The Many Loves of Spider-Man

Stitching the Web (María Vasquez, aka Tarantula)

"This is life..." He whispered, his body colliding with his very comfortable bed. It had been a long day of saving life and stopping villains, and all he wanted to do was relax. For once, he didn't want to deal with anything related to his hero work. He could still feel his body ache, spasms that were driving him crazy. Though one full night sleep was sure to make things better for him. He even started to feel better as soon as his head touched the pillow.

He quickly started to fall asleep. His eyes grew wearing as tiredness consumed his entire being. He hasn't been able to get a full night's sleep ever since a full week ago. Dealing with the aftermath of Boomerang's fiasco against Fisk was more than he bargained for. He was glad that Fred had been trying to restart his life again, almost going four months without acting as a villain. But he knew that it won't be long until Boomerang went back to habits, he could see the pressure getting to the man. But those were thoughts that he could dive into deeper on the following day. It was time to sleep and-

*CRASH*

Immediately his senses were active, his previous weary eyes opened completely. He had jumped as soon as he heard the crash, his hands attaching themselves into the roof of his apartment. Though as soon as he noticed the bruised up woman in his bed, his instinct to help activated. He dropped down, getting near the female in question. His eyes widened as soon as he recognized the red lock in the sea of black hair. Someone that he actually never expected to see for a long time.

"Who did this to you, María?" He questioned, his hand moving her red lock out of her eyes. He could easily see that María Vasquez, also known as the super villain Tarantula, had been tortured. Gashes and marks that he knew only hostages would have, were all over the body of the female in question. He grew sick knowing that there was someone out there harming people to such a degree. But what made the feeling worse was that he did nothing to stop it, making him feel useless.

Ignoring his tired body, he slightly rushed towards his bathroom. He opened the cabinet, his hand instinctively going towards the medical box he had. It was mostly his emergency kit, but he could make exceptions for others. Especially when Tarantula was in dire need of attention. With the kit in his hand, he returned to where Tarantula laid; his eyes noticing that the female hadn't even moved. And he couldn't really fault her for being unconscious. Traumatic experience could have secondary effects on people, and he knew from experience.

Thinking of treating the gashes first, Peter Parker began to search for the needle he had. He was definitely no expert, but his work could probably help the female for a bit until he could seek help from a professional. It was then that he felt a hand over his wrist, which immediately made him look down at the female villain. Her eyes were droopy, yet he could still see the slight fear they held. He moved his other hand towards the hand that was grabbing his wrist, softly caressing it. He needed her to stay calmed, to relax so he could help her.

"Tarantula... You have to calm down..." He whispered, slowly removing his wrist from her hold. And with no other resistance in his way, he began to stitch up the gashes that were all around her body. He could feel her weary eyes following him every second, and that only caused him to let out a sigh of slight discomfort. He knew that he was a complete stranger to her, his identity being a secret towards most of the world. It made him realize that there was more to Tarantula than he ever expected to begin with.

"W-Why?" The soft whisper from the female interrupted the tense silence that hovered throughout the room. He had thankfully stopped stitching the worst injuries that she had over her body and was beginning to prepare the disinfectant to cure the remaining injuries. He only raised a brow at that, looking at the villain in question with complete and utter confusion. Yet as he thought more about it, her question began to make sense. "W-Why... h-help m-me?"

"Why not?" He counter questioned, a small smile adorning his face. He immediately noticed the blushed face of the injured female on his bed. He just chuckled slightly at her reaction, one that he saw a mile away. Ever since he gained his powers, he had been very popular with the female community; whether there were civilians, heroes or even villains. "I don't need a reason to help others, Tarantula" He continued talking, his voice lowering itself into a soothing one. He was more than happy to help her, even if he didn't gain anything in return. He had been making plans in the back, plans that he would reveal through time to his various villains. He wanted to help them, wanted them to find a place where they didn't have to rely on stealing to stay alive. "I am just happy to see you alive..."

"T-Thank you..." Hearing her brought out a sincere smile over his face. He was more than happy to keep on helping, to keep on protecting. It was his power as Spider-Man and his responsibility as Peter Parker. Two different faces of one same body. He only caressed her bruised cheek carefully, giving her the care that he saw that she wanted. Silence was far from tense, it was relaxing. A duality that should never be brought together yet had been combined perfectly in this very moment. A moment that he could feel that would change him forever. And while he didn't know if it was a change for the better, it was all he could ever hope for. Hope for a future where he could help others, especially the woman that was in front of him.