You Didn't See That Coming? ~Hawksilver~ #Wattys2015

Soulthieves Part III

Pietro's POV

"...hold her still, Pietro, I can't focus with her thrashing in your arms like that," Wanda said, trying to release the consciousnesses of hundreds of people from Deathstone's necklace. I held on tightly to Deathstone, in an attempt to stop her from teying to squirm out of my arms.

"I can't die," she said.

"But you are going to, March, so be quiet and relax. Enjoy your last moments," I said angrily, and she whimpered, burying her face into my shoulder.

"What did I ever do to you?"

"You nearly murdered us, and countless others gone," Wanda yelled, her eyes glowing red. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I give up. This is not possible." She tried to release them again. Suddenly, the stone glowed a red color and Deathstone shrieked.

"Wanda, I think you're doing it," I said, and a light started glowing.

"Do we have to kill her?" Wanda asked, and March sobbed again.

"Please let me go," she said.

"You heard what Cap said," I said simply. "There isn't another way."

"Well, neither of us are doing it, then," Wanda said, "you are NOT killing her. You will not put me through that."

"Wanda, she killed you. She actually did. She put your mind to sleep and we both were almost gone for good at one point. Think of who she might hurt." Lila. Cooper. Laura. Nathaniel.

"Hand her over to someone else, the police. The government. Another Avenger. I don't care, but you aren't killing her." I bit my lip and grabbed a knife, quickly jabbing it into her side, making her gasp in shock. Wanda didn't even flinch.

"How could you?" Deathstone asked.

"Oh relax, it's not that bad, March, man up. I've gotten stabbed many times. This is just to keep you from wandering off easily. You can't speed away with an injury like this."

"What do you mean, you've been stabbed many times?" Clint asked, laughing as he walked towards me.

"You'd be surprised," Wanda said, "In our short days at a Sokovian orphanage, this one kid literally jabbed a steak knife into his side when he was having a nightmare. He claimed he was 'keeping him up at night.' It happened twice before we left for the streets."

"Seriously?" Clint asked, and I nodded.

"It doesn't hurt until you realized what happened," I told him.

"Hey, I never knew you two were ever in an orphanage," he said.

"Just about a year," I said, and I looked at Deathstone in my arms and my heart stopped. "Lila!"

"What-oh my God! Lila?!" Wanda shrieked, and Clint turned around in horror to see his nine-year-old daughter in my arms instead of Deathstone.

"Where'd she go?" Steve asked, rushing over. "Oh, God, we need to take her to the hospital. She's been stabbed."

"I-I-" I did that, I thought in absolute horror, "She must have-have switched places..." My sadness, the tears in my eyes, they struck with fury beyond what I'd ever felt before. "I should have choked the life out of her on sight, none of this should have happened...I'll kill her. I'll find her and I'll kill her." I kissed poor Lila's forehead. "You'll be alright, I promise..." I couldn't look at Clint. I just couldn't. "I need to go."

"P-Pietro," Lila muttered with a quiver, and I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. I did this.

"Clint, come on, go to the Quinjet, she'll be okay-" Steve said.

"How-how did this happen?" He asked, suddenly snapping out of it and scooping her out of my arms into his.

"Daddy..."

"It's okay, Princess, just look at me."

"It hurts."

"I know it does, I'm sorry, but we're gonna take care of you." He held her close to him in his arms. "Pietro," he started to say, but I sped away before it could happen.

I found myself back in Attilan. The guards brought me in as a trespasser, and when the Queen wouldn't see me, the princess, Crystal, did.

"...Pietro?" She asked in shock, surprised to see me again, shocked that I was almost crying. "Are you-are you okay?"

"I just hurt someone important to me on accident," I said shakily, trying to keep it together. "One second she was the enemy, the next..."

"Pietro, it's alright...tell me all about it. This sounds like something you wouldn't wanna keep inside forever. Come in to my room, we can talk about it in private." She stressed the words "in private" to indicate she wanted to talk to me with no guards nearby. They walked away and she and I went into her room.

"She is a little girl named Lila," I said, sitting down next to her on her bed, still choking back the tears. "Her family took my sister and I in when we needed a home. Today we were fighting an enemy by the name of Deathstone, who has a rough history with Wanda and I. She is the one who basically killed my sister, and who stole our powers from us. I finally caught her, and Wanda was releasing all that Deathstone had trapped in her necklace, and I put a knife in her side so she would be hurt and couldn't run away even if she tried to. But suddenly, Lila had taken her place and she had been the one I had stabbed..."

"Listen," Crystal said, "Surprisingly, the easiest way to deal with pain and guilt is to let it all out at once." She reached up without hesitation to rest her soft hand on my cheek, her thumb gently wiping a tear away. "You can't hold pain in, or it will tear you apart."

"It looks like I'm already torn apart," I said.

"Don't talk that way," she scolded gently. "Listen, I'm sure everyone will understand this wasn't really your fault."

"I feel...terrible. Guilty. Afraid." Her other hand ran through my hair and pulled my forehead against hers.

"It's going to be okay and I promise you that." I took a deep breath, staring into her green eyes. "This isn't your fault. It never was...this proves you're innocent, that you feel bad about it. You poor thing..." I realized how close the two of us were sitting, how are heads were together, how her hand was entangled in my hair, and how my hand was on her waist. I blushed a little. "Oh, sorry..." We let go of each other. Her face was a bright shade of red. "I just-I'm sorry. I never thought I'd see you again, Pietro Maximoff, you came into my life and then disappeared so suddenly that-"

"You didn't see it coming," I said, smiling.

"I, uh, I'm flattered you came to me for help and comfort," Crystal told me. She hesitantly took my hand and I squeezed hers tight. "I know this is kinda odd, but the moment I first saw you-"

"I love you too," I said quickly, blushing. She hadn't left my thoughts since I saw her. Suddenly she dove on top of me and kissed me, and I closed my eyes and kissed her back, gently.