Chapter Text
Yuri took a deep breath over New York, looking across the twinkling lights of the city she sighed. Behind her, something dropped. She spun round, instinctively placing her hand on her holster, before removing it at the sight of the familiar red and blue pattern. She smirked, looking up at him as he re-positioned himself on the railing.
“Real elegant.” She called out teasingly. She waited expecting a witty reply, but all she got was a breathless ‘heh’. She frowned, but didn’t voice her concern. “Alright. We got reports of suspicious activity in the Raft earlier tonight, nothing big though so there’s not much I can do. I was hoping you could check it out? Quietly, just sneak in through a vent or something, see what you find.”
Yuri looked to Spider-Man for a sign of a response, even any sort of acknowledgement. Usually by now he would’ve hurled out around three jokes and some sort of sarcastic comment. Now? Nothing. She couldn’t blame him, it was pretty late, and with the number of arrests she had coming in, he had been busy over the last few days.
“You don’t have to y’know? I just thought just in case it was something…” Yuri fumbled.
Spider-Man jumped off the railing, the unexpected movement scaring Yuri a bit, he stretched out and said, “course I will, don’t want any of our friends in there making an escape, otherwise we’ll have to give them detention, and I don’t know about you but I don’t feel like staying after class.” He chuckled, but something felt off.
Yuri frowned suspiciously, “Seriously, don’t push yourself, it’s not that urgent. With the way you’ve been webbing people up lately…” Her voice trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence.
She could tell the way he smirked under the mask. “What? You worried about me, Captain?”
She rolled her eyes, “I’m worried about the city, that’s all.”
“Okay okay…” He jumped back onto the railing, looking in the direction of the Raft, “Back in a sec…” and he jumped.
It always made Yuri’s heart flutter when he did that, felt like it was going against every natural survival instinct, but then again it didn’t seem like the guy had much self-preservation instinct. She hung about on the roof for a while longer, not because she really expected him to be back so soon, more just down to her old habits. She used to stay out for around 30 minutes, taking slow drags of her cigarette, taking in the city, reminding herself why she did this job. The thoughts made her miss smoking, but she didn’t want to start again, she was happier without it. Old habits die hard anyway.
After a while of mindless paper-work, she got a call from Spider-Man. He was talking with a low tone, probably crawling through vents.
_____
Peter positioned himself on the edge of the bridge, the closest he could get to the Raft without going for a swim. A yawn bit at him to come out but he shook his head and blinked a few times trying to wake himself up a bit. He inspected the building, tapping the side of his mask lightly, the software came into action as it inspected the prison looking for any sort of weak points.
Zipping across the water and barely missing lunging right into it, Peter flung himself onto a light overseeing the Raft. There was a vent opposite him but his mask told him if he went anywhere near it motion sensors would rat on him, and probably lead to like 5 snipers he had to dodge, that's usually how it went.
Staring at it he could probably get spider-bot in there to do everything he needed to do. That was probably the most sensible thing but the idea of sitting still felt off, as much as it may be stupid he desperately needed to be moving about, anything to keep his mind off, well, everything.
Luckily the system was weak and he hacked it in no time. Then there was the electric current in place to shock anyone who did manage to get into the vents, fun. Thankfully, a web in just the right place knocked the system out of whack, he probably had about 2 hours before it rebooted itself. Nice, a time limit, just great.
Hurling himself into the vents, he called Yuri.
"Hey, you in?" Her voice cracked through his earpiece.
"Yeah. I'm sending you a map now, if you could open it up you can help me navigate."
"Okay, great." He heard shuffling from Yuri's side as she probably went to find a more private area for them to work.
"Got it." She said when the shuffling stopped. "Alright, you're close to Electro right now, just go forward then right for a few metres."
He mumbled a "yes cap'n" in response and made his way through the vents. He had to say these vents were not 5 star, he had hoped for better.
"How did you get in anyway?" Yuri said, breaking the silence.
"Ohh y'know, skills. Careful planning. Using the dark to my advantage, and keeping a keen eye on my enemies." His voice lowered for the last sentence as he went into Spider-Cop mode. Chuckling as Yuri groaned from the other end.
"I thought you liked him now?" Peter said, metaphorically poking her.
"I never said that." She grumbled, but her tone was still light. "Electro should be just ahead."
Carefully, Peter made his way forward. Inspecting the cell beneath him. It seemed like all the cells, especially for the super-powered inmates, had lots of layers of thick walls surrounding them, but still leaving sufficient space.
He hummed, "seems like Maxie's doing just fine."
"What's he doing? Anything odd?" Yuri said Peter could practically see her worried-serious expression.
"Nope. Looks like he's having a great dream. Oh man, I'm tired." He muttered, "how come super-villains get a break but I don't." He pouted.
Yuri chuckled, "get through this then you can sleep for days."
'Sleep for days' yeah, if only he could sleep at all.
He continued onward, stifling another yawn. “Which way now, Yuri?”
“Fisk should be just ahead.”
Peter nodded, heading toward the light shining from Fisk’s cell. “Huh.” Peter said when he saw the Kingpin.
Yuri frowned, “What’s he doing?”
Peter shrugged, then remembered she couldn’t see him. “He’s uh, staring at the wall.”
“What just-”
“Yup. Just staring at the wall.”
“You think he’s up to something?” Yuri lowered her voice.
Peter inspected the room, it was bare. Crawling around and watching the guards for a bit everything seemed normal. “No… I think our good ole Willie is truly just staring at the wall.”
A laugh from Yuri cut through, surprising Peter a little, she really didn’t laugh a lot. “Well, that’s better than literally anything else he could be doing.”
“I wonder if he’s a cyborg. I wouldn’t be surprised, his punches hurt.” Peter pondered.
“Maybe he is, maybe he’s charging right now.”
Peter smiled to himself, “Right, who’s next then.”
_____
Yuri leaned back on her chair as Spider-Man crawled forward through the vents. She was calmed to hear that the majority of their old villains seemed to not be up to anything. And strangely enough, even though it was pretty late and she desperately wanted to go home and sleep, she was kind of enjoying this mission with Spider-Man. Something she truly thought she’d never find herself thinking, but it was pretty relaxed. Who knew breaking into a highly secure supermax prison would make a great evening activity.
Yuri hadn’t spent much time with Spider-Man, they would call before he busts into places but usually he’d hang up and call again when everything was done, they’d never needed to be talking like this before, but shockingly it was nice. She’d found herself warming up to him over the last few months, he’d strangely become something of a little brother to her, a little brother that crawls on walls and she doesn’t even know the name of, sure, but still a little brother.
After going through the Rykers break out, Devil’s Breath and all of that shit, she started to see a different side to him. Before all that, he was always something of a mystery, and sure he still was of course, but before he didn’t seem human, if it wasn’t for all his crappy jokes she probably would’ve assumed he wasn’t. He was always there, swinging in, saving the day, getting beat up but never carrying the effects, always laughing, always joking, it was scary quite frankly.
But then there was Martin Li, and Osborn and Devil’s Breath and Doctor Octavius and everything seemed to catch up to him. Everything seemed to crack him a little more. She remembered the way he spoke on those nights when everyone was trying to handle the Ryker’s escapee’s and that sinister six, the way his voice cracked, he sounded so tired. And now, two weeks since everything ended, he hadn't seemed to have stopped despite his obvious exhaustion.
Yuri remembered the voicemail she got telling her the location of Doctor Octavius, his voice had been shaky, like a little kid, it was scared, sounded like he had been crying, or he still was. It had shaken her, to hear the hero of New York, to hear the Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man talk like his whole world had collapsed. And given the events of those few days maybe it had.
“Seems all clear.” Spider-Man called out through her phone. “For a big guy, Rhino seems so child-like down there, just takin’ a nap. Who knew…” He muttered, mostly to himself it seemed. He was in the habit of talking to himself, Yuri had noticed. “All right, who now, boss?” She heard the soft whirring sound of machinery on his end as he pulled himself through the vents.
Yuri looked to the map on her screen, “Uhh, looks like our newest friend is next, and last, thank god. Octavius. Just keep going forward for a couple metres then take the second left.”
She waited for his response, but it seemed to have gone deathly quiet, the only sound being the humming of the machinery in the Raft. Yuri frowned, “Spider-Man?” She called out, unsure of what to expect. He hadn’t left, the soft beeping of the tracker on him was still showing up on her screen. Perhaps he had passed out? They would really be in a tricky situation then, a spider stuck in the vents, how in the world would she get him out without getting arrested herself.
Just as Yuri started to spiral the sound of breathing slowed her down. It was heavy yet fast and slightly out of control. “Spider-Man?” She asked again.
This time, however, her call was answered, albeit only with a small, “Y- Yeah.”
“Everything alright in there?” She said slowly, trying to be calm.
The breathing started to slow, “Yeah. Just, just gimme a minute.” He said, almost in a whisper. Yuri frowned, listening closely, trying to get a grasp of the situation.
After what felt like far too long, he spoke, it came out small and shaky, “So, uhm, which way was it?”
Yuri hesitated, not sure if she should go along with his ignoring whatever just happened and continue with the matter at hand. “Uhh, you wanna tell me what just happened? Are you hurt?” She tried to ask as nicely as possible, but her usual grouchy demeanour took over.
“I’m fine.” Is all he said. Two words. Wow, so reassuring.
“If you’re hurt at all you need to get out of there, you’re not in some warehouse, it’s the Raft remember. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get you out if anything goes wrong.”
Spider-Man stayed mostly quiet, seemingly not as worried as her, “Yuri, seriously I’m fine. I just- needed a sec that’s all, it’s kinda stuffy in here.”
She frowned, not quite believing him but what other choice did she have. “Forward then the second left.” She grumbled.
It was silent as he traversed through the prison, Yuri wanted to say something, but now she was too annoyed and stubborn to be the first one to break the silence, and it seemed Spidey was perfectly happy to stay silent.
“I’m here.” He said finally.
Yuri nodded, leaning forward, “How’s it looking? He up to anything?”
Spider-Man stayed silent, probably inspecting the scene. “I- It doesn’t look like it…” She frowned, listening closely, trying to catch whatever he was muttering to himself.
“You’re gonna have to speak up there, what’s going on?” She called out.
His answer again was slow like he was still thinking, “I’m just gonna… give me a sec.”
The line went quiet for a second, then Yuri heard a chuckle, the kind of chuckle that sent a shiver down your spine, she tensed up instinctively reaching for a weapon. But it wasn’t near her, it was coming from her phone, all the way in the Raft. She pulled herself closer to the desk and concentrated on the voices.
“Hello Spider-Man.” The voice of Otto Octavius wormed through the line, it was quiet though, muffled.
“Octavius.” That was Spider-Man, his voice curt, bitter. What the hell was he doing? Yuri wanted to scream at him. He was definitely going to be noticed, this was just meant to be a simple reconnaissance, why the hell was he talking to one of them? As much as she hated what was going on, there wasn’t much she could do and she couldn’t deny that she was curious. The way they spoke, so much anger, hurt, in Spider-Man's voice she was beginning to wonder how much they really knew each other.
“Thank you for coming.” Said Octavius, he seemed calm, pleased in fact.
“You set off those alarms?” Spider-Man kept his words short, as though speaking to this man was the most dangerous thing he could do.
“Naturally.” Was his reply, arrogance seeping off the single word.
“What do you want?”
“To chat, catch up. We’re friends after all, aren’t we? How’s your aunt?”
Yuri heard how Spider-Man’s breath trembled at the question, he swallowed and ignored it. “You set off security alarms to get me here to… chat?”
“Well, it can get quite lonely at times…” he replied.
“What about the guards, can’t they see me?”
“Oh don’t worry about them, a bunch of fools really.” Octavius sounded bored talking about the guards, convinced he was so much better. He made Yuri grit her teeth, she wasn’t sure how Spider-Man had held out so long, if she had been in his position she would’ve hurt him already.
Spider-Man paused, probably taking in the situation, unsure of what to do. “What’s the end goal here, Otto?”
Otto. Spider-Man used villains' first name all the time, it got under their skin when not taken seriously. But that was always part of the quip, part of the act. Here, however, his voice tense and angry, using his first name was something that came naturally to him. She felt as though she shouldn’t be listening to any of this.
“I thought we should talk. Now we’ve both had some distance since our last encounter, some time to think. The dust has settled and I think it would be… beneficial for both of us to discuss everything.”
Spider-Man was quiet for a moment, “I don’t know what there is to discuss.”
“Oh come on now Peter, I know you’re smarter than that.” Yuri’s stomach dropped, she had heard Spider-Man’s name, she definitely shouldn’t be listening to this, Otto and Spider-Man knew each other, this was personal. Spider-Man must’ve meant to end the call.
All Yuri could do was keep sitting there and listening, it felt like a betrayal of sorts but she couldn’t just leave him.
“Speaking of intelligence, have you found a new job yet? Not working for Osborn I hope.” The words came off jokingly, but an air of threat bled through the words.
Spider-Man remained silent.
“Staying quiet? How mature. And you never answered, how’s your aunt? She was always such a lovely woman. I remember when she first called me, asking about my apprenticeship, I was so confused…” He chuckled, as though they were old friends catching up over coffee.
When Spider-Man next spoke, his voice came out trembling, “She died.”
Doctor Octavius’ voice seemed to lower with genuine sympathy, “Oh, Peter… I- I really am so sorry.”
Spider-Man’s voice curled up with anger, “No. No, you don’t get to be sorry.” He snarled, “You caused all of it, you- you were the best man I knew, and you let your anger get the better of you. Hundreds died because of you. You don’t get to be sorry.” Yuri swallowed, feeling the tension even if she couldn’t see what was going on. She had never seen anyone get a rise out of Spider-Man like that, as far as she knew he was relatively good at holding his temper and pulling his punches.
“Yes…Yes, I suppose you’re right…” Octavius muttered, contemplative. “But Osborn made it. We both- you know he’s the bad guy here.”
Yuri heard Spider-Man sigh, clearly tired, if not already before, more so during this conversation. “So that’s why I’m here.” He muttered in an exasperated whisper, “I’m here, because you want to team up right? Take down Osborn together. Then what? Everything goes back to the way it was? Us working in that dingy lab with second-hand equipment, trying to do something we’d never accomplish?”
The words struck a nerve in Octavius as Yuri heard him growl at the comment, “You said we could’ve done something, I thought you believed in what we could do?”
“Yeah. I did, but not now.” Spider-Man said, his voice still trembling. “I really did worship you…” He sighed, almost sounding like he was trying not to cry. “It’s over Otto, you lost. Let it go.” He said the words simply, gently the hate and anger gone from his voice all that was left now was pity for this great man now so far lost.
Yuri heard a squeal of anguish from Octavius as he yelled at Spider-Man incoherently, the words got further and further away though as finally Spider-Man left the Raft behind. All she could hear now was the whistle of air and gentle flopping of the water, the noises of the city coming closer.
_____
Peter was silent coming back from the Raft, the conversation with Otto left him exhausted, even more exhausted. He wanted to scream and cry and yell but he was too tired, a headache bruised his mind making thinking about anything nearly impossible.
Seeing Otto again, sitting there, looking up at the vents expectantly for Peter had shaken him. He had totally just bailed on Yuri, she was going to be pissed, surprisingly though, she hadn’t tried to call him a billion times.
Heading back to the Precinct roof Peter saw Yuri standing there, leaning against the railing. The streak of light lit up her face slightly, presenting her with a worried look. He couldn’t avoid this, she was gonna be mad and he would say- something, he’d figure it out Parker style.
He zipped down, using his webs to accelerate him. Aiming for the railing, but landing too hard on the small surface area and losing his footing slightly. Sloppy. He scolded himself for the mistake. Yuri turned at the noise, and didn’t seem surprised when she saw him. She opened her mouth and Peter winced, expecting her to yell for his idiocy instead she narrowed her eyes and said, “When was the last time you slept?”
Peter paused, he had not expected that. “I uh, the other night, I guess.”
She looked sad, she looked as though she was pitying him. He hated it, he wanted to crawl away, it wasn’t meant to be like this, not with Spider-Man, people didn’t pity Spider-Man.
Yuri heaved out a breath, trying to formulate words but clearly unsure of how to.
Peter frowned, hopping off the railing and moving closer, “Are you alright?”
Yuri winced, rolled her eyes and muttered angrily to herself. Looking up, down, anywhere but Peter, before she blurted out, “I heard everything. You left the call on and before I knew what was going on I heard everything you said to Octavius.”
Peter gaped, of all the things to happen tonight he truly had not expected that. “Ah.” He chuckled, not sure what to say.
Yuri stood there, hands on her hips and a guilty expression on her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to invade, I just had no idea.”
Peter swallowed, now feeling a little too exposed. Not that he didn’t trust Yuri with this information, he’d just rather no-one had it. “It’s fine Yuri. Not like it makes a difference to anything. He’ll probably reveal my identity to everyone so you might as well know.” He allowed himself to collapse on the edge of the building, his legs and arms hanging off the side with the railing as his only support.
He could feel Yuri studying him, her eyes scanning him the way she would after she just rescued someone from an exploded building or something. “I’m sorry. What he said, about your aunt.”
Wow, Peter had not expected that stab in the heart. He knew she was just being nice, but he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could handle tonight. He just shrugged, “I’m not the only one that's ever lost someone.”
Yuri sat down next to him, fiddling with her hands. “Sure. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
He nodded. The two sat over the city for a while in a comfortable silence. Peter yawned and Yuri looked back at him again with those scrutinising eyes.
“Seriously, you need to go home and sleep.”
Peter shrugged, “I’ll be alright”
Yuri stared at him, her eyes, wide open, “No, you won’t. Go home.”
Peter played with his hands, ‘home’. He wasn’t too sure where that was anymore. He had been evicted months ago and still hadn’t found a new place. He had gone to May’s a few times but just to pick up some stuff, he couldn’t afford to keep the place. Most nights nowadays, since he didn’t have a job to get to anymore he just found spots on rooftops in between crime-fighting. Sometimes hanging about F.E.A.S.T and crashing on the couch in May’s office since no one had had the time to clear her stuff out, but always leaving before anyone could ask anything.
He had considered asking MJ if he could stay until he got back on his feet, but he hated to put that burden on her. They had broken up for a reason and just because they were talking again didn’t mean he could do all that to her.
So sitting there on that rooftop was just as much ‘home’ as anywhere else at the moment. Yuri was still watching him, and even though she couldn’t see his face I think she picked up his hesitancy.
“Do you uh,” She cleared her throat, not believing what she was about to do, “Do you have anywhere to go?”
Peter’s flustered response probably gave it away immediately, “I mean, course. Just y’know. Busy. What, you think Spider-Man’s homeless?” He chuckled a little self-deprecatingly.
Yuri shrugged, “I think that Peter might be. I’m assuming you don’t have much of a paycheck since your boss went to prison.”
Peter went red at the use of his name from an unfamiliar mouth, he spent years protecting his identity, it was always a little freaky when someone new figures it out. He coughed, feeling a little awkward at the situation.
Yuri rolled her head back and whispered something to the air in a frustrated tone. “Can’t believe I’m about to ask this,” she muttered to herself, “Do you want to stay at mine?”
Peter's eyes widened at the unexpected offer, completely unsure of how to respond he gave a pathetic reply of incoherent noises. “I- I can’t ask that of you Yuri. I mean we’ve got this thing and I don’t wanna overstep any boundaries-”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.” She said slightly exasperated, but her tone was still gentle.
Peter hesitated. But he could feel the weight of everything beginning to pin him down and here was Yuri, offering a hand up. He smiled, “Thanks Yuri.”