Chapter 2
Waking up to the sun blaring in her room, for a moment, made everything feel as if it was okay, but it didn’t take long for the memories of yesterday to hit her. Peter left.
Looking to her left she saw the letter he had left her on the table. A letter that made certain aspects clearer all while raising even more questions, why did he want to leave? But there was one part of the letter which broke her heart the most, “The thing is if I see you as a mother figure then that means I’m kind of your son, right? And you deserve a better kid than me Tasha,” how could he ever think that? Anyone in this world would be lucky to be able to call Peter Parker their child. And if he looked at her as a mother then she would do her best to be worthy of that title, she will find him and prove that to him. How did she miss that? How could he ever think she wouldn’t care about him as much as he cares for her?
But she had to get up, her and the team had to continue looking. They should probably actually go out looking for him physically, the longer they took to do that the further he would get, and he needs to come home. She needs him to come home. Before she walked out to the elevator to got to the common room, she grabs his letter, if she is going to ask the team if they also got a letter then they’re going to want to see the one she has.
However, once she was in the elevator she was struck with the realisation of, what if he didn’t write to anyone else? She knew she needed to bring the letter with her, but she was afraid of what their reactions would be if he hadn’t.
Tony was the first person she saw, he looked exhausted which was to be expected but still they smiled to each other and they walked to where the group were all sitting. They both knew that no matter what the team chose to do, they wouldn’t stop looking for Peter until he himself told them to stop, in person not through a letter. The team was clearly waiting for them, if the silence were anything to go by, a silence that felt so haunting and yet so peaceful, if there was one person that could get this group of misfits to get along then it was Peter, and now that he was missing it was clear they were going to work together to get him back. She had known he had made an impact on them all but seeing everyone sat together in a room willingly working together to find this boy she honestly wondered if his spider powers were really the only ones that he had. As Bruce said Peter was even able to worm his way into the green guys heart, something that everyone thought was practically impossible.
It was now or never, “Did any of you get a letter from him?” At those words suddenly all the focus is shifted to her and she lifts the envelope up so they can see.
“A letter?” Tony asks her as he snatches it from her, normally she’d put up a fight, or he’d be on the floor before he could even reach for it but not now, not when she was so tired and not when it was as important as this. As she looked around at the confusion on her teammates faces, her fear was confirmed he’d only written to her. She explained to them how Friday had let him into her room. After saying that she remembers what Peter had written about her and swirls around to look at Tony, only for him already to be looking at her.
“I already knew that part.” What, how? “Friday how could you not notify us of the fact he was here?! You knew we were looking, and you just let him go!”
“I’m sorry Sir, I was just listening to Mr Parker’s requests.” No one in the room had ever heard the AI show so much sorrow before, once again reminding them of what they had lost.
“Tony, I know you aren’t happy with what Friday did but it’s too late to change it now, we need to focus on finding him.” Steve reminded him.
“Has he been spotted anywhere?” Tony directed at his ceiling, and Natasha wishes, not for the first time in her life, that she wouldn’t allow hope into her heart, but in that moment, she prayed that they had found him with everything she had.
“No, sorry Sir.”
Suddenly Wanda stood, “So we go out and look.” bless that woman for being on the same side as her Natasha thought. “He knows to avoid any kind of cameras, we taught him that, so we have more chance of finding him if we break off, either on our own or into pairs and start looking for him!”
“She’s right,” Natasha told them. “The longer we wait the further he will get from us, not just physically but emotionally. He thinks he’s doing what is best, if we don’t look for him, if we don’t find him then we’re basically just telling him that he’s correct. If that happens then he will never come back. But at least two of you need to stay here just in case he shows up.”
“As much as I want to be out there finding him, I think it would be best for me to stay here, it’s not safe for me to be out there looking. Especially since I can tell the big guy wants out, it’s not safe” Bruce told them all, at his apologetic look Natasha smiled at him. She understood his fear and as much as she wanted to comfort him as she knew how guilty and worthless that made him feel she needed to focus on Peter.
“Wouldn’t having the green guy come out attract Peter to us? He knows how much you don’t want him out in public it would draw him to us.” Tony questioned.
“It would, but for all the wrong reasons, he would come out of hiding because he would feel the need to help a situation that we can prevent. He won’t be coming back because he wants to but because he has to and that will not end well.” Clint spoke up.
“So we split up. Alright Tony and Sam you two team up you can be the ones in the air. Steve and Bucky, you two work together, you might be able to find areas we wouldn’t think of or can’t access because we don’t have any kind of super solider serum in us. I know all three of you have a different kind but some of it is basically the same you two just aren’t sticky. Wanda you’re with me, we’ll take the ground. Thor and Clint, you two can do, well whatever you want, I guess you’ll be able to access both sky and ground. Everyone take your comms we need a way to communicate easily, don’t turn them on until you’ve found something, we need to focus on this, you’ll only have a line open with your partner at all times, got it? Bruce and Pepper, you two stay here, I know you want to help Potts, but we need someone here in case Bruce is unable to be of assistance.” Natasha commanded; she might not be the leader of this team but right now she wasn’t willing to wait for orders.
The group began to split into the groups she’d told them of as soon as she finished speaking, they weren’t wasting time. Good.
After everyone, but her and Tony, had left to collect everything that they would need or had already left, she turned to the man, “What do you mean by you already knew? You already knew what Stark?” She commanded.
“I already knew about the whole mother figure thing. He told me about two months ago, was all rambles and anxious stuttering, it took him about five minutes to actually get the question out there.”
“What question?”
“He asked me if you cared about him, and obviously I told him of course you do, you don’t let anyone be near you the way you allow him to be. It’s as if he’s your little duckling, you listen to his rambling, you let him follow you around, you teach him, you comfort him. Basically, you became his parent without either of you realising. When I told him this and asked why he was asking he got even more anxious and he just spilled that he couldn’t really remember Mary, but he remembered her warmth and that feeling of having a mother and that he had realised he had started to think of you that way. So, I asked him what he wanted to do about it and then he went on a rant of if you would even want him as a son, I don’t think I was able to convince him that you would but then again only you can do that. But I did convince him to talk to you, I don’t know why he hasn’t, and I have no idea why he ran away but I do know one thing, we’ll get your kid back Romanoff.” At that he left her to get ready.
Wanda appeared around the corner, a look of determination etched on her face, Natasha realises that if they don’t find him it won’t just be her and Tony that wouldn’t stop, Wanda would do everything to find him too. Yet she just stares at Natasha, waiting.
“Let’s go.” Natasha says before walking away, she’s not waiting for the boys to get ready.