Why Not?

Chapter Eleven: Pancakes and Secret Fights

The day had already started off slowly, and questions kept gathering in the back of your mind. However, as soon as you got to the kitchen, you knew you'd be fine.

Katie had apparently startled Judy, a cat that everyone practically forced Tony to get, and gotten pancake batter everywhere.

Including all over Peter and Pietro.

They were all smiling, laughing at Judy and helping Katie clean up her mess. They all looked so cute...

You just shook your head, that wasn't an okay thing to think about, remember? Peter and Pietro were cute, sure, but not in the wrong sense. (It was called the wrong sense for a reason, you reminded yourself.)

You smiled, despite the weird feeling in your chest... or were you smiling because of the weird feeling in your chest?

Either way, you were smiling as you walked farther into the kitchen.

"Do you require some assistance?" You asked in a bit of a British accent.

Katie smiled up at you, her eyes shining, "You're up!" her smile grew, "Wanda said you zoned out in the shower again, are you okay?" Katie asked, looking a little concerned.

The room grew a little quieter than what would be considered comfortable, and you just gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm alright kiddo. I was just reaaaalllly tired this morning because Judy kept me up with her playful meows!" you stretched out, pretending to yawn.

Katie knew you were lying, she wasn't stupid, but she couldn't help but laugh at how horrendously fake you looked.

Your smile became real, and you decided to leave the conversation there.

"So, what's with all this mess?" you asked, gesturing around at the kitchen. "Did this become a DC movie? Did something blow up in our house?"

A few laughs made you smile, but Katie spoke up.

"No, silly! We just had a little accident!" she exclaimed through her giggles.

"And don't worry," an accented voice spoke up, "It'll b cleaned up in no time. I promise."

You turned to see none other than the silver speedster himself, smiling down at you from where he stood.

He was in uniform, which was a little confusing, but you decided to ignore it for now. It'd been a year, but it was as if he hadn't aged a day.

Maybe that's why you liked him so much. In a world full of change, he was consistent. He can go fast, but he's willing to go slow for those he cares about...

You're shaken from your thoughts by a nine-year-old Chloe as she stares down at you. "You should warn us before you zone out, or something. Because Katie was starting to think you were ignoring her." she deadpanned.

That was a fun thing about Chloe. She was usually gentle, but she's cold. The mornings she was tired decided whether or not she was nice though. She must be tired...

"Sorry," you offer a sheepish smile, "I just got carried away with my thoughts..."

Chloe just stared at you.

Wow, you thought to yourself, Chloe isn't taking anybody's bullshit today, okay then...

Then, after a moment of this, she just walked off. "I'm going to go wait outside with Micheal. I already ate," she called back.

She was probably the angstiest child out of all of you, which was always surprising due to the fact that she was nine.

But hey, a person's a person. And Tony's house would accept her no matter what.

"Okay, then, " you smiled, "just remember to grab your lunch." You pointed to the black and navy blue lunch box on the counter. This was what, the fourth time she's tried to leave it in the past two weeks? Yeah, that sounded about right.

"I'm done with my breakfast too, Y/n. I'm gonna go wait for you guys with them." Scarllet grabbed Chloe's lunchbox and nodded to the door.

As soon as the two of them were gone, you turned back to Katie. "Are they alright? They look like they're... upset with each other." You asked, already having an idea as to what was actually happening. You just hoped you could get a better, simpler answer.

Katie shrugged, "I think I heard the two of them arguing earlier. Scarllet was shouting about Chloe's lunchbox and Chloe... Chloe was swearing. She told Scarllet that she wasn't her mom and that she didn't need her to care about her." Katie looked disturbed by the memory, and you were about to tell her that she didn't have to keep going, but she interrupted before you got the chance.

"Scarllet said Chloe was going to die..." there were tears in her eyes, "But that's not true, right? We're not going to let that happen?" her voice broke a little, along with a piece of your heart.

"Katelyn, of course not!" you exclaimed softly, picking her up and holding her close. "Chloe's not going to die anytime soon. Especially while I'm here with you guys." You told her.

"But Scarllet's so smart...," Katie whispered.

"And smart people are wrong all the time, Kate. That's how scientists know so much, remember? That's how you learn! That's how you grow." You smile, moving her over to your hip so you can tickle her stomach. Her giggles always cheered both of you up.

"Stop! Please stop!" She cried, tears of laughter filling her eyes as she squirmed around.

You listened and stopped, setting her down with a smile. "See? Everything will be fine, love. I can promise you that." You winked and watched as her face lit up with hope and joy.

Next thing...

Shit.

Your phone went off, an alarm that told you school was going to start in 20 minutes. With the five minute walk to school, you had ten minutes to get ready.

Isn't that fun and convenient, you thought. A sigh escapes your lips as they curled into a small frown.

Then, as if by magic, your backpack landed in your hands.

It was fully packed, laptop and all, and it even had a quick breakfast made and packed in it.

You looked up to see Peter and Pietro, smiling at you with a warm thumbs up.

A playful eye-roll and a hug later, you were pulling Malissa out of the door, Katie and Peter chuckling by your side.

"It's too early to be leaving the house!" Malissa whined, throwing her head back as she dramatically sighed.

"Oof, mood." Maverik sighed, taking a long drink from his coffee. There was no doubt in your mind that it was coffee. He was always drinking it.

"Come on guys, or we're going to be late." Micheal spat.

Why was everyone upset?

You decided to ignore it until after dinner.

I just hope everything stays stable until then, you thought, but until then we'll just have to wait and see...