BROOKLYN BABY, peter parker

two, that homewrecking waste of my tax dollars

"Eomma," Reese called, slipping off her shoes. "I'm home."

Rei came running down the stairs, pausing to glance at his sister. "Didn't you have your meeting with Agent Aguilar today?"

"Wanna know what we said about you?"

"No. I was just wondering."

Reese scoffed, heading into the kitchen. She greeted her mother, who responded with a quick nod before returning to her cooking.

That's usually how their interactions went. A quick greeting and a dry response before they went their separate ways.

Rei had always been their mother's favourite, usually because he was the calmer, lower-maintenance child. He didn't dye his hair unnatural colors, he wasn't in trouble with magical law enforcement, he wasn't inclined towards arson... the list went on.

Reese quickly scaled the stairs two at a time until she approached the oak door. Raising her hand, she knocked one. Twice.

He'd get upset if she knocked any more. He seemed to like patterns of two.

"Abeoji?" she called softly. "Dad? I'm coming in."

She slowly opened the door, revealing her father slumped in his raggedy office chair, mindlessly staring at his monitors. One held the footage from the backyard's cameras, another was on the last Google search page for Amaya Lee, and the last one was rewinding the seconds before Reese entered the house over and over again. His laptop, closed and pushed to the side, had his work documents on it.

"I knew you'd be up soon," he murmured.

"You should come downstairs to say hi."

Hideki spun around, staring straight at his daughter. "They're watching!" he spat. "I will not get snatched up by that— that— homewrecking waste of my tax dollars!"

"Abeoji, you don't have powers. They have no need for your skill set."

"They're probably just looking for an excuse to take another member of this family. First they abduct Amaya, then they keep you and your brother under constant surveillance." He scoffed. "They're looking for a reason to snatch up someone else."

Reese didn't have the heart to tell him that she and her brother were essentially keeping themselves under SHIELD surveillance at this point. Rei's appointments could technically be every other week, but he liked being interrogated by Jayanthi. Reese toed the line with Aguilar so often that she saw her more than some of her friends.

She was pretty sure that her brother had a crush on his case agent. She, on the other hand, was just annoying.

"Yes, Abeoji," she sighed, retreating back to the doorway. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"Did anyone watch you walk into the house?" he asked, turning back to his monitors.

"No. Agent Aguilar left me in the café after our meeting ended."

His brows furrowed. Hideki's face still held the wrinkles and sunspots of years spent working in the sun, but now his face was pale from hours spent holed up in his office. Honestly, he looked much older now, thanks to the stress that Amaya's disappearance had wrought on the entire family.

"You walked all the way home?"

"I enjoy the quiet," she admitted. "And it's good exercise."

The latter was true. Reese's years of running around the city, climbing onto rooftops, and the occasional bursts of motivation to work out had actually paid off. This was a healthy adrenaline rush, Aguilar had told her, and a good way to relieve stress.