(AG)Spiderman x Reader | Whole Again

Chapter 6: The Return of Spider-Man

"There's someone posing as you? Why do you say that?" you asked him looking up from where you were sitting on your bed

"Well, you know that guy you were hanging out with yesterday? Peter Parker?" he started. You nodded your head in confirmation. "He was talking to me yesterday about how he thought it was great that I was swinging around again. I asked him what he was talking about and we both eventually figured out that it wasn't me in the costume that evening."

Your eyes widened as he finished explaining. "Wait, that was a copy cat? But how? I saw him swinging around and shooting webs. Does someone else have the same powers as you?" you asked. "Not to my knowledge. I need to get closer to see the nature of the situation, but the problem is..." he let out a heavy sigh before continuing.

"Being Spider-Man is like an addiction. If I start investigating people I'll slip back into my crime fighting days again. I don't know if that's a good idea for me or the people around me," he confessed, finally saying what he went there to say in the first place.

"Oh...I get it. You're worried if you become Spider-Man again, something bad will happen?" you replied, sadly looking at the whites of his mask. He nodded, scratching his head with one finger, trying to alleviate the awkwardness he was feeling. You tapped your bed, signifying that he could sit there if he wanted.

He slowly made his way to your bed and sat down. "I say wait it out," you said flatly. "...What? That's it? That's all I get?" he asked looking at you confused. "Were you expecting something else?" you asked, answering a question with a question of your own. "I mean... well no I don't think so... But you aren't gonna tell me to "Be the hero you were born to be" or "With great power comes great responsibility" or "You need to do what's right!" or something?"

You looked at him confused and said, "Why would I need to do all that?" Spider-Man looked back at you with the same confused expression hidden behind the mask. "Wh- I don't know! You're not gonna try to convince me to be Spider-Man again?" As you looked at him, a smile crept onto your face. "Looks like the only one trying to convince you to be Spider-Man again is you."

Spidey moved his head back in confusion. But you were right. Why else would he be saying all those things? Did he just want to hear it from someone else? "I think you've got your answer, buddy." His head dropped down. He stared at the palms of his hands that rested on top of his thighs.

"So I guess you wanted someone to convince you to not be Spider-Man. Right? Not the other way around," you confirmed. "I just..." he started, but the words seemed to be caught in his throat. Your smug demeanor quickly faded as you noticed his distress. "Spider-Man?" you whispered. He cupped his head in his hands. "I can't lose anyone again," he mumbled. "I can't take it. I can't go through it again," he continued, his words muffled by his hands and his suit but they were clear enough that you understood what he was saying.

"I feel so selfish. After everything the people close to me have gone through because I'm Spider-Man, now I wanna go back. I can't put them through that again," he continued mumbling. You awkwardly pat the area between his shoulder and his back, not really knowing what to do. "Protecting a city full of thousands of people isn't selfish," you replied, trying to comfort him. "No but risking the lives of the ones I love - when I don't have to - is," he refuted.

You let out a heavy sigh. "Couldn't you use your powers to protect them as well?" He scoffed and let his hands fall back down to his knees. "Last time I tried that it only ended up getting her killed," he replied. "Her?" you asked, pushing him to continue. "...her name was Gwen Stacy. I loved her. She tried helping me fight these villains that were terrorising New York, but in the end she ended up dying. All because of me," he explained.

You could hear in his voice how much it had affected and stuck with him. Traumatised him even. "You're worried the same thing will happen all over again," you mumbled. He slowly nodded his head, keeping his eyes glued to the carpet of your bedroom floor. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. Losing a loved one, especially a significant other, can't be easy at all. But you can't let that stop you from saving others from the same possible fates, or even worse ones."

Spider-Man cleared his throat before looking up at you. "If this...impostor is a threat, how do you know what happened to Gwen won't happen to others?" you asked. "You're a good person Spider-Man. I know whatever decision you make will be the best call for everyone. Whether that's returning as Spider-Man or not," you continued, giving him a sad smile at the end.

He let out a puff of air through his nose before thanking you. Then he stood up from where he sat on your bed and took a step towards you, leaning down to give you a hug. A tear or two came down his face, but the mask kept you from seeing it. As he let go he jokingly apologised for laying so much on you at one time.

"No no, don't worry about it. I'm glad I could help," you reassured. "Well I really do appreciate it. You're one of the only people I've told. And even the others I've told I could only use so much detail so I didn't reveal anything about me," he explained, a sense of relief in his voice. "Hey I just remembered something. In case the impostor ever comes to you, we should have some sort of code, so that you know it's me."

"Ooh good idea!" you exclaimed. "So what were you thinking? Secret handshake? Secret word?  Secret sound?" You might gave been a tad bit over excited for this. "Something simple like..." he paused before he tapped on his chest before doing his signature "thwip" hand pose.

"...what was that?" You said confused. "My...it was my signal. I thought of it just now gimme a break," he chuckled crossing his arms. "Nah man that was lame. How about something like," you stood up, preparing to show off your idea for a signal. You put your palms on top of one another and curled your fingers. "What is that??" he asked you. "...its supposed to be a spider..." You mumbled to your self letting your hands fall to your sides.

"Yikes ok this is not working at all. How about a simple word?" he suggested, tapping his index finger on his chin. "Oh! What about: "shaPLOW!"?" you exclaimed, kicking your foot up in the air. "Shaplow?" he repeated confused. "Yeah like when you're fighting the bad guys. Have you never read a comic book before they always have sound effects."

He said he has in fact read many comics but he still didn't think it was a good code word. The two of you spent the entire night trying to figure out your code, but the night was filled mostly by the sounds of laughter and giggling. Eventually you set on the word, "Friend." It was cheesy and simple, but it'd get the work done.

At about 4am Spidey finally left your house. You decided to get some shut eye while you still could.