Retrospect『 avengers au 』

Chapter X: Gone

"I think people have always loved things that are bigger than life, things that are imaginative." – Stan Lee

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Chapter X: Gone

[3 HOURS PRIOR TO THE ENEMY AGENT’S ESCAPE]

As soon as the silver convertible was parked inside the large garage it originally had resided in, Ariel was out (after a few moments of fighting with the seatbelt and Peter cautiously trying to assist her) and into the tower. She still hadn’t memorized the route up to her temporary residence yet so she relied on JARVIS to direct her, all while Tony tried to catch up to her and speak to her.

Ariel ignored him, wanting nothing more than to be alone with her thoughts and these newfound emotions she was trying to decipher. It was a hot, boiling water bubbling up to the top of her ribcage, ready to spill out of her eyes in an expression of frustration and fear. Her entire life was a blank slate and she was nearly killed by two strangers who seemed to know about her personal life, both before and after she awoke on the beach. Of course she was angry, of course she was afraid. And the worst part of it all, she was completely and utterly alone. Nobody in the tower knew how she felt. Nobody around her understood that she just wanted to be left alone and cry most of the time because she never knew who she could trust. Yes, Tony saved her life but he also lied to her and mocked her for her actions and decisions. What was she supposed to do other than what she did? She had no guide, no map to steer her through life because those were made up of past experiences. She had none that she could recall. What was Tony expecting from her? Complete cooperation and near-perfection? That wasn’t fair. Ariel was only a kid trying to understand.

Pushing the door to her room open, she shut it and locked it behind her, a sudden wave of exhaustion washing over her and she laid down on top of the featherdown comforter spread over her bed with an array of white and yellow pillows. She suddenly felt cold, alone, and sad. Reaching for one of the larger, fluffy pillows, she hugged it to her frail, malnourished body and squeezed her deep brown eyes shut. Tears leaked from her eyes, one after another, each one heavier and trickling down quicker. It seemed like an eternity of this emotional torture that Ariel endured, but upon glancing at her bedside clock, she found it had only been a little over two hours.

“Ariel?” A familiar voice startled the young woman, her body lurching and her senses alert as a knock on her door followed. “I know you can’t reply but if it’s okay for me to come in…” Peter hesitated and decided not to finish his sentence. He sighed quietly to himself, feeling guilty, and simply added, “I just wanted to see if you’re okay.”

Ariel lifted her head from her pillow and looked over at the door, contemplating her options. She could stay still and pretend she wasn't in here, or that she was asleep, or she could go open the door and let Peter in. It took her such a long time to decide that Peter spoke up again from the opposite side of the door.

"It's okay that you don't want me to come in. I can just talk to you here," the boy raised his voice slightly so Ariel could hear. He sighed quietly to himself and crossed his arms, leaning one side against the doorframe as he continued. "I'm sorry we made you feel uncomfortable. Even though Tony did a terrible job explaining himself, he really did have good intentions."
Ariel listened intently as Peter spoke, unfeeling and silent. When he continued, she decided to slip off of her bed and tip-toe over to the door quietly so as to not give away to the boy on the other side that she had come closer to listen to him. She sat on the floor right beside the frame, her back leaned against the wall next to it and wrapped her frail arms around her bent knees.

"I think it's just always gonna be hard to understand why people do things that might hurt us even if they did it to protect us because…" Peter trailed off, pausing, as if he were searching for the right way to explain his thoughts. "Well, because that's not the way it should be. You shouldn't have to hurt someone to protect them. But sometimes that's just the way it has to be."