My eyes opened slowly.  The master bedroom appeared around me, blurry from the combination of my nearsightedness and the fact that I had just woken from a long, deep sleep. 

I rolled over, blinking several times to clear my vision slightly.  My beautiful wife was lying beside me, still sleeping soundly. 

I crawled out of the bed, careful not to wake Gwen.  I tiptoed into the bathroom, my spider senses alerting me too late before I smashed into the doorframe.  I cursed, whipping my head around to see if Gwen had stirred.  She still snored faintly and quietly.

I sighed, continuing my journey to the sink, putting my contacts into my eyes.  My vision was restored instantly.  I stared at an old pair of glasses sitting on the counter, then set them on my nightstand so this wouldn't happen again. 

I pulled a green t-shirt over my head and slipped on a pair of denim shorts.  After I was dressed, I headed into the kitchen to make breakfast.

After a few minutes, the aroma of bacon, eggs, and pancakes wafted through our house.  I spooned our finished meal onto two plates, poured some milk, and set them on the table, along with a bottle of syrup and a couple of forks. 

Next, I snuck back into the bedroom, setting a light kiss on Gwen's sleeping lips.  Her eyes fluttered open, revealing a bright green. 

"Good morning, dear," I whispered, trying out new words for her.  "Breakfast is ready."

She sat up, combing her hair with her fingers.  Then she yawned, batting her long eyelashes at me.  Her fingers trailed my cheek, and I lifted her up into my arms. 

I carried her to the kitchen table, placing her into her seat.  Gwen yawned again, and I sat in my own.  Our fingers laced together, and we ate.  She ate with her right hand, and I ate with my left.  Ever since I had begun shooting webs from both hands, I had become ambidextrous.

---

An hour later, Gwen and I were both cuddled up on the couch watching a movie.  Ever so slowly, our minds drifted to each other instead of the television.  I leaned my forehead against hers, and our lips brushed.  We then engaged ourselves into a sweet kiss.  Our lips moved together so perfectly; it was as if we had done it a million times.  We had gotten pretty close to it.

The movie faded away from my thoughts completely as I focused on our kiss.  I cupped my palms around her cheeks, bringing her closer and closer until it almost hurt.  We kissed with such ferocity that we collapsed, me almost on top of her, still tangled up as we gasped into each other's mouths.

I don't know how long we stayed there like that.  It felt like a lifetime, but neither of us grew tired of the moment.  Our shirts were both rumpled up a little so the warm skin of our bare stomachs touched, causing us both to tingle.  I smiled against her lips and tickled her belly, causing her to giggle.  When we finally broke apart, the movie had ended.

"We missed it," Gwen said, tucking her tangled hair behind her ears.

"Oops," I added.

"Should we start it over?" 

"Nah, I didn't like it too much, anyway.  You were much more entertaining."  She smirked.  A sharp alarm echoed through the house.  "Duty calls," I said, grabbing my backpack and heading for the door.

"Oh, you can't be late for that," she laughed.  "Go get 'em!"  I winked, then shot a web to swing away.

---

"There has been a security breach to everything I own.  Someone serious is trying to obtain information, and they were successful.  I thought my security was unbreakable, but, nothing ever is, is it?"  Nick's posture was poor; he was hunched over like he hadn't slept in days.  The Avengers all stood in a circle with him.

"So, someone broke into your security...why does that involve us?"  Tony rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I traced it back as far as I could.  I couldn't find out much, but somebody is attempting to scavenge the little S.H.I.E.L.D. information that wasn't released to the media, and since I was Director, I guess they decided to try hacking my place.  They could possibly be trying to restore Hydra.  And we all know that that can lead to bigger problems."  A chorus of groans filled the room.  "Tony, you've got the equipment...do you think you could see if you can trace it better than I can?"

"Yeah," Tony replied.

"Until then, there's not much more that we can do.  Just, keep an eye out, would you?  They're probably targeting the Avengers."  Nick frowned.  "It has to be someone that knows I'm alive, and that I'm not still in England."

I began to think of what had happened since our last "big mission."  Sure, we had the little things that Nick called us for individually, sometimes in pairs, based on our talents and abilities.  A lot had passed since we were all in the same room together.  Tony had finally married Pepper.  I had married Gwen.  Nick had gone back to wearing an eyepatch instead of his sunglasses.

I stiffened, gripping my backpack straps tightly, preparing myself for battle.