A/N: Sorry for the hiatus, life has been hitting me hard as of lately. But, good news is, my fiancé and I have finally picked a color scheme: black purple, grey, lavender, and white. It took two games of chess, a pillow fight, an arm wrestle match, four pool games, and a bet on who would win America's Got Talent, but I finally got to choose. Yessss. This is now how we settle disagreements in our relationship. :)
Chapter Songs: Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Lizzie and Collide by Rachel Platten.
Headcanon of the chapter: Danielle has been totally shipping Wanda and Vision since day fucking one. She especially likes to watch Jack squirm uncomfortably each time she mentions them looking cute as a couple together. "Dani, he's literally a walking microwave." "But, he's a cute talking microwave." "... I hate you."
—
5:36 p.m.
"This is your house?!"
Danielle couldn't help but duck her head bashfully as she led Ned and Peter through the elevator doors of her (technically, Rae's) Penthouse. Both teens wondered the foyer with wide eyes, staring up at the large ceiling and chandelier dangling from it, the enormous windows on the back wall, the even bigger expanse of the living room, the shiny and expensive looking decor. It was all so insane for two boys who grew up in the lower-middle class area of Queens.
"Did your Aunt Kate win the lottery or something?" Ned asked, running to go drop his bag of belongings he'd packed for the night on the nearby couch that wrapped around the entirety of the living room. Ned didn't hesitate to make himself comfortable on the couch, kicking off his shoes and reaching for the remote nearby to flick through the channels on the huge TV in the corner of the room.
"Uh, actually she's not really my aunt," Danielle amended as she tossed aside her keys and set her backpack onto the ground near the kitchen. "And also, this isn't her place."
"Right, you moved in with your new foster parent," Ned nodded.
"Not really. She's more like a... glorified babysitter," the brunette explained as she reached across the kitchen island to grab herself an orange from a fruit bowl.
"Where is she? She knows we're here, right?" Peter asked his friend as he stood beside her, watching in slight amusement as Danielle struggled with peeling the citrus fruit in her hands.
Danielle groaned, eventually giving up on using her tiny fingers to peel the fruit. Instead, settling for just peeling it off using her powers. She counted it as practice as she tossed the peel into the trash and picked a piece of orange off and tossed it into her mouth. "Um, no. But, she probably doesn't even know whether or not I'm even here."
Both Ned and Peter turned to glance at her curiously. "I thought you said she was your babysitter," Peter remarked.
"She is... Just not a very good one."
"Huh," was all Peter had to say regarding the matter as he and Ned went back to exploring the large living area. Ned had already found the Sci-Fi channel on the large TV when Peter remarked, "It's so huge. I mean, your room is huge, but I didn't think the rest of the place was this huge-"
Ned peeked over the edge of the couch at that statement. "Wait, you've seen her room?" Danielle and Peter both flushed when they noticed the mischievous smile on their friend's face, hinting at something... other than what had actually happened.
"Uh, yeah. I mean- only because I snuck in through her window and she helps patch me up after patrols..." Peter explained in a rush of words.
"So, you're like his personal... nurse?" Ned wondered aloud.
The brunette shrugged as she threw another piece of the orange into her mouth. "I guess."
"See, if she can be the cute nurse friend, I could totally be the guy in the chair!" Ned exclaimed excitedly.
Peter chuckled at his friend's antics as he shook his head. "You can hold the tracker if you want," he offered, unhooking his backpack from his shoulder and setting on the ground beside his feet. Ned was quick to jump up from the couch and run over just as his friend pulled his sleeve up to reveal his hidden web shooters. Carefully, Peter removed it from off his wrist and clicked a small button at the edge which shot a bright red beam of light up into the air. All three teens that had gathered around all looked up at the ceiling above and saw the circular Spider-Man symbol swirling on the roof.
"Cool," Danielle and Ned muttered in awe. The trio glanced back at each other with amused smiles before turning back to the light.
Carefully, Peter ran his finger over the button like a mouse and clicked on a blinking light in the corner of the circular that had the word 'GADGETS' on it. The symbol then morphed into a swirling list of other buttons with names on them. The one Peter pressed was the 'TRACKER LOCATER'.
"This is so awesome," Ned beamed when the glowing light on the ceiling disappeared and a holographic mini-map shot out of the web-shooter in the palm of Peter's hand. "Tony Stark made all of this for you?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Peter shrugged, a proud smile on his face as he handed Ned the map on the web-shooter. "Well, him and Elle's brother worked together on it," he was quick to add when he noticed Danielle's pointed look she was giving him.
Ned's face then morphed into a completely different expression of shock and awe. He looked like a kid in a candy store as he beamed up at the brunette beside him. "I totally almost forgot you were related to other super heroes and have lived with the Avengers before. Holy shit, you have to tell us everything!" He demanded.
Danielle chuckled nervously. "Well, we should probably locate the bad guys first," she suggested, gesturing to the blinking dot on the mini-map that was slowly shifting as the location moved.
"Right," both Ned and Peter agreed before the three teens went back to studying the map. "This is so awesome," Ned let out a breath of awe again as he stared with wide eyes at the screen.
"I know right," Peter agreed.
"Where are they?" Danielle wondered as she studied the different holographic buildings around the blinking dot of the tracker. They looked like they were in New York but she couldn't exactly pinpoint where. All the buildings kind of looked the same to her still.
To answer her question, Peter tapped on the holograph that pulled up coordinates on the side of his semi-sphere. "They're in Brooklyn," he responded.
"And moving," she added as she noticed the buildings around the dot shifting ever so slightly down the streets.
The group was silent as they watched the dot moving, and moving, and moving. Until, eventually, Ned broke the silence. "How long do you think it'll take before they get where they're going?"
Peter and Danielle shrugged. "Minutes? Hours?" Danielle suggested.
"But that's why we're here," Peter stated. "It may take all night. So, we might as well get comfy." With that, the teen moved to his backpack stuffed with all his extra clothes and other toiletries and necessities. He pulled out a blanket with what Danielle recognized as the movie poster for Star Wars: the Empire Strikes Back on the back of it. "Lead the way, Elle."
Danielle smiled, amused. "Come on."
—
7:24 p.m.
It had been two hours and the trio of teens had already set up base in Danielle's monstrous room.
Ned had brought out his laptop and pulled up the Indiana Jones series to watch while Peter and Danielle had began setting up a small pillow and blanket fort in the far corner by the terrace door.
"You're putting the blanket on the wrong corner," Danielle pointed out to Peter who was sticking on the wall opposite of her, a few feet above the ground with his feet attached to the wall. He was standing completely horizontal and Danielle found the sight to be amusing as she glanced up at him, pointing her finger at the corner of the fort they were attempting to build. "It's supposed to be right more."
"Hm," Peter hummed as he placed it where she was directing him. "Here?" He asked in validation.
"Perfect," she gave him a thumbs up.
He then set the corner on the wall and let go of it. But, the blanket didn't fall. It stayed frozen against the wall with Danielle holding it still with her mind. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed as she focused. Peter backed away slightly before shooting his web and sticking the blanket in place, allowing Danielle to release it.
Peter jumped from off the wall and made his way to stand beside Danielle, glancing back at their work of the large blanket and pillow fort they had arranged in the corner of her room. "Awesome," they both said in unison as they admired their hard work.
"Hey, guys," Ned called as he crawled his way to the entrance of the fort, the holographic tracking map in his hand and the sounds of the iconic Raider of the Lost Ark played in the background. "They just drove through Staten Island," he remarked.
"They're still going?" Danielle asked, stunned. How far out did these guys keep their base of operations? Surely it wasn't farther than New York, that was where their business was for the most part. Unless, they were running after the night of the party. Had her and Peter really blown it?
Danielle was quick to shake that thought. Because it didn't matter if they were running– they had a tracker on them and they were going to find them, and take their whole operation down. Both of them. Eris and Spider-Man. Together.
Ned shrugged as he reached back into the fort and pulled out a large bowl of Cheeto puffs, throwing one in his mouth as he replied, "Eh gus." Danielle grimaced at his muffled words and full mouth.
"Let's just hope they stop soon," Danielle remarked as she dropped onto the floor and started crawling her way past Ned into the fort. It was a bit dark, but the light from the laptop screen displaying Harrison Ford in HD helped light up some of the fort. Peter and Ned were quick to join her as they all made themselves comfortable around the screen.
"Relax, Elle," Peter nudged her as he plopped down on his side behind where she sat cross-legged behind Ned who was lying on his stomach, face practically pressed against the TV. "They have to stop eventually, right?" He then shot a web from his wrist to stick onto the bowl of Cheetos in Ned's grasp, yanking it towards him.
"Hey!" Ned shouted in protest.
"Yuh kehpt hohhing dem," Peter retorted through a full mouth of Cheetos.
Danielle rolled her eyes. With the small gesture of her hand, the bowl of Cheetos were pulled from the vigilante's hands and landed gracefully in her lap. "Hey!" Both boys shouted in unison.
Danielle only chuckled before setting the bowl down in front of her, between the two teenage boys. "There. Now we can all share."
Peter and Ned were both quick to grab handfuls of chips while Danielle opted for grabbing a pillow instead to hug against her chest as she tried to focus on the classic film playing in front of her. But, the small part of her brain that worried too much kept pulling her back to the thoughts that they could be losing these weapons dealers.
Peter noticed the frown etched into Danielle's pale features from over her shoulder. He knew immediately she was worrying about the dealers. She had to be. "Hey," he whispered, nudging her side to get her attention. She turned to glance at him, Ned not bothering to tune in as his eyes remained glued to the laptop screen. "We'll get them. Together. Don't worry." He then held his hand out, just like he had in the lab. "Partners. Remember?"
Danielle let a reluctant smile cross her face as she met his hand with her own and shook. However, something caught her attention as she pulled her hand away from his. When she held her hand up in the light she noticed small flakes of orange Cheeto dust on her palm. Peter grimaced when she turned back to glance at him, not bothering to hide the amusement on her face. They both snorted, only clamping their mouths shut moments later when Ned hushed them.
—
10:45 p.m.
"You've never built with LEGO's before?"
Ned didn't bother trying to hide his shock as he and Danielle sat around the light of the holographic map beside them, the LEGO Star Wars Deathstar box sitting before them on the ground.
Danielle gave Ned a lopsided half-grin and a guilty shrug. "Nope. Sorry."
"Seriously?" He gaped. "Not even when you were a kid?"
"Maybe. I wouldn't really remember," she admit with a grimace.
A frown crossed Ned's features as he cringed. "Right. HYDRA. Sorry."
"Ned! Come on, man," Peter scolded from where he sat a few yards away on Danielle's bed, his tools out in front of them as he tinkered with his other web-shooter. The pillow fort had been dismantled after a Cheeto Puff War took place inside and chaos broke loose, destroying said fort in the process. Now, the trio sat seperatly amongst themselves in Danielle's spacious room.
Ned threw his hands up in mock-surrender. "I said I was sorry," he defended himself.
"It's fine," Danielle assured the two friends. "Really."
"Does that mean I can ask about how you got your powers?" He asked sheepishly, a curious glint in his eye.
Danielle shrugged. "Sure," she replied. "But you have to teach me how to build these things first."
Ned's face lit up as he hastily opened the box of LEGO's. "Deal!"
As Ned and Danielle built the Deathstar, they both stayed true to their deal. Ned helped Danielle build the LEGO Deathstar while she answered his many, many, many questions he had about her and her powers... and everything else in her life as an Avenger.
"Another grey four-by-four, please," Ned requested as he held his hand out. Danielle easily plucked the small piece from the pile in front of her and placed it in his palm. "Thank you," he replied, his hand coming up to put the piece carefully onto the edge of the half-built LEGO Deathstar hovering in the air. It had to have been the coolest way he'd ever bult a LEGO product before: with his Avenger friend from school holding it up in the air with her mind. This was awesome.
"So, what kind of powers do you have again?" Ned wondered as he continued to pick up pieces off the floor and put them together following the instruction manual sitting between him and the brunette.
Danielle pursed her lips, her hand up as her fingers absently twirled the Deathstar around in the air like a mobile babies had hanging above their beds. "Well, this-" she gestured to the floating Deathstar. "-and, well, I used to teleport-"
Ned's eyes went as wide as saucers as he dropped his LEGO pieces into his lap. "You used to teleport?!"
"Yeah," Danielle nodded. "But, uh, something happened while I was in jail," she admit, the words sounding foreign even as she spoke. Subconsciously, her free hand came to rub against the base of her throat where the shock collar Secretary Ross and his soldiers put on her had burned through her skin.
"You were in jail?! How?"
"Peter knocked me out when we fought in Germany," she explained, jerking her head to the teenager sitting in the bed still.
Ned spun around to shout at his friend scoldingly. "You knocked out Danielle?!"
Peter, put on the spot, threw his hands up in defense. "Her brother told me to! And I didn't know who she was at the time!"
"Wait..." Ned faltered as he turned back to Danielle. "Which one's your brother, again?"
"Um, Statix," she replied a bit reluctantly.
Ned's eyes practically popped out of his head at her answer. "No way! Is your dad Captain America?"
Danielle blinked a few times, shaking her head as she attempted to search for the words to even describe her relationship to Steve. Steve. She hadn't thought of him all too much. At least not since Tony had said something about him at the park after the Lake Incident. She didn't really like to think about him either. Especially not since he had left.
Sometimes she did. Despite herself, she did think about him a lot at times. How couldn't she? He was gone. He had left her. He had left her on that porch at the Bartons' and took her sister with him. She didn't want to be mad at him... she loved him.
Danielle winced. And this was why she avoided thinking about him.
"Um... no. But, he did sort of look out for me after Sokovia," she explained.
"You were in Sokovia?" Peter asked, intrigued.
"Oh yeah! You were the chick that lifted the meteor!" Ned exclaimed excitedly. "Holy crap, you saved the world! You're like- you're like the coolest person I know!" The teenager stammered.
Behind him, his friend drew an offended face. "Dude!"
Ned turned to glance at Peter from over his shoulder. "Dude, she lifted a meteor."
"I... stopped an old lady from getting mugged the other day," Peter retorted, cringing slightly after the words had left his mouth.
Ned gave him an unimpressed look before turning back to Danielle. "So, what was it like in superhero jail?"
"Ned!"
—
It was cold. It was always cold here in these cells Danielle resided in. But she wasn't alone.
Ping!
Danielle shifted from her place lying on her back. The cold, solid ground pressing against her spine, shoulders, skull, and backs of her legs as she stared aimlessly up at the grey concrete ceiling above her. Danielle had gotten so used to just staring up at this ceiling. There was nothing interesting about it, but it was easier to pretend that the small scratchy paint was stars in the sky than having to face the reality that she was actually in a HYDRA prison cell.
Ping!
"I will throw a boulder at you during our next outing if you don't quit flinging rocks," a familiar voice cut through the piercing silence that filled the cell. The voice was as soft as velvet, but as sharp as a knife and Danielle knew she could recognize it anywhere.
"Come on, Wanda," Danielle's brother's voice replied as yet another rock was flung from his hand and 'ping'ed against the hollow, metallic bars of the cell. "I need something to help pass the time."
"My threat still remains," Wanda shot back, a glint of scarlet color streaming from her eyes in the darkness of the cell. Danielle smiled. She always used to love it when Wanda did that. It was some of the only color Danielle ever got to see in this dark, empty shell of a prison HYDRA was keeping them in during their experiments.
Jack rolled his eyes as he tossed the last small rock onto the floor rather than the metal bars. "Fine. What do you propose we do for fun then?"
"Yes, little sister," another familiar male voice chimed in, his thick accent making him notable amongst his peers. "What should we do to pass the time, since throwing rocks is now outlawed in Witchland?"
Wanda had opened her mouth to retort with an insult when she was interrupted by the beautiful (and rare) sound of Danielle's soft and serene giggle that escaped from her mouth. Wanda, as well as the other inhabitants of the cold cells, all stopped to cherish the moment while it lasted.
It was a rare and special occasion indeed when Danielle made so much as a noise. Of course, she screamed and cried and whimpered during rigorous 'sessions' the scientists and handlers at the Lab put her through on a weekly basis. But, aside from that, she was mute for the most part. She didn't speak, she hardly smiled or giggled, and laughing was something she'd given up after her and her brother had first been kidnapped by Strucker a few years ago. So, yes, moments like these were cherished like the last drops of rain falling from the sky in a barren dessert.
The tension in the cells deminished then, and the only sounds were from the brutal onslaught of wind seeping in through the brick cracks of the cells from the outside winter storm. As it whipped through the cells, the group of enhanced prisoners all simultaneously curled themselves into balls or huddled against the walls around them.
Danielle began chattering as she attempted to use the sheer dark green shawl Pietro had stolen for her at the market place the last time they'd escaped a few months ago. There were rare occasions the Enhanced would get out, only to be brought right back in by the soldiers. But, in the few hours they had, they tried to enjoy it. These days, even the smallest victories felt like huge milestones. It was how the group managed to get by sometimes.
There was a sigh from another cell-mate across from Danielle's cell mate. There was a thud against the concrete and the patter of feet before a small burst of fire in the corner of her cell caught her attention. The brunette sprang up from off her back and looked up to find a small fire burning in the concrete. When she glanced across the way she noticed the Enhanced glancing back at her, a tentative smile on his face as he lowered himself onto the ground, his eyes glowing a sunset orange color as he watched the flames dance before him.
Danielle tried to reciprocate the smile, but she could only bring herself to grimace as she moved forward to warm herself up by the flames.
The other Enhanced in the cells migrated to the edges of the bars to watch the only source of light they had as well. It was a rare occasion indeed when the odd man out in their little group would speak, let alone acknowledge any of them. He was kind of like Danielle in a way. Mute, but still able to communicate through some form. Danielle's way was through facial expressions and movement with her mind... his was a little different.
"Thank you," Wanda told him with a genuine look in her eyes as she leaned forward to try and get a small feeling of the warmth her little sister was soaking up.
Jack and Pietro did the same, forming a full circle of Enhanced kids all gathered around a makeshift campfire in their collective cells. The silence was serene and relaxing, the only real sounds were the wind outside and the crackling of the fire. It was only broken when Jack spoke up with a suggestion. "We should play a game."
Wanda wrinkled her nose is mild-disgust. "What game could we possibly play in a cell?" A mischievious smirk cross Jack's face as he lifted up the small pebble he'd been throwing earlier. But, when he opened his mouth, Wanda cut him off curtly. "If you even suggest anything to do with that pebble, I will shove it down your throat." Jack's smile fell, as did the pebble he released back to the floor.
"Why don't we ask each other questions about one another?" Wanda suggested afterher eyes had stopped glowing, again. "Afterall, we have been friends for some time. We should get to know each other."
She cast a questioning look to all her cell mates and saw the wide-eyed, curious glances she was getting as a sign that they were interested. "I can go first. Jack," she turned to the Electrokenetic to her left and smirked. "Do you live to annoy me?"
A broad smile stretched across Jack's face as he proudly proclaimed, "Why yes. Yes, I do." Wanda glared at the younger boy in the cell beside her while the rest of the Enhanced children chuckled amongst themselves. "Okay. My turn. Uh... Pietro," he turned to the white-haired boy to his left. "If you could trade abilities with anyone here, who would it be and why?"
Danielle, Wanda, and the other Enhanced in the corner all gave Pietro curious glances as they waited for the answer. It was a really good question.
Pietro pursed his lips as he mulled it over in his head. "Noah's," he eventually answered, jerking his head across the cells to the fifth Enhanced in the back. "so that I could just take away everyone else's powers and kick all of your asses," he explained in natural Pietro fashion.
"Aw, come on," Jack groaned as Wanda rolled her eyes whole-heartedly. Danielle shook her head as she glanced over at the pyrokenetic in the cell beside her who merely bowed his head bashfully. "Your turn still, Maximoff," Jack told the speedster.
Pietro pressed his lips into a stright line as he glanced around the room, finally settling on his twin. "Wanda," he said in a sing-song voice. Danielle goanced over at the brunette and noted her already aggitated facial expression. She knew this already wasn't going t end well. "What... is your favorite color?"
Wanda narrowed her eyes, not having expected to take and bland question her brother had given her. "Seriously?" Pietro smiled and nodded. "Are you pulling my leg, brother?"
"No," Pietro laughed. "I'm serious. What is your favorite color? I don't know."
"Hm," Wands hummed as she thought carefully. As she pondered the question, her eyes came to rest on the little girl in the cell across from hers. Sitting cross-legged in front of the fire that continued to burn bright, Danielle looked like a warm little burrito, wrapped up in her dark green shawl as if she were the meat and the fabric was the bread. She looked so warm despite the pale– almost blue– complexion Danielle always had to her. And when she was warm, Danielle seemed to be brighter, happier. They all did. "Green," Wanda eventually answered.
Jack's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Green?" He repeated in disbelief.
"Yes, green," she replied.
"Why?" Noah, who had been silent up until this moment, asked out of curiousity. He had always been good at reading people and he'd figured Wanda was more of a black, red, violet kind of gal. Definitely not a green, though.
"Because," she began to explain. "Everything out there is dead and white and grey," she gestured to the wide crack in the cell walls that gave them a peak of the onslaught of wind and snow. "Green reminds me of forest, and greenery, and life," she stated. "When we escape one day, I want to visit a forest."
The group of Enhanced kids all pondered the thought. The thought of how nice it would be to escape and live somewhere other than imprisonment in all the white, grey, and black and to once have warm colors like green all around them.
"Noah," Wanda spoke up again, breaking the comfortable silence. "If you could go anywhere, where would it be?"
A small and rare smile crossed his face as he stared across the cell at his peers and gave his answer. "Anywhere outside of this cell... As long as it's with all of you."
The rest of the Enhanced kids all smiled back in response, glancing between each other as they silently agreed. It was a nice fantasy. Hoping that they would all escape this Hell in a cell and go run away together and become a dysfunctional family of five in a cabin in the woods somewhere. Noah would bring warmth in fire, Jack would provide the power and electricity, Pietro could build and provide quickly, Danielle and Wanda could work. Danielle could already picture it in her mind. It was a beautiful fantasy.
But, it was also just that: a fantasy.
"Then it is settled," Pietro exclaimed. "No matter what happens, we stick together. Always."
—
2:06 a.m.
Danielle's eyes snapped open.
Slowly, she rose up from where she lay on the edge of the bed covered in sheets and a balled up jacket as a makeshift pillow. Down below, she saw Ned lying on the ground, his LEGO Deathstar him and Danielle had made over a game of 21 questions (mostly questions he had for her about her life as a superhero and questions she had for him about how to put together LEGOS) propped up beside him. At his feet was the holographic map, still moving as the tracker in the weapons dealers continued to travel South. Danielle wondered just how far they would go as she ran a hand down her face, exasperated.
She hadn't expected to have such vivid dreams like that one. Especially not of memories she hadn't thought of in years. Her time in Sokovia was mostly just a blur, aside from the torture sessions and the hours of experimentation and being locked in a cold cell. She wondered if it meant anything. But, as she remembered why her and her friends were here in her room, she realized she didn't have time to divulge into what her odd dreams of memories long past meant. As she thought of it now, she wondered where Peter was.
"Elle?" A voice close to her ear startled Danielle, causing her to jump and nearly fall off the bed. "Shi- sorry," Peter apologized from where he stood on the ceiling, dangling down beside where his friend sat.
Danielle, still catching her breath, moved some hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear as she rearranged herself to face the upside-down Peter beside her. "It's fine," she brushed off as she glanced up at his feet glued to her room ceiling. "Have you been up there the whole time?"
"Yeah," Peter grimaced as he scratched the back of his head. "I sort of fell asleep up there. Then I heard you wake up." Something like worry flickered across the teen boy's facial expression as he tilted his head slightly. "Are you okay?"
Danielle wrapped her arms around her center as she crossed her legs. Nodding, she replied, "I'm fine. It... It was nothing."
Peter pursed his lips together. Danielle could tell he didn't seem to be buying it. Slowly and carefully, she watched as he bent back up to the ceiling and pressed his fingers beside his feet. Gently, his feet dropped from the roof and he dangled by his fingers instead. As he moved back to a normal upwards facing position, he released his grip to the ceili and fell onto the bed in front of Danielle, sitting cross-legged across from her. He offered her a warm smile as he told her, "You know, I get nightmares, too."
"What do you have nightmares about?" She asked curiously, pulling her legs up to hug them to her chest and resting her chin atop her knees.
Peter shrugged, his eyes darting down to the sheets beneath him. "Different things. People coming for May... My Uncle Ben... My parents... I once had a nightmare about you and Ned." He saw Danielle's eyebrows raise slightly out of the corner of his eye. He continued, "They're all the same, though. It's always bad people coming for my friends and family to get to me. And it always ends with me not being strong enough to save them."
Danielle bowed her head. Peter took it as a sign that she wasn't too sure of what to say. He wondered how she was supposed to respond to that. He sure didn't know how.
But, she responded nonetheless when she broke the silence. "I trust you to save me," she said truthfully. Slowly, her head tilted up as she glanced up at him through her eyelashes.
Peter briefly held her gaze before a small scoff escaped his lips. He shook his head, "Well, that makes one of us."
"You don't think you're strong enough to protect the people you care about?" Danielle asked.
Peter shook his head. "If I were, my Uncle Ben and my parents would still be here."
"Peter," Danielle whispered softly, her hand coming to rest on top of his in between them. When his eyes remained glued to the ground, she have his hand a small squeeze. Reluctantly, he glanced up at her again. Once her eyes were locked on his, she told him, "None of what happened to your Uncle or your parents was your fault."
"Yeah... Okay," he dismissed her words as his eyes darted back down to the ground.
Danielle let out a sad sigh. Her hand moved away from Peter's as she returned to hugging herself. "I used to think that what happened to me and my brother was my fault," she admit to him. Peter glanced up at her, urging her to continue as he listened. "That maybe if I were a better daughter, my dad would've paid more attention to me. Maybe then he wouldn't have let his work consume him. Maybe HYDRA wouldn't have gotten their claws into my family. My mom wouldn't have been turned into what she was before she was killed, my brother and I would be normal again, and he would still be alive. Maybe. Maybe I just wasn't good enough."
"But... but you were just a kid," Peter replied.
"So were you," she shot back. "You're strong Peter. We both are... But, a good friend of mine used to say that the life we live, the job we do... sometimes you can't save everyone. That doesn't mean we're any less stronger than we really are." When Peter met her gaze again, she could tell he really understood and believed her words and what she said. She smiled at him, a small half-moon smile that conveyed to him that she believed in him. In them.
"Thank you," he told her sincerely.
"You're welcome," she replied, just as sincerely. After a long best of comfortable silence between the two, a small yawn overtook Danielle and she found the sudden urge to lie back beneath the sheets and try to catch as much sleep while she could before the guys they were tracking stopped... whenever that may be. "We should probably try to sleep some more," she suggested.
"Yeah... I'll go back to the ceiling. It's more comfortable up there than on the floor," he told her with a chuckle as he stood up from where he sat at the edge of the bed. Carefully, Peter jumped up off the mattress and flipped mid-air, the balms of his feet latching onto the ceiling as he crouched.
Danielle smiled up at him, shaking her head in mock-disbelief as she grabbed the sheets nearby and pulled them up to her shoulders, shifting herself to get back into a comfortable position. Her head had just hit the pillow, the only sound she heard was the bustle of the city outside the terrace wall, when a soft voice called out to her from up above. "Hey, Elle," Peter whispered down to her.
"Mm," she hummed in response.
"I trust you to save me, too."
Danielle fell asleep that night with a smile in her face because she was reminded that now she had people— friends that understood her, and she understood them. And there was nothing that could take away that happiness from her. It was the first night in a long time that Danielle felt that much contentment and she never wanted to let it go.
—
A/N: Oh boy, oh boy, things are getting good. Sorry for the lack of action in this chap, I promise there will be tons these next few chapters going into the trip to DC. And I will try to get better at updating– don't quote me on that, I do still have other shit to do like work, wedding planning, and school... Also socializing, that shit is hard.
Also, side note: HAPPY SPOOKY SEASON. My favorite time of the year (aside from Fiesta season in the Spring).
Reviews:
Wildfirerainstorm: When?
CocoaFirefly: uwu Aw thnx!
Einklley: 'Future Mrs. Bitch' oh my god, that's what is going on my little name tag at the reception. 'Mr and Mrs. Bitch', lol. Anyway, back to the question: welp, as of a few days ago Spidey is officially back in the MCU (yay!) so, I guess wherever the series takes me, I'll see what happens. I do have up to Endgame planned. I have an idea of how I want Far From Home to go, but I'm still on the fence.
I.D.'s Fantasy: Thanks. I try to keep to canon as much as I can jut because I like intertwining my plot with canon without keeping it too bland but not changing it too much. Full warning though, Endgame is going to be a lot different. Well, sort of. :) Thank you also for the color suggestions, thankfully, it tok some convincing but we have decided on one (refer to the first Author's note, lol). Thnx for the suggestions. I can't find the first one, but I did look into the second one and bookmarked it. I'll read when I have spare time... In a few years.
PrettyRecklessLaura: IM SORRY I MADE YOU WAIT SO LONG!
Ceggle143: Aw, well, welcome I guess. Sorry for all the mess and angst and the shitty update times. I'm working on it... Sort of. Make yourself comfortable and strap in, it is going to be a bumpy ride. :) enjoy.
Incorrect Quote of the Chapter:
Peter: *in mind* Don't let her know how awkward you are.
Dani: Nice weather.
Peter: Thanks.
