[Toomes looked at the two and said, "Well! I'm your driver tonight, so let's get on the road and continue this fashion show!"]
[But Doris had other plans. "No, no, no! First, we need some pictures, baby! Oh! Here we go—perfect!"]
[She grabbed a camera from the table and gestured for the two of them to get closer. "Alright, Peter, come on! Get in here!"]
[Peter stood beside Liz, but he couldn't help glancing nervously at Toomes, who stood beside them. Doris snapped several photos.]
[Toomes noticed something strange in Peter's gaze—like the kid recognized him. There was something off about his eyes.]
[After the photos were taken, Peter was eager to make a quick exit. "Sir, you don't have to drive us!"]
[Toomes waved him off. "No, no, no, it's no big deal. I'm heading out of town anyway—this is right on my way."]
[Doris rolled her eyes. "He's always coming and going." Then, leaning toward Liz, she whispered with a smile, "He's so cute!"]
[Toomes overheard and, in an amused yet firm tone, said, "This is the last time, I promise."]
[Saying goodbye to Doris, he turned to Peter, smirked, and called out, "Alright, let's go, Pedro!"]
Otto and the others burst into laughter at Toomes' repeated misnaming of Peter.
"He clearly doesn't like his daughter having a boyfriend. He's deliberately getting the name wrong," first-gen Spider-Man commented.
"At least Gwen's father could remember my name," he added, relieved.
Gwen, however, raised an eyebrow. "Peter, let's be real—no one ever remembers your name."
"Not necessarily! Look, Toomes pretended to forget it!" Otto chuckled, nudging the two of them.
"NO! Otto, Toomes did it on purpose. He absolutely remembers his name," Rose pointed out, smirking.
Otto sighed. "Rose, don't ruin my fun!"
Meanwhile, Hill studied Peter's face on the screen, frowning slightly. "He's terrible at hiding his emotions. Toomes already senses something is off. Guys like him are very perceptive."
"He's still too young and untrained," Nick Fury commented, setting his documents aside. "That's why I had Natasha train the kid."
Coulson, however, came to Peter's defense. "Honestly, if anyone found out their girlfriend's dad was their mortal enemy, they'd react somehow. You can't blame the kid for looking rattled."
"True," Hill agreed. "But his reaction is a little too obvious."
Coulson had no argument for that.
[In the car, Liz used her phone's mirror to adjust her makeup while Peter sat stiffly, staring blankly out the window.]
[Toomes, driving, suddenly asked, "So, Peter, what are your plans for the future?"]
[Peter, lost in thought, didn't immediately register the question. "Huh?"]
[Toomes repeated, "After graduation—what do you think you'll do?"]
["Oh, um… I don't know yet," Peter answered, shaking his head.]
[Liz groaned. "Dad, stop interrogating him!"]
[Toomes shrugged. "Just making conversation. You know, most kids at your school have their whole futures mapped out already."]
[Peter responded with a distracted, "Yeah," before correcting himself. "Wait—no! I'm only a freshman!"]
[Liz chimed in, "Peter was interning for Tony Stark, so I don't think he needs to worry!"]
[Toomes raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Really?"]
[Liz nodded in confirmation.]
[Toomes glanced at Peter in the rearview mirror. "Stark, huh? Not bad! So, what do you do?"]
[Peter hesitated before replying, "Actually… I don't intern there anymore."]
[Liz turned in surprise. "Wait, really?"]
["Yeah," Peter forced a grin. "That job got kind of… boring."]
[Liz frowned slightly, finding that hard to believe. "Boring? You got to hang out with Spider-Man!"]
[Toomes, gripping the steering wheel, narrowed his eyes. "Spider-Man, huh? What's he like?"]
[Peter hesitated, then answered carefully. "Uh… He's awesome! A great guy—really down-to-earth!"]
[Just then, Liz turned her phone toward Peter, showing him a picture. "Look! Isn't this adorable?"]
[Peter forced a smile but quickly reverted to his tense expression. Toomes had been watching Peter closely through the rearview mirror.]
[After a moment, Toomes mused, "I feel like I've seen you before, Peter. Somewhere…"]
[Peter stiffened. "We… we've met before?"]
["Something about your voice, too," Toomes added, eyes narrowing slightly.]
[Liz interjected, "Dad, he was in the Academic Decathlon with me. And he came to my party!"]
[Toomes nodded, though his mind was clearly elsewhere. Peter, trying to sound casual, said, "That party was great! Really great. Beautiful house! Lots of, um… windows."]
[Liz raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Peter, you were there for, like, two seconds."]
[Peter scrambled. "I was there longer than that!"]
[But Toomes wasn't fooled—he was paying close attention to every word.]
["You left," Liz said teasingly.]
["No! No, I didn't disappear," Peter stammered, but Liz continued teasing him.]
["Come on, Peter! You always disappear! You vanished at the party, and you disappeared in Washington, D.C. too!"]
[Toomes' fingers drummed lightly on the steering wheel as Liz's words sank in. His eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror, studying Peter's face even more closely.]
[A brief silence filled the car. Then, while waiting at a red light, Toomes exhaled sharply and said, "That Washington, D.C. thing was pretty intense. You must've been scared."]
[Peter swallowed, licked his lips, and gave a small nod. He didn't trust his voice to sound normal.]
["I guess you were happy to see your old pal Spider-Man show up in the elevator, huh?" Toomes said smoothly, his eyes locked on Peter's reflection in the mirror.]
[Peter glanced at Liz before forcing a weak chuckle. "Actually… I wasn't even up there! I saw everything from the ground!" He tried to sound convincing, but the lie made his tongue feel heavy, his words sluggish.]
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