(A/N: I do not own Spiderman. That right belongs to Sony)
It had been a month since Eddie had returned in Peter's life. It had been a quiet one to say the least.
The pattern was always the same: First, school. Then interning at the ESU lab and then spying on Eddie while Felicia and Liz did his patrolling for him. Peter kinda felt guilty leaving them to themselves despite them insisting they can handle it but he was honestly just grateful there had been no serious attack on the city more than anything.
As for Eddie, he had completely transformed into a model citizen. He went to school, went to work at ESU while he went back to his dorm to do some homework practically every day. It was as if the whole Venom thing had never happened. It honestly couldn't have made Peter any happier. First, Harry wanted to be his friend again and they put the whole Oscorp/Spiderman pictures thing behind them and now, Eddie was his big college brother again. Peter honestly couldn't believe how well things were going with him for the both of them and he was hoping it would last.
It was now Saturday afternoon and Peter was in the basement of his and Aunt May's house, working on another batch of web-fluids for his web shooters. Thankfully, Aunt May had insisted on staying out of the basement for the most part as she wasn't 'savvy' she said with science so she mostly let Peter alone while he was down there.
As he got done filling his web-fluid containers and placing them in his handbag (It was not a purse despite what some people wanted to believe), there came a knock on the door to the basement and then the door slightly opened. Aunt May poked her head down the stairs and called out to Peter that she had prepared lunch.
That was a relief to Peter. He had been starving. Quickly, he placed his bag down and dashed up the stairs, ready to soak in the goodness of whatever his Aunt May had prepared for the both of them.
As he sat down at the kitchen table while his aunt had placed a toasted ham and swiss cheese sandwich in front of him. Peter dug in with a big smile on his face.
"Smaller bites, dear" His aunt chastised but with a smile on her face. Boys will be boys, she thought.
"Sorry" Peter said as he swallowed and Aunt May sat down with a bowl of nice salad in front of her.
As they both continued eating, Aunt May began to speak up.
"So Peter, how's things going with you and Liz?" Aunt May asked.
As Peter swallowed another bite of his sandwich, he answered "Oh, it's going good. She's spending the day with her brother right now. She's really missed him while he was away at prison"
"Ah, yes, I can imagine. Poor girl. I bet she really cherishes time with her brother now more than ever" Aunt May said with a slight frown on her face.
"She really does. She's even told me that she's been spending more time with him now than she ever did even when they were growing up" Peter explained.
"I don't blame her…and what about your other friend? Felicia Hardy, was it? I heard she's your new teaching assistant for history class" Aunt May asked with a raised eyebrow.
A chill went through Peter's body as Aunt May said this. He needed to choose his next words carefully here.
"Oh, uh…yeah. Yeah. She is. It's just something she's interested in, I guess" Peter explained as best he could without necessarily lying (He never explicitly said it was History that Felicia was interested in).
"Well that has to be fun though, right? To have a friend as a teacher? I certainly hope it's not having an effect on her grading your assignments though" Aunt May asked, continuing to have her eyebrow raised.
"Oh, no. She can be pretty strict as a teacher. Her fun side comes outside the classroom" Peter explained, trying his best to not sweat.
"Well that's good. I appreciate that in a person to not let their job define their life like that…oh, you know what, that reminds me. A letter came for you in the mail yesterday afternoon, dear" Aunt May said. She stood from the table and went to her purse to dig out an envelope.
The older woman gave Peter the letter. It was from Oscorp, he could tell from the letterhead. This caused him to grow curious. He didn't quite know what they could want from him at the moment. He had been keeping tracks of how things were going with Andrew, the General Counsel of Oscorp who had been present at Norman's will reading, but he hadn't received something so formal like a letter. This caused Peter to grow curious.
The brunette tore open the letter and took out the contents inside which consisted of just a single sheet of paper. Peter carefully read it. He raised an eyebrow as he read on.
Aunt May, noticing the look on his face, started to grow concerned. She sat down at the table again and began to speak up.
"Everything alright?" The woman asked.
"Hm? Oh. Yeah, yeah. Everything's alright, Aunt May. It's just they want me to come to the next Executive management team meeting in 2 weeks so I can be properly introduced as the future CEO" Peter explained.
"Oh. Well that's certainly exciting isn't it? I hope you're not feeling nervous" Aunt May asked, her worry going down.
"Not really nervous. It's just…I don't know. It's just…after everything that went on with Norman Osborn…it just feels kind of weird taking up Oscorp's head" Peter explained, putting the paper down and beginning to look straight down at the table.
"Having second thoughts on the whole thing, dear?" Aunt May asked.
"...Maybe. I do want to take it in another direction and cut out all the corruption that goes on there…but I still don't really know if it's the right thing to do. The fact that Norman even made me the head of the company nearly killed my friendship with Harry…and I doubt all these executives are thrilled on taking orders from a 17 going on 18 year old" Peter explained his reasoning to his aunt with a concerned look on his face.
His Aunt May gave him a bit of a sympathetic smile and scooted her chair around the table until her chair was right next to his. She gave him a light hug.
"Well maybe that's why you're the best person to handle something like this. I have to admit, at first, I didn't know what to think. Being your dear old aunt, it's my job to worry about you but whenever I have doubts, all I have to do is look how you've overcome so many obstacles in your life growing up. Despite everything, you still try to keep on a happy face which really says something about your character. That even in the darkest of times, one can always light up a candle and things as Oscorp looks pretty dark. I can't say I'm the biggest admirer of Norman Osborn. I don't think anyone is at the moment but if there's one thing you could ever say about him it's that he has a tremendous judge of character in leaving his legacy to a smart, handsome young man like you" Aunt May said, giving her nephew a big hug.
Peter couldn't resist the smile forming on his face. He had no idea how his aunt always knew the right thing to say at exactly the right time. It was kind of incredible, he had to admit.
"Thanks, Aunt May…maybe you're right. I don't really know what exactly to say to these people though" Peter said.
Aunt May just let out a little smirk and stood up from her seat to proceed to place her salad in a tupperware container and put it in the fridge to save it for later. She wasn't really that hungry at the time anyway. She then answered Peter's concern with "Just don't give them one of your quips, dear. You know how awful they are"
"Aunt May!" Peter exclaimed with a blush. His quips weren't lame! They were top tier comedy material…
They both went to the living room. May sat down at the armchair while Peter began to lie down on the couch.
"Just kidding, dear. So what have you got in store for the rest of the day? Studying?" Aunt May asked with a smile on her face.
"For a little bit. I'm meeting up with Eddie and Gwen for a movie and then I'm headed over to Liz's for dinner with her and her folks. They even invited you to come along if you're interested" Peter suggested.
"Oh, I'd love to, dear but I'm meeting with Anna tonight for another show down on Broadway. A showing of Hamlet, directed and produced by St. John Devereaux himself" May said with a bit of excitement in her voice.
Peter let out a little smile. "No big deal. Maybe next time"
"You don't feel nervous about meeting the in-laws?" Aunt May teased, lightly.
"Nah, it's more Mark I'm concerned with. When me and Liz first started dating, I was always….busy with the Bugle and had to bail on a lot of dates, even Valentine's Day. That kind of ticked him off" Peter said, rubbing the back of his head. He decided to omit his feelings for Gwen at the time out of the explanation.
"Well just keep your head up and be confident more than anything. He'll respect you as long as he can see that Liz is happy" May said, confident in her nephew to do what's right.
"Right, right…thanks, Aunt May. I guess I'd better start getting ready. I agreed to meet Eddie and Gwen in a few hours" Peter said, getting off the couch and pretty much dashing for the stairs.
"Sounds like a plan, dear. Say hi to Eddie for me. Invite him to dinner this week. I'd love to see him again" May said as Peter ran upstairs.
"Will do" Peter called out as he went to the bathroom to shower, getting ready for an eventful day. His social life had never been this busy before. It was kind of a welcome trend, Peter had to admit.
*About 4:00PM, Manhattan Movie Theater*
The 2 teens and the 1 20 year old came out of the movie theater, Peter stretched and groaned for a bit.
"Man, that movie was long. Almost 3 hours" Peter said, pushing on his back.
Gwen rolled her eyes and let out a smirk. "I told you we should have gone with the one I suggested. It was only about 2 hours"
"No way. Chick flicks are not my thing" Peter objected with a smirk on his face. Gwen just rolled her eyes, good naturedly.
"Oh, you are such a guy. Come on, Eddie, don't you think mine was a better idea?" Gwen asked, looking up at one of her oldest friends.
Eddie just gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Gwen, gotta agree with Pete here. Can't really say those types of movies are for me"
"Ugh, you two are the worst" Gwen said, just shaking her head while still keeping the smile.
Peter let out a laugh. This was really nice. It was pretty much exactly like old times from before the spider bite.
Speaking of which, he was really kind of relieved they both knew. It was like a burden had been lifted. He had to try so hard to keep it a secret when they didn't know and constantly had to let them down as a result but now, he could be completely truthful with them now and it was such a nice change of pace in comparison.
After a few hug goodbyes, Gwen announced that she had to go home and finish writing a paper that was due that monday which left just Peter and Eddie left.
"So Pete, got anything else going on tonight?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I gotta meet with Liz tonight and have dinner with her and her family" Peter answered with a small smile.
"Oh, very nice. I still have to take it in that you actually have a girlfriend now…2 if I'm hearing right" Eddie said with a light laugh.
"Uh…yeah" Peter said. Apparently it was universally a surprising fact.
"Sorry, sorry. I knew you'd be a hit with girls once you got your glasses off and changed your fashion sense" Eddie stated.
"Well, I guess chicks weren't really into the glasses" Peter said, chuckling while letting out a blush.
"Well hey, that's not really true. Gwen was into the nerdy glasses for a while from what I understood…or maybe it was just the guy who was wearing them" Eddie said with a hint of a smirk.
"Oh…y…yeah. I…I guess she was" Peter said, suddenly getting uncomfortable.
"Sorry. Yeah, I just remembered that the both of you were almost a thing a few months ago. Gwen told me about her little thing with Harry" Eddie said, his smirk turning into a frown as he began to rub the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah…I really screwed up when they were both together. I broke Liz's heart and I almost killed my friendship with Harry…I really should have left her alone" Peter said, lowering his head in regret over the bad memories.
"Well I don't really know if I would say that. If…y'know, Venom was right about one thing it was that Gwen was the one you love most" Eddie tried to rationalize.
"Well…yeah…I mean I did…but y'know I'm back with Liz now and I'm with Felicia now too. They've been probably the best people in my life right now. They were there for me when no one else was" Peter explained to his big 'brother'.
"Yeah, man, I get that but it doesn't really mean that you don't have any feelings for Gwen anymore, right?" Eddie asked, his face starting to get serious.
"No, of course not but…it's probably just too late for me and her. Every time we tried to get with one another, one of us ended up getting hurt. Gwen was in love with me but I ended up getting with Liz on New Years which hurt her then I realized my feelings for Gwen and I tried to get together with her towards the end of the school year last year and I ended up getting hurt then she tried to get together with me again and I had to reject her. We just have too complicated a relationship for us to be together anymore. We…we just need to just let each other move on. That way we won't hurt the other anymore" Peter further explained as Eddie listened carefully. The older boy listened with great interest and gave a nod.
"Yeah…I understand, dude. Relationships can be tough. It's one of the reasons I haven't had one in a bit" Eddie said with a light smile.
"Yeah…I'm just glad me and Gwen are able to just hang out with each other like we were able to before the whole relationship thing, y'know? Like now we can just spend time together as friends like we just did right now" Peter said, copying Eddie's smile.
"Yeah…but do you think you can stay like that for the rest of your lives, though?" Eddie asked, growing a bit curious.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked, confused.
"Well…I mean there's always going to be tension between you guys now since you two confessed to each other. Have you ever thought of…I don't know…maybe adding Gwen to the mix?" Eddie asked, gently.
If Peter was drinking right now, he'd probably be doing the biggest spit take in his life at what Eddie had just suggested. However, the look on his face was just as good, it seemed for Eddie.
"I guess that was too much?" Eddie asked, wincing slightly.
"I…well…no. No. It's not that simple. I mean, sure. It sounds like every guy's dream come true to be in a poly relationship with 3 beautiful women but there's lots of things wrong with the whole idea. One: I don't think Liz or Felicia will be on board with the whole thing. Hell, it took a bit for Liz to even be completely alright with me being in a relationship with Felicia as well as her. Another is that it really wouldn't be fair to Gwen. When we both liked each other, we had wanted each other for ourselves. I don't think Gwen would honestly be satisfied if she was just another add on in a relationship I've had for months already" Peter explained, trying his best to delicately explain the very complex situation he was in regarding romantic relationships.
Eddie nodded. "It's no worries, man. Yeah, you're probably right. It's probably best she just finds another guy and I mean with this new look she has, it probably won't be hard. Guys like gorgeous looking blondes from what I've heard"
"Ugh, don't remind me. I still can't get the embarrassment of trying to ask out Sally Avril out of my head" Peter said, chuckling.
The two brothers shared a laugh. "Alright, bro. I better get going. Have fun with the in-laws"
"I'll do my best. See you around, man" Peter said. He gave Eddie a fist bump and they both went their separate ways for the time.
While Eddie was walking, an evil grin went onto his face as Venom creeped back into his head.
"You can't fool us, 'bro'. We know for a fact she's still the one you love most. We could hear it in your voice. She's your weakness…and we may just have to use that to our advantage" Venom had thought with an evil smirk. It was beginning to look like it was time for Phase 2 of the plan
*7:30 PM, Allan Residence*
Dinner with the Allans was going pretty well. Peter had to admit, with the fact that Liz's dad was a successful hotel and restaurant owner, he was expecting more of a 'high end' dinner if that made sense. However, they were just having plain old spaghetti and meatballs with store bought sauce. It was kind of a nice change of pace. Don't get Peter wrong, he liked the high end stuff every once in a while but sometimes, the simple stuff were things he liked best.
"This really is nice, sir. Thanks a lot for inviting me over" Peter said to Mr. Allan as he slurped up a noodle. Liz giggled as she licked a napkin and wiped Peter's cheek that he had gotten sauce all over.
"No trouble at all, Pedro. I like to keep a close eye on my daughter's boyfriends" Mr. Allan said, being playfully stern. This caused his wife to chuckle alongside him and lightly shove him.
"Ignore him, Peter. He really does like you, much more than Flash Thompson" Mrs. Allan said with a bright smile towards the boy in question.
"Thanks. I appreciate that. That's always good to hear" Peter said with a cheeky grin.
"Oh, hush, Petey. You and Flash are friends now, remember?" Liz said, lightly chastising her boyfriend.
Peter just rolled his eyes and smiled good naturedly. "Yes, dear"
"He's been helping Flash, Kenny and Rand with their science homework and they're doing way better now. If they don't end up getting football scholarships, they can still get by with some academic scholarships which is kind of amazing considering their past trouble with keeping up with grades" Liz said, speaking highly of her boyfriend.
"That's very nice of you, Peter. I'm glad Liz finally found herself a good man" Mrs. Allan had said.
"Oh, well…I could be loads better at times" Peter said, lightly blushing.
"He's just being modest, as usual. He's quite literally the best boyfriend ever" Liz said, caressing Peter's hand.
The two parents noticed them staring fondly at each other and just smiled. They then turned to their other child who was just sitting with them and silently eating a piece of garlic bread.
"That reminds me, Mark. What's happening with you and that girl you were seeing? You know, Mary…what's her name…" Mr. Allan asked, trying to remember.
"Jane, dad. It's…Mary Jane" Mark said, now cutting up a meatball.
"Right, right. What's going on with you and her?" Mr. Allan asked.
"Well…I guess we just kinda silently agreed to just call it off, really. There wasn't really much to say after the whole 'Molten Man' incident. I messed up real bad and almost got her hurt in the process. I can't really blame her for not wanting to continue it, really" Mark explained, his eyes showing a small trace of hurt.
Peter couldn't help but wince. He couldn't help but feel a teeny bit of guilt regarding that. He technically didn't have anything to do with it but since Spiderman was the reason Norman had begun creating all the supervillains, including 'Molten Man', he knew he was kinda responsible.
"Sorry to hear it, son…but you know, we're all just happy you're back and that you're doing well" Mr. Allan had said.
"I agree, Markito. I could hardly sleep at night knowing you were sleeping in the same building as all those horrible creatures" Mrs. Allan had said, shuddering at the mere thought.
"Yeah, well…" Mark said, shrugging and taking another bite of pasta. The subject didn't come up again and it seemed there wasn't too much to talk about for the rest of dinner.
Afterwards, Mark volunteered to take everyone's plates to the kitchen while his parents went to the living room to sit and watch the news. Peter and Liz remained at the table to talk. As Mark grabbed Peter's plate, Peter couldn't help but wince at the somber look on Mark's face as he went to the kitchen with the dishes to clean them.
"It's alright, Petey. He's not mad at you, anymore" Liz said, trying to comfort him.
"It doesn't mean he likes me though" Peter said, twiddling his thumbs.
"He's just going through a hard time. Him and MJ aren't really speaking anymore and he has to follow all these new rules now in order to keep out of prison. He's just still a little on edge" Liz explained.
"...I guess so. I just hope things can start being ok between us soon" Peter said, giving a sigh.
"They will be. I promise" Liz said, kissing his cheek.
Peter turned to Liz and gave a smile. "Thanks, Liz. I think I should get going"
"Okay, I'll walk you out. Mom, Dad, Petey has to go!" Liz called to her parents.
"Thanks for dropping by!" Mr. Allan called out.
"See you soon, Peter!" Mrs. Allan said afterwards.
"Thank you. I appreciate the dinner! It was very good" Peter said to the husband and wife.
Liz turned to the kitchen and announced Peter's departure to her brother. She asked him to say goodbye.
"Yeah…See you around, Par-…Peter" Mark simply said behind the door which caused Peter to just smile lightly at Liz who patted his cheek.
"Come on" Liz said as she put her arms through his and escorted him to the door.
When they reached the door, Liz opened the door and Peter stepped through it, unthreading his arm from Liz's and exiting the apartment.
"Well it was a very good night. It was nice having dinner with your folks for the first time" Peter said to Liz.
"It only took about 9 months, give or take" Liz said, giggling.
"Yyyyeah…sorry" Peter said, rubbing the back of his head.
"It's okay, Petey. I understand more than I did before" Liz said, smiling assuredly at her boyfriend.
"Right…that reminds me, I'm going to rejoin you and Felicia on Patrol. I think I stalked Eddie long enough. I really do think he's legit now" Peter explained to Liz. The girl in question raised an eyebrow at this.
"Well…I guess that's alright" Liz said, not sure what else to say at that.
"Yeah, I just think I would have seen some Venom action by now if he wasn't cured…it really looks like he's back to his old self" Peter said with a smile.
Liz took this in for a moment and processed it. After a few moments, she simply nodded.
"Alright. That's fine…It'll actually be good to have you around again…just no more of this 'Amazing Friends' crap anymore, got it?" Liz asked with a bit of a glare.
"Okay, okay, sorry. Jeez. You do one little thing and you never hear the end of it" Peter said, rolling his eyes.
"Now get some rest tonight. No going out patrolling tonight. It's your day off, remember? Tell your aunt I said hi and that I'm sorry she couldn't join tonight" Liz said, smiling again.
"I will" Peter nodded, smiling as well before kissing his girlfriend on the lips.
Liz closed the door as Peter walked off who still had a smile on his face, not having a care in the world…that is…until he felt a buzz from his phone that was in his pocket.
Peter took it out and looked to see that it was a text from Harry. Intrigued, Peter opened it and read it in full
"Hey Pete, was wondering if you wanted to hang out at the Penthouse next Friday? Mom's out of town that night so it'll just be you and me. We can play video games together like we used to before. You game?"
Peter smiled and happily texted back that he indeed was game. This was perfect. Everything was finally alright in Peter's world. For the first time ever, he didn't really seem to have Problems, no matter what Tombstone may or may not have planned at the moment. He walked down the halls of the complex, not having a caring in the world.
*1 hour later, Osborn Penthouse, Harry's room*
"You're sure we're ready?" Harry asked over the phone.
"What? Are you wanting out?" Harry could hear Eddie's voice through the encrypted line. He assumed it was Eddie at least. The young millionaire (No longer a billionaire) could hear traces of Venom in the voice.
"Of course not. I've been waiting for this for so long. Spiderman is finally going to get what he deserves" Harry said, determination in his voice and hate in his eyes.
"Good. Now just follow through with the plan and we'll all get what we want. Understood?" Eddie/Venom asked.
"Understood" Harry nodded, confirming. He was ready to do this.
"Very good…now get some rest…it will soon be a big day for the both of us…and the last day ever for our mutual friend" Eddie/Venom said before hanging up.
Harry put his phone on his nightstand and took a deep breath. It was finally happening. The day was finally approaching. The day where he avenges his father. A small part of him wished it didn't have to be Peter but this was the scenario he was in but there was no going back. Peter was going to pay and there then would be no more Spiderman masquerading as a hero. He would finally make his dad proud
The redhead, dressed in his silk pajamas, turned off the lights and crawled into bed. He laid his head on the pillow, closed his eyes and soon drifted off peacefully to sleep.
The night sky hovered over New York. People just quietly went about with their lives, going to restaurants, going to broadway shows or maybe just spending a quiet night at home, blissfully unaware of the fact that by next week today, their so called hero would be nothing but ash and dust.