❛ I've waited this long ❜

No one knew how much Melisande really devoted herself to her work. Whether it be her mission with the Avengers or her part-time job at Delmar's, she was always keeping herself busy. And especially, when Andy made a promise or a commitment, she held a vow to complete the task, no matter how simple - or dangerous - it could be. So that explains why on a Wednesday afternoon, Andy was walking down the sidewalk with a noticeable bounce in her step as she made her way to the deli. People waved and smiled to her while she traveled and she returned their gestures with warm beams of happiness and recitals of their names. For an odd reason, she wasn't filled with hate as she normally was on a typical weekday. She was usually the girl everyone said 'hi' to that would mutter a simple response - unless of course she really liked you, and everyone knew she got along especially well with Pappy Joe and no one else. So to elaborate more, Andy was feeling well. She wasn't nearing a breakthrough of any kind in her algorithm, and she certainly wasn't getting the sleep she desired due to the extra school work she took on in order to catch up in her late arrival into the school year, but she felt content. And it concerned her that she felt such a feeling, but she brushed off her worry and decided to not rain on her own parade of smiles and joy that were coming her way. She deserved to be happy, and for the first time since before her parents passed, she finally realized it.

The girl reached her place of work and tugged open the door, immediately feeling a cool sensation overwhelm her because of the nice air conditioning that filled the place. One person stood at the counter with his earbuds in and his head lowered but Andy didn't pay him or his sandwich being made any mind; instead, she waltzed behind the counter with a graceful few steps and slipped into her apron. "Ah, Andy! Right on time!" Delmar shouted with glee as he emerged from the back with a grin on his face. Andy glanced down at her wristwatch and chuckled, knowing very well that she was never early nor late, and seeing as it was precisely four in the afternoon, she was perfectly on time. "Of course, Mr. Delmar," she giggled.

Mr. Delmar looked up from the two sandwiches he was making at the sound of a laugh emerging from her lips and appeared startled for a slight moment. "My gosh, Andy. Are you feeling alright?"

"Isn't it great outside today, Mr. Delmar?" Andy asked, slipping on her gloves and lifting her chin to make it look like she was pondering with a thought bubble above her head. The man cocked an eyebrow and shook his head while turning his attention back to the meats. "No, I mean really? The day isn't so bad. First, Pappy gave me a hug, then he told me a story about one of his old friends, and even showed me a picture! Now don't even get me started on our conversation five minutes ago!" she snickered while making the sandwich on order number five and smushing it down real flat, just the way the customer wished it. She didn't look up to see who was ordering as she continued her conversation about the wellness of her day, and Delmar listened with a pure concentration since it was such a rarity to see her this way. "When I was letting Ralph watch the shop for a couple hours and got outside myself, I thought the rumors about Andy Dubois in a good mood was just that - a rumor," he chortled while packaging the second sandwich to the customer. "Pappy can do that," she replied.

Delmar looked over at the teenager who had a smile resting upon her cheeks and he grinned, "You know, Pappy has only ever had two real friends. I mean, excluding myself, he had you, and Benjamin Parker," Delmar told her with honesty. The boy at the counter perked up at the mention of his uncle and pulled his earbuds from his ears, hoping to hear the rest of the conversation. Andy - too - had tensed, feeling ultimate regret for not being aware of the incident until weeks prior. "I love Pappy with everything, and even still, I'll never be able to replace Uncle Ben's place in his heart. When I would sit down in the morning, Pappy would have a new story about how Ben brought him a coffee and chatted with him. Man, you should've seen the smile on his face," Andy said, her smile widening as she recalled the memories from a month past. 

"What did you talk about last week? He seemed pretty cheerful one day last week - and I mean exceptionally cheerful," Delmar added, taking the sandwich she had completed and wrapping it up with the other. "Uh, that was... oh! Yeah, I asked him if he ever gets afraid at night, you know, sitting on the streets alone, and whatnot. And he said no because I was protecting him and he always knew I was there," she answered. Andy had no awareness of Peter Parker standing at the counter and listening carefully to their conversation. But he was particularly interested in the matter of Andy's close connection with Pappy Joe - the man he spent protecting at night. Andy laughed and faced Delmar, "He even said that he has a new protector."

"Really?" Delmar questioned.

"Yeah, he calls him the'red guy, the one who goes whoosh and thwip,' she answered. "Spider-Man?" Delmar asked with a surprised look on his face. Andy shrugged, "Do you know any other red guys who go thwip and woosh at night?"

Delmar rolled his eyes and took the paper bag of two sandwiches to return to the counter where Peter Parker handed over a ten dollar bill for the two number fives. Andy turned around to finally face the customer - the person she didn't think she knew - and saw her classmate and civics partner. The smile vanished from her face and she quickly realized that she just let this one person know that she had a close relationship with Pappy Joe and mentioned his uncle, even though it was all good things. Andy never meant to tell anyone at her school about her after-school life, she wanted to keep it private. And now Peter Parker knew about it. She was talking about Spider-Man's friendly relationship with Pappy Joe in front of the hero himself without noticing it, and she was giving away her connections to the city homeless man to the only other person who seemed to give him mind. 

Delmar quickly noticed her frown, as did Peter who was stuttering on his words with the idea to say something fast, but nothing happened. He wanted to say how he met Pappy with his uncle, and how it was great she was helping the man. He wanted to say how Uncle Ben would have loved Andy if he ever had the chance to meet her. He wanted to say that he didn't know anything since she clearly didn't want to discuss her life outside of academics with anyone inside it. And he wanted to tell her it was great to see her. But he couldn't. His lips didn't move, and he didn't move. It was as if time had stopped and everything froze. But it didn't because Andy was concentrated on Peter who had a sparkle in his eyes that continued to twinkle each time someone passed in the window and the sun shined through their passing bodies. That's how she knew there was time still continuing. 

Delmar - noticing this and knowing Andy - cleared histhroat with the one thought to tell her to get to the back and start taking inventory. He had known Andy for nearly three years and knew that she didn't like talking about her life. She never mentioned anyone in her life to anyone she didn't trust. And that included talking about Pappy to people she didn't know very well. So when the realization that she had said too much to someone else hit both Delmar and Andy, they stopped and neither knew what to do. "A-andy, how about you go take inventory, see if we need to order some more pastrami," he suggested, motioning to the back. The second the words left his mouth, Andy snapped into reality and nodded, her fingers fumbling with the ties of her apron, "Yeah, sure," she rushed out, stepping away from the counter and disappearing into the freezer with a clipboard and a pencil. "You tell your aunt we say 'hi', will ya'?" Delmar asked Peter who was now gathering the bag into his arms for the dinner he would be enjoying with his relative. "Yeah, sure! You'll tell Andy that it was good to see her I'll see her in school tomorrow?"

Delmar raised an eyebrow and leaned on the counter as Peter approached the door, "I like Pappy Joe, by the way! It's great he has a friend like Andy, you know? She's a good friend to have around, Uncle Ben would've loved her!" Peter called, then exiting the shop with a smile on his face and the sparkle returning to his eyes. It was at that moment Peter had said all he wanted to say and felt content. And then not a second later, Andy rested her back against the freezer door, having heard the simple lines emerge from Peter Parker's mouth.

•••

After her tiring shift at Delmar's and her excessive research that went everywhere and nowhere, Andy was finally resting in the comfort of her bed upstate with her computer resting on her thighs. She was planning on watching a quick episode of Friends before resting her eyes and falling into a slumber when a slight thought crossed her mind that dealt with the party she was supposed to be attending the next day. 

Just as Andy's fingers grazed over the one document, a soft knock tapped on the open door at the end of her bedroom and her eyes snapped up while shutting the laptop as a reflex. Steve stood in the doorway with a small smile on his cheeks, looking at the girl with interest. It had been nearly twenty minutes since the Avengers' late dinner commenced and Andy - being in her content mood - chatted eagerly with Sam Wilson and James Rhodes for the majority of the meal. Of course, she conversed with her friend Wanda Maximoff and Vision, then the occasional sidebar with Natasha and Steve, but her interest was getting to know the two other new members that she had only seen around the facility on the days she was there. And as Steve stood at the entrance to her room, Andy was a bit surprised what he needed, especially since she talked with him less than a half hour before. 

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, sliding to her headboard and sitting straighter and without a slouch. Steve shrugged before slipping a small photo from his back pocket, holding it in his hands as he observed it. It was no larger than a picture to keep safe in your wallet, and it intrigued Andy to what it was. "I realized it isn't fair how you're working hard for us, and we aren't working hard for you," he told her. "Nat's been in contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. and trying to get answers from them since they recruited you, but ever since they went underground it's been harder to remain involved in their affairs," he explained.

Andy tensed at the mention of the mission involving her parents but eased when Steve handed her the picture. It was a small photo of Andy as a tiny ten-year-old. Her hair was pulled into pigtails and a smile lit up her whole face. Franco Dubois was holding his daughter on his shoulders, and Marian was standing next to him. Andy remembered this day exactly. It was her tenth birthday and Andy insisted on traveling to a university for her annual birthday gift instead of a party or anything else. She wanted to see the magic behind the technology she held so dear, and her parents obliged willingly. Andy hadn't seen this picture in solid form, it had only ever been on the computer. But this one picture was lost compared to the thousands of others that Andy transferred to her computer from her parents after their death. "Nat and I went to your old house in Brooklyn and the new owners allowed us to look for anything we needed," Steve continued, seeing the now speechless expression on Andy's face as her fingers caressed the material of the photo paper. "We searched the house up and down and found only this picture behind the mantle of the fireplace. It must have fallen years back."

Andy cleared her throat and set the picture on top of her closed laptop, then meeting the eyes of Steve once looking up. "They've been dead for three years, Steve. I've waited this long, and I can wait a few more months for the truth," she told him. He pursed his lips and nodded once, patting the girl on the shoulder before waltzing to the door. "We'll get to it, Melly," he assured her before exiting the room. Andy stared at the empty doorway for a long moment before opening her computer again.

She double-clicked the left button and watched as a new window opened up with the immediate image of Franco and Marian gracing the screen. A headline focused in the center of the screen with the words For Your First High School Party and it brought a teeny smile to Andy's face. "Hey, sunshine!" Franco shouted while waving to the camera, bringing an even larger beam to Andy's face. "Hi, baby!" Marian added while pressing her lips together and 'blowing a kiss' to Andy. "Bonjour maman et papa," the teenager whispered softly.

"So, a high school party! That's like a big thing!" Franco laughed, nudging his wife on the shoulder. "I mean, I wouldn't know, so, uh, Mom, help us out!" he continued, dragging the attention onto the red-haired woman. She rolled her eyes playfully and looked directly at the camera, almost as if she was looking into Andy's eyes themselves. "You've reached high school without us, Lissy. That means whatever you're doing, you're doing right. But the thing is, high school isn't everything you probably hoped it would be. I hope we've prepared you enough for it and we can't change the past, so we'll take what we have."

"Yeah, and who knows, chéri, maybe someday you'll be calling the shots and won't need to worry about high school. After all, it's only four years," Franco smirked, almost seeming proud of the daughter he couldn't see. "Now, before you get to wherever you want to go, you have to fall. So, when you get knocked down, you get back up. Now if you get knocked up, maybe don't tell me for a while," he joked, a joyous laugh echoing through the speakers on the computer. A tear slipped unnoticed from Andy's eye as she watched her parents ramble about school, then finally dragging on to her first high school party. They warned her to make smart decisions and be cautious of those around her. They warned her not to do anything she wouldn't do around them, and that was something Andy would hold dear to her heart for years to come. It was nearly as if they weren't gone. For thirteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds Andy had parents. She had parents who were alive and well and taught her what she needed to know about life. SHe had parents she could chat with at the dinner table instead of taking three trains to Brooklyn to talk to their graves. She had real live parents. But only for thirteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Then they were gone. Then they were gone until the next video Andy would watch. They were gone until Andy took three trains to Brooklyn to talk to them as close as she possibly could. They were gone until someday Andy could see them again.

They were gone.