The Afterglow

Chapter 12; Blinding Anger

Watching as Gwen hobbled through the front door, supported by crutches, Peter sighed and followed her indoors. It had been a long night for them both, and though he had been hiding it, his anger had not disappeared or even lessened. If anything, it had increased after the hospital trip. He had been fighting the part of him that wanted to leave and find Venom all night, and still was. But as long as she was awake, she wouldn't let him leave. Closing the door behind him, he followed her  into the front room and sat down next to her on the couch. Like most times before, he had no idea what to say, and instead of trying, he wrapped his arm around her. Only then did he find the right words.

"I'm sorry, Gwen." He started. "You were right, and I should have listened to you. I should have known better than to believe that this could ever be over."

"It's okay, Peter. I'm not upset with you. If anything, I'm just glad that they didn't achieve what they set out to do."

"Me too." He said with a small smile.

"A broken foot will heal, but I don't even wanna think about how much worse it could have been." She added, closing her burning eyes.

"Well, they won't be getting another chance. I'm gonna end this before they do."

"Not this again." She sighed. "You aren't going to end this, Peter. We are going to end it."

"Sorry, but no. Not this time." He refused. "It's just not a risk that I'm willing to take. This is one battle that I need to fight on my own."

"Please, don't start this again. I don't have it in me to argue with you over it."

"Good… because you're not supposed to."

"So, what? I'm just supposed to chill and be okay with you walking alone into a fight that you might not come out of?"

"I didn't say you had to be okay with it, just that you have to understand it." He shrugged.

"Wow." She scoffed. "Of all the things, I'd have thought that it's obvious I do understand and that is not what I'm getting at when I tell you I'm not okay with what you're trying to do!"

"Y- you're upset, and I get it. With everything going on and hormones and-"

"No!" She cut in. "That is not what this is."

"Don't you think you're overreacting? If I can go and deal with them then this nightmare will be over, and we can finally be free."

"Or you get yourself killed because you acted on emotion rather than rationally." She added. "And no, I don't think I'm overreacting."

"I just think…" He sighed. "I don't know, I just think that if it weren't for the heightened emotions that you would see things as they are."

Gwen's eyes widened before she frowned. "Okay now… now I'm upset with you."

"What? Why?" He questioned.

"Because you're not taking my feelings seriously, you're not listening to my concerns and no matter how I'm wording it, you still aren't getting it."

Peter stared blankly at the window, not knowing what to say without upsetting her further. He wasn't willing to back down, but he didn't want to argue either.

"Look, let's not dwell on it at the moment. I don't want to upset you. That's not my intention, maybe we should discuss it later when we're not sleep deprived and are able to think straight." He suggested.

"If I didn't need those damn crutches, I'd have walked out of this room already… but I don't have the energy." She admitted.

"You need to rest."