Awkward doesn't even begin cover how Peter feels this morning as he stands outside the door to Felicia's apartment. Just last night, he was starting to wonder if he was falling in love with Black Cat and even shared his first kiss with her only to find out she's been Felicia Hardy all this time.
How's that for ironic, Parker? You've spent all this time trying to get Felicia to like you as yourself, you fall for HER own alter-ego, and then she learns the guy she's in love with is the guy she rejected. My favorite comic book couldn't come up with relationship drama this weird. That's my life. Complicated.
He raises his hand to knock on the door, but stops. Despite thinking about yesterday's reveal all night, the web head still finds himself unsure of what he's going to say. Peter mentally berates himself for how complicated he's making this. It should be easy, all things considered. Yet, here he stands, not willing to take the next step.
On the other side of the door, Felicia paces around her apartment, just as confused as Peter and just as unsure as to why. She liked Peter first, then she liked Spider-Man, and now she learns they are one in the same. This should be a done deal and she should be jumping for joy that they know one another's identity and can just be normal around each other from this point forward. But, she can't shake that nagging feeling at the back of her mind that Peter's not going to take her in his arms when he arrives. The memory of when sh first kissed Spider-Man as herself and how he rejected her for her own safety was still fresh in her mind. Now that Peter knows she and Black Cat are the same, would that affect his decision to pursue a relationship with her? The second kiss they shared last night feels more and more like a goodbye kiss the more Felicia thinks about it. A knock at the door breaks Felicia's pacing and she comes to a dead stop.
Oh my God, he's here, she thinks. She tries to move, yet her feet are rooted to the spot. More nervous than she's ever felt in a long time.
Come on. You can do this, Felicia. You've fought against The Kingpin himself. This should be small potatoes in comparison.
Peter meanwhile feels his own heartbeat speed up exponentially and chastises himself again for knocking without having any sort of speech prepared. He's just about to turn and run for it, when the door opens.
"Uh…h-hi Felicia," Peter stammers and can feel his throat start to go dry.
"Peter…what brings you here at this hour?" Felicia asks, wanting to be certain Peter is here for the reason she thinks he is as opposed to his arrival merely being a coincidence.
"I, um, happened to be in the neighborhood," Peter says, catching onto what Felicia was doing. "I realized I never apologized for your place kind of getting trashed the last time I was here. Is your mother still mad about that?"
"She certainly had a field day then, but after what you did for my father, I think she's starting to come around. She didn't have the right to be angry anyway considering how she was bargaining with that mad man."
"Well Doc Ock's not around to blackmail your family now and your father and the super soldier serum are still in safe hands."
That's all the confirmation Felicia needs. "Please, come in."
Felicia's voice is barely above a whisper now and she averts her gaze from his own; such a far cry from the confident heroine she was just the night before. After a moment or two of hesitation, Peter steps inside Felicia's apartment.
"Come with me," she says and then takes his hand to lead him to the couch; this small moment of intimacy slightly calming their anxiety about the situation as they both take a seat.
"So…how was your trip here?" Felicia asks in an attempt to break the ice, but also to keep the subject off any possible rejections. "I bet the web slinging saves you a fortune in bus and taxi fares."
"Actually when you factor in the costs of the chemicals that make my web fluid, taxis would be infinitely cheaper," Peter jokes earning a smile from Felicia.
"Wait. Web fluid? You don't just shoot it yourself?" She asks.
"No. That's oddly the one ability I didn't receive when I got my powers. I'm not quite sure why. Speaking of powers, I'm guessing you got some sort of ability to change your appearance. You've definitely lost a couple of inches since last night. And developed a completely different voice. Wish I had that ability. It would definitely help out with the secret identity thing."
"Yeah, in hindsight, I don't know how I didn't recognize your voice while you were under that mask," Felicia says.
"I'm still kicking myself for not noticing you and the Black Cat have the same hair style."
"Or how I never put two and two together regarding your lame excuses coinciding with Spider-Man sightings." They both share a laugh at their lack of awareness, but something clicks in Felicia's mind and her laughter ceases. She gets up from the couch and starts to pace around the room again.
"Felicia?"
"Peter. I-I want t say that I'm sorry. Heaven help me, I'm deeply and truly sorry."
"Sorry? For what?" Peter asks.
"For what? Oh my God, where do I begin? How about during that whole debacle with Michael, I not only accused you of kidnapping him, but I said that I hated Spider-Man with all my heart and soul. I practically turned the entire city against you in a single night."
Look at yourself, Felicia. You were frightened Peter might reject you and now you're giving him every reason to. But it's the right thing to do after everything I put him through.
"To be fair, the city's never really been on my side," Peter says to try and lighten the mood. This catches Felicia by surprise, but the tears are already starting to well in her eyes.
"Don't try to absolve me of my actions, Peter. I should've know you wouldn't do such a thing. You had saved my life twice before then, yet there I was turning on you for a guy that, let's be real, I barely knew at the time. Oh Peter. Can you ever forgive me?" Tears begin to stream down her cheeks, and in seconds Peter is off the couch and wraps Felicia in a hug. She buries her head into his chest and her tears soak his shirt, but he doesn't mind and comfortingly rubs her back.
"There's nothing to forgive, Felicia. Emotions were running high at the time and the truth came out in the end."
"But you could've been hurt or worse by the police."
"Hey, look at me," Peter says lifting Felicia's chin so that they were looking into one another's eyes. "I wasn't hurt. You have NOTHING to be sorry about. Believe me. If anything, I'm the one that should be sorry."
"What?" Felicia sniffs. "Why?" Peter takes a couple of steps back and swallows thickly.
THIS is why you should've prepared yourself, he thinks. Nothing left to do, but rip off the band aid.
"What happened to Michael was my fault," he confesses.
"How was it your fault?" She asks.
"When Michael first came onto the scene, I was experiencing a mutation disease. I was going to conduct some experiments on my blood to try and cure myself, but I didn't properly secure the sample. Michael found it and used it in an experiment of his own to try and win the position of Dr. Connor's assistant. That experiment is what turned him into a vampire. If I had only been more careful, he'd still be here."
This time it's Felicia's turn to be the comforter. She walks right up to Peter and takes his hands. "You shouldn't hold yourself responsible for Michael's actions. HE made the choice to steal from you and cut other corners in his quest to become Connor's assistant. He had his noble reasons for doing so, and I'll always care for him regarding that, but there's no denying he caused his own undoing."
Peter half smiles at this and lifts a hand to wipe away a few stray tears on Felicia's face. "I have to admit, you took that better than I was expecting."
"Well, you did come to my rescue again when Michael kidnapped me," Felicia reminds him and cups one of his cheeks. "And again when you saved my mother and I from the Green Goblin." Felicia stands on her tips toes. "You've always been there for me." They take a step closer to one another. "My big, selfless hero." And then they kissed. They hadn't planned to, but everything just felt so…so natural between them.
But like lightning, Peter instantly knew what he wanted to talk to Felicia about and reluctantly broke away from the kiss.
"What's wrong?" Felicia asks, a recognizable feeling of disappointment setting in as Peter sits down on the couch.
Here comes the rejection. I know it. Well, I'm not letting him go without a fight, Felicia thinks.
"Felicia, I want this. Believe me I do. When I'm with you things just feel so right. Better than they have in months. But."
"Why does there have to be a but?" She asks taking a seat beside him. "We've known each other for years. Seen one another at our best and worst. You and I, we've got something special. Can't you feel it?" She asks placing a hand over his heart.
"All the way down to my toes," Peter says covering her hand with his own.
"Then what's the problem?" Felicia asks and scoots closer to Peter. "Things can be normal between us now. No secrets. No only meeting up when danger is present."
"But what about my enemies? I lost Mary Jane because the Green Goblin found out who I was and went after her to get to me. If we keep seeing each other as ourselves, and someone learns my identity, what's to stop them from coming for you next? I couldn't live with myself if I lost you too."
"You won't. I'm the Black Cat, remember?" Felicia reminds him then stands to her feet and transforms into her Black Cat persona before him. Peter's mouth hangs slightly open at just how much Felicia has changed in that one moment. There's no trace of the woman he was just comforting moments ago. He can't help, but stare in awe. Felicia takes Peter's hands once more and pulls him up to his feet. "I'm not a helpless damsel for you to protect and worry over, Peter. Not anymore. If your enemies want to get to you through me, they're gonna learn first hand what happens when they let a black cat cross their paths."
"Yeah, but, if someone figured out that Spider-Man and the Black Cat were seeing one another, they could," Peter starts, but Felicia puts a finger over his lips to silence him.
"Peter, you've always been there for me. For once, let me be there for you," she says and her lips brush against his.
"I'm not sure what to say." He really didn't. This was such a foreign feeling to him. Someone wanting to be there for him.
"Say you trust me," Felicia says. "Do you?"
Part of Peter still worries about the curse his love could bring and yet another recognized how often his chances at happiness were ruined by either outside forces or his own self sabotage. Perhaps he could roll the dice and take a chance that this time things will work out; just maybe.
"Peter?"
"I trust you."
And their lips touch once more.