☑ THE SHADOW | Peter Maximoff

t h i r t y - f i v e

~ 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚 ~

"Peter, there's only one thing she could mean," Amara huffed, racing down the steps inside the house.

He followed after her quickly with Suyin gripped tightly in his arms. "Even if there are more of us, how the hell are we going to get them out?"

"I dunno." She slammed the front door open.

"Where are we going to go once we get them out?"

"I don't know."

"What if we can't find them?"

"Sucks for us, I guess."

"Okay, Ames- stop! Hang on!"

She groaned and turned around to face him, her eyes wide. "What's the problem? You're the one that said it's our job to help them-"

"Well, yeah," he chuckled, "but this is ludicrous! We don't know how many there are, or where they are, or how many guards we'll have to go against-"

"So, we don't help them?"

He sighed. "That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying?" she asked, throwing her hands out in frustration. "Remedy is a fucking shithole, and we were only there for a month. What if they were there longer? What if- what if it's Jean and the rest of the X-Men in there, and that's why no one's come to find us?! What if they found the Professor?!"

"We ran through dozens of hallways, and every single cell was empty. We don't know how to get through there, and I still don't even have my mutation! There are too many things that we don't know!"

"We're no closer to finding our way home. We're basically out of food. We don't know when your mutation's coming back, and I'm feeling fine!" she argued, her voice raising by the second. "So why don't we fucking burn the place down! Get it started now! Who knows, maybe we can even find a radio so they can find us and bring us home! I bet you they have cars there! Lemme tell you, I'd much rather drive one of those pieces of shit than walk! Maybe they even have a plane there! We can fly home!"

"Ames, listen to me," Peter said, setting Suyin down so he could place his hands on Amara's shoulders. "As fine as you think you feel, you're not a hundred percent! And as strong as I know you can be, that's not our situation right now! We barely escaped out of there, and now you wanna go back?! It's a better idea to go home, get all the help we can get, and come back. It's better for you, it's better for me-"

"And it's terrible for the people in there."

Peter sighed, his forehead falling against hers.

"We can do something about this!" she continued. "This has been the mission of the X-Men since Remedy was first created!"

"You were literally screaming at me an hour ago for saving one kid! Now you wanna ransack an entire base where it's a thousand against three, and no guarantee to get home?"

"Wouldn't you rather die knowing that you tried doing something to help mutants instead of alone in a forest?"

There were a few seconds of hesitation, with Amara giving Peter a pleading expression to reconsider. She wasn't going to give up. He was right before - saving mutants was her job. It wasn't like they had anything better to do. There was no way they were getting home with all of the nothing they found in the town, meaning the base was the best place for them to try.

She had a better idea of what to expect. They could use the element of surprise. They would have the advantage this time, not Remedy.

"Peter," she murmured, brushing his hair curls out of his eyes. "Let me... Let me do something good for once in my life."

"You are good." His hands gripped her wrists as she cupped his cheeks, his eyes clearing giving the same 'reconsider whatever the fuck you're thinking' that she was giving him. "Ames, you've done good. You are good. There's no one you have to prove that to."

She sighed, giving him a sad smile. "No, Peter. I'm not. But we have to help them."

His expression told her he didn't approve of this. He didn't approve of it at all. But he sighed deeply after a minute, his thumb rubbing against the back of her hand gently.

"Just... one night. Just to think about it. Even if it's to think of a- a plan, or... something."

She smiled, leaning in to peck his lips carefully.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," she whispered.

He huffed a tiny laugh. "It's not me I'm worried about."

*****

w/c: 776

a/n: i'm back... again... i know it's a shorter chapter, but the good stuff is coming soon!! please let me know if you enjoy reading it, it really helps with motivation!! and if you enjoyed, please share, vote, or even leave a tiny comment!! every little bit helps!! xx