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It had started out to be such a promising day - that was the tragedy of it all.
The Maria Stark Foundation had an event on for the children of local (if underfunded) elementary schools every few months, changing school each day. It was a day of food and fun - where they could just be kids and experience more than what their teachers were able to. The school also received a grand donation and any children who attended were put down for potential scholarships. But in reality, people were more interested in the food which was ordered from local restaurants and delis.
It was a carnival like atmosphere when Honey and Pietro had arrived. They were late, but fashionably so and for one of the best reasons that even Tony couldn't do more than make a gentle quip about 'the youth of today' from where he and Laura stood.
As the head of the Maria Stark Foundation, this whole day had been Honey's idea. She'd experienced a lack of care from kindergarten teachers before she'd been adopted and never wanted any child to feel like they were unwanted. Instantly she was swarmed by children eager to talk about what had already happened and what they had done. Pietro managed to escape by sheer luck, instead greeting the head of the school and beginning to discuss the latest baseball game.
No one could deny that Pietro Maximoff's easy charm had endeared him to the public - and those in the same circles as the Starks - much more quickly than Steve Rogers had ever managed. The mystery of his Sokovian origins gave way to a man who was eager to help, unlike the famous story of Captain America, who had never interacted with the public, first because he was too hidden away by SHEILD and then after the Data Dump he was just too unwilling to do anything that reminded him of being a 'dancing monkey'. But Honey's new beau - young, charming and knowledgable about world politics - was a welcome addition to the public life of the Avengers and the Starks.
But everyone had become lax. There hadn't been a major demonstration in favour of Team Cap in over five months and the idea of a large security team had felt wrong for a school centred event. That had been their mistake.
The first Honey knew about the gun was a child's scream. She looked up and saw a man pointing a gun at her. He was wearing a Captain America mask and body armour painted in red, white and blue. She began to twist the ring on her finger, the one which would turn into a knife and not the one with the Resurrection Stone set into it.
"None of that!" The man shouted, shooting the air above them all, making more children scream. It was a machine gun as well, meaning that more than one bullet sprayed out over the crowd. Honey's breath caught and she knew that her dad had made a move to suit up. She could feel the buzzing of Pietro's mind going into overdrive as he tried to figure out what to do and if she wasn't so terrified she'd send calm back to him. The man turns to her and levels the gun at her.
"You know everyone has it wrong," he says, the gun shaking, "Everyone thinks that it was the Accords which separated the Avengers but really it was you! You cheated on Captain America!"
"He cheated first!" Honey snapped back before she could stop herself. The image of Steve kissing Sharon Carter, whilst they were still bonded whilst he was still claiming her loved her, was burned into her memory forever.
"You lying, cheating bitch!"
The man squeezed the trigger and more bullets sprayed out.
"Honey!"
Pietro thought that it was the universe thinking itself funny that when it counted, he was always too slow.
From the moment the first bullet had been fired Pietro was moving, the world which was already in slow motion to him slowed down even more as he did his best to reach his wife.
He was almost there, reaching out for the gun to take it from the maniac who brought a machine gun to a school, when he heard a cry, felt her pain echoing through the bond and knew he was too late.
Changing his mind, he turned and body slammed into the man, not caring if he was injured as he dropped to the floor. Pietro then kicked the gun away and sped over to Honey, catching her before she hits the floor. He heard Tony talking to FRIDAY and Laura comforting the children, but all he could focus on is the blood on his hands and the feeling of how unfair this was.
"Pietro," Tony, Tony was talking to him, "I need you to get Honey back to the Compound now, before it kicks in. I've already cleared it with the city but you need to go now."
He blinked, barely registering the words before their meaning hit him. Honey was just shot but she can't...no one knows that she can't die.
Even though he hands were still shaking, Pietro scoops her up bridal style (making sure her head is resting on his shoulder) before speeding off out of the city. It's rare that he runs in the city, but fortunately nothing stopped him before he got back to the front door of the Compound. Helen's team swarmed out to meet them and he just about managed to put Honey on the gurney before he keeled over himself.
It wasn't the normal shock that came with...with not dying. Honey supposed that that was a good thing. Slowly, still in a some pain from the bullet, she sat up and looked around. Pietro was in the chair next to her bed and-
"What happened to you?" He had an IV in his hand and he looked too pale to be healthy. He did his best to shrug it off, catching her hand when she reached out to him.
"I was dehydrated from getting you back here," He said eventually, when it became clear that she wouldn't stop fussing over him, "Not that it matters - I was still too slow."
The truth behind his words hit her but she knew that she had to stay strong despite the grief that welled up inside her. She'd known that it was a possibility the moment the gun had been turned on her and she was sure that it was the same for Pietro- not that it made it any easier for either of them.
"Twelve seconds," He whispered, "If I had been twelve seconds ahead of him-"
"No baby no..." Honey leaned forwards, ignoring the pain in her abdomen, and looked him in the eye, "It's not your fault. It's his and we'll make him pay for what he did."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that Lady Stark." A voice from the doorway made her jump, and she looked over to see a man in the uniform of the New York Institute of Healers. He gave her and deep bow before moving next to her bed.
"I am Healer Nierling, I have been asked to assess your core and I have been conferring with Dr. Cho..."
Honey let his words wash over her. She'd heard about what a miscarriage could do to a witch's magical core before now, many suspected that it's what caused Walburga Black to go mad. The idea of being on bed rest for the next week wasn't fun but she could do it.
After all, she had no intentions of greeting Death like an old friend just yet.