@shieldcarter
Danny didnât have much in the way of family, but the ones that he did have in his life were⌠extraordinary. Davos and Joy and Ward had always been rough on her heart, the kind of family that made you wonder if it was worth it, opening yourself up. But then she met Tony and the extended family that Danny had through the Starks and the Carters. She met them and they gave her hope that there was something good out there in the world. That family didnât have to be the people who tore you down and tried to make you into something that you werenât. Family could be people who loved you and helped you be a better version of yourself â not the version they wanted you to be.
And Peggy Carter was an extension of that family. (Dead â recently alive. And Colleen tried not to think about the Hand when she put those thoughts together. Tried not to feel sick at the thought of someone waking up a shell of themselves until someone else decided their life and told them lies that would program them to simply follow orders.)
âThank you,â Colleen offered gently, unsure of what to say to a woman who was getting a second chance at life. âFor coming with me, I know Danny would want to come but he would try and make friends with everyone and thatâs great and all butâŚâ But they wouldnât be staying here. They were welcome for a time, but Colleen was sure that there was a timer set somewhere on the island that was counting down until they would be forced out. And she wasnât sure if Danny could handle that. He was too kind. Too good. The but that hung in the air between them made it sound like Peggy was a second choice, which wasnât the case at all. Colleen was simply⌠famously bad with words. But she was desperately trying to make a good impression but struggling to find the right anything to do that with. Words failed and, as if on cue, one of the volunteers threw their paint brush, splattering paint across the wall and part of the floor and he looked at the two of them, like a deer in headlights.
Colleen exhaled deeply, looking at the new, mismatched color on the wall that textured the walls. âIt gives it character, I guess?â
















