Peter straightened his tie as he ducked through the crowd, trying his best to keep his head down and remain unnoticed as he reintegrated himself into the party.

"Alright Parker, you just need to get to the other side of the ballroom and establish an alibi for where you went" Peter thought to himself "easy, right?" Peter managed another step before his Spider-Sense went off and a palm struck him lightly in the side of the head, causing him to swing sideways before a hand grabbed hold of his shoulder and the aggressor forced him to cut through the crowd.

"Nice move back there Parker" Shining growled angrily "I might have to take a few lessons from the Brilliant Bible of Bullshit Escape Routines" Peter blinked before looking over his shoulder at the much taller man.

"That is an amazing title" he stated "Do you mind if I steal that?"

"I have no idea how I never noticed how alike you two are" Shining said, steering Peter out of the ballroom and into an empty corridor, smiling at the doorman as he shoved Peter out.

"Is there a problem Shining?" the deep-voiced doorman asked.

"Not much Rico, just have to teach the kid a thing or two about eyeing up my wife" Shining grinned.

"Huh, give him a slap for me" Rico smirked, nodding and turning back to his job. Shining dragged Peter out to a second balcony in an unused ballroom before slamming the door behind him.

"What the fuck are you trying to do kid?" Shining growled furiously. Peter spun around and straightened his suit

"Apparently I'm trying to do your wife" Peter snapped "You just made me look like an asshole right there Shining"

"If you don't start answering my questions I'm gonna make you look like a Parker-shaped smear on the fucking pavement forty floors below us" Shining hissed, reaching behind him and pulling out the mask again "Are you trying to get yourself killed, are you trying to make yourself the most wanted man in New York?" Peter opened his mouth to answer, holding out a hand before growling angrily, splaying his hand out and turning away from Shining.

"I don't know what I'm doing" he hissed "I had some stupid fifteen year old idea, put more thought into it than I should've and now I'm having the time of my fucking life!"

"You are not serious, you could get yourself killed doing this" Shining stated "You could die, cripple yourself or get thrown in jail... where would that leave your Aunt May?"

"Hey, this is helping us both out in the long run" Peter snarled, pointing at Shining angrily.

"Oh really?" he asked "How?"

"The photos I'm taking for the Bugle of Spider-Man... of me, the owner's paying me for them and I'm using the money to help pay the bills at home" Peter explained.

"So that makes it okay does it?" Shining demanded "Help the poor by taking narcissistic pictures of yourself and beat up a few bad guys? That makes perverting the course of justice legal in your books does it?"

"Perverting? I'm doing a good job out there!" Peter snapped, tensing his hands down by his sides and turning away from Shining.

"A good job? You're wasting police time by making sloppy work out of the procedures and orders we do ourselves" Shining commented.

"Well have you ever considered that I'm doing something the police can't?" Peter asked.

"Something the police can't huh? Do you think we just sit on our cars, eating doughnuts and sticking our thumbs up our asses?" Shining demanded angrily, grabbing hold of Peter by the scruff of the neck and pushing him against the balcony "Take a good look down at that city Parker and understand that one man in a fucking unitard isn't going to make much difference, this place is bigger than you and its bigger than me, if you feel like you can help people then join the police force or join the Avengers, or the X-Men or even the fucking Fantastic Four, I don't know" Peter tore himself away from Shining's grip and stared furiously at him.

"I'm not just gonna-" Peter began

"But if you think for a fucking second that I'm going to let some freelance punk in a mask beat up every third drug dealer and claim that its for the greater good then you've got another thing coming!" Shining finished.

"Then why did you let me help you before?" Peter demanded "Before you knew who was behind the mask you were more than happy to let some freelance punk fight crime" Shining's anger simmered down briefly as he put a hand to his face, breathing quietly before speaking again.

"I did it because I didn't have any personal stake in your life... now I know who you are, who you know and who you hang out with... I feel like its my responsibility to keep you alive... and if I have to arrest you and throw you into the slammer to do it I'm more than happy to" Shining explained.

"What the fuck are you talking about?! The people I know?" Peter yelled "What do they have to do with anything?"

"You're one of my sister's best friends, if you bite the bullet then she's not going to be happy, and I know I'm not too personal with your Aunt May but I feel like it'll be my responsibility to explain to her what happens when you get killed doing this" Shining stated.

"If, not when Shining, and since you're so happy to accept me as your responsibility then you're gonna have to accept that the mask, the costume and the name is my responsibility" Peter growled "My father personally believed that if someone has the ability to perform a good action then that person had a moral obligation to do that thing... with great power, comes great responsibility Shining"

"Parker, listen-"

"No you listen, when I put on that mask, hell, when I made that costume I accepted that I could die at any time wearing it and I'm more than willing to do it" Peter continued "I knew a man who threw his life on the line to stop a man that I never did, that I could've so easily, and that choice killed him... I vowed to never let that happen to anyone else as long as I had the power to do it... I am Spider-Man Shining, and I don't give a fuck whether you like it or not" Shining stared furiously at Peter for a long second, his eyes glancing down at the mask he held in his hand before shoving it into Peter's chest.

"If you're so eager to throw your life away in a fight that's not even yours, then go ahead" Shining snarled, opening the door but remaining still for a brief second "Just don't expect me to mourn you when you're gone Peter"

"Yeah, the feeling's mutual pal" Peter spat, shoving the mask into his pants pocket and crossing his arms, seething with anger as he leaned against the railing of the balcony. Next Chapter: Heart to Heart Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours