#pre-hydra

Pietro was the love of your life, but then the cold came. With that the dark days plagued your relationship and fear crept into your mind.  Life was amazing.  You missed his pale skin, his sweet smile; he was so good to you. You remembered how he held you in his arms that September night, it was the first time he ever saw you cry.

September was when the riots started to happen, you hated them.  The quiet streets of Sokovia became dangerous and intense.  Men in military gear roamed the streets 24/7, but they couldn’t be trusted at night.  People started to go missing without any explanation.  The one day when Pietro left for a riot he didn’t come back with Wanda.  Wanda didn’t know where he was, so your brain instantly jumped to conclusions.  You left your home and went searching for him till it was dark.  You must’ve said his name a hundred times before you saw him coming out of one of the guard headquarters all beaten.  You ran to him with tears in your eyes.  When you felt his arms wrap around you, you instantly broke down.  You told him to promise you that he would never go to another riot again, but he didn’t say anything.

When Wanda and Pietro went to those things all they were doing was putting an unnecessary target on their backs, and it unnerved you.  You loved Pietro and Wanda more than anything in the world, and you wouldn’t be able to handle life if something were to happen to them.  You tried to tell Pietro your concerns,  but he didn’t listen.  He was convinced he was doing the right thing for Sokovia, so the riots continued.  

You hated him for this, he knew how much it hurt you each time he left.  All you ever did was worry if he was going to walk back through that door again.  

Your relationship took a downward spiral, but your heart still ached with love for him.  All the worrying and anxiety wasn’t good for you, so you had to end it.  December was when you finally decided to leave. It was a snowy day, but he told you to meet him at your favorite park in Sokovia.  It wasn’t much but you had good times there with him.  

As you walked there you were on the verge of tears. Oh how you were going to break his heart, but you needed to put yourself first if he wasn’t going to.  You saw him sitting on a snow covered bench with roses in his hand.  His face lit up when he saw you, while your heart sunk.

“Hello dragostea mea”, he embraced you.

“Hi Pietro”, you stiffened with pain in your voice.

“I got these for you! I was so happy when I found them!”, Pietro handed you the flowers proudly.

You took them and smiled sadly.  A tear left your eye as you remembered why you were here. “Pietro…”, you shook your head.

“Wait what’s wrong (Y/N)?” He grabbed your chin for you to look at him.  That’s when he saw the pain and sadness in your eyes.  “Are you okay?”

“No”, you exhaled out.

“Well talk to me, gagica”, he pleaded wearily.

“I can’t”, you took a deep breath of courage, “I can’t do this anymore.”

“Do what?”, he asked concerned.

“This”, you motioned between Pietro and you. “US.”

“I don’t understand”, Pietro was heartbroken.  His mind was racing with thoughts.  How could this be happening?

“Pietro, I love you, but I can’t live my life with this kind of relationship.”

“(Y/N), you know I love you”, desperation was evident in his voice.

“If you loved me, you would’ve stopped with the riots in September”, you said bitterly.

“That is what this is about. THE RIOTS?!” His voice rose in frustration.

“YES!!”, you matched his volume. “YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY WORRY ME!! IT’S NOT SAFE!”

“I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF! I DON’T NEED YOU TO MOTHER ME AND TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”, he shouted.  Now Pietro was only inches from your face.  He has never yelled at you like this, and it made your blood boil.

“Well good… because you’re on your own now”, you said hurt.  Tears continued to run down your cheeks.  You placed the roses on the snow covered bench and walked away.  

Pietro tried to control his breathing as he watched you walk away.  He still didn’t think this was real as his eyes followed you out of the park.  Once you were gone, that’s when it finally hit him that he fucked up.  All he could feel was anger and hatred towards you for months. Then he realized that he wasn’t mad at you but at himself.  That’s when he knew he had to fix things with you.

He hoped that you would be at the park when he got there, but then again he hoped he was the first one there.  He couldn’t be late when he was the one who invited you there.  Although, when he saw you sitting alone on that bench, he wasn’t very surprised.  He should’ve remembered your tendency to always be early.  Pietro couldn't help but smile when he thought about your habit, but his mood instantly changed when he realized he needed to continue walking towards you. His smile straightened into a pained, brave expression.  He could feel his heart speeding up with every step he took towards you.

He had forgotten how incredibly breathtaking you were.  You were wearing a lace dress with a blazer over top.  Your (H/c) hair was curled perfectly, and he could just remember how good it always smelled.

You looked up when you heard footsteps approaching.  It felt like your heart was caught in your throat when you saw him.  You haven’t seen him or spoken to him in two months, but you still got butterflies when you saw him.  His wavy brown hair was messier than you remembered, and you just wanted to run you hands through them again.  

When he stopped in front of you all you could hear was your heartbeat until he said, “I'm so glad you made time to see me.”

You fake smiled, “Yeah.”  The silence was awkward so you asked, “How's life? Tell me how's Wanda? I haven’t seen her in awhile.”

He scratched the back of his head and took a seat next to you, “She’s good, still the same old Wand.” He forced a laugh.

You smiled at hearing how your old pal was, “That’s good!”

“Yeah”, Pietro sighed. “So how have you been?”

“I’m good, Busier than ever”, you stated.  

You small talked, work and the weather. His guard was up and you knew why, because the last time he saw you was still burned in the back of his mind. He gave you roses and you left them there to die.  

Pietro took a deep breath and stood up while facing you.  He nervously took your soft hands into his and said, “This is me swallowing my pride, standing in front of you saying, ‘I’m sorry for that night.’” Your mouth opened slightly in shock as he continued to speak. “And I go back to December all the time.” Your eyebrows furrowed at the heartache that was brought back at the mention of December. “It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you.”  He shook his head in guilt, “ I wished I'd realized what I had when you were mine.”

“Pietro”, you interrupted softly.  He looked at you, shocked you had actually said something. “These days I haven't been sleeping”, you admitted with a sigh.  Pietro then noticed the bags and dark circles under your emotional eyes.  “I’ve been staying up, playing back myself leavin'.”  You stood up like Pietro so you could look at him face to face. “When your birthday passed and I didn't call”, you said with guilt. “And I think about summer, all the beautiful times, I watched you laughing from the passenger side”, a little smile crept it’s way to your mouth at the memories.  “When I realized I loved you in the fall.” Pietro smiled with hope at your reminiscing, maybe there was still a chance for you two.  Suddenly you frowned at him, “But why now? Why not a month ago?”

He shook his head ashamed, “I realized there’s just no point hating someone you love.”

Your face lit up with the mention of love, “You still love me after what I had done?”

Pietro gripped your hands tighter, “Maybe this is wishful thinking, probably mindless dreaming, but if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right.”

A tear of happiness fell down your smooth cheek. “You promise?”

“Yes my draga, I will always take care of you and put you first.” He kissed your hands tenderly. “I’ll keep you safe.”

You let go of his hands and wrapped your arms around his body, “Can we go back to how we used to be?” You asked with eager eyes.