6
The long flight was too sorrowful, too broken. Everyone mourned, some cried (most cried), some would save their tears for their privacy.
You picked up the scrapbook you'd just given to Wanda. You flipped through the pages and got to the last ones, more tears coming to your eyes as you saw the hollowed out pages that you'd stored Wanda's extra gift in.
A diamond ring.
Pietro looked at the ring in shock, you were so pained to see it. You were going to propose properly when she found it. But now you couldn't.
You choked out, "I was going to marry her."
Pietro held his arm around you and rested your head on his shoulder. You passed out during the trip, exhausted from tears.
When the jet landed, Pietro woke you and the two of you rushed inside to find Ethan. Once in the building, you yelled and screamed in hopes of finding him.
"Ethan?" you called again.
When you heard the small call from somewhere in the building, you rejoiced. "Mommy?" the little voice called.
You followed the sound of the voice and found Ethan. He'd rushed to a panic room when people started disappearing.
"Baby, come here," you held him in a close hug. Pietro joined you both, so relieved his nephew was alright.
"Where's Momma?" he asked tearfully. You tried to hold back your own tears, trying to be strong for Ethan. It didn't work very well because as you spoke, a small waver of your voice gave you away.
"She's one of the ones who..." you couldn't say it and Ethan didn't need to hear it. He cried more, hugging you for comfort as he heard the news of his mother.
Pietro asked gently, "Ethan, where's Irina?"
He already knew the answer, but he had to be sure.
He cried more and Pietro had his confirmation. You all were just a crying mess now as you stayed there, hugging each other tight as you mourned your loved ones.
~
"Momma," Ethan's voice came from the other room as he peered around the corner at you while holding a wolf plushie in his arms. You turned to him, wiping at your eyes as you spoke quietly, "Hey, buddy... Can't sleep?"
He shook his head slowly and you beckoned him over. You sat him in your lap, kissing his head. "I miss Mommy," he sighed, wiping his face with the back of his hand while one held tightly to his plush. "I know, honey, I know," you told him, "I miss her, too."
It had been a week since everyone faded away. They had found some strange device where Maria and Fury had disappeared and it seemed to be searching for something, it had a strange symbol on the small screen. But you didn't worry yourself with that too much. You were more worried about taking care of Pietro and Ethan. Pietro was so broken up about losing Irina, you couldn't blame him for a second.
Your powers had been going haywire, and you tried to look into them more. You tried to learn more about your powers with the little time you had when you weren't comforting Pietro or Ethan or crying. You looked everywhere you could but didn't find much. You would have to dig more.
The days were colder than they should have been, the sun only ever showed for a couple hours at a time before hiding behind the clouds again. It was like it had also taken a toll from the whole ordeal.
You stood up, grabbing Ethan's hand and walking him to his room. He got back in the bed and you read next to him until he was able to fall asleep. You brushed the hair out of his face and kissed his cheek when he'd fallen asleep and headed over to see how Pietro was doing.
You knocked on his door gently with the back of your knuckles before slowly cracking the door open to see him. He glanced over at you in the doorway before turning back over in the bed. "Can I come in?" you asked just as gently as your knocks. He shrugged and you sighed before walking into the room and closing the door behind you.
You walked over to his bed, kneeling down next to it and laying your head on the mattress. Pietro let out a small sigh before turning around to face you. He had one of his pillows in his arms, his face buried in it. You found yourself doing the same thing...
A tear slipped down your cheek, but it burned away in no time as it sizzled on your skin. "I really miss them. I miss her."
He nodded, "I do, too."
"This wasn't supposed to happen. We were all supposed to take down Thanos, make it out together. Why can't things go right for us for once. The only good thing we've had was each other, together. And now we aren't together," you swallowed hard. A small sob shook you as you whispered, "We were supposed to get married."
Pietro sat up and put a hand on your cheek. You grabbed his wrist, "I proposed, and she said yes."
"We'll get her back," Pietro said quietly. You shook your head, not turning to look up at him when he retreated his hand from your face. "How?" you thought as you wiped at your face angrily.
He sighed, "I...I don't know how. But...there's gotta be a way right. We're Avengers. When have we ever followed rules? When have we ever failed and not fixed it?"
You sighed. You were glad he still had a little optimism. Maybe it would be enough for both of you. "I guess you're right," you said half-heartedly.
Pietro sighed tiredly, wiping his face in thought before patting the bed next to him. "Come on," he said, "you need to rest."
You wouldn't argue with him. You climbed in the bed next to him to lay down to sleep. He laid behind you, an arm thrown over you protectively. You let a small smile cross your lips at that, Pietro was always protective. You cozied into him and the bed and closed your eyes, taking a deep breath in. It wasn't Wanda's intoxicating step but it was close-to-home. It was enough.
Just as you were about to sleep, a knock came to the door and it opened up. Ethan peered his head around the corner, still holding his plushie. "Hey, Ethan," you said quietly. Pietro looked over to him and gave a kind smile. Ethan asked, "Can Nova and I sleep with you and Uncle P tonight?"
He nodded, "Yes. Of course you can, nephew." You opened the covers and he closed the door and climbed in with you, holding his plushie tight. "Goodnight, Ethan, Pietro," you said quietly.
You kissed Ethan's forehead and Pietro kissed yours. You felt better being in the company of your family, even if it wasn't completed. You were able to sleep for a couple hours in your little bit of home.
~
And now almost a month had passed since the disappearance. You were standing around a screen displaying the numbers of those who disappeared after the Snap with the rest of the team, save for Pietro who was trying to get Ethan to sleep. Steve shook his head, "This is a nightmare."
Natasha sighed, "I've had better nightmares." You had to agree with her. This Snap had taken away those you loved, those many people have loved. It was worse that it wasn't just on Earth, this was happening all over the universe.
Rhodey walked into the room, pointing into another one where the strange device was hooked up to a ton of machinery. "Hey, so that thing just stopped doing whatever the hell it was doing."
Steve glanced at all of you were furrowed brows and you followed him into the other room, discarding in the screen with the rising number of death rates. "What have we got?" Natasha asked curiously.
Banner shrugged as he analyzed the device, "Whatever the signal was sending, it finally creeped off."
"Why?" you questioned.
Steve added, "I thought we bypassed the battery."
"We did," Rhodey piped up, "It's still plugged in, it just... it just stopped."
Steve ordered, "Reboot and send the signal again."
"We don't even know what this is," Banner offered.
Natasha was quick to answer the question before it was even asked, "Fury did. Just do it, please. You tell me the second you get a signal. I want to know who's on the other end of that thing."
As soon as Natasha turned around to leave the room, she found herself face-to-face with a strange woman who wasn't standing there before. You instantly went on guard, using your powers as you got ready for any fight.
"Where's Fury?" the woman asked, or rather demanded. You didn't back down, not until both Natasha and Steve gave the all-clear. When they did, you backed off, standing up straighter while keeping your guard.
They explained what was going on. You, however, weren't in much of a mood to participate. They would call you when they needed you and debrief you when they finished. You would go to comfort Ethan and make sure he was asleep.
~
You were awoken by a loud sound outside. You hadn't realized you'd fallen asleep. Last thing you remembered doing was trying to study your powers to a dead end. Ethan came in the room, clutching his plush, Nova.
"What was that?" he asked. You shook your head, "I don't know." You looked out of the window and saw a very bright light. You rushed out of the room after telling Ethan to go back to his room and wait for you. You rushed outside with the others to see what was going on.
"What's going on?" Pietro asked as he zoomed into the room. You shook your head and joined the rest of the team.
Up in the air was a large ship being carried but someone. As it got closer, you recognized her as Carol, the woman who had shown up in the compound not long ago.
She landed the craft, setting it down before rounding again. The landing gears deployed as they touched down. The entry hatch opened as Tony and a strange woman walked out, Tony being supported by her. Steve ran to Tony to help him stand up, Tony gripping Steve's arm as he joined him.
Tony stumbled over, mumbling to Steve, "Couldn't stop him."
"Neither could I," Steve told him.
"I lost the kid."
"Tony, we lost."
"Is, uh...?" he trailed off.
Pepper came running from the compound then, covering her mouth. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" She ran into his arms and he held into her for dear life.