"She just left like that?"
Gwen watched Sif leave while covering her face, and she couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
She turned back to look at Peter, asking as if seeking his opinion:
"Was I being a bit too much just now?"
Seeing her look of guilt, Peter couldn't help but find it a bit amusing. He couldn't resist pulling her over and giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with you. All Asgardians are like that."
Felicia also spoke up casually from the side:
"You don't need to worry about her. She obviously took a blow to her pride. Once she returns from her special training, she might even come back to challenge us again. Worrying about her now is just looking for trouble for yourself."
Hearing her say that, Gwen finally set her mind at ease.
So, she let Peter lead her and Felicia back to the room to have dinner together.
At the dining table.
Uncle Ben sat at the head of the table, looking at Gwen and Felicia surrounding his nephew.
Recalling that girl with long blonde hair who had looked so aggrieved earlier, his expression became complicated to the extreme.
He felt inclined to remind Peter, as an elder, to be faithful and responsible in matters of the heart.
But the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back down.
How should he say it?
Say 'Peter, what you're doing is wrong; a good man can only love one woman in his life'?
Those words applied to himself, but for Peter...
This nephew of his was no longer that little boy who needed him to teach him how to be a good person.
He was now The Arbiter, the great hero who saved Earth.
He had defeated the Vampires that spanned the multiverse and had even, by his own strength, completely unseated those bastards in the White House.
Now, the weight of an entire civilization rested on his shoulders.
After going through so much, what was wrong with... enjoying himself a little?
Thinking of this, Uncle Ben suddenly felt at peace.
He meaningfully picked up the glass of milk in front of him and raised it toward Peter:
"Peter, you've grown up."
"Your uncle is proud of you."
Peter vaguely sensed the complex emotions in Uncle Ben's words. He gave a light chuckle, and after taking a bite of the steak Felicia handed him, he likewise raised his glass to Uncle Ben, then spoke meaningfully:
"Don't worry, Uncle Ben. There will be many more times in the future when you'll be proud of me."
...
With the "big trouble" that was Sif sent away, the remaining time naturally belonged to Peter and his two "main wives."
Perhaps they intended to reward Peter for saving this Universe, or perhaps over the past period of time, the two best friends had completely come to terms with things.
Tonight, neither of them went home early.
This also made Peter vaguely realize one thing:
Yeah, it seemed he really couldn't live with Uncle Ben and Aunt May anymore.
Although he had long since regarded them as his biological parents, even with biological parents, there comes an age where one should maintain some distance for propriety's sake.
In the future, coming back to visit the two elders every few days would be enough.
...
The night of warmth and tenderness needs no further description.
The next morning.
When the first ray of sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains onto Peter's face, he slowly opened his eyes, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
This was everything he had fought for.
He carefully climbed out of bed without disturbing the others.
After tucking them in and leaving a good-morning kiss on their foreheads, Peter dressed and silently left the room.
He still had things to do.
Having settled the conflict between Sif, Gwen, and Felicia, he planned to strike while the iron was hot and resolve his last remaining "trouble" as well.
...
New York, S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, top-floor office.
When Peter pushed open the door, Hill was inside working.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had quite a lot of work, and since Peter was a hands-off boss, Hill's workload was undeniably heavy.
Having not seen her for a while, Hill's refined face now had two faint dark circles under her eyes, and her sharp, capable appearance looked somewhat haggard because of it.
Seeing her like this, Peter felt quite bad. He couldn't help but place his hand on her shoulder and activate the power of the Horse Talisman.
Hill, busy at her desk, was startled by this sudden touch, and her subconscious reaction was to strike back.
But in the next second, the comfort brought by the quiet dissipation of her fatigue made her unable to resist letting out a nearly imperceptible groan.
This sound caused Peter, who had just been busy all night, to feel an involuntary spark of excitement.
However, he quickly adjusted his state and spoke with the air of a business-like superior:
"Agent Maria, the work is never-ending. Sometimes you should learn to delegate unnecessary tasks to subordinates and enjoy life properly."
Hearing this, Hill couldn't help but give him a massive eye-roll:
"If my Director were a responsible and diligent one, then I indeed wouldn't need to be this busy~"
After that sarcastic remark to Peter, she finally broke into a smile and spoke in a teasing tone:
"Instead of finding time to worry about an old woman like me, you'd be better off going to see Daisy. That girl's resentment has been quite high lately."
"All the trainees in her cohort have become her punching bags; they're beaten black and blue every day."
"If you don't go and intervene, she might just drive all her fellow trainees away."
Peter had clearly come specifically for this matter, yet he put on a nonchalant front and joked:
"Women are like fine wine; they need some time to settle to reveal their mellow charm... Besides, I don't see Agent Maria as old at all; at most, you look twenty-five or twenty-six."
"Stop that!" Hill deliberately put on a serious face, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.
In her heart, she couldn't help but secretly think:
This Director of mine wouldn't really have some designs on me, would he?
Although she was a non-marriage advocate, if she could have such a handsome, wealthy, and nearly invincible man to relieve her stress, it would indeed be a hard-to-resist temptation.
...
But before she could think further, Peter had already drifted out of the office.
This made Hill instinctively curl her lip:
Hmph, just a big flirt after all!
While Hill was complaining about Peter in her heart, Peter had already quietly arrived at the Agent Training Camp.
Just as Hill had said, in the training camp, Daisy was venting her resentment on a group of Agent trainees.
The poor young people were being beaten black and blue; seeing her was practically more terrifying than the Spider-Men seeing the Inheritors.