The Princess and the Spider-Man

Chapter 16

"I'm gonna have to go and have a word with father later on." Mera said to herself. She had a deep frown on her face as she surfaced in front of the building that she and Peter always meet at.

She was about to pull out her phone to text Peter, when suddenly she saw him sitting on the docks behind the building in his casuals. The frown left the princess' face and was replaced with a happy smile.

However, as she swam closer to Peter, she noticed that he seemed depressed. Concern filled through her. The last time she saw him like this was when she and Arthur had that little spat earlier and she mentioned that she wasn't interested in dating him.

'He's not thinking about that again now is he?' Mera thought to herself. She then got an idea and a mischievous smile spread on her face. She submerged under the water completely and swam right in front of Peter.

"Boo!" Mera yelled as she sprang from the water into Peter's face. Peter yelled in response and in the process, his movements caused him to slide right into the ocean. Acting quickly, Mera dove into the ocean to retrieve him.

"Jesus Mera, is scaring the pee out of me a new hobby of yours?" Peter asked as she wrapped her arms around him and held him above the water. Peter blushed at Mera's actions but still managed to look at her.

"I should make it a hobby of mine. This is becoming very fun." Mera said smiling. Peter rolled his eyes in response before Mera's face became concerned. "You seemed really depressed when I got here. What's wrong?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it." Peter said, trying to waive it off. But Mera is not the type of give up so easily.

"Peter, it's obviously bothering you." Mera said sternly. "And I hate to see you so unhappy." She then gulped as she asked this next question. "Are you still thinking back to the argument I had with Arthur?"

"No, no, no. I'm not thinking about that. It's just....." Peter hesitated and directed his gaze to the ground.

"Peter, if we want us  to work out, we need to be willing to express ourselves to each other." Mera said. "Whatever the subject is, you can always talk to me. Always."

Her hold on him tightened in assurance, which made Peter sigh, mostly in submission, but also in bliss with their embrace. "Alright." he finally said. Mera brought them both back up to the dock to sit on, and removed her arms from Peter's torso. But she kept her hand on his shoulder as he was explaining.

"So you know that I've been working alongside Otto Octavius right?" Peter asked. Mera nodded. "Well....that's not the case anymore." he said dejectedly. Mera then felt a bit of anger weld inside of her.

"He fired you?" she asked a little too harshly.

"No......well yes, but it wasn't like that." Peter said quickly. Mera tilted her head to the side in confusion, waiting for an explanation. "You see, the mayor came into the lab and confiscated the equipment. In addition he removed the city grant from Octavius, which meant that he can no longer pay me." he continued. Peter put his face in his hands and released a groan.

Mera scooted closer to him and started to rub his back softly. "I'm so sorry Peter." she said. "I wish you didn't have to deal with this." she added.

"Me too." Peter said through his hands. Then he leaned up and looked at Mera. "I really loved that job Mera. Otto was my favorite instructor in college. And he was always someone that I admired and who I wanted to emulate. His mind, his perseverance, and his motive to change the world for the better for everyone. He's someone I love to be around. Just being able to work with him was an honor and a privilege." he then hesitated as he glanced at Mera's free hand. With a surge of confidence, he reached over and grasped Mera's hand, making the both of them feel butterflies in their stomach. "And one other thing that made me love this job so much........was because it enabled me to meet you Mera. That's something I will always be grateful for."