Balancing
Michelle forgot about the movie night until she heard Love Less play from her phone as the words “Leave now your face the A.D. kids wrath” broadcasted themselves on her screen. She sent a look of apology to Wanda and Clint, who were both in the middle of cleaning off the chicken they were apparently going to make for dinner. She had helped them, successfully cleaning one and a half of the three packages before she got the alarm. When she had asked why so much the former assassin had reminded her they had two enhanced individuals with enhanced appetites while nodding at Matilda and the man who somehow fought in spandex.
Michelle frowned. Part of her had been looking forward to seeing if the small girl in front of her really could out eat the regular humans twice her size.
Steve stood, hearing the alarm from the table where he was going over Sam with their strategy for getting Stark off Michelle’s case. “Alright, show time. You ready?”
Michelle washed her hands before quickly grabbing some paper towel to dry her hands off, fighting the instinct to wipe them on her jeans. “Pretty simple. Let Uncle Sammy here drive me to my friend’s place, maybe banter with the windows rolled down. When he drops me off we hug and I tell him I’m glad I got to see him, he tells me to be careful. All this happens while Natasha is a safe distance nearby, so it looks like she’s playing guard. Yada, yadda, yadda.”
“Uncle Sammy?” Wanda had laughed as she set another piece on the plate, ready to be seasoned and covered in breadcrumbs.
“I get Steve and same have this whole… Star-Spangled Man with a Plan and Uncle Sam thing going on but I’d rather not feed into it.” Sam held in a chuckle, giving her a mock salute before taking the keys from the counter.
Clint threw his head back in laughter before clapping Steve on the back. “I like her, you did well on this one.”
Steve rolled his eyes before clearing his throat as the tall girl started walking toward the door, following Sam’s lead. Michele turned to see him holding her backpack easily, an eyebrow raised in question.
She slowly made her way back, taking it from his hand. “My bad, thanks.”
“And take your jacket as well.”
Michelle rolled her eyes and gave him the middle finger but took her jacket off the hook before she left the house.
“Language!”
“I didn’t say anything, but message received.”
The ride back was filled with a mixture of questions about her life and what felt like test questions. If Natasha was in charge of making sure she wasn’t lying, Sam must have been in charge of making sure she was good at mental gymnastics… like Olympics level. They felt like those “what would you do if…” insert situations that will likely never happen games kids would play in the schoolyard.
“Situation eight. Your friend is-.”
“I’m going to stop you right there. My friends are kids who go to an advance science school. We all do nothing except study and watch either sci-fi or musicals.”
“What about that person who called you? They sounded concerned.” Sam started off. Michelle felt like she was being called to the beginning of a performance.
“That’s Peter, he’s on the academic decathlon team with me. He helped me calm down the others after the monument.”
“So he wasn’t too shaken.”
“Well, he wasn’t with us until after it happened. Said so family emergency happened but I call bullshit.”
Sam glanced at her. “What makes you so sure?”
Michelle shrugged. “I can read people. That’s why Steve gave me his number, to begin with. I don’t know why or how, but I’m almost always right. Actually, that’s a lie. I’m always right.”
“Huh. SHIELD would have recruited you if you were that good when you were older though.”
Michelle looked over at him, using her eyes to scan him like some medical software. “You walk with a slight limp in your right side. I thought it was a partial injury caused by something small like bumping into something. But you use your left foot while driving, so it must have been an injury long enough for you to adjust your driving accordingly.”
Sam looked at her, he lifted an eyebrow as she continued. “You’re also ambidextrous, which is good considering you fight a lot and need to work with your hands. Your eyes linger a millisecond longer on road signs containing the word “Harlem”, including both names of businesses and directions, then on any other sign with the exception of the Stark signs which I would chalk up to unresolved tension. So, you grew up in Harlem, right?”
Sam paused before nodding and saying, “Cap did well. You’re good at reading people.”
Michelle smiled, glancing at her phone screen to check the time.
“So, if you can read all that in a car ride why do you have issues reading where that Peter kid was the day of the monument?”
Michelle paused. “I guess I never try to read Peter like that. He’s pretty open about everything. He builds Star Wars Lego sets with Ned, he’s a Brainiac at science, lives with his Aunt, kinda had a rough upbringing but that’s not my story to tell.” She shrugged. “Not really a huge deal as far as reading.”
“Why not just try? I mean, for practice. You never know.”
Michelle looked at him, eyes narrowed. “Is this some weird training thing or-?”
“A bit. Mostly I just think he likes you, going by his voice on the phone.”
Michelle rolled her eyes, moving so she was hidden by her hair as she blushed looking out her window. “Ridiculous. You are as bad as high schoolers.”
Sam laughed. “You never outgrow it, kid. The drama just gets more scandalous.”
After that, the conversation shifted from interrogation to what Michelle imagined a conversation is he really was her Uncle Sammy would sound like. He had rolled the windows down and asked her easily about school and life in general.
“Apart from the… monument incident how was D.C, rugrat?” he asked playfully with a smile on his face. He had changed his posture to mirror a relaxed demeanor.
“Okay. I spent some time protesting so that was nice.”
“Atta girl.”
Michelle noticed a car that started driving behind them about five minutes before they reached Cindy’s place. She glanced in the rearview mirror before smiling. “She looks good blonde. Like Atomic Blonde only more badass.”
Sam chuckled. “I’ll let her know you approve of the styling and color.”
“Tell her I said to make sure she deep conditions. Bleaching hair is a bitch. Liz once tried to dye my hair red and it got all stringy.”
“Huh. Red seems like it would suit you.”
Michelle nodded. “Maybe I’ll get it done one day, not really a priority right now.”
When Sam pulled up in front of Cindy’s house he unbuckled his seat belt and climbed out, leading with his left leg which made Michelle glance at him to make sure he was okay even though she had seen him walking before. She snapped back to reality when Sam opened her door, she unfastened her seatbelt before being pulled into a hug.
“Going to miss you, kiddo. Stay safe out there and tell your parents I said hi.”
Michelle returned the hug, going over the cover story in her head again. “I’m always careful. You’re the one that needs to stay safe.”
He smiled, patting her on the back before reaching for her bag on the floor of the car and handing it to her. “See ya around, kid.”
“Later, Uncle Sammy.” She gave a mock salute before walking up to the door as Sam pulled away, Natasha tailing him in his retreat.
Michelle didn’t even have time to knock before the door swung open to a familiar yet unexpected pair of faces.
“Hey losers,” she responded, trying her best to not let the surprise coat her voice. “You made it before I did. I didn’t miss Ease on Down the Road, did I?”
Both boys stood with their mouths agape.
Huh. Maybe reading them would be the only way to get answers.
Michelle looked at both boys’ posture, eyeing them up and down. Peter’s foot had moved once he opened the door, he looked like he was waiting for some kind of blow to come from beyond the wood that was before him seconds ago. His arms were tense, knees bent as though preparing to pounce. His shirt was pulled askew revealing a red-rimmed undershirt around his neck, from the angle it was … it seemed as though Peter had been about to rip or even pull off the Midtown shirt he was wearing. Why would-? She doubted he was brave enough to undress in the locker room, let alone at a friend’s house.
She took a moment to take in Ned, who was positioned in a defensive manner. He was half turned toward the kitchen as though to run for back up if needed. No, that didn’t make sense. Why would Ned be getting back up? Maybe he was turned to grab a phone in case of emergency, that seemed more fitting for the boy. But still-.
“Um, hey MJ. Sorry, I just… I just thought I saw someone I knew. Glad you could make it.”
Michelle let out a snort. “I’ve made it to the last hundred movie nights, Parker. You and Leeds are the ones with the shit record of accomplishment.”
She moved between them to enter the house, easily walking to the kitchen to get snacks. “Did you start without me?”
Ned blinked before following her. “No. Right now we’re just missing Flash and Charles. Liz said if they aren’t here in fifteen we’ll start without them. Also, we’re watching Annie after the Wiz.”
She paused, throwing the bag of popcorn into the microwave, and hitting the start button. “Which Annie?”
“That new one that came out a few years ago,” Ned responded.
Michelle nodded, pulling the selection of popcorn flavoring shakers from the cabinet. She handed a few to Ned before gesturing for Peter to move closer so he could carry the others.
Peter seemed tense. He walked stiffly, his arms still tense though he was trying to appear casual. “So, was that your uncle?” He asked as Michelle pulled the bag from the microwave and started dividing it into several bowls.
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“On leave from the military?”
“Mhm.”
He got quiet for a moment, only moving when the taller girl would gesture for him to carry something. “Didn’t know you had an uncle.”
Michelle rolled her eyes, regarding him carefully. “You’ve mentioned you don’t know much about me before.”
Ned had taken a few of the flavoring shakers and two bowls of popcorn before opting to make another trip for the other snacks and heading to the living room. And he was struggling a bit with his balance as he left.
However, Peter was an anomaly. In his time silently holding everything Michelle had been handing him as he seemed to be lost in a place between thoughts and reality, he had managed to hold more than Michelle would predict. A few litters of soda she’d grabbed from the fridge, a bowl of chips, an Oreo container, and a bag of disposable cups. She had even handed them to him so he would be off balance in a way, but he never stumbled or adjusted himself.
“Have you been going to the gym, Parker?” She questioned, looking away as she pulled out her phone to look up the nearest pizza place that would deliver.
His head snapped up, confusion written in his wide eyes. “Wh-what?”
“You’re stronger then you used to be. Better balance too.”
She saw panic cross his eyes before he let out a chuckle. “I-Uh guess I grew out of the awkward puberty stage, huh? I’m gonna set all this stuff down in the room with the others. I’ll- I mean, call me if you need help carrying anything else.” With that he scurried off, not dropping any of the items she’d given him.
Michelle bit her lip, eyes where he had stood as she listens to the dial tone.
Maybe she should read Peter more often. Something was off about that one.