Can't Handle This
Chapter 29
Pamplemousse sat in the living room with Brooke, singing about her new found beautiful flowers.
“Pamplemousse,” Brooke said, sounding irritated. “You’ve had those for a whole day now. Haven’t you gotten over them yet?”
“Nope!” the young girl said. “They’re so pretty! They’ll go very nicely in my new castle.”
“Since when did you have a fucking castle?” Brooke asked without even looking up from her iPod.
“Since I bugged Tony last night to build me one. He’s making blue prints for me! I told him I wanted pink prints though. He just laughed at me.”
Brooke tried not to laugh as she got up off the couch. “I need to go grab something from my room real quick. Don’t burn the Tower down.”
“No promises!” she called after her as Brooke started to walk down the long hallway.
In what seemed like no time at all, the teen was at her bedroom door, scowling at the floor in front of her.
There, sitting pristinely was a bouquet of red carnations.
****
CJ sat in the airport, wringing her hands in nervousness.
“Hey,” Clint said as he sat down next to her, startling her. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”
“I’ve never been out of the country. I’m really nervous that I won’t know what to do.”
Clint put an uneasy hand on her shoulder, not exactly knowing if he should actually be comforting her or helping her get out of the country. “You’ll do fine.”
“Final call for Flight 182 to Bangkok.”
CJ looked up at Clint and sighed uneasily. “Thank you, Clint,” she said softly. “For everything.” She leaned over to him and hugged him close, trying to hold back tears. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Clint hugged her back and shoved her along. “Go on, now. You don’t want to miss your flight.”
****
Tony was looking at his bank statement with Pepper while she made a pot of coffee in his office. “Why is there a million dollars missing from my account?”
“Maybe it was from your date with Steve last night.”
“Oh no. I may have spent a lot of money, but it was nowhere near a million. Plus, what’s this plane ticket? I didn’t buy a plane ticket to Bangkok.”
Pepper leaned over and studied the screen. “Maybe it was a mistake.”
****
Brooke walked into the kitchen with the bouquet of carnations in her arms. “Pamplemousse?” she called over her shoulder. “Come here real quick. I have some more flowers for you.”
Pamplemousse waddled into the kitchen, metal clanking on the floor.
Brooke looked over at her and her jaw dropped. “Pamplemousse! What did you do?!”
****
Loki woke up, feeling like something was missing. He sat up and checked his wardrobe. Sure enough, all the gold pieces of his armor were missing.
The god stormed into the kitchen to demand that someone return his precious amour when he saw Pamplemousse standing next to Brooke, beaming.
“I borrowed it because it was shiny and pretty!”
The helmet was covering most of her eyes and forehead, the scepter was taller than she was, and the gold plating dragged on the floor like a long, awkward dress.
“Why are you wearing my amour, young one?”
Pamplemousse looked up at the god, helmet blocking most of her vision. “I wanted to look like you because you always look so pretty in your shiny armor!”
“I do not look like that.”
“You’re right,” she said, looking down at her fuzzy pink slippers. “You look a lot more grumpy.”
****
Toni sat with Steve out on the patio, sipping coffee and waiting for Tony to come home from his business meeting with Pepper.
“So you’re okay with…you know…”
“You and my dad?” Toni asked matter of factly. “Yeah, I have no issues. I think you guys are actually really cute together.”
The two sat in silence for a little while, just enjoying the feel of the morning sun. “So how was your date last night? Did you like Wicked?”
Steve beamed. “Yes, I did like it! All that hype was for good reason let me tell you! It was just swell!”
Tony walked up, suit slightly disheveled and looking ragged.
“Tony, what happened?” Steve asked, seeming legitimately concerned.
“There was too much to do today. I guess someone got into my bank account and pulled out a solid million and bought a plane ticket to Thailand.”
“What?” Toni exclaimed in shock. “How does that even work?”
“It was probably someone who is or has worked with SHIELD before. They’re very good with that kind of thing.”
“But Tony,” Steve started. “You shouldn’t be taking this so lightly.”
“I’m not, Steve. I took every measure I could to make sure it didn’t happen again and to attempt to track the person who did it.”
“Any luck?”
Pepper walked up, carrying a briefcase and a cup of coffee. “Nope. There’s nothing they can do to track this person. They covered their tracks very well.”
****
Hetalia watched the small group on the patio. She couldn’t help but wonder if they suspected her. It would be extremely easy for them to do so, but still a wrong assumption.
She knew that CJ and Clint were working together and that CJ wouldn’t be coming back. She just wouldn’t tell anyone unless they asked. After all, why would she jeopardize this life she had?
“Pamplemousse,” Brooke said, sounding irritated. “You’ve had those for a whole day now. Haven’t you gotten over them yet?”
“Nope!” the young girl said. “They’re so pretty! They’ll go very nicely in my new castle.”
“Since when did you have a fucking castle?” Brooke asked without even looking up from her iPod.
“Since I bugged Tony last night to build me one. He’s making blue prints for me! I told him I wanted pink prints though. He just laughed at me.”
Brooke tried not to laugh as she got up off the couch. “I need to go grab something from my room real quick. Don’t burn the Tower down.”
“No promises!” she called after her as Brooke started to walk down the long hallway.
In what seemed like no time at all, the teen was at her bedroom door, scowling at the floor in front of her.
There, sitting pristinely was a bouquet of red carnations.
****
CJ sat in the airport, wringing her hands in nervousness.
“Hey,” Clint said as he sat down next to her, startling her. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”
“I’ve never been out of the country. I’m really nervous that I won’t know what to do.”
Clint put an uneasy hand on her shoulder, not exactly knowing if he should actually be comforting her or helping her get out of the country. “You’ll do fine.”
“Final call for Flight 182 to Bangkok.”
CJ looked up at Clint and sighed uneasily. “Thank you, Clint,” she said softly. “For everything.” She leaned over to him and hugged him close, trying to hold back tears. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Clint hugged her back and shoved her along. “Go on, now. You don’t want to miss your flight.”
****
Tony was looking at his bank statement with Pepper while she made a pot of coffee in his office. “Why is there a million dollars missing from my account?”
“Maybe it was from your date with Steve last night.”
“Oh no. I may have spent a lot of money, but it was nowhere near a million. Plus, what’s this plane ticket? I didn’t buy a plane ticket to Bangkok.”
Pepper leaned over and studied the screen. “Maybe it was a mistake.”
****
Brooke walked into the kitchen with the bouquet of carnations in her arms. “Pamplemousse?” she called over her shoulder. “Come here real quick. I have some more flowers for you.”
Pamplemousse waddled into the kitchen, metal clanking on the floor.
Brooke looked over at her and her jaw dropped. “Pamplemousse! What did you do?!”
****
Loki woke up, feeling like something was missing. He sat up and checked his wardrobe. Sure enough, all the gold pieces of his armor were missing.
The god stormed into the kitchen to demand that someone return his precious amour when he saw Pamplemousse standing next to Brooke, beaming.
“I borrowed it because it was shiny and pretty!”
The helmet was covering most of her eyes and forehead, the scepter was taller than she was, and the gold plating dragged on the floor like a long, awkward dress.
“Why are you wearing my amour, young one?”
Pamplemousse looked up at the god, helmet blocking most of her vision. “I wanted to look like you because you always look so pretty in your shiny armor!”
“I do not look like that.”
“You’re right,” she said, looking down at her fuzzy pink slippers. “You look a lot more grumpy.”
****
Toni sat with Steve out on the patio, sipping coffee and waiting for Tony to come home from his business meeting with Pepper.
“So you’re okay with…you know…”
“You and my dad?” Toni asked matter of factly. “Yeah, I have no issues. I think you guys are actually really cute together.”
The two sat in silence for a little while, just enjoying the feel of the morning sun. “So how was your date last night? Did you like Wicked?”
Steve beamed. “Yes, I did like it! All that hype was for good reason let me tell you! It was just swell!”
Tony walked up, suit slightly disheveled and looking ragged.
“Tony, what happened?” Steve asked, seeming legitimately concerned.
“There was too much to do today. I guess someone got into my bank account and pulled out a solid million and bought a plane ticket to Thailand.”
“What?” Toni exclaimed in shock. “How does that even work?”
“It was probably someone who is or has worked with SHIELD before. They’re very good with that kind of thing.”
“But Tony,” Steve started. “You shouldn’t be taking this so lightly.”
“I’m not, Steve. I took every measure I could to make sure it didn’t happen again and to attempt to track the person who did it.”
“Any luck?”
Pepper walked up, carrying a briefcase and a cup of coffee. “Nope. There’s nothing they can do to track this person. They covered their tracks very well.”
****
Hetalia watched the small group on the patio. She couldn’t help but wonder if they suspected her. It would be extremely easy for them to do so, but still a wrong assumption.
She knew that CJ and Clint were working together and that CJ wouldn’t be coming back. She just wouldn’t tell anyone unless they asked. After all, why would she jeopardize this life she had?
Chapter 28 is sad because Cj says "Let's just say I've got red in my ledger and I physically cannot wipe it out.". That's sad because Natasha says that in Avengers.
10/17/16