Long time no see, my friends and I hope you're doing alright. My apologies for being away so long but ever since I came back to the Orient, there's been a lot of work here that I had to get done.

- I just wanted to give my respects to one of our fellow writers, Freedom Guard, who was said to have passed away a while back. His crossover stories with the Master Chief were one of my favourite stories to read on the site and it saddens me to hear that a captivating writer like him is gone.

- Can't believe it's already the beginning of the holiday season...which is pretty sad because I don't get Christmas off. Don't let me dampen your spirits though, I hope you're all enjoying the rush of X-Mas.

It's been a few months but I can finally present to you all the next chapter. Please enjoy!

...

It had been a quiet evening, aside from the usual petty crimes such as carjackings, muggings, and robberies but every one of those attempts was stopped rather easily by both his hand and Hope's.

Even those crimes were fewer than usual but Spider-Man knew better than to complain...the less dumb criminals he had to beat up, the sooner they could go home.

Hope certainly had learned well from both Sable and himself though. None of the villains tonight were able to sense her presence nor even lay a finger on her as the young mutant beat them down with her fists in a quick yet painful fashion.

Having returned from their patrol, they were now taking a small breather back on the Symkarian Embassy's rooftop.

"You alright, Hope?"

"I'm okay." She replied, resting her head on Spider-Man's shoulder. "Just a bit tired. I'm really missing my pillow right now."

A gentle laugh escaped his lips. "Looks like your adrenaline rush is over, eh?"

Hope nodded and closed her eyes, enjoying the presence of her beloved mentor next to herself. She let out a sigh of content when Peter's hand ruffled her red hair.

"You did great out there tonight, Hope." He praised, his voice filled with pride.

Her lips twitched upwards into a warm smile at those words and she hugged herself closer to Peter.

"Thank you, Spidey." She whispered.

"...Well, this is certainly quite an adorable sight." Another voice chimed in.

Peter immediately recognized the feminine voice as he and Hope stood up. Behind them stood a woman that he knew all too well but what he didn't know was why she was here.

"It's been a while, Spider." The platinum blonde greeted with a flirting grin.

It took a second for him to greet her back. "...I guess so. What brings you all the way out here, Felicia? Last time I saw you, you were hitting it off with Daredevil."

"It didn't work out." She explained before her eyes noticed Hope with a hint of curiosity. "...Who's the kid?"

Hope felt a little insulted at being referred to as a child. "I'm not a kid! I'm a super heroine and I'm also Spidey's student."

"...That explains why you're always seen together. I'm guessing the little Spider-Girl is your student as well?"

"Yep." Peter proudly confirmed with a nod.

Felicia smirked. "You must be a good teacher then. Every time I see a headline, it's always praising her or Spider-Girl for saving the day."

"Anya and I've got the best mentors ever." Hope proudly stated, smiling at Peter.

Underneath the mask, he blushed a little from their compliments. "...You still haven't told me why you're here."

Felicia walked towards him, her hips swaying heavily all the while. "Isn't it obvious?"

Peter managed to keep his composure even as Black Cat's arms wrapped around his neck. The same couldn't be said for Hope though, whose face was turning red at the sight of Black Cat flirting with her beloved mentor.

"I've really missed being in the sack with you, Spider." She breathed into his ear. "How about we make up for lost time?"

Peter could feel her large breasts pressing firmly on his chest. Her tongue licked her lips hungrily and while his body was reacting naturally like any other red blooded male would've been at the moment, his heart and mind already knew he couldn't do this.

"As tempting as that sounds, Cat..." Peter said, slowly pulling her hands away. "I can't. I have a girlfriend and I'm hopelessly in love with her."

Felicia was surprised to hear this but didn't give up just yet. "So? She doesn't have to know...or she could join us! You're more than capable of wearing us both out in bed."

Hope didn't think her face could blush any more redder...but after hearing the Black Cat praise Spider-Man's phenomenal skills in bed, she could've sworn her head was going to blow out steam very soon.

Peter shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. You always wanted me for yourself when we were together...my girlfriend is the same way."

"Just who is this lucky lady anyways?" The Black Cat asked before she heard a click and then felt something metal press against the back of her head.

"That lucky lady would be me, Ms. Hardy." The Symkarian Queen coldly stated, her finger dangerously close to the trigger on her gun. "...I'm the Amazing Spider-Man's girlfriend. Would you like to explain why you're hitting on my boyfriend?"

Felicia slowly took her hands off of Peter and turned around to face Silver Sable herself, who glared at her with cold yet hostile eyes. The barrel of the gun in her face didn't do much to ease her nerves as she attempted to diffuse the situation.

"It's been a long time, your Highness." She awkwardly greeted, raising her hands in surrender.

Sable raised an eyebrow. "The last time we met, you were trying to rob my embassy and now you're trying to steal my beloved away from me."

Spider-Man sighed and moved to intervene before Felicia dug herself into a bigger hole and ended up with a few bullets in her head.

"Easy Sable." Peter whispered, gently pushing her arm down so she could lower the gun. "I promised I'd never leave your side, remember?"

A few seconds went by before the Symkarian Queen nodded and slowly removed her finger from the trigger. Her lips smiled affectionately at her beloved Peter...she truly was blessed to have such an amazing boyfriend.

"For the record, I had no idea Spider was taken." The Black Cat said, her voice sounding a little apologetic. "...You're a damn lucky woman, you know that?"

Sable hugged Peter's arm into her breasts. "I know I am."

Felicia nodded reluctantly and pulled out her grapple gun. "I guess I'll take my leave then...unless...I don't suppose you'd be willing to share Spider with me tonight?"

Almost immediately, The Queen's eyes coldly glared her way again and it made Black Cat's spine shiver in fear. Asking such a thing wasn't the brightest thing to do but she just had to try once more in getting with her paramour.

"I'll take that as a no then." Black Cat sighed before she blew Peter a kiss and leapt off the building. "I'll see you around, Spider!"

Hope, who'd been watching the whole thing with curious fascination, quickly ran to Sable's side. "...Ms. Sablinova?"

The Symkarian Queen looked her way and smiled with warmth at the sight of her precious student. "It's good to see you back, Hope. How was your patrol with Spider-Man?"

"Nothing much happened tonight." The mutant super heroine admitted with a shrug. "Some of the car thieves and robbers were actually dumb enough to try and attack us so we had to beat them up. Nothing serious though."

Peter smirked, ruffling her hair. "You were an absolute ninja. No one even noticed you until it was too late for them to run away."

Hope blushed again at Peter's praise, much to both of her mentor's amusement.

"You made sure to have the element of surprise on your side." Sable whispered, her arms holding her precious student close. "...You and Anya are making us so proud."

Hope happily embraced her mother figure back. "You and Spidey are the greatest teachers. Is Anya asleep already?"

"She's resting on the couch in the living room. Why don't you go inside and shower up? Spider-Man and I'll be along shortly."

Hope nodded and gave her web swinging mentor another hug before she went inside the embassy, leaving Peter and Sable alone on the roof together.

"...I'm sorry about Felicia. I had no idea she would be here."

She shook her head, throwing her arms around Peter's neck with a smile. "You did nothing wrong. Anya and I noticed you returning with Hope and I arrived just in time to hear you rejecting Black Cat's advances because you loved me too much."

"It's the truth." Peter stated sincerely with a blushing face. "The only other person my heart ever loved so strongly was Gwen...and my love for you has long surpassed what I felt for her."

Her blue eyes shined with happiness at those words as she passionately kissed Peter. As much as she didn't like Felicia Hardy, there was one thing the cat burglar said that she wholeheartedly agreed with...

She was indeed damn lucky to have the Amazing Spider-Man as her boyfriend.

"I love you too, Peter Parker." Sable whispered, their mouths reluctantly parting. "Forever and For Always."

"...You know I actually like that song?" Peter breathed out before capturing her lips again for another deep, long, and powerful kiss.

...From a safe distance, Felicia's eyes watched on in envy as the Symkarian Queen kissed the Amazing Spider-Man once more.

How she truly wished it was her locking lips with the webslinger right now but deep down, Black Cat understood...her mistakes in letting go of the greatest man in her life may have finally caught up to her.

It was a possibility that her heart lamented over as she quietly leapt away.

...

- If anyone reading this listens to Shania Twain, they'd also know which song I'm taking about near the end. I've always been a fan of her music and she's a big reason why I'm such a hopeless yet optimistic romantic.

- It feels good to finally be able to write again. Truth be told, I'm not certain my level of writing now did this justice so if this chapter sucked, I'm sorry.

- I've see a lot of relationships make and break apart and I think one of the worst things with being in love is when someone falls for an individual who's already taken or moved on. I can't imagine the amount of emotional pain one's heart would suffer through in such a situation.

- All that aside though, I hope you all liked it and of course reviews are always welcome whenever possible. Thank you!