Red targeting lasers of Roxxon’s heavy tactical rifles flickered through the smoke, locking directly onto the front porch where Peter stood.
The mercenaries finger getting ready to squeeze their weapon triggers.
With the firing mechanisms moving in slow motion, Peter raised both arms and flexed his bracelets in rapid succession.
THOOM-THOOM-THOOM!
A series of hyper-compressed, invisible kinetic shock-slugs erupted from the silver casings.
Moving with the blinding speed of his enhanced reflexes, Peter systematically targeted the weapons themselves.
The slugs struck the heavy rifles with pinpoint accuracy, shattering the composite receivers snapping the barrels and violently ripping the firearms straight out of the mercenaries’ hands before a single round could reach the porch.
The well-trained soldiers staggered back in sheer confusion, staring at their broken smoking weapons.
Before the disarmed squad could even draw their secondary sidearms, the night sky split open with a localized sonic boom.
A brilliant, electric green and yellow blur tore through the upper clouds.
Rogue violently crashed down from the sky.
She impacted the asphalt directly between Peter and the remaining Roxxon line with a thunderous CRASH, sending a massive shockwave of displaced concrete and tar rippling across the street.
“Stop, you trash!” Rogue roared, her Southern drawl cutting fiercely through the ringing alarms.
She didn’t hesitate for a single fraction of a second.
Ignited by pure concern for Spider-man’s safety, she launched herself into the remaining mercenaries like a living meteor.
She caught a tactical shield-bearer by the rim of his heavy armor, effortlessly lifting him off the ground before spinning and throwing him straight into an oncoming Roxxon transport truck denting the reinforced steel hull.
A mercenary tried to lunge at her with a combat blade but Rogue swiped her bare hand forward catching his wrist, instantly absorbing his close-quarters combat training and dropping three soldiers with a sequence of flawless high-speed martial arts throws.
Jessica Jones standing on the lawn with her jaw slightly dropped, looked from the flying mutant powerhouse back to Peter, who was casually lowering his smoking silver watches.
“Okay, Parker” Jessica muttered, a dangerous deeply intrigued smirk crossing her face as she stepped back onto the porch.
“You really know how to party”.
From the doorway, Uncle Ben held the hidden electromagnetic pulse flashlight ready while Daredevil shook his head, his acoustic orientation finally stabilizing as Rogue systematically cleared the remaining corporate soldiers off their quiet Queens street.
Seeing their heavy rifles shattered and their frontline completely demolished by Rogue’s raw power, the Roxxon commander attempted a desperate final retreat, scrambling backward toward the last functioning transport truck.
He didn’t make it three steps.
Jessica Jones intercepted him with a sudden burst of speed, grabbing the collar of his tactical vest and slamming him flat onto the hood of his own ruined vehicle.
Within minutes, all of the corporate soldiers were captured, thoroughly incapacitated and bound by Rand Enterprises’ security forces.
Peter quickly had Homer run a deep, remote sweep of their tactical gear and digital comm-links but the corporate sharks had played it safe since there was absolutely nothing to link them directly to the upper board of Roxxon.
On paper, they were just unaffiliated security contractors.
Leaving only the smoke of spent gunpowder and the groans of wounded men on the pavement.
The Rand operatives began securing the perimeter, their rifles lowered but alert.
On the shattered porch, one man was still trying to crawl away.
It was the commander of the Roxxon strike team, his heavy body armor scuffed and a deep dent marring his helmet.
Before he could reach the grass, a crimson boot stepped squarely onto his hand pinning it to the porch floor.
The mercenary leader looked up into the crimson mask of Daredevil.
Matt didn’t say a word.
He reached down, gripped the man by his tactical vest and hauled him up effortlessly.
With a single fluid motion, he shoved the commander back against the brick wall of the Parker house, hoisting him just high enough that his boots dangled off the ground.
“Names!” Daredevil’s voice was a low terrifying growl stripped of any human warmth.
“Screw you” the leader spat, choking through his visor.
“You can’t touch…”.
Crack.
Daredevil slammed him against the brickwork again, harder this time before leaned in close, his face inches from the mercenary’s face.
To Matt’s hyper-senses, the man’s anatomy was an open book.
He could hear the rapid erratic fluttering of the leader’s valves.
He could smell the spike of adrenaline and pure panic flooding the man’s sweat glands.
Matt whispered, his tone chillingly clinical.
“I know exactly how much pressure it takes to stop the blood flow to your brain without leaving a mark.
And right now, no one is watching”.
To emphasize the point, Matt’s thumb pressed firmly into a nerve cluster just beneath the man’s jaw.
The mercenary’s eyes went wide, his legs thrashing as a paralyzing wave of agony shot through his neck.
Leaning against the splintered porch railing, Jessica Jones watched the display, crossing her arms.
She raised an eyebrow, a slow,dark smirk spreading across her face.
Watching Daredevil at work was genuinely impressive.
“Damn” Jessica muttered.
“The name” Daredevil demanded, ignoring her as his grip tighten.
“Give me a name or the next thing you hear will be your own collarbone snapping”.
The commander’s bravado completely shattered.
“Okay!
Okay!
It was…
it came from the top!
Approved by ….”.
He never finished the sentence.
Through his radar sense, Daredevil suddenly picked up a jarring abnormality.
The leader’s frantic heartbeat didn’t just speed up but it violently skipped.
A sudden massive spike of heat bloomed inside the man’s chest cavity.
“What the…..” the commander gasped, his eyes rolling back.
Across the lawn, a sickening chorus of choking and thrashing began.
Matt’s ears twitched as he heard the distinct sound of three, four, five heartbeats abruptly flatlining simultaneously.
The wounded mercenaries scattered across the grass convulsive violently, their bodies stiffening before going completely still.
In Matt’s hands, the leader began to spasm.
A thick dark foam bubbled from his lips, melting right through his mask.
“What the hell!” Jessica yelled, her sarcastic demeanor instantly vanishing.
Matt dropped the man to the floor.
The commander collapsed into a heap, his body twitching once before his heart stopped entirely.
The acrid chemical scent of a fast-acting synthetic toxin filled the night air, burning Matt’s nose.
“Cyanide?” Jessica asked, stepping over the body and kneeling down, inspecting the leader’s stiffening jaw.
“No.
Something worse” Daredevil said, his head turning as he scanned the street.
Every single Roxxon operative on the lawn was dead.
“A remote-activated chemical kill-switch.
Implanted in their gear or their bodies.
The moment he started talking, someone executed a clean-sweep”.
Daredevil nodding respectfully toward the porch before slipping back into the dark shadows of the rooftops.
Rogue’s boots touching down softly on the ruined asphalt.
She looked around, completely expecting to see Spider-Man swinging around to clean up the criminals.
But the sky was entirely empty.
Instead, her emerald-green eyes quickly locked onto Peter, who was casually standing on the front porch in his plain clothes, adjusting his glasses and checking the bracelets on his wrists.
Rogue walked up the porch steps, her bare hands tucked into her pockets with her gaze drilling straight into him.
There was absolutely nothing proving he was Spider-Man yet as she stood less than a foot away from him, her intuition told her otherwise.
She didn’t need to see the mask.
She was absolutely determined that Peter was Spider-Man.
A brilliant incredibly mischievous smirk broke across her face.
She didn’t reveal Peter’s secret in front of Aunt May, Uncle Ben or Jessica but she stepped right into his personal space, leaning in close to keep teasing him relentlessly.”Well, well, well, Sugah” Rogue purred, her Southern drawl dropping into a low, smooth whisper right next to his ear.
“Looks like I’m standing next to my favorite man”.
Peter stiffened as he rubbed the back of his neck, desperately avoiding her gaze “I—uh—Hi.
Nice to meet you”.
“Mm-hmm.
Whatever you say, darlin'” Rogue giggled softly reaching out and playfully poke his cheek with her gloved finger.
Seeing that Peter didn’t flinch, she smirked “I think you still owe me a proper tour of Queens”.
Inside the house, Aunt May paced back and forth across the living room carpet, her hands wringing her apron.
Through the broken front window, the flashing red and blue lights of the arriving police cruisers painted the walls in rhythmic strobes.
“The Johnsons are never going to let us live this down” Aunt May lamented, gesturing wildly toward the window.
“And Mrs.
Gable!
She just put in new hydrangeas and one of those horrible trucks completely flattened them!
How on earth am I supposed to explain a paramilitary shootout on our front lawn?”.
“May, sweetheart!
breathe!” Uncle Ben said gently as he place a his hand on her shoulder.
He looked tired, but his voice was like a rock.
“The important thing is that we are all safe.
Peter is safe”.
Peter Parker sat on the arm of the sofa, looking entirely overwhelmed.
“Look, Aunt May…
Uncle Ben is right.
And honestly?
With the funding we’ve secured, we have more than enough money to just pack up.
We can find a new home.
Somewhere with better security.
Somewhere far away from…
this”.
“Move?” May stopped dead in her tracks, looking at Peter as if he had suggested they fly to Mars.
“Peter Benjamin Parker, we have lived in this house for twenty years!
I am not letting some greedy corporation drive me out of my home.
Absolutely not”.
“I wonder how many peach pies or chocolate fudge cakes it will take to get back into the good graces of the neighborhood.
Do you think three pies per household is too desperate?
Maybe I should bake some lemon tarts for Mrs.
Gable”.
Before Peter could point out that lemon tarts rarely cure bullet-hole trauma, a heavy knock echoed from what remained of the front door frame.
Police Captain George Stacy stepped inside, tipping his hat.
His trench coat was damp from the night air and his sharp eyes immediately scanned the room, lingering for a microsecond on Peter before settling on Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
He had a notepad in hand but his expression was more concerned than accusatory.
“Mr.
and Mrs.
Parker.
Peter,” Captain Stacy said, his voice deep and authoritative.
“I’m glad to see you’re all unharmed.
I need a full statement.
We have a lawn full of dead men in advanced tactical gear and a private security from Rand Enterprises.
Care to tell me why Roxxon wants a piece of your family?”.
While the Parkers began answering Captain Stacy’s questions, two figures remained completely out of sight.
Slipped into the narrow, dark crawlspace beneath the stairs, Jessica Jones leaned against the drywall, holding her breath.
Crouched right next to her was Rogue with her green gloved hands pulled tight against her own chest.
“If that cop finds us, I’m blaming you” Jessica whispered barely audible.
“I have a reputation to maintain and hiding isn’t on my brand”.
“Hush!!” Rogue hissed back, her southern drawl muffled.
“We can’t let the authorities see us here.
It’ll just make things a hundred times harder for Peter and his folks.
Just stay still till they leave”.
Outside, the chaos was miraculously being managed.
The Rand Security forces proved they were worth every penny Danny Rand spent on them.
Instead of fleeing when the police arrived, the Rand commanders immediately coordinated with the officers.
Utilizing high-level corporate legal clearances and nondisclosure waivers, the Rand operatives began systematically straightening everything out.
They managed the crime scene, arranged for the discrete removal of the Roxxon bodies under federal jurisdiction protocols and even brought in a private contractor team to immediately board up the Parkers’ broken windows and sweep the glass from the street.
By the time Captain Stacy finished his preliminary questioning and tipped his hat to leave, the neighborhood looked less like a war zone and more like a highly efficient construction site.
But as the flashing lights finally began to fade, the real question remained lingering in the quiet house: how long before Roxxon struck again?
The moment Captain Stacy’s cruiser pulled away from the curb, the tension in the Parker house finally relaxed.
Aunt May took a deep breath, smoothing down her apron and marched straight toward the hallway cupboard.
“Alright, you two can come out now” May called out, her voice shifting instantly from panicked homeowner to hospitable matriarch.
“You helped us and I won’t have our protectors skulking around in the dark.
Come into the kitchen, I have a fresh strawberry-rhubarb pie that miraculously survived the excitement”.
Jessica Jones stepped out first, stretching her back with a loud pop and looking thoroughly relieved to escape the cramped space.
Rogue followed right behind her, offering Aunt May a warm grateful smile.
As they gathered around the kitchen table, Rogue’s green eyes kept drifting back to Peter.
She was quietly ecstatic.
After the fight when Peter caught her attention, she had been 50 percent certain that this kid was Spider-Man base on intuition.
The moment she overheard Uncle Ben and Aunt May address his name, Peter, that certainty jumped straight to 80 percent.
But what happened next that sealed the deal.
As Peter leaned over the table to pass Rogue a plate, she let the bare skin of her finger brush against the back of his wrist.
Nothing happened.
A wave of pure joy washed over her and a playful dangerous spark lit up her eyes.
She leaned a little closer to him, her southern drawl growing noticeably thicker and sweeter.
“So, let me get this straight” Aunt May said, cutting massive slices of pie while Uncle Ben sat silently trying not to laugh.
“Jessica, you’re Peter’s classmate who can lift a transport truck.
And Rogue, you’re a mutant who flies through the air like a rocket.
Peter, your friend Spider-man has a very diverse recruitment strategy”.
“It’s all about…
complementary skill sets, Aunt May” Peter stammered as he aggressively stabbed a piece of apple with his fork.
Jessica leaned back in her chair, chewing her pie thoughtfully.
“I’m just here to join the fun.
But Parker’s bracelet weapon is amazing.
Pretty slick for a nerd”.
Rogue sat directly next to Peter, her emerald-green eyes flashing with pure mischief.
She wasn’t just guessing anymore.
When she heard his name, Rogue was already seventy percent sure of his identity.
While eating pie, Rogue purred reaching under the table and casually resting her hand flat against Peter’s knee “Oh, Peter’s a boy full of wonderful surprises, Mrs.
Parker”.
Peter nearly bolted out of his chair, his entire body going rigid.
“He’s just real modest about his…
hidden talents”.
“Well now, Peter” Rogue resting her chin in her gloved hand and locking her gaze onto his.
“A strong handsome fella like you could really show a girl around the city.
What do ya say?
You free sometime?”.
Peter’s face flushed slightly in embarrassment as he choked slightly on his bite of pie, suddenly finding his fork intensely fascinating.
“I—uh—well”.
Jessica rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful.
“Just bring her already!”.
But across the table, Uncle Ben wasn’t missing a single thing.
He took a slow sip of his coffee, his sharp weathered eyes darting from Rogue’s flashing smile to Peter’s burning red ears.
A knowing incredibly amused grin tugged at the corner of Ben’s mouth.
He cleared his throat loudly, leaning back in his chair.
“Well, Peter” Uncle Ben said, his voice dripping with dry humor.
“Don’t let your aunt’s pie get cold while you’re figuring out how to answer the lady”
Before Peter could answer, Homer voice chimed with a crisp high-priority notification on the speaker.”Sir”.
“The encrypted mainframe relay confirms that Rand Enterprises has completed its internal board audit.
The deep-sea shipping and logistical sectors have been entirely purged of rogue elements” Homer explained as the digital document displayed on monitor.
The contract was incredibly beneficial for Peter, granting him millions in an upfront licensing fee, total data veto power and complete control over the proprietary chemical data.
However, Rand Enterprises would still benefit from it, since it help secure a global monopoly on a next-generation power source that would completely revolutionize their clean-energy and technology divisions.
“It’s perfect” Peter mumbled to himself “With this Roxxon can’t touch us legally or physically now.
Most importantly, it will act as a massive legal shield around the Parker family.
Rendering Roxxon entirely powerless to take any further aggressive or predatory actions”.
Under Rogue’s intense gaze and Uncle Ben’s amused smirking, Peter hurriedly swallowed his bite of pie.
“Homer, run a deep dive on Roxxon Enterprises” Peter ordered aloud deflecting.
“Track their local division and see who authorized tonight’s hit”.
A smooth, synthesized voice chimed from his device “Sir, Roxxon have completely scrubbed their networks following the sweep protocol.
I have failed to retrieve any specific names or operational logs, but I am maintaining active surveillance on all their local communication channels”.
Aunt May, entirely oblivious to Rogue’s heavy flirting, frowned slightly at her nephew.
“Peter, honestly!
Where are your manners?
You should be a proper host.
You should show Rogue the neighborhood”.
Rogue’s grin widened and she shot Peter a triumphant playful wink.
A few moments later, Jessica Jones pushed her chair back, dusting pie crumbs off herself.
Before stepping out the door, she pointed a finger at Peter.
“Hey, tech guy.
Pass a message to your buddy Spider-Man for me.
Tell him I’m looking to get some actual tactical training in case I decide to start helping people more often.
And since you build his gear, I need some equipment recommendations.
But let’s get one thing straight: no sexy superhero costumes”.
“Understood” Peter said, instantly slipping into his element.
“Since you already have super strength, you’d benefit more from investigative tools like a private listening device and a compact digital telescope for reconnaissance”.
Peter tapped his chin, analyzing her build.
“I also want to design some custom bulletproof and fireproof clothing for you.
If you’re serious about being a hero, you’re going to need a mask or something to protect your identity”.
Jessica shrugged.
“Sounds useful.
Keep the designs simple.
See ya” With that, she vanished into the dark.
After Peter send Jessica off, Rogue said in annoyance as she peek out of the front door “Thank god.
She finally left”.
She waited a moment, her green eyes tracking Jessica until she vanished around the corner.
Once she was sure they were completely alone the tense posture melted away, replaced by a soft playful smirk.
She leaned lean towards Peter “You handled that pretty well, hero” she flirted, her southern drawl dripping with amusement.
Peter rubbed the back of his neck said “Yeah, well, my heart rate was running about two hundred beats per minute”.
“Poor thing” Rogue teased, her eyes sparkling.
“You know…
I was hoping you’d spare some time for me next time you’re free.
No heavy secrets, no hiding.
Just you and me”.
She leaned in a little closer, her tone softening into something genuinely warm.
“I want you to bring me sightseeing around Queens.
Show me the city from your perspective.
No skyscrapers or crazy superhero stuff just the places Peter Parker loves”.
Peter looked at her, the lingering anxiousness faded away into a rare genuine smile.
“I think I can manage that”.
“So, it’s a date then” Rogue said, turning to face him.
She leaned back slightly against the wooden porch railing, a playful knowing smile playing on her lips.
“Deal” Peter laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, his Spider-Sense completely quiet for once and it is replaced by a much more pleasant kind of flutter in his chest.
“Just a normal afternoon in Queens.
I’ll show you the absolute best lemon ice spot in the city, and we can just…
be normal teenagers for a few hours”.
“I’d like that, Peter.
Truly” Rogue murmured softly.
The scent of her perfume catching the light breeze.
With a devastatingly charming smirk, she winked at him deliberately slowing her movements as she turned her hip around sexily, letting her long hair catch the sunlight.
Before Peter could even blink, her boots left the pavement.
A soft localized updraft whipped through the front yard as Rogue took to the air, defying gravity with effortless grace.
She floated backward for a second, giving him one last playful wave before shooting straight up into the sky and flying away toward the horizon.
A few days later, the X-Mansion was buzzing with an energy that had absolutely nothing to do with saving the world.
Rogue’s bedroom had turned into a full-blown room for teenage gossip.
“I’m telling you, he’s going to wear the mask” Kitty Pryde insisted, leaning against the door frame while phasing her hand idly through the wood.
“How else is he supposed to eat?
Does he just pull it up past his nose, or does he have a special zipper?”.
“Oh, please” Jubilee scoffed, sitting cross-legged on the bed and tossing a pair of discarded jeans into Rogue’s laundry hamper.
“If a guy is taking Rogue out, he’s leaving the spandex at home.
Unless he’s insecure about his hairline.
Rogue, does he have good hair?
Tell me he doesn’t have a bowl cut”.
Rogue threw her hands up in exasperation, holding up a sleek dark green dress in one hand and a casual leather jacket with jeans in the other.
“Will y’all please hush?
He does not have a bowl cut and he is not wearing the mask to dinner!
I’m trying to figure out if this dress makes me look like I’m trying too hard or if the jeans make me look like I’m going to a tractor pull”.
“Go with the dress” Jean Grey smiled gently from the corner, using a tiny nudge of telekinesis to hang up a stray blouse.
“But good luck escaping.
Logan is already sitting by the front door cleaning his claws”.
That was exactly why Rogue had taken precautions.
She insisted that Peter pick her up at a neutral spot in the city, specifically a quiet coffee shop near Central Park.
She knew the X-Men well enough to know that if Peter showed up at the mansion, Logan would threaten him and the rest of them would be watching through binoculars from the Blackbird.
When she finally met Peter in Manhattan, any lingering anxiety melted away.
Peter had put real thought into the day.
The afternoon sun filtered through the glass canopy of the rooftop conservatory, casting a warm dappled glow over the rows of exotic orchids and lush ferns.
For the first hour of the date, Rogue couldn’t stop looking around her eyes bright with an excitement she hadn’t felt in years.
“I swear, Peter, I’ve flown over Manhattan a hundred times and never knew this little slice of heaven was up her” Rogue said, her southern drawl soft and relaxed.
She stepped closer to him, her shoulder lightly brushing against his.
Peter smiled, the nervous knot in his stomach finally loosening.
“I stumbled across it while…
uh, scouting the city a while back.
I figured it was the perfect place where we wouldn’t have to worry about crowd noise.
Or nosy speedsters”.
Rogue laughed, a rich genuine sound that sent a pleasant shiver down Peter’s spine.
“Oh, you have no idea.
If we were within a five-mile radius of the mansion, Bobby would be trying to freeze our coffee cups and Kurt would be popping out of the shadows.
It’s nice.
Just being normal for a change”.
They spent hours walking the pathways, talking about everything and nothing.
Peter found himself opening up about his childhood in Queens, his absolute adoration for Aunt May’s chaotic baking experiments and the weird quirks of trying to balance a normal life with his tech projects.
In turn, Rogue told him about her life before the X-Men, the quiet beauty of the Mississippi riverbanks and the heavy isolation she used to feel.
But tonight, that isolation was completely gone.
As they transitioned to a cozy corner booth at a small family-owned Italian bistro for dinner, Rogue reached across the table.
Her bare hand slipped into his, her fingers intertwining with Peter’s.
Peter froze for a split second, his spider-sense completely quiet replaced instead by a rush of pure warmth.
Rogue’s thumb gently traced the back of his hand.
She looked down at their joined hands, a soft almost reverent smile on her face.
“You have no idea what this means to me, Peter” she murmured softly, looking up to meet his amber eyes.
“To just…
touch someone.
To feel the warmth of another person without a storm raging in my head.
You’re a miracle, Peter Parker”.
Before Peter could answer her, Rogue quickly continued “I know I’ve been making a big fuss about being able to touch you” she said, her thumb continue rubbing against his hand.
“And to a girl like me, who has spent years feeling like a ghost in her own skin, that really is a miracle.
But I need you to know something right now” She leaned in just a fraction closer, ensuring there was absolutely no space for doubt between them.
“I don’t just like you because my powers don’t work on you” Rogue whispered, her voice brimming with genuine affection.
“If that was the only reason, I could’ve just gone and hung out with Leech or any other power-dampener.
I like you, Peter Parker.
I like how fiercely you protect your family.
I like your brilliant nerdy brain, your corny jokes and the fact that you put this whole beautiful day together just to make me smile”.
She offered him a breathtaking, incredibly tender smile that made Peter’s heart completely skip a beat “The touching?
That’s just a beautiful bonus” Rogue said softly.
“It’s you, I’m falling for”.
Peter’s cheeks flushed slightly, but his grip on her hand tightened affectionately.
“I’m just glad it’s me,” he admitted honestly.
The applause from the patrons was still echoing softly through the rustic bistro when Peter smiled up at Rogue from their candlelit table.
He reached over, gently squeezing her bare hand.”I have a surprise gift for you” Peter whispered, his amber eyes shining with a mixture of excitement and nerves.
Before she could ask what it was, he excused himself and walked towards the piano sitting in the dimly lit corner of the restaurant.
The guests watched with curious smiles as the young man sat on the leather bench and adjusted his posture.
Drawing deep from the musical memories of his past life, Peter pressed down on the keys, striking a rich, resonant chord that instantly quieted the room.
He shamelessly had chosen a modern pop masterpiece that perfectly encapsulated everything he felt “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran.
He slowed the tempo down, letting the opening chords ring out with a gentle, rolling arpeggio that mimicked a soft heartbeat.
“I found a love…
for me,” Peter sang, his voice warm, clear, and deeply intimate.
Rogue felt her breath hitch.
The simple honesty of that first line hit her squarely in the chest.
She leaned forward, resting her chin in her bare hands completely captivated.
At a nearby table, an elderly Italian couple paused their quiet conversation, the husband gently placing his hand over his wife’s as they recognized the raw emotion filling the room.
“Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead,” Peter continued, his eyes locking onto Rogue’s green gaze.
“Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet.
Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me”.
Hearing the words ‘beautiful and sweet’ a soft brilliant flush colored Rogue’s cheeks.
A genuine radiant smile broke across her face.
She looked down at her own bare hands on the table, realizing just how deeply those lyrics applied to her.
For a girl who always felt like a dangerous outcast, Peter was looking at her like she was the only person in the world who mattered.
A group of diners near the bar quietly turned their chairs around, completely drawn in.
Peter shifted into the pre-chorus, his fingers dancing across the upper register of the piano to lift the melody.
“Cause we were just kids when we fell in love, not knowing what it was,” he crooned softly.
“I will not give you up this time.”
Rogue’s heart gave a violent, joyful thud against her ribs.
At the table closest to the piano, a young woman sighed softly, leaning her head against her boyfriend’s shoulder, completely swept up in the romantic atmosphere.
Then, Peter let his voice swell, pouring his entire soul into the chorus as the piano music bloomed into a rich sweeping tapestry of chords.
“Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms” Peter sang, his voice carrying effortlessly.
“Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song”.
A tear of pure happiness welled up in Rogue’s eye, catching the amber glow of their tabletop candle.
The imagery of being held, of dancing without gloves, without layers of heavy denim and leather was a dream she had locked away since childhood.
The head chef of the bistro stepped out from the kitchen doorway, wiping his hands on his apron nodding respectfully at the kid’s incredible vocal control.
Peter dropped his volume back down, bringing a deeply personal, whispered intensity to the final lines of the chorus.
“I have faith in what i see, now i have met…” Peter paused for a fraction of a second, his smile mirroring hers.
“An angel in person and she looks perfect…
I don’t deserve this, you look perfect tonight”.