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Crushed
It was almost time for Peter to come over when Morgan disobeyed her father for the third time that day. The first had been a minor infraction, a phrase that she'd heard her big brother say. At least, she called him her big brother. He'd seemed kind of confused the first time she'd used the phrase, but that's what her dad had called him too. But he didn't live with them and he only came over sometimes, which she didn't really understand. When he was there, though, he would always make some time to spend with her and he protected her and told her that he loved her, and all of those things sounded like big brother things to her.
The first time he'd ever stayed over, he'd read her a bedtime story and had tucked her into bed really tight, which she loved, and he'd kissed her forehead, telling her not to let the bedbugs bite. He wasn't a grown up, but he was seventeen which, according to her dad, was old enough to go anywhere outside by himself, and if she asked, he would take her swimming in the lake, or hold her on his back and climb trees…not like she did, pulling herself up on branches like on the jungle gym at the park, but just by sticking his fingers to the side of the tree and climbing like a spider. He could do that because he was Spider-Man. It was a really big secret and she'd promised not to tell anyone ever. But he'd made her little toy webshooters that shot water instead of webs for Christmas that she'd used to shoot her parents one day in a sneak attack when she'd been pretending that they were bad guys and now she was only allowed to play with outside. Sometimes, though, he got in trouble with their dad who he called 'Mr. Stark' for some reason. And she'd heard him say that him staying out ten minutes later than he was supposed to was a 'minor infraction' and when she'd popped up, asking what that was, he'd explained with the patience he always had for her..
"It means I broke the rules, but not in a really big way," he'd told her, grinning and picking her up when she held out her hands to him, swinging her around so she could cling to his back. "Minor means small. Major means big."
"So if you stayed out for hours and hours, that would be a…major fraction?"
Her dad had been smiling at the two of them like he did when she told him that she loved him, and that had made her happy.
"Yeah. That would be a major infraction."
Her minor infraction had been sneaking into the kitchen for a juice pop when her mom had told her no juice pops before lunch. So really, a teeny tiny juice pop before lunch was no big deal. She'd even gotten one of the small ones! And she'd made sure to clean her hands and face with water to make sure she didn't have any 'evidence' on her, another word she'd learned from her big brother.
"You've gotta hide the evidence, Mo," he'd told her a few weeks ago when she'd snuck a piece of chocolate from the candy bowl and some had stuck to her fingers, explaining what 'evidence' was when she'd asked, then swiping her another piece of chocolate with a grin and a finger held to his lips.
The second time she'd disobeyed had been a little bigger…still not a major infraction, but not a minor one, either. A…medium infraction. One of the big rules was that she wasn't supposed to go past the big tree in their yard behind their house because that would be too close to the lake and she was never allowed to go to the lake by herself. But she'd wanted to look at the fish and her mom had been making lunch and her dad had been on her way to pick up Peter, so she'd walked out on the dock by herself, being really really careful, and had laid on her stomach to watch the fish.
The third time was the biggest. The major infraction. A really big deal.
Over the last few months, Peter had been working in her dad's lab, building something for school. A robot. It was supposed to be for a big school project, and Peter had explained that if he did a really good job, he could win money, and it would also help him get into a really good college he wanted to go to. And he had been working and working and Peter had showed her lots of pictures on his phone as he'd built it. Her dad wasn't even allowed to help him, but he still spent lots of time in the lab with Peter, watching him build it and building stuff of his own.
And now it was almost finished. After begging and begging her dad to let her see it, he had taken her hand the night before, leading her down to the lab, her hand in his. And there, standing several steps away from the table, she'd finally seen it! It had been the coolest, best robot she'd ever seen, and she'd wanted to touch it and hold it and look at all the parts, but her dad had crouched down in front of her, looking serious.
"That's Peter's, okay Morguna? And it's very important. It's for him to take to school. He's been working on it for a really long time, so you can't touch it. Okay?"
She had nodded, disappointed, and all night she'd thought about that robot and she knew that she was really careful and good at not dropping things and she knew that she would be able to get closer and not break it if he would just give her a chance! And so, after looking at the fish for a long time and trying not to think about the robot in their house that she wanted to touch more than anything, Morgan had given in.
She had tiptoed into the house, then past her mother who had been stirring what smelled like macaroni and cheese on the stove. But her mom had heard her and had turned around. "Morgan, your dad's almost home. Go clean up, okay? We're going to eat lunch."
Morgan had nodded, walking towards her room, but as soon as her mom had turned back around, she'd hurried as quietly as she could to the stairs that led to her dad's lab. She'd been down there hundreds and millions of times, playing on the floor or helping her dad with science, or even watching Peter fix his suit or his web shooters. So, she had told herself, she wasn't breaking any rules by just going down to look!
The robot had been right where they'd left it, and Morgan had stood exactly where she had stood with her dad the night before, looking at it for a long time. But she'd wanted to get closer! So she'd taken another tiny step forward, then another, until she was pressed up against the table, the robot within reaching distance.
Morgan knew that she was breaking a rule now, but she couldn't stop herself from reaching out and pressing one fingertip to the metal side. It was cold and smooth and so shiny! Moving around to the other side of the table, she did the same thing, only she had to reach further on that side. So she pressed down on the table and leaned forward, standing on the balls of her feet, then her tiptoes…and she was just able to touch the other side! Feeling a thrill of triumph, she tried leaning forward even more…
But that's when the table toppled over, throwing her forward as the whole thing crashed to the floor.
Morgan closed her eyes tight, gasping as she fell, landing on something hard and uncomfortable. And when she opened her eyes again, she realized what it was. Peter's robot. Only…it wasn't anymore. It was in a bunch of pieces all over the floor and one stuck under her foot when she stood, crunching and breaking in two, and tears flooded her eyes as she backed away.
It was broken. Peter's super important robot was broken. And it was her fault.
The fear that flooded her was like nothing she'd ever felt and she sprinted for the stairs, nearly tripping as she ran up them, then turned the corner and just barely managed not to run into Peter who reached out to steady her.
"Hey, careful, Mo," he told her with a laugh that died the second he really saw her. "Morgan? What…"
She jerked away from him, running for the back door and towards her playhouse. He was going to hate her and her daddy was going to be so mad and…and she couldn't think past those two things and she crawled into her playhouse and curled up into a ball in the corner, sobbing so hard it made her stomach hurt. Hands pressed to her ears, she hit her face in her knees and tried not to think about her brother hating her or how her dad would be so upset or how her mom would be disappointed and mad and…and she didn't know what to do! She hadn't meant to break it! But her dad had told her not to go touch it and she had touched it anyway!
She'd done a major infraction.
Morgan didn't know how long she was in her playhouse all by herself, and she wondered if maybe her mom and dad would just leave her there, and maybe Peter would leave too and she'd be out there alone forever. The thought made her stomach swoop with fear and her whole body shook and she was sure that if she was still outside in her playhouse at night something would come and get her and there wouldn't be anyone to protect her because they were all so mad! Or maybe the spider that lived in the very top corner of her playhouse in a web would come down and eat her! Or…or something would come out of the lake!
And then someone knocked on her playroom door. She could hear it, even with her hands pressed to her ears, but she couldn't answer…could barely catch her breath from crying. Whoever it was came in anyway, hesitating for a moment before they came to sit beside her, a hand landing on her back.
"I'm sorry! Sorry…sorry!" she sobbed, still hiding her face as the hand rubbed circles on her back. "I'm sorry!"
"I know." Her brother's voice was soft and sad and she couldn't make herself look at him, but he wrapped an arm around her, and that was all the encouragement she needed to crawl into his lap, her arms thrown around his neck as she sobbed into his shirt. She was too hot with her face pressed against his shoulder like that but she was too afraid to pull away and too afraid to let go.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! The whole table fell and…and I feel too and the robot got crushed!"
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, and she gave a miserable nod.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again, and he squeezed her, rubbing her back until she was calmer. "I know I wasn't supposed to touch it…Daddy told me not to touch it but I really wanted to and it was really shiny and…and I just wanted to touch it for a second but I accidentally made the table fall over."
She felt him nod.
"Do you hate me?"
"No," he answered immediately. "Of course not. I could never hate you, Mo."
"Are you mad at me?"
He sighed, dropping his head back against the wall of her playhouse. "I'm just sad," he finally admitted. "I worked on that for a really long time, and now I don't think I can fix it in time. But I know it was an accident. I'm not mad at you."
Closing her eyes, she dropped her head against his chest, wiping uselessly at her face.
"I think I did a major infraction," she admitted, being really careful to pronounce the words exactly right.
Peter was quiet, but his chest started to move under her ear, and for a second she thought he might be crying, and that was the worst thing she could imagine, even worse than the monsters that might be outside. But when she got up the courage to look up, he was smiling, eyes closed, lips pressed together as he laughed, nodding. "Yeah. You did," he finally managed to get out.
"Can I help you fix it?"
He patted her on the back, still smiling. "I don't think so."
"Can Daddy?"
"No. I'm supposed to do it all by myself, or it's cheating."
"So you won't get the money or get to go to that school?"
"I won't get the money. But I could still get into the school if I get really good grades. And I did an internship with your dad, so that helps."
"Then you'll get to go, because you're really smart and your grades are perfect!" He nodded a little, his smile wrong as he leaned his head back against the wall once more. "And…and I have money in my piggy bank! I almost have ten whole dollars I think!" That was a bit of an exaggeration…she had seven. But still. "I'll give you all of that money and…and the piggy bank too!"
He squeezed her in a hug and she hugged him back, desperate. He couldn't hate her! She'd never be happy again if her brother hated her! And even if he said he didn't, she'd still made him really sad and that was almost as bad!
"That's okay, Mo. Keep your money."
"I'm really, really sorry. I promise I won't ever touch your robots ever again…unless you say so. I promise!"
He nodded, patting her back "It's okay," he murmured. "Are you hungry?"
She shrugged. She was too scared to be hungry. "Are Mommy and Daddy mad?"
"They can't be too mad. It was an accident," he told her simply. "Come on. Let's go eat."
Peter held her hand as the two of them made their way back to the house, her wiping her arm over her face, breath hitching every few steps even though she wasn't crying anymore. She was still scared, but Peter was there, and he'd protect her. Not that she thought her parents would hurt her, but they'd be mad. Maybe, she thought, when they saw that Peter wasn't mad, they'd be less mad too.
Her mom was waiting for them on the back porch, and she rested a hand on Peter's shoulder, eyes sad. "Hey, honey."
"Hi, Pepper."
"You hungry?"
He nodded.
"Alright. Come on, Morgan. Let's get you cleaned up and then we can eat."
Morgan hesitated, but Peter squeezed her hand, and when she looked up at him, he was smiling a little. He still looked sad, though, and that made her want to cry again. Instead, she squeezed his hand back, then took her mom's hand instead, following her to the bathroom as Peter headed towards the kitchen. She dropped her head, not meeting her mom's eyes until she couldn't see Peter anymore. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and her mom sighed.
"I know you are, honey."
In silence, Morgan washed her hands, making sure to scrub really good so there wouldn't be any germs left. Then her mom took a washcloth from the basket and ran it under cold water, sitting on the lid of the toilet and gesturing for her to come closer. Once she did, her mom steadied her with a hand on her shoulder, then gently wiped Morgan's face with the cool washcloth. It felt really nice since her face was so hot. With her mom sitting down, they were almost eye to eye, and she could see how sad her mom looked. She hated it when her mom was sad, and she felt her lip tremble.
"I'm really, really sorry," she said again. "And I told Peter I was sorry."
Her mom nodded. "I know, baby."
"I made Peter sad."
"You did." Her mom put the washcloth in the sink, then took her hands, leaning in and looking really serious. "I know you didn't mean to, and I know it was an accident, but if we ask you not to touch something, we need you to listen to us, okay? Your dad asked you not to touch Peter's project because it was very important to him, and he knew that it might get broken. Do you understand?"
Morgan nodded, eyes on the floor, and her mom opened her arms.
"Come here, baby."
She did, throwing herself into her mom's arms and letting her squeeze her really tight, her own arms tight around her mom's neck.
"I love you so much. More than anything," her mom whispered.
"I love you too," Morgan whispered back, thinking of the night before her dad had gone away for a while…when she'd told her dad that she loved him 3000. It didn't feel like enough now…there were bigger numbers, and she loved her mom and dad and Peter the biggest number there was, only she didn't know how to say that or what that number was, so she just squeezed her a little tighter, hoping her mom knew in the way she seemed to know everything.
Her mom went right to the kitchen when they left the bathroom, and Morgan was going to follow her, except she saw her dad and her brother in the hallway beside the stairs that led to her dad's lab. Peter was resting his head on her dad's chest just like she had Peter's, and his hand rested on Peter's back, rubbing circles like Peter had done for her. It was kind of weird…Peter had always been like a grown up to her. But the way her dad held him looked like he was a kid too.
"I'm so sorry, bud," her dad said softly. "I should have locked the door."
"It's okay," Peter tried to assure him, but she could tell it wasn't okay because he was still sad. "It wasn't your fault."
Her dad sighed, and Peter went on.
"It wasn't Morgan's either. She didn't mean to break it. It was an accident."
Her dad wrapped his arms around Peter then, hugging him. "Listen, you're already going to get the Stark Industries Intern Scholarship. And I've got pull at MIT. You're going to get in if I have anything to say about it."
"Is that even a real scholarship?"
"It is."
"Was it a real scholarship an hour ago?"
"That is neither here nor there."
Her brother sighed. "I don't want you to be the reason I get into college," her brother muttered.
"I won't be. You deserve to get into MIT, Peter. You're smart enough. Hell, you're more than smart enough. And if you want, I'll help you fix it. No one has to know. It's my fault it got broken in the first place."
"It's not your fault, and that would be cheating."
Her dad smiled, shaking his head, and when he looked down at Peter, she could see that he loved him the biggest number too. "Alright, Spiderling. How about we eat some lunch? I'll talk to Morgan after we eat, then you and I can go downstairs and take another look."
"Don't be mad at her. Please?" Peter asked so softly she could barely hear, looking up at her dad, still looking sad. "She was really upset."
"I won't be too mad. Scout's honor." Her dad held up three fingers and Peter huffed out a laugh.
"You were not a boy scout."
"I could have been!"
"When?" Peter asked, grinning. "Did they even have boy scouts when you were a kid?"
Laughing, her dad swatted at him, and Peter dodged easily, turning and seeing her peeking around the corner and grinning.
"Hey, Mo. What's for lunch?"
"Macaroni and cheese, and Mommy made those peppers that have stuff in them too, and ice cream for dessert?" The last part was more of a question as she dared to look her dad in the eye for the first time, and he lifted an eyebrow as Peter lifted her into his arms, settling her easily onto his hip.
"I like ice cream," Peter told her dad with a shrug, and he sighed, lifting his hands, a reluctant smile on his face.
"Alright. Ice cream it is. But then, little miss, you and I are going to have a talk about touching things that don't belong to us, okay?"
Dropping her eyes, she nodded, but he held his arms out for her after a second and she jumped into them, wrapping her arms around his neck, one of his arms going around Peter's shoulder and he pulled them both into a hug for a long time.
"I'm really sorry, Peter," she whispered then, voice so quiet she didn't know if anyone but her could hear, but her brother had really good hearing and he nodded.
"I know, Morgan. It's okay. I forgive you."
"What if you can't fix it?"
"Then it'll still be okay."
She nodded, believing him easily. There wasn't anything in the world that her dad and her brother couldn't make okay.
Thanks for reading!