𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐅𝐓 (X-Men ~ Peter Maximoff)

Father Figure is a Sociopath, Part Three (But Who's Counting?)

Jennifer Jones had almost perfected the craft of being okay, or more accurately, pretending to be.

She would smile and laugh as if everything was normal, she'd grin at jokes and convince everyone that her wellbeing was perfectly intact. Even Peter struggled to see through her act, to determine her true emotions, and that was for one particular reason - they were buried deep, deep, then a little deeper, within Jennifer. The facade was just as much for her own sanity as it was for everyone else. As long as she kept herself distracted, she could believe her own lie of being okay.

So here she sat, buckled into the seat pressed against the side of the cabin, fingers interlaced with Peters, sat on her left. They engaged in a quiet conversation as the plane soared at four thousand miles an hour whilst chewing Peter's final pieces of gum. They'd already been flying for just over an hour, and with Hank's calculation that they'd be in Cairo with the next half hour, everyone was starting to realise the weight of the situation. The idea of going to fight a war was fine, the reality however, was far more disturbing.

Anyone could sprout a plan, agree to give their life for a cause, but as the day of reckoning dawned, there would be no nobility nor selflessness, only unbearable and uncontrollable fear. Jennifer distinctly remembered doing this twenty years ago. She remembered stepping onto Blackbird despite the consequences, and she distinctly recalled wondering why it all came down to that moment when she'd been preparing for it for weeks.

Part of her was tempted to make Jean, Scott and Kurt stay on the plane when they arrived. Keep them safe and far from the horrors of the world, let them keep their innocence for a few more years. But she couldn't, she had no right to stop them, and like it or not, they needed as many hands on deck as they could get.

The promise Jennifer made ten years ago was looping around her head, over and over and over.

"Just promise me, no more trips to save the world. Please."

"I promise."

And here she was. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Peter seemed to be thinking the same thing. He turned to face her, hand squeezing hers tightly. "We're doing this together. As long as I'm there I won't let anything happen to you, we'll be okay."

Despite it all, a small smile grew on her face. "You're gonna protect me?"

"Always."

Jennifer's smile spread across her entire face in pure joy. God, did she love him.

Seeing her smile genuinely, Peter found his face mirroring hers. He was fully aware she didn't need him to protect her, but she'd always let him. She was fully capable of taking care of herself, but she would never deny his helping hand. But he spoke the truth - he would do anything to protect her, and after almost losing her twice today, it had never been truer. Anything he could do to help, he would.

At the extended silence between the two, the entire plane descended into a stillness. Noticing the unusual quietness, even just from two people shutting up for a moment, Hank twisted in his seat in the cockpit, taking his eyes off the controls for a second to shout into the back of the plane, "I hope you two are keeping it PG back there!"

Blushes immediately rose to the pairs faces, despite that they'd done nothing more than profess their undying love for each other, so to speak. They subconsciously shifted an inch away from each other at Hank's words.

If they'd had the courage to lift their gazes from their laps in their embarrassment, they would've seen the row across from them, where Jean, Scott and Raven sat, trying to bite back on their laughter at the awkwardness of the pair. It was rather hilarious to see two engaged people be so in love and yet so mortified at being caught in a display of affection.