The next morning, Peter spread his textbooks out on the coffee table at Wayne Manor.
Chen Mo curled up beside him, hugging a cushion, his black hair a little messy from sleep. He watched Peter write for a while, then shifted his gaze to the clock on the wall.
"Don't you have school today?"
"I do."
After answering, Peter noticed Chen Mo was still looking at him and stopped writing.
"I'm not going today. I already told Alfred. He'll help me get excused."
"You've only been in Gotham a few days, and you've already learned to skip school, Mr. Parker."
"I used to do that too... ahem."
Come on, how was Spider-Man supposed to have perfect attendance...?
Spider-Man pressed his lips together, looked down at the problem he had half finished, then raised his face again.
"Occasionally, when something comes up. Something came up today too."
The corner of Chen Mo's mouth twitched.
"Your whole world is just watching me?"
"Keeping you company." Peter shifted a little closer to him. "If you want to talk, I'm right here. If you don't, I'll work on this. I have to turn it in sooner or later anyway."
As he spoke, he turned the textbook toward him a little.
Chen Mo glanced at it. It was all letters, and he couldn't tell whether it was math or English, so he hugged the cushion and shrank back.
"Keep it away. It makes my head hurt."
"Okay, I can do this myself."
Peter pulled the notebook back, but Chen Mo reached out a finger and pointed at the page.
"You copied that wrong."
"...Oh."
Peter checked the question and hurriedly erased it. Once he had corrected it, Chen Mo let his hand drop back onto the cushion, and the little bit of energy he had