NOTE: This serves as a continuation of the one shot "When it Rains" by Mighty_Ant on Archive of Our Own. That one shot is considered the true Chapter 1, and I strongly encourage anyone checking this story out to read it first.

Baby Steps

Can we meet again?

The text message had caused Peter's heart to skip a beat.

Yeah! Totally! Where at?

His whole body was arrested with anticipation.

Met Life Blding. 30min?

The condensed messaging format brought a smile to his face. It was straight out of the 2000's.

Sure thing, Brooklyn. See you soon!

Ok.

That exchange was about 20 minutes ago. It came in just as he had finished up his homework for the evening, right after sunset to be exact. Peter knew he had never suited up quite as fast as he did once May gave him the go ahead for an evening patrol. With a hug and a kiss, she told him to be back by midnight and to text her every hour. A quick stop by Mr. Delmar's grocery for two sandwiches and he was off to meet his new friend.

"Peter, I'm detecting an elevated heart rate. Are you nervous?" Karen asked with a neutral, observant tone.

"Little bit, yeah. But also excited, ya know? I didn't actually think Brooklyn would want to meet again." Peter paced his reply between swings. He was making perfect time, having just reached the Queensboro Bridge. "I mean, it's been almost a week since I met him. I kind of thought he might have chosen to.. ya know… not be friends."

"I think you made a very good impression with the gargoyle." Karen replied in a jovial tone. "Maybe he just needed some time. His speech patterns and body language suggested he was highly apprehensive. It's probably not often Brooklyn has met a friendly human."

Peter smiled to himself. After all, what sort of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man would he be if he was not able to befriend some otherworldly crime fighting creature?

Speaking of, he still had not shaken the feeling of awe and curiosity from their first meeting. On that rainy evening in Manhattan, the teen from Queens had come face to face with a mythological creature. And that mythological creature was friendly! Well, kind of friendly. Peter had to reveal his secret identify to start a rapport with the brick red gargoyle. It was a crucial first step, though.

In the time since their first meeting, that week long rainstorm had since subsided. If Peter did not know better, he would have thought their meeting was what broke the storm. It was a silly thought, of course, but still, the following few days had been agonizing. He had oh so wanted to tell to Ned. His best friend had actually been following these rumored sightings of "gargoyle-like creatures in Manhattan" with a vigor not seen since Peter had first become Spider-Man.

However, he had a promise to keep. And so, not even his best friend or his Aunt had heard about his encounter. He even had Karen encrypt the suit recordings of that evening so that not even Mr. Stark would be able to see. It took a bit of convincing for the natural language user-interface (NLUI for short) to acquiesce to the request. But, with a sound argument from the teen about "first contact with a new species" and "building trust", she agreed to block the video from the Avengers' mission report servers. However, she did expect Peter to tell Mr. Stark soon.

With a mid-air back flip and the quick thwip of his web shooters, Peter swung through the final support beam of the bridge and entered Manhattan. His mind was still racing with anticipation, but one conscious thought floated above all his other anxieties: he was thrilled to be meeting the gargoyle named Brooklyn again.

Brooklyn felt his tail twitch.

His whole body was riddled with nerves as he paced back and forth on the rooftop of the Met Life Building. It had been ages since he had felt this anxious about something. It was, oddly enough, a good feeling. He thinks.

Ever since that rainy night, he had been hesitant to meet with Peter… Spider-Man… again. No, hesitant was the wrong word. After their chance meeting, Brooklyn had felt happier than he had in months. Spider-Man seemed to prove that Elisa was not the exception to the rule, but perhaps a part of a silent minority of humans who could accept him and his kind.

However, the nagging cynic in him always managed to drag his lofty idealism back to earth. His closely guarded ember of hopefulness was could not overpower his fear of betrayal.

In the nights leading up to now, Brooklyn had wanted to call Peter. He had wanted to meet with the young human again. He wanted to learn more about the enthusiastic super-hero who, after some admitted trepidation, accepted the gargoyle with open arms. But he either had not been able to find the time between patrols with his rookery brothers or felt… nervous. That was it. That was the feeling that was surging through his body right now. Nervousness. Nervous at the thought that Peter may just be using him like Demona had. Nervous it was just another lie.

Brooklyn could not help but laugh out loud.

You're a thousand year old warrior, Brooklyn. And you're nervous about meeting with a kid! He shook his head as he laughed.

Still, he did have to keep reminding himself that Peter was far from an ordinary kid. He was Spider-Man, a formidable hero known for swinging effortlessly between buildings and stopping out of control cars like they were made of paper. That alone put him on edge.

Since meeting the masked hero, Brooklyn had taken to doing some research. Whenever Lexington was not hogging the laptop Elisa had bought them he was surfing the internet, absorbing every bit of information he could find on Spider-Man. Much to his surprise, those You-Tube videos him and his Brothers had seen of the hero's activities in Queens were only the tip of the iceberg.

Spider-Man had been sighted all over in recent months. He had apparently saved a group of students in Washington, D.C. from plummeting to their deaths in a freak elevator accident. A couple weeks ago, he had stopped some major arms dealer from stealing a bunch of Stark Industries technology. Brooklyn remembered that night vividly. It had been a few days after they had moved into the 23rd Precinct's clock tower. The whole clan had witnessed that carrier jet taking off from Stark Tower, followed by its subsequent crash. He had wanted to go help rescue whoever might have been on the plane, but Goliath forbade it, stating they would never have been able to catch up to it.

Then, a few months ago he had been spotted in Germany where there had been unconfirmed reports of the "Der Erstaunliche Klebrige Junge" (or Amazing Sticky Boy in English) battling it out with the Avengers at an airport.

That last part stuck with Brooklyn. This kid had to duked it out with the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Him and the clan were all too aware of those guys, and were quite enamored with the tales of their exploits.

Elisa had filled them in on the alien invasion that occurred back in 2012. She had been a patrol officer at the time, fresh out of the Police Academy, and got a first row seat to the Avengers debut. It was an awe inspiring tale, and the follow-up with the Battle of Sokovia equally enraptured the clan.

However, the passing of what Elisa called the "Sokovia Accords" seemed to have largely disbanded the super-hero team. And thus, it seemed the clan's chances of ever meeting this team of "humanities best" was lost to the wind.

Until last week, that is.

Now, having managed to get away from Lexington and Broadway for part of the evening, Brooklyn was going to meet Peter, the Spider-Man, for a second time.

And, as if on cue, Brooklyn's ears perked up to a foot fall on gravel. He turned on a dime. His muscles tensed and wings extended, only to be met with the familiar figure that was the Spider-Man.

"H-hey Brooklyn!" Peter waved as he found his footing on the gravel. He winced at his voice crack but pushed past it. "Nice to… see you again."

It was the first time Peter had seen Brooklyn when it was not raining out, and he had to admit that the gargoyle was quite an imposing sight. Brooklyn was easily almost half a foot taller than Peter. The gargoyles muscular, yet lithe body looked like a finely honed weapon, his thick tail swishing behind him as he stood at his whole height. Had this been their first meeting, he reckoned he might have felt more afraid than their actual first meeting.

However, upon seeing that it was Peter, the teen saw the gargoyle return to a more relaxed state. The gargoyle had hunched over ever so slightly, his beaked head jutting out as the two now stood at eye level.

Peter saw fit to remove his mask, and in doing so flashed what was probably a very awkward looking smile.

"Nice to see you again too, Pete." Brooklyn smiled, or at least what Peter thought was a smile. The beak was definitely going to take some getting used to. "What's in the bag?"

Peter stood there for a moment before realizing what Brooklyn had asked

"Oh oh! Yeah, the bag!" He tucked his mask into a clasp on his waistline and pulled out two wrapped sandwiches. "Only the best sandwich in all of Queens! Straight from Delmar's Grocery. Mr. Delmar honestly knocks it out of the park with these. They're my go to meal during my patrols? You want one?"

Brooklyn's reaction to the offer brought a smile to Peter's lips. The gargoyle seemed genuinely shocked at being offered something. And the subtle growl that emanated from his midsection probably meant he was hungry, too.

"Uh… sure. Yeah, I'll give it a try." He spoke with a nervous tone, possibly still reeling from the sudden act of kindness. "Kind of hungry, actually. I skipped breakfast."

Breakfast? Peter thought as he walked towards Brooklyn with a skip to his step. How often does this guy eat?

Peter did pause for a brief moment.

"Hold on. Are gargoyles carnivorous? Are you an omnivore like humans? With a body like that you've got to be, but if you're not I could always go grab you a sa-"

"I've got no idea what any of those words mean, Pete. But don't worry; gargoyles eat both meat and plants if that's what you're asking." Brooklyn cut Peter off with a laugh.

Smiling, Peter passed the sandwich to Brooklyn before walking past the gargoyle. He sat down on the building's ledge, letting his feet dangle.

Brooklyn soon joined him, "capeing" his wings around his shoulder before crouching on the ledge. The two unwrapped their sandwiches in silence. Peter took a moment to savor the intoxicating aroma of deli meats, cheese, and fresh vegetables. While doing so, he snuck a glance over to the gargoyle.

"Trust me, dude. It'll blow your mind." He said with a laugh after watching Brooklyn sniff hesitantly at his own sandwich.

Peter took his first bite, the flavors blending into a symphony of pleasure as he felt his body relax. He looked back to Brooklyn and held his breath. The gargoyle was going in for his first bite.

The second the sandwich passed between Brooklyn's lips (Peter briefly wondered if a beak even had "lips"), Brooklyn's face immediately lit up with a flurry of expressions: surprise, shock, awe, it was all there as he went back in for a second, a third, and a fourth bite. In a flash half of the sandwich was gone as the brick red gargoyle let a moan escape his beak.

"Holy crap, kid. You weren't messing around!" Brooklyn managed to huff that out in between his chews.

"And thus, Peter Parker successfully converts another New Yorker to the Queens Side." Peter laughed, taking another bite of his own sandwich. "I'll be sure to tell Mr. Delmar even mythological creatures think his sandwiches are the best."

Peter practically heard Brooklyn's body tense up.

"Pete." Brooklyn spoke in a low, intense voice. "You didn't tell anyone about me, did you?"

"No way!" He said quickly. "Not a soul. When I make a promise, I keep it. Even if it means I'll end up in trouble later down the line. Which I probably will if my Aunt does find out. Boy you should have seen her when she found out I was Sp-"

"Peter." Peter shut up when Brooklyn interrupted his rambling. He turned to look to Brooklyn and found that the gargoyle was staring directly at him. His green eyes, normally filled with a reserved intensity, had completely softened.

"Thank you."

Peter smiled.

"Not a problem, dude."

The two returned to a momentary silence as they ate their meal. Brooklyn had slowed down slightly, probably trying to savor every bite before it was gone.

"Besides," Peter broke the silence, "I trust that you haven't revealed my secret to anyone. Wouldn't want to destroy our rapport so earlier into our friendship!"

"How do you know I have anyone to reveal your secret to?"

The question stopped Peter mid bite.

Oh god! He thought as he stared out into the city. Is Brooklyn the last of his kind?! Did I just set of a land mine of bad memories?! Was his family slaughtered by humans or something?!

"U-uh. I-I mean… uh… do you? I mean, do you have a family?"

Peter heard the gargoyle shift his weight. A nervous fidget, he gathered.

"Yeah," Brooklyn drawled out, drawing Peter's gaze back, "I do have a family-"

"Awesome!" Peter blurted out, his worries evaporating completely.

"But I can't talk about them with you. Not yet, anyways." Brooklyn finished his train of thought with a small smile to Peter. His eyes were still softened, holding true to what Peter felt was a new level of trust he had earned with the gargoyle.

"Right. Got it. Of course. Baby steps, right?"

"Right." Brooklyn nodded in agreement before returning to the last bite of his sandwich.

Peter did the same, finishing off his sandwich.

His mind was still racing with questions, though. Peter understood, probably more than anyone, the need for anonymity. Brooklyn was probably worried that if he revealed too much too soon that he or his family might be hurt. One wrong move, one tiny bit of information, one slip up and everything he loved could be at risk. That was at the forefront of Peter's mind every time he went on a patrol. Peter guessed it was the same for Brooklyn.

As much as he wanted to be as good of a friend with Brooklyn as he was with Ned, Peter knew he had to keep taking it slow. Push too hard and Brooklyn might fly off. For now, he would keep it cool.

Although…

"So," Peter jumped to his feet, clapping his hands together. "Want to go on a patrol together?"

It was a long shot. His experience up to this point, however, had taught Peter that there was no stronger bond than that built on the battlefield. It is how Mr. Stark and Happy came to trust him enough to offer him a position with the Avengers, even if that had just been a test. Taking down Mr. Toomes had brought on a new level of trust between him and his mentor… and Happy. It could totally work with him and Brooklyn.

"You serious?" Brooklyn raised an eyebrow (again, what Peter thought was an eyebrow. It looked more like an "eye ridge") as he sat up.

"Yeah, why not?" Peter beamed. "I mean, that is what you do all night, right? You're a crime fighting gargoyle?"

"Crime fighting gargoyle…" Brooklyn snickered, shaking his head. "Gargoyles don't fight crime, Pete. We protect."

"Well," Peter drawled out, opening his arms, "you protect by fighting crime. Like me! Come on. What do you say? Spider-Man and Brooklyn take Manhattan! Those criminals won't know what hit 'em."

Please say yes please say yes please say-

"Sure, why not? I kind of want to see if all those YouTube videos with you were true." Brooklyn flexed his wings with a nod.

"Yes!" Peter jumped for joy, pumping his fists in the air. "Oh! I've got something that'll help us keep in touch while you're flying and I'm swingin'."

"Glide." Brooklyn corrected, rolling his eyes.

"What's that?" Peter asked as he tapped one of the storage compartments along his waist, causing a small circular object to emerge. Plucking it from the compartment, Peter held it up to Brooklyn.

"Gargoyles don't fly- oh never mind. What is that?" The gargoyle side eyed the item as he stepped closer.

"It's a communicator I made! I figured if I ever worked closely with a police officer in like a hostage situation or something that I'd need to communicate directly with them. My suit could patch into their radios, but this is much more covert."

"And you made this yourself?" Peter continued to hold the communicator out for Brooklyn. He had stepped close enough to get a good look at it, his eyes betraying his curiosity.

"Sure did! It was pretty simple, really. I just took apart an AirPod, cut down on all the unnecessary tech but preserved the microphone and speaker, and then condensed it down as much as I could. I… think it should fit fine in your ears. Never tried it on a Gargoyle. Mind if I put it in?"

There was a brief hesitation from Brooklyn, but the brick red gargoyle nodded his head. Nodding back, Peter stepped forward. This was the closest he had been to Brooklyn since they met, and he immediately noticed a very distinctive smell emanating from the gargoyle.

He smells like concrete. Weird.

Filing that factoid away for later, Peter pinched the communicator between his thumb and index finger. With the utmost care, he placed it into Brooklyn's left ear, which the gargoyle had angled towards him. It fit perfectly.

"Right… I just need to pair it with my suit…" He gently pressed down on the communicator in Brooklyn's ear while also pressing the black spider symbol on his chest.

"I heard a beep." Brooklyn said as Peter's suit beeped as well.

"Great! It should work now. Let me get my mask back on and we'll test it out."

Pulling his mask back over his face, Peter backed up several paces.

"Can you hear me?" He asked at a whisper, standing at about 10 feet back from the gargoyle.

Brooklyn's immediate expression confirmed he could. He immediately straightened up when Peter asked.

"Yeah I can hear you! This is sweet, Peter." Brooklyn shouted his response, causing a feedback flare up on Peter's end.

"Woah woah, easy there. You don't need to shout." Peter chuckled. "Just talk normally. Think of it like a phone call."

"Ah. Got it. Sorry Pete." Brooklyn gave a thumbs-up to Peter before he turned out to face the city. "You all set, Spider-Man?"

Jumping in place as he rotated his arms, Peter returned the thumbs-up with a smile.

"Ready, Brooklyn!"

Waiting for his lead, Peter watched as Brooklyn flexed his wings a few times and crouched low. The brick red gargoyle turned his head to the sky and leapt off the building. His pterodactyl like wings billowed against an updraft that carried him high into the night sky.

Peter watched for a few more seconds before he too lept from the building in a swan dive. A quickly aimed shot from his web shooters propelled him forward into Manhattan.

You need to open up to him more!

Don't do that. He can't be trusted. Not yet.

But he told you his secret identity the first time you met! He trusts you completely!

Then that's his problem. You don't know what he's planning.

He's a hero!

He's dangerous.

Brooklyn grunted as he shifted along the currents of wind. While he kept himself level with the horizon he felt like a war was going on inside his head.

Part of him, the still hopeful youth he had once been, was shouting at him to open up to Peter. Tell him everything. Tell him that he's over a thousand years old. That he and his clan was frozen in stone by a magic spell which was broken by a Machiavellian billionaire. Tell him about Goliath, about Hudson, Bronx, Lexington, and Broadway. Hell, take the kid to meet them at the Clock Tower! Do anything except stay closed off!

But for every nudge came an equal push. You can't trust him, he's just a kid. You've seen those YouTube videos, seen what he can do. What if he's an enemy? What if he becomes an enemy? He's a human. You trust them about as far as you can throw them. He could hurt your clan. Your family. They're the only ones you can trust. Trust no one else.

He grunted again, much louder this time. It was practically a roar.

"You okay up there, Brooklyn?" He heard Peter's youthful vigor chirp in his ear.

"Yeah. Yeah kid. I'm fine."

Craning his neck down towards the city, he quickly spied Peter at the apex of one of his swings. Even with his internal battle, he could not help but admit that the kid had style. Each swing was different from the last. A somersault here. A backflip there. All were in perfect sync with each other. It was a symphony of agility, all conducted by the masterful placement of webs against skyscraper.

Webs…

"Hey Pete. How are you making those webs? They're not coming from inside you, are they?"

"What?! Ew! Gross! No way!" Peter laughed. "God that'd be… kind of cool actually. But no. No, I made this web fluid myself! Mix a little salicylic acid, toluene, methanol, carbon tetrachloride, potassium… I'm boring you aren't I?"

Brooklyn blinked. He flexed his wings closer towards his back, keeping his arms and legs splayed to maintain a slow descent.

"Not one bit." He was only a few meters above where Peter was swinging, and hoped the communicator carried his reassuring tone well. "I don't understand what most of that stuff is, but I definitely know someone who'd pick you apart with scientific questions."

"Oh really? You'll have to introduce me sometime." Brooklyn could hear the smile in Peter's voice.

"Yeah. Sometime."

Open up!

Keep your distance.

"What about the wall crawling? How do you do that?"

"Oh that. It's uh… kind of a weird - Woah there… hold on a sec Brooklyn." He spied Peter twist his body mid swing and head down towards the street. "I think someone needs help."

Surprised by what the teen may have seen, Brooklyn turned sharply, angling his body to the right as he just barely missed the side of a building. It took him a few minutes to spy the red and blue jumpsuit against bright Manhattan lights. When he did, he saw Peter zipping down to the street. The teen landed next to a car and a person.

Can't exactly follow him down there. He mused to himself as he circled above.

From what his keen eyes could make out, this person was not getting mugged or trying to rob the car. No. No it looked like he was… trying to change his tire?

Brooklyn quirked a brow ridge. He descended further and landed on a ledge just a few stories above the scene.

It was exactly what it looked like. Peter had stopped mid swing to help someone change a tire on their car. And help he did. With little effort the teen had lifted the right rear side of the car off the ground and held it up. He crouched low on the ledge as he observed.

Five whole minutes Peter stood there without any complaints as the man changed the flat tire. When it was done, the two shared a high five and a selfie before Peter sent a web line flying up onto the ledge Brooklyn was crouched.

"You helped some guy change a tire?" Brooklyn asked when Peter landed next to him, realizing his tone carried much more disbelief than he had intended.

Peter shrugged, the eyes on his mask twitching slightly.

"Well, yeah. Why not? He didn't have a jack with him and could have gotten seriously hurt. I've lifted stuff a lot heavier."

"Huh." Brooklyn blinked twice, sizing Peter up for a few seconds, a newfound… something added to his perception of the Spider-Man.

"Come on. Let's get back out there." Again, Brooklyn could hear the smile in Peter's voice. "Glide on ahead, I'll follow."

"We don't fl – oh. So you were listening." He cracked a smile knowing that Peter was probably smirking under that mask.

As before, Brooklyn quickly sized up the wind currents he was working with before extending his wings fully and jumping off the ledge. Peter followed close behind.

That was how much of the evening went. Peter would stop suddenly, zip down to the street, and help someone with some mundane task. There was a hot dog cart vendor that was trying to load his cart into the back of a pickup truck. A quick intervention from Spider-Man and the cart was all loaded. Some guys trash back exploded all over the sidewalk as he was carrying it out to a dumpster? Spider-Man was there to help clean up the mess. A basketball rolled off a court? He'd swing low, scoop it up, and send it back to the players.

Then there was an old lady shuffling along a side street, her arms labored with several large grocery bags. Once more, Spider-Man appeared from the sky and spent a whole ten minutes walking her back to an apartment building; he carried every single bag for her and even carried them up to her apartment. He had emerged another five minutes later with two slices of fresh baked banana bread (which Brooklyn had never had before and found to taste amazing).

Each mundane interaction was closely observed by Brooklyn. Each one caused him to look at the kid turned super-hero with a new level of admiration. His cynical side had initially been jealous, and felt mocked by what Spider-Man was doing. Him and his rookery brothers could never be so casual in their help. But those negative feelings were quickly overpowered. Brooklyn and his clan might not be able to help now, but seeing Spider-Man do it made him think that maybe, just maybe, they could in the future. One day, he could be the one taking selfies with people, being cheered on and getting banana bread from old women.

That ember of hope was slowly growing. And Spider-Man… Peter… was the one tending it.

About an hour and a half into their patrol, Peter had once more asked if they could stop. Brooklyn didn't see anyone in need of immediate help but followed Peter down onto the roof of a brownstone.

"What's up, Pete?" He asked as his talons dug into the gravel rooftop on landing.

"Sorry, sorry, just need to text my Aunt." He waved Brooklyn's concern off as he pulled out a smartphone from a compartment in the small of his back. "She set some… ground rules for me to follow if I wanted to keep being Spider-Man. Don't stay out late on a school night, text every hour, share my phone's location with her, you know, parental type stuff."

What Peter was describing reminded him far too much of how Goliath had been treating him and his rookery brothers since they fled Castle Wyvern. He had actually sent Goliath a text message detailing where he was a little bit ago. It was part of his arrangement with the clan leader on being allowed to go out alone tonight. He doubted that Goliath could even work his phone well enough to read the message, but it was a small price to pay for some freedom.

"And she's cool with you doing what you do out here?"

"Oh yeah. It took her a bit of convincing once she found out, but she's always been big on us giving back to our community. She does a lot of volunteer work with FEAST. I think she's just happy I'm out here making a difference and not doing drugs or whatever else other teens do." He finished with a laugh, his voice cracking a bit.

"How old are you, Pete?" He scratched at his beak. Brooklyn had been wondering that since he met Peter. The finer details on human physiology was still a mystery to him, but he could tell Peter was young. It was about time he knew how young.

"Fifteen. Though I'll be sixteen in August… how old are you, Brooklyn?"

"Well, gargoyles age at half the rate of humans. I'm thirty eight in gargoyle years, so that'd be about… 19 in human years I guess."

Peter paused mid-text. He looked up sharply to Brooklyn, his eyes alight with excitement.

"Really? No wonder we get along so well! We're both teenagers! You got any favorite bands? Favorite video games?"

Only a few hours ago Brooklyn knew he would have been overwhelmed by all the questions. He'd have quickly retreated inwards and only offered half answers. But it was now hard to do that, and the path of least resistance seemed to be one of openness.

"AC/DC's got some rockin' tunes, though I guess I like most any of the classic rock bands." He spoke with confidence, his eyes matching Peter's own excitement.

"Oh I love AC/DC! Enter Sandman is great."

Brooklyn laughed, knowing that was a Metallica song. He could care less that Peter got the two confused, though. The lightness in his chest prevented himself from correcting the teen.

"Yeah, and I've been playing the original Halo games with… with my brothers."

He braced himself for the barrage of questions that was sure to follow his mentioning of his rookery brothers.

"Oh, oh man, those are classic." Peter exclaimed as he pocketed his phone. "My best friend and I played through all three of 'em on Legendary in one night. That was… not fun! But fun, too. If you ever want to do that, I'd hop online with ya!"

As with every other question answered, Peter took what Brooklyn had said at face value. No prying, no follow up inquiries, nothing. Just a simple acceptance of the answer.

Open up to him!

… Soon.

"I might take you up on that offer." Brooklyn nodded with a glance back out to the city. "You ready to head back out there?"

"What? Oh yeah, sure thing. I've got about another hour or so before I need to get back home. Lead the way!"

While Brooklyn may have taken the lead, Peter was driving the show. Brooklyn watched with keen, eager eyes as Spider-Man readily assisted anyone with anything. More old women needing help carrying bags. A distraught mother who had lost track of her child in the crowds. A motorcyclist who's bike broke down in the middle of a busy intersection (Brooklyn had to stop himself from going down there to help. He was still obsessed with bikes, even after destroying the one Lex had built, and reckoned he could have gotten it fixed in half the time it took Peter). It was all there for him to see.

Each time Peter zipped down to the street to help, he found a perch nearby and watched the scene play out. He had actually started taking some mental notes on how Peter interacted with each person in distress. It varied from situation to situation, of course, but there as a commonality between each interaction.

Peter would always land a few feet away. He would announce his presence with a friendly greeting, usually a "'Sup buddy!" or a "You havin' a good evenin'?". He was expressive, but tried not to make too many sudden movements. The key, he saw, was to let the person in distress be acclimated to him being there. Some were a lot quicker than others, like how one guy practically yelled at the kid to help him as he held a large fridge up on his stoop.

Once the person had been acclimated to Peter's sudden appearance, and the shock of meeting Spider-Man, they were eager to have his help. He would do whatever was required, chat idly, and ask if they needed anything else. They would usually ask for a selfie or an autograph. Some even offered him money. The selfies or autographs were all given freely, and at most, Peter accepted some snacks or food as thanks. After a high five, a handshake, a shoulder pat, or a fist bump, Peter would zip up to where Brooklyn was and it was off to the next person in need.

It was all so… refreshing. Brooklyn actually felt his breath catch in his chest when he heard Peter say he needed to get back home. He wanted to keep going, to keep watching. Nevertheless, all good things must end, so he glided back to the Met Life building with Peter in tow.

"I hope tonight wasn't too boring for you, Brooklyn." Peter said in an offhand manner as he landed next to Brooklyn. The teen had removed his mask; his hair matted and face tinged red from fatigue.

Brooklyn perked up. He had been looking at his flip phone, noticing some missed messages from Goliath and Lexington. It was nearing midnight. He reckoned they were wondering when he would be back. Goliath had probably become frustrated with his phone and asked Lexington to get in touch. They could wait a little bit longer though.

"What makes you say that, Pete?" He asked, quirking a brow ridge.

"Well… I mean… we didn't exactly do much crime fighting. I just sort of dragged you along as I did my 'Friendly Neighborhood' thing. You're probably thinking there's plenty of better things you could have been doing than watch some kid help-"

"Peter. This was one of the best nights I've had in a long while." Brooklyn interjected quickly. He even placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, and smiled wider than he had in months.

"R-really?" It looked like a weight had been lifted from Peter's shoulders.

"Really." Brooklyn squeezed Peter's shoulder. "Seeing you out there helping people by just being there for them was… inspiring. It's not something all those YouTube videos really showed. I'm happy to have been able to see it. I think I learned a lot, too."

"Oh. Well. Uh… happy to have helped you too then, Brooklyn." Peter ran his gloved hand through his hair. Brooklyn guessed he might have been caught off guard by his sincerity. It was the most unreserved he'd been since they met.

"And, I'd like to do it again. 'Crime fighting' or not."

Peter beamed that same dorky smile.

"Alright. Cool cool cool. Totally. Yeah, summer break is coming up too, so I'll be able to hang out a lot more often."

"I'm looking forward to it, kid." Brooklyn chuckled, lifting his hand from Peter's shoulder. "I'll send you a text when I'm free for some more 'Friendly Neighborhood' thing."

The two shared a brief laugh before Peter pulled his mask back over his face. A few quick presses on his web shooters ejected some spent casings.

"Hey, who knows? Maybe next time you can walk an old lady home." Peter shrugged as he loaded another set of web fluid.

Brooklyn smirked.

"Baby steps, Pete."

Author Notes:

And so begins the story! Or rather, a continuation of the story. As I stated in the notes section, this is a continuation of Mighty_Ant's one shot When it Rains. A Gargoyles and Spider-Man crossover has always been an intriguing concept. Seeing what Mighty_Ant did with MCU Peter Parker and pre-season 2 of Gargoyles Brooklyn finally pushed me to write one. And what better way to write one then as a continuation of a kick ass one-shot. Seriously, go read it! I hope I'll be able to do their foundation justice.

I'd like to add some thoughts on how you might see this crossover progress. It is a pretty tricky subject to work with. My number one issue is actually fitting the Gargoyles universe inside the MCU. I hope I can make it as seamless as possible, and you can definitely expect some world building to come in later chapters. Still, I am very excited about the fun to be had. I have a lot of ideas with how the MCU canon could affect the Gargoyles canon, and how the Gargoyles canon can affect the MCU canon. So expect the unexpected! I'll be updating the character tags as more specific characters are introduced.

One final note: this story begins in May 2016. The Gargoyles still went under the spell in 994, but awoke in October 2015.

Enjoy!