Winter

Chapter 11

Pietro bowed his head at the sound of the hear monitor flat lining. Raptor's black and white scales were cold against his forehead and hand as he held her against him. From a few feet away he could hear Tony and Rhodey murmuring before leaving him alone in the room, something he was grateful for despite the agony of loss searing through his heart.

"Raptor..." He whispered her name and closed his eyes to prevent the tears from falling.

The process had been finished, all they had to do was wait for the shot to wear off and she would've nearly been back on her feet once her other wounds healed. Then her heart had to give out and fail before they could help her... Why? He'd just gotten her back, why had she died? He already lost his parents to Stark, could've lost his sister in Ultron's attack, which he blamed Stark for, and now Stark had killed Raptor in an attempt to fix her. Anger swirled in with the pain but Pietro didn't move from his position, he couldn't, if he moved he'd have to see the body. He didn't want to see the reality that she was gone.

A gentle hand went to his shoulder and he immediately knew Wanda had joined him despite the unusual coldness to her hand. She didn't say anything as she sat beside him but her presence was enough to provide a bit of comfort, though it wasn't much. Minutes ticked by and still he didn't move, the abyss he'd fallen into the first time he thought she'd died dropped him further than before until he felt nothing. Nothing was real anymore, which meant nothing mattered. Almost zombie like, Pietro stood up and looked down at Raptor, her amber eyes were closed and her form limp. He turned away, ignoring his sister once more, and left the room... she didn't follow him.

The Avengers would, of course, bury her in the grave that had already been placed for her. Pietro didn't think he could stand a second funeral for her... he'd have to put the box back, this time in the grave with her to be buried forever. He could barely look at the black cube now and instead left it in his pocket where it seemed to gain weight with every step. His mind drifted back to the weapons room and he turned down the hall in its direction almost subconsciously, he wouldn't deal with this again... yet could he just leave Wanda here alone? His steps faltered.

"Pietro?" Wanda's cautious voice came from behind him as she walked around the corner.

He turned to look at her with his emotionless gaze. "Yes?"

She approached him like he was a skittish animal. "Where were you going?"

Wanda knew, just staring at her gave him that information, it was not use to lie. "The weapons room."

"Pietro..." Sadness covered her gaze and she pulled him against her in comfort. "To bude v poriadku nakoniec."

He held her tighter... it wouldn't be okay in the end, no matter what she said it wouldn't be. He closed his eyes for a second before pulling away and walking back the way he'd come. The quiet halls told him the others were probably purposefully avoiding him time to grieve alone, not that grieving solved anything. No about of grief, hope, or time would fix this. They could comfort him or leave him alone but nothing would help.

"Pietro!" Wanda ran up to him with a bright smile on her face, he frowned and looked back the way he'd come, how did she get in front of him without him noticing? "Pietro, she's alive!"

He glared at her. "Don't joke."

"I'm not! Come on!" She pulled him after her but he pulled away.

"Who are you?" He growled, Wanda couldn't be in two places at once and he'd just seen her in another hallway with no way that she could've been here as well.

Her face feel. "Pietro what do you mean?"

"You aren't Wanda." He hissed and backed away.

She stayed where she was with a broken look. "I'm your sister... Pietro please... Raptor is alive. Look!"

She started running back to the medical room and the urge to follow her was too strong to resist. He lightly ran after her, careful not to move his broken arm as he ran, and slid to a stop to see Raptor in human form sitting up in the medical bed with confusion written across her gaze.

"Raptor..." He breathed out her name as he took in her uninjured form, slowly he walked over to her. "Is this real?"

His sister put a hand on him arm. "Of course it is."

He turned to look at her but saw she was gone. "Wanda?"

Pietro turned back to Raptor. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I think." She replied tiredly. "Did the procedure work?"

He embraced her quickly, not failing to notice he could now move his strangely healed broken arm. "Yes, yes it did. You're okay now."