𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬✓ 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤 [𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟑]

3: Late bloomer.

I rolled my eyes for the bazillionth time on this short drive.

Peter was awfully quiet but Ned had made sure to fill in the silence with all sorts of questions. Like shower thoughts questions; I lay in bed, unable to sleep, kinda questions.

"I've always wondered; can you make a guy explode by making a force field inside him?" He asked and even Peter turned with his face scrunched up.

"DUDE!!" We both yelled at him.

"Sorry, sorry!" He apologised, and it was quiet for a few more seconds before he started again.

"How about squeezing the life out of him? You can do that right?" Peter turned to him with a glare.

"Why do you have so many ridiculous ideas?" Peter asked, and Ned shrugged before asking again.

"So, I read this fanfiction online and I've read a lot of fanfictions, but it got me thinking, are you and Captain America a thing? Because that would be so cool. Technically, he's in his early thirties, and you're in your mid-twenties, and you both look so good together. Are you secretly dating and you don't want the press to know about it?"

I screeched to a halt in front of the large house that was booming with people, I could feel the vibration of the loud music from here.

"Wow, we're here. That was so fast." I said with a fake smile on my face before turning to Peter.

"High school house party in the suburbs. Oh, I've never been to one of those. Kind of jealous." I teased Peter but he didn't respond.

"It'll be a night to remember." Ned said, and I turned to him.

"Nice hat. It suits you." I complimented him.

"Yeah, it gives me confidence." He replied with a smile.

"This is a mistake. Hey, let's just go home." Peter finally spoke, turning to me.

"Oh, Peter." I groaned. "I didn't want to do this but May said it was a direct order."

I could see the confusion on his face so I cleared my throat, mentally preparing.

"I know it's really hard trying to fit in with all the changes your body's going through. It's growing now, May said you're a late bloomer and it's fine. It's completely normal to undergo these changes—"

"Lis! Stop!! Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'm gonna go now so you can stop scarring both of us."

"You look stressed. Does he look stressed to you, Ned?" I asked Ned, to embarrass him further.

"What helps with stress is going to a party. We should go to the party." Ned answered.

"Yeah, let's do it. Yeah. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go." Peter responded, pumping himself up. He opened the door, and I called out to him.

"Peter." He turned and looked at me through the window.

"Have fun, okay? For both of us." I told him and he nodded.

"I will." He responded, and I nodded.

"Okay. Love you!" I called out to him and he rolled his eyes, backing away.

"Yeah, whatever. Bye, Lis!" He waved me off as he pulled Ned away.

I watched them walk away for a few more seconds before zooming away from the quiet neighbourhood.

🎊🎉🎈

"It's nice of you guys to finally check up on me." I said sarcastically into the phone.

"We had to be careful, Lis." She responded, and I heard shuffling in the background.

"Yeah. Are you guys okay? Is everyone fine?" I asked, letting my worry out.

"Yeah. We're fine. We've been better but it'll be better." She answered honestly and I sighed.

"What about Liv? How is she holding up?" I asked.

"She's fine. She was hurt at first but I think she was more worried than hurt. But now she's fine, she looks forward to seeing you." She responded.

"Sam and the twins?" I asked as I tugged on a loose thread on my throw pillow.

"They're good." She answered.

"I–uh, I spoke to dad and uh, he said he'll talk to Ross. I'm not trying to give you false hopes but he said he was going to try. Do you think you guys can make it here? I want to see Liv too, she—"

"Lis. You didn't ask about him." She said softly.

"Really? I didn't notice. Um, I was saying something about Li—"

"He's worried about you too, you know. I know he's sorry for whatever happened in Siberia. They didn't tell us what happened. You guys have to talk about this." She told me.

"There's nothing to talk about Nat, nothing needs to be said." I responded.

"Denying it doesn't make it better. Trust me, whether you deny it or not, it doesn't change the fact that he's your best friend and that he's also a part of your family. Family is forever, no matter what." She replied, and I rolled my eyes, ignoring the little sting.

"Since when did you get all smart and wise, Agent Romanoff?" I teased.

"It comes with the job, I guess. But seriously Lis, you guys should talk about this and clear the air." She said and I begrudgingly nodded, even though she can't see me.

"Whatever. I am serious about wanting to meet Liv though. I don't feel comfortable with her being on the run with us, she should get to live a normal life and I have something in mind." I told her and she hummef.

"We'll do something about it. We'll get back to you later." She said and I heard a loud crash followed by a small click of what I'm guessing was Nat's gun.

"I have to go. I'll get in touch with you later." She cut the call as I fell back into the bed, rubbing my temple.

I stayed like that, thinking about everything and nothing till I eventually slept off.

📞📞📞

I drove back to May and Peter's apartment as early as four-thirty AM. I'd woken up around two when it suddenly occurred to me that I was alone in my condo.

Only that thought was enough to drive the short sleep away from my eyes.

I cleaned the place to pass time because it would be irrational of me to drive to theirs as early as two.

When I got there, May was already awake and sipping on her coffee, a book in hand and glasses on the bridge of her nose. She looked up at me with a soft smile as I dropped my keys on the table.

"There's hot chocolate in the kitchen, along with pizza, if Peter didn't finish it." She said softly.

I opened my mouth to thank her, but all that came out was a yawn, and she smiled softly.

"I'm gonna hit the bed for like five minutes." I told her and she nodded knowingly.
"It's just five minutes." I repeated as I made my way into our room.

I stepped over the discarded clothes and books, climbing up to my bed, but not before I ruffled Peter's hair. I kicked off my shoes adding to the pile on the floor.

"Five minutes." I muttered as my head hit the pillow, and in a few seconds, I was out like light.