2. A Love, a Father, and a Legacy (Peter Parker)

Chapter 24

"Sam, what are you doing?" I looked up to see Peter standing in my doorway.

"Packing." I nonchalantly answered him.

"Where are you going?"

"Haven't decided yet. Maybe California. Or maybe I'll go all the way to London."

Peter walked over and grabbed both my arms in his, moving my hands away from the clothes I was putting into a suitcase. "You can't run away."

"Why not? I'm not spending the rest of my life here. Maybe I can run away from both the Avengers and Hydra."

"You do know that by running away from the Avengers you're running away from me, right?" I could feel him looking at me but I was staring down at the suitcase on my bed, halfway packed. "Is running away really your best option?"

I finally looked at him. "It's my only option!" I sat down on the bed, Peter sitting down next to me.

We sat that way for a few seconds, neither of us saying anything.

Eventually, I asked him the question I had been wanting to ask him. "Do you agree with them?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think I'm better off locked up here?"

"I don't want to answer that."

I stood up and moved away from him. "So you do! You do think I should be locked up!"

"Hey," he stood up and came towards me, grabbing my hands in his. "I didn't say that. I just, I don't know. I don't want you hurt. And I definitely don't want you getting captured and being forced to work for Hydra. After everything you've been through, I don't think you should have to be locked up. But I think you might need to be. Maybe not necessarily on 24/7 lockdown, but being extra careful and always having one of us with you."

"So you don't think I can protect myself? Do you really think I'm that useless?"

"No, stop putting words in my mouth."

I pulled away from him and walked away. "No, it's fine. I get it. I'm a weak little girl who needs constant protection. Cause god forbid I be left alone, I might trip over and fall."

I leaned against my wall and started sliding down until I was sitting. I wrapped my arms around my legs and felt tears start to roll down my cheeks.

"Sam-"

"No, go, leave. I want to be alone." I didn't really want him to go, but I felt like he was just making me more upset.

"No, not until your not upset."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Fine." He sat down beside me. "Then we don't have to talk."

We sat like that for a few minutes before I heard his voice again. "You know I don't think you're weak and useless, right? You're like the strongest person I know."

I smiled to myself. "I thought I said no talking."

He laughed. "Fine, whatever you want." He wrapped his arm around me and I leaned my head against his shoulder.

I didn't really want to run away. I loved the life I had here, especially now that Peter was in it again. But I couldn't just stay inside for as long as Tony and Steve felt was needed. I had no idea what I was going to do.

* * *

I fell asleep after a few minutes of sitting there with Peter and we stayed like that for an hour before he had to go home to see Aunt May. I begged him to take me with him but he refused, claiming that if Tony found out he wouldn't ever let us see each other again. I felt that was a little extreme, even for Tony, but let him leave anyway. He promised me that he would continue to clean his wound and change his bandages. He also said he would bring me as many of his sweatshirts as I wanted.