Control (Avengers Fan Fiction)

[ 25 ]

The sun had gone down just a little more than an hour ago. The team sat across the upper deck in a circle of chairs. In the center of the circle was a large metal pit that sat safely off of the ground. The friends were enjoying drinks and sharing stories. Scarlett sat between Pietro and Peter. Her chair was scooted close enough to Pietro's that he could put his hand on the arm rest of her chair. Scarlett's bathing suit had dried off hours ago and now she wore a white t-shirt over the suit. It was Pietro's shirt. He had offered it to her a when she got out of the ocean when he noticed that she didn't seem comfortable in just her swim suit.

Scarlett loosely pulled her knees to her chest and put her head back to look at the stars. Pietro's hand on the arm of her chair moved to rest on the back of her hand. Scarlett lifted her head up and looked at him with furrowed brows. He didn't look in her direction. His eyes were focused on Rhodey, who was sharing a story of one of the many times Tony had gotten intoxicated and done something embarrassing.

Scarlett let out a soft sigh. She pulled her hand from underneath Pietro's and stood up.

"Where are you going, Scar?" Peter asked her as he put a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"I'm cold. I'm going to find a blanket." She answered him.

"Can you get me a soda while you're inside?"

Scarlett nodded her head as she made her way back into the yacht. She moved swiftly down the stairs and went to her room. On her bed was her hoodie from earlier. She pulled out her phone and looked through the notifications. Vince had called her nearly a dozen times while Pierce only called her once. Scarlett silently cursed herself as she dialed Pierce's number.

"You missed my call earlier."

"I'm sorry, sir. I haven't been able to have a moment to myself all day."

"I want an update, agent."

"They aren't really working right now, Mr. Pierce, sir. I haven't heard any of them talk about anything valuable. But the second I know something, you will know too."

"You've spent three days with them, Scarlett, and you have nothing to report back?"

"I've been watching them, sir." She sat down on the edge of her bed. "The way they act, how they behave with one another. I've learned a lot."

"Good. Don't make a fool out of me, Scarlett. I've got people counting on me and I'm counting on you."

"Yes, sir. I understand, sir." Scarlett softly nodded her head. "I'll do my best to find out something useful, sir."

"Good."

The call ended and Scarlett thought about calling Vince, but she changed her mind at the last minute. She didn't want to talk to him.

So instead, she pulled a small throw blanket from her bed and went into the kitchen to get Peter a soda. Then, she quietly made her way back upstairs to the top deck.

She handed Peter his drink and sat down in her seat. Just as she was getting comfortable, something in the sky crackled and sent a thunderous echo through the air. Scarlett was on her feet in seconds, her eyes looking around for the source of the noise but all she found were colors exploding in the sky.

"It's okay, princessa." Pietro was standing next to her, his hand on her arm as he spoke gently to her. They were more towards the back of the circle so no one had seen her brief moment of panic. "It's just fireworks."

Scarlett watched the sky carefully before she returned to her seat. She threw the small blanket over her bare legs and crossed her knees. As she watched Pietro settle back into his own chair, she reached out to place her hand on his forearm.  A soft smile formed on his lips. He wanted to hold her hand but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. So he kept his arm still and allowed her to just hold him. With every loud bang and crack of the fireworks, her grip would tighten momentarily before loosening up. She didn't like the fireworks.