Red Assassin ~ Pietro Maximoff x OC

ten ~ full disclosure

edited 6/13/2022

Five minutes isn't long. Thankfully, I'm already pretty much ready to go. All I have to do is restock on bullets and I'm done.

I find Pietro shirtless in the equipment room, grabbing a new pair of running shoes and a fresh set of clothes, when I go to retrieve more bullets. Even from the back, he is way hotter than I gave him credit for.

"Like what you see?" he asks, turning around to face me. Sweet cheese and crackers, he's sexy.

"I-I-I-I, uh, just, I, uh, I need...need to t-t-talk to you," I stammer, my face flushing bright red with heat. Not knowing what to do, I shut my eyes and turn my head away. "God, put a shirt on!"

He smiles, shaking his head. "You haven't changed at all." He puts on a fresh running shirt. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

I sigh, slowly moving closer to him. "I guess I should start with an 'I'm sorry,'" I say. "I just left you and Wanda like that after the bombing and I never...I never tried to find you guys again. I practically abandoned you guys. I mean, after the bombing, we said we'd be each other's family. Family doesn't ditch you like I did."

He knits his eyebrows, taking a step closer to me. "Is that all? You could have said this to me at any time."

I can't meet his eyes. "No, there's more I have to say. I just...I don't know how to say it," I say.

He takes another step closer to me. He's close enough now that he can probably hear my heart running a marathon in my chest. "Are you sure? Just because we haven't spoken in eight years doesn't mean you can't still talk to me," he says.

"I know. I'm just...scared. If I tell you, then I might lose you," I admit.

"You could never lose me," he says softly, taking my hand.

We stand there in silence for a moment before I break the silence. "What, um...what happened to you and Wanda after the bombing?" I ask, changing the subject. "Like...why didn't either of you get picked up like I did?"

"I still don't know," he says. "But it was lonely. We sometimes had to take turns eating. I thought of you every night."

"I used to think of you, too," I say. "Even when I was...when I was on missions. I'd think of you so I didn't have to think about the horrible things I was doing."

"How do you live with it?" he asks me. "Live with...their blood on your hands."

I bite my lip. "You don't," I answer honestly. "You can scrub your hands raw, try everything to wipe away the memories, but it's always there to haunt you. You keep doing it because you're convinced that you're a monster 'cause only monsters do the things that you've done. And then...someone reminds you that it's never too late to repent. That as damaged as you think you are inside, there's always someone to help you mend. And that...no matter what you did, who you are, you're worth saving." I hold back a sob. "I've never been that honest with anyone before."

"Who brought you back?" he asks.

"They did. Clint and Nat mostly," I say. "I, um, I had something to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters going kaboom last year. That's when Nat found me. Director Fury sent her and Clint to bring me in. They should've made sure I could never hurt anyone again, whether that meant killing me or locking me up. But instead, they saw that I was a kid. An angry kid who missed her parents and her brother. Instead of shipping me off, they got me help. They pretty much gave me my life back. Even though I didn't think I was worth saving, they didn't give up on me. I'll never be able to thank them enough."