Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
"Thank you so much for helping Peter. He was really nervous about his date. And well… it's been a long time since I had one to give him advice," Aunt May said with a smile while looking toward Richard, who was now sitting in the living room of Peter's house, the two calmly talking after dinner with glasses of wine in hand.
"Wow… that's a little surprising," Richard said, raising an eyebrow with interest.
"Not really. Surrogate mother of a teenager living in an apartment she won in a giveaway I still think I never signed up for," May said with an amused smile that, for a moment, made Richard slightly avoid her gaze, since he had been the one in charge of arranging housing for both Peter and Kamala when they joined VITAE. And one way to keep them close enough to monitor them had been improvising that strange housing lottery.
"Romance is a luxury for the rich… and a problem for sentimental people," May added, taking a sip of wine.
"Interesting words," Richard said.
"Right? I just made them up right now," May added, amused.
The atmosphere was instantly interrupted when Peter stepped out of his room, making both May and Richard turn to look at him.
"Wow," May said with slight surprise when she saw her nephew.
"I don't know if I really feel comfortable dressed like this," Peter said as he walked out wearing a suit that, at first glance, looked pretty expensive. It was made up of a fitted white shirt, a black vest matching the tie and jacket, along with matching pants and shoes. There had even been a small redesign to his smartwatch, which now looked like some flashy high-class watch.
Anyone seeing him right now would think Peter had actually always been some second-generation millionaire pretending to be poor, like he had stepped straight out of one of those rich teen dramas.
"It looks amazing on you, Peter," she told him with a loving smile while walking over and fixing his hair a little, which was possibly the only thing that looked truly strange right now. "You'll need a little less gel though," she said while trying to remove some of the gel that made Peter's hair shine intensely.
"Mr. Richard, are you sure this is okay? It looks pretty expensive. It'd be a shame to ruin this suit just for a school dance… and the watch…," Peter said seriously while looking at the high-quality stitching.
"Don't worry about that. It's not that expensive compared to…," before Richard could say "the Spider-Man suit," he glanced at May for a moment. "High-end suits. If you look closely, they don't even have a brand," he added quickly.
May, interested, checked the suit for a moment and there really wasn't any recognizable brand showing who had made it.
"That's true. It must be a pretty unknown production workshop. If that's the case, it can't cost much, but they're really good. I'd love to buy some clothes for myself if they're this quality," May said with a small spark in her eyes.
"Of course. I wouldn't mind introducing you to them," Richard replied calmly.
Peter was about to ask about the watch, but when he looked at it he suddenly noticed the time, realizing it was already time to leave.
"Oh no. I don't want to be late," he said quickly.
"Come on, I'll drive you. It's on my way anyway," Richard said.
"Oh, thanks. Bye, Aunt May," Peter said before kissing his aunt on the cheek and picking up a corsage from the table that she had already prepared for him to give to Liz.
"Thank you so much, seriously… for all your help," May said to Richard with a sweet smile.
"It's nothing. Honestly, it's been a long time since I had homemade food, so I should be the one thanking you," he replied while they walked toward the door.
Both of them stayed silent for a moment while Peter watched them, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Then Richard shifted his gaze toward him.
"Well, let's go," he said before nodding to May in farewell, then walked out the door followed by Peter.
Meanwhile, May waved goodbye and watched the two of them leave, staring at Richard's back for a moment with an interested smile before closing the door behind her.
…
Richard's car moved smoothly down the street with Peter sitting in the passenger seat, while Richard calmly watched the road.
"So… Mr. Richard, about our unfinished mission…," Peter spoke up, feeling like the atmosphere had become pretty quiet.
"I already told you, don't worry about that. First enjoy your dance, then we'll have time for that. Right now there aren't many agents available to help us, and the necessary tools are being transferred to the new base," Richard interrupted instantly, calm as always.
"Well… I still have my suit," Peter said.
"Yes. But that doesn't mean I'm going to send you to do all the work. Remember, anything that isn't properly calculated can cause problems. I'm sure you already know that because of the ferry," Richard said.
Hearing those words, Peter closed his mouth and lowered his head slightly with a bit of guilt.
"Yeah… sorry," he said instantly.
Richard noticed that and gave him a glance before returning his eyes to the road.
"I didn't mean it like that. It's just… it's better to have everything completely prepared. A mission isn't just showing up and blowing everything up. There are steps to follow; information, strategies… and above all, our lives matter too," Richard added again.
After saying that, the atmosphere fell silent once more. But not as suffocating as before, just a much more relaxed silence while the car kept moving until they reached a very high-class area, full of modern and expensive houses.
That made Peter a little nervous. For a moment he touched his own suit, but when he felt the smooth fabric he looked down and, for some reason, felt slightly more confident. Like the suit could actually protect him from anything.
Then he adjusted his tie while letting out a breath.
All while Richard gave him a glance with an almost invisible amused smile.
Peter opened the car door to get out, ready to walk toward Liz's house. But when he saw the massive home, which was probably worth way more than the entire building he lived in, his nerves quickly started growing, imagining some man suddenly throwing a stack of cash in his face to make him stop seeing his daughter.
Right at that moment, Richard's window rolled down for a second.
"If it makes you feel any better, the suit you're wearing right now is worth way more than that house," Richard said with a playful smile Peter hadn't seen since meeting him.
"What?" Peter said, freezing. "Didn't you say it didn't have a brand? How…?"
"Of course it doesn't. It's a custom-made suit by the best tailors and stylists in the world for agents on dangerous and secret missions. Not only does it have style, but it should also easily withstand a couple of stab wounds without leaving a single mark. Have fun," Richard said before rolling the window back up and starting the engine to leave.
"Wa—" before Peter could stop him, the front door of the house suddenly opened behind him as a man stepped out.
"You must be Peter," the man said, making Peter turn around. But the moment he looked at him, the expression on his face, still completely stunned from Richard's words, shifted into a fixed stare at the man standing in the doorway, recognizing the familiar face of that person.
Peter immediately turned toward Richard…
But the car had already pulled away and was leaving.
That made Peter look back toward the man standing there.
The same man he had seen on the ferry. The same guy who had led the criminals on the ferry. And the same one who wore that strange suit with robotic wings that Peter had nicknamed… the Vulture.
"I'm Liz's father. I've been looking forward to meeting you," the man said with a friendly smile while approaching Peter and raising his hand to shake his.
While Peter tried with everything he had to use what he learned from Richard before; controlling his emotions and acting mature. Though originally he had only wanted to impress Liz… now he was using it to hide the panic.
Peter shook Liz's father's hand without breaking eye contact.
"Come in. Let's not keep the ladies waiting. That wouldn't be very polite," the man said with a smile and a wink before inviting him inside the house.
While Peter, for a moment, turned once again toward the direction Richard had driven off in…
and followed Liz's father while slowly moving his hand toward his watch as if he were simply adjusting it.