"So, you just run for enjoyment?  With no destination?"  Pietro scoffed, "that sounds boring, (Y/N).  And you're so slow."

Looking up from tying your shoe, your expression changed to one filled with annoyance and finality at the conversation.  This kid had been nothing but a pain since he joined the team, and you always seemed to be the target of his harassment.  "Pietro, not everyone needs to break land speed records.  It's relaxing; you should try a slower pace sometime.  You'd think that finally getting out of your lab rat cage would have you out and running all the time."

"I wasn't in a cage...exactly," he paused, "but what do you know?  Not all of us grew up in the luxury of the Stark name either."

Pietro knew how much you hated being called out on your family ties, having Tony as your cousin. Everyone assumed they knew all about you, now being in the public eye, but there were plenty of things that this guy would never know.  "Listen here, road rash, you don't know the first thing about how I grew up," you snapped, "the name means nothing outside of Tony's life.  Some of us had to work even harder to make something of ourselves, to get out of that shadow."  You threw on your running jacket quickly, pulling the sleeves down with a firm grip and yanking the zipper up so harshly that you thought you broke it.  Popping your earbuds in, you turned to him with one hand on the door and ready to leave.

"But what would you know, Maximoff?  The everything special about you came out of a bottle."

~~~

Central Park wasn't as relaxing as you had hoped, filled with people moving much too slowly and getting in your way far too often.  A handful of them had recognized you and asked to take a picture together, clamoring to get a moment with a real Avenger.  Running around the lake with your music so loud that you were sure passersby heard it, your mind was racing with how badly you felt about the last thing you said to Pietro.  It wasn't true; there were many special things about him, but the jerk was so bothersome that you never had the chance or the desire to tell him so.   

You thought you saw a flash of silver pass by in your peripheral vision, but when you searched for it, there was nothing there.  Shaking it off, you continued on, finally coming to rest at The Met.  You stood next to the fountain, hands on your knees as you bent over to catch your breath, startling slightly when a man's voice called to you by name from one of the food trucks.

"Hey, (Y/N), head's up!" he yelled with a smile, throwing a bottle of water to you.  Maybe recognition wasn't always a bad thing after all.

You caught it easily and thanked him several times as you drank it, feeling energized with each swallow. Pausing for a moment to look at the massive museum building and its ornate decoration, you made a mental note to finally return to see the artwork inside.  It was something you had yet to do since moving to the city at Tony's insistence.

You were torn from your thoughts by a scream from a few feet behind you, spinning on your heel to see a mother yelling for her tiny son as he wandered towards the busy intersection of 82nd and 5th.

"Dammit," you mumbled to yourself, dropping your bottle and breaking into a sprint to catch him.  Two steps into the street was all you needed to reach him and pull him back behind you, throwing him to safety and onto the sidewalk in a tumble.  Two steps into the street was all you needed to be struck down in his place.  That same flash of silver that you had seen before was now dissipating next to you, replaced by Pietro's face near yours and his arms lifting you from the hard and abrasive ground. 

"How was I not fast enough?" he quietly asked himself in disbelief, pulling you to him as he frantically ran you to help.  "I'm sorry I was not fast enough, (Y/N)." 

His words were fading and distant as the pain began to set in and you watched the world flying past you turn black.

~~~

When you awoke later, hearing the uncomfortably loud sounds of monitors beeping and fluids being pumped into your veins, you were exhausted and your head was pounding.  The smell of antiseptic in the room almost made you nauseated, and you could still taste the essence of blood in your mouth from the accident.  Pietro saw you begin to stir and stood quickly to be at your side and take your hand in his.

"Don't open your eyes," he whispered to himself so quietly that you barely heard him.  "Not yet."  His face was full of worry and anticipation of your reaction, but you would never see what that looked like.  You opened your eyes to...nothing.  Pietro caught the shock that immediately crossed your face and broke in quickly, the words spilling from him.  "They said that there's some swelling in your brain from when you hit the ground.  It's in the part that controls your sight.  It might come back, (Y/N), okay?  I tried to reach you in time.  I tried."

You sucked in a harsh, deep breath, trying to hold in the shock, anger, fear and confusion that filled your mind.  "I know," you exhaled quietly.  Blinking your eyes several times, you chastised yourself for thinking it would even help.  You put your hands over your eyes and rested your head back against the pillow, feeling the exhaustion growing again.  "It's not coming back, is it?  Please, just be honest with me."

"It might."

"Pietro..."

"No, sweetheart," Tony interjected, entering the room and taking a seat on the edge of your bed next to you.  His fingers grazed over the top of your free hand as if he were studying it and committing it to memory.  "It's not."

~~~

"(Y/N), we've been at this for six months.  You've got this.  What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid, Murdock," you huffed, "I was just giving you a chance to back out." 

Steve was on the sidelines of the gym, watching anxiously as you readied yourself to spar with Matt. You had studied with him incessantly since your return to the tower, committed to making yourself a viable part of the team again; if he could do it, then you sure as hell could too.

"Take him down, (Y/N)," Steve commanded.  "You have thirty seconds to pin and get a surrender.  And....go."

You had never experienced such heightened senses, hearing his heartbeat, the expansion of his lungs with each breath, the stretch of his muscles as they worked, and the soft sounds of his clothes shifting with each motion.  It was amazing what he had taught you in such a short time; you were nowhere near his skill, but you could definitely hold your own and were well on your way.

Pietro, Wanda and Bruce had now joined, taking seats next to Steve as they watched with wide eyes and awe as you moved quickly and effectively, pinning Matt a few times but never with finality.  "Captain," Wanda whispered, "are you really going to let her back on the team if she passes this?"

"Absolutely," he nodded towards you, his eyes following every movement with a studious focus, "look at her.  It's remarkable."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Pietro growled, standing again to leave the room, unable to watch you at all. His hand had just connected with the door when a loud smack to the mat caught his attention, turning to see you with Matt's hands pulled behind his back sharply and your knee between his shoulder blades.  You turned towards where you knew he was standing, hoping he would approve, but he left without another word.

The others were all quickly at your side, Matt standing to lift you into a hug, spinning you around the room.  "You're such a badass!" he laughed.  "Maybe I'll keep you for myself?"

"That's not gonna happen," Steve snickered, grabbing your arm to pull you towards him.  "after you got through Stark, you'd have to get through me, Murdock."  He held his hand out to Matt, his other still on you, "thanks for all your hard work. Both of you."

You leaned back slightly, aiming your voice behind Steve and towards Wanda.  She took a few steps closer to hear you as you whispered, "where did he go?" 

"For a run.  But he'll be back soon, (Y/N)."

"I thought he didn't run without a reason?"

"Believe me, darling, he has one."

~~~

When you reached the tower doors, you had prepared to wait for Pietro as long as it took for him to return, hoping to find out what was wrong, and why he was so against your return to the team.  How could he not know that even after your accident, you would fight for this until you got it?  It was the only life you knew now, and this wasn't about to hold you back.

When the door finally opened about an hour later, you heard a fatigued shuffle in his feet and a heaviness in his breaths.  He sounded exhausted.  "You look like hell, Maximoff."

"You can't even see me," he scoffed, but despite the attempt at humor, he sounded sad.

"So, are we going to talk about this, or just avoid it and hope it goes away?"

"The second one."

"Sure, that seems like a reasonable plan," you said with a shake of your head in frustration.

"There's nothing to talk about, (Y/N)."

"Since when are you such a coward?"

"Since I met...you," he replied sheepishly as his voice faded.  "Whatever it is that you're doing to me, you need to stop."

You shot up from your chair with your hands raised to him, shocked and exasperated now, "what I'm doing to you?  Oh, that's hilarious.  You're an arrogant smartass who flirts with anything that moves.  I'm not supposed to feel this way about you. You seem to have some weird witchcraft like Wanda," you paused, waving your finger at him, "maybe your cages were too close together."

"Okay, what are we doing here?  You want to talk about this, let's talk."  He pushed closer to you, standing almost toe-to-toe with you now.  "I love you," he blurted out, very matter-of-fact, dropping his hands to his sides.  "There, what do you have to say to that?  Hmm? Where's the quick comeback now, (Y/N)?"

You stood motionless, processing what he had just said, trying to make sense of it with your own jumbled feelings for him.  You hadn't expected him to be so honest, so quickly.

"Well," he pressed on, "aren't you going to say anything?"

Your hands reached out and took his face within them, pushing yourself up on your toes to reach his lips with yours.  His arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you up, holding you this way for several minutes before you finally had to pull away for air.  "I think that's all I have to say on it."

"Well said," he panted lightly.

After a few minutes of standing quietly together, neither of you knowing what to say, you finally took the initiative.  "Piet, can you do something for me?"

"Of course."

"Will you run with me?" You asked the question and waited for the fast refusal, but it never came.  "I miss running.  I miss the wind in my hair and the freedom of just...going anywhere I want, until I can't go anymore."  Reaching down, you grabbed his hands and rubbed your thumbs slowly over the palms of each.  "I remember when you picked me up after the accident, and you began to run.  I felt it for just a few seconds, but...I want to feel that again.  I want to feel something fun, instead of all this," you whispered, waving your hand around your face and eyes. 

He grabbed your hand from the air and brought it to your chin, lifting your head so that he could see your eyes.  "This is what I was talking about.  What you're doing to me."

"Is that a 'yes'?" you smiled widely.

"I'm in so much trouble," he chuckled.  "How will I ever say no to you?"  With a flash you were in his arms and flying through the streets, your head resting against his chest, listening to the quickened rhythm of his heartbeat.  You smiled at the sound and a thought that crossed your mind in your contentedness.

It belonged to you.