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Gwen decided to take the new suit for a test drive.
She grabbed the case out of its place in the closet and put it on the end of the bed. Clicking the latch, the case opened up, displaying all the holograms and suit in all its glory. She changed out of her leggings and sweatshirt, throwing them in a random corner of the room. She grabbed the suit and put it on.
She saw there were new turquoise pointe shoes with the suit, but she just left them in the case. She already had a pair, thank you very much.
She frowned when she saw the suit very loosely dangling off her body. "Huh. I don't think he understands the meaning of skintight," she said to herself.
Deciding to fumble around with it, she played with the fabric to see if anything could make it shrink to actually fitabcdefu lyrics
her form. A thought sparked in her head when she realized that the cuffs which held her solution and pepper spray weren't on. Groaning at her own stupidity, she put on the cuffs.
When the second one came into contact with her suit, the fabric shrunk and fitted itself to her body. "Smartass," she grinned. She went to the bathroom and checked herself out in the new suit, like anybody else would do when you get new clothes. She put on the mask and threw her hood up.
The eyes of the mask formed and calibrated itself to her green ones.
"Okay, this puts Pete's suit to shame. Sorry, bud, but this is cooler," she said to herself. "Time to go test it out." She went to her bedroom window, opened it, and climbed out.
She went to the roof of the apartment building and stood on the ledge.
With a deep breath, she leaped off.
"WHOOOO!" she cheered when she shot a web out and it latched on the ledge of a building. She swung around through the streets of Queens, New York. The freedom she felt was amazing. It's a type of euphoria you can only get when you're swinging past everybody.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure of red and blue pass by in an alleyway. Being the ever so curious, she followed him.
Spider-Man was just out doing his rounds when he leaped off a building. He shot a web out when his grip loosened. He crashed into the rooftop, face first with a groan.
Spider-Woman watched that and snorted behind the mask.
"I'm good, I'm good," Spider-Man said as he stood up and shook himself off.
Spider-Woman started to laugh, loudly. The laughter caused Spider-Man's head to snap towards her. The eyes behind the red and blue mask widened when he saw the suit. "I'm sorry! It's just- it's just I think this is the first time I've seen a Spider-Man fall! Oh, that was beautiful!" She clutched her stomach because she was laughing too hard.
She jumped down and landed on her pointe shoes before going to a still shell-shocked Spider-Man. "You're- you're the spider person that saved me," he breathed out; the eyes on his mask were wide open, matching the eyes under the fabric.
"Yeah, we've met," Spider-Woman smiled under the mask.
"Yeah, we have."
"Multiple times actually."
Spider-Man's mind was spinning with what that could mean. Is it Gwen? He has seen her face when she was taken away two months ago. It has to be Gwen. . . right? It can't be anybody else. It wouldn't make sense for it to be anybody else, so it has to be Gwen.
"You're swinging sucks," Spider-Woman said bluntly.
"E-Excuse me?" stuttered Spider-Man.
"You're swinging sucks," she repeated.
Spider-Man crossed his arms over his chest. He tried to look menacing and intimidating, but it came out cute. "Oh yeah? H-How would you do it?" he demanded, but yet again, came out cute.
"I'll show you." Spider-Woman shot a web and pulled her up onto the rooftop. She turned around and shot a web coming back the way she came. She didn't crash and fall on her face. Instead, she was able to land perfectly and even added a half pike in air to impress him. She came back down in front of Spider-Man. "That's how you do it."
His jaw fell slightly under the mask. "Okay. . . I'm not gonna lie, but I could totally do that."
"Really?" Her voice held a teasing quality.
"Yes."
"Do it."
"Okay." Spider-Man took the challenge and climbed up on the rooftop and shot a web out. He steadied himself before he went all Tarzan. He did good for the most part, that was until he lost his grip again and fell face first, again. Spider-Woman laughed again. "Stop," he whined, weakly glaring at the other arachnid.
Her words came out in choked parts. "I'm sorry! It's just- it happened a second time!" she laughed. "Okay, okay, okay, okay." She sobered up enough, although a few short bursts of laughter would escape her as she replayed those moments in her mind. "Okay, what you're doing is relying too much on your arms. Most of the momentum comes from your legs. You have 'em, use 'em. Do you know math and physics?"
"Uh, yeah? I know math and physics," Spider-Man hesitantly replied.
"Well, I don't feel like explaining it now," she brushed it off with a shrug, "I need to be someone in an hour. Basically, instead of trying to pull yourself with your arms, use your legs to swing yourself up. It's called swinging for a reason, so swing spiderboy. Swing."
"It's actually Spider-Man," he corrected.
She chuckled. "You are no man, spiderboy. I gotta go. Bye!" She shot a web out and swung out into the city.
"Yeah, that's definitely Gwen," Spider-Man said to himself before he swung away too, this time using his legs to swing himself up.
Getting back to the apartment was kind of hard. See, Gwen knows Manhattan like the back of her hand, not Queens. Peter was always the one to take over Queens as he grew up there, worked there, lived there, fought a black goo there. Basically, Gwen doesn't know Queens, so a few wrong swings were bound to happen. Eventually, she was able to find her way back to her apartment.
She scaled the wall and climbed in through the open bedroom window. She immediately shimmied out of the suit and into the pair of leggings and sweatshirt from earlier. She threw on some Converse, quickly picked up her phone and Tony's Black Card as well as the casserole dish that May gave.
She locked her front door and ventured down three doors where she knocked on it. The door swung open to reveal May with her hair in a bun. "Gwen! Hi! I'm making meatloaf if you want to come in." She opened the door to allow the teen to enter.
"I just came to return the dish," she said.
"Oh, no, I insist. You met my nephew Peter, right? And his friend Ned?"
"Yes and yes."
"Oh perfect! Ned's in Peter's room building some Star Trek thing. Go!" May grabbed the glass dish from Gwen's hands and hip bumped her towards a small room across the living room.
Gwen walked in the room, which she assumed was Peter's and immediately noticed Ned.
"Gwen! You came!" Ned grinned when he saw he enter the small room.
"Hey, how's the Death Star?" she smiled back and moved to sit next to the boy on the bunk bed's bottom.
"It's doing good. I finished the structure at my house and came here to finish it with Peter," he said. He then frowned. "Do you know where Peter is?"
Gwen's mind fired at lightning speed to find a reason. "No idea," she opted to lie instead of spinning some horrible web of lies. Pun not intended.
Ned nodded.
The window of the bedroom slid open and allowed a red and blue suit to crawl into, then it used its foot to close it. Spider-Man took off his mask and flung it at a desk in the corner.
"Oh no," Gwen mumbled quietly with a sigh.
Spider-Man crawled on the ceiling towards the bedroom door and shot a web at it. He closed it slowly then dropped down on the ground and fully closed it. He released a breath and turned around.
Peter Parker stood frozen when he saw his best friend and neighbor sitting on his bunk bed with the Death Star in hand.
The Death Star fell on the ground with a crash.
Ned stood up, mouth agape as he stared at the brunette boy in front of him.
"What was that?" May asked from the kitchen.
"Uhh, it's nothing! Nothing," Peter replied, his voice a little higher than it normally was.
"You're the Spider-Man. . . from YouTube," Ned breathed out in awe.
"I'm not," he denied as he pressed the spider emblem on his chest. The suit loosened itself around his body and Gwen sucked in a quiet breath at the sight before her.
Abs were on full display, and they weren't like the abs you could barely see, no these were the kind where you could see the shadows that the abs made. They were defined, ladies and gentlemen, defined. "Oh dear god. Lord have mercy," Gwen whispered under her breath as she closed her eyes to regain composure. What else are you supposed to do when your eyes have been blessed by a sight that is Peter Parker?
Nothing; that's what you're supposed to do. Absolutely nothing. Except pray. Only pray.
"You were on the ceiling," Ned reasoned, pointing up to the ceiling to prove his point.
"No, I wasn't. Ned, what are you doing in my room?" demanded Peter, getting all flustered.
"Aunt May let me in. You said we were gonna finish the Death Star!"
"You can't just bust into my room!"
The bedroom door opened, allowing a little smoke to flow in. May waved a rag in front of her face to dissipate the smoke as she let her hair down from its bun. "That turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster. Let's go out to dinner. Thai? Ned, you want Thai?" she asked with a warm smile.
"Yes," he immediately replied.
"No," Peter jumped in. "He's got a thing."
"A thing to do after," Ned changed his answer.
"Okay," May replied, albeit a little hesitant. She saw Gwen hiding behind Peter. "Gwen? Thai?"
It was then Peter noticed that he was standing in front of Gwen in only his boxers. His cheeks tinted a little pink as he immediately stepped out the way.
"Sure, I could go for Thai," Gwen smiled.
"You know, next time you bring a girl into your room, Peter, make sure it's empty," May winked. "Also, maybe put on some clothes." With that, she closed the door.
Peter's face heated up more as Gwen snorted.
"Oh, she doesn't know," Ned realized.
"Nobody know! I mean, Mr. Stark knows because he made my suit, but that's it," Peter hastily explained as he put a sweater, blocking Gwen from the amazing view.
"Tony Stark made you that?!" Ned's face was practically about to crack in half with how big his smile was. A thought came to the teen. "Are you an Avenger?"
Peter hesitated. "Yeah, basically," he answered, shrugging.
Gwen snorted again. "Liar." She stood up from the bed to grab the mask from the desk.
Ned gasped, leaning onto the metal frame of the bunk bed for support as he felt he might faint. "Whoa. . ."
"You can't tell anybody about this. You gotta keep it a secret," rushed Peter as he looked at both Gwen and Ned.
"A secret? Why?"
"You know what she's like-" he gestured to the door to prove his point "-If she finds out people try to kill me every single night, she's not going to let me do this anymore. Come on, Ned. Please." Peter's eyes begged his best friend.
"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I'll level with you." Ned's face showed full seriousness before smiling. "I don't think I can keep this a secret. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, Peter!"
"Ned, May cannot know. I cannot do that to her right now, you know? I mean, with everything that's happened with her. I. . ." his voice cracked. A certain vulnerability showed through. All the Peter's that Gwen has met, they have all had a mask, both literally and figuratively. They all hid the pain they have for the greater good. They never let themselves be normal as they're always off saving the world. "Please."
A few beats of tense silence passed before Ned agreed. "Okay."
"Just swear it, okay?"
"I swear."
"Thank you." Peter breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yeah."
Peter sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he paced the floor. "I can't believe this is happening right now."
"You know," Gwen started, drawing attention of both boys, "since your secrets out, maybe I should tell you mine too." Gwen jumped a little and stuck her fingertips to the ceiling. Ned's jaw dropped, again.
"I know two spider people?!" he asked himself with a grin. Ned was practically shaking with excitement. He then looked at Peter. "Can I try on the suit?"
"No."
"How does it work? Is it magnets? How do you shoot the strings?"
"I'll tell you about this at school tomorrow, okay?" Peter ushered Ned out of the room.
"Great. Okay, well, wait, then-" Ned then stopped and looked at him "-how do you this and the Stark Internship?"
Peter furrowed his brows. "This is the Stark Internship," he simply clarified.
"Oh." A look of realization overcame Ned's face.
"Just get out here." He pushed him out the door and closed it. He leaned on the door and facepalmed himself.
Gwen continued to look at the mask. "Out of all the Spider-Man masks I've seen, this is by far the techiest I've seen," she mused.
Peter groaned; he forgot about her. May's words rang in his mind and his face heated up again. "Just stop," he ordered and grabbed the mask out of her hands and shoved it with his suit. "Just wait outside." He grabber her shoulders and also shoved her out the door.
"Where's Peter?" May asked as she slipped on a jacket.
"Uh, getting changed I think." She threw her thumb behind her to the door.
Peter eventually came out his room and the tree headed out down the street to a Thai restaurant. Large windows adorned the entrance as multi-colored Christmas lights were hung around the frame. May opened the door with a small ding and a server came and sat the three down at a table.
Food got ordered, and within ten minutes, it all came. Gwen happily ate the food as Peter just merely poked at it.
"What's the matter?" May asked, concerned. "Though you loved larb. It is too larby? Not larby enough," she decided. She then sighed. "How many times do I have to say 'larb' before you talk to me? You know I larb you."
Gwen's eyes darted between the two. She was situated on the long end of the table where Peter and May sat adjacent to her.
"I'm just stressed. The internship, and I'm tired. A lot of wok," Peter finally admitted, still poking the food with his chopstick.
"'The Stark Internship'," May repeated, clear distaste lacing her tone. "I have to tell you, not a fan of that Tony Stark. Distracted all the time. . . he's got you in your head."
A tv behind May caught the attention of both Peter and Gwen.
"The beloved Queen's institution, Delmar's Sandwiches, was destroyed in an explosion earlier tonight after and ATM robbery was thwarted by Queen's own colorful local crime-stopper, the Spider-Man." A picture of Spider-Man coming out of a port-a-potty with tissue paper stuck to his foot was shown.
Gwen glanced at Peter and when she caught his gaze, she gave him a look of 'you're explaining later' to which he hesitantly nodded.
"As the Spider-Man attempted to foil their heist, a powerful blast was set off, slicing though the bodega across the street. Miraculously, no one was harmed."
May turned back to both kids with a serious expression. "If you spot something like that happening, you turn and you run the other way," she stated.
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course," Peter promised, nodding his head a little too enthusiastically.
"Six blocks away from us," mumbled May.
"I. . . uh. . . I need a new backpack," Peter sheepishly smiled.
May put a finger behind her ear, disbelief clear on her face. "What?"
"I-I-I need a new backpack."
"That's five."
A waiter came by and brought a new dish on their table, his eyes glued on May. "Sticky rice pudding," he said with a smile.
"Oh, we didn't order that."
"It's on the house," he smiled.
"Oh! Thanks." The waiter walked away and May turned back to the two kids. "That's nice of him."
"I think he larbs you," Peter said.
Gwen snorted. "Actually, the backpack was my fault. I tripped and spilled some things I probably shouldn't have spilled on Peter's backpack. It's just a puddle of fabric now," Gwen lied, sheepishly smiling to sell the act.
Peter nodded along with her story.
May narrowed her eyes at the two. "Okay then," she finally relented.
Gwen and Peter shared victorious glances.
"So Gwen, where were you born?" May asked, picking up another piece of food and eating it.
"Manhattan, actually," answered Gwen.
"Really? You know, Peter was actually born here."
"Really? Didn't know that." Of course Gwen knew that. She's already met Peter from her universe, and she met the fat Peter when she met Miles.
"Yeah, lived here all his life."
"That's cool. All I've known is moving around all over the place." That's a bend to the truth. Gwen's traveled across universes before, so technically, she has moved all over the place.
"When's your birthday? So I can start to plan what to get you," May assured.
Gwen didn't answer immediately.
"When is your birthday?" It was now Peter who asked.
"October 31."
"Your birthday is Halloween?"
"Yeah."
"That's actually pretty cool," said Peter.
The conversations just continued to flow from there. Both May and Peter interrogating Gwen with questions, like 'What's your favorite color?' or 'Where does your parents work?' . The second one took a little time to explain. Gwen had to be very careful with what she said and how she said it. Her dad is in a different universe, and she couldn't just say that, so she kind of bent the truth a little.
It all worked out though because they didn't suspect a thing.
Gwen did a good job.
After dinner, Gwen tried to pay for dinner with Tony's card, but May was adamant on not allowing her to do so. So with a little fussing, Gwen relented and allowed May to pay. When the woman was in the middle of handing the card over to the waiter, Gwen stuck her card in and forced the waiter to take it. May glared at the teen, receiving an innocent smile in return.
When the three reached the apartment building, they entered the elevator together and exited together. May got her key out and unlocked the door.
Gwen grabbed Peter's arm before her could go. "I need to talk to Peter about school for a sec," she said with a smile.
"Okay. Just make sure to keep your shirt on Peter," May replied before closing the door behind her.
Peter's face heated up a little as Gwen snorted.
When May left, Gwen corned Peter up against the wall, so he had nowhere to escape to. "Okay, what the hell happened at that bank?" Gwen demanded once she saw no one else in the hallway.
"I saw those guys go into the bank and so I went in after them because they looked like they were bad. But they had these machines with them and those were the cause of the beam," Peter recapped quickly with a nod.
Gwen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, next time you want be a hero, tell me first and I'll deal with it."
"What gives you any authority over me?" scoffed Peter.
"Seniority," she retorted. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you have, sweetheart."
Normally Peter would've blushed when he got called by some name of endearment, but the tension between the two could be noticed by a blind man. And to be honest, Peter wasn't really looking at Gwen, but more at the space between them, or the lack between them.
"How long?"
"Three years," answered she.
"You've been doing this since you were twelve?" Peter's jaw dropped in disbelief.
Gwen groaned and took a step back. "No, I've been doing this since I was fifteen."
Peter furrowed his brows in confusion. "Wait, how can you do this for three years if you're fifteen now?"
"Time travel."
"You've time traveled?!" Peter's eyes widened.
"Say it a little louder, will you? I don't think China heard you," sarcastically scolded Gwen. Peter looked down at his feet, feeling a little sheepish. "Yeah, this is not the first time I've time traveled either. Look, I have more experience than you, and I have been taught how do what I do. Just let me handle this."
Peter started to nod then immediately changed his mind and shook his head. "No, I can do this. I'm not some little kid you can just boss around."
"But you are!" Gwen snapped. She saw Peter wince at her volume and sighed. "You need it to get through that thick head of yours, Peter. You're not invincible. You're mortal, just like the rest of us." Her tone was softer. "I. . . I know what to do, okay? I've been taught by someone who had been a lot longer than I have. Just let me handle this," she pleaded before going to her apartment door and sticking the key in.
"Then teach me," Peter declared, making her stop in twisting the knob. She frowned and turned her head to look at him quizzically. "Teach me to be like you. And then I can prove to you that I can do more than just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
Gwen looked over at the boy. She doesn't know what to answer. On one hand, she wanted him to be able to fend for himself, but on the other, she didn't want any harm to come to him. She was torn. "Are you sure this is what you really want to do?" she asked.
"Yes." The confidence in Peter's voice was something Gwen had to admire.
"Okay then. I'll teach you," she said and Peter's grin took over his face. She lightly laughed. "Oh, jeez, I'm going to regret this. Goodnight, Peter." With one last smile, she opened the door.
"Goodnight, Gwen." Once the door behind her closed, Peter did a little happy dance in the middle of the hallway.
He walked into his apartment with a giddy smile, and May immediately took notice of that. "What's got you all smilely?" she asked with knowing smirk.
"Nothing," answered Peter, the smile never wavering.
"Uh-huh."
"Goodnight, Aunt May!"
"Goodnight," she called back. She fondly shook her head at her nephew. "That boy is as blind as a weasel."