Chapter 4
Peter and Kate have officially been roommates for two months now. Aside from a few restless nights, Kate would say they were relatively uneventful. The fact that they hardly see each other is starting to feel less odd, and more just a matter of fact.
She’s still somewhat convinced that Peter just doesn’t ever sleep, but whenever she points it out, or makes a joke of it, Peter is excellent at deflecting or changing the subject.
”I quit,” Kate grumbled into the phone, as she enters their apartment (she no longer refers to it as just her apartment. More and more signs of someone else living there are all over the place. Such as the hoodie currently sling over the back of the couch.) she’d just left her job at yet another restaurant. Why she continued to go into customer service in the food industry, was beyond her.
“Why did you quit this one?” She could hear the laughter in Clint’s voice even through the phone, and she can’t help scowling as she drops her bag down on the floor next to one of the chairs in the kitchen. She tilted her head, balancing the phone between her face and shoulder so she could start rifling through the cupboards for something to eat.
Bad time to quit- she could use the extra tips for some more groceries. The cupboards are starting to look a bit barren. Of course, there are people she could ask if she was really desperate, but she wasn’t. She wasn’t desperate, and they had enough. Besides, there were countless other places out there n the city she could work until she was ready to set up her own shop.
”Because people suck,” she replied, as if it were the most obvious answer, and she knows that Clint of all people can agree with that. As she suspected, he laughs on the other end, and murmured his agreement. Her eyes finally land on some tomato sauce and spaghetti noodles, and she pulls them out. “Spaghetti it is,” she announced, placing her hand back on the phone. “We’ll talk more later. I’ll find a new job tomorrow. I’m starving.”
She and Clint say goodbye, and then she’s hanging up before she starts cooking, humming to herself as she moves around the kitchen.
“You making enough for two?”
Kate jumped, her sauce covered spoon clattering to the floor as she spun around, one hand flying to her chest to cover her now rapidly beating heart. Peter was sitting there on the couch, looking apologetic, wearing wrinkled clothes with his hair mussed from sleep. Almost too easily he hopped over the back of the couch, bracing himself with one arm, so he could swoop down to pick up the fallen spoon.
“Sorry…” he apologized sheepishly, washing off the spoon in the sink before handing it back to her, while she just continued to stare at him like he’d grown an extra head. “Fell asleep on the couch again and heard you come in. If there’s not enough for too, I can make something else.”
“You mean, you don’t have to rush off somewhere?” It came out way more snarky than she intended, and she immediately clears her throat and turns back to the stove. “I mean, I’m just surprised, but yeah. There’ll be plenty. You don’t have to make anything else.”
She looked over her shoulder just in time to see a sort of far away look on Peter’s face as he shrugged. “No, I don’t really feel like going out tonight. If I’m intruding though or you have —“
”Peter, it’s fine. Really. It’ll be fun. You wanna watch a movie or something?” She asked, turning back to the stove again, a soft smile on her face. She wasn’t too ashamed to admit, she was kind of excited about actually getting time to spend with her new roommate.
“Cool, cool, cool,” he nodded, taking a seat. “What do you wanna watch?”
Her lips quirked even more, her eyes crinkling with amusement. “Community fan? Please tell me that wasn’t just a coincidence. I figured you were just a Disney guy. Last few times I found you asleep on the couch, you had something Disney on.”
”Those movies help me relax when I’m stressed,” he admitted, laughing quietly to himself. “But yeah, big Community fan. We could just watch reruns of that if you want? It’s been a while for me.”
“Me too. That sounds perfect, she agreed, humming as she drained the spaghetti.
After a couple hours of the two of them sitting on the couch cross legged, eating enough spaghetti for a small army, and obnoxiously quoting (and sometimes acting out) scenes from Community, it was hard to remember that the two of them hadn’t actually been best friends for ever. It was honestly the most fun Kate had had in a long time. It was refreshing to just be able to hang out and be a little goofy for a bit.
“This is nice, thank you,” Peter admitted, slumping back against the couch after the two of them just finished coming down from one of the many laughing fits they’ve had that night. This time from a rather terrible impression from Peter. Kate slumped back against the couch too, still clutching her stomach and nodded.
“I was just thinking the same thing. Seriously, I have to admit. I never imagined you actually being fun- no offense. I guess that’s what I get for judging someone based off just a few interactions. Peter thankfully, didn’t seem offended one bit if his laugh had anything to go by.
“I do normally like to keep busy, so I mean, probably not that far off. I don’t ever give myself time to just… have fun. I don’t like giving myself time to just…” he trailed off, his lips twisting to the side as he stared odd at nothing in particular, wearing the same far away look she sometimes caught him with when he thought she wasn’t looking. He seemed to second guess himself with wherever he was going with that, because eventually just just shrugged, and dropped his gaze down to his lap.
“Don’t like to give yourself time to think?” Kate guessed, and Peter immediately looked over at her, his expression unreadable before he finally nodded.
“Yeah.” He sighed again and stood up, picking up both of their empty plate to take to the kitchen. “But let’s not ruin the mood okay? Three favorite sitcoms, rapid fire. And go.”
“Um. Um. New Girl, Big Bang Theory, and How I Met Your Mother,” she shot back, grabbing the remote to find something new to watch- maybe a movie or something. “And you?”
“The Office, New Girl, and Jeopardy.”
“Jeopardy isn’t a sitcom,” she laughed, shaking her head as he rejoined her on the couch, handing her a beer.
”I panicked okay.”
Kate didn’t bother pointing out that it had been his question to begin with, not that she probably would have been able to manage between the peals of laughter that had the both of them clutching their stomachs again. And of course, she decided Jeopardy was the best thing to put on- “Seeing as it’s your favorite sit com and all.”
This ended up being a regular thing, the two of them sharing an evening together, watching television and goofing off. Peter still stayed busy, and always managed to not be around whenever Clint or Yelena were around, and she was starting to feel like it wasn’t coincidence. But he did say on of their night in’s that he was incredibly shy, and even alluded once to having lost a lot of people he cared about, so he didn’t like to let others in. So she tried not to be too offended- or annoyed by Yelena’s constant pestering about Kate’s crush. (Which she was 100 percent in denial about.)
It was nearing Easter, a few months now since Peter had moved in, and she was now considering him one of her best friends. Not that she had a lot of friends to begin with, but that was beside the point. But she found herself worrying about him a lot- he seemed incredibly accident prone. She couldn’t count the amount of times she’d greet him in the morning before they went their separate ways for the day to see he had a new wound or bruise.
There was also the fact that he always seemed to have bags under his eyes, and sometimes, when she’d catch him passed out on the couch, he’d seem even more distressed than he did when he was awake.
But then when he was awake, he’d smile brightly at her, and they’d laugh about something ridiculous, and she’d forget her worries- at least for a little while.
With Spring being there, it meant the city was full of spring breakers coming home to visit, and even more tourists than usual. Which also meant - crime was higher. Which meant spent a lot more time as Hawkeye.
She’d just spent most of the night fighting off another gang that she was fairly certain were more lackies for Wilson Fisk. He’d been quiet for a while, but he seemed to be coming back out of the shadows. She was working on a plan with Clint and Sam to smoke him out, but it was admittedly exhausting.
“Give me the strongest coffee you have with tons of chocolate in the biggest cup you have. Please.” She ordered, sitting down at the bar of a coffee shop just down the block from her apartment. The barista nodded knowingly before turning around and getting to work. The place smelled strongly of coffee, and that alone was enough to alight Kate’s senses. She inhaled the aroma deeply through her nose as she leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands as she waited.
“The dreams are worse here, Ned,” she overhears a girl say a few stools down. “I swear, I feel like they’re not even dreams. Like they’re memories. I thought they were bad on campus, but being back here… I just..” the girl sighed, and Kate can see her shake her head out of the corner of her eye.
“Yeah, I’ve had a few dreams too,” her friend, who can only be assumed to be Ned, replied quietly.
“I think it’s Spider-Man,” the girl says suddenly, and her back straightens with confidence.
”What!? MJ. I think I’d know if you dated Spider-Man.” Ned sputtered, and if Kate had been at least trying to pretend like she wasn’t listening before, they had captured her full attention now.
”Well, I think that’s the point, Ned. I don’t know why we are both having these dreams. But they mean something. I know it. If we could just… track him down. Find out who he is…”
“I can do it,” Kate chimes in, before she can stop herself. She fully sits up to look towards them in time to see them both whip around and stare at her like deer in headlights. “I’m a private investigator. Here, I have a card and everything. And, I don’t know if you know this. But I’m the new Hawkeye, so I run into Spider-Man sometimes. I can totally do the job for you.” She fished into her wallet for the card she had Clint help her make last time he was in town- just as a trial basis, and slid it across the counter.
The girl, MJ, folded her arms across her chest, and pursed her lips together as she glanced down at the card before snapping her gaze back to Kate. It was clear to Kate her expression of distrust was a mask- she could see the hint of hope and curiosity practically burning in her eyes. Ned reached behind her and carefully inspected the card, as if there might be some sign of fraud on it.
Which - okay, her business wasn’t actually real yet, but she had to start somewhere!
“I didn’t say I was looking to hire a P.I.” MJ retorted, her eyes narrowing. “But even if I were interested, how would I know I can trust you.”
Kate just smiled and slid over one more stool so she could be closer, just as the barista brought her her coffee. “I’ll answer any questions you have, and offer some references of the Avenger quality if needed. Let’s talk.” Kate reached out her hand to shake, hoping to begin a conversation that very well may lead her to her first ever client.
And an interesting one at that.