LITTLE STREET

seven

A beat.

Nobody speaks for a minute. Street thinks that he can hear the crickets from outside. Then, the explosion comes.

"A SECRET KID?" Stands out the most out of everything thrown at him.

"SETTLE DOWN," comes Hondo's booming voice from the crowd. "Why don't we give Street a chance to explain."

"Thank you. I'll share the basics and then you guys can ask whatever you want, one at a time."He watches them exchange glances before they all turn and nod.

"I was fifteen when I had Athena..." Street goes on to explain how he'd spent the past decade and a half raising his girl. He's careful to leave out details about her mother. He's not going to share that unless they ask.

Unluckily for him, that's the first thing they ask.

"What about her mom?" Luca says tentatively.

"It was a stupid fling with a girl from my high school. Her name was Claudia. She made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with the kid even before she was born."

"You raised her all by yourself?"

"Nate helped, he was always finding ways to pitch in. He loved Athena so much, and she loved him too."

Looks of sympathy flash across their faces but Street shakes it off, urging them to move on to the next question.

"Did you pick her name?" Deacon speaks up.

"Yeah, I did. Athena, after the Greek goddess. I thought she'd need a tough name."

That brings out a few smiles, but Street notices that Chris won't even look at him.

"Does she speak Canto? I think I heard it earlier but I was a bit distracted." That question comes from Tan. He looks hopeful, eager almost. Street remembers him saying something about not knowing many Canto speakers.

"Yeah, she does. Her old school required an additional language credit and that's what she picked. She's incredibly bright and picks up things super quick, so she's pretty much fluent now."

Tan lights up at that and Street makes a mental note to tell Athena about it. Street looks over at Chris and thinks she's going to ask him something but before he gets a chance to find out, footsteps draw everyone's attention.

"You all should head home." Hicks' strong voice echoes.

The team exchanges quick goodbyes before heading out, silently agreeing to conclude the conversation.

Street grabs his bag and jogs towards the parking lot. He finds his daughter leaning against his bike, scrolling on her phone. She looks up at the sound of his footsteps.

"I called a cab, figured you could grab the bike tomorrow."

That tugs a smile out of him. He's spent fifteen years taking care of his daughter, getting to know her ins and outs. It's nice to see that she knows him too.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

~~~

It's late when the duo get home. The darkness of the night wraps around them like a blanket, shielding them from having to face what happened that day.

They move in silence, as if on autopilot. They put their things away before dropping down on the couch. Athena lays her head down on her father's shoulder and takes a shaky breath as the tears well in her eyes.

"We can talk about it if you want to," Street says, turning towards her.

"Are you sure?" He nods, twisting his body around to face her.

"I know it's your job, I know," she starts, "I thought I could handle it but when those officers showed up at the door I—," Athena cuts herself off. Street goes to say something but she shakes her head, silently asking him to let her continue.

"I was so scared. I've never really felt my age until that moment. I thought you were gone."

"I'm so sorry kiddo, I can't imagine."

"Don't apologise, it isn't your fault. I don't blame you."

"I blame myself," he says, "I promised that you wouldn't have to worry about me but now..."

"I can't promise you that something like this won't ever happen again but I can promise that I will do everything in my power to come home to you every day, okay sweetheart?"

"That's good enough for me, dad." Athena smiles up at him. Oh, what he wouldn't do for that smile.

Suddenly, she sits up straight. "Enough with the mushiness, let's order food."

Street barks out a surprised laugh—typical teenager.

"You want Chinese or Indian?"

"Indian, duh."

a/n - Whatttt two updates in a row, who am I??

This one is a bit shorter but honestly guys I'm on the grind rn so I'm hoping to get another update out by the end of May and hopefully that one will be longer.

Thanks for your comments and as always, feedback is appreciated!