𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 ~ {𝐏. 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫} ~ 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐎𝐧𝐞

Ch. 37: Family

It's early in the morning and I'm packing a small bag of things for London, I make sure to pack a decent, all-black outfit for Peggy's funeral. When I had asked my dad about why he was crying, he said that a woman he knew from the war had died. I may not have known the lady, but she was special to my dad. I don't want him to be alone for this. Sam is also joining us.

"I'm going to sign the Accords." holding back on my movements, I take a deep breath as I hear Pietro walk into my room, telling me his decision. I try to hold back a yell as I clear my throat to ask a question,

"Have you told Wanda?" resuming to pack, I move around my room and put more clothing in the duffel bag.

"I will, but I wanted to tell you first."

"And what good did you think would come from that?" now turning to face Pietro, I can see that he's confused by my reaction.

"Wait, what's wrong?" groaning at his unmindfulness to my current displeasure with his choice.

"I thought we were on the same page about the Sokovia Accords," keeping my answer short, making sure I pack my leather jacket, gloves, and goggles, not my full bodysuit. I get the feeling something is going to go down, and I'm not a big fan of that feeling.

"At first I wasn't going to sign, it was ridiculous that they used Sokovia's name for something like that. But then Stark implied that if we didn't sign, they would come for me and Wanda and take us away. I'm signing the Accords because I want a life here, so I could live with you and be happy," Pietro steps forwards, trying to grab my hands, but I pull away.

"Even if that means you losing me?" Pietro starts to stutter over sentences, trying to piece together something he could say.

"Then sign them with me. We could be together either way-"

"Pietro, I'm not signing the Accords. I'm not being put on a leash like an animal and kept from helping people. I want to be with you, I do, but I just can't do it this way. Signing that piece of paper, It won't feel right." my voice becomes near silent at the end. Seeing the sad look on Pietro's face breaks every part of my heart. Saying nothing else, I grab a few toiletries, put them in my bag and sling it over my shoulder.

"I have to catch a plane..." my tone docile and quiet. I walk past Pietro and into the hall, I'm tempted to look back, just to see his face one last time before I'm on the plane for London, but I don't want to remember this fight. Not one minute of it.

~~~

Listening to the choir sing, I focus on my dad as he carries the casket. His eyes are red and puffy, wet tears still left on his face. The men who were carrying the box, set it down, returning to their original seats. As Steve sits next to Sam and me, I hold my dads' hand, letting him know that he isn't alone in this. But all he does is zone out.

"And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and say a few words." the priest announces as a blonde hair woman stands on the podium that faces the crowd. On the other side of Steve, Sam nudges him, pulling him from nowhere land to look at Sharon. My dad becomes visibly tense just looking at this lady.

"Margret Carter was known to most as a founder of Shield, but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy. She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related." there it is. That one word just helped me figure out why my dad was so tense. Related to Peggy. That's one thing to figure out during a funeral.

"I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage, in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. She said... 'Compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say, 'No, you move.'" is it just me, or did that whole speech sound like she was talking about the Sokovia accords?