Light & Shadow

Chapter 11

I try not to think about it, but I can't stop. My mind keeps going back to everything Beck did, trying to add it all up. The reason I can't stop is no matter how hard I try, there's still so much that doesn't make sense.

I can't understand how Beck managed to pull it off—even with a team of bitter geniuses behind him. There's the issue of funding. It must have taken at least a couple million to pull that off, and he and his whole team collectively wouldn't have been able to afford it, which means there's someone bigger behind it— providing funds and support to the vendetta and the destruction it was bound to cause.

The thought has been keeping me up at night for the past few weeks here, and I can tell it's starting to make Peter worry about me more. Not that I can blame him. But I can't stop worrying that maybe this is all happening because of the same people. If that's the case, then this web is more tangled than I could have imagined.

"Hey," Peter waves a hand in front of my face, "you okay?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"How hilarious it's gonna be when you 'talk' with Happy and May." I tease and burst into giggles at the thought of it. "When's he supposed to be here anyway?"

"Like ten minutes I think?" He shrugs as he rummages through his pile of clean clothes. "Have you seen my—"

"Suit? It's in the dryer." I lean back against the wall, "May said she threw it in with your—" I bite my lip to hold back the laughter, "your Spiderman underwear."

Peter turns a hundred shades of red at the comment. "You know she got me those as a joke for Christmas."

"I know, but it's so cute when you blush." I tell him, and Peter shakes and presses a quick kiss to my lips. "What was that for?"

"Because you always smile after I kiss you, and it's cute."

I gently smack his head with a pillow. "Go get dressed, hot stuff."

A lazy grin tugs at my lips as he walks out, suit in hand and a goofy smile on his face. It's strange to think it's been close to a month of this beautiful quiet—of being home. I want to believe this is how I can be for a while, but I can't stop waiting for the other shoe to drop any day now.

After all, how could I be so lucky that I could see Mum and Peter without risking their lives and to be able to sleep without worrying about perimeter alarms tripping or someone sneaking in to kill me. The Reaper is famed for always getting their mark, and I doubt they'd want to lose their reputation over me.

I get pulled from my thoughts by a knock on the door. There's still that split second where my heartbeat goes wild before I remember it's just Happy. I hold Peter's pillow to my chest and pause to let the adults have a moment. It's been nice to see the difference in the pair of them. There's an ease—a happiness—to the pair.

No matter how much Peter acts like it worries him, I know he's secretly happy for them. We've talked about it late at night after May's gone to sleep along with a million other things since we hardly sleep ourselves anymore. He told me how nice it is to see her like this again, and I can't disagree. I've known Happy for most of my life now, and this is the first time I've seen him so bright and well—happy.

I head out into the living room once Happy and May have had their moment. "Hey, kiddo." Happy greets as I walk in. "How you doing?"

"A little better every day, I suppose." I respond with a shrug and fiddle with the sleeves of Peter's hoodie. "How are you and everyone else doing?"

"They're doing good. Still miss you."

"That will change once this is all over." I reply and find a seat on the couch. "Peter should be ready in a minute. He got distracted like usual."

"I didn't get distracted." He argues as he joins us. "I just lost track of time."

"And that's different how?" I question with a teasing grin that makes Peter shake his head as he sits down next to me. "Oh, right. You can't blame it on me this time. Because I told you seven times, if I remember correctly, that you were gonna be late."

"Yeah, yeah." He retorts and rolls his eyes.

"So," Happy interrupts, "what did you wanna talk about?"

Peter's face quickly turns serious as he motions for Happy and May to sit down. "Well, I've been thinking. Being Spiderman has come with a lot of complications and responsibilities, which hasn't been easy. I've kept my identity pretty guarded this past couple years. I faced a lot of deception, and I'm tired of the lies. So it's time for the truth to be out there." He pauses as his face turns even more serious. "Are you dating?"

Both of them respond at the exact same time. Happy with a sigh of relief and a 'yes.' May, on the other hand, a simple shrug as she says, "Not really."

I shrink into the couch and mumble to Peter, "Well this just got a thousand times more awkward."

Happy's attention immediately snaps to her, eyes wide in panic as he asks, "What?"

"Well," May pauses, "it was a summer fling."

"Yes," Happy affirms as Peter and I look between them, "that evolves and grows like any other."

"I still don't know where it's going." She tells us with a shrug, and the pair of them keep talking to us instead of each other.

"I'm open to wherever it might lead."

"On or off—" May adds.

"To share it with people—"

"But we'll be friends no matter what." She finishes her sentence, and I nudge Peter's arm in the hopes he'll get the message to get us out of here.

"Okay, well," Peter talks over them as he grabs my hand, "we gotta go, because we've got a date."

I start tugging him out of the room since it looks like neither of them are anywhere near to finishing the awkward explanation on their 'relationship.' "Bye!" Once we're back in Peter's room, I shut the door and stare at him with wide eyes. "What just happened?"

"I'm not sure I wanna know."

"Then why did you ask in the first place?!" I question though a fit of laughter. "That was worse than when my Dad tried to give me the talk." Peter suddenly bursts into laughter. "Trust me, babe, it was not funny at the time."

"I'm sorry, I just keep trying to imagine it." He manages to collect himself after a moment and wraps his arms around my waist. "But hey, at least, this time, you had me to rescue you."

"My hero." I grin and offer him a quick kiss. "Now, can you, please, go on patrol so you won't be late bringing home food for our first official date?"

"Okay, okay. I'm going." He says but doesn't make any effort to actually move away before he leans into kiss me. "I promise I won't be late, and I'll see you later."

"You better, and stay safe. I don't wanna have to patch you up as part of the date."

"Yes, m'lady." He salutes as he pulls down his make and heads out. I watch him go with a smile and wonder how things manage to be somewhat okay despite everything. Yet, there's still that nagging in the back of my mind.

It's about an hour later that I realize why. All it takes is ARTI saying, "Lia, one of your keyword alerts is about to get a major hit."

"Pull it up." I say and feel that nagging feeling suddenly snap to the forefront of my mind.

Because ready to be splashed across the main page of the Daily Bugle is the headline, "Spiderman exposed: a villain in disguise." The article discusses a video that Mysterio made when he was 'dying' that frames Peter for the attacks across Europe and in London—worse yet, he exposes Peter's identity.

"ARTI? Send him an sos and get him home, now."