shards - pietro maximoff

chapter twenty-five ; 'asgard' and autopilot

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"... Now?"

"No!"

Dahlia groaned, resting her head on the back of her seat in the jet. "How fucking FAR is Norway?"

"Seeing as it's a whole other country, I'd say pretty far."

They had been in the sky for about five hours, and Dahlia was bored out of her wits. Bruce was studying a book in front of him, writing things down in a notepad every few minutes or so. He was fairly successful at ignoring her complaints.

Rocket, however, was not as good at that. He was becoming very annoyed with her impatience, but a part of him ached at the feeling of dealing with a kid, reminding him of Groot and everyone they stood to bring back.

Pietro normally would've been the one to deal with her antics, and calm her down for as long as need be, but he was fast asleep, his head in Dahlia's lap. It was the only thing that was keeping her from throwing herself off the plane and into the traffic below.

The jet started its descent, and Dahlia seemed to forget about the man sleeping on her lap as she started to hop up and down in her seat, anxious to see her best friend again.

"Dahls, just know, if I didn't love you and care about your well-being, I would have thrown you out the window." Pietro mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"Well, I guess it's lucky you love me, then!" Nothing could put a damper on her happiness, not when the prospect of seeing Thor was on the horizon.

The team had split up, going to gather the Avengers who were out of reach. Dahlia had originally wanted to go with Natasha, but upon hearing where Bruce and Rocket were headed, she immediately changed her mind.

In truth, Nat wanted to keep Dahlia as far away from where she was as possible. Clint had gone rogue, and the only trace of him wasn't pleasant. Fifteen bodies in Tokyo, all dead from arrow and knife wounds. Once his family had disappeared, he went off the grid, and Nat wasn't sure if she even wanted to find him, but she had to try.

The four Avengers climbed off the plane, getting into a Utility car that was parked in the lot below.

"Shotgun!" Pietro called, running towards it with his powers and landing himself in the front seat, propping his legs up on the dashboard.

Dahlia crossed her arms. "I wanted shotgun!"

"Uh, Dahlia?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah?"

"You've gotta drive."

She let out a whine. She hated driving anything other than her motorcycle. "Why can't someone else do it?"

Bruce shrugged. "Too big."

Rocket spoke up. "Too non-human."

She looked towards Pietro, who winked when he caught her gaze. "Too illegal, love. I only have a license in Sokovia."

"Ugh." Dahlia got in the front seat and started the car, once Rocket had gotten in the back and Bruce climbed in the trunk. "As soon as this is all over, we're getting you a license."

Pietro groaned, but didn't protest.

The car drove down the green countryside, the landscape looking untouched.

"I wonder if I could run fast enough to create a spark and set that whole field on fire," Pietro murmured as he looked out the window, causing Rocket and Dahlia to look at him with alarm. "What?"