![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
closed action starters ][ deerington
mostly for when it's too late to post to an event log
or when a tdm prompt that i like comes up
mostly for when it's too late to post to an event log
or when a tdm prompt that i like comes up
mostly for when it's too late to post to an event log
or when a tdm prompt that i like comes up
for precious sweet sunshine mcu peter parker;
[ gwen is not a party person, she's really not. back home, mary jane would get her to go out to after parties, sometimes, after a gig or whatever, but that's usually the only circumstance that could get her to go to a big, crowded party. yet here she is, a couple drinks in, so she's feeling- good? that's interesting. usually she's strung up on a little social anxiety when the party hits this point, everybody a little rowdy and louder and- but-
no, she actually feels good.
she's managed to stay on the outskirts most of the time, mostly just hoping to see some familiar faces, even if she really doesn't want any of her friends showing up here. but she's selfish, hopeful, for a long time throughout the party. anyway, of course she doesn't see anybody from home. it's for the best. luckily ( or whatever ), the champagne put her in such a good mood, it doesn't seem to bother her much.
when the countdown starts, she's already switched gears and started to look for people from here she actually knows. more than a couple people, which is strange to think about, but someone in particular that she's known since day one. he might not even be here, she's sure parties aren't his scene.
six, five, four...
she's one of the only few people still moving around the crowd instead of standing still and snuggling up close with someone else, but she doesn't seem to care. what's the point of even being here if she doesn't say hi to at least one of her friends. c'mon. she can manage that before she leaves for the night.
three, two
aha! there he is.
one!
now, it's just a crazy random happenstance that she finds him just when he's leaning in to kiss someone, but that's happening. and the feeling in her gut isn't exactly jealousy, but it's- something. not great. it's dark. and quickly escalating into something way worse. normally she'd feel it coming, she'd recognize the signs. but there's a split second where she's just feeling shocked and a little flustered, and then she's
kind of furious
it doesn't make sense, but for some reason she can't see that. all she can feel is that sensation like she's being sucked under a current and can't pull herself out, and then she's there. dark eyes and a defensive stance. her symbiote taking over for just a second. at least, she thinks that's what this is.
she doesn't realize she's moving towards him until her hand is gripped too hard in the back of his shirt and she's yanking him away, dragging him a few steps back, and then shoving him hard, trying to get him on the ground. she doesn't think about his spider-sense, doesn't think about anything at all except the urge, the need, to hurt him. there's no motivation this time, nothing spurring gwenom on to justify all of this. she's just angry, and it's all focused on him.
it's just a bad coincidence that she's dragged them right near the table full of weapons, her eyes scanning over everything before she finds a particularly brutal looking knife. not usually her style, who needs a weapon when you have brute force on your side? but something in her wants to see him bleed.
it's like a bad horror movie, the way she's looking over the knife then moving closer to loom over him, and she can't even be bothered to quip about it. she can't. it's pretty damn obvious this isn't really gwen, but it's dark on the dance floor, so who knows if he can really see the look on her face, the fact that her eyes aren't- hers. they're inky black with a reddish glow, far from anything remotely normal. she's just coming after him with a knife and not even bothering to explain why.
so, that's cool. ]
here we go
-- wha -?
[ He's got almost zero time to think, running entirely on instinct and adrenaline at this point, and his hands go up to shield him, wrists pointed upwards. Sorry Big Pete, but this is kind of a life or death situation and he can't not use his powers if he's going to get out of this situation in one piece - and hopefully get everyone else out of here safely.
Someone get help! a voice cries from somewhere behind him, but Peter's focusing his attention on his attacker whom he (unfortunately) recognizes immediately. He webslings that knife out of her hand so it sticks to the ceiling, out of reach. ]
Gwen. [ He swallows. ] Gwen, that is you, right? I can help you. I can - just let me know what I can do. We don't have to do this.
[ Whatever this is.
He really doesn't want to have to web her up. ]
no subject
[ see, in any other context, seeing peter use his webshooters would have been exciting, she would have been kind of flattered that he's trusting her with his secret, and happy that he's his world's version of spider-man. that he's not at risk of being in the same situation her peter was. but in this, she's just too mad to read into it as any other way than him keeping a secret from her, like he lied to her about something. which isn't.. true, of course it's not. but here we are.
she growls her frustration over losing her weapon so quickly, but she doesn't seem too concerned about it, just annoyed ]
You can't help me. You can't even help yourself.
[ her reflexes are quick too, aiming a web at his ankle to try and keep him stuck right there at her feet, and yeah, that would be gwen stepping forward and attempting to stomp down on his chest, and sliding it up to push against his throat. she doesn't even look that phased by it, just determined as hell to hurt him. ]
no subject
He shifts his gaze to their surroundings, mostly looking for a way out of this without hurting her, but also to make sure that the party-goers have left. And yeah, most of them have left the room by now, a chaotic herd headed for the exit doors to leave them to their fight - solo. ]
Gwen, stop! [ He tries to swallow but she's got her foot at his throat. ] This isn't you!
[ Or is it? Who knows? How well does Peter really know Gwen? ]
no subject
or.. not, because one of the last stragglers in the crowd bumps into her on the way out, and luckily for peter she steps out instead of her weight shifting on the foot over his neck. and now she's distracted too, turning to properly punch the hell out of the poor idiot who crashed into her. hard enough to knock him out, sending him crumpling to the floor. which is also kind of satisfying, and it's got her distracted for a long moment, but her attention gets brought back to peter soon enough ]
Where were we-?
[ rhetorical question! she drops to crouch next to him, her hand shooting out to try and grab his neck this time, maybe. unless he's got some annoying plan to get out of this. she isn't really thinking any steps ahead, she's just obsessed with the need to hurt him. ]
no subject
Fool me once and all that - Peter seizes the opportunity presented to him to slip out from Gwen's grasp, rolling away and getting to his knees in a similar crouch, some paces away from her.
His eyes flick briefly to where the party guest had been left beaten and unconscious. He's not moving, which is a little concerning, but he'll check on him later. He hates that he's completely exposed here, naked without his mask or his familiar spider-suit. It's Peter Parker with spider powers, not Spider-Man. ]
I'm not - [ Ugh. This sucks. ] - I'm not gonna ask you again, Gwen. You've gotta stop this. You've gotta snap out of it!
no subject
What're you gonna do, Pete? Fight back? Everyone will see what you're doing, everyone will know your secret. [ she knows it means something to him, where her own secret identity doesn't mean much for here anymore. meanwhile, yeah, the whole symbiote thing she definitely wanted to keep under wraps, but that doesn't seem to matter to her right now either. she darts for him, but it seems kiiind of like a cat playing with a mouse. nothing too intense. but also still mega frickin' rude ]
no subject
[ Okay. That cuts a little deep, which reminds him that Gwen knows a hell of a lot more about him than he does about her. That imbalance had never bothered him much, especially now that he's beginning to accept the fact that there may be an infinite number of worlds out there, each with a spider-person of their own, but at this very moment in time? It kinda smarts a little knowing that she's got this on him, and she's using it like a weapon. A very effective one at that.
Peter leaps up, aiming his webshooters for her limbs to slow her down with a quick release of webbing - thwip thwip thwip! - while his feet stick to the ceiling. ]
You treated your Peter like this back home?
no subject
he brings up peter and a fresh wave of anger hits her, something almost a little genuine beneath this brainwashed version of herself, and it's enough that she doesn't even say anything, ripping through his webbing quicker than she might normally be able to with just her normal powers and not this like- mega-evolution of gwenom on her side. she yells as she shoots both of her webs at him, but it's not just webbing that moves towards him, there's also a stretch of black that follows the path, her symbiote reaching for him too, intent on ripping him down from the ceiling and slamming him onto the floor ]
You don't get to talk about our Peter!
[ oh. sup, gwenom. ]
no subject
Apparently? Nothing good.
Peter manages to push off the ceiling, using the momentum in his legs to dodge the attack - what the hell was that?! - and land on his feet behind her. He sends another blast of webbing, kind of wishing Karen was around right now, but no - it's just him, it's just his analogue webshooters here, to tie her arms down to her sides, moving around her with as much speed as he can afford himself. ]
Okay, okay. [ Thwip! Thwip! ] So your Peter's off-limits. Fine. [ Thwip! ] But what did I do to get you so mad at me?
no subject
Does there always have to be a reason? Maybe I just want you dead. Sorry, pumpkin. [ so she can't get near him with him moving around so much, that's fine. she'a taking another look at that table of weapons, where most of the stuff is already gone, but there's still some goods left. she shoots a web and whips one of them back to her hand - a machete! it's short, but pretty lethal looking. she can work with this. especially because it makes it easy to cut through the lines of web he's managed to land, and ] No more games.
[ she moves faster than before, now literally just sprinting for him. and sure, bigger weapon means he has a bigger target to try and hit, but she's ready for it now, the blade out at her side until she thinks she's close enough to take a swipe at him, aiming across his torso, or at his arm if he tries to actually shoot her with more webs. she's almost- rabid. out of control. it really is a shame he doesn't know her well enough to see through it yet. ]
no subject
A lot less afraid.
Not unafraid, obviously, because this is seriously terrifying, but less so. At least until her movements become quicker, frenzied, almost harder to track were it not for his spider-abilities, because then he's just trying hard not to lose his cool. ]
Don't you know that thing's super outdated?
[ He mostly manages to dodge the swipes at him, but he's a little slow to miss the swipe at his arm when he aims another line of webbing at her. The machete cuts easily through the fabric of his shirt, drawing a line of blood from his skin.
Ugh. Crapcrapcrap.
He pulls back fast enough not to lose his arm. ]
Can we just put down the big murder blades and have a normal conversation?
no subject
[ no, apparently, they can't.
she actually laughs when she catches his arm, like it's thrilling, that she hurt him, and man oh man she's going to feel hideous about this when it's all over. but for now she's just continuing to pursue him, only looking beyond him for a split second to see where they're at, where she can corner him. they're close to the edge of the ballroom, which is good. she can trap him there, if he doesn't realize just how close they are. the problem, though, is that they're also right by the door. but so what if he wants to take this outside? she's got her webshooters, and venom. trapping him won't be a problem.
she's just not ready to give up the chase yet ]
no subject
[ Peter isn't too sure what he should be doing from here, because the webbing isn't working, and he's only (unsurprisingly) angering her further with his provocations, and he can't go on forever, but a room with her choice of weapons might not be working for him.
Of course, there's the town which is full of people so that's a no-go, but where else could he lead her to? The forest? There's a wooded area, he knows that from his time camping out there ... maybe he could make sure that they take this fight away from any possibility of anyone getting caught in the crossfire. And then he'll figure the rest out as he goes.
It's not a great plan, but he's never fought a friend possessed before, and he's never fought whatever the thing is possessing her either.
He flits and hops around her, shooting his webs, low-key herding her towards the exit doors without making it obvious. ]
You sure you don't wanna take a break? I'm feeling kinda thirsty, myself!
no subject
[ she's shooting webs of her own, but they're not so much at him as her just trying to predict where he might step next, trying to trip him up. they're getting close to the doors, which she only half realizes, but all she can think about is if they're outside and she needs to swing to get to him, she'll need both of her hands. so with another growl she throws her weapon at him, hard, ready to burst through those doors if that's where he leads her ]
C'mon, Spider-Man, fight us.
no subject
[ Okay, to the doors they go -
He leaps up - back towards the ceiling - and dodges the very sharp, very deadly projectile coming straight for him, half-watching the way it pings off the wall, and falls away somewhere close by.
But as he dodges, he quickly shoots another line of webbing and catches it with the other hand like an acrobat. He bends his legs and then kicks at the exit doors with as much of his strength as he can muster, practically launching himself towards them like a cannon-ball. They practically explode open, allowing the cool winter air to quickly fill the space of the dance room.
Out he goes, not wasting any time. ]
Hey, you ever heard that really old nursery rhyme about the Gingerbread Man?
1/2
the cold air doesn't do anything for her, she's more focused on making sure both of her webshooters are fired up so that as soon as she gets out into the open space outside of the venue she can-
she...
can...
what was she doing? what is she doing?
the symbiote is still there, crawling dark over her features, but she more or less stumbles to a stop, tripping up. like she just walked through some kind of mist left as a trap by mysterio. or maybe like walking out of that kind of mist. she drops down to her knees, mostly because she can't breathe. she can't even really see straight.
oh, god. ]
no subject
[ her eyes squeeze shut as she uses one hand to pat down her pockets, trying to remember where she put her phone. her headphones. she knows she has them, she always carries them, just in case. but her hands are shaking and she can't catch her breath and she can't really figure out how to calm down enough to just get her damn headphones on so she can play her music and shut gwenom out. it's the only way she knows how to control it.
but it's been so long since this has happened to her, over a year, and she's panicking, for sure. she can't even remember what happened, what she just did. all she knows is that there's still a cloud over her vision, making the world seem dark, and scary, and this isn't- her.
what happened? what did she do?
she hears footsteps, distant, but she knows her senses are all haywire if the symbiote is translating it all for her. she waves a hand out, voice trembling ]
--Get away, I'm fine, please don't-
no subject
It's got him dialing back towards the place he'd escaped from with cautious steps, his sleeve still torn, a stain of red speckled along the jagged hem of the fabric. The cut itself looks as though it's already begun to heal, skin stitching back together in an angry line, but otherwise he looks a little tired but not hurt.
He's careful not to make any sudden movements, and he's braced for another trick, in case this is a trick, approaching at a safe distance from where Gwen is collapsed to her knees. ]
Run, run as fast as you can. [ He says slowly, without too much feeling, like he's reciting a line from a paper. ] You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man.
[ He stops before he can get too close, fingers still at the ready of his webshooters. If she's still possessed, it's not safe to stay here. ]
That's how it goes.
no subject
except that it is happening, or it already happened, and this is her brain catching up in the aftermath. but the aftermath of what? she peeks back behind her, trying to see where she came from, and the way the doors behind her are burst open shows that yeah, okay. she just left there. but why can't she remember? usually, with gwenom, she remembers what she did, even if she was just there for the ride, watching in horror. but this is... different.
and that muffled voice is definitely peter's. which.. should be comforting. but it's not. at all. she doesn't scramble away, but she moves to sit on her butt, moving back away from him a bit, eyes squinted like she's relearning her spider-senses again ]
What? [ what. not just that she can't hear him clearly, but what the hell is he talking about? her head hurts. the reality of things will click, eventually. she's not really looking at him yet, doesn't notice his hands ready to shoot, how defensive he looks. she's still processing, still so damn mad, and she doesn't know why ] We- [ focus. her teeth are gritted tight. ] You need to get away from me, we're not- I'm not- [ the symbiote isn't reaching out, but it's still moving over her skin, like it's trying to figure out what to do. or trying to fight against gwen's determination to push it away. ]
no subject
[ Something about her voice sounds different, more Gwen than whatever it had morphed into before while spewing death threats in his direction. It doesn't have him releasing any of the tension keeping his shoulders taut, or his hands braced on his webshooters, but it's something.
He latches onto it. ]
Is this like, a Deerington thing?
[ It's a pretty valid question, on account of stranger, more nightmarish things happening in the past months. Maybe she ate something weird at the party, or she touched the wrong person, or she smelled the wrong flower. ]
Are we ready to stop the 'murder your friend Peter' train here?
no subject
[ it was obviously not nothing.
when gwen finally looks up at him she's still squinting, a little, her eyes not as dark as before, but it's still there, just a touch. that red glow hasn't faded out. the inky black spiders are sliding out of view though, clearing her face, making her clothes look normal again.
murder your friend peter makes her look more than a little horrified, though ]
No. [ she already did that once. oh, god. stop, brain. stop. c'mon. focus. peter's right there in front of her. not- not that peter, her mind isn't playing tricks. but. ] I mean, yes. No. I'm not- Did I hurt you? [ she tries to get to her feet but it's slow going, even as her heart hammers in her chest. ] Tell me we didn't- I didn't hurt you, I'm-
[ she's having a this moment, her peaked emotions giving gwenom something to feed on even while she tries to gain back control. it's a mess. oh, god, peter wasn't supposed to ever, ever see this side of her ]
It's not a Deerington thing, Peter, I'm so sorry- What happened? What happened?
no subject
[ With a little more light, it's easier now to see the thing that had possessed her slowly start to fade away. He remains wary, of course, he's no dummy, but his questions are for Gwen now; they're for Gwen again.
He studies her from where he's standing, rooted to the spot. ]
After what just happened, you can't really expect me to believe that that was nothing.
no subject
she finally braces her hands on the ground so she can pick herself up, and it's getting easier to chill out. sort of. easier to push the symbiote to the back of her mind again, at least, and her face doesn't look so different anymore. her eyes are wet, but she's not really crying. just- overwhelmed. her eyes drop to his sleeve almost right away though, the red stained there ]
Did I hurt you?
[ she asks again, because that's- unacceptable, and unforgivable, and she takes two steps towards him before she stops herself, hands out at her sides. oh, god. ]
You probably didn't do anything. I mean, it's not your fault. No matter what just happened, it wasn't your fault, okay? [ she thinks back to her miiiild freak-out when she met the other peter parker, how her emotions got the best of her, jumped to threat and liar instead of friend. maybe something- no. she never just forgets what made the symbiote so mad it could take over like that. ]
no subject
[ Peter refuses to believe that the aggressive creature is somehow Gwen. It's too ... different, too alien somehow.
He doesn't move, even still, even when Gwen takes two steps forward before pausing, herself. But he wants to go to her for some reason; he wants to be there for his friend. He's just got a few too many questions (and some prior experience) not to play it cautious for now. ]
no subject
[ she can't take her eyes off of his arm, though. the blood stained on his shirt. god. ]
I was bitten, that wasn't a lie. But someone took my abilities, and this- thing was the only way I could get them back. And normally, we're fine. It's fine. But if something makes me feel really mad, or really sad, it- reacts. Everything kind of blurs. [ she's babbling, looking down at her hands ] We've never lost control like that. I don't think it was- [ she's looking around now though, finally putting some pieces together ] Where did everyone-? Is this because of me? Did I attack anyone else? [ people are sitting outside, cradling injuries. most people left behind just look really freaked out. ] This isn't- normal, whatever this was. We always remember.
[ gwen stop saying "we" ]
no subject
Did you always have that thing? I mean, that sounds like a very Deerington-specific thing. And like ... yeah, I know we don't really know each other that well but -
[ 'But I don't remember you ever going full on Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho on me' is what he thankfully doesn't say. But he thinks it! Sort of. Well, he thinks it before he feels bad about it, and keeps his mouth tightly sealed. ]
I don't think you hurt anyone else, no. I mean, I know you didn't, so - like. It's okay, Gwen. It's okay. It's over now.
no subject
[ stupid and dangerous, yeah. he folds his arms and she looks away finally, and she still feels so on edge, like her nerves are raw and sensitive. it's- a lot. telling peter about this is a lot. she never wanted to tell anybody about it here. or back home, either. she told her closest friends and her dad but that was it. nobody had to know about the symbiote, or how it gave her her powers back. but- there's that. and no, she doesn't know this peter that well, but luckily she knows in her gut that she can trust him with it.
and it's not okay, especially if this place can mess with her control over it, but she doesn't have it in her to argue with him about it. she pushes a hand through her hair, which just makes her bangs kind of messy, but whatever. whhaaaatever. ]
I don't- I wanna stay here and help, but I don't think I can go back in there. There's something really messed up about that room. [ based on two very very different encounters she's had now, yikes. but it's obvious she doesn't want to just leave, it goes against every bit of her that wants to help people ] I should go. I can't risk it.
no subject
At least to some degree. There really is something unsettling about that room, about the whole party that'd occurred, about the loss of control in there. But he doesn't have a ... a symbiote? Is that what Gwen called it? Yeah, he doesn't have one of those things bonded to him, so between the two of them, maybe he's in better shape to help.
He nods. ]
It's okay. [ He repeats. ] I got this, you just - just go home and like, take a breather.
[ She knows who he is now, and they're probably gonna have to touch base on that, but - for now, it'd be good to do the hero-thing. It's familiar. And in the weirdest way, safe. ]
no subject
for sweet but not as sunshiney maybe slightly overcast ps4 peter parker;
there's actually some strange ( seriously strange, why isn't she questioning this? ) part of her that kind of wants to go grab one of those dance card numbers and see who it pairs her with. but luckily!
she notices somebody crawling on the ceiling.
like a weirdo.
she finishes off the last little bit of her drink ( and someone is right there ready to refill it, wow ) then tips her head back again to watch him up there, not really actively trying to get his attention, but maybe she's just waiting to see how long it takes him to notice her there. it's dark though, in a party kind of way, so she's not even 100% sure she's making eye contact with him when she finally gives him a wave, but that's okay.
everything's awesome, pete! why patrol on the awesome party? he's like- it's like a-
peter parker party pooper patrol. hah. ]
no subject
Heya, Gwennie the Pooh—!
Wow, wait a sec. Just how many of those drinks have you had?
[He doesn't sound scolding. Quite the opposite; he sounds humored.
It's good to see her actually having a good time, you know? Spider-People can fluctuate so easily in mood, he wonders if it's like... a part of the radiation. Yup, totally the reason he laid in bed and sulked around during Christmas. Now, though... he has to admit, the atmosphere in here is actually nice.]
no subject
[ oh god she sounds downright chipper. but yeah- it's a party! it's nice. maybe just being around so many people having such a good time is good for her. maybe. for once? ]
I think I've decided that I'm okay with you calling me Gwennie, Spider-Man. It's official, now that I've heard it tested out in the real world. Nickname approved. [ she even gives him a thumbs up, because she's kind of been constantly grinning since he dropped in front of her, so. it's not like she can smile more. thumbs up! but then she's tilting her head a bit, brow furrowing ] Are you seriously patrolling right now? Is that how anti-party you are? I mean, I usually am too, don't get me wrong, but c'mon! There's games, and dancing, and they're giving out free candy over th- Oh.
[ okay, good mood or not, saying that out loud actually makes it sound sketchy ]
Okay, that's actually probably bad candy. We're not going to eat the candy, and we should look into the free candy. [ but she'll drink more champagne??????? ] But you should totally have a drink. Relax a little. It looks like everything's pretty fine here. For once.
no subject
Huh.
Well, as long as you're all enjoying yourselves...! But hey, I'm not anti-party! I'm just... you know. Making sure nothing weird happens. So everyone can have a good time! That's my job, making sure people get to party without inhibitions.
[... Note to self, check the candy.
Maybe he's a smidge paranoid about anything in Deerington.
And hey, even back home, the last party he was at ended in really big trouble.]
no subject
[ oh, peter parker, taking on the responsibility of- the whole world and everything ever. it's fine. she has her webshooters on her wrists, ready to rumble, so. yeah. she gets it. however, he took her drink and is inspecting it, so that gets him a look. ]
Next time I'll suit up, so you can be- you. And enjoy the party. Deal?
[ she's reaching up to take her glass back thank you very much but she doesn't seem too ruffled about him taking it to begin with ]
Which will probably be- what? [ think think ] Valentines. Aw. [ aw?! gwen does not say aw ] I'm okay with suiting up for Valentines Day. I don't want to think about how this place could turn the lovey-dovey holiday of shmoopery into a horror show.
[ SO SHE WON'T. she's not too concerned about anything right now. ]
no subject
[Not that he sounds particularly concerned yet; as long as nobody's getting killed, he'll just deal with whatever comes their way. Makes him sad he can't use the subsystem in his spider mask, that helps him get a read on things...
Stupid Deerington. Note to self, get that working again.
He cocks his head to the side and relents, though.]
Alright, alright. Deal, though. Party-time Peter, totally on reserve. [He looks up at the New Years counter nearby — not much longer now, actually. And that leaves him wondering aloud-] I wonder if Deerington's going to pull any weird stuff this holiday, too; it's uuusually the town M.O.
1/2
[ he's really not being a party pooper at all, but it's fun to tease him anyway. there'd be shoulder bumping going on if he wasn't hanging from a web right now. which looks a little funny, she's realizing, as people keep turning their heads to do a double-take as they walk by. but it's kind of great? okay, everything seems great right now, but the next person that looks back at them to make sure they actually saw what they saw gets a little wave and a ]
-- Just thanking him for helping me get down from a really tall tree the other day. I climbed too high. Crazy, huh? The hero we all deserve, right? Spider-Man's the best, tell your friends-
[ they're already gone before she even finishes, but she thought it was amusing. the girl wandering off makes her realize that everyone is heading towards the front of the room, the giant countdown clock ticking down the seconds until the new year. not low enough for the room to start shouting numbers yet, but close. and then Peter says that ]
Dude, you can't say that out loud, you're going to jinx it. Maybe the monsters are having their own fiesta, and they won't have time to ruin our fun. [ she snaps with her free hand, then takes another big sip of her drink ] That's what I'm going with.
[ she's giving him another big grin before she's interrupted by the shouts of people counting down, and it's- it's interesting. peter's like, right there already, she's standing close because it's easier to talk over the music that way, but she's suddenly feeling kind of antsy about it. like he's too far away now? she knows it doesn't make sense.
8, 7, 6, 5..
she finishes off her drink, and luckily everyone ( including the waiters wandering around ) is too distracted by the time to rush to refill her glass, so she just moves to put it down on the table behind her. however, she's so damn caught up in- whatever she's feeling that she doesn't even notice that she misses the table, and the glasses shatters with a cute tinkling sound on the floor. whatever. it's fine.
4, 3, 2..
oh, whoa, there's peter. is he lower now? he seems a little lower. but that's actually really okay. it's perfect. he's exactly where he needs to be. ..whatever that means.
1! ]
no subject
oh, okay.
gwen doesn't have a lot of experience in this department, technically speaking, but it clicks into place all at once, what exactly it is she needs to be doing right now, why she feels so jittery and why she needs peter to be right there. and it's tough because peter's got his mask on and she knows he needs to keep it on as long as he's wearing the suit, but he's right there and if she's wrong he can stop her but she's really, very sure she's not wrong about what needs to happen right now. which is why she feels perfectly comfortable reaching up to peel his mask down ( up, depending on how you think about it ), just enough so she can kiss him.
and you'd think it might be weird or tricky, kissing someone that's upside down, but it's not actually. she doesn't seem too concerned about it, anyway. the logistics. she just knows she needs to keep kissing him, that's all. even her spider-sense is just a dull thrum in the back of her mind ( probably all the violence that struck around the same time as her urge to kiss him ) compared to the frantic need for a good make-out sesh with her friend. this is probably normal. ]
no subject
His spider senses don't alert him to the glass, because it's not like he gets a memo for everything that breaks — but as it smashes, he looks to it with a huff.]
Okay, you're totally lying about the... uh... the...
[Whoa. Whoa?! Wait, she's peeling his mask down. There's a kneejerk panic at being seen without it, and if he could bring himself to speak up, he'd — well, he'd make sure to set her straight on what a no-no that is. But she doesn't take off the mask. She just reveals a pair of slightly parted lips that belong to a clearly confused spider-guy. But by the time her lips are meeting his, it kind of just... washes away. This is nice. Really, really nice. What was he going on about in his head a minute ago? He couldn't tell ya.
What he does instead is bow his neck back a little so it's easier to kiss her.
Which. That's what he wants? And he knows he still is pining for MJ, and that he hadn't really looked at Gwen like that even if she's pretty, and he's really not here for this kind of thing — but he would love to keep kissing her, y'know? It feels better than anything he's done the last two months. Maybe longer than that. It's like he's been waiting for it. That kind of touch, where you feel like you're not quite alone, and everything's okay?
Oh, his mind is buzzing.
(This isn't... a good... idea...)
(Yeah it is.
Under the same interesting effects, Peter forgets everything else for a moment; he reaches to cradle the back of her head, gloved fingers lacing into her hair, and helps keep them connected as he presses his lips back into hers and closes his eyes behind the mask. (This isn't good.) Yes it is. (It's the town doing it.) Who cares? (This is gonna make things really awkward later!) It sure will, but oh well.
Everyone around them shouts and cheers in their own little worlds, as he's in his with her, and it's frankly a relief. He pulls his lips back from hers, now shiny, and seems unsure of what to even say.]
Um.
Happy new year?
[This is your suave choice in kissing partner, Gwen.
Whether you wanted it or totally absolutely not.]
no subject
but kissing peter parker is so awesome.
( no, it's not )
oh, it definitely is. she's sure it is. he's a great kisser, and his lips are just really kissable, how did she not notice that until just now? this is great. god, she didn't realize she actually missed kissing someone, but she totally has. wow. she'll have to unpack that later.
( there's going to be a LOT to unpack later, idiot )
shhh.
peter breaks the kiss but gwen's still up on her toes a bit, not totally willing to move away just yet. it's not suave, but it's sweet, and gwen ends up smiling ]
Yeah. You, too. [ a beat. did she want it? that was an interesting question. something she still isn't totally in the right mind to figure out just yet ] We should go somewhere.
[ we should go somewhatnow? this place is really loud all of a sudden, okay, and she's not done with this whole kissing peter thing. that's a thing she wants to do more of. but not here, and not with peter's nose smushed under the mask where it's bunched up, and with people yelling and her spider-sense freaking out like a mild headache. ugh. so many inconveniences. like the two guys who just crashed into the table she tried to put her glass on before. can they not? she's still got her eyes on peter ( ok, his mouth, just his mouth ) when she reaches a hand out to shoot two, three webs in their direction. no finesse, but now they're just squirming around instead of actively trying to hurt each other. see? she can still be a good superhero even while wanting to make out with somebody. she's totally got this. ]
no subject
Yeah! [He doesn't even look as he also webs someone to a wall. What? They had a machete. They could really poke their own eye out, and that'd ruin the moment. Also, their eyesight. Which even in his foggy brain is a big concern.] I mean yes. Yes, let's get outta here.
[It's been a long while since he's 'gone somewhere' with someone else in some romantic way. But that's not important to dwell on. He clasps her hands and looks at the door. He licks his lips, backing up a little in his head.] I mean, if you want to, I'd like to. Too. Kinda noisy in here.
[(WHAT ARE YOU DOING, PETER BENJAMIN PARKER.)
Her hand in his, Spider-Kisser starts leading them out and to the door, casually webbing and tripping and side-stepping the more violent hoards of people in here. Maybe they should hang out on the roof; nice and quiet up on the roof; but it's just kissing, right? Totally just make-outs. Nothing else! Right? Right. This isn't weird, not weird at all. Not even an inkling of it being off crosses his mind.
How annoying, he'll think, way later.
It wouldn't be his first time he's coasting under a villainous influence, but this is just downright mean of Deerington.]
1/2
[ she brightens when he says he wants to leave too, because yes, awesome. there's too many loud people in here. who keep like, coming after them. which is absolutely unacceptable - spider-kisser is her kissing buddy, they need to accept that and back off. but they're holding hands now, sooo, she's pretty sure the message is clear. she doesn't seemed really worried about it anyway. their hands might even be swinging a little bit between them as they web people who happen to fight too close to them, or worse, actually try to attack them directly. rude, much? most people just get webbed, but those people get kicked and webbed. it's much worse.
when she gets shoved from the side she almost immediately turns to web them up too, but it sent her stumbling into peter, who still has a very kissable mouth, and she's totally distracted all over again. like an idiot.
they're so damn close to the door it's actually kind of comical, but gwen is taking it upon herself to pause their forward momentum, for just a second, to reach up to hook her finger in the collar of his costume and pull him in for another kiss.
just a little one, though.
well, it starts that way.
she at least starts to step backwards, towards the door, even while she keeps kissing him.
there isn't a strong enough word for the amount of embarrassing guilt she's going to feel in about seven seconds, but for now she's riding the high of this, too. she feels good. she's felt good all night, but now it's better because she's sharing it with somebody that means a lot to her.
her back finally bumps into something and she pauses, smiling into the kiss and catching his lip between her teeth before she rests back against the door just to look up at him for a moment. and to shoot someone nearby in the face with a web. but honestly, above all the other crap going on around them, whatever that's about, she kind of likes the feeling of being between peter parker and the solid surface of the door behind her. in a totally dirty way, she won't lie. sorry, between peter parker in spandex and the solid surface of the door behind her. yeah. important distinction.
but eventually she gets moving again, uses her butt to open it behind her, pulling him along with her with a laugh ]
yup that's it that's the second part
t
e............................ ]
1/2
He nearly whines in complaint when she butts the door open too literally, lurching forward into the cold air outside—]
no subject
He's not even. Sure. What to say. What should he say? Oh, god.
Um.
Uh— He opens his mouth? Tries words? No words, okay, nevermind, no words. Improvise. What does Spider-Man do when he has no words? Is that even a thing that happens?
Gwen, say something. You first. C'mon.]
... Oh.
[Oh.
Oh, shit.]
no subject
what just happened? how could she let that happen?
it's around now that she realizes she's still holding peter's hand, he gives her an oh and she slowly slips her fingers out from his. she just looks shocked, still. until- she's not. she blinks a couple times, full-on stammering- ]
I, um- That- Wuh-
[ shit, since when can't she find words? it's the mental whiplash, that's all, it's going from the giddy excitement of- a PARTY, right, the party, to this. to hearing screams and yelling when a second ago she really didn't hear anything at all, too caught up in her own head and peter's mmmnothing let's not think about that.
her hand moves again, but it's not to take his back- she's touching the mask, just kind of pawing at it while she stares at him because she still can't piece together when their conversation led to full on making out. it feels like it just- happened. how? not that she hated it-
oh god, gwen, focus. ]
Your mask, Pete. [ nobody's out here with them yet, but when her eyes move past him to see what's going on back in that room, that distracted pawing turns into a full hey, hey, hey pat on his hand, his arm, then his shoulder while she moves by him ]
--ohmygod- [ she's going to give herself physical whiplash, with the way she keeps looking between peter and the room they just left. but she's honestly torn - she needs to fix this, whatever just happened with peter they need to talk about it and figure out what the hell happened and fix it because that- wasn't- they should not have- but there's people screaming in rage in the ballroom so ] We- Later. Later? [ she's touching her wrists to turn on her webshooters, walking backwards because she needs to talk to him, right, she can't just run back in there without saying something ] I mean, not [ here's a vague gesture back and forth between the two of them ] -not that again later. I meant talk later. [ wow ] Thrilling heroics now, talk later. Right.
[ her expression definitely shifts into yes, i'm aware i sound like an idiot, let's just pretend i don't, please? real fast before she turns back around, running back into the fray. and of course, the intention was to team up with spider-man and help keep all those people in there safe from each other. however! she runs in there and she gets hit with the worst level of kill-kill-kill this place can throw at her, and she starts off without looking back. so.
that's cool. ]
no subject
That was fucked up, Deerington.
He's going to do his best not to focus on what just happened and get everyone roped up and out of harm's way. In a way, it's almost a good thing that people are going bonkers, since it gives them something to do! Right? Right? Okay no, it's not good, it's a mess, this is a mess. Time to swing, swing, thwip, no quips actively available; heroics now, talk later. Much later, after he melts into the earth to die a horrible, embarrassed death.
As Gwen vanishes into the fray and his lower lip aches and his spider senses warn him of a flying hammer, he can only think—]
Hello, 2019.