A/N: Hey guys! This is my second story that I am posting on this site, so I am very excited to share it with you. I actually came up with the idea of this story through a dream I had after watching Age of Ultron. Pietro stole my heart lol. Anyways, please let me know what you think! I'd really appreciate it :)
Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers, except for my own original characters.
The streets of Sokovia were bustling with people as nine-year old Anastasia Vasiliev made her way deep into the city. Her strawberry blonde hair was held in a braid and her pristine blue eyes did not shift from the direction she was headed. The path she walked was not a foreign one, for she had grown accustomed to this trail over the last couple of weeks. It was a dangerous road for any child to walk alone; filled with rubble and debris. However, ever since the bombings happened, Anastasia had no other choice.
She remembered the events of that day clearly. She was with her parents in the living room watching television; a normal routine they did almost every night. Suddenly the TV turned to static, but before they could further investigate, there was a loud explosion causing the walls around them to collapse. Anastasia could remember the heavy dust swirling in the air that night as her parents tried to carry her to safety. Sadly though, before they could reach an exit, a second mortar shell hit and detonated within the house. As a final attempt to save their daughter's life, both her parents shielded her from the explosion and the falling fragments of cement.
Unfortunately, her parents did not survive the night.
Anastasia loved her parents deeply and without their guidance and comfort, she felt lost. She mourned their deaths for days and cried herself to sleep most nights, never leaving the vicinity of her broken home. It was only up until a few days ago that she came to the realization that she had to move on if she was going to survive.
She had come across a variety of tough choices for a child her age, but has somehow managed to endure on her own.
The young girl continued making her way into the city, avoiding as much wreckage from the bombings as she could. Her once beautiful country was now half destroyed with buildings crumbled all over the ground. She watched as the many new homeless citizens of Sokovia huddled together in the dirt, some sleeping and others begging for food. It was a sad sight.
Thankfully, obtaining food was not something Anastasia had to worry about just yet. She put her hand inside the pocket of the large battered coat she was wearing and when she felt the coins at her fingertips, she let out a smile. Anastasia was a rather clever girl. Although it was risky, the nine-year old would sometimes go back inside her shattered home and take out valuable trinkets to sell at the market. The money she received was then used to buy herself food. Her family wasn't particularly wealthy, but they were well-off enough to own costly items.
As Anastasia ranged closer to the market place in hopes of buying food, a sudden shrill scream cut through the air.
"THIEF!"
Anastasia stopped and turned her attention toward the direction of the scream. It sounded like it was coming from the corner bakery. She could spot two figures moving rapidly against the crowd. One being much larger than the other.
"Stop you thief! Give back what you stole!" shouted the bigger individual as they tried to keep up with the bandit.
Anastasia looked for the so-called "thief" and was rather surprised to see a boy about her age running straight at her. She locked her eyes on him, but by the time she realized that he wasn't stopping, there was no time to get out of the way.
"Watch out!"
The two children collided into one another and tumbled onto the ground. A basket of fresh bread scattered across the floor as the dark haired boy swiftly tried to pick it back up. Once all the bread was collected, the boy stood up and left without even uttering an apology. Anastasia rose up as well and watched him as he ran into the alleyway behind her, concealing himself behind a dumpster.
"Excuse me little girl,"
The nine-year old instantly turned her attention to the masculine voice calling to her. She came face to face with a police officer; he was probably the one chasing after the boy because he seemed out of breath.
"Have you seen a boy about this tall…" he motioned with his hand, "run by here?"
For a moment, Anastasia glanced over at the boy hiding in the shadows. He gave her an anxious look - a look that reminded her much of herself. She wasn't sure if it was his gaze or something else that made a strange feeling stir within her. Whatever the reason, she was convinced she didn't want to turn him in.
"No, I'm sorry sir." she replied.
The man sighed and tilted his hat, believing her lie. "Alright, carry on."
Once the officer was completely out of sight, the young boy slowly stepped out from behind the dumpster. Anastasia took this moment to fully observe the mysterious boy she saved. He looked to be around her age, maybe a year or two older. He had dark brown hair and a pair of electric blue eyes. Much like her, he was also wearing torn up clothes.
"Thank you for not ratting me out." acknowledged the boy, finally speaking up.
Anastasia smiled at him sweetly. This was probably one of the first normal interactions she's had with another kid since the terrorist attacks. "You're welcome."
Looking at her smile, the boy raised his hand to scratch the back of his head bashfully. "And I'm sorry for running into you…"
"It's okay," Anastasia then looked at the basket of bread he was clutching in his arms. "But why were you stealing so much bread?"
Before the boy could respond, another voice was heard from within the alley.
"Brother, is everything okay?"
Anastasia turned to her right and saw yet another child about her age. The young girl's physical features were similar to the boy's. She had matching dark brown hair and light green eyes.
It finally made sense to Anastasia as to why the boy was stealing so much bread. He needed it to feed his hungry sister and presumably himself as well.
"Wanda, I told you to wait for me." The boy scolded at his sister.
"I know, but I got worried." Wanda walked up to her brother and held his hand nervously. Her eyes then fell upon the stranger standing before her. "Who is this?"
"My name is Anastasia." The nine-year old said while nervously playing with her hair. The last time she was probably around other kids would be when she was still in school… She hated to admit it, but she actually missed school.
"Hello," The girl waved, "I am Wanda and this is my brother Pietro."
Pietro then raised his arm and showed his sister what he had just acquired. "She helped me get away with stealing this bread."
When Wanda saw the basket full of bread, her face lit up like it was Christmas morning. "This is amazing Pietro! With this we'll be good for the whole week!"
Without any hesitation, Wanda grabbed a loaf of bread and began to nibble on it. Seeing her begin to eat, reminded Anastasia of why she was here in the first place. She reached inside her pocket to get her coins, but was shocked to find her pocket completely empty! She concluded that it must've fallen out when she and Pietro crashed into each other. As if on cue, her stomach growled loudly, only worsening the situation.
"Oh no…" she mumbled to herself.
Pietro watched the girl silently and felt a plague of guilt when he saw her woeful expression. Clearly she was upset about something and he felt like he owed the girl for her help. When he heard her stomach growl, he immediately knew how to repay her.
"Here."
Much to Anastasia's surprise, Pietro held out to her a loaf of bread. He went through a lot of trouble to get these for him and his sister, so Anastasia felt hesitant to take what little food they had away from them.
"A-Are you sure?"
He nodded at her silently. Unlike his sister, he seemed very serious. Anastasia had not seen this boy crack a smile yet.
"Thank you!" She squeaked while taking the loaf of bread. She was happy to know that even after all this tragedy, there was still compassion left in people.
Subsequently, the three children then made their way deeper into the alley, in case the officer were to comeback searching for them. Once they found a clean spot to rest, they all sat down to munch on their food. They ate in a comfortable silence until Anastasia's curiosity got the better of her.
"So where are your mom and dad?"
The twins looked at each other sullenly before looking back at the ground. There was a long period of silence before Wanda spoke up.
"They died…"
Pietro snarled at the memory, fire now fueling his veins. "They were killed when a bomb fell into our apartment complex and exploded. We almost died too when another shell hit our floor, but this one didn't go off. It just sat there in the rubble, three feet from our faces as we hid under the bed. On the side of the shell there was a name painted on: Stark."
"We've been alone ever since." Wanda added.
Anastasia listened to their sad story and discovered that she had more in common with these two than she thought.
"My mom and dad died too." She admitted mournfully, "We were watching TV when all of a sudden bombs started falling from the sky. My parents protected me, but…they didn't make it. I've been on my own since then too."
Another wave of silence over took them as they stared at the ground. This was a terrible situation for anyone to be in, let alone children.
"I do think things will get better though." the nine-year old stated, "The future is scary, but it is also bright. I believe that in time, things will fall into place."
Maybe it was just a child's innocence, but Wanda and Pietro appreciated her optimism. It was a nice change from all the misery around them.
Anastasia then noticed the sky above them darkening, signaling it was time for her to go home. She did not like to walk back alone in the dark.
She stood up and patted the dirt off her clothes. "It's going to get dark soon, so I should go. Thank you for the food."
Wanda's face fell at the departure of her new friend. "Oh, ok… bye."
Anastasia looked down at the twins and wondered about their wellbeing. Maybe she could see them again soon. "Where do you guys live?"
"Anywhere really… we make do with what we have." Pietro answered.
The thought of them sleeping on the ground, with no roof over their heads, broke Anastasia's heart. She did not want to leave her new friends like this.
That's when an idea suddenly struck.
"Why don't you two stay with me?" asked the girl with a determined stance. "My family had a shed in our backyard and it wasn't destroyed by the missiles. It is pretty big and that's where I've been living."
"Really?!" Wanda gasped at the proposition, filled with excitement. She turned to her brother for guidance. "Pietro?"
Pietro blinked at the young girl a few times before registering his thoughts. She sure was a weird one, he thought. With so much misfortune around her, she had managed to maintain a cheerful attitude and now offered two strangers a home.
All he could say was, "Are you sure?"
"Yes! We could be like our own little family." She beamed while looking at the twins. "Us against the world."
For the first time since the bombings, Pietro finally found a shred of hope. He looked at the kindhearted girl in front of him and let out his first real smile in a long time.
"I like the sound of that."
And so, the twins followed Anastasia back to her shed on the outskirts of town. The three of them formed a special bond that night to never separate from one another and they kept that promise for years to come.
Next chapter should be out soon! :)
