Spider-Man: Duty and Loss Chapter 118: Blast from the Past

Peter was slightly surprised when he saw that Laura actually didn't looked pleased to see the man, who he assumed was her father, and had instead stood a little closer as if warding him off or more aptly marking her territory. Peter was sure that given a few more seconds the two would full on start growling at each other.

Thankfully with a small push to the back the man was moved forward and he broke eye contact with the two. The woman behind him was definitely eye catching. Wearing clothes that would look right in place at a fashion show and standing at 5'11 her white hair easily drew a person in.

The shorter man seemed to grumble something to her as he moved off to the side finally letting the last person exit.

Peter's brain seemed to stop as he took her in….'no it couldn't be'. The same reaction seemed to have happened to the woman. With blazing fire red hair and green eyes, Jean Grey couldn't keep the surprise off her face as she looked over at Peter.

They hadn't seen each other in a long, long time, but they still somehow looked the same. Peter was calculating the odds of him meeting up with, Felicia, Natasha, Laura and now Jean, all on the same day at the same place, and how drop dead gorgeous they all were. 'There is no way I'm that lucky.'

"Peter?" The words mostly snapped him out of his thoughts but his mouth was still lagging a bit behind. "Jean?" The same thing seemed to be happening to Jean. "Tiger?" Peter's smile got wider at the nickname. "Red" The word seemed to finally make Jean come back.

She wasted no time rushing forward, past a bemused Storm and still glaring Wolverine as she gave him a crushing hug. Thankfully she didn't have super strength, or hard bones like Laura, so he wasn't crushed.

Jean felt a few small tears well up in her eyes as she buried her head into his shoulder. "Peter! I was so worried about you! I went back to your old place… and then she told me….and then Felicia said you were coming back in a few days…I'm not prepared to see you yet….I couldn't feel you signature when I scanned the building? Did you upgrade the…telepathy disruptor? We never did come up with a name for the ear piece did we…how have you been?....have you been eating properly?...What was your trip out of New York about?"

The words gushed out and just didn't seem to end. Now Jean wasn't usually so chatty, but after seeing her best friend after so long…especially one she thought she might just have a crush on… she couldn't help but want to know everything about him.

Her mind also couldn't help but remember the fact Peter had been living on the streets, May died, she couldn't imagine how that affected him.

Peter was a bit overwhelmed as Tony leaned in from the side, breaking up their small moment. "Telepathy disruptor? Where, why, how? Let me have a look at it, I promise I'll give you a small royalty if I have to mass produce them to the market."

Peter gave him a small look that said, 'You can't be serious', as Steve came in from the side. He pulled Tony back as he looked at the two, a warm look in his eyes. "Leave the kids alone Tony, they'll need some time to catch up."

Before anything else could be said Felicia stepped in-between Jean and Peter and pulled him back. Felicia sported a small frown as she looked at Jean. "I think they've caught up enough." There was a bit of coldness in her voice that peter hadn't heard in a while.

Jean wasn't pleased with Peter being pulled away but as she looked into Felicia's eyes she felt a small amount of guilt build up as she remembered just why she was so standoffish. Peter looked between the two as they stared down each other. He instantly knew something happened.

Finally he couldn't handle the silence anymore as he spoke up. "Ok what happened." It was rare, but Peter did sometimes take the situation seriously. Steve gave a small look of approval Peter's way as he instantly noticed the firm and commanding voice the kid spoke with.

Both said nothing for a few seconds before Felicia spoke first. "I'll tell you what happened 'Red' here tried to forcefully read my mind and Natasha's!" Peter winced at the spite when she said the nickname, but it was quickly forgotten as he rounded on Jean in disbelief.

He had known Jean for years, the one he knew wouldn't do such a thing! Forcefully reading someone's mind could be dangerous and was a huge invasion of privacy! The shock must have been easily visible as Jean looked even guiltier. She looked down in shame as she couldn't look him in the eyes. He didn't need to say a word, she knew he wanted to know everything.

"It was when we first met…" Jean started,the guilt thick in her voice before Steve stopped her. "Wait. We should move into the lounge room and talk there." Peter sent a few glances around the room and saw a few looks of disapproval from those present, they all knew what she was about to say.

Jean finally looked up from the ground at the words and starred at Captain America for a few seconds before turning to Peter. He could see the worry hidden behind her eyes. He tried to be impassive as he gave a small nod and turned heading back to the lounge room

Felicia still had a guarded look in her eyes as she looked at Jean one last time before following Peter. Everyone else soon followed suit, not saying a word until it was just Storm and her. Seeing how distressed Jean was starting to become as the other left, Storm rested her hand gently on her shoulder as she guided her forwards.

"Everything will be ok. Just tell him the truth and he'll understand and forgive you. There's nothing to worry about. We all make mistakes." Jean gave a weak and unconvincing nod as she tried to think of how she was going to word this.

Chapter end