Might as well put this one out to complete the trilogy.

Year One: Move-In Day Part Three

Entrance of Atlantic Residence - 11:39 AM

As the afternoon creeps upon them, the parents know that they have to start making their way out. As much as they don't want to, they have to leave their kids to experience SHIELD Academy on their own. Sniffles from both students and families fill the hallways and reception area. Hugs and kisses become a common gesture amongst the small crowds of people divided by family. Or for some, the farewells were so quick or absent that car engines were already revving and heading out before traffic jams hit the parking lots.

Merida turns around after walking in between her parents. The exit door is a few feet away from them and their car is a couple of yards. Merida's dorm is a few floors up and her childhood bedroom and home are two hours away.

And now, her parents are looking at her, waiting for her to make the first move. She's expected to hug them goodbye and say that she misses them. All that she wants to do but her body doesn't move. She doesn't want to do this because it makes the goodbye more real.

These types of feelings and gestures make her uncomfortable. And she feels like crying seeing her parents on the brink of tears. Aside from her friends, they're the only people she doesn't like seeing upset. It makes her upset.

"I hate this…" Merida mutters.

"Hate what?" Natasha says. She looks at her daughter lovingly, touching the ends of her long red curls.

"I hate that I'm going to miss you because I don't want to." Merida starts to shake. Goosebumps form on her arms and she's glad her leather jacket hides them. "I don't want to have to miss you."

At the moment, Clint and Natasha sandwich Merida in a tight hug. On any other day, Merida would squirm out but not now. She embraces it and wraps her arms around her parents. She can hear her parents crying on her shoulders. On any other day, she would shudder and slink away. But not today. Today, she doesn't care because she isn't sure when she will see this, let alone them, for a while. When's the next time that she can reject a hug?

They're only two hours away, but it feels so much further compared to where she is now. When she was younger, her parents would be on missions across the planet and they'd feel closer to her. Is it too late to be homeschooled?

-o-

Entrance of Edison Residence - 11:43 AM

"You'd better be a good boy," Janet tells James. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Yes, Mom," James replies with a slight disinterest. He heard this exact speech before they left the house and on the car ride here. When he calls them later, he will have to hear them again.

Hank laughs a little. "Jan, that's like telling him to enjoy breathing but not breathe."

James grins at his father who smiles back. He understands that college life and stupidity aren't parallel lines. The two concepts are more like graphing linear functions. The Academy is the Cartesian plane while college life and stupidity were linear functions. James lives at the intersection, no matter what quadrant the point lands in. And he finds himself a genius for thinking of it that way. His dad is so proud of him. Emily would be proud of him as well.

"Hank," Janet says. Her tone sounds angered.

Hank shrugs innocently. "What?"

Janet narrows her brows and Hank sighs. He looks down at James again and puts his hand on his shoulder. The universal sign of prepare yourself for my ultimate wise fatherly words.

"Avoid anything that Merida wouldn't do," Hank advises.

James would laugh but that was solid advice. Merida may be reckless and impulsive, but even she has her limits. She may not know her limits, but everyone likes to believe that they exist. Even his mother agrees with Hank's words.

"Call me when you get home," James tells his parents. "I want to make sure you made it back safely." And hear that lecture again.

Janet wraps her arms around her son tightly. "Angela's such a good influence on him. Hope she continues that."

Not so far from them, Daniel sits on a bench in the middle of his parents. It's time to say goodbye, he can't. Although he's already at the Academy, he still can't process that he's here. He's a student at SHIELD Academy and he has to say goodbye to his parents. Just yesterday, he was more of a kid than he is now. That was the shortest 24 hours of his life.

"University goes by in a blast," Betty comments.

"Especially at SHIELD…" Daniel mutters. He takes off his glasses and pretends to clean them on his shirt. But, in reality, he just wanted a moment where he couldn't see how much his life changed in the span of a two-hour car ride. "If I had my car here, I would be back home on the weekend."

"You'll be fine," Bruce tells him. "I already know that you're the smartest in the room."

Daniel scoffs, finally grinning a little. He puts on his glasses again. They're a bit blurry, but he'll manage. He may have been valedictorian and top of his class in high school, but that was high school. This is the top of the line where people had to be a genius to be considered for a spot.

"Don't pressure him," Betty scolds her husband. She wraps her arm around her son and leans on his shoulder. "Call us whenever. Even if you're struggling with research at the crack of dawn and haven't slept in days."

Bruce laughs a little. "Especially call us if you're in that scenario. But if we don't answer, which isn't likely, just cite one of our papers."

Betty laughs and that gets Daniel as well. He feels tears in his eyes. He isn't sure if they're for the advice or because this is a temporary goodbye to his childhood and hello to adulthood. He goes with both and wipes them away anyways. His glasses blur a bit and he lets them.

"Make sure you call Emily as well."

Daniel smiles, biting down on his bottom lip. "Of course."

-o-

Entrance of Hudson Residence - 11:53 AM

The elevators were all in use so Xavier took the stairs. Once he enters the main reception area, he finds himself in a swamp of farewells, struggling to find the one he should be a part of. In every direction he looks, he sees the same sobbing goodbye. He doesn't even know these people but he feels the need to cry for them.

He remembers the day that he said goodbye to his (ex-) girlfriend and best friend. He remembers that even Merida cried because he cried. He could never get that out of his mind even if he - finally, Xavier spots his parents and Angela when she waves him over.

Xavier wipes his eyes on his walk over although he wasn't even crying. He was about to but he didn't. There's a difference.

"How's your roommate?" Steve asks him.

"He seems cool," Xavier responds.

"You two better look out for each other," Peggy says to him and Angela. Her maternal tone makes those words sound more like a plea than an order.

Angela and Xavier expected their parents to give Angela that look for Xavier, but it's the other way around. The twins are confused because, out of all their years of existence, Angela was the mother figure of the group. And now, this was happening.

They've heard of empty-nest syndrome, but they thought it would kick in once their parents returned to Brooklyn.

"Remember," Steve tells them, looking down at them as if they were young children. "If you get knocked down, get the hell back up. Don't take shit from anyone just because you're a Rogers."

"It took moving out of the house for him to swear in front of us?" Xavier asks rhetorically. "And it was for motivation? Wow, Old Man, I'm gonna miss you."

Steve narrows his eyes before jokingly grabbing him in a headlock.

"God, Dad…" Angela mutters. Her eyes start brimming with tears. "We weren't conscripted."

Unless getting a scholarship from Director Fury counts as conscription.

Peggy clears her throat. "You're at SHIELD Academy. It's like being conscripted in the war. But you two will be more than fine once you escape the trenches."

"Mom! What type of farewell speech is that?"

"The best one possible." Peggy wraps her daughter in a hug, running her fingers through her hair.

Peggy locks eyes with Xavier and mouths, watch over her. He looks at his dad who nods in agreement. Xavier gives them a thumbs up. They didn't even have to ask him to do that. He would've watched over her anyways. It's more than a twin thing.

-o-

12:01 PM

In both dormitory buildings, all the families have left. The students in all programs gather in their schools' respective common areas, far from where they said their goodbyes. Now, they're alone, expected to face the wild adventures and academics that the Academy will have in store for them. At least they have each other.

But they can't start yet because they're how. They haven't opened their welcome packages, let alone their bags.

In Operations, Angela and Merida stand with Xavier in the centre of their classmates. Meanwhile, in Sci-Tech, Daniel and James huddle towards the back, blending in with the crowd.

But in the two areas, they see the same thing. Three upper-year students stand on the tables in front of them. They're the same ones who handled welcome package distributions and directions. The Resident Assistants or the Recruitment Team, it doesn't matter at this point.

They're not the help anymore.

They're the centre of attention and all eyes are on them.

"Freshies, welcome to SHIELD Academy."

As a second-year university student and a loving mother towards these characters, I can't even begin to explain how excited I am for this story. For the second time ever, I'm around the same age as them.

To answer any other questions you may have: PNG's current 130 chapters will be revamped and continue to be updated next year. If you want an exact date, there will be a new chapter on July 2, 2020. No changes to that date whatsoever. And, no, I don't know how long this story will be but I have seven years of events to work with before we hit the start of PNG and a lot of ideas.

I will leave you with these chapters. I won't be back here until I finish revamping Merida's birth story, Emily's, Britney's, and Iqadi's stories (because I thought I'd be done when this story would be out).

I hope you enjoy it so far :)