the strongest avenger

thirty five

"I'm so fucking full right now."

Talia's voice is muffled from where she lays with her head down against the kitchen table. Peter Parker sits across from her, leaned back into the chair with hands on his stomach.

In the center of the table lay the tray that Tal's ice cream cake was standing on—key word: was.

The duo had consumed the whole cake while chatting over various topics.

"What's next on the agenda?" Peter asks.

"Hmmm," Talia lifts her head and smirks at the boy, while lifting her hand that holds Tony's credit card. "Let's go spend Tony's money."

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"When you said spend your dad's money," Peter yells at the girl, over the sound of the rushing wind. "Going in a hot air balloon was not what I had in mind."

"You scared of heights Spidey?" Tal asks with a chuckle.

"Maybe."

"That's alright, I am too."

The duo stand side by side, shoulders touching, as they look over the edge of the basket at the city that gets smaller as they rise.

"Then why are we a million feet in the air right now?"

"I find something peaceful about looking out over the world. I don't like heights, but I guess I'm not scared of them. See, feel this."

Talia closes her eyes, and lets the wind blow past her, while Peter looks at the girl.

...freaking kids...

The girl chuckles at the middle aged man that controls the balloon.

"What?" Pete asks.

"Close your eyes, feel the wind." The boy sighs, but turns to overlook the city.

Tal watches as he closes his eyes, the lines of his face smoothing out. She looks at him, really looks at him, and finds herself feeling a warmth in her chest.

Peter opens his eyes and looks at her. "It feels...freeing."

"Exactly," she says while a smile lights up her face. "When you're up here, up high, there's nothing tying you down, nothing holding you back."

"Then why don't you like heights?"

A sigh leaves her mouth. "Because eventually you have to come back down, back to reality. Or you fall out of the sky," she whispers. "like I did."

The boy chuckles. "You're very wise, Tallie."

"Well I am two years older than you."

"No need to rub it in."

Talia playfully shoves him in the shoulder, to which Peter responds by throwing his arm around her. A bold step for the boy, but it's something he's been wanting to do.

Talia tenses for the tiniest second, before leaning into Peter's side. She's surprised to find herself wanting to be closer to him, wanting to stay by his side.

Peter's just happy to not be pushed away, happy that she'll allow him to hug her. An idea sparks in the boy's mind. He turns to look down at her head, and narrows his eyes.

Tal.

Nothing happens.

Talia.

He sees the girl's finger twitch, from where it lays on the railing.

TAL.

The girl flinches and Peter winces at his idiocy.

Uh—sorry.

He watches as the girl turns and looks up at him, her blazing blue eyes piercing into his soul.

You don't have to scream.

I didn't realize I was screaming, I wanted to see if you would be able to hear me if I called to you. Pete thinks.

Ah, well yes. I wasn't sure if I was getting a fragment of one your thoughts...so yeah.

So, what are you thinking Tallie-O?

I'm debating whether to throw you off this balloon for calling me that. The girl glares at him.

It was a joke.

I know.

But seriously, what are you thinking? Unlike you, I can't read someone's thoughts.

I'm thinking about how we have to go back to school, and how boring my life's gonna be for the next six-ish months.

Your probation?

Yeah, I want to be actually able to go out with Spiderman and do stuff. Not just watch you help people.

I get that. Tal and Spidey...taking on the world.

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"Bye Pete!" Talia waves as she heads into the lobby of the Tower, surprising herself when she sees her dad waiting for her.

"Hey..." she says while slowly walking towards him.

"Hot air balloon? Really?"

"Hey," she says while handing him his credit card. "You kinda gave me free reign, therefore, go big or go home." She smiles a cheeky grin at him.

Tony shakes his head. "Follow me."

Talia follows Tony towards the garage, a confused look on her face. Her eyes light up and her mouth drops open as she sees the new black, Mercedes-Benz S550 waiting in her new parking spot.

She freezes for a moment, before her mouth spreads into a gigantic grin, turning to her dad while doing so.

"Thank you so much!" She runs at him and pulls him into a hug.

Tony wraps his arms around the girl. "Your welcome Squirt. Happy birthday."

She pulls back and beams up at the billionaire. "Can I look at it?"

"Obviously, it's your car."

The girl lets out a little squeal as she runs over to it. Tal pops open the door and slides in, hands running over the expensive material, over the wheel and over the fabric of the seats.

Her smile grows when she sees her first initial, T, monogrammed onto the gear shift. Talia looks around at her new car, pure happiness flowing through her.

She thinks of the hot air balloon ride with Peter, the buzzing warmth that fills her chest when she thinks of him. She thinks of how they couldn't stop laughing about stupid topics when they got lunch and how they had strolled through the streets of New York, not a care in the world.

She thinks of Tony, her dad, who always treated her with nothing but love. The one that isn't always there, isn't always being the best dad, but who does what he can to make her happy.