Author's Note: I'd like to give a huge thank you to my friend Avengerslover624 for the idea for this fic and also for helping me workshop several scenes. :)

Fic title is a lyric from "Come Back When You Can" by Barcelona

The title for chapter one is from "Tonight" by Lykke Li

Chapter 1: stay put and play along

"So, Fury just sent us a rather tricky mission," Steve said.

The Avengers had all received the summons and were now seated around the table. Steve was standing, holding a tablet that had all the information on their latest assignment.

"Hydra's got this bunker out in the Canadian wilderness, nearly impregnable," he continued, swiping a blueprint of the bunker into the air in front of them with a flick of his wrist. "And they've got something we need."

"What is it?" Wanda asked.

"A box. We don't know what's inside, but given the lengths they've taken to keep it out of our hands, it's definitely something they shouldn't have. It's not very big, but Fury thinks it's potentially dangerous, and so do I."

"Let me guess. We're gonna steal it," said Pietro.

"Exactly," Steve replied.

"Well, that'll be easy," Pietro said.

"How the hell is that easy?" said Clint. "Steve literally just said this place is practically impossible to break into."

"For a normal person, yes."

"Since when is anyone here normal?"

"Not the point," said Pietro. "What I mean is, we don't even need a team for this. It's a straight shot from the entrance to the lab. I can just run in there, grab the damn thing, and run back out. Easy."

"I dunno. I don't like it," said Clint.

"Why not?"

"What if something happens to you?"

"Nothing will happen to me, Clint," said Pietro. "I'll be back in a flash."

"You're not as fast as you think you are," Clint said. "Or did you forget that you took eight bullets for me less than two weeks after we met?"

"Of course I didn't forget. But this is different," said Pietro. "They won't even realize I'm there. I've stolen a lot more things than I care to admit, but that's because I'm good at it. You don't have to worry about me."

Clint sighed heavily.

"It's your call, Cap. You're the boss," he said.

"You sure about this, Pietro?" said Steve. "It'll be dangerous."

"Dangerous is our job," Pietro shrugged.

"Okay. It's your mission. But we'll be there for backup," Steve said.

"But–" Clint began.

Steve gave him a look.

"Fine," Clint said. "But if you get one scratch on you, I swear to God..."

"Not a scratch on me," said Pietro. "I promise."

Okay, so maybe Pietro was a bit more nervous for this than he was letting on. All the things he'd stolen before joining the Avengers... those had been just little things, food and clothes and a few little gifts for Wanda. Stealing a highly guarded object from a secure secret base, though? That was a bit harder than robbing a department store. The Avengers were staked out about a mile away from the base. It was nearly time.

"You sure about this?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, of course," said Pietro, putting on a smile to hide his nerves.

"We've still got time to come up with a backup plan."

"Would you shut up? I'll be fine," Pietro said impatiently.

He took Clint's face in his hands and gave him a kiss. Then he turned to the others.

"If I'm not back in five minutes, send a search party," he said.

Then he was off.

He made it to the bunker without a hitch, pausing for a few seconds to catch his breath before dashing off again. Getting inside was a little trickier, because he had to time it just right, but he snuck in behind a guard, then ran down to corridor. Pretty soon, he could see the blast doors to the lab where the box was being kept. He had been assured these doors would be open, that they were always open unless there was an emergency, and indeed they were. And then he was inside, and there it was, just sitting on a table like the most innocent thing in the world. Pietro smirked and jogged forward. He had just picked up the box when an alarm went off, blaring deafeningly through the base. Pietro froze in panic – the blast doors were crawling shut.

"Shit!"

He burst into motion, running at top speed for the exit. But not fast enough. He crashed into the blast doors and fell backwards, scrambling back to his feet in a daze. Several men were closing in now, guns raised and ready to fire.

"Drop the box," one of them ordered.

As if. Pietro wasn't going to give up that easily. He wasn't going down, and he especially wasn't going down without a fight. Or that's what he thought. He suddenly felt a sharp sting on his neck and a second later, his vision went blurry. His head was swimming and his grip on the box was slipping and then everything went black.