Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

48. Silver

"You were right, Ravir," Somm says slowly. A toothy grin creeps on his face as he circles the golden enchantress. Her usual wall of seduction is nowhere to be found. He had her on her knees, defeated, and he loved it. "There is a Zephyr on Earth..."
"Would I lie to you about that?" The words are forced. She hates herself for selling out the girl, but she has more important matters. Selfish ones.
"Yes, actually," he sighs. "You have lied to me before." He cocks his head at her. "And you did lie to me about the Zephyr, in a way."
"I didn't."
"You told me she was ready," he says accusingly. He keeps walking slow circles around her. "She is not."

"My knowledge of Zephyrs is lacking compared to yours."
"Oh, I know," he chuckles. "I am not angry with you. She will be ready soon." He closes his eyes, relishing in the thought of finally having a Zephyr again. "I will have to be patient for only a little while, until summer hits the continent she lives on." Ravir takes a breath. She knew the Zephyr wasn't ready, but she needed to tell him about Daphne so she could retrieve what's hers. And there's still more than enough time for Loki to take Somm down. This way they all get what they want. All Ravir had to do was inform Somm of Daphne's existence. Everyone wins. As long as Loki uses Daphne to kill Somm.

"I held up my end of the deal, now you hold up yours," she says quickly and to the point. Gold dust falls off her hair when she turns her head to look at him. Somm rolls his eyes, but agrees.
"Very well." He waves one hand and a small bottle appears. He opens it and a silver mist flows out. The palace's golden aesthetic becomes a marble-like mix between gold and silver. It's a comforting sight she hasn't seen in over 1200 years. The mist solidifies and a man completely made of silver falls to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.

"Brother!" She rushes for her sibling, who's trying to keep himself upright and take in enough air to breathe. Tears well up in his eyes when he sees her and he holds out his hand to her.
"Sister," he breathes. She falls on the floor next to him and they come together in a tight embrace. When Ravir looks up to where Somm stood, he's gone. There's an ache in her chest. Guilt. But she can finally see her brother again. Hold him. 1200 years... She pulls back a little and takes his face in her hands. He whimpers through the pain of finally being released from such a small space after so long.
"You're home," she sobs. Golden tears trickle down her cheeks. "You're finally home."

...

Daphne sits down on her bed. She's fiddling with her fingers and looks to the side. Peter stands opposite her, equally awkward.
"So," Daphne starts with a mutter. "Talk, huh?"
"You must have questions. I will answer them. All of them." He kneels down in front of her and takes her hands in his. She still doesn't look at him. Instead, she frowns.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Now it's Peter's turn to frown. He moves his head back confused. This wasn't exactly the kind of question he thought he would be answering.
"What?" He collects himself and rubs her hands with his thumb. "No, of course not. Why would I?"
"You've been dropping hints since day one and I didn't catch on until I actually saw you as Spider-Man in your bed room."

Peter looks at Daphne and bursts out laughing, finally making her look at him. His curls dance around his face. It makes her want to push her hands through them.
"I have definitely not been dropping hints."
"Then why does everything make so much sense?" She feels the tears coming back.
"I don't know..." He sucks at his teeth. "Hindsight? I'm terrible at secrets? Both?" She scoffs softly.
"I knew you were hiding something; I just didn't know what.

Peter smiles kindly at her, his eyebrows are curled together slightly. He lets go of her with one hand and wipes away a tear that's falling down her cheek.
"You do now," he whispers. She brings up her hand to hold his against her face. "I'm sorry I made you feel this way."
"You didn't," she says with a smile. "I'm just fucked up, I guess."
"Daph-"
"I'm sorry, Pete." She sniffs and leans into his touch. "I shouldn't have run off."
"It's okay, dove, it's okay."

Peter grabs her face with both his hands now and moves closer, shuffling on his knees.
"I want you to know that you mean the world to me and I don't want anything bad to ever happen to you." He presses his forehead against hers. "I promise you I will always protect you, Daph." She closes her eyes as she feels his warm breath on her face. She has a crooked smile as their noses touch. "I will do anything I can to keep you safe." Daphne lets herself glide off the bed until they're both on their knees. She pulls him in for a hug and holds onto him tightly. He kisses her on her hair, right above her ear, before he mumbles, filled with resolution. "I got you."