the siren |peter parker x siren!oc|

Tranquility: Part 17

Peter

Peter was patiently waiting outside of the main Avenger's compound building, leaning against the long, black limo that Happy had picked him up in. It was fortunate that his girlfriend had extremely rich parents, he didn't have to involve himself in the tedious planning that contributed to making prom night so special. He would have been happy to do it for Lena, but the fact that Pepper found joy in planning events, and would probably do it astronomically better than Peter, was just to his own convenience.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and he was sure Lena could as well. He wasn't nervous in the same way he had been nervous to pick up Liz at the homecoming dance. Obviously, there would be no shocking revelation that Lena's father was his newly found arch-nemesis. His problems would be a lot worse if someone he didn't know answered the door to the Avenger's compound. The reason why Peter could feel his heart in his stomach was because he had no idea what to expect. He never pictured himself taking one of the most beautiful girls he knew to prom. He had never been certain that he would even go to prom.

When he looked up, she was standing in the doorway. Lena had always been beautiful. She would be radiant no matter if she was clean-faced or if she had layers of makeup on. Peter had never loved her for her looks. It had been the person she became and that he grew to know over the course of the school year. Seeing her glisten, staring at him with an effortless confidence that she never usually felt, all of her worries gone for the evening, it was immaculate.

For once in their life they could pretend that they were normal high school students.

All of the incredible amount of hair that she had was swept over one shoulder, loose waves spilling to her waist. An airy, white dress hung perfectly on her tiny body, the tulle skirt tossing in the wind, exposing most of her calves, and feet that were in a pair of skin-colored flats. The sleeves hung off her shoulders, making her resemble some sort of combination of fairy and princess. It was perfect. It was everything he had imagined and more. He took a step forward, approaching her, too awestruck to say any coherent words.

"Do I look...okay?" her voice was quiet.

He was standing directly in front of her, his hands hovering above her shoulders. It felt like a dream, like if he tried to touch her, she would dissolve into nothing. Apparently, she understood his thought process, because she quickly took his hand and pressed it to her face, her lips twitching into a gentle smile.

MJ followed behind her, wearing a simple black dress paired with a set of Adidas sneakers. She also looked stunning, a pleasant mix of glamour, with her own MJ twist thrown in. His newest friend always followed the beat of her own drum, not caring too much about what others thought, staying true to herself. Peter admired that about her.

"MJ you look pretty nice," Peter commented, sort of awkwardly.

"Can it, Parker."

"No I mean it!"

"Oh. Thanks."

They each got into the limo, colorful lights winding back and forth, the interior lit only by reds and blues and purples. MJ sat directly across from them, adjusting her dress and crossing her arms. In an instant MJ had guarded herself off again. Peter had noticed the way the girls tended to open up for each other. While Lena told Peter pretty much everything, the way she acted around the friends she had made on her own differed. It was a different sort of connection that her and MJ had.

"Next stop Ned Leeds's house, then to the Midtown Tech prom," Happy had just gotten off the phone and seemed to be in a more pleasant mood than Peter was used to. Who on the phone had softened him like that?

He thought about the fact that his aunt now had Happy's number, but quickly attempted to shove it back into his subconscious. It was prom. He couldn't think about silly things like that.

Ned brought the energy in the room to its maximum capacity as soon as he slid into his spot next to MJ. He, too, was breath taken by Lena and MJ's prom looks, and gushed over them verbally in the opposite way that Peter wasn't able to. With exuberance, he quieted down and they each fell into a short silence before arriving at the dance's location.

It was only a hotel ballroom, but the Prom Committee had done a decent job decking it out to create the illusion that this was the most upscale event they had ever been to. White tapestries hung delicately on the walls, disguising the ugly wallpaper as something pleasing to the eyes. Twinkling fairy lights were strung in lines, imitating the stars. It was not anything out of the ordinary for prom, but to Peter it was perfect. He looked at the small girl holding his hand, and he sensed from her that this was the most incredible thing she had ever experienced. It was bliss.

Lena

Peter was correct. Blissful was the only word she could find to describe the feeling of her first prom. From all of the movies and TV shows she had been devouring in order to better understand what it was like to be a modern teenager, prom seemed to be one of the most important events of any high school experience. She found that some plots even revolved around the grand finale of simply going to a school dance.

All of her expectations had been met, and she could not ask for anything more.

Ned and MJ took off for the table of punch. When Lena looked over, a skinny young man lingered by the table, and it did not take much for her to to read off him that he had intentions to spike the punch. She knew that the right thing to do was to trance him out of it, but she decided that she would follow suit in what Tony would do, and just let it be. He had taught her that people liked to enjoy themselves, whether it be morally right or wrong. In this case, she knew that with the small amount of vodka he had stored in his pocket, there could not be much damage done. She ignored it and continued on with Peter to the dance floor.

She had never been one for metaphors, but it was an understatement to say that they danced the night away. Time passed quicker than she was used to, and when a slow, romantic song started to play, she could not help but wish that it had lasted just a little longer.

Peter swept her into his arms, swaying her back and forth to the melody.

"The metaphor that you're looking for is 'time flies when you're having fun,'" he said quietly.

"Time cannot fly. Although since it is a metaphor I know that you do not mean that literally."

He chuckled, "Yeah, you're right. In both instances."

Darling don't be afraid

I have loved you for a thousand years.

I'll love you for a thousand more.

"Are we really going to be alive for the rest of eternity?"

They had both heard the lyrics, and she knew that from a human's perspective, 1000 years was a long time. She understood that from both sides.

"Think more, Peter. Eternity is indefinite. Eternity for us...it is a close friend. It is something we can manipulate. We can live forever. We do not have to. This...us...we can..." she searched for the word, she was still working on her vocabulary, "We can navigate time uniquely. It is not something to be afraid of. We have no...obligation...to live forever. Just as long as we need."

He smiled, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me love you."

The song radiated around them, filling the space between them. Lena knew that they had a lifetime of dangerous adventure ahead of them, but for now, they were here with each other. She had on a long white dress, and he had on a tuxedo, and she knew, somehow, this would not be the last time it would be like this.

"It was what I was born to do." 

End of  Act II: Tranquility