ANOTHER TWO days pass and Natasha, Clint, and Steve are still on their mission. Veronica says that they'll be back tonight, so tomorrow they'll get back to working on tracking down Hydra bases again. In the meantime, Colleen has been working out in the gym a lot. It takes her mind off of the fact that they're wasting time waiting for the three to return when they could have been making real progress in finding the bases. Colleen is still new to the team, so she has little say over anything they do. To make it worse, she can't even do some work on her own; Chen still has her flash drive. Working out and getting stronger is the only thing she can do that feels productive while she waits.

Unlike the first time Colleen worked out in the Avengers gym, she no longer exercises alone. When she walked through the doors two days ago, she stopped in her tracks at the sight of Peter. He was lifting weights and looked up at the sound of the doors opening. While Colleen was about to turn around and come back later, Peter smiled at her and assured her that they could share the gym. It's rather large and has more than enough room for a dozen people, much less the two of them.

For the next two days, Peter and Colleen have been working out together almost competitively. It's not that Peter has to prove himself to Colleen—he's literally Spider-Man, everyone knows how strong and capable he is—so she isn't completely sure why it seems like he tries hard around her. Maybe he's just trying to impress her? Maybe it's just fun?

Either way, having a work out buddy makes exercising much more enjoyable. She pushes herself to keep up with the amount of push-ups he does, and he pushes himself to keep up with how many squats she does. Both are muscular, but Peter's arms are more toned while Colleen's legs are stronger.

After a set of pull-ups, the pair drops to the ground and shakes out their arms. Colleen stretches her arm across her chest before repeating the action with her other arm. With his hands set on his hips, Peter glances back at the treadmills before looking at Colleen.

"You a good runner?" Peter asks.

Colleen looks back at the treadmills. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and nods. "I'm okay."

But she's more than just okay at running. Sprinting for extended periods of time was something Hydra forced her to do to test her stamina durability. Over the years she built up the ability to sprint as fast as she can—almost thirty mph—for up to ten minutes. Not wanting a repeat of the first time she used the gym here, Colleen plans to hold back during their run. Free running can be pretty stress-relieving.

As the two walk over to the treadmills, Peter asks to make conversation, "So, did you do any sports growing up?"

Colleen's eyes fleetingly land on Peter beside her before she looks forward and remains neutral. "No. Did you?"

"Nope," he replies, laughing lightly. "I mean, I probably could have since I got my powers just before ninth grade, but I was lanky and had no muscles at all before, so playing sports probably would have raised some eyebrows. Plus, I was too busy with academics, clubs, and being Spider-Man, anyways. Sports wouldn't have fit in my schedule."

They reach the treadmills but don't get on yet. They stop in front of them and turn to each other.

"What clubs were you in?" Colleen asks.

Peter shrugs, running a hand through his hair matted with sweat. "Academic Decathlon, marching band, and some others that aren't important. I quit most of them so I could have more time to patrol the streets, though."

Colleen smiles. She doesn't know what Academic Decathlon or marching band is, but they sound like fun. It makes her nostalgic for her teenage experiences she never had. She's glad that Peter's powers didn't take that away from him.

"What about you?" Peter asks.

"Yeah, I wasn't in any clubs," Colleen replies. She knows she isn't technically lying to him, but she feels bad for dancing around the truth. She doesn't want him to think of her differently, and even though it's not completely honest, she allows him to think that she had a normal childhood and teenage years for now. She already admitted that she didn't go to high school, and she doesn't want to admit to not attending any other formal schooling.

Peter mounts on his treadmill first, Colleen following as she stands up on the one beside his. She tightens her ponytail and starts the machine off at a slow pace. Peter does the same.

They jog for about minute before Peter suggests they take it up a notch. Colleen agrees, easily transitioning from jogging into running. Her shoes expertly track against the tread as her arms pump with her legs. Her lungs fill with air with ease.

Peter glances at Colleen beside him and smirks. He turns his up to a higher speed. Quirking a brow as she silently accepts the challenge, Colleen turns hers up as well. Soon, the two of them are sprinting.

Peter's breaths start to become rugged. Colleen's, on the other hand, are even. This speed, while not easy for most, is still well within her comfort zone.

"How. . . are you. . . so good. . . at this?" Peter huffs, struggling to keep this pace while the girl beside him doesn't even break a sweat. "I have enhanced durability. . . and you're still beating me."

Colleen just smiles innocently, not sure how to respond without lying.

After about five more minutes of sprinting, Peter throws in the towel and the two of them end their run with a walk.

"You sure you weren't a track star?" Peter playfully asks as his breaths even out, his hands on his hips to expand his lungs.

Gripping the handles of the treadmill, Colleen lets out a breathy laugh. "Just because I wasn't in sports doesn't mean I didn't work out."

She glances at the digital clock on the screen of the treadmill. 5:13. She hates to cut off their work out session, but she has responsibilities.

Turning off her treadmill and stepping off, she says, "I should probably go get dinner ready for the kids."

Peter turns his off and steps beside her. He grabs his water bottle from the ground and takes a swig before asking, "What gourmet dish is on the menu tonight?"

"Don't know yet." Colleen picks up her water bottle and takes a few gulps. Bringing it down from her lips, she lifts her shirt to wipe the water that dripped onto her chin. Peter's eyes lower to her stomach and his brow furrows. As soon as Colleen realizes what he's looking at, she drops her shirt and turns. Shame and embarrassment wash over her. How could she have forgotten? Does being around Peter really bring down her guard that much? "Sorry. I forgot that was there for a moment."

Peter follows Colleen to the door, reaching out and taking her elbow to stop her from rushing out. "Hey, wait. Why are you apologizing for having a scar?"

"It's just. . . it's ugly." Colleen's face burns. She gnaws on her bottom lip and can't tear her eyes from the floor.

"Your scars aren't ugly," Peter denies, but Colleen just shakes her head.

"They aren't exactly pretty, Peter." Although Colleen hates the way her skin is a canvas filled with marks and burns, it runs deeper than physicality. Scars are parts of Colleen's life that she wants to forget; they are a part of her that makes her feel weak. They look ugly and remind her of ugly memories.

Peter lets go of her elbow. Colleen looks up from the ground and manages to meet Peter's conflicted gaze. She hates the way his eyes subconsciously trail over the jagged scar on her cheek before reaching her blue eyes.

"You shouldn't be ashamed of them," Peter says, and Colleen holds back a scoff.

"You don't understand, your enhanced healing eliminates your scars," Colleen argues and turns away from Peter again. Having this conversation is hard enough without him staring at her scarred face. "I'm stuck with mine."

Colleen starts towards the door again. Peter calls out her name, but she doesn't turn around. She pushes through the doors. As she strides down the hall towards her bedroom, her eyes burn with unshed tears threatening to spill over.

•••

Kids are brutally honest—that's just a fact. They are less likely to spare your feelings and tell you how it is, unaware of their words' impact. You ask them how you look, and they'll tell you straight up if you look bad or good instead of bending the truth to protect your feelings. Colleen knows that this was true for Anna Beth and Ben when they were a little younger and for Sloan now. During the first few weeks after Colleen rescued Anna Beth when the redhead was only four, Anna Beth insulted everything without any malicious intent. She was just being honest. The couch was filthy (it was a second-hand couch), Colleen's body looked manly (she is very muscular and most girls Anna Beth had seen were thin), and Ben smelled sometimes (he went through a phase where he hated taking showers).

As Colleen stares at herself in the bathroom mirror, she wonders how she actually looks. Is the scar on her face ugly? Does she look like a freak? Do the burn marks on her back take away her beauty?

Colleen knows that it's pointless to dwell on her physical appearance, especially since it never really got to her this bad, but she wants to know if Peter was lying to her when he said that her scars aren't ugly. Sure, he hasn't seen all of them, but he has seen the one on her face and the one on her torso and still insists that they aren't disgusting. When his eyes trail over the mark on her face, he doesn't look disgusted like many others do; he seems to just accept it as part of her face.

Turning off her bathroom light and closing the door behind her, Colleen steps back into her bedroom. Sloan is lying under the covers like she does every night since she can't seem to fall asleep in her own room. Colleen doesn't mind sharing a bed with Sloan; it's nice not being alone sometimes.

Colleen lies next to Sloan and she immediately curls into her side. Smiling softly, Colleen wraps an arm around her, holding her close. She uses her powers to turn off the light without having to move.

"Can I ask you a question, Slo?" Colleen whispers in the darkness.

Sloan opens her eyes and blinks up at Colleen. She nods.

"You know how I have a bunch of scars, like the one of my face and on my tummy?" she starts, her finger tracing little circles in Sloan's shoulder as she nods again. "Do you think they're ugly?"

Sloan's brow furrows. Her bright blue eyes trail over Colleen's face as she ponders the question. Carefully, she reaches up and touches the scar engraved on Colleen's face. "No."

A subtle weight lifts from her shoulders. "No?"

Sloan raises her arm and bends it so her elbow is in Colleen's face. A thin, white line stands out against her dark skin. "Is mine ugly?"

"No." A smile crinkles Colleen's eyes. She leans forward and presses a kiss to the faint scar on Sloan's elbow. The little girl giggles and sits up to kiss Colleen on her face. The action, while small, sprouts warmth throughout her chest.

"Good night, Colleen," Sloan yawns as she snuggles back into Colleen's side and closes her heavy eyelids.

Colleen bites back a smile. Running her hand over her curly locks, she whispers, "Night, kiddo."