Two weeks after Benjamin's death and Harper's parents still hadn't acknowledged their son was gone.
Harper's cousin Maria had contacted her, her grandparents called, so had her other cousins and uncles and aunts. Miles and Tanya came to her house. Even Ganke, who Harper barely knew, came to offer his support.
And yet.
Harper pushed her food around her plate with her fork as she absent-mindedly stared off into nothingness. Her father was going off about something and her mother was trying to keep the conversation going. She tried to include Harper, but she didn't respond.
"Harper Alvarez. Look at me."
Harper sighed and peered up at her father. His mouth was curled into a deep, angry frown, and Harper's blank stare only aggravated him further.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Ben."
"Get over it already. He wasn't even a good man. He abandoned this family, don't you remember?"
"Only because you're an abusive asshole!" Harper shouted, rising from her seat.
The man backhanded her across the face and left a stinging red mark on her cheek.
"Don't talk that way to me, young lady. This is my house, and under my roof, you will respect me!"
"I hate you!"
"This is why I didn't want you hanging around him! His head was twisted with all these different things! Lying to you! Look at you!"
"Look at me?" Harper felt like she could laugh. "Look at you! Look at what you're doing to me!"
"You're our child and you will do as we say! That bastard, saying we weren't taking care of you. And that stupid bitch Maria trying to bring us to court."
The anger left Harper's body. Her expression fell. "What? They were what?"
"Oh, what does it matter?
Harper slammed her hands on the table and stormed off.
-
Sitting atop a roof, Harper felt the brisk wind on her skin as she fidgeted with a rock. She heard something from behind and turned around.
"Hey, Spidey," she said, flatly.
"Hey, kiddo. How have you been?" Spider-Man kneeled to match her height.
Harper shrugged. She noticed him staring at her cheek and turned away.
"What happened?" He asked, gently, but still with urgency.
When Harper looked back at him, there were tears in her eyes. She shook her head.
"He hit me," she replied, her voice hoarse with emotion.
Spider-Man felt concern, anger, and sorrow well up in his chest all at once. He took a moment before responding. He had to calm down in order to help Harper.
So, slowly, he took a breath.
"Who did?"
"My stupid fucking dad! He won't even talk about Ben! First my parents treat me like I'm nothing, then all this shit at school, and now my brother is fucking dead and I'm trapped in this never ending nightmare! I hate it here!"
Harper sobbed, gripping her hair with her gloved hands, then hid her face in her knees. Her shoulders trembled and she held herself in a tight ball.
Spider-Man didn't know what exactly to do.
He moved forward, slowly sat next to Harper and before he knew it she threw her arms around him, holding him so tight she could break his ribs. Spider-Man didn't mind- okay, well, maybe a little- and he gently hugged her in return.
He felt a warm feeling in his chest as he began to stroke her hair, rhythmically patting her back.
"I know, kid," he murmured, "I know. I know this all sucks. I don't know what to say- I'm sorry, Harper." He peered down to see if he got a reaction. Harper's crying became silent and she wiped her face, not looking up.
Harper didn't know why she still held on. If it were any other adult, they wouldn't even be hugging- even though she still yearned for such affection, and the only person who could give it to her was taken away just weeks ago.
She allowed herself to lean her head on his chest and let him continue stroking her hair.
It took a few moments for Spider-Man to speak again. "Back when I first got bit," he said, "I had an Uncle. His name was Benjamin, too. My Uncle Ben taught me a lot of things my dad wasn't able to teach me. One of the most important things was with great power-"
"-comes great responsibility," Harper interjected.
A soft chuckle passed Spider-Man's lips, and he nodded. "Yeah."
"Ben told me that."
"Great minds think alike then, huh?"
Harper let out an amused huff.
"My uncle was killed by...some street criminal. I could've stopped him, but I didn't. After he died, I became angry. I became bitter." His voice grew dark as he spoke, eyes downcast. "I wanted to stop who killed him. I wanted revenge. And I almost lost myself to that anger."
Harper didn't look at him as he spoke until he said the last part. She was angry. And she wanted revenge. Spider-Man knew that.
"I stopped pulling my punches. I wanted him dead. I got that, but it didn't make it better. It didn't bring my Uncle Ben back."
Spider-Man took a deep sigh. "Harper, I don't want to lose you to that. And I know- you're angry, and it feels like it'll never go away. You can hold on to that anger, and channel it for good."
He gently pulled Harper off of him and sat next to her, looking directly into her eyes. "So let's make a promise. Raise your right hand."
Spider-Man demonstrated, and Harper followed suit.
"I call this, uh...the Spider-Man Oath."
Spider-Man moved his hand toward the top of his mask, then, as Harper raised her eyebrows in surprise, pulled the mask off and revealed his face.
"I, Peter Parker, promise to do everything I can to protect the city."
Harper was still in disbelief. Her mouth was slightly agape, eyebrows still raised. Peter tilted his head toward her, urging her to speak.
"I, uh..." Harper shook her head to clear her mind and she felt a smile coming on, as her disbelief turned into pleasant surprise.
"I, Harper Alvarez, promise to do everything I can to...protect the city."
"There," Peter said, "That's it."
Harper lowered her hand, as did Peter. She softly chuckled. "Is that a real thing?"
"Yeah, totally is," Peter said, "Definitely didn't just make it up."
Then came a comfortable silence. Orange hues painted over New York as the sun set.
Harper looked at Peter, her smile still on her face.
"Is it everything you hoped for?" He asked. Harper wasn't sure what he was referring to, but she assumed it was...well, all of it.
This city was theirs to protect, and protect it they did. She was excited- and nervous- at first, but now?
She took her time to respond.
"Jury's still out," she said. She returned her gaze to the lowering sun and the strokes of orange-turned-red in the sky.
"But you can't deny that view."
Peter laughed.
Even though they had only seen each other around twice at F.E.A.S.T, Harper took a liking to Peter. He was a little awkward, sure, and both times he had to leave suddenly, but Harper thought he was pretty nice.
Well, now she knew so much more about him. His kind, compassionate nature reminded her of...
Benjamin.
Slowly, she leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling exhausted from all the crying and screaming. Peter's arm went around her as if it were a reflex.
Harper let her eyes flutter shut, knowing she was safe here.