-1Author's Note: I'm so very sorry for the delay in this story! I have been very busy with work and family matters (not to mention my husband and I started ballroom dancing lessons) that I haven't have any time to write. This is just the first part of a chapter I'm working on but I figured it was better than nothing. I hope it appeases all my readers. I'll try to finish off the chapter by this weekend.

Free Fall

Chapter Six: Rebuilding Bridges (Part I)

Kenzie knew something was wrong as soon as she stepped outside her door. Harry was pacing beside a black Lincoln town car. He was tense and nervous. In an effort to get the day off on the right foot, she smiled broadly as she approached him.

"You shouldn't park here too long," she said as a greeting. "You could lose a hubcap or two in this neighborhood."

There was a brief smile that ghosted across his face before he opened the back door of the car. "Come on."

Kenzie checked her watch. "Am I late?"

"Just, get in. I'll explain."

She acquiesced to his hurried request and slid into the back of the car. She wondered if this was the same car that took her to the hospital that day or if he had a whole fleet of identical cars. Maybe they were just company cars?

"Have you seen the paper this morning?"

Kenzie drew her mind out of the car speculations and looked over at Harry. "I don't really read the newspaper. Why? Did something happen?"

He silently held up the Daily Bugle for her to see. She covered her mouth to keep a laugh from spilling out but Harry must have taken her response as more horror-stricken. "I'm so sorry about this, Kenzie. It's just because of that media mess with Octavius-"

"Harry, it's fine," Kenzie dropped her hand so he could see her grin. She took the crumbled up paper from him and smoothed out the creases. Another fit of laughter hit her and she only half way stifled it. "Not a very flattering photo is it?"

He finally seemed to relax. "I've seen better ones of me."

"Well, at least I wasn't drooling."

Both of them laughed at that and Kenzie took one last look at the picture. The photographer's name was in the corner and she recognized it.

"That little weasel."

Harry leaned over her shoulder. "Eddie Brock? You know him?"

"Not really. He keeps hanging around Gwen, asking her out or trying to at least. I've run him off a couple of times."

Harry let out a loud laugh and fell back against the leather seat. "You?"

Kenzie drew herself up and raised an eyebrow. "I can be very formable when I want."

"I'm sure you are." He seemed to regard her for a moment before speaking again. "You look rested today. Are you feeling better?"

"I am, thanks." True, she had only thrown up once this morning and stayed up to midnight practicing her wall-crawling, all in all it was a restful night. She always seemed to feel better on Sundays, having two days to recover from her treatment. However, Monday was back to radiation. "I guess we'll see if I really am feeling better at dinner though."

"If you can keep it down?"

"I was actually afraid of falling asleep in the pot roast, but you do make a valid point."

He looked unsure of whether to laugh or not so Kenzie smiled and he followed suite. "I have to say your attitude towards this cancer is much better than mine would be."

"Maybe that's why I have it and you don't. I'm a firm believer that we are not given more than we can handle. Everything that happens to us, good or bad, happens for a reason."

"What reason is that?"

It was the first time she had heard and seen a dark note creep into Harry's persona. He was staring out of the tinted glass window, a deep scowl etched onto his face. His muscles were tensed up under dress shirt he was wearing. She sympathized with him actually. She knew he had lost his father not that long ago and she had gone through an anger stage herself when her mother passed away.

"The reason is whatever comes our way has the purpose to make us better people. To turn us into the person we're suppose to become."

She went to reach to take his hand but when she bent her wrist back slightly, a web shot out and attached itself to the window by Harry's nose. Kenzie searched for an explanation as Harry recoiled from the web line. Before any words formed, he grabbed her wrist and turned it over. The tell-tale webbing was still protruding from her wrist. Kenzie smiled, reaching for a witty retort but the accusation in Harry's eyes silenced her completely.

He tried to stay mad, infuriated beyond all reason complete with bitter betrayal, he honestly tried. But when someone like May Parker looks at you, and gives you a hug that makes you believe she really is happy to see you, it's near to impossible to remain angry. Harry even tried to summon up a sense of indignation at seeing Kenzie and Peter with their heads together but he couldn't. Not anymore.

Without his father's voice following him, the constant drive for revenge was starting to fade. Looking at Peter and MJ as they came towards him with wide smiles and open arms all he could see was his friends. But he fell in the old role of giving everyone the cool brush off. Keep them at a distance and they can't hurt you. He shook Peter's hand but acquiesced to MJ's hug. He couldn't really stay mad at her for any reason.

"We weren't sure Kenzie could talk you into coming today," Peter said.

Harry stared directly at her. "She can be formidable when she wants to be."

She gave him a slightly annoyed look before following Aunt May into the kitchen. He felt guilty instantly. It really wasn't her fault she had followed in Spiderman's ways, was it? Come to think of it, he never did find out how Peter went from high school nerd to New York City's savior.

"You guys didn't have a fight did you?"

Harry stared at Peter for a couple heartbeats. The underlying current of the question was unmistakable to Harry but it went over MJ's head. Kenzie must have told him about the little webbing incident in the car. He wondered if MJ even knew of Peter's other identity or Harry's father's connection to it. If she did, she gave no indication of it.

Harry shoved his hands into his pockets. "We had a little disagreement."

MJ surprised him by shoving him in the direction of the kitchen. "Go make it right."

"You don't even know what it is."

She threw her arms up in the air. "Fine. Just don't 'disagree' with each other at the table. Aunt May is really happy we're all here." And she walked off into the kitchen.

"Talk about formidable," Peter said when she was out of earshot and Harry couldn't help but share a smile with his friend. Well, former friend. He rubbed his face with both of his hands. He didn't know anymore.

"Harry, you alright?"

Good old Pete. As far as he knew they were still on the outs but it never seemed to hamper his concern for Harry. It was in that moment that Harry realized this whole betrayal rift that occurred between them was terribly one-sided. Maybe Peter was telling the truth when he said that his father killed himself in the midst of battle. He had never lied to him before, why would he start now.

You have to start somewhere with the lies.

No, Harry shook his head slightly. He could always trust Peter to have his best interests in mind, now was no different. Harry was the one that insisted that Peter was lying about the facts which meant that it was up to him to heal the rift between them.

"Yeah," he smiled and was surprised it wasn't as forced as he expected it to be. "I'm fine." Just then Kenzie decided to make an appearance in the room carrying what looked to be like mashed potatoes. She set them down on the table and looked directly at him. He tried to look apologetic but apparently she wasn't ready for it yet. One of her eyebrows lifted, which he had learned from MJ, was never a good sign and she disappeared back into the kitchen.

A slow smile spread across Peter's face. "What?"

Harry watched Kenzie waltz out of the room and even when she was mad at him he couldn't help but feel his stomach flip. He had never met anyone so filled with emotion, which stood out in stark contrast to his father's philosophy that any emotion was a sign of weakness. She personality burned so brightly she actually was starting to out shine his father's influence.

"Pete?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm in love."