Time wasn't in our favor - Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) x reader

Sad Ending

The first thing Peter Parker did after he returned to his universe was swing back to his apartment. He needed the confirmation despite his heart already giving indications of the truth. Ignoring the injuries that he was sporting after the multiversal battle, Peter checked his soul mark. A shaky chuckle echoed as he saw the mark identical to Y/N's.

His tattoo indeed changed after meeting her. They were red - a color Peter never thought his tattoo would ever be in again. Peter shook his head as his brain started racking up ideas on how to see her again. While changing out of his Spider-man suit, an item fell out and onto the ground. They were the photos he took with Y/N from the photo booth.

Peter quickly threw on a hoodie before picking the photo up. His hands ever so lightly held the item, as if afraid he would ruin it. But as of that moment, it was the only thing left of her that he had - excluding the tattoo, of course. He settled down onto his bed, eyes never leaving the item. He traced every inch of her face, clinging to every detail the little paper would convey. He finally had time to breathe, instead of getting tangled into the rush of saving the day. It was only now that he got to memorize every inch of her face, something he, unfortunately, could not do before leaving the second chance he got at a soulmate.

Suddenly, the sound of his front door unlocking caused Peter's senses to perk up. The hero immediately listened for more signs of danger. He set the photos on his desk before inching towards the bedroom door. His hands gripped the knob as he heard the sound of a sigh, some things being dropped before footsteps sounded. With determination, Peter stormed out of his room and prepared to attack the stranger.

"Oh my gosh, Peter, you scared me," the voice yelled right after yelping. The person started soothing their heart by rubbing their hand above where their heart would be.

Meanwhile, Peter froze in disbelief.

"...Gwen?" his voice broke while calling out to his first love.

"Yeah...who else?" she jested, giving him that familiar grin that he once wished to cherish more often than before. But now, he had the chance to see it again. "Oh my gosh, what happened to you?" she asked upon noticing the dried blood on him, inching closer and putting both her hands on his face.

"I-I'm not sure," the boy muttered, lost in the thought of her and what was happening.

"Must be quite a bad guy, huh? For them to be able to do this? I do trust that you kept your promise to be careful though," Gwen caressed his face, lightly tracing it as if scared that she would hurt him.

"H-how did you get in?" Peter asked, finally realizing that he always locked his front every time he got home.

"...What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him as if he had lost his mind. All that came back at her was a genuinely confused face. "Peter...I have a key?" It was a statement that came out as a question. "I...I live here with you? We're married?" Again, Gwen was met with no replies. "Babe, this is our home," she continued.

Home? Why does home sound so wrong? He could not help but wonder as the words spilled out of her mouth.

"Did they hit you that hard? The bad guys? Are you...do you have an amnesia?" Gwen touched his forehead at this.

"No, I-" he stopped himself, staring at his supposed wife in disbelief.

How did this happen?

"Don't worry about me," Peter finally settled on saying.

"Yeah, well, it's included in the vows so I can't really opt out on that. 'Through sickness and in health', remember?" Gwen smiled, finally removing her scarf and discarding it on their sofa. "Well, how about I make dinner tonight, you'd like that?" she asked, even though her mind had already settled on the idea. Gwen proceeded to wrap her arms around her husband's neck, grinning up at him like a kid on Christmas day.