A Whole Lot of Love

Nightmares and Unicorns

You wake up to someone lifting you gently, as though they're trying not to wake you. You open your eyes anyway, only a moment passes before Pietro smiles down at you at tells you to go back to sleep. You hum contentedly and let yourself be pulled back into darkness, only to shake yourself back awake moments later in a panic. You flail out, your fist catching Pietro across the cheekbone before you fall out of his arms and on your feet, bringing your arms up in a defensive stance. Panting, you realize where you are; the hangar of the tower. T'challa and Pietro are the only ones still there beside yourself, and you back up a step, dropping your arms to your side. Pietro has one hand against his face, covering the bruise there that's already forming. You cover your mouth with your hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I....I'm sorry." Pietro steps toward you and you step back. When he takes another step forward, you take a deep breath and let him. He takes another step and before you can blink, he has you locked in a tight hug, his head buried in the crook of your neck, his breath calming on your skin. You reluctantly wrap your arms around him, which causes him to hug you impossibly tighter. 

"It's okay, lyublyu, it's alright. You're safe, dorogoy." He releases you and holds you at arm length. "What happened?" T'challa was over and places a hand on your back.

"I'm sorry, I thought...I thought I was back...back in...somewhere awful. You wouldn't believe me if I told you where. I'm sorry, I just, I wasn't thinking, I shouldn't've done that, Pietro, I am so sorry." T'challa pulls you backward and wraps his arms around you, his front against your back.

"Y/N, you don't have to apologize for that. You didn't know what was going on, and you woke up in a strange place. If you want to talk about, we're here, if not, then that's okay. We have all gone through some form of what happened." Pietro's nodding along as T'challa leans his forehead against your shoulder blades. "You can trust us with that, or whatever it is that's wrong." You nod, and T'challa releases you. In a blink, Pietro has scooped you back up bridal style. You squeal in surprise before he speeds to the elevator and cackles as the doors slide closed, the sight of T'challa running to the door, teasing betrayal on his face. Pietro laughs with you and you sling one arm around his shoulders, the other resting on your thigh. The door dings open and he speeds out before depositing you on a metal table. Bucky's sitting across from you on another table. You glance around to find you're in the med wing.

"Pietro, I'm not hurt." Bucky smirks at you and you realize with a start he's shirtless, but it looks like he's wearing a white tank top because of the bandages wrapping around his torso.

"Of course you're not. That's why you were limping when you walked onto the jet, or when I picked you up, you mumbled 'ow', despite the fact that you were asleep. Or maybe its the fact that Bucky told us you hurt yourself."

"Bucky!" He shrugs. 

"You got hurt, so I told Steve when I woke up. I had the feeling that you're not the type to tell people when you get hurt, so I figured I'd do it for you." he gestures in the general direction of your hip and leans back on his hands, wincing slightly as he stretches out his stomach injuries.

"C'mon, man, I'm fine! I just landed on my hip when I hit the ground. I'll be fine by morning." Pietro scoffs as the elevator opens and Sam and T'challa walk out. "Oh, good. Look, Sam, please tell these two dorks that I am not hurt!" Sam sits next to you on the table and shakes his head.

"No can do, baby, because you should try to take care of yourself."

"Screw that, I'm fine. Or, I've had least had way worse." T'cholla scoffs.

"I have been stabbed in the sternum before, just above my heart, and I still tell Sam or someone if I get a bruise. So If you get hurt, tell us." You stand.

"I just need ice," you growl before stalking to the still open elevator. You poke the button for the ground floor and cross your arms over your chest as the doors close. You lean your back against the polished metal wall of the elevator, then tilt your head backward to rest against it, closing your eyes and trying to think. The elevator doors open again, and you open one eye to see Steve walk into the elevator and nod politely at you, a small smile on his face.

"Where are you headed, Captain?" You keep your eyes closed, not wanting to bother with opening them.

"Bucky wanted one of those...Starburst drinks." You open your eyes at that.

"Starbucks?" He nods, looking a little confused.

"I'm sorry, I still don't really know any of the names of these shops nowadays."

"No, its fine, I was actually going to go, too, get a hot coffee, or maybe one of the new Unicorn things." Steve chuckles. 

"Those are Buck's favorite. He says they're really good, but when I tried one of his, it was too sweet for me. I'm still used to the army's black, watery coffee." The elevator opens on a floor that opens into a sitting area overlooking the city.

"This is the communal floor. Um, Nat has some clothes you could borrow?" You look down at your armor and nod, follow him out to the couches and lounge chairs spread in a semicircle around a huge flatscreen TV. Steve walks over to a set of drawers that is backed into a corner and pulls out a pair of pants and a t-shirt.

"This is the share drawer. If anyone needs clothes, this is where we just kind of share it." He hands you the clothes, and gestures at a hallway by the elevator.

"Bathrooms the first door on the left."

"Thanks." You change fairly quickly and walk out to find Steve on the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Xavier, I think it will. Thanksgiving break? Okay, that sounds good, it'll give us a few weeks to get her floor prepared." He turns to see you leaning against the wall staring at him. "She's right here, Professor, would you like to speak with her?" he hands you the phone and you have to roll your eyes at his nobility.

"Hey, love, how're you?"

"Fine, Charlie."

"Good. Erik is yelling very loudly at me in his head to ask you when the last time you ate was."

"Food is a social construct created and perpetuated by large-scale agricultural interests." Steve furrow his eyebrows. You wave him off.

"It's really not, love, now give me a straight answer."

"Uhm....," you have to think about this one. You didn't have breakfast, and you didn't think that Charles would count cotton candy from Coney Island.

"Uhm, well, I think that would be about ten o'clock yesterday morning." You hear Erik shriek over the phone; Charles must have you on speaker.

"Y/N, listen, I don't know how you haven't collapsed due to low glucose levels, but if you don't eat soon, I will personally ensure you never again have any sort of sex life." You scoff.

"Erik, the two of you are my only sex life."

"Exactly!" Steve looks like he is trying very hard not to laugh and blush at the same time. You waggle your eyebrows at him and he practically busts a gut laughing.

"Fine, I'll get something while I'm out getting Starbucks. I'm craving a gyro."