"Peter?"
Danielle couldn't believe the situation in front of her as she sat completely still on her bedroom floor, Spider-Man– or just now recently revealed to be her friend, Peter Parker –still leaning on the edge of her bed with the mask that had concealed his identity for who knew how long dangled from his fingers set in his lap.
The brunette couldn't speak much, or move, or think. It all seemed to come together yet fall apart at the same time, so fast.
The time Spider-Man had saved her and Wanda from the speeding car on their shopping trip. That hadn't been just a lucky coincidence, that had been Peter looking out for her. And the time the web-slinger had saved her from the burning building. He hadn't just stumbled upon her by chance, he had been nearby the school stadium after her soccer game got released and had been there to pull her out when she got stuck. And Germany? How could she even begin to explain Germany? He said he had found out then, but was it before or after they fought?
Then it dawned on her. God... Oh, God! She had fought the closest friend she had! She had tossed entire trucks at him, kicked him in the stomach, thrown him over her shoulder and slammed his body onto the cement ground. Peter! Her friend! The person she learned weird pop culture, science fiction, and other weird facts from. The person that she hung out with at Decathlon and on the school bleachers. The person who helped her with science homework. The person she had least expected in the entire universe to be the web-slinging vigilante she had been tracking down. All this time... It had been him.
A few minutes seemed to go by with Danielle being completely catatonic, and it was safe to say Peter was getting a bit worried. "Elle?" He debated whether or not it would be a good idea to nudge her. Would that frighten her too much? "Elle?"
Instead of giving him a real reaction, she simply stared blankly at him. "I need to stitch your head," she said numbly, moving to sit beside him on the bed, angling herself to get a better look at the bloody scratch going down the back of his head. Danielle grimaced as she tried to push her distracting thoughts aside along with the blood-soaked hair on the back of Peter's head.
She hadn't noticed until they were in front of her face, but her hands were trembling as she worked carefully to press the two pieces of skin together, having to use an excess bandage to wipe away the blood and blood-soaked hair in the way. She would have to clean it after she gave him stitches with the alcohol–
"Elle?" Peter's voice broke into her thoughts, bringing her bad to the turmoil of her present situation. Danielle didn't answer. She wasn't sure how. "Are you... Are you gonna say anything?"
Danielle swallowed the lump in her throat before replying, "What am I supposed to say?"
"I don't... I don't know. That you can't believe it. That you're excited we're both superheroes. That you knew it all along. Did you know it all along?"
Danielle had to refrain from scoffing. If she had known Peter was Spider-Man, she would've never gotten close to him. She knew how hard this life as a 'hero' was. How much pain and suffering it entailed. The danger, the risks. She wouldn't wish it against her greatest enemies. And now, here Peter was asking her about whether or not she was excited that they were heroes together?
Danielle had to think to herself, did Tony bring him to Germany because he knew her? Did Tony give him the suit and tell him to find her? Did Tony give him his powers even before she knew him? Did Tony or somebody else set him up on that train at the right time at the right place for them to meet? Was their friendship all an elaborate set up for her? How could she not have seen this? Because she would've never suspected her friend's of stuff like this? Could she not have anything seperate from her alter-ego? It didn't seem that way, and Peter proved it.
"Elle?" Peter called out again. Danielle suddenly realized that she had stopped halfway through pulling the needle through the stitch she was making.
"Sorry," she apologized in a tone barely above a whisper before quickly continuing her task at hand.
The pair then fell into a tension filled silence. Peter was stiff and unsure of whether or not one of his closest friends was even his friend anymore, while Danielle stitched the back of his head trying to wrap her own head around the insane news she was just given. She wondered if Peter had this much trouble when he found out she was Eris. Then, more questions began to pop into her head. Questions she kind of wanted answers to.
The silence seemed to carry on for quite some time. That was until Danielle surprised both of them and spoke for the first time in minutes. "How... How long have you...?" she trailed off, the lump in her throat rising.
Peter visibly relaxed beneath her touch. She was asking questions. Questions were good. "I, uh... Its actually kind of weird," he let out a nervous chuckle, his hand going up to scratch the back of his neck before realizing she was kind of busy sewing him up back there, setting it back down in his lap. "I got bit by a weird spider on this field trip a long time ago. Actually– a couple of weeks before I met you." If he hadn't been so entrapped within his own story, he probably would've heard the catch in Danielle's breath behind him at his words. "Anyway, I got bit by the spider and I got sick. Like, super sick. Throwing up in the toilet, sweating a lot, I ate everything in the house. Then, one day, it all stopped and suddenly my hands and feet were sticking to everything, I didn't need my glasses anymore, I got muscles, and I could hear everything.
"It was pretty scary. For a long time I thought I might've accidentally drank something with drugs in it while on the field trip. But then I found that same spider that had bit me was dead, balled up in the shirt I had worn that day." He winced slightly when Danielle pinched his skin, pushing the needle through and continuing on. "A few days later, I did some stupid stuff and tried sneaking out of the apartment to go test my new strength. My Uncle Ben followed me and..." Now it was Peter's turn to trail off due to the lump in his throat.
Danielle didn't need to hear the rest of the story to know what happened next. But it was like she had thought before; there wasn't a single real hero that hadn't faced death, loss, and suffering at some point in their life. It was like an unfair curse. Heroes saved people's lives, and in return Fate screwed them over with all this pain and hurt. Her and Peter were only two of many that understood that.
"I'm sorry," Danielle whispered.
Peter nodded a bit (as much he could without messing Dani's stitches up). "It took me a while to convince myself that it wasn't my fault that he died. And I did that by going out, searching for the man that had killed him. That's how the crime-fighting started. I realized that I had these new abilities and I could go out and try and find that guy– saved other people along the way, too, which was pretty great." He let out a strained laugh.
"Did you find him?" Dani couldn't help but wonder aloud.
"Yeah," he answered. "I found him. He... He was a nobody. Just some low-life who had nothing better to do than to shoot the one witness to the corner store robbery he had just done."
"What happened?"
"He went to jail," Peter replied in a dead tone. One that she wasn't sure whether it was regretful or content with this outcome. "I didn't want him to go to jail, though. I wanted him to pay for what he did to Uncle Ben. It's what he deserved... But... I couldn't kill him either. I knew Ben would've never wanted for me to do something like that. Especially not in his memory. I wanted to though. I wanted to hurt him so badly. Have you ever had that feeling, Elle? That you wanted to hurt someone so much, but knew you couldn't?"
"Yes," she answered, despite it all. "I have."
"How did you get through it?"
Danielle stiffened at his question and she had to ask herself, did she even get through it at all? "I don't... I don't think I ever really did."
"What do you mean?"
What did she mean? She wasn't even sure. "I..." she began, but wasn't sure how to finish. What, was she just supposed to tell Peter everything now? Why not? He knew who she was and what she could do. What was the point in keeping secrets from him anymore? Especially now that she was slightly aware of the fact that he had gotten his powers on accident and not through some weird experiment like her. Here went nothing...
"A few months ago, my mother was killed," she explained. A small part of her wanted to hold back, but the other– the one that had been holding onto this burden and these locked away feelings for what felt like centuries– begged for her to just legit out for once. To talk to someone. To do what she couldn't do with Sam, Steve, Jack, Wanda or anyone really for that matter. Now was the chance for that.
"Someone murdered her," she continued. "And I was there when it happened... At first, I was... relieved. She was a bad person for some time. But, the other part of me, the one who knew she would've never done those bad things had it not been for the people that hurt her– the part that loved her– wanted revenge."
"Did you get it?" Peter asked, hesitant and unsure if he wanted the real answer.
"I... It doesn't feel that way, no," she answered truthfully as she pulled up the last suture. "I thought... I thought I had killed the right person for the right reason and... now, I'm not even sure if he was the right person... But, it doesn't really matter because I feel nothing. Killing the man that I believed killed my mother didn't bring her back, or give me closure, or make me sleep better at night. It just... made me feel even worse if anything."
Peter felt as Danielle tied up the stitches, pulling at the back of his head slightly before cutting it off and setting aside the bloody needle and the rest of the thread beside him. It dawned on Peter as Danielle remained silent after her confession just how much she had gone through. Her mother's murder, her killing the supposed murderer... And that was just one story of the rest of her life as a hero and he couldn't imagine what else she could've gone through.
"I'm sorry," Peter murmured.
"So am I," Danielle replied, quickly grabbing hold of the dry side of her shirt she had given Peter earlier and the alcohol container. "This might burn," she warned.
Peter winced as he felt the cold burning liquid pour down his scalp where the suture was. He hissed between his clenched teeth and grabbed at the edge of the mattress to help ease the pain. It was then that Peter finally muttered, "Thank you. For helping me, I mean."
"You're welcome," she replied sincerely, dabbing at the alcohol mixed with blood rolling down his neck and back with the shirt she had stripped off. It was completely destroyed now and she didn't see a point in keeping it. After cleaning him up, Danielle got up from the bed to put everything back into the first aid kit, throw away the excess trash, and to grab some napkins, towels, and baking soda to try and clean up the blood.
When she returned, Peter was standing up at the glass window overlooking the terrace and the rest of Manhattan below it. She figured he had heard her come in when he spoke aloud, "Wow... This place has an awesome view." He smiled before turning to face her. "What happened to your apartment in Queens with your Aunt Kate?" Danielle couldn't help the frown that grace her lips at the mention of Sharon's alias. Peter's smile faded as he came to realize what he was saying. "She wasn't really your Aunt, was she?"
Danielle gave him an uneasy smile as she walked over to her bed, starting to yank off the bloody sheets from the corner. "No. And her name wasn't actually Kate, either. It was Sharon. Sharon Carter. She, uh, she was just my caretaker that looked after me while I went to school here," she explained. It came fairly easy for her, telling Peter all her secrets. She figured something deep within her had always kind of wanted him or one of her friends to know.
Peter gave her a look of shock and awe. "So, was she like a secret undercover agent? Did she do background checks on all of us? Did she know about... the Spider-Man thing?"
Danielle snorted. "I doubt it. Sharon was an ex-SHIELD agent who converted to the CIA after SHIELD fell. Her agent days were kind of over and she did mostly paperwork while here, only few field missions."
"Cool," he breathed in awe. But something shifted after that. His smile faded, replaced with a small frown and a look of guilt on his face. "Did she... What happened to her?"
Danielle tried not to let her distraught emotions show as she yanked the rest of her sheets off the bed, throwing them to the ground to be washed later. "Before Germany, Sharon had helped us– the 'Rogue Avengers'– getting us our gear and helping us get away. After everything, she was labeled as an associate and went on the run not long after. I have no clue where she is now."
"Elle... I'm... I'm sorry," Peter apologized. "If I would've known that you were... well, an Avenger, I would've never tried to hurt you or helped lock you away–"
"Peter," Danielle turned to face him as she cut off his apology. "We all make mistakes. You did what you thought was right at the time. And trust me, if i would've known you were Spider-Man then I would've never thrown you to the ground... Or thrown that truck at you." The tension in the room seemed to dissipate as the pair fell into a small round of laughter at her light-hearted joke.
Peter smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, wincing slightly from his injury. "Yeah. That was a pretty messed up move. You know, I still can't believe you were an Avenger the entire time. I... I have so many questions. Like, how you got your powers, what living with the Avengers was like, what lifting a meteor was like!"
Danielle chuckled as she kicked all her blankets into a pile on the floor. "I'd answer all your questions, but it's getting kind of late. I don't think your Aunt would appreciate you coming home late on a school night. And I assume she doesn't know about the whole..." she gestured to the mask still in Peter's hands. "...thing either."
Peter shook his head. "No. Only you, Mr. Stark, and his security guard, Happy Hogan."
"You met Happy?"
"Yeah. Though, I don't get why they call him 'Happy', he kind of hates me." Dani couldn't help but laugh at that.
After she sobered up, she realized that there were a few problems with the situation they were in. Not only did she still have blood-soaked sheets on her floor, but Peter's suit was still full of blood, he was without any clothes in the middle of her room, and he had no ride to get to his apartment. "Crap," she muttered.
Peter furrowed his eyebrows. "What? What is it?"
"I'm pretty sure my new caretaker has some clothes that could fit you lying around somewhere and I can probably sew up your suit later, but... I don't have a car to drive you home," she explained.
Peter remains silent for a moment, taking in the fact that she was right; he was screwed if he couldn't get home to May in time. Then, a lightbulb went off in his head. "Hey, when was the last time you rode the train?"
It wasn't long after that that the pair found the self back on the subway train headed to Queens.
Danielle was lucky enough to find Peter some temporary clothes (she offered to walk him to the alley where he left his spare pair in his backpack, but he knew that he had left it there long enough that it was probably stolen already). Now, he sat beside her wearing baggy sweatpants and a bright yellow hoodie.
They had also agreed to let Danielle keep the suit at her Penthouse so she could clean it, wash it, and sew up where the bullet hole was. He made her promise not to tell Mr. Stark though, or her brother (who he found out was actually Statix).
"Your actual real brother is Statix?!" Peter whisper-shouted beside her in the middle of the cart.
"Ssh," Danielle hissed at him, but he couldn't contain his excitement. "Yes, my brother is Statix."
"That is..." he laughed from the nerves, leaning back in his chair and making the gesture of his mind being blown. "You're like, my new coolest friend."
Danielle laughed. "You'll change your mind when you meet Vision," she whispered to him. "He shoots lasers from his forehead." She laughed even more when she noticed his eyes go as wide as saucers. It was fun to tell all her secrets to someone. Especially when they reacted the way Peter was now.
After an hour or so trekking on the trains and then walking the rest of the wa to his apartment in Queens, they finally made it up to his apartment door.
Peter instinctively reached for his keys in his pocket before remembering he had left them in the small compartment in his suit along with his phone, wallet, and earbuds. "Dangit," he muttered, making Danielle giggle at his reaction. Peter then let out a sigh and worked up the nerve to knock on the door, hoping that Danielle's presence would soften the fallout of whatever May planned on yelling at him about.
Eventually, May came to answer the door. The first thing her eyes landed on was Peter. "Peter Benjamin Parker, do you know what time it is?!" She began to scold him. "It is nearly eleven o' clock at night. On a school night. And you are just now getting home in– what are you wearing? Are those sweatpants? What happened to you...?" May then finally noticed the shift of movement just beside Peter and turned her attention towards the petite brunette beside him. And suddenly, her entire demeanor shifted. "Danielle?"
The brunette smiled sweetly at her, even waving a bit for affect as she greeted Peter's Aunt. "Hi, May."
Suddenly, before she knew it, Danielle was being pulled in for a warm embrace from May. "Goodness gracious, I feel like it's been years since I last saw you. How have you been?" She asked.
Danielle laughed nervously, glancing at Peter at she was being squeezed to death. But all he managed to do was shrug and give her look that said 'what do you expect me to do?'. After a few moments of suffocating, May eventually pulled back from Danielle, still beaming down at her. "Um, I've been busy," Danielle answered her.
"Oh, I heard. Peter told me all about what happened to your grandmother and aunt. I can't imagine," she said with a frown, holding a hand over her chest.
Danielle gave Peter a side glance, being reminded about the lie he had told all their classmates and friends to save her skin. She would have to properly thank him later for that. "Yeah. It's been hard," Danielle replied with a nod. "That's actually why Peter's home late. I've been meaning to catch up on class work since I've been so distracted in class and Peter was helping me out and we just lost track of time. And then, a bus drove by and completely soaked our clothes," she lied with ease. She noticed Peter raise his eyebrows, clearly surprised at her skill. But, now that he thought about it, he probably shouldn't have been since she had been keeping such a big secret for such a long time from everyone.
"Oh, I understand," May remarked, much to Peter's relief. "I actually just ordered some Thai food if you would like to join us for a late dinner. I know it's late, I would hate to send you walking back home all alone at night like this."
"No, no, no, it's fine," Danielle assured her. "I texted my guardian earlier. She's on her way to come get me now. Thank you for the offer, though."
"Of course. You're welcome anytime. Thank you for walking Peter back."
"Thank you for letting him study with me. He's been a real help."
May turned to her nephew and smiled with pride and joy. Something stirred in Danielle's stomach as she watched the interaction and she couldn't help but feel sorry for May who had no idea of what her nephew really did. He had nearly died tonight had it not been for Danielle's help, and she was smiling and acting calm because she had no idea.
"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Danielle," May stated, turning back to her with a bright smile. "Be safe, alright, sweetie?"
Danielle smiled back and nodded. "Okay." She watched as May then started to walk back into her apartment, leaving her and Peter alone in the doorway.
Danielle turned to her friend and watched him give her a grimace as he walked inside, stopping just before the door and turning towards her. "Thanks, again. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't helped me." She knew.
"It's fine. It's what friends are for, right?"
"I still have so many questions," he admit with an excited look on his face. Danielle thought he looked like a kid in a candy store each time she mentioned something cool in her life. "How about we meet up back at the bleachers and I'll answer all of your questions, and in return, you answer mine?" He prompted her.
Danielle pursed her lips as if she were thinking about it before replying, "Okay."
Peter smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She nodded.
After that, Peter watched her walk down the hall from the doorway. And that night, he could hardy sleep from the excitement he felt from the mere thought of the fact that the next morning he was going to get to interview his Avenger friend. This was probably one of the coolest and most insane day of his life. And tomorrow with Danielle was bound to be even better.
—
After the wild night of revelations, it was no surprise for Danielle to find a beaming Peter waiting for her exactly where they planned to meet up at their old place atop the school bleachers.
"Sorry I'm late," Danielle apologized sheepishly as she made her way up towards her friend with her backpack slung over her shoulder and a smile on her face. It had been quite a struggle to get there that morning with Rae still gone on one of her trips. She was forced to take two trains, and then a taxi if she didn't want to be late.
Peter shrugged. "Eh, it's fine. The only reason I'm even here early is, well, because I couldn't really sleep last night," he admitted truthfully.
Danielle's eyes widened. "W-was it the stitches? Were they bothering you too much last night?" She asked, clearly worried. "Did I do them wrong? Or did they–"
"Elle," Peter cut in with a chuckle. "I was fine, just... super excited to talk to you more about the..." he made a weird finger gesture with his hands.
Danielle laughed at his terrible impression of what her and Wanda would do to use their powers. "That's not how you do it. But at least you tried," she remarked. "And what is it that you do? The little..." She held up her hand, pressing her ring finger to her palm with her thumb while the rest of her fingers stuck out. "Am I doing it right?"
Peter chuckled, shaking his head. "Not at all. It's like this." He then took her hand in his, pressing down her middle finger to her palm and sticking her thumb out. Dani smiled smugly as she raised her arm at him, mimicking the way he shot his webs. "Like that," he said with a laugh and a nod. The pair fell into a comfortable laughter before Danielle abruptly dropped her arm to yank her backpack off.
"I almost forgot." Peter watched curiously as she took a seat on one of the bleachers and began to unzip her backpack. She dug around for a few moments before producing a white plastic bag with a ball of blue and red fabric inside. "Here," she said, handing it to him. "It took me most of the night to scrub out all the blood and then to sew up the bullet hole. I finally finished on the ride over in the taxi."
The web-slinger smiled as he took the bag in his lap, taking a seat beside her as he glanced down inside to find his suit, perfectly clean and fixed. "Thanks, Elle." He said as he looked between her and the bag. It was then that something on the bleacher floor caught his eye. "Hey, is this yours?" He asked, setting aside his suit to pick up the book on the floor. Danielle sat up when she realized what Peter was holding was the piano sheet music book.
"Oh, uh, yeah," she replied, taking the book from him to quickly shove back into her backpack.
"Is that... Is that a sheet music book?"
"Yeah, but it's... I don't know why I even checked it out. I don't really play anymore," she admitted sheepishly.
"What? Why not? You told me you were great at playing. I've– well, I've never actually heard you play before, so..."
Danielle shrugged as she scratched the back of her neck. "I just... It's complicated."
"But I thought you loved playing."
"I... I did... Do," she corrected herself. "But, it's..."
"Complicated," Peter finished for her.
"Mm." Dani nodded before letting the awkward silence sink in. "Um, so, you said you had questions," she said, trying to make things less awkward.
That seemed to brighten Peter's mood immediately. "Oh, yeah. Um... Where to start..." he trailed off. "Your powers. How did... How did you get those? Were you born with them? Or...?"
"No, I wasn't born with them," she began. "I actually got them suddenly, like you did. But, it was... different, too. Do you remember the Battle of New York?"
Peter nodded. "May, Ben, and I had to stay at a family friends' house while the clean-up took place."
"Yeah. I remember my brother waking me up to watch it on the TV with my parents," she explained. "I used to live in Europe when it happened... But do you remember the Loki guy?"
Dani watched Peter's eyes widen. "Did he... Did he give you your powers?"
"Not exactly. But that scepter he had did."
"The cool outer space weapon thing he fought the Avengers with?" He asked, shocked by the prospect that his closest friend had any connection at all to the psychotic Norse God that tried to take over the world almost six years ago. "But you said you were halfway across the world when it happened. How were you affected by Loki's scepter?"
"Well, after New York, apparently SHIELD got ahold of it. Which was then taken by HYDRA because... well, they were infiltrated by them."
"Washington. I remember that."
"Yeah, and it turned out my father was actually a scientist for HYDRA all along," she explained, her head bowed, unable to look Peter in the eyes. It was safe to say she was a bit embarrassed and ashamed of her family history and the origins of her powers. But, when she looked up at Peter through her bangs, she noticed he didn't look at her any differently than he had been earlier. He still looked completely entranced by the story, unaffected by what she had said just now. So, she continued.
"He apparently refused to do their experiments on people, so they kidnapped my brother and I and used the scepter and his work to experiment on us themselves."
Peter felt at a loss for words. There were no words to express how shocked, sorry, and surprised he was. He was also in disbelief. He had no clue just how much Danielle had endured and gone through. The happy, sweet, and amazing friend of his had been kidnapped by a neo-Nazi organization and experimented on. Her parents had been killed, she had been thrown into jail, she had faced terrible things countless times and this was just the first few hours that he had known her. The real her.
"That's how I got my powers," she finished with a grimace.
"And now you... move things with your mind?" Peter asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit seeing as she was clearly not proud of her origins and not really wanting to continue talking about them.
"Pretty much," she answered with a nod. "I used to be able to do a lot more, but... something happened while I was in the Raft Prison and now I can barely even do that." She watched a frown grace her friend's features as he began to open his mouth, undoubtedly to apologize. But, Danielle stopped him before he could. "Peter, it's fine. It wasn't your fault and no one blames you. It was... a mistake on a lot of people's parts. But not yours," she assured him.
"It doesn't change the fact that I helped put you in that place," he muttered.
"I would've been shoved into that cell whether you helped or not," she muttered begrudgingly, thinking of how desperate Ross was to get his hands on her or any of her other rogue team members. How much he desperately wanted me to lose their footing and make a mistake so he could throw them back in there again.
Peter bowed his head, still feeling extremely guilty still. He had helped to put her, his friend, in that cell. Whether or not someone else would've done it if he hadn't didn't change the fact that he still helped. He did. Not anyone else... Well, her brother was there too, but Peter still helped him.
It was a few moments later when Peter finally spoke again, ready for his next round of questioning. Because when was he ever going to get to interview an Avenger (he knew Tony wasn't on that level with him yet). "So," he began, breaking the silence. "After you were... experimented on, what happened then? Did the Avengers rescue you?"
He watched Danielle visibly cringe with the shrug of her shoulders. "Not exactly," she answered. As Danielle began to explain her origin story of how she met up with the Avengers (fought them, then joined them), helped save the world in Sokovia, lost her brother Pietro, moved into the Avengers Compound, and then met him on the subway train a few weeks after Steve thought it would be a good idea sending her to school. "And then I met you, and Liz, and Michelle, and Betty, and everyone. A lot's happened since then, of course, but that's the general story of how I even got here."
Peter smiled as he took it all in. He had about a million follow-up questions, but none f them that seemed quite relevant at the time. Like what the Hulk was like, or how tall Thor was, and whether or not she had alien abilities because of her exposure to the weird energy the alien scepter Loki had.
Instead, he smiled at a fond memory he had of his first meeting with Danielle. "You know, it's starting to make sense now why you seemed so nervous when I first met you on the train a year ago," he recalled. "I remember standing a few feet behind you when your heartbeat just started banging in my ears. Like, normally the super hearing lets me hear some heartbeats or heavy breathing, but I'd gotten so used to just blocking it out. But yours... it was getting so loud, it was starting to hurt and I just had to try and see who you were.
"Kind of crazy how it turned out to be a girl the same age as me going to the same school as me, who's now one of my closest friends and also happens to be an Avenger," he concluded with a delighted smirk. Danielle smiled back at him.
"Well, I think you know the basic info there is to know about me and my powers," Danielle eventually broke their comfortable silence when the sound of the school bell caught her attention from across the field.
Peter nodded as he followed her movements of gathering his things (quickly shoving his suit in the depths of his new backpack he had to buy earlier that morning after his last one was indeed stolen) and starting to stand up off the bleachers. "Yeah. And I'm definitely glad I can finally talk to someome about this stuff, ya know? It was getting kinda hard to keep this secret for so long and it feels pretty good to just... let it all out in the open with someone who gets it," he stated, a beaming smile on his face as he led Danielle back down the bleacher steps to the bottom.
The pair quickly walked from the off the football field, across the parking lot, and into the deserted hallways as first period was about to commence. They stopped just before the hallway split into two different directions and Danielle felt a sense of deja vu wash over her, taking in and remembering her first time ever walking into Midtown Tech Highschool with Peter, how they stopped in this exact hallway and he turned to her to wish her luck in her first day.
Now, they were here yet again. But this time, when Peter turned to her, all he could do was smile and wave. "See you after school?"
Danielle shrugged. "Maybe."
She watched as Peter's smile stayed on his face as he began to turn away. She let it sink in just how amazing it felt to have someone finally know. To let someone in and not have them be judgemental, questioning, or scared of her. Peter now knew almost everything there was to know about her now. Almost everything...
"Hey!"
Peter froze in his steps, turning back on his heel to face Danielle. He expected her to give him a definite answer about seeing her during his Spider-Man patrols since she knew now or for her to wish him luck during class. But instead, she shouted, "Harper."
Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Was that code for something? "What?"
"Danielle Harper," she told him, glad there wasn't anyone but them in the entrance of the school since first period was now about to start. "That's my real name... I-In case you were wondering."
Peter nodded and smiled. Waving one last time as she too turned the opposite direction to go to class now. And as he walked down the hall towards his first period (he most definitely would be late to) he kept repeating the name over and over in his head. Danielle Harper. Danielle Harper. Danielle Harper.
He no longer knew who Danielle West was. Because now he had a new friendship with Danielle Harper. And it was bound to be beautiful and awesome.
—
A/N: That it was... AGHHHHHH almost at Homecoming. And after Homecoming is a special arc ;), and after that is Thor Ragnorak, and after that is Infinity War, and after that is Endgame, and after that is Far From Home and AGHHHHH IM SO READY. I'm not sure what lies ahead after Far From Home but hopefully newer Marvel movies will give insight as to what the hell Peter and the rest of the MCU hero gang will be up to prior to the end of Phase 3, Far From Home. But it will be a while before we get there so we have time... Hopefully.
ALSO: I changed my Tumblr username. It's now buckysbitch4hire so if you wanna message me, ask me questions, or see me just shitpost about random fandoms I'm in (mostly Marvel). Hope on over. I may start getting my shit together to actually post and clean it up so it looks presentable and it accurately depicts me. But for now it's just there. So FOLLOW ME. Please.
Chapter songs are: Secrets by One Republic (for the first half) and Wow, I'm Not Crazy by AJR (for the other half on the bleachers bc once again these brothers are on fire and I love them so much).
Reviews:
PrettyRecklessLaura: Carp indeed. But, here's your next update. Enjoy!
haleyamazing13: Oh, Tony's gonna have a ball when he finds out Dani knows about Peter since he already knows Peter knows about Dani. And Dani in Homecoming is going to be very different from her other Arcs, but I don't want to spoil it too much.
Wikked: Here it is!
jmatrix00: Yes, that Arc and Civil War Arc was sort of meant t be one bad decision after the other because in terms of writing. That one in particular was kind of my first original ones and I wasn't entirely sure with how I wanted it to go so it's a bit choppy, but I also reason it with the fact that it's kind of the point. Alice makes shit decisions because her emotions and connection with her kids being involved clouds her judgement and in turn makes her a bit of a fucking idiot. Not to mention, she's only been an assassin for like three years and isn't as trained. Dani is an idiot because this is her first real major problem outside of Ultron and HYDRA. One that can't just be fought off with her powers, but deals with her emotions. So, sorry for the plot holes in that Arc.
Hyraeth: He he he he, I am evil. But, you have a non-cliffhanger chapter now! And i feel like I did pretty alright with it. For real! Pietro never is mentioned again. Not even by Wanda, which I feel is kind of sad. So, I took it upon myself to mention him as much ask can and these next few arcs hell be making more appearances in flashbacks because the arc after Homecoming deals with Dani and Jack's past in Sokovia because a lot happened in those almost four years they were there. Yes, as much as Dani is having t survive without her powers, she also really wants the back, so she will also be working towards that as well. And Happy Pride to you as well!
Love. Fiction. 2019: Thanks! Here's a new one!
Incorrect Quote of the Chapter:
Peter: Maybe we should hold hands.
Dani: ?
Peter: ...for safety.
Dani: You're absolutely right.
["ANOTHER!" - Thor 2k11]
Peter: May, I'm back!
May: Where have you been this whole time?
Peter: Uh... *looks out window*
Danielle: *hiding outside window, mouthing* Internship.
Peter: Ginger dip.
Danielle: *jumps through window* Just ground him.
