Endearment ▶️ Pietro Maximoff

Thirty-Three

Flashback

Pietro sighed in frustration watching the uncomfortable exchange happen between Charlie and that asshole; Brandon or whatever his name was now.

"Is she stupid? Why can't she see he's coming onto her?" Pietro kicked the innocent little pebble into oblivion, frustrated at Charlie's naivety. She was too kind, sometimes he hated and loved how kind she was to everyone; but kindness could get you into trouble if you were not careful enough. He didn't want to witness it, but his treacherous heart wouldn't let him sit in peace knowing she was surrounded by traitors. He had to know how she was doing all the time; because after knowing what he knew now, Pietro felt an enormous amount of guilt inside his heart. He knew it wasn't his fault, yet somehow he felt responsible for it.

The truth was, he didn't trust anyone after coming back from his near death experience; not after what Strucker told him which hurt more than the experimentation itself. No one knew the truth he was hiding, the truth he was ashamed of and wanted to rectify before it tore him apart.

Even if Strucker had failed in brainwashing him, extensive damage had been done to his mind regardless. His memories were now so distant, as though he was running towards them but they were slipping further away. Pietro felt like he was running out of time, losing pieces of himself little by little; as if he was going to forget everything about himself soon if he wasn't careful. He desperately wanted to hold onto the memories he still had..and Charlie's presence suddenly became a major factor in helping him retain some of them. So much so that he almost became selfish and wanted to be near her all the time; even though he knew he probably shouldn't.

The first time he saw Charlie with that asshole was by accident, outside some building. He couldn't help but feel waves of jealousy just seeing her talking to someone else other than him, he had barely controlled his emotions then, allowing the exchange to happen. Pietro was very suspicious of this guy right after and decided to look into him.

Sure enough, just as he'd suspected, Strucker really had his moles everywhere; that bastard. The only reason this asshole was anywhere near her was because he was a useful tool for now.

Rolling his eyes at the cringy exchange he was being forced to witness inside the cafe, Pietro leaned back against the dumpster, jumping back when he realised what he'd done. Ew, gross. If only he'd been allowed back out sooner instead of being put under constant surveillance, none of this mess would have happened in the first place. "Stupid rules." He muttered, looking at her.

He remembered the first time he sneaked out of the tower in search for answers. Barton was silly enough to leave the door open just enough for him to dash out, an entourage of uniformed officials chasing after him but he was too fast for them. He'd seen her walking into a familiar looking cafe that morning, a route he unknowingly followed, and as if struck by lightning; memories came crashing down and he lost control of his own body from the sudden revelation.

It was definitely her. It had to be her. Her face was not how he remembered it though, it was lacking the warmth he associated with her in his mind, her eyes looked lost; he didn't like it. He had missed her so much, he wanted to hold her in his arms and never let her go. But most importantly, he wanted to apologise, guilt had started to consume him.

But before he was able to get anywhere near her, shields of armour had blocked his path and his body naturally resisted the metal straps wrapping against his body; soon he was back where he started. Not this again, Pietro yelled in frustration, anger coursed through his veins and he destroyed the bland room once again. "Let me see her!" Pietro was frustrated and angry that he was this close to her but failed.

"He's followed that same path over and over, yet he doesn't remember ever going there when we bring him back. What changed this time, was it Charlie's presence? Is she triggering his memories somehow?" Steve was concerned for him, seeing his erratic behaviour. Pietro had clearly become victim to Strucker's experimentation but it was unclear what he went through.