To see my own house again was a relief; nothing had changed since I'd left a few months before. But it also raised question that I wasn't sure I wanted the answer to. Did people notice I was gone? Did they even care? I knocked on the door, forgetting that this was even my house.
It had been so long since I'd been here.
Agent Coulson stood behind me, suit on as he fixed his tie. He had been happy to escort me back home for a few hours. I had to say, he was definitely my favorite among the crew onboard that airship.
"Who is it?" I heard my mother's sweet voice call from the other end; a smile immediately found its way to my face.
"The devil in all her glory." I replied. The door flung open to reveal her new healthy appearance. She looked me up and down quickly, shock written all over her face before she enveloped me in a hug. She began to stroke my hair like she had done to comfort me when I was younger; I felt tears prickle my eyes as I enjoyed the moment where nothing was on my mind.
I wasn't a hero in training. I was just a normal kid, coming home from summer camp and hugging my mother who I had missed dearly. Dreams had always been better than reality.
"Come in!" She ushered Coulson and I inside. "I was just making a pie. There's not much to do around here, you know."
"It smells wonderful." Coulson walked past both of us to the kitchen, letting us be alone in the living room for a moment. I looked her over for the first time since I'd been gone; she did look much healthier. Her cheeks had that rosy glow they used to before she'd gotten sick; her eyes and smile were bright and not worried about impending death. She looked good as new.
"How are you doing, sweet pea? Are you eating properly? Getting proper amounts of sleep?"
"I'm fine mom." I replied with a small smile. "I just missed you, that's all."
"You need to talk?" She asked softly. "You only look at me like that when you have something to talk about. Sit down for a second; our good agent is busy with my pie." She plopped down onto the couch, patting the seat beside her which I gladly took. I was under orders not to give away any of my missions, but was it likely I'd ever listen to Fury?
I told her exactly how my mission with Tony had gone, and how the week after had been terrible. By the end of my story I was near tears, the feelings of depression began to come back. She looked down, her eyes remaining on her hands that were clenched on her lap. I couldn't blame her for her silence; had many parents been in a situation where their child was actually a hero in training, being recruited to save the world from an approaching danger?
"I can't say much about this, because I've never been through it dear. But I can say one thing…" Her hand found my cheek, forcing me to face her and look her in the eyes. When I looked into them I found pride, and realized the unconditional love my mother had for me. "Always remember… You're my superhero. If you can be brave for me like you've done after all these years… You can be brave for yourself, too."
"I hope so…"
"That was delicious pie."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it Agent, it's my specialty." My mother smiled across the table at Coulson, who had just finished off his third piece of pie. While they talked, I stood up and took their plates away to the kitchen. As I began to wash the dishes, I wondered where my father was. I hadn't seen him in an even longer time, since his job normally took him away for months, and I was curious if my mother had spoken to him about this unusual situation. He didn't always answer her calls when he was away, something about being busy and looking professional, but I think that's a load of crap.
I had gone into his phone once while he was home, and there had been received calls from a certain number several times. I wasn't one to assume things, but the mere fact he could answer this number and not his dedicated wife's number was irritating. He'd caught me, and I had confronted him; we hadn't spoken for a long time after that. He eventually spouted out some excuse I can't bother to remember, because I know it's a complete and total lie. Should I have told my mother?
She had been sick for so long, I don't think delivering bad news was something she needed or wanted. So I kept my mouth shut like the good little daughter I was; I still couldn't bring myself to truly trust me father again.
Was he doing it again? Was he running around behind our backs or was he truly just very busy? I didn't have the time to worry about this; the only reason I cared was because I didn't want my mother left home alone. She needed someone to spend her days with when I wasn't here, but what could I do about it? My father would sooner jump into a pit of lava before he quit his job; my mother's illness meant she couldn't travel with him either. She was forced to stay in one place, and he was forced to travel around constantly.
Now that I look at it, their marriage has always been strained.
"Dear!" My mother snapped me from my memories, waving a hand in front of my face warily. "Your friend says it's time to go." I sighed unhappily, putting the dishes away for her. "What're you doing, honey?"
"Washing the table?" I looked at her confused as I brought the wet cloth across the table; Agent Coulson was smiling from the doorway.
"You haven't done that since you were a little girl." My mother crossed her arms. "I've got it handled, sweetie. Go on." Her words didn't match her expression; I could tell deep down she didn't want me to leave. My mother had sacrificed her happiness for mine many times before; I wished I could figure out a way to make her happy again.
She gave me a hug; I buried my head in her shoulder, wishing for nothing more than to stay for a few more hours. All good things come to an end however, and as we were walking down the street towards the area where he had landed the plane. Coulson was whistling a cheerful tune as I suddenly stopped.
"That's it!" I exclaimed with a smile, turning towards the shop I was standing in front of. "Coulson, do you have any money with you?"
"Well, yes. But-"
"Come on, then!" I grabbed his arm, pulling me along with me into the store. The smell of animals immediately rushed to my nose, which scrunched up in disgust. I heard the yipping of dogs, squawking of birds, and the territorial screeches of cats. The pet store owner looked at me with curiosity; it's not often a girl wearing a full black skintight body suit walked into a pet store with a fully suited up man wearing sunglasses.
"Why are we-"
"Hush Coulson, I'm observing." I held out my hand to stop him from speaking again, my eyes traveling over every single animal in that store. I wanted one that'd keep my mom safe, so slightly larger than normal, and one that would also be nice for cuddling, so fluffy was added to the trait list.
I heard a slight whimpering from down the line, and my eyes traveled to meet a rather beaten up looking dog. It was a sight for sore eyes that was for sure. Its fur was matted and patchy; it didn't even move from its spot on the floor. It lay down and looked up at me with sad eyes. I kneeled down, reaching over to gently stroke its head. It flinched at my touch for a moment, before closing its eyes and relaxing again.
"You've had a rough time, haven't you buddy?"
"What kind of dog is he?" Coulson asked from behind me. The pet store owner walked over, looking down at the dog with a frown.
"A family from up north came down and just left him here; we're going to send him off to the pound if no one buys him."
"What's his name?" I asked.
"He doesn't have one." The owner shrugged. "Didn't have the time to think of one, only been here a few days."
"How sad. Everyone deserves a name." I leaned over, picking up the medium sized dog and holding him in my arms. He licked my cheek, his paws resting on either side of my shoulders. "I'll name you King. And my mother will take good care of you. She's good at making others happy; you'll feel welcome there. How much is he?"
The store owner looked taken back, but gave a price that was reasonable. I looked over at Coulson, who took the hint and began to pull money from his jacket. I don't think the store owner had ever seen that much money simply pulled from a hidden pocket in a suit. As he paid, I gathered the supplies she'd need to take care of a little puppy. Hopefully it wouldn't cause her too much trouble; I knew it'd help her loneliness, at least.
I happily carried the puppy back down the street in my arms, while the poor Agent held onto all the supplies needed. I was humming happily, glad I had thought of something that would be good for my mother for once. She had looked out and taken care of me for so long; it was time that I started doing it for her.
As I approached the house, I noticed a car that hadn't been there. My father's car. It looked like he had come home just in time; I approached the house faster in anticipation for seeing my father. From the outside, however, I stopped. I could hear yelling from within, which was unsettling; my parents never fought, I had never heard my mother raise her voice before in my life.
"Don't you dare tell me what's good for our daughter when you hardly spend any time with her! You should have seen her when she came home, she's completely exhausted. She's having a hard time up there all alone-"
"You can't coddle her forever; you knew this was going to happen eventually. I don't want to hear another word on it, what's done is done."
"Don't treat her like she's some toy you can mess around with!" My mother's voice could have shaken the whole house. "She is my daughter, and I will not let you ruin my life again! I will not let you hurt my daughter."
"Her situation is entirely different from yours."
"That's not the point!" I was beyond confused at the moment, and decided it'd be best if I didn't hear more. I knocked on the door, hearing some murmuring from within before it swung open. My dad stood there in all his glory, looking down at me curiously. I gave him an annoyed look, pushing past him and walking into the kitchen to greet my mother.
She was sitting at the kitchen table, face in her hands as she tried to keep herself together.
"Mom." Her head popped up as she heard my voice, her eyes traveling over to the dog wagging it's tail in my arms. She immediately smiled, reaching out to hold the poor animal.
"Hello there, sweet pea. Will you look at that?" She began to cradle the dog as though it were a baby, rubbing his belly and planting a kiss on his head lovingly. "What's this little guys name?"
"King. And he's all yours." My father walked into the kitchen after helping Coulson with all the supplies.
"I don't remember agreeing on having a dog in the house." My father stated in annoyance, looking at the creature with disgust. Of course he would; if it's not a prim, proper purebred dog, it's not good enough for him.
"I guess it's a good thing that you'll never be around to see it, huh?" I remarked coldly, not meeting his eyes. I was trying to make sense of what they were saying, trying to connect the dots but I was missing too much information to know what they were talking about. Sure enough my father had ruined plenty of things for my mother and I, like having a none dysfunctional family for one. But nothing that would ever bring serious harm to me. Nothing that would cause my sweet, caring mother to raise her voice and sound so angry.
Knowing he would not win if he argued back with me, he went upstairs and left the three of us alone. My mother gave an exhausted sigh, grabbing the dog bowl and putting some water in it for King. She looked at the two of us with a tired smile.
"Shouldn't you be heading out?"
"Do you want me to stay?" I asked. "If dad's giving you trouble…"
"The one good thing about your relationship with him is that you keep him in his place, dear; don't worry about me. He'll be leaving again in a few days for a business meeting regardless. I'll have cute little King here to keep my company." She leaned down to pet the dog who was happily licking his bowl dry. "We'll have a great time, right, boy?" King let out a little yip in response, weak bark for a dog his size, but maybe it'd improve with time.
Coulson and I made our way back to the ship, and were there as the sun was setting. As we flew back to headquarters, my mind wouldn't stay silent. Suddenly a bad feeling was welling up in my stomach, and I didn't understand why. One clear question remained on my mind though.
What had they been talking about?