"Don't worry, sweetheart," Teague gently touches my face and smiles, "It will only hurt you for a moment." He snatches my wrist and I whimper trying to pull away "If you ever run away from us again, I will do more than cut your little face."
Mr Brock picks me up and I call out for the Dr but he locked the door "Don't let her out for 12 days."
I jerk upwards. The Doctor's face slowly fades out of my mind as I look outside. It's almost morning. "Mila?" Dad opens the door "What happened?" The same thing that happens every night. Dad sits on my bed "Are you okay?"
He doesn't know about that room. I never told him. I look at him and shake my head "I thought he was in my room. I could see him watching me sleep," Dad holds my hand, "I was so scared."
He pulls me into his arms and kisses my cheek "I'm sorry Mil." I hug him back and wipe my eyes. I don't like crying in front of my dad, he gets really upset.
I pull back and sigh "I'm fine, dad. It's just a lot to get over."
Dad nods and pushes the hair from my face, "I know kiddo. I'm sorry we didn't leave earlier."
"Please don't blame yourself," I whisper "You've done a lot for me dad." He smiles "You're a good dude." He laughs and I smile softly. I lean on his shoulder and peer down at my lap. His arm is too cold "Have they finished the arm yet?"
"Not yet."
"I saw Tony working on one a couple of days ago, so they might be getting close."
Dad shrugs "Don't worry about me, Mil," He smiles again "I'm doing great. We're both going to be fine," I nod. He's been saying that for a long time now. He's half right. Dad kissed my head again "Alright. I'm making waffles let's eat."
I pick up my hoodie and follow dad to the kitchen. I go through the first-aid kit and found the bandages. After fixing up my cuts and bruises, I sit on the bench and pick at the growing pile of waffles. I shrug "Sonny still makes the best waffles in the world."
Dad laughs "I taught him."
"He's still better," I smile "I miss that motel sometimes. Especially the drug dealer two doors away from us."
Dad nods slowly, ignoring my last comment "Me too. This is better for us, Mila, the toilet works," I snicker and he laughed again. I pick up the waffles and we sit on the balcony. I throw a piece of waffle into the air and catch it with my mouth.
He tries to outdo me and ends up falling out of his car. I laugh at him and flick the strawberry at his head. He's right, this place is a lot cooler. Dad turns to me "I'm not going anywhere today. You're stuck with me."
"Shit, really?"
"Language, Mila," I roll my eyes "And yeah, really." I smile at him, "It's your turn to do the dishes." I groan but pick up the plates.
"Can't the robot guy do this?"
"Jarvis doesn't work in here, Tony turned it off after you asked him to play Tom Jones for 12 hours straight." I found out how much Tony hates his music, so I had to show him how much I cared by repeating the same three songs over and over.
I roll my eyes and take dad's plate to the kitchen. I glance up to the windows and peer at the city. He's right, the motel wasn't home for us. I can still miss it. I place the dishes beside me as dad comes back inside "Can we punch someone?" I ask dad.
"No. Remember your promise?"
"I was five when I made that promise. I also promised I wouldn't ever get a boyfriend--"
"That was a pinky promise, you can't break that," Dad mumbles as he kisses my head, "If you do, I will shoot your boyfriend." I roll my eyes "Let's find Steve instead."
Dad flinches and grabs the metal arm suddenly "Are you okay?"
He takes a deep breath, then nodded "Yeah. I'm fine."
"Does it still hurt?" He nods again and slowly pulls his hand off the arm.
"Sometimes," He looks at me for a moment then forced himself to smile "See? I'm fine." When dad first showed the arm to Steve and Tony, it was really scary. The metal was digging into his skin, and it looked like his skin was burned.
They spent a few days trying to fix it, but the only real solution is to get rid of it and start again. I think dad is afraid of the surgery.
-
Natasha lifts dad up over her head, then flips him onto his back. I add another streak to the board and look at them again. Steve shakes his head "Bucky she's half your size," Dad glares at Steve, about to yell at him before he fell to the floor again, Natasha proudly keeping him down to the floor.
I add another streak "Mila, lose the board."
"Weren't you in the army dad?" I smirk.
He stood up again and taps Natasha's arm "I'm out," He comes out of the ring.
"Natasha is a lot better than you, dad," I say pointing at the board.
"I am," She smiles.
Dad points at me "Shut it," The chalkboard doesn't lie. When dad and Steve left, I got into the ring with Nat. She holds up her hands and let me punch them.
"How's Milano today?"
"That is not my name," I punch her hand again "I'm less bored than I was an hour ago." I punch her hands harder "Can we watch a movie tonight?"
"Can't kiddo, Laura's making a roast and I plan to eat all of it." I wanted to smile, but for some reason, her comment annoyed me. I wish I could leave and eat roast dinners with Clint's family.
Natasha holds my hands before I could hit her again "What just happened? You were happy before."
"I wish I could get like you guys do. This place isn't fun for me."
Natasha lowers her hands and holds my face gently "Mila," She forced a smile which made me frown more "Everything is going to be okay. You're so much better than you were when you first came here."
"Then why can't I leave!" I shout, taking a step away from her
"The last time you went outside, you had a seizure and didn't wake up for a week--"
"Four years ago!" I freeze. I don't like fighting with Natasha. I get out of the ring "I'm going to find my dad," I throw the gloves against the floor and leave. Bruce and dad were standing in the middle of the room looking at a hologram...of me.
Bruce shrugged "It's the same thing," Bruce gestures the scan "You said when Mila was young, she was always moving, running, jumping, constantly, right?" Dad nods slowly. I get closer to them, but stay hidden "Of course she won't sit down. She is built to run for hours and not ever get tired. He wanted people who were born soldiers."
A hologram of Steve appears "It's almost the same, except Mila's has been altered to her. He tried to add more into it, but she escaped."
I stand back "Dad?" I watch them get rid of the scan as I come in. I look at them and then smile "What's for dinner?"
Bruce looks at my dad and he faces me "Um, I don't know. Whatever you want. I'll meet you downstairs," I nod and take the stairs. I lean against the wall and look up at the door I came from, then the apartment door.
Why are they hiding that from me?
