The Sapphire Soldier

Not As It Seems

I hadn't slept that night.

Not because I couldn't, exactly. I just couldn't convince myself that closing my eyes was a good idea. Every time I tried, my mind went right back to everything that had happened - the fight, Jean, Peter, the way his powers had been changing so quickly, and that damn inhibitor he was determined to build.

So instead I sat near the window and watched the city.

New York was strange at night. Even when the streets quieted down, the city never truly stopped moving. Cars still passed in the distance, apartment windows stayed lit, and every once in a while the sound of a siren echoed between the buildings.

I watched all of it until the darkness slowly began to fade.

Before I even realized it, the sun was rising, soft light spilling over the skyline and turning the windows of the buildings gold.

My mind drifted back to a time before the spell. Before the world forgot who I was. Before Peter forgot me.

Sometimes it felt like that life belonged to someone else now. Someone I remembered but couldn't quite reach anymore.

I remembered Peter laughing at something stupid I'd said. I remembered fighting beside him, knowing exactly where he was without having to look. I remembered the little things that shouldn't have mattered as much as they did.

And now he sat a few rooms away, working on something that could change everything, and he didn't even know we'd ever been important to each other.

"Can't sleep either, huh?"

I turned slightly.

Frank was walking toward me, carrying two cups of coffee. He looked about as awake as I felt, hair a mess, expression somewhere between tired and irritated.

"Can't really sleep knowing Spidey's in there making a universal inhibitor," I said.

Frank held one of the cups out to me.

I took it with a small smile. "Thank you."

He leaned against the wall beside me, took a sip from his own coffee, then looked over. "Not a fan, are you?"

"What gave it away?"

He glanced toward the room Peter had disappeared into. "You've been staring at that door for the last hour."

I let out a quiet laugh. "I just have my fair share of experience with things like that." My smile faded as I looked down at the coffee in my hands. "Someone creates something that can suppress powers, and everyone immediately thinks it's a great idea, because they can use it on the bad guys. But things like that never stay in the right hands."

Frank hummed thoughtfully. "I'd agree with you, but then I'd never hear the end of it."

I laughed under my breath. "Fair."

For a few moments we just stood there watching the sunrise. Then Frank glanced at me again. "So who's the friend?"

I looked over. "Huh?"

"The one you're so eager to keep safe."

I sighed and shrugged. "An old friend."

Frank raised an eyebrow. "Does this old friend know she's an old friend?"

I turned my head slowly toward him. "Wow. Frank being smart. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Alright, asshole. Answer the question."

I rolled my eyes, but there was a small smile on my face. "No. She doesn't. Magic has a lot of upsides," I said quietly, "but... not always."

Frank was quiet a moment. "So everyone forgot?"