Sunset Secret (Peter Parker x Reader)

Chapter 59

YOUR POV:
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I hand Eden a steaming mug, pulling out a tiny, fold-up table from the bedpost. "Nat always said that hot cocoa made everything better," I explain, going to the chair across from the foot of the bed and sitting down with my own mug.

"Who's Nat?"

I pause, biting my lower lip for a second. "She's... gone somewhere else for a while."

I smile a little bit, taking a sip of my chocolate to cover up my white lie. Eden seems to accept it, nodding and looking down at her fingers. I spin around in my chair, pointing at the wall behind my desk, "You see that drawing?"

I can sense Eden lift her head to look at the piece of paper, and I continue, "You wanna know who gave it to me?"

"Yeah."

"A god."

"No way."

"Yes way," I laugh, pushing my chair so that I can look at both the wall and her at the same time.

"How would a god give that to you?"

I chuckle, "Thor, the God of Thunder, gave that to me."

"YOU KNOW THOR?!"

I raise an eyebrow at her, "Well, someone's fangirling." She blushes, looking down again, "I- I mean, he-" "I'm just joking around, don't worry."

She relaxes, and I turn back to the drawing. "He wanted to describe his brother to me and decided to draw it out. I was ten at the time and managed to find some crayons, which he found incredibly interesting," I pause as she chuckles, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "He described Loki as a snake fanatic that is obsessed with knives and the color combination of black and green. So, being a fully grown adult of over 1500 years, he drew a green snake with black zigzags; long, black hair; a hand with about seven knives in it; and a speech bubble saying 'Mblergh, it's me!'."

Eden snorts, staring up at the drawing with amusement in her eyes. She looks around my room some more, asking questions as I look at my watch made of brand-new Stark tech.

Fuck Apple watches, these are so much better. I swipe just as Eden gets to my photo board. I quickly type in a message, sending it and looking up. She points to the frame, "Did you make this?" I nod, and she turns back to it, "Wow."

It isn't anything too fancy. What I had done was take an old picture frame, stain it a new color, and arrange twine in a chicken wire pattern, displaying different pictures with small clothespins. Fate was on my side when I packed the Polaroid in my bag before leaving for Wakanda, so the precious photo was kept safe in the palace while the others printed from my phone and laptop were destroyed.

"Hey, do you want to be on there?" I ask, taking my phone out. She comes around to my side, and I turn it to selfie mode, snapping a cute picture for me to print. I pick up the tiny, white printer that connects via USB, and I plug it in, the photo being printed in no time. I hang it up, going back to my chair as Eden looks over all the pictures. "So many people like you," she whispers, a hint of sadness in her tone.

I stay silent, knowing that she's about to explain.
Apparently, a group of her classmates were picking fun of her because of her hijab, calling her racist and abusive terms. A few of them shoved her around, tugging on it in a joking manner, but then three of them took it too far. When she explains how they tore it right off of her head, I grind my teeth in anger and frustration. "What school do you go to?" I ask when she's finished, making her furrow her eyebrows in confusion. "Maspeth High. Why, though?"

I write it down on a sticky note, finding the address turning to her. "I'm paying your school a visit."

I hear a loud thud outside, and I smile, "That... is actually for you. Come with me." I walk Eden to the front of the facility, and she gasps. "Oh, my god, you... you're... I can't believe this."

"You'd better believe it," I say, smiling and nudging her forward.

She runs towards him, who has his arms open, giving him a hug, "I love you so much." Thor's booming laugh echoes as he pats her back, and I can't help but grow a huge smile on my face.

THE NEXT DAY/ 2:00 PM/ MASPETH HIGH SCHOOL
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"Thank you for alerting me of this behaviour, Miss Romanoff-Stark. I will make sure it is addressed."

I give the principal a curt smile and nod, exiting his office, pulling on a baseball cap to cover some of my face, and going back to my car. On my walk down to the parking lot, I see Eden sitting on a bench with one of the boys who asked me for a photo when I was visiting Mary Anne. I smile as he wraps an arm around her shoulders, giving her a side hug as she rests her head on his shoulder.

Things are looking up.

Or so I thought.