"How are you feeling?"
Athena's voice was soft but threaded with relief.
Spider turned toward her from the bed, a wide grin splitting his face. He was sitting upright, shoulders straight, eyes bright—as though he hadn't nearly walked away from death itself just days ago.
His color was back, his lips no longer pale, and there was a spark, one that she could conclude made him Spider, that and the familiarity she couldn't just understand.
"I feel like a man who got a second chance," he said, smiling. "Thanks to you."
Athena smiled back. "And to Ewan," she added, glancing briefly at the man standing a few feet away.
Ewan's presence was steady, grounded—and yet when he stepped closer, something inside her fluttered.
The memory of last night came rushing back before she could stop it: his lips, warm and insistent against hers, the quiet sighs between them, and the way he had pulled away, apologizing as though the kiss had been wrong when it had felt so heartbreakingly right.
