the siren |peter parker x siren!oc|

Serenity: Part 11

Every night Peter had been dreaming of Lena's parents, so much so that it was starting to become a plague. He knew the story of how she was conceived by heart. Each siren has one human person they fall in love with, and their right of passage is to kill that person. Her mother gave in to the temptation, became pregnant with Lena, and both of her parents were murdered for it, banishing their daughter to live in practical exile. A life of abuse.

He was grateful he and Mr. Stark had found her when they did. Before she had to potentially kill someone she was in love with.

When he had asked her why the answer seemed to be on the tip of her tongue. She was on the verge of saying it, but something was stopping her. It easily could have been the lack of words to explain, but she had the complete ability to speak inside his mind when speaking aloud failed her. The only viable reason for withholding the answer would be because she didn't want to say it.

He had always been truthful with her, so it was slightly disappointing to feel the thick silence and watch as her head shook back and forth.

"All right, I won't push you."

"I am sorry."

"No don't apologize!" he almost leaped on the phrase, not wanting her to think he was upset with her. He already had done that when he entered the room.

Mr. Stark strolled in at the right time, saving him from digging a larger hole. His mentor looked surprised but pleased to see him.

"The door was open, so I assumed it was safe to walk in," Mr. Stark straightened out his suit and leaned against the wall arms crossed. "You two are awful close, huh? Enjoy each other's company?"

Peter looked over at Lena, who had done the same, they smiled at each other, a slight flush of color coming to her cheeks.

"Yeah, we do. I always look forward to-"

"Great! That's great!" Mr. Stark looked enthused, "Your progress is steady, Lena. Starting tomorrow we are cutting your physical therapy in half, and ending your sessions with Dr. Green completely. I've set up a tutor. And if you learn as quickly with her as you do with everything else, you should be ready for Midtown Tech a month from now."

Mr. Stark turned as if he was leaving, but Peter quickly spoke up, "M-Mr. Stark what do you mean?"

"Oh," he turned around, "I talked to Pep...her sister has died tragically, leaving her only daughter in our care. I've registered her to go to school with my intern, Peter Parker."

"Does Miss Potts have a sis-"

"She died tragically, so not anymore. But Peter, I'm sure you'll be more than happy to show Lena Potts around Midtown, introduce her to your friends and such," Mr. Stark smiled and winked at Peter, his eyes twinkling in the light.

After Mr. Stark had left, Lena placed her hand beneath Peter's chin and shut his gaping mouth. Of all the things he could have come in and announced, that had been the last thing either of them expected. He returned his glance to his friend, letting air expel from his lungs and laughing a bit. Mr. Stark had some plan, as usual, that Peter could never know the full picture of.

"It'll be nice to spend more time with you, that's for sure," he said, leaning against the wall again.

Lena's look of amusement turned into her usual look of confusion, "School?"

She finished her thought inside his head, I have not even ventured outside of this place. How am I supposed to pretend to be human?

He saw that tears were falling down her face, and he sat up, taking her hands in his and ignoring the jolt that came along with it, "Don't cry, you'll be okay! You'll have me, remember?"

She only cried harder, a panic appearing to set in. Somehow Peter could feel precisely the stir of alarm that sat in her heart.

What is this? Why is there an expulsion of water coming out of my eyes? Peter help! What is going on?

The more words that filled his brain, the more panicked they became and the more tears fell out of Lena's eyes. He took her face in his hands, softly, forcing her to find his eyes. She was on the verge of hyperventilating, her inhales gradually getting quicker and quicker.

"Crying is a normal human response to stress. Nothing's wrong with you!" he wiped the tears, keeping eye contact, "Breathe with me, Lena, you're fine!"

He inhaled audibly, making an 'o' shape with his lips, nodding with encouragement. Her breathing slowed as well as the tears, but he could feel her shaking. Hardly thinking about it, he planted a kiss on her forehead and wrapped her in his arms, holding her tightly. Somewhere online he had read that tight physical contact can calm anxiety. So he held her until it passed, rocking back and forth, letting her shake and breathe.

"You're going to be fine, Lena, you're half human. You don't have to pretend to be anything."

Her shaking had slowed, but the sound of his voice brought it to a stop. She sat upright, using the back of her hand to wipe tears out of her eyes.

"You'll be okay. You have me. You're stuck with me now."

...

"Karen text Aunt May for me."

Sure thing, Peter. What would you like it to say?

"'Mr. Stark needs extra help with our project tonight, so I'll be staying the night'" he stopped to think, knowing that it probably wasn't great that he was texting so last minute, "and uh... 'I'm sorry for the short notice. Things have been pretty busy over here. A good busy. Mr. Stark is giving me lots of new opportunities.'"

Text sent to May Parker.

Truth be told, Peter didn't want to make Lena stay in her room alone after having her first ever mental breakdown. He hadn't even asked Mr. Stark if it was all right, but he figured it would be. He had mentioned before that he was always welcome, Peter just never had the guts to take him up on the offer, until now. It was important to him that she was all right.

She had moved off the bed, not having spoken to him since she leveled out. She had taken to the window, pensively leaning against it. Not in the dramatic movie sense, but instead her entire body was flat against the window, which stretched the length of the wall, tilted at a slight angle. Her arms were extended above her head, almost at a spread eagle if it weren't for a slight bend.

He peeled the mask off of his face and lingered over to her, falling onto the glass next to her.

Human emotions are complicated.

"Tell me about it."

The city was visible in the distance, beneath them was the remainder of the Avengers Compound, a majority of which Peter had never been to. One day he would.

"I..." she spoke out loud now, "want. A...pool."

"I can get you a pool," it was Mr. Stark's voice again, "You left the door open. I was just passing by when I heard you."

They both turned around, Mr. Stark had a coy look on his face, but his sunglasses masked any actual thoughts that might be showing through his eyes. A mask didn't always hide an identity.

"Mr. Stark is it okay if-"

"I can get you a pool if you work your hardest at everything we throw at you, and pass the entrance exam for Midtown. Then you can design your own pool, and use it as much as you like," Mr. Stark turned to leave again, "Yeah Peter, you can stay the night. But this bedroom door stays open."