"There's only Spider-Man."
Takes place after the events of No Way Home.
After deciding to not reintroduce himself to MJ and Ned, Peter sets off to live the rest of his life as Spider-Man.
Peter was always itching for the nighttime. The feeling of being able to fly free was, well, freeing. Even through the suit he could feel the cool chill of the air cut through him. It brought his mind back to simpler times. Like the first time he brought MJ out swinging. Now she certainly didn't find it as freeing or as fun as he did, but he remembered how close it brought them. Literally. Her clinging onto him was a fond memory of his. Having her in his arms was a feeling he missed deeply.
No matter how he felt, he knew he wouldn't go back and make her remember him. She was better off this way. She was safe this way. She got to live out her dream of going to MIT. She didn't have to worry about what super villain her boyfriend would be fighting next week. She could find someone who loved her and didn't have a super life. Someone who loved her dark humor and pessimistic outlook the way he did. The night of the big fight she was in danger, and if it hadn't been for Peter 3, she wouldn't have made it. Peter didn't want to put her at risk again. Ever.
He thought a lot about the other Peters. He thought about how Peter 2 got to go back to his MJ after all of the fighting was over. He was envious of that. He also thought about Peter 3 and his girl, who's name he never remembered. What he did remember was how he reacted to losing her. How the anger, guilt and rage consumed him and effected his life. He took that as a cautionary tale. He never wanted to be like that. There would be too many people he'd be letting down in the process. Sometimes, when that did cross his mind, he thought about it though. Because when those people did cross his mind, the harsh reality reminded him that they either did know who he was or they were dead anyway.
Spider-Man was perched on the edge of a building, overlooking the city. It was quiet tonight, except for a small car break-in. Peter shrugged, thinking why not. It would at least give him something to do. He swung down, throwing in a flip and gently landing on the roof of the car. "Hey buddy!" The guy looked up at him. "We live in New York, you really don't need a car. He jumped down onto the ground, dodging the first punch the thief threw at him. "Just get a metro card!" Spider-Man dodged another punch, swinging his leg around, landing the opposing man right on his butt. "Oooh, ouch." He said with a laugh.
The man quickly sprung back up, throwing another punch before Spider-Man caught it in his hand. The man used his free hand to slip into his pocket, causing Peter to quickly shoot a stream of webs to hold his hand in place. "Woah man, no need to bring a gun to a knife fight." Spider-Man brought the man's head down to his knee, probably knocking the daylights out of him. With that, the man got loose, running off into a dark alleyway. "See you later!"
Spider-Man looked around, making sure the area is safe before flying up back to the roof. It felt like the olden days. He felt like he needed a churro after that. His instinct to call Happy Hogan was high, just like he used to. The high of fighting crime quickly diminished when he remembered he couldn't do that anymore.
After being out for almost four hours, Peter decided to head back to his apartment. Once he landed on the fire escape, he look his mask off so he could see the city with his own eyes. He took a deep breath. "Thinking of you, May." He muttered under his breath before stepping inside. His apartment looked exactly how he had left it and was ready to do the same thing he did every night. He flicked on the police radio while he took off the suit and through on a pair of sweatpants and that old "I Survived New York City" shirt. He grew to like that shirt a lot.
He practically jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock on his door. Nobody ever knocked on his door, especially at two o'clock in the morning. He quickly through his Spider-Man suit into the closet. "Crap, crap, crap." He looked around the room for his mask, but couldn't find it. "What the-" Whoever was on the other side of that door knocked again. "Hold on." He looked around the room again, but still couldn't find it. In a rush, Peter went to the door and opened it about half way, trying to hide his apartment in case the mask was lying around and he just didn't see it.
"Hi."
"Hi." Peter really had no idea who would be on the other side of his door, but this wasn't who he was expecting. A woman about his age stood across the way. She had long, bright blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a similar outfit to Peter, sweatpants and a tee-shirt, because what else do you wear at two a.m. Even in that, she stood confidently. She was pretty, really pretty. "C-Can I help you?" He couldn't understand why he felt nervous in front of her.
She smiled a little bit. "Actually, I think I can help you." She moved her hand from behind her back and Peter instantly recognized his mask in her hand. "I know you don't know me, but my name is Gwen Stacy, and I think this belongs to you."
~•~
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