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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xvi. SWEET DREAMS

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"GEE, IT REALLY LOOKS like it's not gonna let up anytime soon."

Riley gazed out a window with tiny plans lined up along the wooden sill. She folded her arms across her chest, witnessing as rain pitter-pattered opposite the glass and lightning flickered athwart the blackened skies. She glanced back over her shoulder, spotting Peter as he cynically attempted to get the television in his living room to start up again. The electricity had gone out in the midst of their movie marathon of the Star Wars films.

"I think we're gonna be stuck here for a while," she added, frowning. "How else am I supposed to find out if Luke Skywalker's mom screwed Darth Vader with the mask on or not?"

Peter peered up from where he had been toying with the television. "I can't even begin to explain how wrong that is," he stated. "Why would they do that with the mask on? That's weird."

Riley snickered at his reaction. "I dunno," she dismissed. "People are into some weird stuff."

Peter eyed her carefully. "I don't even wanna ask what you've seen," he half-joking, half-seriously replied, earning a hearty laugh from Riley.

The door to the Parker apartment swung open. May Parker stepped in, glasses sitting low on the bridge of her nose. "Looks like the entire block doesn't have power," May informed the two. "I think it'd be safer if you spent the night, Riley. I don't want you home alone with this storm raising hell."

"That's not a bad idea, actually," Peter agreed, pulling away from the television. "Maybe we can keep watching the other movies when the power comes back on."

Riley paused, glancing between the two. It wasn't like she hadn't spent the night before. She shrugged. "Sounds good to me," Riley replied. "I'll shoot my mom a text."

May clapped her hands together. "I'll grab some blankets!" she insisted, causing Riley to smile. She and May had really come a long way since they had first met. The first time they met, May was uncomfortable with leaving Peter alone with a girl. Now, sometimes she'd invite Riley over to hang out with her while Peter was out. Riley was grateful to have someone like May in her life.

As May walked out, Riley turned to Peter. "You up for some boardgames?" wondered Peter. "I've got Cards Against Humanity."

Riley's eyes widened. "No offense, but do you really wanna play Cards Against Humanity with May?" she asked the boy.

Peter paused. "You're right. I'll grab a few games and we'll decide from there."

Riley smiled at him. "Sounds good. I'm just gonna text Pepper real quick."

Peter stuck his thumbs into the air, offering a boyish smile that always made Riley's heart clench with warmth for reasons she didn't understand. She glanced down at her hands as she whipped out her cell phone from her back pocket, praying that she'd still have service to text Pepper. She sighed in relief when she realized she did. Riley's fingers swiped across the keyboard to formulate the message when she heard it.

BOOM!

Riley's throat closed up, her phone slipping out of her hands and loudly colliding with the floor as she jumped in surprise. Sweat immediately broke out all over her body, her brown eyes wide. Her head began to spin, becoming faster and faster each time thunder clapped throughout the skies of Queens, New York.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

She fluttered her eyes rapidly. "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered to through gritted teeth. She squatted down to pick up her phone, only to drop it again as she heard another thunderous crash. Riley yelped at the noise. "Shit!"

Although her mumblings were quiet, Peter could hear her loud and clear He knew as soon as he overheard the thunder that he needed to join Riley's side again. Peter sprinted into the living room, seeing Riley on the floor attempting to pick up her phone with shaking hands.

Peter frowned. "May, Riley and I are gonna play board games in my room!" Peter shouted, rushing toward Riley's side. Riley's mind had grown so incredibly foggy that she seemed to have blocked out whatever May called back in response. She looked up as Peter offered a hand. "C'mon, Riles, let me help you. Don't fade on me yet."

That's what Peter had grown to call Riley's episodes. He said that episodes weren't the right term for it because it seemed like Riley seemed to fade from reality. It was additionally incredibly fitting, given her superpowers. Riley swallowed the knot in her throat and nodded quickly, hanging onto reality by a thread. She took Peter's hand, leaving her phone on the floor and following him into his room.

He sealed the door behind them as Riley perched on his bed. She curled up into a little ball with her chin resting on her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs. While Riley didn't fade very often (She wasn't exactly in situations that involved triggering sounds for the past few months, excluding the Midtown Jubilee, New Years, and occasional thunderstorms), he'd witnessed it enough times to know exactly what to do.

"Talk to me," Riley meekly requested. "Please."

Luckily for both of them, Peter's greatest talent was talking nonstop. She just stared up at him as he paced around the room, trying to act as theatrically and distractingly as possible. His stories and rambling often varied between things that happened on patrol, weird things that have happened to him and Ned, funny things their friends have said, or something that happened while he was with Tony.

No matter how uninteresting the story might seem to others, Riley always appreciated and enjoyed listening to Peter talk. Maybe it was because she had begun to associate his voice with calmness, peace, and a peculiar fuzzy feeling in her heart.

When the storm finally passed and Peter had told a myriad of stories to Riley, even when she'd fade into a flashback, he sat on the bed next to her. Riley leaned her head on his shoulder, trying to ride out the remainder of her flashbacks.

"Thank you," she mumbled after a while. "I know this is annoying and all..."

Peter scoffed. "Nah, don't say things like that," he dismissed. "We're friends. I'd do anything for you. Besides, you'd do the same for me."

Riley smiled at the sentiment. "I know," she softly said. "I seriously love you, Pete. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Peter's cheeks stung with a blanket of pink. "I..." He trailed off, smiling that boyish smile that could win over anyone. "I love you, too, Ghostie."

BOOM!

   Riley Stark's entire body jolted upward as she awakened, feeling her home tremble. Lightning flashes outside her window. Wind jostled the trees outside as rain splashed everything in sight. Riley glimpsed around her dark bedroom, reminding herself of where she was and that she was no longer asleep. She sighed. Another dream about him...

   Two weeks had passed since Riley woke up from her coma, meaning it'd been a number of days since she began to get back into the swing of things. Riley had only recently stopped going to physical therapy, given that her coma only lasted about a week, and she managed to reach optimal health once again only recently. During this time, Riley spent her days with her parents and little sister. On the side, she visited the Avengers Compound for hours at a time in order to help Natasha out, which naturally included hanging with whoever else happened to be visiting, such as Steve or Rocket Raccoon.

   Her life was slowly becoming what it once was, what it should sort of be. She was just barely coping, and that was what mattered. However, she just couldn't shake off the dreams she had about the fallen.

   It was strange how her mind baited her with sweet dreams of the ones she cared about, for she was used to the nightmares that had accompanied her since she was two-years-old. The sweet dreams seemed to hurt worse than the nightmares, for Riley would wake up feeling happy, only to remember they were all dead.

   The sweet dreams varied between people. Sometimes, Riley would dream about actual things that had happened, such as Vision trying to explain to the others what a meme is, having to protect the toaster in the kitchen with a forcefield because it used to surprise Wanda to the point of destroying it, or Fury telling her the story of Carol Danvers. Other times, she would dream of people in scenarios that never happened, such as her dream about solving crime with the Winter Soldier and Falcon. Whether her dreams were memories or fantasies, seeing their faces made the sting of missing them worsen.

   She missed them. All of them. She missed bickering with Pietro, and she hated the hollow feeling she got when she'd look around during a conversation, waiting for his stupid remarks. She missed MJ and Ned's heated debates about the most random things and laughing when Mr. Harrington had to break them up. She missed listening to Wanda's stories about Sokovia and listening to Steve's lectures about any and everything. She missed laughing hysterically at Betty and Jason's morning announcements. She missed playing chess with Vision and training with the others. She missed the little things.

   Riley especially missed Peter Parker. It was strange, considering they'd really only known each other as friends for one school year; however, Peter was arguably one of the best things that had ever happened to her. They had bonded in ways indescribable to someone who didn't know either of them personally. Something about not knowing what happened to Peter, Tony, and everyone else in space made it worse on her poor heart. She'd just ask Tony or maybe even Nebula, but it seemed like no one wanted to talk about it. Then again, she understood why.

   Lightning illuminated the night sky. How had she gone from dreaming about a memory involving a thunderstorm, only to wake up to one? The fates had a terrible sense of humor.

   She tensed as thunder boomed once more. She shut her eyes tightly, her fists closing. Her nails dug into the palm of her hand as she counted the thunderous booms. Three. As the fourth one sounded off, Riley's ears perked up at another sound. There was a yelping sound that grasped onto her attention. She opened her eyes, bewildered. Had she imagined it?

   Nope—there it was again. It was a quiet little cry that followed each clap of thunder. Riley was incredibly confused until she noticed her bedroom door leisurely open. The Latina looked over groggily. Soon enough, her brown eyes landed on a three-foot-tall girl standing in the doorway.

   "R...Riley?"

   Riley squinted, barely able to make out Morgan's appearance. Even if her vision wasn't completely awful, she'd only be able to see Morgan's silhouette. "Morgan?" beckoned Riley. A series of alarms set off in Riley's head once she heard Morgan sniffle. Had she been crying? "What's wrong? Is it the storm?"

   "Uh-huh."

   Riley frowned. She wondered how much help she could really offer, considering she despised thunderstorms with a fiery passion. Nonetheless, Riley had grown to care about Morgan and her wellbeing faster than she had been anticipating. Surely, she could ride out this one thunderstorm for her little sister's sake, right? "You wanna lay down with me?" Riley offered with a gentle voice.

   "Mhm."

   With a quiet sigh, Riley got out of bed and in one swift movement, reached out and picked up Morgan. She carefully laid her down on the large bed, tucking Morgan in before getting comfortable beside her. The warm comforter wrapped around them as Morgan snuffled into Riley's side. The two physically flinched as thunder echoed again. Morgan let out a squeal, burying her face into Riley's side.

   Silence fell between the two for a few minutes before Morgan rather loudly whispered, "Are you sleeping?"

   Riley snorted. "Nope," she rejoined, wide awake. "Do you not like thunderstorms?"

   "Nope. They're loud and scary."

   Riley paused, thinking to herself. The Avengers and Peter had guided Riley through occasions like this more than a few times. Perhaps she could be for Morgan what they had once been for her. Riley thought about all the attempts that had and hadn't worked on her and decided to go with one of her favorite methods.

   "Aw, they're not all that bad," Riley softly insisted, lying straight through her teeth. "Have you met your Uncle Thor?" Morgan made a little noise, indicating that she hadn't. "What? You haven't met Thor?"

   "Who's Thor?" Morgan squeaked.

   Riley hummed, gently running her hand through Morgan's hair. "Thor's a God. Him and a bunch of other Gods live on a planet far, far away called Asgard," Riley revealed. "All of the Gods are really strong and good at a bunch of stuff, but they all have something they specialize in. Does that make sense?" Morgan made a noise as if to say yes. "Thor is the God of Thunder."

   "I don't like Thor if he's the one making the thunder."

   "Aw, don't say that. Mom, Dad, and I are all friends with Thor," Riley explained. "Since we can't see Uncle Thor that often, he likes to make thunderstorms to remind us that he's watching over us. He didn't mean to scare you, Mo. He just wants to say hi."

   "Oh." Morgan paused. "Well, he should just do it like a normal person."

   "I agree, but that's just Uncle Thor. He's protecting us from wherever he is. Maybe whenever you meet him, we can tell him to be quiet next time."

   Riley smiled at Morgan's giggles. "So Thor's a good guy?" wondered the girl. That seemed to be how Morgan categorized most people. There wasn't such a thing as a middle ground in her world.

   "Mhm, he is."

   "Pinky promise?" Morgan urged, reaching out with her hand that had finally stopped shaking.

   Riley didn't hesitate. "I pinky promise Thor's a good guy." She held her pinky up, twisting it with Morgan's. Riley sighed in relief when she felt Morgan relax against her for the first time that night.

   Riley wondered if she and Morgan would be close like this when they were both much older. She wondered if she'd manage to live long enough to even see Morgan grow up. The thought petrified her. Her line of work certainly didn't permit her to have a family. She'd lost everything before she had S.H.I.E.L.D. Working was easier because she didn't have anything to lose. But things were different now. Now, she was trying to live two lives. Was it worth the risks?

   Looking down at Morgan fast asleep on Riley's shoulder made the answer loud and clear. If she could live like this for as long as possible, maybe the pros outweighed the cons.

   Riley slept soundlessly through a thunderstorm for the first time that night.

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   Sometimes Riley would wake up and not know where she was. It was expected, especially given her special circumstances. Interacting with the world and seeing what it's become after losing five years of your life isn't easy, but it's possible when you put in the work.

   She had been doing everything she could over the course of the past two weeks to assimilate into life like she once had. She felt like she was juggling so many things all at once. While this was normal for someone with her history, the problem was that she was struggling to feel like a normal person again. Feeling disorientation in the mornings just added to the fuel of feeling like she was still dreaming.

   When she woke up, there was a slightly uncomfortable pressure on her body. She had been laying on her back, head leaning to the side. As expected, Riley was puzzled for a few moments regarding where she was and why there was a small child sleeping happily on top of her. Riley furrowed her eyebrows, her heart suddenly racing with nerves. Whispers slipped into her ears, and as reality overcame her once again (something Riley was getting faster at), the teenager peeled open her eyes just as a flash of light burned her retinas.

   "Ugh..." grumbled Riley, shutting her eyes in response. Morgan didn't react, still fast asleep. Riley opened her eyes again, blinking away the light. She squinted to see Tony and Pepper giggling while looking at something on their phone.

   "Oh, we're definitely framing that one," Pepper mentioned to her fiancé with a big smile plastered on her aging face. It didn't take Riley long to figure out that Pepper had taken a picture of her daughters sleeping in the same bed.

   Tony glimpsed back at Riley, realizing she was awake. He sauntered toward the girls, squatting beside the bed. "Morning, sunshine," Tony pompously greeted, ruffling her hair.

   "I would hit you for taking a picture of me looking like a hot mess, but I physically can't move," mumbled Riley. It appeared that they had just woken up, too, given that they were still in their pajamas. Riley assumed that for the first time, Morgan hadn't run to wake up her parents, which usually led to Morgan waking up Riley. This had worried the Stark parents into investigating until they ended up in Riley's room.

   "If you wake up our precious angel, I will hit you first," Tony threatened, his voice lowered into a soft whisper and his tone sweet.

   Riley rolled her eyes. She knew that neither Tony nor Pepper were morning people, which was the polar opposite of Riley. She enjoyed being awake early in the morning, for her body was accustomed to waking up as late as five in the morning to fulfill her agent responsibilities. She figured her parents would appreciate having a few extra moments of quiet in the morning, but Riley couldn't help herself.

   As Tony returned to Pepper's side, the two headed out to presumably start on breakfast. A mischievous smile pulled on Riley's face. She poked Morgan's side. "Psst," whispered Riley. Morgan stirred in her sleep, clinging onto Riley. "Psst... Mom's making waffles and I'm gonna eat them all if you don't wake up."

   Surprisingly, Morgan's eyes opened instantly. She lifted her head, rolling onto the side on the unoccupied space of Riley's bed. "W...Waffles?" Morgan echoed with her soft morning voice. She hadn't even noticed that Tony and Pepper had just been in the room with them at all.

   "Mhm. Let's go let them know we're awake," Riley suggested, brushing away the brown locks that fell over her face. Morgan nodded eagerly. She scrambled out of bed and running off. Riley snickered to herself upon hearing Morgan yell loudly for her parents.

   Riley pulled herself out of bed, stretching her arms outward to the ceiling. She sighed in relief, running a hand through her messy, raven hair. Snickering to herself, Riley calmly strolled out to where the madness was after brushing her teeth.

   "Good morning, family!" Riley cheerfully addressed with a triumphant smirk. Almost immediately, an unidentifiable object went whizzing toward her. Riley threw her hands up, creating a forcefield without hesitation. She glanced up at the perpetrator, only to discover her own father chuckling to himself. "Hey!"

   "I warned you," pointed out Tony with a cup of coffee in his hands.

   Riley rolled her eyes before glancing back at Pepper, who had been taking out the ingredients to make the waffles she hadn't been planning on making until Morgan was lied to. "Mooom!" Riley jokingly called out. "Dad's being an A-S-S!"

   Morgan, who was sitting on the floor in the living room with her toys, looked up in confusion. "A—?" she started.

   "Don't spell that!" Riley, Tony, and Pepper called out at the same time, interrupting the girl. Morgan shrugged and went back to her toys.

   Tony wagged his finger at his oldest daughter. "Terrible influence, you are."

   "Who do you think I got it from?" Riley taunted, walking over to help Pepper. "I'm spitting in your waffles!"

   Tony shrugged. "I'm looking forward to it."

   "You're gross."

   As Riley washed her hands, Pepper sighed. "You two..."

   "We should go on WWE," Riley joked. "I'd totally take him down."

   "Oh, for sure," Pepper laughed, continuing to work on the batter. "But you can't do it without me. Wait until after our anniversary passes." Riley's eyes widened as she whipped her head toward her mother. Pepper didn't even react. "How long did you think he'd be able to hide the RESCUE suit from me?"

   "How...How'd you figure it out?" Riley whispered frantically. "He's been trying to hide it for so long!"

   Pepper shrugged. "I was his assistant for years," she nonchalantly explained. "I know everything about him. And you."

   Riley hummed, nodding slowly. "Makes sense," she admitted. She paused. "You know everything about us, but sometimes I feel like I don't even know what your favorite color is." Riley paused again. "That's a lie. It's purple."

   With a smile, Pepper nudged her daughter. "Atta girl," she praised. "You know me, sunshine. I promise. We learn through the experiences we share with people. Usually, the traumatic ones are the ones that stick, though." They shared a laugh at this. "It's all those little things that make the bond with someone stronger."

   Smiling at Pepper, Riley humorously mentioned, "Morgan's gonna love all your spontaneous Mom lectures when she's older."

   Chuckling, Pepper and Riley continued to make breakfast for the four of them. For as long as Riley could remember, they had made it a habit to cook together whenever the occasion would arise. It wasn't often, not until Riley was adopted. But ever since then, Riley would always appreciate spending time with her. They'd always leave the kitchen feeling closer than before.

   "Can I ask you something?" Riley wondered after a moment of silence between the two as they focused on the meal. "Do you still miss everyone we lost in the Decimation? I mean, I know you do, but... I guess what I'm wondering is... does it get any easier?"

   Pepper paused. "Every time I think I've come to terms with what happened, I'm unpleasantly surprised," she slowly confessed. "Walking into Stark Industries a few weeks later was... traumatizing. You don't think about all the people you didn't really know. You always think about the ones you were close to. Family, friends... But it didn't really hit me how many people we'd lost until I pulled up to valet parking and saw how empty the lot was or when I went to greet my coworkers that were no longer alive." Pepper frowned at the thoughts rolling through her mind. "It gets easier, but it doesn't go away."

   Riley nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter with a frown. "Do you ever... get dreams about them?"

   "Hm... It depends. What kind of dreams?"

   "They're all usually sweet dreams, all about different people. The only thing they all had in common was that we lost them." Riley paused, sighing. "I miss them. It's so much fresher for me because I didn't have five years to mourn, you know?"

   "I know. But you're strong. You've been through a lot. This is just another obstacle for you." Pepper turned back to the waffles she was working on. "But who knows? We didn't think we'd see you again unless it was in death. The only time we could see you was through the stories we told the world or old videos of you."

   "I still can't believe you guys just exposed me like that," Riley joked. "I appreciate the gesture though. I don't know if I ever told you that."

   "Anything for you," genuinely contended Pepper. "What I'm trying to say is... you know, maybe one day we'll see everyone again. Don't tell Tony, but you've reignited my beacon of hope with your light."

   Riley didn't know what to think of her words. Was Pepper insinuating that she believed there was still a way to bring back the fallen? Or was she just saying that to make Riley feel better?

   Whatever it was, Riley knew one thing was for certain. Whether she could bring them back or not, she would act as a beacon of hope for the world. Even if it was false hope, blinding light was better than empty darkness... even if she didn't quite believe that herself.

   That was the least she could do.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

i'm so sorry for the lack of peter in act two thus far. i've been trying to work him in through flashbacks, dreams, memories, etc., but there's only so much i can do without it becoming excessive, you know? especially with riley, who is so much more than just a friendship with peter, if that makes sense. SO i'm working on it.

this story has become a lot more about riley and her life than the oc x peter parker fic y'all came for - and i feel bad about it. but at the same time i cant connect with a story unless i do it this way. ahhh idk i just feel really bad about it lmao

i promise i'll make it up to yall - big things are coming! stay tuned

;)