SUPERSONIC ▷ QUICKSILVER !

THERAPY. ₁

' my ship went down in a sea of sound/when i woke up alone, i had everything/a handful of moments i wish i could change/and a tongue like a nightmare that cut like a blade' — therapy, all time low

Inconsolable. That was the only word to describe Pietro as the days progressed.

He locked himself up in the extra room back at the tower, shutting out everything and everyone; even Wanda, which seemed to hurt her quite a lot. Every day— for about two weeks— the Avengers would take turns trying to pull him out. They'd knock at his door, they'd threaten to kick it down, they'd talk to him through the wood.

For ten days, Pietro didn't say a word. Nothing. He didn't move, didn't leave the four walls of which he had confined himself in, no matter what Wanda or the rest of the others said. Even when his body began to ache, even when he felt like he would die from dehydration and hunger. He couldn't bring himself to face any of them: they didn't understand; they didn't know what it was like.

Eventually, though, it was Natasha who coaxed him out. The scene goes as follows:

"Pietro?"

The Maximoff boy perked up at the sound of the woman. He hadn't heard her try to get him out ever since he holed himself up. Her voice on the other side of the door sounded tired and worn out, and as she spoke, Pietro slowly began to realize why.

"You're not the only one who lost her, you know?" It took Pietro a minute to process that she was talking to him in their native tongue. She spoke to him in a flat, emotionless tone, which only seemed to further establish her distress.

Then, she began to cry.

In the short time that Pietro knew Natasha, he had figured she was a strong woman. Scary, at times, but all-in-all, she was perhaps the second most powerful Avenger (next to Captain America). To hear somebody say Natasha Romanoff had cried seemed hard for him to believe— yet here she was, weeping for the girl that left them oh-so suddenly.

That was his breaking point. Standing unsteadily, Pietro took the few steps over to his door and swung it open. Natasha stood from the door abruptly— she was leaning against the door, Pietro figured— and the two squinted at each other. Pietro wasn't quite sure how long it had been since he'd seen light.

Wordlessly, Natasha wrapped her arms around Pietro in a hug. It was comforting, in a way, to find someone who felt as much grief as him. The two stood there in silence for a few minutes before Natasha pulled away, rubbing at her eyes.

"The rest are having a meeting," Natasha said. She sounded as hollow as she looked. "Are you up for it?" Pietro nodded and, in silence, he followed Natasha to where the rest of their group were.

A few turns and a set of stairs later, Pietro found himself amidst gaping men (and a rather flabbergasted looking Wanda). "Took you long enough." she croaked before stumbling towards him, enveloping him in a hug. Pietro squeezed his twin in an attempt to comfort, and the two of them collapsed on to the nearby couch as Steve continued what he was supposedly saying.