Into the Light | Peter Parker x OC

Chapter Three

Pepper held her hand the whole ride there and Adelaide was grateful. She wasn't sure if she could have done this alone.

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Endings are often seen as sad.

They bring what everyone dreads: absence. The absence of a person in your life, the absence of a feeling. Endings turn journeys into memories. And memories are bittersweet at best.

Graves might have been a terrible person most of his life, but he did the right thing in the end which made up for most of it. Without him, she wasn't sure if ever would have escaped that bunker in Siberia or HYDRA all together. Maybe she never would have met her new family. Maybe there would have been a lot more blood on her hands today.

Either way, she owed a lot to Graves.

"I'm sorry I never saw what you did to help me," she said quietly as she put his knife and picture in the casket, "You did good, Graves. I'll always owe you for saving me from what I could have been. So, thank you. For saving my life. And I'm sorry that I couldn't save yours."

She stepped back, into Tony's arms as they lowered the casket into the ground. She felt Tony hug her close from behind and rest his chin on top of her head. She inhaled the cold December air deeply.

Her eyes read the headstone.

Vadim Graves
1965 - 2016

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Peter needed advice.

Girl advice.

But he didn't really want to ask May about his girl problems which meant he wasn't left with much of a choice other than calling Ned. He had a girlfriend, didn't he? Maybe he was doing something right that Peter was missing. Even though his situation with Ada was completely different than Ned's situation with Vivian, he had really no other option than to ask Ned.

So he showed up at his best friend's house, completely unannounced. Peter stood there with his fist hovering just inches away from the front door, wondering if this was a bad idea. So he closed his eyes to reconsider.

The second he closed his eyes, he saw Ada's blue eyes smiling at him.

Peter shot open his eyes. Oh yeah. He definitely needed help. He just hoped he wasn't already a lost cause.

Taking a deep breath, Peter knocked on the door. As he waited, he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, looking around himself. There snow covering the front lawns of houses and the sidewalks. The sky was dark gray, as if it would start snowing again any minute. The temperatures were dropping without showing any signs of stopping and the weather forecasters were predicting a white New Years.

Suddenly, Ned opened the door. He was surprised to see him there. Peter's eyes traveled down to his Christmas onesie with little elves dancing on it. He bit back a laugh.

"Don't," Ned mumbled, "My mom made me wear it."

"Wasn't going to say anything," Peter shrugged, letting himself inside. Ned closed the door behind him.

"If you must know, it's very comfortable," he said. Peter hid a grin.

"Oh I'm sure," he said. Ned crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but...what are you doing here?"

Peter stared at the ground uncomfortably. He knew why he was here, but it suddenly felt impossible to put the feelings into words. He had barely been able to admit them to himself.