Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kaine was having a pretty good day before he got the phone call.

Things were quiet; with no looming catastrophes (for once), he'd spent the day lounging on the couch, paging through a dog-eared poetry book while Aracely hung upside down off the cushions at the other end, tongue stuck out in concentration while she tapped away rapidly at a game on her phone.

His phone rang while he was in the kitchen, leaning one hip against the counter and eating crackers out of the box. Few enough people had his number that he didn't even bother checking the caller ID before answering with a grunt.

"It's about Ben."

The second he heard Peter's tinny voice coming through his phone speakers, his mind went blank, thoughts drowned up by a loud buzzing that filled his head. The box of crackers dropped from loose fingers to the ground, and light footsteps heralded Aracely's concerned face poking around the threshold. Kaine didn't notice, and he wasn't listening as Pete explained the latest mess Ben had gotten himself into. He was too busy staring at his horrified reflection in the window.

There was something wrong with Ben. Again. There was always something wrong with Ben. And that meant people were getting hurt.

"I know you have a… complicated history," Peter said, and Kaine snapped back to attention. "But you also have, I dunno, a connection. If anyone can get through to him, it's you."

Ha. As if he'd ever had any kind of positive impact on the life of Ben Reilly.

"So will you come?" Peter asked with tender hope in his voice.

"No," Kaine said, and hung up the phone.

–

"Are we going to New York?"

Kaine grunted and tipped Aracely off the couch where she hung over the edge, sending her falling back down onto her toes. "No," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the TV. "We're staying here. And stop eavesdropping."

"You want to go," Aracely said with cheery certainty. She crossed her arms over the back of the couch and plopped her head on them. "They need you."

"They don't," he said. "Get out of my head."

Aracely ignored him and rolled over the back of the couch to sit cross-legged on the cushion beside him. "You're being dumb," she said. "You can help. I can help. Of course we're going."

Kaine's head whipped around to glare at her. "First of all," he snapped, "you are not going anywhere near that lunatic."

She huffed. "You don't have to be scared," she said, rolling her eyes. "I can take care of myself."

"Good for you," he said. "We're still not going."

Aracely pressed her clasped hands against her mouth, thinking hard. Kaine turned back to the TV and braced for whatever was about to come out of her mouth.

"I could go by myself."

Kaine's hand closed so hard around the tv remote the plastic casing cracked. "No."

"I could!" Aracely crowed, sensing weakness.

Kaine took a deep breath and slowly turned back towards her. "Aracely," he said in a slow, serious voice. "This isn't a game. He's dangerous, and he hates me. There's no telling what he's capable of." He took a deep breath, and then, because he needed her to get it, to understand that this was serious, and they were both better off not getting involved, he said, "He will hurt you to hurt me."

Aracely narrowed her eyes and gave him a long, piercing look. Kaine did his best to broadcast this is a bad idea in his own thoughts as loudly as he could. Finally, she lifted her chin and said, "He's your brother and you love him and I can help. I'm going."

Kaine ground his teeth together. He took a second to consider all of the ways a resourceful teenager with godlike powers could make her way to New York on her own. He redoubled his glare, and Aracely's face lit up. He scowled harder.

"When we get there," he said, "what I say goes."

Aracely beamed. "I'll go pack our bags!"

She vaulted back over the couch and raced off towards the bedrooms. Kaine watched her go, his stomach sinking.

Ben fucking Reilly, he thought begrudgingly. It seemed they would never be rid of each other.

–

Peter wasn't there to meet them when they got into the city, which suited Kaine just fine. He scrolled past the harried, apologetic texts he'd sent in his place in the cab to the hotel, while Aracely plastered her face against the window and gaped at the skyscrapers.

"You've been to New York before," he said without looking up.

"Not on the ground," she said, tearing herself away just long enough to stick her tongue out at him over her shoulder before going right back to staring. "Oh, look! What is that?"

Kaine reluctantly looked up at her insistent slaps on his shoulder. Through the window, visible above the buildings beside them was a tall, angular red building, glaringly out of place against the smooth gray planes of the surrounding skyline.

His hand closed into a fist around the material of his jeans. "That's where we're going." The Limbo embassy. That's where he is.

Aracely's eyes widened and she pressed herself even harder against the glass.

The cab came to a stop in front of the hotel and Kaine bundled her out onto the sidewalk and tossed too much cash through the passenger window without looking back. His teeth were on edge. If he still had a spider-sense, he imagined it'd be blaring.

This was a bad idea, he told himself as he checked the two of them into a room. Still time to turn back, he thought as he glared at a couple until they fled the elevator and left them to ride up alone. Aracely's small hand wrapped around his wrist and squeezed.

Damn kid, he thought, taking the hood of her sweatshirt and pulling it down over her nose. Her outraged sputtering got him to crack a smile for the first time since they left home.

In the hotel room, he deposited Aracely in front of the TV and dropped his bag heavily on one of the beds, tearing open the zipper to reveal his suit. The black spider stared accusingly up at him.

Responsibility. It all came back to that. He could tell himself as many times as he liked that this wasn't his, but it was, wasn't it? Ben was his responsibility. More than anyone else's.

With an annoyed grunt, he grabbed the costume and started changing.

Rapid footsteps alerted him before a slight weight landed across his shoulders and Aracely's arms locked around his neck. "Are we going now?" she asked, plopping her cheek down on his shoulder.

Kaine reached over his head, snagged her by the back of her sweatshirt, and pulled her over his shoulder to drop flat on her back on the bed. "I'm going. You're staying here," he said, tugging his mask out from under her.

She reached up and seized it, pulling it close to her chest. He frowned at her and she glared back at him. "This is a team mission!"

"First of all, no it's not," he said. He tugged gently on the mask, but she refused to let go and only scowled harder. "Second, you can come. Tomorrow. If he doesn't try to kill me on sight today."

A concerned crease formed between her brows as she mulled that over. Kaine crouched down to meet her eye level. "Today is reconnaissance," he said. "That's it."

"I'm good at reconnaissance," Aracely protested.

"No, you're not," Kaine said. Aracely frowned harder, but her grip relented and he tugged his mask out of her hold. He flicked her right between the eyes and stood back up. "Watch a movie or something. Stay out of trouble. I'll be back soon."

Aracely rolled over to sit cross-legged on the bed as he strode over to the window. "Be careful!" she called after him, real vulnerability creeping into her voice. Maybe some of his dread was rubbing off on her, after all.

Kaine paused by the window to give her a last look over his shoulder. She looked small, biting her lip with her hands shoved in her hoodie pocket. "I can handle Ben," he said. And he could; he was confident that, if necessary, he could beat Ben in a fight. That wasn't what he was worried about. He projected that confidence as hard as he could.

He waited for her to nod before pulling his mask on and climbing out the window. As he swung off towards the jagged red building looming large over the city, he did his best to push Aracely out of his mind – he wasn't just leaving her behind because of the danger.

He didn't think he could handle worrying about her on top of everything else the first time he saw Ben again.

–

Peter had assured him he'd let the Limbo people know he was coming, and they shouldn't give him any trouble. He must have kept his word, because the weird-looking monsters posted up in the hallway didn't give him a second look as he climbed in the window.

"Ben Reilly," he said to one of them, who was bright purple with six arms. "Where is he?"

"We have a door, you know."

Kaine looked over his shoulder to see who he could only assume was the Goblin Queen herself approaching. She stopped a few feet away and raised an eyebrow. He just shrugged.

Madelyne sighed and waved a hand. "Come with me," she said. "I'll take you to him."

She turned and started down another hallway without bothering to check if he was following. Kaine shot one last look at the purple six-armed demon, who leered back at him, before jogging after her.

There were evidently several floors between them and Ben, and they walked most of the way in silence, which suited Kaine just fine. At the top of the third winding staircase, however, Madelyne finally broke it.

"So you're Kaine," she said, glancing sideways at him.

Kaine grunted. It wasn't worth a response.

"Ben… mentioned you," she said delicately.

"I'm sure he did," Kaine said flatly. If it was true that Ben only remembered the most painful parts of his life – well. He must know Kaine best of all.

"But still you've come to help him," Madelyne said, drawing to a stop in front of a round portal set in the wall, guarded by yet another demon.

Through the portal, Kaine could see grass, trees, flowing water. And a little ways away, a green and purple silhouette and the back of a blonde head.

He grit his teeth. "Yeah, well," he said. "We'll see." He stepped through the portal without waiting for a reply.

Ben didn't turn around at his approach, but his shoulders tensed. Kaine stopped, leaving a good several yards between them.

"Back again so soon, Pete?" Ben sneered. "Got another moralizing speech about how much of an inconvenience I am?"

"Not quite," Kaine drawled.

Ben's head snapped to the side and he stared at Kaine over his shoulder. "... You've gotta be shitting me."

"Unfortunately not," Kaine said, crossing his arms. A creeping tension crawled across his shoulders as Ben turned to face him fully, mirroring his posture. Ben seemed wary, and certainly not happy to see him, but not aggressive. Still, Kaine was on edge; he knew better than to underestimate his brother.

"So. Kaine," Ben said, raising his arms out to either side. "Come to kick me when I'm down?"

A muscle in Kaine's jaw jumped. "No," he said. "I'm here to help you."

A look of genuine bewilderment stole over Ben's face for just a second before he threw his head back and laughed. It was an ugly, joyless sound that put Kaine's teeth on edge and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

"What a joke!" Ben said savagely when he was done. Kaine clenched his fists, but Ben didn't make a move towards him. Instead he started pacing, just a few steps in either direction, gesturing aggressively with both hands. "Seriously, did someone set you up to this? Are there hidden cameras somewhere? You, help me?" Ben stopped and spun on his heel to face Kaine again, his eyes narrowing into a poisonous glare. "What are you gonna do, Kaine, shoot me again?"

Kaine didn't flinch even though the words hit home. He preferred to think about the unmitigated disaster that was their time in Las Vegas as little as possible.

"I know someone," he said levelly. "Who might be able to help."

"Might," Ben said with a derisive snort. He shook his head. All at once, the fight bled out of him. It left him just looking tired. "You're wasting your time," he said, waving a hand dismissively. His arm dropped halfway through the gesture, like it wasn't worth the effort. "I had my chance to get back what he took from me, and I lost it. There's no point."

Kaine frowned behind his mask. "So that's it?" he demanded. "Your dumbass scheme to invade Manhattan with an army of demons goes sideways, so you're just giving up?"

Ben's eyes flashed. "Whatever, Kaine," he said. He jerked his chin sideways, looking away. "I don't see why you care, anyways. You get some holier-than-thou guilt trip from Peter, or something? This was an awful long way to go for your good deed for the day, Scarlet Spider." He spat the name like an insult.

Frustration bubbled up in Kaine and he tore his mask off, teeth bared in a snarl. "I care," he snapped, "because you may be a fucking lunatic and a danger to society, but you're also my brother, and that makes you my problem." His fist clenched around the fabric of his mask.

Ben guffawed. "Oh, seriously, are you still on that?" He shook his head, a mirthless smile ghosting across his face. "We're not brothers, Kaine. We're not even real people. We're fucking science experiments."

The words were so alien coming from Ben's mouth it made a pit form in his stomach. Kaine was moving before his brain registered it, closing the distance between them. Ben rocked back on his heels, but otherwise stood his ground, narrowing his eyes as Kaine crowded into his space.

"Listen to me," Kaine growled. "I don't care how you feel about me. Hell, I don't care how I feel about you. It doesn't matter. 'Cause under that shitty dye job, you and I are the same. You hear me? You and I are never gonna be rid of each other."

Ben scoffed and looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. "Oh, now the guy who took ten years to discover the existence of scissors is gonna preach to us," he muttered weakly.

Kaine, with a truly heroic effort of will, resisted the urge to throttle him. Ben finally stopped dodging his gaze and he realized, with dawning horror, that Ben didn't believe him. Worse, he knew he wasn't gonna be able to leave him like this. He'd come here half hoping Ben would give him an excuse to just leave, to pack Aracely back onto a plane and leave Ben to Peter to figure out.

God damn it.

He took a step back. "I'll be back tomorrow with help," he said gruffly.

Ben shrugged listlessly. "I literally cannot stop you."

Kaine hesitated a moment longer, but Ben turned his back, evidently done with the conversation. With a frustrated noise, Kaine tugged his mask back on and headed for the exit.

Madelyne was still waiting by the portal when he emerged back out into the hallway. She raised one delicately arched brow as Kaine blew past her towards the window at the end of the hall.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he called back over his shoulder.

"Use the door, would you?" Madelyne's voice floated after him.

He snorted humorlessly and leapt out over the surrounding buildings, Ben's dead-eyed defeated expression still looming large in his mind's eye.

–

Kaine's ruminations were interrupted by the sight of two colorful figures waiting for him on the hotel roof. Even through the mask, he recognized Peter's bewildered look. Aracely had gotten to him.

He ignored his brother to glare at the offending teen, beaming at him innocently in full Hummingbird getup. "What did I tell you," he said flatly.

"It's not trouble if you have a partner!" she protested, gesturing at Peter.

"Who told you that?" Kaine demanded, then shook his head. "I don't care. Change and go back to the room."

Aracely pouted, rocking up onto her toes. "But I wanna hear about how it went!"

"Too bad. The adults are gonna talk. Scram."

He stared her down. She put up a valiant effort, but if he'd learned anything from living with her this long, it was this. Finally, with an over-dramatic sigh, she turned and stomped off towards the access door, her costume melting away to reveal her normal clothes as she went.

The door slammed shut behind her. Peter awkwardly cleared his throat.

"So," he said. "I take it she's yours?"

Kaine grunted. "It's a long story."

"Sure," Pete said. He rubbed the back of his head and looked over his shoulder at the access door where Aracely had disappeared. "You, uh, you didn't, like, steal her, did you?"

"I said it's a long story." Kaine crossed his arms. "I talked to Ben."

Peter dropped his hand. "Right," he said soberly. "Ben." He sighed, scruffing one hand over the top of his mask. "Look, Kaine, I appreciate you coming," he said. "I want to help him. Even after everything, I really do, but…" He gestured as if trying to grab something that wasn't there, and looked at Kaine beseechingly. "You saw him," he said. "You know. It's like he's not even Ben anymore."

Kaine snorted. "Sure he is."

The mask creased as Peter frowned. "Obviously – I mean, I know it's him. But he… I've never seen him like this."

Kaine shrugged one shoulder and turned away from him, walking over to the edge of the roof. He laid a hand on the low barrier wall, looking down at the city below and trying to quell the guilt rising in his gut. "The time Ben spent with you… was one of the happiest times of his life. I've known him longer." His fingers dug into the wall, sending concrete dust falling off the edge towards the street. Years. Years of Ben at his absolute lowest. "He's different. But he's still Ben."

Peter didn't respond, but Kaine could feel the unhappiness radiating off of him. He ignored it in favor of vaulting over the wall, landing lightly on the other side with his hand still anchored to the top and turning his head to look back at Pete. "Come on."

Peter cocked his head, but slowly approached nevertheless. "Where are you going?"

"Inside." Kaine made a show of looking him up and down. "But I'm not walking through the hotel with you dressed like that."

Pete spluttered in outrage, and Kaine was still smirking when they both crawled through the window a minute later.

Aracely was waiting for them, starfished out on her bed with a put-upon expression. She leaped to her feet at their entrance, bouncing up onto her toes. "Finally," she said. "You took forever."

"No, we didn't," Kaine said, tugging his mask off. Peter followed suit. Kaine stripped off the top half of his suit and reached for his t-shirt, eager to be out of it.

Aracely jumped onto his bed, making his bag bounce out of his hand. He shot her an annoyed glance. "You're nervous," she piped up, leaning forward. "That means we're going back tomorrow, right?"

"Stop that," he said automatically, then sighed. "Yes. We're going back."

"Yes!" Aracely threw both fists up in triumph. "I knew it. I knew you couldn't leave while he still needed you."

Kaine rolled his eyes and dropped his bag on the floor, done changing. "I'm gonna order food," he said, grabbing the hotel phone. He snapped his fingers at Peter and pointed at Aracely. "You. Explain to her what the deal is."

Peter, who had been watching them with a kind of baffled wonder, startled at being addressed and popped off the wall he'd attached himself to. Kaine wandered a few steps away and left him to join Aracely on the bed and start talking to her in a quiet, serious voice, while he busied himself with negotiating a veritable mountain of food out of the hotel kitchen.

He left the explaining to Peter, settling himself on the other bed to watch them. Peter had his head canted down towards Aracely, his brows drawn together into a grave expression. She stared back at him with rapt attention, hands closed around her ankles as she listened closely. Kaine watched her, and thought about Ben's sneer, and hoped desperately that he wasn't making a mistake.

When a loud knocking signaled the arrival of room service, Aracely popped up with a bright, "I'll get it!" and ran to answer. While she loudly explained to the hotel employee that they couldn't come inside, Peter snorted and shook his head.

"She's a good kid," he said, offering Kaine a smile.

"She is," he agreed.

Peter drummed his fingers on the bed. "And –" he began, then stopped himself. A moment later he continued anyway, like he couldn't help himself. "And you really think she can help him?"

Kaine cast his gaze over at the door, held open by one dirty sneaker, where Aracely could be heard insisting that no, really, she could do it all by herself. "If anyone can," he said. "She can." And he believed it, absolutely he did; but he also couldn't help but linger on that if.

Later, when it was dark and Aracely was snoring against his shoulder in the flickering light of the TV, Peter caught his eye and gestured with his head towards the window. Kaine slid Aracely onto the pillow and got up to join him.

"I'll meet you at the embassy tomorrow," Peter said, opening the window with one hand and tugging on his mask with the other.

Kaine made a sharp noise in the back of his throat. "Don't," he said.

Peter froze, one foot up on the windowsill. His mask creased. "Why not?" he demanded.

Kaine crossed his arms. "He blames you for this. If you come, he'll be more on his guard. And he'll bait you into a fight. You'll be a distraction."

Peter scowled harder, putting his foot back down. "That's bullshit, Kaine, come on. I can keep my temper around Ben." When Kaine only raised an eyebrow, he gestured angrily with both hands. "I should be there! He's my brother, too!"

Kaine squared his jaw and gave Peter a quelling look. "So don't let your hero complex get in the way of actually helping him," he said, jabbing a finger in the center of Pete's chest. "You asked me to come. So trust me to do what I came all the way out here for."

Peter glared at him for a long few seconds, but Kaine didn't back down. Finally, he looked away, shoulders slumping. "Fine," he ground out. He gestured helplessly with one hand. "Just… please." He gestured again, as if physically grasping for words, then gave up and just said again, "Please."

Kaine got it anyway. He dropped a heavy hand on Peter's shoulder. "Like you said," he said. "He's my brother, too."

Peter nodded, more to himself than to Kaine, and patted his forearm. "Yeah. And, Kaine – I do trust you. Just so you know."

Kaine grunted. "Good. Now get out of here." He shoved Peter, lightly, with the hand on his shoulder. Peter obligingly rocked back with the motion, then ducked out the window. With a quick two-fingered salute, he leaped out and swung off into the night.

Kaine shut the window and lingered there a moment. "I can hear you holding your breath, you know."

He turned to see Aracely lift her head, unrepentant. "He's not coming?" she asked.

Kaine grunted. "He'll probably show up anyways. He's almost as bad as you." He sat down on the edge of his bed, facing her. "Don't worry about it. We'll be fine."

Aracely gave him a broad, sleepy smile. "'Course we will," she said, nestling back into her pillow. "We're a great team."

Kaine snorted. "Sure. Now go to sleep." He kicked his feet up onto the bed and rolled over to face away from her.

Not for the first time, he envied her optimism.

–

Aracely insisted it was rude to go in the window, so the next morning saw them walking in the front door of the Limbo embassy building.

The demon working the front desk took one look at them and said, "Oh, the spider people. Go right on up," gesturing at the stairwell behind her with a tentacle.

Aracely, in full Hummingbird getup and hovering a few inches off the floor, chirped a bright, "Thank you!" as Kaine took her by the elbow and wordlessly pulled her after him towards the stairs.

"Would've been faster to climb the wall," he grumbled halfway up the tower, more to distract himself from the pit forming in his stomach than any real frustration with the climb.

"But this way is more fun," she said cheerfully, waving at a pair of demons passing them on their way down the stairs. Aracely looped her arms around one of Kaine's and let him tow her behind him like a balloon. "Everything's gonna be okay, you know."

"Sure," Kaine said, without conviction.

Aracely pouted and dug her chin into his shoulder. "I mean it!"

"I said sure, didn't I?" Kaine said. He rolled his arm, but she doggedly hung on. "Now focus. Are you ready for this?"

"Mhm," she said, more seriously. "Peter said he lost all his good memories. But I bet they're just hidden somewhere, like mine. So I just have to find them."

"Okay," Kaine said. "And if he… reacts badly, or gets violent–"

"That's what I have you for," Aracely said, beaming at him. "You'll protect me."

"Yes," he said decisively. "So if things go south, get out of there and let me."

Aracely hummed, which was definitely not an agreement. Kaine shot her a stern look and she sighed, her feet alighting on the ground again. "Okay," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Good." Let her keep believing everything would work out; he would be ready for the worst. Like he always was.

Madelyne was waiting for them by the portal. Her gaze lit upon Aracely with interest, and she raised an eyebrow at Kaine as they approached.

"We can find our way in," he said bluntly, not bothering with a greeting. "You didn't have to meet us."

"Ben is in my care," Madelyne replied coolly. "I want to at least meet whoever you brought to see him."

"I'm Hummingbird!" Aracely burst out, interrupting whatever rude remark Kaine was about to make in reply. She stuck a hand out. "It's nice to meet you. You're really pretty."

Madelyne blinked, but to her credit recovered quickly and smoothly reached out to take her hand. "A pleasure," she said. Shrewd eyes swept Aracely up and down. "You believe you can help Ben?"

Aracely lifted her chin. "Yes," she said, with a decisive nod.

Madelyne studied her for another long moment before her lips curled into a small smile. "I wish you the best of luck, then," she said, dropping her hand. She looked up at Kaine. "If you need anything, call. I'll be nearby."

"Sure," he grunted. He had no intentions of involving her in whatever happened in there. He put a hand on Aracely's back, and she craned her head back to smile at him. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

Aracely chirped a quick, "Bye!" at Madelyne with a little wave as Kaine urged her through the portal and back into Ben's domain.

Ben was sitting on a low tree branch, arm resting on his cocked knee and looking out away from the portal as they came in. He turned his head at the sound of their entrance and sharp brown eyes immediately fixed on Aracely.

"Holy shit, Kaine," he said, swinging his legs over the branch and dropping deftly to the ground. "What'd you do, steal her from a local middle school?"

"Actually, it was a hospital in Houston," Aracely responded cheerfully. "And it wasn't really stealing. He saved my life!"

Kaine pulled her up short with a firm hand on her shoulder and with the other hand removed his mask as he cut in with, "This is Aracely. She can help you."

Ben ambled a few steps closer, body language wary but intrigue clear in his face as he looked her up and down. "Sorry, Kaine. I'm glad the emotional support tween has worked out for you or whatever, but I'm really not interested in babysitting. Nice try, though."

Kaine's hand flexed around Aracely's shoulder, but before he could respond, she piped up with, "I'm psychic! I can help you get your memories back."

Ben drew up short. And then, to Kaine's dismay, took a step back. Genuine fear flashed across his face for just a second before he squashed it back down. "Nope. No," he said, making a cutting motion across the front of his body with one arm. "Nobody's fucking with my head. Not happening. Fuck off."

"Ben–" Kaine began, taking an aborted half-step towards him.

Aracely interrupted him by squirming out of his grip and racing forward, grabbing for Ben's hand. "I promise, I–"

She didn't get to finish her sentence before Ben lashed out and backhanded her away from him, hard enough to send her flying several yards with a startled yelp.

Kaine saw red. He was on him in a flash, the blood roaring in his ears. He drove a punch into Ben's jaw hard enough to snap his head back. "Aracely, go!" he barked, cocking his arm back for another blow.

Ben saw it coming that time and caught his fist in both hands, digging his heels in. "There it is," he snarled, his face distorted by rage. "I knew I couldn't trust you."

Kaine echoed the sentiment. He knew all along this was a mistake; one misstep, and here they were again: at each other's throats, where they always ended up. "We came to help," he snarled back.

"Liar." Ben twisted his hips and with a heave pulled Kaine off his feet and hurled him over his shoulder. Kaine hit the trunk of the tree with a pained grunt as the wind knocked out of him. He landed hard on the ground and immediately Ben was on him, his full weight bearing down on his arm hard across Kaine's windpipe. "It's not enough to take away every little speck of joy in my whole miserable life, huh?" Ben was trembling, shaking with fury and wild-eyed with fear as he pressed down with all his considerable strength. Kaine twisted and bucked, trying to shake him off, but he only held on harder. "You want to take away everything else, too? Leave me with nothing?"

Kaine gasped for breath, his grip on Ben's arm weakening as black spots crowded the edges of his vision. So this was it; after all these years, Ben was finally going to kill him. At least Aracely–

"No, no, stop!"

Aracely!

In a blur of green, Aracely charged Ben, hammering her small fists futilely against his back.

No, no, no – panic sent a surge of adrenaline through Kaine. He dug his heels into the ground and bucked up hard enough to break Ben's grip, just for a second. He took advantage of it to plant a hand firmly on Aracely's chest and shove, knocking her away from them.

"Go," he croaked with the meager breath he managed to draw before Ben's fist slammed into the side of his head and his head hit the ground.

"No!" Aracely wailed. She picked herself up and instead of running for the exit like she should have, she hurled herself at Ben again, locking her arms around his neck as he reared back for another attack. "Stop it! You're brothers, you have to remember that! Remember!"

Her voice reverberated with power as her eyes started to glow. Her hair and cape, pebbles, Ben and Kaine's abandoned masks all lifted into the air, pulled by an unseen force, and then fell again as Ben collapsed like his strings had been cut.

Kaine stayed frozen for just a second, pinned under Ben's dead weight, the whistling of his labored breathing the only sound in the clearing. Then he snapped back to himself and moved, shoving Ben off of him with a grunt.

It took him two tries to get Aracely's name out through his ravaged throat, but she didn't respond. She was still latched onto Ben, eyes squeezed shut and forehead pressed against his back, trembling all over. He put a hand on her shoulder and was hit with a sudden jolt of distress that had him yanking it back like he'd been burned.

Kaine let out a breath that was more like a hiss and sat back on his heels, rubbing his jaw. This was beyond his realm. He reached out to adjust Ben's head so he could breathe, then settled in with a hand ghosting over Aracely's back to wait for her to return from wherever she took them.

It couldn't have been more than a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity before Aracely suddenly gasped, her eyes flying open. She dropped her grip on Ben and threw herself headlong into Kaine's chest. He shifted automatically to shield her, putting the bulk of his body between her and Ben and closing one arm around her.

Aracely took a few hitching breaths against his shoulder, then pushed back with her hands on his chest. There were tear tracks down her face, but she did an admirable job of sounding composed as she said, "It – there – it's like there's a hole. There's a hole at the center of him, and all the good is getting sucked in."

A raw, bitter chuckle drew Kaine's attention to Ben, propped up on his hands and knees, head hanging low between his shoulders. Tears dripped from his face onto the grass. "What, was I being too subtle for you?" he sneered. He squeezed his eyes shut as he was wracked by a full-body shudder. "Chasm. You think I was just being cute? You really are the dumb one."

Ben heaved himself up to sit on his haunches, mirroring Kaine. He tapped a finger pointedly against his temple. "Everything I was was built on those memories – Peter's memories. And without them…" He spread his arms and gestured at himself, his face twisted into a cruel mockery of a smile.

"Peter's memories," Kaine said, then swore viciously. Of course, of course Ben needed Peter – and Kaine had told him not to come. What was he thinking? The arrogance to assume he could help Ben this time, when he never had before. He ought to go, track down Peter, drag him here. But looking at Ben, radiating hopelessness and bitterness in equal measure, he couldn't make himself leave.

Finally, he said, "Take mine."

Ben scoffed. "Right. 'Cause your life is a bundle of laughs."

"Not – mine," Kaine growled. "Peter's."

Ben stopped, momentarily taken aback. He squinted at him and said, almost like a question, "You don't have Peter's memories."

"Yes," Kaine said, his hand closing into a fist. "I do."

Not all of them. At least, not anymore – he thought he might have, once, but the degeneration and the madness had washed away so many of his earliest memories. But when his mind had cleared – when Peter had saved him and brought him back to himself, some of them were still there. How much, even he wasn't sure; he shied away from even thinking about them, most of the time. After all, they weren't his. But they were there – hopefully, if the universe would deign to give them a break just this one time – they'd be enough to help Ben.

He reached out and grabbed Ben by the back of the neck. Ben reared back instinctually, trying to break free, but Kaine tightened his grip and refused to let him go.

"You want to know who you are, Ben?" he growled, dragging him in until their foreheads pressed together. "Come here and I'll fucking show you."

He held out his free hand and felt Aracely's small one take hold. Ben flinched, hard, as she reached out to touch him, closing the circle, and then she whispered, "Remember," and Kaine did.

For the first time in a very long time, he reached for those memories the Jackal had given him. Memories of being young, and small, and cared for. Every scrap of youth he could find in the wreckage of his own damaged psyche he unearthed and pushed at Ben with all the force of his will. There wasn't much; in fact it felt pitifully little laid out before him, like a mosaic after a natural disaster had swept through and ripped up nearly all the pieces. Little bits of joy and sorrow and growth that were all that was left to him, that if you put together and imagined the missing spaces made up the ghosts of Ben Parker and May Reilly. And he gave it all to Ben, desperately. And then, hopelessly afraid that it wouldn't be enough, he kept going.

He didn't have many memories left of Peter's beginnings. But he had so many of Ben's. He conjured up years of hiding in the shadows of the Jackal's lab, watching his brother be born, watching him become perfect, watching him become a hero. Distantly, he felt his grip on Ben's neck tighten as he remembered Ben, standing in the rain, offering him redemption. Saving his life. Reaching down and pulling him out of the pit Kaine had been trying so hard to drag him into after him. Unlike the borrowed memories of Peter's childhood, every moment of that night was etched into his mind in crystal clarity. He thought of them, often, in Houston, desperately trying to live up to the memory of his brother. And now he offered them up, practically shoving them into his face, see, see.

"This is who you are, Ben," he said, and he didn't know if he said it out loud or just in here, joined together by Aracely's power. "You've been through hell and back and you never gave up trying to save everyone else. You're a goddamn hero, so get that through your thick fucking skull."

When at last he had nothing left to give, he squeezed Aracely's hand and then let it go. Like coming up from water he hadn't realized he was sinking in, reality rushed back into sharp focus. Ben's ragged breathing was loud in his ear. After a moment, he tore himself free from Kaine's grip – Kaine let him go – and threw up on the ground beside them.

Aracely made a small noise of disgust and pressed her face into his back. Kaine ignored her in favor of watching Ben, who finished hurling but stayed hunched over, held up by his hands, head hanging low between his shoulders. He stayed like that for several long seconds, his throat working and tears streaming soundlessly down his face, before he finally broke the silence.

"I –" he started, then stopped when his voice cracked and swallowed hard. He tried again, a desperate, painful longing laced through his voice. "I don't recognize myself."

Kaine let out a harsh breath and reached out, tugging him over until Ben's head was pressed against his shoulder, his arm curled protectively across his back as his brother shook apart in his grip. "We'll figure it out," he said, squeezing. Holding on. "You're not alone, brother."

-

They stayed like that for a long time, sitting on the grass pressed together, until the shudders worked themselves out and Ben finally pulled himself away and asked for time to think. Kaine heaved himself to his feet, hauled Ben up with him, and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll come back tomorrow," he said, squeezing once and letting go. "And bring Peter."

If Ben wanted to argue, he was too exhausted to even try. He just nodded, dazed, and croaked, "Sure."

Kaine hesitated another second, but he didn't know what else to say. Finally he just nodded and walked past, gesturing sharply for Aracely to follow. She pressed close up against his arm, uncharacteristically quiet. They left Ben there, staring blankly down at his mask on the ground.

Peter was waiting for them when they stepped back out into the hallway.

"Before you say anything –" he said as soon as they were through, all worked up from whatever argument he'd been having in his head while he waited.

"You were right," Kaine cut in. He was still angry at himself for turning Peter away.

"Oh," Pete said. He rocked back on his heels, all the fight going out of him. "Uh. Well, good, I guess."

Kaine grunted. "Meet us here tomorrow," he said.

Peter glanced between him and Aracely. "Uh, sure. How… ?"

"He's very tired and also really upset," Aracely piped up. "But he's not so angry anymore. Hi, Mr. Spider-Man."

"Hi, Hummingbird," Pete said, his body language softening. "I'm glad to hear that. You helped him then, huh?"

"I think so," Aracely said, the corners of her mouth curling down into a pinched frown. "But he's still really sad."

Kaine curled an arm around her shoulders. "She helped," he said shortly. "Come back tomorrow and she can help some more. But we have shit to do."

He turned on his heel and marched away, pulling Aracely with him. She twisted around to call a, "Bye, Spider-Man!" over her shoulder with a little wave, and got a dumbfounded, "Um, bye… ?" in return.

"We don't have anything to do," Aracely said as she followed Kaine out the window.

"Just come on," he grunted, and swung away.

–

He took her to Central Park and bought her ice cream and grumbled about the crowds until she giggled and scolded him for being rude. From there, he let her take the lead, dragging him down crowded avenues to coo over window displays and demanding pizza from every other shop they passed. By the time night fell and he dragged her back to the hotel, she seemed back to her regular, annoyingly peppy self. She chattered on about everything they'd just seen and done until Kaine flicked her in the forehead and told her to go to bed.

He laid there in the dark, staring at the wall, for what felt like ages but couldn't have been more than half an hour before he finally heard rustling and light footsteps and then a warm, slight weight tucked itself up against his back.

"All right," he said, low and quiet. "Out with it."

Aracely didn't reply. Kaine heaved a sigh and turned over to face her. She was curled up in a tiny ball, knees to her chest, and had her fists pressed over her mouth. She gave him a look like she really didn't want to tell him.

"Were you scared?" Kaine asked, flat but not unkindly. It seemed the obvious answer, and god knows he wouldn't blame her. God knows walking in to face Ben – especially with her – had scared the shit out of him.

Aracely's brow furrowed, like she wasn't expecting that. "You almost died," she finally said. "Again," she added reproachfully, with a pointed glare.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Kaine said, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you'll listen to me next time when I tell you it's dangerous." Not that he had any real hope of that happening – ever.

Aracely scowled and smacked his chest. "Stop trying to leave me behind," she snapped.

"We'll see," he said. He wasn't going to lie and say yes; he respected her abilities and her partnership, but there were always going to be things he wanted to keep her far away from.

Aracely scowled harder and thudded her forehead against his chest. She didn't say anything at first, but stayed a little ball of tension. Kaine waited her out.

At last, she said, slowly and reluctantly like the words were being dragged out of her, "I remembered everything with him."

Realization dawned. "You saw me." She dove headfirst into Ben's memories of all the worst moments of his life. Of course she saw Kaine – all the parts of him that he most wanted to keep from her.

Aracely nodded, her forehead dragging across his chest.

Kaine swallowed around the dread clogging up his throat and forced his voice to stay even as he asked again, "Were you scared?"

"No," she said insistently, her head snapping up to face him. She was shocked and appalled, like the idea hadn't even occurred to her. "You could never scare me."

Despite the stubborn part of him that insisted he should, in fact, scare her, he couldn't help but feel relief. Like as long as Aracely had faith in him, he could still live up to the man she believed him to be.

Aracely dropped her gaze again, her face falling. She squirmed a little, struggling with whatever it was she was trying to put into words, and then finally burst out, "It hurt." She pressed her face into his chest again, hiding. "You both were hurting so much."

Kaine let out a long breath. He closed his arm around her, squeezing gently – as gently as he could, like she might break in his hold. He'd been afraid of bringing her here, bringing her to Ben, because he'd thought it was dangerous. But he'd only been thinking of her physical safety – it hadn't even occurred to him that what he was asking her to do would hurt her even while she healed his brother, and it killed him.

"I'm sorry," he said, low, barely audible. He knew she'd hear it anyway. "Do you want to go home?"

Aracely sniffed. "You want me to stay."

"I do," he said honestly. He didn't want to leave Ben, not after seeing him struggling, not when he felt so close to getting his brother back. "But if you want to go, we'll go." And that was true, too – Ben was his responsibility, but so was Aracely. In many ways, even more so. If she wanted to leave, he would whisk her away and not say a word about it.

Aracely was quiet for a long moment, and he could tell she was thinking about it from the guilt radiating off of her. It must be contagious. Finally, she said, "I can still help." Her voice got stronger as she said, determined, "I want to help."

Kaine could practically feel Peter beaming with pride over his shoulder. That was certainly a quicker way of saying it. He tugged lightly on her braid. "All right, then. You'd better get some sleep. And you're not doing it here."

She huffed, then quick as a rabbit threw her arms around his neck, squeezing tightly. Kaine put a hand on the center of her back and held her back for just a second, then used his fingers' grip to toss her – lightly – across to the other bed. She landed and bounced with a squawk and a moment later a pillow hit Kaine's head with astounding accuracy.

He rolled over away from her, the corner of his mouth curling upwards into a slow smile.

–

Kaine and Aracely blew right by the reception demon and up the stairs the next morning. Kaine grumbled that they could have just gone in the window, but she'd glowered at him until he'd relented. They made the trek back up all those stairs, down the long hallway to the portal to Ben's valley. The same demons were standing guard as the day before, and Kaine didn't give them a second look as he brushed right past, leading Aracely inside.

Peter had beaten them there. He was standing, mask off, a few feet away from Ben, radiating nerves with one hand pushed into his hair as he spoke, fast and too low to hear.

Ben looked… different. He had abandoned the Chasm costume, and was dressed in jeans and a red hoodie – and Kaine wondered, briefly, whose idea the color had been. He looked tired, his eyes downcast but his head tilted towards Peter to show he was listening.

They both looked up at the sound of their approach and it hit Kaine again just how identical they were. They could be twins. He was normally glad that he looked different enough from Peter to avoid being mistaken for him out of costume, but looking at the two of them side by side, it was a stark reminder how he was – would always be – the odd one out.

Aracely caught his wrist and squeezed it. He turned his hand in her grip and tapped his index finger against the inside of her forearm in acknowledgment.

"Good morning!" she chirped as they neared his brothers. Kaine eyed her sidelong for the overly cheery tone, but she gave no hint of her earlier hesitations.

"Morning," Peter said, smiling at her despite himself. He was such a sucker, Kaine thought. The most stubborn man alive, and if she wanted, Aracely could steamroll him without lifting a finger. At least he tried to make it difficult for her.

She turned and stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes.

Peter observed the silent exchange with a bemused expression, then turned to Ben. He reached out and, with just the slightest hesitation, put a hand on his shoulder. "So, you ready to get your head on straight?"

Ben twitched at the contact and didn't respond right away. Instead, he stared at Aracely with a mixture of fear and guilt floating across his face. Finally, he took a step towards her – Kaine tensed, ready to get between them – then slowly sank to one knee so he was looking up into her face, still focused intently on her.

"Aracely, right?" he asked. She nodded. Ben nodded back. "Hi, Aracely. I'm sorry about yesterday." He sounded a little off-kilter, like he was feeling out how the words felt in his mouth. "I was upset. I shouldn't have hurt you, or Kaine." He attempted a smile and that, too, was a little off, like he was trying too hard to get it right, but he still looked miles closer to being the old Ben than he had the day before. Kaine ached to look at him. "I'd like to start over, if that's okay with you."

Aracely stuck a hand out at him. "You don't have to be scared," she said kindly.

Maybe it was the irony, this slight teen girl telling a grown (former) supervillain in all earnesty not to be afraid of her, but something seemed to knock into place for Ben and he laughed, a short, real laugh, nothing like the harsh, bitter one from the other day. He took her hand, sure but gentle, and shook once. "Deal."

He stood up, brushing grass off his knee, and finally looked at Kaine and Peter. "Okay," he said. "So what do we do?"

Aracely immediately took charge. "Sit down," she said, flapping her hands. Ben and Peter obediently sank down to sit cross-legged on the grass. "Now you two hold hands," she continued, gesturing imperiously.

They exchanged identical dubious glances, then Peter snorted and held out a hand, and Ben shook his head with a wry smile and grabbed it. Aracely reached out and took both their free hands, folding herself down to sit beside them. "Spider-Man, think really hard about what you want Ben to see," she instructed him.

"Aracely, you can call me Peter," Peter said with an awkward half-smile.

"Okay. Peter, think really hard –"

"Yes, I got it, thanks."

Ben snickered, head down. Peter's smile turned hopeful as he knocked their knees together.

Aracely looked over her shoulder at Kaine, head tilted in question. He shook his head, gesturing for her to go ahead. He didn't need to be a part of this. Those memories – Peter's memories – had never truly belonged to him the way they had Ben. He'd never gotten the chance for them to. His beginnings were a cold lab and a cruel creator, and he didn't need or want to see the harsh contrast of that against the warmth and love of his brothers' upbringing. Aracely frowned at him, but when he gestured again, more insistently, she sighed pointedly (just in case he didn't get that she disapproved, he guessed) and turned back around.

"Okay," she said, fidgeting in place. She took a deep breath, and Ben and Peter mirrored her. "Now just… Remember."

Her eyes glowed, and Kaine watched as Ben and Peter stiffened and slumped over, chins against their chests, all three of them linked together by their grip on each other and Aracely's power.

He prowled around the little circle of the three of them, the back of his neck prickling with how vulnerable they all were, wrapped up in Aracely's spell and completely deaf and blind to the outside world. There was nothing to fear in here, he knew, logically, but instinct kept him on guard. It made him itch, a little, watching over Peter. It reminded him of years past spent as his guardian devil, enacting horrors in his name.

Except this time he was watching over both of them, both of his brothers. And, of course, now there was Aracely, too.

He brushed his fingers against her shoulder, and caught a distant echo of glee before he drew away. There would be suffering later, he knew; there was no avoiding suffering with the three of them. But this time, at least, she got to experience the joy as well.

Kaine couldn't say how long he stood guard over his family in their reverie, watching emotion pass over their faces like the shadow of what lay beneath, before Aracely twitched, once, all over, and then released their hands. All three of them jerked back to wakefulness. Instantly he was at Aracely's side, hands on her shoulders to steady her. She batted him away impatiently, lunging forward to take hold of Ben's hands with single-minded determination.

"Ben, Ben," she babbled, tugging at them. "Let me see, let me –"

He must have responded in his own head, because Ben didn't say anything before Aracely's eyes glowed again. Ben flinched, and Peter jerked sideways to steady him with a hand on his back, giving Kaine a demanding sideways look. Kaine ignored him, intent on Aracely.

It was barely a minute before Aracely blinked and sat back up, breaking into a huge grin. Ben blinked back at her, dazed.

"It's gone," she crowed. She looked back over her shoulder at Kaine, beaming so big her head looked in danger of splitting in two. "The chasm's gone."

Ben burst into tears.

–

It took a good while for Ben to pull himself together. He kept looking up at Kaine or Peter and setting himself off again – Peter at one point shifted closer and put an arm over his shoulders and looked dangerously close to joining him. Aracely patted his knee and shot increasingly pointed looks over her shoulder at Kaine that he ignored.

Finally, they had him back on his feet and largely coherent again.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," he muttered, wiping his face with his hoodie sleeve and avoiding their eyes. "It's… it's a lot. I'm a fucking mess, geez."

"What else is new?" Peter teased him gently, rubbing a firm hand between his shoulders. "You've always had at least one screw loose, Benson."

"Fuck you," Ben said with a startled laugh, shoving at him. "You try getting your whole life thrown in a blender and see how you handle it, huh? It's – god. I'm all over the place. God." He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, hard.

"We'll get someone who can help you make sense of it," Peter promised.

Kaine caught Aracely's eye and jerked his head. He walked back towards the entrance, leaving Peter to further calm Ben down and make plans for the future.

He stopped by the portal and crossed his arms, looking down at Aracely. "Are you okay?" he asked in an undertone.

She beamed at him. "We did it," she said, bouncing up onto her toes. He gave her a hard, discerning look, but her enthusiasm seemed genuine. He nodded.

"You did," he said.

"Kaine."

While he wasn't looking, Ben had snuck up on him. He was standing a scant few feet away, hands shoved in his hoodie pocket, Peter pretending not to hover behind him.

"Ben," Kaine said with a nod.

Ben's mouth twitched into a brief answering smile, then turned serious again. "I… I still feel pretty jumbled up," he said. "Stuff's still missing, and honestly figuring myself out here is gonna take… I dunno. A while, probably."

"Took you five fuckin' years, the first time," Kaine said, shrugging one shoulder. "You'll get there."

Ben smiled again, a crooked grin, and already Kaine could see the old Ben, his perfect, golden brother, starting to shine through the cracks. "Well, thanks to you I have a road map," he said. "The man you remember – I want to be him. I'm going to be him. Thank you for showing me."

Kaine sighed an angry, frustrated sigh, and then reached out and yanked him into a hug. Ben stumbled, caught off guard, and let out an oof as they collided hard enough to knock the wind out of him, but then he was latching on, clinging to Kaine for all he was worth, and Kaine clutched him back just as hard.

Ben fucking Reilly. He was doomed, it seemed, to always forgive him.

"Next time you go and lose your damn mind," he muttered, "Leave me the hell out of it."

Ben laughed wetly and turned his face into Kaine's shoulder. "Sure. I'll keep that in mind."

"I mean it," Kaine growled, squeezing him tighter. "Next time I'm just gonna leave you to figure it out on your own."

"He's lying," Aracely piped up cheerfully. "He'll always come."

"Aracely," Kaine snapped with an exasperated groan. He finally let go of a laughing Ben, shoving him away. "I've told you how many times not to –"

"It's okay," Ben interrupted him, directing his words at Aracely with a wink. "I already knew."

–

"You sure you don't want to stick around?"

Kaine didn't respond, tugging the zipper of his bag closed.

"Was that a joke about sticking to walls?" Aracely asked, cocking her head. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed beside his bag, hands closed around her ankles.

Peter laughed. "No, but it should've been. Good catch, kiddo."

Aracely beamed at him. Kaine snorted. "I'm getting out of the state before you two spend any more time together."

"Hey, I'm great with kids," Peter said, laying a hand over his heart. He was leaned up against the wall by the window, dressed in jeans and a plain gray jacket. He'd actually come in the door this time. "Kids love me. Isn't that right, Aracely?"

Aracely tilted her head the other way and said, "Sometimes," at the same time Kaine said, "That's the problem."

Peter gawped at them both in betrayal, until Kaine picked up his packed bag and slung it over his shoulder. He quickly sobered.

"Seriously, though," he said. "You could stay. I know you've got this whole lone wolf thing working for you, but it'd be nice to have the three of us in one place where nobody's trying to kill anybody else, for once."

"The longer you stay in this room, the closer we get to that changing," Kaine said with a mean look.

Pete held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay," he said, rolling his eyes and shooting Aracely a look that said clearly Can you believe this guy? as if Kaine wasn't looking right at him. Aracely snickered. Peter's mouth twitched into a satisfied smile at her reaction, ever the class clown. In the next breath, though, he sighed, and added, "Plus I thought it might be helpful for Ben, y'know, to have more… influences around."

Kaine snorted. "Ben doesn't need me. Between you and the Goblin Queen, I think he's got all the influences he can handle."

Madelyne had been overjoyed to hear of Aracely's success. She'd met them outside the portal and listened intently to their explanations, and when they were done she'd smiled a real, genuine smile and laid a hand on Aracely's cheek like a benediction.

"Thank you, Hummingbird," she'd said warmly. "You're a very special girl."

"He needs help, still, Maddie. Uh, Your Majesty," Peter had cut in. "Like, therapist help."

Madelyne had let go of Aracely's hands and drawn herself up to her full height. "I can take things from here," she'd said. "Ben will be safe here while he recovers. And I will get him the help he needs."

Peter had nodded, and with that, Kaine's purpose in New York was done.

"I just want you to know that you're welcome here," Pete said, jogging down the hotel hall after them. He slipped in between the closing elevator doors despite Kaine's warning glare.

Kaine pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not Ben, Pete," he ground out. "I'm not gonna turn around and lose my shit the second you take your eyes off me."

"I know that," Peter said, just a second too late. His eyes were wide and he looked caught out and surprised, like he hadn't realized what he was doing himself. Kaine gave him a withering look.

"Besides," he grumbled, shouldering his way out of the elevator as the doors opened to the hotel lobby, "I have responsibilities elsewhere."

He heard Peter's footsteps falter behind him and kept walking. A moment later they redoubled and Peter caught up with him as he was pushing through the hotel doors onto the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry," he said, and surprised Kaine by sounding like he meant it. "Look, I really do trust you. And if you have to go, you have to go." He shrugged. "But if you ever need anything…"

"Yeah," Kaine said, an admission. "I know."

Peter grinned at him, that effortless charming smile that hadn't made it to Kaine. He held out a hand and Kaine took it, an answering smile tugging at his lips despite himself.

"And, hey, you should come back for, like, Thanksgiving or something," Pete said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Both of you." He nodded at Aracely, who had been following them quietly in the way that meant she was listening intently to everything they said but hadn't wanted them to notice. Caught, she immediately pretended she hadn't been.

"That's a great idea!" she gasped, grabbing Kaine's arm at the same time he said flatly, "We'll see."

Peter snorted, and smile turned wry and almost… fond. Like he expected that answer, and was glad to hear it for sheer familiarity. "Guess we will. I'll see you when I see you, then. Hey, it was really great to meet you, Aracely."

"You too," Aracely chirped. She waved at him as he slipped away into the crowd with a last little wave back over his shoulder.

Kaine flagged down a cab and staunchly ignored the pointed, smug grin she turned his way.

"I told you it was a good idea," she said when smiling alone didn't work.

Kaine rolled his eyes and pulled open the door of the cab as it skidded to a stop in front of them. "Just get in the car," he ordered. She did as she was told, but stuck her tongue out at him as she did. Kaine slid in after her and grunted at the driver to take them to the airport.

As they wound their way through traffic, Kaine rested his head against the cool glass of the window and, just for a second, let himself picture the city in the fall, he and his brothers and Aracely all crammed around a table in Peter's no doubt terrible, tiny apartment, all alive and whole and grateful to be there. And for one, dangerous moment, he let himself have hope.

Aracely, curled up across the cab, poked his thigh with the toe of her shoe. When he looked over, eyebrow raised, she mouthed, Told you.

He snorted and shook his head, flicking her ankle just hard enough to sting. She huffed and swung her feet down into the footwell and went back to looking out her own window. Kaine slowly turned back to his.

Fall was months away, with plenty of time for things to go wrong before then. With Ben, or with him or Peter – hell, with the way things tended to go, odds were at least one of them would be dead by then.

They'd just have to see. And for now, Kaine was content with just knowing that, for once, the possibility existed.

Ben fucking Reilly, he thought, and shook his head, and smiled.