Make Me. ~ T.Stark

twenty six

"Flowers grow back, even after they are stepped on. So will you."

Aphrodite Harper.

"So, what happened to your parents, Miss Harper?" Peter asked, twiddling his thumbs in the backseat.

For the last twenty minutes, Peter had his phone connected to the car, and he was playing Taylor Swift on Bluetooth.

When his phone died, he was more than eager to make conversation.

Tony heard Peter ask about my parents, and he looked at me expectantly.

We'd never talked about my parents.

"They're both dead." I said, looking at the road, making Peter gasp.

Tony turned his attention back to the road, but placed his hand on my thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze and leaving it there.

"I'm sorry." Peter sighed, looking between Tony and I.

"Mine are too." He said, and I nodded.

"I guess we all have something in common, huh boys?" I asked, scoffing, but I had a tiny smile on my face.

Gotta find humour in bad situations.

They stayed silent, and I looked back at Peter.

"I know you're wondering what happened to them. I could tell you, if you'd like." I said, and Peter nodded, twiddling his thumbs again.

"If it's not too much for you to talk about?" He asked, and I shrugged.

"I had a great upbringing. My parents were happily married, and I was an only child, so I spent a lot of time with them. I was with my father when I figured out I was a firebender, and I was with my mother when I learnt that I was an earth bender." I said, and Tony started rubbing circles into my thigh with him thumbs to soothe me, as Peter nodded for me to continue.

"When I was sixteen, I was going on a roadtrip with them, but a hurricane hit us while we were driving. I tried to push the air away, but I was too inexperienced. I didn't know how to deter the wind, not wind that strong. My mother yelled at me to jump out of the car, and I did. I held onto the stump of a tree until it passed. When I opened my eyes, the car was gone." I said, and Peter gasped, while Tony looked upset.

"I searched for them for hours. The town we were driving passed at the time helped the search. We eventually found my father's body. I couldn't find my mother, but I haven't seen her since." I finished, and turned back to Peter to see him looking upset.

I placed my hand on Tony's, and he interlocked our fingers.

"I'm so sorry." Peter said, and I smiled at him.

"It's okay. It was a long time ago."

"What did you do after? Where did you go?" He asked, and I smiled to myself.

"Since I was only sixteen, I moved in with my friend Beth. Her parents were kind enough to take me in, and I lived with them until I could move out on my own. I eventually bought a place with my boyfriend at the time, when I was twenty one." I said, smiling at the thought of Beth, but scoffing at the thought of Danny.

"I moved out shortly after my twenty fifth birthday, when this Avengers stuff happened. Now I live with Tony." I finished my story, and Peter grinned, looking between the two of us as Tony continued rubbing small circles on my thigh delicately.

"Have you ever met her old boyfriend, Mr Stark?" Peter asked, and Tony stiffened.

"Yeah, kid. He sucked."