Avengers Tower
December 18th - 2027
Gwen had been awake for a while, she had propped her arm on the pillow while leaning her head against her hand. She was watching Peter, who was sound asleep next to her. She listened to his gentle snoring which she enjoyed doing. Any other morning she would have woken him up with a light kiss but he was exhausted the evening before. After showering he had gone to bed and fell asleep in an instant so Gwen let him sleep. She even fought of her urges to caress his body or snuggle up close to him as that would undoubtedly wake him up as well. He was a light sleeper during most of the time, maybe because of his special gifts.
God, I've become so attached to him. Who would've imagined this years ago?
She'd been frightened for his well-being when he fought Connors for the first time. It was one of the dark sides of emotional entanglement that she tried to appear strong, for Peter's sake. She had been reluctant when the perspective of a long term relationship with Peter became apparent, she wanted it, the thing that frightened her was getting hurt by him again, but the temptation was very hard to resist when he made his choice at the bridge.
She knew the risks, and ever since she wondered if she would ever pay the price for what she had gained by being with him.
After her father's death, Gwen had decided to get close to him again when they were avoiding each other. She was seeking comfort, but things could go bad, very fast...
After a brief and heated romance she would have been forever scarred by its almost tragic end. Romantic love had captured human imagination since the beginning of time, because of the unique power it held to build and also destroy.
Gwen was afraid that despite the closeness that she was experiencing, that she instead of being alone and miserable would soon end up distraught by the death of her lover, or be absolutely devastated mourning her love.
She had not been so terrified since Peter's first encounter with Harry, and that night were among the worst of her entire life. It was at that point she had realized how much she cared for him, seeing him fight for her life, reaching the point where he almost killed Harry when he tried to choke him with a web line.
It turned out that night was only an overture and it did get worse. As the two of them had gotten closer and closer, the turmoil of ever losing him was becoming more and more daunting. Witnessing him being so perilously close to death made her experience what she theory knew could happen. She hid her inner turmoil as well, but when she had seen Peter alive, after defeating the Six, she was so overwhelmed by relief and happiness that she forgot everything and ran to embrace him like some needy girl.
The power of those feelings was why she tried to avoid them after the break up, but now she was too deep to go back. Even if she wanted to, all she could do was push down the depressing thoughts, take advantage of the opportunity and hope for the best. A depressing thought, but the only choice she had, she's aware that there may be a night where he'll not return back to their apartment and children. The consequences of loving such a rare man like him, but that's the life that she chose to live it, with him.
Peter began stirring underneath the bed sheet and Gwen gave him a wide and heartfelt smile as his eyes slowly opened. He stretched languidly and smiled at the sight of Gwen laying next him. "Morning..."
"Hey you…" Gwen leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lips which he lazily reciprocated.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Not long…About half an hour."
"And watching me sleep the whole time?"
"Yes." Gwen smiled. Peter chuckled.
Finally he's awake.
She wrapped an arm around his torso and snuggled close.
"How are you today?" She asked softly and planted a kiss on his torso before resting her head on his shoulder. Peter snaked his arm under her body underneath the bed sheet and drew circles on her thigh.
"Not as tired anymore, I had to leave when you were sleeping. Marko and some of his buddies managed to escape prison, I took'em by myself."
"Yes." She paused and then chided, "And don't dare you frighten me like that again, you've got a very bad cut in your back."
"It was far simpler going in there alone than bringing everyone together." Peter explained.
"Doesn't matter, I don't like when you do these crazy stunts, at least warn me."
"I understand Gwendy, but everyone's tired. The encounter with the twins a few days ago wasn't easy, they're powerful, I needed to defeat them alone."
Gwen sighed and clenched her teeth, "I know, I just…it was heart wrenching not knowing what was happening to you." She paused. "You know that despite being married to you for years now, I still worry about you, it's not something that simply goes away with time, I can't get used to it."
He cupped her cheek, softly. "Sorry."
"Don't be." Gwen kissed his palm. "I still love you, just a little."
He smirked and brought his wife closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Just a little, eh?"
"It can grow a little more; it only depends of your actions..." Gwen closed her eyes as he leaned closer and brushed his lips against hers, falling to his seduction.
He gently captured her lower lip and kissed it, slowly, their breathing deepening as the kiss evolved into a passionate one. He broke the kiss after a few couple of seconds, getting a moan of discontentment from Gwen who was still seeking his warm lips.
Peter chuckled, before assuming a more serious expression. "I know that this is now a late question, but are you happy? Here with me?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow, "Of course I am, why?"
"I've never asked you that, and with so much stuff happening, it made me wonder."
"You're weird."
He laughed, "We're both weirdos."
She smiled, "Yeah, but again, I'm always going to support you with your decisions, me and the kids, I love being with you because you're the only person that knows how to treat me and love me, you gave me three beautiful babies, my life, you make me happy and you shouldn't ever doubt that."
Peter smiled back, "Thank you," He kissed her forehead, before saying, "I'm really going to miss you."
"It's just for a few days, a meeting."
"That doesn't change the fact that there won't be anyone else to snuggle with me for a week."
"Well, Liz loves to snuggle, especially with her daddy," Gwen teased. "I still remember when I woke up and found her sleeping over your head, which was like... 5 years ago?"
"Time flies, but thanks for the tip, I might have to invite Dave and Aiden as well since they can get jealous."
"Yeah, that's a situation that you've to handle."
"Thanks." He replied, sarcastically.
Gwen winked. "Well, I need to take a shower..." She slowly went to remove the covers from her body.
Peter quickly reacted and moved himself over her, trapping his wife with his toned chest. "You need a reason for that first."
"Mommy, please!" The three year old David Parker begged as he crawled into the couch and sat in Gwen's lap, looking at his mother with wide, pleading eyes. The same look his father used when he wanted her to do something she didn't want to, she noted.
"David…" she tried, but didn't get further than her son's name as she placed both hands on his waist.
This time, it was Aiden who cut her off. "Mommy, Uncle Howard said that it would be a lot of fun!"
"I bet he did." Gwen mumbled under her breath.
"He said we could dress up and we can eat lots of sweets, too." Aiden explained further while David nodded enthusiastically.
She sighed. Of course he did. And if she didn't allow it, she'd be the bad guy. She had been perfectly happy the past year when she didn't need to take her boys to the annual fantasy reunion, stuff about heroes and games in general. Now Howard wanted to bring them there, with Gwen as well, probably because he knew that she didn't enjoy the topic at all.
However, that didn't mean that Howard wouldn't get an earful for turning her sons against her. "Fine…We'll go", she said. "If…" she continued, cutting off her sons cheering, "you can convince your father to go with us as well."
"But he took Liz to school!" David protested.
Gwen sighed; she had forgotten that little detail. "Oh god, fine - You two are going with your Uncle, remember him of dropping you guys before night time -"
"Yes!" They said together. She hadn't even finished the sentence when David had already taken off accompanied by David. Gwen chuckled. That boys was a ball of energy, going stir-crazy when he had to sit down longer than five minutes, now she would prepare something to eat, a lesson to teach, and later some gym.
Elizabeth's School/ Parking Lot
"Ready?" Peter asked as he parked the car a few meters from Elizabeth school's entrance
"Yeah…" Elizabeth undid her seat's belt and approached Peter's seat from behind, they still had some minutes together before parting ways.
He turned on his seat, and smiled at his energetic daughter. "What's up for today?"
She cocked her head, thinking. "Hm... there's my first math test."
"Oh right, I remember it, how do you feel about it?" He observed Elizabeth passing between the seats and sat on her mother's empty seat, with a big smile.
"You and mommy helped me, I feel ready." She gave him a convincing smile combined with her huge and beautiful green eyes, the same as Gwen's.
"Really…? I'm not sure." Peter teased, stroking her blonde hair.
"Do you doubt me?" She asked, with a sad expression that made Peter's heart melt.
"What? N-No!" He shook his head, just as Elizabeth started giggling from Gwen's seat.
"You're so easy to panic, daddy!" She giggled.
He gave her a mock-glare, "Oh, you little Gwen," He joked, "You're spending too much time with your mother, are you two conspiring against me?"
"What?" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.
"I swear to god that you two are going to be my end..." He sighed.
"Are you mad at me?" She asked, doing the same facial expressions that her mother does, no wonder why everyone thinks that Elizabeth is Gwen's younger version.
"I'm not falling for that one again," Peter gently moved his hand to her chin and kissed her forehead. "I love you and good luck with your test." He caressed her cheek with his thumb, before turning on his seat and got his daughter's bag from her previous position and handing it back to her.
"I love you too!" Elizabeth kneeled on the seat and kissed his cheek; she opened the door, placed her schoolbag around her shoulders and gave him a warm smile, before closing the door and running towards her friends at the school's entrance.
Peter waited for a few couple of minutes until she stepped inside of the school, talking with her friends as she disappeared from his view. He smiled to himself, seeing his little girl growing up so quickly. It's still a few couple years for her to trail her own path, but he was already feeling that time doesn't slow down itself if he ever wanted to, so he had to make the most of it.
Avengers Tower
Clint left the Tower's armory in Natasha's capable 'hands' as he took a quick detour to the empty mess hall to grab something edible to bring back to the room. Settling on some salami sandwiches with some salad, Clint quickly went to work and put together three quite large sandwiches, stowing away everything again in one of the refrigerators he also grabbed a bottle of juice to go before he closed the door and suddenly found himself face to face with a blonde. As he hadn't heard Gwen's arrival, her sudden appearance startled Clint enough for him to almost drop the bottle in his hands.
Clint exclaimed surprised, "Holy Hell! Gwen, you just scared me to death. I thought you could have been somebody deadly."
Wearing a white T-shirt and black pants on this morning, Gwen crossed her arms under her breasts and leaned on her left hip and glared at Clint. She declared coldly, "I am somebody deadly. I am someone who may know over 200 ways to kill you."
Clint took a step back to the counter and chuckled nervously under her stare, "Ha, of course you are." He quickly grabbed the plate of sandwiches and continued rapidly. "Well I'm heading back. Our gear doesn't fix itself, you know?"
Clint quickly walked past her as Gwen turned to follow him with her eyes and she said sternly, "Actually, it does. Natasha can do what you do and we would only loose somebody...but if you stop making silly announcements about me and Peter through the intercom around the Tower, it might not happen." She stated. Being one of the most playful Avenger in the Tower, Clint couldn't help but make some jokes about his companions for everyone's amusement, and since Gwen was someone very private about her personal life, she didn't enjoyed people who she never met being aware of their relationship.
"Okay, gotcha." Clint chuckled nervously again but said nothing as he quickly disappeared past the corner of the mess hall on the way to the elevator.
Out of sight from Clint, Gwen grinned mischievously at the apparent success of her own mission.
Bluff and men, it always works.
Peter had spent some time in the labs with Tony and Bruce, the now called 'Science Bros' by the team, with reason since they have been working together for a while now, and Peter was happy to be able to contribute with something.
He had left the labs and was now waiting for the elevator in the 89th floor; it was apparently on its way already. The elevator quickly arrived and the door slid open. Clint hastily stepped out and almost walked right into Peter and almost spilled his food on the web-slinger.
Clint exclaimed surprised, "Christ! Do you two work in tandem, Peter?"
"Easy there, dude…" Peter chided before he asked confused. "What are you even talking about?"
Clint walked aside and took a step away from Peter who positioned himself in the opening of the elevator so it wouldn't close.
"Your girlfriend -"
"Wife..." Peter corrected the marksman.
"Yes! She threatened me," Clint complained rattled.
"What?" Peter asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, that she may know 200 ways to kill me."
Peter chuckled at Clint's apparent flustered state.
"You know, I can't work under these circumstances. It's stressful as it is, and I still have to recharge your armour."
"Are you afraid of Gwen?" Peter deadpanned.
"Whatever, Peter. I'm heading back to Natasha, she's a super spy, but damn she isn't that deadly as your wife is."
"Where is she?" Peter asked and walked into the elevator.
"Mess hall." Clint called back as he walked away towards the armory.
Peter pressed the corresponding button and the elevator descended down one floor and he quickly exited when the door opened. He walked around the corner and saw Gwen in the kitchen preparing something and he headed over there.
Peter smirked, "I'm hearing reports that you are threatening my teammate. I can't have that."
Gwen looked up and shrugged with a grin, "I did nothing of the sort. He didn't think I was dangerous so I had to remind him..."
"Of course you did." Peter said and ended up near her, leaning on the kitchen island behind her. "What are you doing?"
Gwen turned around and plopped a grape into her mouth, "Just preparing a bowl of grapes. I'm heading up to the gym then."
"Okay," He nodded. "Where are the boys?"
"They're with Howard." She replied, cutting some slices of grape and placing them on a bowl.
Gwen grinned again. "I think Clint has forgotten that I don't like invasion of privacy, considering his frolicking-comment yesterday on the intercom, I needed to remind him. He needs to be afraid of me."
Peter chuckled, "Invasion of privacy? What's the problem…?"
"I just don't want everyone that we don't know around here, bickering about us, I don't want to later be remembered as Spider-Man's girl."
"Nah, you're my beautiful wife, but you know, I'm really getting worried about those self-defence classes that you're taking with Natasha."
"Why?" She asked, innocently.
"Um... you're getting a little... deadly..." He approached her and snaked both arms around her waist and went to kiss the smooth skin of her neck.
"Oh, I'm interpreting that in a more...passionate way." Gwen flirted, aware that they were alone.
"Y-Yeah..." Peter stuttered, hearing Gwen's giggle while he looked at her eyes. "So, does this mean no more soft side?"
Gwen shook her head, "Not good for my reputation."
"So, the evil operative…right…?" Peter joked. "You might as well become an Avenger yourself, and then dump me."
"Yeah, it's something like that." Gwen answered with a shrug. She turned and grabbed her bowl of grapes from the counter. "What are you up to?"
"Just briefed Tony and will be doing my rounds, bothering people. An unofficial debrief after our last mission, just to see were everyone's minds are."
"Okay. Well, I'll be going; I have some things to do."
Peter nodded, "Of course."
Gwen smiled and turned away and walked away, swaying her hips for him.
Peter's eyes roamed her behind and he deadpanned, "It's a shame you have to sit on something that pretty."
Gwen chuckled and turned around to face him and said playfully, "You really know how to make a woman feel good about her."
Peter shrugged and smirked, "One of my many talents."
"I'm sure." Gwen smiled and turned to leave for the elevator.
"What did you tell them?" Peter asked, sitting on a stool close to the bar in the lounge.
"That at some point we would've to decide if our soldiers should be defending the beach or we go on the offensive." Steve Rogers replied, sat next to him.
"And you didn't have the numbers to do both."
"No, not with the beating we're taking," Steve replied and shook his head. "Like I said, not the kind of questions I was used to answering, but everyone seemed to rely on me to come up with a decision."
Peter reassured, "You know what you did, Steve. Trust me, everyone can see that, you're a hero for us all, that's in the past now."
The super soldier shrugged dreary, "Maybe. You know, for all the time spent outside trying to get in, and now when I'm here…it's not what I expected."
"Why not…?"
"All the questions…and every one of them with a millions lives riding on the answer."
"This is no different from your days with the army, you act on the Intel you have and you do your best."
Steve agreed, "Yeah, you're right. But the stakes are a little higher." He mused cynically, "With this little war against Hydra, I have finally understood why we need a few cold-hearted dictators every now and then."
"They get the job done?" Peter asked curiously.
"No, they don't care about the consequences," Steve explained cold.
"I don't think we should stoop to that level."
"Yeah, I know all of the lives matter." Steve gestured, "But these days, with so much technology and conflicts, you sacrifice a million here to save twenty million there." He asked grimly, "Are we up for that?"
"When their enemies were at the gates, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to protect the city. It wasn't considered an honour; it was considered a public service."
"Die for your city, right?"
"Yeah..." Peter shrugged and said truthfully, "In the end I don't know, Steve. We've to win this, and the peace that we seek will finally come, maybe the world won't need us anymore."
"Maybe," He agreed. "I'm old, alone, and I keep fighting and fighting, I wonder if it's possible for me to have the life that you have a home, wife and kids."
"You're not alone, Steve, you have us..." Peter crossed his arms. "And why not settle down? Find someone that understands you and then... live your life, the way that you deserve."
Steve smiled. "Can I? I always put innocent lives in priority, and after the whole Washington thing...with Bucky, I think that it will stay that way."
"Hey," Peter patted his shoulder, "You've done enough, take a break, enjoy the life that you seek for, you're not immortal, none of us are... old man." He laughed, joined by Steve.
Peter turned on the couch as he heard Gwen walking down the steps of the living room. She'd been spending time in the gym for the last hour and a half while the delayed party wasn't ready, wearing some casual training clothes and carrying a water bottle in her hand. She sat down in the armchair opposite Peter and left the water bottle on the floor and she crossed one leg over the other. Gwen had her hair in a ponytail and despite looking exhausted she seemed very content.
"Hey." Gwen said with a bright smile.
"Hi. You had a good time in the gym?" Peter smiled friendly as he leaned back into the couch.
"Oh yes, I feel much...cleansed now," Gwen responded. "Still working?"
Peter nodded, "Yeah, a lot to do. I have put it off for a while, but I'm pretty much done."
Gwen teased, "Well, it's good seeing you work; you can't expect me to do everything."
Peter chuckled, "Good point."
"You know, Steve is such a gentleman, he didn't gawk at me once while I was at the gym."
"Yeah…?"
"As opposed to one of Tony's employees," Gwen drawled unamused. "One glanced occasionally, although less than I thought he would, he even tried to hit on me before."
Peter grinned, "And how can you blame people for staring at you? I did for a while, still do, occasionally." He winked.
Gwen laughed, "Oh Peter..."
She smiled and shook her head. Gwen then glanced at her lover who let his eyes roam her body. She didn't mind his attention, but she felt far from sexy at all in her current outfit or state. She reeked of sweat after an extensive workout session and she felt the urge to shower but she also wanted to relax a bit and talk to her husband for a while.
One of Gwen's eyebrows rose up, "You don't seem...jealous."
Peter shrugged, "I do not feel threatened by anyone if that's what you are asking. But that doesn't mean I approve of his behaviour either."
He was far from jealous, but it was an irritating behaviour none the less.
"Ugh, you know, behaviour like that still annoys me even if I've gotten used to it after all these years. Men like him are the worst."
Peter shook his head and laughed, "Gwen..."
Gwen glanced at him dumbfounded, "What?" She couldn't fathom what was so funny.
"You are a little...judgmental Gwendy."
Gwen snorted, "I'm an excellent judge of character."
Peter continued unfazed, If I may...play the devil's advocate here; he didn't really do anything wrong when he tried to hit on you. And can you blame him? He didn't know of your situation." Peter shrugged, "And if he did anything really stupid, you would smear the wall with him."
Gwen grinned devilish this time, "That thought has crossed my mind at times."
"But I think that he's clever enough not to do anything stupid, it could affect the guy's career as well."
Gwen agreed, "You're right." She picked up the water bottle near the armchair and rose up, "I'm going to take a shower, are the boys back?"
Peter nodded as Gwen left the lounge and he returned his attention to his laptop. He opened up his word processor and began writing stuff for his job. Gwen would probably spend a quite some time in the shower; she usually did as it gave her some time alone. He would most likely be finished with his report by the time she was done. Both he and Gwen would have to sit down at some point to craft a coherent report for his job together, leaving out her participation as always.
"How are things with the president, Tony?" Bruce Banner asked from his desk in their private laboratory at the tower. He was wearing a lab coat and was currently analysing Ultron's past year's results on his computer.
Tony, who was standing in the centre of the room, pulled a monitor sustained by a mechanical arm close to him and started to slip his finger over the surface, scrolling down the many files that were being showed through the monitor.
"Well, it's quite good to be working with him, he's approving everything, like - the shuttles, soldier's armour's and even Ultron's project."
"He's founding everything?"
"Not really, I gathered many engineers from Shield after the organization dismissed for good, I've my own team, and they are working with the president, not for him."
"So you're on his good side?" He joked.
Tony chuckled. "You could say that, it's good to have his support, and we're even developing -" Stark paused when he noticed what he was about to reveal.
"What?" Bruce turned on his chair.
"Um…nothing…"
"Don't lie to me, what are you developing for them?" He inquired as he removed his glasses and approached the man under Iron Man's armour.
"Look, I'm only collaborating, it's theirs project."
"Okay, what is it?"
Tony gulped. "It's...a weapon, a very big one, I can't say anything else."
"Don't you trust me?" He crossed his arms at the billionaire.
"I do, but this is beyond..."
"I guess that Steve was right after all." He walked away, and shook his head like if he was feeling something.
"Look, Steve is confused, I like him, but he's living on the past, the future - are those drones that you're helping me to develop it - " Tony paused when he saw a red glowing light emerging on Bruce's eyes. "Are you alright?"
Bruce leaned on his table, recomposing himself. "Y-Yeah... I'm still recovering from that base, but I'm fine." He shook his head and turned back to Tony with a reassuring smile.
"Alright..." Stark nodded, still suspicious. "I'm going to check on Pete."
"Aren't they at their quarters?"
"What can I say?" Tony grinned and opened his arms as he walked away. "I'm a very inconvenient person."
After about half an hour of writing Gwen was back from the shower. Peter noted her coming down the steps with a robe wrapped around her body. She headed for the couch and sat down next to Peter with a coy smile on her face and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Peter saved his document and turned his attention to Gwen and smiled back. He loved the way she smelled when she had gotten right out of the shower. Peter wrapped his arms around her slender frame.
Gwen teased, "Do you realize I haven't kissed you in over an hour?"
"I think its two hours actually." Peter deadpanned.
"Mh-hmmm...far too long," Gwen purred as she moved to straddle Peter. She pushed her body against his and pressed him against the couch as her face slowly moved closer to his. Gwen slid her arms around his neck and closed her eyes as his soft lips met hers. Peter slipped his hands in under her robe and gently caressed her abdomen and hips and moved his hands further around to the small of her back. His fingertips trailed circles on her soft skin.
Gwen breathed faster and faster as she deepened the kiss and her heart beat quickened. Her body melted into Peter as he pressed her body closer to her. There was a battle of wills emerging; they were both competing over who was in control. The intensity surprised Gwen as their kissing kept going. Then she paused for a breath and pulled away and opened her eyes to look into her lover's as both of them were breathing hard.
"Exactly what I needed," Gwen said with a sexy smile and slipped of Peter and sat down close to him.
Peter turned to her and asked with half a chuckle, "That's it?"
Gwen leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. She grinned, "For now."
"Tease," Peter countered and wrapped an arm around her back, feeling the softness of the robe. He stared at the wall and the bulkheads behind the bed.
Gwen moved to rest her head on his shoulder, enjoying the calm moment.
She said, "I talked with MJ yesterday."
"I think you mentioned something like that yesterday. Is she alright?"
"Yes, and she appears in good spirits despite everything that happened with Flash."
Peter pulled her closer in his embrace and said softly. "Do you want to visit her?"
Gwen contemplated his offer, "Hmmm. Despite the Tower being one of the safer places in the world, she'd probably die of boredom." She sat up a bit and kissed Peter on the cheek, "But I do appreciate it, I might bump into her when I'm at Washington, who knows?"
Gwen returned to rest her head on his shoulder.
"So what did you two talk about then?"
"She misses us."
"Why can't she come here?"
"Her professional problems, you know her."
"Stubborn?"
"Yes."
Peter turned and grinned, "A trait you two share."
Gwen straightened herself from his shoulder and said with a sly smile, "Both of us only want the best."
"Uh-huh. I know that." Peter said with a knowing smirk.
Gwen wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into the couch, which was wide enough for two people if they lied on the sides next to each other as they did at the moment.
"We gossiped a bit about you," Gwen added with a grin.
Peter draped an arm around her waist and he grinned, "You told her how great kisser I am? And how great I am when we are-"
Gwen laughed, "Don't you flatter yourself."
"You know it's true."
Gwen said mock-seriously, "Hardly."
Peter feigned being hurt, "Some words of encouragement now and then wouldn't hurt."
Gwen countered with a grin, "Oh? So my behaviour isn't encouraging enough?" She smirked as she moved her face closer to his, their lips brushing close, "Our private life is amazing, and in no small part thanks to you-"
Peter's face lit up.
"-but that doesn't mean MJ needs to know such details." She planted a soft kiss on his lips and then she pulled back slightly.
"Thank you." Peter said and gave her a soft kiss in return.
"Hmph…Your ego doesn't need it." Gwen teased good-naturedly.
Peter said deadpanned, "It does actually."
"She did ask about our life. I wasn't eager to answer, she's like the like little sister that I never had." She smiled.
"Is it safe to assume that you aren't trained against interrogation from a 'sister'?"
Gwen chuckled, "A sister was definitely not on the agenda whilst being trained by my mom."
Peter taunted with a grin, "You are in so much trouble."
"Yeah…? So are you. I'm dragging you down with me."
"Traitor," Peter countered with grin.
They remained quiet for a while, enjoying each other's company. Gwen glowed with happiness as she snuggled closer to Peter.
Then very abruptly Tony's voice interrupted them over the intercom, "Peter?"
Peter sighed uninspired, "Yes, what is it Tony."
Gwen rolled her eyes; she was just as annoyed to hear Tony's voice all of a sudden.
"I need some help with the drinks, too many options."
"Right, understood Tony," Peter said evenly.
Peter moved his hand from her waist and cupped Gwen's face and gave her a soft kiss. She smiled happily despite the billionaire's interruption.
Tony continued deadpanned, "It's good that we destroyed that base, despite being an ambush, we just need to find the tesseract now, and the twins."
Gwen sat up from the couch and walked towards the closet, swaying her hips for her lover. Peter sat up as well and watched her with lustful thoughts in mind, but he pushed those aside.
"Yeah, your fault though."
Tony exclaimed glibly, "What? I tried to talk with them, like you guys said, but they attacked me first...and I haven't complained once! Not once!"
Peter quipped with a grin, "And I appreciate it Tony. We're all leaning on you to save our precious little planet called Earth."
At the closet Gwen chuckled. She had dropped the robe on the bed behind her to reveal her bare naked body, only wearing red panties. She was trying to figure out what to wear. Peter still remained seated in the couch, mesmerized by her beauty as his eyes roamed her bare back.
Tony pushed carefully, "So, were you and Gwen-"
"Tony!" Gwen snapped from the closet as she slipped on a pair of black satin thongs.
Tony took the hint and responded without missing a beat, "Alright, alright. Keeping my mouth shut. I'm waiting." The intercom was shut down.
Peter rose from the couch and walked up to the bed and had his eyes still on his significant other. "I'm going to help him. We might have a super mission on our hands," he joked, "so maybe you shouldn't pick the most expensive designer blouse you can find."
Gwen turned to Peter and smiled, "Of course."
"You did that on purpose, removing your robe."
Gwen slyly smiled. "What if I did? You were too focused on Tony than me."
"You're lucky I got business to attend." Peter said with a smirk as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her neck. "Otherwise we're going to miss the party, busy handling you."
Gwen chuckled as she eyed some of her clothes that she had brought for their apartment in the Tower. "Oh? You got it all wrong. I'm the one that plans everything. "
"I take control now and then," Peter protested.
His lover countered with a mischievous smirk, "When I let you. And besides, when did you start to complain about me being on top?"
He sighed, "You have a point..."
Gwen grinned and looked up, before kissing his warm lips. "Just as I suspected…"
"You are taking too long." Peter stood between the twin's beds and with arms crossed, waiting for Aiden to put on his pyjamas which was something that he was clumsily doing over his own bed. David was at the bathroom, brushing his teeth.
"I can't, daddy!" Aiden exclaimed from his bed, trying to pass the shirt over his bare chest, but it seemed to be stuck at his head, and Peter noticed that he was just acting and messing around with him.
Peter grinned. "Oh really…?" He sat beside his three years old son and gently removed his stuck shirt. "Can I help you?"
He sat on the bed. "I can do it!" He tried to reach for his shirt but Peter quickly reacted and moved his arm away from Aiden, letting his son fall into his lap as he quickly started to tingle the pale skin of his bare stomach.
"I know that you're messing with me, buddy!" Peter hold his trapped minion as he burst into fits of giggles. He quickly kissed the of Aiden's hair before calming him. "Now, are you going to collaborate with daddy so that he can go have some fun with mommy?"
Aiden put a mock - hurt expression. "Fine..."
Peter chuckled as Aiden stood on his lap with Peter placing his hands on his waist, supporting him. "Can you give me a hug, a very strong one?"
The energetic three years old quickly leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Peter's neck, tightly. "I love you, you and Dave," He kissed the top of his head. "You know that, right?"
"Yeah…" He replied as David stepped out of the bathroom, already wearing a short and shorts, ready to sleep. He went directly to Peter who had opened his free arm, gesturing to his son to get closer.
"Now the gang is complete," He smiled, pulling David into a hug, embracing his boys who were heavier than he used to remember. "Oh, I came up with a challenge!"
The twins instantly looked at him and asked together, "What?!"
Peter chuckled. "Who's going to fall asleep first?"
"And then I killed the power of the entire area!" Peter said to his friends who quickly laughed at his embarrassing story. Gwen was sat next to him, on the couch, with her right arm around his and holding a transparent glass filled with liquor with her left hand. Almost everyone was there - James Rhodes, Sam, Maria Hill, Natasha, Steve and the rest of the gang. They were celebrating the success of the past mission, kind of.
"How did you managed that?" Sam Wilson AKA 'Falcon', asked from the opposite couch as he lowered his own glass in the coffee table in the middle area of the lounge.
"It..." Peter deadpanned. "...exploded the battery…"
Everyone gave him a suspicious look, his wife trying to not laugh.
"Guys, desperate times..." He continued. "Max was living human battery at the time."
"Makes sense, I guess." Hawkeye took a sip from his beer.
"We suspected that it wasn't any normal occurrence," Maria Hill entered the conversation. "Queens was always a 'calm' place for that to happen."
"Peter was never known as someone who's careful." Gwen teased.
He looked to the blonde next to him, with a hurt expression. "Thank you, honey."
"Oh, look who finally arrived!" Hawkeye spun the bass sheet around his hand as he sighted the last invited guest stepping in the lounge.
Thor approached the table and calmly placed his hammer over it, before grabbing a beer and sitting down in a single comfy chair. "I'm sorry; I had to take Mjonir for a cleaning session."
Steve chuckled. "What? You're joking, right?"
"I bet this sheet in my hand that there's nothing mystical about your hammer, it's a trick." Clint challenged.
"The sheet isn't even yours." Tony said, with a provocative smile.
Thor laughed at his silliness, "You're out if your mind," He took a sip from his glass filled with whiskey. "Why don't you try to remove it from the table, if you do, it's yours."
Clint shrugged. "I'm fine with my bow, much more accurate." He teased.
"Well," Tony raised from his chair, on his own charming way. He glanced his friends before approaching the transparent coffee table where Mjonir was currently located, while getting surprised glances for everyone. He stopped on his tracks and looked at Thor, who was happily enjoying the contents of his beer. "Since this weapon is probably working by fingertips, it just needs a little extra push."
"Fingertips…?" Thor grinned, enjoying the moment.
"People, step aside…" Tony gestured his hand to the floor and a small platform raised from the ground besides the table, his red armour's glove being brought to him from a secret spot. He grabbed it and slid down his left arm as the device powered on.
"Now that's cool." Peter said, caressing Gwen's shoulder with his arm that was around her back.
"Whoever is worthy shall have the power to - whatever man, it's a trick!" Clint joked.
"It's much more than that, my friend." Thor handed him a beer.
"If I pull this off, can I rule Asgard?" Tony asked.
"Sure."
"I'll be fair and firmly cruel." Tony grabbed the hammer by it's base, he concentrate and started to pull the immoveable hammer, and things weren't good for him since it didn't even moved a few millimetres. He quickly gasped, before using his free hand to assist the process.
"Do you need help?" Rhodes asked, with a huge grin.
Tony released the hammer and looked at his old friend. "This is one of those rare occasions... when I do."
After finding a new glove for his partner, Tony and Rhodes were now struggling together to pull the hammer together. Tony kneeled on the floor, and Rhodes was standing up, holding the very base of the hammer.
"Are you even pulling it?" Rhodes teased, breathing heavily.
"Are you on my team?" Tony looked at Rhodes, with a disapproving look.
"Just represent and pull!"
"Alright, let's go!" Tony narrowed his eyes as they returned back to their main objective which was pulling the Hammer from the table.
Ultimately, they've failed, and it was now Steve Roger's turn to do his part and try to prove his worth.
"Careful, you might break one those old bones from yours, Cap." Clint made fun of the super soldier.
Steve laughed, shortly. He raised his sleeves and grabbed the Mjonir with both hands. He pulled it with all of his super strength, but the results weren't coming.
Thor laughed, "You're failing miserably -" He was interrupted when the hammer made a moving noise, surprising him and everyone around.
Steve gasped, and breathed heavily before abandoning the challenge. "I can't.." He sighed, not being easily impressed like everyone was.
Bruce looked at the only couple in the room and asked with a smirk. "Peter? Gwen?"
Peter shook his head and smiled. "I'm good."
"Oh, I don't even need to try." Gwen chuckled, before resting her head on Peter's shoulder.
"Well," He turned to the woman next to him, "Natasha?" He gestured to the hammer.
"That's not a question that I'll answer to." She smiled and went to drink the last contents of her beer.
"Nobody…?" Clint sighed.
"It's very easy," Thor stood up and slowly walked closer to Mjonir and grabbed it, holding the weapon with a cocky smile as he spun the hammer backwards. "You're not worthy."
"C'mon!" Falcon laughed while being joined by the other present at the room.
That was when a loud and painful sound came from the stage, now being used as a small fitness area, some meters from behind them, causing the whole group to abruptly cease the commemoration and turn around at the disturbing sound's source just to find what looked to be an android falling into pieces as it limped between the stage's dark entrance.
"Ha-ha..." An unusual and menacing voice laughed, weakly. "How could you be worthy?" It asked, waving his torn arm at the group.
Tony raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at his creation, not understanding how it managed to get there without his knowledge, and why it was talking like a human being. Peter rose from the couch and stood in front of Gwen, who was paralyzed by the terrifying sight.
"You're all puppets..." Ultron continued. Maria Hill stealthy loaded her hidden pistol, still sat on the couch while everyone observed the intruder with confused expressions.
"That is all tangled in strings...limited."
"Who's that?" Natasha asked, glancing Banner who was exchanging a confused look with Tony.
"It's...Ultron…in the flesh." Bruce replied, motionless.
"What are you doing here, Ultron?" Tony demanded an answer.
It took a few steps forward, "I know that you mean well, you want to protect the world but you don't want to change it, you're the very failure of this system whose leaders are corrupted and selfish beings from this primitive and violent race called... humans."
"What?" Steve approached Tony. Gwen rose from the couch and stood behind Peter, with her hands resting on his shoulder as he glared Ultron.
"You're not answering my question."
Ultron gazed the window that had a field of view of the entire city, before turning its head back to its creator. "There's only one path to the ultimate peace, your extinction."
The present froze when Peter's sensorial ability triggered on his mind, alerting him of the incoming threat. At the sound of the back walls from the stage shattering and thousands of drones coming from it, Peter quickly reacted by pushing Gwen back to the couch behind her and turned back as a drone similar to Ultron managed to pass between Tony and Steve, who were both defending themselves, and went directly at him with its only available powered hand and ready to fire a blast at Peter.
Peter, in a blink of an eye, took a step forward and grabbed the drone by the neck when it was clone enough, just to feel a burning sensation coming from his left shoulder as he pulled the drone on the air and violently moved his free arm and fist through the drone's chest, the skin of his fist being burned by the energy coming from the drone's energy core.
He threw the inactive drone at the floor, seeing it's blue lights coming from its eyes disappearing. He quickly turned back to Gwen who was still in shock, and knelled in front of her.
"Are you okay?" He cupped her cheek.
"I'm... y-yeah."
Peter kissed her hand and stood up, analysing what the recent chaos had just caused, windows were filled holes, meaning that a huge portion of the drones had somehow escaped from the tower, Ultron wasn't there anymore, just the alarmed team. Steve had a small bleeding cut on his left arm and Tony was still trying to figure what had just happened. Banner was standing next to Natasha and was rubbing the back of his neck, nervous. Maria Hill was breathing hard next to the couch where she used it as a cover. Everyone was still recovering from the recent firefight that happened and ended in matter of seconds.
"Tony..." Steve gasped.
"That wasn't supposed to happen." He said, gazing the stage with perplexed eyes.
"What is...Ultron?" Thor questioned.
"It is intelligence…with the purpose of assuring humanity's safety." Tony explained, getting back to reality.
"And you created it?"
"Me and Tony..." Bruce assumed his share of the responsibility since he could feel that Thor was on his edge.
"Why is it trying to kill us…?" Thor placed a hand on Tony's shoulder and made him look at him. "Why does Ultron speak like a mortal…?"
"I-I...don't know."
"You don't know? You're playing with things that you don't understand!"
"I assume -"
Unexpectedly, Thor grabbed Tony by the neck and raised him a few centimetres from the ground. "So you assume that if thousands of innocents lives are lost to this intelligence who wants to destroy your planet, it will be your fault?!"
"Thor!" Steve placed his hand on the god's arm which was holding Tony, adding some pressure for him to release Tony. "Let him go." He demanded.
With a groan, he released Tony fell to the floor and knelled to recover his breath. He walked away and disappeared from sight, leaving the lounge and it's visitor in a not so great condition.
"I'm sorry..." Tony whispered to himself.
A pregnant silence existed for a few minutes before Natasha broke the silence, "What are we going to do?"
Steve nodded at her inquiry, "Jarvis? Can you trace their positions?" He paused, waiting for the reply that never came.
"Ultron hacked the security software," Tony slowly stood up. "That's why we weren't notified of his presence before, but the question is, how did Ultron activated itself?"
"The AI shackles were what stopped him from becoming..." Banner silenced.
"What? Alive?" Clint asked.
"That's...not possible."
Peter turned to the woman next to him, ignoring his teammates for a while, and focus on his wife's state of mind. He pulled her into a hug and caressed her back as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay now." He said, softly. "I just checked my phone and the kids are safe, they're still sleeping."
"Thank god," Gwen hugged him back, not paying attention to the group who were currently arguing. "Is it true?"
He kissed the top of her head, "What?"
"Can he cause our extinction?" She asked, more like whispered.
"I won't let that happen, I promise." He assured.
Gwen tried to believe on his promise, but things never worked in that way and she knew that. "Your shoulder..."
"It's fine."
"We need to find Ultron." Steve approached the broken window, feeling the cold wind brushing against his shirt.
"We need to prepare while we've time, those were thousands of drones, if he wants to kill us all, then he'll need thousands more, and we can't let that happen." Clint affirmed.
"We're running out of time." Natasha said.
Peter gently took Gwen's hand and led her close to the group, "We'll be heading to our quarters," He informed with a nod, and leaved the half destroyed area with his wife.
Gwen instructed as she placed the stool near the sink in the bathroom, "Sit here and place right arm on the sink."
"Right," Peter said and did as instructed.
Gwen rummaged through the cabinet for a first aid kit which she placed on the sink, and after that she let warm water flow from the faucet. She sat down on Peter's lap and started to slowly remove the torn and bloodied pieces of his black T-shirt wrapped around his shoulder.
Peter winced a bit as the sticky cloth pieces were torn off.
"Sorry," Gwen said.
"Don't be, it's alright," Peter reassured, but his grimace showed it hurt like hell.
Gwen surmised focused on her task as she dropped the bloodied cloth into a nearby trash bin under the sink, and once removed she looked aghast at the deep wound and dried blood, she mumbled "Peter…"
"It's not very pretty, huh?" Peter deadpanned.
"Not really."
"You're frightened."
Gwen looked at him, with eyes full of agony. "Why shouldn't I be? That thing talked about extinction! Do you know what does that means?"
"Gwen, please -"
"A mother's worst fear is to lose her children! There's nothing like it!" She snapped at him. "You can't just promise such things like you did up there, this is serious! You can't say those things to me when you can't even fulfil such promise; it's not up to you..." She looked away, avoiding any eye contact.
Peter placed both hands on her shoulders and looked straight at her green eyes. "I know that," He said, softly. "You're right, but you don't need to be terrified, I'll be here, with my family, I would die for you guys if that was the only option to guarantee your safety and future."
Gwen adjusted the bandages, delicately. "It's done."
He moved a hand to her cheek and stroked the smooth skin with his thumb. "I don't care about my shoulder, I'm fine without it, but I care about you. I love you."
"Right…" She stood up and placed the bloodied towel on the pin, before walking out of the bathroom and into their bedroom, stopping close to the window next to their bed.
Peter calmly followed her and very slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, not trying to force anything that she wouldn't like it right now. He rested his chin on her right shoulder, and met her green eyes through the window's glass.
Gwen broke the silence, "Look - I'm sorry, it's just that I worry about us, even more now that I'll be out for a while and away from the kids and from you, and now there's - What was that thing called, Ultron? It's out there, and it's seeking chaos, misery and destruction. "
"You don't need to apologize, I understand your concerns and they're more than justified."
"I just... feel incapable of doing anything about it, powerless." Gwen confessed.
"And you don't need to, this is out of your league, and I don't want you to get directly involved with this whole mess."
"So I just sit and watch you doing everything? I can't do that, not when there's so much at stake." Gwen asked, softly.
"You just helped me at the bathroom, don't think that you're doing nothing, you always did."
She leaned her cheek against his, relaxing her body at his touch. "What now?"
He drew soft circles on her abdomen. "We stick together, like always, and everything will be fine."
A/N : Well, I hope that this chapter was worth the waiting, it took longer than the usual, but that's because it took me a long time to finish the first draft, then do some tweaks here and there, and later the final revision by FireflySurvivor who's helping me with everything. I don't want to rush anything, I want to write a story where people can get engaged with the characters, and a plot that that is well crafted. It's the finale, and I'm doing my best to write a good content for the characters that I got attached with, and give them the ending that they all deserve. You'll see some characters at they finest, a proper ending for each single one of them, it's my way of properly saying goodbye to them. I've been thinking about one more last separated story that doesn't feature Peter or Gwen at all, their arc will be finished here, but about Elizabeth or the twins. I'll not get in details about it, it's just a possibility, no solid plans, and if you guys want it. But hey, there's much more stuff to tell about Peter and Gwen, and the conclusion is kinda far by now.
By the time I publish this, I'll be working on chapter 43, shouldn't take too long to update it.
I've heard about the new reboot, it sucks, the ASM movies is what brought me back into Spider-Man and it's sad to say goodbye to the movie franchise this soon, but I'll forever be grateful to the whole crew who created two beautiful storyline's, some things could have been better, but I loved its run, still do.
I wanted to clarify that I accidentally reviewed my own story when I was searching for errors, that review was for a 'Chuck' Fanfiction called "The Long Road". Don't ask me how I managed that, too many tabs open probably, but I'm gonna try to remove it, I never review my own stories.
The party scene was inspired by Avenger's 2 Trailer, some things were changed, and others improved to fit the story. The scene where Tony interrupts Peter and Gwen was inspired by one of the ASM issues which I can't remember the exactly number, probably during 'Road To Civil War, issue draw by Mike Deodato. Regarding Ultron, all the questions are going to be answered as the plot progress.
This chapter's title comes from the song, " Amazing Life" by Matt Pond Pa. I heard it in 'Chuck', thought it was fitting.
Quotes : Chuck, Dragon Age, Dexter and Mr and Mrs Smith.