Chapter 4
Pietro woke up to a blur and a ringing in his ears. He let a small groan escape his lips as the throbbing headache and sore limbs followed. His head pounded with the sound of his heartbeat, which was loud to his ears. He tried to move his fingers, but they were either too numb or too sore. Instead, he blinked, trying to clear the blur. It stayed, but it seemed like there was a fog around him in the first place. He tried to swallow, but his breath hitched and he started to shake. He took in deep gasps of breath until he steadied himself again.
Brother? He heard Wanda’s tentative voice in his mind. It chased away the ringing in his ears, which subsided to a dull beeping which he figured must be coming from whatever was around him.
Wanda. He managed to think back, head still throbbing and constantly throwing off his focus. His eyesight blurred again, and he clenched his eyes shut, hoping to clear the blur when he opened them. It had subsided to a fog again when he opened his eyes.
“Hey kid.” A shaking voice sounded in the comm that had never left his ear. It was Clint, and he sounded like he was crying.
Pietro tried to speak, but each time he tried, his heart lurched and he had to draw in gasping breaths again. Instead, he spoke through Wanda. Hello. He thought, hoping she would understand.
He heard a faint echo of their voices above him, and blinked, still trying to see through the fog.
Dr. Cho says you aren’t very stable right now, you just went through so much operational work to rebuild your body everywhere it was shot. Wanda explained.
Pietro nearly barfed as the memories rushed back, the piercing feeling and the cold blackness, all of it at once.
Then, his mind was clear, and he could see the red-orange of Wanda’s power working above him. She was singing a lullaby to him in Sokovian that their parents used to sing when they were little, the same one he sang to her the day the bombs took their parents, and was feeding him thoughts of peace and days of happiness. His breathing began to steady, but his heart continued to pound loud and sporadic in his ears.
As his thoughts pieced themselves together, Pietro glanced from side to side. He was in a small box, which at first he feared was a coffin, but then realized must be the Cradle. The fog in his vision was undoubtedly due to how cold it was, and his limbs were likely unable to move so that he couldn’t accidentally disrupt the healing.
More figures were crowding around the blur above him. Can you open the Cradle? He asked Wanda, tired of being unable to see.
Yes. She responded, and seconds later a panel of glass above him was sliding to the side with a low whirring. A rush of warmer air fell over Pietro, and he smiled as the sights above him cleared, and he was faced with the Avengers.
Wanda was crying. “Brother. It is so good to see you.” She said, wiping her eyes desperately.
“Hey kid.” Clint spoke next. “Thank you, so much.” Pietro knew there was nothing in particular he was thanking for.
“Pietro, welcome back.” Steve said, smiling down at him. Natasha and Tony just look on with smiles of their own.
“H-” Pietro closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Hey.” He tried again, nearly crying with joy when he was able to speak. He thought he had cried, until he realized it was his sister’s tears on his face.
“When will he be able to get out of the Cradle and move around?” Wanda said, turning to look a Helen Cho, who Pietro couldn’t see from his angle.
“It should only be one more day.” Cho replied, friendly and cheerful. She walked over to join them. “How are you feeling? This is all relatively experimental, so I want to make sure you’re alright.” She asked.
“Sore.” Pietro managed to reply, giving a weak smile.
Steve chuckled. “That’s expected.” Cho stated with a nod. “You should probably get more rest, as we know you’re responsive.” She added, before turning back to continue her work.
“Can you leave this open?” Pietro mumbled, already ready to sleep after she mentioned it and made him realize how exhausted this pain made him feel.
He only barely heard Wanda’s laughter as he faded into sleep. His dreams were calm, and part of his consciousness knew that he was healing, so in every dream he made an effort to find a way to heal himself. It was very surreal, as he wandered through his dreams in a partially lucid dreaming state. He remembered nothing else of the dreams, and when he woke the next morning, he merely faded awake.
His headache was still there, but the throbbing wasn’t as unbearable as before. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears but now everything was just sore. He suddenly realized how hungry and thirsty he was.
“Good morning Pietro.” Cho said pleasantly as she walked around, getting things in order.
“Five more minutes.” He mumbled this and she laughed.
“I told everyone to wait outside while I help you get ready to go greet them.” She explained. “Oh, I’m going to lift the Cradle into a standing position, I’ll do it slow but I figured you should know.” She added.
Pietro attempted a nod, but only got halfway. With a beep, the Cradle began to rise. Pietro tried to keep his breathing steady, and curled his fingers and toes. His vision still blurred and he felt sick, but he figured it could’ve gone worse.
Cho opened the cover off the Cradle, and Pietro immediately felt tense. He worried he would fall, but his arms were still secure. “Ready?” She asked carefully.
“Yeah.” He said shakily, and took a deep breath. “Yeah, okay, I’m ready.” He was more confident that time. She held one arm out in preparation in case he fell right away, and then leaned over, tapping a button on one side. He felt everything loosen and clenched his fists against the side of the Cradle as he pitched forward, dizziness overcoming him with his speed, a feeling he hadn’t felt since he first woke up from the experiments.
Cho was there in seconds, wrapping one arm under him. “You’re okay, just not used to this since you’ve been still so long, just look at one spot.” She reassured. He swallowed, and stared at the floor as she helped him to turn and sit in a wheelchair she already had set out.
“Thank you.” Pietro mumbled, somewhat embarrassed that he wasn’t able to hold himself up. “I’m really hungry, and thirsty.” He admitted.
Cho nodded, handing him a tall glass of orange juice and some bread. He took it gratefully, cursing in Sokovian as the orange juice nearly sloshed out of the glass from the shaking of his hands. He gulped it down, followed shortly by the bread which was satisfyingly warm.
“Here are your clothes.” She said, handing him the outfit he had received months ago after his experiments. “I'll leave now, just yell if something goes wrong.” Cho nodded to him and then headed out.
Pietro looked down at the clothes in his arms with a sigh. They reminded him of a time that in hindsight seemed much simpler. A time when he thought he could help people, when he thought he saw a clear enemy. But then, his whole world seemed to speed up with the experiments, and nothing was the same.
Shaking his head to focus, Pietro changed into the clothes, smiling with the comfort they gave him. Changing had been a mess of course, as his speed made him nearly get stuck several times, and dizziness almost made him fall over when he had to stand up to change pants. He gathered himself again, taking slow gulps of air. For a moment, it felt like he was back on Sokovia, choking on the dust and high altitudes, but then that faded as his mind cleared again.
Pietro clenched and unclenched his fists, and slowly tried to prop himself up. His pride wouldn’t let him stay in the wheelchair, he wanted to recover already. Of course, his speed took over, and he overcompensated, launching himself to the floor with a thud. He groaned in pain, and heard the door slam open. Seconds later, Wanda was crouching next to him.
“Are you alright?” She asked in a panic.
“Yeah I think-” Pietro slammed his hands over his mouth when he felt puke rising in his throat from dizziness. Clint slid a bucket toward him and lifting his head to lean over the bucket, Pietro threw up. He wanted to barf again when he saw he coughed up some blood. He smiled weakly up at Wanda and she shook her head, moving him back into the wheelchair with magic.
“I didn’t realize you still had blood from your lungs in your throat, sorry you had to see it.” Cho explained as she took the bucket, sending it to cleaning.
Clint handed him another glass of orange juice. “Take it easy kid, you can’t rush everything.”
“Isn’t that my job?” He tried to joke.
“Time to get going.” Clint replied, shaking his head.
“Where am I going?” Pietro asked, just trying to make conversation and piece thoughts together.
“A safehouse.” Clint beamed and made Pietro suspicious and terrified of what would be coming next.
He slept on the jet ride there, which was most likely Wanda’s doing. He was in a sleep too deep for dreams, and didn’t want to wake up when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He blinked awake, and found himself already in his wheelchair, that was also most likely Wanda’s doing. The sun was shining bright outside, and the light was blinding. He caught the smell of a forest on a breeze that passed by, and set his hands on the wheels with determination. He hated this stupid chair, but he was going to have to get used to it, at least for a while.
Rolling outside, Pietro found that he was in a small field, a perfect looking farmhouse standing in the grass facing him. Two little kids were racing across the grass toward them, barefoot and beaming. Clint crouched and caught the first in his arms, the other wrapping herself around him moments later.
Pietro glanced toward him in amused confusion. “You live here?” He asked in mild disbelief. This really didn’t look like it would ever suit the archer.
“Yeah, I keep it quiet, for their sake.” He nodded to the kids, who were busily examining the twins with wide eyes.
“Woah. You guys are new!” The little girl gasped.
“Yeah, we’ve never seen you fighting before.” The boy added. “I’m Cooper.” He thought to introduce.
“Oh! I’m Lila!” The girl said, realizing she should do the same.
Wanda crouched down a little to get closer to their height. “I’m Wanda, this is Pietro.” She introduced slowly, continuing when the kids nodded their understanding. “We are new, and magic too.” She demonstrated, lifting the kids off the ground slightly.
They laughed and turned to Pietro happily. “What can you do?” Cooper asked.
“I’m really fast.” He explained to them, smiling slightly.
Lila wrinkled her nose in confusion. “But you can’t run.” She said, as though it was obvious. Pietro looked away, biting his lip and trying not to let himself cry.
Clint stepped in now. “You should see him run. Super fast. He’ll show you when he can.” He rushed, and then grabbed the kids’ hands. “Now come on, let’s go.”
Pietro rubbed his eyes angrily, mad at himself for freaking out because of that. He felt Wanda put a hand on his shoulder and shook her off lightly, taking a deep breath. I’m okay. He reassured her, and headed off after Clint.
When he reached the house, Pietro wanted to scream. There were stairs literally everywhere, and he was stuck in this stupid wheelchair. He didn’t want to have to ask his sister for help all the time. Speaking of Wanda, she was right behind him, and lifted him up the stairs to the entrance. The door was open, and he headed inside.
Upon entrance, His was greeted by a smiling woman, undoubtedly Clint’s wife, seeing as how he was behind her. “I’m Laura.” She introduced. “You’re Pietro and Wanda?” She verified, pointing to each of the twins in turn. They both nod. “I’m happy to have you staying with us, but I have to warn you, we only have one extra bed.”
The twins just smiled. When they were younger, their room only had one bed, and they had always slept curled towards each other protectively. As they got older, they gradually stopped, but it would be comfort for Pietro right now.
Laura laughed. “It’s like you two are communicating. I never believed people when they said that about twins, but now I’m not so sure.” They laughed with her, but smiled internally. No one actually knew that they communicated through their thoughts, it had just seemed safer to keep it quiet.
Throughout the day, Laura helped Pietro set himself up, explaining the layout of the house, where to go for help, the directions to the nearby town, everything. He also began to better know the Bartons, and they had already begun to feel like family. Wanda checked in with him frequently, but she must have felt the same thing, as she was constantly helping with anything and everything.
Just as the sky was starting to darken, there was a knock at the door. Pietro was in the living room watching the kids while Laura cooked, so he rolled over to the door and opened it. The Avengers stood there, crowding each other on the front porch. Pietro laughed, and let them in.
“You look better.” Steve smiled at him, and Pietro smiled back, as he still admired the Captain like a child would their favorite cartoon character.
“I think the Capsicle means you look less dead. Good recovery zombie kid” Stark added as him sauntered by. Pietro frowned slightly. He still didn’t like Tony Stark, or his ‘witty’ remarks.
“It truly is a miracle, escaping Valhalla, though they will welcome you again in your time.” Thor patted him on the shoulder as he passed. Pietro almost laughed at his odd words.
“Gosh boys, can’t even shed a tear for the recently nearly deceased?” Natasha responded with sarcasm. It wasn’t like she was crying either, but no one mentioned that.
“It’s like a clown car, they just keep coming.” Laura muttered to Pietro as Vision floated through the wall directly next to the door, because apparently he couldn’t bother with doors. Pietro smiled at Laura’s joke, but scowled at Vision. He hated him more than he hated Tony Stark and possibly even more than he hated Ultron, which was saying something.
Two who he didn’t recognize arrived next, but he gathered that their names were Rhodey and Sam. Finally, Nick Fury himself, followed by Maria Hill showed up.
“I swear I didn’t invite half of you.” Clint narrowed his eyes directly at Tony.
“I did.” He grinned. “Figured this party needed more spirit.” He chuckled at his own joke, but earned a punch in the gut from Thor. “Alright, alright, sorry kid.” He apologized.
“I know your kind.” Pietro responded simply. “Don’t call me kid.” He added.
Rhodey laughed. “You have a kind now! You got owned!”
“With all the suits he’s built, Tony practically has a species.” Steve added, to the uproarious laughter of everyone but Tony.
“I deserve that.” He conceded, arms crossed in annoyance anyway.
“Food is almost ready, should be done in under half an hour.” Laura reported, and nodded to them before heading back into the kitchen.
“I’ll go help her.” Wanda muttered, and rushed away, glancing briefly at Vision as she did so. Pietro narrowed his eyes. No way, not happening.
Vision started after her and Pietro wheeled into his way. “I think less people in the kitchen will do more good.” He offered as an excuse.
“Right, I should leave them.” Vision barely acknowledged him, and acted as though he had come to his own decision.
Suddenly he heard the tapping of tiny feet racing their way down the stairs. Cooper and Lila must’ve heard the commotion and found it more interesting than whatever they had been doing upstairs. Pietro turned around just in time to see them launching themselves at Natasha. “Auntie Nat!” They screamed in delight.
Natasha crouched down, hugging them. “I’m back again. Aren’t we lucky to see each other so many times in such short time.” At this, she glanced up at Clint with a grin. “Now let’s go see what you’ve been up to.”
Cooper nodded and dragged her up the stairs, but Lila stayed for a moment, staring at Thor with wide eyes. “Do you want to see our Legos?” She asked tentatively.
“It would be the greatest honor.” Thor said, following a cheerful Lila upstairs after Cooper and Natasha. Pietro laughed, knowing full well the Asgardian had no idea what Legos were, but wanted to please the little girl.
Pietro wheeled himself into a corner, hoping to take up the least space so anyone could get by. Everyone slowly cleared outside to wait for dinner, talking about one thing or another. Steve was about to head out with Sam, talking in hushed tones about someone when he must’ve seen Pietro out of the corner of his eye. He nodded to Sam, who looked up and smiled. The two changed their course and sat down on the couch nearest Pietro.
“What were you two talking about?” Pietro asked curiously, trying to join in their conversation as smoothly as possible.
They glanced at each other nervously, and the shifting of their eyes looked like they were trying to communicate something but it could never get through. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Steve shook his head as if clearing the air around it. “Last year, I found out my best friend and partner from the war was alive. And an assassin. This was also when we found out Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. We have no idea where Bucky is, but Sam and I have been trying to find him.” It seemed like the tension around Steve dropped as he spoke.
“I’m sure you can find him.” Pietro smiled, as it reminded him of Hugo, the boy from the facility who had acted as an older brother to the volunteers, and had been searching for his sister who was missing. He didn’t mention any of this though, just smiled slightly.
“That’s enough about my problems.” Steve spoke again, waving the topic away. Sam looked slightly confused, but went along with it. “We should be talking about happier things. For example.” Steve paused, suddenly without ideas. “Sam! What’s your favorite movie?”
Pietro and Sam laughed, and then they began to talk. It was all shallow small talk, but it was a comfort to just fill the space between thoughts with words and noise, drowning out their fears, if only for a little while.
Twenty minutes passed by faster than anything, and Sam and Steve helped Pietro outside. They joined everyone sitting around the Barton’s little fire pit. It looked very friendly, familiar, especially with the way the sun was only barely visible behind the trees at this point. Thor was in the middle of laughing when they joined everyone, and Pietro immediately smiled. Thor had a way of inspiring laughter in others, with the way his whole body shook as he boomed with laughter and his smile stayed bright long after the echos had faded.
Laura had made tons of delicious food for the Avengers, but Pietro ended up with a bowl of Mac’n’Cheese. It was an unfamiliar food, but it had looked and smelled amazing. Clint had told him it was for the kids, but Pietro shrugged and ate some anyway. It was just as amazing as he thought, though not quite as good as pizza.
They laughed as they ate, talking until it was far past dark. They looked like the perfect family, sitting there. They made s’mores, and Tony laughed like a madman when Thor’s fingers were so sticky from marshmallows that his hand stuck to Mjølnir and he couldn’t put the hammer down. Wanda burned at least five marshmallows before she gave in and let Vision do it for her, Steve was a champion, and not only roasting his own marshmallows but the kids’ as well. Pietro gave up after he burnt a marshmallow, and barely heated them before making his s’mores. Clint passed out the s’more supplies, and Pietro was sure he saw him snacking on them more than once.
Everyone left slowly, and Pietro watched the fire slowly flicker out after everyone was long gone. Eventually, Wanda came back from cleanup and helped him back inside. Pietro fell asleep in his clothes, tired from everything happening at once. His dreams were odd, fading around from memories to normal dreams. At one point he was signing up for the experiments, the next he was a leprechaun opening up a wormhole. None of it made much sense, but he felt more rested than he had in months.
After this, the days began to blend together. It was a mixture of helping around, and trying to get used to his speed again. Unlike the first time he had gained his speed when he had to learn to keep up with his mind, this time it was his body that needed to catch on. So Pietro practiced. He practiced speed control by kicking his legs or curling his fingers and toes, and he practiced loosening out the wounds where he had been shot by bending over or rolling his shoulders. When he helped around, it was usually keeping track of the kids or carrying items or messages from one side of the house to the other.
The day Laura’s baby came would always be a day that stood out in his memory. Pietro had been practicing standing at this point, but fell backwards into his wheelchair when he heard Laura’s panicked shouts from the kitchen.
He wheeled over, barely aware that he was in speed time. “What’s happening?” He asked in a panicked blur.
“The baby,” Laura relayed, and then put her hand on her stomach again. “Clint!” She howled angrily. He could hear Clint running over. “Pietro, please keep track of Cooper and Lila, and inform them, Wanda, and the Avengers what’s happened.” She told him, and then rushed away to find Clint and undoubtedly give him a piece of her mind for not showing up right away since the hospital was a good drive away and Laura was a woman who wanted to be on time.
Pietro immediately nodded, and wheeled away. Sister, I need to get upstairs right now! It was rare that he asked Wanda for help when she wasn’t right near him, so Pietro knew she would understand the importance. He was up the stairs in moments, and went straight to the kids room.
“We heard shouting, what happened?” Wanda asked carefully.
“It’s the baby. Clint is taking Laura to the hospital, we have to make some calls.” Pietro rushed through this, barely stopping for a breath.
Cooper and Lila cheered, but then Lila looked worried. “Will mommy be okay?” She asked.
“Of course,” Pietro smiled sympathetically.
“Yeah, don’t worry Lila!” Cooper encouraged. Lila smiled, and nodded, convinced.
Pietro hadn’t even realized Wanda left, but she was back now, and tossed him a cell phone and a note of numbers, already dialing away on hers. He had to call Steve and Nat.
He called Steve first. He picked up on the third ring, but waited for Pietro to speak first. “It’s Pietro,” He paused, but got no answer. “I have news.”
“What sort of news?” The reply finally came, and Pietro almost dropped to floor in relief that it was actually Steve who picked up.
“It’s the baby.” Pietro said simply, knowing Steve would fill in the rest.
“That’s wonderful,” It sounded like Steve might have knocked something over in his excitement. “When can I come meet him?”
“I’d give them a week.” Pietro guessed, shrugging and looking at Wanda. She nodded, confirming that she would tell the others the same.
“I won’t keep you, goodbye.” Steve said quickly, and hung up. Pietro nearly dropped the phone with laughter. Steve was extremely professional over the phone, even though the news he got was about a baby.
He didn’t even get past the first ring when Natasha picked up. “Clint?”
“No,” Pietro corrected. “It’s Pietro.”
“So I gathered,” Natasha paused, and Pietro could guess she was analyzing why he called. “Is it the baby?” Her voice caught an edge of excitement as she said this.
“Yes,” he answered, smiling.
He could hear in Natasha’s voice the excitement she was trying to hold in. “How long do I have to wait?”
“A week,” Pietro replied, using his previous approximation.
Natasha hung up without any goodbyes and Pietro frowned slightly. Turning to looking over at Wanda he nodded. Now we wait.
For the next two days, the four of them spent their time in tense boredom, anxious for Clint and Laura to return. Wanda cooked whatever the kids wanted, and Pietro continued to practice standing. Cooper and Lila kept themselves busy by running around the house or reading but none of them could sit still for more than five minutes without getting up and mumbling some excuse about having something to do or somewhere to be. Sometimes Pietro curled in on himself, growling in frustration as all he could hear was the ticking of the clock.
The moment they heard the revving of the car engine as it rolled up the driveway, all four of them were racing to the door. Pietro picked up Cooper and Lila on the way, and got them outside in speed time. He watched from the porch, a small smile on his face, as the kids raced to Clint and hugged him and then crowded around Laura, jumping up and down happily and undoubtedly asking far too many questions.
Laura was beaming as she walked up the steps, and Pietro immediately held out an arm to help her. She shook her head. “Go inside Pietro, I’ll introduce you to little Nathaniel in a moment.”
Pietro threw her one last glance of worry, but then nodded and rolled inside. He made his way to the corner by the couch, and waited. He began drumming his fingers on his knee, as he had spent a whole two days waiting, and it honestly felt like he’d go insane. Cooper and Lila raced in and jumped right onto the couch, and began happily chatting about nothing as they waited to be properly introduced to the baby as well.
“Here he is,” Laura said, smiling softly as she sat down. “Little Nathaniel Pietro Barton.”
Pietro didn’t notice the tears the were streaming down his face until he could barely see through them. One hand was in front of his wide open mouth. He felt like he might have let out a quiet scream, and realized he was lightheaded. He never imagined such a thing could happen. The baby was adorable, with light blue eyes that flowed as he took in the world around him.
He snapped out of his trance when he felt Clint put a hand on his shoulder. “We named him after the two people who have continually saved my life.” He muttered. Giving a half hearted attempt to wipe the tears from his eyes, Pietro smiled gratefully. Clint laughed, and leaned down to hug Pietro. “You didn’t see that coming, huh?” He joked. Pietro laughed, but it was weak and lost amongst his tears.
After that day, Pietro would take any chance he got to help out with little Nathaniel. He played with him, talked to him and even stayed up late through the night when Laura and Clint needed sleep the most. Pietro of course, could not be happier, and this was reflected in his healing. He started to gain better control of his speed and the nightmares started to fade as well.
The day he walked was another day Pietro would never forget. He’d been trying for a few weeks, but hadn’t been able to take more than half a step before he lost his balance and fell. He was outside, and sitting on the grass, wheelchair left at the front steps. Cooper and Lila were chasing each other around the yard, and Wanda was helping Clint haul some wood.
Pietro stood up, slowly, and carefully. Cooper jogged over to him when he saw this, smiling. “Are you going to try to walk again?” The boy asked, face full of surprise. The last time Pietro had tried he’d nearly fallen down the stairs, so no one had expected him to try again for a few days.
“I am. I can do it this time.” He said, gathering all of his confidence and hoping that would make it true.
“I’ll help!” Lila offered, running over. Pietro laughed. She had been singing the same song every time he practiced walking, so he knew what was coming long before she sang the first words. “Just put one foot in front of the other!” She sang, off key but cheerful.
“Just put one foot in front of the other.” He repeated this to himself in a low whisper. Pietro slowly lifted his foot, staring at it with pure concentration. He took deep breaths, and curled and uncurled his fingers trying not to freak out. And then he put one foot in front of the other.
Pietro nearly screamed with joy. Cooper and Lila did, and Lila started jumping up and down. “The song helped! It helped! He did it! Cooper come on!” She cheered.
Cooper was grinning, and the two of them continued singing. “And soon you’ll be walkin cross the floooooor!”
Pietro could feel himself near tears, and took another slow, wobbly step forward. He sang with the kids now, stupid grin on his face, tears in his eyes. “Just put one foot in front of the other!”
He took another step, a bit faster this time, and definitely more sure of himself. His breathing evened out and he stopped needing to focus on every movement, instead able to just focus on the steps he was taking. “And soon you’ll be walking out the door!”
Their scream singing had attracted the attention of Wanda, Clint and Laura, who dropped everything and raced over. All of them watch, screaming and laughing in joy as Pietro walked across the grass.
Once he had taken ten steps, Wanda nearly tackled him back to the ground in a hug. “You really did it.” She sniffled, wiping away tears.
“I walked it off.” Pietro joked, his own tears long dry. He knew this was only the beginning, and he had a long way to go before he could ever run like he used to, but it was something, and he would savor this moment, for as long as it lasted.
Pietro had only stayed with the Bartons for a year, but it had felt like a lifetime, with all he had accomplished. He had healed, going from broken with night terrors to running and happy. He had watched little Nathaniel grow into a gurgling happy little boy, and he had begun to get a taste of what normality truly was. He hadn’t felt it in so long, it was wonderful now, but his feet craved the feeling of running and his heart so badly wanted to help the Avengers, to help others.
A few months ago, Wanda had started to leave, going to training sessions and getting to better know the team. Pietro was afraid of being the outsider, but he couldn’t intrude on the Bartons forever, as much as they tried to convince him otherwise. He was constantly itching to do something, and his nights became restless without the comfort of his sister beside him, and Pietro tossed and turned, unsure whether to stay or to go. Clint urged him to go, to live and enjoy the thrill of it all while he could, but Wanda urged him to stay, ever the protective sister. In the end, it was Pietro who chose, and he told them his choice the day after his twentieth birthday. He had to go, to get out there, to find out what he was missing.
It was a day of heartfelt goodbyes. Pietro and Clint hugged briefly, but Clint assured him they would be seeing each other again, and if Pietro were to ever need his help, Clint would be there. Laura seemed like she would never let go as she told Pietro how proud of him she was, and how much of a son he’d become to her, and how he really didn’t have to go if he didn’t want to. In the end it was Pietro who had to comfort her, convincing her he would visit constantly. Cooper and Lila latched on to his legs, insisting that he couldn’t leave now. Pietro smiled and knelt down to their level, telling them he’d be back, quick as a bunny if they asked. They were happy with this, and even raced after the jet as it took off, waving aggressively. Pietro waved back, smiling, hoping they could see.