15632/Light-Night Returns

Light-Night Returns
Date of Scene:	16 August 2023
Location:	Eve and Miles's Loft
Synopsis:	Eve comes home after some late night crime fighting and early morning existential pondering to find Miles waiting up for her.
Cast of Characters:	Eve Wilkins, Miles Morales

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Eve Wilkins has posed:
In the muted hush of early morning, Old Gotham's iconic brick facades bear silent witness to the city's many secrets. The stars, partially obscured by Gotham's ambient light, struggle to break through the velvety blanket of the night sky. In just a couple of hours, they'll give way to the encroaching dawn. It's nearly 4AM, and Eve's been out all night.

One of those seemingly ethereal lights, tinged in a soft pink hue, gradually grows brighter and takes form as it descends towards the balcony of a loft apartment. It's Atom Eve, hovering a few feet above the ground, her iconic costume glowing faintly in the dimness. Her eyes, tinged with weariness, survey the surroundings before she gently touches down on the balcony.

As she lands, the ambient energy around her pulses, and in a bright flash of pink, her costume morphs seamlessly into everyday wear -- jeans, Chuck Taylors, and a cozy hoodie. She sighs, running a hand through her hair, the weight of the evening's unexpected events pressing on her mind.

She hesitates for a moment, fingers hovering over the balcony door handle. The soft golden light seeping out from the gaps indicates someone is awake inside. Taking a deep breath, she slides the door open silently, stepping into the warm, inviting space.

Miles Morales has posed:
It's quiet in the apartment.

Was Miles not home? Did duty call as it so often did? Perhaps he had just fallen asleep?

....or maybe....just maybe....

As soon as Eve walks back into the apartment from the balcony and that soft pink light morphs her into everyday wear does she see him: Miles was working on some homework. Chemistry, of course, since he wanted to focus on a physics-based career requiring a good deal of science hours.

He turns his head to regard her, himself dressed in a tank top and black shorts - this outfit was clearly meant to be pajamas. "There you are!" Miles sets down his pen and stands up. "Not like you to be out so late-" He tries to embrace Eve in a tight hug and give her a kiss on the lips.

"I've been worried sick - ironic, I know - but I have been. What trouble did you get up to? I Uh...couldn't sleep without you so I've been burning the midnight oil."

Eve Wilkins has posed:
"Hey, Nerd."

Eve's smile is muted, but her affection for Miles isn't. There's no amount of resistance when he comes up to her -- she slips her arms up around his neck and returns that kiss warmly, nuzzling her nose against his.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up. I was just out.. clearing my head. And then one thing led to another, you know? I found a place to sit, and some guys started robbing this store. I wasn't even sure I was going to do anything about it, but then this girl came walking by. She sort of.. jinxed the car so it wouldn't run and then they all piled in. Seemed like a perfect opportunity, so I just.. got rid of the door seams so they couldn't get out. Easy."

With a soft sigh, Eve rolls her eyes and sort of sags against him.

"Then it was screaming about how they weren't going to be able to breathe, so I reinforced the windows and put air holes in them. And then it was all about how the cops were going to have to use the jaws of life and how I'm just making more work..."

Her voice is shaky, tears welling up in her eyes just before she closes them and rests her head on his shoulder.

"...and then all about how Batman doesn't want people with powers in Gotham. So, I'm probably not even welcome here, anyway."

She cries softly, but there's a frustrated huff of air as she sniffs heavily.

"So now I'm worried that I'm going to get you run out of town because we're living together. And I don't know why I keep thinking that I can actually do /any/ amount of good."

Miles Morales has posed:
'Hey, Nerd.'

By the very concept of everything Miles knows about her, he has a deep understanding when something is wrong. She's not...chipper like she always is. Her sarcastic wit and genuine humor are no longer present in this moment. Even still, he holds her tight like she's the only person in the world and he kisses her like there's no tomorrow.

Because tomorrow is never guaranteed.

"Well, clear your head with me-" Miles smiles at her. "Now come on, what happened?" And begin she does, leaving no detail to the wing. She saw someone rob a store and another lady Jinx it up. Eve did a hero thing! "Nice." Miles remarks to her with a big look of approval on his face. But yeah...breathing is a problem. Then she explains she put holes in reinforced glass.

Then she's tearing up and his hands never leave her, his palms making circular motions on her back to help try to relax her, comfort her, that this place was safe and no judgment would come to her. The head on his shoulder has a hand coming to keep it there as she tells him about Batman's opinion.

"Well, nothings gonna stop us from living together and if Batman doesn't like people with powers then he should spend more time talking to people than scaring them, you know? Cause I think you're pretty great. But...if it helps? When I became Spider-Man? People complained all the time. Just hear J. Jonah Jameson calling' me a menace and all that other dirt. Nothing's perfect, and if you make more work? Good. More work means more jobs which mean they get paid."

He clears his throat.

"You can't please everyone, baby."

Eve Wilkins has posed:
One of the many benefits of having Spider-Man as a boyfriend was... he understood. He got the desire to help, the sometimes dangerous job, the weird hours, the complicated emotions, and even the fact that not all of the press was going to be /good/ press. Unfortunately, ever since the little incident in Africa, any super-hero press felt like bad press.

If she was asked, she'd say she killed two hundred innocent people.

Others would have said she saved thousands.. maybe tens of thousands.

But those people didn't help bury the bodies or apologize to the loved ones of the people she'd lived with for six months in the village that no longer existed. People she'd gotten close to in a place she'd called home longer than she'd even known Miles.

Eve slips her arms around his middle and tucks her forehead in against his neck, fingers absently plucking at the back of his tank top. It's a nervous tick more than it is anything more affectionate, but there's something so simple and intimate about it, just the way her fingers tug and then release as if she was testing its tension.. the way it fit over his shoulders and his back, the way it framed his body, the way the material felt against her fingertips.

Plus, it stirred up his scent.. musky, masculine, sweet, and so uniquely him. She inhaled a deep, steadying breath and blew it out again.

"I know," she says softly. "I know I should care less, but I hate this feeling." She laughs dryly, sniffling and still clinging to him. "Harley Quinn wants a girls night out. Maybe that would loosen me up."

...When had she met the infamous Harley Quinn? And when had they gotten to be buddy-buddy enough to get invited to a girl's night with her? Not only did Harley have a VERY public reputation in Gotham, she had a TV show these days. Bounty Babes or something like that where and her friend went around the country collecting bounties. Probably trashy reality TV, and not something Eve has ever been known to watch, either.

Miles Morales has posed:
Miles knew the details of the Africa incident. She had given her life to save thousands more. Tens of thousands, even. He is also aware of the two-hundred souls who couldn't be saved. He did some independent research, dug up the names even...but to any who think Atom Eve is a villain? Without her interference, it's very possible that the thousands she saved would've joined the death count.

But Miles won't tell her that. He won't tell her he did some snooping. She has enough on her plate today as it is.Instead, he just listens. He lets her tug and release his shirt as much as she wants to while he holds her and strokes her hair.

Then....there's Harley Quinn.

"Whaaaaa-?"

Fuuuck he's gonna have to be the bad guy isn't he? "Listen baby, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but you /really/ shouldn't trust Harley Quinn. She's insane with a PhD, so she'll get you to open up then do literally anything. Just...be careful? Please?" She rolled with Joker. Enough said.

Eve Wilkins has posed:
Eve groans, sagging against his shoulder for a moment before she finally pulls away from him -- gently. She wasn't upset with him. Not really. She was still just agitated by the whole situation and seemed like she needed air, wiping at her cheeks as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Great. So that's even more questionable decisions I'm making. I don't know what to do, Miles. I'm at a loss. I don't have a /purpose/. I don't know what I'm going to major in. I don't know what's important to me -- other than you. You are literally everything to me, right now. And /please/ don't take this the wrong way, but if I sit around here doing nothing but being Miles Morales's girlfriend all day every day for the rest of my life, I'm going to end up in Arkham. I love you. More than anything. But I don't know what I'm supposed to /do/."

As if to make her point, she grabs a paper towel off the kitchen counter and tosses it into the air. There's a flash of pink, and what falls down in its place are hundred dollar bills.

"I can literally /make/ money. Diamonds. Whatever. What's the /point/ of getting a job waiting tables? Of pouring some asshole coffee at some diner while he stares at my ass?"

This was, of course, the line of thinking of every supervillain ever. Why work for what you can just take or get for free? Eve's existential crisis was getting worse, not better.

Miles Morales has posed:
"Sam-"

Miles sees it. She's getting worse, not better. All it takes is the wrong crowd and she slips. "I'm not saying don't, I'm saying be careful." Yet, even as she explains her desired Independence to be her own person that isn't just 'Miles's girlfriend', he maintains his patience and his calm. He watches her closely as she creates a stack of hundred dollar bills.

"Handy for a tight month."

A small joke, but Miles is otherwise quiet as she continues by saying what we're all thinking: why get a job when she can literally make money to the last finite detail. Then, he walks towards her, reaching to cup her cheeks with his hands.

"Before I became Spider-Man, I was no one. At least, I thought I wasn't anyone. I was just another kid from Brooklyn. Dad was a cop, mom did the best with what she got. All I got told was I wasn't going to make it or a gang night scoop me up, so I worked hard in school hoping to be someone who can do /something/."

"Then I got bit by a Spider. I got strong. Tough. Fast. Maybe even a bit smarter. But...I learned quick. Just because I'm strong doesn't mean I should powerlift or play football. Just because I'm fast doesn't mean I should play track."

A deep breath.

"With great power comes great responsibility. It isn't nice, it isn't fair. I know that implicitly and so do you."

"The point is that when people are afraid, win lose or draw, they know people like us can help. The point is that even when we are so different that it cannot even be anymore palpable, we are still the same as people without. The point is that purpose is something we choose, not something defined for us. I could go on and on..."

He steps closer to her, his hands reaching for hers. "But no one defines you but you. And you have to decide who you want to be. That choice may ebb and flow, but the only thing I know for sure is that everything's gonna be okay. Who knows, you're a badass chemist...maybe you can go into chemistry? Be a scientist? There's some great minds who could use your help in a way that doesn't involve powers. You could even do none of that. But you've always been more than my girlfriend. Love of my life, sure, but to me? You're the only Samantha Eve Wilkins around."

Hd shrugs. "And I think that's pretty great. So...what sounds fun to you?"

Eve Wilkins has posed:
Eve waves her hand even when Miles is walking towards her, reverting that stack of money to nothing more than plain paper. The last thing she needed, tonight, was for Batman to suddenly bust through the window and accuse her of counterfeiting.

But then Miles is upon her, and she looks up into his eyes with a sort of... pleading, like she was truly lost and didn't know what to do. She hangs on every word he says, reaching her arms out to slip around his middle.

/I could go on and on.../

And, judging by the way a little smile curls up at him, she could listen to it, too.

Then her hands slip into his, squeezing gently, everything he says seeming to help her relax a little more.

"You make it sound so... easy."

Her smile grows a little and she leans in, nuzzling her nose against his chin.

"I don't know, but I'm sorry I haven't spent more time talking to you about it."

Miles Morales has posed:
WHEW!

Because Batman is scarier than the IRS and Miles wants absolutely none of that smoke. It's a wonder that a batarang hasn't cut one of his web lines or something.

Maybe Batman likes him?

He doesn't leave her eyes not her touch, his arms curling around her and eventually letting his hands lace together with her own. "It's not...God, sometimes I feel like there's nothing harder. But at times? Doing the right thing is often the best course of action. And when you freeze or feel choked by decisions? Remember to breathe."

He chuckles when her nose brushes his chin. "Its okay. Tye good news is that you know you can. I happen to love you lots, girl."

Eve Wilkins has posed:
"...Aaand I'm sorry I stayed out so late without telling you what I was up to. I don't do that anymore. I told myself it was okay because we did the whole location sharing thing a while ago, and you could come find me. But... you shouldn't have to come find me. Especially when I'm obviously out for a reason."

Eve's smile turns sheepish, and she shifts her weight to her toes, raising her lips to his and giving up a soft kiss.

"I love you, too. And, you're right. Sometimes.. doing the right thing just because it's the right thing is... the right thing. As confusing as that statement is. You said it better than I did."

Her smile quirks a little.

"I think I need to try finding a balance again. /Not/ being Atom Eve is making me feel worse than when I was doubting myself. I feel like there's all these things I could be doing to help, and I'm just... not. And then that leads me to.. what am I doing, then? And.. that's kind of a dark hole. Maybe if I just sort of.. bring Atom Eve back.. some things will be easier."

Another kiss, her eyes sparkling.

"Plus, I've got you, this time."

Miles Morales has posed:
"Hey it's okay-" Miles tries to offer her comfort and care. "That's why we did the location thing to begin with. But I didn't want to interrupt if you were out with girlfriends or something, you know? Don't want to make you feel caged or anything like that. Next time I'll text though first, I promise. I trust you." Miles smiles warmly at Eve. There was a terror in his heart that she was cheating or getting hilariously drunk, so to know she was being Atom Eve comforted him considerably.

He won't let his personal fears ruin them.

She rises up to kiss him, a small hum of happiness leaves Miles as a sound, his lips pressing right back against hers. "You got the gist of it. I only say it well because I got it better from someone else." Peter Parker, saving Miles even from afar. "And hey, I'm a really big fan of Atom Eve. You always have me to pull you out of the hole."

That second kiss comes and Miles looks deep into her eyes. "Always." And he kisses her right back, his hand lifting to cup her cheek in that contact.

Eve Wilkins has posed:
She clings to him during that kiss, drawing it out like her life depended on it before finally, reluctantly settling back on the floor.

"You don't make me feel caged," she assures. "And you won't. I know you won't. I trust you, too. Your opinions matter a lot to me, and you're right.. hanging out with the Bounty Babes is.. not really my style. Or, it shouldn't be."

There's a soft laugh.

"Not that I don't sometimes wish I had some girlfriends /to/ go hang out with, but.. /those/ will just end up bringing me the wrong kind of attention."

Then her lips quirk a bit.

"I guess you'll just have to keep dealing with me wanting as much of /your/ attention as I can get," she muses. "We do have that convert coming up, though. Any thoughts about who you might want to invite? I got four tickets because I thought you might want a couple of your friends there. Or a friend and a plus one."

Miles Morales has posed:
"Mmmm....."

If only he could kiss her forever. It felt like yesterday when Miles and Eve stood up to a bully at Metro U. Now? They were closer than ever and even shared their own space! But like all things, even a kiss must come to pass. Miles lightens his hood on her as she settles back on the balls of her feet and he meets her eyes, his hand stroking her cheekbone.

"I'm glad you agree." He starts laughing. "Not that you wouldn't behave yourself, buuuut it's a good way to get into a bunch of-yeah." Miles lifts a hand to his face. "Am I mansplaining? I'm mansplaining arn't I?"

"Well, if dealing with you is all I gotta do? Pretty sweet deal if you ask me." He nudges her forehead with his own. "Well, I was thinking we could invite Laura at least. She's pretty cool, yeah? Could also try inviting Mark or my pal Peter. I also know a gal named MJ you'd probably like a lot."

Eve Wilkins has posed:
Eve's grin quirks a little larger, and she bites her lip when he mentions 'mansplaining,' her eyes sparkling with barely restrained laughter. "A little, but it's okay. I'm trying to make a questionable decision, and you're making sure I get the point. I get it."

That laughter finally bubbles up when he calls her a sweet deal, and she closes her eyes for a moment as she rests against him. "Back a'tcha," she muses warmly. "Oh! Laura would be a good one, if you wanted. I saw her tonight, too. Harley invited her out to party, too. But.. any of your friends would to be great. I'd love to meet them some time."

Miles Morales has posed:
So here's the thing...

Eve's really hot.

That's all, PSA concluded. When she bites her lip, Miles's cheeks turn bright pink. "S-sorry...." His hands stay at her lower back, playing with the back of her shirt ever so slightly.

"Great! We can reach out. Hm...I'll talk to Peter, see if he's interested. Could be fun!" Miles hums then got a second as mischief sparkles in his eyes. "What should we do with the rest of the evening?"