Farron's POV
I watched Werner's chest rise and fall smiling, he was not happy when the doctors insisted he stayed another night even though he was completely healed. I hear shuffling behind me and I turn to see the twins standing in the doorway, I smile brightly and stand up, I can't remember the last time I felt this happy.
They stare at me shocked as I make my way over to them, "Hey," Pietro blinks a few times his mouth hanging open in surprise but Wanda manages to pull herself together. I wonder if it's strange that people are afraid of a small 16-year-old girl.
"We need to talk," she motions for me to follow her, I turn to make sure Werner's still sleeping before I leave. Dimlay, who was lying next to his bed lifted his head to look at me, I told him to watch over Werner. Wanda leads me to her room and Pietro speeds to sit on the bed, smirking when she glares at him. "We need to know how we'll continue, not only in training but as friends." She says the last part as a question and heartbeat increases slightly as I realize, I don't want to lose them, so much for feeling happy.
Something must have changed in my eyes because suddenly a very painful thought shot through Wanda's mind. She looks as scared and pained as we did, she's lost someone too. I open my mouth and try to think of something to say, I curse at myself and force my mind to clear.
"Training will continue as it was but will be more vigorous since I can train you with my abilities now." I pause and swallow, I stare at the floor, "It's up to you two on how our relationships move forward."
I feel a gust of wind as Pietro moves to somewhere in the room, I don't look up I just stand there looking at my feet. I feel someone's fingers on my chin and my head tilts to look Pietro in the eye, a twinkle present in them and tears stream down my face. "You act so much like her..."
He looks at me confused and Wanda looks over his shoulder in worry, "Who?" he asks wiping the tears away. Light irritation spikes in me, why am I crying so much? I back up and angrily wipe away the tears, not wanting to have this conversation, "Tell us," he says softly, making me look at him again. He takes my hand and leads me to the bed where Wanda joins us, taking my other hand. It's odd, usually, I'm the one comforting them like when they wake up in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares.
I take a shaky breath and look between Wanda and Pietro, "When I was four my parents were murdered by Shield," I say and the twins give each other a confused look, they must have forgotten their first day of training when Werner and I explained the White Sync and the False Mother. "They were different from other people, they could shapeshift and I guess Shield thought they were a threat." My blood runs cold as I remember the night and for some reason, I let my walls down, I let Wanda see what happened and she gasped quietly, "I just don't understand how they were a threat when all they were doing was raising their family, us."
"Us?" Pietro asked and I turned to him with a sad smile, I guess they did forget about the first day of training. However, in their defence there was a lot going on that day.
"My brother and sister, Strucker found Willow and I hours after the attack, he and his team took us in. My brother Volher was next door with the neighbors when it all happened, they ended up adopting him. He's the man Strucker mentioned, Zero Gravity." I say numbly and I feel the tears streaming down my face but it's like I'm not even there, I'm just trapped in my memories, "We were very smart, I was the down to Earth one while she was the fearless one, when we saw what Shield had done we vowed we would destroy them, especially the team that killed them. We grew up very fast after that, adult minds in six and four-year-old bodies."
Pietro tried rubbing circles on my back to calm me down, I appreciated the action but my mind was already too far gone into memories. "Since then we were trained as weapons, we went through the procedure to gain our abilities as soon as the tests were approved, during that time Strucker and Werner had become like family so he made it official by adopting us."
I shudder when I think about what comes next, "About three years later we got a tip on the team that killed our parents, we both jumped at the chance to get our revenge. As usual, my sister got ahead of herself, too confident not that it ever mattered, neither of us has ever been defeated unless it was by each other or the Winter Soldiers we trained with. Something about that night gave me a weird feeling," the familiar feeling course through my body again, reminding me of my loss, "maybe it was because we finally found them or maybe it was because I knew there would be a twist."
"Your sister," Wanda says staring at me and pulling the pieces together, "she was the False Mother."
I flinch at the name for some reason but nod my head, "We treated this mission like any other, I used the connection we had while I was being interrogated and signaled to her when I had all the information we needed. After that, she would make her move, kill the agents that kept her in her room. But..."
I look at my hands and the image of them colored in her blood are burned into my eyes, "Something went wrong, the ground began to shake on cue but it stopped suddenly when a gunshot went off. I felt so empty, I didn't know what happened but I could feel the life being ripped out of me, I walked out of my cell and as I passed the Shield agents they would fall dead to my feet, that was the first time I ever used the destructive side of my energy manipulation. When I walked into my sister's cell and she was lying on the floor covered in blood, there was a bullet in her back. She wouldn't let me heal her, she didn't want to suffer anymore," I looked up at them with broken eyes, I hate that I'm broken, "she made me promise not to bring her back." I shrug pathetically, "So I didn't."
"What do you mean," Wanda starts, "she made you promise not to bring her back? How could she ask you to do something like that?"
"The abilities I was given allows me to create and destroy energy," I smile to myself remembering the flower I created when I first woke up, "I can create living things and heal them. Creating them takes a lot of energy, when I created Dimlay I slept for three days straight."
"I thought Dimlay was a lab experiment," Pietro says tilting his head in confusion and it took a lot out of me not to zone out on how cute the face he was making was.
"No," I say sheepishly, "I had Dr. List cover for me, I wasn't sure I could trust you two yet." Pietro furrows his brows but nods all the same, "Destroying energy is far more difficult though, I've only done it a few times and it required a lot of focus the one time I did it on purpose."
"That's what happened with the soldiers then?" Wanda stares at me in wonder and I nod to her. "Well remind me to never hurt anyone you love."
I laugh and pull both her and Pietro to me, "You two are people I love, you should be worried about future boyfriends or girlfriends."
Wanda hugged me tightly from beside me and Pietro wrapped his arms around both of us, kissing the top of my head. We sat there for a while until I heard Werner's voice in my head, The doctors said I could leave, I guess I annoyed them enough to let me go. I smile to myself and reluctantly pull myself out of the twin's embrace.
"Sorry, I have to go," I walk out of the room and head back to the med bay, Pietro speeds next to me and sets Wanda down beside him and takes my hand. I look down at our intertwined fingers and raise our hands raising my eyebrow to him, he only smirks and I chuckle lightly. I like the way my hand feels in his anyway. "What do you plan on doing with my life story?" I ask them.
"Nothing, but I plan to be a part of it," Pietro says slyly making a shiver run up my spine, "if you'll allow me?" He looks at me hopefully and I nod with a grin.
Wanda sends us a knowing smile, "You two are adorable," I glance at her and I can feel Pietro glare at her, "I don't think I'll have to worry about any future boyfriends or girlfriends for you two."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Pietro snapped at his sister and turned to her, making us all stop, she only smiled wider. I only smirked, I would've participated in the conversation too if I hadn't been thinking that I wouldn't be completely opposed to the idea in Wanda's head. I widened my eyes in surprise at the thought that had just passed my mind, was I attracted to Pietro? I think about how nice it was to have him holding my hand and how he always kissed the top of my head when we hugged and how he always tried so hard to make me laugh. Wanda smirked at me and I looked at her a bit lost, but then I remembered Werner.
"Come on," I say pushing past the twins and walking into the room my brother was staying in, "Finally wore them down?" I ask, Dimlay happily trots over to me and sits by my feet, Werner sends a devilish smile at me that would make any normal girl swoon. Wanda and I just roll our eyes though.
"How are you feeling, Phantom Reader?" Pietro asked, smirking devilishly and Wanda and I refrained from laughing. Werner glared daggers at Pietro in response.
A Few Weeks Later
My foot bounced nervously on the cement ground as I waited with Pietro for Werner and Wanda. Strucker decided it was too dangerous to keep Werner in the same place as me since Clint and Volher were so dead set on finding me. It only made matters worse that they found out that the way to get to me was through him. Werner and I have never been separated for more than a week since we've met and now he has to go off the grid for his own safety. I love Clint and Volher, but right now I hated them for making me lose yet another important person in my life.
My leg continues to rapidly beat against the ground, drawing a worried look from the silver haired man beside me. His hand suddenly rested on top of my knee, stopping my anxious actions. I looked up and found him staring at me with concerned eyes, "He's going to be fine Farron," he comforted me. I found myself getting lost in his gaze before he started speaking again, his Sokovian accent full of teasing, "There's a reason it's called, 'off the grid.' The only people who will be able to contact him are you and Wanda."
I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed staring at the ground, "You're right, you're right. He'll be fine, it's just, he's been with me since we were children, and I don't want to imagine my life without him."
"I understand," Pietro said, taking a hold of my lit up hand. Everytime I stress myself out and allow myself to show it, my hands glow the blue-white of my powers. "Wanda and I have never been separated before and I can't imagine what you're going through, but I understand."
I rested my head on his shoulder and found myself calming down at the contact. Pietro tensed for a moment, surprised by my sudden affection, only to easily relax into the touch. I pulled his hand closer to me and started playing with his fingers, "Werner was the first friend I made here," I murmured, finding myself comfortable in Pietro's presence, "and in time I grew closer with him than I was with my actual sister." Pietro's interest peaked at the mention of Willow, it hasn't been long since he's found out about her, but he's already discovered I don't like talking about her. "Now that I'm losing both of them," I paused, taking a shaky breath, "Pietro, I don't think I can handle that."
His left arm snaked around my shoulder at the sound of my voice cracking and he held me tightly. "You won't be alone, Farron," he said softly yet firmly, "Wanda and I will be here with you every step of the way."
I stopped playing with his fingers and gripped his hand tightly, "Thank you," I whispered and continued staring at the floor as tears fell down my face.
The metal door to the room creaked open to reveal Werner, Wanda, and Dimlay, who all looked quite sad. I pulled myself from Pietro's grasp and launched myself at my brother and broke down in tears. Surprise flooded from Wanda as she realized how truly broken Werner and I are. She and Pietro have always seen us as this strong, put together, unstoppable team, despite my past, but now as she watches us shatter and sob in each other's arms she knows she was wrong. Pietro, however, wasn't surprised this time, even though his sister is the one with the mind powers, he understands. His understanding came from the conversation we'd just had.
Werner pulled away from me and wiped the tears from my face, then gave Wanda and Pietro a hug before turning back to me. Willow would be so proud of you, his voice echoed into my mind and my tears fell faster. His face saddened further, "We will see each other again," he spoke, barely above a whisper, "I promise."
I flinched away from him at those words and I shook my head, backing away from his broken features. Confusion spread through the twins at my reaction and they tried to comfort me but ignored them and burst from the room, heading to my own. It wasn't until I flung open the door to my room did I realize Dimlay had been following me, Are you alright? he asked.
I shook my head and crumbled to the ground as memories I'd been suppressing force their way to the surface, going back to the very beginning:
I bumbled around the living room of my old home as Dad watched a movie on the tv. I wasn't paying much attention to what was going on, I was doing a child's version of pacing, thinking. However, when Dad suddenly stood up in irritation and turned the tv off my focus was on him.
"What's wrong Daddy?" I asked him in my old child American accent, walking up to him and wrapping my small arms around his legs.
"Nothing's wrong baby," he said, lifting me into his arms, "it's just the people of the world don't understand the meaning of some words." I scrunched my chubby face up and stared at him curiously and he sighed, "People make promises all willy nilly, but the way your mother and I grew up, promises were unbreakable. We were raised that if you broke a promise there would be consequences, whether it be shunning or another form of punishment."
I nodded my head in understanding, Dad always knew that I would be special like my siblings and talked to me as if I were an adult, just as he does with my siblings. "So a promise is very important and should not be made if it's possible you will break it," I concluded and Dad nodded his head.
The memory changed to another:
"So Dad told you about promises," Volher said, carrying me in his six year old arms to my room for bed. I nodded my head and nuzzled into his shoulder, "Did you know that Wil and I made a promise to you when you were born?"
I adjusted my head to look at him, my head still resting on his shoulder as he sat on my bed with me, "No, I didn't know, what did you promise me?"
He smiled softly, "We promised we would always try to be there for you and that we would protect you. We promised to love you with everything we had."
"That's sweet," I mumbled as my eyes began to close, "I hope you'll always be able to keep that promise," I mumbled, but I was not about to make a promise myself. Promises are serious and I don't have the need to make one now.
The memory changed once again:
I curled into a ball on the bed in the new room Strucker gave to me. I was angry but all my body wanted to do was cry, so that's what I did. I cried until finally I calmed myself down enough to speak out loud to nothing in particular, "I promise, I'll get revenge if it's the last thing I do."
The memory change the final and most painful one:
I cradled Willow's body as she laid on the ground surrounded by her own blood, "Willow, hold on, it's okay I can fix it." I placed my hand over her heart before she grabbed it and forced me to stop.
"No Farron," she said, her words haunting me, "they're all dead now, let me be. I want to be with Mom and Dad, I can't take it anymore." Her voice cracked and she wet her lips before speaking again, "Promise me you won't bring me back, just this once." She demanded but I hesitated, that hesitation was all it took for her to snap, "Promise me!"
I flinched and nodded my head, "I promise. I promise," I whispered over and over again, but she was already dead.
I screamed as I relived these memories over and over again. In the time I was remembering the twins had made their way into my room. However, when I screamed a large burst of energy was expelled out of my body, much like in Budapest but on a much smaller scale.
I sobbed as I curled up into a ball and flinched as I felt a hand on me, but I still didn't open my eyes. There was a soft sigh as someone wrapped their arms around me and pulled me close to them, only for another set arms to also come in contact with me. I forced my eyes open and they hurt like hell, likely because of how much energy was flowing to them at the moment, but the pain quickly went away.
Pietro and Wanda held me in their arms and for once I was okay with feeling vulnerable, I was okay because Pietro wasn't lying when he said he and Wanda would be here for me. I forced a calm feeling upon myself and relaxed my muscles and mind. I was safe with them here.
Dimlay's nose poked into my view and I smiled, I'm sorry if I scared you Dimmi, I said softly and the twins tensed beside me. I winced as I realized I must've spoken to them as well. I didn't hurt you two did I?
The twins relaxed and Wanda spoke in my mind, No Farron, you didn't hurt us. Dimlay put up a forcefield of some kind.
Yes, I didn't know he could do that, Pietro mused and stared at the wolf, it looked like the kind of energy you and Wanda use but it was black.
Dimlay panted happily and laid beside Wanda, The perks of being created by a girl who doesn't want to lose anyone else, he said and I reached over and wacked him lightly. Everyone chuckled and felt so at home despite the fact that I just lost Werner, despite what I just went through. Werner knows what a promise means and somehow I know he'll keep the one he made to me.