He wonders how obviously paranoid he looks. He wonders if somebody could watch as Spider-Man swings by and just tell he's on the edge. Maybe it's the way he extends his hands, maybe it's his wrist, but he feels so overrun with anticipation that he's sure just about anybody could tell.

He has been doing circles all around the city trying to look for anything, any sort of clue. Something. He knows that whatever that man's brother was planning should be going down any second, Peter knows it, he doesn't know how he knows it, he just does.

But no spidey sense, nobody asking for help, nobody walking around suspiciously with a gun, nothing. Spider-Man stays paranoid, eyes scrambling to land upon any sight that will call for his action. His body is twitching with how much he is expecting an incident to happen.

It barely crosses his mind to text Black Cat and let her know too. Maybe she will be able to spot the situation before he can, maybe she can help take care of it, and maybe she can start to put an end to how fidgety he is. Not that she would really do anything about it, of course. Pft, it's just-

Peter assumes that once this planned attack is taken care of, so will his anxiety, considering it's stemming from the problem.

He just hopes she gets his text, okay.

For now, though, Spider-Man is patrolling. Has been since the day practically started. These weapons are becoming a bigger issue with each day that passes, and well, seeing as he is supposed to be the city's hero, he can't help the weight it presses against his neck, whoever is making the weapons pushing their heel down on him.

His shoulders sag, stress manifesting itself at the front of his brain, spreading a dull ache through his head.

"Maybe I just need some water-"

Somebody just below him cries for help, and he dismisses the thought of getting a drink, instantly leaping down to catch a mugger in the act. They've stolen a ladies purse, threatening her with a gun as she panics.

Spider-Man webs away their gun, slamming it back into their chest, and watching as they fall over.

"You know, that purse really isn't your style," He says, dropping to the asphalt of the ground, and briefly checking in on the lady, helping her up. Her short brown hair is a bit of a mess, sticking out of her baseball hat, and she takes his hand eagerly.

"Can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad you're here," She says and oh yes, that's right, not everyone is in the spidey fan club. He sighs, nodding as she gestures to the man on the ground with her purse.

"On it."

He jogs over, kneeling down and before he can grab the purse his spidey senses go off as the thief rolls back over, knife braced in their hold, and goes to dig at Spider-Man's chest.

"Woah-" He dodges it, lifting a hand to their wrist, and has to catch their other wrist too as they pull out a second knife. "I see you got the buy one get one free deal. Too bad you're grounded now, gonna have to take them away."

"Let me go!" The other demands, and obviously Spider-Man isn't about to do something like that. Yet, every time somebody is always asking stuff like this, as if . He lifts them up, holding them by their wrists with now only one hand after a quick and effortless maneuver, and webs them against the wall instead, disposing of their knives.

"Next time play nice," He advises, then goes back to retrieve the purse left on the ground. He stuffs the lipstick and office card that's fallen out, and hands it back to the lady.

"Here you are."

She pauses, blinks, then accepts it as she squints at him. He considers swinging away without a word, but she opens her mouth before he can actually come to a decision.

"Hm, Jameson might not be one-hundred percent right about you." She observes and Peter huffs with amusement, holding his hands up pleadingly.

"So, uh, more like he's one percent right, right?"

She scoffs, pulling her purse tighter to her body and whipping around. "Try at least eighty."

He frowns a little, clicking his tongue with disappointment as she walks away. Can't win them all over, unfortunately. "Maybe one day all of New York City will understand the Spidey-Charm. Today just isn't that day."

Knowing reality, the day will probably never come, but hey, at least he's made the city a little safer.

Circling back though, just to kill time, Peter is still a bit impressed on how his boss seems capable of twisting literally any photo he's ever handed him. Peter turns in a photo of Spider-Man stopping a group of thugs from robbing a place, his boss has sent through a new paper about how Spider-Man worked with the thugs to boost his public image, trying to prove it with how 'easy' he was going on them. They were amateurs, actually, of course he wasn't going to give them the same exact treatment of some bad guy he's had way too many encounters with. Or, let's say Peter turns in a photo of Spider-Man swinging, J.J.J rants on about how the menace thinks he owns the city and is better than everybody.

Which is ironic, because his boss has an ego of his own.

Even if it does nothing to serve Spider-Man, Peter needs to keep turning in the photos, his rent begs him for it. Between being Peter Parker and Spider-Man, a job that allows for a bit more flexibility is exactly what he needs, unfortunately, the one where he ends up aiding the Daily Bugle into spreading lies about the webhead just happens to fit.

Briefly, while wandering around with his webs, he sorta wishes J.J.J would go find some other topic to be passionate about. Can't he talk about sports- maybe basketball, surely he'll still have an audience for that, and Peter guesses he can be around to snap a couple pictures of people shooting hoops, why not.

Unfortunately that's not going to happen any time soon, and the most recent news only consists of the screams of the innocent, it's practically Spider-Man's summoning call, as he quickly flips back the other way, looking for the source of the panic, and his breath catches when he sees a specific building a couple hundred feet away with a big purple beam shooting through the first floor all the way to the second, people running out of the building in a messy and rushed manner.

Not that he blames them, when a real emergency happens, there's always nowhere near the coordination that occurs during practice drills. He himself can feel worry lodge in his throat, forcing his body to go faster, towards the building- towards Oscorp .

What if Harry's there? Even worse, what if Harry's in danger?

He attempts to rid his mind of the possibility, and instead he launches himself over a rooftop, through the legs of a water well, and jumps from the ledge below in order to dive down into damage. Luckily it isn't the worst he's seen, as it's just collapsed a small portion of the ground floor and left a hole on the floor of the second where thankfully nobody is dangling around in need of help. However, same can't be said for the ground floor, as Spider-Man slips in through the nearest open window- and by that he means it's been shattered by a big fancy light panel that's hanging from the ceiling, and when he looks up he can see wiring, vents, and all sorts of whatever they use in construction between the two floors.

He doesn't focus on it for long, though, and instead gets to work on trying to assist the people trapped under debris. Since a pole had fallen when the blast was sent out, it left a couple of citizens trapped underneath tables they had probably originally seeked for cover.

He rushes over, examining the situation in full as he tries to find the best spot to lift the pole up. Once he's found it, he moves over, grunting with effort and a crouch as he grips underneath it, pulling it upward as the weight of the pole resists. It isn't that close to the heaviest thing he's lifted, though, so, once it's high enough, he slips it on top of his shoulders and smoothly works his way into holding it up above his head with his hands.

Thankfully, some people are already able to crawl out underneath the crushed tables, kicking the furniture off of them- even two turn back to help the remaining one who still needs to be assisted.

None of them are Harry, and he feels grateful for that- he admits it, but he also hopes that doesn't mean Harry was closer to the danger than these guys.

Once everyone is clear, he drops the pole back down and rushes down the trail, the damage only getting worse as he travels deeper into the building. The ceiling above is basically ripped, and he occasionally has to stop and help somebody trapped underneath the falling ceiling or walls and point them to safety. The place is a mess, and there's fire sparkling about, the white walls and fancy tech no longer seem so appealing when it's all destroyed and tipped over the hallway, making him have to crawl through certain places in order to advance any further.

Then he hears it, a man, a young man, possibly in distress, and his heart fumbles with worry, wondering if it's Harry. He likes to think he'll never have to know what Harry sounds like when he's in danger, but today he might have to face it. He hopes it isn't Harry, but either way he can feel the uncertainty make his actions more rushed, choosing to plow his way through instead of maneuvering through obstacles. The building creaks with the damage dealt, and he wonders what in the world could have caused this. He isn't left with much time to ponder over it though, as the ceiling finally loses its integrity above him and starts falling. He catches a chunk that had been heading for him, and groans as a nearby fire roars, becoming more intense, and he can feel the heat from where he stands. He heaves the piece to the side, spinning back around just as his spidey senses go off and a wall of flames erupts right in front of him.

He makes a noise in disapproval, but ultimately he knows he'll be able to cross if he can jump in just a way he passes over the fire. He calculates for a moment, relying on his conclusion to be right and pushes off the ground, being able to make it through without a single burn. He lands on his feet, but only for a second, as his balance is knocked off when a desk quite literally falls on top of him. He glances up, seeing the workspace that's spilling in from the floor above, and mentally curses as the wood breaks on his shoulder, bringing him to the ground. He, embarrassingly, was not prepared for that.

Luckily, though, his spidey sense and his eyes are both able to pick up on the chair that follows next, as it hangs, an inch away from falling, one of its legs seemingly wrapped up in the mess of computer cords.

Spider-Man moves out of the way, but doesn't get clear fully as a flash of white flashes by in his vision and he bumps straight into it, hearing a breath of surprise before they both are sent tumbling to the side- but at least out of the danger zone from the crashing office.

He huffs, rolling over from the other person and moving to his knees, glancing down as a lady in a lab coat moves to lift her hands, bringing her upper body up, and quickly faces him.

"Sorry, miss-"

"Spider-Man?" She asks, and he only pauses for a second at the tone, her face shifting between easily visible and not as the light panel above flickers, surprisingly not falling yet. He clears his throat, eyes landing on the badge hanging from her neck, and he squints as the light goes out again, leaving the two only to be illuminated by the cackling fire.

"Uh, yes, that's me," He clarifies, and reads off the name on her badge. "Felicia."

"H-" She ruffles, seemingly bothered, and glances him up and down like she's trying to figure something out, then moves to sit on her knees, and she holds her badge for a second. "Right, uh, I'm glad you're here, Spider-Man, there's-"

"Total destruction all around us?" He guesses, gesturing to the mess of Oscorp. The light above makes a hissing sound, which should be concerning, but then it turns back on, humming as it does, and he can see better. He stands up, offering a hand to ' Hardy, Felicia ' as the badge says. With the new ability to take in his surroundings, he can also properly notice the way her eyes are still a little wide, her mouth parted open for a moment. Then, she presses her lips tightly into a firm line, hums, and takes his hand. Her hair is covered by a black hair net, but strands are loose and peeking out, revealing light hair- and he gets an unknown sense of deja vu as she raises a brow at him, almost judgingly, like he shouldn't be here. Which is totally ridiculous because he's a superhero of sorts, and when there's danger, there's a spider. So he shrugs and holds his hands up. "Hey, don't be so surprised to see me."

Her face falters, and he chuckles, people these days, not expecting Spider-Man to be at the scene. "Whenever something goes down in this city, Spider-Man's there, right?"

She frowns, her shoulders loosen, and she nods. "Right."

The light panel flickers again, brightness dampening and before he can make a stupid pun about it the panel groans, wires snap, and it creaks as it suddenly detaches and starts to fall. He acts quickly, making sure to slip in an apology as he takes hold of Felicia and dives to the side, moving last second so it's his back that slams straight into the wall as the ceiling is brought down with the light, landing with a grunt.

He lets her go, and she stumbles out of his arms a little, but quickly finds her balance and shakes off her shock as he brushes his shoulders off.

Spider-Man almost trips on a small piece of a wall as he steps towards her, and thanks the world that at least she was looking away. He regains himself, then takes a deep breath, glancing back at where they could just have been squashed, and frowns with disappointment to see it's been totally blocked off.

"Well, that's unfortunate."

She hums, possibly in agreement, and turns back around. Her hair net has become even more askew, and her lab coat is torn, hanging off her shoulder as she seemingly hadn't bothered to button it up anyways. "Thanks," She says, and Spider-Man bites his tongue for a reason he can't name, leaving it silent for a second before she blinks. "For that."

"No problem," He says, but then traces back as his eyes return to the eliminated path. "Oh, of course, expect the new problem. There's no way through that, I'm afraid."

She squints, confused at first, then turns around to see the hallway entirely blocked off. "It's alright."

He pauses for a moment, hesitant as he steps towards her. "You mean alright as in you don't blame me or like alright as in it's alright because you were heading the opposite direction of literally everyone else anyway?"

He doesn't mean for it to be super accusing or anything, simply an observation, as she had been so deep into the building that's being evacuated, and they had bumped into each other heading the same direction, towards the danger, which isn't a smart thing to do- but he's Spider-Man, so it makes it less dumb, it makes it okay.

Still, she goes rigid at his words for a second, hand twitching, then she whips back around to him, and he's unable to really see her expression considering there's no fire or flickering light, only three beeping alarms that glow red.

"Don't take this the wrong way," He starts, considering whether or not he should even finish his sentence considering he's never been good at this whole communication thing, let alone with girls who seem to be around his age- which isn't at all relevant, holy hell- he chokes on air, quickly looking away as she crosses her arms, and he breathes in only to be disappointed that it's mostly dust. He fans the air like it'll help, and pauses as he turns back to her. "Okay, but, I think running toward the danger is more so my thing, you know, cus I'm Spider-Man ."

Red glows in the room for a prolonged second again, he can see her face, but her expression is indecipherable, and when it goes dark again she uncrosses her arms and looks around. "Well it doesn't seem like I've got many other places to go now, Spider. Man."

She adds a strange pause between them, nearly like she forgot the man bit, which- ouch, he thinks, making him puff up his chest as he crosses his own arms with defense before accepting it's totally pointless. He deflates, blowing out a heavy breath, and nodding.

"Seems you're right, here-" He moves forward, offering a hand, and she tilts her head before accepting it wordlessly. "You take me to wherever that blast came from, and I'll make sure you're safe, since unluckily there isn't any other direction to go. Which might be my fault, actually, I have a habit of being unlucky, so if-"

He catches the look she's giving him when the alarm emits red light across the hallway again, and it makes him quickly zip his lip, realizing, yeah, he's probably being way too talkative. Again, it's a habit, he seems to have way too many of those.

"Sorry," He says, and feels a jolt up his spine when she snickers at him, the sound distantly familiar, like he's had these strings pulled before. He doesn't linger on it, though, as his hand slips from hers and she squints at him curiously.

"What makes you think I know where it came from?"

He scoffs. "Uh, because you're heading there, obviously." He pronounces the last word weird, punctuating it into three weird sounds, and instantly regrets it as she glares at him, possibly doubting that he's the same man that's saved a bunch of people. Which is fair, he knows he can seem rather weird and very much not competent, but he promises he's actually super cool and just sorta stressed right now-

"Yeah, okay. Let's go," She says, which means he was right, she does know, thus making him less worthy of being judged. He inflates just a little, moving to her side, and she lifts her hands to adjust her hair net just as he pulls her to his side, making her let out a startled noise. It's outmatched by the sound of electric sparks that suddenly erupts from behind him, and she seems to realize why he moved her as a spark catches onto something and a fire is born.

When she faces him, he's already glancing at her, and she frowns. "Want me to say thanks again?"

Spider-Man forces out a cough as he shakes his head. "Uh, no, it's just-" He awkwardly reaches out a hand. "Some of the fire got on your-" Felicia's eyes widen and she quickly looks down, seeing the tiny flames eating at the bottom of her lab coat. "Yeah, on your coat."

She moves quickly to chuck the coat off, thankful the fire didn't touch her, and stomps down on it. It dies out fairly easily, and she sighs with relief.

Then, finally, the two can start advancing towards the direction Felicia guides Spider-Man. He offers to help lift her above an obstacle they come across, and he's left to watch as she manages to climb it fairly well, and when she catches him staring she finally asks for help. Still, slightly impressed, he blinks for a moment and Felicia quickly supplies him with the fact that she spent the whole summer traveling around to find the best places to rock climb. Which sounds good, he's thought about traveling before. He hasn't done it yet, though.

Peter sort of wonders if Manhattan will be alright when he leaves, as unfortunately there's about one big guy or (and in some cases) really smart dude wanting to challenge Spider-Man at least once a month. It's terribly frustrating, but they do tend to put innocent people in danger, so naturally it's Spider-Man's responsibility to stop them.

Which he thinks he's just about to do when he sees a buff man in what Peter is convinced was the origin point of the blast. But a closer look, he urges Felicia to move to the side as he examines the man, realizing he's in great pain, definitely not looking for a fight, and isn't even trying to hurt anyone.

He squints, glances at Felicia who quickly looks away, then Spider-Man moves up to the guy, noticing how his leg is stuck under some debris.

He hasn't noticed Spider-Man yet, he's too busy rambling on to himself with a very panicked voice, he sounds stressed. Peter can imagine.

He carefully steps forward, holding a hand out. "Hey, man."

The other whips his head around, face going pale, and he holds his hands up near instantly. "It was an accident! I swear, dude! Please-"

"Woah, there," Spider-Man says, holding his hands out to the side and shaking his head. "I'm just here to help you. Seems like you're stuck."

The man on the floor pauses, his eyes drifting off to the side as he considers something in his head, then bites his cheek before breathing in. "Yea- yes. I am. Please- I can't lift this thing." He twists back around, attempting to lift the debris, causing him to strain his back. He can't get it, making a pained noise, and Spider-Man quickly rushes over to kneel beside him, placing his hands underneath to grab onto the debris. He lifts it up, and the man makes quick work of sliding himself out, dragging himself with each placement of his hands. His leg looks bad, too, definitely screams in need of medical attention.

Spider-Man sets the debris back down, squatting next to the other as he grips onto his thigh.

"Ouch, buddy, sorry about your leg."

He shakes his head. "It hurts."

"I bet."

"It's my fault," the man whispers, hanging his head low and wincing when he tries to hold his leg any lower than midthigh. "Shit, it's all my fault."

Spider-Man hesitates, glancing down at him, then tilts his head. "I'm not following."

"The gun!" He erupts, tossing a small piece of the ceiling to the side with frustration before his words sink in and he snaps his head to Spider-Man, reaching out to yank on his forearm. "Wait, you can't tell anyone, the cops are gonna charge me! You're gonna-"

"I'm not gonna do anything," He cuts him off, letting the man take his arm, and he lifts his other hand up in surrender. "Look, okay, alright. I won't tell anyone, but you seem to know something important, what is it?"

Spider-Man is convinced this is the brother he was looking for, so he's already got a good idea of what happened here anyways, but the more information he gets the better, after all.

"I don't know anything!" He pleads, his hand hovering above his injured leg. With shifty eyes, he meets Spider-Man's gaze and makes a panicked noise. "I'm serious! It just exploded and- and I don't know why!"

Spider-Man's lip twitches underneath the mask as he pulls over how much he dislikes the unknown, but he gets over it quickly and helps the man off the ground who pleads his innocence the whole time throughout, claiming he never used it, just that it hummed loudly to the point he was discovered for having a unwarranted gun on Oscorp property, therefore he didn't even manage to use it because it abruptly exploded right after it was snatched from him.

It's quite a story, and Peter Parker is trying to put it together in hopes that it will form some sort of solution in his mind, enabling him to find an actual reason for why it exploded. It'd be really bad news to learn that those new dangerous weapons aren't all that stable and randomly snap out of security, sending beams of destructive energy everywhere.

Oh man yeah that would be really bad. Unfortunately, the thought of it starts to swarm around in Peter's head, nearly distracting himself for a second before Felicia calls for him. That's right, he's got to get these two out of here- instead of going down a rabbit hole of worry focused around whether or not there's firearms with the habit to explode at any second being sold around.

He shakes his head and steadies his thoughts, finding Felicia walking up to his side where the injured man is slumped up against him.

He blinks in gentle surprise when Felicia helps hold the man upright as well. It's a kind thing to do, which for some reason makes Spider-Man think. He knows people can be nice, of course. Perhaps he's just so used to having to do all the saving on his own.

Of course, recently, Black Cat and Spider-Man have been teaming up. It just isn't the usual way of doing things, not for him anyways, not yet.

He thinks briefly of Black Cat as he secured his hold around the two, and figures accepting their partnership was the smart move.

He pushed off the ground and thanks to a certain spider bite, he's able to jump to the floor above before he leaps out the large and broken window, the injured man's panic of the action distant in Peter's head. It's distant because he's busy thinking again even if he shouldn't, he can easily list three times people have managed to land a hit on him because he was caught up in his thoughts. So he focused on the real world, not his mind, and notes Felicia doesn't seem extremely bothered. Or perhaps it just seems like she isn't because it's a huge contrast to how obviously frightened the man in his arm is.

"Sorry, not everyone likes the Spidey point of view." He throws in, even if it doesn't comfort anyone he still always says something of the sort.

Felicia blinks then and frowns. "It makes me dizzy."

With that in mind, and also, of course, due to the man who is stunned in fear, he makes quick work to land safely, avoiding the fire that bursts out last second.

They land safely, the man collapses to the ground and Felicia instantly turns around, bowing her head. With her expression out of view, Spider-Man can only wonder if she's about to throw up or not. He hopes not. Look, he promises swinging and jumping high isn't all that bad, it's actually pretty amazing.

The man on the ground doesn't think so as he breathes in heavily, as if he can't get enough oxygen in one gasp.

"Hey…" He sneaks closed, wearing a concerned frown nobody can see. "Are you alright, sir?"

"Oh my god!" He blurts out, once again trying to reach for his injured leg but hissing when the pain jolts from his touch. He looks up at Spider-Man and crumples under his wordless gaze. "Oh my god my boss. My boss. He's gonna-"

"Going to what?"

"He'll be so pissed," The man says, genuinely he sounds threatened, but in the sort of sense where he knows there's nothing he can do to prevent anything from happening. It makes Spider-Man curious. Who is this boss? "I- damn his stupid tech. I shouldn't even be talking to you. He's gonna get rid of me- oh. Oh. He's gonna get rid-"

"No, no, look, you'll be alright," Peter tries and winces at how bad he is at calming remotely anyone down. "He won't ever know, y'know?"

"Are you kidding me!" It's a rhetorical question, obviously. "Of course he's going to know, I'm screwed- especially because you're involved."

"Ouch," Peter mumbles.

Felicia hovers around them both, her face shadowed thanks to her back facing the sun, and Peter hates to admit how he hesitates when he sees a loose strand of hair catch a faint breeze, loosened from the confines of her hair net due to all the commotion. Spider-Man quickly redirects towards the man.

"I think there's a bunch of paramedics on the way," She says suddenly, which, fine then, Peter will look at her again. "If they're not already here. This boy-" She coughs, and Spider-Man furrows his brows together, focusing intently, watching as what was most likely the dust and debri caught in her throat. "He's brought a lot of attention."

"Okay, uh, miss, sorry to save and ditch, but you think I could leave you while I get this guy some medical assistance?" Spider-Man asks, he's sure he could carry her and drop her off somewhere too, but well, swinging with one is always easier, so of course he's requesting it. He isn't surprised when she nods.

And so, Peter once again picks up the man, scooping him up as he groans in pain.

Thankfully, it isn't long before he's taken care of.

When Peter returns to Oscorp he is zoned in, no longer distracted as the EMTs flood into the crowd of people who were in the building. With a little more space open in his head after dropping some of his worries, new thoughts fill up the space and all he can think about for a moment is Harry.

Because he didn't see him. At all. And his head has a perfect way of turning that ' oh he was out of harm's way, he's not here ' to ' you weren't fast enough Peter, he's not here anymore' and he really hates himself for how easily he lets the idea rile him up as he webzips to the nearest building and pulls out his phone. It nearly slips from his hands from how fast he tries to fish it out and call his best friend.

For each second that passes, Peter's brows furrow closer together. He lifts up his mask only to about his nose bridge, and squints down and concentrates on a paramedic questioning somebody, having them lift up an arm and such. He scans over the crowd of people, of course, he doesn't find Harry, he doesn't know why.

"Come on, Harry, just tell me I'm crazy." He mumbles, looking back at his phone and pressing it to his ear. The call picks up, and he hears some whispering, meaning Harry's probably trying to convince somebody to leave to he can talk to Peter in peace. Which means… well it means Harry is probably okay? "Hey, dude, you there?" He asks and here's a rushed out yeah before Harry turns to try and dismiss somebody to the other room, making Peter sigh with relief.

But then out of the corner of his eye something moves in a blur to his left, only for a figure to then land on his right, and he jumps as he turns to face Black Cat.

"Agh- Oh!" He stills for a moment, looking up and down as he realizes that is in fact her, not a threat, and quickly sinks back with slight embarrassment, only to forget about it just as Harry starts talking to him.

"Hey, what's up dude?"

He hopes Black Cat can't hear it too well, even if Harry has yet to say his name. Because what if he does? Peter blinks at the realization, staring at Black Cat like an idiot that's caught, unsure of what do to for a single moment before he quickly pushes off the floor, losing his phone in the process, and scrambling to catch it before it falls to the ground. He laughs, awkwardly, and watches as Black Cat rolls her eyes.

"You busy?"

He pinches his fingers together, raising his shoulders as he steps back. "A lil bit."

"I'll give you a little privacy spider, I'll be on the roof over," She says, and he sighs with gratitude, mouthing a thanks- which feels a little weird because normally he's wearing his mask correctly. Yknow, completely covering his face, but he tripping to hard to even comprehend the fact that Black Cat had seen the lower half of his face until now. He groans once she leaves, and lifts his phone back up.

"Sorry, Har, I-"

"Is somebody with you, Peter?" Harry asks and Peter feels his face flush an inappropriate amount as he hooks a finger around the neck of his costume and glances down at the ground.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm at Oscorp. I was just…" He thinks for a lie, eyes searching over the crowd below that is slowly but surely dying down as people are either sent to the hospital or perfectly unharmed. "There was a lady who looked like she could need a hand. But she's good now."

"Oh," Harry says and Peter doesn't truly know what that means. A second later, "Wait, why are you at Oscorp?"

"Harry…" Peter pauses, gazing over the damage that he'd swung out of, clear and visible and making his shoulders weigh. "I was worried, I didn't know if- yknow."

"Peter." Harry's tone shifts, firmer, and he sighs. "Don't go poking into dangerous situations just because you thought I was involved, man."

"Har, seriously-"

"Thanks, though," Harry says and Peter can hear the truth in it, the full appreciation. "Glad you're thinking of me," He then jokes with a chuckle. "But I'm completely fine, I haven't even been at Oscorp all day, I had a meeting in Brooklyn and now I'm just chilling."

"Well that's good, Harry, that's great." Peter smiles slightly, leaning on the stairwell walls. "I feel a little ridiculous for how worked up I got, now."

"Don't be, it just proves you're a good friend," Harry says and Peter can nearly pick up on a teasing tone, because of course Harry has just got to take the chance to tease Peter if possible. "No matter how many times you show up late. To be honest, I only made it on time to the meeting because I was guaranteed the whole day off afterward. So I'm completely free today."

Peter knows where this is going and laughs. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, man," Harry confirms, quite happy with himself. "So, if you can try to be me and show up on time, well, I can get the two of us into a nice club tonight. If you're down? Perks of being an Osborn or whatever."

And this, Peter knew Harry was about to invite him to hang out, and he probably should half had opened his mind up to clubbing, because of course Harry was thinking about it.

"I mean-"

"That's a yes?"

Peter bites his lips, contemplating, he hasn't really been clubbing, even in high school parties were obviously not on his to-do lits, nor were they his thing. So he hesitates. "I just…"

"Come on, it won't be supa scary if you're with your best bud, right?"

Peter sighs, shifting his weight from foot to foot before biting the bullet. "Fine, Harry, call me later. It's up to you to get me there since you want me to go."

"Alright, alright," Harry says with a laugh, then clicks his tongue. "I guess that's fair, though. I'll call you, okay?"

"Okay, see you Har."

"See you, Petey."

Peter shakes his head. "You know I don't like that-"

And Harry hangs up before Peter can finish his complaining about that nickname Harry loves to hang over his head, making him huff, although with a smile. He hangs up, pulls his mask down, and heads around to the back of the roof, finding Black Cat relaxing in a lawn chair placed on the roof, only two meters away from the door to the inside of the building. She leans her head back against the brick wall behind her, and Spider-Man jumps, swiftly landing on the border lining the edge of the roof.

"Sorry 'bout that."

She squints, waving away something, then unfolds her legs. "Don't worry about it, I'm guilty for getting an accidental preview of that face of yours. Suppose I probably wasn't supposed to, huh?"

Peter offers a shrug and drops the the ground, crossing his arms. "True, but it's fine. Not like you can gain much of anything from just peeking at my mouth."

"Don't forget that jawline," Black Cat says, smiling with a merry face as she stands up quickly, stepping towards him and holding a hand out. "The mask didn't lie about that piece of beauty."

Peter lets out a very breathy laugh, waving away Cat's hand as he feels an unfamiliar sense of heat stroll to his chest. "Stop, that's- it doesn't make any sense," He tries to defend, but what is he even defending? He doesn't know, and sulks back into the chair she was previously sitting in.

"Wow, you're just barely in a mood, Spider."

He sighs, he know he is. "Sorry."

"You don't have to keep apologizing, you know?" She tells him and he doesn't respond to that, just slouches further into the chair as Black Cat bends towards him. "I am curious, though, so, penny for your thoughts?"

He looks up at her, and chokes with surprise to see she's holding out a coin. Except it's not a penny and it looks like it's gold. He laughs. "That's stupid."

"Thanks."

"But where'd you get that?"

She rolls her eyes, flipping it to him. He catches it. "Oh, hush. I didn't steal it or anything."

"Never said you did," Spider-Man offers only for Black Cat to boop his nose and flash the coin in his face, somehow slipping it out of his fingers in the process.

"But it was implied ." She counters, and sure, perhaps he did.

"Okay, fair enough."

"Stealing one gold coin would be dumb, anyways. Just a tip for you- not that-"

"None of it," Peter covers his ears, smiling as he shakes his head. "Plausible deniability." Just like with those guys who threw a shoe at him- which wait, back then he had thought Black Cat was the one to bring it up, but he had before with Black Cat. Which makes him sway in his seat with embarrassment. Because recently, in his off time, he's been recalling her saying something only to realize they've never had a conversation about it.

Like that really weird moment he swore he could hear a memory of Black Cat calling Spider-Man her hero . It was playing in repeat for a two hours in his head and walked home with shame when he realized that had never happened, making him swear to try and never think about that again.

Which is unfortunate that right now, her unamused glance fades into a smile that brings the feeling back, reminding him of how it suffocated the skin of the back of his neck with warmth as he pulled up his collar. This time, the heat wasn't from the anxiety that somebody could see his costume poking out underneath. Instead, this time, it had been from the fake memory his own mind had conjured up.

Present Peter looks back to that day with a mental grimace, feeling embarrassed, and overall, very unsure where the idea even came from. So right now, he tries to glance away from her smile, raising his shoulders up, and gripping the arms of the lawn chair. But he has spidey stretch, he remembers, and stops when he realizes he's breaking it.

"Plausible-"

"Oh enough of that," Black Cat says, cutting him off from repeating himself. Which is a good thing, he thinks, because truth be told he was just speaking out loud the last thing his 'in-the-right' mind remembered, the one that wasn't lingering over humiliating recalls. "You seriously don't ever need any of that . I was just telling you."

"You were talking about stealing, but-" Peter sighs, flexing his hands where they rest on his thighs, and he looks back up at Cat. "Sure, carry on, miss."

"Ooo, fancy." She purrs playfully, resting against the wall and peering down at him as she settles herself into a more casual position, no longer bending to reach him. She leans forward a little, swaying in a way Spider-Man might just call graceful. He watches as her platinum blonde hair hangs in front of her for a moment, then she lifts her head and each strand falls back against her shoulders. He blinks out of it when she speaks. "So, as I was. Anything up or down recently?"

"Are you doing a mood check in with me, Cat?" He questions, squinting behind his mask, and ignoring the conflicting swirl it starts within him. He forces out a scoff, forces out some sort of reaction, and crosses his arms. "I- I'm Spider-Man, yknow. I don't need a daily check in."

"I never said this was daily." She points out, finger held upward before she copies his body movement, crossing her own arms.

"So then what's the cause?"

"You seem off."

"Oh, well thank you, Cat." He mumbles and she rolls her eyes at it, pushing off the wall and moving to stand in front of him. Here, she places her hands on her knees and bends to look into the white eyes of his mask.

"It's about Oscorp, huh."

He pauses for a second, hating how obvious he makes it, and nods because there's no way he's denying after his freeze moment.

"What's the deal, everyone's safe, right?" She asks, titling her head curiously as he sighs, deciding to sit upright in the chair.

"I know, it's just-" He waves his hand, possibly at his own emotions, like he himself can't help but agree with Black Cat. Agree that he's being ridiculous, because even if she doesn't say it, Peter figures that's probably what she's thinking. Everyone is safe. Harry's safe. "I could have prevented it, I dunno, if I was better."

She snorts, an unexpected response that leaves Peter staring at her in confusion as she tilts her head back.

"I'm sure."

"No, seriously," He tries. "I knew something was going to happen."

She looks at him for further explanation, clueless, and Spider-Man feels a strain at is throat, like the words he already has aren't capable of grasping onto what he's trying to convey, and now he's losing his grip to even communicate. But he tries. He does.

"I knew it. But I had no idea where or when- but if I had just been able to be better and figure it out, then I could have- it might not have ever happened."

Black Cat stops herself to a slow at that, doing a once over of Spider-Man before she swiftly drops to the ground, sitting criss-crossed. She looked perplexed, and Peter holds his breath as she thinks. She just might be finding some way to tell Peter he makes absolutely no sense. And she might be right, honestly.

Finally, she seems to find what she wants to say, and she raises her chin, holding onto her knees. "Or, Spider, you could have figured it out and been too close to the danger."

"That's ridiculous-"

"You're being ridiculous," Black Cat retorts and Peter bites back at the embarrassment of being correct, but it's got bigger teeth and he shrinks in his seat.

"Look, Cat, you don't get it, it's-"

"You're responsibility, I know ," She says, but her tone is almost dismissive, like the whole responsibility gag isn't rubbing off on her, like she'll let Peter continue with it but maybe, just maybe, she's judging him for it. He can't really tell, not right now, because he was right, she thinks this whole thing is ridiculous and it sucks that it really is .

"Cat…" He doesn't know what to say though, so he stops there and stares at her gloved hands instead as she sighs.

"Look, I didn't mean it that way ," She says and he doesn't comment. That leaves her to make a frustrated noise as she readjusts herself, moving to stand up again. Peter looks away at the sudden movement. "I just meant it's ridiculous how much you worry. More specifically, how hard you are on yourself."

He perks up, feeling his chest tighten at her words, mouth dry and speechless.

"Yes, I said it," She says, picking up on how lost he must look. "You already save a bunch of people and catch a bunch of criminals in the act," She offers, then rests a hand on his shoulder. He meets her eyes, and she squeezes. "Look, don't go beating yourself up because you can't stop every single crook from breaking the law before they even think about it. You're already doing a great job, aren't you?"

"I mean, sometimes," He confesses, and holds up a hand. "Technically there it always room for improvement."

"Jeez, Spider, those are the words of a man who is putting too much on himself."

Spider-Man can't help but snicker a little at that, gently easing her hand off his shoulder as he stands up. "Oh, I'm sure."

"No, seriously!" She argues, and it kinda parrots the two of them from earlier, only now the roles switched and Spider-Man is a little less pouty. Just a little. "You gotta lighten up sometime."

"Funnily enough," He starts, brushing off his legs. "I'm being forced to later."

She pauses, eyes lighting up once she comprehends what he's said, and she smirks. "Oh, is that so?"

"Unfortunately," He mumbles which makes her laugh, leaving his head blank for a second. "Uh, but I am a very lightened up man, just so you know, Cat. No pressure, never. One hundred perc-"

Black Cat swoops around him, her hands dancing across his shoulders. She rests one on his lower back and beams at him.

"You're a lair, you know that?" She tells him and he swallows instead of answering her, which he instantly regrets and starts silently calling himself an idiot for. "I got a word of advice, Spider."

He hums, turning his head to look at her, seeing her free hand rest on his forearm. "You do?"

"Stop laying so much weight down on these shoulders of yours," She says firmly, trying to get the message through his old noggin as she trails the hand on his back to his shoulder further from herself, patting it smoothly. "You'll ruin your posture," She adds jokingly, then slips away to the side, holding her hands behind her back.

"Have fun, though, you need some." She observes, speaking to a silent Spider-Man who finally comes back online as she waves, lifting a leg to the railing as she whips around with her back to him. "If not for you, have fun for me!"

"Fine," He whispers, watching her jump off the roof and deciding that since Harry is forcing him to go clubbing with him, he'll try to enjoy it anyways. Which, yeah, that's possibly because Black Cat told him to. He bows his head, rubbing in between his brows and switches to his forehead, attempting to refocus after all his wrong and embarrassing thoughts from their conversation flood back to him.

Black Cat thinks he's overworking himself. He thought Black Cat thought Spider-Man was a dummy of sorts who is upset about nothing.

Peter would just like to clarify, these are both wrong, of course.