Spider-Gwen 3 || The Fall

Jam Session || Gwen Stacy

"I was happier then, with no mindset"

-New Slang, The Shins

The past few hours, Gwen had been convinced that she wouldn't be able to make the trek downstairs. Every ounce of her being had been committed to sitting in Miles's room and rotting away in guilt,

Yet here she was, stepping onto the landing as she reached the lower floor of Miles's apartment.

The blonde had changed out of her spider-suit and was now wearing a set of civilian clothes loaned to her by Rio. It was a sweet gesture... maybe a sweeter gesture than Gwen deserved.

Gwen felt a familiar hand on her shoulder-MJ was there, and hadn't left her side the whole way down. Gwen's striking blue eyes met the vibrant green irises of her friend, who smiled softly and squeezed Gwen's shoulder.

"Don't overthink it," MJ encouraged. "They're going to be happy that you're better now."

Even though Gwen really wanted to fully believe MJ, she wasn't sure if that was a logical decision. They, of course, was in reference to Miles's parents, who were at the side of their unconscious son as he recovered from wounds that Gwen had given him.

No... not you. Gwen told herself, taking a deep breath as she resisted the urge to get lost in her own head. The symbiote did that... and you got rid of it because you didn't want Miles getting hurt.

She walked forward with clenched fists as they approached the kitchen, finally coming into view of Jeff and Rio Morales. The two adults looked up when they noticed Gwen and MJ, staying seated at the table that Miles had been laid upon.

"How you feeling, kid?" Jeff asked to break the silence.

Gwen couldn't think of an answer immediately. She shrugged her shoulders lightly, looking down at her feet. "It's... it's so... quiet." She murmured, earning a nod from Jeff.

That had been the first thing Gwen noticed about being free from the symbiote... she'd almost forgotten what it felt like to have her brain to herself, and not hearing the symbiote's vicious, degrading monologues was a breath of fresh air. The downside was that it gave Gwen enough brain space to truly dwell on what she'd done...

Speaking of poor decisions, her eyes drifted towards Miles, whose chest had a lot of bandaging on it. Gwen's lip began to quiver, and she took a step back instinctually to retreat from her failure.

"Angelita," Rio said softly, slowly rising from her chair. Gwen bit her lip, trying to look anywhere but at the mother of the guy she liked, the guy she'd harmed, as Rio approached with an unmistakable tenderness in her eyes.

But she couldn't keep it up. Gwen's gaze connected with Rio's, whose dark brown eyes had that similar warmth and welcoming that Miles's had.

"I've heard that you fought to tear that thing off of you because it hurt my little man," Rio told Gwen. 

The blonde nodded weakly, still feeling nervous despite how clear it was that neither of Miles's parents blamed her for Miles's injuries.

Rio breathed softly, placing her hands on Gwen's shoulders before smiling gently at the young woman. "Thank you for trying to keep him safe. Miles is going to be so happy to see you as yourself when he wakes up, and..." She paused, brushing aside some of Gwen's hair that had fallen over her eyes. "...And his father and I would like some time to be around the real you as well."

Her heartfelt words made the tension in Gwen's muscles evaporate. Gwen's eyes fell shut as Rio pulled her in for a hug, and the young woman embraced her in return. "I'm so sorry," Gwen choked out.