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Hawk fell silent.
So that was why Thor hadn't been challenging him to fights on Mars lately.
At first, Hawk had enjoyed the peace and quiet.
After all, at this point, sparring with Thor had become meaningless.
Unless Thor evolved from the God of Hammers into the true God of Thunder, the outcome was predetermined. Black Phoenix Surplice on, Cosmo blazing—Thor was going to lose.
Hawk had actually been wondering how to turn Thor down the next time he came looking for a fight.
But now...
Thor, that bastard, had found new playmates and dumped his old sparring partner entirely.
And for this reason?
Hawk's thoughts churned. He looked at Jane, who had shrugged. "You should know—every time we went to Mars to drink, he came back wasted. I didn't."
Sharon beside him opened her mouth.
Hawk turned to her.
Sharon pressed her lips together. "You got drunk once. The twenty-fifth time you sparred with Thor, you weren't paying attention when you broke through the atmosphere. Fell straight into the Hudson River."
Hawk blinked.
"Did I?"
"You did."
"..."
Hawk fell silent.
Jane saw his expression and smiled. "Thor called last night. Said they were camping and grilling on a beach in Dubai. They should still be there today. You could go join them."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"Dubai?"
"Tony's invitation. They just finished raiding a Hydra base."
Sharon added from the side.
Right. He'd almost forgotten the Avengers had a member with unlimited funds.
Hawk's expression cleared with understanding. He smiled. "Forget it. I've got plans today."
With that.
He checked his watch. It was almost time to pick up Gwen from Oscorp Biologics. So he hugged Jane goodbye again, then—with Sharon seeing him off—headed to the parking garage and drove his black Audi A8 out of S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Command.
Half an hour later.
After picking up Gwen—who had spent the morning touring her new lab—from Oscorp Biologics, Hawk followed Felicia's car toward the Osborn Estate outside the city.
By the time they reached the main building's entrance, the elderly butler was already waiting with a warm smile.
Little Ben sat in a smart stroller, tracing circles around the spacious living room along a preset route.
A maid watched over him nearby.
"Haha!"
"Little Ben, look who's here!"
"Godmother!"
"That's right—godmother."
Gwen lifted Little Ben—golden cross hanging around his neck—from the stroller and cradled him in her arms, cooing at him.
Hawk glanced around.
"Where's Peter?"
"Delivering pizza."
"..."
Hawk heard Felicia's answer and paused. After a moment, he took a deep breath.
"Good man."
"Peter really is a good man."
Felicia wore a happy smile, agreeing with Hawk's assessment. "Things should get better once he graduates, though."
Gwen, still holding Little Ben, looked at Felicia. "Didn't Peter join Dr. Octavius's lab?"
Hawk looked curiously at Gwen.
"Dr. Octavius?"
"Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius. Distinguished nuclear physicist. He's partnered with Empire State University on a research lab."
"Oh."
Hawk nodded in understanding.
Gwen looked at him curiously. "You know Dr. Octavius? That's weird—you're a law student. You guys don't even have real doctorates."
Hawk's mouth twitched.
"I've already declared psychology as my second major."
"Psychology has a doctoral program."
After Gwen had roasted him about law degrees being professional doctorates rather than PhDs, he'd started working on getting himself a proper doctoral degree.
The Phoenix household could exist without a doctorate. But it absolutely could not have only one doctorate.
Hawk refused to have kids with Gwen someday only for them to ask: Dad, how come everyone calls Mom "Doctor" but they call you "Mister"?
That was unacceptable.
Gwen heard this and blinked in surprise.
"Psychology? When did this happen? You never mentioned it."
"Was planning to surprise you."
Hawk shrugged, looking at Gwen—who kept pulling academic rank on him. "If you didn't keep giving me grief about it, this would've stayed a surprise."
Gwen's smile was radiant. "Alright, my bad. Future Phoenix, Esquire... Mister!"
The smile on Hawk's face froze.
The next second.
Just as he was about to settle scores with Gwen, she preemptively struck—thrusting Little Ben into his arms.
"Little Ben, go to your godfather."
"Hehe!"
Placed in Hawk's arms, Little Ben met Hawk's eyes—and seemed to glimpse an infinite, blazing Phoenix universe. He immediately burst into giggles.
Gwen saw this and turned to Felicia. "See? He's laughing the moment he sees his godfather. I held him forever and didn't get a single laugh."
Felicia wore an equally amazed expression, watching Little Ben giggle in Hawk's arms. "He's never laughed this happily even when Peter holds him."
Hawk looked at both women with obvious satisfaction, cradling Little Ben in one arm. "Peter may be his father. But I'm his godfather."
Everyone knew.
"Godfather" just sounded way more impressive than "father."
Just then.
Hawk's eyebrow twitched. He sensed Peter's presence. Holding Little Ben, he vanished from the spot with a whoosh.
"Little Ben, look—big spider!"
"..."
Peter—having just finished his last delivery and realizing he was running late, so he'd landed at the estate in his Spider suit—hadn't even steadied himself when he heard this voice. Looking up, he saw Hawk holding his son with an amused expression.
Peter pulled off his mask, reaching for Little Ben.
Hawk stepped back.
"Did you wash your hands before trying to hold my godson?"
"..."
Peter opened his mouth, then shook his head with a wry smile.
Hawk carried Little Ben as he and Peter walked back toward the main building.
"Dude, you were delivering pizza again?"
"Yeah."
Peter pressed his lips together and nodded.
Felicia was wealthy.
Extremely wealthy—she'd inherited all of Oscorp Biologics, after all.
But that was Felicia's money.
Of course, Peter wasn't so uptight that he'd insist Little Ben live with him back in Queens, cramming into the old apartment with Aunt May.
That wasn't self-respect. That was insecurity.
But Peter still wanted to earn money through his own labor. Maybe it wasn't much, but he gave most of what he earned to Felicia as a contribution to household expenses.
There was no shame in honest work.
Uncle Ben had taught him that.
And Peter had always believed it.
Hawk glanced at Peter—who never seemed tired after fighting criminals but looked visibly exhausted after a morning of pizza deliveries. After a moment's thought, he pulled Sharon Carter's business card from his pocket and handed it to Peter.
"Here."
"What's this?"
Peter took the card, studied the simple name and phone number, then looked at Hawk.
Hawk held Little Ben. "A phone number that'll let your abilities pay the bills. Stop being a volunteer vigilante. I don't want my future father-in-law arresting you."
Peter heard this.
"Captain Stacy would never catch me."
"Human Captain Stacy couldn't. Vampire Captain Stacy can."
"Vampire..."
"Shh."
Hawk made a shushing gesture at Peter, then pointed at the business card in his hand. "Look—you're fighting crime for free anyway. Fighting crime for a paycheck is still fighting crime. Why not get paid? It's still the fruit of your labor. Don't worry—they already know about you. They just haven't reached out yet."
When S.H.I.E.L.D. had investigated Hawk, they'd dug up everything about Peter too.
But because Peter was Hawk's friend, S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't contacted him without Hawk's say-so.
Hawk had learned yesterday at the church entrance that Peter was still doing food delivery.
But how could he allow that?
How much could pizza delivery pay? Was that going to support his godson properly?
Absolutely not, When Hawk had visited S.H.I.E.L.D. this morning, he'd asked Sharon for a business card specifically to refer Peter for a position.
One sentence summed it up.
With Nick Fury running S.H.I.E.L.D., Hawk would never have let his good buddy join.
But now that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been purged and reformed, they were short-handed. With Peter's abilities, making Level 5 Agent shouldn't be a problem.
And a Level 5 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's salary plus bonuses was way better than Peter grinding away at pizza deliveries.
Peter heard Hawk's words. He looked at the business card in his hand, thought about it, and pocketed it.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Hawk smiled, then carried Little Ben back into the main hall. He called out to Gwen and Felicia. "Everyone's here. Let's go."
Gwen and Felicia nodded.
Originally, the four of them had planned to have lunch at the Osborn Estate.
But—
While Gwen and Felicia had been touring the lab that morning, they'd started chatting about a new French restaurant that had just opened on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. So the two women had spontaneously decided to eat there instead.
The reason they'd come back to the estate was to pick up Little Ben.
After all, this meal was technically the godson treating his godfather.
And the new French place really was excellent.
After lunch.
The two women left the restaurant still raving about how they'd have to come back, then stepped outside to wait for the valets to bring their cars around.
Peter held Little Ben, who was babbling happily.
Gwen had her arm hooked through Hawk's, watching Little Ben.
"Little Ben is so adorable."
"Mm. Adorable."
Hawk nodded in agreement.
Then Gwen changed the subject.
"But I still want a daughter."
"A son."
"No—a daughter."
As the eldest daughter herself, Gwen held firm to her principle that her first child should be a girl. "First a daughter. Then a few years later, two sons. Perfect."
Just as Gwen was laying out her reproductive plan again, her eyes suddenly lit up. She looked across the street at a little girl who appeared to be about four years old—seemingly materialized out of nowhere. "Hawk, I bet our daughter will be even cuter than her."
Hawk heard this and followed Gwen's gaze.
Across the street, a red-haired little girl who looked about four was crossing toward them.
The little girl seemed to sense Hawk's gaze. She looked over too.
Their eyes met.
Hawk felt something stir unexpectedly in his heart.
The little girl's eyes seemed to light up as well. She scurried across the street.
The next second.
She threw herself straight into Hawk's arms.
"DADDY!"
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