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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
viii. WANNABE ORPHANS

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   IT WAS SAFE TO say that Riley had been through a lot. From as early as two-years-old, she was trained by the greats. S.H.I.E.L.D. pushed her to be better, faster, stronger than the others. The Avengers never stopped encouraging her, even when they weren't always together. Between aliens and murderous robots (which she might've helped create in the first place, but let's not talk about that), Riley was fairly convinced that she was prepared for anything.

   You know, excluding the whole "babysitting a teenager" thing.

   Speaking of her mission, Riley was being surprised every day. Peter Parker was an interesting individual. The most interesting thing about him was the fact that he was just a normal person. He lived in a normal apartment, his guardian paid bills, he had homework, he had... the crumbs of a social life. He was ordinary, yet extraordinary at the same time. Peter Parker fascinated Riley.

   Nevertheless, Riley was adjusting well to being a normal teenager. She preferred her old friends, but Peter, Ned, and Michelle were good enough for her. Still, sometimes, there were some things that Riley just couldn't anticipate.

   For example, observing an incredibly awkward conversation between Peter and his aunt was the last thing she'd been expecting throughout her strange mission.

   It was Saturday morning, only a few days after Riley had volunteered to help tutor Peter in Spanish. Riley had only offered to assist him for the sake of her mission. Nearly everything she did in regards to Peter was because of Tony. Nothing more, nothing less.

   Riley glimpsed down at her phone, surprised. It was a quarter 'til noon in the afternoon, meaning she'd only been at Peter's quaint apartment for a few minutes. She could've sworn it had been much longer, but that might've been because of Peter and Aunt May's quiet bickering in the kitchen.

   "You are being so uncool right now, May!"

   "I'm being uncool? I thought Riley was a boy!"

   On top of their arguing, Riley also felt awkward because this was the first time she was hanging out with someone her age since... well... ever.

   Soon, the two exited the kitchen to greet Riley. "Hi, hon," greeted Aunt May, sticking her hands into her back pockets—a clear attempt at trying to be casual, friendly.

   Riley didn't want to admit it, but she understood why May Parker had been a point of conversation when he proposed her mission. Young and pretty, May had long, chestnut hair with thick glasses. Her eyes matched her hair, reminding Riley of the earth on a bright Spring day. There was something so charming about May. She and Peter were incredibly similar, though Riley supposed that made sense.

   There seemed to be a single question that lingered on everyone's minds: Was protective Aunt May going to leave her teenaged son home alone with a girl?

   "Sorry to keep you waiting," continued Aunt May. "I know you two have lots of studying to do, which will involve nothing but studying, studying, and studying."

   Peter shot Aunt May a warning look. "Yeah, obviously, May," he hissed, trying to remain calm. "May got called in at work, so it'll just be the two of us. Studying."

   "Of course, of course," mumbled Aunt May, a smile clad on her face. "And that's all you'll be doing. Understood?"

   Riley had to think back to all the life lessons she'd learned throughout the past few years. Unfortunately for her, the one person who had taught her more than enough life lessons was also the one person who really shouldn't be in the place to be giving such advice: Tony Stark. It seemed that the best thing he taught her how to do was to simply talk her way out of everything and anything she didn't want to be stuck in.

   "Don't worry, ma'am," assured Riley. "Peter's too busy having a hopeless crush on our classmate to be—"

   "Okay, May!" interrupted Peter, practically shoving the woman toward the door. He shot Riley a look as he shooed his aunt to save himself from any further embarrassment. "Have fun at work!"

   Aunt May placed her hand on the door, glancing back at where Riley sat. She paused before saying, "She's funny." Then, she looked back at Peter. "Studying, only. I mean it."

   "Bye, May," grumbled Peter before closing the door, locking in the process. He pressed his back against it as he asked, "Why'd you say something about Liz!? How do you even know about that?"

   With a laugh, Riley said, "I'm just teasing you, Pete. And everyone knows about it. I've been at Midtown for, what, a month? And I figured it out the first week I was here."

   Peter ran a hand through his messy brown hair, making his way back toward her. "I hope Liz doesn't know," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

   "Relax. If she knew, you'd probably know," Riley told him, donning a friendly smile. "So, you ready to study?"

   Peter chuckled and nodded his head. He pointed his thumb to the area behind him. "You wanna do this in my room?" he innocently asked. Riley folded her arms over her chest, eyebrows shooting upward. Peter's eyes widened almost immediately and his cheeks turned into roses. "Oh, no. Not you, too! I meant to study—!"

   Her joyful laughter cut him off. "I know, I know. You gotta loosen up a little—!" As she rose from the couch, her backpack by her side, a burning sensation shot through her left foot. She hissed, "Shit!"

   With superhuman-like reflexes, Peter hurried to her side. "What's wrong!?"

   She shook her head. "Nothing! I just..." She faltered, thinking of a quick lie to spout. Maybe I should've taken the time to clean my foot. "I, uh, dropped a glass in my kitchen this morning and stepped on it. I... I guess I did a shitty job at bandaging it."

   Peter cringed. "Ooh, yikes. Here, let me help. I think the First Aid Kit's in the kitchen..."

   He scurried off to retrieve the object, leaving Riley rather surprised. If she had gotten injured back when she was still training, her "coworkers" would just tell her to walk it off and that she would face harder things. No one ever actually helped her. It was a very much "dog-eat-dog" world when Riley was a child.

   When Peter returned, he was smiling at her comfortingly. "Don't worry," Peter insisted. "I'm basically a doctor at this point after how often I have to tend to my own injuries."

   Riley watched as he unpacked the First Aid Kit, puzzled. Was he... seriously outing himself as Spider-Man right now? He hardly knew her! "...What's that supposed to mean?" she questioned.

   Peter shrugged. "I've gotten beaten up from time to time," he confessed. "It's nothing new, really." He gave her a bittersweet smile.

   Riley frowned at this. She may not have known Peter Parker for very long, but he was nothing but sweet. Why would anyone want to bully him? Peter was practically a personified puppy dog.

   "Now, take off your shoe," instructed Peter, pulling her away from her short-lived moment of confusion, "and we can start studying in here, alright, Riles?" Taken aback, Riley tilted her head to the side. Noticing this, Peter wondered, "What?"

   "Nothing," Riley admitted. "I... guess I'm not used to... actual nicknames."

   "You've never had a nickname?"

   She had to pause, thinking about it briefly. Truth be told, she did. She had tons of nicknames growing up: Valor, Agent O'Dair, ...shortie. But none of them had to do with her real name.

   "No, I have," she started, "but they don't usually have anything to do with my real name, you know? I mean, my... adoptive dad called me Tinker Bell, Tink for short." She couldn't help but chuckle as she recited, "Because even though I'm smart, I can be pretty annoying."

   Her words brought a smile to Peter's face. It made him miss his Uncle Ben, who died nearly a year ago. As he cleaned her injured foot, Peter mentioned, "I didn't know you were adopted."

   Riley shrugged. "My parents died when I was two," she admitted, almost too casually. She had talked about it with so many people that mentioning it didn't bother her. No, what bothered her was talking about how they died, but they didn't need to get into that right now.

   When Peter was unfazed by her story, Riley laughed. "You know, I think you're the first person that didn't react to my parents being dead," she added.

   Peter's eyebrows shot upward. "Oh, I'm sorry! Guess I'm just used to the feeling," he admitted. When Riley continued to wear bafflement on her pretty face, Peter continued, "My parents died when I was four. Plane crash. That's why I live with Aunt May now."

   Riley nodded. "Huh..." she trailed off before her smile returned to her. "Well, I guess that means we can be wannabe orphans together."

   Peter's face lit up at the sound of her words. "Now, that sounds like a kickass duo name," he joked, causing Riley to laugh aloud.

   Just like that, Riley finally figured out Peter Parker.

   Peter just wanted a friend. He wanted to be heard, seen, accepted. Peter was sweet and understanding to pretty much anyone as long as they gave him a chance, yet he was bullied, treated like an outcast. All he had was Ned, which would be fine if he wasn't constantly dealing with his asshole peers.

   Was that why he did was he did? Was that why he wanted to be an Avenger so badly? To fight the bullies of the world? To give people a chance, a chance that he never got in his community?

   It was brief, but for a second there, Riley almost felt guilty. She almost felt guilty for acting like she could be what he was looking for: a friend. She almost felt guilty for pretending to be something he wanted for the sake of an old friend's curiosity.

   But at the end of the day, Riley was an agent, one with responsibilities and plans that soared past the feelings of a random boy she'd probably never see again—not for a while, at least. She couldn't feel bad, not now, not ever. This is your mission, she had to tell herself. Snap out of it!

   Riley couldn't shake off her sudden apprehension toward Peter. She knew he deserved more, he deserved a real friend. He deserved someone that wasn't on a stupid mission. And that was why she almost felt guilty.

  Almost.