to grow sullen and snap back, especially given his current mood trend without Wanda's tempering influence. But the intention had to count for something, right?
He was so edgy he nearly jumped out of his skin as his phone started ringing, painfully loud in the large, empty space of the Compound's track.
And he nearly contemplated letting it ring for a minute. Understandable though it was, he was still somewhat grumpy that Nina had hung up on him.
But before he could follow through on the idea, he had already crossed the room and was tapping the accept button—all before the first ring had even fallen silent.
"I'm sorry," was blurted into his ear almost as soon as the call finished connecting.
"You didn't have to hang up on me though," he said peevishly, his accent thickening. Not that it entirely hid the hurt in his voice, either. Silently he berated himself for that bit. He hadn't intended for that to slip out. A small, sad sound reached him over the phone. "I would've understood if you'd just...said something. I could've helped...or listened or something..." he trailed off lamely. He'd already considered what likely would have happened had they done that. The small, sad sound was followed by a sound he rather suspected was a strangled attempt not to giggle. Of course she'd had the same thought...she did know him better than he knew her at times...
"I know," she assured him, sounding fondly amused. "You would've tried valiantly to listen." He huffed, but couldn't quite bring himself to mind her gentle teasing. Though still faintly hollow, she sounded much more like herself. "But I think we both know you don't have the patience right now." I don't think either of us do." Absently he shrugged, humming in tacit agreement. It was true.
"I could've come up there," he countered boldly. "It's easier in person." This time she did giggle.
"But I thought you said you and Wanda weren't allowed to leave the Compound right now." He sneered silently at the question.
"As if that would stop me," he dismissed confidently, grinning widely no matter that she couldn't see it. She laughed before sobering.
"As much as I might have liked that, it still probably wouldn't have been a good idea. Not with the way everyone here is so on edge about Enhanced...especially the Avengers," she added bitterly. He could get that, irritable as the reminder of some of the things Nina had told him she'd overheard on campus made him. Before he'd just been able to brush the ridiculous criticisms off...but after Lagos...
"Anyway," Nina continued, her voice still tense but revealing a small measure of relief that had Pietro letting out a long, silent exhale. In a blink he was sliding down to sit against the wall of the indoor track. "I heard from Aunt Nat—" And at once Pietro's temper sparked again.
"Did she explain why she was ignoring you?" he grumbled out, still indignant on Nina's behalf.
"Pietro," Nina admonished automatically, though she didn't sound in the least bit surprised by his outburst, "it wasn't her fault." He opened his mouth to object; of course it was if she hadn't answered, "something happened. In Berlin." And what he'd intended to say died on his tongue at the sudden grave, even frightened cast to Nina's tone.
"What happened?" he asked, sensing her reluctance, the tense silence in her end a glaring clue. He had a feeling he already knew.
"The Winter Soldier went on a rampage and escaped," Nina finally explained softly. Okay, not...precisely what he'd imagined. "And in the chaos, Steve, Sam and...and my Mom slipped away after him." There it was.
"Are we surprised Ms. Ryker gave them the slip?" he asked with an attempt at cheer. "Your mom is crazy skilled." Not that it entirely worked. He hoped at the very least he'd managed to elicit a small smile, though.
"No," she admitted, the hint of a smile in her tone. "No, I suppose it's not. I just..." she hesitated, likely gathering her thoughts. "It's just I'm worried about her," she admitted unhappily. "I haven't heard from her yet to tell me she's okay and...and I'm not sure I'm going to." The mix of certainty and uncertainty in her voice was unsettling to say the least and Pietro shifted uncomfortably.
"But it's your Mom," Pietro objected. "She always—"
"I think this time is different," Nina interrupted, her voice a hollow whisper.
"She'll find a way," Pietro assured her with as much confidence as he could muster—it wasn't hard. As nervous as Ms. Ryker made him with the way her impassive looks made him feel like he'd gotten caught stealing from the cookie jar, it wasn't hard to admire her and her impressive range of skills. There were times Pietro had even found himself in awe of the blonde assassin. Not that he'd admit as much aloud; he did have a reputation to uphold, after all. "She always has something up her sleeve." Nina gave a small, uncertain hum.
"I hope you're right," she said. "But this time..." she faltered before giving in and voicing her fears, taking Pietro up on his implied offer to listen, her word coming faster and faster as her mind began to run away with her mouth. "This time she's actually got people after her. She's got Tony and Nat after her, this time, Pietro...and Natasha's not sure how much they're going to be able to do to help her if they find her. Apparently they have orders from the Accords committee to bring Mom and the Winter Soldier in by any means necessary! And that Mom seems to be going after the Winter Soldier with Steve and Sam on top of it? Like Nat seems to think she's doing..." she trailed off, then, her runaway train of thought coming to a screeching halt. Pietro frowned again, feeling rather helpless even as his temper was once more struggling to flare.
Only for it to dim as Nina's next words startled him from that train of thought.
"Did you know the Winter Soldier used to be Steve's friend? Before—well, before he was the Winter Soldier?" Pietro frowned, started by the question. Had the Captain ever said anything about the Winter Soldier around him? At once he was struggling to remember, an absent little niggle in the back of his mind seeming to think there had been one time... Maybe. He wasn't sure, though. He couldn't remember so it was as good as not knowing, as far as he was concerned.
"I don't think so," he answered. "I don't think Captain Rogers ever said anything." Nina hummed distractedly, not sounding wholly satisfied. The furrow between Pietro's brows deepened; at this rate he was going to develop a permanent line on his forehead...his nose wrinkled distastefully at the thought.
"I feel like," she burst out, "like there's just too much feeling and stuff and—ugh...my head feels a bit like it's about to explode...you know?" Pietro hummed in agreement. He did know and he could definitely sympathize. He was feeling rather similarly, at the moment, what with his temper and feelings of helplessness and worry over Nina and Wanda and everything going on gnawing at him.
"Yeah," he murmured back, unable to entirely hide his own tense frustration. It felt like it was vibrating in his chest, the need to do something. It was why he'd spent the last hour on his workout and trying to push his abilities before Nina had finally called him back.
After a moment Nina sighed.
"It's just...first the Accords and everyone stressing about them there and here, then this Winter Soldier thing—getting caught and then escaping—and Aunt Nat nearly getting blown up and Mom getting arrested and now disappearing too along with Steve and Sam...and—" He leaned forward with yet another frown, his elbows coming to rest on his knees as she trailed off with a distracted huff. He might not have his twin's knack for understanding people, but he liked to think he knew Nina pretty well. There was something else bothering her. Not that everything she'd listed wasn't more than enough. It was just a gut-feeling. The way she'd cut herself off again, like there was something else she'd held herself back from saying?
"Nina?" he prompted when she didn't continue. She sighed again, her tone almost frantic yet at the same time even resigned. Definitely distracted though. Even frustrated. It was puzzling, to be sure.
"It's...it's about this whole Winter Soldier business. I just..." she cut herself off with a small, irritable scoff. "I—oh, I don't even know what I'm thinking. This whole Steve and the Winter Soldier thing is really messing with my head, I suppose. Especially now that Nat said Mom might be running off after them both."
"Nina—" he repeated warily, the feeling like there was something Captain Rogers had said ages ago now about the Winter Soldier once again niggling at the back of his mind. Something he still couldn't quite put his finger on. Had it been after Seoul? Now that he was thinking about it, he was pretty sure it was something Wanda had said...he should probably ask her. She'd remember. He heard Nina sigh yet again. This was just a conversation of sighs and unseen frowns, wasn't it. He couldn't say he'd be surprised if Nina had spent most of their conversation with a frown on her face too. He knew he had.
"It's okay, Pietro," Nina cut in, sounding weary and definitely frustrated, her voice tight. Not with him...he hoped. He was pretty sure it wasn't because of him. He was fairly sure she was frustrated with herself over something. Not to mention likely doing her best not to freak out about her Mom...and her Aunt...and everything else...
"Do you want me to come there?" he asked softly. He could swear he almost felt her smile.
"No," she replied fondly. "No, it's okay. I'm okay. I just need some time to think. Thank you, though." He wasn't wholly convinced, blinking to his feet and beginning to head back toward his rooms. Maybe he should head to Cambridge anyway...
"You're sure," he prodded, a smirk coming to his face "I could be there in—" A laugh burst from Nina at his playfully wheedling tone.
But as she began to reply—still sounding much too distracted, he noted with a petulant huff—she cut herself off. "I—Look, Pietro, I have to go. Someone's knocking." Pietro barely managed a murmured goodbye in response to hers before he hung up.
For right at that moment, an explosion lit up the night outside the bank of windows he was passing from the other end of the Compound.
In an instant he was dashing back to the main building of the Compound searching for Wanda; first her room once he reached the Avengers' wing, then up to the Common Area.
Only to stop dead in his tracks in surprise to see Barton talking hurriedly to his twin even as he sent an arrow into the wall over the stairs and another into the end of the kitchenette's island. The archer's lip quirked as he looked up to Pietro, grabbing Wanda's hand as he did so.
"Cap needs our help," he was saying to Wanda even as he shot Pietro a questioning look.
Pietro didn't need to be asked twice...or at all, if he was being literal. This was exactly the kind of thing he'd been waiting for, what he'd been needing; the opportunity to do something.
In a blink he was racing away. In seconds he was slipping into the Gear Room of the Compound, and in the span of a pair of heartbeats, he was locating and stuffing his gear and Wanda's into a duffel. He'd seen the hesitation on his twin's face as Barton tried to pull her along, but Pietro was certain they'd get through to her quickly enough.
She was like him, after all. She felt the same need to do the right thing he did. The need to do something even if she was still smarting from Lagos.
She just needed to remember that.
And Barton would get through to her. The archer had somehow connected with his twin in Sokovia and, defensive as he was about that, Pietro couldn't quite deny that her admiration and trust for Barton was good for Wanda. Yes. Barton would turn Wanda around where he and Nina hadn't quite managed...yet. They would've gotten there, he was sure.
The thought died, though, as he dashed back up to the Common Area to meet up with Barton and Wanda.
Just in time to see Vision's hand slam into Barton's chest, sending him flying backward. And Pietro dropped the duffel.
Before it even thumped against the tile floor he was racing forward, his jaw set and all the frustration building and festering deep in his chest over the last few month fanned to life, fuelling his resolve...not that it did much good.
No sooner was he drawing back his arm to strike at Vis, than the synthezoid's arm had snaked out, catching Pietro's chest and throwing him back as Barton had been. His own momentum against him, Pietro flew back even more spectacularly than the archer, toppling over the railing guarding the far end of the room to crash into the wall before landing with a heavy grunt on the stairs. Dazed, it took him a moment to regain his bearings, jerking from his prone position as his equilibrium came flooding back. With a snarl that came out more like grimace, he was back on his feet in a heartbeat and was flying back up the stairs.
Just in time to see Wanda send a struggling Vision crashing down through the floor as a haze of vibrant scarlet erupted from her hands into the synthezoid's chest.
Pietro wasn't afraid to admit, in that moment, he was speechless. He knew his sister was incredible and incredibly powerful...but that was something else.
And the low whistle he let out to vocalize his awe promptly earned him a sharply admonishing look from his sister and a poorly concealed grin from Barton.
"C'mon," the archer said as he peered curiously down into the hole Wanda had created. He glanced to Pietro, then, nodding over to the abandoned duffel. "We got one more stop." Pietro had already retrieved the duffel before Barton had even finished speaking, only to falter as he registered what he said. His eyes narrowed at the archer.
"Nina?" he asked warily. His stomach flipped at the thought that Nina might be coming with them to help the Captain even as his stomach twisted into knots at the idea that she could join what was likely going to end up being a fight; that Barton was wearing his gear made it seem likely that was what he was anticipating.
Barton shook his head though, sparing a reassuring glance to a suddenly alarmed looking Wanda. "No," he added with a trace of a wry smile, "we considered it, but she's not been outed to the Accords like we all have and Steve would like to keep it that way. Besides, Nadine wouldn't go for that at all. So Nina's staying safely in Cambridge." Before he could help himself, Pietro let out a relieved sigh.
Well, that was one less thing to worry about...not that Nina was likely going to be happy about being left behind...in fact, she'd probably be furious.
But Pietro pushed the errant thought aside. It was better this way. Barton didn't have to say it, but Pietro knew in his gut that what they were doing was far from sanctioned. That was not a situation any of them wanted to see Nina in. His resolve on the matter strengthened as Wanda caught his eye, her features grim and mirroring his own. Better that Nina stay out of this.
Even if she'd be furious and hurt about being left behind.
So, at a gesture from the archer who had come to collect them, the Maximoff Twins followed him out of the Avengers Compound and into the night.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
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