07-06-2006, 07:29 PM
Between Hell and Heaven...
Victoria felt as if she hadnât slept in years. The last time she had gotten a good nights sleep had been...god, she couldnât even remember.
Leaning against the balcony for a moment after Peter left, she turned and came back inside and closed the door behind her.
She flung herself into her bed and willed sweet oblivion to overtake her.
An annoying ringing noise woke Victoria up. It took her a minute to realize it was the phone and she made a grab for it, but too late. Whoever it was had hung up already. She sat up in the bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Glancing towards the window, she noticed it was still daylight. She wondered how long she had been asleep. Giving a good long stretch, she crawled reluctantly from the bed and wandered into the living room. Flopping down on the sofa, she grabbed the remote control and turned the tv on. Scanning a few channels before finally landing on CNN. A smile crossed her face when she saw a story on Spider-Man saving a bus full of senior citizens.
Little did she know she had been asleep for three days and that ringing phone had been Peter.
âPeter...â her smile grew wider as she thought of the last conversation they had. It all made sense now. All the times in her life that Spider-Man had swung in and saved her, all the times Peter had stood by her side...all those forlorn looks she hadnât seen.
âIâm such an idiot.â she said softly and went for the phone. She had a call to make.
The phone rang three times before anyone picked up.
âHi! Youâve reached Peter Parker and I canât take your call right now. You know the drill.â Victoria looked at the phone and hung up. He wouldnât want to hear from her right now. He wanted her to sort her baggage out.
âOk girl, get yourself out of this funk. You need to go see Strange.â slowly getting up off the sofa, she threw on a pair of jogging shorts, a t-shirt with âGo Spidey!â on it and was lacing up her running shoes when a knock sounded on the door.
âHold on!â as she pulled the ponytail holder out of her mouth and went to get the door.
Opening it up, she was a bit confused to see no one there. Nothing.
âMust have been a âding dong ditch.â ...â she said, closing the door and locking it as she stepped out into the hallway.
On the street, Victoria start jogging towards Central Park. Her mind was a million miles away...and perhaps even a reality away as Hank crossed her mind once again today. But when didnât he? Even with everything going on, all the hell she had seen the night before, he was the first person she had called out to.
She tried to brush the thoughts from her mind, she tried not to dwell on how long it had been since sheâd seen him...when the last time heâd wrapped his arms around her...
Shaking her head trying to blink back tears, she picked up her pace and continued on her run.
âAlways running from something.â she murmured to herself as she left the park and headed towards her destination...the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Before she even touched the doorbell, the door swung open and she was greeted by Wong.
âMiss Essex, weâve been expecting you.â
Two hours later, Victoria watched her realityâs Dr. Strange intently. She had come to him for help. Help to extract herself from Nâastihr and Sinisterâs war.
He said very little as she had explained what she knew. Of course, he knew all of it already, but knew she really just needed someone to listen.
âIâll do what I can.â he said as Wong showed Victoria out.
Peter had done his best to stay away from Victoria the past three days. Though he had caught himself more than once lowering a web down to her bedroom window to ensure she was sleeping peaceful, and cursed himself silently for being a fool.
When he had seen her number pop up on his caller id, it took all he had not to grab the phone, but let the machine take care of it.
He wanted nothing more than to be everything Victoria would ever need, but in order be that, he had to walk away. She had to pick herself up, he couldnât do it this time.
He let out a deep sigh as he watched her leave Dr. Strangeâs, hoping that when Stephen had turned him down, perhaps Victoria had been able to get his help. Maybe Stephen was able to trap the demon within an interdimensional plane of sorts.
When he landed on Strangeâs windowsill, once again Stephen beckoned him to enter.
âYouâre creepy that way, you know that right? At least wait for me to land before you tell me to come in. And I thought my Spider Sense was touchy!â in full Spider-Man regalia, he jumped down from the window and leaned against it.
âSo...â he started but Strange cut him off.
âI understand better than you would ever know. Iâve done all I can for her. There is only so much magick can do. Wards, charms and incantations wonât keep a demon as powerful as Nâastihr at bay.â Stephen glanced over his shoulder at Spider-Man.
âSo we can beat this, right?â
âNo, she can beat this. We are going to sit on the sidelines as backup should SHE need it.â Stephen said in a very determined voice.
âLook Doc, no disrespect or anything. But thatâs the woman I love and thereâs no way in hell Iâm going to sit back and let this happen. I know Victoria needs to stand up for herself and I know sheâs strong enough to do that, but Iâll be damned if Iâm going to watch her get hurt.â Peter was already out the window, so he couldnât see the smile on Strangeâs face as he closed the window.
âI didnât think for a moment you would.â he said softly, watching Spider-Man swing off into the dusky evening sky.
To the Sorcerer Supreme, Nâastihr was nothing more than a 4th level menace. Having dealt with the likes of Dormammu for ages now. So keeping Nâastihr and his minions from seducing Victoria Essex into being the Goblin Queen was easy. Contrary to what he had told Spider-Man, it was just a matter of a few spells, incantations, a hex or two and a lock on the portal into the demonscape.
Heâd never tell Victoria this. She needed to feel as if she overcame this herself. She needed to regain her confidence.
And Spider-Man, he needed to see Victoria do this. He needed his faith restored in his friend and beloved.
Slowly, Victoria raised her hand to knock on the door. She had no idea if heâd answer it, she wouldnât blame him if he didnât.
âPeter, please...â she said in a gentle voice... âI think we need to talk. If youâre in there, please...â it didnât take much more for the door to open and for her to see a very haggard looking Peter Parker standing before her.
âYeah, I think we do need to talk.â he opened the door wider for her to enter.
Several hours later, they both sat at his tiny kitchen table staring down into coffee cups.
âPeter....â
âVictoriaâ
They both started at the same time, looking up at one another, they couldnât help but to bust out into a fit of giggles.
âPetey, I swear, Iâll do this. I just wanted to apologize to you. All these years, youâve been my friend, watched my back. I never realized...âshe stopped and looked back down into her cup again.
âThis is going to make things weird between us, isnât it?â he asked her candidly.
âGod, I hope not. How much more weird could it get? Hey! Your best friend is a reality hoping mutant whoâs got a demon chasing her and her best friend is Spider-Man! Damn Peter, Johan Jamison couldnât write this stuff.â Victoria stood up and took her coffee cup over to the sink. She felt him watching her, even before he got up and was standing behind her.
âTory...I...â he started.
Victoria lowered her head and closed her eyes for a moment. She wasnât sure what to do. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and faced him.
âPeter, you were always the guy I thought too smart for me, too good for me. I felt I never had a chance with you. So I was able to move past that a long time ago and move on. I really do love Hank, but I donât know whatâs going on with that. You have to give me a chance to...â before she could finish the sentence, he kissed her.
And it wasnât one of those âI just want to be your friendâ kisses either, and for Victoria, to have been so long without any sort of physical or emotional contact, it felt like heaven.
âPeter...â she laid her head on his shoulder after the kiss broke off.
âIâll wait for you, Iâve waited this long, whatâs another 10-15 years?â he chuckled a bit. âHey.â he said as he pulled back just a bit from her, making her stand up straight and look at him.
âI know you have a lot on you right now, but you need to know you arenât going through it alone. You need to know you have someone whoâll stand beside you.â he saw her smile getting wider.
âYou want to know the coolest part about this?â she asked as she made her way to the door.
âWhat?â Peter asked, curious as to what she was going to say.
âMy best friend and the guy Iâve always had the biggest crush on, are the same person. I donât think any girl could ever get any luckier. I just kissed Spider-Man, and laid my head on Peter Parkerâs shoulder. I think I could face anything knowing that Iâve got those two guys behind me. They are pretty upstanding kinda guys.â Victoria gave Peter a wave and let her self out.
The grin that had been on her face, had spread to his as he stood there and shook his head, smiling. Maybe things were starting to look up now, in spite of all the mess that they knew was coming.
Victoria felt as if she hadnât slept in years. The last time she had gotten a good nights sleep had been...god, she couldnât even remember.
Leaning against the balcony for a moment after Peter left, she turned and came back inside and closed the door behind her.
She flung herself into her bed and willed sweet oblivion to overtake her.
An annoying ringing noise woke Victoria up. It took her a minute to realize it was the phone and she made a grab for it, but too late. Whoever it was had hung up already. She sat up in the bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Glancing towards the window, she noticed it was still daylight. She wondered how long she had been asleep. Giving a good long stretch, she crawled reluctantly from the bed and wandered into the living room. Flopping down on the sofa, she grabbed the remote control and turned the tv on. Scanning a few channels before finally landing on CNN. A smile crossed her face when she saw a story on Spider-Man saving a bus full of senior citizens.
Little did she know she had been asleep for three days and that ringing phone had been Peter.
âPeter...â her smile grew wider as she thought of the last conversation they had. It all made sense now. All the times in her life that Spider-Man had swung in and saved her, all the times Peter had stood by her side...all those forlorn looks she hadnât seen.
âIâm such an idiot.â she said softly and went for the phone. She had a call to make.
The phone rang three times before anyone picked up.
âHi! Youâve reached Peter Parker and I canât take your call right now. You know the drill.â Victoria looked at the phone and hung up. He wouldnât want to hear from her right now. He wanted her to sort her baggage out.
âOk girl, get yourself out of this funk. You need to go see Strange.â slowly getting up off the sofa, she threw on a pair of jogging shorts, a t-shirt with âGo Spidey!â on it and was lacing up her running shoes when a knock sounded on the door.
âHold on!â as she pulled the ponytail holder out of her mouth and went to get the door.
Opening it up, she was a bit confused to see no one there. Nothing.
âMust have been a âding dong ditch.â ...â she said, closing the door and locking it as she stepped out into the hallway.
On the street, Victoria start jogging towards Central Park. Her mind was a million miles away...and perhaps even a reality away as Hank crossed her mind once again today. But when didnât he? Even with everything going on, all the hell she had seen the night before, he was the first person she had called out to.
She tried to brush the thoughts from her mind, she tried not to dwell on how long it had been since sheâd seen him...when the last time heâd wrapped his arms around her...
Shaking her head trying to blink back tears, she picked up her pace and continued on her run.
âAlways running from something.â she murmured to herself as she left the park and headed towards her destination...the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Before she even touched the doorbell, the door swung open and she was greeted by Wong.
âMiss Essex, weâve been expecting you.â
Two hours later, Victoria watched her realityâs Dr. Strange intently. She had come to him for help. Help to extract herself from Nâastihr and Sinisterâs war.
He said very little as she had explained what she knew. Of course, he knew all of it already, but knew she really just needed someone to listen.
âIâll do what I can.â he said as Wong showed Victoria out.
Peter had done his best to stay away from Victoria the past three days. Though he had caught himself more than once lowering a web down to her bedroom window to ensure she was sleeping peaceful, and cursed himself silently for being a fool.
When he had seen her number pop up on his caller id, it took all he had not to grab the phone, but let the machine take care of it.
He wanted nothing more than to be everything Victoria would ever need, but in order be that, he had to walk away. She had to pick herself up, he couldnât do it this time.
He let out a deep sigh as he watched her leave Dr. Strangeâs, hoping that when Stephen had turned him down, perhaps Victoria had been able to get his help. Maybe Stephen was able to trap the demon within an interdimensional plane of sorts.
When he landed on Strangeâs windowsill, once again Stephen beckoned him to enter.
âYouâre creepy that way, you know that right? At least wait for me to land before you tell me to come in. And I thought my Spider Sense was touchy!â in full Spider-Man regalia, he jumped down from the window and leaned against it.
âSo...â he started but Strange cut him off.
âI understand better than you would ever know. Iâve done all I can for her. There is only so much magick can do. Wards, charms and incantations wonât keep a demon as powerful as Nâastihr at bay.â Stephen glanced over his shoulder at Spider-Man.
âSo we can beat this, right?â
âNo, she can beat this. We are going to sit on the sidelines as backup should SHE need it.â Stephen said in a very determined voice.
âLook Doc, no disrespect or anything. But thatâs the woman I love and thereâs no way in hell Iâm going to sit back and let this happen. I know Victoria needs to stand up for herself and I know sheâs strong enough to do that, but Iâll be damned if Iâm going to watch her get hurt.â Peter was already out the window, so he couldnât see the smile on Strangeâs face as he closed the window.
âI didnât think for a moment you would.â he said softly, watching Spider-Man swing off into the dusky evening sky.
To the Sorcerer Supreme, Nâastihr was nothing more than a 4th level menace. Having dealt with the likes of Dormammu for ages now. So keeping Nâastihr and his minions from seducing Victoria Essex into being the Goblin Queen was easy. Contrary to what he had told Spider-Man, it was just a matter of a few spells, incantations, a hex or two and a lock on the portal into the demonscape.
Heâd never tell Victoria this. She needed to feel as if she overcame this herself. She needed to regain her confidence.
And Spider-Man, he needed to see Victoria do this. He needed his faith restored in his friend and beloved.
Slowly, Victoria raised her hand to knock on the door. She had no idea if heâd answer it, she wouldnât blame him if he didnât.
âPeter, please...â she said in a gentle voice... âI think we need to talk. If youâre in there, please...â it didnât take much more for the door to open and for her to see a very haggard looking Peter Parker standing before her.
âYeah, I think we do need to talk.â he opened the door wider for her to enter.
Several hours later, they both sat at his tiny kitchen table staring down into coffee cups.
âPeter....â
âVictoriaâ
They both started at the same time, looking up at one another, they couldnât help but to bust out into a fit of giggles.
âPetey, I swear, Iâll do this. I just wanted to apologize to you. All these years, youâve been my friend, watched my back. I never realized...âshe stopped and looked back down into her cup again.
âThis is going to make things weird between us, isnât it?â he asked her candidly.
âGod, I hope not. How much more weird could it get? Hey! Your best friend is a reality hoping mutant whoâs got a demon chasing her and her best friend is Spider-Man! Damn Peter, Johan Jamison couldnât write this stuff.â Victoria stood up and took her coffee cup over to the sink. She felt him watching her, even before he got up and was standing behind her.
âTory...I...â he started.
Victoria lowered her head and closed her eyes for a moment. She wasnât sure what to do. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and faced him.
âPeter, you were always the guy I thought too smart for me, too good for me. I felt I never had a chance with you. So I was able to move past that a long time ago and move on. I really do love Hank, but I donât know whatâs going on with that. You have to give me a chance to...â before she could finish the sentence, he kissed her.
And it wasnât one of those âI just want to be your friendâ kisses either, and for Victoria, to have been so long without any sort of physical or emotional contact, it felt like heaven.
âPeter...â she laid her head on his shoulder after the kiss broke off.
âIâll wait for you, Iâve waited this long, whatâs another 10-15 years?â he chuckled a bit. âHey.â he said as he pulled back just a bit from her, making her stand up straight and look at him.
âI know you have a lot on you right now, but you need to know you arenât going through it alone. You need to know you have someone whoâll stand beside you.â he saw her smile getting wider.
âYou want to know the coolest part about this?â she asked as she made her way to the door.
âWhat?â Peter asked, curious as to what she was going to say.
âMy best friend and the guy Iâve always had the biggest crush on, are the same person. I donât think any girl could ever get any luckier. I just kissed Spider-Man, and laid my head on Peter Parkerâs shoulder. I think I could face anything knowing that Iâve got those two guys behind me. They are pretty upstanding kinda guys.â Victoria gave Peter a wave and let her self out.
The grin that had been on her face, had spread to his as he stood there and shook his head, smiling. Maybe things were starting to look up now, in spite of all the mess that they knew was coming.
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