i am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me

[gwendys]

(cont. from here)

11:32 am.

Gwen peers out the window as she awaits Peter's arrival. He isn't the most reliable when it comes to being on time (and boy does Gwen know it), but she still denies it to herself enough to feel a tinge of disappointment whenever she's reminded of it.

And that's Gwen's vice: her temper.

But have no fear, Mr. Parker, for the steam will settle once she sees that face.

Comments

[decathlons]

Peter's running late.

But it's not his fault! Not really. He was heading over to Gwen's place, and everything was going fine, and then...and then, and then he heard sirens. He had to check it out, right? Because they weren't that far away and, you know, what if it was something serious?

He only meant to take a minute to check.

But then it was a car chase, and the criminal ran a red light -- almost straight into a family crossing the street. Almost, because Peter (Spider-Man) swung them to safety, then caught the car before the guy could get away. The family's fine, he made sure; the police got the bad guy; and all, you know, in a day's work. So he has a really good reason for being late, except Gwen can't ever know about it.

If Gwen's still at the window at about 11:45, she'll see him sprinting up the sidewalk, clothes and hair a little mussed. At least he didn't fall into a trash can while changing back, this time.

[gwendys]

Gwen was at the window alright. Her hair has probably lost a bit of its volume in the past fifteen or so minutes, her perfume might be wearing off, and her skirt already has a slight wrinkle where she bends. But worst of all? The worries, Peter. The worries were pouring in.

There he is.

By the time he makes his arrival known, she's already on the other side of the door. She lets him wait for a few more seconds before opening it, of course.

"Well, look who remembered he had a girl waiting." She folds her arms to feed the appearance of her disappointment, but it doesn't take long for her to lose the fight against her own smile.

[decathlons]

Peter Parker and Spider-Man are the same person, but they live in different worlds.

Spider-Man is the one who swings through the city and helps people and fights bad guys, who knows the Avengers, who can lift a truck with his bare hands. Peter is the normal high school kid in academic decathlon, the physics nerd, terrible at gym and kind of a loser. Pretty much a nobody.

But a lot of times, the lines blur.

Peter Parker should be at least a little winded after running up to Gwen's place like this, should take the steps to her door in a one-two-three instead of a single bound. He should not have a spider-emblazoned suit on underneath a button down shirt and jeans or webshooters hidden under long sleeves, even if it was faster than changing wholesale on his way over.

But when Gwen opens the door, he's not thinking about any of that.

"Hi, Gwen." He doesn't bother trying to hide his own smile, though he does look abashed at her mock-disappointment. "Sorry, yeah, there was just -- " he waves a hand in the direction of somewhere back there "just -- there was a thing, and it was, like, huge, and I had to take a detour, it was crazy."

Then, he adds, "You look really pretty." Because it has to be said.

[gwendys]

The words stumble out of him in that Peter Parker charm and Gwen can hardly bear it. The tips of her fingers lightly touch her lips to quiet that increasingly vibrant smile of hers.

But that compliment? Totally shatters her efforts.

"Thank you very much," she speaks with her eyes locked on him—an unwavering stare that is accompanied by a soft smirk as the door clicks behind her. "You don't look so bad yourself, man of mine." Her tone is playful, but she isn't hiding, and she leans in to peck his cheek with a sweet greeting, naturally. "Shall we?"

The Clever Rabbit in Queens. A new cafe for the veg crowd and Gwen may or may not be a little nervous about the food.

"Don't worry, I'll lead the way," she teases with a slight tug at his sleeve.

[decathlons]

After Liz, Peter had been afraid that his love life was doomed to be a bust. He'd finally gotten up the nerve to ask her to homecoming, and...then he'd ditched her at the dance to go stop her supervillain dad and land him in jail. It's not that he regrets stopping Vulture -- keeping those alien tech weapons out of the hands of bad guys around Queens, around the city, matters -- but he does regret leaving Liz like that, and also the part he had in, kind of, wrecking her life.

But then he met Gwen, who's smart, and pretty, and fun, and craziest of all, she noticed him. (And neither of her parents are supervillains. He's pretty sure. Like, 98%.)

He bounces on his feet once after that peck on the cheek, grinning, unable to help himself. Being around Gwen has that effect on him, like just being Peter Parker actually can be awesome, after all.

"So where is it?"

She gives his sleeve a tug and he follows, happy to let her lead. Even if the name does sound a little familiar...like might've-stopped-a-hold-up-around-there-once familiar.

[gwendys]

Gwen's beaming smile won't quit, can't quit. Not with this very man present. The way Peter makes her feel like she could fly is something else. Especially when that feeling is struck within a person whose self-esteem has never quite been vulnerable.

"You'll see."

The two of them head forward and her fingers find his—their digits intertwining not even before they exit her front yard. She looks his way and tucks her hair behind her ear with her free hand.

"So, Pete, tell me: what's the craziest thing you've done lately?" There's a genuine curiosity to the way she asks this.

A blissful ignorance.

- - -

( ooc: apologies! life got in the way, but we're back ^^; )

[decathlons]

Gwen holds his hand, and Peter holds hers, and for a second? Everything seems just about perfect.

But then she asks that question, and he almost chokes. Opens his mouth. Then closes it.

"Uhhhh."

The truth is: maybe stopping that criminal less than an hour ago, or maybe investigating the sewers because of that rumor of a crazy lizard man (which is gross, 0/10, he never wants to do that again), or maybe stopping that bank holdup the other day, or maybe talking to Iron Man not too long ago.

What he does is laugh self-consciously and shrug, hoping it sounds less like he's fumbling and more like ha-ha, nothing interesting here.

"I don't know," said, as he turns to look at her, "Eating at that Chinese place on Fifth? I got one of the three chili appetizers and I thought I was gonna die. What, um -- what about you?"

( ooc | don't sweat it! ♥ )

[gwendys]

Gwen throws her head back for a larger impact of a laugh; a lively giggle that ends abruptly and with an eyebrow raise directed his way.

"Is that so, mister Parker?" Her smirk may appear suspicious to paranoid eyes, but the reality of it is more or less harmless. "Freelance photography not delivering on the excitement these days?"

She giggles that one out, not suspecting a thing to do with Spider-Man nor allowing herself to touch her nose into the subject of what is Peter hiding? Nope. This is Peter Parker & Gwen Stacy time and she's going to enjoy every second of it.

"Hmm." She purses her lips in thought to the same question, a couple of beats passing by in the process.

She bites her lip to ease her smile. "Ask me that question after I've tried this vegan food," she lifts her chin to gesture to the building up ahead.

I AM SO SORRY, this is egregiously late

[decathlons]

Her smirk does look suspicious, but that's mostly his guilty conscience speaking. He fidgets a little, self-consciously, though Gwen's good humor is pretty much infectious.

"Well, it's, you know." He waves a hand. "It sounds cooler than it is."

(Yeah, okay, Parker.)

"Hey," he says, starting to smile again despite himself, "how weird can it be, right?"

TELL ME ABOUT IT, I am finally settled in JP and have to renew my account :')

[gwendys]

Now there's a question that inspires a giggle in response. "That's something I've been asking myself this whole way."

They approach a building of aged brick that contains many shops and a number of other places to dine. But the set of stairs before them leads down below to an entrance with a sign hovering above the glass door: The Clever Rabbit.

"That's us." She bites the inside of her cheek, peering over at Peter. "You ready, rabbit?"