𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝟔

—♜—

𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑 mother a wave of goodbye as the woman disappeared into her office, and she swiftly headed into the nearest living room.

She quickly grew delighted as she spotted the sleek piano that rested in the corner of the room, and, seeing that there was no one there to object to her doing so, Kara made her way over and sat on the bench.

She sat there for a couple of minutes, ruffling through the pages of her piano book as she looked for a song to play. By now, she had learned and practiced every song in that book, along with a few others that were stashed away in the bookshelves behind her.

Kara settled for Chopin's Nocturne in G minor and leaned the book against the stand as she rested her fingertips against the glossy keys.

The soft melody floated around the room as Kara gently pressed the keys, keeping her foot hesitant on the pedal and her eyes locked onto the notes on the page in front of her.

It was her deep concentration that got her through the entire six minutes without making any mistakes, and also what caused her to completely miss the fact that Wanda had appeared at the doorway.

"Hey," Wanda greeted as soon as the song had come to its end, causing Kara to jump slightly in her spot and turn to her with widened eyes.

"Hi, Wanda," Kara said weakly as she held a hand over her heart and sighed in relief. "You scared me there, girl."

"I didn't want to interrupt while you were playing," Wanda laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I have training in" —Kara glanced over at the clock— "thirty minutes with Uncle Steve and Uncle Rhodey."

"So that means you have thirty minutes to hang out with me," Wanda said with a grin before beckoning for the girl to follow her. "Let's go to my room."

"Okay." Kara got up, quickly closing the piano book before following Wanda out of the living room.

"So," Wanda said lightly as they walked into her room, shutting the door behind her, "I heard that you went to a burning house."

"Yeah, like, last week," Kara confirmed with a small shrug as she sat down on Wanda's bed and grabbed one of the pillows. She hugged it tightly against her chest and leaned back against the headboard. "How'd you know?"

Wanda shrugged as she sat down next to Kara. "Vision was telling me about it yesterday."

"Oh?" Kara raised her eyebrows, a grin coming onto her face. "Vision, you say?"

Wanda's eyes narrowed. ". . . Yes? And what about him?"

"Oh, nothing, just that . . . you most definitely like him," Kara giggled.

"Of course I like him," Wanda scoffed as she rolled her eyes, "he is my friend, is he not?"

"No, that's not what I mean," Kara whined playfully, slapping the other girl's arm. "You like-like him."

Wanda's eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head. "I don't understand. Why did you say 'like' twice?"

"Like, you have a crush on him!" Kara insisted.

She scrunched her nose and shook her head once again. "I definitely do not want to crush him, Kara, he's my friend."

"Oh," Kara scoffed lightly, "you're just pretending to be stupid now."

Wanda tried to hide the grin on her face, but failed as she innocently asked, "Why would I pretend to be stupid? I am smart, no?"

"Wanda!" Kara exclaimed, playfully hitting the girl with the pillow.

"Okay, all right, I understand," Wanda conceded with a small chuckle as she raised her hands in surrender. "I don't have a . . . crush on him."

"You are such a liar," Kara sighed, giving her an exasperated look. "Wanda, you talk to him all the time!"

"We live in the same house!" Wanda protested incredulously, waving her hands in the air.

"Okay, fine, but you always blush when you talk about him!" She then pointed to Wanda's cheeks, which were growing redder and redder as they continued the conversation. "Like now!"

"Because," Wanda spluttered, "it is very hot in here!"

Kara paused for a moment before continuing, "And he totally likes you too!"

Wanda's eyes widened slightly, and her voice became a whisper as she leaned forward and tentatively questioned, ". . . Do you really think so?"

"Aha!" Kara exclaimed as she pointed towards Wanda, a look of satisfaction reaching her face.

Wanda pouted as she leaned back and asked, "What, 'aha!'?"

"You're interested!" Kara continued with a grin.

Wanda gave a small scoff. "Of course I'm interested to know if my friend likes me!"

"Wow." Kara sighed, rubbing her eyes before a realization hit her. "Is this what I was like with Peter before I started dating him?"

Wanda shrugged. "I don't know."

Both of their attentions suddenly drew to the door as it creaked open, and Sam's head popped in.

He grinned upon seeing Kara and raised his eyebrows. "Ah, I thought I heard the dulcet tones of your loud voice." He then nodded towards Wanda, and greeted, "Hey, Wanda."

"I wasn't being that loud," Kara scoffed as she folded her arms, though she hardly believed her own words. Perhaps she had been a little too excited about the Wanda-Vision romance.

"Rhodey is two floors above us, and he texted me saying that he could hear you," he pointed out as he stepped in and leaned against the wall.

"Okay, then." She grinned and raised her hands in surrender. "My bad."

"Well, I'm glad to see that you don't look like a beef patty that was left on the grill for too long anymore," Sam remarked as he nodded towards her face and body that were now very much healed from the burns.

"Yeah, self-healing does wonders," Kara said with a shrug. "I wonder if there's a limit to it . . . Like, if I got stabbed, would it work? Or if I got shot?"

"I mean," Sam said with a wicked grin, "there's only one way to find out."

"Wanda, if I get stabbed or shot, tell the court that it was Uncle Sam," Kara quickly said as she turned to the girl, who gave her a solemn nod.

"I will," she promised.

Sam rolled his eyes before he redirected the conversation and questioned, "What were you yelling about, anyway?"

"How Wanda has a crush on Vision," Kara told him with a shrug. "Do you agree?"

"Nah, I'm not getting involved with that shit," he chuckled while raising his hands in defence. "Just wanted to stop by and make sure Kara wasn't dying," he sighed as he headed back to the door. He suddenly paused and pointed a finger toward her. "Tell me if you meet Spider-Man again because I have some questions for that dude."

Kara's eyebrows knitted together tightly as she asked, "Questions like . . . ?"

He shrugged. "Like if he lays eggs or could summon a spider army or somethin'."

Kara nodded slowly. "I'll be sure to ask."

Sam gave her a finger gun before closing the door behind him, and the sound of his footsteps soon faded away.

"Wait," Wanda suddenly said, her eyebrows furrowing as Kara turned to face her, "what did he mean 'meet Spider-Man again'?"

"Oh, when I was at that burning house, I met Spider-Man there," Kara explained briefly with a small shrug. "We talked for a quick second, but there was a guy about to die, so . . ."

"And do you" —Wanda's face suddenly became awkward as she tilted her head and squinted her eyes— "know who he is? Like yes, he's Spider-Man, but who he is really?"

"No." Kara shook her head. "He sounded familiar, but I'm not really sure if I know him."

"Hm." Wanda frowned. "So you have no clue?"

"No?" Kara's eyebrows scrunched together as she asked, "Why? Do you know him or something?"

She gave a small chuckle and shook her head as she reassured Kara, "No, I don't. He seems very . . . interesting though. He is young, no?"

"I mean, yeah, he sounds like he's a teen," Kara said with a nod. "But there are a lot of us who are. Me, you, Amelia, Maximoff, like, everyone at the Mansion . . ."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Wanda agreed. "Maybe you know him then. He could be a classmate."

Kara squinted her eyes as she stared at Wanda and dubiously questioned, "Are you sure you don't know him?"

"I'm just saying!" Wanda defended as she lifted her hands up in surrender. "I don't know him, but it's possible!"

"I guess it is," Kara sighed as she leaned back against the headboard and clutched the pillow tightly. "I swear to God, if it's Flash or something, I'm gonna die . . . ."

"The Flash?" Wanda furrowed her eyebrows as she tilted her head. "Isn't that already a superhero? A fake one?"

"Yeah, that's the guy like Maximoff—a speedster. Although," she quickly added, "The Flash is faster. But Flash is some stupid guy in my grade. They nicknamed him that because he can run kind of fast."

"Ah, I see." Wanda nodded. "And you don't like him?"

"Oh, no way," Kara said with a crinkled nose as she shook her head profusely. "He's horrible. He always picks on Peter and Ned."

Wanda straightened up, and her eyes narrowed as she slowly asked, "And does he pick on you?"

"Not . . . Not really," Kara said with squinted eyes. "I think he's a little scared too because I know the Avengers and the X-Men. But he's not nice to me, anyway."

"You tell me if he says anything mean to you," Wanda told her. "I'll make sure he regrets ever being born."

"Thanks, Wanda," Kara giggled. "You'll be the first person I tell."

"Maybe I will break his legs," Wanda mused. "Then he cannot run. How can he be 'Flash' if he can't run? You can rename him 'Stationary.'"

"I mean . . . that's a start," Kara said with a small grin. "The nickname might need some work though. And also, you should not break his legs, he would definitely take you to court."

"Yeah, so?" Wanda shrugged, waving a dismissive hand through the air. "I can say he was being stupid, case closed, I win."

Kara squinted her eyes. "That's not how . . . court works."

Wanda waved a dismissive hand through the air and gave her a reassuring smile that didn't reassure her all that much. "I'll make it work like that."

"You know what, I'm sure you would be able to," Kara said truthfully with a grin. "You are Wanda Nicolescu, after all."

"Damn right I am." Wanda nodded as she puffed her chest up slightly and shrugged. "Just a little threatening the judge, a little magic in their head, maybe break Flash's arms and possibly spine, and I win."

"There you go," Kara giggled. "I can already see the headline in the newspaper: 'Wanda Nicolescu wins case despite violent acts inside the courthouse.'"

"The city would love it," Wanda laughed. She paused for a moment before tentatively asking, "So . . . how's Peter?"

"He's doing good." Kara shrugged. "I'm going to his house for a date after training."

"Has he . . ." Wanda gave a short sigh as she leaned back and continued, "told you any secrets lately?"

Kara furrowed her eyebrows, turning her eyes to the ceiling for a moment as she thought before shaking her head. "I don't think so."

Wanda tilted her head. "So he tells you everything?"

Kara stared at the other girl for a few seconds, her eyes suspiciously narrowed as she inquired, "Is there something you know that I don't know?"

"Of course not, I've only met the boy once," Wanda reassured her with a quiet chuckle. "I'm . . . I just want to make sure you get the best."

"Thanks, Wanda." Kara smiled, though the small feeling of uneasiness refused to leave her stomach. She ignored it as she sighed and told her, "You don't need to worry, though. Peter's the best."

Wanda was about to reply before the door suddenly burst open, and they quickly turned their heads to see who had interrupted them this time.

"What are you doing, Kara?" Rhodey questioned as he folded his arms. "It's time for training, and you're sitting here, gossiping?"

"First of all, we're not gossiping," Kara told him as she pouted. "Second, it's not time for training yet! I have, like, twenty minutes!"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Rhodey raised his eyebrows. "We moved the training time to thirty minutes earlier than originally planned."

"You didn't tell me!" Kara exclaimed as she threw her hands into the air.

"What?" Rhodey's face scrunched up in confusion before he insisted, "I told Sam to tell you."

"He did come in here," Kara said to him with a small shrug. "But all he talked about was how loud I was and that he wanted to know if Spider-Man laid eggs."

Rhodey was about to say something before he paused, his eyes narrowing. ". . . Does he?"

"I'm gonna guess no," Kara giggled. "But anyway, Uncle Sam told me nothing."

Wanda shook her head and folded her arms. "I don't know why you would trust Sam to deliver this announcement."

"Yeah, you're right, I can't even trust him to eat something without dropping it," Rhodey sighed. His eyebrows furrowed as Kara got up and went towards the door, and he asked, "Where're you goin'?"

Kara stared at him for a moment. "Training?"

"Oh, right, we should get to that." Rhodey nodded quickly, flashing her a small grin. "Steve'll be on our asses if we're any later."

"I figured," Kara giggled before turning and giving a wave of goodbye to Wanda.

"Oh, and don't tell Sam the thing I said about dropping food," Rhodey added on as they began to walk to her usual training room. "Then he'll get all mad and say that it's because I always slap it out of his hand."

"Is it true?" Kara asked with squinted eyes.

"Well, technically, yes, but I don't want to give him that win," Rhodey chuckled. "But if he says anything mean to you, just tell him he's a food-dropper."

Kara's eyes squinted even more as her nose crinkled, and she pointed out, "I can't imagine that'll hurt his feelings."

"Oh, it will." He nodded. "Trust me."

—♜—

"Hey, Kara!" Peter grinned as he opened the door and beckoned for her to enter. "What's up?"

"Nothing." She shrugged as she stepped in. "I just finished train—I mean, um, helping Uncle Steve and Uncle Sam train."

His eyes widened as he shut the door behind her and exclaimed, "Cool!"

"Eh, working with two sweaty guys isn't really all that exciting," Kara giggled. "But it is pretty awesome to watch Uncle Steve and his shield."

"It's so cool that you can see Captain America's shield in real life," Peter breathed out, his eyes still widened. "Have you touched it before?"

"Yeah." Kara shrugged once more, a small grin on her face. "Amelia, Maximoff, and I used to use it as a frisbee when we were younger until a certain someone—definitely not me—accidentally hit Uncle Clint's car with it, and then . . . Well, that was the end of that."

"Hey, Kara!" May suddenly appeared as she walked into the kitchen from the living room, a wide smile on her face as she walked over. She sat down on the couch and patted the empty seat next to her before she called, "Come, let's talk! It's been a while!"

Kara grinned before looking towards Peter and raising her eyebrows. "Can I ditch you for a quick second?"

"Ten minutes!" May called over.

"Yeah, just go ahead and steal my girlfriend," Peter replied to May with a chuckle.

"Your girlfriend?" May pretended to be shocked as she lifted her eyebrows and widened her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about! She's my girlfriend."

Kara squinted her eyes as she folded her arms. "Does that mean I would be your aunt?"

Peter wrinkled his nose and waved a dismissive hand through the air as he shook his head. "I'm not gonna think about that."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Kara giggled. She placed a light kiss on his lips before walking over to the couch and sitting next to May.

May turned her head towards Peter as he made to sit in the sofa chair, and her eyebrows furrowed. "What are you doing?"

"Wha—I was just—"

"This is girls-only, get outta here!" She grinned as she pointed toward the hallway where his room was in.

"Fine. You said ten minutes, so I'll be here in ten minutes," Peter warned with a small wink before disappearing down the hallway.

"So, Miss Kara," May started as she turned back towards the girl and leaned against the back of the couch, "how has life been treating you lately?"

"Pretty okay." Kara shrugged. "I haven't been doing much lately, just focusing on school and trying to beat Peter and Ned in Super Smash Bros."

"Oh, yeah," May laughed, "I've heard that you're pretty bad at it."

Kara gave a dramatic gasp as she clutched her hand over her heart and demanded, "Who told you that lie?"

"Peter and Ned."

"Figures. And I mean . . ." Kara scrunched her nose as she shrugged and admitted, "they're not wrong, I don't think I've ever won."

"Well, I can hardly figure out how to use a controller in the first place, so you're already one step ahead of me." May grinned and patted her shoulder. "Excited that school's about to end?"

"Not really," Kara sighed as she leaned back against the couch and frowned. "I'm gonna feel bored without math."

"You're the first and last person I'll ever hear say that," May remarked. "Are you at least excited for grade ten?"

Her eyes widened as she shook her head. "I mean, that just means I'm one year closer to the SATs, which is terrifying."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine," May reassured her with a small chuckle. "You're the smartest person I know!"

Kara raised her eyebrows as she added, "Excluding Peter, I assume."

She shook her head. "No, Peter very much included. Speaking about Peter . . ." May lifted an eyebrow as she leaned forward and inquired, "How are you two doing?"

Kara shrugged. "I'd say we're pretty good."

"Okay, okay," May mused, pressing her lips together as she bobbed her head. "So . . . how do you feel about him?"

Kara's eyebrows furrowed. "I . . . um . . ."

"Like . . . do you lo—"

"Hey!" Peter interrupted loudly, quickly walking back over towards them with a forced smile on his face. His eyes were glaring daggers toward May as he reached out and grabbed Kara's hand before pulling her to her feet. "I think it's been ten minutes. Bye, Aunt May!"

"Wha—it's been like, three minutes!" Kara protested with a frown.

"Three minutes, ten minutes, same thing," he said quickly as he flashed her a grin.

The two of them swiftly walked towards his room, Kara giving an apologetic smile and wave to May, who only sent her a devilish smile in return.

Kara sat down on the edge of Peter's bed as he shut the door, and he soon joined her.

"So . . . what did you and Aunt May talk about?" Peter chuckled nervously, glancing over towards the door.

"Oh, um . . . school, Super Smash Bros., and" —Kara's eyebrows furrowed and her eyes squinted— "she asked me how we were doing, and how I feel about you."

"Oh, that's weird," Peter stammered. "I don't know why she'd, uh, ask that."

She shrugged. "Seems pretty on-brand for May."

"Yeah, I just . . ." He rubbed the back of his neck as his gaze shifted toward the ceiling. "Anyway . . . Hey, I got this new Imperial Star Destroyer Lego set, wanna build it?"

"Sure," Kara giggled as Peter got up and grabbed the unopened box from his desk.

She joined him on the floor as he peeled the tape off and poured out the bags of pieces onto the ground, which was then followed by a thick manual.

Kara pursed her lips as she began working on the first step, her eyes narrowed as she clicked the two pieces together.

"You know," she began as she clicked another piece on, "I used to play with Legos a lot when I was younger."

"Used to?" Peter cut in with a small frown. "Legos are awesome!"

"I know . . . but I'm traumatized now," she sighed as she shook her head and grabbed another grey piece.

Peter's face scrunched up as he asked, "Traumatized? By Lego?"

"Well . . . One time, Amelia and I were building a Death Star set, and, just when we were about to finish, Uncle Clint kicked and broke it on 'accident,'" she said as she air-quoted with her fingers.

He gave her an amused smile as he quirked an eyebrow and questioned, "Could it be because you hit his car with Captain America's shield?"

"Hm . . ." She squinted her eyes as she watched him build his own piece. "Probably. It was like, three days after."

"Figures," Peter laughed before holding his hand out towards her. "Here, we have to connect our parts now."

She placed her piece in his hand before flipping to the next page of the manual and beginning to start on a different piece.

"Ned was telling me about how he got the Millenium Falcon Lego set from his cousin," Peter told her with a grin as he leaned back against the bed. "We should build that all together."

"I think we should build a Hogwarts one," Kara sighed dreamily as she clicked her pieces together. "Then I can find a Cedric Diggory character . . . a Draco Malfoy . . . Hermione . . ."

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me I'm gonna lose my girlfriend to a Lego piece."

"You won't," Kara reassured him as she kissed his cheek. "Unless the Cedric Diggory one is accurate, then you should be worried."

"Aw man," he chuckled, shaking his head.

Kara rested her head against his shoulder, keeping her gaze on the pieces in her hands as she followed the instructions.

About half an hour later, their five-hundred-piece Imperial Star Destroyer was finished. Peter grinned as he examined it before carefully putting it back on his desk and offering a hand to Kara.

"Come on," he said, "let's go to the park."

"The park?" Kara repeated as she got up and threaded her fingers through his. She frowned as she glanced out the window to see the lowering Sun, and pointed out, "It's getting dark, though."

Peter only smiled in response and nodded towards the door before the two began to walk out.

They said a quick goodbye to May, who winked in response, before heading out of the apartment building and making their way across the street, where the park was.

It was quite empty, considering the fact that it was nearly half past eight, and the sky was quickly darkening. Warmth washed over them as they walked towards a nearby bench, hearing the creak of the swings as the tender breeze gently blew by while the luscious scent of sweetened bread wafted over them.

Once the two of them had sat down, he wrapped his arm around her on the back of the bench, which prompted her to easily relax into his embrace and rest her head on his shoulder. Her eyes gazed out towards the blue sky that was settling into a warm pink, and she sighed in content.

"Peter?" she said softly after a few minutes as she turned to face him, her eyebrows raising. "Why'd you wanna come here?"

"I . . ." Peter's cheeks flushed as he looked towards her, and he swallowed nervously. "I, um, wanted to tell you something?"

"Oh?" She straightened up and furrowed her eyebrows, shifting close enough to him so that there was no space between them. "What is it?"

"Kara . . . I, um," he chewed on his lower lip for a moment before he murmured, "I love you."

Kara's eyes widened, and she tried to collect her thoughts as she ignored her thrumming heart and heated cheeks.

She hadn't really given too much thought to this kind of thing; she had been far too busy with training and patrolling and school to ever think about it.

Did she love him?

Well, there were certainly many things she loved about him. His smile, his hair, his eyes, his humour, his smarts, his kindness, how much he cared about others, his awkwardness, the forced laugh he'd give whenever she made a bad joke but he didn't want her to know it was bad, the weird face he'd make whenever Kara and Ned began conversing about something totally strange, the way—

It was safe to say that Kara knew her answer.

"You don't—you don't have to say it back if you don't want to," Peter said quickly, judging her slow reaction negatively. "I just—"

"I love you too."

Peter's eyes lit up as he saw her smile, and his cheeks reddened. "You—you do? Like, seriously?"

"Seriously," she giggled as she nodded.

Peter smiled and lifted a hand to her cheek, caressing her skin gently with the side of his thumb before leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers. Kara wrapped her arms around his neck, shifting herself closer as he tilted his head.

Peter pulled back after a few moments, keeping his forehead pressed against hers as he whispered, "I love you."