a lιgнт ιn тнe darĸ

The Avengers were reborn, Ultron was destroyed and everybody had survived - luckily. If it hadn't been for Five, Pietro would've been gone. Tony had visited once over the few weeks since he'd left, to try and understand how she brought the speedster back. But it's seemed that nobody could figure it out, let alone understand.

The man himself had woken up, greeting Five and his sister with a wide smile. He found himself wiping tears from their faces, tears of relief, sadness, happiness... he wasn't sure.

The first day he had woken up, he encouraged Wanda and Five to join him in his bed, so they could all sit together and he could hug them both at the same time. It didn't take long for Five to fall asleep, but when she did, she soon woke up with remnants of the battle clouding her mind.

"Please, never do that again." Wanda said quietly to her twin, her despair clear in both the way she talked and the way she looked. He nodded, gripping onto her hand.

"I'm sorry." He apologised, feeling bad for how much worry and sadness he had caused them. She nodded her head, laying it on his shoulder.

"So?" She asked, him tilting his head in response, telling her to continue. "What will you do now?"

Pietro grinned, looking down at the small ginger lay beside him, still half asleep. With a content smile, he looked back over at sister. He noticed her hesitant expression. "I was thinking... maybe little Five could do with a more cheerful childhood." A small smile broke out on his sister's face.

"And you will provide it?" She asked, her accent being more thick due to the tears in her eyes.

"If she'd have me," he nodded, "yes. But we would visit. And if you needed us, we would be there." He smiled, a soft look on his face as he looked between Five and Wanda.

"You promise?"

"Of course, Wanda. I promise."

●

It was a few days later, and it seemed as if Pietro was fully recovered. He was up on his feet, he could use his speed just fine and there was no sign of any injury at all. It was a relief to Wanda and Five.

It was a Tuesday, late in the evening - almost midnight but Five was still wide awake. If she even saw a piece of metal moving without anybody nearby, she would jump a mile and scamper away. She couldn't bare the sight of Rhodey's suit, and if he wanted to be near her, he had to remove it completely and hide it away.

Pietro wandered into a lounge-looking area, intent on getting a drink and maybe a midnight snack. He wasn't expecting to see Five sat on the couch with a small glass of water in her hand. There were deep ovals underneath her eyes, signs of no sleep. He frowned, before making his footsteps louder so he wouldn't scare her.

She turned her head with a sheepish look, grinning innocently up at him. "Hi, Pietro!" She greeted, as if it was just the afternoon and not late into the night - passed her bedtime.

He sent her a small smile, nodding his head, before taking a seat next to her, but angling himself slightly in her direction.
"What are you doing up at this time of night, little one?" He asked her, eyebrows creasing in concern. She smiled up at him reassuringly.

"I just couldn't sleep." She shrugged, taking another sip of her water before placing it on the table beside them.

"Why not?" He prodded, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. She let out a small sigh, before shrugging her shoulders pathetically.
"Five." He persisted in a scolding tone.

"I get scary dreams..." she finally told him, a pout on her face as she huffed. His face immediately twisted up in concern for the little girl, his heart aching for her.

"About what, little one?" Pietro asked, not really needing to because he already knew the answer - he needed to hear it from her. The sound of her screaming a loud "don't" after realising what he was going to do sounded in his ears, making his frown deepen.

"The bad man, and the floating town and, um... you..." she muttered meekly, picking at some dirt underneath her fingernails, completely avoiding looking up at the speedster.

He sighed, tears stinging at his blue eyes, because he knew they should've never let a child fight with them in that battle. That's all she was - not an assassin, not a super soldier... not even a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. She was a child. She was nearly eleven, hadn't even turned yet.

After ten years of being on the Earth, Five - though she was found out to be named Ava Katie Porter - hadn't even had a childhood, or at least, not one she remembered.

"I tell you what, hm?" She looked up at him, frowning. "You come stay in my bed with me, and I'll talk to Tony, yes? He knows what you mean, little one." She nodded her head, watching as he stood up and offered his hand.

She took his hand, before pointing to her glass of water. "Can I bring?" She asked shyly, tucking some of her ginger hair behind her ear.

"Of course." He told her, squeezing her hand tightly before he let her pick up her glass with two hands. He led her down the hall, into his room which was right beside her own.

He tucked her into the bed, slipping in beside her and allowing her to ask him a question. She turned her wide blue eyes to meet his own, a small smile on her face.

"Could you... maybe tell me a, um... story?" She asked sheepishly, making him slowly nod his head.

"Once upon a time..."

●

Five sat in a small comfy chair inside Pietro's bedroom. Due to her ongoing nightmares, she had been awake for hours - sleeping a bit in between. It had been a bit better knowing he was there, but it wasn't enough.

He had woken up not long ago, and noticed her sitting awake, so he decided that getting Tony would probably be a good idea. He had gone out the door around ten minutes ago, and hadn't returned yet.

Five worried, but knew he would be okay.

After another five minutes, there was a knock on Pietro's door. Five raised her head, tucking some ginger hair behind her ear.
"Come in." She told the person on the other side of the door.

Tony walked inside, slumping down on Pietro's bed opposite where the ginger sat. He watched how she continued to scrape beneath her nails for dirt, even though she'd already gotten it all.

"So, Speedy told me you've been getting bad dreams." Stark finally said, making her nod her head slowly. He nodded at her.
"About the fight?"

"The bad man and the city. And Pietro." She told him, quietly, like she didn't want anybody else to hear.

"You know, I still get bad dreams." Tony informed her, tilting his head to the side as he watched for her reaction. She looked up into his brown eyes, raising both of her eyebrows.

"You do? Why?" She asked, before standing up and walking to sit next to the genius. He shifted on the Maximoff's bed so he could look at her.

He sighed, he didn't like talking about these things but this little girl needed his help. She needed to know that the nightmares were okay - even if they were hard to deal with.

"There was a battle in New York... and I had to do something to save people, but I saw something. And ever since... I've had bad dreams." It was difficult for Tony to say - especially to a child. How was she expected to understand his trauma?

"So... I'm like you?"

"Me and many others, kid. It's okay to have scary dreams. It's not nice, but it's okay." He smiled sadly at the ten year old.
"You know, you can talk to me, or anyone from here. We'll always listen." He offered, holding out his hand for a hand shake to seal the deal.

"Even if it's late?" She questioned, hand raised slightly to place it in his.

"Even if it's late." He confirmed, and they shook hands, because no person deserved to deal with their trauma alone - Tony of all people knew that.

( *•.¸♡.♡¸.•* )

this chapter is once again... meh.

however, there's only one chapter left of the book. there will be another book to continue five's story :)

also, this book hasn't been edited yet, so I will need to do that.