"No," Toby said flatly. "It's not even 11:00 AM. And as for whether I'm coming home tonight... that's exactly why I'm waking you up."
Peter's face immediately crumpled into a mask of misery.
"11:00 AM? God, Toby, tell me you're joking! I fought a giant lizard all night. Have some mercy and let me sleep..."
Peter tried to fall back onto his pillow, but before his head could hit the fabric, Toby grabbed him by the collar of his pajamas and dragged him off the bed like a sack of potatoes.
Toby didn't stop until he had dragged Peter across the hall and into his own room. He dropped him on the floor.
Peter, lying there like a "salted fish," was about to complain again when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. There was someone else lying on the floor right next to him.
The shock cleared the cobwebs from his brain instantly. He scrambled back, staring at the figure. It wasn't just anyone—it was Dr. Curtis Connors, the man who had thrashed him... or rather, "competed on equal terms" with him all night.
Peter did a "carp leap" to his feet, looking from the unconscious doctor to Toby in pure shock. "Toby! You caught the Lizard? This is incredible!"
Toby shrugged. "I didn't plan on interfering, but my 'intern' cousin was clearly outclassed, and the overgrown gecko made the mistake of crashing my date."
"He's your problem now. Lock him in the basement and keep an eye on him until I get back. As long as you don't inject him with more serum, he's just a one-armed middle-aged man."
"If you can't handle guarding a normal human," Toby added, his voice dropping an octave, "I'll have to consider repossessing that $10 million spider-suit I gave you. Got it?"
Without waiting for Peter's stammering response, Toby turned and walked out. He left Peter standing there, a swirling mess of shame for being called "weak," guilt for ruining Toby's date, and pure financial horror at the realization that he was wearing ten million dollars' worth of tech.
Okay, one thing at a time, Peter thought, shaking himself. First: Don't let the doctor escape.
Toby's round trip took only a few minutes. By the time he swung back to the amusement park, the Ferris wheel cabin carrying Gwen hadn't even reached the ground. He timed his leap perfectly, slipping through the safety gate of the hanging cabin like a shadow.
The moment he entered, he was met by Gwen's embrace and a very warm, very thorough French kiss.
When they finally broke apart, Gwen looked up at him with shimmering eyes. "Thank you. Thank you, Toby!"
"If you hadn't been here today... I can't even imagine what would have happened. I could have lost the most important man in my life." She squeezed him tight. "You're my hero, Toby."
Toby kept one arm around her waist and used the other to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. "Saving my future father-in-law is part of the job description, isn't it? No need for the hero talk."
Gwen's gaze softened into pure adoration. He's just like he was two years ago, she thought. Cold on the outside, but gold on the inside. He doesn't want money or fame—he just saves people because it's right. He's so noble.
If Toby knew Gwen was canonizing him as a saint, he would have laughed. Don't be silly, girl, he'd think. I didn't ask for money because your dad is an honest cop with five mouths to feed—he's broke. And as for not wanting anything else... I just wasn't interested in underage girls. Now that you're eighteen, the 'nobility' is out the window.
But Gwen didn't know any of that. To her, Toby was the apex of chivalry.
As the wheel slowly descended, Toby gave her a brief rundown of the fight. Gwen's emotions swung from terror—at the confirmation that her father really had faced the monster—to pure amusement.
When Toby mentioned leaving Captain Stacy webbed to the ceiling for a two-hour "cooldown," Gwen didn't feel bad for her dad at all. In fact, she burst out laughing. She agreed with Toby: her stubborn, duty-obsessed father needed a literal "hang out" session to reflect on his recklessness.
Once they reached the ground, Gwen actually dragged Toby back to the Ghost House to see the spectacle.
Captain Stacy, dangling helplessly from the rafters, felt his "social death" reach a new peak when he saw his daughter and her boyfriend walking toward him. Gwen didn't try to get him down; she simply called over the other searching officers to "rescue" him.
The look on the Captain's face as his entire squad gathered beneath him to stare was priceless.
With her father's safety (and humiliation) secured, Gwen led Toby out of the park. The area was cordoned off and the rides were shut down, so their "fun afternoon" was officially over.
They headed to a high-end restaurant for what Gwen called a "Pretty Meal." Toby ate three portions and was still only about 70% full. These places are great for photos, he thought, but useless for biology.
The original plan had been: car shopping, amusement park until sunset, and then the "makeup dinner" Toby owed her. The night portion of the date was an unspoken agreement between them.
But with the Lizard intervention, the schedule had collapsed. It was barely lunch, and they were already finished with the "day" activities. They were left with an unplanned afternoon void.
Toby, having lived in the more conservative mindset of his previous life for twenty years, hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should just jump to the "night" phase of the date while the sun was still high.
Then he looked at Gwen.
Apparently, in America, the clock doesn't dictate the mood. Who says you can't do "night things" in the afternoon?