Forever and Always (Peter Parker)

Chapter 28: two years later

"I'll be back later. I'm going out for a bit," I yell through the house, grabbing my coat and heading towards the door.

"Bri, where are you going? Can I come?" Morgan asks, running towards me.

I bend down to eye level with her and smile, "Well that would be fun, wouldn't it?"

She nods and smiles really big. I can't believe my little sister is already almost three years old. She talks so much, which I guess she gets from me and Dad. And she's so dang smart. She'll have both of us running for our money.

I take her to the park whenever I get the chance and play with her outside nearly every day. I love spending time with her, and I'm so thankful I have her. She's everything to me. She's pretty much the only thing that's kept me sane the last two years.

But today I'm going to the facility for our monthly meeting. And there probably won't be anything to report. I keep telling myself to keep pushing, that something will come up. But to be honest, I'm starting to lose hope. Maybe Dad is right. Maybe it's time to start healing and moving forward.

"I would take you to the park, but sissy has some work to do, okay?" I say, brushing her brown hair out of her face.

"Okay sissy," she says.

I see Dad walk around the corner, causing me to freeze. We haven't been on good terms here lately. Since the snap really. Yeah, two years. My dad and I used to be best friends, but things just haven't been the same. Every time we have a conversation with each other, we just end up arguing.

"I'll be back later, princess. Go play," I say, kissing Morgan on the head and standing up. After I stand up, she runs back into the other room leaving me and Dad alone.

I turn my head the other direction towards the door, "I'll be back later."

"Brianna, wait," he says, causing me to turn back around.

"Hm?" I say.

"Just... um...drive safe," he stutters.

I nod my head and give him a small smile, "I will. Thanks."

I open the door and close it behind me. As much as I want to get along with my dad, he makes it so difficult. He is so stubborn... Well, I am too, but that's besides the point. I just wish he would respect my decision for not wanting to give up on this. I lost someone very important to me. I lost the person I love.

Once I get to the facility, I get out of my car and head upstairs to the conference room. Nat is standing at the desk cutting her a PB&J sandwich.

"Hey, Nat," I say, walking in and tossing my jacket down.

"Bri, hey," she says with a smile. She stands up and gives me a hug. "Everything okay?"

I shrug my shoulders, "Same old, same old. You?"

"Same," she says with a smile. I know how much Nat has stressed over this, like me. The Avengers are her family. We are her family, and now half of us are gone. We just don't give up on family.

Soon enough, Rocket and Nebula hop on the channel, along with Carol, Rhodey, and Okoye. We greet everyone and get onto business. Nobody has any new information. Same as the every other time we've met. The only thing that's happened is some underwater earthquakes being reported near Wakanda, but who knows what the hell that could be.

Before everyone gets off, I ask, "Carol, can we expect you next month?"

She looks at me with sad eyes, "Not likely."

"What? Are you gonna get another haircut?" Rocket jokes.

"Listen, furface. I'm covering a lot of territory. The things that are happening on Earth are happening everywhere else. On thousands of planets," she snaps back.