Always and Forever

Chapter 1

The sun shone on my face as soon as it peaked over the New York cityscape, waking me up at seven in the morning on a Saturday. I groaned and reached for my glasses, missing and knocking over my phone. "Shit," I grumbled as I reached over and finally grabbed my glasses off my bedside table. I put them on, grabbed my phone off the floor, and shuffled my way into my kitchen. It had been three weeks since Peter and I had taken down Toomes, and Tony and Pepper were home for a while to plan their wedding.

I made myself a bagel with green onion and chives cream cheese, wolfed it down in about five seconds, and went back into my room to get ready for Peter and my date. We were gonna go to the cemetery in the morning to visit my parents, then we were gonna go to lunch and the movies. After I got home from that, I planned on heading straight down to the basement and work on my suit. Tony and I had been playing around with it since Peter turned him down, and all I had left to do was recolor it. The biggest problem was hiding it from Pepper, who thought it was unnecessary and just a waste of time and energy right now.

After I did my hair and makeup (I didn't put much effort in, but enough), I got dressed in high-waisted skinny jeans, a school sweatshirt I had cut into a crop top, and my high top Vans. I put my wallet, phone, keys, and web shooters in my mini backpack and made my way downstairs, where I found Tony sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee. "What are you going up so early?" I asked, making him look at the stairs. "It's eight in the morning."

"Al, I haven't gotten a decent night of sleep since Manhattan," he said. "What are you doing up?"

"Sun woke me up, so I decided to get ready to go out."

"Ah. Hot date with Peter, huh?"

"Yeah, after visiting the cemetery. It's been exactly five years since my dad died, so we're gonna go visit him and my mom first. I wanted to leave something at the grave."

"What are you planning on leaving?"

I pulled a small black box out of my backpack. I opened it and revealed a necklace with a charm on it that looked like a small replica of a large, intricate sword. "It's Hofund, or the Bifrost sword," I explained. "It's what Heimdall, the keeper of the Bifrost from Norse mythology, used as a weapon. My dad was always obsessed with Norse mythology, especially the Bifrost."

"It's beautiful, but you know they're gonna remove it after a day or two, right?"

"I know. I just want it close to him for a while. I'll probably wear it as soon as the guard removes it and gives it back."

Tony smiled a little. "I wish I could have met your dad. He seems like a really great guy."

"He was, but I don't know much about his family. I know he was adopted, and that his adopted brother is in jail for his murder. I know his birth family is from another country, which is why I never met them. I know I have his blond hair and blue eyes, which he said his biological brother has as well. I know he took my mom's last name because, according to him, it was the first time in his life that he had gotten to choose what was best for him. And I know that I have his drive to always help people."

"Maybe we should try and find some stuff about your dad. Help fill in some of the blanks."

"I've tried, and I can't find anything. No birth records, no adoption papers, nothing. It's as if my dad didn't exist until he went to medical school."

"Your dad was a doctor?"

"Yeah, a neurosurgeon. One of the best."

"What about his coworkers? Did you ever meet any of them."

I looked down at the coffee table. "Yeah, one of them is actually one of my godfathers."

"Ask him about your dad."