Always by My Side

by Bad Wolf and Timelords

Only two had survived. The twins. Out of the hundreds he had experimented on, some volunteers, others… who had been acquired by other means, only the twins had survived. Strucker had believed that until the day he died. However, he was wrong. He never did discover that one of his subjects had survived; and that his two surviving subjects had known.

7. Chapter 7

It was only the three of them now.

Everyone else that had remained to be tested on was now gone, having been taken away to never return. For two weeks they listened and cowered in fear as they listened to Strucker and List argue what they could change about the procedure before experimenting on their favorite subjects, however, by the sounds of it, there was nothing to be done.

So for now, Pietro, Wanda, and Beatrix enjoyed each other's company, awaiting certain death.

At the moment however, they had been brought out to the courtyard was the evening, to get a little fresh air for perhaps the last time. In the shadows, Pietro and Beatrix sat together, her lying on her back with her head in his lap, while Wanda crouched in a remaining patch of sunlight nearby, picking at a small patch of flowers growing between the cobblestones. By the fortress doors, five guards stood watch over the quiet test subjects.

"Pietro?" Beatrix asked quietly.

"Yes, Printessa?" He whispered in response, brushing his fingers from her forehead and through her hair.

"Are you afraid to die?" She asked, opening her eyes to look up at him.

For a moment, his fingers froze in her curls before continuing their soft, soothing, motions. "No, I guess not." He admitted. "The only one's I'm afraid of dying are Wanda and you."

"Hmm…" She hummed, processing his answer while allowing herself to enjoy his soft touch.

"And you?" His soft voice reached her ears. "Are you afraid to die?

Her breath stilling, she carefully sat up to sit next to him. "Yes." She admitted. "More and more so each passing day." As she admitted this, he took her hand in his, making her shiver. "Pietro… Everybody we were imprisoned with are dead now. They weren't able to fix whatever process they are doing with that sceptre, and now we're the only ones left. Strucker will most likely test me before he tests you or Wanda, so I know my days are numbered."

Not bothering to mention how most of the other subjects had volunteered for the experiment, he ignored the cold feeling in his chest and simply put his arm around her and pulled her into his side. "I have faith, Beatrix." He told her. "You are a strong woman; Wanda too. We'll make it through this, side by side; together." He promised, kissing the crown of her head.

"Always." Bea breathed, clutching tightly to his jacket as the remaining daylight faded from the courtyard.