In Loving Memory [A Marvel Cinematic Universe Fanfiction] *Discontinued*

The Little Things

Peter and some of his classmates left for the trip to Europe late last night. I'm glad Peter's going because he needs this break. He needs a break from Spider-Man and the Avengers and Tony. He needs a distraction and hopefully, the Europe trip will help him with that. Hopefully he won't chicken out of his plan with MJ, and it'll make him happier. I know it will.
...
"Good morning," Harley says to me, his eyes still closed.
"How did you know i was awake?" I ask, scootching a little bit closer to him. He drapes an arm over the blanket on top of me and pulls me in even closer.
"You stopped snoring," he says with a smile. He finally opens his beautiful blue eyes.
"I do not snore!" I say, bringing an arm up inbetween us and wrapping it around him.
"Yes you do," he says, laughing a little. "It's like a lawn mower."
"Idiot," i say, resting my head against his chest. His warm skin feels nice on my cheek.
"Moron," he replies, his hand gently sliding up and down my back. I think i could stay here in bed all day with him, but i have to get up eventually. Besides, i'm starving.
"Come on," i say as i sit up, making sure i'm covered by the sheets. I look down on the floor to see if i can find my clothes from last night. Hopefully they're close enough that i can get then without getting out of the bed.
"No, stay," He grabs me around the waist and pulls me back against him. He pulls my hair back, exposing my neck.
"No, we have to get up," i say, crawling back to the edge of my bed.
"If we must," he flips over, getting straight out of the bed.
I lean over the edge and move my hand around until it touches fabric. My shirt.
I pull it over my head and slip out of the bed to the floor. My underwear is near the wall, so i stretch my leg to it and pull it back. The second it's close enough, i grab them, slip them on, and stand up.
"So, what do you want for breakfast?" Harley asks as i make my way to my closet.
"I don't know," i say, closing the closet door behind me.
"Do you want to go out?" He asks next to the door.
"Sure," i sift through my clothes on the hangers, settling on a My Chemical Romance t-shirt and jeans. I pull the shirt fron them floor off and start getting dressed.
"Where?"
"I have no idea, just get dressed," i slip on the t-shirt and pull up the jeans, then grab a pair of socks and sketchers.
"Finally," Harley says as i open the closet door.
"I did not take that long."
"Yeah, but you will with your make-up and hair."
"No i won't," i walk into the bathroom and grab the eyeshadow pallet, settling on a single natural color with mascara.
After doing my make-up, i pull my hair back in a half up, half down ponytail.
"See? Didn't take that long," i smile at Harley and plant a quick kiss on his cheek. Before i can walk past him, he catches me and turns me to face him.
"I love you," he says, leaning down to kiss me.
"I love you, too," i say after we part, then hold him close and rest my cheek on his shoulder. He turns his head and kisses trhe top of mine, and like the dozens of other times it's just been us, everythung goes still and is perfect for a few stolen moments.
...
Harley and i walk hand in hand to the cut little breakfast place we found a couole months ago. It's right on the edge of the city, close enough for us to drive across the river, park, and walk the few blocks there. It's a little place called Weston's Nook, serving breakfast and lunch 8:00 am - 2:00 pm.
It's not a big place by any means, but not cramped. It's very homey. It kind of reminds me of the grandma's house i never went to.
"How are you two kids this morning?" Mrs. Weston asks as we approach the counter.
"Good. And you?" I reply, giving her a small smile.
"Oh, you know. Getting old," she smiles at me and her wrinkled skin stretches. She's almost 80, but said she wouldn't stop cooking till her old heart gave out. "What can i get you today?" She asks politely.
"I think i'll--" i stop mid sentence when i see what's on the TV.
"This just in: a water monster of sorts creating chaos in Venice, Italy," the woman on the screen says. Mrs. Weston has a small little TV from the 90's on a corner shelf back behind the corner.
"What's wrong?" Harley asks, but i shush him.
Pictures flash on the screen. It looks like a giant wave with arms erupted out of the water, crushing everything on the land. They show a picture of somethung fkying in, a weird green fog in it's trail.
"An unknown being has entered the scene, attempting to fight the monster," the news lady continues.
"That's where Peter is," i say, my eyes wide with fear, turning back for only a second to Harley.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weston, i have to go," i say, turning back to leave the room.
I hear Harley say something i can't quite hear before he follows me out.
"Frankie, what are you gonna do, fly there? That'll take hours!" Harley follows me as i jog down the sidewalk to the parking lot. The sun shines through the space where the road seperates the rows of buildings.
"I have to do something!" I shout back, pressing the button on the stoplight, letting it know i need to cross. "Come on, hurry up," i mutter under my breath.
"Frankie, you've got to calm down," he says, catching up to me and putting his hands on my upper arms.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" I yell, turning so his hands slip off of me. I whip back around. "Fuck it, it's taking too long," i start to walk right into the street as cars are crossing, but Harley pulls me back before i can.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" He shakes his head and looks back to me. "I know you care about Peter, but he can handle himself well."
"Did you see that thing?" I retort. "It is mad eof water! He can't kick it or punch it or fucking web it up! It will drown him!"
"If he doesn't have the common sense to get the hell out of the way, then yes, it will," Harley jokes.
"You're not helping!" I yell. Tears of anger start to flood my eyes.
"Look, i know you really care about him, but you're getting a little overprotective," Harley takes my hands and squeezes them a bit, planting a kiss on my forehead.
"I am not being overprotective," i grumble.
"Like a mother hen, you are."
"I just...i really care about him."
"I know you love him, you can say it."
I lift my head to meet his eyes. "I mean, yeah, i do."
Just then, my phone vibrates in my pocket and starts ringing, playing the rock tone i set to it.
"I am not afraid to keepeo on living! I am not afraid to walk this world alone!" Gerard Way sings from my phone.
"Huh, no caller id," i mutter to myself, answering it anyways.
"Frankie Grant," a deep voice says on the other line.
"Who is this?" I ask. "How do you know my name?"
"I know a lot more about you than you'd like," the man says. A chill rolls down my spine.
"Who are you?" I repeat.
"Nick Fury," the man says.
"What do you want?" I ask.
"You nees to go to the Avengers Compound right now. There will be a SHEILD agent there to take you to Venice."
"Is it that bad?" I ask quieter.
"Your friend Mr. Parker seems to need your help," He says. And that's all he needed to say. "There's a situation here that turned South quick. I'll fill you in when you get there."
"Ok, i'm on my way," i say.
"Come on," i don't turn to Harley when i say it to him.
"What's going on?" He asks, concern in his voice.
"Apparently i'm going to Venice," i say, taking his hand and dragging him across the street. Luckily, the light was red and we could walk through without getting hit by a car. The lights on the other 2 crosswalks were red, too, letting us get to the car without any stops.
"Who called you?" Harley asks as we get into the car. The same car i had my first kiss in all those months ago.
"Nick Fury," i say, buckling my seat belt.
"The Nick Fury? Head of SHEILD?" He exclaims.
"That's the one," i say. "Let's go!"
"What did he want?" He asks, starting the car and backing out of the parking spot.
"He wants me to help in Venice," i say, tapping my fingers anxiously on my legs. He slides one of his hands across to me, taking my tapping hand in his.
I lace my fingers with his, a small calming feeling spreading through my chest like a warm drink.
"With the water monster?" He asks in a calm voice, but i can tell he's worried for me.
"Yeah, i guess."
"How bad is it?"
"I don't know, he said he'd fill me in when i get there."
Harley moves his thumb in circles against my hand, trying to calm me down, but it doesn't help much.
...
I stuff clothes in a bag, not even glancing to see what i pack. I know it was a couple t-shirts and 2 or 3 pairs of jeans, but i have no idea which ones. I don't know how long i'll be there, but o can't go with nothing.
"Is it really that big of an emergency?" Harley asks, sitting on my unmade bed.
"To me, yes," i take the bag and run into the bathroom, packing a brush, ponytails, toothbrush, toothpaste; things like that.
"Why? That green dude with the cape seemed to handle it just fine," Harley stands up from the bed and walks into the bathroom, looking at me in the mirror.
"You know i have trust issues, especially when it comes to the people i care about," I say, zipping up the bag and walking past him out of the bathroom. He follows me out.
"Yeah, i know that, but the water monster is dead," he says as i storm into the closet to grab the jacket that used to belong to Natasha. Bucky found it in Steve's apartment after Steve died.
"Why would they call me in if there was nothing else to worry about?" I ask rhetorically. "There's something going on, i just don't know what it is, but they'll tell me when i get there.
I slip on the jacket and grab my bag, about to head out of the door, but Harley grabs my arm and stops me.
"Are you seriously about to leave to go across the world to fight monsters without saying goodbye?" He pulls me closer to him and kisses me softly before saying "I love you. Stay safe."
"I love you, too," i say back. I can't help but smile just a little bit. "And i will."
We hug tightly for a few seconds before letting go.
"I mean it, be careful," he says, following me out of the room.
"I will, i swear!" I shout down the hall as i start to run to the SHEILD portion of the building, toward the plane that will fly me to Peter.
...
The plane is not at all what i was expecting. I knew SHEILD was like a military of undercover spies or something like that, but damn. I thought it was just going to be me on the plane, but there are dozens of people on it, walking and running around, some dressed in all black, some in buisness casual. Some of them recognize me. They do one of two things: Thank me for helping bring everyone back or see me, then avoid my glance and walk faster.
I sit towards the back, strapped into a chair against a wall. There is one giant table going down the middle of the ship seperated into 4 sections, each with it's own group of holograms. One of them i could tell was about search and rescue, one about the water monster, one the other two, i can't tell what they're about.
It's about a 4 hour flight and by the time we get across the Atlantic, the sun is setting. Not that the plane has windows, i can just see it through the screens showing what's outside of the ship. The sky bursts in streaks of orange and purple. I remember a time i was watching the sunset with Harley. It was a few days after i had figured out whay the visions meant, and i wanted to do all the things i wouldn't get the chance to do, soon.
Within a few minutes, the brilliant colors of the sunset fade into blue, and get darker and darker as we fly over Europe to Italy.
When we get to Italy, the sky is a deep, dark blue. Almost black, but not quite. I've taken to noticing the little things like this. The little things i'm going to miss.
"Landing in 10!" A woman shouts from across the plane, to which people respond with grumbles of aknowledgement, then turn back to what they were doing. The ship is earsplittlingly loud, dozens of different conversations going on at the smae time. People stare at holograms, type on computers, and talking to people on phones. It's like a 4 hour long shark feeding frenzy.
...
"Miss Grant," a woman says as i am led into an underground room with dozens of computers and people dressed in black, walking and talking like the people on the plane. "Glad you could join us."
"Who are you?" I ask, making my way to the center of the room where the woman is standing at a table, looking from a tablet to the holograms on the table.
"Maria Hill," she says glancing at me, then putting the tablet on the table. "Fury should be here soon." She starts gesturing to people around the room. "That't Dimitri," she points to a man that reminds me of a goblin. He has a thick black beard and long hair pulled back into a ponytail. "Drew-- Drew!" She moves over to a man with blond hair. "We talked about this!"
"Sorry, Hill," he says, clicking something on the mouse and the screen changes to somethubg with the SHEILD logo on it. As soon as Maria Hill turns awayb he moves the mouse and changes the screen back to what looks like an old arcade game.
"We call him Galaga, since he's always playing it when he's supposed to be working," Hill walks back to the table, then gestures to a man across the room, who makes his way to the table in the center.
Impulsively, i take a few steps back from him, my heart hammering.
I know those eyes, i know that face.
It's the man from my visions.
The man i see just before i die.