|Towards the Endgame|

•Chapter 101• Scared of the Known

"Y/n. Baby, what are you talking about?" She saw how his eyes filled with worry. She couldn't have hidden this from Peter. Toomes, or The Vulture, was the first real villain he fought – that they fought. They did that together. Mysterio broke him mentally, but Toomes was different. He scared Peter on a different level. He was alive. And now, he was out of prison. He was never meant to get out. "Toomes was showing rather good behavior when he was locked away. He's been in there for almost nine years, Peter. His sentence was twenty. It happens." She really wished it wasn't true, but it was. Y/n hated Toomes more than Peter. He tried to kill Peter and stole Chitauri energy cores, he could have blown up the whole city. Not only that, but he put Happy in danger as well and almost caused a plane to crash in the middle of the city. Hundreds of people could have died and they would have blamed it on Tony. "Baby, you're scaring me." Peter refused to believe her. Toomes couldn't be free. He wasn't walking around on the streets somewhere. "I'm not trying to, Peter. This is what Harley told and showed me." Peter started shaking his head. "I got a call from Flash, too. I sent him to voicemail and listened to it later. Apparently, Liz reached out to him, and she was asking about you."
"Wait," Peter cut in, "She still knows who I am? Flash knows too?" That didn't make sense. Strange cast that spell to make everyone forget who Peter Parker was. "I have no idea how it's possible, Pete, maybe Strange did something when he helped Ned and MJ." That sounded logical. Peter's heart rate started to pick up. "It could be that he lifted the spell. Made everything go back to the way it was somehow, I have no idea. But, Peter, the last thing I want to do is scare you with his." Peter glanced at her. That look in his eyes... It reminded Y/n of the time when they were hunting the Vulture. "I'm really not trying to scare you, Peter." He couldn't bring himself to fully believe it – tie all the loose ends together. The Vulture was back. Adrian Toomes was back.

"How do you know he's not lying about this?" It wouldn't surprise him if Harley lied just to get at him. "Peter, I saw it too on the screen with my own eyes. I gave them a very simple job, and this is why." Y/n explained to him very calmly. There was video footage, too, with the date and time. It might have been a little invasive of privacy, but this is why she sat it all up in the first place. "If Adrian Toomes knew who you are then – with Strange's spell being lifted, probably, or reversed, I don't know – then maybe he still knows who you are now."
"That's a big what if, Y/n," Peter mumbled. He put his thumb in his mouth and chewed on the skin anxiously. Y/n gently tried to pull his hand away again. "Don't do that, please."
Strange's spell was made so that everybody forgot who Peter Parker was. He was wiped from existence. Y/n still knew who he was because of Strange's tampering with the spell, but no one else did. Aside from Y/n – and probably Stephen Strange himself – remembered who Peter Parker was and, more importantly, who Spider-Man was. He hadn't given that man much thought in the last years. But he knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man. "You brought it up last night, and I was going to tell you either way, but I wasn't going to drop that on you when you were sleep drunk." Y/n continued, "Harley didn't lie about this, Peter. He's back with his family."
"Did he do something? Like, try to steal again as he did with his weapons?" Peter asked her. Y/n started shaking her head. Her hands found her arms as she tried to warm herself. Peter pulled her a little closer to him on the cold countertop. "Not that we know of but I've told Harley to up the security just in case. I'm going to tell my dad too but I wanted you to know first."
A small voice in the back of Peter's head was telling him to be happy; Liz was back, and she could come back into his life. He had a major crush on her. He was a happy puppy whenever she was around. She was his first crush. Real crush. A girl he actually had a shot with. "So Liz is back too?" Y/n wasn't sure if it was a question or repeating her words from earlier.

Peter's grip on her hips became a little tighter. "I don't- Y/n, I-" She cupped her boyfriend's face in her hands again. The warmth of her hands never disappointed Peter. If her hands were warm. He could melt into her completely. "I know you don't. It's okay." She wrapped her arms around him and Peter did the same. "I don't want you to worry about these things. I have no clue what that'll do to you." Peter mumbled to her as his hand moved up and down her back. He could only think about what could go wrong. No stress and taking it easy, that's what Bruce told them. "I'm fine, Pete." He listened to her odd heartbeat very closely. It was going too fast a few minutes ago, abnormally fast, and now it was almost gone. Only a few beats every minute. Y/n started to shiver a little. Peter pulled away to look at her. "What do we do now?" Y/n shrugged slightly. She did have to think about her health. "Or do you believe he's a changed man?"
"People like that don't change. He's angry. Frustrated with how unfair his life has been, you don't change that in a person." Y/n said softly, "We can't really do anything. He got out of prison and he hasn't committed any crimes. I don't think we want to draw any attention to ourselves either." Peter nodded along. They would make themselves a walking target for Toomes and Y/n was not in the condition to fight him if he went after her alone. "I do have a presentation coming up. About new developments with the school security systems we're creating along with the AI systems that are supposed to help students with counseling." She whispered to him. "He will be there if he wants to come after us again. And I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up. Can't you cancel?" Peter didn't like the idea of Toomes showing up there unannounced and kidnapping his girl when he wasn't watching. "I have already moved it three times. If I cancel, I'm going to lose a lot of insiders who support Stark Industries. And I am not putting that on the line for the Vulture." There was a small chance that Adrian Toomes really did change his way of thinking and moved back to better his life. Be with his family to make up for lost time. But why come back to Queens? Wouldn't it have been better to start a new life somewhere else? Y/n was right, people like that don't change. "We'll talk about it later. I'm sure we'll figure something out." He needed to work on Tony's new project to save Y/n.
"Is it strange that I'm feeling a little nostalgic over the fact that there might be a villain connected to Spider-Man attending a Stark Industries presentation?" Beck was there when Tony did the same thing, it was why he went after Peter in the first place. And just like Beck, Toomes has a problem with Tony Stark. "Maybe Strange sent us to some other universe while we were sleeping." Peter smiled. Y/n chuckled and kissed her boyfriend's cheek. She glanced around the kitchen and further into the apartment. She scanned every picture or poster on the walls with her eyes. "Really feels like we're fifteen again." Peter lifted her off the counter and started to carry her over to the couch where a blanket waited for her. He wrapped it around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, well, I'm kind of glad we're not fifteen anymore." He told her, "I'm going to make you something to eat. Stay put, okay? You need to stay warm."

Ned came into the apartment with Peter again. Y/n rose up from the couch to greet him. "I'm so glad you're okay." Ned wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could. When Peter told him what happened, he was scared he was going to lose one of his oldest and closest friends. "Jezus your hands are cold." He hissed when he felt Y/n's touch his back. Peter came up to them and pressed the back of his hand against hers. She smiled at the boy sheepishly and mumbled an apology. "I'll make you another cup of tea," Peter told her. Y/n started pouting when her boyfriend left for the kitchen. "I want coffee." She said. "You've already had three. May said this is better for your period and your heart. Stop pouting." He hadn't even seen her pout, but he knew her better than that. Ned chuckled and gestured to the couch. They sat down together. Y/n wrapped the blanket around her again like Peter had told her to do that morning. It did make her feel better. "Peter told you, huh?" Ned nodded. "And you're not angry? Or scared?"
"Why would I be scared? You were just trying to be a total badass again. I can't imagine you being any different." Ned grinned at her. Their bond had always been special. Ned still liked at her like she was some comic book superhero sometimes. "And between you and me, I totally would have hyped you up and built a throne for you." Y/n smiled at him. "So you would've just been your usual self around me?" Ned nodded his head again proudly. "Number one fan!" Y/n wasn't sure if Ned understood the seriousness of the situation or not, maybe he was just trying to ease the tension away with jokes. "Number two!" Peter shouted from the kitchen, making both Ned and Y/n laugh. She pulled the blanket a little tighter around her. "So, how's it going?" Ned questioned in a much more serious tone this time. "Little cold. My heart's beating very slowly. And I feel like a slight sting here when I breathe." She pressed her hand just below her breast, onto her ribcage. That started this morning. Usually, it was only in her chest but now she also felt it there. It was not as painful, just very uncomfortable. Along with all of that her cramps also seemed to be getting worse. "Well, I brought just the thing to help with that." Ned grabbed his backpack and pulled out something wrapped in paper towels. "Lola made you some sandwiches. Only for you." Y/n's eyes widened. "Did she make the sauce too?" She unwrapped the sandwiches and dipped her finger in the sauce. She practically moaned when she tasted it. "I love your Lola, Ned. So much. Can I have her?" Ned laughed as he watched how Y/n took the first bite. Her whole face lit up with joy.

"She made sandwiches for you and not me?" Peter complained as he walked back with tea for Y/n. He tried to take it but she slapped his hand away. "Mine. Get your own Lola." Y/n said with her mouth stuffed full of bread, lettuce, and chicken. "We share Ned's Lola."
"No, you decided that one day." Ned pointed out. He was happy to see that there was nothing wrong with Y/n's appetite. They waited for Y/n to be done with her lunch before they started another conversation. Peter glanced at Ned sitting on the other side of Y/n. "Thought I sent the message to both of you." He said. Y/n's eyebrows furrowed together. She spun her head toward Ned who looked a little sheepishly. "MJ didn't want to come yet." He told her sadly. Y/n's heart shattered. She might have lost MJ's friendship forever. "It's not your fault," Peter said to her. He immediately caught on to what she was thinking. The way her face dropped told him everything and she hadn't even realized it yet. "No, it is." Y/n wanted to sink into the couch and disappear. Just one more thing to deal with right now. Another worry on her mind. "She'll turn around, Y/n."  That was hard to believe, though. MJ and Y/n were already on very thin ice, friendship-wise. Y/n feels like she really shattered all of that to pieces right now. MJ didn't trust her anymore, and rightfully so. "Moving on," Peter started, "Maybe It's a good thing MJ isn't here because we need to talk about something with you." Ned's eyes widened. "Y/n's pregnant? For real? Am I going to become an uncle? Godfather?" He seemed both happy and scared at the same time. "No, no, she's not- we're not-"
"Ned, I am literally bleeding out of my vagina right now. I would know if I was pregnant. I'm not pregnant." She's pretty sure her body would give out if that happened right now. The thought alone freaked her out. It's not something she would never want, probably, but definitely not now. They are way too young for that. "Do you remember the bird guy? The Vulture we fought a few years ago?" 
"Do I remember him? Of course, I remember him! I helped you both with tracking him down. The guy in the chair, remember? He was Liz's dad, right?" Peter shot a quick glance at Y/n and squeezed her hand. "Yeah, he is. And he's back in Queens."