ethereal ⊳ peter parker (final)

0.3

"Will you visit her? Ask her to visit?" She asks hopefully.

"Nat.. she's still-"

"Please."

"Okay." And with that simple statement, Rhodes cuts off, and the dread immediately setting in as Natasha breaks down, her head in her hands as she cries her heart out for the fallen.

"You know I'd offer to cook you dinner but you seem pretty miserable already." Steve, slumped against a bookshelf, speaks up with a subtle smile as he watches Nat brush tears from her face.

"You here to do your laundry?" She questions sarcastically.

"And to see a friend."

"Clearly, your friend is fine." The red-head retorts, an obvious lie.

"You know I saw a pod of whales when I was coming up the bridge." Steve walks over to her desk, a small smile tugging at the corner's of her lips.

"In the Hudson?"

"There's fewer ships, cleaner water." He adds.

"You know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side. Um... I'm about you to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich." Her lips upturn into a half smile, Steve's doing the same.

"Sorry. Force of habit." He responds, throwing down his jacket before sitting down on another empty chair. "You know, I keep telling everyone they should move on and... grow. Some do. But not us."

"If I move on, who does this?" She gestures towards her cluttered desk.

"Maybe it doesn't need to be done." Steve replies gently.

Natasha, deep in thought, speaks, "I used to have nothing. Then I got this. This job... this family, I raised a little girl. And I was... I was better because of it. And even though... they're gone... I'm still trying to be better."

"We both need to get a life." The blond man chuckles.

She smiles, "you first."

Then suddenly camera footage pops up in front of them, showing Scott Lang with his Quantum Realm Van behind him. "Uh... Hi. Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."

Steve, glancing at the security camera with furrowed browns, questions, "is this old footage?"

Natasha, peering as well, "it's at the front gate."

-

"Scott. Are you okay?" Steve Rogers questions the quivering superhero beside him as they had rushed him inside to confirm it wasn't some fever dream.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He seems hesitant, almost as if trying to muster up the courage to ask a question. With a few stutters and a sigh, Ant-Man finally blurts out his dilemma, "Have you ever studied Quantum Physics?"

"Only to make conversation." Nat retorts sarcastically.

"Alright. So... five years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my... She was my..." Scott trips over his next words, treading carefully on their labels, "She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there."

"I'm sorry." Apologizes Black Widow, "That must've been a very long five years."

"Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours."
The two original Avengers share a bewildered glance, skeptical of Scott's rushed banter. "See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich?" He points towards the half eaten meal on Nat's desk before grabbing ahold of it, "I'm starving."