Hello all...
It's been a wild ride since I last posted. I moved to a new state which has been...not the best experience so far. But we're getting there. My internet has been limited as has my time to write since before moving I was working about 100 hours a week (not really but it felt like it.) I am going to be wrapping this story up at hopefully 20 chapters give or take, I am posting this one for now but the next time I update will be when the entire story is complete so multiple chapter upload!
I'm not overly happy with this chapter but as always please review :)
"How are you sure?" Peter asked as he followed Kate through an alley. His spidey senses weren't alerting him to danger, nothing had gone wrong so far but Kate was acting like they were about to be swarmed.
Kate looked back, making sure he was right behind her, and her grip tightened on Lucky's leash, her knuckles white with the strain. "There was an SUV that drove by us outside of the camera shop, the same one was parked across the street from Mr. Delmar's when we came out." She faced forward again. "The license plate was the same. And then just now, there was a guy on the subway who was following us."
Peter was trying to place these things that she was telling him, but he hadn't been looking that hard.
"I'm not crazy." She defended turning to him suddenly, forcing him into an instant halt. They were now inches apart from one another. "I'm sure what I saw."
"I would never call you crazy." Peter was quick to reassure her. "I believe you."
Kate glanced down the alley from where they came from, not seeing a tail. "We need to get back home." She said thoughtfully. "I'll call Clint and Nat when we get there."
Peter wasn't going to argue. They continued on, he followed her lead with disappearing through crowds and getting away from the subway exit they came from.
"Do you think it's the Kingpin?" Peter asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her through a crowd with him.
"I don't know." Kate answered honestly.
Peter felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Pulling the device, he saw Happy was calling him. "Happy?" He asked confused.
Kate looked at him sharply.
"Where are you guys?" Happy asked, sounding more than a little stressed out.
"On our way back." Peter replied. "Why?"
"Listen carefully, I need you to find somewhere to stay out of sight until I get to you." Happy sounded like he was driving.
Peter frowned looking around for something out of sight. He looked to Kate for some help, and she indicated a small coffee bakery that would most likely have a backdoor that they could escape in if needed. He told Happy the address and then hung up.
Ducking inside, Kate pulled out her phone and started typing away to someone, most likely her brother. Peter had done drills like this with Kate before, he went and ordered them something to avoid suspicion from the workers with them being in there.
When he came back, he handed her a chai latte, his own drink clutched in the other hand and a dessert they could split. They sat at a small table in the corner, away from the windows.
"Happy is about 3 minutes away." Peter said quietly.
"He didn't say what the issue was?" Kate asked with a frown.
Peter shook his head. The head of security sounded more stressed than usual but that could be for any reason. It was as he took a sip of his drink that his ears caught the whispers of the people at the counter.
"Could that be him?" The girl whispered quietly as she held her phone in her hand.
"Looks like him." The guy whispered back.
Peter nudged Kate's foot with his under the table. A subtle indication they needed to move.
Taking her drink, Kate stood smoothly, and they exited the shop quickly. Thankfully, Happy was just around the corner.
"Are you kids, okay?" Happy demanded when they got in.
"Yeah, we're fine." Peter replied frowning at how frazzled Happy looked. "Happy, what's wrong?"
Happy gripped the steering wheel. "I gotta get you both back to the penthouse." He replied. "Tony and Pepper are on their way back."
Peter looked at Kate who was sitting tense beside him. Tony and Pepper had left for California that morning to deal with SI business, they were supposed to be gone for a week, or at least Pepper was.
Lucky whined softly at their obvious distress and Peter reached out to scratch his head gently. Kate pulled out her phone, scrolling quickly before she paled.
"Oh no…" She whispered.
As she said that they rounded the corner onto the street that passed in front of their building only to find a fleet of paparazzi standing in front.
This wasn't completely unusual as a lot of celebrities tended to live in the building for short and long periods of time while they were in New York, but there seemed to be more than there typically was.
Happy swore under his breath as he saw them.
"Happy, what's going on?" Peter asked feeling dread building in his stomach.
"Both of you lean away from the windows." Happy said as he sped by the crowd as they started to point at the car.
Peter turned to look through the back windshield, but Kate placed a hand on his arm, drawing his focus.
"They're here for you." She whispered looking at him with wide horrified eyes.
"What do you mean?" He asked, stomach sinking like a rock.
Kate turned her phone towards him, showing him the images that someone had taken of them walking around on their date today. His face plastered all over popular gossip sites with the headlines screaming "Newest Stark" in giant red letters.
"They know." Kate whispered. "Everyone knows."
…
Kate sat beside Peter on the sofa watching the gossip news channel. Somehow the media had gotten ahold of documents related to the adoption, reporting on May's death during the shooting in December. They didn't know how Tony fit into everything, why he adopted Peter.
There was speculation and questions about her since she was seen clearly in all the photos from their date. One clear shot of him kissing her in the park left no doubt to the public who she was to him.
They had been lost watching everything for hours, the dread and fear causing them both to spiral. Their phones had been blowing up since they got back to the tower from calls and texts from their classmates and friends. After telling Ned and MJ that they were okay, they turned their phones off entirely. Happy was there if anyone else needed to reach them.
The gossip reporter was right in the middle of speculating whether Tony was Peter's long-lost father when a clear voice said, "Mute."
Both turned to look at Tony and Pepper who stood in the doorway watching the teens.
"Are you both okay?" Pepper asked in concern walking over to sit in a chair close to Peter.
Neither replied. It was impossible to answer. Both of their fears were coming true; everyone knew Peter was adopted again, and now every enemy Kate had would see her plastered over the news with her location in neon lights.
"Clint and Natasha are on their way back too." Tony told Kate as he came to sit down.
She nodded, drawing her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them tightly. "I told them I was turning my phone off." She said quietly.
"How could they have found out?" Peter asked looking from Pepper to Tony. "I thought the documents were supposed to be sealed?"
"They are supposed to be." Pepper replied.
"There's only one person who would have had an interest in getting those documents." Kate mumbled quietly.
Tony looked at her. "You think it's Fisk?"
She looked up at him. "Who else?" She asked. "He's the one we've tormented the most lately. What he said weeks ago in the news was a veiled threat."
"Do you think he knows that Peter is Spider Man?" Pepper asked.
There was dead silence to answer the question.
After a second, Kate cleared her throat. "I don't think so." She said after a moment. "If he knew, then the best way to hurt everyone would be to expose it. It would put everyone Peter knows at risk, but it would also shine a spotlight on the Avengers for allowing a teenager to do what he does. Keeping it hidden only helps us, not him."
As she finished talking, she looked at Peter who was staring at a fixed spot on the wall, lost in thought. The clench in his jaw told her that whatever he was thinking would explode sooner or later.
Who all has read Spider's Shadow comic?