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Hammerhead was finally down. With all the flames and sparks licking at his metal body, it was hard to be sure that he was really gone; but after a few long moments of locked servos and unseeing eyes remaining motionless, they knew they had accomplished their goal. It was almost sad to see the lump of robotic parts, hunched over themselves in an ocean of fire, while the barely visible, still flesh covered face was charred by the inferno. He had a rule against killing, but this time it may have been the only way. Hammerhead was too strong and if allowed to come back, would; no doubt, be near impossible to beat. Attempting to use that fact to block out the terrible feeling of watching a man die at the hands of his partner; or rather, her jet, he instead used his regular wit to defuse the situation. “Huh, that was fun,” he beamed, turning to look at Sablinova. “Hey, do you have dinner plans? I know this great pizza place.”She seemed taken aback by the invitation, standing still, thinking about it for longer than Peter would have expected. She hadn’t said yes but she hadn’t said no either. After the longest minute of his life, she sighed. “I cannot. I must return to my home country.”“Oh, right. I know you’ve got a war but can’t you spare ten minutes? Send your men back and get some good food. You deserve it, you know? After everything.”She began walking towards one of the jets left untouched in the hangar after the battle. The cockpit door lifted open as she got closer but she stopped before hopìng in. Not turning around fully, only tilting her head slightly towards him she calmly asked, “how close is this pizza place.?” Peter perked up significantly. “Oh, it's super close! Especially for your jet! It's the best! You’ll love it!” He ran over, jumping in the pilot's seat before she could. “I’ll drive. Fly. I’ll fly!” “You absolutely will not,” she protested. “I’m already in here. What are you going to-” She lifted him right off the seat by the collar of his suit before he could even finish asking his question. “Oh, I guess that's what you'll do.” “You are much lighter than I thought you’d be. I am concerned about how you deal so much damage in combat.” “Well placed hits more than anything. Can you put me down now? This is kind of embarrassing.” She gave him a half-hearted smile that he had never seen before just as she threw him off the jet and back to the cold, hard, metal floor of the hangar. He recovered quickly, jumping back onto his feet with little effort. “Thanks, that was really uncomfortable. Come on let’s go! My treat! But we should keep out of the public eye so I’ll have them deliver to a rooftop. I’ll call, you fly.”She rolled her eyes, jumping down into the cockpit. “Input the coordinates in the terminal. Then hop on and we can go.”Peter did as he was told, already getting Eddie on the phone to order to the usual location. It only occurred to him as Sablinova took off, that he had no idea what type of pizza she would like. “Hey Eddie,” he yelled over the roar of the engine as it pushed off of the ground. “It’s me, Spidey! I’d like to order my usual and like two or three other pizzas. I’m with a friend and I don’t know what she likes so can you make a couple different ones. Like a cheese, veggie and maybe a meat lovers? That covers all the bases right?” “Sure Spidey! Anything for you and you’re in luck; we’re not busy over here tonight so it’ll probably be really quick. Ten, maybe twenty minutes.”“Thanks, Eddie! See ya then!” He hung up just as the jet set down on the all-too-familiar rooftop. Peter walked along the wing waiting for Sablinova. Through the glass, he could see her fidgeting expertly with the controls. Suddenly, he was very thankful she didn’t allow him to take the controls. He may be a scientist with a degree in chemical engineering, but that didn’t mean he knew how an advanced fighter jet worked; or how he could go about figuring it out. “We got some time to kill before the delivery. Want to play a game,” he asked when the door opened.“How old are you,” she asked sarcastically.“Old enough to drink, not old enough to like it; know what I mean?”“No.”“Alright well I’m older than 21,” he laughed. “I find that hard to believe,” she scoffed at him in a slightly more playful tone than usual. It was still forceful and direct but had a hint of humour in the tone. “I’ve done some research on you. You’ve been in the news for eight years.”“Yeah? So,” he asked, extending his hand to help her step down from the jet and onto the rooftop. She neglected it of course; leaving him hanging as she jumped down on her own. “Why then? Why did you suddenly appear then?”Peter sighed and took a seat on the wing of the jet, leaving his legs dangling over the edge; watching as Sablinova paced with her arms crossed in front of him. She was waiting for an answer and; knowing her, would not let it go until he answered. “It’s when I got my powers. I wasn’t born with them, it just kind of happened one day. Long story.”“How did you do it?”“Now that’s classified. Forgive me but I’m not exactly planning on giving my secret of superpowers to anyone; especially violent mercenaries who have tried to kill me. And a few times at that. Besides,” he continued; his voice getting a little cheerier. “You can't anyway. The spider is dead and it's a complete fluke that it didn't kill me in the first place.” “How old?” “Fifteen when I started.” She stared blankly at him for a moment with almost a hint of concern in her eyes. “You are a child. Twenty-three is far too young to be involving yourself with such dangers; spider powers or not.” “You couldn't have done it without me.” “We could and would have.” “Yet I did all the work while you chased me like I was the criminal.”“You were are a criminal.”They reached a standstill. Conversation stalled, filling their air with the noises of the city once more. It was awkward and unnerving. Her gaze never broke, and even through his mask, he felt as though she could see right through him. Perhaps she could. In all of a second, he realized just how oblivious he had been. He changed into and out of costume in alleyways and rooftops all in the time and her men were on surveillance duty. Perhaps one had managed to find him in one of these inopportune and compromising moments. Oh god, Peter thought. What if she’s seen my Spiderman briefs?Peter tried to shake the thought and blurted out the first thing he thought of. “I feel like there's a ‘but’ coming. I was a criminal; but…”She took her time responding. “But,” she continued. “I am thankful for your help in the end. You kept my client alive and I do believe you were the one who put my rogue outpost in their place during the devil's breath incident, and that; I have to thank you for.”“Don’t sweat it,” Peter chuckled softly. “Oh, our pizza’s here. I can hear Eddie climbing the stairs.”He jumped down from the wing and ran to the side of the building where the short but ever cheerful pizza shop owner was trying desperately to navigate the bulky pizza boxes through the narrow fire escape. Without a moment's hesitation, Peter lept from the building's edge, easily catching the railing on the balcony Eddie was standing on. “Hey, Eddie! How you been?”“Better since you’ve given my place a shoutout. Thank’s for that Spiderman. Here’s your pizza.”“How much do I owe you?”“Nothing. Anything for you.”“No, no. I can’t do that. This is four pizzas.”“How about a picture of you eating it then for the company website?”“You got it, Eddie. I’ll send it your way later tonight.”“Thanks, Spidey. Enjoy your pizza date,” Eddie laughed pleasantly while handing over the pizzas and beginning his climb back down to the alleyway below.“Ding, ding! Soups on,” Peter shouted as his head popped over the ledge. “I got a bunch because I didn’t know what you liked and I thought you’d kill me if I interrupted you when you were flying. So we got cheese,” he tossed the box like a frisbee at her; which she caught easily. “A meat lovers,” again tossed lazily to her. “Veggie,” another one on the pile. “And double pepperoni but that's mine so I’ll keep that.” “You are not keeping the best to yourself.” “And; let me guess, you'll fight me for it?” She smirked at him, “you are learning. Very good.”He laughed and passed the final box to her; topping off the pile like it were a layered cake. “Care to join me on the edge?” He lightly patted the railing beside him as he took a seat. “Second best view of the city from here.”Sablinova took his suggestion and sat down on the railing; having to keep most of her focus on staying centred on the slim metal bar. He; of course, didn’t have to worry about that. He stuck firmly to any surface and didn’t need to worry about falling to the cold pavement below. Because of this, he seemed to be in better spirits than her; folding his mask up just above his nose, exposing most of his face making it easy to shove nearly the entire slice of pizza into his mouth without hassle. She was shocked. Not surprised that he would do this: he had to eat somehow, but amazed that he would show her this with no hesitation. He was far more open and exposed like this. Was it possible that he trusted her that much?For the first time, she could see the smile that she could only have imagined before; only it was nothing like what she imagined. It was much more full and sweet; curving lopsidedly whenever it wasn't being stuffed with greasy, cheesy, bread piled high with pepperoni. It was warming and comforting; reminding her that there was; in fact, a person behind that mask. Someone who had a life outside of being a vigilante. A man who had hopes, ambitions, family. For a moment she regretted all of the things she had done. How her men had hunted him. How she had given the command to bring him down no matter the cost. A quick memory of her home country and how the money from Osborne would aid her cause reminded her that she had no choice but to follow orders and her feelings were mutual again. Trying to break the silence; and hopefully, her unblinking stare, he took out his personal cell phone rather than his suits built in phone and snapped a selfie. “For Eddie,” he clarified as if she was confused. “Want to get in on a pic? I won’t send that one to him though.”She was still mesmerized by the half-masked face. “Why take it then? If you aren't going to do anything with it?”“Oh, I will! It’s gonna be my new phone background. Proof that you like me now.”“I don't like you.” “Oh really?” he smirked, raising his arm to take the picture. “Come on, smile! Turn that frown upside down.” She didn’t, so he raised his opposite, grease-soaked hand to lightly grip either side of her cheeks and pushed them into a chubby-cheeked smile. “There!” He snapped the picture before she could swat his hand away, violently grabbing his wrist in a death grip. “Do not touch me like that again!” There was a new-found softness in her voice; matched with the residual smile that stayed after his fingers were removed. “Lesson learned! My bad,” he laughed. “But I did get the picture.” The phone was pushed closer to her and to her surprise, it depicted not her with a forced smile, but instead; the aftermath of his childish antics. She was smiling of her own free will, and so was he. Their hands a blur as she swatted him away. It looked almost friendly. “That's definitely one for the scrapbook. At least it would be if I still had it. But that's fine; phone background it is. Do you like it?” “I do,” she answered honestly; a soft smile creeping back on her lips. “You are a remarkable man, Spider. Something else entirely. How do you do it?” “Do what? I already told you im not going to explain my powers.”She took a slice of pizza and ate it while her eyes traced the skyline. “No. Not that. How do you manage your life? You must have a job, family, friends.” “Oh, that. Well, it was really difficult when I first got my powers. Between learning how to control them, designing my suit and web-shooters, family, school, friends. To be fair though, I only had two friends so it kind of worked out on that end. Not too much obligation. Then one… he went away for a while, and the other became my girlfriend who broke up with me not long after. “After the devils’ breath incident I lost the only remaining family member I had. She was a wonderful woman. I wouldn't be anything close to the man I am today, had it not been for her.“With her estate, I was able to get an apartment; I’ve been homeless for a while you see. Couch surfing; not that I sleep that often though. Not with being Spiderman. Oh, and my job doesn't exactly help either.” “Nothing you are saying makes it sound like you are doing well.” Peter huffed, “yeah. Saying it out loud now makes it sound a lot worse.” He scratched his chin absentmindedly. “I’m doing alright. It just sounds bad. I just need a job that forgives me being late and absent a lot.” “I will add you to Sable's payroll.” He choked on his pizza; and kept choking until he slapped his back hard enough to dislodge the hunk and send it falling to the ground below. “I’m sorry what?!”“I will add you to our payroll. In exchange, you will continue to keep New York; and more importantly, Norman Osborne safe. And report directly to me at least once a week.” He was still recovering; breathing heavily. “Is-uh, is this just a macho way of asking me to keep in touch?” “It’s a business proposition.” “Well; in that case, i accept. Even if it’s just so you can talk to me more. This has been nice. I always said you guys should pay me for my work. But wait,” he paused. “Don’t you need all that you can get to fight the war?” “It’s worth having a strong ally in the wings in case we need them. That is if you'd be willing to come to Symkaria if your help is necessary.” “Absolutely. Actually, I'd like that. Someone I care about is a reporter and she's going there soon to do media coverage and I’d prefer to keep her safe.” “I will keep an eye on her. Mary Jane Watson correct?” “Y-Yeah. How’d you-” “I had this entire city under personal surveillance. I know everything, Mr. Parker.” He choked for a second time that night, sending another chunk of pizza to the dirty alleyway beside the other. “You know who I am?!” “Yes. Do not worry; only I know. None of my men are aware of your true identity.” Peter could feel the anxiety rising in his chest. “How do you know?” “I was given; no I should not say it like that; I took the surveillance tapes of the fight with Doctor Octavius. Oscorp has some of the most advanced surveillance technology in the world. Not only did I have multiple angles of your face once you removed your mask; but I also had clear audio of him calling you ‘Peter.’ Not much digging and research lead me to the one and only Peter Parker. Orphaned as a young boy, raised by an aunt and uncle until the uncles unfortunate passing. A genius; soft-hearted by nature with an outstanding lust to help people. Friends with a reporter named Mary Jane Watson at the Daily Bugle, who just so happens to have a history of working with Spiderman. I cannot say it was entirely too difficult to piece together who you are.” “You never said anything,” Peter sighed. “I would've thought you’d out me when you came back.” “Personal lives should be left outside of work. Secret identities are no different. I would gain nothing from revealing who you are to the public.” “I guess I should thank you then.” Slowly he peeled away the mask revealing the blushing babyface underneath. “It’s nice having someone I can show my real self to. It’s lonely being behind a mask all the time.” She seemed somewhat taken aback. She already knew what his face looked like, but there was a distinct difference between the grief-stricken and injured man in the video, and the sweet grin of the child-like boy in front of her now. “I can imagine your struggle.” “Well since you already know, I think its time for a real introduction.” He extended his hand towards her, “hi! My name is Peter. Nice to meet you.” She rolled her eyes; taking the hand nonetheless. “You may call me Sablinova or Sable if you wish. It is good to meet you officially.” “You too!” He shook hands over enthusiastically and with a rockhard grip that may just leave bruises. “Now may I offer you some of the cold pizza that I can't seem to get a bite of? We have four after all.” “I would like that very much.” They spent many long hours up on the rooftop chatting, with only a few one-sided threats thrown in for good measure. And even though she hated to admit it; she was grateful for his unwavering kindness.
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There was an explosion somewhere close by. MJ could feel it, but the ringing in her ears blocked out any auditory confirmation of what she was feeling. The thought of possible hearing loss frightened her, but as she sat; bound to a chair in a holding cell trying desperately to pretend she was anywhere other than where countless innocent Symkarian people have met their demise, she welcomed anything that could block out the world around her. It was dark. It was cold. It was lonely. Her thoughts drifted to home. New York; where her apartment was, and her favourite coffee shop, and Mick’s amazing french fries that she liked to share with Peter. Peter. He was there too; most likely doing something stupid and dangerous. Not unlike herself; but for him; it was justified. A hero with enhanced senses and healing capabilities. With skills and strengths, most people could barely even dream about. He was meant to be off saving the world one life or death situation at a time. MJ was not. There was another rumble of an explosion; each one getting a little closer to her cell. The light seeping in from the crack under the door was getting brighter as walls crumbled behind it. Suddenly it was quiet and there were shadows lurking just outside the door. Not again, she prayed; knowing that the people standing there were most likely her week-long abusers back again.Suddenly a semi-familiar voice spoke quietly but forcefully to the others. “This one is mine. Secure the other prisoners and then meet at the rendezvous point. Anyone not there in thirty minutes will be left behind.” “Yes ma’am,” the men agreed before running in separate directions. It didn't take long before the door to her cell was kicked in and the woman who matched the voice strutted in, guns raised and focused. MJ almost couldn't believe who was standing before her; shining in the sweet light of freedom. “S-Sable?” “We do not have much time. Stay still,” she growled, aiming the gun just to the right of MJs torso. The shot was fired before she had a chance to flinch. The chains keeping her bound to the chair fell loosely to her lap and then with a crash to the metal floor. “Can you walk?”“Y-Yeah,” MJ stuttered, her voice shaking and fearful. She tried to stand only to collapse to the floor, blinded by burning pain that had numbed over days of being virtually motionless. It all came back at once; each injury no longer distinguishable from the rest; sending shooting pain all throughout her body.Sable dropped her guns back into their holsters and heaved MJ off the ground so she could support her. She was heavy on her shoulder but some consciousness was always better than dead weight so Sable took what she could get. When they left the cell, the sunlight shocked MJ, forcing her to cover her eyes. Even through the smog and dark sky of an active war zone, it was still too much. The city was worse than MJ had imagined. In only a week it had fallen into apocalyptic disrepair; beating out the state of New York during the Devils Breath incident by a long shot. “We are winning,” Sable stated firmly as if to calm MJ down and keep her moving. It took several minutes to reach the rendezvous point that Sable had mentioned earlier. It wasn’t much; just a series of small camouflaged tents in a dense area of the forest; some even hanging between the branches of the trees, but it was a safe haven for MJ and the other survivors currently being rescued by the Sable agents. Water and small amounts of food were distributed to the newly freed prisoners. Sable herself; set off to do her work; barking out orders to her men. MJ just sat there listening to her speak in a language she didn’t understand while sipping the OSCORP brand emergency relief bottle of water. A spark of anger filtered through her upon seeing the familiar logo but she tried to push it out of her mind and focus on staying up straight.There are gunshots rolling in the distance towards the prison they had just left. With her eyes now closed, MJ only hears the ringing of New York in her ears. So many nights of fear and panic only now registering with her. Not having Peter behind her for backup made her realize how reckless she had always been. “I am going on ahead,” Sable said roughly to the agent beside her before setting a firm hand down on MJ’s shoulder. “I will bring her with me.”The man responded in his own language. She understood nothing except one name; ‘Spiderman.’“Of course it is for him. He upheld his side of the bargain and I am not one to betray an ally. I will do as he has asked just as he did for me.”The man nodded and said something more before continuing on as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Perhaps it wasn’t. “Come along.” Sable helped her stand again and got her into the back of a van camouflaged just like the tents. They were alone in the back with the driver up front separated by a tinted window that was currently closed.“Where are we going?”“We are going to a nearby airfield. There you and I will be flown back to the United States.” “We will? You’re coming with me?” “Yes.”MJ nodded. “Thank you.” “You should thank your friend the Spiderman. He is the one who kept you on my radar. That was the deal.”“What deal?”Sable didn’t answer right away. Instead; she focused her attention on the many wounds and obvious signs of malnutrition MJ was presenting. More rations were shoved into her hands. “Eat while I clean your wounds. You need to start building your strength up again.” “Thanks, but you didn’t answer my question.” “We talked after we took down Hammerhead. Struck a deal. He works for me and feeds me information about the weekly state of New York. Makes sure relief packages aren’t attacked and any equipment I’ve left there is in good hands. In return, I pay him a livable wage and keep my eye on you. And allow him to use my equipment as he sees fit. So far he has only attempted to use our jet packs. And from the reports I’m getting back, he is not doing well with them.” Sable couldn’t hide her smirk.MJ giggled at the thought of Peter flying face first into the Empire State building but couldn't enjoy the pleasure for long when Sable started dressing her wounds. A sharp pain shot through her legs as pressure and disinfectant was applied to already infected cuts. “My apologies. I should have warned you in advance.” “It’s fine. Just wasn't expecting it.” She took another sip of water and let Sable focus. “So he wanted you to keep me safe?” “Yes. He wanted to come with you but I would not allow that. Nor would New York. They need Spiderman.” “I know. He’s always trying to put me first. I really wish he wouldn't. New York needs him more than me. It's my fault when I end up in situations like this.” Tears were filling her eyes and she tilted her head back to keep them from falling through it was to no avail. “It’s always my fault.”“Now is no time to be blaming yourself for the wrongdoings of my country.” “It’s not just here,” she whispered. “That does not matter now.” “I wish I could be more like you.” Sable stopped and looked up at MJ. “I beg your pardon.”“You’re so much stronger than I am. You can walk into a fight and come out unscathed. You hold your own in any situation and with blatant disregard for the outcome. I have to rely on stealth. I’m always putting myself in dangers way.”“That is an honourable thing to do. Stealth is still a way to get what you want. It’s just not as loud. If you are not physically strong, you must be fast. If you are not quick you must be quiet and precise. Everyone has their skills and faults. In battle, you must play to your strengths.”Sable finished bandaging MJ’s legs and moved to sit beside her on the metal bench. “Do you remember when you broke into Norman Osborne's apartment?” “Of course,” MJ said; perplexed as to where this was going. “I was very impressed at how you managed to outwit me. You’re absolutely correct in saying that I am a forceful person. If it were me, I would have gotten the job done but there would be much bloodshed. You, however; managed to get the information you were seeking with the only minimal collateral damage and no casualties whatsoever. So a few of my men got stunned,” she was smirking again at the thought. “Live and learn.” “But I always need to be saved.” “And I have not? Your Spider has not? Absurd .” “Once and a while maybe.” “You just need to train your mind. You have the skills but you are impulsive. It’s what makes you a good reporter from what I’ve read. Perhaps when you get back to America, you can train with the Spider.” MJ took a moment to think before raising her eyes to meet Sables. “No,” she sighed. “I think I’m going to hang up my jacket for a while.” “That would be wise during the recovery process.” “Yeah, I guess so.”“Now,” Sable said jumping to her feet. “Let me care for the rest of your wounds.” *-*-*MJ slept through most of the flight home. The plush white leather seats were so comfortable after the hard, cold chair of the holding cell that it was almost impossible to resist the allure of sleep. When she woke up, she still thought she was dreaming. Peters' voice was soft but prominent; as was Sables. It took MJ a moment to wake up enough to understand what was being said.Peter was the most distinguishable. “I can’t believe it. I told you I should have been there. I knew I should have gone.” “Do you really think it would have made a difference? Would we have gotten to her any quicker with your help? We did not waste time crawling through ventilation shafts. We blew down the wall.” “If I have been there, she wouldn't have been in jail to begin with.” “You don't know what would've happened. For all you know, you could've been dead!” There was a tinge of worry in Sable's voice that; mixed with her suddenly booming voice, made MJ jump. Peter was quick to her side; dressed in his signature white spider suit only missing his mask. “MJ! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” She engulfed him in a tight hug and finally let her bitter tears fall freely. “I’m here MJ.” Delicately he wrapped his arms around her; careful of her wounds. “It’s okay. You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you.”Sable placed her hand on Peter's shoulder and nodded towards the group of reporters gathering on the tarmac. “You should put your mask on, Peter. And get out of here as soon as you can.”He nodded fondly at her and pulled the mask over his face with one hand; keeping the other am firmly around MJs back. “Thank you, Sable,” his voice quivered; trying to hold back a sob. “I know you don’t like them but are you open to a ‘thank you’ hug?”“Just make it quick.”Though he kept one of his arms around MJ; making what would already have been an awkward hug, worse; he still deeply cherished the few moments he had with them both wrapped tightly with him. He almost didn’t let go.“Alright Spider-boy, I must go. As should you two.”“Right. I’m going to take MJ home. Come see me before you leave though. I have a few things to report from my side of the world. And maybe I owe you a few favours for what you’ve done.”He turned his attention back to MJ. “Are you ready to go? I can swing us past the reporters.”She nodded in response. “Thank you, Sable. You’re not as bad as I thought you were.” “Both of you need to stop trying to use flattery on me. Go, the crowd is getting bigger.”They left without another word; all three feeling alone, shaken, and unsure of what the next few days would hold.
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Peter had been sitting on his knees beside the bed for so long that his legs had gone completely numb. The bed was empty; it had been for hours. The bedroom door; still open as if MJ was going to walk back through it any minute, but every second crept by at a snail's pace without any indication of her return. It wasn't until his phone started vibrating on the adjacent nightstand, did he feel the need to stand. It continued its incessant trembling as he rose delicately off of the floor. A difficult task with numb limbs. He pushed himself over the bed; cursing as the pins and needles started crawling up his leg slowly. He ignored it, opting to focus on the phone instead.When he reached it, he saw the name ‘Sable,’ paired with the picture of the two of them atop his apartment building he had taken so many weeks ago, illuminated on the screen. “H-hello?” his voice cracked. “Spider-man I need- what's wrong with you?” “Nothing.” “You are very bad at lying. Does this have anything to do with the reporter girl?” Peter shifted uncomfortably; gripping the bed sheets tightly. “Y-yeah. I don't really want to talk about it. What do you need?” he asked hastily. “You told me you had something to report days ago and I believe that in your silence I may have discovered your problem on my own. How dare you not tell me that Hammerheads loyals are still adamantly trying to get him back?” Peter felt his Spidey senses start tingling in the back of his head. “How did you find out?” He began pulling on his suit. “What happened?” “My main base was bombed.” “Oh my god!” He was already out the window with his phone pressed between his shoulder and his cheek. “Is anyone hurt?”“Seventeen of my men are down. Six have died; at least from what I’ve seen.”“You say that like its nothing!” The adrenaline was pumping viciously through his veins, carrying him through the city faster than ever before. The emergency vehicles wailing in the distance couldn’t catch up to him as he sprung from roof to roof trying to reach the harbour as soon as possible. As he drew closer, the smoke rising over buildings was more prominent and easy to see. “Sable are you okay? Are you hurt?”“I am fine. I was nearby in a prototype we have when the explosion happened.”“What do you need me to do? Give me orders.”“I’m chasing the criminals as we speak. I need you to salvage as much of my base as possible. I have years worth of important data and equipment in there.” Screeching tires echoed through the phone as well as what Peter assumed was an abundance of Symkarian swears before the line went dead. He nodded to no one as he reached the edge of the harbour. “On it,” he muttered. It was a mess of billowing black smoke and murky water surrounding a quickly sinking wreck. It was nowhere close to the shining vessel it had been the last time he saw it.There was another nearby scrambling to pull their men on board. It was a mess of chaos from every angle. Peter jumped into action; doing what he could with an absence of buildings or trees to latch onto. He ended up in the oil-soaked water more than once. The smoke filled his lungs before the whole vessel was pulled under. He salvaged what he could but wasn't about to go diving for spare parts. He took what he could over to the dock where a stream of emergency vehicles were coming and going with Sables injured men. Police were holding back civilians and reporters. MJ was there; standing in the middle of the fray like nothing was wrong apart from the limp she was attempting to hide. Pen and paper in her hand, camera rolling; shouting questions. It was almost like normal. Her wounds hidden beneath a lether jacket and a scarf, or bandaged so delicately it almost looked intentionally done for fun. His handiwork.For a moment they shared a passing glance before they both unwillingly forced their gaze apart. They both had jobs to do. A white van with a large mounted gun came speeding around the corner; narrowly missing the bystanders. Peter jumped down from the lamppost he was currently perched atop just as the vehicles soul occupant stepped out. “Did you think that not telling me would somehow solve the problem?!” she cried out aggresively with her hands on her hips; just above her pistols. “No I did not,” Peter replied calmly; walking towards her. The crowd parted to allow for Sable and their friendly neighbourhood Spiderman to come face to face with each other without interference. They came to a frustrated halt within inches of each other before Sable huffed, “you are the reason this happened to my men!” “I am not! I had personal issues to deal with, alright? And it’s not like I knew they were going to do this. Last I heard was they were trying to find a way to bring him back. Nothing about bombing you; no plans of attack at all. Criminals without a boss are usually a mess. I had no idea they would get a plan together this quickly.” After a moment's hesitation, he added, “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner like I promised. I just got busy with something.” All cameras were on them; professional or otherwise, waiting for them to fight. “Listen,” he continued; his eyes scanning the group. “Can we talk about this elsewhere?”“Fine. Get in the van.”“I value my life. I think I’ll hitch a ride on the roof.”Without another word, they made their separate ways to the vehicle which then sped down the street with reckless abandon. Peter barely managed to peek over his shoulder in the general direction of MJ before the van rounded a corner. They drove for several minutes, taking many swift turns and alley short cuts. If there had been anyone following them, they would be lost by now. They soon found themselves at a building in the Upper East Side. Somewhere around 77th Street; Peter hadn’t really been paying attention. She stopped the van and strutted over to the door on the ground floor. By the time Peter caught up with her, she had the door unlocked and open. “Get in here.”He did without hesitation. The apartment was nice; far nicer than any he had been in before, even including MJ’s. It was completely modernized and spotless. The furniture was a soft gray. Definitely had ‘Sable’ written all over it. Before he could stop himself, he was exploring every inch of the condo. The kitchen was untouched, the chairs looked like they had never been sat in, it was almost unlived in. Slowly he climbed the winding stairs to the second floor, ignoring the protests of his host. There wasn't much up there. One bedroom and a bathroom but that did not adequately describe the difference in feeling. The second floor was most certainly lived in; and by the look of it, it was almost like it was him who had found shelter here. There were clothes scattered amongst blueprints and schematics. Hunks of metal and forgotten projects lie in shambles around the room. “Are you,” he listed one of the blueprints off of the floor. “Are you trying to recreate my web shooters? That’s adorable. These took years to create and longer to master. Not to mention-” he picked up another scrap of paper before realizing that something else has come with it. He turned it over in his hands only to be met with a soft, lacey, silver bra. He felt himself flush a deep red colour before dropping the article of clothing back to the floor. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!”Sable was standing behind him in the doorway with crossed arms. “Maybe that will teach you not to snoop in other peoples rooms. Now get out before you see something else you shouldn’t.”“Right, of course. My bad,” he said while covering his eyes. They went back down to the barely used bottom floor hastily. “So how’d you afford this place? It’s definitely out of my budget.”She sighed, “it is none of your business.”“Right.”“So,” she continued. “You did not have time to tell me that Hammerheads men were making a reappearance. Why?” She motioned for him to sit down and he obliged. “I-I’m not sure I want to talk about it. I messed up. Can you just tear me a new one and get it over with?” His mask was slowly pulled off revealing his still red and puffy eyes. At the sight of this, she took her own seat beside him and softened her tone. “I am not going to yell at you this time. I know you did not see an attack like this coming. I just wish to know what has you this shaken.”“It’s-”“The reporter I rescued?”“Yeah. We fell out of love pretty quickly. She’s always hated being babied by me but now- now she just resents me.” “How do you mean?”“I just,” another wave of tears hit him. “I wanted to help her. To make sure she was okay after what happened but she kept pushing me away. I couldn’t stop myself from trying until we were full out arguing. I know she was just having a hard time because of what happened. I’ve been there before. When you feel like you’re the only one who knows what it feels like. When the other person didn’t see what you did or feel what you felt.“But I couldn’t stop. She was thrashing around, making her cuts worse, she wouldn’t go to the doctor, and she wanted to get back to her job. She wouldn't talk about what happened to me or her reporter friends. I know she needs to let it out. I always had her to vent to when I was in this situation. I guess I just felt like she didn’t trust me, and you know what? I think she thought the same for me. I-I just want to help her.”Sable was nodding as she listened and stopped only to think of her response. She took hold of one of his arms tenderly before she said, “all people respond to trauma differently. It is easy to feel like one or the other in handling it wrong when it is different than your own preferences. You are right, she will need to talk through it in order to truly heal, but what she needs right now is support. Do not force her hand; let her write her story on her own.”“Am I a bad person?”“No. No not at all Spider. You are the closest thing I have ever seen to a good man. No one is anywhere close until they can fall so far down and still find good in others. You have suffered, you have broken down; yet you are still Spiderman. You still look to the sky to find the goodness in others where most would never try. “After all of these years, you still care for those around you regardless of what impact they have left in your life. No one is too big or too small for your time. That; Peter Parker, is why you are a good man.”He wiped the tears from his cheeks and smiled. “Thanks. I know it’s stupid but I really needed that. Maybe I should go talk to her.”“You should.”“Wait, but I have to help you with this Hammerhead thing first!”“No, I will put this to an end tonight. I do not require any help.”“Are you sure?”“Certainly. I will call you if necessary.”“If you’re sure.”She was starting to get annoyed and huffed out a, “must I say it a million times for you to believe me?”“Maybe. You can try.”“Get out of my apartment immediately or I will rethink my good graces of showing you this place.”“I’ll keep it a secret. Don’t worry.” He put his mask back on and opened the door just a crack. “And thanks again.”She threw a pillow at him, hitting him square in the chest. “Next time it will be lethal!”“I’m going, I’m going.” He threw it back at her playfully before realizing his mistake. “Shit, sorry! Don’t kill me! Bye!” He was finally gone.
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Peter was standing outside MJ’s apartments waiting for her to open the door. They had finally agreed to meet up and talk about what had happened, and even though his spidey senses were trying to get him to turn around; his feet stayed firmly planted at her door. He rang the doorbell once and then again a few seconds later. ‘Way to seem desperate Peter,’ he thought to himself. That didn't stop his hand from ringing it a third time without his consent; however. The door slowly opened before him. MJ was standing on the other side in a state of disrepair. Her hair was a mess; pulled back hastily in a lopsided bun. The clothes she was wearing appeared to be her usual clothes but had either been slept in recently or not cleaned in a few days; judging by the many wrinkles ingrained in the fabric. And, however unfortunate though; Peter assumed it was the second guess as the bags under her eyes indicated a few if not many sleepless nights.“Hey Pete,” her weary voice called out to him.“MJ.” He slowly raised his arms for a gentle hug but she declined; stepping back out of his reach.“I don’t want to keep pretending, Peter. There's no point in even inviting you in other than you getting your stuff, is there?” Peter could feel the tears already filling his eyes. “There is MJ. We can work it out. We can make it work. I promise we can”She shook her head, “no. No, we can't.” “If this is because of something I've said-” “Not what you said. What I did. It's not fair to you that I keep playing this game. I love you Peter; I wake up every morning and think about how much I care about you.” She paused and looked away from him; at anything that could hide him from her. She was beginning to fidget when she said, “but then I think about everything else. Everything we’ve been through together. All of the times we’ve fought about something like Charles Standish, or breaking into Tombstones workshop, or even just when you tell me I shouldn’t pursue a story because its dangerous. And you know what? I know in a lot of cases, you’re right.”“What-”“No, let me finish.” He nodded and ushered her to continue. “You are right. What if Sable’s agents had spotted me? Would I be detained or shot on sight? Tombstone? Who knows what he would have done. I am not a superhero. As much as I want to pretend that I can do what you do; I can’t. Plain and simple. “And every time I do get caught, I rely on you to come save me; even when I’m in another country! How ridiculous is that! I walked into an active war zone and tried the same things I always do here and I got caught! Even then; a part of me expected you to come to my rescue. And the worst part is; in some way you did. You had Sable watch me just to make sure I was alright. Even from another country, you were doing anything to save me.”“Would you expect me not too?”She sighed, “no. And that’s what bothers me. You would do anything for me even if it put others or yourself in danger and I hate it. I really do. Because I can’t do the same for you. I shouldn’t be your priority.”He tried to speak but before he could, she raised her hand to his lips. “Don’t. Please.”He dropped his shoulders in defeat and moved her arm. “MJ I really don’t know what to say. I don’t see the issue with me prioritizing you or making sure you’re safe. I do what I do to help people and knowing you personally doesn’t exempt you from that. It’s dangerous knowing me; and because of that, I need to keep a closer eye on you. Just the same as I did for May and what I’m doing now for Miles and Rio.” “Miles has powers!” He shushed her violently. “You can’t just say that!” “Well, it's true. He can help. I can't.” “You help all the time.” “With research. And maybe… maybe that's all I’m good for. We make pretty good partners but not lovers.”“Please MJ, please don’t say that.”She disappeared behind the door for a moment before reemerging with a small bag of Peters miscellaneous items that he had left there since they started dating again. Mostly just a few shirts and a pair of pants for quick changes in and out of his suit. However; among the clothes were a few things he had left with her for safe keeping. Backup web-shooters, antidotes for Scorpions latest hallucinogen, and finally, the lures he had given her specifically to keep her safe when she was doing the dangerous things she had been talking about. “You need these,” he said, trying to hand them back to her. She shook her head, “I’m not going to be doing that kind of stuff from now on. I think I’m going to stick to my laptop like you always wanted me too. I can help you save people from the sidelines. ““But that’s not like you. You love getting yourself in trouble.”She didn't respond. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just don't want you to leave thinking that I think that's all you're good for.”“But it is.”He took her hands in his; letting the bag of clothing fall to the floor between them. “Tell me what’s really wrong. What is it that’s really bothering you. I know when you aren't being fully honest with me.” “I-”“What is it? Just tell me. It’s okay.”“I resent you. Not you, myself but I can’t stop blaming you in my head. It’s not your fault and it’s not right for me to keep saying it. And worse, you accept it when you shouldn’t.” She stood there a moment as tears ran down the sides of her face; before she yelled, “see?! I did it again! I’m so sorry Peter!” MJ flung herself into his arms; sobbing heavily into his chest. He; in return, wrapped her tightly, pulling her closer into him. He let her cry. Felt the trembles all throughout her body. He could do nothing but stand there and let her weep. Nothing he could say would make her feel better. When MJ’s breathing finally began to stabilize and she felt strong enough to pull away, she did so with her face hidden in her hands. “You should go,” she whimpered. “It’s over between us, but Peter?” “Yeah?” he asked with what little hope he had still teetering dangerously over the edge. “I hope you can find someone better than me. I know someone has her eyes on you and I think that even though you haven’t realized it yet; you’re starting to fall for her too.”“What? Who?”“You’ll figure it out.” She closed the door before he could press her more. The bag of clothes tumbled to the side; spilling its contents to the floor; though it was left unnoticed by its owner who just stood; dumbfounded and disheartened outside a door he wasn't sure would ever be opened for him again.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
He called twice before the receiving end picked up and Sable barked out a sharp, “what?” “Sorry to bug you. I know you don't like me very much but can I ask for a favour?” “Oh, it’s you Spider-man.” The hostility in her voice seemed to dampen; though her attention was still away from him. “My apologies, I was sure you were going to be one of my men again even after I called for complete radio silence.”He was about to begin questioning her when she spoke again, “favour? What is it you wanted?”“Oh, right. I was just- no it’s dumb. I’ll deal with it later. Is there something I can help you with? I’m already suited up and ready to go.”“I am on my way back to my apartment. Can you meet me there and we can discuss whatever it is you need?”“About that,” Peter said, staring down at her front door from above. “I’m already here. I was actually hoping I could come in but you didn't answer when I knocked.” The line went dead without a response. She did that a lot so it was hard to tell when she was done talking with him, in a fight, or just plain angry with him. Hoping for the best; he stayed put on top of the opposing building’s roof.He tried to distract himself and not let his mind wander back to MJ. He played a few games on his phone and responded to a few messages left by fans on his social media account. Of course; most of his time was spent attempting to avoid the sexually explicit posts from his fans; some of which he knew personally. Flash Thompson was fairly bad for that. He couldn’t imagine what his face would look like if Peter ever revealed his true identity, but that would never happen anyway as far as he was concerned. With his attention engrossed in his phone, he almost missed a cry of distress in the distance. When his senses fully came to him; he was up and running towards the sound before he could process what was happening. He made quick work of it. A few webs here and there and the would-be robbers were down for the count. The woman was shaken but otherwise unharmed. “T-Thank you Spiderman. If you hadn’t shown up-” “Don't worry about that. Your friendly neighbourhood Spidey will always be here. Would you like me to walk you home?” “I-I couldn't ask you to do that. You’ve already done enough.” Though she couldn't see it, he was grinning widely under the mask as he shooed away the thought. “Nonsense. It's no trouble. I'm waiting for someone anyway.” She didn't respond right away so he continued, “if it helps, I’d actually prefer walking you home to make sure you're safe.” “Then yes, please. I’d like that.” He picked her purse off the ground and handed it to her. She lead the way down the busy streets towards her apartment. Of course, they had to stop a few times for the people who wanted pictures or high fives from their favourite masked vigilante; as well as a few undeserved threats and criticisms that Spidey played off with a few quips. It was a nice walk otherwise, and quick at that. Her building was only a few streets away after all. She thanked him once more as they said their goodbyes before he could lift himself off of the ground with a carefully placed web. “Another job well done Spiderman,” he said to himself; almost laughing. It had been a long time since his usual brand of spider-themed justice was this simple. Post-Devils Breath, Sable, and MJ in Symkaria. He shook his head, trying not to think about it. His suit’s built-in phone rang. It was Sable. “Hey Sable,” he answered. “Where are you? I thought you were waiting for me?”“Got caught up with some late afternoon butt-kicking. I’m on my way back right now.” As he approached her building, he noticed an open window on the second floor. “Speaking of, INCOMING!”He landed gracefully on the other side of the window without touching the frame at all. “Impressive ri-” He was face to face with the business end of a pistol. “Whoops! Bad idea!”“You idiot! You startled me! I could have killed you!” She didn’t shoot; thankfully, but instead threw the entire pistol straight at his face. He wished he could say he dodged, but the unexpected attack made him leap towards the blunt object instead of out of its way. “Ow! I’m sorry, that was my fault. My fault. My bad.”His vision came back to him as he rubbed his temple. “S-Sable?” She stood before him with blood trickling down her front and dripping from loose fabric onto the tile floor of the bathroom. “What happened?!” “It doesn't matter. Wait in the family area while I dress my wounds”. “I’ll help.”“I do not require assistance.”“It looks bad. Please, it’s the least I could do after all you’ve done for me recently. FYI I’m calling the whole Devils Breath thing and then you saving me as us being even.”She seemed to be weighing her options in her head before she finally sighed out a, “very well.”Most of the visible blood seemed to be coming from long rips her clothing; and only when she started peeling off her jacket, did he truly see the extent of the damage. There were gashes all over her body; from what, he wasn’t exactly sure. The inside of her coat was soaked in blood and sweat and her body suit was worse. On the plus side, he was sure they were not life-threatening and all of the blood he was seeing was just an accumulation of both hers and whomever she had been in combat with. She never was one to lose a fight.However; that only worried him further. Who was she fighting with? Are they still alive? More importantly; how long had she been like this? Were her wounds already infected?“You should take off the,” he looked her up and down. “Shirt? Armour? Whatever that is off. So I can dress the wounds of course! Not because of, well, um.”“I know why. You do not have to be so immature about it.” She tried to reach the zipper on the back but pulled away; gasping involuntarily at the pain. “My shoulder is dislocated. You need to push it back into place.”“I don’t think I should do that.”“Fine, I will do it myself.” “No! No, I’ll help. I’ve done it before… usually on myself too. Sit down and I’ll see what I can do.” She followed his instructions; putting the lid down on the toilet and took a seat. Peter pulled his mask off and crouched in front of her. “Look away and tell me what happened.” “You do not have to baby me. Just do it.” “Tell me what happened anyway.” “Hammerheads men. There were more than anticipated. After they bombed my ship I chased them.” “I remember,” Peter said; lightly gripping her dislocated arm. “Do not patronize me.” “Sorry.” “Stop apologizing as well. You sound like a broken record.” “Sorry. Oops, I mean sor- you know what? Just continue, please.” “Well as I was chasing them down I put a tracker on them. Similar to the one I put on your suit when I was not sure about your loyalty.” Peter nodded, not wanting to weigh in again. “I brought the remainder of my men left here in America that were not hospitalized after the attack. “It did not go well. They were in far greater numbers than I would have ever thought and with stronger weaponry. As horrible as my machinery is, it does not compare to what they have created from it. I do not understand how they could have-” She let out a painful, startled gasp and kicked the trash can at her feet to the other wall as Peter finally forced her bones back into place. The look of pain and shock took a few long seconds to fade from her features; but when it did, she let out a relieved sigh. “Much better. Thank you.”“No problem. Rest your arm and let me do the work. Where’s your first aid kit?”“Under the sink.”He opened the cupboard a shuffled through it. There were surprisingly normal things in there. He wasn't entirely sure what he had expected, but hair care products and tampons were not exactly it. It didn’t take him long to find the very used medical kit tucked away in one corner. He started running some cloths under the slowly warming tap water. “Okay I need to, you know. Can you turn away for a second so I can get at the zipper easier?” She nodded and turned towards the door away from him. Being careful not to catch her hair; he unzipped her body suit and helped her pull the straps down over her arms fo it was bunched up at her waist. Peter blushed a bright red against his better judgement when he saw her bra. He knew it from the last time he had been in her apartment. The one he accidentally grabbed. The very same one he couldn't help himself from thinking about every now and again in the two days since it had happened. The only difference being the blood now painting most of it. Before things could get more awkward, he set off to work on her injuries. Once the excess blood was washed away, things began to look more manageable. It definitely wasn’t all her blood. Good and bad news he supposed.It wasn’t long before all of her more obvious wounds were taken care of and Peter could start to relax. “Better?” he asked. “Much. You have my thanks Spider.”“You know, that’s actually something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” He started cleaning up the discarded bandage wrappers and bloodied rags around the bathroom floor; trying to busy himself with small tasks to avoid eye contact with the woman getting dressed beside him. “Can you not call me that? Mostly my enemies call me ‘Spider’ as well as one very upsetting ex-girlfriend. I wouldn’t really call you my enemy anymore so I was hoping we could upgrade my nickname to something a little more friendly. Like maybe Spidey, or Spiderman, or when I’m not wearing a mask you could call me Peter.” “I believe I can do that, Peter.”It almost surprised him to hear her so freely say his real name. Of course, it always sent a jolt of anxiety through him when someone said his name for fear of civilians hearing it. “T-Thanks. I prefer that much better.”“I am going to shower now. You have my permission to stay downstairs until I am out. You never did tell me why you were here in the first place.”“Oh yeah. I guess it slipped my mind after everything that happened. Listen,” he hushed his voice. “I don’t know the extent of what happened so I don’t want to just leave you and have you get light headed or something and fall in the shower. I'm not trying to be weird or gross or anything. I’d just prefer to know you're safe.” Though he never said it out loud, he was silently praying that she wouldn't be offended or angry, or worse; think of him as a pervert. She thankfully nodded. “Yes,” she agreed. “That is a good idea. Stand outside the door and should I begin to feel any worse than I already do; I will call you.” “Oh. Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Thanks. I’ll let you get your clothes together and stuff.” She rifled through her dresser drawers in the attached bedroom and shuffled back to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The water started almost immediately. “Oh be careful of your bandages,” Peter called through the door. “I used the waterproof ones but you still should keep them out of the water as much as you can.”She didn’t answer so he sat on the floor with his back on the door. “Come on you gotta talk to me so I know you’re ok.”He had to strain his ears to hear it; even with his superior senses, but on the other side of the door, with water attempting to drown it out, was ever so soft humming. It was sweet and melodic. Nothing like he had ever heard from her before. He stayed quiet, closing his eyes and resting his head on the door just to listen a little closer. To focus on each bar and let it lull him into a feeling of security. He really did feel safer with her around now that she was on his side.Peter was suddenly aware of how tired he was. He probably hadn't slept more than a couple hours since MJ returned. And he couldn't say he slept regularly before that either. He was up most nights worrying about her or distracting himself from worrying about her with Spidey work. He was just starting to doze off when he heard, “Peter?” “Yeah?”“Are you going to tell me about why you were here anytime soon, or are you going to make me guess?” “I don't know anymore, Sable. I have to admit, I’m a little embarrassed.” “Aren't you always embarrassed? You should be.”“Okay, rude.”Her soft giggle was stifled by the door. “Fine, fine. I was actually going to ask; if it’s not to much trouble of course, If I could spend a couple of nights here. Even just one would be great if you don't mind.”The water was shut off and her voice became much clearer, “what happened to your apartment?”“Well, you see.” She sighed, already anticipating whatever stupid story he was about to attempt to explain. “I had an apartment after Devil's Breath but me and my landlord didn’t exactly get along. And by that I mean, he thought I was pushing drugs. He knew I didn’t have a stable job and I couldn’t exactly say that I worked for you. That just leads to so many more questions. So he was suspicious of where I was getting money; not to mention that I always was coming and going at weird times; always tired and usually with bruised knuckles or cuts all over my body.“Honestly to me that doesn't exactly scream ‘drug dealer,’ but I guess I deal with them more than him. So he basically just kicked me out for no reason. I’d love to call him out on it but I also don't need cops trailing me in my personal life. “It didn't really matter to me either because MJ was really happy to have me move in with her. I only had a few things anyway. Not much time to shop as Spiderman and even less as Peter. So I just stayed at her place with the occasional dinners with a good family I know. I knew this kids dad. Worked with him until…” He trailed off, looking down at his blood covered suit. His throat got tighter and his heart sank a little. “That’s not important now,” she assured him. “Right. Anyway,” he sniffled. “MJ kicked me out yesterday. She said some things and I think it’s over for real this time.”“I see.”Peter sighed and rose from the floor on exhausted legs and turned towards the door. “You can say no. Don’t feel like I’m pressuring you or anything. I didn’t tell you that so you’d feel bad. I just thought I’d ask.”The bathroom door swung open and Sable stepped past him; her long silver housecoat swaying behind her as she went. She seemed in better spirits than before, which was definitely a plus for Peter. Still not mad at him.“Very well. You may stay, though you will have to stay on the couch downstairs. Do you have any additional clothes?”“Funny story about that actually. I forgot what roof I stuck them too. So as of right now. No. No, I don’t.”“You will have to get some tomorrow while we clean your suit. I’m not going to let you soil my furniture with weeks of sweat and blood. Here,” she handed him some clothes. “I’m not sure this is my style. I like a little splash of colour. A nice red and blue perhaps?” “Just change.” “You're the boss.” He found himself in the bathroom without another option than what she had given him. Silk camisole top with a bit of lace around the neckline and some very plain grey sweatpants. “I am rocking this outfit don't you think?” Peter asked, walking back out. He was suddenly blinded by a flash of light as she took a picture with what he assumed was her own Sable brand of cellphone.“I am very impressed you are not embarrassed. The men in my country would be offended at the thought of wearing something so feminine.” “Well, I am a proud man. A little lace doesn't scare me. I'm just glad you liked it.” “I do. It will be here for you when you need it; should you ever need it again. I am not sure how regular of an occurrence this will be but it is here for you. As are these.” She held out her hand and in her palm were a set of keys. “Are these to your apartment?” She nodded. “You really think it's a good idea to let me start making house calls?” “Just for times like these. When you are tired with nowhere else to be. Now rest well. We have work to do tomorrow. Hammerheads men must be stopped, even if it’s just the two of us against all of them.” “Yes, Ma’am. Goodnight. They won't see what hit ‘em tomorrow.”“No, they will not. Goodnight, Peter.” She closed the bedroom door behind him as he walked out.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Peter awoke to the smell of coffee in the air. Before he even opened his eyes, he was already smiling at the aroma. For a moment it almost felt like all of the times he had passed out in the lab only to wake up to a sticky note with a silly message stuck to his forehead and a pot of freshly brewed coffee waiting for him. The thought soured with a memory of the man with metal prosthetic tentacles. Peter let out an audible grumble that was met with a soft laugh from the other side of the room. “I thought you may wake to the scent of food.”“Ah, Sable,” Peter chuckled; finally opening his eyes. She was sitting across from him in one of the very uncomfortable looking chairs; typing something furiously into her laptop. She glanced up at him every couple of second and smiled before returning her attention to her work. When Peter looked down at himself he saw where her good humour may have originated. He was sprawled across her entirely too short for his hight love seat, in a bunched up lace shirt and sweatpants. The throw blanket had long since fallen to the floor and his bare chest was completely exposed. “Like what you see?” “It’s not every day I have a handsome, muscular man asleep on my couch.”“So you think I’m muscular?” he smiled at her as he sat up straight. “You obviously are. How else would you have bested me in combat? Even if only once. I’m surprised you are not questioning me about the ‘handsome’ part.”“I am handsome. I know that. I mean how can you not love my handsome face?”“You have a baby face. Soft and squishy like the child you are.”Peter pursed his lips in mock disapproval. “It’s to absorb shock you know. I was designed that way for safety. But it doesn’t mean I’m not handsome.” The scent of coffee hit his nose once again and his attention was drawn to the kitchen.Sable notice and put her computer down on the table and walked towards the kitchen and Peter followed. Waiting for them on the counter was a fresh pot of coffee and a box of doughnuts from a local coffee shop. “I brought food before we go. I am tracking them as they go and once they finally stop, we will ambush them. But you must keep up your strength. When was the last time you have eaten?”“Um,” Peter thought back, rubbing the back of his neck. “I honestly can't tell you. It’s been a while I guess.”She shoved a doughnut into his mouth. “Eat! What is wrong with you? How do you intend to stay healthy with such poor habits?” Through the mouthful, he mumbled something indiscernible. Her eyes narrowed and her face fell into a scowl. “No matter what you said, you are so lucky I did not understand because there is absolutely nothing you could have possibly said to defend yourself. Eat as many as you must. I have no other food.”“As long as I can return the favour and get you dinner sometime? I’ll cook.” “You know how to cook?” He sighed, “I can make like one thing. But it's still good!” She scoffed at him, “there is no need for such foolishness. New York has an abundance of restaurants whenever I need it.”“Nothing beats a home cooked meal, Sable. It’s one of the biggest things I miss about my childhood. Before I was Spiderman, my aunt, uncle, and I would always have family dinners. May was always the best cook. Made these wheat cakes that could beat any restaurants, hands down.” Leaning back on the counter, his eyes dropped to the floor with a defeated sigh escaping his lips. “I wish I hadn’t taken all of those times for granted. After we lost my uncle I couldn't stand to sit there with an empty space reminding me of all we had lost. I think May thought the same way and we just stopped all together. Then with Spiderman, I usually didn’t have time anyway. I guess I just wish I could’ve had more time.”She lightly cupped his face in her hands, forcing his soft brown eyes to instinctively find her piercing grey ones. Hs reflexes moved quickly to grab her wrists; with no real strength behind it. “Do not be upset about what you cannot change. However; if it would make you feel better, I would not stop you.”She wiped the tears from his eyes gently with her thumbs and he melted into the touch. He wasn’t sure why he did it; why he liked it, but something about her strong and assertive voice accompanied by the warmth of her palms on his cheeks just made it so easy. He missed soft moments with those he cared for. They were so rare these days. His hold on her wrists carefully unravelled and fell to his sides before cautiously finding their way to her hips. She didn’t pull away; nor did her eyes wander. “I would love that, Sable. It really means a lot.” A single, forgotten tear rolled down his face unnoticed as he slowly pulled her closer to him. Closer and closer until their faces were inches apart. The moment was quiet; all noise of the city drowned out. He could feel her warm breath on his neck, sending a shiver down his spine. “Peter.” Her voice was low, soft, melodic. “Sable.” His was just as hushed.“Would you like this to stop?”“No.” He was only able to catch a glimpse of her smile before she was bringing their lips together. He had to lean down a little to make it easier, but that only deepened the kiss. Their hearts beat a little faster, and his head went a little foggy. By the time she pulled away; he felt like his entire world was spinning. Even though it was short, it just felt so right. He had to hold himself back from attempting it again. There was just something so different about kissing her that he had never felt before. “My apologies,” she huffed; pulling away from him. “That was inappropriate of me.” She turned quickly on her heels to walk back into the other room when Peter just managed to grab her wrist. She raised her arm defensively to try to shake him off and he let her do so. “Sable?” Peter blushed. “I liked that. I hope you did too.”The laptop in the living room began beeping. “Hammerheads men have stopped moving. We must go. I will send you the location so you have time to change into your suit. It is upstairs on my bed.” She hurried to the door and haphazardly pulled her boots on before quickly exiting the apartment.Peter wasn’t sure if it was true or just his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a flash of red on her cheeks that she had tried to hide behind her hair. He couldn’t move. He just wanted to think about it and forget Hammerhead. Forget New York. Forget the whole thing with MJ. He guessed that conversation would have to wait for the end of whatever battle they were about to start.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It took Peter a lot longer to catch up to Sable than he had hoped. His mind was in the clouds. Far away from any sense of reality. So much so, that he was blissfully unaware of how low his swings were becoming. With each web placed, he sank closer and closer to the traffic jam underneath. “Spidey! Look out!” he heard a woman yell. It was too late. He hit the top of a minivan. The forward momentum pulled him over the roof, down the windshield, across the hood, and finally to the hard pavement below. The man driving the van, as well as some of the nearby pedestrians, came running to his aid as he sat back on his knees; quite confused. “Are you okay, Spiderman?” one asked. “Yeah,” he answered. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about any damage to your van. My mind is somewhere else right now.” They looked from one to another, not convinced at all. “Are you sure you don't need a hospital?” the same woman who had tried to warn him earlier asked. “No, no. Thank you, miss, but I’m fine. I've just gotta get my head in the game. Did I just quote High School Musical? Maybe I’m not okay.” He paused. “No time for that!” he finally yelled; shaking his head as if that would help clear his mind. “I have to go. Thank you, everyone, for your help. I’m sorry again.” He took off towards the closest building; running up the side like it was nothing before rocketing himself backwards off of it to give himself some air. He was back to swinging through the city with his destination just out of sight over the tops of the buildings. He tried to push away the embarrassment he felt and focus. “Good old J.J. is going to have a field day yelling at me for that one. ‘Spider-menace purposely destroys man's property,’” he mocked. “I could be dying, or be possessed, or even worse, and he’d still blame me for property damage and high insurance rates.”He sighed as he perched atop a building in Hell's Kitchen. “Let’s do this Spiderman.” He called Sable just to be left without an answer. “Fine. I’m going in my way.” As he dropped through the skylight window; he noticed two things. 1) He knew this place, and 2) there were a lot of men in this tiny warehouse. If these were the numbers Sable and her team had been facing on their own with no plan of attack; it was not surprising they came back with the number of casualties they did. Even he most likely couldn't take down this many men armed to the brims at once. Well maybe. He did regularly deal with super villains so who was he to say he couldn't? He made his way across the beams; looking for any sign of Sable. He knew she was in there somewhere but where was the question. “Do you think it’s ready?” one raspy-voiced man asked to the others. “It better be. The scientist who did it is already six feet under and I ain’t in the mood to go find another one.”Peter’s spidey senses tingled in the back of his head. What did they need a scientist for and why would they off him before he could complete whatever it was that they were doing? How bad could this be?The man was typing something into a tablet connected to a strange looking device with countless monitors. It was a strange amalgamation of spare parts that seemed to be salvaged from many sources, including Sable tech. Some of which had burn marks. Peter recognized those. It was the things he saved from the sinking Sable International carrier ship.“You ready Tony? Everything's on.” “Absolutely.” Peter wasn't sure he wanted to know where this was going and with no partner in sight; he made his move. He pulled the man named Tony off of the ground with a web; alerting the others. “It’s been a while, Tony. Say, did you ever get your laptop back?” A barrage of bullets barely missed him, and it was just a miracle that none hit the mobster beside him.Tony was filled with rage as he struggled against the webs keeping him on the ceiling. “You idiots! You could have killed me! Get the boss before it’s too late!”“Yeah,” Peter laughed, jumping down from the rafters. “Can’t let you do whatever it is you were doing. Sorry.” It was an odd fight. There were more people than he knew what to do with. Usually, they came in waves; each, in turn, calling for back up when they finally realized their numbers were dwindling. This time it was more like fighting the entire Maggia all at once. A few well-placed web grenades took care of some and some poorly aimed shots from the opposing side took out a few more. “Listen, I appreciate that you’re making this easier for me but I don’t kill so ixnay on the… urder-may? I don’t remember how Pig Latin works.”A few more shots were rattled off in the warehouse downing out the ringing in Peters' ears; sending him into pure autopilot to finish off the rest of the group. It took a lot out of him and he wasn't going to walk away without injury but at the very least; he couldn’t feel anything in his adrenaline rush.He tried again to call Sable after a quick call to emergency services and a few good webs to hold the injuries of the men closed. He didn't give her a chance to speak. As soon as she picked up he muttered a somewhat aggressive, “where are you? I thought we were supposed to be a team and now you’re nowhere to be found?”The voice that echoed through the receiver sent a chill down his spine. “Looks like your little silver-haired vixen has fallen prey to a trap. Again. You two are bad for those aren't you?”“Hammerhead.”“Very good Spider. You can recognize a voice.”“How are you alive? I thought-”Hammerhead laughed menacingly, “don’t bother with that crap. Now if you want to see her alive again, I suggest you listen to me.”“What do you want? And why do you expect me to comply if I don’t even know that Sable’s with you?”The ground started to shake as something huge and heavy came closer and closer. Each step shook the entire building until the wall behind Peter crumbed to the floor, bringing a huge chunk of the ceiling down with it that he had no time to dodge. He raised his arms to catch it but the weight of it all, so quickly became too much. He crumbled under it; trying to steady his breathing before he found his way out. It wasn’t the first time a building had fallen on him. However; before he could even open his eyes, the heaviest chunk was lifted off of him and a firm robotic grip was around his waist. His eyes widened in shock and his mask shutters echoed his surprise. “Hammerhead were you always that, um, ginormous?”He only received a laugh in return as the no longer human, giant took him away.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Peter put up a good fight for as long as he could but with every step he took towards escape, Hammerhead made sure there were three steps back; squeezing every breath he took out of him. With his arms stuck at his sides in the robotic grip, he was unable to break free and soon found his vision going hazy. “Hey H-Hammerhead,” he gasped desperately. “Mind b-being careful of t-the merchandise? I'm delicate you know. You break it you buy it.” “You whoring yourself out now spider?” Peters mind took a few too long seconds to catch up with the adrenaline forcing him to focus on escape, but Hammerheads words finally registered. He stumbled over a response, “I- you knew what I meant! Don’t twist my words.”“Too bad, Spider. That could have been an interesting night.”Peter shook his head. “Gross.” Hammerhead squeezed his gigantic body through a small opening in the back of the warehouse that looked like it had been carved out by hand. The tunnel they were walking through was odd and had something about it that made it eerily familiar. Had the Demons used a tunnel like this? They must have. Peter tried to keep his eyes open and follow where they were going but with every lost breath, his head spun and vision become more and more empty. It wasn't surprising that his body fell limp not long after. He awoke a few hours later to the sound of chains rattling and a voice calling his name. Not his superhero name; his real name.“Peter! Peter, you need to wake up right now!”“S-Sable? What’s-” he went to adjust his mask when he realized that he wasn't wearing it. He jolted to his feet with some strain against his wrists where he was chained. “Where am I? Where is my mask?”His eyes traced the heavy metal starting at his wrists and then to the ceiling where it went through a series of messy mechanisms before running down the opposing wall where it met the wrists of Sable. They were connected and he imagined that moving too much would strain her.“Sable you’re here too? Why are we hooked up to the weird thing from Shrek 4?”She could not look more frustrated in that very second if she tried. “What is Shrek 4?”“You don’t know Shrek 4? How dare you. Have you seen the first three?”“No, I have-” “You haven't seen Shrek? Oh my god, Sable!” he yelled. “You monster! How dare you? That movie is a staple of 90’s kid's culture that every other generation has had to suffer through.” She violently pulled down on the chains, lifting him off the ground momentarily by his arms. “Ow. Rude.” “Do you really think this is the time for your childish bullshit?” she berated him.He met her anger with a pout. “Yes, I do. It calms me down, stuns enemies, and is fun. Besides, it’s currently hiding my absolute horror at having my mask off after a battle with Hammerhead. I also can’t say that I enjoy waking up in chains, dazed and confused in who knows where.”Sable slowly let her anger melt away with a nod. “Right,” she almost sounded apologetic. “It would be upsetting. I was unable to stop him from unmasking you.”“What happened?”“I went to the location without you. I knew you would catch up eventually and I did not believe that it would be as difficult of a situation as it turned out to be. I went in and was quickly overpowered by my own weapons.”“I feel like we’ve heard that story before.” She glared daggers at him; effectively shutting him up without another word. “As I was saying; they had altered my work. I almost had the upper hand until Hammerhead walked in; how he’s alive to begin with, I am not sure but this time he was stronger. I could not overpower him and he brought me here in a similar fashion to the way you were brought in.”“Wonderful.” “It is my fault.” She let out something akin to a gentle and restrained sob. She did not shed tears, she did not weep, but her eyes were full of regret and despair as they trailed down to the floor. “I do not learn. I should have waited for you. I have fallen into his trap too many times. I am stupid.” “You’re not stupid, you’re impulsive. There’s a huge difference. And it’s not wrong of you to think it’ll continue to work if it usually does. That’s just your fighting style and it makes sense with the way you were trained. I mean even just thinking about a civil war in your country would make anyone a little aggressive. I was with Devils Breath.” “That did not lead you to run straight into a trap.” “Don’t doubt me when I tell you it has happened. I mean I think I could count running into your bases as jumping into a trap. I was their number one target, they had advanced tech I had never seen plus numbers way greater than one guy. I think that counts, to be honest.” “It doesn't. You were doing what you had to save people. That is your job.” “Fine then, Sable. But we all fall for things okay? We all let our emotions get in the way sometimes. That doesn't make you stupid, it makes you human.” “I suppose you are right.” Her eyes suddenly filled with determination and her whole body language changed to the confident and self-assuring mercenary he knew. “We must get out of here and stop Hammerhead for good. How did they get out of this in that Shrek movie you mentioned?” Peter smiled as excitedly as a child opening a pile of birthday gifts. “Well for that we’d need a dragon but we still have a surefire way of getting out! I may have a lot of villains, but thankfully, most of them are dumb as bricks.” He casually began climbing the wall to the ceiling, stopping almost on top of the peculiar set of mechanisms. “What is your plan?” she asked curiously.“Something stupid of course.” “Of course.” They shared a pleasant laugh as he jammed the lock of his cuff between a set of heavy gears. “This stuff looks medieval. You think this had something to do with the old bootlegging industry my city is rich in?” “Perhaps. It does look like it has been here a while.” “Ok pull your side down as hard as you can.” She followed his instruction and after some groaning from the metal, his cuff broke open. “Wow! It actually worked! Do it again so I can get the other one off.” She pulled down on the chain again and with a crack, the other cuff fell from his wrist. “Wonderful!” Sable yelled. “Now how do we get mine off?” “Um, I probably can't carry you up here, that would be very uncomfortable and dangerous. Maybe I can rip them off of you. I have super strength after all.” She mumbled something in Symkarian that he didn't understand. “Is-is that a no?” “Do what you must to get me out of here. And hurry. We may not have much time before Hammerhead returns.” Peter jumped from the ceiling onto the cold floor in front of her. “Brace yourself,” he gave her a soft reassuring smile. “This might hurt. I’ll try my best not to hurt you but you never know.” She nodded knowingly and turned her face to the side. He struggled to pry the metal apart. It was stronger than it looked but with a few long seconds of gritted teeth, the lock began to pull apart and eventually snapped. “One down, one to go.” Within a few minutes, they were both free. “We must get out of here.” “And find a way to take down Hammerhead for good. Especially now that he knows who I am.”“How do you intend on doing that? He is impenetrable now.”Peter took a moment to think before his eyes lit up. “Maybe from the outside. But he’s all circuits and wires now, and lucky for us, I know just the kid who can help us. One with more intelligence than me, a set of spider powers all his own, and an app that lets you hack anything in real time.”“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Miles stood, looking between his phone and the apartment door in front of him. ‘Miles, you ready
for your first real
Spidey mission?
Come to the attached
address. Bring your
suit, web shooters,
and hacking app.” Excitedly he knocked on the door. Peters flustered voice called through the door, “come in, Miles!” The door swung open at his light touch as if it hadn't been closed at all. Peter and Sable stood inside and despite knowing he had arrived, focused only on their sporadic conversation and the map, haphazardly webbed to the wall with seemingly random markings. “Peter that is as ridiculous as your spider theme!”“Don’t knock the spider theme! It’s a perfect blend of lightheartedness and creepy imagery! Also! I have spider powers from a radioactive spider bite! What did you want me to do? Become like, butterfly man or something?”“That’s even worse! You are not listening!”Miles cleared his throat loud enough to draw their attention over to the doorway he was still standing in. Sable rushed to the door, pulling him inside and slamming the door closed behind him. An involuntary jolt of fear ran down his spine as her hand pressed on his shoulder to usher him forward. “This is the kid that you want to help us fight Hammerhead?” she asked. “Yes!” Peter smiled, looking over Miles’ shoulder to look at Sable. “This is Miles Morales. He has similar powers to mine and I’ve been training him lately. Well, sort of. I’m sure he wishes I’d train him more.”Miles nodded. “So- um- why am I here?”Sable walked out from behind him, looking him up and down with the same stern glare she had during the Devils Breath crisis. And if Miles was being honest with himself, it terrified him. He tried to stand a little straighter as if on instinct, if not just to keep her from getting angry with him. This was the woman who had more or less assumed control of all of New York in a matter of days. He held his breath. Why was she looking at him for so long? Had it even been as long as his mind was telling him it was? It couldn't be. He was just nervous. That makes everything worse right? Peter trusted her so there was nothing to be worried about. “Yes alright,” she finally nodded, crossing her arms. “If Peter believes in your abilities, I do as well. Sit down.” “Yes ma’am,” Miles said, following her instructions without hesitation. “So why am I here, miss-um-Sable?”Peter smiled down at him as he sat on the armrest. “Well, we have a big problem. Remember Hammerhead?”“Of course! I know everything there is to know about all of the villains you’ve fought! I’ve written down everything I’ve ever learned actually.” “Wow,” Peter said in a way that made Miles worry he had in some way upset him until his eye brightened. “That's really smart Miles. I do something similar just in case. I even have a few notes on you. It's always good to know what both your allies and enemies are capable of.” “So what about Hammerhead? I thought he was dead.” Sable spoke up, “so did we. I will spare you the unnecessary details. He is back and as far as we can tell, he is no longer in any way human. In our absence, he has been upgraded beyond recognition. It is likely that physical attacks will do no damage, much like last time.” “Exactly!” Peter cut in. “And now he’s more dangerous! He discovered my secret identity. Well, my face. Don't know if he knows who I am but it's better to be safe than sorry. So we need your help. Do you think your hacking app could hack him; assuming we’re right about the lack of a human brain.” “Maybe with some modifications. I honestly don’t know. If he’s mostly Sable tech now we could always test it on some of the more recent pieces you have. It did work on-” he stared up at Sable who narrowed her eyes. “Nothing! It's never worked before! Why would I ever test it on Sable tech?” He tried to laugh it off unsuccessfully. “You would not happen to be the reason my men were reporting technical failures at checkpoints would you?” Miles’ blood ran cold. “No!” he said a little too quickly. “I am not mad. It was quite impressive, in fact. Some of my machinery was heavily protected and you managed to hack it fast enough that it did not set off any alarms.” Miles couldn't stop his mumbled avalanche of words before they spilled out. “It was actually really easy to hack.” “Is that so?” Peter laughed, “this kid and his friends are really intelligent. Based on some things I’ve heard, he might even be smarter than me if I'm being honest.” Tenderly he placed a hand on his shoulder with a smile across his lips. “Your father told me about it. That's why you were the first person I thought about to help us. You think you can do it?” “Hell yeah.” “Great! Ok here’s the plan. Step one, suit up and look awesome! Too bad this isn't a movie, we would look so good in slow-mo.” Sable smirked; the first time Miles had ever seen her without a scowl, and when she spoke, there was a hint of playfulness hidden behind the bite. “What? You think you could lead the charge?” “Oh absolutely not,” Peter laughed. “You’d be the one in front. I mean you’re the leader of an entire army so it only makes sense. Not to mention the fact that visually it would look better. You're in all white which is completely different than our matching colours so you being in the middle at the front of the charge would even out the colours and make it more appealing. That way it's not lopsided.”Miles looked up curiously at the two adults. “Are we seriously talking about visual appeal of movie scenes while a giant metal supervillain is on the loose?”“Right!” Peter yelled, suddenly focusing. “Okay, we are going to find him. Based on what we’ve seen from his past couple of moves, he's most likely tracking Yuri Watanabe down with the intentions of killing her. Thanks to Sable's hidden trackers we can follow him and as long as he stays out of the bootlegging tunnel he left us in," he noticed the teenagers confusion. "Don't ask Miles; he'll probably still think we're down there, giving us the element of surprise."Here's the plan, we wait until he's somewhere big and open along the shoreline. Miles you stay hidden and silent. Sable and I will distract him as best as we can without getting hurt. While we have him and his henchmen's attention on us, you hack into whatever brain, hardware, whatever it is he has. Even if you can't shut him down, I'd settle for a memory wipe. We can always find another way to physically take him down but he knows my identity and that can lead to a lot of very bad things happening."Once we shut him down we make sure there's no way for him to return. Unfortunately, that's getting to be our only option. He's too powerful now and only seems to be getting stronger. Then we start disassembling his goons and get as much of Sables tech back as we can. Then to celebrate we come back here and have a Shrek marathon. Again, Miles, don't question it.” “Alright,” Sable agreed. “Good plan up until the end. Let's go.” “I’m sorry no. That's the most solid part of the plan. It's happening,” Peter protested. Miles had to laugh, “you two are seriously arguing over a movie? Shrek?” “She hasn't seen it!” “What? No way! Shrek is a classic!”Peter gave her a knowing look as if to say, ‘I won,’ but she was having none of it. Dropping her hands to her side, and standing as if she were addressing her soldiers, she yelled, “enough! Stand up!” They stood immediately. “We have no time to mess around! We have a job to do!” She stopped; though Miles had no idea why until her eyes narrowed. “We have a job to do! Is that clear?!”They yelled in unison, “yes ma’am!”“That is what I thought! Suit up! We have no time to waste! We set out in exactly one minute!”“Yes ma’am,” they called again. “What are you waiting for?! Your minute is almost up and you are not changed!” Miles was silently thankful to himself for his enthusiasm when he had received Peters text earlier that day. As soon as he read it, he had thrown on the suit Peter had given him under his regular clothes so now all he had to do was throw off his outer layers. He did so in a haste. “Where- um- do I put these? Miss. Sable, ma’am.”“On the couch for now,” she said, her anger diminishing. He felt Peter lightly elbow him in the shoulder and when he looked up into the lenses of the Spiderman he had always admired, he could feel his own fear and insecurity wash away. He was ready for his first real mission. "What are we waiting for?"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Spiderman 2, are you in position?” Sable whispered through her communications device. Miles sighed, “I’m not Spiderman 2. Can I get a different nickname?”“Spider-boy.”“That’s worse!”“Spider-boy, are you in position?” “I’m not-” suddenly he remembered who he was arguing with. Not wanting to get on her bad side, he sucked up his pride. “Fine. Until we come up with a cooler name, I’ll be Spider-boy. I am in position ma’am.”“Spider-man are you in position?”Peter’s reply was laced with muffled laughter as he said, “sure am, Sable. Is he coming?”“He is staying in the Hells Kitchen area. We are going to have to make some noise to lead him to us.”“Want me to go get him? I can swing over and get him to chase me.”Miles nodded even though neither of them could see him. “Please, my legs are falling asleep. We’ve been here so long! How do you deal with this all the time?”“Miles,” Peter laughed. “We’ve only been here thirteen minutes.”“Impossible! We’ve been here for hours!”“You're just being an impatient teenager. I understand. I was exactly the same way and Sable is still that way.” From his position; hidden on the walkway of an Oscorp smokestack, he could see Sable sneak up on Peter from his not-so-hidden position on a shipping container. Miles didn’t need the coms to be on to hear the terrified shriek Peter let out when she grabbed his shoulder. Peter was a lot braver than he. There is no way he'd mouth off about Sable, even if she wasn't anywhere nearby; but Miles had the funny feeling that Peters bravery and stupidity walked hand in hand. "Miles help." "You're on your own, man. I'm not taking my chances.""How can someone so short be so strong and so scary?" Once again; Miles was thankful he couldn't hear whatever it was that Sable was saying but he knew it couldn't be very friendly based solely on the pistol raised up to his mentor's chest. "Peter, dude, you're seriously digging your own grave right now. She's going to kill you."After a moment of radio silence, Peter came back with a very quiet, “I can talk myself out of some murder attempts.” Her guns lowered as they continued to talk. It was comical how Miles could almost make out their entire conversation from the way they were gesticulating every word. Suddenly she took off towards her jet; hopping in as if the height of the thing was nothing before it became invisible and the rush of air as it took off almost knocked him over the railing. “You good up there?”“Yeah. Where’d she go?”Peter climbed the side of the smokestack horizontally as if what he was doing was normal until he reached Miles. “She’s going to go get our friend and lead him here as quietly and non-violent as she can.” Noticing Miles’s immediate concern, Peter chuckled and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I made her promise to keep the fight away from civilians as best as she can. He was pretty close anyway. That man has the attention span of, well, himself. He’s pretty dumb. Just happens to be virtually indestructible.”“So why aren't you going with her?”“Wanted to check on you and make sure you’re ready for this. I know we haven't been practicing all that much; it’s my fault, but do you think you’ll be okay? Situations can get out of hand really quickly you know.”“Are you trying to get me to leave?”Peter sighed, crossing his arms over his chest while leaning back against the railing. “Maybe. It’s dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt. It was unfair when I was bitten at your age and had to do this all alone while facing my own mortality every day; but it’s so much worse with you. I’m already here to fight the battles. You don't need to get dragged into this. I don't want you getting hurt or worse.”“Peter, come on.”“It’s not that I don't trust you if that’s what you’re thinking. I do trust you; and honestly, I think you’re one of the best people who could’ve gotten bitten, but that doesn't change the fact that you’re still a kid with a whole life ahead of you. You deserve to live a normal life.”“Well I’m a teenager first of all; second, I want to do this. You're my hero, man. I've always wanted to help people like you even if it puts my life on the line. It’s what heroes do right? Like my dad.”“Miles-”“No, it’s true, isn't it? He always wanted to save people, and he did. Every day he was out there with the threat of death, knowing at any point he may come face to face with criminals and supervillains. I spent my whole life knowing that one day my dad might not come home, but that never stopped me from wanting to be like him. And when you showed up and started kicking supervillain ass, I wanted to follow in your footsteps too. It all seemed impossible until now though.”“Dammit, kid,” Peter smiled, playfully punching Miles’s shoulder. “You’re better than me already, you know that?”“Yeah I know,” he cheerfully replied. “Alright then. Stick to the plan, try not to mess up too bad; there's always a little room for messing up but not too much, and stay out of sight. Until we know the extent of your powers, I don't want you fighting. Especially this guy.”“But say I mess up a little and it draws attention to myself and he attacks me?”“Try not to do that.”“But what if I do?”“If you do, I’ll distract him but really try not to do that.”“No promises.”“Wow, you really do sound like me when I was your age. And this age if I’m being honest. Just stay in position alright? I’m going to catch up to Sable now and get Hammerhead over here.”“Wait before you go; what's going on between you two? People have been seeing you two together a lot lately and she’s clearly not trying to kill you anymore.”“We’re working together.”“Working together like in a school project or working together like you and MJ used to work together?”“I have no idea what that means.”“Uh huh. Sure you don’t”Peter shook his head, “if you think she likes me, you’re crazy. If it weren't for Hammerhead, she would have killed me by now; even so, she did try to kill me when all of this first started. I’m just having a little fun messing with her until this whole thing is over.”“Right. Sure.”“Oh shut up Miles. You’re a teenager. Teens know nothing about love. Trust me as a former teenager, I know this.”When Peter swung away he could hear Miles laughing.
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Sable’s aggressive voice through the comms startled both of the Spidermen. “Incoming. Very quickly." As if Miles couldn't feel everything shaking violently in the rhythm of steps. It was either Hammerhead, the Rhino, or the T-Rex from Jurassic Park and he had a funny feeling it wasn't that one. Too bad, a T-Rex sounded a little easier to fight. Peter came flying over a large stack of shipping containers, miraculously sticking the landing after a couple of somersaults. "That all you got? You 13-foot tall metal idiot. You're a robot and you still can't knock me down." Hammerheads shrill, robotic voice echoed around powerplant yard before he practically trampled the fence, "oh we're just getting started, bug." His purely metallic look was a shock to Miles who had only seen photos of his previous appearance taken from afar. He was huge with eyes that glowed and flickered. Miles shuffled behind the smokestack a little further as a wave of fear washed over him. On the ground, Peter was still bantering with the gargantuan man while he dodged incoming attacks. Sable made her grand entrance when the thrusters of her invisible jet made themselves known by momentarily knocking both Peter and Hammerhead off balance. "Where are you, you bitch?!" A fit of uncoordinated lasers were sent off from Hammerheads palms as well as a few strange places around his back. "Well, those are new. Spider-kid you good up there?" Peter whispered into the mic in his mask. "Yeah, yeah," Miles's fearful reply mumbled back. "Breathe; it's okay. Any luck with the-" he paused as he webbed up one of the giant's hands and pulled him forward so he was on his knees and the lasers were shut off. "Hacking app?" he continued. "Oh, yeah I'm doing my best but I'm worried Sable's jet may be in my way. I can't see it." "This is probably a bad time to mention this but there's a sensor in your suit that'll show you things like that through the screens in the eye shutters." Miles recoiled in fear as more lasers both from Sable's jet and Hammerhead was fired. "It can what, and you didn't think to tell me that?!" "Sorry, it's like playing a video game and then trying to remember all of the controls while someone else is playing. Muscle memory is better than normal memory." He gasped in pain as a stray laser skimmed his left arm. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, "hold your right hand in a tight fist for a couple of seconds. It'll do its thing." Miles did as he was told and instantly the screens lit up showing a glowing outline of the jet as well as Sable herself. "Woah." He watched her skillful flying for a few long moments before he raised his phone to aim at Hammerhead. The two Spidermen knew something was wrong in an instant, even before they saw the flash in Hammerheads eyes. He smirked and looked towards the sky knowingly before reaching up to grab the wing of the jet on one of its lower dives. He ripped it off with ease causing the cloaking mechanism to fail; making it visible again while the remainder of the aircraft fell to the ground. Peter sprang into action trying to stop the man but he had other ideas. The aircraft was picked up and thrown into the water on the other side of the fence. Peters blood ran cold. "Sable!" his voice cracked as he screamed; terrified. Running forward took every ounce of energy he had in his body as his mind struggled to catch up. Each step seemed to take minutes before he finally came to a stop on the edge; the adrenaline coursing through him was almost painful. The craft was floating for the time being but it was upside down so the compartment Sable was in was submerged under the water. Using a few webs he pulled it closer. "Sable, are you okay? Can you hear me?" There was no response; only increasing the deafening beating of his heart in his chest. "Come on, Sable. Please be okay." Getting the jet to flip over was very difficult but when he did, he managed to pull the remains of the aircraft onto solid ground. Peter lifted the damaged acrylic canopy over the cockpit and pulled Sable out. She was bloody; her nose at an angle, her arms were clearly broken. She was; however, still breathing which was the best sound Peter had ever heard. "I'll get you somewhere safe." Before he could move, a scream startled him back into battle. Moving Sable away from the fight as quickly and carefully as possible, he looked to find the source of the scream. All he saw was Hammerhead wreaking havoc on the power plant with Miles nowhere in sight. "Spider-kid where are you? Are you ok?" "Doing," his voice was panicked and stressed. "My best! He's slow but strong!" Peter swung up, attempting to distract Hammerhead. "I don't see you, where are you?" "Right in front of you. Are you blind?" Peter triggered the scanner on his suit and a solid outline of another person showed up; sticking to the side of the opposing smokestack. "How are you doing that?!" "Doing what?" "You're invisible!" "I'M WHAT?!" "Invisible! It's amazing! Use that!" He threw a couple of web grenades that wrapped up Hammerheads upper body. "Will you be able to use the hacking app?" "Keep him still and away from me while I do it." Peter nodded and set to work keeping Hammerhead down. Hammerhead laughed as he was brought to his knees under an abundance of webs. "You three think you're so smart but you're so stupid. Think you bugs can beat me; well look at me! You almost got away with it, overheating that plate in my head; well I made sure not to make the same mistakes. "I'm upgraded and stronger than ever! Strength, lasers, and access to any piece of information I please. I can see everything shared over the internet, hear everything being broadcast through satellites. Even your suits." He laughed harder now. A deep, haunting, robotic laugh. "I can hear your consideration, I could see her jet, and I can see him." Miles and Hammerhead made direct eye contact despite him being invisible and it sent a chill down Miles's spine. "What do we do?" "I don't know," Peter responded, trying to keep their enemy on the ground. "Put him on airplane mode or something." "You really think," Miles huffed as he pulled out his phone. "Wow okay, I actually can do that." Miles pressed something on his phone and Hammerheads eyes flickered and dimmed slightly. Hammerhead laughed again. "That won't stop me." Mustering all of his strength, he pulled at the webbing holding him down, using everything in his arsenal to cut away at it. The more Miles typed away on his phone, the more angry Hammerhead got; however, he seemed to be slowing down. Peter was relieved as his efforts started to work a little better. "Whatever you're doing, kiddo, keep it up! It's working." The giant's efforts become more and more frantic; panicked, as he was being shut down from the inside until he let out one last pitiful scream as his eyes flickered out. Peter backed away in shock. "Is-is it over?" "I think so." Catching his breath was a difficult task. Staring at the fallen cyborg man took the breath right out of him. "You did it, Miles!" He was finally able to say. He felt Miles drop down beside him though he still couldn't see him. "Call the police. I need to get Sable to a hospital. We'll figure the rest out later. Great job Miles. You saved us."
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When Sable woke up, her vision was blurry and the subtle aching across her body was prominent. The beeping in her ear was a clear indication of hospital equipment and as she blinked, they became clearer. What caught her attention; however, was the slumped mass of red in the corner. Peter was sitting at the foot of her bed; still dressed in his Spider-suit, bobbing his head up and down as he nodded off and woke himself up over and over again. At first, he didn't seem to notice that she was awake. When she started to shift into a more comfortable position; however, his eyes shot open. "Sable," he said, voice shaking slightly. "How do you feel? Are you okay?" Her eyes closed for a moment as she let out a deep sigh and weakly responded, "do I look alright to you?" "Well, no, but I meant are you in a lot of pain? You aren't dizzy or anything? The doctors gave you the best painkillers they had but it didn't mean it was guaranteed to work." "Nothing I cannot handle." Peter sighed and moved his chair up so he was right beside her. "You know that's not what I'm asking. Are you in a lot of pain?" Her eyes softened and she shook her head ever so slightly. "No. Not much at least. I suppose I have you to thank for that?" He laughed, "I'm no doctor, Sable." "And you must be aware that, that was not what I was intending." "Actually, I don't know what you mean." "Clearly you brought me here and most likely saved me from Hammerhead." She paused to close her eyes tightly. "Hammerhead; is he dead?""Yeah, as far as we know. Spider-kid did it. You wouldn't believe it actually," he chuckled. "He turned invisible! I don't know how; I mean I never found a way to make a camo suit and it's not like he did, he didn't even know he had turned invisible. I bet he has a ton of other powers we don't know about! It's amazing!""Were you injured? I see your suit is a mess." "Nothing out of the ordinary there," he laughed. "Just a few dings and burns here and there. Nothing that hasn't healed already. I'm more concerned about you. The doctors weren't too thrilled about your injuries. Even with the safety features in the jet, you were not okay when I pulled you out. Broken nose, a broken arm, legs were better but they are recommending you stay off them for a couple of weeks. They aren't broken but cracked in a few places." Sable huffed, "so I am useless for the time being." "Not useless, Sable. Come on don't be like that."Her eyelids became heavier as she laid there trying to focus on Peter's masked face. He noticed of course; immediately moving to pull the pristine white hospital bed sheets up over her. The sudden movement startled her and the heart monitor beeped a slightly faster pattern. "It's okay, Sable. Get some rest. I know you must be exhausted after what happened; not to mention the morphine." "Just need to close my eyes." "Alright, well you rest your eyes then. I'll be right back." She heard him stand and make his way out of the room. He wasn't gone very long but when he returned, he had steered himself into the washroom and turned on the tap. She didn't much care for whatever antics he was pulling this time and instead decided to focus on her breathing which had become erratic. He sat down beside her and whispered, "I don't know if you're asleep, but I'm going to put a damp cloth on your forehead. You're sweating; probably just a side effect of the morphine, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable." Carefully he wiped her face with a cloth, before setting another one down on her forehead. "There," he let out the breath he had been holding in. "That should feel much better. He was right. Almost instantly she felt a lot calmer and not as feverish. She knew the heat would return quickly so she tried to enjoy it while it lasted. A minute; maybe more passed by, however, and to her pleasant surprise, he exchanged the old rag for a new colder one. She hated the feeling of being waited on like this. It didn't feel right after years of training and taking care of herself; and only after she was sure her men were safe and tended to first. Having such gentle hands tend to her; in some ways, didn't feel right. A soft knock at the door turned both her and Peters attention away from what they were doing; though her eyes remained closed. If it were a threat, they wouldn't be knocking and she doubted the scent of fresh flowers wouldn't make a sudden appearance. Peter tried to keep his voice low so he wouldn't disturb Sable, but the surprise was clear in his tone, "MJ? What are you doing here?" She giggled as she walked closer, placing a vase on the side table. "The woman saved my life, Peter. You think I'm just going to turn a blind eye when she ends up in the hospital?" "No," he chuckled softly. "No, I guess that wouldn't be very nice. I just didn't expect to see you here." "I have a habit of getting myself into places I'm not supposed to be. How is she?" "They haven't told me much because I'm not family and the whole patient confidentiality thing, but she's pretty beat up. I could have told you that just from looking at her though." "Obviously. Is she sleeping or out cold?" "Sleeping I'm pretty sure. She was awake for a few minutes but said she had to rest her eyes and I haven't heard from her since. I hope she's getting a restful sleep." "I'm sure she is. She's got you here to make sure nothing happens to her while she sleeps." Peter laughed, "that sounds so creepy MJ." She playfully nudged his shoulder and took a seat beside him. "No, it's the truth. Everyone needs to feel protected sometimes. Even the man with spider powers and the terrifying Symkarian military leader." "Even you?" She sighed, "it was nice while it lasted." "Do you regret it?" There was a long silence and the air became tense. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that." MJ suddenly wrapped her arms around him tightly. "No, it's okay. I do miss you, Peter. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'd like to still be friends." "Just friends?" "Yeah. I stick by what I said about us not working out. And that part about you liking someone else and her liking you back." "That's been bothering me, actually. Who?" She shook her head. "You are the smartest idiot I've ever met. How can you be a literal genius and so, so dumb." "It's a special gift, honestly. Keeps me humble. So care to explain?" She nodded her head towards the bed. His voice sank so low it could barely be heard, "Sable?" "Duh." "Wha-no-what? No. There's no- she'd kill me just to prove you wrong. No." He was suddenly really happy he was still wearing his mask. He could feel his face burning up. "She did kiss me though." MJ made a noise that he couldn't describe. A laugh, maybe a snort. "Way to go tiger! Did she kiss you or did you kiss her?”“I don’t really remember. It happened so slow but also really fast. MJ, it’s really weird but I'm sure it was just a one-time thing. She doesn't love me, that's for sure. She hates me; she barely tolerates me. I don't think it’ll ever happen again. Like you said, we just needed to feel safe for a few minutes and I guess that’s how we did it.”“When did it happen?”“Before we went off to fight Hammerhead the first time- no not like a few months ago when you and I were dating. I meant like when she came back and you broke it off with me. I think I was just upset.”“Wow, you rebounded really fast, huh, stud?” she playfully raised her eyebrows a few times. She then cut him off before he could start berating her, “I’m kidding. Trust me, Pete, I saw those lights come on for her a long time ago. And if you had seen the way she scowled at me when she brought you into F.E.A.S.T after you fought Martin and Octavius; well, all I'm saying is that if looks could kill, I’d have been on the ground that second.” “Wait,” his eye shutter narrowed. “Really?”“Without a shadow of a doubt, Pete. Listen; I know you don’t believe it but maybe you should give it some thought. Anyway, I should go, and by the smell of you, you should too. When was the last time you showered?”“I-I don’t know to be honest.”“Got a place to go for that?”“Yeah, Sables apart-”“Knew it!”They walked out; leaving Sable alone, having heard the entire exchange.
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The nurses had been in and out of the room all day, keeping her under observation. Many; in fact, most of the nurses were frightened of her and she was sure that her constant death glare did not ease their nerves. She wanted to leave, she hated being held here, but every time she tried to stand, they were right on her. It’s not that she didn’t understand the severity of her injuries, she just couldn’t stand sitting there doing nothing but watch the nurses come and go. A voice caught her attention in the hallway.“So how do you know her?” a female asked.“We-uh-we know each other by accident.” Peters' voice showed clear signs of panic. He must be in his civilian clothing.“I know her because-because she saved me once. Long story but we’re friends now so I need to see her.”“Go right in, however, if she doesn't want to see you, you will be escorted out.”“Of course. I understand fully. Thank you so much for letting me see her.” She watched as he fumbled his way into the room with his arms full of various gifts. “Sable!” he bellowed happily. “How are you? Feeling better?" She nodded, eyeing the packages carefully. "Those better not be for me." The wide smile that formed on his face was undeniably heartwarming. "Of course they are. I wanted to get you something to make you feel better but I wasn't sure what you'd like so I went to a bookstore; one of those ones that also sell gifts, because they always have really nice little things that make you feel cozy, but I couldn't decide and the lady there made some really great suggestions. Albeit, very, very many suggestions.”“You are homeless, yet you waste the money I pay you on gifts I do not need.”Peter shrugged, “yeah? Problem?”"You. You are my problem. You are an idiot." "But I'm a lovable idiot, right?" She raised a playful eyebrow. "I'm taking that as a yes. So here, take your gifts.” He dropped the poorly wrapped and slightly bent boxes beside her before taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "Sorry, they're a little bent. I got busy with," he looked towards the open door cautiously. "Work. You know how it is. Hopefully, nothing’s broken." "Even if it is, it is nice that you tried." She saw the flash of red on his face spread out of the corner of her eye while she not-so-carefully ripped the paper away on her first present. It was a very soft, grey, fleece blanket. "Because hospital sheets are scratchy," he assured her. "Right." She opened the next gift to reveal a matching throw pillow; then another containing a housecoat with the pattern of cartoon-like stars, then some candles that smelled like a pine tree. Finally, she got to the last gift. Pulling the ribbon away, the packaging fell apart. "I ran out of tape so the ribbon held it together."He seemed like he was attempting not to laugh and when she looked down at what the box held, she knew exactly why. Sitting inside was a pair of knee-high, fluffy, cat socks and a hat with cat ears to match. He couldn't contain the light laughter that was attempting to escape his lips so he let it happen. "I'm sorry, I know you won't wear them. I just thought they were cute and maybe if its cold in here you'd get desperate enough to wear them. I'm sure the nurses would love to see you in them." "They are very," she paused, trying to find her words. At least, nicer ones than the ones she had already thought of. "They will keep me very warm during the cold months here and at home. Peter almost looked shocked. "Wait, so you're actually going to wear them?" "Perhaps the socks. I don't wear hats." "Just wear it once for me. Please?" She glared at that innocent face; hating herself as she felt her anger come crumbling down. "Once. No more." He grinned wider. Slowly she raised her best arm; the one that didn't hurt as bad and had fewer fractures, but she didn't have much time to worry about it before Peter took it from her and placed it gently on her head. "That's adorable." He was quick to take a picture on his phone before she could do anything about it and as he put the phone down, she caught a glimpse of his background. That picture he had taken all those months ago. On the rooftop eating pizza. Perhaps he did like her. Perhaps that reporter was right. It buzzed not long after with a message about a break in. He sighed, "ah man, now? Sorry, Sable. I have to go. Duty calls. Have they told you when you're getting released?" "Two days. If all things go according to plan, at least.”“Oh great,” he smiled, getting up to leave the room. “I'll make sure I find a way to come get you. I don't have a license but maybe Rio will be willing to help.” Sable raised an eyebrow. “Miles’s mother.”“Right, of course.”He went to leave but stopped in the doorway. “Hey, Sable?”“Yes?”He stood there silently until his phone buzzed again. He stared down at it. “Just- please just be careful. They told me you keep trying to get up and I don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”She sighed in defeat. “Fine. Now go, I am not paying you to fuss over me while the city is in danger.”“See you later,” he winked at her before running out. In the distance she could hear a flood of firm shouting, telling him not to run in the hall.
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“PUT ME DOWN!”“No.”“PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!”“Nope.”“I COMMAND YOU TO RELEASE ME!”“Not until we reach somewhere soft where I can put you down carefully.”“YOU SHOULD BE THANKING WHATEVER GOD YOU PRAY TOO THAT I CANNOT REACH MY PISTOLS! I WILL KILL YOU! IF MY MEN FIND OUT ABOUT THIS, I WILL SLOWLY DISEMBOWEL YOU!”“You can’t do that until your arms are healed.”The entire street could hear her raving as she was carried bridal style into her apartment by Peter; with Miles and Rio trailing carefully along behind for their own safety. Why Rio had agreed to help in the first place was beyond her. More mysterious was the fact that her son knew the Symkarian mercenary at all. She and Miles waited in the doorway for Peter to return from the upstairs bedroom without the still screaming Sable. "How do you know her?" Rio questioned. "Oh," Miles chuckled nervously. "It's a long story. Peter knows her; I don't know how he knows her, but he introduced us. She and Spiderman needed that hacking app that Ganke and I made a while ago to help take down Hammerhead. It’s pretty awesome, actually!”“You,” she calmly asked, trying to mask the concern in her voice. “You met Spiderman? And Peter introduced you to her?”“Long story, mamá,” Miles assured her with a smile. “It’s okay though, she actually is kind of nice. Plus I think Peter might be in love with her. She is dangerous, but I’m not actually in danger, I promise.”Peter tottered down the stairs rubbing his neck. “Hey Rio,” his voice was suddenly hoarse. “Thanks so much for helping. Sable does appreciate the help. She doesn't want to be seen in public with her injuries so anyway I could have gotten her here was pretty much out of the question.”She nodded sweetly, “I can see why. She seems very, um, professional. What happened to your voice?”“Oh,” he laughed. “She got a hit in when I put her down. It was accidental though. When I put her down she was still flailing around still and totally decked me.”“You should be careful around her. You did see her during the Devils Breath crisis right?”“Don’t worry, Rio. I appreciate your concern, and I know why you think she’s bad news but,” he let a sigh escape his lopsided grin. Rio was quick to notice the new shine in his eyes as he said, “you don’t know her like I do. I’ve seen those walls come down. Maybe not all the way, maybe just enough to see the sun shining over it, but there’s something on the other side. Something sweet and caring. She’s just been hiding it for a long time.”“You speak very highly of her. Do you,” she gestured with her entire body as if it finished her sentence. “I don’t know,” Peter stated bluntly, allowing his eyes to wander to the floor. His arms absentmindedly folded over his chest and he leaned a little heavier on his right foot. “She’s important in my life; as crazy as that might sound, but I’m not sure in what way.”“Mi Querido,” Rio wrapped her arms around him tenderly; to which he responded with an equally delicate embrace. “That’s very sweet. Let me know if you need any more help and I left the lasagne you asked for in the fridge.”“You are the best! What can I do to make it up to you?”“Just stay safe, okay?”“I’ll try.”They said their goodbyes and Rio left to start the car, leaving Miles still hanging around the doorway. “When is our next training session?”“Soon, kid, soon. We need to figure out how you turned yourself invisible. Don’t go doing that in front of your mother.""I'm trying. Yesterday I was studying for a test and my arm turned invisible. It stopped as soon as I noticed but still." Peter looked worried for a moment. "Ok, we'll do it as soon as I can. Maybe when Sables asleep. I know that she’ll get antsy if I leave and she’ll probably make her painful and self-inflicted, escape.”Miles laughed, “fine. Don't get killed.”Peter closed the door as Miles walked away and turned his attention in the direction of the kitchen. The lasagna was the only item in the fridge other than a few boxes of spoiled takeout and a pack of energy drinks that Peter had so graciously, downed half of in the past few days. He freed the lasagna from its wrappings and stuck it in the microwave. As the scent hit his nose, he wavered. Once again, he had lost track of the days between meals. Now; standing in the puny kitchen with nothing but the scent of a homemade dinner surrounding him, it made the emptiness in his stomach so much worse. As soon as it was heated, he took two of the plastic spoons that Sable seemed to be collecting from various fast-food chains and climbed the stairs. She was just as he had left her. Lying on the bed in a pile of pillows and blankets, with a pout so strong, any five year old would feel inadequate next to her. “I made food,” he announced. “Well, I heated up existing food, made by our dear friend Rio. The woman who drove us here in case you-”“I remember,” Sable snapped back.“No need to be so harsh. She’s a lovely woman who helped you. You should be grateful.”“I am grateful. How dare you accuse me of not being grateful? You are the ungrateful one.”“Okay, I know you’re on edge because of the casts and bedrest orders from the doctor. I get it, Sable. I really do. So please stop trying to act all tough and like you don’t care when I know that you do. Not to mention, I’m sure you’re hungry and so am I; so why don’t we settle down and enjoy a nice homemade meal, like I promised you I'd get you eventually.”She grumbled away her discomfort, “as I recall, you said you would be the one cooking.”“Well, I cheated a little. Doesn't matter, we have food and I was thinking that we could finally have that movie night we talked about." "You talked about.""I talked about.”Sable’s expression hardened; though still retained the pout. She didn’t seem too impressed but eventually nodded ever so slightly. “We will watch the first movie and then we will do something else.”Peters' eyes lit up. “Yes! I promise you’ll love it! You’ll want to keep watching it, I promise. These movies are childhood classics.”He set up his Netflix account on her laptop; commenting a few times offhandedly about how much faster and high-tech her laptop was compared to his, and selected the first Shrek movie, as he had promised. They didn't get very far into it before her questions began. He tried to answer all of her questions, but there were too many before the opening credit scene had even finished. Peter laughed, helping himself to a big scoop of the lasagna. “Ok how about we also play a game? One of the girls I used to go to school with; whom I am still in touch with, was telling me that her boyfriend, who is a therapist had them do this exercise. They take an hour to ask each other questions. No distractions,” he motioned to her computer. “No other people, and no work. Just the two people. They get to know each other by answering questions and at the end of it, they stare into each other's eyes for a full minute.” “And what is that supposed to do? What purpose does it serve?” She attempted to grab her own serving of dinner which was difficult with the casts. Peter helped, grabbing her a spoonful and holding it up for her to eat. “Well, they say it helps people bond and really see if they’re good together. It lets them learn something new about their partner. We are teammates after all.” “And you want to do this with me?” “Yes.” “Why?” Peter sighed, slightly defeated; carefully moving her laptop to the side table. “Because, Sable,” he muttered. “I want us to be closer. You never really talk about yourself and I want to know more about you. I figured doing this would help us. I’ll be answering the same questions as you and if it ever gets too personal, we can skip it. You don't have too; I won't make you, but please think about it.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked between him and her discarded computer. “Fine,” she stated firmly after some thoughts flickered back to the hospital. “Only a few.”“Deal! Ok, let's start simple… how about; what's your favourite food?” She rolled her eyes, “you are already aware of my love of Eddie’s pizza. However, that is only my favourite American food. Back home we had many festival foods I enjoyed. Celebrations did not happen often, therefore, they were cherished when happening. And yours is?” “Wheatcakes. My aunts wheat cakes specifically. Or hotdogs. Good ol’ New York hotdogs, can’t go wrong. Okay, now you ask one.” She sat back in a more relaxed position as she thought. “What is the worst injury you have ever received?” Peter laughed, “that's a hard one! Oh man, I’ve had so many bad ones being Spiderman. Out of all that's ever happened to me, I think I’d have to go with this time when I was 18. It was the night of prom and MJ and I were in the car; she was driving, when a truck hit the back of the car. Now I think I should specify, it hit the back of her dads brands new Lincoln from above. It had been picked up and thrown by our good friend Rhino.“I, of course, made sure MJ was safe. We were thrown pretty far from the force and honestly, I don't really know what happened. So once I got MJ out of the car and somewhere safe, I got changed and fought Rhino. He crushed me with a car and put his horn right through my side. I’ll spare you the gruesome details but that was a very mandatory hospital visit with a 1 in 20 chance of my recovery; well at least for a normal human. Thank God for superpowers, boosting my chances huh?” “How did they not discover you were Spiderman?” “We lied and said the injury was from the car accident and I went to the hospital as Peter Parker instead of Spiderman. It was a crazy night. That was probably the worst only because of timing. Any other day that would have definitely hurt my ego and left me bedridden for a while but I wouldn't have been too concerned. I just really wanted one night to be a teenager while it lasted.”She nodded, “yes, I understand that sentiment.”“It’s okay though. Two days later, a bunch of my friends surprised me in the hospital with our own mini prom. Even an acquaintance named Flash came to make sure I was okay. It was actually pretty nice. It just hurt. How about you?”Sable thought for a few moments, occasionally looking down at the casts on her arms. “I have had many horrific injuries in my past, this being the most uncomfortable. The worst; however, would have to be when I was sixteen. I was training with my father; he was upset by my lack of improvement since the last time we had trained together. He could always knock me down. It enraged us both.”“I guess you get that attitude from him then, huh? Not that that’s a bad thing! It's not a bad thing!”“Yes,” she agreed, less angry than Peter had expected. “I did get it from him. Thankfully that is one of the only things he and I have in common.”“Right,” Peter trailed off, scared to strike a nerve. “That is not important. Our anger flared out of control and the fight became more difficult. An overabundance of emotion can present your vulnerabilities easier. I found his, just as easily as he did mine. In our blind rage, we injured each other. I received a very severe stab wound to my abdomen after I had put a metal rod right through his cheeks; taking a few teeth out with it.” She stopped to smirk a little as she remembered until her mood soured. “I disarmed, while he did not care about the possibility of death.”“And what happened? I mean you’re obviously still alive; unless I’ve been speaking to a ghost this whole time, but still.”“I was rushed to our medical center once he realized what he had done. It was the smallest injury I had ever received, yet it took the longest, most painful recovery process to heal from.”“I’m sorry to hear about that, Sable. That must have been really awful, especially at sixteen. Your dad sounds kind of scary.”“He is. And he, unfortunately, is still alive. We have had our disputes over the years; that did not bother me for he was a good king at the very least. However; he very recently started the civil war in our country and turned many of my people against me, while my men fight against him.”Peter suddenly went pale, “oh my god, I totally forgot you were a princess.”“It’s an unimportant title when I am the CEO of Sable International.”Peter lowered his voice to a whisper, “I kissed a princess.”“Excuse me?” She eyed him suspiciously.“Nothing! Nothing! Okay, new question. My turn. How about, if you could do anything you wanted for a day, anything at all, what would it be?”“I rather enjoy reading when I have the time. I would most likely read an entire day if I had the availability.”“That sounds really nice. I would probably go on a mini-vacation. I don’t want to leave New York without it’s Spidey, but sometimes I just want to get away. I’ve never seen anything out of the city. I don’t think I’ve ever been out of the city at all actually. I could never afford to go on school trips when I was younger so, not a lot of chances to get out of here.”“Perhaps I can show you Symkaria one day. Someday when the war is over.”Peter smiled genuinely, “that would be great! I’d love to see it.”“What is the best thing about your job?” she continued, suddenly realizing how interested she had become in their little game. “Spiderman or otherwise." Peter gleefully took a few more bites of lasagna as he thought, "okay, the best thing about being a scientist is getting to see an idea go from just a thought to an actual, working piece of machinery. Getting to be creative and watch as nothing becomes something is so satisfying."He leaned back on his elbows around the middle of the bed, with his legs hanging gently off the bottom edge of the bed. "Spidey; though, his favourite part of the job is helping people. No job is too big or too small. Though he prefers the smaller jobs. Getting a kitty out of a tree or stopping a mugging is a lot more fun than a rampaging rhino man or a man with metal arms trying to kill him after betraying his trust; but any time he gets to help someone, he feels accomplished.”She settled back into a more comfortable position as well, causing him to readjust himself, with his head falling gently to a resting position on the side of her leg. Not quite her lap. “Do you enjoy the glory?” she asked as if she hadn't noticed. “It’s nice sometimes. I don’t want to sound full of myself, but it is nice to hear that people like me. I really like hearing that people appreciate what I’m doing. Even when I mess up really bad.”Her hand; even with the difficulty of the cast in her way, dropped to Peters' hair. She hadn't even realized she had done it. “That is not selfish. You risk your life and have sacrificed a normal life for these people. It is not wrong to ask for their appreciation.”“So what’s your favourite thing? What keeps you working?” Peter’s breathing became very soft as his eyes closed. He was listening intently; she could tell, but his eyelids seemed to have become too heavy to keep open.“I enjoy the excitement of winning a good fight and seeing something be rebuilt. We have saved villages, liberated slaves, fought vicious dictators, and much more. Winning against an enemy like that is extremely satisfying.”“You know, Sable; and please don't kill me for this, you’re really soft when you want to be. It's nice to see that you’re more than just angry all the time.”“It is nice; I agree. I have to around my men to keep them in line. It is very nice to have someone I do not have to worry about.”“I’m honoured. It is pretty cool to see you handle not only yourself but your whole company but I do miss your smile when it's gone. Now that I’ve actually seen it of course.”She smiled as he finished his sentence even though he couldn't see it. “You are a soft man as well. I enjoy that. A man with a conscience and the wish to save people. All people, without bias.”“Is-is that what you don’t like about working? Is there anything you hate about your job?”“I dislike many things about my job but if I had to pick, it would be the destruction. We are not always careful. I do believe you remember how we handled Devils Breath.”“What do you mean, ‘handled?’” he opened one eye to look at her. “I did everything while you guys were detaining civilians and trying to kill me while actual supervillains terrorized the city.”Sable rolled her eyes, “do not remind me. We were clouded with anger and poor judgement. I am better now. I have learned.”“Hey, that’s a good thing. Making mistakes is a part of life; but as long as you learn from them, then you’re getting better every time.” Peter moved closer to keep himself from sliding off the edge of the bed.“And you? What is the worst part of being Spiderman?”She expected some thought. For him to stop to think about it for a moment; or possibly, to weigh different options out loud. Instead, one word shot out of his mouth with vicious ferocity, “death.”“Death?” “There’s so much death, all the time. My aunt and uncle, Miles’s dad, civilians. So much, all the time. I know it’s not my fault and I don’t blame myself when it happens.” He sighed, “I just hate being around it all the time.”“It must be very hard for you.”“It gets difficult sometimes.”Sable nodded, “remember, you are doing a wonderful job.”“Thanks.” He sighed, “do you want to keep going? I hate to ruin the fun but I just realized how tired I am. Mind if I stay here tonight?” “As am I. You may stay.” “If you need anything; anything at all, just yell.”“I will.” Peter left to head down to the couch. “Wait! I cannot turn off my laptop! I do not want to watch this odd green monstrosity!”Peters laugh could be heard down the stairs.
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Sable was standing in front of a full-body mirror, stretching her legs and working through some physical therapy exercises the doctors had encouraged her to try now that a few weeks had passed. Peter was relaxing; scrolling through his social media page while he swung gently in the web hammock he had woven and stuck to the ceiling in the corner of her room. He was humming along to the song in his head as he occasionally glanced over to her. "You're doing great, Sable. Soon enough, you'll really be back on your feet, kicking my butt all over again." "I could do that now if I truly wished." "Fair point." He sniffed the air, suddenly catching a whiff of something not very pleasant. "Woah, is that me?" He sniffed his shirt, "oh, yeah, that's me. You mind if I have a shower here? And maybe do some laundry? I have like three shirts in total." "I do not have laundry here. I have facilities to do that on my base as well as a coin laundry down the road." "Dammit. I hate laundromats. I can't wash my suit there, plus I never carry change around. Maybe," his voice suddenly trailed off. When Sable looked in his direction he seemed on edge; staring blankly at the ceiling. "Maybe?" she hoped to draw his attention but it didn't work. He just sat there staring, deep in thought about something or other. She turned back to her exercises knowing that he would talk when he's ready. What she didn't expect was the quiet sniffle that was stifled behind her. "Are you alright?" "Sorry," he sniffled again. "I just-I just thought for a second that I could go to my aunts' house. It was like she was still alive. But then I remembered that she's gone." "Come here," she said softly but firmly. He listened to her command and jumped down; tears now falling down his cheeks. "Sit," she nodded towards the bed. Again, he obliged and took a seat beside her. He wouldn't look at her; obviously trying to hide in plain sight so she couldn't see him fight a losing battle of holding back his tears. Once they started, they just didn't stop. They got heavier as sniffles turned to sobs and his mind couldn't stop thinking about May. "I miss her, Sable." "I see that. Did you ever take some time away to grieve?" "I can't take time off. New York needs Spiderman." "Nonsense." Carefully she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer so that his head was just under her chin. "They need you, that is true, but you do not need to wait on them and their every beck and call. You are allowed to take some time for yourself. Especially when you are mourning someone you love.""If anything ever happened and I wasn't there so stop it-" "It would not be your fault.""Yeah, it would." "It would not. You did not pull the trigger, or steal the money. You are not at fault for what others do. You cannot be everywhere, all the time. Perhaps it would be a good idea to go to your aunts' house. You could retrieve some of your personal items and if necessary; grieve." "I can't. I-I can't go back to that place. Not alone." "Then I will go with you. Help me dress." She jumped to her feet, groaning a little at the sudden weight on her legs. Peter fell to his side on the bed because of her absence. "What? I never agreed to that." "Well, I did." She turned to smirk at him. “And I make the rules.”That smirk stunned him. “Y-Yes ma’am.”He helped her change out of her pyjamas: and after a fair amount of persuasion, got her into something not tight and more comfortable to wear around the casts. She didn't have much apart from her usual leather jumpsuit, so a sweater borrowed from the pile of Peter's mismatched clothing and some black pants would have to do. She agreed to take the bus with him on the condition that he would find a hat that hid her face from the public. It took a while for him to find something to work, including a quick run to a nearby gift shop, but he eventually found something suitable. Getting her on the bus; rocking a dirty sweater and a New York Knicks cap, was an interesting endeavour. Her demeanour changed significantly and Peter had a feeling that it was all an act for some reason. She was hiding her face and leaning into him. "You okay?" "Fine," she barked into his chest. She coughed a little, "you are disgusting." "I tried to warn you, Sa-" She kicked his leg. "Do not say my name in public," she whispered. "I have made many enemies here and they cannot know that I am wounded." "So you're just going to press against me this whole time?" "Do not say it like that. You make it sound sexual." He chuckled, "okay fine, but I don't see how this isn't drawing attention to yourself." "Pretending to be a couple doing 'romantic' or otherwise affectionate things acts as perfect camouflage. It's normal enough that people see it everywhere and will not be concerned; however, no one wants to be the one staring so they will not look or pay the couple any mind.""That's," he thought about it. "Actually genius. Okay then, babe." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.She grumbled her response in her native language mixed with a few English words. He only managed to catch a small bit of her sentence where she mumbled, "smell really bad." "I know. I'm sorry." The rest of the bus ride was quiet. Thankfully no major crimes in sight that made him rush off to save the day. It did make him a little uncomfortable to know that he was more than likely missing something, but staring down at Sable who was trying to hide her face behind her wall of hair and brim of her hat, made it just a little easier to relax. They got off the bus and took the very short walk to Mays front door; where Peter stopped dead in his tracks. "I," he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't think I can do this. May should be here or at F.E.A.S.T. It shouldn't be so… empty.”She pushed him forward. “Go. The longer you put it off; the more difficult it will be. She would not want you to be upset. Your aunt may not be here anymore, but I am sure she would want you to be able to come home with or without her.” “That’s a nice way to look at it.” He took a deep breath and walked up to the front door; holding the air in his lungs as long as he could. As if he was in slow motion, he took the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door feeling like years had passed. Finally exhaling; he threw the door open; trying for the same enthusiasm he used to have. The house looked just the same as the last time he saw it. The couch was just as soft and plush as it always had been, the usual clutter of a life well-lived, and of course, the stuff he had left behind. It was strange to see. He hadn't expected anything else, yet it felt wrong to see. Sable came up behind him and pushed him inside. His feet moved easily as if the steps were voluntary. The door was shut behind him and it was made official. He was back home. Another deep breath allowed the scent of the room to enter his system. Years of wheat cakes and pies mixed with his old, forgotten, experiments gone wrong. A few stains on the ceiling being the only souvenir of them. It was all so overwhelming. His hands traced the edges of the furniture as he walked around them, and a few times he stopped to pick an item or two up. A single picture stood out to him on the ledge of the faux-fireplace. Him, Ben, and May all building a lego set together. He couldn't remember anything about that day. Who took the picture, what they were building, or even how old he was. He looked to be about eight, but who knew? Those big, bulky glasses of his were almost falling right off the end of his nose and into the bowl of stray pieces. He looked so happy. He felt Sables sudden imposing presence behind him. He smiles over his shoulder at her and laughed. "I was a dork wasn't I?" he asked, holding up the picture so she could see."You were," she agreed with a hint of a laugh. "Still are; however, in different ways. I like your glasses." "Oh, you do? Yeah right. I still have them and if you saw them on me now, I doubt you'd ever talk to me again." "We will see about that. Come, show me around." "Okay," he dropped the picture back in its place and gestured around the room. "This is the first floor. Pretty much just a living room and kitchen. We did have a separate dining room at one time but May wanted a more modern look and I messed up bad enough that the whole wall came down… and almost the top floor." He laughed, "looking back on it; I don't know how I never figured out that she knew I was Spiderman. I mean… most people couldn't hold that up on their own. Man, I'm so careless." "Again, I agree. You are very careless." "It's just my charm. Okay, let's go upstairs. You okay to climb them on your own? Or are you too sore?" "I will make it," she huffed, climbing the first few steps. "When we get up there you should sit down. You can rest on my bed. It's clean, I promise." "Which room?" her voice was trying to hide her struggle."First on the right." Sable pushed the door open slowly, as not to hurt her arms and was met with exactly what she expected. The room was a mess. Not dirty, just cluttered. Piles of lab equipment and discarded tech alongside various posters of superheroes and science conventions or years past. Behind a few dozen sticky notes with forgotten reminders, was a mirror so broken, it was useless. She pulled one free. "'Buy milk. Seriously buy milk.' It appears you haven't learned much since you were young.”“Yeah,” Peter sighed, leaning against the doorframe. “I never really matured out of highschool. I just got older.” He hummed a song as his eyes combed the room. “I’ve missed all of this stuff. I was such a nerd." "Show me your glasses. I want to see them." "Alright, fine," he began shuffling through some boxes in his closet. "If you're prepared for it. You better not laugh. You better not, or else." "Or else what?" "I'll tell every single one of your men that you're secretly really nice and your reputation will be ruined." "They will never believe you." "Oh, they will. I'm very persuasive." She raised an eyebrow. "It took me only two verbal attempts to bring you here and one light push forward. I do not think you are the persuasive one." "That's different. I can be persuasive and a pushover.”“No, you cant.”“Well, that’s your opinion.” After a moment, he pulled a pair of dirty, black, thick-rimmed glasses out of a shoebox full of notebooks, papers, and other miscellaneous items. He swept his hair back and placed the glasses on. “Wow, my eyes were way worse than I remember! How did I see through these?” He fluffed his hair a little more as he fixed the glasses; blinking often as if that would help. “Well? How do I look?”Sable's face went through an entire array of emotions in a few split seconds and she began speaking in Symkarian. She almost sounded angry at first and then continued in something more akin to a pleased tone. Peter just stood there, feeling awkward as she continued. He hoped desperately that she wasn’t expecting him to respond. “So, what do you think?”“Is that a sweater vest in your closet?”“Oh, yeah,” he blushed. “I used to wear it to things like dates and special events.”“Wear that too. I want to see what you looked like as a teenager.”Peter shrugged. “Okay, but if we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.” He grabbed a couple of items out of the closet and stepped into the hallway; closing the door behind him. He shuffled around, trying to change as fast as possible. “Oh my god, I was so tiny.
I forgot I grew and gained muscle after the bite. This is not what I used to look like.” When he stepped into the room, Sable was lying on his bed, looking around at his various knickknacks until her eyes settle back on him. A smile flickered on her face before she bit her bottom lip. Her voice was more melodic than when she usually spoke, “you are incredibly attractive, Peter. I admire your strength and morality; however, there is something to be said about your appearance. I did not expect to see your face; finally unmasked all those months ago, just to see this incredibly innocent and childish face.”“Sable-”“You looked exactly how I expected and yet, not at all,” she continued. “It did not matter at the time. I barely considered you an ally, let alone anything resembling an acquaintance. I believe over this last little while, that has changed. I believe you would agree?”He blinked a few times and took off his glasses. “Sable, I-I’m not sure I know what you mean.”She sighed and stood up; walking straight up to him. Not with the usual, forceful strut, but rather a swift one. “I am aware that you have some sort of attraction to me as well.”“As well? Does that mean that you?”“I like you, Peter Parker. However you say it in your language, is irrelevant. I have enjoyed you staying with me and fighting alongside one another, and your stupid little games, and references to pop culture that I do not understand.”“And that kiss?”“The kiss as well.” She shook her head slightly as she looked away. “I never expected to find someone I could ever see as a romantic partner, yet you have made an exceptional impression on me. Despite all of my flaws, and all I have done-” “You’re right,” he smiled that dorky half-smile of his. “I do like you, and I’m honestly so glad you do because I was scared to say anything. I never thought you’d feel the same.”“I do.”“In that case, I have one more question that I wanted to ask a little earlier when we played that game. Can I kiss you again?”She pulled him down into a kiss. Pain jolted through her from her arms, but she ignored it, only caring about the intimacy she hadn't realized she had missed. He pulled her in close, allowing the time to pass unnoticed and completely disregarded.“He broke away from her for only a second to ask, “does this mean we’re dating now?”“Only if you promise to wear your glasses more often. You are the most adorable man I have ever seen.”“I can definitely do that.”She pulled him back in for a deep kiss.
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It was sometime around six in the morning when Peter slowly opened his eyes. As he blinked, the room came into focus and the only things noticeably different about his childhood bedroom was him, and the person next to him. He wasn't sure when he and Sable had fallen asleep, but that didn't matter. She looked so peaceful when she slept. Her features were soft and expressionless. Her hair fell at odd angles. She was so beautiful. She was always so beautiful. His breathing unintentionally slowed to match hers while he fixated on her face, taking in every detail. Every curve and line of a hard life. He hadn't looked in a mirror lately but he was sure he shared a few worry lines with her. Youth only helps so much when your life is stressful. He wasn't sure how they had gotten to this point. Even when they began working together, he could have sworn she still hated him and yet; there he was, lying inches away from her as she rested peacefully. She felt safe enough around him to do so. She trusted him. She had kissed him. She really liked him. If he was being honest with himself, he trusted her too, and hiding how much he admired her was no small feat. When he looked back on it, MJ might have been right. He had always enjoyed working with Sable and after she helped bring him to F.E.A S.T he did feel something inside of him change a little. He always had faith in her but that moment proved it. His mind wandered more, thinking about all the time they spent together since then. All the times she smiled, the times he made her laugh, how her aggression turned softer and more playful. Slowly, he pulled himself closer; mindful of her arms and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.She smiled slightly but her eyes never opened. "Did I give you permission to kiss me?" she mumbled in a soft tone. "Oh," Peter blushed. "I didn't know you were awake. Sorry." "It is fine. It was nice. Good morning." "Morning. I can't believe we actually fell asleep here." "You fell asleep mid-story. You need to tell me the ending." Peters’ eyes lit up, "about me and Vulture, right? Where did I leave off?" "Colexico roof." "The Colexico rooftop! Right okay so the Colexico building was just being built and there were lots of open areas with no wall. Mostly it was just the metal framework at that point. Plus it was a lot of dangerous stuff. So of course Vulture was keen on fighting me there. He was mad at me for, who knows what at that point, and he knocked me right into one of the poles. Well, I had just gotten out of a cast that Tombstone had put me in, plus I was going through some serious sensory overload because I wasn't very used to my powers and it was just so loud. "Anyway he throws me into the thing and I feel a rib crack and I 100% re-fractured my knee. It sucks. He says something like 'how'd that feel, bug,' and I just said, 'better than you're about to feel,' trying to sound all badass. Do you know what he does? He laughs. Not like an evil laugh, he laughed like for real. You know why?" He looked down at her, expecting some sort of answer. When none came, he continued as if he hadn't stopped. "He laughed because my voice went super high and he thought I sounded funny. I was like sixteen at the time, okay? My awkward teen years had basically just started. And he still brings it up once a while! The great voice crack of 2011 I guess. "Not the best teenage moment but certainly not the worst. What were you like as a teenager?" "That was many years ago." "You're only thirty-something." "Thirty-six." "See? Not that long ago." "I suppose. I was not very different. If not a little bit angrier." "Yikes, I wouldn't want to see that. Teenage angst is the worst." "Does my age bother you? Being thirteen years older?" "Why would that bother me?" "Some people find issues with an age gap of that size. If we are in a relationship, I do not want you to be uncomfortable by an age difference." He put his arm out and she moved closer into his chest. Softly he whispered in her ear, "if it bothered me, I wouldn't be here right now." "Good. There are benefits to dating an older woman that you would miss out on, otherwise." "Is that so? Like what?" "I am far more experienced in many things." "Good. Can you do my taxes because I have no- oh I just got what you probably meant. Oh, you're dirty sometimes." He couldn't help but smirk. "You have only just begun to see this side of me." "That's exciting. Can I kiss you now?" "You may." He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to the same spot on her forehead. When he moved back, her eyes were finally open, tracing his movements as he went. A small smile on her lips as she said, “that is much better.”“I agree.”