New Recruits

9 | peter!

El woke up the next morning with a blurry memory of what Nat had told her the night before. She jumped up quickly, causing her arm and leg to burn with pain. Her jumping up caused the rest of the girls to jump up quickly. 

"What's happening?" Hailey asked, whipping her head around. El said nothing and ran into the kitchen, though it was only a few feet away from the couch. The other girls groggily rubbed their eyes and tried processing what was going on. El's eyes darted around, and she looked for Nat. Almost everyone was in the kitchen, minding their own business and drinking coffee. 

"Is Peter back?" She exclaimed.

"Only if you want me to be," said a voice behind her. El gasped and turned.

"Peter!" She exclaimed, hugging him.

"Careful, careful!" Peter laughed, hugging her back. "I'm bruised." He looked down at her and saw she was crying. "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, don't cry." He laughed gently. El looked back up at him while smiling and crying.

"A-are you okay? S-should you even be here? Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" She asked.

"Moderately okay, just cuts and bruises." He smiled. El looked down and saw hit foot had a cast on it. Her eyes went wide and she looked up at him. "Oh, yeah. I - uh - broke my ankle."

"Oh my god," She mumbled.

"It's okay, I'm fine." He smiled. His eyes went wide when he saw her wrapped arm. She was wearing a tank top and the bandage on her arm was very visible. "I forgot you got shot." He mumbled.

"It doesn't matter." She said, putting an arm over it.

"Yes, it does."

They talked for longer while everyone watched and smiled while it looked like El and Peter forgot everyone else was there.

--

Later that day, Peter and El had to revisit the Hospital Ward together. El had to get her bandages changed and Peter had to get some more check-ups done. They were sitting on a hospital bed across from each other, with Peter's crutches leaning against the wall. Steve was changing El's bandages, since she didn't trust anyone else enough to have anyone else do it. They were both quiet for once. Suddenly, Lily ran into the room.

"PETEY!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, making Peter and El laugh. She sprinted towards the bed and jumped up, scrambling to where Peter and El were sitting.

"Lily!" He laughed, wrapping his arms around her.

"Where you go?" She asked.

"Oh, just away for a bit. But that doesn't matter. I missed you!" He smiled.

"I miss you!" She smiled, hugging him harder. She then pulled away, turning to El.

"You right! Petey came back soon!" Lily said, leaning over and hugging El.

--

That night around eleven, everyone had gone back to their rooms except for a few of the adults that sat in the living room. El had gone to her room and was sitting on her bed reading a book when she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in," She said, not taking her eyes off of her book. She heard the door open and heard crutches hitting the ground. She looked up to see Peter walking over to her bed.

"Hey," He smiled.

"Not tired?" She laughed.

"Not at all," Peter sat down on the bed. They sat in silence, El reading her book and Peter looking around the room. He hadn't been in here much, only to talk to her for a second or the time when she fell asleep and he had to carry her. She had white Christmas lights around her wall, with a picture of her and the girls hanging up. She had wanted to fill the wall with pictures of her and the other Avengers but still needed to print out the pictures. El's bed was pressed against the wall so she and Peter had their backs against the wall. She set her book down and put her head on Peter's shoulder, which took both of them by surprise. They remained quiet for a few minutes longer until El spoke.

"What happened there?" She mumbled.

"A lot. I was close to them injecting me with this green stuff, but then Mr. Stark found me. I think they were going to try and turn me into a 'Winter Soldier' kind of thing." He sighed, remembering what had happened.

"Steve said... He said they were gonna brainwash you," El mumbled. "I yelled at him. A lot," She said quietly. "Were there other people there with you?"

"No. At least not in the area I was in," He said. He then realized what else she had said. "Wait- you yelled at Steve?" He laughed.

"Yeah." El laughed slightly. "You're not freaking out about this. I mean, they broke your leg, they gave you a black eye, and hurt you. But you aren't traumatized or anything."

"I think it's because I've just been through so much. My parents dying, my ex-girlfriend's dad trying to kill me-"

"Wait. Your ex-girlfriend's dad tried to kill you?" El laughed.

"Well, she wasn't really my girlfriend. I asked her to a dance and that was pretty much it. He dropped me in a lake once before trying to kill me on a plane. And then a beach. It was a lot. He had this massive metal wing suit thing and called himself 'the Vulture'." Peter said, remembering the events of the previous year. El was laughing so hard she was close to tears.

"Shut up, El! I almost died - like - 7 times!" He exclaimed, pouting. El laughed harder. She was laughing so hard she couldn't even breathe.

"He, he, dropped you... In a lake?" She said in between laughs.

"Yes! And an Iron Man suit had to come to save me. Mr. Stark was in like, India or something." Peter said. El continued to laugh.

"An Iron Man suit?" El said, barely able to breathe.

"It's not funny!" Peter exclaimed, beginning to laugh.

"Yes, it is!" El laughed. "What happened to him?"

"His wings exploded on the Coney Island beach. And then he went to jail."

"They exploded?" El exclaimed.

"Uh huh,"

"What happened to the girl?"

"Moved to Oregon or something."

"Wow," El said. "What school do you go to?"

"Midtown Tech."

"That sounds cool. I'd like to go back to school at some point."

"You've never been?"

"Well, I've been to school. But I stopped going when my parents died. I've been doing online ever since."

"Oh, right. You and the girls used to live in an apartment, right?" Peter asked. El nodded. 

"We could only afford a two-bedroom apartment, so I roomed with De and Hailey roomed with Thalia. It was a pretty shit apartment, but hey, it was home." El smiled, remembering the fond memories of the girls in their old apartment. They had left everything behind there, their clothes, photos, and all of their belongings. Tony had had the girls go online and order clothes and decorations for their rooms the second day they had arrived, so they had a closet full of new clothes. 

"I know what you mean. Aunt May and I live in an apartment. It's pretty small, but Mr. Stark helped me renovate my room. And sometimes when May's job doesn't pay her enough, Mr. Stark helps pay for rent. It really helps." 

"So, you stay here in the summer?" El asked. 

"Yeah, I decided to stay here this summer to train and update my suit and everything, and during the school year I live in the apartment with May and come here on the weekends." He explained. They decided to watch another Star Wars movie, and continue their mission to watch all of them. 

"I love it here," De smiled. That night, they were in De's room, talking and hanging out. El had promised to go in there after the movie ended, and the girls knew it had to be ending soon. 

De's room had a very nice aesthetic. She had a black loft bed since she liked being higher up. In the open area of the loft bed, she had a Mac computer and some books stacked up. On one wall, there was a large window, just like in everyone else's room. There was nothing on the left wall yet, but on the right wall she had her bow and her quiver hanging up, along with a case that held her uniform. 

"I do too. I know I should miss our old lives, but I really don't. We actually have enough money and food and there's a heater here." Thalia smiled. 

"It's like our dreams."