Starks Apprentice

Chapter 15

We had spent the next morning curled up in bed, relishing one of the rare mornings where we got to lie in together and watch the sun rise through the cracks in my blinds.

It made me think about our future together.

We had begun talking about life after Peter graduated, he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to go to MIT or continue being an Avenger full time.

The only issue was, MIT was a five-hour car ride away and an hour flight, which wasn’t too bad, but it meant that either I would move so we could live together, or I would stay, and we would have to live through the long distance.

We still had a while to think about it yet and I made sure to tell him to do whatever he felt was best for him and his needs, and that I could cope with anything, because in all honesty, he deserves the best.

Personally, I think MIT opens up a lot of paths for him, he could still do the Avengers after, and it gives him the chance to experience student life. Parties and drinking, preferable not girls but you get the gist.

There was no doubt in my mind that Peter and I would be fine, we loved each other, and I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else, I just hoped he felt the same way and wouldn’t get tempted if he decided to go away.

“what’s with the long face?” Bucky asked as I stared blankly at the computer in front of me, fingers waiting to type.

“Just thinking” I flashed him a smile, trying to rub away the worry lines which I knew would inevitably appear.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“it’s not that deep, I’m just worried about the future” he let out a long, overdramatic sigh and leant back into the sofa.

“you’re only eighteen, when you get to my age you realize that the less you think about it, the happier you are”

I let out an amused snort, giving him my full attention.

“All your 102 years?”

“Exactly, you know what we used to do back in the forties when we didn’t want to think about the future?” he got to his feet now, using his phone and some music began to play before he offered me his hand “we used to dance”

“Oh God” I accepted despite my instant terror; it was no secret that I often seemed as if I had two left feet.

“You know I can’t dance” he pulled us towards the middle of the room with a wide grin.

“Just follow my lead” and so we began to step, he kept it simple, and I soon picked up the pace, both of us dancing around the Livingroom in sync.

I was having the time of my life and it was nice to see Bucky smiling for a change.

He spun me and I was caught in someone else’s arms.

“Nice to see you’ve still got the moves Buck” Steve grinned at his friend, continuing the pace before I was spun back to Bucky.

“Oh my god I’m gonna get whiplash” I tried to focus on one object in the room, feeling the room sway slightly
“how did women put up with this?”

“This is nothing. you should’ve seen the swing clubs”

“Oh, I love the look of swing”

I swooned, I’d always envied the swift grace people had when they were throwing each other around, full of energy.

“Why don’t you and Peter go?”

“I don’t want to embarrass him, I’m so bad at being graceful but he just… flows the right way.”

I was envious of his movements most days, he moved almost unnaturally, and I wished I presented that way.

“you’re not as bad as you think, your movements are swift, and you can keep pace.” Steve’s words of encouragement earned him a shy smile.

“you’ll be fine, kid. Have some faith”

“you guys are too nice” I muttered, admiring the way my skirt flared out as we span.

“Smile!” Bucky and I looked over to see Tony pointing his phone our way with Nat peering at the screen over his shoulder, both of us letting out cheesy grins. “that’s one for the calendar” Tony said as the song came to an end.

Nat was about to make a comment, but an alarm blared above, Jarvis instantly projecting information onto the TV screen as the room got serious.

Two calls had come in from SHIELD about possible hydra activity in Guatemala and Morocco.

Soon everyone was in the room, and I stood quietly and watched as they split into two groups, coming up with some plans that I barely had time to hear before people hurried away to suit up.

“You going to be okay housesitting, Greene?” Tony asked as he typed away on his phone.

“Yeah of course. You guys do what you got to do, I’m fine here. Do you need any help with anything?”

“We’ve got it covered, Jarvis will let you know about any updates, okay? We’re taking your boyfriend as well, so try not to get too mopey without him” he teased, patting my shoulder as he moved to the lift.

“be safe out there, any problems get Jarvis to contact me” he gave a mock salute before the doors closed, rising out of sight.

My phone pinged and I fished it out of my pocket to see a text from Nat.

N: don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him for you, Mrs. Parker ;)

I couldn’t help the curve of my lips as I read the end, wishing them luck before I flopped onto the sofa.

I text Peter as well, just telling him to be careful and that I loved him.

There was no telling how long things like this would take, sometimes days, sometimes weeks. But I’d never experienced it when they were all gone, and I was left alone.

Definitely weird.

For the first few hours I just went to Peter’s room and worked on some random projects I hadn’t finished, doing some illustrations in multiple adobe apps until my stomach began to rumble and I moved to the kitchen, eating the leftover Chinese food whilst watching YouTube.

By the time the sun began to rise, and my eyes began to droop, I still hadn’t heard anything, but Jarvis reassured me he still had a signal, and everything seemed to be okay.