Moving Forward

Chapter 10

For a good ten minutes after Rani's story, Pietro said nothing. He merely stared off into the distance.

Rani was certain that after learning what she used to be, Pietro would want nothing to do with her; her past would be too much for him and he would scorn her.

Pietro was overwhelmed by all that she had said. He could understand why she had been distant in the beginning, especially towards the guys—she'd been mistreated and desecrated by men for the past two years. It made sense why she'd been so fearful of using her powers on people. He finally knew what she meant when she said that she had no home.

He glanced at her, noticing how her eyes were squeezed shut and her hands gripped the sheets.

Pietro had been angry that Wanda had chosen to keep Rani's vision from him—they never kept anything from each other. She had only said that it was not her business to tell; Wanda herself felt as if she had encroached upon Rani's privacy. He had felt pain that Rani originally refused to tell him. He knew his pain was irrational and uncalled for—he had no stake on her and, therefore, no right to feel such pain—but he wanted to help her. He wanted to take away whatever tried to harm this woman, wanted to protect her from the world even if she could protect herself.

Pietro realized why Wanda and Rani had been so reluctant to tell him, why Rani looked as if she wanted a hole in the ground to swallow her.

She was afraid.

Pietro smiled and gently placed a hand over her balled up fist. Rani opened her eyes and looked at him. Ever so slowly, especially for someone like him, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. She sat frozen, stunned at the tender act. His lips lingered on her skin, the hairs of his beard tickling her. He pulled away and sat down on the bed, smiling at her.

"…w-what was t-that for?" She whispered.

He smiled at her, lightly squeezing her hand.

"I'm not going to deny how I feel about you," he asserted. "How you make me feel."

She pulled her hand away from him. "Did you not listen to my story? I have been broken by hundreds of men. Not a thousand baths could wash away their touch."

Rani could not understand how Pietro could still want her—she still struggled to want herself.

"That doesn't matter."

Rani scoffed. "No man can be unbothered by the fact that a woman they're interested in was a prostitute."

"Am I most men?" Pietro countered calmly.

And in Rani's heart, she knew he was not.

Pietro half-smiled at her. "It doesn't matter to me, the past. What matters most is how you are using the present to shape your future. When I look at you, I see a considerate friend, a loyal team member, a responsible mother. When I look at you, my heart stops. You are so beautiful and have such a good heart, yet you walk around completely oblivious to the effect you have on people, the effect you have on me."

Tears filled Rani's eyes. Her voice was caught in her throat, thick with emotion; even if she could speak, she didn't know what to say. She cleared her throat.

"What…what does all this mean, then?" Rani inquired. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well, for starters: do you feel the same way about me?"

Rani blushed. "I would be lying if I said I didn't. I…I don't know what it is; since the beginning, you've always been so respectful and kind. You genuinely care about my comfort. It's been such a long time since a man has treated me that way…but it's also more than that. My heart beats so fast when I see you. You make me happy and feel warm on the inside. And the way you are with Purnima—I just know you'll be a great father one day."

Pietro gazed at her, awed by her words. He cleared his throat, his cheeks shining a bright red as he looked at her hands.

"Uh, well…since you feel the s-same way, I w-would like to ask if you—perhaps you could—we could…"

He trailed off, not knowing how to proceed. She tilted her head at him, smiling uncertainly. She placed a delicate hand on top of his hand that was still holding onto hers.

Pietro looked up at her, into her eyes. And the words came to him.

"Would you give me a chance, give us a chance?"

Rani looked down at their hands while chewing on her lip.

"…it won't be easy." She looked into his eyes, trying to convey her solemnity. "Those three years…they still affect me in many ways."

Rani blushed as she continued. "Although I've learned to trust all of you—Steve, Tony, Bruce, Clint, Thor and Vision—I don't know if I can be…physical with a man. I am reminded of that time, of those men." She placed both hands on his hands.

"If we do this, we'll have to go very slow. I needed time to open up and become accustomed to the Avengers, and I'll need even more time to become comfortable with you in…such a romantic way. I can only do this if we go really slowly."

Pietro smiled at her, nodding. "Of course we'll go slow. If I could, I would make time stop for us."

She blushed and smiled at him shyly. "So, how does this work? How does our relationship change? I've…never really done something like this before."

"Nothing drastic," Pietro chuckled before he sobered. "…maybe we could…spend some more time together?"

Rani smiled. "I would like that."

"I would, too." He returned her smile.

Rani's eyes lit up as she remembered something that she had been meaning to ask.

"By the way, when I was having that…vision, you sang my mother's lullaby to me. How did you learn it?"

Pietro blushed, looking away from her. "Funny story, that is. So, you see, sometimes, when Purnima would cry in the middle of the night…I would, uh, pass by your room to…hear you sing it…I guess I came by so often that I, um, kind of memorized it."

Rani's brows furrowed and Pietro gulped nervously.

"That's…kind of creepy…but also kind of sweet, I think," Rani laughed.

"The first time was an accident…but it was on purpose after that," he awkwardly chuckled.

"I guess I'll let it slide," Rani smirked playfully. He laughed, relieved.

They smiled at one another, his hands in hers.

The door to her bedroom slid open.

"Rani—" Wanda entered while holding Purnima. Natasha, Bruce, and Steve followed after her. "Oh, we're not interrupting anything, are we?" Wanda smirked.

Rani slid her hands away from Pietro's, causing him to pout. "Oh, no, please come in!"

"I wanted to check your vitals," Bruce stated. "They're just tagging along to bother you."

Natasha elbowed him, sending him a threatening glare before turning to Rani.

"Glad to see you're okay," Natasha commented with a smile.

Rani smiled back before looking at Steve. "Steve, I'm so sorry—"

"Don't worry, I'm alright. We'll work on it some more, probably with more plants."

Rani smiled gratefully at him.

"Yes, hopefully I won't have to make you see your greatest fears ever again," Wanda grimaced.

"I'm happy you did something before I killed him," Rani shook her head.

"I…saw your vision, Rani," Wanda murmured apologetically. "I feel as though I've invaded your privacy."

Rani pursed her lips, looking down. Pietro placed his hand beside hers, their skin faintly touching. She looked at him and he smiled at her encouragingly.

She smiled back and looked at Wanda. "I actually want to tell you what my vision was about. All of you."

Rani was no longer scared that her friends, her friends who had become family, would reject her. She knew that they would continue to support her, just as Pietro had. So she told them all—Natasha and Wanda, Steve, Tony, Bruce, Clint, Thor, and Vision—together, while Purnima rested in her arms. She left out some of the minor details, only explaining how her mother had died, how she was forced into a brothel, how she escaped with Purnima. Only Pietro knew the whole story.

At the end, Natasha and Wanda had hugged her, tears in both of their eyes. The others were solemn and astonished.

"I honestly would have never known," Steve sighed.

"Aside from the fact that you had an aversion to men in the beginning," Tony commented.

They rolled their eyes at him, though Rani smiled in amusement.

"Thank you for telling us," Clint half-smiled.

"Yes, it must have taken a lot of courage," Vision praised. "And quite a leap of faith."

"Yes, but I knew that you all would still see me as family," Rani admitted. "You're all such good people and I owe a lot of my healing to you. You've truly helped me, all of you."

"Especially me." Tony smiled, winking at her.

"In your dreams," Pietro growled.

"Calm down, lover boy," Clint laughed.

A pillow flew off of the couch and into Clint's face. Pietro smirked. "You didn't see that coming?"

Clint glared at him, though the rest of them broke into laughter.

Yes, Rani knew that, despite everything, the Avengers would always be her family. She knew she had a bright future ahead of her with them by her side. She caught Pietro's eyes and they smiled tenderly at each other. For the first time in a long time, Rani was excited for what the future held in store.