16419/Cash Cab

Cash Cab
Date of Scene:	09 July 2024
Location:	Gwen Stacy's Apartment, Wavecrest Gardens
Synopsis:	Peter and Gwen catch a cab back home after the meeting with Stark and fam to discuss funding for Parker Industries.
Cast of Characters:	Ghost Spider, Spider-Man

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Ghost Spider has posed:
Most of the time, Peter and Gwen both just web-swing whereever they're going. It's WAY faster than taking a cab or the subway, but that's not always a practical thing. Even if you did find a discrete plate nearby to stash your bag full of Spider-gear, you're still getting 'dressed up' in an alley or a rooftop... and do you have any idea how hard it is to fix the hair and makeup your masked ruined while standing on top of a high-rise?

Not to mention knowing which ones nearby leave the roof access unlocked so you can slip inside and take the elevator down. It's a whole thing.

Sometimes, a cab is just more convenient, so that's the order of the day.

A yellow taxi pulls up to the curb shortly after Gwen trots down the steps in front of Stark Tower and raises a hand to flag it down. The meeting had gone... well? At least they hadn't been told an outright NO on getting the funding to start Parker Industries.

"Why thank you, Mister Parker," Gwen croons cheerfully as she slips in through the back door that Peter's holding for her and slides across to make room for him. Her legs cross, but she's already turning to face him, her eyes still alight with excitement.

"Where to?" the driver asks over his shoulder, one arm propped across the front seat back.

"Ummm... I don't know. My place or yours, Peter? Or we could find a place to eat. Is it too early to celebrate?"

They were still 'dressed up' after all. It did feel a little naked to be without their gear, though, so Gwen's first suggestions always tended to be centered around collecting that suit she wasn't willing to drag through Stark security protocols.

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter felt like he'd run a marathon, gone twelve rounds with a pissed-off Hulk, then had to listen to May be disappointed in him. "Stomach's still a little delicate so let's hit your place. Mine's a wreck from all the prep." he pointed out sensibly. Then he glanced down at his Dad's briefcase. Then he looked over to Gwen, then back to the briefcase.

She might recognize the symptoms of the Parker Gloomies, and it looked like they were fully onset.

"I don't know, Gwen. I mean, Tony's a busy guy but he didn't even look at our proposal." he said gloomily. "And I want to work on _our_ stuff, not be a junior engineer for ... everything he has going on." he said, mindful of the cabbie.

Ghost Spider has posed:
"Rockaway," Gwen tells the driver, then gives him the full address.

The far south side of what's still technically Queens, Rockaway Beach, is about an hour away at best cab speed. It's a LOT faster by surfing on the tops of trucks until the traffic stalls and taking webs in the lulls, but this is an hour of time together where Gwen can focus on Peter.

The man, not the Spider.

"Hey."

Her voice is so soft, so gently encouraging, as she scoots a little closer and reaches up to cup his cheek, to keep his eyes on hers.

"It's business. This is how you _want_ him to react. When you secure the deal, it will be as equals -- two brilliant men going into business together... not him giving his friend Peter some money to play with. He'll look at it. He's not an idiot, and neither are you. It may be worth looking at some of his ideas. He may be our biggest customer for a little while, until our name gets out there. But we're not going to work on his tech to the exclusion of _your_ ideas... _our_ ideas. And we'll make that clear."

She leaning in, then, to press a soft, lingering kiss against his lips before pulling back again.

"You are the most intelligent, most quick-witted, most driven and dedicated and loyal and creative man I have ever met in my life. And Tony already knows that. You heard him. He backs _people_. And you're the best investment there is."

Spider-Man has posed:
"I don't know a damned thing about business." he protested, but his Gloomies were already starting to melt away. "I know we've got some good ideas. Potentially great ones. Stuff that can save lives. But Tony - I mean, I respect him enormously but I can't forget that he got his start in weapons manufacturing. And that's something I don't think you or I really want to get involved with." he said, then his phone chimed. His brand-new phone, which took most of his available funds to procure. "One second, babe." he told Gwen, then partially turned so he could take his call and not be all up in her grill.

That was distracting. Gave him ideas.

"Oh, hi May! How are you? Me? Oh, you know, I'm good! Gave my pitch to Mister Srark and while nothing's been signed yet, Gwen seems to think it went really well. Yeah, she's in this with me. May. May? C'mon May ... all right, fine." he said into the phone, then turned back to face Gwen.

"I don't think she believes me. She wants to talk to you." he said, holding his new phone out towards her.

Ghost Spider has posed:
"This is how you learn!" Gwen interjects, still beaming at him like a ray of pure positivity. Of course, the mention of weapons manufacturing -- and specially the uses for molecular biochemistry in biological warfare -- have her letting out a little sigh, but Stark wasn't actually doing that, anymore.

Sort of.

Technically his suits were still weapons... and he still made like... missiles and lasers and stuff to go in them... but it's not like he was selling those bombs to third world countries, anymore! We was just using them... himself.

Okay, so it's dicey.

And she's about to get into it when Peter's phone chimes.

"We should have asked him for a phone for you as part of the advance," she murmurs, grinning, but her expression falters at the mention of May.

And the tone.

"Doesn't..."

Gwen blinks, taking the phone and tucking it underneath her hair.

"Hey, Aunt May! I'm am _so_ sorry that I haven't been by. Things have been _so_ crazy, but you should have seen Peter. He was _so_ professional." Except for dumping all those papers out all over the floor. "And I'm pretty sure Mister Stark was almost ready to write him a check on the spot. It was _really_ exciting."

And _then_ she takes a breath to let the other woman talk.

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter was trying - and failing - to not eavesdrop on Gwen's conversation with May. So instead he accidentally made eye contact with the cabbie, who shot him a "You poor bastard" look of sympathy. Peter just rolled his eyes and then stared out the window, letting the two women catch up. Hopefully she wasn't going to tell the Baseball Story again.

That was embarrassing. And get May on a roll and she'd talk your ear off.

So he returned his attention to his Dad's old briefcase. One of the only things he still had from his bio-Dad, he treasured it to a level most people would probably consider to be irrational. He flipped it to look at the hinges at the back and from this angle they looked solid. So weird that they just gave way like that - right up until they didn't.

That still had him weirded out.'

Ghost Spider has posed:
"... no, I know. Since last year. But this has been _all_ him. He set up the meeting and invited me to go with him."

Gwen's watching, her eyes focused more on Peter's hands, the way he handles the briefcase. She can sympathize, but it's different for them. She hadn't been old enough to know her mom, and she still had her dad...

"...Partners? We... haven't really gotten into the specifics. I told him I'd be there for him no matter what, so it's really up to him how much he wants me to be involved..."

There's a soft laugh then.

"...I don't think any of believe he _needs_ me, but I'll do my best."

She sobers a little, then, at something May says.

"...I know. Since before I went on tour. Turns out, that was really a horrible idea. Four months away was too long, and I'm struggling a little to catch up."

She pauses.

"...Peter?"

Her eyes lift to his, and she mouths, 'What did you tell her?'

"...No, he's doing great. I promise. I _almost_ got him to eat a vegetable the other day." She grins playfully. "Almost."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter just batted his eyelashes at her when she frantic-mimed her question at him. "She lies, May. The Dino-Nuggies devoured the Broccoli Forest!" he said, loud enough for May to hear him. "Broccoli. Gah. Horrible." he said with a warm look for both Gwen and for May on the other side of the connection. His concerns were starting to take their rightful place at the back of his mind, alongside remembering to floss and having to clean his bathroom and grocery shopping for Gwen-approved foods in case she swung by. Which might, now that he thought about it, account for that biology experiment in the back of his fridge that he finally tossed the other day. Huh. Might need to make it less of a depression nest so your girl could come over and not immediately want to Clean All The Things, Peter.

That was embarrassing.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen reaches up and mimes swatting Peter's nose a few times without getting anywhere near him.

"...No, he got comfortable and now he's reverted to some sort of adolescent stage..."

The blonde smiles and leans over, moving the phone just enough to steal another kiss that May _probably_ heard.

"...I will, but I should go before Peter teaches our driver about the wonders of Dino-Nuggies... It was nice to talk to you, too. We'll stop by soon and see you, I promise... I'll tell him. Bye, Aunt May."

And then she's hanging up the phone, handing it back over with a satisfied smile.

"She says she loves you."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter just beamed like the arrested adolescent he occasionally was. The Gloomies were firmly back in place now which let Peter's normally sunny disposition come back out to the forefront. "Thanks ever so much for that." he said, reclaiming his phone and sticking it into his inside breast pocket. "Now I'm going to have a thousand Disapproving Looks about you and me and our relationship and when I'm going to make an honest woman out of you and gaaaaaah." he said while making a face. "Woman knows full-well what I do and _does not care_." he said, then paused.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." he admitted. The rest of that train of thought he left well and fully alone, as it brought with it a whole storm of feelings and expectation and whatnot that was a little much to work through in the back of a cab next to She Who Was Gorgeous Goddammit.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen couldn't seem to help the absurd laugh that bubbled up at that first statement -- a thousand questions and making an honest woman out of her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Peter," she muses, leaning over in the back seat to rest her shoulder against his. "If she starts on you, I'll tell her to give you a break. You've got enough on your plate to be worrying about me, so..."

She turns her head to look up at him, slipping her arm through his to pull herself a little closer against him.

"Try to enjoy the moment. We're trying to start a new company where you get to build all of those _fantastic_ devices you have in your mind, and maybe I can help out in some way." She smiles. "Everything's going to be okay."

Spider-Man has posed:
"She means well. She always has and she always will." he said. If there was anything Peter loved more than anything else in this or any other world, it was May Parker. His beloved aunt, who raised him after his parents went away. Luckily he was spared by the cab's arrival at Gwen's apartment building. Peter got out first, then walked around the cab to open the door for Gwen. Who, maybe because of her awesome dress or maybe just an act of kindness, permitted it this time. "Welcome home." he told her with a grin.