xXx
The door bell was just finishing its resonant gong when the front door opened. The man who opened the door was lean, tall, spare of frame. His eyes were deep, he wore a trim beard and mustache. His black hair was shot through with white, and his temples had already paled with age. There was something mysterious about his saturnine features, his upswept eyebrows, the calculating glint of his eyes.
"Doctor Strange," Peter said. "Can we talk for a minute?" Peter's hair was slicked back, he was dressed simply. He had only a windbreaker in the deep chill of the winter night.
"By all means, come in. This is an unexpected pleasure," Strange said as he ushered Peter in and closed the door behind him. "Your timing is good. I just finished making tea. Would you like a sandwich or anything?"
"Not right now," Peter said, nervous. "Uh… Okay. Tea." First things first.
They stepped into the bright, well appointed kitchen. Strange poured tea into two cups that were waiting on the counter, and he handed Peter his teacup. Strange moved his cup and the pot to the table, where he seated himself.
"You once told me that when I was ready, I could move my pawn to the back row and be a queen," Peter said. "Not like a flaming queen, but like someone with lots of mobility and… I'm botching this." He sat down and sipped at his tea.
"Take your time," Strange murmured, but his eyes lit up.
"It's about balance, isn't it," Peter said softly.
"Yes," Strange said. "Yes it is."
"I think I finally found mine," Peter said clearly, staring down at the table. "I think I understand the power of regret and secrecy." He thought of Aunt May's smile, weak but sincere. "I know that no matter how far you run, your past will find you sooner or later," he added as Beck's serene smile crossed his mind. "And when it's all over… I don't want to have any regrets," he finished as the ghost of Fawkes faded away. He looked Strange in the eye. "I can't turn my back on the spider ghost. I can't give up when things get tough for Peter Parker. If I do, the spider ghost gets to drive until I can take the wheel again. And Tandy taught me…" He looked back down at the table. "I need friends," he said quietly. "To help me remember who I really am."
Strange leaned back in his chair. "I don't really need a photographer right now," he said.
Peter looked up, alarmed, as Strange sipped his tea and regarded him.
"What I need," Strange said, "is a general editor for the Planetary. I promised Valeria she would be temporary in the position. I'm overdue on my promise to find her a replacement." He smiled enigmatically. "I don't suppose you have any experience with that?"
"I'll tell Worthington that I'm resigning. I need to give him a month, you understand."
"Yes, I do," Strange said, rising. "Peter… Thank you." He smiled, warm and genuine.
Peter rose to his feet and clasped Strange's proffered hand. "You're welcome. I… I can't believe you waited this long for me to come to you."
"I needed you to find your own answers," Strange shrugged. "I needed you to come to me, so there was no doubt lingering in your mind. No inducement I could have concocted would equal the strength of the conviction you earned on your own. I'll be in touch tomorrow with the details."
"That's great," Peter said with a smile. He felt a load slide away from him as well. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
Strange showed him to the door. Peter hesitated, opening his mouth. But nothing came to mind. He smiled, turned, and skipped off to porch to head down the sidewalk.
Strange gently closed the door, returning to the kitchen. He gazed out the window for a long, long moment before he stopped restraining the wide smile that completely filled his features.
"Welcome, Peter Parker," he murmured to himself. "Welcome. I am delighted to have you on board." And, perhaps, relieved, he admitted. But only to himself.
Friday, December 24 2004
Peter and Mary Jane approached the mansion wedged in between other brownstones in Greenwich Village.
"Hoo. Look at this. I'm nervous," Peter said sheepishly.
"Well, what sort of surprises do you expect?"
"With this group?" Peter said skeptically. "Never you mind. But that's not it. I mean… I dumped them."
"Bah." Mary Jane waved that away. "In you go, Parker."
"Nazi," he muttered under his breath, and she playfully punched his arm. Chuckling, he rang the doorbell.
The door immediately swung open, letting out laughter and warmth and light. Valeria stood framed in the doorway.
"Hey, the Parkers!" she said. "Come on in." They were ushered in, the heavy door closed behind them.
They stood in the foyer. The kitchen was to the right, the study to the left. Valeria startled Peter; as he was getting his bearings, she pulled him into a hug. Then she turned to Mary Jane.
"This man saved my life," she said. "I don't have to be editor anymore! That's wonderful And I hear he has a knack for it."
"Yeah, I know," Mary Jane said with a slightly rueful smile. She glanced into the den as a hoot of glee sounded. Illyana bustled up to them.
"The Parkers!" Illyana said. "So glad you could make it. Come on in here! Dani and Montessi are here, and the Mystical Presence himself will be down when he's done powdering his nose. I told him we should have a magic show tonight, with levitating ladies and pigeons and silk scarves and stuff, but he just blinked at me, so I think we might be stuck with board games. Oh, Piotr here is my brother, you remember Peter and Mary Jane from the wedding. Okay, really though, I'm glad you two could make it."
"Hi!" the big square-shouldered Russian said. "Bean dip?" he offered.
"No thanks," Peter said. As he and Mary Jane shrugged off their coats, Tandy and Tyrone stepped into the study from a room further back.
"Hey!" Tandy said with a grin. "Glad you could make it. We set up down stairs. Figure we could spread some holiday cheer."
"Wicked cool," Mary Jane grinned. She turned to see Strange strolling into the den from the stairs. He was dressed in a simple tee shirt and khakis, looking oddly out of place in casual clothes.
"Strange!" Tandy said, approaching him, Tyrone grinning in her wake. "Now that Peter works for you, I was wondering if you'd have us as your corporate band. You know, hire responsible adults to do our jobs so we can make rock and roll music?" She smiled disarmingly.
Strange blinked, genuinely startled, mind racing. Tandy chuckled, just a touch of naughty amusement in her tone. "Just kidding," she said.
"Santa saw that," Strange said, slightly flustered. The Eyes Open musicians couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't worry," Valeria said, joining the group. "She'll be sorry on Tuesday. Speaking of which; Parker, you're coming back to our martial arts class, right?"
"I… guess so," Peter said, bewildered. "I guess that's probably a good idea," he clarified as he thought it over.
The front door opened, and Illyana glanced over. "Logan!" she called out, delighted. "There you are! I was beginning to wonder."
He stepped in, stamped the snow off his boots, shook it out of his wild hair. "Wouldn't miss it, darlin," he said. "Peter! I'm glad you're here. I know we aren't exchanging presents at this shindig. But Stark has somethin he wants me ta give to you n Mary. Not for Christmas, mind you," he said. "More like congratulations on your new job." He grinned ferociously and produced a large manila envelope.
"Okay," Peter said, blinking. He opened the envelope, reached in. "What's this?" he murmured, glancing over the document. Then his eyes widened, he paled visibly, and he stared at Logan—
Just in time for Logan to pop the flash as he took a picture with his small disposable camera. He chuckled. "Hope this comes out, might never get that expression again."
"This—this is the deed to Aunt May's house," Peter said, startled.
"Stark bought it," Logan said. "Through one a his pet companies. In case you would ever need it back." Logan's grin threatened to overflow his face. "Everthin's still in place."
"Thanks, guys," Peter said, heartfelt. Illyana pulled him into a quick hug as Mary Jane just blinked in the face of that news.
"Awesome," Mary Jane managed. Peter's eyes strayed to the angel perched on the modest Christmas tree. For a moment, he thought of Worthington.
Not one regret troubled him.
"You guys are like family, you know that?" Peter said as Illyana hugged Mary Jane. He looked around the smiling faces, for a moment overwhelmed by their shared experiences.
"R-rock-kk on!" Tyrone said. "L-ll-let's go p-p-pplay!" He headed for the basement stairs. "D-Ddani! C'mon!"
As the group started migrating towards the basement, Mary Jane pushed Peter a few steps, dragged him a step sideways.
"What on earth are you doing, woman?" Peter demanded. She glanced up, her eyes sly.
Mistletoe.
"Look, that's just an excuse to kiss somebody. It's a throwback to a pagan ritual, where—"
"Shut up and kiss me," Mary Jane said, eyes narrowed, leaning against him.
Grinning, Peter did just that.
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