|Spider Man| A City of Shadow and Ruin

-Eight-

I looked at myself in my lovely dress. It hugged the curves I wanted it to. I felt like royalty in the dress. I hadn't had anything more then some mascara to do my makeup, so the few blemishes on my face stuck out a little. My hair down and in its natural golden waves. I had my boots on not bothering to worry about my shoes. I was also wearing a pair of leggings on under the dress just for the comfort of it. 

I made my way down to the door where Tony was waiting in a suit. I saw Natasha with him in a tight deep blue dress. Peter had gone with Steve to set up earlier and anyone else was either not coming or finding their way. I assumed Natasha was here to make me more at ease. I trusted her to defeat a threat. Even if that could be me. 

"You look very nice" Natasha said.

"Thank you as do you" I said. 

My nerves ran through me making me feel a strange comfort of excitement. A thought of wanting to look lovely for Peter hit my mind for a moment. I shook it away.

"Shall we?" Tony asked. 

We nodded and got outside to his car. I had a small feeling somebody at this event was tasked with watching me. 

* * * 

We stopped at a basic looking building. It looked a little old, but otherwise it was bland yellow. The light inside was a bright yellow shade. Tony opened the door and walked out with Natasha following. When I got out I felt the coolness of the night and saw rows of cars along the street with people in dresses and suits. I turned away as Tony opened a door. 

Inside the building was lovely. The walls went up high with huge pillars in Greek style. The walls had trims along the walls and paintings. Giant chandeliers hung across the way. Above there was a walk around with metal black railing. A gentle music was softly playing somewhere. 

There were probably a hundred people and instantly Tony was flooded with them. I found myself drifting by the wall were I saw the stairs through an archway. I made my way up them. I reached the top and looked around. Natasha was conversing with Tony. I located Steve across at a food table talking to an older man. I saw nobody else through the swarm of people. Everyone here was dressed to perfection which made me uneasy. I had no makeup unlike every woman here. It was fine. It didn't make me feel any better. 

"Aria. You look- beautiful" a soft voice that belonged to Peter. 

I turned to see him in a suit that was the darkest shade of red nearly black. His eyes were locked onto mine. 

"Thank you and look rather pretty to" I said nervous. 

My body seemed to tingle with a nervousness that I enjoyed. I also hated it just the same. My powers felt alive under my skin, but I felt at ease with them for once. 

"uh thank you" he began, "Why are you up here" he put his arms over the railing. 

"It was a lot to take in and this felt more comfortable" I said looking around to see a few people up here. 

"I expected it to be more fun" Peter said. 

"Me to" I said. Maybe old people enjoyed just standing around in fancy things. There was a part of me that wanted to dance, but I wasn't about to draw any attention to myself. 

By the door where we came in there was a stage where the music came from. Tony stood up there by a mic. "Hello? hello?, Well welcome everyone. Lets celebrate saving our planet again" he said and cheers went up around. 

"Food?" I asked.

"Yes definitely" Peter said. 

We made our way downstairs and I looked at the gowns being worn. Mostly it was black, but everybody seemed to find their own style. People laughed as they drank and I continued onward. I nearly lost Peter in the crowd and my sense of direction. Eventually we reached it and saw a variety of pastries. There were also a few things I didn't recognize. I grabbed a plate and took a few of the pastries. Any of them that had chocolate that is. 

Despite the lack of dancing it otherwise felt like a fairytale. People always had these for whatever reason they could fathom. I was the only woman here I'd seen with a more full dress. I didn't like how tight ones fit against me. Like I was stuck in a straight jacket and my appearance also didn't sit right with me. 

I glanced at Peter as he popped a bite of something into his mouth. The other one on his plate looked like a small cake. When we finished our last pastries he looked out to the crowd of people that seemed to multiply by the second. 

"Care to join me in a dance?" he asked holding his hand out. 

I didn't take me more then a second to grab it. His hands were soft against mine that had been calloused through weeks of training. I saw nobody else dancing and there was a part of me that worried. There was another much louder thought, it didn't matter and I'd be having more fun. 

The music was still loud enough in our little corner. He put his hand on my hip and I tensed for a moment. I hadn't ever danced, so I went with it. I'd seen a dozen movies and that had to count. Some of the lights struck his eyes in a way that made them glow like pools of a dark honey. I'd never really been this close to him until now. He stopped us and let go of my hip and I spun. I didn't trip over my feet which was a huge plus to me. A few onlookers stopped to watch us and even a few joined in. I felt alive and happy in a way I didn't think I had. Especially in the last month. 

Maybe I didn't need to get out of this whole Avengers thing. 

Then Peter stopped dead in his tracks. He looked away from me for a long moment. He looked at the windows just before they shattered.