The Afterglow

Chapter 18; Repercussions

Heaving a sigh, Gwen rolled onto her back and grit her teeth as another chorus of loud snores vibrated through the mattress from Peter, who'd been sleeping soundly through the night. She hadn't a clue how long it had been going on, but it's all she'd heard since waking up for the bathroom two hours ago and while it had been funny and cute for a good moment, it was nothing more than an annoying noise keeping her awake now.

“PETER!”

Her voice was loud. At least, she thought it was. But with the deep sleep that Peter remained in, it seemed she could put her lips to his ear and scream his name and he still wouldn't stir. She had already given up on getting any more sleep, though if she had to lay there listening to what she thought sounded like a mix between a chainsaw and a squealing pig, it would drive her crazy. With little patience left, she sat up, rubbing her eyes clear as she tried to think of a way to wake him. Another loud snore tore through the otherwise peaceful room, and she drew in a breath, grabbed the pillow behind her and raised it high in the air. When another snore came, she brought it down, waking him up with the pillow to his face and putting an end to the snoring.

Peter batted the pillow away and propped himself up on his elbows, bleary-eyed and barely focused. “A simple good morning would have been enough.” He said teasingly.

“Not when I've been awake for the past two hours listening to you sound like a dying pig trying to mate with a fog horn!”

“Huh…” He nodded, unable to hold his laughter. “Interesting choice of comparison.”

“It is not funny.”

“Never said it was.” Despite his words, he couldn't kill his laughter. “Sorry?” He offered with a shrug.

Leaning back against the headboard, Gwen folded her arms across her chest and the scowl never left her face. Instead, she made it a mission to glare at him until he was no longer in hysterics.

“Oookay. Let me think…” He hummed, his face now red. “Good morning? I love you? You look nice? Are any of those an acceptable apology?”

“No.”

“Alright. How about breakfast?”

“What breakfast?”

“Waffles or pancakes or maybe bacon or-”

“Bacon and waffles smothered in peanut butter and chocolate with milk.”

“Yuck. I don't think that's a good combo.”

“Peter?” She arched an eyebrow.

“Okay.” He agreed. “Let me go start making it and you can join me downstairs when you're ready.”

With that being said, he threw back the covers, swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his arms out in front of him before standing up. Gwen watched him with eagle eyes as he made his way to the door and opened it, causing it to creak.

“Stop!” She yelled.

“What now?”

“You opened the door wrong!”

“Uhhh, I didn't realize there was a wrong way to open a door.”

“Close it and open it again.” She demanded.

“Bu- but-”

“Just do it!”

Peter swallowed whatever joke was rising in his throat and begrudgingly closed the door only to open it again and have it creak the exact same way that he did before. Before she could ask him to close and open it again, he disappeared out into the hall as quickly as he could. He'd thought the day before had been long, but he had a feeling that today might just be longer. As he reached the kitchen, his mind wandered back to Venom and the Lizard and the mountain of problems that needed solving. Time ticked by too fast, and each day it was the little things that added to the pressure to put an end to the feud with Venom. He refused to allow his son to be born and raised into a war zone.