"I missed this sight."
Down below the high mountains of the famous Hollywood sign lay a valley of lights from the vast city of Angels; the lights spanned the entire horizon, illuminating it all in a gentle orange light under the night sky. Closer to the base of the mountains were scattered high-end homes; several of them still had their lights on, but the majority were turned off. It was now two in the morning, and hundreds of people were asleep. Oblivious to the two individuals sitting in front of the famous sign.
"You're telling me Hell doesn't have any impressive sights?" Pietro asked as he looked over to Harvey. His expression was pensive and calm. But what confused the speedster the most was Harvey's change in eye color.
"It does." Harvey nodded, a slight smile on his face. "But once you see one large hellscape and an ocean of lava, you've pretty much seen them all."
"…why didn't you come back?" After much deliberation, Pietro decided to rip off the bandaid and ask the question plaguing his and everyone else's minds.
"…" Harvey said nothing and looked at the city with gold-red eyes. "I suppose… I wasn't ready to see anyone. When Am… when she died, I was so angry. I was so angry that I snapped at everyone. I wasn't in control of myself. And the memory of Alex's face when I said that I didn't care about anyone's opinion, her opinion… it fills me with shame."
Pietro couldn't help but feel baffled. Here, the strongest person he knew was just so… vulnerable. So human. It made him realize that he had placed Harvey on a pedestal. It was unfair. Pietro never expected to hear any of what he just heard. It made him feel disappointed in himself. What kind of friend was he that he never thought Harvey needed help?
"How… how is she? Alex?" Harvey looked over at him, a frown on his face.
"She's doing fine." Pietro said with a smile. "Sure, she wasn't thrilled when you left that morning without saying a word, but she's doing better. That Stark internship has kept her busy; Stark became her mentor a while back. Apparently, he found her notes on some super secret project she was working on."
"The Iron Heart project." Harvey had a proud smile and looked up at the night sky. "I'm not surprised. I knew she had it in her. I guess I'll be in for a good scolding when I see her."
"Don't forget, Wanda." Pietro chuckled and placed a hand on Harvey's shoulder. "You're in for a world of pain from her."
"Ah… of course." Harvey laughed dryly and placed his hand on his shoulder as well. "How are you, Pietro? I know… you cared deeply for Amy. How are you holding on?"
The silver speedster wanted to say he was fine, but after hearing Harvey be honest with him. It would have been a spit in the face if he just brushed off the question. Pietro hasn't even honestly talked with his sister about how he feels. Maybe it was time he did.
"….it hurts." Pietro let go of Harvey's shoulder, but his friend kept him on his shoulder and squeezed in reassurance. "Every morning… I walk down to the living room and expect to see her there, you know? To see her burn our breakfast or laugh at whatever she watched on TV."
Quickly, Pietro brushed his stinging eyes to stop the tears that wanted to leak through. "I miss her… so damn much."
Harvey nodded and stayed quiet. An act Pietro appreciated; he didn't want to hear that everything would be alright or that she was in a better place. No, he was hurt, and nothing anyone said would make it better.
'First my parents and now the woman I fell in love with… who's next, Wanda? My other friends? I… can't bear losing anyone else.' Pietro thought, glaring down at the grass underneath him.
"Grow stronger." Harvey spoke with a heavy tone. "Stronger and faster than anyone else. So strong that you'll never lose anyone else you care about. That's what I told myself after I defeated Blackheart; if it weren't for Amy's gift, I would have lost that fight. I would have been killed."
Pietro nodded somberly; Harvey told him how his fight with Blackheart went when they first arrived here. How it almost resulted in his defeat if it weren't for Amy's soul reaching out to him when that spear was stabbed into his chest. If it weren't for Amy, Harvey would be dead. Even in death, she still looked out for them.
"So I promised myself that I would become strong. The strongest person this planet has to offer." Harvey stood up and looked out at the city. "I'll never lose to anyone again, and I'll keep everyone I care about safe. That's what I vowed to myself."
Harvey then looked down at him and held a hand out. "So grow strong, Pietro. Don't stop growing, and don't stop improving."
Pietro looked at Harvey with wide eyes; after a few seconds, he grimaced and looked away with tightly shut eyes. Grow stronger? Isn't that what he's been doing this entire time? After Sokovia, that's all he did. He still saw all those small corpses in his dreams haunting him.
Every day, he ran and ran. Increasing his stamina and speed. But in the end, what did it all amount to? Amy still died, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it! He was almost killed by Xannal, too; he only survived because the Demon was called back. Harvey made it sound so easy, but Pietro didn't have that strong of a will to keep moving forward.
Harvey looked down at Pietro and saw the ongoing war inside his mind. He knew he was asking for a lot. It was unfair, but so was the world they lived in.
"Pietro." Harvey said, causing Pietro to look back at him. "I can't force you to keep going. That's up to you. If you decide this life is too much for you, I won't blame you. Live a normal life and be happy. There's no shame in choosing that."
"But if you continue moving forward, you'll surely encounter hardships and tragedy. It's inevitable. But if you keep growing stronger, you'll at least have a chance to change that tragedy to something else." Harvey said and looked back to the city. "In the end, that's your choice to make."
Frowning, Pietro stayed silent and looked down at a blade of grass. It swayed slightly from the gentle breeze, entrancing him.
///
"Hey, Amy?"
Pietro looked at Amy from their spot at the railing next to the parking lot. She was watching a group of kids playing at a park. It seemed that they were playing a game of tag.
"Hm? What is it?" Amy looked over at him with a questioning smile.
"How do you do it? How do you keep trying to help people when they'll never get better?" Pietro said thoughtfully as memories from their mission in Sokovia plagued his thoughts. It's only been two weeks since they've come back, and the events that happened there still weigh on him heavily. "How can you… keep going?"
Amy's smile vanished slowly, and she turned back to the kids and watched them play. A small boy was chasing his friend; he was lagging but continued laughing as he ran.
"I guess I keep doing it because… I want to. Several evil people are running around causing pain and suffering, but several people fight to do the right thing." Amy smiled slightly and looked over at him. "Like Harvey and you. You two have no obligation to go out and do what you do to help. But you still do it. Because it's the right thing to do."
"Is that enough reason to keep fighting?" Pietro said and looked at his hands. "Because it's the right thing to do? I'm not sure if that's enough…"
Looking up, Pietro thought Amy would look disappointedly at him. Instead, she was smiling slightly. With a few short strides, she was now in front of him; gently, she grabbed his hands and squeezed them.
"You're probably right. But… if the heroes run away, who's left to help?" Amy said with a smile. Causing Pietro's eyes to widen.
///
Standing up, Pietro turned to Harvey and shook his head. "Hey, Harvey. Punch me."
"…huh?" Harvey said, confused.
"I said punch me." Pietro pointed at his right cheek and glared. "Do it!-"
WHACK
Pietro fell to the ground, a stinging sensation on his cheek. Slowly, he got back to his feet and rubbed his face in an effort to soothe the pain. Harvey had an odd expression on his face as he looked at him.
"There." Pietro spat a small blob of blood onto the ground. "Thanks."
"…uh, right." Harvey said, confused. "What was that about?"
"I was being an idiot." Pietro said as he looked over at the city. "Here I am moaning and whining while people out there without powers are trying to do the right thing every day. I'm sure Amy would be disappointed in how I'm acting."
"Pietro." Harvey whispered.
"You're right. I have to keep getting stronger. Because if I give up here, this city and the rest of the world will only have you as their only hope." Pietro looked over to Harvey with a huge grin. "You're a pretty lucky guy, after all; this city was left without its esteemed hero for three whole months, after all. I had to pick up your slack."
Harvey looked at him dumbly but then closed his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess I have your answer, don't I?"
Pietro nodded, and the two continued watching over the city. From there, Pietro updated Harvey on several things he missed since his time in Hell. Ranging from Manny's interest in becoming a Police officer after he finishes school to Haley's new job at a new fashion company. Pietro even showed Harvey the watch Alex made for everyone; the long list of features impressed Harvey when he showed them. Finally, Pietro told him about the new addition to Plaza Park.
"Wait… they put up a what?"
•••
"Another day of fun online classes."
Wanda yawned as she stretched; her body quaked as she felt the stiffness leave her body. Tossing her blanket, she walked to the hall bathroom to perform her morning duties. Her body moved on autopilot as she moved from one task to the next; once she finished brushing her teeth, Wanda brushed her hair to get rid of her wild bed hair.
As she blearily headed downstairs to get some coffee, Wanda missed the fact that the door to Harvey's room, which had been closed since he left, was now cracked open.
When she reached the bottom level of the home, Wanda shuffled towards the kitchen in her pink fluffy slippers. Stifling another incoming yawn, Wanda stretched once more as she walked. Which caused her to almost bump into the entry frame of the kitchen. Looking up tiredly, she saw her brother eating a croissant on the breakfast nook table, only to stop mid-bite when he saw her. He had an odd look on his face as his eyes shuffled around.
"Mornin'." Wanda greeted her brother. "Did you get a pot going?"
"Uh, yeah." Pietro nodded and placed his croissant down on a plate. "Hey, Wanda. There's something I need to-"
"Not yet, Pietro." Wanda waved him off and grabbed a coffee mug from one of the cabinets. Her body was still on autopilot. "Not until I've had my coffee."
Wanda poured some black coffee into her mug; the pleasant dark roast aroma of the coffee filled her nose and caused her to smile. She then walked over to the far-right kitchen counter where they kept the sugar. While she didn't mind black coffee, a little sugar was a nice add-on, especially in the mornings when she needed a nice pick-me-up.
"Sugar?" A deep and familiar voice asked.
"Mm, please." Wanda answered and held her hand out.
A small sugar bowl was placed on her palm, followed by a small spoon. Wanda froze as she was about to scoop in a spoonful of sugar. Slowly, almost mechanically, she turned her head to the right with wide eyes. There, leaning on the kitchen counter, was Harvey, dressed in a loose black shirt and black pajama bottoms. He had a nervous smile as he held a cup of coffee.
"Harvey." Wanda said as a matter of fact.
"Uh, good morning, Wanda." Harvey smiled nervously and then raised a box of fresh croissants. "…croissant?"
"…" Wanda said nothing but continued to stare at Harvey's sweating face. Her eyes glued to his now gold and red eyes. The faint edge of a scar could be seen pocking out from his shirt.
"Um, sister. I think-" Pietro stood up and held his hands up placatingly.
PLAP
Wanda rushed forward and hugged Harvey tightly, with as much strength as possible. Almost as if he would up and vanish if she didn't hold onto him with all her strength. Resting her head on his muscular chest, Wanda breathed in his scent and smiled contentedly.
"Harvey." Wanda said with relief.
"Yeah. It's me, Wanda." Harvey nodded and hugged her back.
Wanda nodded and let him go; taking several steps back, she looked up at him and smiled. Slowly, she raised her forearms, and red energy surrounded her hands.
"Wanda?" Harvey said nervously.
"Wanda, let's just calm-" Pietro ambled towards his sister, only to stop when her eyes glowed red.
CRASH
"HARVEY?!" Pietro yelled in shock as Harvey flew through the window and landed in the backyard with a thump, his body surrounded by red magic.
"Okay… I deserved that."