A/N: Happy December, losers. Have some love and early Christmas spirit.
Chapter Song: State of Grace (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift because I have been indoctrinated as a Swiftie.
Headcanon of the Chapter: Danielle has a hidden talent that she's able to solve a Rubix cube in an insanely short amount of time.
DAY ONE
"Strumming my pain with his fingers... singing my life with his words..."
"Mm," Danielle winced as she tried to readjust herself in the small, uncomfortable hospital bed, her hand coming up to try and grasp at a pillow, a blanket... or whatever device away from the bed playing the music that was keeping her from getting any sleep.
"Killing my softly with his song. Killing me softly with his song..."
At first, the teen was convinced that maybe she'd accidentally left her phone playing on the nightstand a foot or two away from her face. Instinctively, she did what she normally did with her alarm clocks. Danielle reached a hand out from over the edge of the bed and-
"Telling my who life with his song. Killing my softly with his so-"
CRASH!
There was a beat of silence after Danielle got rid of the sound keeping her awake. With another shift and soft whimper, the girl got back into a comfy position beneath the scratchy blanket and attempted to regain the rest she'd just lost.
"...Good morning to you, too."
Danielle immediately shot out of bed and regretted it instantly when pain shot through her stomach, into her chest and down her spine. "Ah-!"
"Don't try to get up, Dani," her brother scolded her. He quickly jumped up from his seat next to the nightstand to move to stand beside his sister as he carefully eased her back onto the bed. "It's just me. It's just me."
Danielle grimaced before lying limp against the sheets. Well... there was no sleeping going on now that she was awake and fully aware of where she was.
Jack must've seen the recognition flash in her eyes as she settled back down. He stood over her and frowned. "You know where you are?" She nodded. "You remember how you got here?" She nodded again.
"How many-" her words got caught in her scratchy throat. She cleared it. "How many times have I woken up like that?"
"Only twice," he answered. "Though, this is the first time you broke my phone..." The pair glanced across the room to see the small piece of metal now broken into even smaller pieces of metal and glass scattered on the floor.
Danielle turned back to her brother. "Sorry," she grimaced ruefully.
"Sorry for waking you up. I was getting bored," her brother shrugged before plopping back down into his seat beside the bed.
It was then that she glanced over his shoulder to see that the sun was shining through the curtains now. Danielle furrowed her eyebrows together. "How long have I been asleep?"
"It's coming up on noon now," Jack explained. "You woke up for the first time a few hours after your surgery around 4 in the morning. Passed out after that and have been asleep ever since."
Almost eight full hours of sleep. Huh. She wondered when the last time she'd ever gotten a full night's sleep had been. Despite herself, Danielle let a small yawn escape her lips as her head fell back against the pillow.
Beside the bed, her brother chuckled. "You can sleep some more, ya know. No one's gonna yell at the injured toddler sleeping in past noon. Except maybe the Devil Incarnate herself."
Danielle noticed his eyes drifting towards the door and didn't need to ask to whom it was he was referring. "Is she still mad about what happened?"
"Yup," Jack answered truthfully, popping the 'p.' "Still blaming herself... Then again, she's not the only one."
Danielle turned back to her brother and frowned when she noticed the way he hung his head. He wasn't meeting her eyes even though she knew he was probably aware she was looking at him now. She could see it in his shoulders, the guilt that was weighing him down. She watched as he twisted his fingers in his lap as though he was itching to get something off his chest.
"Jack."
He didn't look up at her.
"Jack," she said with a bit more force in her voice. He glanced up at her through his criminally long eyelashes- as Wanda liked to refer to them as. "This wasn't your fault."
Her brother clenched his jaw before dropping his head again. "He never should've made it out of that Sokovian prison," he grit through his teeth. "We killed him... We killed him, and yet-"
"It wouldn't be the first time he's come back from the dead," she reminded him with a small grimace.
"Still," he bit out. "We shouldn't have ever let you out of the Compound until we were a thousand percent sure he was gone."
"I'm glad you didn't."
The words from his sister's mouth caught him off guard. If he hadn't looked up at her to see her lips move, he probably would've thought he'd just heard a whisper in the wind that sounded an awful lot like words he'd only dreamed of hearing come out of her mouth.
He was stunned for a moment.
"You... You're glad we didn't?" He gaped. "What- you wanted this to happen? Dani, why would you... Why would you want something like this-"
"I don't mean it like that," she amended. She whimpered slightly as she pushed herself up a little bit more to face her brother more directly rather than slouching back in the bed. "This... this sucks-" she gestured to the IV stuck in her arm and the hospital room they were both still in. "But... you weren't there. You didn't see what I saw when he took me to that dock."
"A murderer, Danielle!" Danielle flinched at her brother's raised voice. "What you saw- whoever you saw- he is nothing but a cold-blooded killer. He didn't take you to that dock to make amends. He went there for revenge."
"But he didn't take it!" She shouted back, desperation in her eyes as she tried to get her brother to understand.
Jack furrowed his eyebrows, still not getting the full picture. It was as though he felt his sister was holding back in some kind of way. "What do you mean he didn't take it?"
Danielle sighed, mentally preparing herself for her explanation. "When he was there, at the game, he took Peter. He had every intention of killing him to get to me. He wanted me to hurt. He wanted me to experience what he felt when we left him back in Sokovia... So I made him a deal. Me for Peter."
She could see the horror in her brother's face upon realization of what his sister had done. Actively giving herself up to the one person who had the closest chance at putting her in an early grave. Someone who nearly had on one occasion. She could see the years lost in her brother's eyes as he pictured having to bury another sibling, his last blood relative.
"I... I don't know what came over me," she explained in a meek voice. "I just knew that I had a choice to make, and I chose to believe that the same Noah who sacrificed himself for me all those years ago was still in there. That he was capable of forgiveness, and so was I. And in some twisted way, I think he saw that."
Jack's eyes were practically glowing, he was livid. "He shot you, Danielle."
"He could've set me on fire and watched me burn while I screamed," Danielle pointed out to him. Her brother flinched. "He also could've aimed for my head, my heart... Instead, he made a clean shot in a place that caused little to no damage. He knew what he was doing. I have to believe that means something. I have to, Jack."
Her brother looked dejected, defeated... but, most of all, he looked as though someone had just shot his puppy and left it for dead in front of him. He looked as though someone had taken all his hope.
Maybe she had by telling him the truth of what happened between her and Noah that night.
But she couldn't regret what she did because if she hadn't done it... she wouldn't have hope that somewhere out in the world Noah was working on forgiving himself after all this time.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing..." she heard her brother mutter beneath his breath. It was the last thing he said to her before he started out of the door.
"Jack? Jack!" She called after him, but he didn't even look back at her.
Just as the door swung open and her brother stepped through, a familiar face popped out.
"What's his deal?" Happy prompted, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.
DAY TWO
"Police are still unsure if the anomaly that occurred at the Midtown High Football Field on Friday night is connected to the arson being investigated across the city, but speculations are being made that this is the work of the same Enhanced Individual," the blonde news reporter on the screen explained.
Danielle watched from her bed as a blurry image of Noah in his Arson's mask popped up on the screen from the night of the football game. After a strenuous half hour, her and Happy had finally managed to figure out the TV remote attached to her bed by a thick white wire. It was funny to think this same man was such close friends with Tech Genius and Iron Man himself Tony Stark.
"I'm just glad there weren't a lot of people that were hurt. I mean, that guy came out of nowhere. I didn't even notice what was happening behind me until I made it to the End Zone and by then..." Danielle watched Nate Whelsh's eyes gloss over through the TV screen. The camera cut away from the Midtown quarterback to show the charred remains of the field and the metal stands all burnt, melted and mangled. "What happened happened and now it's up to us to rebuild what that bastard took from us," Nate concluded.
Danielle bowed her head, her fingers coming to pick at the IV tape still slapped on her arm crease as she tried to distract herself while the news segment played on.
"Reports are coming in that over a dozen staff members, students, and family members from both schools have been admitted to the hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to fatal, but no deaths are being confirmed at this time," the blonde news anchor listed off.
Danielle felt herself let go of the weight she'd been holding onto. The guilt that she'd put so many in danger by being out in the open the way she was. It was a mistake to think she could go back to normal life so soon after what happened. And as much as she wanted Noah to be good, she knew in the moment all he could think about was her when he attacked the football game.
"This tragedy has left not only a school scarred, but also a community... Christine Everhart with WHiH Newsfront signing off."
"Her again. God," Happy groaned from the doorway of the hospital room. "It's like I can never escape."
Danielle smirked slightly. "Friend of yours?" She jerked her head up at the TV where Everhart still beamed towards the camera with the backdrop of a burnt stadium still behind her just before it cut to commercials.
"More like a result of Tony's bad judgement," Happy grumbled, making a face of disgust. "You know how you get those annoying little gnats in the house and you try your damndest to ignore them, swat them, make sure every door and window is shut tight but they still somehow find a way to come in and annoy you?"
Danielle let a loud laugh escape her throat before grabbing at her sore stomach. "Harsh," she choked out through her laughs.
Happy smiled, prideful in the fact that he got her to laugh. "By the way, what's with you and this news station? It's been playing nonstop all morning. You know they're just gonna keep replaying the same segment over and over again," he explained as he made his way back to his seat at the table by the bed, all the snacks he'd walked in with spilling out onto the surface.
Danielle shrugged as she reached over the railing of the hospital bed to snatch the pretzels. "I don't know," she admitted as she popped open the bag and poured a small portion onto the tray attached to the other side of the bed that hovered beside her lap. "I guess I'm just scared that eventually they're going to start hearing back from the other people in the hospital... and it's not going to be good news."
Happy's frown deepened as he set down the bag of peanuts he was just about to dig into. He set them down, despite himself. "This isn't your fault, Danielle-"
"It is," she stated firmly. "I lied to Jack when I told him I'm glad he and Rae didn't lock me away in the Penthouse or the Compound. A part of me is glad that I got to help Noah find some type of closure, but I... I was reckless to think that I could let my two lives converge. That there wasn't going to be consequences that ended in more than just me getting hurt."
Her eyes drifted down to the tray where she'd started to break apart some of her pretzels the way she'd done so many times before. She'd done it countless times, but all she could think about as she pulled the pieces apart to turn them and make them into something new... was the person she had done it with last.
"I almost saw Peter die, Happy... I almost saw my partner get killed because I put him in the crossfire between me and my past."
Even with her eyes open, Danielle could still see her worst nightmares play out before her the way it did that night.
The way she could feel the heat radiating against every part of her body. The tears in Peter's eyes that ricocheted to hers as she watched Noah strangle him. The hopelessness and gut-wrenching anxiety pitted in her chest that made her lungs grow tighter and tighter with every second that the barrel of the gun was pressed against Peter's head. The split second where Danielle thought she was about to lose one of the best things in her life...
"The kid said you gave yourself up to Arson," Happy stated, Danielle didn't meet his eyes as she let her hand hover above the scattered pieces of pretzel on her tray. "Is that why?"
The smaller pieces drifted outwards, up and down as the larger bulkier pieces of pretzel began to move towards the center, Danielle using only a fraction of concentration to carefully piece together this complicated puzzle with her mind.
"I don't know what happened," she admit in a soft voice, almost a whisper. "I froze for a second when Noah first appeared. I panicked because I knew I only had two options. Let him kill me or kill him first. The only thing I could think of in that moment was the way I killed Rumlow and when I looked at Noah, even through the mask I could tell he wasn't Rumlow."
The pieces huddled more, some moving back to their original spot as the picture started to get clearer and clearer.
"I knew I could talk him down somehow on that field, I was positive of it," Danielle explained. "But then, I went out and saw him with Peter... I wasn't thinking clearly. I couldn't breathe."
The pretzel pieces shuffling against the tray were the only noise in the room as Danielle continued.
"It was like everything stopped and all of my elaborate plan to save Noah before he could even get the chance of hurting anyone else had gone out of the window," she explained. "It was like all I could think of was how to save Peter... I blanked. But I know I'd do it all over again because if I hadn't..." She trailed off, leaving her implications clear in the way her eyes began to fill with even the thought.
She quickly sniffed away the tears, her hand carefully pulling away from the image she created from pretzels, revealing the pieces of her puzzle all falling into place.
Made intricately from small portions of pretzel, large bits, small chunks, even the tiniest salt crumb all placed meticulously to produce the small pretzel mosaic of a spider.
"I... I-"
"Love him."
Danielle snapped her head up, her eyes catching Happy's. She opened her mouth to defiantly dispute Happy's ludicrous claims. Because how could it have been true? How could she love her partner? Did she even know what that type of love felt like? Danielle knew she loved her brother, she knew she loved Wanda, she knew she loved her Mom and her Dad, Pietro, Steve, Sharon. But was what she felt with Peter love?
The excitement she felt while standing at her locker, just patiently waiting for Peter to eventually reach her from across the hall where his own locker was. The way her breath caught in the back of her throat every time he slipped his arm around her waist to get them up in the air. The urge she felt to run her fingers through his hair, trace along his jaw, and pull him closer. The instinct to lean in a little closer every time they're chest to chest.
...the constriction in her lungs when she thought she might lose him forever.
Holy shit.
She loved Peter Parker.
RING!
Danielle flinched instinctively at the loud sound coming from her phone abruptly bringing her back down to reality where she was in a hospital room and Peter was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, Danielle found her self grateful for the fact that his Aunt May had forced him to go home to get rest. She wouldn't know how to act around him, wouldn't know what to say or do. Would she have to tell him? Would their partnership fall apart if he found out? What if he found out?
Oh, God... what if he found out?
RING!
Danielle reached out to pat around for her phone on the table on the opposite side of her hospital bed until she was able to pull it towards her with her out stretched hand. She flipped it over to read the contact name and blinked in surprise.
Jules Winnfield (MJ)
She swiped her finger across the phone and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?"
There was a beat of silence followed by frantic movement on the other line that had Danielle scrunching her face in confusion.
"Hello? MJ?"
"...Holy shit, dude!" She eventually shouted directly into Danielle's ear. She winced and held it back for a second. "-then you told Ned to grab me and go, and I kept running because I thought you were right behind us. I turn around and you're gone! Just- just gone!"
"MJ-"
"And now I have to hear it from Parker that you're not dead-!"
Danielle's chest thumped as if her heart had actually stopped for a second before panicking and picking back up again. "You've seen Peter?"
"Of course that's what you're worried about," MJ groaned. "This is like DC all over again where you and Parker just disappear during some crazy shit going down, leaving us all to wonder where you are, what happened to you, are you okay!"
"I'm fine, Michelle," Danielle reassured her friend. "I'm just in the hospital, but I'm fine."
"You're... you're in the hospital?" she heard her friend choke out on the other end of the line.
Danielle's confusion grew even further. "...Yes. Didn't Peter tell you when he talked to you?"
There was a pause.
"...NO!" MJ screamed into the phone. "That prick told me you guys made it home and you were just knocked out after helping the clean up. I thought he was covering up for something like if you got hurt or not, but I didn't think he'd lie to me about the hospital." Danielle winced, inwardly wishing she'd kept her mouth shut now. "What else has he lied about? Why are you in the hospital if you guys supposedly made it out. Why lie about it in the first place?!"
"Michelle!" Danielle eventually shouted back. "I... I can explain everything, I swear." She paused, for the first time glancing up at Happy during this conversation. He'd kept quiet for the most part, but he could see the way he gave her a pointed look when he recognized that tone of voice she'd used. Happy had been around long enough to recognize when Danielle was lying... and also when she was telling the truth.
Danielle sighed.
She already lost Liz as a friend. And she was probably going to lose Peter when he found out about the way she felt about him. And Ned was probably apart of the same package deal with Peter on that one. And maybe it was selfish, but Danielle didn't want to have to lose MJ.
"Just... just not right now." From across the room, Happy seemed to relax. He sat back in his chair, fully expecting Danielle to continue to lie her way through this one. But... Danielle always was one for setting things straight in the most dramatic of ways. "How about we talk in person? Next Monday. Hopefully, I'll be discharged by then."
Happy snapped up to attention at her words.
"You're... you're serious? No lies, no cover-ups?" MJ wondered skeptically on the other line.
"The truth," Danielle assured her, making direct eye contact with Happy as she said it. "All of it. Everything." Happy was already out of his chair and stomping towards the bed when MJ responded again.
"O-okay... I'll see you next Monday then."
"Okay,Igottago-Bye-!" Danielle hung up the phone just seconds before Happy snatched it away from her.
He looked frustrated more than anything. Like a man who was probably thinking about the fact that he's spent too much time with these superheroes and vigilantes alike. "I swear-" he cut himself off, pulling away from pointing directly in between Danielle's eyes. "I swear, you and Tony and the kid are all too much alike. I'm getting grey hairs and- don't you dare make a joke about my age right now, Danielle. I am not about to have it from you after the stunt you just pulled. Or should I say are about to pull, Monday, next week."
Danielle curled herself up into a defensive ball so not to create a bigger target for herself, scared that with the way Happy's face was getting redder and redder that he would blow up from pure frustration and anger.
"I could stop you, ya know. I should stop you," he continued to rant. "But... I just know you'd somehow find a way to make this stupid decision whether I chain you at the Compound basement until this MJ girl is dealt with or not... It's whatever."
"I just don't want to lose another friend," Danielle put it plainly, resting her chin on the tops of her knees she hugged against her chest. Her hand idly swept over the pretzel mosaic of the spider. How was she going to tell Peter now?
DAY THREE
Danielle sighed as she slapped down down another card to the pile.
"Draw four."
Across the table from her, Happy cursed beneath his breath. "I. Hate. You" He emphasized each word with every card he grabbed and added to his hand. "Your move."
Danielle chuckled before placing another card to the pile. "Reverse in red."
"Argh!" Happy threw his head back in agony, popping back up to draw another card. "Go, dammit."
Danielle giggled beneath her breath at the Head of Security's expense. She glanced down at her hand and winced.
Happy, recognizing her look, immediately grew defensive. "No... No, no, no, no, no, no-"
"Sorry," the teen grimaced as she set down another card. "Blocked-"
"No!"
"UNO," Danielle whimpered with a smile on her face, slapping down her last card.
Happy guffawed. "Oh, come on!"
The brunette shrugged. "...I win."
"Dammit!" Happy tossed his cards down on the hospital table with a slap. "This is bullshit. This is the fifth game you've won in a row. How do you do it?"
Danielle shrugged, turning her head partially to pay attention to the US History assignment splayed out in her lap. "I don't know. Maybe you're just not as good as you think," she chided, only half paying attention to the conversation as she attempted to keep her focus on the background of Pearl Harbor. "Hey, do you know what year Pearl Harbor happened? I can't remember if it was 1942 or 1943."
Happy scoffed. "What, do I look like Cap?" Danielle shook her head and just marked the answer 1942 with her pencil, hoping it was correct. "I should be getting mad at you for not paying attention in class, but considering that there was a psychopath out trying to actively kill you while you were sitting in US History, I guess I can't be too mad that your head was otherwise occupied."
Danielle wanted to laugh... She almost did. Purely of the irony of his words because she remembered the day they went over Pearl Harbor in her 5th Period class. It was weeks ago, just a few hours before Arson's initial appearance in her life. She'd been distracted, that wasn't a lie. But it wasn't some outside force that distracted her that day in class, in fact what had distracted her had ended up being her imagination running while wondering what Peter had planned for them later that day after class. She couldn't have imagined up the beautiful theater he'd found just for her that night before everything went downhill.
"Hey," Danielle snapped her head back up to attention at the sound of Happy's voice calling her back. "You still with me? Do I need to call a nurse?"
"No. No, I'm alright," she assured him with a strained smile. "Just... pretty sure the answer is 1941, not 1942." She laughed before erasing her first answer and correcting it.
"So..." Happy sighed, changing the subject. "Rematch?" He held up one of the UNO cards in his hand.
Danielle let out a sigh. "Actually, I was wondering if we could play a new game."
"Is this game called 'Fill Out Discharge Papers,' because if it is then I ain't playing," Happy shot back without even a hint of humor behind his words as he hastily gathered and reorganized the cards on the table.
Danielle deflated and turned back to her homework. "It was worth a shot," she muttered beneath her breath. She'd been locked in this hospital room for coming up on three days and she was already itching to get out. Her wounds were partially healed, the nurses and doctors were stunned at her exceptional recovery, but had yet to suspect anything just yet.
"So, no chance of me regaining my dignity with a rematch?" Happy prompted as he pushed together the shuffled cards all back into one deck.
Danielle frowned, twirling her pencil between her fingers. "No... I've gotta finish this."
"Didn't your school already issue a statement about being closed for another week? Why are you doing homework if it isn't due for another week and a half?" He prompted, letting the deck trickle back into it's small box.
The teenager shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't actually think Rae would bring me my bag from the Penthouse, but I'm also bored, so... might as well do something while I rot here," she said, purposefully eyeing Happy through her tendrils of hair that had come lose from the small bun clipped behind her head.
Happy rolled his eyes. "Always with the dramatics, you Harper kids."
Danielle felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach building up again at the thought of her brother. He hadn't come back to the hospital room since their argument a few days prior. She'd tried texting him once she'd gotten her phone, even left a few voicemails after all the missed calls. Nothing.
"Have you... have you heard from Jack?" she prompted, making idle marks on her homework with her pencil.
"Not a peep," Happy replied. "Last I heard, the kid was assisting with damage control upstate back at the Compound."
Danielle bowed her head, but didn't question him further.
"Hey." She glanced back up at him. "He'll come around eventually. He just needs some time. A lot of people blame themselves for what happened, but... he's your brother, he's not going to keep avoiding you forever."
Danielle nodded. She knew he was right, Jack couldn't simultaneously blame himself and be mad at her for what happened. He'd have to come back some time. He just needed some time on his own first, and she would just have to accept that.
Sometimes she wished Wanda was still there to be the referee for the two siblings.
"So," the Head of Security sighed, discarding the deck on the table to lean back in his seat. "You figure out what you're gonna do about the kid?"
"Jack?" Danielle frowned.
"Peter."
Danielle's pencil stopped moving against the paper in her lap. She froze for a moment because frankly, she hadn't given very much though to that particular problem in her life. Of all the things to be worried about, she'd think having feelings for her partner and best friend would fall a little bit below getting shot by her former best friend and left for dead in a freezing river. Still, she did find herself worrying how she was going to go about being around him from now on after she got out of this prison cell- sorry- hospital room.
"I... I don't know," she shrugged. Cross my fingers and hope it goes away. "Probably nothing. It doesn't really matter anyways."
"Yeah? Why not?"
Danielle shrugged. "I- He- We-" she struggled to put her thoughts into words while Happy sat back watching with a small little smirk on his face as if he knew everything. "It's ridiculous," she eventually settled on. "I'm me, with a million problems whose life is almost always in danger of falling apart. And then Peter is... well, he's Peter."
"Are you insinuating that the kid is perfect and doesn't have problems? Because I have a receipt from his room back in Germany that can attest differently," Happy interjected.
Danielle paused. "What?"
"What?"
There was a beat of silence before the conversation picked back up again.
"...I'm not saying he's perfect," Danielle continued. "But he's not like me. Aside from Spider-Man, he has a relatively normal life."
Happy leaned forward in his seat a bit. "You realize you guys live pretty similar lives, right? He's a vigilante, you're a vigilante. He goes to school, you go to school. The same school, might I add-"
"But it's different," she insisted. "Peter chose Spider-Man. He got to live a normal life up until he got his powers and Tony's suit. When he goes home, he goes home to an Aunt and a home he's had for years. When he goes to school, he only has to keep one secret from his friends he's had all his life. Spider-Man is his second life. Danielle West is my second life."
Happy frowned. He looked like he wanted to interject, but kept quiet as Danielle continued to make her argument.
"My point is that Peter gets the choice to hang up his suit one day, settle down, live a normal life... My chance at that ended with my normal life back when I was a powerless kid in Slovakia," she explained. "So what would be the point of telling him how I feel? I'd only be making things worse if I were to make his life even more complicated than it already is."
"Danielle," Happy began, reaching out to put a comforting hand on her arm. "You deserve to be happy, regardless of your powers and your past. Maybe what would be best is just talking to him first."
Danielle paused for a second.
"So... in order to talk to him, I'd have to be discharged-"
"Not this again," Happy groaned as Danielle fell into a fit of laughter.
Eventually, Danielle sobered up again. She spared the Head of Security a sad smile. "Thank you, Happy."
He pat her arm awkwardly as if she were a baseball player up to bat. "No problem, kid."
Danielle chuckled, her hand shooting out to catch the deck of playing cards across the room she'd summoned towards the bed. "Go Fish?" she offered.
Happy deflated. "I'm gonna get my ass kicked again, aren't I?"
Danielle nodded.
DAY FOUR
"G-D and C-G-F," Danielle muttered to herself, leaning over to use her purple gell pen to mark the notes along the staff of the lines of sheet music all splayed out in a semi-circle around her. Her fingers instinctively rested in their positions on the invisible piano in front of her. "B, A, B, D," she continued to jot down.
After the longer days and even longer nights of being locked away in the hospital room, Danielle had resorted to music theory. Class at Midtown was still cancelled, some rumors even started circulating that it would be cancelled until Thanksgiving.
Danielle found herself going stir crazy without something to look forward to once she got out of the hospital. She'd finished her homework. She planned out a few talking points for when she'd meet with MJ next week. And now she was reading sheet music. She was contemplating asking Happy to drop her off some markers and adult coloring book next.
She was willing to do anything and everything to keep her mind off of her feelings for Peter and how she was supposed to confront them. The art of deflection.
As Danielle continued to work at the sheet music around her, there was a knock at the door. She peeked up from her work to find Rae leaning against the door frame. Danielle wasn't shocked to see her guardian, she'd stopped by countless of times but always for some reason, never to just check up on her.
Danielle wondered what the reason was this time.
"Hi," she awkwardly greeted the woman when Rae didn't immediately strike up the conversation.
"Hey," she replied, just as awkward. "Any updates on... anything?"
Rae shrugged, her hands shoving into her skinny jean pockets. Her boot heels clicked on the floor with every slow, calculated step until she eventually stopped at the edge of Danielle's sheet music semi-circle. "No update, but, uh... just checking in. Seeing where we're at with the healing."
"Uh. Healing pretty well," she explained, slightly lifting her shirt to reveal the large bandage still wrapped around her mid-section. "The bullet wound is a small puncture that has a giant bruise around it still. It hurts a lil to move too much."
"Good. That's good," Rae nodded, shoving her pockets even further into her pockets. "Hey, I just wanted to say... I'm sorry for not being here for you all that much. I'm... I've never had to be responsible for someone else's life and I'm trying my hardest to figure out how to do that. And I'm going to keep trying, if that's okay with you. Try to be around more."
"Ye-yeah," Danielle cleared her throat, a little caught off guard by the sudden proclamation made by the woman she hardly really talked to. "Yeah, that sounds... good."
"Cool," Rae nodded. "I quit my job in Europe. I'll be sticking around here more often than not, make sure you don't go get yourself killed."
Danielle nodded. "Nice."
"Alright... That's all I wanted to get off my chest, so," Rae pulled one of her hands out of her pocket to give a small wave before turning on her heel and heading out the way she came. "Get rest. The bags under your eyes are getting almost as bad as Tony's," she called over her shoulder, shutting the door behind her.
As soon as she was outside, Rae pulled a small flip phone out of her pocket and let out a heavy sigh. Carefully, the selected the only number saved on the cell and typed out a single message.
She's okay.
Rae waited patiently, leaning her arm against the wall outside the hospital room. She began to impatiently tap her foot. How long could the Goody-Two Shoes Patriot take to type out a message. Sure, the tiny flip phones were shit, but they were also his choice of form of communication. Idiot...
Eventually, she did get a text back.
Thank you.
Yeah... It was nice to be appreciated. Even if it was by a super soldier in hiding a hundred, or even a thousand miles away.
DAY FIVE
"I'm busting out of this joint," Danielle exclaimed, puffing her chest up- this time without the pain that came with any sudden movement of her body.
"No, you're not. Sit down." Happy sat with his back to her, his chair swiveled so he could watch Downton Abbey playing on the TV as he munched on some of Danielle's leftover pretzels.
Discouraged, the teen slumped back into the bed. She was able to wear normal clothes again, disregarded was that ugly thin hospital gown. Rae was meticulous in her packing. She grabbed a handful of sweats, leggings and even a skirt, then she had shoved the likes of designer cable-knit sweaters, sheer long sleeve shirts and a cardigan or two that probably cost twice the amount of Danielle's life. It felt weird having access to money and expensive things still.
Danielle shifted from laying on her back to sitting up against the back of the bed, her knees coming up to her chest as she thought of what she was going to do for the day to keep herself occupied and distracted.
Her habit of watching the news had been broken with the nightly broadcast turning it's attention from one tragedy to another. Apparently, across the city there was a giant building that had collapsed. There weren't a lot of injuries, but it was a big enough thing that the media had stopped it's constant coverage of what had happened at the football game.
So, Danielle resorted to the methods of Twitter.
She usually used the app to keep track of her sightings, even some of Spider-Man's sightings and updates. Any crimes, any leads about the weapons. As she scrolled, not really searching for anything in particular, she noted the update from one of the Spider-Man tracking accounts.
She hadn't been lying to Peter when she told him about the Twitter accounts, sometimes she just wanted to make sure he was okay when she couldn't make it out at night.
Tonight, Spider-Man seemed to be active.
SpideyWatcherOfficial: Spider-Man spotted stopping a carjacking on Prospect and 7th on the move headed South.
Danielle frowned. South Brooklyn? That wasn't his usual beat.
"Hey, Happy," she called out dejectedly, her eyes not leaving the screen where a picture of a blurry red and blue figure in spandex swinging between skyscrapers was plastered. "What hospital are we at?"
"University in Brooklyn," he answered back gruffly. "Why ya asking?"
Danielle shrugged it off, her heart stuttering a bit at the thought of the fact that Peter was probably swinging around nearby. "Debating ordering take-out," she answered vaguely. "Everything looks like it's closing soon though."
"What, hospital food not good enough for you anymore?" he chuckled.
Danielle smirked, setting her phone aside. She couldn't help but let her eyes travel towards the large windows that opened up to the New York night lights outside. Somewhere out there, she knew Peter was close by. A part of her was tempted to call him, ask how he was, if he was okay. But another part, the part vehemently trying to avoid Peter and the topic of her feelings towards him, was preventing her from even clicking on his contact name.
That, however, did not stop Peter.
He'd called eight times in the last five days... and left three messages. Danielle had meant to listen to the messages by now, but everytime she dialed the voice mail box she either chickened out or was interrupted by Happy, Rae or one of the many nurses attending to her.
"Hey, I'm gonna step out for a second," Happy stated, pushing himself to his feet. "You good on your own?"
Danielle nodded, watching as the Head of Security started out of the door, shutting it behind him.
Now or never...
Reluctantly, Danielle dialed up the voice mail box and pressed play on the first one.
"Hey, hi, hi, Elle. It's, uh, Peter. I don't even know if you have your phone on you or not, but... if you do and you eventually wake up... uh, just call me back. Yeah... Okay, bye."
By the end of the voicemail, Danielle was smiling like a little girl. This was so pathetic. It was just a voice mail, God.
"Calling again just to make sure you're okay. Happy told me you're awake... and that's about all he's telling me... Just call me whenever you get the chance, I guess. I just... I really need to talk to you, Elle."
Danielle frowned, noted the concern in his voice. Was everything okay? Was he in danger? Was he hurt from Noah? Or worse- did Noah go after him following the game? Danielle knew he might've still held resentment for Peter after what happened on the field, but she didn't think he might've been capable of going after Peter again-
"Hey, Elle... Uh, I guess you're awake and have your phone because if you didn't, I wouldn't be getting angry phone calls from MJ about me lying to her about the hospital... Thanks for that, hehe." Danielle winced. Yeah, she probably should've coordinated something with him, or at least warned him. Then again, she was actively avoiding him. "Um, call me when you get the chance. Please. Bye."
Danielle felt a bit guilty, not calling or texting Peter back. But what was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to act around him now that she knew what all of these feelings meant for their friendship... that it was doomed now.
The finger that remained hovering over the call back button eventually stopped. Danielle had made up her mind. She wasn't going to call him... maybe not yet at least.
"Hey, kid." Danielel discarded her phone to the side of the bed when Happy popped his head back into the room. "It's your brother. He wants to know if you're up for vising hours."
Jack was back?
"Uh, yeah- yes. Sure," she nodded enthusiastically, pushing herself more upright.
After Happy left the door open, Jack slipped inside. The first thing Danielle noticed was the bags beneath his eyes. He looked exhausted and restless. "Hey, Dani," he greeted her, his voice hoarse. "You okay?"
Danielle hadn't realized she'd just been staring at him until he gave her a look of confusion, as if she had something wrong with her.
"You look like shit," she told him abruptly.
Jack blinked in surprise. "Wasn't expecting that. Can't say I didn't deserve it though," he rubbed the back of his neck. "How've you been?"
Danielle shrugged. "Bored. In less pain at least."
"Always a good thing to not be in pain," he nodded. "Also, sorry about the being bored thing. I'll have Rae sign your discharge papers and have Happy take you back to the Penthouse."
That caught Danielle's attention. "Where are you going?"
"Yeah, that's, uh, what I'm here to talk to you about," Jack explained, walking slowly towards the edge of the hospital bed. "Rae and I have been following a few leads about where Noah might've gone. Got a hit somewhere in West Europe near France."
Danielle felt herself physically shrink into herself, her blood running cold and leaving her hollow. "You're going after him." It wasn't a question.
Jack nodded. "I can't... I can't sleep knowing he's still out there and that he can come back and finish the job whenever he wants-" Danielle opened her mouth to argue on Noah's defense, but Jack beat her to it. "-And I know you don't think he will for some weirdly you reason, but I don't have that hope in humanity that you do, Dani. I don't. So I'm going after him, yes."
Danielle was silent for a few seconds. He was firm on his stance, he wasn't going to waiver because she flashed him with the puppy eyes. He needed this. He needed her to be safe, and she needed to know Noah wasn't going to be killed by her brother or vice versa.
"Are you going to kill him?" she prompted.
Jack paused. "Do you want me to?"
Danielle shook her head. "No. But I don't want him to kill you either," she answered truthfully. "I can't talk you out of going, can I?"
Jack frowned, shaking his head. "Not this time." Carefully, he moved to the side of the bed and pressed both his hands to Danielle's face, squishing her cheeks a lil as he tilted her head forward to press a kiss to her forehead. Danielle blinked away the tears building in her eyes as she leaned into the hug her brother pulled her into. "I'll be safe, I promise."
Danielle sniffled as her brother pulled away. "Come home when you find him," she said. "Please."
She could feel her brother lean down to press a hard kiss to the top of her head just before pulling away. "I'll text you updates. Call you regularly. Keep yourself out of trouble while I'm gone, please?"
Danielle smirked. "No promises."
Jack gave her a pointed look. "Dani..."
"Okay, I promise. No trouble while you're gone," she nodded.
Jack let out a heavy sigh, pulling her back into another tight hug. "Thank you."
"I love you," Danielle murmured into his shoulder. "Please come home."
There was a beat of silence before Jack spoke again. "I love you, too." But he never replied to her other plead.
DAY SIX
Danielle wasn't at the Compound the day her brother left to follow his lead on Noah. Rae had signed the discharge papers after Jack left the hospital the day before, and Happy had been generous enough to drive Danielle back to the Penthouse in Manhattan.
Admittedly, Danielle was still a bit shaken to be by herself, so Happy stayed the night while Rae flew Jack out upstate.
"I think Rae has a guest room down the hall back that way," Danielle pointed out upon entering the large Penthouse. The reconstruction had finished wrapping up and Danielle had explored the large expanse of the Penthouse one too many times while bored at home.
Happy, however, seemed uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping in an unknown place. "No thanks. I'll stick with the giant couch," he replied, taking off his suit jacket and placing it on the back of the cushions.
Danielle spared him a half smile just before turning in for the night. It was weird for her, being back in her old bedroom after the events of the past two and a half weeks. It felt odd to her, being back and getting ready for bed as if nothing had happened. It was probably why she couldn't get to sleep that night.
She thought the second she'd hit the large comfy pillows, she would be out like a light. But, unfortunately, her restless brain had other thoughts in mind. For hours, Danielle laid on her back staring at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of the city outside of her large glass panel wall. After some time, the teen resigned to the fact that she probably wasn't going to be getting any sleep.
Danielle pulled herself out of bed and grabbed a long cardigan from her closet, making her way to her balcony. It was cold out, the wind slapping Danielle in the face as soon as she'd opened the door outside. The stray hairs not pulled back into a small bun in the back of her head blew in every which direction as the girl leaned over the edge of the barrier. She clutched the cardigan tighter to her upon realizing that now that it was November that rain wasn't going to remain solid. She could feel the cold pitter patter of a mixture of cold sprinkles and hard sleet hitting the ground all around her. She didn't mind the cold, even if it did remind her of drowning in the Hudson briefly.
As Danielle took in the night, she couldn't help but linger a little bit longer than what she should've while outside. She was barefoot and only wearing cotton shorts with a sweater while still recovering from being shot, but... A part of her secretly wished that she wasn't alone out there. Maybe she was waiting for Peter to show up out of the blue.
It was arguably an idiotic thing to wish for considering it was coming up on four in the morning and Peter was more than likely asleep, warm in his own bed back in his apartment. It was also stupid when Danielle took into account her newly realized feelings for her partner in stopping crime and the fact that she had no clue how she was going to talk to him, let alone be around him now.
With a resigned sigh, Danielle decided against staying out in the cold any longer. Happy'd probably kill her if he had to deal with a sick teenager on top of dealing with the other one still swinging around the city.
After heading inside and crawling back into bed, the exhaustion from her mind going a million miles an hour trying to sort out her emotions and problems mixed in with how nice the warmth of her blankets felt after being in the cold for so long finally set in. By the time Danielle woke up the next day, it was already light out outside.
Rolling onto her side, the teen reached for her phone to check the time... Almost noon. Wow, she really had slept in. Danielle pushed herself up into a sitting position before scrolling through notifications.
Twitter first, apparently Spider-Man's last appearance had been last night around midnight when he'd been spotted headed towards Queens. Good, Danielle thought to herself, he made it home at least.
Second, she checked her texts. Only two. One was from Pepper, telling her how grateful she was that she was okay and to call her or Tony if she needed anything. And the second was from Rae, a small update on her dropping Jack off in Europe while she finalized some paper work for her leaving her old job... Whatever it was she did there. She was always kind of vague about it. Danielle doubted even Tony and Pepper knew what it was she did for a living.
Danielle was resigned to tossing her phone on the dresser and ignoring the rest of the outside world until she ultimately decided to go back to her voicemail box.
"Hey, hi, hi, Elle. It's, uh, Peter. I don't even know if you have your phone on you or not, but... if you do and you eventually wake up... uh, just call me back. Yeah... Okay, bye."
"Calling again just to make sure you're okay. Happy told me you're awake... and that's about all he's telling me... Just call me whenever you get the chance, I guess. I just... I really need to talk to you, Elle."
"Hey, Elle... Uh, I guess you're awake and have your phone because if you didn't, I wouldn't be getting angry phone calls from MJ about me lying to her about the hospital... Thanks for that, hehe. Um, call me when you get the chance. Please. Bye."
Danielle debated whether or not to call him back. She knew it had already been a day since he'd last called and left a message, but she wondered if he'd take it personally if she just didn't call him back... He probably would.
God, what was she supposed to say to him? Clearly, he wanted to talk with her, she just wasn't ready to. Was she ever going to be ready?
"Ugh!"
Frustrated, Danielle threw her head back against the pillows, discarding the phone on her nightstand.
Why did her feelings have to complicate everything?
Suddenly, there was a small knock on the door followed by Happy calling through the door, "Kid? You awake?"
Danielle shot straight up. "Yeah- yes!" she called back.
"It's a little late. You're not sick are you?"
Danielle had to bite back a smirk. "No. I'm... I'm fine. Just tired," she explained, pushing herself out of bed and ultimately deciding to pocket her phone and table her inner debate about whether or not to call Peter. She made her way to the bedroom door and pulled it open to reveal Happy standing outside in the hall. "Is that... an apron?" Danielle quirked an eyebrow up in confusion.
Happy shrugged. "Yes," he sighed reluctantly. "I made burgers, you want one?"
Danielle nodded. "Uh, sure," she answered, following the Head of Security's lead to the kitchen, the scent of grilled beef, melted cheese, and buttered buns wafted in the air. "I didn't know you could cook." Danielle chuckled at Happy tightening his apron as she took a seat at one of the tall bar stools by the marble kitchen island.
"Well, while you were sleeping in, I did a security sweep of the entire Penthouse to make sure everything was up to snuff-"
"You mean you snooped?" Danielle countered.
"Security sweep," he gave her a pointed look from over his shoulder that threatened her to press him further on it. "Anyways, I was sorting through Rae's pantry and found some perfectly good supplies for making burgers. Figured you could use a home cooked meal after only eating hospital food for the past couple of days." Danielle watched Happy carefully set up and plate a juicy burger onto a plate before sliding it across the counter towards her. "Eat up. Put some meat on your bones, kid."
Danielle smiled before digging in. The first bite was Heaven, and while Danielle dug into her burger and Happy dug into his own, a comfortable silence fell over the Penthouse, save for the soft sound of storming coming from outside.
Halfway through their silent meal, Happy peered up at Danielle from over his half-eaten burger. "Any plans now that you're busted out?"
Danielle shrugged. "I don't know. Not really."
"What about piano? Weren't you messing with all that sheet music the other day?"
"Yeah, but... Well, I guess there is a place I can practice," Danielle figured, pausing in that train of thought when she remembered who brought her to that place.
"Well, there you go," Happy suggested. "You need a ride?"
"I... I shouldn't go," Danielle shook her head. "It's raining. It's probably too soon to go out and I should practice my piece for a few more days before I actually start playing-"
"Alright," Happy interrupted her, carefully pulling her plate with her partially finished burger away from her. "What's with all the excuses? The entire time you were in the hospital, you were itching to get out and now you barely want to leave the Penthouse. What's going on, kid?"
"Nothing," she insisted. Happy gave her a pointed look as though he clearly didn't believe a word out of her mouth. "I just... I don't know what I'm supposed to do. There's no school for another week and a half. There's nothing to do back at the Compound."
"Why don't you call the other pain in my ass? You know, the one you've been ignoring calls from?" Happy prompted with a light waggle of his eyebrows.
Danielle frowned. "I can't just call Peter."
"Why not? You're friends."
"Well, yeah, but... I can't just call him. It's different now," she insisted. "What if I ruin our friendship, Happy?"
Unsure of how to really respond to a teenage girl's problems with teenage boys, Happy let out a heavy sigh. "Why don't you just talk it out? Because from where I'm sitting the only thing that could possibly ruin whatever good thing you and the kid have got going on is you just sitting here all day in bed ignoring his calls."
Resigned, Danielle took what Happy said to heart and realized maybe she was being ridiculous by ignoring Peter's calls. Maybe what she needed was to just... tell him the truth and cross her fingers. If it ended badly, then... it wasn't meant to be.
"You're right," she admit. "I think I am going to go play today." With a small leap from off the barstool, Danielle started towards her room but not before throwing a quick 'thank you' from over her shoulder for the burgers and advice.
After getting dressed and dragging her feet downstairs, Danielle eventually worked up the nerve to call Peter back. The elevator had just made it to the lobby of the building when Danielle dialed his number. It rang once, twice, three times, until the voicemail ring played. He wasn't answering. Danielle let out a sigh of relief, glad she didn't have to actually talk to Peter just yet.
"Uh, hi, it's me... Danielle. Obviously," Danielle winced. God, this was already starting out terribly. "Just calling back. I'm assuming you're busy, but if you want to meet up and talk, I'll be at the that theatre you showed me. Just, uh... stop by if you want... Okay- bye." She said before quickly hanging and praying either he didn't listen to it for another day or he just didn't listen to it ever.
After getting that out of the way, Danielle tucked her sheet music book and notes into her small satchel and pulled her umbrella out. The rain was still pouring down outside when Danielle walked out clad in her sweater and boots. It wasn't as cold as it was last night, but Danielle still shivered... It might've just been from the anticipation or nerves about Peter, but either way Danielle was shaking all the way to the train and until she eventually made it to the theatre.
As she suspected, the storm was taking it's toll on the run down theatre. As Danielle maneuvered her way through the small splotches of wet velvet carpet from the holes in the roof that had rain water dripping through the cracks, she noticed that the only light was coming from the larger holes in the roof just above and around the stage. A lot more water was trickling through those holes, but since the rain had subsided to a light sprinkle, Danielle figured she was in the clear.
Eventually, she made it up to the grand piano at the top of the stage that was almost completely covered in at least an inch of rain water that splashed slightly as she walked across. The piano, surprisingly, was dry for the most part, save for a bit of water that coated a few of the keys.
Running her hand along the keys with the sleeve of her sweater, Danielle savored the sounds of the slightly out-of-key piano music that greeted her like an old friend. An out of tune friend, but a friend nonetheless.
The teen reluctantly sacrificed her sweater to lay down on the damp bench so she could sit without getting her jeans wet. From the second Danielle sat down, she recalled the sight reading she'd done while in the hospital. It was like riding a bike, the way she picked up right where she'd left off. Her fingers gently pressing the keys to create a soft, but piercing melody that commanded attention from the empty presence as it echoed off the walls of the empty theatre. The pitter-patter of the trickling rain water paired beautifully with the accompaniment and by the end of the first half of the piece, Danielle had wrapped up what she'd remembered with a beaming smile.
"You're playing again."
Danielle jumped at the sound of a new presence in the theatre. She spun around, to try and place where the familiar voice had come from, but the theatre was so dark and the light from above her had her struggling to even see past the edge of the stage.
Eventually, with enough focus, she was able to pinpoint the figure walking down one of the theatre aisles towards the stage.
"Peter," his name left her mouth in a hoarse whisper.
She was both terrified and exhilarated by his presence and Danielle suddenly became acutely aware of how he was here- he was there. She wasn't ready for this interaction. This couldn't happen right now.
"Hey," Peter greeted, one of his hands popping out of his Midtown jacket pocket to give her a small wave. "I, uh, got your voice mail. Figured I'd just meet you here. You play really well."
Unsure of what to really do in the moment, Danielle awkwardly stood from her place on the bench and walked towards the edge of the stage as Peter continued down the aisle towards her. She could see him better without the blaring light beaming down in her eyes. He looked tired. He had bags beneath his eyes and there was still a small streak of red across his cheek from where Danielle remembered Noah had hit him with the butt of his gun.
The scene played back in her mind and suddenly they were no longer in that theatre anymore... The field was on fire, everything was burning, the smell of smoke was suffocating and all she could think of was saving Peter.
But he was here. He was safe.
"How are you?" She blurted out, running her hands up and down her thighs. "I'm sorry I ratted you out to MJ. I didn't know what you'd told her-"
"No, it's my fault," he admit with a grimace. "I definitely should've told her where you really were. But I just didn't want her to get suspicious after what happened..." There was a pregnant pause that passed between the pairs. Peter faltered in his steps the closer he got to the stage. "You look... better."
Danielle shrugged, her hand instinctively coming up to her abdomen where the lingering bruise from her still-healing bullet wound was.
"I'm not actively dying, so..." she shrugged it off, trying to make a joke of it, but realizing it probably wasn't the best seeing the flash of hurt in Peter's eyes. She imagined he must've felt the guilt she did when she saw him on that field. And to think he was the one who found her and fished her out of the Hudson half-dead. "Sorry," she apologized again, her nerves growing more and more anxious as she watched Peter step up the stairs to the stage. "I'm sorry I didn't call as soon as I was awake. I- I didn't know what I was supposed to say to you. I can't even begin to understand what you must've gone through after what Noah had done. I'm so sor- oomph!"
Danielle gasped when Peter had crossed the stage in four short strides and practically crushed her in a bone-crushing hug.
Quite literally, Danielle felt her sore and healing body creak like an old house with the force Peter was putting into this hug. But, frankly, Danielle didn't really care. She hesitated, scared of the implications at first, but ultimately ended up returning the hug. Her fingers lightly tracing the backs of his shoulder blades while her other hand splayed out across his upper back. She tried not to focus on the fact that they were pressed against one another, or that his hands were around her waist, or that she could feel him breathing against her. But she couldn't help the light-headed feeling she got when she felt his mouth so close to her ear.
"You're alright," she heard him sigh in relief, still not letting his hold on her slacken. "I was so scared that you..." he trailed off, but Danielle could feel his grip tightening only a fraction more.
At that, Danielle pulled back to get a better look at him, her breath catching at their close proximity. Oh, God, she wasn't going to survive this. Especially not when no matter how much she tried to pull away from he still kept his hands on her arms as if he needed her to anchor him.
"I'm fine," she reassured him with a nod and pointed look. "You saved me."
Peter scoffed. "Barely. I should've stopped him."
"He was going to kill you, Peter," Danielle insisted, her hand acting on instinct to grab onto the arm that was already holding onto hers.
"You should've let him, Elle-"
"No!" She snapped immediately, her eyes widening a fraction at his words. He wanted her to let Noah hurt him? Was he insane? "I would've never let him hurt you!"
Peter's grip tightened and Danielle tightened her grip in response. He was glaring at her, giving her a look as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing from her. A look that mirrored the one she was giving him. "So instead you just... just trade yourself up and give him exactly what he wants for me?!"
"Yes!" She answered almost immediately. As their voices raised, the rain seemed to pick up simultaneously. As Danielle's heart beat got faster, their arguing growing louder, and their tension getting thicker, the rain pouring through the ceiling didn't add to Danielle's weak attempts at getting the situation under control. "And I'd... I'd do it again and again and again."
Peter paused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as though he didn't have a single clue as to why Danielle would ever even consider it. "...Why?"
Oh, God. There it was. The big question as to why. Why Danielle got butterflies when she was around him. Why the highlight of her day was seeing him. Why her breath caught in her throat every time he smiled in her direction. Why she was willing to sacrifice herself to make sure he was safe.
She wasn't ready to have this conversation... It was now or never, wasn't it? She'd have to give him an answer eventually, she just didn't realize it would have to be so soon. She didn't want to ruin their friendship, but Danielle couldn't live this way. With this monumental secret hanging over them just making it that much worse for the both of them.
Why?
The question still lingering in the air until Danielle was forced to answer.
"Because... Because before I met you, it felt like I was drowning. Every minute of my life, I couldn't stop but wonder why I was still alive just to keep getting hurt over and over again," she blurted. She had to divert her eyes to the Midtown emblem on his royal blue sweater because this was it. This was where she told him the truth, even if it ruined what they had now. "But... then I met you and every moment I'm with you, it doesn't feel like I'm constantly struggling just to stay afloat anymore. You- you give me a reason to keep going, Peter. And without you... I don't even want to imagine what it would be like. So, of course I gave myself up for you. Because... because there is no me without you. Not really."
After her rant, Danielle swallowed hard, finally working up the nerve to look Peter in the eye. His expression was unreadable. She tried to find a sliver of hurt or even disgust in there. She wasn't sure what she was looking for when she looked at him, but all she felt was the building anxious weight in the pit of her chest that grew as the rain poured harder through the cracks in the roof around them.
"Look, I'm sorry. I never wanted to ruin our friendship, I just wanted you-"
Danielle didn't get to finish her sentence, all of the words she had wanted to say suddenly cleared from her brain when Peter abruptly surged forward to press his lips to hers. He was kissing her. Peter Parker was kissing her. It took her a second to fully process what was happening and then another to process what this meant. That this small, sweet gesture was more than just a kiss, it was them crossing a threshold neither one of them could go back on now. And frankly, Danielle didn't want to go back. So instead she pushed forward.
She'd never been kissed before, but acting on instinct she just... pressed back. As Peter's hands tightened on her upper arms, Danielle let her fingers slide up his shoulders and stopped just short of the base of his neck. The small impulsive urges she'd always felt to touch him were now being granted to her, he gave her an inch and she wanted to take a mile.
But she had to stop eventually when Peter pulled back a fraction, his breath still lingering close to her mouth until she too pushed back to look him in the eyes again. She wasn't sure to what to say or even how to react. This was all new territory and as much as she wanted to run with this, the cautious side of her told her to tread carefully. "I-"
"I'm in love with you," Peter blurted out before she could even get a word out.
Well, there went treading carefully, Danielle wanted to laugh.
"I- I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how. I didn't even really realize it until it was too late and I thought you'd... I thought you'd..." he struggled to even put into words the horror from that night. "I realized that I couldn't do this without you either, Elle. And I don't want to."
Danielle felt like bursting into tears, but all she could do was smile. He loved her... Peter loved her and she loved him.
His smile faltered slightly. "Are you... are you going to say any-"
It was Danielle's turn to catch him off guard with an abrupt kiss.
Danielle and Peter stood there in each other's arms, sharing soft kisses in the natural light of the holes in the ceiling of a broken theatre as rain trickled down around them. Yeah, Danielle was right. She didn't want to go back from this threshold they were crossing, she never wanted to go back on this.
A/N: YAY! FINALLY! Everyone say thank you to Red (Taylor's Version) and evermore- the two albums that have inspired me enough to push out this chapter that everyone has been waiting for.
