How do you heal?

Chapter 43: Holiday Ferocity

Annie pulled the rental car into the driveway at Alex's house a few days before Thanksgiving. Tony had given her off until Sunday and miraculously let her take a commercial flight home. She had prepped meals for most of the time she would be gone but had Tony hired some fancy Chef and was having a large dinner made for the remaining compound occupants. Pietro had opted to go with Annie. In the few months since the night of the rave he had barely left her side. With Wanda and Vision officially dating and the only other full time compound residents being Nat, who he was slightly afraid of, Sam, who spent all his free time either on the phone with or visiting Alex, Rhodey, Banner and Steve, all a little to straight and narrow for him, he'd gravitated to Annie. He liked Thor as well but the god of thunder had a tendency to sneak off to see his brother whenever possible. They had been friends before but the last few months had shown him that while she was usually a quiet person, when a room wasn't crowded she was open and funny and liked to sing and dance. She was a little older than him but had grown up around the same era and liked a lot of the same music. He'd found out she had an old nintendo stashed in her closet and they'd started playing together. Unless she had work to do she would usually be up to join him in whatever scheme or activity he had lined up and eventually he'd started helping her with chores to give her more free time. She had tried to stop him at first, claiming she didn't like the way other people did certain things and it was easier to just do it herself but he'd watched her and when he started copying her methods she couldn't give him a good reason why he needed to stop. So when she'd said she was taking Thanksgiving off to see her family he'd asked if he could join her.

Pietro got out of the car and went to get their bags. "You know I'm kind of surprised Alex's place is so big. I mean I'm glad she has plenty of room for us but it's weird she has a three bedroom with it being just her, well and 'Iris'."

Annie smiled as she pulled out the hide-a-key. Loki and Alex had been running errands and had said just let themselves in. "I don't think she was concerned with the bedroom count when the owner asked her to live here rent free. It's kind of a hard offer to pass up." They entered the door and Annie's heart hurt just a little at the lack of heavy dog pants in the house, Bubba having passed the month prior.

"That is a pretty sweet deal. How'd she swing that, does she have, like, a sugar daddy or something?" Pietro said, waggling his eyebrows as he set their bags inside.

"Well," Annie said as she hopped up on the counter, a motion Pietro found strange as she had always scolded anyone at the compound who did it. "I don't know that I'd call myself a sugar daddy but when I moved to New York I needed someone to stay with my dog and take care of the house so it seemed like an even trade."

"Wait, this is your house?"

"Yes sir." She said as she smacked the counter she sat on. "Twelve hundred square feet and an acre of land, bought, paid for and all mine."

Pietro laughed as he started opening cabinets to find something to snack on. "Alright money bags, want to explain why you needed three bedrooms if it was just you?"

"It wasn't just me." She said and having found something to eat he turned back around, package in hand, to see her playing with the ring she wore around her neck. "And when Charlie and I bought the place we wanted enough space for a guest room and I wanted an office."

He furrowed his brow. "Charlie?"

He watched a sad smile cross her face as she looked down at the ring. "My late husband."

"Oh," he said, tossing the package on the counter beside where she sat and stood in front of her. "I had no idea you were married."

Annie looked up when she heard the garage door open. "I don't talk about it much. It was hard when I lost him and I couldn't stay here so Tony offered me a job."

Pietro felt a small bit of relief that he could hear Alex and Loki coming. While losing his parents wasn't exactly the same, he'd never liked the pitying looks and 'I'm sorrys' that came when people found out and he had a feeling Annie wouldn't either. The door opened and he turned. "Волчица (volchitsa), Iris, it's so nice of you to join us!"

Alex stepped in carrying bags with a grin on her face, Loki behind her in Iris form, but she froze after taking a few steps. "What is that?" She asked, pointing to the bag Pietro had dropped on the counter.

Annie and Pietro both looked down at the bag and Annie let out a squeak as she jumped down from the counter. "Oh shit, Lex, I didn't see what he grabbed. I would have stopped him before he ate it."

Pietro looked between the two confused. "It's just beef jerky, what's the big deal?"

"Oh dear." Loki said, having shifted back, concern evident in his tone.

Alex's gray eyes frosted over as they narrowed. "I don't care how much I like you, Road Runner, if you ever eat my beef jerky I will murder you."

Pietro laughed as he looked back to Annie but she too wore a serious expression. Shaking her head she said, "She's serious. A guy I was dating in college ate just a few pieces of her beef jerky once when I was asleep and she broke his hand."

"I made it look like an accident." Alex said, picking up the bag and tearing it open for herself.

"You guys are joking, right?"

"I never joke about beef jerky." Alex said as she ripped into a piece.