Arc Three. Chapter Seventy-Eight. Legal Aid

The rest of the day had gone much better.

Peter laughed and started on breakfast, as Elektra had poured Matt a decent cup of coffee,

"You know, we've got a few clients that can actually pay in the warehouse as well. Like Gwen needs a lawyer for contract and patent work, Liv needs a good criminal lawyer, and MJ's starting to get parts. We can put a lot of legitimate work your way Matt." and Matt leaned back,

"Legitimate? Paying legitimate?" and Peter nodded and then gave himself an exasperated look and shook his head as he realised Matt couldn't see him,

"Sure. I mean, Felicia and I are the only ones who actually do bad stuff, well, Liv's a fugitive but she's just caught in a mess that's not her fault."

Matt raised an eyebrow as the warehouse filled with the smell of cooking bacon,

"Fugitive from what?" he asked, knowing if Peter was Venom she was probably on the run as well,

"Uh, Oscorp. Olivia Octavious." came a voice from her home. "And thank you, Peter, you might have discussed this with me before you made my presence known." and as she wheeled herself over to the breakfast table she stuck out a hand, failing to notice Matt's sunglasses.

Surprisingly Matt took and shook it, "Matthew Murdock, attorney at law. Nice to meet you, and I'm guessing you're the mad scientist that everyone's been screaming about in the news." and Liv just chuckled,

"Not so mad anymore dear." and as Peter leant over and kissed her she lightly batted him on the cheek. "Naughty, you will make amends for that dear, now, breakfast." and as she helped herself to a cup of coffee, Peter went back to cooking.

"So do you all?" Matt asked and Felicia shrugged, "Fight? No, just Pete and I, and the Black Cats are run by me. If you're my lawyer I will make sure you know everything, in fact. I still have Fisk's files to go through, if you want I can uh, maybe have some of the files disappear and arrive at a certain lawyers office. But it comes with a price. First, you leave me and the Cats alone, and second, Elektra, I want you to train Pete If you agree then we can maybe do that thing you asked about two years ago?"

Felicia was teasing her. She knew Elektra had made a hasty pass at her on her 18th, and as she was still pining for Gwen, she said no and never thought any more of it. It wasn't until Elektra had given her that look while talking about a payment she finally realised.

She remembered exactly how her first time with Peter went and until Elektra and Hades were bonded fully this would be the norm.

"Of course, we can just fight, and if you win, then I agree if I win, you train Pete."

Elektra laughed, "are you kidding? you do that, and I'll let you win on the mat as well." Felicia sat up, and raised both eyebrows at Elektra,

"Let me win?" she asked with a shocked look on her face, "I seem to remember I won at least 3 of those matches," and Elektra waved a hand at her

"Only as a way to keep my little kitties ego in check, we can't have you all pouty and frowny can we?" and Elektra laughed softly.

"Really?" and as Elektra lifted herself up she gave Felicia a small cheeky grin,

"Deal, but let's make it more interesting. We fight, and so there is no cheating, we get a referee." and Felicia nodded.

"Deal." and the pair shook before sitting back down, "Matt, want to watch us spar? Seems we have a few things to settle between us before anything moves forward," and Matt nodded

"I'd like to see those files, and the work sounds good as well, they are legit though, I don't want to suddenly find out there's more shady stuff going on,"

Peter laughed, "Gwen Stacy, Police Chief Goerge Stacy's daughter." and Matt shook his head as he drank the now much more palatable coffee,

"And she's fine with this?" and Peter shrugged,

"Ask her yourself, she'll be up once the bacon is done," and Felicia laughed as right on cue a sleepy and mussed looking Gwen, and a perfectly made-up MJ both walked out of her home. With Peter and Felicia out last night, and them both being alone they had spent the night together and as Matt took a breath he raised an eyebrow. Peter ignored him, the one thing most enhanced had was superior senses, and even he could smell that Gwen and MJ had taken comfort with each other last night, as usual, if Matt had an issue he could firmly but politely, fuck off.

"So uh, anyone wants to explain?" Gwen asked, grabbing a plate held by Peter and squeezing ketchup over the eggs and bacon. As the toaster popped she grabbed two slices and began to butter them as the group looked at each other," Well?" as she took a bite,

"Daredevil, Elektra." Felicia waved a butter knife between the pair, as Elektra buttered Matt's toast and made him a fresh coffee. "Huntress saved her so we have Hades as well. We got Fisk and his guys but there was a problem. Bullseye, a killer got the jump on us, and yeah, we killed him."

Gwen stared over at Felicia, who was busy buttering her own slices of toast, Peter was sliding it into a toast rack and sat it down in the middle of the table. MJ was just drinking coffee and shrugged,

"So nothing exciting then?" and as Gwen snorted, Peter laughed.

"Really?" Matt sighed, he could feel they were all like Elektra, the clothing they were wearing gave off the same feeling that she did, and he knew, other than Peter who was almost completely invisible to his senses, that they were all just as dangerous. They were all acting like kids though, as he sat and listened they chatted, bickered, teased one another and it was just like a normal breakfast he would share with Foggy. Matt leaned back as he realised.

"Uh, Elektra, do you have my phone?" and she patted his hand,

"I don't even have my phone, someone was in a rush and we left before I could grab it." while it seemed like she was balming Matt, the whole thing was her problem, as the first thing she did after breakfast was accost Matt in the shower where they had sex again, and then again. She had made him not just late to leave his apartment, but now late for work.

"It's just after 8," MJ said, checking her phone, she had an hour before her shift started, as did Gwen before college.

As the group ate, chatted and then split to head into various jobs, Peter cleaned up. As Felicia left with Matt and Elektra to head to Fisk's offices she stared at his back for just a moment. She knew from the slouch he wasn't okay. His usual bravado was covering something and once she was home again she would either beat or screw it out of him. She knew that keeping a defeat like that bottled up could eat away at someone's self-confidence, and Peter had already had enough problems with that.

After a tiring and boring day, going over and through piles of files, both electronic and paper Felica had enough of the day. Asking Liv where Peter was she just pointed up with a sigh and wheeled herself back into her home.

Felicia found him sitting on the edge of the warehouse, uncharacteristically for Peter, drinking.

"So, want to tell me what's up?" and as he moved over she cuddled up to him, "or gonna sit and mope around some more?"

Peter lifted the bottle and took a drink, offered it to her and she took a sip as well.

"Bullseye," and she frowned and sighed.

"It was him or you, no question, but what's bothering you? It's not like you haven't lost before, or-" and as he took a long drink he finished the bottle and popped the top from another. Looking behind him she saw this was his 4th.

"No, I want to never feel that stupid again. How do I tell MJ or Gwen I was so fucking dumb I almost got myself killed, or Aunt May? Bullseye played me like a tune and I let him. So much for being smart huh?" and as he drained the bottle he let out a loud belch.

"Yeah, that's attractive," and he looked guilty,

"Uh sorry."

"Nah, you're good. Look. Sit here and mope all you like. Pete. You fucked up, but you think I never fell off something, think I never got hurt? Get back up, train harder, try harder and yeah, next time, cut his stupid head off." and as she stood she looked over at him, "but yeah, don't tell Gwen, she'll really kill you," and he laughed.

As he looked at the empty bottles he knew it wasn't helping. He had grown used to fighting muggers and in the scheme of things, nobodies.

Bullseye was a killer, Aaron was an enforcer for a crime boss and he was just a high school student. If he wanted to play in their sandpit he needed to be more than just that. It was time to stop making excuses. It was either take this seriously or stop altogether, half-assing it would get him killed. The past day had proven that.

He could work with Liv and integrate the harness into his symbskin. That was a start, Huntress could provide better training and if Elektra was as much of a badass as she seemed, the training would be well above what Felicia could give.

Gathering the bottle he took a look at the New York skyline. Felicia was right, moping never solved anything and neither did drinking. Action, not inaction was needed and he knew he needed to grow the fuck up. Play properly or don't play at all. No, he thought, that's what got my ass whipped, don't play, fight. and as he let himself back into the warehouse he nodded at Felicia who just smiled, shook her head and headed into her and Gwen's home.

The next day he stretched and began their work out, his night of stupidity was a memory and it was time to begin in earnest. Felicia would be spending the day with Matt and Elektra for their not so friendly spar and he was at a loose end.

He flicked on the news and there it was, a building full of explosives and a failed terrorist plot. Their fight hadn't been filmed but eyewitnesses gave reports of two costumed people fighting on the rooftops, against the Goblin, and as far as J.J and the bugle were concerned, Venom.

While Norman had been crucified in the news, he was ranting on a conspiracy theory that the pair were in cahoots, and it was someone else disturbing them, the killed man, that had driven them off. Peter shook his head. J.J was a favourite of his aunt and uncle, and as the death of his son drove him further and further away from the truth Peter was saddened. He had respect for him, but the grief he was incapable of seeing past was making him a sideshow nut, and Peter swallowed the guilt, not at John's death but the impact it was having. He wondered if Bullseye had anyone who was mourning for him and it was at that strange thought he shook his head, if not him, then there would be a warehouse mourning me.

It was this hubris that was costing him. He had powers, and a good life and he was too arrogant and overconfident. As he watched Felicia slink from her home, barely dressed and yawning he poured a coffee for her and she slumped into his lap as she added sugar and milk to it,

"Stop fucking moping," she said and as she wiggled he felt her bare cheeks press against him, "Stop it or this never happens." and to prove her point she kissed him and he smiled and grinned. "See, you won't win them all Pete, you'll fuck up and we'll get mad, but it's this. This stupid depressing shit after, you need to stop. We won, they didn't, scars heal, lives move on." and as he wrapped his arms around her, "and nobody likes a whiner Pete. God, it's so unsexy I want to barf right now. Man up and then you can nut up." Peter laughed.

"That's not exactly how that saying goes Fel," but she shrugged and let her symbskin retract from her top as well,

"And you don't want to?" and as he pulled her into his embrace,

"I never ever said that."

And his day began like so many others,

"For God sake you two, no sex at the breakfast table," they heard MJ yell, and both laughing and grinning, they moved into a more private area to continue their activities.