Secrets

- - - - -

Ana accepted the fact that she was part of something bigger than herself. She had seen and done things no other human had ever done. She had faced beings with cosmic level abilities and managed to evade them when they meant harm. She believed that she was made to protect, never mind the harsh training she endured as a child to serve an evil organisation. She believed she could do anything. With the power she possessed, it made it seem like no foe would best her.

She was half cosmic. She was half human.

"Altogether a freakin' demigod..."

Ana scrunched her nose up, shaking her head. The information hadn't set in and quite frankly, she didn't think it would ever concrete. It was mind blowing and utterly astounding. She was in her kitchen, making some scrambled eggs while listening to her favourite songs that blasted from the laptop on the counter. She had just came back from Missouri where she removed the spore Ego planted about thirty years ago, effectively destroying the blue blob that had grew around it. She took about an hour in the shower just trying to take all the goo off since she had to use her sword to chop through it.

The thought of her sword made her smile. Knowing it's worth and history, and how it belonged to her father, made it special to her. She took comfort in how it chose her the same way it chose him. It was like she was worthy of it's power. She only hoped that wherever he was, if he was watching over her, that he would be proud of the things she had accomplished.

Something told her he was.

Her laptop started acting up and the music was getting all patchy. She turned the heat off from the stove and faced the screen, wiping her hands on the tea towel over her shoulder. It went black, causing her to press at the keyboard, trying to get it back up again. She just assumed the battery was low and sighed, shutting it. The stack of newspapers that kept on piling under her door from her weeks away sat beside the laptop, and she grabbed a few along with her breakfast, before taking a seat at the small table by the window.

"Let's see... Midland Circle complete. Rand stock rises. Daredevil M.I.A., huh." Ana chewed on her food, flipping through the headlines. The silence in her apartment was killing her. She didn't like being the only one in a large space. Abandoning the plan to stay at home, Ana quickly finished up her food and grabbed her bag and phone, fishing her denim jacket from the hook by the door before leaving.

"What the hell is going on?"

The first thing Ana noticed when she walked out of the elevator into the main floor of the Avengers Tower were people packing away furniture. They were bustling around like busy bees, and in the middle of it all was the queen bee, Happy, shouting out orders like there was no tomorrow.

He looked up from his tablet at Ana, and shook his head. "Tony's not here."

"Where is he?" She questioned, eyeing the boxes that were being loaded onto carts.

"Doing business." Happy vaguely replied.

"What's all this? Is he refurbishing?" Ana hugged her arms and frowned when she saw Clint's guitar being placed in a crate, along with many of the other's belongings.

"Didn't you hear? Tony sold the tower." Happy stated. He checked his phone when it buzzed and rolled his eyes when he saw Peter was messaging him, shoving it back in his pocket.

Ana let out a quiet oh, reaching forward to pluck a large photo frame. It was Steve's 'I want you!' war bonds poster from the forties. She glanced at Happy, gesturing to the poster with a small smile. She had always wanted one of those to put up in her home.

"Can I keep this?"

Happy sighed. He couldn't exactly argue with her. "Fine. But if Tony finds out, I'm telling him that you stole it."

"Like Tony would yell at me." Ana scoffed. "Where are you moving everything?"

"To the facility upstate. You wanna help with the packing?" When Happy offered a pair of gloves, Ana snaked the poster underneath her arm and shook her head.

"No, thanks. So, who bought the tower?"

"Tony didn't say."

"May..."

Ana sat at the kitchen table, arms propped up to cradle her head as she watched May fuss over dinner. She was invited again, Ned as well, and the young brunette had a feeling she was there to be a victim to one of her lectures.

"I know you were lying to me about your trip." May began, taking out the plates and cutlery from the cabinets. Ana sighed, staying silent. "After you left, I realised. And I know you've been having a hard time with what happened to your super friends, and I know I shouldn't be prying into your life like this, but I'm just worried. I hate how we haven't exactly talked about things like how we used to when you were in high school, and I really want to be there for you. When you need help or someone to talk to, you know that I am right here and willing to listen. Ana, you're practically my niece, sweetheart, and I want to let you know that I love you. I have a feeling you don't get told that enough."

"I love you too, May. I really do." Ana insisted, sitting up. "And I'm sorry if I made you feel like I don't need you anymore. Life's busy as hell. I've seen some crazy shit that'll give you nightmares for the rest of your life." She knew May wouldn't be able to take in all that she had done. It was going to be hard to explain everything to her. All the times she almost died. All the times she wasn't even on Earth. All the things she had fought.

"Like what?" May asked softly.

"You remember when we watched IT? And that killer, creepy clown gave you nightmares?" Ana asked.

"Yeah..." May trailed off.

"I call that a sweet dream." Ana pointed out.

"Oh."

"I really think the less you know about that part of me, the better. Trust me, I will tell you when the time is right." Ana promised, taking May's hand in her own. May squeezed it, patting it with her other hand.

"That's good enough for me." May smiled.

Suddenly a loud crash came from Peter's room and both women turned their heads towards it. "What was that?" May yelled.

"Uh, nothing! Nothing!" Peter's voice was loud enough for them to hear, but muffled from the door. Ana sniffed the air and laughed while May glanced at her curiously.

"Meatloaf is burning."

May jumped, turning around to throw the oven door open. She coughed when smoke attacked her face and turned off the heat. She breathed out heavily, shaking her head. "Great. Dinner night number two is ruined, again."

Ana went to say something but May shot her down instantly. "No! No more pizza. You may have speedy metabolism, but I still need to walk the carbs off." She grumbled.

"Fine." Ana mumbled.

May went to tell the boys that dinner wasn't working out and that was when Ana could hear Peter and Ned argue over the fact that the latter found out that he was Spider-Man. She hopped off the stool and went inside Peter's room, muttering, "That can't be good."

"That turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster." May chuckled, swatting the towel around. She took out the pin holding her hair up and shook it out. Ned was staring at her. Ana chuckled. "Let's go to dinner. Thai? Ned, you want Thai?" May questioned.

"Yes." Ned agreed instantly.

"No!" Peter exclaimed, "He's got a thing."

"A thing to do after." Ned went along with his best friend and Ana glanced at Peter. He shrugged his naked shoulders in response, a defeated look in his eyes.

"Okay. Maybe put on some clothes." May told Peter, leading Ana out of the room before shutting the door. Ana placed her hands on her hips, facing May as she collected her bag.

"I'm paying this time, May."

- - -

"What's the matter? I thought you loved larb."

May, Peter and Ana sat at a table in a local Thai restaurant, eating their dinner. There wasn't many people inside, probably because it was quite late. Peter hadn't been eating as much, instead he played around with his food.

"It's too larby? Not larby enough." May continued when Peter wasn't talking. Ana piled a bunch of vegetables in her mouth, trying to fill her empty stomach with as much food as she could. "How many times do I have to say larb before you talk to me? You know I larb you."

"I larb your puns, May." Ana snickered while May winked.

Peter dropped his cutlery. "I'm just... it's the internship, I'm tired. A lot of work."

"Stark Internship." May nodded, before scoffing, "I have to tell you, not a fan of that Tony Stark. You're distracted all the time. He's got you in your head."

"Tony's not that bad. Yeah he might ignore a conversation if it's not about him, but he's smart. And handsome?" Ana looked to May, grinning. May shrugged in response, muttering in agreement. Peter was glued to the television hanging from the ceiling in the corner. News reporters were talking about the bank robbery that happened earlier that day and how Spider-Man tried, and failed, to stop the criminals. Ana glanced at Peter, nudging his foot with her own. He locked eyes and dropped his head, regretful about what happened.

"You spot something like that happening, you turn and you run the other way." May told Peter. She pointed at Ana, "If she's around, you let her do her thing on her own."

"Right." Ana added.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, of course." Peter nodded his head vigorously.

"Six blocks away from us." May muttered in disbelief.

"I need a new backpack." Peter spoke quietly.

"What?" May cupped her hand around her ear.

"I need a new backpack." Peter repeated, smiling innocently.

"That's fine." May stated, going back to eating.

Ana cupped her hands underneath her chin, "How's school going, pal?"

"It's going fine. Homecoming is around the corner. And before you ask, no, I don't have a date." Peter said, shaking his head. Ana pouted, ruffling his hair. He chuckled, swatting her hands away. A waiter stopped at their table, putting down a bowl of rice. "Sticky rice pudding." He announced.

"Oh, I didn't order that." May looked up at him. Peter and Ana shared a look, knowing how oblivious May could get to people trying to hit on her.

"It's on the house." He replied, smiling down at her, before leaving the table.

"Oh, thank you." May called after him. She looked up at Peter and Ana, shrugging. "That's nice of him." Ana chewed on her food as Peter smirked.

"I think he larbs you."

- - -

"You're not as chatty tonight. It's because of the robbery, right?"

Ana had her arm around Peter's shoulder, walking with him down the street outside his apartment building. May had turned in the second they got home and Ana took that opportunity to speak with Peter, to try and get some better understanding of what was going through his head.

Peter had his hands in his coat pockets, head down as he replied. "The guys I was trying to stop, they had these weapons. Like nothing I'd ever seen. They blasted through the bodega and almost killed Delmar. I thought he was gone when the whole shop exploded." He responded, upset.

Ana was focusing on the path in front of them, while also nudging Peter's chin up. She didn't want him to be blaming himself, especially for something she would have done if she was in his position. "You did the right thing by running straight towards the civilian. Their safety is much more important than bagging a few thugs. So you shouldn't beat yourself up for losing them in the fray."

"I guess you're right." Peter managed a small smile, gazing up at her. "It's just I've been waiting so long for something this serious to happen. I wanted to prove myself, y'know? That I'm not just some kid in tights. I'm someone who has the power to do something about it."

"Look, Pete, I'm not gonna tell you that you're just a kid. I'm not gonna tell you that you're way too young and inexperienced. You already know that. But I will tell you this... that despite all those things, you still take it upon yourself to help the little guy, and that is the bravest thing a person like you can do. I love that about you, how you ignore all the crap around you and go for what's right in front of you. You've got the skills. You've got the heart. I guess that's what makes you a great Spider-Man." Ana pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head. He leaned into her shoulder, poking her side.

"When did you get so wise?" He asked, snickering.

"What do you mean?" Ana pulled back to look at him, "I've always been this intelligent."

"No. If this was five years ago, you'd say 'Who gives a crap about what everyone else thinks? You do you, dude.'" Peter had tried to raise his voice to that of a girl. Ana threw her head back and laughed, shoving Peter away when he pretended to flip hair out of his face.

"Technically, I did just say that but in a more Captain America kind of way."

"True."

- - - - -

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this one and please comment on what you thought of it. I'll admit I'm trying to hurry this one up so I can publish the third book with the Defenders. I just can't wait to write on that!

Q- Who is your favourite MCU actor/actress?