Postbellum

Six

"Welcome to my humble abode," Peter said as he drove Dahlia's car up his private driveway. She noted how there were no houses around for miles, which would make things easier. It is absolutely beautiful, but she was expecting something extremely over the top extravagant so this was a nice surprise.

"It's beautiful," she told him as he parked the car in front of the house.

"I try," Peter shrugged sarcastically to make Dahlia chuckle and shove him as they got out of the car. They walked together up to the front door for Peter to unlock it. She followed him through the house to watch him unlock a hidden door. Her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity as to why.

He then lead her down the stairs to reveal a huge garage filled with different suits and machines. Once Peter came in, the whole room lit up in different blue lights everywhere.

Peter went over to a work counter, but Dahlia walked around in awe at all of what he has built. She couldn't imagine being able to do any of this as she passed his display case of different suits. A smile rose on her lips, still in complete awe at everything.

When he realized she wasn't next to him, Peter turned around to scan the room for her. He saw her standing in front of his suits completely star struck, which made him laugh lightly to himself. Peter could also see the light coming from the display eliminate her features. His smile copied hers as she walked around.

"You like it?" Peter spoke up to grab her attention.

"Yeah, this is insane," she laughed, making Peter follow suit because of how contagious her laugh is. "I couldn't imagine being able to do any of this."

"I couldn't either for a long time, that is until I met Tony," Peter said as he stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's amazing how much things can change when you meet a person," he continued to say as his eyes moved from the suits to watch Dahlia's reaction. Her smile deepened as she tilted her head down, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"You have no idea," she whispered then looked up at him.

"Once my dad realizes that I'm not following my orders, he," Dahlia said after a moment's silence, but Peter cut her off by stepping closer and looking down at her.

"I won't let that happen," Peter promised her.

"What is your family like?" Dahlia asked, then took another bite of her pizza. Peter and Dahlia laid out on two different couches in his living room watching a random show neither of them were paying attention to.

"Well, I have my Aunt May. She took me in when my parents went down in a plane crash," Peter explained. "You know, you barely mentioned your nursing degree."

"Yeah," she laughed, "I did."

"How did that happen and why did you stop?" Peter asked as he sat up to look at her. She looked over to him as he did so to see the curiosity in his features.

"I had my own tutors and learned all year round so it wasn't hard to get ahead. I was able to get my degree by 20, but my dad's plan started reaching the final stages. He mainly wanted me to be his personal nurse and body guard."

"Did you like nursing?" Peter continued to question her.

"Yeah, I did. I wasn't always the greatest at learning, but I did like it. Did you go to college?" Dahlia asked.

"MIT, I graduated last year," Peter said and nodded over to the wall with his degree framed. "It's just my bachelors, I'll get my PhD sometime."

"Like Tony," she said. Peter just nodded with a sad smile on his face. "I think it's really cool that you had someone like him."