Grace went to bed late last night; she was reading, and the book was just too good to put down. So, she woke up late, and, when she checked her phone, she saw a text from Peter from that morning.

'Good morning :)'

She knows it's cliché to say her heart fluttered, but that's the only way she knows to describe it. Plus, she's always been a sucker for clichés — at least, the romantic ones.

She texted him back, all the while thinking about how sweet it was that he thought about her enough to text her good morning.

'Good afternoon, Parker :)'

'I would've texted you earlier but I kinda overslept. Like, a lot.' She tacked a laughing emoji to the last one.

There was a short pause, then he replied, 'Well, I guess you can afford to do that since you have online classes.'

'Yeah, waking up early in the morning is pretty much the only downside of public school that I can think of.'

'Trust me, that is not the only downside,' he replied.

Grace's stomached rumbled, and she knew that she needed to get started on her online schooling. She sighed. 'Either way, I still have to do work :(' Then, she sent, 'I'm gonna go eat "breakfast." Talk later?'

Peter replied, 'Definitely,' and it almost made her want to think that he liked her back. But she also didn't want to get her hopes up.

Even so, she waits excitedly for his call all afternoon, busying herself with reading now that she's finished her schooling. Harley calls her at one point, and she thinks it's Peter at first. She has to admit, she's a bit disappointed when she realizes it's not.

However, she does get to tell Harley all about Peter. He already knows most of the details — how they met, what happened in Berlin — but she has a lot to fill him in on. Then, he tells her about his own love life: there's this girl at his school that he's liked for a while — Hannah. Grace keeps pushing him to ask her out, but he won't.

Finally, about an hour after she finishes talking with Harley, Peter calls.

She answers almost immediately. "Hello?"

"Hey," Peter says. "I-It's me. Peter."

She laughs. "I know, dummy. Caller ID, remember?"

"Yeah," Peter says, laughing too. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" she says. It sounds like a reprimand to Peter, reminding him of their conversation at the hotel.

"Sor- Anyway," he catches himself, "Spider-Man duty was pretty typical today. No crazy stuff, like last night."

Grace sits up, her voice filled with concern. "What crazy stuff last night?"

"Happy didn't tell you?" Peter says. "It was insane..." He tells her the story — the bank, the Avengers masks, the anti-gravity weapon, Delmar's. "I told Happy. He didn't seem to be all that concerned."

"Then... maybe it's fine," Grace replies. "Maybe Happy told my dad, and he knows it'll be taken care of."

Peter sighs. He doesn't think so, but he says, "Maybe." There's a pause then, as Peter looks out at the city. The sun is setting, and it reminds Peter of a question he's wanted to ask her. "Sunrise or sunset?"

"Huh?" Grace says, confused by the random nature of the question.

Peter leans back against the structure behind him, still looking out at the skyline. The same skyline that's sitting outside her window right now. "Would you rather watch the sunrise or the sunset?" he asks.

Grace smiles and looks out her window, at the oranges and pinks swimming behind the darkening buildings. "Sunset," she says. "'Cause you can look out at it and know that tomorrow will be a brand new day." Peter smiles at that, but then she says, "Also, I don't want to be awake early enough to watch the sunrise."

Peter laughs. "Yeah, me neither. I don't really have a choice, though."

"Speaking of, how was school?" she asks.

"Pretty okay," Peter replies. "Ned — I told you about Ned, right?"

"Yeah, your best friend?"

"Yeah," Peter says. "He found out I was Spider-Man yesterday — it was an accident, he saw me in the suit — and he asked me questions about it all day long. And, then, in gym, the girl he likes-"

"Liz?" Grace butts in.

"Yeah, Liz," Peter confirms. "She was talking about Spider-Man, and Ned decided to tell everyone that I was friends with him, and this guy Flash — he's the worst — said I should bring Spider-Man to Liz's party tomorrow night." He thinks about telling her that Flash mentioned her, but then decides against it. He doesn't want to upset her or anything. "Liz invited Ned and I to the party, and Ned wants to go so Spider-Man can swing by and say he's friends with him 'cause he wants to impress Liz." He sighs. "Other than that, my day was pretty uneventful."

Grace thinks for a moment, her spirits falling a little despite herself. "So... you're going to the party?"

"Yeah, I told Ned I would," Peter replies.

"Sounds fun," Grace says, and Peter can hear a sort of... sadness in her voice.

"Oh, it won't be that fun," he replies, trying to cheer her up. "Especially with Spider-Man there. 'Cause you know how lame he is."

She laughs a little, but that sadness is still there. "Still. It's a party. With actual people. You know... teenagers."

Peter wonders how he could be so stupid. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't've-"

"No," Grace says, mentally kicking herself. "No, I'm sorry. I'm being too depressing."

"No, you're not," Peter replies. He sighs. "I wish you could go." But proving Flash wrong is the farthest things from his mind. He just wants to be able to hang out with her, see her in person. Even if it's at a dumb teenage house party — something that she'll probably never get to experience.

"I wish I could go, too," she replies, "but even if I could sneak out, I wouldn't. Not only would Dad ground me until I'm, like, fifty, but... I don't know, I just don't think I would go that far."

Peter nods, thinking. And, then, he gets an idea — probably a very dumb idea, but an idea nonetheless. "If... If you can't sneak out..." he takes a deep breath "... what if I... sneak in?" He closes his eyes as if bracing to be hit.

"How would that... help me get to the party?" Grace asks, confused.

Peter shakes his head quickly. "No, no, no, I mean... I mean just, like... right now- or something. So we can... you know, hang out. In person."

"Oh," Grace says, surprised that Peter is the one suggesting this.

"I'm sorry," he says. "Is that too much? I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's fine," Grace replies. There's a pause, the sound of a door opening, then closing. "I actually think that could work. There's a balcony outside my room. We could meet out here. Dad isn't even home, Happy is off somewhere else in the building. I don't think Friday will pay much attention, either. It's kinda my own private space."

Peter stands. "So... you want me to come right now?"

"I-If you want," she stutters.

Peter smiles. "Yeah... Yeah. I'll swing over."

Grace smiles too. "I'll be on the balcony, so just... look for me."

"Yeah, okay. I'll be there in, like, five minutes."

"Okay."

"See you in five."

"See you."

She hangs up, and Peter, his heart pounding, swings over to Stark Tower, looking for her on one of the balconies; there's a few.

He spots her on a smaller one, more closed off by the walls surrounding it. She's leaning against the railing. He latches a web onto it, a few feet down from her, then grabs onto it, lifting himself up and stepping down next to her. "Hey," he says, breathless as he takes his mask off.

She smiles at him. "Hey."

He just looks at her for a moment, the realization that it's her standing there in front of him, smiling at him, her hair back in a bun, her brow raised at him in that familiar look.

"Peter?" she asks. "You good?"

He snaps out of it. "What? Ye-Yeah. I just... Well, it's been so long, I forgot what you looked like."

She laughs. "Same here." She looks at him, much the way he was just looking at her. She almost can't believe he's really here, right there in front her. "You're cuter than I remember," she mutters.

Peter blushes, and she smiles a little, her little flirtation having the desired effect. She was a bit hesitant about saying it at all.

She turns, gesturing around. "Well, this is my sad balcony. Small so as to be pretty much unnoticeable — at least from the ground."

Peter laughs a little. "I think it's nice. Being this high up makes for a great view."

"Well, yeah, but it kind of sucks because I can barely fit my easel out here to paint it."

Peter laughs at this too, then shrugs. "I bet you can read out here, though. Or draw."

She nods. "Yeah, I do that sometimes." She looks at him for a moment. "You know, that gives me an idea." She turns and opens the door, going back into her room. Peter sees white walls decorated with some posters and painted flowers, an easel with a set of paints next to it, the edge of a desk cluttered with papers, a few sketch books, pencils, and a laptop. In the back corner of the room sits a large bookshelf, which is nearly full.

Grace comes back out after grabbing something off of her desk, then closes the door behind her. Peter sees a sketchbook and a pencil in her hand.

"Drawing the skyline?" he half-jokes, sitting down when she sits on the ground, then leading back against the solid railing. He faces the city, while she faces him.

"Actually, I was thinking of drawing you," she replies almost sheepishly. "If you don't mind..."

Peter blushes. "Oh. Oh, n-no, I don't mind. I mean, I don't know why you would draw me, but..."

She flips open her sketchbook, drawings of different Avengers, skylines, characters, and other things flying by as she hunts for a blank page. "You have a good face for drawing," she replies, pulling her knees up to use her legs as a sort of table. You have a good face in general, she thinks.

"What makes a face good for drawing?" he asks, slightly amused.

She starts to draw him, thinking about her answer for a moment. "Strong lines." He looks a bit confused, so she says, "Like... a strong jawline. Cheekbones..." Then, she looks back up at him again, her pencil stilling. "Maybe a... cute nose... pretty eyes... perfect... lips," she finishes quietly. He blushes, and she clears her throat, looking back down at the page. "Also floofy hair. That's fun to draw."

Peter smiles, laughing a little as he looks down. Then, he looks over at her. "Well, I'm no expert, but I think you have a good face for drawing, too."

"Really?" she says, a brow raised, beginning to draw him again.

"Yeah." He nods. "I mean, I'm sure bangs are fun to draw."

She laughs. "Yeah. Sometimes not fun to have, but, sure, fun to draw."

"There's also, uh..." he starts. "Your-Your eyes and... wow, they're really blue."

She laughs, blushing. "Thanks, Peter."

He laughs a little too, then clears his throat, looking back out at the city. "So, uh, why is having bangs not fun sometimes?"

"Trimming them. Keeping them looking presentable on a day to day basis," Grace replies.

"Then why have them?" Peter asks. He hurriedly adds, "Not that they don't look good, I just-"

She laughs at him, then shrugs. "I've just had them for so long..." She trails off, thinking of Pepper then, but trying to push it from her mind.

Peter sighs, deciding to change the subject. "So, do you want me to pose or...?"

And just like that, she's laughing again. "No. No, just... keep doing what you're doing. Honestly, I don't think you could sit still for five minutes so..."

"Hey!" he argues, half laughing. "I can sit still. I'm not going to, but I can."

"Oh, yeah, sure."

"I can," he repeats. "I do it all the time — another downside of public school."

She stops drawing and leans forward, looking closely at him. Peter turns. "What?"

"Nothing, stop looking at me," she says; she's trying to draw a side profile of him.

"What if I want to look at you?" he replies in a argumentative tone, leaning closer to her, and he almost surprises himself with the statement. But being with her, ironically, is making him feel more relaxed.

"Then I'd say you're a cliché sap," Grace says. "Suck it up, Parker."

"How rude," he replies, though he turns his head back to the city and laughs. She stays leaned closer to him, then scoots forward. Her fuzzy-socked feet are propped up against his thigh — his legs are loosely criss-crossed — and Peter resists the urge to turn and look at her. He asks, "Is my face that interesting?"

"Mildly," she replies. Gingerly, she reaches up and slightly touches his chin, pushing it up a little. "Tilt up just a little bit... okay." She looks back at the drawing. "You were saying?"

Peter stutters, "I-I don't remember what I was saying."

"Something about your face being interesting?"

"It's really not," he replies, laughing. "There are a hundred other things we could talk about."

Grace looks up at him again, then begins to draw his eyelashes. "Like what?"

Peter thinks, then asks, "Why do you paint? Or draw or... you know, make art?"

Grace stops, thinking. "Because I love it. And I have all the time in the world to do it. It... You're taking these materials and you're putting them together to create anything. Literally anything. As long as you can think it, you can make it.

"And, sometimes, I think of things. Concepts, pictures, whatever. And if I don't draw it or paint it, it..." she tries to think of the right wording "... basically, it haunts me. Any free moment, it seems like it's in my head. I'll start thinking of the paints to mix to make the colors I need or the shading — anything. And it won't go away until I make it."

"Wow," Peter says quietly, causing her to laugh softly.

"What about you?" she asks. "Anything haunting you to get it done?"

He shrugs. "Spider-Man stuff, I guess. I mean, I don't have much time for anything else anymore. I haven't tinkered with stuff in forever, but... it was sort of like that. I'd get ideas about how to connect things, and I'd think about them until I actually sat down and did it."

"But not anymore?"

"Nope."

Grace stops and looks up at him. "Do you think you might be over-working yourself with this whole Spider-Man thing?"

Peter shakes his head. "No... No, I love doing it. I have to do it, but I love it." Grace hums in response, and Peter risks looking over at her again. She's drawing, so she doesn't see him looking. He notices how close the paper is to her face, and she's squinting at it. He sighs. "It's getting pretty dark."

She looks up. "Yeah. I guess it is."

He doesn't want to say it, but he does. "I better go. May might start wondering where I am."

Grace nods. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

Slowly, Peter stands, and she stands with him. He grabs his mask and starts to put it on. "I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

She smiles and nods. "Yeah. Talk to you tomorrow." He steps up onto the railing and shoots a web at the closest building. Before swinging off, he turns back and waves at her. She waves back, then watches him swing away until he's completely out of sight.