Chapter 10: For You
By the time they got back to Avengers Tower, Pietro was desperate for a shower. All of the blood soaking his torso had dried, and the feeling of his already skintight shirt plastered to his skin by dried blood was extremely unpleasant. When they got home, he and Clint went up to their room and he was finally able to peel off his uniform.
"Well, there's no hope for that shirt," he announced, tossing it aside.
He went into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and stepped in, sighing as the hot water began to rinse away the filth covering his body. The curtain slid open and Clint joined him.
"My God, you're a mess," said Clint.
"Side-effect of bleeding out half your insides," Pietro said.
"You know... speaking of side-effects," Clint said tentatively, avoiding Peitro's eye. "There's a way to get rid of the one you picked up from resurrecting me."
"There is?"
"Yeah. The witch told me before she brought you back. Apparently it's been in that book she gave us all along."
"You want me to do it, don't you?" Pietro said.
Clint finally looked at him, a sad, pleading look in his eyes. He just stared for a moment, taking in Pietro's blood-caked body, then picked up a washcloth and started to gently scrub away the mess. Pietro grabbed Clint's hand, holding it still.
"Answer me. Please."
"Yes, I want you to do it," Clint sighed.
"No," Pietro said firmly.
"See, that's why I didn't want to answer, because I knew you'd say that," said Clint.
"You think this is a curse, but it's a gift. It allows me to save you," Pietro argued.
"Yeah, and a fat lot of good it's done for you," said Clint. "You died today, Pietro. Died. There was a fucking machete sticking right through you, and I had to watch that happen. I watched you die knowing that every drop of blood you lost was stitching up my wound, and there was nothing I could do about yours. And yeah, that witch showed up and saved your ass but we can't count on her every time you decide to spill your guts for me. I can't let that happen to you again."
"Clint..."
"Pietro, please. You have to get rid of this. For me."
Pietro looked at him and saw how important this was, how much Clint meant every word he had said. And honestly, he understood. He had watched Clint die for him once and had barely been able to live with it. It was the whole reason they were in this mess. What right did he have to inflict that kind of pain on Clint in a desperate attempt to escape that pain himself? It was selfish, to say the least.
"It really means that much to you?" Pietro said quietly.
"Yeah it does," said Clint. "I can't keep losing you, kid."
Pietro leaned in and kissed him as tenderly as he knew how.
"Okay," he said. "I'll do it. For you."
The next morning, Pietro and Clint gathered the rest of the Avengers around the kitchen table. The spell book sat in front of them, open to the page that held the instructions for the counter-spell.
"So let me get this straight," said Bruce. "You two want us to help you perform this complicated spell, where about three dozen things could go wrong, when absolutely none of us have done magic in our entire lives?"
"Yup," said Clint.
"It's not that complicated," Pietro said. "All we really have to do is mix the right ingredients and say the incantation correctly."
"I'm pretty sure there's a bit more to it than that," said Sam.
"Speaking of ingredients, how the hell are you even supposed to get all this stuff?" said Tony.
"I know a few people," Natasha offered. "They could get us what we need, or at least tell me where to find it."
"That would be awesome," said Clint. "Thanks, Nat."
"You guys are really serious about this?" Steve asked.
"Weeell..." Pietro said innocently.
"Shut up, Pietro. Yes, we are," said Clint.
"Then I'm in," said Steve. "If you're gonna try something stupid, I'm not gonna let you do it alone."
"If Steve's in, I'm in," said Sam.
"You know I'll always help you, brother," said Wanda.
"What do you say, Bruce? Shall we forsake our loyalties to science for superhero Hogwarts?" Tony said.
Pietro and Clint rolled their eyes.
"Like Cap said, if you're gonna do something stupid, the least we can do is help," said Bruce.
"Alrighty then," said Clint. "Let's get to work."