╔══════════════════╗

ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xi. FLY ON THE WALL

╚══════════════════╝

  THERE ARE TWO KINDS of people inhabiting this extremely strange world. Yes, all human beings are very diverse and special in their own ways, but when it comes down to it, there are only two types of individuals in the world. There are people who answer phone calls when the Caller I.D is Unknown, and there are people who send the caller straight to voicemail.

   Now, typically, just sending the caller straight to voicemail can actually end up saving a lot of time. It saves you from dealing with prank callers and salesmen who want to sell you something utterly useless. It saves time and allows you to go do something better with your time.

   However, when you're an agent, you find that answering those unknown calls is part of the job.

   Riley sat in the living room of her (well, Tony's) condo later that Tuesday evening. It was where she had been staying since Tony forced her to take on this ridiculous mission. Her homework was spread out across the table she sat at, a solid indicator that she didn't have time to be answering useless phone calls. She wasn't even sure why she picked up anyway — probably to procrastinate.

  "What's the best way to get to the train station?"

   Riley's eyes widened once she heard the voice coming from the other line. Surprised, she cleared her throat, quickly thinking of the secret code only she and a true agent would know. It was the only way to confirm that they were who they said they were, as well as confirm that they were in a safe location.

   "Well, you could walk, but it's about ten blocks."

  "That's fine, I could use the exercise."

   A big smile spread across Riley's face, her heart racing with excitement, as she squealed, "Auntie Nat!"

   A sigh was heard on the other line. "When are you gonna remember that I hate when you call me that? It makes me feel old..." trailed off Natasha Romanoff.

   "I've been waiting for you to call me back for months! Seriously, I thought you fell off the face of the planet. How is everyone? Tell them I miss them," Riley eagerly rambled.

   Natasha hummed in response to this. "Well, that was sort of the goal," pointed out Natasha. "Everyone's great, actually. Pietro's the only person that hasn't gotten on my nerves yet, funnily enough. You'd be surprised with how much free time you have while running away from the American law."

   Snorting, Riley leaned back in her chair. "You know, I think Pietro's really changed after I took, like, three bullets to the arm for him."

   She could hear Natasha softly chuckle. "So, what's this I've been hearing about you and that... Spider-Man kid?"

   And so, Riley went into explicit detail about everything she'd done for the past two months.

  She struggled to fathom the fact that she and Natasha were quite close now. Out of all of the Avengers, those two struggled the most when it came to being civil and nice to each other. For a long time, the majority of their relationship included fighting, bickering, and everything in between. It took 11 years before either of them could give it up and call each other friends.

   Natasha Romanoff despised Riley for a long time. They were in the same boat with having to train to be some sort of agent at young ages, but Riley had it much easier in contrast to Natasha. Natasha always thought that Riley was too immature, weak, and emotional for this world. But when Riley was eight-years-old, Natasha was forced by Director Fury to train her, courtesy of the council. If it weren't for them, Riley and Natasha would probably still dislike one another.

   Incidentally, Natasha was the reason why Riley held such a strong, negative connotation with getting close to those involved in her missions. The Black Widow was thorough and strict with Riley's training — so much that it really stuck with her.

   "And, now, I don't know what to do because I can actually feel myself getting attached to Peter," Riley told. "It feels like I'm going against everything you've ever taught me."

   Even now, after years of friendship, it was odd for Riley to go to Natasha for advice. They were incredibly close now, sure, but something about it was unusual to her. Of course, Riley wouldn't tell Natasha that. She loved Nat like a fun aunt or an obnoxious big sister. It was just a fault in their relationship.

  "Well," started Natasha, "have you ever thought that maybe your undying loyalty to those around you isn't such a bad thing?"

   "No way. If anything, it's the worst thing I could do. If I wanna be like the great Black Widow, then I should do everything you taught me, not the opposite."

   Natasha sighed. "I told you not to say things like that. If anything, I should want to be like you. You don't give yourself enough credit, Riley."

   "Maybe..." Riley mumbled. "I wasn't expecting to get into this B.S. when I became Valor, you know?" She hesitated. "Hey, do you think Steve and Tony will talk to each other again?"

  "Honestly?"

   "Honestly."

   Natasha was silent for a moment. "I don't know," she admitted.

   Riley pursed her lips, ranting, "It really pisses me off, Nat. They're both so opinionated and sure that they're right, but they never bother to listen to each other and hear each other out!" She frowned. "I just wish the Accords never happened."

  "Me, too, Riley.... Me, too..."

○ ○ ○

   There are two kinds of people inhabiting this extremely strange world; people who buy things that strike their interest, and people who dumpster dive for it. Take a wild guess which one Peter Parker happened to be.

   In his opinion, dumpster diving wasn't that weird. If anything, it was smart because every once in awhile, he found something kind of cool that he didn't even need to pay for! For a while, Peter was worried that he was technically stealing, but he was pretty sure that if it was in the trash, it meant that whoever used to own said item was giving it up for anyone to take. (Yes, Peter has seriously thought this whole dumpster diving thing through on more than one occasion).

   If anything, dumpster diving was his treat to himself on that fine Tuesday evening. After all, not only did he pass his Spanish test with flying colors, but he managed to pull an A. This called for some serious celebration... as well as a way to properly thank Riley O'Dair for tutoring him on Saturday.

   Sitting in his bedroom, Peter happily tinkered with what looked like a CB radio—a device truckers used to communicate in the past. Now that he didn't need to spend every waking second studying for that damn Spanish test, he was able to invest his free time into something he found fun.

   If Peter was being honest, he had no clue if the radio was going to work. It looked super ancient. Plus it was making this unsettling staticky noise that didn't sound so good.

   ...Alright, so what if Peter only wanted to get this thing to work so that he and Ned could prank the truckers that still used these things?

   "Come on," Peter mumbled to himself. "Work already!"

   He nearly flew six feet into the air when he heard voices coming out of the radio. A grin tugged on Peter's lips in an instant; however, his excitement soon faded when he realized something.

   "No, I'd like to reschedule Cindy's dentist appointment for next Wednesday instead of tomorrow."

  "Yes, ma'am! And would you prefer we call you on your work number or cell if anything else comes up?"

   "What the...? Is that Cindy Moon's mom?" he asked himself, baffled. "Since when is Mrs. Moon a trucker?"

  "Oh! You can call me here on my cell phone," Cindy Moon's mother elucidated.

   An annoyed groan escaped Peter. He must've tweaked the radio into listening in on phone calls rather than other truck radios. He wasn't even sure how he did that!

   Sitting at his desk, Peter continued to work on the CB radio, flickering through various phone calls in hopes of something interesting happening, until a familiar voice began to speak. It was Riley O'Dair.

   Peter's eyebrows shot upward with interest as an idea formulated in the back of his head. How funny would it be if Peter went to class on Wednesday and started referencing a phone call Riley was on? It would be a fantastic prank!

   Leaning forward, Peter proceeded to listen to Riley speak, ignoring the thought that maybe this was a little weird. Then again, he knew Riley's sense of humor by now and he knew she'd find it funny. Or she'd pretend it was for the sake of Peter's confidence. One or the other, he supposed.

  "And, now, I don't know what to do because I can actually feel myself getting attached to Peter," Riley said. "It feels like I'm going against everything you've ever taught me."

   Wait... How the hell does ordinary Riley O'Dair know Valor?

  "Well, have you ever thought that maybe your undying loyalty to those around you isn't such a bad thing?" questioned whoever Riley been speaking to.

  "No way. If anything, it's the worst thing I could do. If I wanna be like the great Black Widow, then I should do everything you taught me, not the opposite."

   Peter could hear an audible sigh. "I told you not to say things like that. If anything, I should want to be like you. You don't give yourself enough credit, Riley."

  "Maybe..." Riley lingered. "I wasn't expecting to get into this B.S. when I became Valor, you know?" 

  Peter felt his heart drop into his stomach, eyes wider than a bowling ball. Black Widow? Valor? Riley O'Dair? What the hell? Did... Did Riley know Valor?

  No... That wouldn't make sense. Riley said she became Valor... as in... Riley is Valor. But that didn't make any sense. None of this was making any sense!

  Peter held his breath as he went back to listening to the conversation he was eavesdropping on.

  "I just wish the Accords never happened," Riley gently spoke.

  "Me, too, Riley... Me, too..." There was a pause. "Look, I have to go for now, but I promise I'll call you again as soon as I can. Can I give you some advice?"

  "Do I have a choice, Nat?"

  "Not at all," said the one Riley referred to as Nat. "You don't give yourself enough credit. You're Riley O'Dair, one of the greatest people I know. If it weren't for you, the Avengers would be lot worse than they are now. If you can be the glue that keeps all of us connected, then you can spy on Peter Parker for Tony. Don't be so hard on yourself."

   Riley sighed. "You're right... Maybe. I think you are," she lightly replied. "Tell everyone I said hi. And be safe. Don't forget, I'll find you and kick your ass if you guys get into trouble."

   Nat laughed. "Will do, shortie."

   BEEP! The call ended. As the radio switched to another call, Peter sat in a state of pure silence, colored with shock.

   Riley O'Dair... is Valor? Riley O'Dair is friends with Tony Stark? Riley O'Dair knew Peter was Spider-Man from the very beginning, all the way back in Berlin...

   Wait a damn minute... Mr. Stark convinced Riley to spy on Peter? Or Spider-Man? Or... was it both?

   And, more importantly, RILEY O'DAIR IS VALOR!

   Peter thought his head was about to explode. As he leaned back in his chair, Peter murmured, "What the hell...?"

   He couldn't believe it. Riley O'Dair is a secret agent. Riley is an Avenger. Riley is Valor. Riley is friends with Mr. Stark. Riley is on a mission for Mr. Stark—one that involves spying on Peter! But... why?

   Peter knew one thing and one thing only—Well, actually he knew quite a multitude of new things. But there was one thing that was really, really important missing from this whole predicament. He needed answers. He needed to confirm what he was hearing was true. But he knew that there was no way he could confront Mr. Stark or Happy or even Riley about this without evidence.

   So, he was left with no other choice.

   Peter Parker was going undercover.

○ ○ ○

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

wow okay i have so many things to say about this chapter. i have a lot of psychoanalyzing on riley in this author's note, so i'll just put the important things up front and if you wanna read my ramble about riley, go for it.

first of all... PETER KNOWS?????

what do yall think he's gonna do? is he just gonna straight up confront riley? is he gonna bring it up to tony? or maybe he'll bring it up to happy? what the fuck is gonna happen !! who knows !! (i do)

ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! anyways here's my rambles about riley. again, it's mostly me psychoanalyzing riley, so if you don't really care then you don't have to read it haha. i just like putting it out there for my fellow writing nerds.

i love riley so damn much and let me tell you why. (yes i HAVE been waiting to make this author's note for the past 11 chapters thanks for noticing).

i try to make it really really obvious that riley is essentially the epitome of all the avengers combined, mixed with her own personality that she's always had. it's important to know that yes while the avengers and other agents from the past have influenced her personality a bit, she's always had the traits she has today. if anything, her colleagues have just amplified them.

now that i'm thinking about it, riley is actually pretty impressionable. she was raised by the iconic black widow, who (on the job, at least) is very stone cold and doesn't show her emotions. and riley really admires natasha. after all, natasha was practically one of the leading forces who "raised" riley. therefore, you can see how hard riley tries to do what she think natasha would do. same with clint.

another thing: riley is really, really attached to the avengers. she LOVES those guys so much and they love her, too. in my opinion, it's really obvious. it makes sense and it allows us to infer that she's close to the people she calls her colleagues because, frankly, she never got to have a family of her own with her parents.

riley is the glue of the avengers and lemme tell you why. everyone has had their own experiences with riley. riley's grown up with them. it's like when we all watch a show or a movie franchise and we get to watch how a character has grown up and we get super attached to them (or, at least, that's what i do lol). that's literally why the avengers are so attached to riley. that girl is like their collective child or something lmao. she's the reason why everyone is still connected to each other - even if they don't realize it.

shoutout to you if you read all of this lmao. comment what you think so far!! do you like the story? is it boring? should i add anything? if so, what should i add? examples would be like "more scenes with riley and tony".

how do we feel about riley as a character? or riley and peter's friendship so far? what do we think will happen to their friendship? i'm genuinely curious - please comment!!