Bucky Barnes and his Adventure of Being a Single Father

Chapter Sixteen

Michelleo

Where are you?

Oh shoot sorry I'm running
a little late . I've had a weird morning
Give me five minutes and I'll be there .

Good because Peter has been
sitting here with this vein
popping out of his forehead and
it's driving me nuts.

Tell him to calm down and
that I'm fine.
Wandas driving can be scary.

Okay I will. We need to
hang out more. Peter keeps
taking you before I can lmao.
Also, Wanda can drive?

Um I'm not sure. I'm about to
walk in I'll talk to you in a minute.

Nicolas anxiety was up and her focus was down. Her parents were missing and the avengers tower is so quiet. She can't handle quiet. Nicola enters the school building and heads straight to her locker. The tower is farther from home and Wanda caused them to run later than expected. She turns around to the three of them standing there and MJ says, "For the love of god Peter can you breathe now." He sends a glare at her and looks back over at Nicola. "Are you okay?" He asks. What was going through Nicolas brain right now wasn't calm or collect. She wasn't okay. She couldn't sleep and the rest of the weekend went slow. "Not really." She replies. The loud warning bell sings around the school just as she closes her locker. "Let's get goin Nic." Says Michelle as she goes in front of Peter. He turns around to Ned to head in the opposite direction of the girls.
"You are so in love with her."
"What! No , Ned she's just a friend."
" Yeah, sure Mr.heart eyes. You totally didn't poorly attempt to take her on an ice cream date."
"It wasn't a date. Besides something bad happened on Friday with her family. She needs support." Peter replies frustratingly.
" Peter, I haven't hung out with you in weeks. Can we at least do something that doesn't revolve around lunch and Nicola." The two boys walk into class just as the bell rings. "Okay, Saturday we'll do something. I promise."

🕸🕷🕸

The awkwardness of hiding from the staff in the avengers building because Peter was told by Mr.Stark to not come unless asked months ago had to be hidden. Nicola asked for him to come to the tower so she didn't have to sit alone the whole time in the room she was given. No one else is allowed in the tower friends wise except Peter anyways. MJ and Ned are harmless but still not allowed.
"Do they have any idea where they could be?" Peter asks as he swivels around in the desk chair.
"Um, sort of. They are going based off where they were supposed to go and their last location. Steve won't let me know anything unless it comes from him. Jasmine or Wanda will come in on occasion to tell me about dinner but they don't know anything." Nicola lays across her bed with her hands covering her eyes. "This is exhausting." She states.
"What is?"
"Worrying. Not knowing if they'll come back. Not knowing if they are even alive. I'm so tired Peter." At the end of her sentence she can feel pressure of crying in her throat. Peter can hear it.

He jumps up quickly to sit next to her. "Hey, hey, hey everything is going to be alright. Maybe they just got lost and can't gain signal or something silly like that." His no thinking had him rake his fingers through her hair to comfort her. Something aunt May did a lot for him as a kid when he was sad. "Can we change the subject because I really don't want to cry."
"Of course."

🕸🕷🕸

It was late at night when the buzzing of a phone woke Peter. He was confused because the bed he was in wasn't his. He grabbed his phone and aunt Mays face contact picture was bright and buzzing. "Shit." He muttered. "Hey may."

"Peter where are you."

"I fell asleep at Ned's by accident. Studying has been making me very tired lately."

"Well," May says to her self," Just tell me where you are next time. See you tomorrow? Okay?"
"Okay."
"I love you. Don't be late to school."
"Love you too. Bye."

He leaned into the pillow still very tired. Looking around and seeing Nicola curled up in a blanket inches away from him made him smile. She looked calm and not as anxious as she had been. The door opened and Peter instantly closed his eyes just like he would when May would check in on him as a kid. It closed and then it opened again he faintly heard "Why is spider boy in there with Barnes daughter?"
"Tony shut up what if she hears you." He hears Wanda say. "She is actually sleeping for once, and peacefully. Regardless of their title they can still be teenagers."
"Oh and you think tin man would like seeing her in a bed with a boy? She's yours and Steve's responsibility I am not getting killed over hormonal teenagers." And that's when the doors close and he's left in silence. Mr.Stark was who he was trying to avoid and yet he was found.

Ignore him. He hears. "What even was that? Am I making this up?" He asks himself.

You aren't Peter. Go to sleep and feel what you feel. Just don't mess up and you are fine. You have school tomorrow. Rest. Says Wanda.

He sighs deeply and rolls over trying to get comfy accidentally bumping into Nicola. Her eyes open for a split second and they close again and rolls closer. Peter exhaustedly closes his eyes and hopes for sleep.

🕸🕷🕸

"Are you even listening to me?" Asks Ned.
Peter, who is in his own daze, says, "What?"

"You haven't said a thing in the past 15 minutes."
"I'm sorry I just have a lot on my mind."
"Well, tell me about it." Peter runs his hands over his face, burnt out over the past couple of weeks. "It's hard being Spider-Man. I can't tell May I can't tell Nicki and then you have to add on school and this special spider man assignment on top. It's tiring." That's when Ned really got to look at Peter. His puffy eye bags are prominent and his glassy eyes are almost filled with tears.

"Why don't you ask to be taken off the assignment?"
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"I just can't."
"Your slowly killing your self Peter. All hero's need breaks. Proving your self and being exhausted does not equal being successful." Ned stammers. It's silent in the room. Peter, who is holding back his numb emotions says, "If I quit my special mission Nicola will be kidnapped or killed. And now I've gotten so deep into the assignment that now I've fallen for her and I can't tell her. Not until it's over at least."

"Well," Ned says to him self, "at least you finally realized you're in love with her."