Silence

Twenty-Six

I stopped at Best Buy before I went home.

I got into the compound and found no one around. I blew a deep breath out of my nose and went into the fridge. I pulled out a Monster and hopped up on the counter to set up my camera. I grabbed a pair of scissors to open the package and began to pull out the camera and all the other stuff it came with. "Peter." I jumped and I grabbed the scissors next to me on the counter. "Woah! It's just me!" Steve yelled and I huffed, dropping the scissors on the counter. "Don't you know not to sneak up on an abused kid?" I muttered and he rose an eyebrow at me. "Sorry. I thought you would've heard me coming." I shook my head and held up the camera. "I was focused." I opened the compartment that holds the battery and the SD card. "How did the meeting with Sam go?" Steve questioned, going to the cabinet. I guessed it was his turn for dinner duty. "Fine, we talked about some coping mechanisms. Where is everyone?"

"Buying furniture. Speaking of, you're sleeping on the couch tonight." I groaned and held up the camera, putting it to my face. "Turn around." Steve did as told and I took a quick picture of him. I waited for it to show up and I grinned. "Awesome. I'm going to go shower." I hoped off the counter and Steve grabbed my shoulder. "Do you want to maybe wait until someone can be near you?" I furrowed my eyebrows before hunching my shoulders. "If it puts you at peace, sure. I'm going to take a nap then." I went to the living room and looked around. "Friday?" "Yes Peter?" "Can you bring me Model Four point Eight?" There was silence and then a small compartment open in the wall. My web shooters slid out of them and I picked them up, putting them on my wrist. I shot a web to the corner of the room and quickly made a hammock for me to lay in. I climbed in and curled up, falling asleep quickly.

"Peter Benjamin!" I jolted awake and fell out of the hammock. I landed on the floor and groaned. "Oh shit!" Dad rushed to my side and I rubbed my back. "I'm good." I winced and stood up. "Dude how did you even get up there?" Pietro asked and I showed him the web shooters attached to my wrist. "It's dinner time." Dad helped me walk to the table and Sam gave me a concerned look. "I scared him and he fell eight feet." Dad explained and he nodded. I sat in a chair and twisted, cracking the bones in my back and neck. "That sounds so gross." Wanda shuttered and I chuckled. "Sage!" My sibling turned their head and gave me a bright smile. "How was your day?" Aunt Nat gave me a worried look and I averted my eyes to Sage, 'It was great! Mom took me to that bookstore you know I love. And she took me to see Ben and May.' I smiled, though it felt like it didn't reach my eyes. "That's awesome!" Sage went back to eating and I stared at my plate. I didn't feel hungry. I just felt tired and angry. "I'm not actually hungry." I pushed away from the table and took out my hearing aids. I dropped them next to my plate and retreated to the living room.

Clint
I watched Pete walk into the living room and the sound of his feet hitting the window sounded a second later. "What happened at the meeting?" I looked at Sam and he sighed. "C-Can we not talk about that with Sage in the room?" He whispered and I looked at Nat. She had the same sense of protectiveness in her eyes that she had when we found out the pain Sage was in before being adopted by us. "Yeah that's fine, Nat can I talk to you?" I stood up from the table and Natasha followed behind. "What's up with you? You got all weird when Peter talked to Sage." She sighed and looked straight at me. "I don't want Sage to get hurt again. Peter is unstable." I gaped, "Peter is not going to hurt Sage. He was just asking them about their day." I kept my voice low, but I felt like yelling. "You don't know that Clint! Look at what he did to himself, he could easily think someone was about to hurt him and hurt them. Sage is cuddly and maybe they won't think before clinging to Peter. I don't want them to get hurt!" I sighed and pushed a hand through my hair. "If you tear them apart, Peter is not going to trust you." I walked away and sat back down at the table.

Sam and I gathered in the living room, my eyes didn't leave Peter, who had practically cocooned himself in the corner of the room. "We talked about coping mechanisms, how he could calm himself down, methods to remain in control. I taught Bucky some of the same ones." I looked to Sam and he stared at the beer in my hand. "What?" I asked accusingly and he sighed. "He's picking up on the behavior his actions are causing. He said that you've drank more in the last few days than he's even seen you drink. He's worried about you. He also..." Sam took a deep breath and shook his head. "He's afraid of losing Sage. He said that he feels like Natasha hates him, that she is purposely going out of her way to keep Sage away from him." I nodded and set the beer down on the table. "Nat doesn't want Sage to get hurt. She believes Pete is unstable and she worries that Sage will scare him and he'll hurt them. In a way, I don't blame her, I'm afraid that Peter will snap on us, but that doesn't mean I'll go out of my way to avoid him. Sage is a big kid and Peter loves them."

Peter
I woke up to someone shaking my hammock. I opened my eyes and nearly jumped out of my skin when Tony grinned at me. He handed me my hearing aids and went back to floor level. I slipped out of the hammock and landed on my feet. I stuffed the hearing aids in my ear and rubbed my eyes. "Hey Pete, how are you feeling?" Bruce asked and waved to the bandages I sported on the top half of my body. I grunted and held out my arms. He pulled of the bandages and nodded, looking pleased. "You can take out the stitches. First eat something. And Clint wants to see you in your room." I nodded and Bruce pulled off the rest of the bandages. I walked into the kitchen and Sage got up from their chair and bounded to me. They threw their arms around my waist and I could feel their shoulders shake. They let go and I dropped to my knees, taking their face in my hands. "Sage, tell me what's wrong." Their eyes shone with tears and I felt my stomach drop. 'Mom is moving us to New Jersey.' They mouthed and my shoulders slumped. "Then I'll come visit as much as I can." They shook their head. 'Mom said that I can't be around you until Sam says you're better.' I pulled them into a tight hug and they cried against my shoulder. "Sage! It's time to go!" Aunt Nat called and Sage pulled away from me. 'I love you.' They mouthed and I smiled tearfully. I kissed their forehead, "I love you too my knight in shining armor." They pulled away and ran to the elevator.

Aunt Nat stopped in the kitchen and gave me a sad look. "Its for the best Pete." I dropped my head. "You know I would never hurt them. You don't understand how much I love that kid." I sniffed and Aunt Nat sighed. "Its short term. Once Sam says you are safe, less unstable, I'll bring them back. But for now, focus on yourself." She walked out and I leaned on the counter, gripping the marble until my knuckles turned white.

I just lost Sage for the second time and it's all my fault.