Winter's Daughter

Chapter Thirteen

I examined over all of my choices that were laid out before me. The next move I make is either life or death. Finally, I reached a decision.

"Checkmate!" I yelled as I let my sweet victory sink in.

"Wha- uh, how?!" Said a squeaky teenaged male voice. "Because , Parker, I'm just really good at chess." I said with a smirk.

"And you're telling me they didn't have chess in HYDRA." Peter said in a rather sarcastic tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must've forgot to tell you I joined the chess club at Assassins Academy." I said whilst giving him a playful glare. We stayed there for a bit longer until I heard my phone buzz.

I look at the counter where my phone is. The caller ID says that's it's Clint. Knowing him, if I don't answer the phone, he'll track me down at talk to me personally. So, I reluctantly picked up the phone.

"Hey, Clint. What's up?" I asked.

"Just calling to see how you were holding up." He said. "Still not talking to them?"

I let out a sigh. "It's complicated." Is all I say before hanging up the phone. After finding out the truth about my birth parents, I've been distancing myself as much as I can from them. I mean, I don't want to. I really don't. I want to run into their arms and tell them how glad I am that they are in my life.

But, the uncertainty of everything is holding me back. Say that I trust them and start to love them. What if they leave me? I know it's stupid, but I don't think I can handle it if they left.

When Luka died, I was broken. Vivid memories haunted my dreams every night. I felt so alone, so damaged. I felt like I could've done something, anything to save Luka. But, I couldn't.

The funeral for him was hard. It's nothing like I've ever experienced. While getting ready, I felt this huge weight in my chest. Like at any moment I could explode. But when I did, it all came out.

At that moment I decided I wasn't going. That I couldn't bare to watch my best friend being out six feet under. That was until someone heard my cries and came to my aid.

That was the first day I met Peter Parker. To say I was grateful for him was an understatement. He gave me the courage to go to the funeral, and he even stayed by my side the whole time, constantly asking if I was okay. That day was about three weeks ago, and our friendship just keeps on growing.

"Nad, what's going on? C'mon, talk to me." Peter said as he scooted closer.

"I don't know." I whispered. "I just- I just can't do this Peter. I'm terrified of letting anyone in. What if they leave?"

Peter's brown eyes stared sympathetically into mine. "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you it's not scary, because it is. But in the end, it's worth it. Think about this: Bucky and Nat have been alone for so long. They don't trust a single sole, because they expect the worst to come. That's how they were trained to be like. They are on the same boat as you. All of you want to let each other in, but you're too afraid to. You just gotta take the first step. If it goes south, I'll be there to help you through it."

I let a single tear slide down my cheek, but almost immediately wipe it away. "Thank you, Peter. I mean it."

He gave me a small smile. "No problem." He then looked down at his phone. "Crap, I gotta go. Aunt May is wondering where I am. I'll see soon!" Peter said while running out of the room.

I let out a small laugh. "Cya, Parker."

A small sigh escapes my lips. Maybe Peter was right. Maybe I should give this whole family thing a try. I mean, what do I have to loose if I already have nothing?

"Alright," I tell myself, "let's do this." I get up out of my chair and out of the room. I've been in the Avengers tower for about three weeks now and I still cannot find my way around here.

The next thing I knew I was standing in front of an elevator. I walked in to find it was all glass elevator. You could see the ground below you and the whole scenery around you. It was quite beautiful, yet terrifying.

I looked at all of the numbers in front of me. Man there were a lot of floors in this building!

I put my hand over my eyes and then randomly selected a floor number. I take my hand away to see which floor I actually picked.

"Floor 64." I said with a shrug. "That'll do."

After a couple minutes the elevator door finally opened to reveal floor 64. I wondered around for a little bit before I ran into Tony.

"Hey kid, where you going?" He asked.

"Oh hey Tony, um, nowhere particular." I said. "Um, have you seen Bucky and Nat anywhere?"

He looked a little surprised at first, but then quickly tried to hide it. He let out a small chuckle.

"Yea, last I checked they were in the training room. I'm sure they'd like it if you joined them." He said with a wink.

I felt my cheeks instantly get red and I looked to the ground. "Yea, yea I think I'll join them." I said.

I walked back to the elevator and clicked the number of my floor. Once the door opened, I sprinted to my room to change into some workout clothes.

I put on black sneakers, black leggings, and a light blue long sleeve zip up. I put my hair up in a pony tail and then examine myself in the mirror.

"You got this." I told myself.

As I made my way to the training room, I got excited. I'm in the same building as my parents. I never thought that I would be able to experience this.

Eventually I found myself right outside the door of the training room. I opened the door and stepped inside.

Since they were too busy sparing, they didn't see me. So I just decided to stand there and watch.

It was honestly quite amusing to see Bucky be Natasha's punching bag. When they stopped to get some water, I took it as my chance to make my presence known.

"Hi," I said awkwardly, "can we talk?"

Updated 1/20/20