3rd POV
Peter sat on the floor of his room beside the window, engrossed in a copy of The Merchant of Venice. He was oblivious of the box lying on the kitchen table downstairs, containing his early years. A strong smell wafted up to his room, making his stomach growl greedily. Whatever it was, it smelled a little bit like the soup yesterday. It was earthy yet also... rich like the omelette he ate earlier. Perhaps cheese? Peter almost drooled over how amazing it was, momentarily forgetting his reading.
A light knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
"May I come in?" a voice he knew was Ms. Romanoff asked.
"Yes ma'am," he responded, quickly sitting up straight.
Natasha carefully opened the door and walked in with a tray balanced in one hand. On the tray were two bowls with different amounts of food. The food was orange-beige coloured with small half-circles. It was steaming and the orange-beige stuff looked kind of stringy. Romanoff set the tray down on the desk.
"We're going to eat dinner in here," she announced, taking the bowls and sitting next to Peter on the ground. Passing him his bowl, she informed him, "It's macaroni and cheese. But careful, it's hot. Let it cool off and then blow on it before you take a bite."
"Thank you, Ms. Romanoff." The teen set his book down and took the steaming bowl.
"No problem. Tell me, Peter, I assume you know the days of the week, right?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure what day it is today."
"It's Wednesday." Peter hummed in thanks and Nat continued, "Every Wednesday, Saturday, and Monday, you will be eating your meals in your room. You have permission––and are encouraged––to invite one of us to eat with you."
He nodded, not sure what to say, "Thank you."
They began eating in silence and Peter took tentative bites, unsure of it. However, he ended up absolutely loving the food and almost scarfing it down, to Nat's amusement. The two quietly watched as the sun dipped down the horizon.
"You like Shakespeare?" Romanoff smiled when she noticed the discarded copy of The Merchant of Venice.
Thinking he was in trouble for reading, he tried to think of something to say, "I'm sorry. FRIDAY told me that I could read and I just really like the books. I thought since it gave me permission I could–"
"Woah, woah, hold in there. You're not in trouble at all. It's good that you're reading. I like Shakespeare too. Do you have a favourite of his?" The older assassin turned to him.
"Well, I've only read nine of his works but I really like either A Winter's Tale or Hamlet. Romeo and Juliet is pretty good too," he replied, relaxing minutely at the thought of him not being in trouble.
Natasha looked intrigued, wanting to know more about this kid's few interests. "Why do you like them so much?"
"Because they're real. Aside from A Winter's Tale's ending... there are no happy endings, are there? Well, he doesn't often write happy endings, at least. Not for most of the ones I've read."
"Maybe there aren't." She let out a sigh and turned back to the cityscape. "I like As You Like It because of how unrealistic it is. It's a good escape."
"Yeah, it is," the brunette nodded in agreement and took a bite of his macaroni.
They continued talking about Shakespeare, discussing the plots and characters. The two happily found something other than assassination in common.
YOU ARE READING
PTR Arachnid 24601
FanfictionPTR Arachnid 24601, now known as Peter Parker, was stolen away from his parents at the young age of two. HYDRA kidnapped him, experimenting on him and turning him into an enhanced human assassin with abilities akin to a spider. Peter grew up surroun...
