Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

106. White Swan - Black Swan

Daphne's rarely nervous about a performance, but this was a deal breaker. Two Swan Lake performances were done. The premiere and the second performance went really well. Tonight is the last. If, for any reason, she decides not to stop dancing after this, this might very well be her ticket to fame, so to speak. Countless people from the ballet industry will be in the audience tonight and if she does this right, Madame Touha said she's certain Daphne will receive offers to join companies. Next to that the Avengers will be there. Loki was there for the premiere and Derek and May were in the audience for the second performance. Loki had quietly mentioned Ravir has disappeared. She's not in her palace. He guesses she knows he's coming and fled. There is nothing they can do.

Today, the stakes are the highest. Daphne's warming up backstage, trying to turn her nerves into excitement. Peter walks into the dressing room, having just returned from hair and make-up. Daphne chuckles.
"Good evening, Prince Siegfried," she says with a posh, Elizabethan English accent and a grin. Peter bows with his hand on his chest.
"A good evening to you, Queen of Swans." He immediately breaks character and walks towards Daphne with a bright smile. He cups her jaw in his hand and notices the dove pin, carefully hidden in her bun. Her face make-up accentuates her cheekbones and her lips are a muted shade of red. He presses a gentle peck on her nose. Careful not to ruin the MUAs job. "You're so beautiful, Dove."
"Thought I was the Queen of Swans," Daphne quips with a smirk.
"White bird," Peter laughs softly.

Daphne's smile falters as she looks down at her sparkling, bright white tutu.
"Don't like white costumes as much as I used to..." she mumbles. Peter nods understanding and raises her head with his pointer finger, making her look him in the eyes.
"Whatever happens, know that I will always be there for you."
"I do. I know," she replies quietly. Peter can't help but press a soft kiss on her lips. When they part, he presses his forehead against hers and whispers into her mouth.
"I love you so much. We're going to ace tonight and tomorrow we're gonna think about kicking Somm's butt, okay?" Daphne nods slightly.
"Love you too," she mumbles. "Wanna kiss you again." Peter replies by pressing his lips against hers again. His arms slowly wrap around her and her tutu gets squished between them. Daphne sighs softly and breaks the kiss.

When she pulls back to look at Peter, she snorts.
"You probably have to go back to hair and make-up again," she laughs.
"Wha-?" Peter turns his head to look in the mirror. His lips are as red as Daphne's now and he snorts. "Can't go on stage looking like a clown!"
"You are one, though, Parker," Daphne muffles her laughs with her hand and grabs her lipstick from the table to fix her own lips.
"Rude!" He exclaims, poking Daphne in her side, causing her to nearly wipe a mark of red lipstick all over her cheek. She only barely pulled back in time and puts down the tube.
"Go!" She laughs as she waves him out. Peter sucks at his teeth and wraps his arm around Daphne's waste again to pull her snugly against him.

"One more kiss?" He asks with his big, brown, puppy eyes. "Pretty please?" Daphne smiles.
"Only because you asked so nicely, my prince." Their lips collide one more time and they honestly wish they could stay like that forever. But they can't. Eventually, Peter lets go and wipes his face with some kitchen paper before giving Daphne a cheeky look and heading out the door. Before completely walking out of sight, Daphne shouts: "And don't you dare drop me during the performance tonight, Pete! I gotta look my best!" Peter pushes his head back in and smirks.
"I would never drop you, dove-" and Daphne smiles, knowing what he's going to say next. "I got you."

...

Daphne pants loudly as she rushes to her changing room backstage. It's time for her to do a quick change into her Black Swan outfit. Peter is still dancing and should stick near the stage for the majority of the performance. Daphne halts when she enters her dressing room and realizes the stage hands who are supposed to help her get changed are nowhere to be found. The Black Swan tutu is also missing. Panic rises in Daphne's chest. Is someone trying to sabotage this performance? Who would do something like-
"Daphne!" Peter crashes into the dressing room, panting.
"Peter, are you okay?" She rushes towards him.
"We need to go-" he speaks quickly. "Somm-" He points to the stage. Daphne's eyes go wide and her shoulders droop. He's already here. Daphne doesn't think twice and turns haphazardly to grab her sneakers and phone. "Fuck, I need my web-shooters, they're in my bag- may I come in?"
"Yeah, Pete, just be qui-" Daphne pauses, realizing Peter swore. And he never swears. Suddenly, she remembers Loki's words from their conversation on the rooftop back in December.