Chapter 15

By the time he's out, he finds Johnny lying on the bed, seemingly wanting to fight the sleep as he groggily watches the door. His gaze snaps to his own immediately, and he speaks until a few seconds have passed. "Are you not going to take off the mask?"

Peter tilts his head. He's wearing his pajamas, with only his mask remaining from his costume. His hair is a bit wet, but that's one of the sacrifices to pay for a secret identity. At least his mouth is uncovered, so he can breathe easily. "Sleep, Johnny."

"Don't wanna. Though I could be persuaded if I get to see your face."

Shaking his head, he goes to the futon and lays down. He's yawning as he relaxes his tensed muscles. "Not gonna happen."

He closes his eyes briefly before a meow makes him turn his head to where the Flerken is next to his head, looking down at him. She meows again, and Peter instantly understands what she's trying to say.

"I already took a shower, Goose. And I said, no licking today." 

Goose huffs but still settles on his chest and starts purring, the only sound heard besides Johnny's chuckling. 

Peter smiles as he wears his earbuds, telling Edith to update him on what she can get about the situation at the Mojave Desert base at a volume only he can hear.

He thinks he won but as he continues listening, he notices her voice seems different, the tone more like an ASMR than anything. Eventually, his eyelids grow heavy, exhaustion finally catching up to him after a long day of patrolling and unexpected encounters. As he drifts into a restful sleep, images of alien invasions and battles against formidable foes dance through his dreams.

In slumber, Peter's senses who usually remain sharp, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, cannot help but rest, too. The combination of Edith's new tone, Johnny's soft snoring, and Goose's purrs are enough to put him into dreamland.

Peter wakes up feeling rested, which makes him frown. He told Edith to wake him up early. Looking at his watch, he sees that six hours have passed, which worries him as he thought he would sleep for three hours at most. He glances up, still hearing Johnny's soft breathing, so at least that means he's still asleep.

"Edith?" he asks softly, trying to sound calm but probably failing. The AI is smarter than him, and knowing his mood based on his tone is like a piece of cake for her.

"Director Fury transferred Jane Foster to Norway four hours ago," she says instead of what he wants to know. "Black Widow was seen in Kolkata, India, thirty minutes ago. She was most likely searching for Doctor Banner."

He sighs, but in the end, he nods. He's never been good at getting angry towards those he cares about. 

"Anything else," he asks as he rubs his right eye and yawns, stretching. He looks around but doesn't find Goose.

"Nick Fury was seen walking into a boxing Gym an hour ago; the same Gym Steve Rogers entered a couple of hours back. Also, Phil Coulson was seen entering the new Stark tower eight minutes ago."

"Huh. So almost all the players have been recruited." He decides what to bring Johnny to eat first before heading to New York. "Have you seen any moves of trying to recruit me?"

"No, but I've got to remind you that the information I can get without being known is sparse and mostly second-hand."

Peter nods absently as he makes a portal to the garden on Kamar Taj to grab two apples and some other fruits. He then makes another portal to the kitchens and walks through. He washes them and grabs some plates to put the cut fruit inside, adding honey and orange juice. He makes another portal and walks through to find Johnny groggily sitting up.

"That was the best sleep I've had in my life," he mutters as he looks up to see the food in his hands. A smile forms, but it soon disappears as he looks even higher and sees Peter still wearing his mask.

The Spider-themed hero rolls his eyes and gives him one of the plates. "Start eating in a while we will have to return to New York."

"Already bored with me even after all we've gone through?"

He snorts and motions him to eat, him doing the same as he does a final check of his web-shooters. His companion is oddly silent even as he opens a portal to the rooftop from yesterday. It's colder than yesterday, even with the sun above them, but at least they both are wearing clothes.

"So! What do you say about training my flame? Here's better than in your room, right?"

 "Weren't you going to call your sister?"

"Ah, right ."

He huffs around before tossing the small flip phone he's been gifted from the ancient One. It's so primitive compared to what he's used to, but at least it works, and beggars can't be choosers.

"Er... I don't know the number of our hospital room. They took away our phones, so I don't think calling her phone will work."

Peter hums, tilting his head to the side when Edith offers him a number without being asked. He takes away the phone from Johnny and dials it before giving him the device back.

"Okay, here."

He moves to the other side of the roof as Johnny puts the phone on his ear, trying to give him some privacy. He looks at the bustling city. The familiar rush of wind against his mask is grounding, pushing away the doubts that threaten to creep in.

"Anything new?" he murmurs as he sees Johnny moving the phone away from his ear.

He turns away from him and looks at the skyline, listening for Edith's updates. He knows he has to continue saving people to gain SHIELD's attention, but something tells him it's not going to work. Especially not now that he has Johnny to babysit.

"Why let Johnny know?" He shakes his head. "You know as well as I do that he's not ready for this kind of mission. And while Reed's intelligence will be helpful, there's no way he will believe us."

"Even if they don't believe you know, they will inevitably do later."

A sigh. "I should just return Johnny to California, where he will be away from New York."

He looks at the darkening sky before turning toward Hell's Kitchen.

"Is Daredevil on patrol?" he asks just as he hears a sulking Johnny approach.

"He seems to be preparing to bust a drug exchange near the docks," Edith says out loud for Johnny to hear. "Want me to give you the route to there?"

He nods as he turns to see his companion "So?"

"They will come to pick me up," he grumbles.

"Are you surprised? They must have been worried."

The future Human Torch smirks. "They want to thank the amazing Spider-man who offered me help, too."

"What have you told them about me?" he asks as he squints.

"Nothing that's not true."

He snorts a laugh before hesitating. "It'd probably be better if I took you directly to California. It would be safer."

"... Is this about the invasion thingy?" Johnny scratches the back of his head before choosing to change the topic after seeing Peter's clear reluctance to speak. "Anyway, who's gonna bust the drug deal?"

"A vigilante friend. I wanted to warn him, too." A sigh. "Wanna come with me? Maybe that way, we will get some explanations out of the way, and I won't have to repeat it."

Johnny doesn't even think for a second before chirping "Sure!"