☑ THE SHADOW | Peter Maximoff

t w e n t y - t h r e e

~ 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚 ~

Amara slipped her shirt back over her figure.

Was this overstepping? Was this weird?

It was definitely a bad idea. A very, very bad idea.

Oh, but this is a good bad idea.

Amara opened the door and made her way out of the bathroom. Her movements were quiet as she stepped down the stairs and paused halfway through to search for Peter. His back was facing her as he dug through a dresser, his hair stuck to his head and dirt completely covering his body.

She swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Peter?"

Her voice was so fragile she doubted he heard her, but when he paused and turned around, she knew herself to be wrong.

"Yeah?" he answered.

She didn't know how to word this. Her gaze was redirected to her hands. She couldn't look him in the eye. "I... um... I had a thought..."

She could hear him stand up, and her body went rigid.

"Okay."

"Well... um... we don't know how much water we actually have access to," she began, chancing the smallest glance up at him.

His eyebrows were furrowed and his posture was stiff, but he patiently waited for her to continue. She looked back down at her hands.

"And... well, what if I use it all?"

Peter shrugged. "That's okay. Don't worry about me. Take your time."

She frowned. "But... you're worrying about me."

He blinked and opened his mouth to respond, but when nothing came out, she copied him and shrugged.

"I mean, if anything I have a much better chance of protecting myself because I'm more powerful than you are-"

He scoffed before he murmured, "Well, you don't have to rub it in-"

"That..." She frowned and awkwardly shook her head. "That wasn't how I wanted to say that-"

"I'm not completely helpless, you know-"

"No, I know you're not, I just mean because I have my mutation and you don't-"

"Yeah, that was made very clear-"

"My- my point was just that I have to worry about you too because I can do more to help you-"

"Amara."

"I mean, I feel like if we don't stick together and take care of each other it's only going to snowball and get even worse-"

"Ames."

She took a deep breath and looked back up to see him smiling softly.

"I'm just messing with you."

She nodded. Of course he was. She should have known that. That was what he did best.

And she... hated it.

"So what are you suggesting?"

That was a great question. What was she suggesting? She didn't really want to say it out loud. But judging by the expression on Peter's face, he wasn't going to suggest it. Did that mean he didn't want to? That he thought it was weird? Or was it just that he wanted to make sure she was thinking the same thing?

She cursed him internally for being a genuine person. It made this so much more difficult.

Just ask him. I wouldn't mind getting a little bit of a view.