I'd like to blame my hiatus on my classes, but I really can't. I just suck. Anyways, this is probably my favourite chapter so far! Enjoy!

The school was soon abuzz with gossip about the two masked vigilantes. Anyone who had not known that the Firebird was in New York before, was certainly aware now that she had been linked to their Spiderman. One of Liz's friends had thrown pointed questions Ava's way, but all suspicion ebbed when she laughed their conspiracies off. Ava sometimes wondered smugly if she should go into acting. But her mind was rather preoccupied as the student body speculated on dating superheroes. The assailant from that night seemed so familiar, and she had been trying to remember the circumstances in which she had seen a similar get-up in DC, to no avail.

It left her on edge to think about - was she being followed? Had she missed some insidious faction in DC that was now expanding? Had she been too distracted by her father's death? Or worse - could this even have something to do with her father's death? No, she thought, biting her lip, No one knew my identity - there was no way anyone would be able to link us together - and Dad was a librarian. He would never get caught up in anything criminal... And yet she couldn't shake the nauseous feeling that they were somehow connected.

Between accompanying Liz and Jake to football practise and meeting up with Gwen, Peter, and Harry after school, Ava had left little time for her studies in the past few weeks. Though midterms were still weeks away, she decided to dedicate that Friday night to catching up with all of the homework she had been putting aside. And so, as the sky darkened and the street outside of her bedroom window became more and more muted, Ava sat at her desk. She was diligently working on an English essay when a tap at her window almost shook her out of her seat.

It had begun to rain lightly outside, and so the sky was charcoal rather than its usual clear navy, but it was still easy to make out the hunched figure sitting on her fire escape. Her eyes widened.

"Spiderman?"

As soon as she had opened the window, the hero collapsed onto her floor.

"How-"

"Ava, I'm really sorry," he choked, "This was the only place I could think of."

It quickly became apparent, despite his red suit, that beneath the arm clutching his stomach was an open, bleeding wound. Ava was stock still for only a second, before launching into action. She helped him up and eased him into her seat, before running to the bathroom to grab a first aid kit. Panicked thoughts were racing through her head. What happened? Who had done this? And more selfishly, how did Spiderman know her identity? How did he know where she lived? Priorities, she reprimanded herself, Make sure he doesn't bleed to death on your floor and then you can ask him what he knows.

"I'm sorry," he choked again.

"It's-" Ava stopped herself, "You're going to have to take off the suit."

He nodded limply and, to Ava's shock, removed his mask.

"I meant- Peter?"

Beneath a mop of wet, messy brown hair, a pair of familiar eyes met her gaze. He gave her a weak smile. Despite herself, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. He couldn't know she was the Firebird, he had come to Ava. Her secret was still safe.

"Hi."

"I meant the torso part, idiot. So I can clean whatever it is you've done to yourself?"

"Oh," he replied sheepishly, and stripped the top half of his suit, so that it hung around his hips. Ava tried to avoid staring at his chest.

"You should really go to a hospital. If we could get you into some other clothing, maybe-"

"It's fine, really! I heal pretty quick, I just needed to get somewhere safe and... maybe get cleaned up a little?"

Ava tried to glare at him, but the look he was giving her was so earnest that she let out a sigh and opened the kit.

"So you're Spiderman," she said shakily, more as a statement than a question, as she began to mop up the mess around his lower stomach, mind still racing. It looked like some sort of stab wound, "Try to keep applying pressure..."

"Uh, yeah?" he looked nervous, though it was hard to tell if it was from the conversation or the disinfectant being applied to his gaping abdomen, "Surprise!"

"It definitely explains some things," Ava snorted, thinking back on all of his surprise disappearances, mysterious limping, and general bizarre behaviour.

"Hey. I'm great at keeping secrets."

"Whatever you say," she replied mindlessly. The cut was worrying large, even for a superhero with a healing factor, and she pursed her lips. He grimaced.

"What is it?"

"Ok, don't freak out," Ava started, biting her lip, "I think it's best if we cauterise the wound."

"What?" Peter's face drained of any colour it had left, "No, I'm sure it'll be fine. I don't think-"

"Peter. You're basically bleeding out, and even with superhuman healing, this isn't something you can just walk off."

"No offense, Ava, I know you're trying to help, but - you're not exactly a professional, you know? And I don't know if it's a good idea for you to-"

"Trust me, I know how to do it! I've done it before!"

"What?!"

Ava smirked smugly and raised her hand.

"Trust me, I've had plenty of practise."

Starting from her wrist, her entire hand burst into flame. Peter's eyes widened.

"Holy shit."

Ava raised her eyebrows and grinned.

"See?" she said, "No biggie."

"You're- you can't be... You're the Firebird?" he searched her face in shock.

"Yes, Peter! Now do you want me to set fire to your flesh or what?" His face paled again and she gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry, that was supposed to be a joke."

He gulped and removed his arm from his stomach.

"Make it quick then."

Ava obliged readily. She ran a single finger against the gash as smoothly as she could. Peter stuffed his mask between his teeth and bit hard. When she was done, he looked ready to pass out, although Ava was quite proud of the relatively neat job she had done. The bleeding had stopped, which made it a success, and the remaining burns would probably barely be noticeable after a few weeks, what with his healing factor.

"You know, even if the scars do last, they'll look really impressive," she promised. Peter looked dizzy, "Shit, sorry, do you want some - uh - aspirin?"

He nodded slightly, and winced at the movement. Ava helped him move onto the bed, grimacing at the mess they had left behind, and dug around in the first aid box until she could find a painkiller.

"I mean, it's gotta help a bit right?"

Peter gulped them down and leaned his head back against her pillow, eyes squeezed shut. She stared at him for a moment. Messy hair strewn across his brow. Though his skin was slightly paler and sweatier than usual, his strong jaw and doe eyes (now shut, of course) remained as ever. Ava realised, cursing herself, how cold he must be, with his torso exposed and a sopping wet costume clinging to his lower body. She was about to suggest that he change - or at least get beneath the comforter, but before a word could leave her mouth, Peter let out what was clearly a snore.

Ava grabbed a blanket and threw it over him. She didn't want him to catch a cold or worse, but she also couldn't bear the thought of undressing him, especially while he was passed out. Awkwardly, despite being the only conscious person in the room, she put a hand on each of his thighs, and carefully warmed her palms until the fabric underneath felt somewhat dry. Then she moved onto his chest, cheeks scarlet, before finally sitting back on the floor and stared.

"What just happened?" she whispered. Peter, unsurprisingly, did not reply. She realised she was shaking.

Ok. Peter is Spiderman. Peter now knows I am the Firebird. Peter is injured and unconscious. I still haven't finished my essay. There's blood on my rug. Peter came to me for help.

This last point hit Ava the hardest, probably because she hadn't considered it until this point. (Yes, the essay had crossed her mind when a bleeding superhero appeared at her window. She was on the verge of failing English.) Peter had fled from a battle in or near Harlem, and instead of heading to a hospital, or going home, or - surely he knew other superheroes in the city? - he had thought to come to her. I mean, I was probably the only person he knew of in the neighbourhood, and he was clearing in too much pain to think straight. But still, he had trusted her enough to give away his secret identity, without knowing of the existence of hers. He must trust her a lot, right? She shot another look at Peter's sleeping form, almost angry that he had fallen asleep. He hadn't done it on purpose, of course, but it sure did relieve him of answering all of her burning (pardon the pun) questions.

Well, if he was going to lay there uselessly all night, then Ava supposed that she would have to mop up the blood and clean up her desk. She got to work.

When Peter woke up, it was with a pounding in his stomach, a soreness in his skull and a profound ignorance of his surroundings. He would probably have leapt out of the bed he was lying in if not for the pain churning around his body, but the panic remained the same until his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he saw the figure slumped over the desk beside him. A veil of silky hair hid her face, but the mere sight of Ava caused the memories of the night to jolt awake in his head.

He groaned. How stupid, to have shown up at her window covered in blood, scaring her half to death in the process. Very romantic, Peter. And now she was asleep on her desk while he took up her entire bed. In an effort to sit up, Peter pushed his palms against the sheets and lifted his head, but the pounding in his abdomen quickly turning to a sharp screech that made him groan loudly, and abandon his efforts. He cursed as the sleeping girl stirred.

As Ava lifted her head, the curtain of hair shifted like satin. Her eyes were forced open several times before they adjusted to the darkness. She stretched and looked down at him with tired eyes.

"You're awake," she observed, "Finally."

Seemed a bit rich given her own bout of unconsciousness, but Peter just grinned.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"You're good. I managed to finish my essay - a solid B, if you ask me. Although I might have to check it over again in the morning."

"Was I out for that long?"

Ava tapped her phone and the screen immediately cast an unpleasant, unnatural light that made Peter's eyes squint onto the walls and ceiling of the room. She showed him her lockscreen - the time was 3:30am.

"You're lucky it's a Saturday," she yawned, "I have trouble paying attention in History as is."

"My bad about... ya know."

"About showing up at my window late at night, out of the blue and covered in blood? Yeah, your bad," she raised an eyebrow, but then dropped it, plopping her arms onto the desk again and resting her chin on top, "But it's cool, I'm glad you did."

"Why, were you missing me already?"

"I meant I'm glad you trusted me with your secret instead of bleeding out in an alley somewhere."

Peter raised his arms in defence, only wincing slightly.

"Oh, come on. You think one lucky stab is gonna take out Spiderman? Please."

Ava turned her head to face him so that her cheek lay flat on her hands. She smirked, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I do trust you, though," Peter continued, looking away briefly. "And I'm glad I came here too. Even if I wasn't expecting you to fuse my skin shut with your fire powers."

"Best cauterising service in the city."

Peter snorted. He shifted his body slightly and groaned at the new spike of pain.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Aren't you gonna tell me how this happened? Which big bad were you fighting this time?"

"Actually, it was... well, it looked like that guy that me and- that we fought the other night. Same knives, at least. He got me pretty cleanly this time, though. So much for spider-sense."

Ava's face fell. She had almost forgotten about her anxieties after the events of the night, but now that familiar chill laid itself on her shoulders and neck. Peter looked into her eyes intensely, though she tried to avoid his gaze.

"Do you know something about this?"

"I don't know who they are," she replied slowly, "But... Well, back in DC, I had a similar problem. Before my... Before I lost my dad, I swear I fought someone like that. Well, it's hard to remember, but the get-up seems familiar. After my dad, everything changed and I stopped doing the whole, ya know, hero thing. But I remember investigating... yeah, that was it! I was investigating this organisation, and I thought it was linked to the guy in the weird suit, but when I got close to something concrete... well, that's when my dad died."

Ava shut her eyes in anger. How could she be so stupid? All this time, she had assumed her dad's death had been unrelated, but saying it out loud like this - it was clear from Peter's expression alone that she had missed the obvious. They sat in uncomfortable silence as Peter digested this.

"Can I ask you something?" he said quietly. Ava nodded. He probably wanted to know about her investigation. Given this massive oversight, he would probably be able to solve the mystery within the hour, though Ava had very little information to give.

"How did you get your powers?"

She blinked.

"It's kind of a long story."

He gave her his signature grin.

"You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine?"

She returned his smile.

"Fine. You start."