Chapter 2

"An Early Morning"

"I know you're out there you wall-crawling menace! It is the duty of every single New Yorker to report the actions of these masked miscreants, so listen up! As long as J. Jonah Jameson is the CEO of Daily Bugle Communications I won't rest until New York has seen the last of Spider-Man!"

Peter did his best not to sigh as he listened to the voice of the editor and chief of the Daily Bugle go on his usual tirade. This had become the norm for him ever since he debuted as Spider-Man and old flattop had made it his personal mission to expose him for the whole world to see. Ironic since he was on the man's payroll.

Illyana simply stared at the jumbotron that sat comfortably in the middle of Times Square with mild annoyance. The middle-aged man with the greying flattop and stupid mustache had been Peter biggest distractor since he first appeared as a hero, and he went out of his way to smear is name at every turn, despite saving his life more than once.

The two of them just wanted to enjoy a nice breakfast outside at a cheap restaurant, not listen to the loudest mouth in New York rant for fifteen minutes. Hell, he was even louder than the usual hustle and bustle that dominated the city.

"How can you constantly listen to this drivel?" Illyana asked, her food completely forgotten.

"I'll admit, it is annoying. But at the end of the day, it's just his opinion." Peter answered, taking a bit of his eggs. Illyana turned her attention away from the jumbotron and back to her boyfriend.

"Well, his opinion is wrong. If you want, I can erase his mouth for a while, give you few hours of peace." she spoke. She would do it to if he asked.

Peter laughed. "As tempting as that sounds, I don't think that's such a good idea. Besides, it's not his opinion I care about anyway."

He reached out and gently placed his hand on top of Illyana's. Her hand was so soft and warm, and the contact made his heartbeat just a little quicker. For her part, the blonde beauty blushed. Like Peter her heartbeat also quickened. It was hard to believe that had been seeing each other for almost a month now.

"Sweet talker." she smiled.

"I try." Peter smiled back. "If it makes you feel better, his money is paying for breakfast."

That little fact did actually make her feel better. "How could I forget; he pays you to take pictures of yourself."

"Yep. He doesn't even realize that Spider-Man is literally right under his nose." Peter chuckled. Illyana chuckled as well. She then looked down at her plate of rapidly cooling bacon and pancakes. She'd been so distracted by pickle puss that she'd barely touched her food.

With a smile gracing her lips she returned back to her food before it got completely cold. Peter watched her as used her knife and fork to slice off a piece of pancake before making to eat it. Everything about her was just so heavenly in his mind.

"How did I ever get so lucky?" he wondered.

Illyana caught him staring. "Do I have something on my face."

That broke Peter from his trance. "N-No... uh... you're perfect."

"Perfect, huh? I don't know about that, but I appreciate the compliment all the same." she smiled.

"You're perfect to me." Peter insisted. Both of them were blushing again. Peter could be so sappy sometimes. Regardless of the sentiment, the pair found themselves slowly beginning to lean in close, the outside world all but forgotten.

Right before their lips could meet however, a ring of a cellphone halted their advance. Peter instantly recognized the ringtone as well as Illyana and the two reluctantly pulled away so he could answer. He dug into his pocket and saw the picture of a middle-aged woman with grey hair with the name Aunt May written in bold.

He swiped across the screen with a small smile on his face before he spoke. "Hey aunt May, what's up?"

Illyana saw the way Peter's face lit up when he talked to his aunt. She and his uncle Ben had pretty much raised him since his parents passed away, something they both had in common. Instead of being raised by an aunt and uncle, her brother Piotr took care of her as best he could. At least... at least until she was brought into Limbo. That was a dark time in her life she would rather forget, but she knew she could never.

Cut off from her only family and the X-men and left at the mercy of... no. No, she wouldn't allow herself to think about the sorcerer that tried to use her. He was gone now, and she had escaped that wretched place. She was back home, and she was rebuilding her life. Though, when she felt she was ready she would try and reach out to her brother at the Xavier institute. She hadn't left on the best of terms after she came back and that ate away at her.

"Illya? Illya? Hello... earth to Illya?"

Illyana was broken from her thoughts when Peter's voice finally reached her ears. "Huh? What?"

"I was calling your name, but you were spaced out. Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about things. What did your aunt want?"

Peter could tell that Illyana was trying to change the subject. Whatever was on her mind was something she didn't want to share. "Aunt May just wanted me to pick up a few things while I'm out. That, and she's still trying to invite you over for dinner so she can finally meet you."

Illyana was grateful Peter didn't try to pry. She really didn't feel like talking about her brother or that man. "I can understand that. If I were her, I'd want to meet the person who stole my nephew's heart."

"Yeah, so by any chance are you free tonight?" Peter asked the blonde.

Illyana thought about it.

"I think I can make time."

(END)