Havoc

VIII

Okay I'm exhausted, but I am a woman of my words. It's shorter than usual, but it's here.

When Parker woke up, she didn't know what to think. Should she be upset that Wanda left? Whatever the answer, she was. Although the two hadn't known each other very long, Parker thought the girl would have left a note at the very least. She didn't take Wanda as the type to hitch and ditch- not that they had hitched.
Getting off of the sofa, Parker began to tidy up the living room, returning cups to the kitchen and blankets to the linen closet. As she passed, she gave Sirius a quick scratch behind the ear, promising him food as soon as possible. Parker's head ached slightly from the wine, but she knew it would pass soon. When she went to the kitchen to put the final dish away, she stopped. Turning to the left, she noticed that her coffee pot was half full; despite the absence of a note, Wanda had the decency to brew up some coffee for Parker to wake up to. Interesting.
Flicking her hand, Parker used her abilities to pour herself a cup of coffee as she put the plate she was holding in the dishwasher. When she was done with that, she got Sirius the chow she promised earlier, and settled on the couch to watch whatever was on at the moment.
   As she was flicking through the channels, an image of herself caught Parker's eye. Her combative form was being shown in the corner of the television screen as Steve Rogers stood at a podium.
   "-has been a grave mistake on our part. Havoc is not the villain." Steve's announcement was followed by gasps and camera flashes from the reporters. "The person guilty of causing the explosion at Rockefeller Center is actually a man by the name of Magneto. Havoc was there in an attempt to help her friend, and had suited up to do so. Magneto had fled the scene before we arrived, leaving us to draw the conclusion that Havoc was responsible for the destruction."
Parker watched the speech, her eyes wide. It was really happening. Her innocence was being broadcasted all over the world.
"For the time being, Havoc has requested that her true identity remain a secret until the dust has settled. Until then, we will be in private contact with her as we try to make up for the mistake that S.H.I.E.L.D. has made." Steve finished, stepping back from the podium. The screen cut back a brunette reporter, who began talking about the speech, but Parker couldn't hear her.
She leaned back on the sofa, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she tried to process what she had just witnessed. She was free.
Parker didn't realize she was crying until Sirius jumped onto the couch and jolted her out of her trance. She immediately turned to her dog and hugged him, her shoulders shaking as she cried. Sirius was confused, but he licked his owner's face in an attempt to cheer her up.
   The moment was broken up as Parker's cell phone rang, and she jumped up to answer it. She didn't check the caller ID as she accepted.
   "Parker Williams speaking, how may I help you?"
   "Hello Parker, it's Tony Stark."
   Parker paused for a moment before responding with a simple "Hi."
   "I assume you've seen the news?" Tony asked.
   "I have." Parker said, not sure where this conversation was going.
   "Great. When throughout the week are you available to discuss the...reconciliations?"
   "Uh, I'm available at six thirty today, and that's it for this week." Parker said, taking a glance at her calendar. "I have work obligations upstate for five days starting tomorrow."
   There was a but of muttering from the other end before Tony sighed and said, "That'll have to work. I'll send a car to your apartment at six forty."
   "Alright?"
   "Great, goodbye."
   Tony hung up before Parker good say anything else. The girl stared at her screen for some time before shaking her head, and walking to her bedroom to get ready to see her sister.

   When Parker stepped out of her room, she was wearing black skinny jeans and a loose, mustard yellow tee, her hair tied uo in a ponytail. The heeled boots she was wearing lifted her up a good three or four inches. Rather than carrying her usual backpack, she shoved her wallet and phone into a small black purse.
   Saying goodbye to Sirius, Parker left the apartment, taking the elevator for once. As usual, she waved to Samantha before exiting the complex and walking down the street.

   Ten minutes later, she arrived at the Japanese restaurant where she was meeting Hunter. Her sister stood at the door, wearing a maroon off-the-shoukder dress, and what she and Parker referred to as "lipstick lesbian boots".
   Parker greeted Hunter, who was quick to yank her into a hug.
   "Yikes, okay." Parker laughed as Hunter practically strangled her to death.
   Her sister pulled away, tossing her long blonde locks over her shoulder and grinning. "Sorry, Park."
   "Yeah I bet you are." Parker eyes narrowed with humor. "Shall we?" She asked, stepping aside and pulling the door open for Hunter.
   "We shall."
   They walked to the host, letting him know they had reservations beneath the name Williams. He lead them upstairs to their table, leaving them menus and a list of that day's specials.
   "Your waiter will be with you shortly." He smiled and left.
   Parker and Hunter took the bext fee moments to check out the view from the window next to their table. There was a grand view of downtown, and Parker nearly huffed when she saw the park in which she was cornered the day before.
   It wasn't long before a waitress arrived, saying her name was Adah. She took their drink orders, then asked if they were ready to order. Since they knew what they were getting, they told her, and watched as she left, taking their menus with her.
   An awkward silence fell over Parker and Hunter as they waited, trying to think if something to say to the other. They hadn't seen each other in a year, despite living in neighboring cities. And because Parker rarely made calls or sent texts that weren't business related, they had hardly spoken at all during that time.
   "So how's skating?" asked Parker, finally breaking the silence.
   Hunter was a figure skater, and a very good one at that. No one knew where she got the skill since their family had never been skilled in that field. During her early teen years, Parker used to tease Hunter about it, claiming the younger girl was adopted. That statement landed Parker in trouble more times than she could count.
   "It's alright." Hunter responded adter a moment of thought. "The college wants to send us to Canada for a competition, so that's pretty cool."
   Parker nodded approvingly, and was going to answer but was cut off by Adah returning with their meals. After making sure they needed nothing else, she left.
   Parker was about to take a bite of her katsu chicken when Hunter asked her a question that nearly made her drop her chopsticks.
   "So when are you coming back home?"

And there it is! We get to see a bit of Parker and Hunter's relationship in this one. Sorry 'bout the cliffhanger, originally I was gonna write until Park s meeting with Tony, but I'm dead on my feet. So unfortunately we'll just have to wait until later today (it's 12:24am) to see why Parker was so thrown off >:)

Love,
Penelope