Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

79. Split In Two

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Daphne to collect herself and turn to Peter, who is next to her on the floor. His face is flushed red and he's panting slightly, as he stares at his hand.
"Oh, God, Peter-" She shifts, but refrains from touching him. "Are you okay?" He smiles slightly through his panting and shakes his head once.
"I'm fine, I'm fine- are you-"
"You're not fine, what the hell!" Daphne looks at the regulator on his wrist. The smoke drifting from the little machine can only mean one thing. "Fuck, Mr. Stark, where the fuck is a second regulator?!" She shouts up, past Peter's face. He winces, but his muscles don't relax afterwards. Instead, he gasps quietly and presses his eyes shut as the burning sensation starts spreading over his body.

Daphne shouting Tony's name finally makes everyone at the table shift into action. Bruce rushes to Daphne and Peter, and Tony makes his way to wherever he could get another regulator. Dr. Banner crouches down and takes Peter's upper arms in his hands.
"Peter, I need you to breathe with me." Daphne feels two hands, one warm, one cold, pulling her backwards, away from Peter. She looks back startled. It's Bucky. His face contorts slightly and he glances at his metal arm, which seems to respond negatively to touching Daphne as well. He lets go of her with the metal arm and nods once in her general direction.
"S'okay," he says simply.

Daphne blinks a few times and looks back at Peter who's still struggling to keep himself together. She hates not being able to hold him while he's in such distress. He's shaking and soft whimpers and whines escape his mouth.
"Peter, I need you to look at me," Bruce orders. Peter starts rocking back and forth while shaking his head, keeping his eyes screwed shut.
"Can---- can't," he gasps. "Fi-Fire! Fe... B... Being split in two!"
"Tony, where's that regulator?!" Steve shouts through the living quarters.

Tony taps away on one of his tablets, seemingly modifying a regulator to work the way it's supposed to.
"His heartbeat's going up fast, Tony! We don't know how much he can take, we need it now!" Bruce shouts away from Peter, who seems to have stopped breathing altogether.
"I'm WORKING ON IT!" Tony yells back. Daphne stares at the scene as if it's not actually happening. As if she's not really there. She can't do anything but watch it all unfold in front of her. She's never seen this group of people so stressed.
"Jesus Christ," she hears Sam mumble behind her. Daphne tugs at Bucky's hand, hoping he'll let go of her, but his grip on her is tight. Relentless.

Tony finally arrives with another regulator and swiftly takes off the old one. The second the new one is placed around Peter's wrist; he visibly relaxes all his muscles and slumps onto the floor. His eyes roll back into his sockets as he loses consciousness.

...

There's a warm glow on Peter's face. It's pleasant. Homely. His eyes slowly open, but he has to squint because of the sun shining right into his eyes. He turns slowly and spots Daphne sleeping peacefully in the arm chair, curled up, covered with a blanket. He half smiles, but suddenly remembers what happened yesterday.
"Daph...?" He says softly. His voice is deep from having just woken up. Her eyes flutter until she makes eye contact with him. She immediately pushes to sit up straight.

"Pete," she whispers breathlessly. "You alright?"
"Yeah," he chuckles softly. "I needed the nap after... Well, you know."
"You did a little more than nap," she scoffs quietly as she moves out of the chair and towards his bed.
"I'm okay, I promise." He smiles, but it falters. "Are... Are you okay?" Daphne nods.
"Yeah, the physical contact with Dr. Strange just spiked my electricity levels. He didn't take much from me." She holds up her hand and studies the wrist Stephen had grabbed. "It's almost weird to say that I'm feeling better than I did before." Peter remains quiet and moves slightly to feel the new regulator on his arm. "Mr. Stark said the spike was temporarily and you happened to touch me at the wrong moment. I should be back to normal again." Daphne bites the inside of her cheek. "Though, I'd understand if you don't want to touch me for a while."

Peter stares at her in disbelief.
"Why would I not want to touch you?"
"I don't want to hurt you," she says with a contorted face. Peter immediately shifts to sit up with his feet touching the floor. He reaches out for her hand and grabs it with both of his, the familiar warm, but good feeling flowing into him through her touch. She tenses for a second at the contact, but when Peter doesn't have a negative reaction to their connection, she relaxes again. Peter waits for her to look him straight in the eye again before he speaks.
"I've told you before and I will say it again: you never hurt me."

Daphne doesn't reply. She just stares at him until he smiles again.
"C'mere." He tugs at her hands slightly and brings one arm to the side so he can hug her once she's settled on his lap. Her legs wrap around his waist and she hides her face in the crook of his neck. He takes a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of her pomegranate shampoo and he closes his eyes as he sighs. One of his hands rests on her lower back and his other hand finds the back of her head. He softly massages her scalp. She relaxes into his touch as she holds onto him.

"Mr. Stark apologized." Her voice sounds muffled against his skin. The vibrations of her words softly thrum through his body.
"The least he should do," he mumbles back. "Did you forgive him?"
"I accepted that it happened. He knows I'm not very happy with him." She lets out a big sigh. "I just don't understand why he still puts this much effort into me."
"He cares more about you than you think he does."
"He cares about keeping earth safe. I'm an anomaly that could lure possible threats here." Peter can feel her tense up as she speaks. "That's why he keeps an eye on me."
"That's what he told me he felt like when he first learned about what you are." Peter caresses Daphne's hair. "But he's genuinely warmed up to you, trust me."
"He doesn't act like it."
"He's..."
"He's what?" Daphne asks sternly.
"He's Tony Stark."
"S'not an excuse," she mutters.
"No," Peter replies. "I guess it's just how he rolls."

Daphne feels Peter's stomach rumble against her own belly. She chuckles quietly and pushes away from him, so she can look Peter in the eye. He cocks his head at her and smiles slightly. She brings her face close to his and gently touches his nose with hers. She angles her neck so she can press a soft kiss on his lips and she smiles into it. When she lets go of him, she moves to stand up, to Peter's dismay. She offers him her hand and he takes it eagerly. She really has him wrapped around her finger.
"Let's get you some breakfast."

...

Sam eyes the two teens as they walk into the common living area. His gaze lingers on their hands, which they're holding.
"You sure that's a good idea, kid?" He says with a cocked eyebrow.
"Good morning to you to too, Mr. Wilson," Peter replies cheekily. "And yeah, the regulator works again, so this is fine."
"Aight, you do you." Sam turns back to the TV. The news is just starting.

Peter and Daphne make their way to the kitchen area.
"I'm starving," Peter groans. He hasn't had much to eat for a while as he wasn't able to finish his dinner yesterday, and since he was bitten, he has to eat more than an average human being to keep himself fueled. He opens all the cupboards and takes out everything that suits his cravings at the moment. Daphne grabs an apple from the fruit bowl and leaves it at that for now.

"Um..." Sam suddenly breaks the silence. "Y'all might wanna see this." Daphne and Peter walk up to the lounge area where Sam is seated by himself. He rewinds part of the news and puts the sound up even more. The news lady speaks with as much disbelief as with which the people in the room are watching her.

"Satellite images confirm that, last night, an external force split Annapurna II, one of the Himalayan mountains, straight in two. This footage was sent by a group of people who had to discontinue their climb to the top of said mountain."

A very low-quality video shows shaky flashes of orange and blue, and loud rumbling, on a dark mountain. The sounds are distorted through the camcorder mic. In the distance, multiple avalanches start tumbling down the mountain and the climbers start panicking as they instantly decide to stop their climb and make their way back down for their own safety.

"Local authorities will not elaborate on what happened, but have confirmed that the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division, also known as S.H.I.E.L.D., is on site to research the situation. The-"

Sam cuts off the lady by turning off the sound and he turns to the two teens with raised eyebrows.
"Is it just me or did that orange stuff look a whole lot like-"
"Doctor Strange..." Daphne mumbles. She's still staring at the screen, where the footage of the climbers is being replayed.
"He split a mountain in two?!" Peter's eyebrows nearly disappear into his hairline. Sam takes a breath and eyes Daphne.
"With a little help, is my guess."