Wayne’s look of pure astonishment slowly shifted into something dazed and complicated.
His eyes dropped; he couldn’t meet hers.
His lips were a little dry when he started to speak.
“Sor—”
He never finished the word.
Something soft and fragrant pressed against his mouth.
Gwen had wrapped both arms around the back of his neck and clumsily sealed his lips with her own, shutting down the apology she didn’t want to hear and was terrified of hearing.
A long moment later she slowly pulled back.
Two clear lines of tears slid from her reddened eyes.
Her gaze drifted.
Her lips trembled.
She turned her face away so no one would see her looking so wrecked.
“D-don’t get the wrong idea… This is just a birthday present.”
Super Hearing made every muffled sob she had tried to hide hit Wayne like a physical blow.
The astonishment returned to his face.
Gwen had the right to walk away.
If she chose to leave he had no grounds to stop her.
He had already braced himself for that reality.
What she chose instead was something he hadn’t dared to expect.
Hoping for it would only have made the heavy, twisted feeling in his chest worse.
Gwen refused to give up.
She simply couldn’t stop the tears.
The harder she tried to look fine, the more they poured out like a broken dam.
She wanted to run out the door, find somewhere private, calm down, and face the boy she loved most while she still looked perfect.
Her feet refused to move.
They stayed rooted to the floor until a pair of arms pulled her into a warm embrace.
Her wide eyes tightened.
The fists she had clenched so hard slowly opened.
For a second she wore the exact same stunned expression Wayne had shown earlier.
When her blank mind finally caught up she bit her lip, a flash of resentment mixed with relief, and buried her face against his chest.
Wayne looked down at the girl in his arms and let out a helpless sigh.
You’re going to soak my shirt… of course he didn’t say it out loud.
He glanced back.
Susan looked like she was about to short-circuit.
Johnny was still carefully trying to talk her down, repeating “Susan, you need to calm down,” while she treated him like empty air.
Honestly, when Wayne pulled Gwen into that hug, Gwen wasn’t the only one whose brain went blank.
Susan’s did too.
She had calculated every move, certain she could finally claim HER Wayne for herself… and all she had done was give someone else the assist.
Susan felt completely numb.
Her eyes were empty; she was one step from shutting down entirely.
In the end she still didn’t explode.
Watching Gwen cry her heart out barely moved her.
Watching the lost look on Wayne’s face, though, put a real ache in her chest.
Fine.
This kid’s “pioneering” ability was way too strong anyway.
She couldn’t keep him to herself.
But just letting him go like that?
Impossible.
That was the moment Wayne turned and met her eyes.
“Shall I yield?”
“Yield.”
Susan let out a long breath and gave a helpless little nod.
A flash of pure relief crossed Wayne’s face.
He scooped Gwen up and carried her straight back to the room.
He wasn’t planning to start anything.
He just wanted to give her a place to recover her dignity after crying like that in front of everyone.
Only then did the people who had been silent the entire time notice how strange the atmosphere had become.
Everyone wore a different expression.
Mouths opened, but no one knew what to say.
Tony finally broke the silence.
“Ahem… Young people, you know.
I was the same when I was that age.”
…
Inside the room Wayne set Gwen down on the bed.
She immediately yanked the quilt up over her head.
Part of it was to wipe her tears.
The other part was that she still had no idea how to face him.
Just now… it seemed, maybe, possibly… they were a couple?
Wayne felt a flicker of amusement and almost reminded her that he had X-ray vision, so the quilt was completely useless.
After a second he decided to keep that to himself.
He looked out the window.
For a moment he felt the same surreal haze Gwen did.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
Just complicated.
The responsibilities on his shoulders had just multiplied.
Peter had been right.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Today’s young people ran on a “just for fun” mindset.
Even Johnny had gone through plenty of girlfriends and openly called it casual.
But as someone who called himself a real man, Wayne wasn’t about to dodge what he owed.
Responsibility was just responsibility.
He could carry it.
While he was still thinking, a pair of pale, slender arms slid around him from behind.
Soft pressure settled firmly against his back.
Gwen rested her head on his shoulder.
“So… are we…?”
Wayne gave a small nod.
“Mmm.”
Sweet happiness bloomed in Gwen’s chest.
A second later she deliberately put on a stern face.
“Then you won’t abandon me?”
“When did I ever say I would?”
“You were just about to say it… Forget it!
We’re not talking about that!
Just thinking about it makes me mad!”
She gave the side of his neck a small, annoyed bite.
“Prove it to me!”
“Prove what?”
“That you won’t abandon me!”
“What do you want me to do, then?”
“Let me think…”
She said it, but her drifting eyes and flushed cheeks gave her away.
She had already decided.
She was just too embarrassed to say it out loud.
Finally Gwen clenched her teeth, leaned in close to his ear, and let warm, fragrant breath brush his earlobe.
“Come to my house tonight.”
Wayne blinked and looked at her.
She didn’t look like she was joking.
He wasn’t worried about the actual activities.
It was more…
“Isn’t Uncle George going to come after me with a kitchen knife?”
“He’s been really busy since the promotion.
He’s been getting home late every night.”
“Besides, are you actually scared of a knife?”
One of her hands was already playing with the hard muscle of his arm.
The other slipped under his shirt and started stroking the firm lines of his abs without any shame.
She had wanted to do this for so long.
Wayne let out a quiet sigh.
Fine.
Since she put it that way, he would just have to risk getting chopped.
He only hoped he could finish explaining before the knife broke.
“So… should we head out now?”
“No way!”
Gwen shoved him down onto the bed the second he started to move, then happily climbed on top of him and started biting and nuzzling wherever she could reach.
“You’re mine now!”