CHAPTER FOUR
❝ a fair deal ❞
"WHAT IF I didn't catch you?!"
The journey back to the roof was short, though it was anything but smooth. Peter continued to scold Aster as he pulled the both of them back to safety, gentle as ever as he rambled on about how dumb her decision was. Not once did his grip on her falter. Aster felt like her breathing was constricted with how tightly he was holding onto her.
Right after making sure she wasn't going to try and jump again, Peter began pacing the roof. Aster winced, suddenly realizing just how badly she scared him. "Well, I knew you were Spider-Man. So why wouldn't you have?"
"How did you know?!" Peter exasperatedly demanded, still with his back to her. His voice cracked as it rose. He ran both hands through his unruly brown hair, not even glancing at her as he went on, "A-and, you know, what if you were wrong? What if I wasn't Spider-Man? You would've just fallen to your death!"
Aster hesitated for a moment, staring down at her hands with her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. She glanced up at Peter, trying to let herself trust him. Still, her heart pounded at the thought of showing him who she was. Yet, another part of her itched to tell somebody. Somebody her own age.
Clearing her throat in hopes to gain his attention, Aster took a step closer to him and shrugged. "If you didn't catch me, then I would've caught myself."
Her words pulled a tired scoff from Peter. It was silent between them for a long moment before he quietly asked, "And how would you have done that?"
"Peter."
At the use of his name, Peter finally directed his full attention to Aster. His eyes blew wide and his lips parted in shock when he watched as cosmic energy bled from her palms, allowing her to rise into the air ever so slightly.
Aster smiled, feeling a nostalgic rush of adrenaline. She hadn't used her powers in months. Not since the airport.
"Y-you're..." Peter trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief. To Aster's surprise, he grinned, blowing out a long breath. "Holy shit!"
Landing on the roof in front of him, Aster surrounded the both of them in a flurry of energy. Sparkling blue and silver energy engulfed the two teenagers, making Peter's eyes light up as he peered around. An unfamiliar warm feeling swirled in her chest at his reaction. "That's how I knew," she told him.
Peter was left to stare at her as Aster's powers dissipated around them. He was unblinking, still with his mouth hanging wide open.
Aster tilted her head at him, reaching up and snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Webs."
"Webs," Peter breathed, pointing at her accusingly. "You called me that at the airport." He placed both hands on his head and murmured to himself, "You're Starlight. How did I not realize sooner?"
"I saw you with your mask off in Germany," Aster told him, trying to explain before his head exploded. "So when I saw you at school, I put the pieces together."
Peter's eyes softened a bit. "Oh. So you... When you helped me pick up my stuff on the first day, you already knew who I was?"
"Yup."
"So you didn't need help getting to class?"
Aster slowly shook her head. "Oh, no. I did. That's kinda why I'm doing this right now." She gestured between them, and the confusion on Peter's face doubled. "Listen," Aster sighed, trying to find the right words to say. "I know Tony hasn't called you since he asked for your help in Germany."
At the mention of his idol, Peter perked up. He opened his mouth to speak, to which Aster held up a hand to silence him. "Let me finish first." She brought her hand to her chest. "I'm not supposed to be using my powers. I didn't sign the Accords. Half of my family is running from the government right now but Secretary Ross made a deal with me. He told me that if I give up being Starlight and attend high school like someone my age should be doing, then I could live with Tony and not be considered a national fugitive." Pausing, Aster traced the air with a small string of energy. A nostalgic look crossed her face at the sight of her powers. "But I can't give up being Starlight. I feel so useless sitting around doing nothing when I can be helping people. So, I got an idea. I'll help you become an Avenger."
If even possible, Peter's eyes grew wider. Aster stared at him, waiting for him to say something, but he kept his mouth shut. "You can talk now."
Peter broke out of his stupor with a nervous laugh. "So let me get this straight. You. An Avenger. Want to help me?"
Shrugging, Aster nodded. "Technically, I'm not an Avenger right now. But yeah."
Eyeing her wearily, Peter squinted. "Um, with all due respect... What's in it for you?"
"Well, that's my next point. It's a win-win. If I show you how to get on Avenger-level badassery, then I have an excuse to get out and get a little action again. And you can help me fit in at school until I convince Ross I don't need to be there anymore." She paused for a moment, thinking back to the last time they were face-to-face like this. "Besides, I guess I kinda owe you. From when you broke my landing at the airport.
"Oh, that," Peter said, scratching the back of his neck. A hint of a smirk appeared on his face. Aster wanted to take back her words. "That was nothing."
Aster rolled her eyes, sticking out a hand for him to shake. "Okay, Mr. Humble, are you in or not?"
Before taking her hand, Peter hesitated. "Hang on, how are you gonna help me if you're not allowed to be seen as Starlight?"
She raised one eyebrow. "You underestimate me. I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent for years before I even realized I had powers. I can kick ass in my old suit without using cosmic energy. I'll have a whole new identity."
The shock was evident on Peter's face.
Aster gave him a wry smile. "Yeah, that's a conversation for later."
"Does Mr. Stark know about this?"
That made Aster shake her head. Hard. "No. And he's not going to."
Peter didn't seem all so convinced. "You said you live with him, though. Won't he notice?"
Biting her tongue, Aster shook her head. "He hasn't really been around lately," she murmured.
A look of sympathetic understanding was passed from Peter to Aster. Wanting nothing more than to shift the conversation, Aster shoved her hand out further. "So, deal?"
Finally, Peter extended his right hand toward her. But just before they could shake, Aster retracted hers a bit. "And, by the way, we don't have to do the whole 'friends' thing. This is strictly a business exchange, got it?"
Peter's face fell at her words. Just slightly. "What if we become friends along the way?"
Aster pursed her lips together and pretended to ponder his words. The hopeful smile on his face unconsciously transferred to hers. "I guess I'll think about it," she drawled, meeting his hand in the middle.
Her hand slid into his and they held eye contact as they shook on their deal. Still with Aster's hand in his, Peter cleared his throat and murmured, "Just... I know you can catch yourself but please don't jump off any more roofs."
Aster shrugged. "Can't make any promises."
Peter sent her a look, one that Aster sent him right back.
"Also," Peter added. "I have a confession to make."
"Oh no."
"One, your powers are so cool." His moment of fangirling made Aster snort. "And two..." He blushed, wincing a bit. "I already finish the chem lab."
Aster's face scrunched in a joking grimace. "Well, shit... Because I already finished it too." At the surprise on Peter's face, Aster smirked. "I learned thermodynamics when I was seven."
Peter's mouth hung open at her confession. "I... I have so many questions to ask."
"Why are you guys doing homework on the roof?"
Peter and Aster jumped apart, startled by the new voice that joined them. Both of their heads snapped over to the door, eyes going wide when they saw Ned standing there.
Aster anxiously rubbed her hands together, both because of the sudden loss of heat from Peter's hand and because of the thought of Ned overhearing them.
Instead, Ned just raised his palms into the air and made a face. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you guys. Peter texted me that you were gonna do some work and asked if I wanted to join."
Glancing to the side, Aster shot Peter a subtle wide-eyed look. Peter winced, offering her a tight-lipped smile in response.
A little warning would've been nice.
"Seriously, though. How did you not hear me open the door? Especially you, Peter. You're Spider-Man and you couldn't even—"
Ned stopped himself by slapping both hands over his mouth.
Peter groaned, tilting his head back with his eyes clamped shut. "Dude!"
Splitting his fingers so that he could talk through them, Ned's eyes flickered between the two. "Sorry!"
Aster couldn't help but laugh. She sent a skeptical look Peter's way. "So, I'm not the first to know?"
Ned's hands dropped to his chest. He grabbed at his shirt, exhaling a relieved breath. "Oh, she already knows. Wait—" The realization made him straighten up. "She already knows? You told her?!"
Placing a finger over his lips, Peter shushed his best friend. "Sh! She figured it out, okay?"
"How?"
Peter met Aster's eyes and she froze, unsure of what she wanted to do. Sure, she thought of Ned as a friend but she wasn't sure if she could trust him just yet. She was already stressed enough about telling Peter about her secret identity. It gave her comfort that he had a secret identity of his own. He understood her.
Deciding for her, Peter scratched at his head and lied right through his teeth, "She... she saw me. After the ATM robbery, she saw me take off my mask."
Aster let go of the breath she was holding and hoped that the look in her eyes would be enough to convey her relief.
"Oh," Ned let out. He perked up with excitement. "Well, then this is cool! We can be a group! Like a Scooby-Doo Mystery Gang!"
Aster and Peter shared a half-exasperated, half-amused look.
This was going to be fun.
───
The next morning, Aster walked to school with Peter and Ned.
She got home late the night prior. Still, Tony wasn't back from his trip. She tiptoed past Happy, who was asleep on the couch with his feet kicked up on the coffee table. He must have thought she was in her room.
Struggling without a backpack, Peter was balancing a thick stack of books in his hands as they made their way through the busy sidewalks of Queens. Aster cackled, unable to resist making fun of him when she learned that it was the fifth bag he had lost as Spider-Man.
Meanwhile, Ned was firing questions nonstop at Peter. "You got bit by a spider? Can it bite me? Well, it probably would've hurt, right? You know what? Whatever. Even if it did hurt, I'd let it bite me." Aster made a face at that one. Ned seemed to reconsider his words when Aster sent him a look. "Maybe. How much did it hurt?"
A heavy sigh left Peter's lips. "The spider's dead, Ned."
Opening his mouth to ask yet another question, Ned received a sharp look from Peter. One that made him shut his mouth just as quickly.
As it turned out, they were approaching the scene of the ATM robbery Peter was at the night before. All three of the teenagers came to a stop, staring at the remains of Delmar's Sandwiches in momentary silence. It was almost completely burnt down, surrounded by police tape and barricades.
"Whoa," Ned let out. Worry twisted his expression as he turned to Peter and asked, "You were here?"
"Yeah," Peter said. Aster knew the guilt on his face all too well. He wearily stared at the agents gathered at the scene, prompting her to follow his line of sight and squint at them too.
"You could've died," Ned whispered. He let his words sink in for a moment, his expression completely serious as he followed the realization with, "Do you lay eggs?"
Aster snorted, thinking back to when Peter answered the question for her back at the airport. Meanwhile, Peter reared back in shock, as if it was an absurd question. "What? No," he laughed.
Unable to waste any more time on their walk to school, they were forced to go around the damaged corner block. When Ned was just out of earshot and the noise of the streets beside them was enough to cover her voice, Aster stayed by Peter's side and murmured, "Lesson number one..."
Peter leaned closer to her until her shoulder was brushing against his bicep. He had a few inches on her, so he tilted his head to the side to listen.
Aster nudged her arm into his, prompting him to turn and stare at her. She wanted to make sure he would hear the words she was about to say. "Learn how to let go of the things that are out of your control. The hardest pill the swallow is that you can't save everybody." She offered him an understanding smile. "It takes time. I still haven't fully grasped onto that one yet."
Still looking down at her, Peter nodded. Based on the look on his face, he took her words straight to his heart.
Neither of them noticed they were being watched.
AUTHOR'S NOTE!
hello my dear readers!
how are you?
i hope you're enjoying aster and peter as much as i am right now.
so, peter knows aster is starlight and the two of them made their little deal.
you know what that means...
s.h.i.e.l.d. agent aster is making a comeback ;)
not using her powers is gonna drive her crazy, but she'll do whatever it takes to get back out there.
even if it means she has to guide a certain spider in the right direction.
but who do we think is watching them?
anyways, i'll see you soon!
let me know your thoughts!
<3 mal