Was there anything better than dressing up in a red and blue onesie on a Friday night, while swinging around the New York city skyline?
Spider-Man couldn't think of a single thing.
He swooped through the city, free falling just within a few seconds of things becoming more dangerous than they already were, before shooting out some webbing that pulled him out of harm's way.
Much more fun and extremely more dangerous than the average roller coaster...But that's probably what made it so much fun in the first place. The swoops and 'alley-oops!'s sent an enjoyable tension that knotted the webhead's stomach, while loosening up that tension at the same time.
To put it simply, swinging around the city was the best experience ever.
The vigilante smiled to himself as he passed the Bugle Building. He flipped it off for fun, than did a double somersault to show off before shooting out more webbing.
So far, Spider-Man had stopped three potential robberies, four muggings, stopped a creepy guy from following a drunk girl, and walked that drunk girl back to her dorm.
So far, it had been a pretty eventful night, and it wasn't even twelve yet.
The teenager did a sharp turn, and landed on a rooftop. He crawled in the direction that faced Stark Tower. He crouched, and stared at it in thought.
It's been a little quiet for a few minutes, so he wondered if it was safe for him to have some fun.
See, Stark Tower was the tallest building in the entire city. It would make for the best 'sky-diving-but-with-inorganic-webbing-instead-of-a-parachute' experience Spidey would ever have experienced (and would also get rid of some tension from the lack of emails).
Stark Tower, however, was also one of the most guarded buildings in all of the state, most likely due to the fact that it had been attacked and destroyed on multiple occasions.
Spider-Man glanced at the penthouse, where Mr. Stark lived when he wasn't at the Mansion.
Desperation, mixed with seeds of resentment suddenly planted into Peter's stomach.
The teenager shook his head.
This was for fun, and to see how fast he could get to the roof before security told him to knock it off. He wasn't doing this for attention from Iron-Man.
No…this was for science.
Taking a deep breath, Spider-Man straightened up, before sinking back down. He covered his masked face with his gloves hands.
Was he seriously about to do something so extremely illegal and intrusive just because his daddy wasn't paying attention to him? Had he seriously reached that point of desperation?
Spider-Man stared at Stark Tower.
He couldn't act like this. It was bad enough that the only impression his father had of him was a whiny, teenage vigilante who fainted like a pansy when things got too hard. Even if Tony Stark wasn't aware that Peter Parker was that whiny teenaged vigilantee who fainted like a pansy, but that wasn't the point!
Peter jumped a couple of buildings in order to get closer. He sank down to stare at it in desperation.
God, it'll be the third week of radio silence since father and son had met. How much more time did Mr. Stark need? How much longer did Peter have to wait to talk to him? Couldn't the older man have at least told Peter how long it would take? Or was the man simply choosing to ignore him-
Peter shook his head.
No. No. This was Iron-Man! Tony Stark…This Tony Stark would never do that! He wouldn't abandon his kid like that!
Peter just needed to be patient, that was all.
The teenager shook his head. Suddenly, police sirens sounded off in the distance.
Spider-Man stood up.
'Finally. Something to do.'
The tutoring session would begin at 1 o'clock sharp, at Peter's apartment.
May encouraged him to wait outside for Liz because that was, and he quoted, 'The gentleman's way to do things'. Peter, of course, pointed out that he looked a little too scruffy to be a gentleman, which resulted in May throwing a pillow at him, and promising to give him a haircut when she had time.
The expression on the rich girl's face when she walked out of her fancy car told Peter that this wasn't going to be an easy tutoring session.
"Oh...you live here?" She asked dryly, obviously trying her best to be polite.
"Mhm." Peter opened the building's door with a key. He held it out for her.
"Oh...it's…..Interesting." She stated weakly. She waved at her driver before entering the building.
Peter followed her. "It's home."
"Right." Liz made a face. She frowned at the elevator in distrust.
Peter pressed the button. Behind them, the front door opened, and a voice called out, "Pesach! Shabbot Shalom!"
The teenager turned to the Yeshivish family from a floor above him. "Shabbot shalom, rabbi! Do you guys need me to help you out with the elevator?"
Rabbi Wasser smiled. "If it is no trouble to you and your friend."
"Of course not." The teenager smiled at the rest of the family. The two sons greeted him, and the third kid, a baby girl, waved a salva soaked hand at him.
Liz just stood by awkwardly as the elevator door opened. Peter held out a hand to allow the family to enter first. Once they were in, the teenager pressed the buttons for the sixth and seventh floors.
"How's May doing, Pesach?" Rabbi Wasser asked.
"She's good. Busy with work." Peter replied.
The rabbitizin turned to Liz, and smiled. "I haven't seen you around before, dear. What's your name?"
The girl shifted awkwardly. "Uh...Liz…Um…your baby is really cute."
Rabbitzin Wasser beamed. "Isn't she? Baruch Hashem, for blessing me with a healthy baby girl."
"Right." Liz replied, looking clearly confused.
The elevator door opened.
"Have a good Shabbos!" Peter called as the two exited. The teenager waited until the elevator door was closed before Peter explained, "There's a lot of Jewish people in my building."
Liz's only response was, "Why did they call you that?"
"That?-Oh. You mean 'Pasach'? That's my Hebrew name." Peter examined the keys on his keychain before selecting the one for his apartment. "I'm Jewish."
"Oh." Liz replied. "They seem nice."
"They are." Peter unlocked the door. "They invite my aunt and I over for meals, sometimes. They're really nice people."
Speaking of nice people: Peter's apartment smelled of freshly baked cookies.
"Peter?" May called out.
"No, a robber. I'm here to steal all the cookies." Peter called back.
"With that attitude, you'll get nothing."
The teenager chuckled, very happy that May had taken the day off for the first time in awhile. He glanced at Liz, who was looking around. She looked awkward.
"Uh…you can put your stuff over there." Peter pointed to the coffee.
"Right." Liz replied. She sank down slowly on their couch, eyes nervously darting to every location that wasn't Peter.
'Huh.' The teenager thought. 'That's…different.'
Aunt May made a sudden and graceful appearance from the kitchen. She carried a plate full of cookies, and made a face at Peter.
"Did you offer your guest anything to drink?" She asked.
"Oh...uh…." Peter turned to Liz. "Do you want anything to drink?"
Liz's eyes darted from May to Peter.
"No, thanks." She muttered.
May smiled at Liz. "It's nice to meet you, dear. I'm May Parker, Peter's aunt."
Liz's eyes shifted from her to Peter.
"Liz." She muttered.
May smiled at her, than raised an eyebrow at Peter.
"Right." May replied. "Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."
"Thanks, Aunt May." Peter sat on the floor by the coffee table, where he already laid out his stuff.
The girl next to him waited until May was out of sight before asking, "Why don't you live with your parents?"
Peter stiffened. He stared at his textbook. "Uh…It's complicated. So, what have you studied so far?"
Liz made a face at Peter's lack of response, before pulling her stuff out of her backpack. "The final's a month away."
The superpowered teenager raised an eyebrow at her. "So?"
Liz scoffed. "We haven't even gotten a study guide yet! What's the point of studying now?"
"Well, you want to pass the class, right?" Peter opened to the first chapter.
"Don't patronize me, Parker." Liz made a face. "It's bad enough that you of all people are helping me. Don't brag to me how a mere mortal like me has to actually study to pass stuff."
Peter paused. He frowned at her. "What are you talking about? Of course I need to study."
The teenager raised an eyebrow, doubt clear on her face.
"What? You think I hear stuff in class, and just remember it?" Peter shook his head. "Studying for finals and midterms a month in advance is normal for me. I have to work my butt off if I want to be top of the class."
"Right." Liz replied.
The brunette sighed. There was no point arguing with her. Instead, he pulled out his notes. "Okay. Let's just get started, alright?"
Liz huffed, but nodded.
The next two hours ended up not being as terrible as Peter thought that they'd be.
It was clear that Liz found the whole subject to be boring, so Peter did his best to teach it in a way that was interesting. He wasn't sure if it did much, but she seemed to somewhat to be getting it.
But after they took a small break, Liz threw her pencil on her notebook. "I'm never going to get this stuff!"
Peter raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You've been getting for awhile, now."
"No! I'm not! I don't understand a single thing that you're saying!"
The freckled teenager eyed her.
"You know," Peter replied slowly. "If you don't understand what I'm saying, you can ask me, right?"
Liz snorted. "Why? So you can make fun of me for not getting it?"
Peter stared at her seriously. "When have I made fun of you? The entire time that you have been here, when have I said a single word to you that mocked you in anyway?"
Liz stared at him for a minute. She glared at the coffee table.
"You're smart, Liz." Peter continued. "You can get this stuff, I know it."
There was a pause.
"Are you flirting with me?" She finally demanded.
Peter blanched, his face reddening.
"What!? No!" He yelped. "I-No-That-that would be very inappro-I'm not-"
Liz watched him as he stuttered. After a moment, she laughed.
It made Peter relax a little. He blushed, and glanced at the floor.
"Geez, you're harmless." Liz smiled, leaning against the table.
Peter stiffened. He studied her for a moment, before shaking his head.
"Okay, so," He said, as he picked his text book back. "What's the difference between animal cells and plant cells?"
Liz made a face. "The…cell wall?"
"What else?" Peter pressed.
Liz's face scrunched up to the point where Peter would have laughed at her if he didn't know whether that would hurt her feelings.
She cursed, and flopped her face into her notebook.
Peter sighed, but waited patiently until Liz put herself back together again.