Peter

Despite his threats, Peter didn't have time to give Alex cause for complaint on the drive to NYU. He was mostly on the phone with PR, and then with Pepper, getting their take on how things had gone over, and what follow-ups might need to be on their radar. He was back to being dressed down in jeans and a casual button up shirt, and had finger combed through his hair, but the anonymous look was probably gone with his curls. Especially since Pep said they were trending on several social media sites, and that even television channels were following the breaking story. Fantastic.

He hung up the phone with Corbin as they approached the university, and turned his attention to Hallie, to see how she was dealing. She looked calm, but also somber. "How are you doing, Hal?"

She looked like he had surprised her out of some deep thoughts. "Me? I'm okay. Little bit of a crash from all the adrenaline, I think."

"That makes sense," he said, taking her hand. "Do you want to talk about anything?"

"'I'm not sure. Maybe… can you help me know the best way to react if we do get extra attention, or if there are any reporters or photographers in the next few days, maybe? I feel a little anxious not knowing what to do there."

Oh. Peter put his hand to his forehead, rubbing it a little bit. "Sorry, Hal. We've been so focused on the press conference, we totally neglected talking about that with you. Sorry," he said sincerely, "I'll give you a quick rundown, then Pepper or Tony can help fill in some holes later, maybe."

Hallie nodded, listening carefully. Man, she was beautiful. Always, but especially so right now, as he could see her stretching, trying to fit herself into his crazy life. Willing to put up with paparazzi just to stay near him. And she had been incredible at the press conference. May's voice in his head said, 'Compliments are meant to be spoken,' so he did.

"First, you look beautiful, and I think you're completely amazing. Just wanted to make sure you know that," Peter said, stroking a finger from her ear down to the collarbone peeking out of that stunning blue dress. She smiled hesitantly at him, blushing a little bit. "Second, mostly just be yourself. Try to avoid acting angry, or scared, or frustrated, even if you are. Unless they're encroaching on your personal space, or getting aggressive, it's best to either just politely ignore them, or even smile and wave, which is usually Tony's modus operandi."

Hallie looked uncertain. "But what if they are getting too close, or aggressive?"

"Babe, that's part of what your security team is for," he said gently, eyebrows raised. If I'm not personally with you, Chase, or Ty, or Casey will be, and another one of them will be watching from the wings. Even when I am with you, now that we're public, and people will be watching for us, both of our teams will be shadowing closer, ready to jump in if needed. Not that I can't protect you, but keeping my identity under wraps is important, too."

"Okay," She swallowed, starting to gather her stuff as Alex approached the drop off point.

"Casey and Ty are already on site, and I'll be over as soon as I park," Alex said, meeting Peter's gaze in the rearview.

"Thanks, man. I'm guessing things won't be crazy at first, since the news only just broke. By the end of the day, or by tomorrow, we might have some more interest."

"Hopefully true," his friend responded.

"We're arriving just a touch late, so you and I should be able to slip in the back of your Chemistry lecture. I might send Ty or Casey into Thermodynamics after with you, if I have some stuff to deal with. Is that okay?"

Hallie nodded. "Of course."

The car had stopped, and he leaned in for a brief kiss, before pulling back and grinning at her. "Let's do this!"

Hallie

There wasn't anyone anticipating their arrival on campus, which was nice. They walked quickly, hand in hand, and they were able to just slip quietly in the back, as Peter had predicted. It was almost impossible to pay attention though, and Hallie started wondering why they had even bothered to come to class that day. Peter had his laptop open like he might be taking notes, but he was really answering emails. Hallie opened her own laptop, and sent him an IM.

You know you're just going to have to re-teach this stuff to me later, right?

Peter glanced sideways at her, and grinned, then paid attention to what was on the teacher's presentation for about 20 seconds before calmly typing into his keyboard.

No way, this stuff isn't hard. You already understand this, you just don't realize it. It's very similar to what we were doing last week in Bruce's lab. Having a hard time paying attention?

Just a little bit. Maybe we should have just stayed home.

Maybe, but it's best to just keep things as normal as possible. And I don't want you missing school unless it's necessary. I'm going to do my best to make sure this doesn't completely overtake your life.

School isn't my life. Just a part of it. It's okay if I have to miss sometimes for safety, or because I need to be with you with what you're doing, or whatever. It's going to be okay.

Peter did turn and look at her then, a wistful, almost sad smile on his face that she couldn't quite read. He pretended to be listening to the lecture then, letting his hand slide lightly down her spine and settle over her soul mark. The familiar rush of warmth came, along with the unexpected bonus of slightly increased focus, and she found herself able to tune into the lecture more easily. Interesting. She remembered Tony and Peter talking about how your soulmate's touch could be kind of whatever you needed at the time, but she hadn't thought about it extending to something mundane like having trouble concentrating. She'd have to ask Peter about that later.

It was still quiet when they walked out of class, but she noticed Casey and Ty shadowing them about twenty feet back as they walked. She was sure Alex was around too. She noticed they were getting a few extra looks from people as they walked, and she saw at least three cell phones turned their direction. Hallie took a few deep breaths, and Peter's gaze zeroed in on her as they walked.

"Okay there?"

"Yep. Are they talking much?" She knew his enhanced hearing would be picking it up, if so.

"Yeah, some. Mostly just trying to decide if we're really who they think we are. Nothing but curiosity."

"How do you know that?"

"Oh, just a sixth sense about it." Ah, that's right. He'd said his spider sense could detect threats, or even negative interest. That had to be useful. Or maybe just really annoying sometimes.

As they approached her next class, he pulled her into an alcove, the two agents seeming to stop casually in front of it, blocking it from view. Peter pulled her into as close of a hug as he could manage with their backpacks on, and kissed her briefly before pressing their cheeks together for a moment. "Just a little soulmate power-up before we spend the next hour apart," he said regretfully. "If at any point you feel like you need me in there instead of Ty, just tell him, or me, and we'll make it happen, okay?"

She nodded. She hadn't sat through a whole class yet without Peter, but she was pretty sure they could handle it now, and she knew he had work to do, and probably some fires to put out. "You gonna be okay?" she teased lightly.

"Without you? Never. But I'll make it work, and hopefully make a lot of phone calls," he said, kissing her briefly. Then he walked out of the alcove as if he'd been there by himself. Hallie watched Alex peel himself away from a support beam and nonchalantly walk the same direction. It couldn't be a super exciting job being Spiderman's bodyguard, she mused, but she knew part of his job was also helping Peter maintain his secret identity, which added a little more challenge to it.

She picked up her backpack and walked out into the main hallway, feeling a little strange being alone. But only for about thirty seconds before Ty carelessly fell in step with her, his business casual and lack of a backpack not exactly painting him as a student, but not standing out, either.

"Hey Hallie, mind if I hang out with you?" he asked, like they were just friends heading to class.

She giggled slightly. "Would it matter if I did?"

"Not particularly," he said with amusement. "I plan to stay in Peter's good graces."

"Why, because he's so scary when he's mad?" she joked.

"I haven't seen him mad yet, but I assume he can be," Ty said lightly. "And Ms. Potts is definitely scary when she's mad, from what I hear. So if it's all the same to you, we'll just stick together, yeah?"

Hallie laughed at his comment about Pepper. He was probably right. "Well, I hope you like Thermodynamics and Kinetics," she said. 'Cause that's what we're doing for the next hour."

Ty looked less than enthused, but followed her dutifully into class, directing her to an aisle seat, and sitting next to her. Hallie's professor gave him a second look, but didn't say anything. They had all been briefed that morning. It was different sitting in class with Ty versus Peter, obviously, but it was still nice to not be alone in the room. She was just really glad they had had the fun days at Disney together, so she felt like she knew him a little bit already, and they could chat and smile together when nothing else was going on.

As soon as class was over, Peter met them at the door, and Alex was picking them all up for lunch, since Hallie didn't have a class again until 2:30. They got even more looks this time, and from how Peter kept glancing around them as they walked across the commons area to get to the pick-up zone, Hallie assumed he was hearing lots of conversations.

"Do you want to grab something and then come back and work on any homework, or do you want to go back to the Tower until we need to head back this way?" Peter asked once they were secure in the car.

"Going home would be wonderful," Hallie said as she leaned back against the seat, her shoulder pressing into his. She hadn't had any symptoms while they were apart for the hour, but she felt better being back in contact with him.

"You heard the lady, Alex," Peter said lightly, raising his arm up behind his wife so she could snuggle into him if she wanted. She did. He could tell she was a little worn out from everything.

"FRIDAY, is anyone else in the penthouse? Will you coordinate lunch with them, if so? If not, check back with me and we'll tell you what to order."

"Of course, Boss."

Peter sighed and settled in, happy to just spend a few minutes close to Hallie. Hopefully the hardest part of the day was over.

Once they reached the tower, Pepper and Tony were both waiting for them, with plenty of Thai food they were just spreading out.

"Hey, guys," Peter said happily, "thanks for arranging lunch."

"No problem, kid," Tony said. "How are you both doing?"

"Okay, so far," Peter responded. "Nothing crazy yet. And Ty went to Hallie's second class with her so I could handle a few things, as well."

"Both of you did fine with that?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, no problems for me," Peter said, grabbing a plate and starting to pile on the food. Suddenly, he turned back to Hallie, eyebrows raised. "You were okay, right? No symptoms?"

"No, I was fine. I missed you, but Ty is nice," she said, grabbing her own plate.

"It might be more intense by your afternoon class," Pepper said. "Or, it may not. You never can tell with the media."

Peter sat down next to Tony and the two started having a quiet conversation in Italian.

"Do they do that often?" Hallie asked Pepper, almost under her breath.

"Oh, honey. Too often. It always annoys me that I've never taken the time to learn much beyond some of the little phrases he uses with me."

"Yeah, I've decided I'm definitely signing up for Italian next semester," Hallie said dryly, eyeing the two men. Peter looked up at her from across the room and winked, with a little smirk on his face. Obviously he didn't have any trouble hearing them, even while following his other conversation.

"He's insufferable, isn't he?" Pepper asked with a fond smile. "He definitely gets that from his dad."

Peter gave her an amused look and said something to Tony. Probably repeating what Pepper said, judging from the look both men were now giving Pepper. She just smiled serenely at them and brought her lunch over to the table, sitting down to eat. Hallie followed her. They were just finishing up lunch as they chatted about who was still in town for dinner that night when FRIDAY interrupted.

"Excuse me, but PR thinks you should see this," she said, turning the TV across the room on to a local news station.

"And about that interesting news of the Stark heir's engagement, we have a confirmed source who says that Ms. Dayton used to work for him, and quit abruptly a few weeks ago. According to him, she said that Parker-Stark is her soulmate, and that it was a new development. He had some very uncomplimentary things to say about both parties. But of course we won't repeat that here. You can read the full transcript on our website, though."

"Right, Brian, and with that information, we looked back at the interview, and you'll notice he didn't actually deny that she was his soulmate, just deflected, alluding to his soulmate status with his adoptive father, Tony Stark."

"So it's not only Stark who has a double soulmate, but also the next CEO of Stark Enterprises."

"I know, what are the odds?"

"Well, let's go to our soulmate expert, Fiona Miller, for an explanation of how likely this occurrence is."

"Mute, FRIDAY," said Peter. "Well, I guess keeping that detail quiet is going to be a lost cause," he said with frustration. Pepper looked angry, Tony was reaching sympathetically for Peter, and Hallie was furious.

"Trent." Ugh. She had known that was going to come back to bite them.