THE BLADERUNNER ｡PETER PARKER

thirty-nine

chapter thirty-nine

"Gus is already fast asleep in Mason's room," Herb poked his head through the crack in J.D's door. His niece was unpacking her suitcase into her old chest of drawers, The Incredibles playing on her laptop to keep her entertained. She glanced up at her uncle and watched him smile. "It's good to see you, J.D."

"I missed you, Herb," she chuckled, pushing herself onto her feet. She walked over to where the middle-aged man stood and pulled him into a tight embrace. "It's been weird not having you around all the time."

"I'm sure Gus is doing a good job as my replacement," the Uncle joked, and J.D scoffed, shaking her head in disagreement.

"He's great, but no one can ever replace you," she muttered. Herb chuckled, pressing a kiss to her head then swiftly pulling away. The man was never really the sort for showing affection, but that was okay. J.D crossed her arms and watched him rubs his eyes and yawn. "You should get some rest, we can take Gus sightseeing tomorrow. I've got most of my school stuff anyway."

"You really did think this through, didn't you?" Herb snickered quietly, before running a hand down his face. He then nodded slightly, as if trying to comprehend the fact that his niece was in front of him once more. Truthfully, it had been an incredibly lonely year without his family, and now everything felt slightly normal again. All that was missing now was Mason.

"Of course," J.D forced a grin. "You know me, always planning stuff down to the last detail."

"Uh huh," Herb nodded, though his expression was clearly sarcastic. He then smiled and reached over to ruffle J.D's hair. "Night, kiddo."

"Night, Herb," J.D responded softly as he backed away and shut the door. Her smile dropped. She spun around and planted herself on the floor for a couple of minutes, waiting for the television in Herb's room to turn off so she knew he was asleep. He had always been a deep sleeper, which worked in her favour plenty of times.

The walls were relatively thin in the apartment, so when she heard the generic sitcom laughter from whatever he was watching cease, she grabbed her phone and closed her laptop, walking over to her window and opening it, climbing out and onto the fire escape. She reached back into her room and grabbed the backpack that sat against the wall, pulling it outside and onto her back. It felt just like old times, but she was slightly out of practice.

Her feet softly dropped against the metal as she stepped onto the grate, and she instantly felt the night air hit her in the face like a cold, hard slap. Exhaling softly, she began her descent, making barely any noise as she slipped through the metal escape. 

With her phone in hand, she quickly dialled one of the two numbers that Steve had given her before she left England. Holding her phone up to her ear, she began walking down the familiar Queens roads, eyes aware of everything around her. Her bag bounced on her back and she pursed her lips, listening to the line ring.

No matter how much pain it had caused her, New York was still a beautiful place. The bright lights and energetic atmosphere was uplifting and nostalgic. J.D had realised she felt a certain way whenever she would return to the city; it was a bubbly, nervous sensation in her stomach that set her on edge. If it was in a good way, she didn't know.

"Hello?"

"Is this Happy Hogan?" she asked, looking both ways before she crossed the street, her eyes travelled up to the sky to find the large 'A' of the Avengers tower. Then, she remembered that it had been sold the previous year. She cursed under her breath.

"Why? Who's calling?" the gruff voice on the other side grumbled irritably, and J.D was disappointed to hear that his name wasn't accurate attitude-wise.