✯⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏɴᴏʀ ᴏꜰ ᴡʜᴏ ⋆✯

✯-Ⓒ𝘏𝐀ᴾ𝑻eR 𝘖Ⓝe-✯

"But I'm wasting time! When I grow up, I know I can be one of the best Agents ever."

"Exactly, when you grow up," Dad said, tucking me into my blue bed sheets. "In case you've forgotten, you're still eight."

We were following our nightly routine. In between bath time and bedtime, I usually made a little room to start my begging. And per routine, he'd tell me to think about it a little more before I made my decision.

"The scary guy -with the creepy smile- said that if I start my training now, I could be a level 6 at graduation. That's the same level as yours!" I said excitedly, messing up the covers that my Dad had just tucked me into with great care.

My Dad smiled, and fixed my covers again. "That was a conversation between Dad and Secretary Pierce. Remind me that we need to have a talk about eavesdropping."

"I mean, you were talking about me, so I think it was a little okay," I reasoned.

He sat up from my desk chair and walked over to the bookshelf in my warmly lit room, then picked my favorite book up from the bookshelf.

"Okay, I know Captain America already has a shield, but I think that everyone should have one. But not all like his, because you know..." I explained, giving my head a little shake. He handed me a cup and my nightly vitamins, "people might get mistaken for Captain America, then you'd have to tell him he's dead, then they'd get sad."

He shook his head in understanding with a small chuckle, sitting down in my desk chair next to my bed.

"Vibranium is pretty hard to find though, where are you planning to get all of it?" He asked, and I took my vitamins while he picked the book back up and flipped it open.

"Well, they could make it out of metal, or... steel?" I said, out of breath from gulping down my water like I had been traveling the Sahara.

"That'd seem to be the best substitute," He grinned. He set a scarred hand on top of my brown curls, and gave them a little scrunch, "Great idea."

"You know what else is a good idea?" I said, keeping my eyes on my hands folded in my lap.

"Hmmm-" he took a look around at the mess of this afternoon's princess tea party scattered across my yellow rug. "For you to tidy your room?"

"No- I mean, probably, but no," I looked back at him with a grin.

"Meredith- I know it's your choice, but I'm your Dad," He said, grabbing my attention, "I want to keep you safe. You're just a kid, you don't really understand what a commitment this is. And how dangerous it can be."

"Dad. How many kids do you know can lift a couch above their head?"

"That's a good point," He said after thinking for a second.

"I know."

He looked at me with a little bit of sadness in his eyes, his hand rested on my knee as I waited patiently for him to say something. Anything. But mostly I hoped for a yes.

"Okay. I'll tell Fury that you want to start training, but-" He said, turning my joyed face sour, "Only for two weeks. If I think it's too much, or if you don't like it as much as you think you will, then we'll call it all off. I don't think you'll like it very much, it really sucks. They make you do crazy things, like paperwork and-"

I cut him off, throwing my arms around him immediately. He wrapped me up in a tight hug, squeezing a bit harder than normally.

We held each other for a while until he spoke again.