Heroes Assemble!

Time To Process

Unexpectedly, Gwen found herself shoved to the side. With her school bag slung over one shoulder, she found herself stumbling hard and it was all that she could do to stay on her feet instead of crashing to the sidewalk.

"Sorry!" Flash called absently as he and his mates pulled open the door to the Den and fought their way inside.

"You will be when I serve you last!" Gwen muttered angrily after him.

Finally, having regained her balance, and finding the way clear, she followed the jocks inside the Den. Knowing that she was running late for her shift, Gwen made a beeline for the far counter.

"Gwen!"

The unexpected voice had her skidding to a stop, a broad grin appearing on her face.

"Peter!" she exclaimed. "You're back!"

And it wasn't just Peter, either. In the far corner booth sat not only Peter but also Doreen and Jennifer. By the time that she'd weaved her way through the tables to get to them, Peter was on his feet. He caught her as she leapt at him and they kissed. It was hard and urgent, just like every time that Peter came back from one of his 'missions', as though they were trying to prove to each other that they were alright.

"Sit with us," Peter said, his eyes sparkling at her as he pulled her towards the booth.

"I can't, I've got a shift," she sighed.

"Be late," Peter insisted and then upped the ante. "I've got you an iced latte."

Gwen's eyes darted to the table to indeed see a tall glass filled with that delicious drink and she allowed herself to be pulled in beside her boyfriend.

"Okay, but only for a minute or so," she said. "Harry'll have my hide if I sit here all afternoon."

"Don't worry about Harry," Doreen said. "He's not here."

Gwen blinked at the girl seated across from her.

"He's not? Where is he?" she asked before leaning in and lowering her voice. "He didn't get hurt, did he?"

"Nah, he's fine," Peter said. "He's just gone off on vacation or something."

"Whatever that means," Jennifer chimed in.

"Vacation?" Gwen blinked. "But I thought you guys were off on a mission."

"We were. To Brazil. Lots of bad guys there but we beat them. No, Harry took off after we'd won," Peter summed up.

Gwen stared around the table, taking them all in. Brazil. She shook her head. Once upon a time, she knew that her and Peter's whole world was here in New York and at that, mostly in Queens. And before they moved here, Doreen and Jennifer had grown up in L.A. Now, though, they seemed to be constantly off on jaunts around the world.

Swallowing her envy at the sights that her friends were getting to see (but not at the danger that they constantly seemed to be in), Gwen focussed on living vicariously through them. At least until she was out of school and college so that she could start travelling, too.

"Brazil? What's it like?" she asked.

"Apart from 'jungly', I'm not sure that we can answer that," Peter replied. "It's not like we were there to sightsee."

"Oh, come on, surely you must have seen something interesting," Gwen cajoled, not believing him.

"Well, there were the dragons," Jennifer smirked.

"Yeah, but Harry had to go find them in Peru and bring them back," Doreen countered.

Gwen could feel her eyes bug out and her jaw drop.