Out Of Hell
My eyes caught sight of a blue blur and felt my hair rustle in the resulting breeze. I flared my wings out and rose, glaring at the intruder. Pietro stood before me with a disheveled look. He had dark bags under his eyes, his curly silver locks were unkempt, and he seemed a little slower on his feet than usual.
“люблю,” Pietro said softly. “You’re ok…”
I've been down in the dirt, lost for so long
And pushed around, beaten down
Got nothing left to lose, all hope is gone
Got buried deep underground
My mind was racing, confused. Was he here? Was he not? I had seen him and the others several times during my stay here but none of them were real, just silly hallucinations from exhaustion and paranoia. I flicked my tail out for a moment, reaching it out towards the speedster. Pietro watched it carefully as the tip ran up the side of its leg before coming back to me. I grabbed my tail and slowly sunk to the ground, unsure of how to process this information. He was real, everything happening was real, but why did it feel like it wasn’t? What was wrong with me? Why did everything feel off and…unreal? I grabbed my hands and screamed, that being the only thing my mind would let me do. Pietro, unsure of what to do, simply sat beside me, but left a few feet of separation for safety. He was mumbling in Russian, partially to me, but mainly to himself.
Oh, can you see me?
Oh, can you hear me?
Can you hear me screaming for you?
I'm afraid I'm gonna die down here
I can't save, I can't save myself
Get me out, get me out of Hell
I'm suffocating waiting for you
Cause the angels don't fly down here
I need you because no one else
Can get me out, get me out of Hell?
My mouth shut but I could still hear screaming echoing against the cave walls, but they weren’t my screams. I looked over to Pietro, who was in a similar position to mine, hands tangled in his curls while he screamed and cried every bit of confusion and negativity and hurt from his mind and body. He was still mumbling in Russian between his screams and sobs, some intelligible, some not. His eyes had been screwed shut and his head hung until they suddenly weren’t. His normally bright blue eyes were glazed over and frantic as his hands started to claw at his chest.
“Я не могу дышать. Не может дышать. Кровь, кровь повсюду. Пули. Клинт. Дитя. Sokovia. Ванда. Мертв. Мертв. Мертв. Темно. Холодно. Мертв.”
I can't trust anyone, all that I got
Is another scarred, broken heart
I've been stabbed in the back, the bleeding won't stop
Just another cut in the dark
Oh, can you see me?
Oh, can you hear me?
Can you hear me screaming for you?
I'm afraid I'm gonna die down here
I can't save, I can't save myself
Get me out, get me out of Hell
I'm suffocating waiting for you
Cause the angels don't fly down here
I need you because no one else
Can get me out, get me out of Hell?
“Pietro,” I said calmly at first, trying to snap him out of it. When he didn’t react, I tried again louder. “Pietro. Come on, speedy snap out of it. Pietro? PIETRO!” I moved to reach for him but stopped, unwilling to touch him in my grotesque form. I took a deep breath and willed my mutation to retract back into my skin. I chuckled in relief as my skin tingled from my retreating scales and as my wings and tail returned to their tattoo depictions. Now that I was back to normal, I reached for Pietro once more, pulling him into a tight embrace. “It’s ok, Pietro. You’re alive, you’re safe, and you’re with me. Wanda and Clint and that kid, they’re all safe. You and I are safe. Can you hear me? Please, Pietro, come back to me. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
Can you hear me screaming for you?
I'm afraid I'm gonna die down here
I can't save, I can't save myself
Get me out, get me out
Get me out of Hell
I'm suffocating waiting for you
Cause the angels don't fly down here
I need you because no one else
Can get me out, get me out of Hell?
“I’m sorry, (Y/N),” Pietro muttered into my shoulder. “I don’t know why that happened.”
“It’s ok, Roadrunner,” I consoled. “PTSD is common. I must’ve triggered it with my screaming. I’m sorry.”
“I’m glad you’re safe, and normal again.” I chuckled and looked at him with a smile. I let him go and got up for a moment, rousing a whine from him. Laughing softly, I grabbed my bag from a crevice in the cave wall and grabbed my hair brush. Returning to Pietro, I made him sit between my legs as I brushed his hair. I felt him relax against me, soft moans escaping his lips as I brushed out the tangles and knots.
“We need to get going,” he mumbled. “The others are probably freaking out about where I am.”
“They don’t know where you are?” He shook his head, slightly ashamed of himself.
“They were taking too long trying to find you. Some said you would come back on your own. Others started searching for any sign of you. I got so frantic that they said I couldn’t leave, but I did anyway. I needed to find you, needed to know you were safe.”
“We can leave in the morning,” I said, knowing that it was already dark outside. “For now, let’s get some food and a good night’s sleep.” Pietro smiled and kissed the palm of my hand before getting up, pulling me with him. We cooked dinner together from the left-over bear meat I had stocked up. After we ate, we curled up in my nest of blankets and pillows, my head on Pietro’s chest, and quickly fell asleep. Together, we were safe from our demons, free from our personal hells.
Can you hear me?
Can you see me?
I can feel you now
Get me out, get me out of Hell
Can you hear me screaming for you?
I'm afraid I'm gonna die down here
I need you because no one else
Can get me out, get me out of Hell?