It became a regular thing. Pietro struggled to sleep in his own bed. He'd spend most of the day on the sofa, now able to watch the television or fiddling with the iPod that Tony had given him; wearing Sonic pyjamas (Tony hadn't explained why everyone laughed so hard at that, but he'd found a channel that showed cartoons and realised why. Now he thought it was funny too.) and trying to not go nuts from boredom. The strong painkillers tended to make him sleepy when he first took them, so he would curl up for fifteen minutes to half an hour at a time on the couch and sleep under that same blanket.
But when it was dark out, his mind went hyperspeed. So he would sit in the dark until Steve would come out and help him relax, help him feel safe and protected. Sometimes it wasn't enough. Sometimes Pietro would wake up to soft shushing noises and a hand stroking his hair as he'd twitched and muttered violently to some cruel nightmare. But there was nothing lecherous about it. It was hard, too, for him to accept the comfort, at first.
Steve had hoped, as he was more willing to accept the hugs and affection, that Pietro would calm down; let himself heal. But if anything, he was getting more antsy in the day. They knew he was eating and drinking enough, because the fridge was always kept well stocked. While he'd still been in a coma, when Wanda hadn't known he was still alive - hell, when none of them had - she'd been trying to cope. And that included telling them stories of funny things that had happened, as well as some sadder ones. They'd all been pretty quiet as she'd told them about their first use of their scepter-given abilities. How, when he was allowed to run properly, Pietro ended up passing out and skinning his arm badly - no idea just how badly he needed electrolytes and sugars in his system to cope with the speed.
So the day that Pietro was allowed free in the tower, a case of Lucozade appeared in the kitchen, and he was told to help himself to anything he wanted. The same for the various sugary and protein-rich snacks that appeared in cupboards and the fridge. It was a strange luxury, but Pietro was pretty entertained for that first day, just snacking on anything he wanted, wandering (carefully) about and resting on whatever surface was nearest when he got tired.
But the entertainment of the place was wearing off pretty quickly. And so by the time Steve started to find Pietro up in the middle of the night, he was feeling painfully lonely. The old sensations, from back when he'd fisrt been orphaned, were growing stronger again - only this time, he didn't have a little sister that needed him. There wasn't really any need for him to stay strong, for him to be the brave, cocky older brother. He figured she hadn't even noticed him becoming more and more withdrawn, despite desperately seeking company.
Weirdly enough, it was one of their younger agents who showed something interesting to them all. Kate Bishop - the one on the table to be replacing Clint, now he seemed to be planning on retiring from the group. She was almost as good as him, and pretty damned tough, dropping by the tower every so often. Clint was visiting, hence why she did; the older man sat talking quietly to Pietro, trying to get a good response from him while ruthlessly suppressing his worry. Because Kate had a secret weapon - a dog.
The golden retriever was happily wagging it's tail at her side when she arrived, calling out that she had coffee. Pietro perked up visibly - looking over. Not at the sound of coffee, but at the bark. Lucky came bounding over to see Clint, tail thudding into everything he passed.
"Is he yours?" Pietro asked, the most comprehensive question he'd asked all day. Kate grinned slightly.
"Lucky? Sorta. He's friendly, you can pet him."
Sliding off the couch, before anyone could stop him, Pietro knelt. The dog, detecting someone new, immediately went over for the fussing. Scratching along Lucky's back and then behind his ears, Pietro was basically hugging the animal, who was having the time of his life. It was such a complete change. That light had come back into his eyes, the one he'd had when they'd first met, rather than the dull sort of look he'd had while he'd been locked down in the tower. Clint shot Kate a pointed look, raising an eyebrow. Then he got up, patting Pietro on the shoulder.
"I'll be back in a bit, alright? Take it easy." Pietro nodded, distracted entirely by the dog who was now affectionately headbutting him. Passing Kate, Clint paused, murmuring in her ear; "Keep an eye on him. I need to go have a word with Steve." then headed out. Kate saw that she didn't really need to do much; instead, she just perched on the couch, watching as the young man fussed the very happy dog, a grin now clear on his face.