Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

93. Gone

Before Stephen can interfere, Peter throws his head back and downs the vial in one go. The experience makes him squeeze both his eyes and his mouth shut and he shuffles in his place as he tries not to throw up.
"Kid!" Tony takes a step towards Peter, who stumbles backwards with the vial clutched in his hand. When he finally manages to swallow, he opens his mouth, sticking out his tongue in disgust.
"That's- That was horrible!" His voice goes up a few octaves.
"Of course, it is. Potions always taste terrible." Loki rolls his eyes. Peter's eye twitches and his head immediately shoots to the elevator. "Don't go looking for her straight away, boy. It needs time to take effect. Give it an hour." Peter pants and stretches his back while whining, realizing there are two more vials like this one that he has to take in the upcoming months. His tongue swirls around in his mouth, hoping the strange aftertaste will disappear soon.

"So," Sam says quickly as he raises his eyebrows, trying to make light of the situation. "What's it taste like?" Peter's head turns to look at Sam and he frowns. Trying to figure out the flavors that ache his insides.
"There's something metallic about it. That's- that's probably the blood," he breathes out. Peter licks his lips and softly bites down on his tongue. "And it's... It's really  sweet. Like, the kind that hurts your mouth." Stephen folds his arms and clears his throat.
"That's probably the Varana, right?" He eyes Loki with one raised eyebrow. Loki looks down at his feet with his hands behind his back, ultimately unable to hide his wide grin.
"That..." He looks up at Peter and cocks his head. "And also the sweetness that is your girlfriend- alright, got to go!" Before anyone can scold Loki for his inappropriate comment, the sorcerer disappears.

After an awkward silence, Tony claps his hands once. Loud enough to startle everyone.
"Alright, so Daphne's apparently somewhere in Central Park, which means I gotta get back to damage control. Need to arrange a press conference to get the eyes on me." Peter nods slightly, still letting his tongue lick the insides of his mouth. The horrid taste is everywhere.
"I'll stay with Peter." Stephen appears next to the young superhero, who looks up at him surprised.
"To be honest," Bruce butts in. "I think it's better to have someone stick with Peter who's not affected by Daphne. At all." All heads turn to Sam and Natasha. Sam presses his lips on top of each other and Natasha glances him, knowing he doesn't want to be on babysit duty. She rolls her eyes and steps forward.
"I'll take him."

...

Daphne looks at her hands. Her legs are crossed under the bench she's sitting on. It's incredibly cold. And she's impossibly nervous. Peter should be here soon and she has no idea what's going to happen. How he's going to feel. About her. The possibility that he doesn't love her anymore is frightening. It would mean she has stolen his time, be it unknowingly. Daphne hopes with all hear heart that nothing will have changed. That Peter still loves her. Still cares for her. That he will kiss her like nothing has changed. She shouldn't hope, though, she knows. It could only result in greater disappointment.

Daphne's clothes are everything but earthly, but it's all Loki could conjure up at the time of their arrival. Daphne would be lying if she said she didn't like the clothes Ravir had for her, but they wouldn't keep her warm here. Loki hated seeing her in the white gowns, which is probably why Ravir kept handing here those kinds of dresses. Always satins and chiffons. Always a bare back. Ravir loved to play with Daphne's hair. She would always braid it, or put it in a half up-do. Loki always ended up taking it out or telling her to just put her hair in a ponytail. The more she looked like the vision they both had before the Halloween party, the sterner Loki would be about it. Loki still doesn't know most of what happened while he was gone. Daphne never cared to explain. She doesn't know why, though. There's a good reason for her to tell him everything, but it just... Never seemed right to talk about. So, she didn't.

Peter. Peter. Peter.

His name bounces through her head like a screensaver and it's driving Daphne insane. Loki should have informed the Avengers of everything by now. Peter should be on his way here. The thought makes Daphne's stomach flip. She's going to see him again. She's going to have to look him in the eye and just accept whatever he says to her. Whatever emotions he has. She did disappear on him for over a week, worrying everyone. She deserves his anger, if he has it. Daphne takes a breath. A small cloud of condense forms in front of her mouth as she slowly lets go of it. She rubs her hands together and raises her shoulders, hiding her mouth in her scarf. Anger. She'd rather have Peter be furious with her than to not love her anymore. At least they could talk things through that way. If the feelings are gone, they're gone. Everything they've been through will have been fake. At least... From his side. Her feelings for him won't be gone. But he will be. And she's just going to have to get over him. Still, she hopes.

All the sweet things he's said to her. All the kisses and all the hugs. The late nights spent talking about their dreams and their future. How she would curl up at his side as she fell asleep on his chest, tracing the lines of his body, while he played with her hair. Daphne gasps quietly as she thinks about the pas de deux. She can still feel his hands ghost on her waist.

Peter. Peter. Pe-

Daphne perks up when she spots him, a hundred yards away, right in front of her. Natasha is with him and she has her hand on his shoulder. Daphne stands up quickly, but doesn't move forward, unsure of what to do. She should probably leave this to him. It takes a few seconds, but Peter starts moving towards Daphne without Natasha. His movements are small. Held back. Unlike him. He doesn't run for her like she expected him to and he doesn't seem to look at her at all. He's staring at the ground. Daphne's stomach sinks. She clenches her jaw and waits for him to stand a little closer to her.

When he's only a few feet away, she takes a small step forward and bends down slightly, trying to make eye contact.
"Hey," she says quietly. Peter's mouth is hidden in his coat and he doesn't reply. He does, however, finally look at her. Daphne sucks in a breath at his expression. It's dull. Vacant. "I... I understand if you're angry with me, Pete, I... I shouldn't have left like that." No response. "I'm sorry." Peter frowns slightly, not taking his eyes off her now. It's like he's studying her, looking for something. Daphne's bottom lip starts quivering and she continues:
"I- I just... I needed answers. For both of us." Daphne looks down and clenches her fist. "I learned a lot about myself and- and I wanted to help you because – fuck – I don't want you to feel like I used you. I didn't. I never meant to. I-" Daphne's rambling gets interrupted by Peter, abruptly hugging her. She doesn't hug him back straight away as she looks to the side, trying to figure out what this means. Though, deep down, she knows. It's in how he holds her. Robotic. Detached. His head is not where it usually rests on her hair. He looks forward and his hands don't roam her body like they used to.

Daphne holds back a sob.
"It's gone, isn't it?" Her voice cracks as tears start forming in her eyes. She presses her lips on top of each other. "It's gone," she whispers. Peter softly pushes her away from him until they're at an arm's length from each other. He lets go of her and still stares at her with his empty eyes. She gasps quietly and immediately breaks eye contact, looking down at the golden scars in her palms.
"I... I'm sorry," she breathes as she gently removes the golden dove pin that kept her hair half up. She looks at it one more time before taking Peter's hand and placing the pin in it. She curls his fingers around it and takes a step back. He's still staring, not saying a word. "I'm sorry," Daphne repeats. "For wasting your time." She covers her mouth with her hand and hugs herself with the other as she turns to walk away with big strides, leaving Peter there in front of the bench. Still staring ahead and quietly questioning not only everything he did the past few months, but also this new void he is feeling. Is that where Daphne used to be?

Peter's head finally turns to the direction Daphne left in and he can still see her in the distance. Her shoulders shake. Something in him wants to comfort her. But he doesn't know what to do. He feels something nudge at his leg and he looks down to see an old golden retriever sitting by his side.
"Peter?" Peter looks at where the voice comes from. Emma. "Peter, dearie, how have you been? I saw the press conference! I'm so relieved to hear Daphne's okay!" The middle-aged bakery owner claps her hands excitedly. "Oh, please do come over to the shop soon, she deserves a whole cheese cake! On the house!" Peter manages to muster up a half smile, before he looks back at Daphne's silhouette, disappearing in a crowd. His expression falters as he gives the dog a melancholic pet.
"I... I don't think we'll be coming together, Emma."