ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ᴜɴᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ (peter parker x oc) (g x g)

eleven

Steve stared at us from the doorway, placing down a large tray of food on the bedside table. He reached out in an attempt to pluck my weapon from me but I ducked swiftly and pressed the blade to his throat. "Sorry," I muttered, sheepishly handing him the dagger. "Old habits."

"Bruce specifically told me you weren't allowed weapons in the hospital," Steve scolded, tucking the blade into his pocket.

"Do you even want to know how many knives I have in my bra?" I asked and opened my mouth, lifting up my tongue to reveal a razor stored securely.

"How long has that-"

"Four years," I said without hesitation.

Steve raised his eyebrows, turning to Peter. "She can't be tussled too much right now," He said.

Peter blushed purple that extended to behind his ears. "What?"

"I meant don't get too close to her," Steve huffed, lifting the food tray off the table and gently  onto my lap.

"Hospital food," I crinkled my nose at the smell of the odd odour wafting from the dishes.

"Actually I cooked," Steve grimaced. "I'll tell the chef you gave your compliments."

I immediately picked up a spoon and began shovelling the food down my throat. "Woah this is amazing, Cap," I raised a thumbs up.

Steve grinned, rolling his eyes. They shifted rather suddenly from me to Peter. "What did I say, Queens?" He snapped. "Get out of her bed."

"Oh. Sorry," Peter gasped, mortified. He pulled his arm from under my waist and hopped agilely onto the floor. "Uhh.. get better," He ducked down to kiss my forehead and rushed from the room, positively terrified.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Give him a break, Steve."

"At least we can keep an eye on you two while you're here," He teased, seating himself on the chair beside me.

I snorted. "Right. Because Peter's the type to go wild when you guys aren't around. Maybe I'll have him around at mine soon and test the boy's limits," I grinned.

Steve's smile dropped. "You're not.. you're not going back there, are you?"

"What?"

"You're living here now, right? With us?" He pressed.

"Steve, that wasn't part of the deal-"

"To hell with the deal, Maze," He snapped. "What happened today is proof that you aren't safe when we aren't around."

"Stev-"

"You were shot at. You could have died. You don't realise that, do you? We're all extremely aware of your abilities, but you aren't invincible. The only way we can keep you safe is if you're with us. Here. I know you have a feud with your father but-"

"Steve!-"

"No. I don't want to hear it. Tony's already arranging for your things to be moved back into your old room and-"

"That's not happening!" I said through gritted teeth. "Steve! You don't understand. I can't live here. With him."

"Why?" He said. "Why are you so stubborn to understand that you're a child."

"Exactly!" I yelled. "I'm a child. And my dad fails to take responsibility for me time and time again. He's pushed me behind a curtain my entire life. If the Avengers hadn't formed, nobody would be sparing me three glances. He's ignored every single achievement I've earned, shoved cash at babysitters in hopes that I wouldn't bother him; I barely saw his face because his robots mean more to him than I ever could. But to the world, he's this .. this hero. He saves hundreds, rescues entire countries. What about his daughter? What about me? Do I not mean anything to him? So no, I will not live here like nothing happened. I can't do it. I can't-" I gave into the tide of emotions at last, a loud sob escaping my mouth.

Steve hushed me gently, wrapping two arms around my waist and pulling me into his sturdy chest. He rocked me like a child, letting me dampen his shirt with my own tears. "I'm sorry," He whispered. "I didn't think about how much this would affect you. Its just... It's hard seeing you grow up without us."

"Don't tell anyone I cried," I whispered. Steve chuckled.

"What's this I heard you telling Bruce you loved us?" He asked, taking my face in two hands and pushing me back to smile at me.

I groaned. "Would you believe me if I said it was that time of the month?" I said hopefully.

"Not a chance," He grinned, brushing away a stray tear with a thumb.

"And.." I hesitated. "I don't think I was shot at."

"We have a dozen eye-witnesses saying they saw two men with rifles at the fair. Nice tr-"

"No. I don't think they were shooting at me."

"Elaborate," Steve said, his expression immediately serious. I immediately recognised it; it was his 'Captain' face.

"What would the motive be behind killing me?" I prosed.

Steve frowned. "Your father has a lot of enemies."

"Yeah. He's a dick. We all know. But I haven't officially been introduced to the public. But the person I was with on the other hand.."

"Tabia!"

"Exactly. The princess of Wakanda. And Wakanda is worth trillions taking in accounts of its vibranium resources. Not to mention that the metal also makes the most effective weapons in the world. But it's impossible to get to with the country's defences-"

"Unless something catastrophic happened to the entire country," Steve followed along.

"Yup. But unfortunately for whoever's trying to get to the vibranium, two people were on vacation at the time that the virus was released, and they just happened to be princesses. One of whom is a known genius, Wakanda's best hope of finding a cure."

"But Shuri wasn't attacked, Tabia was," Cap said.

"The princesses aren't exactly profiled on magazines like the royal family, Steve," I rebutted. "So either the assassins weren't aware of exactly who they were attempting to kill or-"

"They were sending a warning," Steve finished grimly.