FLIGHT ✔P.M. ₂

chapter thirty

THE SUN SET OVER Half-Blood Hill. Robin sat on that very hill, staring off into the distance, lost in thought. After talking to his friends, getting everything off his chest, he escaped to get a bite to eat, realizing how hungry he really was. He then chose to talk to Mr D and Chiron about everything, feeling way better afterwards. Talking to immortal deities about his problems felt nice. They gave good advice. Mr D may seem standoffish, but Robin was sure he had a soft spot. That was proved right time and time again.

Dionysus had suggested that Robin take time for himself, organize his thought, do some training, and most importantly, work on controlling his powers (which were not getting better. Robin accidentally turned off the electricity in the Big House during that conversation.)

Robin chose to take that advice, so here he was, trying to pull himself together. He was acting like a child, running away from his problems. In this case, his problems were the Avengers, or rather his attachment to them and the secrets he was keeping from them.

Soft footsteps came up from behind him, but he did not glance back. The person sat down beside him, copying his stance. Robin could see them out the corner of his eye, and sighed.

"How did you know you loved Percy?" Robin questioned quietly, almost embarrassed by the question.

Annabeth glanced at him, before looking out to the sunset as well. "I'm not too sure," She admitted. "I mean, I liked him for a long time... and I guess one day, things just felt more... intense. It's like, I knew that I would do anything for him," She said softly. "Why do you ask, Rob?"

Robin took a deep breath. There was no turning back now. "I think I might like this boy... a lot," He whispered, bringing his knees up to his chest. "It doesn't make any sense, Annie. I never felt like this with Citrix. But with Pietro... I don't even know." He shook his head. Tears pooled in his eyes, but he wiped them away before they could fall. "I just feel so stupid," He complained. "He has a stupid girlfriend, he's probably straight, and here I am, being a coward! Hiding from my problems!"

Annabeth nodded along. This was a big moment for the boy. She knew him for most of their lives, and he was not one to spill his feelings like this, not even when his mother died. Not when Luke died. Never. She doubted he had even said anything like this with Citrix either. She put a hand on his shoulder, bringing him into an embrace.

"You're not a coward, Robin," She told him seriously. "You're one of the strongest people I know, and you've been through so much."

Robin shook his head, then rested it against her shoulder. "Annie, I think I'm falling in love with this stupid boy," He murmured. "But I can't even live myself right now."

Tony Stark was pissed off. He did not understand why Robin Carter kept running away! He thought they were finally getting along, really being a team. Sure, they bickered, but they were there for each other. So why was Robin so insistent on leaving? Better yet, why was Fury so insistent on keeping an eye on this kid? It made no sense, and it made Tony frustrated.

Pietro, somehow, let Robin get away. He had the power that would allow them to catch up to the kid, for fucks sake!

"Run me through what happened, again," Tony ordered, sitting in a briefing room with the rest of the team.

Pietro rolled his eyes, something that did not go unnoticed by the genius billionaire. "I told you! One second he was there, I almost had him, and then he disappeared into thin air!" He huffed.

"I thought his power was atmokinesis," Bruce muttered.

Clint nodded. "It is, as far as we could tell," He agreed.

Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, Fury's going to be here any minute. I doubt he'll believe this bullshit story."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "It is what happened, Stark," He pointed out. "We can't just lie, even if he won't believe the truth." Tony rolled his eyes. Of course Captain America had to have a point.

"On the bright side," Vision said, "you did manage to catch Loki and their associate."

"Their associate is named Blake," Natasha snapped, narrowing her eyes. Vision quickly apologized and corrected himself. It was not hard to see that Natasha had a strong attachment to Blake. It was almost strange to see.

"Fury will want to talk to them," Clint said, nodding to Vision.

"Indeed, I will," Said Nick Fury, strolling into the room in all his dramatics that could put Tony Stark to shame.

"They're on house arrest," Wanda informed softly, lost in her thoughts.

"My brother will not be very willing to talk," Thor stated. "He is not so easily persuaded, as you know."

"Agent Romanoff?" Fury looked at the woman in question.

"I'm talking to Blake," She immediately responded. "They won't talk to any of you."

Clint frowned. "Come on! They like me," He insisted, trying to bring a lighter mood to the room.

"Go with her," Fury said, nodding at his agents. Knowing this as a signal for them to go now, the two stood and left the room. "Thor, try to get something out of your brother," He instructed. Thor nodded, and went and did just that. "The rest of us will just have to wait."

"I hope Robin's okay," Sam murmured with a frown. Sure, the boy ran away, but he might be in trouble! What if that's why he was running? Sam felt terrible. He should have done more, made Robin feel more at home here.

"I'm sure he's fine," Bucky spoke up. Eyes immediately went to him, as if they had forgotten he was there. "I mean, he's a strong kid."

But despite that, everyone could no help but wonder what would happen next, and if there really was a bigger threat at play here.