Nothing - Bruno Major
We'll play Nintendo, though I always lose
'Cause you watch the TV, while I'm watching you
There's not many people, I'd honestly say I don't mind losing to
But there nothing like doing nothing with you.
As it turns out, Peter's idea to make chocolate chip cookies for dessert wasn't a bad idea. And as Peter placed the tray of cookies in the oven, Amara took the opportunity to look at the numerous baby photos of Peter displayed around the apartment.
Her eyes landed on a photo of Peter when, she guessed, he was only nine; he was smiling so wide she could see his two missing teeth and he had these Iron Man pyjamas that looked a few sizes too big for him. "Okay, this is adorable," Amara said picking up the frame and showing it to him.
Peter walked up to Amara, embarrassed at her finding that, "Seriously? I told May to hide all the embarrassing pictures."
"Wha- it's cute!" Amara said looking at the photo she was holding and then back up at Peter. she held up the frame next to his face, "You haven't changed one bit!" She smiled.
"I don't know whether to be offended or not."
"Don't be!" Amara smiled once again, her eyes lighting up, "like I said, you're adorable." Amara had no idea what possessed her in the moment to reach up and touch Peter's cheek. Whether it was to show that she was being sincere, or for some other reason, she had no clue, but she did know that she saw a slight glimmer in his eyes when she did. She pulled away quickly, clearing her throat, hoping to ignore what had just happened.
Peter stepped back to look at the timer on the oven: 22 minutes. "We've got some time to kill, wanna play a game?"
"Yeah sure," Amara smiled, playfully.
"I've got some games in my room, do you want to come and pick?" Peter asked.
Amara raised her eyebrow at him, "Peter Parker. Are you inviting me into your room?"
Peter turned the shade of a fire truck almost instantaneously, "N-no! I swear!"
Amara laughed at his sudden nervousness, "It's okay! Peter, it's fine! Let's go," she said, gesturing for him to lead the way.
They headed towards the small corridor that Amara noticed on her way inside, at the second door on the right, Peter opened his bedroom door and gestured for Amara to enter before following behind her. He switched the light on and made everything visible to Amara.
The room wasn't massive, but Peter had made it his own. Amara noticed a small desk in the corner, along with a small single bed with unmade, red bed sheets. There was a bookshelf towards her left she saw an open rack of clothes which displayed all of Peter's jeans, T-shirts and sneakers. She also noticed a Star Wars poster on the wall and some loose Lego pieces on his desk. Peter obviously saw her looking around and made a feeble attempt at discreetly cleaning the area.
"Your room's really cool! I love the posters," as she looked up to admire them, she noticed a string leading from his dresser to a ceiling tile that was slightly cracked open. Leaning on the wall next to this tile was a tall broom. If Amara had to take a guess, Peter's suit was up there, for sure.
"Uhh...Thanks," he said following her gaze to the ceiling, "there was a leak, we're still waiting on the repair guys to come and fix it."
"Oh?" Amara said.
"Yeah. So-uh, what do you wanna do?" Peter asked, changing the subject.
Amara tried to think, but then realised that she didn't know any as she's never played a party game before, no one had time to play with her, they were always training. That was when Amara started her training. Maybe that's why Amara was more comfortable in the training room than anywhere else; it's practically where she grew up. "I don't know, I've never had the chance to play anything before."
"What?! Like anything?"
"Does tea parties count, or maybe like race cars? I've played those."
"Are you being serious?"
"Dead serious. You pick."
"Fine...umm... how about if I ask you a question, you can either answer it or make me answer it. And you can't make me answer it twice in a row."
"And then it's my turn? Once I answer a question?" Amara asked.
"Yeah, exactly!"
"Okay, Parker, let's go. I'm starting," Amara said, trying to think of a question, "If you could live in any fictional universe, which one would it be and why?" Amara sat back, proud of the question.
"Star Wars! Easily! Are you kidding me? It's only the best movie franchise to come out, ever!"
"I don't think I've ever watched Star Wars before," Amara thought back trying to remember if she'd ever seen a lightsaber. She came to the conclusion that she hadn't.
Peter sat staring at her, awestruck. After he had a moment to process this groundbreaking news, he said, "What do you mean you don't think you've watched it before?"
"I mean... I haven't watched it before," she replied, smiling at the shock on her friend's face. "Why? Can you no longer be my friend anymore?"
"No, I didn't say that. But, how could you not have seen any of them, it's impossible to avoid it, surely."
"I guess I just never had time," Amara said, thinking about her childhood that she spent training and going on missions to save the world. Amongst all of that, who could possibly have time for movies.
"You didn't have any time?" Peter asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I didn't really watch movies as a kid. It didn't really interest me as much as... playing laser tag with my dad and my uncles." This was partially true. Just replace the lasers with real guns and the tag with don't get shot.
"That's crazy!" Peter said in amazement. "So every time that I've made a joke referencing Star Wars you couldn't have understood it?"
"Nope, I just kind of shrugged it off, I guess."
"Well Uh, you should have told me, I don't want you to feel left out! I would've stopped," Peter said, feeling guilty.
"Peter, chill. I'm fine, I don't need baby monitoring. Okay I'm getting bored now. Your question," Amara said, waving off the topic and starting to become slightly embarrassed at her lack of movie knowledge.
"Okay, hmm, let me think... uh...what is your... dream job?" He asked, finally.
Amara looked up at the ceiling and bit her bottom lip in deep thought, she had to think about that for a while, besides, she couldn't exactly say that her dream job was to be a superhero. "An artist. I mean if money didn't matter, then, yeah, an artist."
"Artist, huh? You any good?"
Amara smiled to herself and continued, completely ignoring Peter's question, "Okay my turn," she cleared her throat as Peter readied himself for his next question. "Biggest regret of your life, go!"
"Umm, that's kind of hard."
"Don't think, just say whatever comes to your head," she encouraged.
"I guess, not getting the chance to tell my parents how much I loved them, you know, before..." Peter trailed off, a distant look in his eyes.
Amara got up and sat next to Peter, reaching over to hold Peter's hand in an attempt to comfort him, "They know. Trust me," she smiled and Peter soon shook it off and continued, asking his question. "Who was your first ever crush?"
Amara remembered having a huge crush on Pietro when she first saw him, looking back, it embarrassed her, now, she couldn't possible answer the question honestly. "You answer it."
"Hmm... interesting," he said, wondering even more what Amara's first crush was. "My first crush was this girl, Gwen Stacy. She sat next to me in the 2nd grade and then we became lab partners in the 6th grade."
"What happened?" Amara asked, not noticing the small frown on her face.
"She moved away, to England at the start of 7th grade. I never told her how I felt," Peter said looking at the floor, thinking of how different times were back then.
Amara noticed this and felt a pang of... something. Was it jealousy? No way, why would she be jealous of someone she never met. Besides Amara likes Liz, and Peter has a crush on her. "Okay ask another question, I have to answer it now."
"Hmm... got it! The worst lie you've ever told, to anyone," Peter said.
Amara's eyes widened. She thought about it, her answer was obvious, but she couldn't tell Peter that the worst lie she's ever told was not telling him who she was. So she remembered something pretty bad she did a couple of years ago. "Umm... when we lived in Malibu, I kind of stole my dad's car."
"What?! You stole your dad's car?!" Peter asked in amazement. "Why?!"
"I drove it all the way to LA, because I heard that Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp were filming a Pirates Of The Caribbean film there and my dad refused to take me!" Amara said, trying her best not to break down laughing.
"So you went by yourself? Unbelievable!" Peter said also laughing.
"But wait! That's not even the best bit. Before I stole the car, I left..." Amara couldn't contain herself and started laughing uncontrollably. "I left a fake ransom note! From a fake kidnapper! Demanding that my dad gives a thousand dollars or I'll never return!"
"Oh my god?! You faked a kidnapping?! Isn't that a crime?!"
"I mean, my dad didn't believe it, of course. I mean, I tried to make the note really believable, but then I just ended up completely barfing a thesaurus out all over the page. He gave me ten dollars when I came back and told me that I left off two zeros from my desired ransom amount. He literally said to me, 'Rookie mistake!' And then he asked me where I went." Amara thought back to the time, he had actually not believed her, simply because he knew she could handle her own against a normal kidnapping, and only a normal kidnapper would sent a note demanding ransom. That and, nobody knows she's Tony Stark's daughter, Amara forgot about that little detail when making her master plan.
"Did you tell him?"
"Of course, not! I told him I went to my aunt's house and stayed there for dinner. My aunt's pretty cool, so she just went along with it. But he still grounded me for 2 months. And then it was over! But, to this day, my dad still doesn't why I truly stole the car and where I went," Amanda finished her story, laughing once again, and Peter joined her.
"Wait, did you, at least see Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp?" Peter asked.
Amara sighed, "No, but I did see Lana Del Rey and that made up for everything."
"Was she nice?"
"I am not being over dramatic when I say she is literally the nicest person I've ever met... except for Captain America, maybe."
"You've met Captain America?! When?!"
"Uh...my dad works at Stark Industries, he's near the top. And he sometimes meets the Avengers. I came to his work once in the evening and he was in a meeting with Steve and Tony. We started a conversation and he now knows me as the girl with the same last name as him."
"Steve and Tony?! You're on a first name basis with the freaking Avengers?!" Peter asked, standing up. "How do I not know this? How have we been friends for so long and I don't know this."
"You didn't ask," Amara shrugged.
"I didn't know that was something you had to ask. But, I know for next time now, I guess."
"My question," Amara quickly changed the subject and she had no idea what compelled her to ask, "What was your first kiss like?"
Peter's eyes widened, "What do you mean?"
"Like, when was it? Was it good? Where was it? How'd it happen? That kind of thing."
Peter hesitated, briefly, before saying, "You answer."
Amara should have known the tables would turn on her. And she was way too embarrassed about the answer.
It was Pietro Maximoff. Pietro Maximoff was her first kiss.
—————
Peter looked at Amara as she seemed to be in the middle of an inner conflict on whether or not she should answer the question.
Peter waited patiently, and was about to tell her it's okay if she didn't want to say, he may have even told her that the reason he didn't answer the question was because he'd never kissed anyone before. But then she spoke, "A couple years ago, I met this guy, through, um... my dad's work. He worked as an intern at Stark Industries. I had the biggest crush on him but he was a few years older so I thought he saw me as a little sister. Then one day, he was working late and I ran into him. We talked for hours and then we kissed."
Peter started to grow extremely jealous, so is this guy her boyfriend? Does she still have a crush on him? But, he hid his feelings and said, instead, "Then what?"
"Then he asked me out on a date. We went for coffee and then realised pretty quickly that we would be better as friends. We only kissed the once, but, um, um pretty grateful nothing else happened. I'm best friends with him and his twin sister, now."
"You're still friends with him? How come I've never heard of this guy? What's his name?" Peter asked, trying his best not to sound like he's desperately trying to interrogate information out of her, but very clearly failing. He just hoped Amara didn't notice.
"Yeah we're still best friends. You have heard of him - that friend that I always tell you about? That's him. And his name is Max."
Peter felt a bitter resentment for this guy, Max, and he had never met him before.
"But we're just best friends, nothing else. Like us," Amara said, causing Peter's heart to sink.
"I'd like to think we're a little more than just friends," Peter mumbled under his breath - unbeknownst to the fact that Amara could hear him.
"What?" Amara asked.
"Nothing, I don't know. I guess I kind of figured that I was your second best friend, after MJ, and now I've been demoted to third."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Ned's got a place up there. He was my first friend, after all," Amara said playfully.
"Oh really?" Peter said getting up, ready for a play fight.
Amara stood up, too, "You sure about this? I mean, I took martial arts for eight years and unless you've learnt combat overnight, you have no chance against me."
Peter stopped and stood upright and Amara followed suit, "Yeah, I guess you're right... but... you're not trained for this!" Then he jumped up quickly and ran towards her. Before she could react, he started tickling her.
Amara screamed and in a desperate attempt to flee from the situation, kicked Peter backwards, just enough force to get him off, but not enough to hurt him. She then got up and tried to run away into the kitchen, but Peter soon tackled her and they were soon rolling on the floor, laughing and screaming like little kids.
For a moment, Peter almost felt as if him and Amara were the only people in the world, like nothing else mattered except the two of them rolling around on the floor of the hallway in his apartment. They looked like crazy people, but he had never been happier.
Peter landed on top of Amara, who was lying on the floor and looking up at him. He stopped tickling her and she stopped screaming. He looked deep into her eyes and he could've sworn she was looking into his, too. Time had frozen. Every moment felt like a whole new season as they lay there staring into each other's eyes.
Peter felt this magnetic force pulling him towards her as he leaned closer to Amara, bringing his face closer and closer. She closed her eyes and lifted her head, attempting to close the gap even further.
They were inches away, Peter could feel her heartbeat and felt her breath on his face. She smelt of jasmine flowers, like she always does. Holy shit! Are we gonna kiss?! Peter thought, panicking, yet oozing with excitement.
Then the timer for the cookies went off. The sound filled both the silence and the space between them, forcing them away from each other.
When they were sitting up again, Peter cleared his throat and Amara tucked her hair behind her ears.
"I'll get those out," she said, standing up and walking slowly towards the oven, leaving Peter to wonder what would have happened if the timer had gone off just a few seconds later. He scrunched up his face and lay back down.
—————
What is wrong with you, Amara?! What are you doing?! What are you thinking?! How could you let this happen?! He is your mission and your friend, nothing else! So get a grip!
Amara opened the oven door and within the confusion of what had just occurred a few seconds ago...
"Amara! Your hands!" Peter shouted running towards her.
Shit! Amara had forgotten that Peter was unaware that the heat from the pan doesn't affect her, and she had forgotten to put oven mitts on. How was she supposed to explain why her hands are fine. She quickly placed the tray down onto the countertop and jumped back for an added effect.
Peter was by her side in an instant. "Are you okay?"
He took her hands into his to examine them and Amara could see the worry plastered all over his face. "Does it hurt? Are you okay? Here run it under cold water!" He ran towards the sink to switch the tap on and gestured for Amara to come over, which she did.
"Peter, I swear I'm fine! I was only holding it for like, 2 seconds-"
"I don't care! I'm gonna go and get the first aid kit, you carry on running it under the tap." He sprinted off through the corridor and returned a few minutes later with the kit in his hands.
"Here give me your hands," he said as he took them, once again, drying them on the towel and then dressing the wound, placing ointment and wrapping a bandage over it. "Is that okay or is it too tight?"
"It's fine," Amara said looking up at Peter's face once again. Eventually he looked back up at her, again.
But this time they were interrupted almost immediately, by Aunt May walking through the door.
"Hey kids! It smells great in here! What did you guys order?" She said from the entrance, hanging her coat up and walking into the kitchen, but halted at the sight before her: Amara sat on the counter with Peter standing in front of her, holding Amara's hands in his. "Umm, am I interrupting something here?" May asked.
Peter jumped back, "M-May! Hey your home! Uh this is not what it looks like! She burnt her hand so I was just wrapping it, that's all I swear!"
"Peter, it's okay! You're growing up, your hormones are all over the place and your body is-"
"Surprise! We made dinner for us all!"
Amara peeked from the back of Peter's head and said, "Surprise." May was a pretty middle aged woman. She had a warm smile and a welcoming look to her face, especially when it had lit up with excitement from the idea of being cooked for.
"So, you're this Amara that my nephew can't seem to stop talking about," May smiled.
"May!" Peter said.
"All good things, I hope?" Amara asked.
"Better than good, trust me," May smiled like she was planning something.
Peter hid his face behind his hands, his ears turning a bright shade of fire engine red.
Amara got down from the counter, looking at all of the dirty dishes and spilled flour everywhere. "Sorry about the mess, we made cookies after and we forgot to clean it up. We'll do it, though."
May waved her suggestion away, dismissing it completely, "Don't worry about it, sweetheart! You didn't need to do all this!"
"Do you like it?" Amara asked.
"I love it! But I can't believe that Peter made you cook for us all on your first visit here!" May said, giving Peter a disappointed look.
"No! Don't blame him. It was my idea. And trust me, it was no trouble, at all. I love cooking! Me and my dad cook together all the time," Amara smiled fondly at the memory. She couldn't remember the last time they had done that and she mentally made a note to cook with her father once again.
"Thank you, Amara. I can't believe you got this guy to cook. I've been trying for years!" May laughed.
Amara started laughing too, earning an embarrassed look from Peter. Then she reached her hand out to comfort him, touching his cheek and scrunching her nose, "Don't worry, you did good!"
May watched the two of them, raising an eyebrow and giving Peter a look, which Amara picked up on. Peter shook his head and said, "Let's eat! I want to know how my food tastes!"
—————
"That was delicious!" May said leaning back in her seat. They had just finished, collectively, cleaning up and putting all the dishes away. They were now eating the cookies Amara and Peter had made with ice cream and sitting in the living area. "You should come here more often, Amara."
"That's the plan Miss Parker," Amara said glancing over at Peter, who was already staring at her. When he caught her eye, he looked away quickly and cleared his throat.
"Please, call me May. Miss Parker makes me feel so... old," May laughed.
"Okay, May," Amara was beaming. Peter's aunt was so amazing. She brought this feeling of happiness into every room she walked into. She was kind and welcoming and she had this way about her that made a person feel instantly calm within her presence. She was everything Amara aspired to be.
"How's your hand doing, now?" Peter asked, concern spreading across his face and scrunching his eyebrows together. Amara couldn't help but think about how cute he looked like that - not that that means she likes him, just admiring him at a platonic distance, that's all.
"It's good, almost completely healed. I think I got lucky," Amara said lifting her hand to show Peter and repel any doubts in his mind and he smiled at her. She caught his gaze and they, once again, found themselves admiring each other for a moment too long. Amara looked down at her phone and saw the time, 7:47 it read.
"It's getting late. I should probably call my ride," Amara said, standing up.
"How are you getting home? You're not getting a taxi at this time, are you, Hun?" May asked, worriedly.
"Oh no, don't worry! My dads sending his driver to pick me up. He'll be here soon, so I should probably head down."
"Well take Peter with you, while you're waiting. He'll keep you company while you wait for your car," May said, sweetly.
"It's okay, honestly, Peter you don't have to," Amara started.
"No! I'll come, it's no problem. Come on let's go," he said standing up, getting everyone's plates and putting them in the kitchen sink.
He grabbed his hoodie and Amara's bag for her while she waited in the room, saying bye to May.
"It was really nice meeting you, May!"
"Oh you too, sweetie! You're welcome anytime!"
"Thank you," Amara said just as Peter walked into the room, putting his hand on her back, quickly.
"Shall we go?" He asked.
"Yeah," Amara smiled. "Bye, May!"
"Bye, Hun!"
The both of them walked outside in silence until they got to the elevator.
"You're aunt's amazing! I love her so much!" Amara said.
"She'll be glad to hear that," Peter nodded. "She liked you, too, by the way."
"She did?"
"Yeah, I could tell!"
The elevator finally reached the ground floor and they stepped out, heading towards the cold.
Suddenly Amara became very aware that she had forgotten her jacket at home that day. She was freezing.
"Hey, you cold?" Peter asked.
"A little. But I'm fine," Amara replied, honestly.
"Here," Peter said giving her his hoodie to wear.
"No it's okay, you really don't have to-"
"Take it, I have loads," Peter said, insisting.
Amara nodded and Peter draped his hoodie around her shoulders. As he did, she caught a whiff of the hoodie. It smelled like Peter, like a small slice of heaven, that he had given especially to her. "Thank you, Peter."
"It's okay."
"I'll give it back to you on Monday, I promise."
"Don't. It suits you. You can keep it."
"Thanks, again," Amara said as she saw Happy approaching the building. "That's my ride."
"Cool. Thanks for coming."
"We should do this again," Amara said, politely.
"Yeah. That'd be cool," Peter said in reply.
"See you soon," Amara said.
"Bye."
"Bye."
"See you on Monday."
"Monday."
(A/N: We met May!!!!!! I love her sm!!! I'm so happy I finally got to write her character. I just hope I brought justice to her in the short amount of time she was in this chapter!!! Thank you for reading, as always!!!!)