Hallie

Hallie couldn't remember being more content. She was snuggled up with Peter on the couch, her soulmate was out of danger, and she had kissed him. And it wasn't cringey or awkward or bad. She couldn't believe she had given into the impulse, but it had felt great. So much better than her other experiences in every way. And Peter had seemed really happy about it, and then had kissed her back. That had felt even more amazing, and she had wanted so badly to explore that feeling. But they weren't alone, and it wasn't the right time.

After Tony had left to go to bed, and they had finished the next episode, Peter turned to Hallie, a twinkle in his eye. "You tired?"

"Not terribly. I think I'm still on west coast time. You?"

"Nope. Let's go for a walk."

"A walk? Where, exactly? And don't you need to… FRIDAY? Temperature?"

"He is at 98.5 degrees."

"See? I'm fine, thanks to you. Let's go." He jumped up off the couch, reaching a hand down to help her up as well. The smile on his face was contagious.

"Okay, where are we going? Will you at least put on a jacket or something?"

"Hallie, we're not going outside. I'm fine. I want to show you something, and now is a perfect time, when there shouldn't be too many people around."

Hallie paused to collect her shoes, and walked over to the kitchen to look through the cupboards for a minute. She found a protein bar, and pushed it at Peter when he joined her. "You haven't eaten for a few hours."

"Oh. I didn't even realize I was hungry until just now. Thanks," he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"FRIDAY, please lead us to the Atrium without running into anyone else?"

"You got it, Boss."

"Have you been here before?" Peter led her through an automatic door, and Hallie immediately felt the temperature increase and humidity on her skin. It wasn't hot, just definitely warmer than the rest of the building. Then, "FRI, no one's in here, right? Pause all audio and video recording in this room until we leave, and lock the doors, on my override."

"Yes, and will do."

"The Atrium? No. I've read about it, though," Hallie answered his question to her. It was beautiful. It was hard to tell you were even in a building if you looked from some angles.

"It's been here since the Tower was built, but it's really been improved and extended the last ten years. They changed the climate to just a little more rainforest-y to accommodate more plant species."

"Rainforest-y? Is that a technical term, Dr. Parker?"

"It's a very technical term, Ms. Dayton." She scoffed, but interrupted herself as they turned a corner. "Whoa. You can't even see the ceiling right here!"

"Yeah, the trees here have really grown up in this area. It's awesome in the daytime, but I prefer it at night like this."

"The lights are beautiful. How long is this path?"

"They're very proud of it. If you follow it without cutting through anywhere, it's like a quarter mile, I think. My favorite part is the end, though."

"What's at the end?"

Peter didn't answer, but tugged her closer, sliding his hand lightly down her back until it rested over her soul mark. If his intent was to make her forget she had even asked her a question, he succeeded.

After a minute though, Hallie said, "Hey, will you move your hand, please?"

He did, immediately, and stopped walking. "Mind if I ask why?" He looked a little worried, edging into sad puppy territory.

"Because I really want to enjoy some of these amazing plants, but when you're touching my soul mark, all I can think about or focus on is you." She punctuated her statement with a finger poke to the chest and a mock glare.

Peter looked bewildered for just a moment, then threw his head back to laugh incredulously. He took the accusing finger and its attached hand and used it to pull her into his chest, hugging her. "What am I going to do with you?"

Hallie was pleased that she succeeded in teasing him. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again-really kiss her, but then he let go of her except her hand, and urged her along next to him. She tried to tamp down the slight disappointment.

"I was a little bit serious, you know. It's impossible to appreciate all of this," she gestured widely around the Atrium, "when you're doing that."

"No, I get it. You're right," he said with a rueful smile. Come on, it's right around this next corner. Well, two corners."

As he said it, Hallie could hear the water. It got louder as they got closer, and soon they were looking at a beautiful miniature waterfall. It was almost as tall as the ceiling, and was accented with soft blue and violet lights. The effect was stunning.

"Peter, it's amazing," she breathed. It was even kicking up its own spray on the rocks at the bottom, and was landscaped with carefully pruned plants around it to make it look bigger. "This is so next level!"

She felt Peter step in behind her and wrap his arms around her. "I thought you would like it," he said happily, his voice close to her ear. Hallie leaned back into him, mesmerized by the lights and sound of the waterfall, and by the feeling of being held close by her soulmate.

"Has it really only been a week?" Hallie said softly, knowing he would still hear her even over the waterfall's static.

"Since we met? Since you said yes to tying your life to my crazy one?" Peter rested his head against hers. "Yeah, just a week." Then, "To be fair, we've had enough concentrated time together, and enough experiences that I think we could argue that our relationship is equivalently several months old," he said.

"I feel that way too," said Hallie with a happy sigh. "It's kind of crazy to think about it that way."

Peter was still beside her for a moment, then he spoke again, just a little hesitantly. "Hallie, you don't have to respond, or feel pressured about reciprocating," he sounded very serious, and Hallie was a little nervous, "but I need to make sure that you know that I already love you. Very much. And I'm so grateful to have you in my life."

Hallie turned in his arms to face him. He stroked a finger down the side of her face lightly, smiling reassuringly, but with a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. She felt flushed, and she was shaky inside at his declaration, but she managed to smile back. "I love you too, Peter. I had no idea I could love anyone this much. Definitely not so quickly."

His smile turned euphoric. Just dazzling, really. And then one of his hands moved from her waist to cup the back of her head, and he was kissing her.

Hallie thought it would be more awkward at first, since she really didn't know what she was doing, having never fully participated in kissing anyone before. But Peter was a great teacher, and within a few minutes it seemed as natural as breathing. But way, way more enjoyable. Unfortunately it was hard to kiss like that and breathe, so finally they pulled apart, gasping just a little bit. Peter pressed his forehead against hers and rubbed her back gently as they both regained their equilibrium.

"This is going to be a problem," he finally said.

Hallie pulled back, startled. "Why? Was it not good? Because I thought-"

He cut her off with a finger to her lips. "It's a problem, because we have to be together in public most of tomorrow, and I don't know how I'm expected to keep my hands to myself, babe. Kissing you is definitely my new favorite activity."

She laughed and melted into his chest momentarily. "Hey, that was mean. For a second I really thought you didn't like it," she said in a huff, pushing against him with one hand.

"Mmm," he said, kissing the tip of her nose. Then, definitely channeling Tony Stark, he asked, "so, do I win?"

"Win?"

"Remember those other guys that kissed you?" There was some distaste in his voice. "I said I accepted the challenge. So this was better, right? I won? Because I'm pretty sure you enjoyed it, a lot, and you said-"

"You are so full of it." She shook her head and rolled her eyes a bit at his audacity. "And you know very well you're not even in the same league. Looking back, I don't think they were even playing the same sport…" He grinned, looking quite pleased with himself, and quite adorable. Then she pretended to consider something, and she said skeptically, "Though, to be fair, it might just be our bond giving you an unfair advantage. Maybe it has nothing to do with your-"

He interrupted her, eager to prove that their bond was only icing on his affection (and skill level). She stopped arguing.

Peter

Peter smelled waffles. Fresh ones. He gently rolled away from Hallie, stroking her hair back out of her face and leaving her to sleep for a few more minutes. He stumbled drowsily through their suite and out into the shared area, where his dad was stacking waffles on the counter. Morgan was halfway through one. He was laying bacon strips in the pan too.

"Wow, what's the occasion?"

"Petey! You woke up!" Morgan said, a bit of whipped cream stuck precariously to her cheek. "Where's Hallie?"

"Still asleep, Mo."

"I just thought it would be nice to make breakfast for everyone. You guys have school today, right?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. It will be better than going to work with Hallie, since at least I don't have to pretend like I don't know her, but I'm not excited about sitting through a bunch of undergraduate classes and hoping no one recognizes me. Or having to watch the PDA," he added as an afterthought.

"Ah, the truth comes out," his dad said, chuckling. "That's going well then, finally?"

"So well, dad," Peter said, leaning on the counter with his fist supporting his chin, his eyes probably wide and sappy.

"Okay, Bambi, I get the idea," his dad teased him. I guess you're old enough that I can't be mortified, and get to just be happy for you.

Peter scoffed, and snagged a piece of waffle off Morgan's plate.

"Peter!" she scolded. "That's mine!"

"Sorry Mo. I'll give you two bites of mine," he said, kissing the top of her head, and then started to assemble his own breakfast. He walked over to the stove to see if any bacon was done. Not quite.

"Put a shirt on, you heathen. The grease is going to burn you if it pops."

"I heal fast," Peter said flippantly.

Tony rolled his eyes, and muttered something about superhuman stupidity. Peter set down his food to hug his dad from behind.

"You seem pretty happy, bud. Been a pretty good week, huh?"

"It's been an insane week, actually. But yeah, I'm pretty happy anyway. Hallie's amazing."

"You gonna make her a plate?"

"Yeah, in just a minute. She was still pretty out of it." He forked several pieces of the bacon onto his plate.

"Really? It's barely cooked."

"Petey, what's P-D-A?"

"Um, actually I'm going to take Hallie this plate. She should probably get up. So dad can explain that to you, Morgster!" Peter made a hasty exit.

"Coward," he heard at his back. But he could tell Tony was smiling.

Hallie

"Hallie? Wake up, sweetheart. You should get ready for class."

What the… Oh. It was Tuesday. And spring break (which felt like a full year of her life with all the changes that had happened) was long over. She had to go to school today. With Peter. That woke her up, and she opened her eyes to see her husband's big brown eyes smiling at her. Well, there were worse ways to wake up.

"Want some breakfast?" He was holding a plate with waffles and strawberries, and bacon. Wow, so many worse ways to wake up.

"Hey," she said eloquently.

"Sorry to wake you, love," he said, scratching her back softly.

"No, it's no problem, she said, sitting up. These are really for me?"

"Of course," he smiled. Full disclosure though, I didn't make them. You can eat them in here, or take them out and eat with Tony and Morgan. I'm going to jump in the shower real fast, then I'll eat too. Okay?

"Yeah, of course." He handed her the plate, then leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before swiping a finger down her cheek and heading for the bathroom.

They had debated whether they should have Happy drop them off, or if they should try to park on campus somewhere. Tony and Peter finally decided it wasn't worth someone recognizing the combination of Happy and Peter, and Tony somehow procured an on campus parking pass, in one of the good lots, out of thin air.

Hallie was worried that Peter's car would attract attention, but Tony kept an older silver Audi for situations like this when they needed to be nondescript. Of course it wasn't actually as plain as it looked, and had bullet-proof glass, advanced security systems, and FRIDAY in it, like all of their cars, but it should serve the purpose.

"Pep, you got all the paperwork filed last week, right?" Peter said between mouthfuls of waffle.

"I already told you I did, Peter. All of Hallie's professors should have gotten emails mid-week. And a paper copy, the fake-name one, with Nate Rushman is in your backpack. And an ID to match. You're cleared for the next two weeks of classes, if needed."

"Ah yes, my backpack," he said, sounding thrilled. "It completes my disguise." He was wearing worn jeans, some of his older Converse, and a green t-shirt that fit him very nicely. Not that Hallie had been looking. Wait, he was her husband, she could look if she wanted to, right? Unfortunately it was still cold, so he covered that with a branded hoodie Hallie had never heard of, and a black jacket over the top of that. He wore a beanie over his messy curls, and his Tony-Stark-altered noise canceling headphones of the day looked just like regular airpods.

"I have to hand it to you all. He'll blend right in in any of my classes. Well, as long as he doesn't open his mouth."

Peter looked mildly offended. "Excuse me?"

She stepped closer and lightly grasped both lapels of his jacket, smiling up at him. "Just that you're absolutely brilliant, and one comment could throw our whole charade out the window, Pete. So resist the urge. I know it's not easy for you not to talk," she teased. Taking advantage of their position, he leaned down and kissed her quickly. She ducked her head, surprised that he had done it in front of Pepper and Tony.

Pepper looked at Tony with what Peter would call her "heart eyes," though she managed to avoid squealing, because she was a polished, professional adult, and they both nodded like they agreed with Hallie.

"At least you're not at Columbia, Hallie. There are too many professors who have seen him grungy like this and who would recognize him immediately."

"This is grungy?" Hallie said in disbelief.

"Well, compared to his normal public look, yeah," Tony said.

"But he's still so… pretty," she said, hesitantly fingering a curl at the nape of his neck.

Tony and Pepper both laughed, and Hallie (and possibly Peter) blushed.

"You know what I mean, it's like he just stepped out of a J. Crew ad even when he's trying to dress down," she defended.

"Guys, I'm right here," said Peter in protest.

Pepper just shook her head in amusement. "I see what you're saying, Hallie." There's only so much we can do. Peter's always been a good-looking kid, but once he grew into himself, it only got more noticeable. Better keep a hold of him today so none of the undergrads try to poach him," she nearly giggled.

Peter, looking very uncomfortable with the turn this conversation had taken, checked his watch exaggeratedly. "We should go. We don't want to walk in late and draw extra attention. Have everything you need?"

Hallie's Tuesday-Thursday classes were Calculus I, General Physics II, Biostatistics for Public Health, and Spanish II. It was a very full day. Peter, thankfully, had plenty of his own classwork to catch up on, and his ear buds kept him from hearing things outside of the room. Hallie could tell he was having to work to not respond to quiet comments inside of the room. He and Hallie slipped in the back right before her Calculus class started, but several people noticed them, and were curious about his presence.

About ten minutes in, Peter had been trying to work, but there seemed to be some kind of stimulus that caught his attention, because he suddenly reached his left arm over and rested it on her chair, letting his fingers idly play with her hair. Hallie glanced at him, and other than a slight smirk, he didn't react. He seemed to concentrate a little better after that though. She was so curious about what he had been hearing, and was having trouble listening to her lecture. Calculus definitely wasn't her favorite subject, but thankfully she usually understood if it was explained well. Oh. She looked speculatively at Peter.

"What's that?" he asked softly, eyebrows raised.

"You can help me with all of this stuff, if I don't understand. I wouldn't have to go to tutoring anymore when I get stuck?"

He nodded, an amused smile on his face. But the professor had ben sending glances their direction, so she said her next comment almost under her breath, knowing Peter could hear her just fine. "That is amazing news. I hate the Calculus tutors."

Peter gave her a concerned look, his expression obviously asking for elaboration.

"They're just like, condescending, like they don't expect me to really get it, and one of them was hitting on me more than helping me. Not a big deal, I'm just excited to get actual help from you instead." This super hearing thing was handy.

Peter raised a disapproving eyebrow and shifted his hand to her neck, rubbing it gently.

Hallie saw the professor eyeing them disapprovingly again and tried really hard to listen to the rest of his lecture. He really was a decent teacher.

Physics was better. Hallie enjoyed Physics, it just didn't come as easily as Chemistry did for her. There were a lot of fun overlap areas that she wanted to get better at, though, so she studied hard for those classes usually. They had some in-class work that was challenging. Peter quietly nudged her in the right direction several times when she was getting stuck. The professor had ignored his presence in that class, which was nice. The other students at her table, however, openly stared. She was friendly with the girl who sat next to her, Teresa, and she had many whispered (and giggled) questions about the mystery boyfriend.

They were trying to avoid it being common knowledge that he was her soulmate, but it was hard to have a reasonable excuse for him being there otherwise. What they had finally decided to tell random people who asked was that he was her boyfriend, and thinking of transferring to NYU, so he had permission to visit her classes with her that week while he was visiting.

After Physics, they found some sandwiches for lunch that Peter admitted were passable, though not at Del Mar's level. They had 20 minutes before Hallie's next class, and they found an out-of-the-way couch in the building next door to get some quality physical contact in. Being in class hadn't been hard, per se, since they could touch often, but Hallie's bond, especially, was feeling a little itchy. It was hard having hours of lots of small contacts vs the more sustained closeness she had gotten used to.

Peter was going through emails and messages on his phone while Hallie snuggled into his left side, almost dozing. She was still recovering just a little bit from that nasty virus over the weekend, and had they been home, she's pretty sure she would be napping in Peter's lap right now.

All of a sudden, though, she was wide awake, as a familiar voice said, "Hallie?"