After a while James and Steve left to have their own private conversation.
"I'm sorry I was a little bit... earlier I was out of it.. and I- I forgot your name." The boy said.
"My name is Rose." Honesty she didn't feel like talking, she wanted to find a secluded area and sleep for a long long time. But she promised herself she wouldn't do that, she couldn't. Rose couldn't stand the thought of becoming her again. looking back, the moment she realized she wasn't her anymore, was the night sleeping in the truck bed.
"I'm Peter Parker." He said with a smile.
"I know."
"Oh! well... uh, how old are you? You look pretty young to be fighting with the avengers."
"Yeah, well I could say the same for you. I'm Fourteen."
"Fourteen? And you were out there doing that?!? With the purple guy and the Avengers? And I'm sixteen. Sixteen and a half"
"Oh really? Sixteen and a half, practically an adult." Rose poked at him, doing her best to stop the intrusive thoughts playing in her head like a broken record. "Well in that case I'm fourteen and... do you know what day it is?"
"No, we should find someone who does." Peter stood up and motioned at her to follow.
Rose hesitated for a minute, growing up in the red room she had never had a good interaction with a man. Whenever one asked her to follow them it always ended up... in something she didn't want to think about.
"Come on. I don't want to go alone." Peter complained in a low strained voice. He lightly grabbed her hand.
Rose finally stood up and started looking for something who didn't look busy. They eventually came across a man in a red and grey suit sitting in one of the hallways.
"Hey sir, do you happen to know what day it is?" Peter asked still holding Rose's wrist.
"Um", the man paused and looked at his phone. "December first 2023"
"I HAVE TO CALL AUNT MAY." Peter loudly announced. "Can I use your phone... um- mr?"
"Yes" The man handed Peter his phone. "It's Scott Lang"
"Peter, Peter Parker. I think we've met before." Peter turned away from Scott and quickly dialed a number.
Rose felt like she needed to do something but she wasn't quite sure what. It had something to do with what peter had just said. May or Aunt.. AUNT.
Rose looked around frantically until she saw Steve walking down the hallway Peter and her had just been sitting in.
"What's wrong?" Peter asked while he waited for the other line to be picked up. He grabbed her hand again when she took a step towards Steve. He quickly dropped it. "Sorry".
"I will be right back." She promised.
"Hey, what are you kids-?" Steve started to ask.
"Did you tell Yelena?"
"What?"
"Did you tell Yelena about Natasha?"
"No, it hasn't been long and it's been so-"
Rose turned on her heels and ran back to Scott and Peter.
"I can't come home right now. I don't know it could be a few days. Things are a little confusing. I'll see you later I have to go." Rose caught the tail end of his conversation.
"I need the phone now." Peter complied handing her the phone. Rose dialed the number she had memorized only a few months, and five years, earlier.
"Hello?" A familiar voice responded. Rose rushed down a few hallways and around some corners for privacy.
"Yelena." Rose sighed of relef. She Heard Peter running after her.
"Is everyone okay?" She sounded genuinely concerned.
"No" Rose's voice cracked, her throat tightened, and her eyes watered.
"Is Natasha-?"
"No, she died. She's gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye" Her voice as hardly a wisper and she could hear Yelena whispering no no no on the other end of the line.
"Where are you? I need to talk to you in person." Rose could hear the strain in her voice.
"It's, complicated. Im with good people but it's kind of hidden? I'll tell you when I am somewhere less discrete." Rose and was as professional as she could be in that moment.
"Stay safe, I will be waiting for your call" Yelena hung up.
Rose felt a wave of emotion wash over her. She turned around to see Peter with red puffy eyes holding his arms out. Rose had only ever hugged her mom and presumed dad, James, but she didn't hesitate. She wrapped her arms around the boy and buried her face in his shoulder. Rose thought she had pulled herself together tight enough but she started sobbing into Peters shoulder. She felt a few of his tears fall onto her shoulder as he pulled her close with an arm around the waist and a hand in her hair.
How are we feeling bout this Peter and Rose thing. Wasn't originally gonna do it but someone suggested it then I had a dream with Peter and now I'm in love.
I got a job so updates are less frequent. Also the in love part yeah I kinda like a coworker. So it's a slow day, it's in the negatives and we work at an ice cream shop. He does a little finger gesture at me so I come over, he is on coms so I think he wants help with the drive through. He puts in a kids mango slush and it rings up to be $98 he just wanted to show me. It was adorable how funny he thought it was and how he wanted to show me THEN THE WAY HE LOOKED AT ME AND SMILED. His name is james btw. then the manager and the person who was training me were going over a sheet of things that I have and haven't done and James hears that I haven't learned how to make a cone so he does the finger gesture so I follow him out front. He tells me to watch then he makes an ice cream cone while walking me through it and smiles at me. He then grabs me a cone (I'm short and I can hardly reach them) he hands to to me, THEN STANDS BEHIND ME PUTS HIS HAND OVER MINE ON THE CONE SND GUIEDS ME THROUGH THE MOTIONS. Then waits for me to turn around and smiles at me again.
I GOT A PUPPY
And here's some from the nutcracker