* KEEPSFLAME !!

        “ i’m not going to keep tabs on a toddler, boss. ” happy says, tone serious --- it wasn’t a quip or an understatement. he’d do anything for tony, but this request, he felt, was undignified. but then again, he found all of this super hero shit to be like that. it’d spun him out of control, desperate to function without going overdrive until very recently.

give this post  a little heart for a LYRICAL STARTER.

       “ no it’s not. come on, you can trust me. ” she states, giving him a small nudge. for as long as she can remember, her entire trust had been placed into her family’s hands --- including harley. he deserved to be able to feel the same way, safe enough to say anything. even the things that did not rise up easily, the things most people kept quiet out of fear or uncertainty. 

        “ that’s great!! ” he responds, smile wide. eyes glimmer with pride --- they almost always did when it came to peter. he was a good kid, the kind that you could brag about all day. which he did, more often than not. as far as teenagers went, he got lucky --- his felt tame enough to handle. he reminded him of himself and richard at that age, but softer. he admired it.  “ how about we grab a bite somewhere tonight after may gets out of work, then?? as a little celebration. ”

      “ i never would. ” she responds, walking away from the door frame and towards his bed, sitting in the corner of it. “ what’s going on?? ” she asks, tone soft and warm. she genuinely cared --- and hated seeing him in any kind of pain. even as a child, when she was blinded by admiration, she knew enough to know that absolutely everyone can feel troubled. 

      she turns her nose up slightly, stubborn features trying to hide their emotions. the older she got, the more complicated grief became. she understood the sacrifice her father had made, and why --- she accepted it, knew it was needed. but as her memory of him faded slightly with time, she found herself having to revisit recordings and pictures to remember things older people had an easier time remembering. it made her feel a type of guilt she couldn’t name. “ that’s not true. ”

        before this superhero team shit, there was always something he could’ve done --- an extra measure, a quick action, a strategic changes in plans. the world was different now, their lives were different now. safety was more high stakes than it ever could be, and he couldn’t even get close to insuring it. he felt hopeless --- not that he’d ever admit it. he’d have to adjust, as much as he missed the old days. “ that’s the problem, boss. ”

          a smile spreads across her features ---  even with age, she has remained a total dad’s girl. she loves her father, and her mother, more than words could describe. she simply skipped right past the stage where teenagers became embarrassed to express parental love. from a young age she had the ability to be affectionate openly within her family circle, and had retained it. “ i love you 3000, dad. ” she says, giving him a quick hug as she does so.

       “ if you really wanted to, you could use technology to track every single meme you’ve been used for. ” she comments to her father. the thought is very out of left field, but at the same time it’s pretty true. with the resources at hand, he could track every single one, both picture based ones and text based ones --- no matter the place of origin. but then again, that wasn’t a reasonable task to partake in.

          “ in my entire career, i’ve never seen a bruise that’s just a bruise. ” he states, eyeing the bruise, a theories on how it happened racing through his head. as much as he tried to keep everyone safe and away from danger, it felt as if it followed them everywhere. it lingered to them, clung to the very essence of their lives lately.