Spider-Gwen 2 || Hanging by a Thread

Visiting || Gwen Stacy

"If you could return, don't let it burn, don't let it fade"

-Linger, The Cranberries

Gwen had been standing in front of the door for several minutes, but her nerves were still not calmed. She took another deep breath, lifting her hand to knock against the door of her home.

But she couldn't.

Gripping her hair in exasperation, Gwen turned around and paced in a circle while muttering incoherently to herself. "Breath. Just breathe... nothing bad is going to happen. He's your father." Her fingers had her wavy hair curled around them as she put her back to the door, nearly convincing herself that it would be best to just leave and go back to her dorm.

Despite Gwen's conflicted state of mind, MJ's words continued to make their way to the forefront of her mind-not just her recommendation for Gwen to visit her dad, but also that her dad had recently been injured in a robbery.

The thought of some random robber being dangerous enough to land a few wounds on Captain Stacy had caught Gwen's attention, and she'd done her research... apparently this criminal known to the public as 'Black Cat' had been hitting smaller banks for the past few weeks, but the robbery that left Gwen's father injured had been her grandest heist yet. No one knew what her ultimate goal was, and no one had any idea of who she actually was. All that anyone could tell was that Black Cat was crafty, needlessly flirtatious, and effective at what she did.

A while back, such a threat to the city's well-being would've seemed like a clear-cut issue for Gwen to handle herself, but those days were in the past. She'd learned the hard way that one small lapse in decision-making was all it took to bring so much devastation in such a short period of time...

The past was coming up too much. Gwen's eyelids shut tightly as the memories flashed by in her mind: flickering pictures of the raging lizard destroying the prom, Owen's ill-advised attack on Peter to defend Gwen, and then Gwen's father, looking at her down the barrel of a gun.

Just as she began to move towards the steps that would take her back to the sidewalk, Gwen heard the door swing open behind her. The blonde spun on her heels, coming face-to-face with George Stacy.

Seeing her father's face for the first time in months left Gwen frozen, her heart stopping inside her chest as her mouth parted slightly. George looked... rough. Her father's hair was disheveled, and the dark shading under his eyes indicated a lack of sleep. Despite his mentally and physically drained appearance, the shock that Gwen wore on her face was mirrored on his own in a way that could happen only between family.

"H... hi, dad." Gwen greeted softly, watching her father blink, as if to assure himself that this was happening. The girl's hands grasped the straps of her backpack, feeling the weight of her laptop and a few other items pulling on her shoulders.

"Gwen, I-" He said, the rasp in his tone letting Gwen know that he'd probably just woken up. Her father's eyes darted hesitantly as he gestured lightly at her with his hand. "-I wasn't expecting you... I don't think I got a text saying that you were coming over."

Whoops. Gwen mentally cursed herself for forgetting such a basic step of communication. "Yeah, this..." She folded her hands behind her back, finally turning to face her dad. "...This is a little impromptu. I'm sorry that I didn't text you."

George continued staring, completely caught off-guard by his daughter showing up. "Uh... come in! I-" He moved out of the doorway so that Gwen could walk in, working up a smile so that his apparent shock wouldn't take away from his daughter's return. "-I don't have anything cooking right now, but I'll get something on!" George said quickly. "Is there anything in particular you want, Gwen? French toast? Pancakes?"