Archangel

Fifteen

Angel woke up warm, once again, though not uncomfortably so like the night before. It was a soothing warmth, one that further drug her into the depths of the blankets cocooning her sore body.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she found Wanda curled up on the couch across from her, engrossed in a book. She followed the words on the page with ring-adorned fingers, lips moving quietly as she sounded the harder ones out loud.

A small smile tugged at the edges of her lips when Angel heard Peter's footsteps pad quickly into the kitchen. He was excited, once again, though, at this point, Angel was beginning to think that he was always excited- or at least in a good mood.

She lifted her head to greet the boy and was surprised to see that he was not alone. Inwardly she cursed herself, upset that she hadn't detected the second pair of footsteps.

Walking alongside Peter was a boy about 4 inches taller, sporting silver-blonde hair and startlingly blue eyes. He flashed a bright grin at Wanda, appearing impossibly fast behind her to snatch the book out of her hand.

"Hey!", Wanda protested. She flicked his arm with a burst of red energy and the boy yelped, dropping it back into her lap.

He pretended to pout, rubbing his offended arm before finally noticing the other girl in the room. His face lit up and he quickly stood, taking less than a second to be crouching before her, only inches from her face.

Angel flinched at the sudden intrusion and visibly cringed.

"You are bird girl, yes?", he asked excitedly, his gaze shamelessly shifting to stare at the folded forms behind her.

The girl tersely nodded, trying to back into the cushions without seeming rude.

"Dude", Peter chastised, picking up on Angel's discomfort. "Back up a bit. Give her some space".

"Oh-", the boy exclaimed, the tips of his ears flushing in embarrassment. "I am sorry. Sometimes I get too close when I move too fast". He shot back to sit on the floor, a good 2 feet away from Angel instead.

"This is Pietro", Wanda introduced with amusement and exasperation. "My twin brother. I apologize for his lack of spacial awareness".

Angel could have guessed he was her twin. They shared the same nose and olive skin tone, matching accents lacing their words- though his was much more pronounced.

"What is your name?", Pietro said softly, fiddling with the ends of his olive green sweater.

"Angel", she answered. The boy's tan face stretched into a smile, his eyes twinkling.

"Angel", he repeated. " I have not heard that name before. It is beautiful".

The girl blushed, and she heard Wanda giggle from the couch. She decided that she loved the way Pietro said her name- his accent drawing out the "-gel" sound.

"Uh, anyways-", Peter interrupted. "Bruce wanted you to get back up to the MedBay, you probably need to get more medicine".

She nodded, wincing as she tried to push the blankets from her warm body. Her ribs ached terribly and she had to keep from crying out.

"Easy- easy", Wanda urged, darting over to grip her shoulders and slowly pull her into a sitting position.

A small, pained gasp escaped her lips and she hugged her sides, breathing heavily. It hurt. Badly.

"You need medicine, yes?", Pietro asked tentatively. His thick brows were drawn together in worry.

"Yes- please", Angel rasped, blinking away tears.