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"Apparently The Finch was able to break out last night," Edwin said, setting his phone face down on the table between them. He could see the table wobble, the legs uneven. Charles had joked once that it gave their usual place at the coffee shop character.
Edwin said it was liability. There was some truth to that considering how many notes he'd had ruined by spilled coffee.
"They believe she has already collected her son from holding."
"Mm," Charles said around the muffin he'd shoved in his mouth.
Edwin gave him a rather deadpanned look. "No one knows where she went," he added on.
"'s always like that," he said, covering his mouth with his hand to stop pieces of muffin from falling out. "They'll find her."
Esther Finch. Also known as The Finch to some people, though he knew that she wasn't especially fond of that title. An odd woman who dressed like a mix between a witch and a bird with a iron cane she loved to bash people's faces in with.
Usually his, if his recent string of bad luck was any indicator.
She had some belief that if she drained little girls she could stay young forever. Charles didn't know where she got that information from, but he thought it was far too high of a cost for some extra years of not needing Botox.
And who even used an iron cane nowadays? Certainly not birds. So why she had it, he didn't know, but he did know that it could sure pack a punch.
Thankfully, he healed fast. He didn't know what he'd do if Edwin started to ask questions about black eyes or broken noses. He could still remember how he was when he lived with his dad, all of those worried glances and harsh, bitten out conversations through gritted teeth.
Edwin raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean Spider-Man will find her."
He swallowed and nearly choked at hearing the superhero name from Edwin. It didn't matter how many times he heard it, Charles was fairly sure he'd never get used to it.
"Maybe." Charles shrugged as he sipped his coffee. It was still too hot, scalding his tongue as he swallowed.
Edwin side-eyed him for a moment longer. "It also says that she might be meeting up with some allies." He picked up his own coffee and blew on it. "Do you think Spider-Man has any allies?"
Not really, no. People liked him well enough, he supposed, but it wasn't like it was easy to keep up with a superhuman fight.
And Charles would never ask anyone to try, either. It was way too dangerous for that sort of thing. Bad enough when civilians were put in danger.
"Charles," Edwin said, rolling his eyes. "Are you even listening to me?"
Of course he was. One of Charles's favorite things to do was listen to Edwin ramble on about whatever it was that caught his attention. Books, classes, work, anything and everything was free game once he started going.
"You going to the library later?" Charles asked, ignoring Edwin's annoyed look.
"Yes, but—"
"Brills, later, mate," Charles said as he leaned forward to ruffle his hair. He knew how much he hated it, but that's what made it fun.
"Charles, wait!" Edwin said, reaching across the table to try and stop him. Even if he had been quick enough, which almost no normal human was, there was no way he'd be strong enough to keep Charles there.
He leaned forward again, just enough to steal the last bite of Edwin's muffin. His face was close to Edwin's now, the smell of his hair products briefly overpowering the coffee shop aroma. It would be so easy to lean the slightest bit forward and press a kiss to his forehead, to wish him goodbye like he wanted.
But he wouldn't. The last thing he wanted to do was throw away years of being best mates just because he had a crush.
"I'll see ya tonight," Charles said. "Pizza and a movie?"
He didn't wait for Edwin's response before he hurried out the door. The sooner he took care of Esther the sooner he could get back to Edwin.
Once he was out of sight he pulled his mask on over his head and tossed his hoodie and jeans into a backpack he quickly webbed to the wall of an alley. He'd have to remember to come back for them later before heading home. He'd lost too many good clothes that way.
But now, Esther.
XXX
It took far longer than Charles cared to admit to track down Esther. It was evening by the time he had, the sun barely still peaking through the skyscrapers around him.
He wondered if Edwin was still at the library. He always did lose track of time in there.
The construction site was a mess even though he and Esther had hardly even started fighting. Several machines had been tossed around, scaffolding damaged. A couple of blocks away there was a bus without a roof now because Esther had launched one of the crane arms at Charles and missed, sheering straight through the bus.
He could only hope everyone on there was alright. He tried to contain fights like this, to keep them away from populated areas, but there was only so much you could do in a city this size.
Esther laughed as she swung that stupid cane at him again. "Get him, Monty!"
Her son, or what had once been her son, swooped into view. He wasn't much bigger than an average crow, though his claws and beak were much sharper than a normal bird. Black glossy wings filled his vision as he tried to launch himself up and away from the animal.
"Oi! Knock it off," Charles said, shooting a web at the bird. He missed by a mile, the shot going long and sticking to the metal walkway.
He didn't want to hurt Monty. He knew that this wasn't his fault, but…
He also couldn't let Esther get away again.
Before Monty could react, Charles whipped a bucket up from the ground and slammed it down on top of him. Undignified squawks ripped from the bird before being muffled by the plastic tub.
Monty would eventually be able to pluck his way over if there, he knew, but it would take time and energy the bird would hopefully burn out.
"Cute, but I'm in a hurry," Esther said. She swung again, her iron cane missing him by inches. "Teethface!"
Well, shit.
Teethface, the weird, mushroom like creature Esther kept at her beck and call burst from the ground. He wasn't sure if it had been hiding here the whole time or if she had somehow summoned it. Either way, it's vines reached out, wrapping around him and pulling him from the raised walkway to the ground.
It hurt to slam into it, but that was only second to the way the vines tore at him. It reminded him of those fidget toys he'd seen kids play with, just a stretchy toy to pull and pull on until its insides burst out.
Alright, that was dark. And not useful.
He growled as he tried to fight back, thankful that he had at least taken Monty out of the equation. Three against one was hardly fair, but he still liked his odds.
Besides, he had a movie night to get to.
A giant crane claw dropped between Charles and Teethface, cutting off one of its vines. The shriek it let out was horrible, ripping Charles's eardrums apart. Still, he fought back to his feet, turning to see what exactly had caused the crane to fall.
"What the hell?" Esther asked, doing the same.
"Edwin?" Charles almost whispered. Because that… that had to be Edwin. He could see him scrambling up the ladder now, far quicker than he ever expected to see Edwin move.
"You little shit," Esther said, marching down the metal walkway. He could hear her heels slam into it, rattling like gunshots. "You're gonna pay for that."
Edwin might be quick, but he wasn't super-powered-magic user fast. Esther extended a hand out in front of her and pulled, knocking him off his feet. Charles felt his heart leap into his throat as he saw Edwin slam into the narrow walkway, his fingers wrapping around the metal to make sure he didn't fall.
"What's wrong?" Esther taunted. "Bird got your tongue?"
Edwin crawled backwards, his hands reaching back to grab a hold of a rail to guide him. Any moment now and Esther would be on him, that cane raised up and…
"That doesn't even make any sense," Charles yelled. He tugged against the vines, for once wondering if this was how his own enemies felt against his webs.
"It doesn't have to make sense to kill you," Esther said. She glanced down at him and grinned, sharp and wicked as she raised a hand up into the air. Teethface wiggled as he waited for her command.
For a brief moment he made eye contact with Edwin. He knew that he couldn't see him, not through his mask, but he still felt emboldened by his look all the same.
Esther wasn't going to get either one of them. Not tonight.
Charles was fast. Very few super-powered people were faster than him. Still, there was a lot of distance between him and Esther, a lot of time for her to pull something else out of her sleeve to get both of them.
He didn't think. He shot a web out, sticking it to her cane.
Then, he yanked her off her feet.
With a terrible scream she fell over the railing to the ground below. If Esther were a typical human, it would have killed her. But he'd seen her fall from higher, take worse hits. He knew from his own experience minutes before that it would hurt like hell, but she wouldn't die.
Which was great, because Charles might be a lot of things, but he wasn't a killer.
Metal creaked and groaned up above him. He kept his eyes trained on Esther, unwilling to look away for even a second as he squirmed out of the vines around him. It took her a moment but slowly, almost like a zombie, she stood and glared at him.
"Oh, ho, ho," she said. "You are so fucking dead."
He smiled. "Don't you ever get tired of the same old lines?" he asked. This was familiar, this back and forth with her. He could almost forget that his best mate was dozens of feet above her, frantically moving along the walkway like he had a plan of his own.
And what the hell was he doing here? He was supposed to be at the library, far, far away from all of this!
He could see him struggling with a lever, the whole thing locked into place behind some sort of safety mechanism. It didn't take Edwin long to realize it wasn't going to work like that.
"Night night, Spider-Boy," Esther said.
Before her or Teethface could react a ton of sand poured down from the conveyor belt above them, quickly cutting them off. He heard a small yes of excitement as Edwin ran along the metal walkways towards some other control thing.
Quickly, not wanting any of them to get too buried or hurt, Charles used his strength and webs to scoop them out with the front of a bulldozer and nestle them right up against the brick wall separating the lot next door.
Between that and his webs, it would be a tight and uncomfortable fit until the police arrived, but at least they weren't crushed under a ton of sand.
He glanced up at Edwin, who seemed to realize the fight was over. A flash of anger raced through him, hot and bright, burning out just as fast as it had appeared.
That had been so incredibly reckless. What was Edwin thinking, darting into a construction site like this? With The Finch running around? He could have been killed!
He shot a web up to one of the top levels and dangled slowly down behind Edwin. Just because he was angry and upset didn't mean he wasn't going to check on him.
"You alright?" he asked, dropping his voice a bit lower. It didn't have to be a masterclass in acting, it just had to work long enough while Edwin was frazzled for him to get out of there without him recognizing him.
Edwin whipped around, his eyes immediately locking onto his. He resisted the urge to check and make sure his mask was on securely. He knew it was. He'd never had a problem with it before.
"Yes," Edwin said, nearly breathless. "You—" He turned to look back at where Esther and them were still caught like flies in a web. "You saved me."
Right. Yeah, Charles definitely wasn't going to have nightmares about that later. About Edwin falling, him getting crushed by the scaffolding, smacked by Esther's cane.
Nope. He certainly wasn't.
"Just doin' my job," he said, coughing at his own terrible deep voice.
Edwin huffed out a laugh at him. "Of course," he said. He watched as his expression changed, something clicking into place. "I suppose I should thank you."
"Nah, ma— man," Charles said, shaking his head. "No need for that. Think I should be thankin' you, actually."
Edwin tilted his head as he stepped closer. "Are you sure?" he asked. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stepped again, moving ever nearer to where Charles hung upside down.
He tightened his grip on his web. He should pull up now, get the hell out of there before he said or did something especially stupid.
But he didn't. It was so hard to even think of such a thing when Edwin had him pinned with those eyes.
"Yeah," he said, nodding. "In fact, I should really go, I—"
Edwin's hand reached up slowly. Carefully. Every move he made was choreographed, visible even to someone who didn't have superhuman powers like Charles. His hand had an almost invisible tremor to it, one that Charles wanted to reach out and stop by holding his hand in his.
But he didn't. He felt as fixed in place as Monty and Esther currently were. And all by Edwin Payne stepping into his space.
Those long, nimble fingers touched the edge of his mask. He could feel the tips of his fingers searching for the space between the mask and the rest of his suit, though Charles didn't know why. What was he going to do, take off his mask?
He'd never let anyone do that before.
Still, he didn't stop him. He merely held himself in place as Edwin rolled his mask down, exposing his chin, lips, his nose.
Edwin looked into the lenses of his suit, clearly searching for something. Whatever it was, he must have found it, because he lifted himself up onto his tip toes and pressed the briefest kiss to Charles's lips.
It was awkward and brief and the best moment of Charles's life.
Thank God his webs were sturdy, otherwise Charles would have dropped straight to the ground.
Edwin leaned back, his eyes closed as he did so. If Charles wanted to he could disappear now, be gone in a second before Edwin even opened his eyes.
He stayed.
He felt as if his entire body was a live wire, taut and ready to snap. What— why? He'd been dreaming about the day he could kiss Edwin since they were both gangly idiots at St. Hil's. This couldn't— why did— Edwin had never—
"Thank you, Spider-Man," Edwin said with a smile on his face. A knife twisted in Charles's heart at his words. Of course Edwin had a thing for Spider-Man. It all made sense now. That was why he had brought him up so much recently, that was why he had sounded so concerned and smitten when they'd been talking about him earlier.
Oh, fate was a cruel bastard for that one. The love of his life finally liked him and it was only because of Spider-Man?
Edwin, still moving slowly, put two hands behind his head and stepped in close again. The web swayed slightly, allowing Charles to be brought in until Edwin was pressing his lips to Charles's still masked forehead.
"Or should I say, Charles?" Edwin whispered. Quiet enough that no one other than Charles would hear him. Even his super-hearing had trouble understanding what he said. His brain buffered for a few moments before he promptly jerked back.
"What?" Charles asked.
Edwin tilted his head. "You don't have to hide. I know it's you."
No. No, no, no, there was no way. "Dunno what you think you know, mat—man, but I'm not this Charles bloke. Guy. Person."
Edwin snorted. "Charles," he said. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you?"
They'd ran into each other plenty of times and Edwin had never mentioned it before! Then again, he usually didn't talk to Edwin like he was doing now. Or show any part of his face. Or kiss Edwin.
"I'm not—" Charles said, shaking his head again. He dropped down from his web onto the railing, sitting back until he was stuck to the metal by his heels. "I— you got it all wrong."
Edwin crossed his arms. "Do not insult my intelligence, Charles. I know it is you."
Charles deflated the slightest bit. "What makes you think you know me?"
It was almost funny how much Edwin perked up. His posture suddenly reminded Charles of all those detective movies they had watched. How the detectives at the end would stand, backs straight, as they walked around and pointed out exactly why everyone in the room couldn't be the killer except for one.
"Your schedules are the same," Edwin said, listing things off on his fingers. "You disappear at odd hours— do not pretend otherwise, Charles, we live together, I can hear better than you think I can." His eyes softened as he looked up at Charles, the railing giving him just a bit of added height. "And that is to say nothing of the bruises. Every time there is a fight somewhere in the city you come home looking like… like that night."
Edwin didn't even have to explain what night. Charles already knew he meant the final time Charles had seen his dad, the last time he had stood up to him, only to get the beating of a lifetime.
It was the worst fight he'd ever been in up until that point. It was strange how now he could say he'd suffered far worse from even worse people, but that night still remained the scariest of his life.
He'd thought that he'd been hiding it better, that Edwin thought he was a little flighty, a little forgetful and stressed, but nothing to worry about. He didn't realize Edwin had been keeping such a close eye on him.
It felt cruel to lie to Edwin now.
If he'd known, he never would have tried to hide it from him. Or, he thought, that probably wasn't true. He would have hid it better. Would have made sure Edwin never had a reason to question or worry about him like that.
"And," Edwin said, stepping closer to the railing until he was between Charles's legs. "I would know that chin anywhere. If I had ever had any doubt, it was gone the second I removed your mask."
"Only took half of it off," Charles said, shrugging. "Could still be anyone."
Edwin shook his head. He placed his hands on Charles's legs and leaned in just a bit, careful to not put too much pressure and unbalance them.
Not that Charles would let that happen. Even if it did, he would be able to catch both of them, no problem.
"Do you think I have wanted to kiss you since we were sixteen and don't know what your lips look like?" Edwin asked.
That was it. That was all it took to get him to break.
"What?" he asked, ripping the rest of his mask off. His hair was sweaty and pressed to his skull. Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair to try and revive the curls, though it felt like a pointless gesture.
He should be more careful. He never knew when some bastard with a camera might get lucky and figure him out. But he couldn't sit in front of Edwin any longer without fully looking at him, without Edwin fully looking at him.
"Hm?" Edwin asked. He brushed Charles's hair out of his eyes and brushed some of the dirt off of his suit with the back of his hand.
"What do you mean you've wanted to kiss me since we were sixteen? Since when?" he asked.
"Since we were sixteen," Edwin repeated, slower this time as if Charles needed him to enunciate every word.
"No, I know— you said that. I just mean—" Charles shook his head, a laugh huffing out of him. "I didn't know."
He could feel Edwin tracing the spider symbol on his suit. "Well," he said. "It seems like we both have had our secrets."
Deserved that one, he guessed.
"What were you doin' here tonight, Edwin? You coulda… you could've died."
Edwin did at least have the decency to look embarrassed about that. "Ah, right. Well, I was coming home from the library, before The Finch delayed the bus line. I was actually walking home when I saw you here and…" He pressed his fists together. "I was worried. You have been so distracted lately, and I saw how your last fight went with her, and you wouldn't tell me anything."
He put his hands back over the symbol on his chest. The one Charles had learned to sew himself. "It was stupid, I know. Reckless, impulsive, stupid." He looked back up at Charles. "Much like someone else I know."
"I never— I only wanted to keep you safe," he started.
Edwin held his hand up, cutting off his words. "I am sure," he said. "I am sure you had plenty of reasons. But can you promise be something now?"
Charles placed his hands on Edwin's shoulders. "Anything, mate."
Those green eyes scanned his, searching out the truth. "Promise me. No more secrets."
That felt like such an impossible thing to ask. He'd been Spider-Man for so long now, he didn't know if he knew how to be honest about it. He knew that he wanted to, though, and that had to count for something.
"You got it, Eds," he said.
Edwin smiled, the faintest hint of tears in the corners of his eyes. Charles wondered how many nights he'd spent worried about Charles, how many times he'd tried to help in his own way and Charles had simply ignored it. Or worse, not realized he'd even been offering it.
But he couldn't fix any of that now. Sirens wailed in the distance, slowly growing closer. He knew that they would soon be here to pick up Esther and take her back to prison. He wasn't sure what they would do with Monty at the moment, but he couldn't do anything about that.
Not when he had Edwin here with him.
"C'mon," Charles said, securing his mask back into place. "Let's go home."
Edwin turned, as if he were going to walk back down the stairs. "Oi, not so fast," Charles said, quickly sweeping him off his feet. "You can't just walk home."
By the time they made it to the bottom of the stairs the police would probably be there. The last thing Charles wanted was for either one of them to get caught up in all of that.
"Cha—!" Edwin shrieked before slapping a hand over his own mouth. "What are you doing!?"
Behind his mask, Charles grinned. "You ever swung through the city before?"