Peter hesitated in the kitchen entrance the next morning when he saw Hill and Natasha sitting at the table, seemingly waiting for him. His eyes then found the stack of pancakes that was also waiting for him, and he reluctantly made his way over to sit. Hill reached over and ruffled his faded hair before leaning back and clasping her hands together to mirror Natasha.
“We need to have a talk,” Hill said seriously.
Peter gulped a little, and Natasha’s lips gave a minute twitch.
“You’re not in trouble,” she told him.
“This is about your self-esteem,” said Hill.
Peter made a little sound of doom.
“It won’t be that bad,” Hill assured him.
“I was hoping that you were joking,” he said weakly.
“You’ll live,” said Natasha. “So.”
“So,” Peter echoed, staring at his pancakes.
“You’re not pathetic. Or an idiot.”
“Sometimes I am,” Peter replied.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” Natasha said, waving a hand. “I’m not talking about that. You genuinely seem to think that you’re less than others by default, and that worries me.”
“I…” Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “Um… I don’t really… Yeah?”
“So you do think that you’re inferior to others?” Hill pressed.
“I mean…” Peter trailed off in a mumble and took a large bite of pancake.
Both Hill and Natasha’s eyebrows arched dangerously, and crap if that wasn’t one of the scariest things Peter had ever seen. He shrank in his seat, taking a long sip of orange juice. Hill leaned back and exchanged a look with Natasha.
“You have a therapist, don’t you?”
Peter nodded, then added, “I don’t see her a lot, though. I’m fine.”
Natasha and Hill glanced at each other again.
“I think you should start seeing her a bit more,” said Hill. “And it would be great if you’d talk to her about your sense of self-worth, or lack thereof.”
Peter watched his pancakes get mushier. “Is it because you think I’m broken?”
Natasha actually laughed. It was frightening.
“We’re all broken, Peter,” she said. “It’s because learning to put yourself back together properly is important.”
Hill gave a nod of agreement. Peter chanced a look at the two of them before ducking his head again; the women allowed a long pause before they pressed on.
“So. Therapy,” said Natasha.
“Therapy,” Hill agreed. “You don’t seem very enthused, Peter. Is something wrong?”
YOU ARE READING
Peter & Bucky Are Pals
FanfictionThis isn't mine and its by Aprilmallick, DJ_unicornsrgr8 and I don't take credit for their work i just think they did an amazing job
