How do you heal?

Chapter 74: Stay With Me

It was nearly three in the morning before they got to the hotel with plans to wake up and head back to the house in a few hours. Pepper passed out key cards and they all rode the elevator in silence before exiting and heading to their separate rooms.

Pietro opened the door to Annie's room and walked in, setting down her bag and flicking on the lights. The room was small but clean with a neatly made queen bed in the center. He walked over and set her phone, which he'd been carrying since Nat handed it to him before they left, on her night stand. "Okay, I set an alarm on your phone and three on mine for the morning. I've got the second key to your room so I'll come get you when I wake up and walk down to breakfast with you." He said as he walked to where she was still standing by the door. He put a hand on her face and pulled her to him to kiss the top of her head as he reached for the handle to go.

Annie grabbed the hand he had on her cheek as he made to pull away and he stopped, looking down at her. "Can you stay in here with me, please?"

They were the first words he had heard her speak since he'd left her in the kitchen that morning and he felt a small bit of relief at the sound and at the request, her choosing not to be alone. Pulling her in he wrapped both arms around her tightly. "I will stay with you as long as you want."

Annie laid awake in bed watching the sun streaming in through a crack in the curtains move over Pietro's sleeping face, not quite reaching his eyes yet. She had been so afraid to ask him to stay, to be even more of a bother when he had already done so much. Talking her through the panic attack, coming with her, making sure she and her family had something to eat last night. She had been more afraid to be alone because she had felt the ghostly empty feeling she'd had when Charlie died creeping into her brain and she didn't want to give it the chance to take hold. She kissed his hand, the one that had held hers through the night, lightly and whispered, "Thank you for never making me feel like a burden."

Pietro stirred slightly and pulled Annie close to him but didn't open his eyes. "You could never be a burden to me, Солнышко. I love you too much. But no more talking until the alarm goes off."

Five days later, true to his word, Pietro had stayed with Annie through everything. Since her father had wanted to be cremated her mom had chosen to forgo calling hours and a proper service in favor of a wake style memorial, where they had set up a slideshow and small podium so anyone could share stories if they wanted, followed by a dinner, at a local hall.

Now, standing in the receiving line before the memorial, between Finch and Amy, Annie would be eternally grateful for the arm Pietro slipped around her as he came up behind her and whispered, "The Avengers are here." She felt her knees buckle a bit and Pietro braced her up as she turned to the entrance. All of them, Steve, Wanda, Vision, Rhodey, Thor, Bruce, Nat, the whole Barton clan, stood in the line, patiently waiting their turn. Even Bucky stood hovering at the door.

"What are they all doing here?" She whispered back to him between greetings.

"They are here for you."

Annie hadn't cried since getting up off the floor at the compound but now she felt a single tear slip down her cheek as she closed her eyes. The line so far had been filled with her parent's friends and coworkers and a few distant cousins and her siblings had each had about a dozen or so people show up to share their condolences as well but outside of those that came here with her Annie hadn't expected anyone to show up just to be there for her. Why would they?

When the group finally made their way to the front of the line Wanda pulled Annie into a rib crushing hug. "Annie, we are all so sorry for your loss."

Annie stepped back and wiped at the few stray tears with a soft laugh. "Thank you so much but you guys really didn't need to come all this way just to say that."

"You're always there for us." Thor said as he took Wanda's place and lifted her into a bear hug.

Steve spoke up to her from behind Thor. "It's about time we get to be there for you."