Peter began swinging toward the Jedi Temple, the massive structure easily identifiable on the horizon even from this distance.
As he web-slung between buildings and weaved around the constant stream of speeder traffic, something appeared on his heads-up display.
Avenger detected nearby.
Peter blinked in surprise and quickly scanned the area until he spotted the familiar figure.
Sam Wilson emerged from a residential building looking decidedly... disheveled.
The Sam was adjusting his wingsuit harness and checking his appearance when...
"Hey, Sam!"
Wilson jerked upright and looked around frantically until his eyes widened as he saw Peter swinging directly toward him.
"Peter," Sam said, his voice noticeably strained.
The young hero landed gracefully in front of him with arms spread wide.
"What brings you to this part of town, Sam?"
Sam shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"Uh... well, you see..."
Before the winged Avenger could formulate a proper response, someone leaped onto him from behind, wrapping slender arms around his shoulders.
"Sam!" the woman clinging to his back whined playfully. "Why were you trying to sneak out without saying goodbye? Weren't we supposed to go get breakfast together?"
Sam froze completely, his face flushing with embarrassment as he noticed Peter's white mask lenses widening dramatically. The woman appeared humanoid but was clearly not human, with distinctly pink skin and vibrant purple hair that caught the morning light.
"Sorry, Dani," Sam said carefully, trying to maintain some dignity. "But I need to get back to my team duties with the Avengers."
The woman named Dani looked up and noticed Peter standing awkwardly in front of them. The hero gave a hesitant wave.
"Oh my stars!" Dani slipped down from Sam's back and stepped forward to enthusiastically shake Peter's hand. "How wonderful to meet another one of you famous Avengers! You must be spiderman."
"Uh... yeah, that's me," Peter said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I've heard so much about you and your team!" Dani said with genuine excitement. "You've been all over the HoloNet, and I've seen you around the city helping people constantly."
"You can actually spot me in all this chaos?" Peter asked, gesturing at the countless spacecraft zipping in every direction around them.
"A man in bright red and blue swinging on webs? You're rather hard to miss," Dani laughed, moving back to Sam and linking her arm through his.
"So... how did you two meet?" Peter asked, trying not to sound too amused.
"Oh, it was absolutely romantic!" Dani declared with obvious delight, gazing adoringly at the former Air Force pilot. "There I was, trapped on a balcony at the most dreadfully boring corporate function, when suddenly chaos erupted in the streets below. In all the confusion, I lost my footing and started to fall—and then I was swept up into the sky!"
Dani suddenly threw herself backward dramatically, and Sam instinctively reached out to catch her. He stumbled slightly but managed to support her in a classic dip pose. The pink-skinned woman arched gracefully, one leg extended, placing the back of her hand against her forehead in an exaggerated swoon.
"My dashing hero caught me in his strong arms like an angel descending from heaven itself!" Dani straightened up and gave Sam an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek, and the Avenger couldn't suppress a small smile despite his embarrassment.
"That's... really sweet, actually," Peter said with an approving thumbs-up, while Sam shot him a look that could have melted durasteel.
"I know, right?" Dani practically bounced with excitement, hugging Sam tightly. "I never imagined I'd be rescued by a genuine hero!"
She began peppering Sam's face with quick kisses, and despite himself, the Avenger's smile grew more genuine.
"Alright, Dani," Sam said, gently taking her hands in his. "I promise I'll comm you when I'm free again."
Dani gave the Avenger a sultry look and leaned in for a much more passionate kiss before pulling away several seconds later. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Peter had tactfully turned away, suddenly finding the sky traffic extremely fascinating.
"We absolutely must do this again very soon, Wilson. Very soon." She smiled coyly. "I happen to be free all next week."
With a playful wink and one final kiss, she sauntered back toward the building where she and Sam had apparently spent the night, leaving Sam's eyes fixed on her retreating figure.
"Lord have mercy," Sam muttered under his breath, then turned to Peter, who was still studiously examining the sky while whistling innocently. "Okay, kid, you can look now."
Peter coughed awkwardly. "So... how long have you two been—"
"A couple weeks now," Sam admitted. "She's... she's incredibly passionate."
"I could tell," Peter said with barely contained amusement, earning another flat stare from Sam. "So who is she, exactly?"
"She told me her species is called Zeltron," Sam explained as they began walking toward the Temple district. "Apparently they're naturally very passionate, and..." He cleared his throat. "Rather uninhibited."
Peter snorted with laughter. "Yeah, even with my complete lack of experience in that department, I could figure that out."
Sam chuckled and gave the young New Yorker a gentle nudge.
"She also mentioned that her species naturally releases pheromones toward people they find attractive," Sam added.
"Ohhh," Peter said with sudden understanding. "So she must really like you."
Wilson couldn't help but grin, a genuinely affectionate look crossing his features. "Yeah, she's... she's something special, I'll give her that."
"I can't wait for everyone else to hear about this!" Peter announced with obvious glee.
"Don't you dare—"
"Oh, come on, you're not going to keep this secret, are you?" Peter teased. "I bet Cap would be happy for you. Maybe it'll even encourage him to find someone special of his own."
Sam chuckled knowingly at that suggestion, thinking it might be easier said than done.
But then again...
He'd noticed how Steve interacted with a certain Jedi Knight whenever they found themselves together at the Temple. They mostly just trained together, but according to Natasha, there had been several occasions where she'd spotted the two of them simply talking and enjoying each other's company.
So maybe there was hope for the Star-Spangled Man after all...
Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, Sam activated his wingsuit while Peter prepared to swing back into the air.
"So where were you coming from this time?" Sam asked as they began making their way back toward the Jedi Temple.
"Oh, you know, the usual routine," Peter shrugged. "Fighting street crime, helping out the Coruscant Guard, breaking up gang turf wars—that sort of thing."
"It's kind of depressing that even in a galaxy far, far away, this kind of crap is still pretty universal."
"Tell me about it," Peter agreed with a sigh.
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