mended 🕷️ peter parker [3]

3

The suitcase was almost full when Jessica realized she would need to start all over again. She couldn't fit all the things she had intended to take with her. In a few hours, she was leaving for the science trip to Europe and she was barely prepared. She shouldn't have left it for the very last minute, she knew that, but the inevitable still happened.

She hadn't been that excited since their trip to Washington, and that didn't end up particularly well. The past five years had been horrible for Jessica and this break meant a lot more than it should have for her. She couldn't believe she was going to Europe with the boy she loved and she thought had lost forever.

She went back to her suitcase, trying so desperately to make everything fit. Unexpectedly, she noticed something between the pile of clothes. It was the flash drive she had found the day prior at Stark Industries.

She picked up and studied the flash drive in her hand. She had found it very easily, it wasn't hidden or anything. What she believed to be a little weird was that anyone else had found it before her. No one seemed to have noticed it for who knows how much time it had been there. Curiosity struck her again. She had to know what was the content of the flash drive.

Jessica dropped what she was doing and sat in front of her laptop. She inserted the flash drive and a window popped out showing the files it was storing. There were lots of files, most of them in video format. She clicked in one under the name 'Flight test I'. Her heart skipped a beat when it started playing and she got to hear his voice again.

"Activate hand controls. We are gonna start up nice and easy, raising 10% thrust capacity to achieve lift. And 3, 2, 1."

The video showed Tony with what looked like a draft of his suit trying to get it to lift off the ground. The thrust capacity was too much, though, and the flight stabilizers only made him smash into the wall behind him. Jessica let out a small laugh when she saw the same DUM-E robot she had seen yesterday empty a whole extinguisher on Tony.

"I've indexed this project file as Mark II. At the moment I'm testing the thrust capacity which - side note, bring down to 2% on the next trial - as well as the extremities mobility."

The recording continued displaying Tony while he worked on the development of his suit. There were a few more failed trials before he sorted out the problem with the stabilizers. He had also filmed himself trying on holographic pieces of the suit and explaining each step of the process of creating the Iron Man armor.

"JARVIS play something for me, will you?"

"Yes, sir."

An AC/DC song started playing while Tony kept on working. From time to time he would stop to play an air guitar solo along with the music. Jessica's mouth curved into a smile without intending to. She missed him a lot. She would have loved to sit through all the videos in the flash drive, but on the one hand, she needed to get going to the airport before noon. And on the other, her phone was ringing. She closed her laptop and redirected her gaze at the screen of her phone. Unknown.

For a second, she had stopped breathing. It was Fury again, she could feel him waiting on the other side of the line. She did not pick it up, instead, she waited until it had sent the call to voicemail.

Jessica shook her head. She had been paralyzed for a second there. But rather than stay there and overthink the potential lethal mistake she had made, she got up and got her things ready in order to leave the house.

. . .

Jessica was running a little late when she arrived at Peter's house. She wasn't worried though, as long as Peter was ready to leave they could still make it in time. She barely made it up the apartment lot. It didn't have an elevator and her suitcase ended up being a bit heavy. A big part of her wanted to use her powers to get it up the endless stair, but she restrained herself. Immediately after she had rung the doorbell, her phone rang again.

"Jessica! How are you, sweetie? Come in." At the same time that May opened the door and greeted her, she hung it up. Yep, Fury was going to kill her.

"Hi, May." She smiled, trying to sound unbothered. She dragged her suitcase inside, out of breath. "Is Peter ready?"

May did a strange face and gestured her head towards Peter's room, indicating the girl to see it herself. When she came into the room, her boyfriends was lurking under his bed. He found a pair of socks and sniffed them before putting them in his still half empty suitcase. The boy was still in his pajamas and jumped when Jessica called him out because of it.

"You're not even dressed."

"Gee- Jessica! You scared me."

"I thought you could sense things like that with that thing..." She moved her hands in front of her to try and express herself better, but it didn't work. "Your tingle."

"Please, do not call it a tingle." He pleaded. They hadn't found a better way to describe it. Peter called it a sixth sense, but after he had detailed how it felt, Jessica couldn't resist to tease him about it. "Besides it doesn't work like that-"

"Hungry?" May cut him off by throwing a banana straight at his face. Both Jessica and May snorted out a laugh while Peter picked up the fruit that had just hit him. "You can dodge bullets but not bananas?"

"I just really need this vacation. I need a break." He breathed out as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

"You deserve it." May agreed. She looked at Jessica as well. "You too. You know what? You should pack your suit, just in case." And she added one last comment before leaving his room. "I have a tingle about it."

Peter did not reply to what May had suggested. Instead, he stared at the encased nano-suit. Jessica had designed that housing unit for him after the blip. He was going to draw a bit of attention if he took that to Europe. As he stood in silence still, she decided to ask. "Are you going to?"

"No." He said, slightly shaking his head. Jessica could tell he had dazed off. "No, I'm not. I'm gonna enjoy my trip. Stop being Spider-Man for a few days."

"Really?" She chuckled, having a hard time to believe that. Before Tony had named him an Avenger, the only thing he wanted to do was to put on his suit and be Spider-Man all the time. "That doesn't sound like you."

"I mean it." He firmly said as he stood up. "I want to take a break. Be with my girlfriend. Move on."

"I think that's a great idea, Pete." Jessica smiled and rested her forearms on his shoulders, intertwining her fingers behind his neck. "So, if you're taking a break from being Spider-Man..."

"I know what you're gonna say." They had talked about it hundreds of times. Keeping their relationship a secret was getting harder and harder. Jessica didn't think that people would make rushed connections just because they were dating. If they hadn't found out yet, they definitely wouldn't after knowing about them two. Besides, Jessica only wanted to tell their friends. It wouldn't be that bad. Yet, Peter stayed reluctant. "Yeah, I guess we could but..." He meditated. "Let's just think about what's the best way to tell them."

"Okay." Jessica sighed, not really fully contented. "I just... don't want to be sneaking out to be with you while we're on vacation. I want to ride a gondola in Venice, go up the Eiffel tower and do other romantic things with you without worrying that we're gonna get caught."

"I want that too, Jess. You have no idea..." He said, bringing her a little bit closer. "But let's just make sure nobody suspects before saying anything. Please?"

Jessica nodded before placing her lips onto his. She didn't want their trip ruined with excuses and lies. Spider-Man was the main reason for their relationship to be private and if Spider-Man wasn't coming on the trip, Jessica didn't want to spend any more time hiding.

She broke off the kiss. She had just remembered they had to leave and Peter still had to get dressed. "We're gonna miss our flight."

"Oh! Right..."