Lieutenant - Daughter of the Captain

Chapter 58.0 - Here

"Carter? Did you hear me? Are you okay, did someone hurt you?"

Carter just stared blankly at Peter, tears shining on her face, seemingly frozen in shock.

Peter's heart raced in his chest, even as his senses seemed to calm slowly.

He scanned what he could see of her body, looking for injuries, and then his eyes moved around the areas of the apartment he could see. Nothing seemed out of place, and the fact that he couldn't hear anyone else left little clues as to what could've triggered Carter's episode.

Then he saw the phone laying on the floor, the screen open to a contact page.

"You were on the phone..." Peter looked back up at her, as she finally seemed to blink out of her stupor, "What did Mr. Stark have to say? Is everything okay?"

She was looking at the phone as if she had forgotten it was there, and slowly, she looked up at him.

"Peter..." Her voice was raw, and she coughed to clear her throat, "...Can I ask you something?"

He nodded, nerves settling in his chest.

"Tony didn't...he didn't ask you to talk to me...did he?"

Peter blinked.

"What?" He frowned at her, earning an exasperated sigh in response. Her expression was almost rawer than her voice, and tears still occasionally fell down her cheeks.

She looked...afraid.

"He didn't ask you to, talk to me? Show me around? You know..." She trailed off, fidgeting with her hands and dropping her gaze to her phone again.

And then it clicked.

"You think he asked me to be your friend?"

Her head snapped up, and her eyes were wide. The truth shone in their blue-green depths, and the desperation there startled him.

"Did he?"

Peter's brows furrowed further.

"No, why would you think that?" He asked, slipping his leg out from under him and going cross-legged.

Her body sagged with relief, but her tears just came faster at his answer.

Panic struck him, and he scooted closer to her almost instinctively as his senses picked up on her's.

"Hey- woah, Carter, it's okay. I hope I didn't uh- make you feel that way? Did I do something to...hurt your feelings? Did I say something-"

"Peter..." She interrupted him, and he realized she probably didn't know he'd been talking. She sat there, wiping her tears. She looked exhausted. Emotionally drained, despite how much she seemed to overflow with them.

He placed a hand on her knee, slowly, and carefully.

She didn't flinch at the contact.

Her eyes found his again.

"What did I do?" He asked, hoping the answer was nothing. Hoping she'd rant about Mr. Stark again. That maybe he was the one to blame. Or maybe it was news about Steve Rogers, that Mr. Stark had delivered.

Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You're here..." She whispered, a sob following in her word's tracks.

He frowned, and followed her gaze back down to her phone.

Pepper:

[ Carter, Tony said you hung up on him, feel free to call me if you need to. We're going to bed, but I'll leave my ringer on. Please don't be too mad at him, and please don't do anything rash...]