He got up and approached the couch, helping her sit up slowly. He said,
"Your father just arrived."
Before he could continue, she shot up from the couch and turned around. Seeing her father walking towards her, she rushed into his arms and started sobbing again.
____________________
Seeing the both of them clinging to each other, Arthur started to feel like he was intruding. Hoping to avoid the slight sting of jealousy he felt, he turned around to go fetch another glass of water.
When he brought back the water, Gwen had let go of her father but was still standing close to him.
He handed her the glass and pulled the chair next to her father's for her to sit. She smiled graciously at him before sitting down.
Captain Stacy sat down too, still looking at his daughter as if she would disappear if she left his sight.
Gwen seemed to sense the slight uncomfortable vibe going on and decided to change it. Looking at Arthur, she asked,
"How did you even call my father?"
"You gave me the access code to your phone when we got here. I called him immediately after."
She smiled at him in thanks, but her father interrupted her,
"Gwen, we need to go home. It's late and your mother is worrying. I called her after your friend called me, but she needs to see you."
She hesitated, looking at Arthur, but he just shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't worry about me, I'm just gonna have a quick panic attack before going to sleep, nothing new there."
That seemed to worry the father and daughter duo, who looked at him strangely before Captain Stacy asked hesitantly,
"You often have panic attacks?"
"Not every day, but yes, sometimes. Like, I got one last week."
"So why would you need to know how to calm someone who has one if you are used to it?"
Arthur looked at him blankly.
"I only ever had to deal with my own panic attacks, never someone else's, and she is your daughter. I figured you knew her better than I do."
As they were leaving, Gwen looked at him for a moment before grabbing him in a tight hug. Squeezing him, she put her head on his shoulder, his hands going to her waist to support her. She pressed a kiss to his cheek before whispering in his ear,
"Thank you, Arthur."
Captain Stacy looked at them tensely before forcing himself to relax. Once they separated, he offered his hand to Arthur to shake.
"Thank you for taking care of my daughter tonight."
"There's no need to thank me for it."
_
Once Arthur was alone, with Bast on his lap, he broke down crying, shaking and experiencing his own panic attack. To comfort him, Bast began purring, his hand instinctively going to stroke her behind the ears.
He stopped himself once he realised who he was actually petting. Even through a panic attack, he managed to ask,
"Is it okay, Bast?"
"DON'T YOU DARE STOP, HUMAN."
Shrugging, he resumed his movement, focusing on the softness of her fur and the rhythm of her purr.
10 minutes after it started, his panic attack came to an end. Arthur was then assaulted by everything he saw inside the restaurant. Every thought he had came back to him, allowing him to look back at some of those thoughts.
Pushing back these reflections until tomorrow seemed like the right thing to do. Wanting to relax for a few moments before going to bed, he picked up the remote control and turned on the TV.
'And I shouldn't have done that.'
He thought, looking and listening to the evening news, reporting on the crazy guy in the grey suit.
'So that was the Rhino, huh?'
He continued to watch the report, learning that Spider Man had managed to stop the Rhino. Apparently, the guy in the suit was already on his way to jail.
'He will probably be back on the streets by next month.'
A bitter taste came back up his throat, making him want to throw up. Images of the dead people from the restaurant plagued his thoughts.
'Maybe the next time I won't manage to save her.'
He hurried to the sink in the kitchen to throw up, already imagining seeing Gwen in a pool of blood, not hearing her heart beating, seeing her eyes dull and lifeless. His heart rate shot up, but this time it wasn't a panic attack coming. His rage was slowly climbing.
'Should I just go kill him right now?'
Arthur toyed with the thought some more, realising that the act of killing someone didn't provoke any repulsing effects for him.
'I mean, it wouldn't be killing anyone innocent. It would be killing a monster, who would never repent otherwise. Or maybe he would, after his tenth trip to jail, after he escaped nine times and killed people each time.'
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. Maybe being a hero was too much for him, but he could be the one to eliminate the loose threat before they managed to get back up on their feet.
He would let the hero arrest them first, and then they would be killed before they could kill again.
'Still, that's not an operation that can be launched half assed. I would need a lot of information.'
He quickly took a notepad and a pen out of his bag before sitting back down.
He started to note what he could already be sure he would need at one point.
-Blueprint of prisons
-Access to police and army communications to know where who was.
-A weapon, some kind of knife
-A way to move quickly by myself
-A way to build myself an alibi
At the end of the list, he realised most of these things would be within his reach depending on how tomorrow's meeting with the monks went.
Sighing to himself, he went to shower and got ready to sleep. A good night could be good for him right now.
_
The next morning, he woke up still at 6. He followed the same routine as during the weekdays. By 8, he was leaving his apartment for a visit to 177 Bleecker Street.
Half an hour later, he stood in front of an ancient looking building. Gathering himself, he chose to send a message to Gwen before going in.
___
Me:
Hi, have you managed to sleep? I probably won't answer today, I have a lot planned. I just want you to know that I am here for you if you need me. I will read every message you send.
___
When she didn't respond after 5 min, Arthur turned off his phone and quickly pocketed it.
Taking a few steps to stand in front of the door, he started knocking without interruption. When the door opened to reveal an angry looking monk, Arthur smiled and said,
"Hi, is this the entrance for the Hogwarts Express? I would like to talk to your respected cult leader. Could you bring either of us to the other? Thanks."
_____