Hey loves! Was gonna update this sooner but made it super long instead! Enjoy! Please comment and vote!
STEVE AND BUCKY WERE BACK.
Elenora recieved a text from Coulson in her first period English class, saying that her fathers would be at the compound and whenever she was off of school, she would join them.
She shut her phone off under the desk, letting her head fall back in in relief. Silently, she hissed a "yes".
They had told her not to be worried, like it helped. Coulson and her fathers themselves said they'd be okay but truthfully, she didn't believe it. But it was all okay now- they'd be fine for sure.
The rest of the period, Elenora was in full response mode- raising her had for all the questions the teacher had and laughing along as the woman offered terrible, terrible jokes. Peter, who hadn't seen Elenora like this in, well, ever- was quite concerned.
As she practically skipped out of the classroom, Parker tugged on her hood to get her attention. She knew it was him- and she spun around with a big happy grin, and grabbed his hand, pulling him to their next class. Peter's eyes were wide.
"Guess what?" Elenora prompted, as if she was about to let out a high pitched squeal. Parker, show as slightly worried now, pressured her to tell him. "they're back! The avengers! My dads and your Tony and Tasha and Pietro- oh and training!" With her hand still in Peter's, Elenora did a little twirl, which Peter adjusted to help her. Seeing Elenora like this brought a grin to his face, and the news made it easy.
"Have they texted you yet?" He questioned, as Elenora stepped back to fall into pace with Peter. She shook her head.
"Not yet, but they will soon." Elenora brushed a curl and tucked in behind her head with the hand that wasn't holding Peter's. Who would be the first to let go? She didn't want the moment to end, but she didn't want it to be awkward if Peter didn't-
"Let me check if Mr.Stark texted," he offered pulling his phone from his pocket with the hand that wasn't holding Elenora's. "Ah, yeah! He did! 'Just got back. See you soon, kid.'"
With careful consideration, Elenora pulled her hands away from Peter's to playfully punch his arm. "Hey!" he shouted, jokingly. Elenora laughed, and kept doing it, teasing, "just getting you ready for training when I'm gonna kick. Your. Butt." She stressed each word with another punch. Peter shoved her off with a grin.
"Oh you wish!" he denied, and the second he looked away from Elenora, he made eye contact with Ned, who didn't look to happy. "Hey, dude," he greeted. Elenora sniffled back a few more laughs and said 'hi'."
"Have you seen Jade?" he asked, and both Peter and Elenora sobered up.
"No, why?" Elenora demanded, her hands falling at her side.
"She sent me a weird message yesterday and she's not here today. I guess I'm a little worried," he said. Peter and Elenora exchanged a look. "It's probably nothing," she said, glancing back at Peter for just a moment, before tugging on her backpack straps, looking back at Ned. "What did the message say?" She pressured, and sighing, Ned pulled out his phone. He scrolled, then offered it to Peter and Elenora.
Elenora took it.
10:52
We have a minor issue. I need your help.
11:04
Oh? What do you need?
Jade?
What's wrong?
Is this a joke?
12:26 AM
Bro
Are
You
Serious
7:15 AM
Jade?
Wya?
Elenora giggled, "Ever heard of not double texting, Ned?" She played, her excitement not fully gone. Ned sent Peter a look, and Peter nudged Elenora. Her face fell. "Oh sorry. That was rude. My bad." She handed the phone back. "She wasn't in English."
Peter asked, "Have you called her uncle?"
Elenora's eyebrows furrowed as Ned responded. "Yeah of course I call- NO! why would I call him?"
"Uncle?" Elenora repeated, and Peter pulled his eyes away from Ned to answer.
"Jade doesn't live with her parents," he explained, letting Elenora work out the rest.
Ned filled in, "and he gave me his number last time Jade and I hung out."
An expression draped over Elenora as she shifted her weight. Oh She had not been a good friend- she'd been shorty with replies and blowing off plans, and didn't even know who Jade lived with. "Could we maybe ask Tony to track the number?" Elenora asked Parker. "Try and locate Jade, then, uh, have our little friend, spidey, check up on her?"
The three shared a look, and Ned nodded. "Yeah, you think you could do that?"
Peter said, "yeah, I don't see why not. I'll try my best."
Peter and Elenora continued their day, attending their classes with minimal attention and maximum excitement. During their science class, Elenora recieved a message from Steve.
Hey sweetheart. Me and Bucky are home. Please come to the Avengers Tower after school.
And so Elenora did. Her and Peter practically ran from Spanish to the compound- it was the first time Elenora was grateful for the intense training session. The two young Avengers nearly shattered the elevator button from pressing so hard.
When the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, Elenora sprinted towards the two fully uniformed Avengers she knew so well. She embraced them before they even got the chance to greet her.
Steve laughed a grunt away, "Hey, Bug," he said, wrapping his arms around her. Bucky held a serious expression with Steve, and the locked stares while an oblivious Elenora tucked her head in the crevice of Steve's neck and shoulder. When she pulled away, Steve went back to a smile. He crouched down to level with Elenora. She smiled back. "Did those help you at all?" She nodded, and hugged him again. This time when she pulled back, Elenora turned to Bucky. His expression softened, and he spread his arms.
"I've missed you," she mumbled into his shoulder. He held her tighter.
"Me too, El."
She pulled away, facing both Steve and Bucky. Relief washed over her. For a moment she just watched them, then she tugged on the chains on her neck. "I suppose you'll be needing these back," she explained, but Bucky and Steve stopped her.
"Keep them, Doll," Bucky told her, and she hesitated but nodded. When they had fallen back on her neck, Steve took a breath and avoided Bucky's semi glare.
"El," Steve called, and her smile faltered when she saw his face. "I think we need to talk." When Steve saw his daughter's expression, he went on. "About the letter." He glanced at Bucky, whose arms were crossed over his chest. "About a few things.
Elenora nodded, swallowing hard. It didn't seem like it would be a very happy talk.
Steve led the three of them to one of Tony's conference rooms, and Elenora turned back briefly to catch a smile and wave from Pietro and Wanda. Elenora was glad they were safe. She was glad all the avengers were.
When the small family walked into the room, Elenora realized she had been in there before - it was the conference room where she first talked to Steve and Bucky.
Following Steve's lead, they all both sat down.
"The letter," Steve started, his hands in his lap. "The one you told me about, the one-"
"From my uncle," Elenora revealed and Bucky shifted in his seat. Elenora, feeling particularly vague, added, "the Professor. At the school. That I got the letter from." Steve dared to look at Bucky, then his eyes fell to the table. Well, she thought, they don't seem too surprised. Then it dawned on Elenora. They weren't surprised. They knew. Maybe I'm wrong, she told herself. "You guys don't seem shocked st all," she noted, then furrowed her brows. "Or even caught off guard. Or in anyway unexpectant of the news of my estranged uncle." No response. "Did- did you know? About him? About Charles?"
Steve still didn't respond, and continued to stare down. Bucky answered for him. "Yeah El, he did."
A fire lit in Elenora's chest, much like the ones she often felt during an injustice in her foster homes. She tried to put it out, but she knew nothing could help it. Charles was her uncle. And Steve said nothing. In anger, Elenora turned to Bucky. "Did you know, too?"
Bucky dared to hold Elenora's instinctive glare. "Not a clue," he emphasized.
Bucky and Elenora stared at Steve. "You knew," she restated, fury building in her. "And you said nothing." Again, Steve stayed silent. "Dad, I have an uncle, someone like me, a mutant, and you said nothing-"
Steve tried to stitch the wound before it grew. He kept messing up with Elenora, he didn't know what to do anymore. "You already had me and Bucky-"
Bucky interjected, "Don't you dare bring me into this Steven-"
"And Pietro, and Wanda. I thought we were enough."
Elenora got quiet. She didn't know how to explain this to him. Steve and Bucky had given her all she wanted, but Charles made her want more. She needed to know him and she didn't realize what it meant to Steve. But why was Bucky mad? Is it logical for Elenora to be mad at Steve? Yes, she thought to herself. It is. But she didn't want to be mad. Still, she knew Steve knew better. Whatever he hid was emotional, not logical. He didn't mean it, she tried to convince herself, but she didn't believe it.
"They're not like me," elenora rejected. "You're not like me. You guys weren't born like this, you don't get it-"
"Elenora-"
Steve's voice was a plea, but she couldn't stop. "He's my family. You kept me away from my family for the second time-"
"El-"
"You don't get it! Not at all! You got the choice to be this-" She motioned at Steve's suit, "person. Wanda and Pietro weren't born like this. Neither was Bucky. Everyone here changed, but I have always had this-" disgust was evident in her tone, "inside me. This has always been me." Steve took a deep breath when he saw tears streaming down her face. "I-I got in so much trouble because of it, I was so scared that someone would find out and I still am and now-"
"Elenora, please," Steve's voice was strained now. Still, Bucky said nothing. It wasn't his place he thought. Steve didn't tell him about it to begin with, so it was a matter Bucky shouldn't be apart of. Family. He shouldn't be involved. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I was scared that you'd go with him and forget about me. About Bucky. It was selfish and I'm sorry."
Elenora swallowed, but formed an a reply.
"I'd never forget my family. Not you or Dad. I love you, and I will always love you most." Okay, I should probably chill, maybe Charles will be epic. "I'll always belong here, with you guys. With Aunt Tasha and Tony and the twins and Peter Parker. I don't plan on leaving." There was relief on Steve's face, and she was glad for that. But she wasn't finished. "And while you guys know all that, you should also know that I have to meet him. He's family, Dad. I've gotta."
Steve sighed and hung his head for a moment, but then brought it up with a nod. "Of course I do, Doll. I get it."
Nodding, Elenora led her gaze over to Bucky, and though she had no clue what happened on that trip, she knew one thing - Steve screwed up. With one look back at Steve, she knew that we was well aware.
"Well I've got some homework to get done," Elenora excused, going to stand up in her chair, adding for good measure, "plus, I should probably go say hi to Tasha." She glanced over at Bucky, then at Steve with a warning glance. Be careful, it said, looks like you messed up. Drawing a last breath, she straightened out, and left the room.
She closed the door softly behind her, and let out a long exhale with her back towards the door. Whatever just happened, if she truly processed any of that, was a lot. She needed a break.
But if there was one thing clear about Elenora's life, it's that she rarely got breaks.
As she walked back to the common area, she heard Tony's voice, and out of instinct, she pressed her back against the wall and stayed silent.
For a moment, she applauded her herself- she was at least spy level 3 (according to Ned's scale formed during a sleepover with Peter. It was meant to rate the various versions of James Bond). Elenora felt like a shorter, brunette version of Black Widow. She listened in on the conversation.
"And what am I supposed to do about that, Wanda?" Tony huffed, turning away from the girl with crosses arms to give his attention back to a monitor. "How am I supposed to fix your issue?"
"It's not an issue, Tony," Wanda corrected, taking a step towards him. "I'm just asking if you could tell him. Let him know that it's possible."
"But it's not," Tony told her. "It's not possible. Pietro cannot leave the Avengers for a girl."
"And why not?" Wanda demanded, and Tony scoffed and shut down the monitor, and mimicked Wanda's stance. Elenora started to freak out - what girl? Did Pietro have a sweetheart?
Did I really just think 'sweetheart'? Gosh, I need to stop listening to dads' commentary during rom-coms.
"Because we need him," he said. "And he knows that. And that's why he wouldn't think about asking to leave."
Wanda's hands fell on the desk in front her. "He deserves to be happy! Please, Tony."
"If he comes and asks, that's one thing. I won't just tell him he can," Tony concluded, facing away from Wanda. "And you should know out of all people that relationships aren't permanent. He's ruining his life and getting heart broken all at once."
Natasha flared at him. "And how would you know that? Have you ever met her?"
"No. But I know that girl is nothing but trouble."
It was then that Elenora decided to leave; she had heard enough to fuel her imagination for a couple of weeks, and she wasn't in the mood to get distracted by some love affair. Although she sincerely hoped that Pietro didn't leave.
So Elenora continued on her adventure, slipping down the hall and back past the room Bucky and Steve were at, hoping to over hear nothing. She sprinted past the room before anything could reach her ears. As she lapped the Towers, Elenora tried to not think about Pietro and whatever his plan was or wasn't. She had one main problem right then- Jade.
Eventually, Elenora managed to find Peter in a spare lab next to Bruce, typing away at the computer with Ned's phone powered into it. Realizing that Peter didn't see her enter the room, Elenora decided that she'd give him and little scare. Creeping forward, Elenora put her hands on Peter's shoulders suddenly and laughed as he let out a shriek and bounces him his chair. Elenora pulled away to get a chair as Peter spun to look at her with pink cheeks.
He exclaimed, "Geez!" as he straightened back up, fixing his t-shirt and relaxing again. After Elenora nudged his chair with the arm of hers, Peter rolled over to let her see the computer screen.
"What'd you find?" she questioned, getting situated in the seat.
Peter perked up at the inquisition, facing back to the desktop and rolling his hand on the mouse. "Okay so I managed to trace the text back to this cell tower." Peter pointed the mouse on the center of a highlighted circle on a map that had just appeared. "And thats-" Peter brought the curser to a building symbol, "is her building. But I used this other thing that Mr.Stark showed me and it traced back to this." Peter double clicked, and an image of an abandoned building appeared. Elenora's face contorted, and Peter nodded in agreement, and went on. "That's not all," he warned, spinning in his chair to face a different monitor. "I cross referenced the address in SHEILD's database, and it turns out that the factory used an HQ for some sort of gang. They cleared it out, but no one knows what it is now."
Elenora tried not to let her mind come up with millions of different ideas. "So," she said, trying to come up with a pleasant and acceptable way to say the next part, "let's sneak out and figure out what it is."
Peter gawked at her- this wasn't like a few days ago when they could break into the Towers or fight some guy in the street. Her dads were home, and that meant that Elenora would be carefully watched. He could get out, but she couldn't.
Knowing that Elenora was likely to be upset by the truth of his knowledge, he tried to put her down lightly. "You don't have a suit yet," he stated. "I could just go, and you can instruct me from the monitor."
Even as he beat around the bush, Elenora knew exactly what he was talking about, and shoved him. "C'mon, Pete, lemme come with you. I'll stay invisible. I can do it for super long now. I've been working on it."
"It's just," Peter sighed. "I dunno about that. Like you haven't been on patrol or a mission or anything yet. I think I should just go alone."
Elenora huffed and diverted her eyes. She couldn't believe even Parker didn't want her involved. Why couldn't anyone understand she was capable of protecting herself? This is the reason she needed to meet Charles- he could help her be stronger. And clearly that's what she needed for everyone to trust her.
Knowing his best friend was upset, Peter tried to calm the situation. "Elenora, please. I need you here, helping me where you can't get hurt."
Scoffing, Elenora looked him dead in the eyes. "And what if you get hurt? 'Cause you seem to forget it's possible."
Peter sighed, and gave her puppy dog eyes. Elenora tried to scoff, but failed and smiled a little. Peter started to laugh, and she kicked his chair. "Screw off, Daddy Long Legs."
Peter blushed as his eyes grew wide, and shoved her back.
"Okay, okay," Peter settled down, turning back to the computer and sending a bunch of links to his email. "So I'm not going now, I'll go later," he said, and Elenora has concluded that even if Peter said she could go, Bucky and Steve wouldn't be very happy.
Just think, El, in a month or two, they'll trust you so much more.
"And should I call you? Then you'll set up the suit's Bluetooth?" Elenora questioned. She was gonna do whatever it took to be apart of this little mission, even if it meant playing the computer guy.
Peter nodded, then took out his phone and sent her a link. Elenora pulled out her phone, but Peter's hand fell on hers, forcing Elenora to look up.
Peter spoke, "Just, uh, don't say anything? To your dads? They may say something to Mr.Stark and he's been a little restrictive-"
Elenora nodded, cutting him off. "Yeah, yeah of course." She tucked her phone away, forgetting what she was doing because of the touch. "Text me when you're getting ready to go, yeah?"
Peter said he would, then grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, "I'll see you later, or talk to you anyways, okay?" She smiles in confirmation, and Peter resisted the urge to kiss her cheek. At just the thought, he turned red, and started to run out. Where had that come from?
Elenora didn't notice, consumed in her own thoughts. Can't wait.
***
Elenora was hanging out in the kitchen with Clint before Steve and Bucky came to get her. Clint was busy munching on some blueberries while Elenora had a bowl of raspberries. One thing that Elenora has realized was that Clint rarely spoke about missions, and this was no exception. As they ate their snacks, Clint talked about the things he had to get done at his farm, and Elenora listened intently.
"And of course there's always that garbage disposal I'm always hearing about," he remembered, letting out a sigh, tossing s blueberry in his mouth and shaking his head.
Steve's voice pulled her away from Clint's list, "Hey, sweetheart," he called, and Elenora turned around with a smile. She was surprised to not see Bucky behind him.
Sliding off the chair, Elenora said, "Hey, Dad. Where's Buck?"
Steve tried to hide his flinch, but Elenora caught it. So whatever was going on with Bucky wasn't going so well. In fact, it hadn't gone well at all.
"He's got some loose ends to tie up with the mission," Steve explained, outstrectching his hand to Elenora. She took it and hopped down from the stool, and grabbed her bag. "We're not gonna wait for him?" She questioned, and Steve shook his head.
"He said we should just head home," Steve told her, waving goodbye to Clint. Elenora did the save thing but received a reproachful glance from Clint.
She swallowed hard, a worried expression masking her just relaxed face, and followed Steve home.
***
"Do you want anything to eat?" Elenora offered, teaching into the fridge she hadn't been in since the last video chat. It was practically empty, except for salad dressings, condiments and a jar of pickles. Hungry and not feeling too picky, Elenora shrugged and pulled out pickles. Steve, who was checking his phone with squinted eyes, looked up.
"What do we have?" he asked in reply, putting the keys down on the kitchen table and checking the mail. Elenora turned to give him a response, but hesitated momentarily, distracted by the gloomy weather. It didn't look like that this morning. She shook her self out of the trance and turned to him, offering his concerned look a small smile.
"Pickles and potato chips, I think," she told him, looking in a few cabinets until she found the bag of plain chips. She held them up for inspection. Steve gave a small look of approval, opening the jar, and Elenora ripped the bag. She got out a bowl to pour the chips into.
Steve mentioned, "We will probably have to go get dinner out tonight," he mention, and Elenora nodded, hoping Peter would call before then.
I could always just say I'm not feeling too well.
Steve and elenora stayed completely silent as they moved to the living room, taking a seat together on the two cushioned sofa. Steve turned on the TV to a show about houses, and Elenora tried to watch, but kept getting distracted by Steve's sad face. Finally, she broke.
"Dad?"
Steve pulled away from the TV. "Yeah, El?"
"Are you..." Elenora's voice trailed off nervously, and Steve shifted to face her better. "Are you and dad in a fight?"
Steve's face broke, and he gave up the strong aura. "Yeah, El, we had a disagreement."
"Was it... about Charles?"
Steve looked up at the ceiling, searching for a calm way to state the next part. "Yes, Elenora. He's upset that I didn't tell him. And he has everything right to be. As do you."
Elenora shook her head. "I'm not mad. I mean, it bothered me but I understood."
Steve met Elenora's eyes- he looked surprised and curious. It reminded her of the way he used to always look at her in the beginning. Like every move broke a stereotype he tried to place her in. Like no matter what he did, Steve could never figure his daughter out.
I should be honest with him, she recognized, but the other part of her reminded, you've never talked about that stuff. Elenora hesitated but then realized something.
Just because I've never done it, doesn't mean it'll hurt.
So for the first time that night, Elenora told some other than Peter Parker about her foster homes. "I mean, I've done something like that before," she admitted, crossing her legs under her and facing Steve. "I, uh, so I used to stay at this foster home," she swallowed roughly, trying to bring down her anxiety. Steve just sat silently and attentive. "And um, I had this really good friend, not good, great, yknow what she was really my best friend," Elenora clarified. "Her name was Briana. And she was um, just really cool I guess and it wasn't a shock that someone wanted to adopt her pretty soon after I had met her.
"And I guess I was afriad? Or something like that. I thought that if she left we'd both be so unhappy and so to prevent the foster parents from pulling her out of our home together and forcing her with basically strangers, I hid the envelope with the paperwork that the lady was gonna send out.
"Eventually the foster parents started getting nervous when there was no response from the people and one day I say Briana crying about it and I explained the plan.
"An-and she hated me. She was so upset and I couldn't figure out. Then everything got fixed. The papers were signed and everything was in place. She left and she was still mad at me. And all I wanted was for her to stay with me. I never saw her again.
"So I guess that's why I don't blame you," Elenora concluded. "I've made the same mistake. And I wished Briana could understand. So yeah, I guess I get it."
Steve was quiet. Elenora let him take in all the information. It was the first time she had shared something like this, it wasn't shocking that he was caught off guard.
After a minute Steve spoke. "Thank you, El," was all he could come up with. Elenora nodded and dove for a hug. Steve let out a small laugh, and accepted.
They stayed silent even after Elenora pulled away, and positioned themselves to face the TV.
"So what I'm hearing is that you were a trouble maker when you were younger," Steve mentioned, and Elenora snorted and nudged him.
"Only when I had to be!" She defended, laughing a little. "Dad, you should call him."
"Hm?" Steve processed it. "Ah. I'm not sure, El. I don't really think he wants to talk to me."
Elenora shook her head. "It's worth a try, Dad."
Elenora watched as Steve went to grab his phone- she stopped him by placing her hand over his and letting out a small "no". He looked up, concerned, and she explained. "He, uh, probably won't answer if you call," she said, pulling out her own phone and handing it to him. "Here. Call him off mine."
Steve sighed but accepted her offer, and pressed the contact titled "Dad" followed after a hair emoji. Steve looked up at her skeptically.
She shrugged. "It's the most obvious difference between you two."
Steve stifled a laugh and allowed his pointer finger to press the call button, bringing to phone to his ear. Luckily, during the whole conversation, Elenora had been planning to offer her phone, and had the volume all the way up to make sure she could hear everything.
The dialing stopped, and a crackle sounded.
"Hey, Doll, you alright?" His voice alone didn't give a sense that anything was off, which slightly frightened Elenora.
"Buck?"
"I'm not really in the mood to talk, Steven," Bucky stated shortly.
Steve looked at Elenora, who knew what she had to do. After years of knowing him, Bucky no longer felt bad about grudges against Steve, but the man still have a soft spot for Elenora. An extremely soft spot.
Elenora called, "Just hear him out, Dad!"
There was rustling and a bit of feedback. "Is that El? Is she listening to this?"
"She's the one that told me to call you. Even gave me her phone to use- she knew you wouldn't answer otherwise."
Bucky got quiet, and Elenora was worried she'd gone too far until she heard a deep chuckle. "Sounds like we've got a marriage counselor, Stevie."
Steve and Elenora joined in laughing as well. Something about the sentence made Elenora's gear turn.
"If you wanna talk, meet me at Dave's. I'm dying for a chili cheese dog, so that's where I'll be."
"A-alright, Buck," Steve complied, and the phone call ended. He sat there dazed for a second, completely amazed that his daughter knew how to deal with possibly the most stubborn man on the planet, but then his face contorted when he remembered that as a father, he couldn't just leave him daughter to hang out with his boyfriend.
Elenora was quick to read Steve, stopping his formulating plan. "Just go," she urged, motioning for him to move. "I'll be fine."
Steve didn't like the sound of it. "But-"
"Dad, I'll be okay. I promise. I'm almost fifteen, I've got it handled."
Lucky for Elenora, this seemed to calm Steve, and he nodded, handing her phone back, and planting a kiss on her forehead. "You be good," he said, ruffling her hair as she shooed him away. "Keep the door locked!" he reminded, grabbing his keeys. "And don't-"
"Got it, Dad," she reassured him. "Don't let anyone in unless they're strangers."
It took Steve a moment to process the mistake, and he didn't find it nearly as funny as Bucky WOULDVE. He sent Elenora a hard look, and she just laughed.
"I'll be okay, Dad!" she repeated. "Don't worry. Go have fun."
Steve checked, "Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off at the Towers? You could hang out with Tasha or someone."
"I'm good here, Dad," she promised. "I've missed home."
And elenora knew at that moment, Steve was gonna leave her be.
"Okay," he agreed. "Bye," he said, closing the door, smiling a little as he heard Elenora request, "Bring me something back, please!"
Finally, Elenora was alone and it was perfect timing- at that moment, she recieved a text from Peter.
PETER PARKER
Ready.
She rushed over to her bedroom desk, flipping open the laptop that Tony had gotten her for school purposes- which he clarified was just a ruse for her dads- and hooked up her phone, accepting the livestream that Peter's suit was sending her.
The suit's cameras were embedded in the eyes, so Elenora could see anything he could. Right now, Peter was standing on his fire escape.
"Hey, El!" he greeted energetically, and Elenora could practically hear the smile in his voice. Stifling a laugh, Elenora pulled up the location map of the suit, as well as the address of the destination.
"Hey, Pete," she replied. "You ready?"
"Always," he confirmed, and Elenora watched him crack his knuckles and neck. He let out a small "ow" and Elenora tried not to laugh.
"Okay," she said, enlarging the map on her screen. "So you're gonna go left on Pine-"
"My left or your left?"
"Peter, we have the same left."
"Oh! Oh, yeah," he said sheepishly, and his hand bent and moved behind him, presumably to scratch his neck. "Sorry."
"You're good," Elenora said, squinting at the map, trying to get the next few directions figured out. "So, like I said, you take left on Pinebrook..."
Elenora was able to get Peter to the factory with only three setbacks- "you go to a prodigy school, P, and you don't know your right from left?"- and it only took 23 minutes.
And a complete waste of 23 minutes at that- no one was there. The place was empty. Peter had done a complete walk through, but nothing changed the fact that it was vacant.
Now elenora was getting nervous- originally, she figured she'd just be one and done with this, that Jade would be found in the first place she looked and that everything would be fine. But this was a setback. Where was she?
"Parker?" Jade called, typing in a new location on the computer, and he answered back with a "Hm?" From the top of the factory. "Could you do one last thing?" She watched his vision bob up and down. "Could you swing by Jade's apartment?"
"Oh yeah! Great idea!" he exclaimed, and swung over the the next building without hearing Elenora's directions. She was getting pretty nauseous watching.
It was only two blocks over, and when Peter finally got there, he called out, "Hey, she's there!" The camera zoomed in on Jade sitting at a kitchen table. In front of her was a bowl, filled with food that she was eating.
So she wasn't dead or being held hostage.
"Who's that person?" Elenora asked, and Peter focused in on a person coming in from the kitchen door. Whoever this woman was, she looked nothing like Jade- she had possibly the blondest hair Elenora had ever seen (and her dad was Steve Rogers) and the whites shirt and bluest jeans.
Wow, she is beautiful.
Elenora was snapped out of her trance by Peter asking, "who is she?"
Elenora offered, "maybe her sister? She looks nothing like her," she breathed out, trying to not be so mesmerized by the stranger.
But Jade wasn't in any harm- in fact, Peter and Elenora made sure that she wasn't trying to fight and they actually saw Jade smile a few times. So whatever happened with Jade the previous night was probably a mistake or something smaller. Her phone might've broken. She might have gotten grounded or sick. Or-
"Is there anyway that Ned could've gotten Jade pregnant?" Elenora demanded dramatically, sending Parker into a coughing fit.
"No! No way!" he coughed out, shaking his head frantically. "At least- I don't think so-"
Elenora shook her head, "Just messing around Parker, now head back home, alright?"
"Yeah of course. This was cool, uh, thanks El. Really enjoyed a mini mission with you."
Elenora moves her hand to cover her blush, even though Peter couldn't see it. "Sure thing, P. No problem. "
Steve's knock and voice voice broke the moment, "El? Who ya talking to?"
Bucky added with a small shout, "We got you dinner!"
Elenora twisted to face the door. "Just Peter! I'll be right out!"
"I'll see you tomorrow at training, right?"
Elenora nodded, despite the face Peter couldn't see. "Yeah. Bye, P."
"Bye El."
And so elenora left her room to eat dinner. She sat sandwiches between Bucky and Steve on a two seater couch to watch a baseball game that no one liked but they made comments like they knew what was happening. And they just sat there, long enough for Elenora to spread herself across her dads' laps, with her legs dangling by Bucky and her head resting on Steve's.
And they were comfortable and happy and safe. And they were loved. But something wasn't quite complete.
Elenora wasn't content just yet- as happy as she was with her family, she made a list of three things to accomplish before summer ended.
I am Professor Charles Xavier. I teach at a school for the gifted young. My students possess unique abilities.
1) Call her uncle Xavier and tell her she was coming for training.
"Sounds like we've got a marriage counselor, Stevie."
2) Get Steve and Bucky to hitched. With the rings and ceremony and everything.
"Elenora, please. I need you here, helping me where you can't get hurt."
3) tell Peter Parker she kinda sorta maybe had a crush on him.