I let my hair down, enveloping me, hiding me away from the world. I liked being hidden. It was first nature to me. To be hidden was to be away from danger. And God knows we couldn’t have danger.
“It’s not your fault, you know,” Terise said, walking out onto the landing platform and sitting next to me, her legs swinging over the tower. “Don’t reflect on yourself. Don’t be so…so sad.”
“I’m not sad. I’m…thinking,” I told her. Terise nodded, looking out at New York’s famed skyline. The sun barely illuminated the distance, sending pink and orange flares across the sky. “They say this city never sleeps. But at dawn, I know it does.”
“Steve likes dawn,” Terise said. “He says it’s the best thinking time.”
I felt sorry for Terise. She so desperately loved this man, this man who could never truly love her back. He wasn’t possible. They weren’t possible.
“I agree,” I murmured. I looked below me, seeing the cars flood the streets and people bustling along on the sidewalks. It was so tempting to just…fall. Let all the problems that plagued my life disappear for a few glorious moments and then peace. I would be at peace.
“Where are your parents today?” Terise asked, trying to change the subject away from the less relatable, more solemn sunrise.
“I have no idea,” I responded. “They don’t really tell me anything.”
“They’re spies,” Terise assured me. “They never tell anyone anything. Look, I have to go…Steve’s probably back from his jog by now.”
I nodded, and Terise backed away from the ledge and walked back into the tower, leaving me alone.
There were drawbacks to having the two greatest spies in the world as your parents. A lot of them, actually. The last time I had even seen my father had to have been at least a month ago.
Their friends had now become more parental than them. The team had taken me in like a puppy dog. I guess it was better than living in different hotel rooms every night, like my other option would have been. My parents felt safer with them anyways.
I tied my hair back up, the wind snatching it up and sending it rippling around me like flames. I barely even flinched when I saw a flash of red and gold zoom past my face and land on the other side of the building.
“What brings you here?” Tony asked me. His armor became detached from him and it was reduced to just his body by the time he reached me.
“What doesn’t?” I asked. “It’s the best place to think.”
“The best place to fall off, too,” Tony told me, reaching his hand out for me to take. “We don’t want any Hawk Widow babies jumping off Stark Tower. That would be a bad for the press.”
I laughed, and we both walked back into his ornate tower.
I loved Tony. He was more than my father. He was the only person who really attempted to understand me, to be my friend. He was the one who took me under his wing. I don’t know why exactly the famed Tony Stark took any particular interest in me, but I was glad he did.
“Anything for breakfast?” Tony asked. I shrugged, not knowing what to eat. “Jarvis! Get this kid some food.”
“Of course,” the shrilly robotic voice responded immediately. Within a few minutes, I was served a bagel with orange juice on a tray, arranged in a culinary art fashion.
“Where’s Banner?” Tony asked. “He promised he’d work on the precise atom manipulator with me today!”
“Calm down, he’ll play with you soon,” Pepper told him, walking in through the elevator. “How are you, Rebecca?”
YOU ARE READING
Goodnight, Steve
FanfictionI'm here to tell you a story. A story of how I came to terms with having the two best spies in the world as my parents. Or more like...how their friends became my parents, and they became my friends. Or something like that.
