"Right? I'm thrilled. Terrified, but thrilled. Listen, I might need your help with the technical side. Biometric access points, the stuff we talked about months ago. You still have Oscorp connections for that kind of research?"
"I can look into some general specifications. Nothing proprietary, obviously."
"That's all I'm asking. Dinner this weekend? I want to actually celebrate instead of just texting about it."
"I'll be there."
After he hung up, Alex sat for a long moment processing the implications. Wilson Fisk.
The Kingpin, eventually, if the universe followed any of the patterns Alex remembered. Felicia was walking into his orbit with no idea what that name would eventually mean.
'Something to monitor,' he thought. 'Not something to panic about. Not yet.'
He added it to his mental list of things requiring future attention and went back to his report drafting.
...
Gwen texted him Thursday afternoon. "Coffee today? Actually free this time, promise."
They met at the small café near school that had become their unofficial spot. Gwen was already there when Alex arrived, two cups on the table, hers black coffee and his the overly sweet caramel thing he'd admitted to liking weeks ago.
"You remembered," he said, sitting down.
"I pay attention." She slid the cup toward him. "So. Tell me something real. Not the polished version you give everyone else."
Alex considered her for a moment. Gwen had always been sharp, sharper than most people gave her credit for, and lately she'd been studying him the way she studied a difficult physics problem. Looking for the underlying structure.
"What do you want to know?"
"Anything. Everything. We used to actually talk, Alex. Now it feels like I get the press release version of your life."
He felt something shift in his chest, an actual pull toward honesty that had nothing to do with strategy. This was Gwen. Not Norman, not someone he needed to manage. Someone who'd helped him pass biology back when he was failing out, who'd never once asked for anything in return.
"Work has been intense," Alex said. "Norman's got me on something stressful right now. I can't really talk about specifics, confidentiality stuff, but it's been a lot of pressure."
"Is that why you cancelled on me before?"
"Partly. And partly I've been bad at managing my time. Bad at remembering that people matter as much as deadlines." He met her eyes. "I'm sorry about that. Genuinely. You deserved better."
Gwen blinked, clearly not expecting the direct apology. "Oh. Okay. Thank you."
"I've been trying to fix it. Be more present. It's harder than it sounds."
"Most worthwhile things are." She wrapped both hands around her coffee cup. "Can I tell you something? I've been worried about you. Not in a suspicious way, just, I don't know. You seem like you're carrying something heavy. All the time now."
Alex felt the truth of that land somewhere real. She wasn't wrong. He was carrying something heavy, several somethings actually, and the weight of constant calculation rarely let up.
"I am," he admitted. "It's just life stuff. Family history, work pressure, trying to figure out who I want to be." All technically true, none of it the whole picture, but he wasn't lying either.
"You know you can talk to me. About actual things. Not just homework and small talk."
"I know. I'm working on that too."
Gwen smiled, small but genuine. "Good. Because I like you, Alex. As a friend. A real one. And real friends don't just disappear for a month and come back different and never explain."
"I'll try to explain more. When I can."
"That's all I'm asking."
They talked for another hour, easier conversation after that, about school and Gwen's plans for college applications and a documentary she'd watched about marine biology that had nothing to do with anything important.
Alex found himself genuinely laughing twice, the enhanced analytical part of his brain quiet for once, just present in an ordinary afternoon with someone who actually cared whether he was okay.
When they parted, Gwen hugged him briefly. "This was good. Let's not let it be a month again."
"Agreed. I mean that."
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