#ler!p3

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< Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:13

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

-Witnesses say it was at this very intersection that they witnessed the aftermath of a brutal attack on now-disgraced BluangelTech executive, Preston West.-

Peter's eyes stared aimlessly at the television screen hanging above the cafe's counter, absentmindedly fiddling with his sleeves. It was the fifth news report of its kind in less than a month, and he had yet to miss one.

-Mr. West was found unconscious with several injuries, including a fractured ankle, dislocated shoulder, and multiple broken fingers. He'd been left on the hood of his car, the roof of which had been painted with the word 'Extortionist' in what is now confirmed to be his own blood.-

"Fuckin hell," a passerby commented, though Peter didn't acknowledge him. The description of the violence inflicted on the man, though he was very much a scumbag, made Peter's stomach turn. He felt he was seeing the more brutal and vengeful version of himself as Spider-Man all over again, and the thought sickened him. Each time Peter had arrived at the scene, Wrathful Rose had already slipped from sight, leaving behind a bloody message, and a bloody signature.

-All digital billboards in the area then played footage of Mr. West's uncovered criminal dealings. This footage has been reviewed and confirmed to be real, and after he has recovered from his injuries, the District Attorney is set to indict Mr. West on charges of extortion, amongst what we're now finding out is a laundry list of crimes. Aside from extortion, Mr. West will be charged with perjury, harassment, fraud...-

"Here... Here's your coffee, Mr. Parker." Peter briefly took his attention away from the screen to acknowledge the soft-voiced individual who'd handed him his drink.

"Thank you, Y/N." His smile was warm as he adjusted his sweatshirt. "I've told you though, you... you don't have to be formal. You can call me Peter. We've, uh, known each other long enough, right?"

"Peter... Right... S-Sorry. I'm still working on reminding myself." Y/N corrected themself and timidly fiddled with their fingers, before noting Peter had glanced back up at the television.

The bittersweet aroma of the freshly brewed coffee wafted into his nose as the hot cup, though covered by the cardboard zarf, heated the skin on his palms. He caught Y/N wincing out of the corner of his eye, and looked over to see them rubbing their shoulder over the sleeve of their red sweater. "Y/N, are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh! Y-Yeah, sorry... I... I slammed my shoulder on a doorknob at home after picking something up..." Y/N answered sheepishly, thumb fiddling in an attempt to smooth a wrinkle in the fabric. "It's definitely bruised. I'm... I'm really clumsy outside of work..."

"I'm sorry, Y/N," Peter said sympathetically. "I know that feeling... I... I'm clumsy too. Make sure you ice it when you get back home, y-yeah?"

"Mhm. Thank you, Peter." The two both glanced up at the television as the reporter continued. Neither had noticed Y/N's friend and coworker Gabisile eyeing the two, with sheer amusement at their attempts to socialize with each other. She'd seen it time and time again, and had to bite her tongue to keep from commenting on how disgustingly and awkwardly cute their interactions were. They were the kind of interactions that emitted the ultimate form of secondhand embarrassment, but were far too sweet to look away from. She glanced over at her and Y/N's friend Amari, who sighed and smiled as he counted out a customer's change.

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< Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:37

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

-BluangelTech, through a message delivered by its CFO, Alan Proctor, has denounced the disgraced former executive and refuses to comment further. Although we cannot put a face to the culprit behind Mr. West's exposé, people seem to be in agreement that this could only be the work of the mysterious Wrathful Rose, as their signature motif was painted on the car, also in Mr. West's blood.-

It was not easy by any means for Y/N to act as though they did not already know every detail of the event being reported on the television. After all, they were the reason for all of it. They swore to themself that neither Gabisile, nor Amari, nor Peter, would ever know the truth.

"Bloody hell..." Y/N breathed, eyes widening when they realized what they'd said and growing embarrassed by Peter and Gabisile looking over at them simultaneously. "No! Oh God! I'm so sorry, I... I did not mean it like that."

"I mean, it was kind of funny," Gabisile stated through grit teeth and an amused grin, laughing when her friend hid their face in their hand. "Aww, dohon't be embarrassed, Y/N!"

"It was very poorly timed, Gem. And not in good taste to use that particular word..." Y/N began to tug on their sleeves in a self-soothing manner.

"It's okay. It happens to everyone, Y/N. Especially me. You... you don't need to be embarrassed for a slip of the tongue, alright?" Peter offered them a reassuring smile, which made Y/N's face feel warm, the corners of their mouth involuntarily turning upward. They'd be lying to themself if they said they didn't find Peter Parker incredibly charming.

"Thank you, Peter," Y/N muttered, eyes wandering back up to the television. Given their position, they had to strain their neck to do so, and moved to lean back against the counter, Peter right on the other side. He glanced over at them, noticing the paler, slightly raised skin under their choker, an accessory they were rarely seen without, and always accompanied by a small gold necklace with a latch that kept it shut. At times, he wondered if there was anything inside. The scar spanned across the width of their throat, nearly ear to ear. Y/N had never acknowledged its existence, and Peter never commented on it. He did get curious the first time he saw it, and had opened his lips to ask, but Gabisile saw and knew what he'd been about to do, and rapidly shook her head, moving her hand in a fast side to side motion and mouthing a hard "don't." It was made clear to Peter in that moment that it wasn't something they ever spoke about.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Science Fiction/Double Feature - Richard O'Brien >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:33

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"Do you... think they'll catch the Wrathful Rose?"

"I hope the hell not," Gabisile interjected, smirking with satisfaction at the television screen. "They're my new hero."

"They've got all this evidence, though. With a very efficient means of gaining it. So, why the violence?" Of course, Peter knew Wrathful Rose was sending a warning message to other people who did what West did, but he also knew what kind of damage that amount of rage did to one's state of mind. Of course he knew. He'd felt that same way. That kind of violence, it was personal. His question was simply a cover.

"I won't sugarcoat it, these fuckers deserve it," Gabisile shrugged. "It's not like they're being killed. Besides, the hospital visit will give 'em a little extra time to reflect on their stupid and vile life choices."

"You really like violence, Gabi..."

"I like an adrenaline rush, an interesting story, and some good old fashioned payback when people deserve payback," Gabisile corrected. "Yeesh, Y/N! Do you say the same thing about horror film watchers?"

"I watch horror films!" Y/N stated defensively.

"And you scream. We're four movies into our Saw marathon and you still squeal like a cute little guinea pig!"

"Aren't y-you supposed to!?" That made Peter chuckle. Y/N's face seemed to gain a bit of a glow as they grew flustered and hid their mouth behind their sleeves.

"OhmyGodyou'resocute," Gabisile sighed in one breath, leaning forward and squishing her friend's cheeks. "How have you not been cuffed yet?"

"Stop it..."

"Look at this face!" Gabisile turned Y/N toward Peter with a proud toothy grin, ignoring the whines of protest from her friend as she squished their cheeks and made them pucker their lips. Peter laughed at the wholesome scene playing out in front of him. "This is the face of a cinnamon roll! You agree with me, right, Peter?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. A total cinnamon roll. The epitome," Peter agreed. "Cinnamon roll of cinnamon rolls you might say."

"Don uhncourage huh! Gehet uff, juhmuh!" Y/N's muffled voice had him chuckling.

"What was that, Y/N? I don't speak cutie-pie," Gabisile teased, snickering when Y/N lightly swatted at her hands before she let go of their cheeks.

"Ahare you good, Y/N?" Peter asked apologetically.

"Both of you are mean." Y/N huffed, gently massaging their aching face with their fingertips. "Damn it, Gemma. I'm gonna have sore cheeks for the rest of my shift."

"Pause- Hm. Hmhhm... Sore cheeks~"

"Gabi!" Y/N's voice was nearly a shriek as they slapped their snickering friend on the arm and scolded her. "I. Did. Not. Mean. It. Like. That!"

There were a few seconds of silence from the three, Y/N hiding their face in their hand, with Gabisile biting her knuckle to hold in her laughter. She would have succeeded, had it not been for the quiet repeating of the phrase from the man sitting at the counter in front of her.

"Sohore cheeks..." Peter muttered under his breath in a higher tone of voice, pressing his lips together in a half-hearted attempt to stay composed.

The one little giggle he let slip did him in, and his shoulders shook while he chuckled. Gabisile began cackling wickedly, slapping her hand on the counter. The two's reactions were akin to children at a sleepover who were trying and failing to suppress their mirth over potty words at two in the morning. Y/N tried. They really tried. When Gabisile inhaled and repeated the phrase with a high pitched voice, the snort that followed had Peter throwing his head back with laughter, and Y/N giggling hard. Peter couldn't help but tune in to the sweet sound that left Y/N's lips as their fists rapidly shook in front of their chest. The three spent more time laughing over the phrase than they cared to admit, and by the time they were done, Y/N was holding their abdomen with their hands. Amari looked over at them from his place at the register, having heard the laughing fit quite loudly, and promptly turned back around while shaking his head.

"I'm not even gonna ask."

"Youhou missed out, Mars! Whoohoo! Oh Gohod, I'm crying," Gabisile sighed, fanning her eyes and staring up at the ceiling. Peter grinned at Y/N, who had been whining about the fact that they'd never live that down, still beaming, though their brows furrowed into a wince from their sore belly. "Ooh! Look!"

-The NYPD have attempted to locate Wrathful Rose to ask about just how they were able to obtain the evidence regarding Mr. West, as they attempted to do in the past with others who have already been tried, convicted, and sentenced, and those who have been indicted as recently as last week. However, Wrathful Rose and their whereabouts continue to remain a mystery.-

"It seems like Wrathful Rose is always ahead of the police," Peter noted, biting his thumbnail as it rested on his lip. "No other vigilantes have crossed paths with them yet either."

"Maybe... maybe Spider-Man will..." Y/N pondered aloud, before looking at the taller man, their words having caught his attention. If only Y/N knew. And unbeknownst to Peter, if only he knew. "I-I... I gotta get back to work now before Gem embarrasses me again. It was really nice seeing you, Peter. Please let me know how you're enjoying the book I recommended."

"I will! I uh, actually read a couple chapters yesterday. I-It's a really good read so far. Take care, Y/N, alright? I'll see you around." Peter couldn't help but chuckle when Y/N simpered and waved shyly, before turning to help another customer, greeting her with their soft voice and smile. Y/N's words echoed at the back of his mind for a while. Maybe they were right. If Spider-Man could catch Wrathful Rose at just the right moment, he could directly ask them what their motive was. Lifting his drink to his lips to take a sip, he paused when his eyes caught a glimpse of writing in black sharpie.

Have a wonderful day, Peter! I'm four chapters into "Bravery in the Depths" so far. I love it! Thank you for the book rec! See you tomorrow! (Or whenever I see you. See you!)

~ Sincerely,

Y/N

The grin was almost instantaneous. The corners of his eyes crinkled with joy at the sweet little message written on the cardboard. Y/N was a very sweet soul, empathetic and awkwardly endearing. Though the two didn't really see each other outside of the cafe and bookstore, they were very much in the midst of a budding friendship. He felt that since meeting two of his counterparts in the multiverse mishap, and with his newfound perspective, it had become a little easier to start connecting with new people; albeit, very hesitantly, but he was making progress, and that's what mattered most. After leaving the cafe and bookstore, as he skated down the sidewalk, a high school hobby he hadn't ever left behind, his mind wandered back to the Wrathful Rose. He found himself feeling worried about what emotional state they'd have to be in given just how violent they were. Peter empathized with them, even though he didn't know their exact reasons yet, for doing what they did. He already knew for certain, however, that it was definitely personal, and he was determined to help them before they were too far gone.

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< One Way or Another - Blondie >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:29

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Peter lay in his room, mind wandering aimlessly as he stared up at the ceiling. Silently, to himself, he was counting. He had nearly encountered Wrathful Rose ten separate times, and he had tried everything he could to stop them so he could talk to them before they slipped away, but he was always just a second too late. It seemed like he'd never actually come face to face with them. The urge to talk to them was eating away at him. Every day that passed, was just a stronger desire to find them.

"Always gone before someone sees them... Seems to have set targets... Figure out their next target..." Peter's out loud mind mutterings trailed off, jaw dropping and his brows furrowing as he slowly lifted his head. "Figure out their next target. Shit!"

In that instance, Peter kicked his legs and shot up out of his bed. He began scouring the web, typing furiously on his computer (though being mindful of his sticky fingers, a lesson very much learned from years ago when he first got his powers), for any and all news articles relating to Wrathful Rose. Begrudgingly, he also searched the Daily Bugle, though he opted to skip any videos and articles containing reports from J. Jonah Jameson himself. Fucker.

Amidst his research, he discovered that there were at least twenty, if not more, who'd been targets of Wrathful Rose's violence. Of those twenty he'd managed to find, fourteen of them had been tried and sentenced as a result of the evidence left behind at the scenes, two were awaiting sentencing after their verdicts, and four had just been charged.

When he wasn't collecting data, he'd continue searching for Rose out on his patrols. Day after day, however, he arrived right after they'd already left, with no hints at where they possible could have gone. Each time, he'd cuss in frustration, throwing his arms up and pacing before swinging away and continuing his patrol. Peter had created a whole map of articles, of all of Wrathful Rose's previous targets, searching for a possible connection between all of them but finding none, other than the obvious, that all of them had serious skeletons in their closet, and Rose was tearing down that closet door- perhaps taking an axe to the wood- and yanking the skeletons out. Their crimes didn't appear to be connected either. Of course, some charges overlapped, but they were completely independent scenarios. He bit his thumb and closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of discouragement. Each new report on the cafe and bookstore television each morning was driving him up the wall. Y/N, Gabisile, and Amari were overwhelmed with customers that day, so he wasn't able to stick around and talk, but a couple's conversation caught his attention as he was ambling toward the exit.

"No, I'm telling you, honey! I had a cousin that worked at BluangelTech! Once you quit, or you get fired, they completely expunge your history with the company!"

"Ronny, there is no way a company could actually get away with something like that."

"Tell that to my cousin then, Susan!" The man argued. "I swear to God, Preston West woulda been erased from the BluangelTech history books if that Wrathful Rose person hadn't brought the information to the media's eye as fast as they did! Oscorp did something similar when that Max Dillon guy became that electric dude..."

"Electro."

"Oh, so you know his name, but can't be bothered to remember my sister's?" Peter's ears began to ring from those words, and as soon as he was standing on the sidewalk, he ran. At home, he made a note about the past targets all being possible former employees of BluangelTech, and pinned it to the center of the cork board, before letting out a huge sigh and trudging backward to his bed, falling onto it with a huff. He still had no idea who was next.

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< The Game Has Changed - Daft Punk >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:26

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

A week had gone by. The sun had set in the city that never sleeps, lights still illuminating the area, cars honking, streets bustling with people, everything coated by the aftermath of the morning's rain storm. Peter crouched on the roof to observe it all, watching carefully before he began his patrol. He swung around for a while, before he felt the familiar tingling sensation, strong and loud. Without hesitation, he leapt from the roof, his web shooting out and propelling him down the block. It had to be Wrathful Rose again. He was sure of that.

A loud, agonized scream echoed in the direction he was already headed. He landed on a fire escape, and looked down at the ground below, only to see an older man with greying hair, and a wrinkled business suit, lying on the street. His clothes were bloody, soaked by the wet ground, and he was writhing from pain. Peter realized the man was missing both of his hands, with the word "PERVERT," written on his white collar shirt. A few feet away, sat a folder of what Peter assumed was evidence, being held by the man's disembodied hands. Despite the horrified screams of the gathering crowd, Peter looked around the area, breathing heavily as he attempted to pinpoint exactly where Rose was hiding. The crowd had begun to ask him questions, some yelling at him to do something, others cheering, but Peter had to tune it out. Wrathful Rose was still in the area, and they were not getting away. He caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure disappearing down the alleyway, and jumped forward, launching himself into the air and swinging after them, narrowly avoiding kicking anyone in the growing crowd.

The figure had already made it to the top of another fire escape, pulling themself over the roof's edge. Peter's tingle was set off again, and he immediately rounded to the other side of the building. He knew they had heard the frantic crowd yelling at him, inadvertently alerting Rose he was near, and would work to get themself a good distance away, so he sneakily stayed low and followed them. After several blocks of distance had been put between the scene of the attack and Wrathful Rose, Peter used his webs to catapult himself up to the roof of the abandoned building they'd halted atop. As he landed, the person he'd been chasing froze in their tracks, and let out a small gasp. There they were... After several instances of them narrowly evading ever being seen by Spider-Man, he and Wrathful Rose had come face to face. Rose's stance was defensive, poised for attack. Peter studied them with a tilt of his head, seeing the darkness that surrounded their eyes and malice in their ruby red irises. They were definitely angry, and not at all happy to see him.

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< There He Is - Hans Zimmer >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:06

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"Hi there! You must be Wrathful Rose."

The dead silence was painfully awkward, Rose refusing to say a word as they kept their eyes glued to the masked man.

"Wow. I finally catch more than a glimpse of New York's new vigilante," he stated. "I gotta say, it's nice to put a face to the name. Well- y-you know... some of a face... like a half of one? One third, maybe?"

Peter gestured to the mask that covered their mouth and nose. Rose scoffed, hand glowing red as they prepared to attack him.

"Woah! Okay... you've got powers! I don't know if I saw that one coming honestly. You seem to have no trouble brutalizing people without them."

"Save your cocky banter for the child's play villains, Spider-Man." Rose pointed at him, the glow spiraling from their wrist to their pointer finger. "And you're one to talk about brutalizing people."

That comment stung. Peter knew all too well they were referring to the years he spent as a Spider-Man who didn't pull his punches. "Okay... ouch. Looks like you're just as callous with your words as you are with your hands."

"If you're done with this little standup-slash-roast routine, I have places to be."

"More overkill violence to dish out?" Peter questioned.

"You know damn well, that these fuckers deserve every bit of pain I inflict. Do you see me harming innocent civilians, bringing destruction to the city, stealing, murdering?" Rose challenged, taking a step forward. "I'm not the next Lizard or Electro, Spider-Man."

"Lizard and Electro got dealt some really unfair cards, Rose. You know that. What happened to them was really, really shitty, and bad things came about as a result. They aren't doing those things anymore. They're not villains-"

"And I am!?" Rose's voice raised in pitch and volume, defensive, and venomous, as they jabbed at their own chest with their hand. "I'm not some monster trying to take lives or make the city panic. I have every right to dish this pain out on those who deserve it. Now stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours. Sound fair?"

"Why do you take things this far...? Why is this necessary to you? They said you tortured Preston for an hour. Why?"

"Because. it's. not. enough," Rose hissed. "I'm sending those scumbags a warning to clean up their act, or else they'll end up like Milton Jenkins, Brandy Crawford, Clarence Grover, Alicia Spence, Preston West, and especially, tonight's Chester Rogers. You know they're not the only ones, and they won't be the last. Get out of my way, you foolish arachnid. I'm warning you... I will crush you like a bug."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not doing that. I can't let you go about things this way, Rose."

"Who the fuck do you think you are? The overseer of New York's heroes?" Rose spat, both hands glowing. "You're not the king, Spider-Man. You do not get a say in how I deal justice just because you've been in this game longer than I have. Now, I'm leaving. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay in your lane."

"I'm not gonna do that, Rose. No can do. Nope, sorry." Peter's shrug and response earned a scoff from the angry individual, who sighed, as though it burdened them to consider fighting him.

"Alright. You made this bed, you lay in it, Spider-pacifist." With an angry grunt, Wrathful Rose threw their hand forward and swung at him with their blade. Peter knew it had been coming thanks to his tingle, and jumped out of the way before it had a chance to strike him.

"Rose, I really don't want to fight you!"

"You started it," Rose hissed. "You'd have been wise to be on your way for your nightly patrol of the city. Instead, you're trying to stop me from doing my job, and in the process, not doing yours!"

Peter shot a web at the hand that held the blade, grabbing the hilt of it and ripping it from Rose's grasp with a grunt and a yank, sending it flying to the ground. "This is part of my job, Rose! You and I both know that what you're doing is coming from a sense of bloodthirsty rage! This isn't justice! None of this is anything more than revenge!"

"You don't know a damn thing about me, Spider-Man!" Rose snapped, lifting a bucket of tools that had been lying on the ground by a pile of junk, and with a red glow, sending them flying at the man. Peter jumped and twisted, dodging all of the flying objects. Rose screeched, charging at Peter, who was quick to evade them, taking hold of one of their arms. A shrill growl left Rose's throat, and they shot their other arm back. The blade that lay several feet from them began to glow red in unison with their hand, and it shot back into their grasp.

"Telekinetic... Huh... Anything else you care to surprise me with?" A circular burst of red surrounded Rose and sent Peter flying back. He rolled several times before skidding to a stop right at the edge of the roof. The city below was going about its business as usual, though he could see the sirens from police cars and ambulances below, headed back in the direction of the alley where Rose had left Chester Rogers. He sat up with a groan, pushing himself to stand again, and steadying himself quickly. "Yeah. Ugh... Something like that. Forcefields? Really!?"

Rose ran at him, body aglow and eyes illuminating. They tried to throw a punch, but Peter grabbed their wrist, getting a fist to the chin from Rose's other hand, but without hesitation, he grabbed that one too. They tried to pull their hands free, but the strength of their opponent's grasp was too great.

"How about we talk things out instead of you trying to kill me?"

"How about you piss off!?" Rose formed a forcefield in front of them to knock into both themself and Peter, the force of which was launching them toward the door to the rooftop. Rose had every intention to slam him into it.

His back hit the wall, the impact causing him to inhale sharply. Rose began to run, but Peter wasn't about to let them get away. He used his web shooters to catapult toward them, arm wrapping around their waist while they yelled, startled by how quickly he'd caught up to them. They tried to push away, and in his struggle to keep a grasp on them, he gripped their hip with a sudden motion, unprepared for the high pitched sound that left Rose's mouth.

[NOW PLAYING]

< One Way Or Another - Blondie >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:38

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Peter's eyebrows raised behind the mask as he processed Rose's reaction. Then it clicked in his mind and he began to grin. "No way... No. Way."

Rose turned their head to look up at him, eyes glowing red with malice, but the insults they'd intended to hurl his way came out as a high pitched squeak in response to Peter poking their side a few times, body jerking and trying to twist away, eyes flickering from the solid glowing red back to their ruby irises. When they heard Spider-Man's amused chuckle, they growled, eyes glowing once more. "W-What's so funny, bug man?"

"I never expected someone as angry and venomous as you would be the ticklish type~" Those words had Rose's eyes widening, another squeak leaving their lips at the sight of the Spider wiggling his fingers in the air, almost feeling the sensations on their sides already. "Ohoh! This is great!"

"G-Get off me!" Rose snapped, using their powers to push themself away, letting out a rather undignified yelp when they landed on their back, the wind knocked out of them.

"Giddy UP!" Peter yelled, throwing his arm in a lasso-like motion before his web shooter activated. An all too familiar fwip! sound made Rose jump, gasping when their wrists were shot not once, but several times with webbing. "Where d'ya think yer goin, partner~?"

Peter laughed triumphantly, looking down at Wrathful Rose, who angrily kicked and yanked at their wrists, which had been pinned by the sides of their head. "Looks like the Spider's caught a Rose in his web~"

Rose screeched with rage and tried to free their wrists, but the layered webbing was too strong. Peter saw the blade glowing on the ground, but he was quick to web it down as well. "Oh no you don't!"

"You. are. infuriating!"

"Aw~ Is someone grumpy~?" Peter teased with a soft, cutesy voice, before raising his hands and teasingly wiggling his fingers, the sight of which had Rose squirming. The heels of their boots dug into the ground in a futile effort to push themself away. "I really think it's time you had a laugh."

"I-If you take a-another step closer-"

"Oops- Hey! Look at that!" Peter gasped in mock surprise as he stepped forward, looking down and then back up as if the action shocked him. He did a double take, letting the sarcasm sink in for a few seconds. "I took a step closer! Here, I'll do it again!"

Rose was growing nervous, biting their lip behind their mask to suppress the anxious giggles bubbling in their throat. "Y-You call this fighting!? What h-happened to the Spider-Man who doesn't show mercy?"

"Fighting? Nah," Peter scoffed and threw his hand to emphasize his point. "I told you I didn't want to fight you. But, since you insist on it, I gotta switch up the kind of fight we're having. One-sided tickle fight sound good to you? You cool with that?"

[NOW PLAYING]

< Ballroom Blitz - Sweet >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:06

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"Quit b-being a coward and g-give me a fair fight! A real f-fight!"

"Oh? I hear that voice shaking~ Don't tell me you're scared of the tickle monster~" That pouty voice and the damn word made Rose's heart flutter badly. Peter crouched down and crawled toward them in a manner identical to a real spider, which made them kick their legs with a screech.

"G-Get away from me, you feral fucking arachnid!"

"Scared of spiders too- WOAH! HEY! NO! BAD LEGS! BAD!" The angry vigilante had nearly kicked him square in the face, though he dodged it with ease. Fwip! Rose's ankles were swiftly webbed down, and Peter sighed with a shake of his head. "Really? A kick to the face? That's not very nice. Stay. Bad legs. You're not squishing this spider."

To add insult to injury, he pointed at Rose's legs the way an angry owner would to a pet who'd destroyed the couch. Rose was seething with rage, or at least they had been, or perhaps, they were simply trying to be. With a frustrated groan, they tugged at both their wrists and their ankles, collapsing back with exhaustion. It was no use. They whimpered again, realizing they were absolutely stuck, and they were not getting free.

"I'm... going to absolutely... k-kick your ass." Rose was panting from exhausting their energy.

"And I'm... going to absolutely... tickle you silly~" Peter teased, leaning over his trapped adversary and chuckling at their nervous inhale, glowing eyes flickering as they grew more unfocused and even more uneasy. "Which one of us is accurately predicting the future, hm? Cause I'd definitely say me, but I don't know, I wanna hear your input."

He wiggled his fingers a third time, thoroughly amused when another squeak came in response. "Stop doing th-that!"

"Doing what? This?" Peter moved his wiggling fingers closer, stopping just shy of their sides and making them squirm. "Ohoh! You're air ticklish!? Oh, this is gonna suck for you."

Rose sucked in their abdomen when he hovered his hands over their belly, the butterflies worsening. They had no idea how they were going to get out of their predicament, much less how they ended up pinned to the rooftop of an abandoned building, about to be tickled by Spider-Man. Of all that they expected, of all the possibilities, why did it have to be that? One last feeble tug at the webs on their wrists and ankles had it fully sinking in for them that they were stuck. "D-Dohon't."

"Wait.. Was that a giggle~? Did... did I just hear you giggle~?"

"F-Fuck... fuhuck y-you!" Their response was followed by their own squeal, which they tried to fight off with shrill shouts of frustration. Peter had curiously brushed over the skin where their top had torn and left part of their side exposed.

"Ohoh! I wonder where your weak spot is~" Rose fought desperately not to let anymore giggles escape, but the sensation of his fingers brushing on their side spread to their back, igniting the nerve endings while their body screamed at them to laugh. The teasing only made it worse.

"Come on~! Lemme hear those giggles!" It was getting harder and harder to ignore just how unbearably ticklish the fabric of the suit felt on their skin. The sharp inhales and exhales of breath became shoulder shaking, as Rose's resolve grew weaker with each breathing cycle.

"Mmph. Mhmhmhhh! Mmpheheheee! G-Gehehehet ohohohohohofff!"

"There's that giggle! Oh my God, I bet the smile on your face is the most precious thing ever."

"Youhouhou ahahahahare sohohoho dehehehehEAD! NAHAHAAH! NOHOHOO!" Rose squealed when Peter began tickling both of their sides, moving his fingers closer to the point where their sides and back met and making their upper body arch. "Whahahat thehehehe fuhuhuhuck!?"

"What? Did I catch you off guard with the tickling thing?"

"Youhouhou're suhuhuhuppohohosed toho fihihihight! N-Nohohot... *hic* nohohohot..." Rose lost their train of thought and dissolved into more giggles, turning their head in a feeble attempt to hide their face as the teasing continued to make them feel shy. Peter slowly spider-walked his fingers toward their belly, watching as their eyes went wide. "N-Nohoho... Nohohohooo! Gehehehet ahawahahay!"

"That reaction tells me you've definitely got a ticklish belly. Look out, look out! I'm gonna getcha~" Peter chuckled when Rose let out the highest pitched squeak yet, torso shaking in unison with their laughter. "Awww! What a cute little noiiise~!"

Rose was squealing helplessly, hands shaking, still hiding their face as best they could. "You know, you better hope no villain finds out about this. You never know how many of them are keen on the idea of tickle torture."

Rose shut their eyes and swore repeatedly. "S-Stohop tahahalkihing! Stohohop tahahalking! StohoHOP TAHALKIHIIIING!"

"Why~? Is someone getting flustered~? Can the tough, angry, Wrathful Rose not handle a little tickling?"

"S-Shuhuhuhut youhouhour Gohohod dahahamn flyhyhy-hohohole!"

"Ouch. Spider insult. That's a bit of a cliché, don't you think? You know... you're not very intimidating when you're giggling so adorably, are you~? Are youuu~?" He playfully tickled behind their ear and laughed as Rose turned their head with another whine. "No you're not. No you're notttttt~!"

[NOW PLAYING]

< Beggin' - Måneskin >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:31

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

The aggressive front was slipping the more Peter tickled them, and he found himself wondering why they didn't just use their telekinesis to launch him across the roof. He fluttered his fingers along the bit of exposed skin on their neck, right below their jaw. Rose wanted to be furious, but they couldn't be; not when they were giggling and squirming. They knew they didn't hate the predicament they were in, but they'd be damned if they let Spider-Man of all people learn that they actually liked being tickled, so they attempted to keep up their venomous demeanor. Keyword: attempted.

"N-Nohohohot thehehehere! *hic* H-Hehey! W-WaitwahahahaitwahahAHAHAIIIT! N-NOHOHOHOHOOO!" His thumbs had begun pressing circles into their hips, and the sensation was unbearable. They squirmed side-to-side, which in retrospect, definitely made it tickle more.

"Aww~ Youhou do know that technically, you're just making this worse~?" Peter teased, leaning closer. "Ahat this point you're pretty much tickling yourself."

"P-Plehehehease! MohOHOHOHOHOVE SOHOHOMEWHEHEHERE EHEHELSE!" Rose shrieked.

"Did you- holy shit... did you just say please!?" Peter questioned with feigned disbelief. "Is a little tickling really all it takes to give you some manners?"

"PLEHEHEHEAAASE!"

"But I thought you wanted the Spider-Man who doesn't show mercy! I'm fairly certain that's what you told me."

Rose sputtered and tried to argue, but they couldn't conjure up a rebuttal. Their face was burning hot beneath their mask, stomach alight with butterflies, and heart racing. Peter did grant them the reprieve they'd pleaded for, however, pausing his playful attack and allowing them to catch their breath. "Youhou... ahahahare dohone fohor... thehehe mohomehent IhI... gehet out ohof this..."

"Uh oh. Wrathful Rose has still got thorns. I guess we gotta keep going~ Tell you what, you get to decide where I tickle you next!"

"Ohover myhy dehehead bohody!"

"Hey! Don't make me go for your hips again. I know how to make hip tickling way worse than what you just experienced," Peter warned, chuckling triumphantly at how quickly Rose changed their tune at the playful threat.

"F-Fihine! Fine... A-Arms..."

"An underrated tickle spot! Good choice!"

"Fuhuhuck youhou..."

"You are in for a major attitude adjustment, Rosie Posey~" Peter warned, before his fingers began fluttering over Rose's biceps. They were immediately sent into a fit of high pitched giggling. "Thahat look on your face tells me you weren't expecting to be this ticklish here."

"DohoHOHON'T cahAHAHALL MEHEHE THAHAT! *hic* Y-Youhouhou're suhuhuch aha jahahackahahassss!" Rose could have sworn the eyes on Spider-Man's mask narrowed at their remark, that or they just knew they were in big trouble.

"Alright, the name calling's earned you a one way ticket to an absolute ticklish hell. Or heaven! Depends on the person I guess. This seems pretty hellish for you."

Peter opted for slowly and menacingly wiggling a single finger, chuckling at the way Rose shrieked. He began tracing his finger across their belly, chuckling at just how much Rose was squealing from the lightest touches. Behind their mask, they pressed their lips together as they whimpered and whined, trying with every ounce of their willpower to keep from giggling anymore. Their attempts were all in vain as Spider-Man got close to their sides at a rapid pace with all ten wiggling fingers, making them let out a panicked scream. "Ahawww~! Anticipation is such a killer, isn't it?"

It was an agonizing three minutes of Peter using the 'air tickling' tactic before he eyed the way Rose reacted to his hand nearing their knee. He'd been wiggling his fingers just a few inches above it and saw how their expression became much more panicked. "Youhou are in so much trouble~"

"H-Hehey! Nohoho! Nohohohot thehe knehehehees! NAHAHAT THEHEHEHERE! GEHEHEHET OHOHOFFFFFFF!" Peter had hit an absolute death spot; the space on the inner side of their leg right where their knee met their thigh. Rose was hiccuping with laughter and squealing uncontrollably, feeling the ticklish sensations travel to the rest of their legs. To make matters worse, they felt the tickling sensations up their spine. It only took another minute for Rose to reach their limit.

"PLEHEHEASE! *hic* NOHOHO MOHOHOHOHORE! *hic* I CAHAHAHAN'T!"

"Aw~ Is the tickle monster too much for you to handle~?"

"Plehehehease plehehehease pleheheaase! *hic* IhIhIt's toohoohoo muhuuuuuch!" Rose was giggling tiredly and gasping for breath.

Peter stopped immediately, and sat back. "I'm a bit shocked you didn't launch me into the air the moment I started tickling you. Now that I think about... wait... You totally could have gotten free." Rose's eyes widened at what Spider-Man was insinuating, and defensively, they shot a forcefield out and launched him away. Peter landed on the ground with the air knocked out of him, sitting up with a pained gasp. With the rage building inside of them, they let out a scream and used their forcefields to break the webbing on their wrists and ankles.

"Woah woah woah, hey, heyyy. Easy. Easy." Rose shakily stood, and so did Peter, cautiously raising his hands. With an angry, still giggly huff, they used their forcefields again and launched Peter into the rooftop entrance.

"Yeah... That was bound to happen," he wheezed, standing back up. "Look, you're still pissed. I get it-"

"Youhou... youhou dohon't know aha damn thing about me..."

"Maybe I don't, but as someone who's in this business just like you, I'm warning you, don't keep doing things this way."

"OhOr what?" Rose hissed, standing up and steadying themself. "I'm leaving. You're lucky... I haven't killed you... yet."

With a snarl, they used their telekinesis to free their blade and place it back in its hilt. Peter sat up and looked at them. "Think about what I said, Rose. Take my advice, please. I'm trying to help you. This is your one warning."

"Waharning!? Who's the one currently on the damn ground? I don't need your help, Spider-Man."

With a leap, Wrathful Rose was gone from the roof, leaving a bewildered and tired Peter leaning against the brick wall. Unbeknownst to him, Rose's face was burning as they replayed what just happened in their head, still able to feel the lingering sensations of being tickled to tears.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Where is My Mind - Yoav >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 6:12

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

When Peter walked into the cafe and bookstore the following morning, Gabisile was leaning against the counter, eyes glued to the television. The smell of fresh coffee, and cinnamon rolls, was oddly more soothing than it usually was. On the screen, another report about Wrathful Rose. He recognized the man who was going on a mindless angry rant about the vigilante. J. Jonah Jameson. Of course he was.

-What are my thoughts on this 'Wrathful Rose?' They're a danger to society! Just like that Spider-menace meddling in matters that don't involve him! People of New York, we've got ourselves a ghastly go-getter playing GOD! A joyless and reckless jackass acting as judge, jury, and executioner!-

"Wrathful Rose hasn't killed anyone, you stupid-ass man!" Gabisile argued, turning to look at one of her other coworkers. "Can you believe this shit? Real rich of him to call someone else a jackass."

"He's been doing this for years, Gem. It's not gonna change."

"Well, someone should sue his ass."

If there was one thing Peter could agree on, it was that J. Jonah Jameson was an absolute pest, especially considering he was still slandering Spider-Man after years of Peter proving otherwise to the public. The man would never change. Not when his ridiculous ranting raked in so much revenue. When Peter sat down, Gabisile's head turned, and she grinned. "Morning, Parker!"

"Good morning, Gabi," Peter greeted quietly. "Is... uh, is Y/N here?"

"Yeah! They're just grabbing some supplies from the walk-in. They'll be out in a sec- Oh! Speak of the devil! Get over here, Y/N!"

"B-Be careful, I'm carrying creamer- GemmAAHAAA!" They were yanked forward, the last syllable of Gabisile's nickname leaving their lips in a high-pitched shriek while they tightened their hold on the carton. When their eyes met Peter's, they gave the tiniest, sheepish smile. "H-Hi. Good morning..."

"Good morning, Y/N," Peter greeted.

"I'll take that!" Gabisile swiftly nabbed the creamer from Y/N, intent on completing the task they'd been trying to finish so that they could talk to Peter. She gave the two space, but not before subtly not-so-subtly nudging her friend's arm.

"Ahh!" They hissed from the ache that shot through their arm, glaring at the still grinning woman.

"You okay?" Peter's question drew their attention back to him.

"Y-Yeah... I-I... well, you know. Different day, same accident-prone Y/N..." The individual shyly fiddled with their choker, while Peter made an effort not to stare. The corners of their mouth dropped downward, lip trembling.

...Don't cry... Please don't cry... not now... Y/N was repeating the words over and over in their head, staring at the counter and taking deep breaths. Deep down, Peter would always be curious about what happened to them, but he promised Gabisile that he would never ask about it, and that's a promise he swore to keep. Amari set a cup of fresh tea on the counter for Y/N, before turning back to his inventory list. Y/N's smile returned, though the pain was still present in their eyes. "Th-Thank you, Mari. You make the best tea in all of New York."

"I'm glahad you think so!" The man laughed proudly before greeting a customer who'd just walked in. "Good morning ma'am!"

When Y/N turned back to Peter, he was looking at them worriedly. "You iced your shoulder, yeah?"

"M-Mhm!" Y/N nodded their head, eyes drifting to the television when Jameson's ranting continued. "Thank you for the advice..."

-I'll tell you what! 'Wrathful Rose' is too nice a name for this nuisance of New York! Reckless! Wretched! REPUGNANT. REPULSIVE. REPREHENSIBLE ROSE! How long will it be before someone brings this criminal to justice!?-

"Ugh. This guy never shuts up," Peter groaned, noting the way Y/N's hand had balled into a fist as they gripped their apron. Their jaw was clenched, and their body was subconsciously rocking. "Y/N?"

"Hm?" They realized they'd been tensing and quickly relaxed, releasing their fingers from their balled up state and taking a breath, briefly flapping their hands and shaking their head. "I-I'm alright... Sorry. It's... overwhelming, to hear that man talk..."

"You can say that again. The man's got a mad motor mouth!" Gabisile called, mocking Jameson's gruff angry voice and affinity toward alliteration, causing an older gentleman who was sitting at one of the tables to let out a knee-slapping guffaw. "See? He gets it! Thank you, sir!"

Y/N and Peter watched as Gabisile and the man pointed finger guns at each other. Amari was casting his "signature look of judgement," name courtesy of Gabisile, before he began cackling to himself. Peter's brows furrowed and he began chuckling, which only got more intense when Y/N pinched the bridge of their nose and shook their head before lifting their cup of tea to their lips. "Shehehe's definitely the people person of people persons." Peter's comment had Y/N smiling behind their cup. It was a genuine one, and Peter grinned upon seeing it.

-And let me tell you something else, folks! Here at the Daily Bugle, we've got some very exclusive information from some of our top correspondents! Apparently, Spider-Man, the original Menace of the modern era, was seen pursuing this perpetrator! Yet he hasn't come forward to confess the criminal's whereabouts? Citizens of New York, when will this whirlwind of worry end!?-

The mention of Spider-Man following Wrathful Rose made Y/N's heart jump into their throat. Their sudden hitch of breath caused them to choke on their drink, quickly setting it down as they coughed into their elbow in an attempt to soothe their irritated lungs and throat.

"Woah woah woah! Y/N! Are you alright?" Peter frantically leaned forward, eyes emitting concern, nearly reaching out to them but deciding against it. "Easy, easy. What happened?"

"I-I'm... I'm okahay..." Y/N croaked, leaning on the counter. "Wehent... *hic* down *ack* the wrong piHIPE."

"Ain't no fucking way," Gabisile muttered, walking back over to Peter and Y/N, subconsciously reaching out to pat her friend's back in hopes to quell their coughing. "Did he just say Spider-Man saw Wrathful rose!?"

Y/N's stomach was churning with butterflies, as the memories of the previous night jumped to the front of their mind in a manner akin to pop up ads on a laptop screen. To make matters worse, they could still feel the phantom tickling sensations lingering on their body, which only served to heat up their cheeks and ears.

"I heard he actually caught them," Amari chimed in, blissfully unaware of how much his coworker was squirming where they stood.

"Y/N. Are you sure you're okay?" Peter questioned. Something about Y/N's body language was troubling him. He saw the way their eyes darted down to the floor, the way they bit their lip and fiddled with their sleeves, arms tucking in at their sides, which even they hadn't seemed to notice.

When Y/N looked up at Peter, they nodded rapidly again. "I promise, Peter. I'm just frazzled. I'm probably overstimulated... I'll go on break after we talk and try to clear my head. Maybe I'll have a stim break in the back or the walk in. Gabi always stims with me."

"Alright," Peter relented, giving an apologetic smile. "Be easy on yourself, okay? Y/N?"

"I-IhI'll try," Y/N chuckled, but it sounded hollow. Gabisile was giggling as she bid farewell to the old man who'd laughed at her impersonation of J. Jonah Jameson.

"Woo! Thahat man had the best energy. He sahaid something about Jameson that really tickled me."

The moment Gabisile said the word, a squeak had left Y/N's lips. They tried to play it off, desperately hoping none of their friends had heard it, but both Peter and Gabisile noticed right away. "Y/N, seriously, are you alright?"

"Mhm! I-I just... I gotta..." Y/N flapped their hands to recalibrate before lightly slapping the counter and pointing their index finger. "I just forgot about something I needed to do... I'm g-gonna... real quick... S-Sorry..."

With a deep breath, Y/N picked up their cup, and left for the back room. Gabisile and Peter watched them silently, before turning back to face each other. Peter studied Gabisile's facial expression, written over with worry and exasperation.

"I... I don't know what to do, Parker," she sighed. "They're in pain all the time now... tired, even quieter than they usually are... I'm really worried about them."

"Did something happen recently...?" Peter asked.

Gabisile shrugged as she began wiping down the counter. "I couldn't tell you. It has been getting worse overtime, though, whatever it is. It definitely took a turn yesterday. I left our apartment for a date, came back close to midnight. Y/N was still awake, looked more frazzled and flustered than I've ever seen them look before."

Those words had Peter freezing in place, furrowing his brows, slowly opening and closing his mouth as he contemplated the thought that jumped into his mind. "Did... Did they go anywhere... Or..."

"Not to my knowledge. They've been so isolated. They don't really go anywhere else besides here. I... I know I made you promise to never ask about it, and I will never tell you what happened, but... It's been almost six years, since they got that scar..." Gabisile muttered.

Ten years... It had been almost ten years since Peter lost Gwen Stacy. No matter how much farther apart that day grew from him, he'd never forget it. He still remembered it like it had happened the day before. From start to end, the event played back in his head for hours at a time. The look in her eyes... the soul shattering silence of it all... Peter would never fully heal from the lifetime of damage those seconds had dealt him.

"Would you... uh... Would you believe me if I told you I'm nearing the anniversary of something too, Gemma?" Peter asked, feeling his eyes become glassy at the memory. Gabisile nodded, irises filled with cautious curiosity. Peter took a breath, but as he continued to think about it, he shook his head, a hollow chuckle taking the place of his words in that moment. "It's... I'm sorry. I can't... I-"

"Peter," Gabisile interrupted, before placing a hand on his forearm and giving it a small squeeze. "I understand, aight? You don't need to put yourself through it again just to tell me. I believe you."

The tearful man nodded, staring down at the counter. "I just wish I could help them..."

With a small huff as she folded the rag and held it in her hands, Gabisile spoke firmly.

"Listen. Y/N trusts you. They don't trust a lot of people these days, Pete. They tell me every day how much they're enjoying the book you recommended." Gabisile laughed softly, glancing toward the backroom before smiling. "IhI wish you could see just how much they light up when they talk about you. You're the first new friend they've made in years."

"I... I had no idea..." Peter's voice was a low mutter. "They really trust me...?"

"They really do." The cafe and bookstore had become a little quieter, less busy and bustling with people, so Gabisile opted to go on break and check on Y/N. She removed her apron and set it in the hamper, turning back when Peter said her name.

"Please, please tell Y/N I hope they feel better, alright?"

Following a grin, and a promising nod, Gabisile left for the back room. Before standing up, Peter left a tip, picking up his coffee cup and waving to Amari as he began to make his way toward the door. He couldn't stop racking his brain around how Y/N was acting. He couldn't stop replaying what Gabisile had told him. He couldn't believe what he was even considering as a possibility. No... He saw Rose's eyes, blood red and full of ire. Y/N's E/C eyes, they held exhaustion... they held pain... they held fear. He had to push away the idea of Y/N and Rose being one and the same, but the thought would lay dormant at the back of his mind.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Poker Face - Lady Gaga >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:57

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Peter leaned back in his computer chair in the early hours of the morning a couple of days later, biting the end of the marker he'd been using to write with. His research on finding any details he could about former BluangelTech employees led to a singular data source in which he found hundreds of names. There'd be no way to know who Rose would target next, but given that he found Rose once, he'd find them again. He began to ponder more about the science behind Rose's powers. If he could figure it out, he could upgrade his webbing, and be a little better equipped for their attacks. Before his experience with the multiverse, he wouldn't have even thought about reaching out to them, but now, now he was stubborn, and hell bent on helping them, and he would find a way to do so.

"Energy... energy energy energy..." Peter repeated. Rose's powers were made of a darker energy source. If he could figure out what it was, he could theoretically web through their force fields, or perhaps keep them from forming entirely. Of course, it would have been helpful to know how they got their powers, but he doubted they'd be keen on telling him. And so began his experimentation. With quickness and precision, he pulled on a lab coat, adjusting the collar before using his web shooters to grab goggles and a pair of gloves. Hour after hour in the makeshift lab, he worked tirelessly to figure out a way to evade and intercept Rose's forcefields, as well as interrupt their telekinesis.

The first attempt was rather disastrous, given that Peter launched himself into the wall, slamming against it with a yelp and catching himself with his hands before he could fall to the ground, groaning from the pain in his shoulder caused by the initial impact. "Agh! Mother Hubbard!"

He had stumbled into the cafe and bookstore the following morning at the same hour he always did, wincing with each step he took. Y/N curiously and silently studied his face as he sat down. His hair was messier than usual, and his eyes screamed of pure exhaustion.

"A-Are you okay, Peter?"

"Yeah! Never... never better," Peter answered sleepily. The dazed look on his face was rather cute, and Y/N admitted as much to themself.

After shifting on their heels, and timidly pulling at their sleeves, they took a breath and looked him in the eyes. "Would you... like a coffee?" Y/N's kindness made him smile, and he nodded rapidly. In his peripheral vision, he could see Gabisile watching the television. Wrathful Rose had struck again, this time leaving their target with a broken jaw and a bloody sign that said "Liar."

-We are getting word that Matias Huffman, the man in question, has repeatedly lied under oath in order to destroy the lives of several people. The evidence left behind at the scene of Wrathful Rose's brutal attack has been turned over to the authorities, with an indictment pending following Mr. Huffman's recovery. In the meantime, we're told, he's had his jaw wired shut and remains under supervision-

"Fitting," Gabisile muttered. Peter had noticed Gabisile's repeat enthusiasm over what Wrathful Rose was dishing out weeks before, but that seemed way too cut and dry of an outcome. Gabisile couldn't be Rose. A lot of other people felt the same way she did, and he couldn't blame her.

"Mans lied under oath how many times!?" Amari exclaimed from his place at the register.

"At least thirty, Mars Bar!"

"Jesus H. I don't trust anybody!" That response earned a round of laughter from Gabisile. Y/N, who's back was to them, was silently giggling, as evident by their shaking shoulders.

Peter looked over at Y/N when they turned around, as they gave a shy smile and walked back over with a freshly made cup of coffee. He took in the scent of it, sighing with content and grinning. "Thank you, Y/N. You're the best." When his eyes caught a glimpse of the bluish-purple hue decorating the knuckles on Y/N's right hand, he looked up at them with uneasiness.

"P-Peter?"

"Are you okay? What... what happened to your hand?" Peter's question was innocent enough, but Y/N still took a shaky breath before answering him.

"You'll never let me live it down."

"Tryhy me."

"Alright... I..." Y/N studied their own knuckles and winced at the feeling of bending their fingers, subconsciously stimming with their uninjured hand. "Gemma's got this brick wall section of her room... I... I slammed my hand against it really hard by accident."

"They scared the hell out of me," Gabisile interjected, pointing at Y/N. "I come back after closing the shop and you look like you've been engaging in fisticuffs or some shihit. On God, Y/N is the only person who can look like they whooped someone's ass from simply walking through an apartment."

Amari held his chest and leaned back with a loud guffaw. All four of them began laughing, though Peter noticed Y/N's laugh sounded more tired. He guessed their exhaustion was due to the approaching anniversary Gabisile had mentioned a couple weeks before. Even though Peter had no idea what Y/N had endured, it was clear that time had not been merciful or healing to them. His eyes met Gabisile's and she gave a sad nod, confirming his suspicions that Y/N would only grow more unlike themself until the six year mark passed. However, it was evident to Peter that Y/N's isolation and pain was worse than Gabisile had been witness to in the previous years. Of course, he had the suspicions at the back of his mind about just how Y/N hurt their hand, but he shut them down at first thought and continued talking with his friend, not willing to subject them to any mistrust or suspicion he might have had.

Peter's lab experiments continued, through repeated trial and error. The second attempt in particular saw Peter getting his hand stuck in a mini artificial forcefield, to which his reaction was throwing his head back with a groan. He spent the next hour trying to get his hand free, which included planting his feet on the table and trying to pull himself from it, and hitting it with a wrench of all things. To add insult to injury, in the midst of trying to liberate his hand, the wrench bounced off of the orb of energy, and would have landed square in his face had his tingle not kicked in. His last resort, which in retrospect, probably should have been his first idea, was firing his web shooter at the generator powering the forcefield. It flickered and disappeared, leading to Peter falling back on the lab counter, where he broke several beakers.

Try number three fared much better results, as he was able to isolate the element and energy he theorized would mimic Wrathful Rose's powers most accurately. He prepared a new sequence for his web shooting formula, and generated a new miniature forcefield. "Alright. Alright... Third time's the charm," Peter shut one of his eyes as he readied the larger version of his web shooters that he used for testing purposes. With a push of the button, Peter gasped and jumped up. The webbing had gone directly through the forcefield, sparking and glittering with bits of red energy. He began to cheer, sending his fist forward in triumph.

"YES! YEAH! WOO!" He'd done it. Now he just needed to clean up the lab. The sight of the mess it had become, research and materials strewn out across the table and the floor, made him sigh tiredly, nevertheless, he shut off the generator before getting to work tidying up.

***

[NOW PLAYING]

< In My Dreams (Sped + Pitched Up) - Anohni >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 1:45

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Y/N's eyes shot open with an anguished scream, sitting up in bed and clutching their throat, hand unmoving from their scar. Their heartbeat throbbing inside of their ears was all they could hear; not the worried calls of their name by Gabisile outside of their room, nor the knocking on the old oak. When Gabisile just about bust down her best friend's door, Y/N instinctively shut their eyes, having realized that upon awaking, they were glowing red from their distress. Gabisile immediately ran to their side and repeatedly reminding them they were alright. It took a full minute to convince them to let their hand rest, to let it fall onto the blanket in front of them. The rocking took over their body as the tears pooled in their eyes, which had gone back to normal thanks to their self soothing. "Y/N..."

"I'm okay!" Y/N knew they were really only trying to convince themself of that fact. Gabisile offered a hug, silently, eyes filled with tears of her own that glinted in the dim city lights that crept in through the curtains. "I'm..."

Gabisile let out a small huff of surprise when Y/N launched into the embace, but quickly wrapped her arms around her sobbing friend, obliging when Y/N gave a gentle squeeze to indicate they needed a pressure hug. In the past year, their nightmares had been few and far between, but they'd started to resurface in the past few months.

"I'm gonna cancel my date night. W-We'll stay in. I'll call Mars Bar over and we can all watch a movie-"

"Gem, you've been planning your date night with Sable for a week. Mars has a gig tonight."

"And you know damn well that Amari and I would drop what we're doing to make sure that our best friend is okay, Y/N. It's what all of us have always done. The three of us ride together. We always have and we always will."

"Gabi... don't. You deserve a good night out tonight," Y/N argued. "I'll be okay-"

"Mm-mm. No. Don't you dare start with me!" Gabisile was crying, and she moved back so she could look at her best friend. "The aftermath of what happened to you is forever burned into Amari and I's memories! If it's that bad for us, then I can only imagine how effed up it still is for you!"

"Gemma..."

"No. No arguments. I'll reschedule-"

"Gabisile!" Y/N threw their hands up in frustration before letting them fall again. "You've done that too many times already in the past five years. You said yourself that you really like this girl, so go spend time with her! Put yourself first for once, please!"

Gabisile fell silent, and placed her hands on her friend's face. "The moment you need support, you text or call me. Aight? Doesn't matter it's two hours from now or ten minutes."

Y/N nodded slowly, and silently, accepting one more hug from Gabisile before she stood up, and walked toward the bedroom door. "I mean it, Y/N!"

She smiled when she heard a genuine giggle from her friend. "IhI know, Gem. Go have fun." Hesitantly, Gabisile closed the door, but not before blowing a tearful kiss to her friend, who caught it in their hand, and pressed it to their cheek. Y/N tucked their legs into their chest and rested their chin on their knees, gripping their wrists tightly and staring at the wall. The moment they heard Gabisile drive off, they pushed back the quilt, and got out of bed.

[NOW PLAYING]

< In My Dreams - Anohni >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:01

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Y/N's eyes never left the mirror as they removed their golden necklace from around their neck, and used their telekinetic abilities to pull on their suit, securing the collar of it around their throat to hide their scar. With one deep breath, they closed their eyes, hair and irises changing in hue. It had been weeks of tracking, weeks of plotting, but they felt they were ready to deal some heavy blows to BluangelTech more directly. They felt the secret pouch on their suit, right next to their blade, stored safely in its hilt. Many names had been crossed off of that list that sat inside, and many names were yet to be. As soon as they'd donned the mask that covered their mouth, they grabbed an old skateboard, free of its wheels, and slipped through their window, into the night, hungry for vengeance, and out for blood. As they pulled out of the parking space in front of the building, Y/N silently made their way through the city streets, taking alleyways, back roads... In the five months of their vigilante life, they had made the darkness their sanctuary. What began as uneasiness and uncertainty, had become burning rage; a set path they intended to take to the fullest extent. For years they wondered what they could have done differently, whether or not they could have stopped what happened, but no longer were they stuck in their room asking question after question, none of which would ever be answered, as far as they were concerned. No. Now they were acting.

Despite the fact that New York was always brightly lit by an endless amount of lights, the BluangelTech building illuminated like no other. Y/N had no intentions of going in there, however. No. They had every intention of following the limo parked outside. A few feet away, stood Alan Proctor, the company CFO, and two members of the BluangelTech board. It had taken years of obsessive research, digging into every little detail they possibly could, to finally begin to gather some semblance of an answer as to why the events of nearly six years ago had happened to begin with. They had been left with some hints, as many as could have been given, but the rest, they had to find on their own. Proctor, as Y/N had found out, was the man who'd brought the horrifying incident to fruition. His name was among the information left to them. He was not the only person Y/N was looking for, however, as he had not been the one to leave them with the scar. Until they could find him, Y/N was plenty keen on dealing revenge to the others who played a role. They fought through blood, sweat, and tears to gather the list of former BluangelTech employees, as for some, Y/N had faces, but no names, and in other cases, names without faces. Unbeknownst to them, they were being followed. Spider-Man crouched on rooftop nearby, waiting, watching, looking for a moment to intercept. Y/N dropped the skateboard on the ground, stepping onto it, and with a glow of their powers, it hovered off of the ground. They used it to keep up with the limousine as it began to drive off, avoiding the street lights, staying low, and, as far as they knew, unnoticeable.

The air was cold, and damp, and it sent chills down their body. They weren't sure of the limo's final destination, but they were dead set on destroying everything Proctor had, dead set on burning him to the ground, leaving nothing but ash and dust, a pathetic failure of a man who could no longer get away with anything. They wanted to kill him. They wanted him dead. They wanted everyone who hurt them dead, or as close as they could be to it. Out of view, Spider-Man swung from the rooftops above and followed them.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Special Project - Hans Zimmer >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:14

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

The further away the limousine drove, the more confusion seeped into Y/N's mind. Notwithstanding, they carried on, gripping the handle of their blade when the limo came to a stop, outside large metal gates and a sign that read:

RAVENCROFT INSTITUTE FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE

They took out their recording device, and snapped several images of Alan and his associates exiting the limo. A loud, shrill, creaking noise pierced Y/N's ears, as the rusted, pointed, metal gates slowly opened. Y/N studied the man who had walked out to greet them. Although the shadows obscured his face, a select few details caught Y/N's attention. Atop his head, sat a black fedora, with a trench coat, slacks, and shoes of the same shade. In the single ray of light that grazed his shoulder, the vigilante could see streaks of greying-blond hair.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Proctor." The man extended his hand and Alan firmly took hold of it, shaking his hand with gratitude while the two board members stood silently behind. From his hiding place, a feeling of dread washed over Peter, his tingle setting off alarms, a warning, that whatever he and Rose were witnessing, was the start of something very dangerous. His body felt cold, and achy, ears swimming and ringing. For Alan Proctor to be meeting with someone at Ravencroft, of all possible places, it could only be for nefarious purposes.

"It's a delight to see you again, Mr. Fiers." Fiers... Gustav Fiers. The Gentleman. Peter remembered that name. He had sent six people after Peter in the past several years, all beginning with the Rhino, the day he returned to his duties as Spider-Man. The man was no idiot. He was cold. He was calculated. He wouldn't be out in the open so fearlessly unless he were already prepared for an ambush. Peter swung forward, and jumped down to the ground below, right behind Rose.

Y/N readied their blade, but a hand covered their mouth and they were pulled back into hiding. They twisted and thrashed, but their wrists were swiftly webbed to the brick wall above their head, immediately recognizing the sound of Spider-Man's web shooters. "What the fuck are you doing!?" They hissed, attempting to use their forcefields to break the webbing, but finding they couldn't even form them. The little sparks of red, woven in the webbing, caught their eye and they snarled.

"I warned you about this, Rose!" Spider-Man reprimanded.

"You're ruining everything! Get this shit the fuck off of me!" Y/N demanded, swearing the moment the red covered hand was over their mouth again. Spider-Man shushed them, listening carefully to the conversation happening only several meters away.

"Mr. Osborn is quite eager to meet with you," Fiers declared. "I'm afraid these past ten years have been quite harsh on poor Harry."

Peter felt his heart drop to his stomach. He had never wanted to hear Harry's name again. He couldn't let Rose foolishly launch an attack on Alan Proctor. They wouldn't survive it. Not with Fiers there, and especially not if they were in cahoots with each other, and Harry Osborn of all people. Rose's muffled screams and glowing eyes were reflections of their burning rage. In an attempt to continue their plans, they used their telekinesis, however, their blade would not cooperate, Spider-Man's webbing disrupting their focus. One last yell of ire ripped through their throat, the echo of which stopped Gustav Fiers in his tracks. "It would seem we have an uninvited guest. Find them, and kindly eliminate them..."

"Fuck!" Peter hissed, ripping the webbing from the wall, placing their tied arms over his head to rest on his shoulders, and wrapping an arm around Rose's waist. He launched them upwards just as a group of men with guns had ran around the corner. The bullets began to fire, and Rose let out a cry of agony as one grazed their thigh, tearing their suit and sending a burning throughout their entire leg. Peter picked them up in his arms, securing their hands around his shoulders, before running to the other end of the roof, and jumping off into the darkness.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Fall (Slowed + Reverb) - Daft Punk >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 1:39

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Rose was in too much pain to respond to much else, and could only groan and swear in anguish, feeling as though the wind was knocked out of them from the rate at which Spider-Man was swinging. He refused to stop until he was certain the gunmen were no longer pursuing them. When he had found a safe rooftop to stop on, he lifted Rose's still-webbed wrists from over his shoulders, setting them down to lean against the roof's fence. "ARGH! FUCKING HELL!"

"Shh, shh. It's okay! You're gonna be okay! Shit... Where are you bleeding?"

"I-It's... just... a graze... FUCK!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" He had taken out a piece of gauze and carefully pressed it to their thigh. With a fwip of his web shooter, he created a seal to stop the bleeding until he could get them a proper bandage. "Are you alright-"

"NO! NO I'M NOT FUCKING ALRIGHT! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!"

Peter jumped at Rose's outburst, before noticing they were attempting to use their telekinesis again. "Rose, stop! Your powers will go haywire! DON'T!"

It was too late. With a burst of red, their mask was ripped from their face, the collar of their suit splitting at the neck. As they looked up at Spider-Man, eyes alight with hatred, he looked back at them in horror. He hadn't recognized their face, eyes ruby red, hair a scorching orange, but his eyes had fallen upon the distinguishable, paler line of skin, that ran across their throat.

"Y-Y/N..."

"W-What... H-How did..." Y/N's worst fears were confirmed when they felt the cold air on their neck, fingers brushing over their exposed scar. A knot formed in their throat, eyes already watering, as their hair and eyes returned to their normal color. "How do you kn-know my name, Spider-Man? Tell me... TELL ME!"

Spider-Man said nothing, as he slowly reached up, and pulled the mask from his head. A choked sob left Y/N's lips the moment they realized that the man looking back at them, face cast in melancholy, was Peter Benjamin Parker...

...Guilt struck Y/N's heart like a bullet to the chest. "Peter..."

Their breath grew shallow, and their body began to rock back and forth rapidly, shoulders shaking uncontrollably. The crying individual couldn't bring their eyes to meet his. "Y/N... Please... please, look at me-"

"No!" Their vision blurred from the endless waterworks, stinging their cheeks and burning their nose. "It's... I-It's all over... I'm done..."

"No, no it's not done. Please, explain why you've been doing this. Please tell me. Help me understand-"

"YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!"

"Help me understand," Peter repeated. "Please, Y/N."

[NOW PLAYING]

< In My Dreams (SLOWED + REVERB) - Anohni >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:24

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

For nearly two minutes, neither of them spoke. All either of them could do, was cry, as they sat there on the rooftop. The sounds of the city at the farthest points below seemed to be right in their ears. They could both hear it all. The honking of cars, the shouts of pedestrians, every little noise, was akin to a cacophony.

"When I was a-a teenager, I had an accident... I-I... I have no memory of this part, but my family says I had been taking a backroad home... and something struck me. I remember feeling pain... like something was burning, and warping... underneath my skin." They hesitantly looked up, uninjured leg bouncing anxiously. "It was agony... When I woke up, I was moving things with my mind... I was forming forcefields with my hands... I was... morphing my appearance..."

"You woke up with powers." Peter had whispered it more to himself, but Y/N still heard him.

"Do you know... how scary it is... to wake up, and your reflection is staring back at you with a different face?"

"No... I don't. But I do know how scary it is to wake up with powers. It was fucking terrifying."

"I-It still is... I-I... I vowed, after that day, that I would never, use mine. Not for anything... Not for anyone... u-um... T-Tomorrow... marks six years..." Y/N sniffled, fighting to compose themself, body still teetering and breath still shallow and trembling. "Six years ago, tomorrow, is the night... my childhood b-best friend... they..."

The memories physically hurt to remember. They subconsciously shielded their throat with their hands and took a sharp breath. "F/N FL/N. That was their name... It's... it's been a long time since I've said it... We grew up together. We did everything together. They were neurodivergent... like me."

A broken smile graced their lips momentarily, feeling warmth and safety from the fond memories they had of their friend. "F/N and I never wanted to be apart... But, after graduation... Th-They got a job, w-working for BluangelTech. F/N was w-without a doubt, the m-most passion driven person I ever knew. Everything was going s-so well for them!" Their body was overtaken with a sob.

"Y-Y/N... are you okay with telling me what happened? To them...? To you...?"

"Alan Proctor happened. F/N g-got screwed over... All of their projects... all of their discoveries and research... everything went to him. I-I'm guessing that... that afterward, F/N found something they weren't supposed to find. Six years ago tonight... they..."

Y/N reached into a pocket on their suit, and held up the necklace, which Peter recognized the moment he saw it. It was no wonder they were never seen without it. "They gave me this. I had n-no idea that was the last good memory... that I would ever have of F/N. And it was the only clue I'd have about who did this to them. The following d-day, I... I didn't hear anything from them... So, that night, o-on my way to Gemma's, I stopped by their house..."

In the brief moment that Y/N closed their eyes, they felt all the dread and fear flooding their mind and body, and shot them open again, only a few shallow breaths away from hyperventilating.

"The door was open... Their front door was open... I went inside and..." they burst into a fresh flood of tears, convulsing with grief and sobs. "F/N was on the floor, w-with their throat slit... open... They were still alive when I got there, Peter! I s-saw them look at me! I tried... I tried to get myself to move! I tried to scream at my body to do something but it wouldn't fucking move! They were still breathing! I TRIED. Th-They were trying to warn me but I-I was so panicked, I wasn't listening!"

As their crying grew louder, Peter slowly moved closer, his stomach churning as he prepared to hear whatever words were about to leave Y/N's lips.

"Th-There... There was a painful grip on my shoulder... a-and one slice... ear to ear..."

[NOW PLAYING]

< A Cappella (Slowed + Reverb) - Daniel Caesar >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 1:43

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

All Y/N remembered feeling in that moment, was searing, excruciating pain, and the hot, wet sensation of blood. With a pained gasp, eyelids pushed back as far as they could go, their hand shot up to their neck, and they fell to their knees, blood dripping from the corners of their mouth. They couldn't wait to make a decision any longer. In front of them lay their friend, lifeless... dead... torn from the land of the living with one slice of the sharpened blade held in the hands of the stranger who'd broken in. That stranger... he looked at them, with his dark hair and deep green eyes, and smiled.

In mere seconds, as the man then fled from the house, they broke their vow of never using their powers, and, hand unmoving from their neck, they pulled and held their own wound shut, the dim glow of their telekinesis visible through their violently trembling fingertips. With their head pounding, and breath weakening, blood staining the screen of their phone and casting spots of red, they texted Gabisile four words, and four words only, too overcome with pain to read the earlier messages.

Y/N could faintly see the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulances that had pulled up outside of F/N's home. Everything felt as if it were happening in slow motion. With their last ounce of physical strength, still holding their wound shut, they tearfully reached out to their friend, and gripped their hand, succumbing to their own agonizing pain and exhaustion, just as the EMT's ran through the door.

[NOW PLAYING]

< In My Dreams - Anohni >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:02

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"I-I should have died, th-that day, Peter... I would have..." Y/N was tugging at their sleeves around their webbed wrists and rocking with distress, as they recounted the rest of their story. "Gabi... and Amari, th-they... they saw me! As they wheeled me to the ambulance, they saw me! Amari told me Gabi was screaming... screaming!"

Peter didn't bother to wipe the tears from his cheeks, more already falling and taking the place of the ones that had rolled down his face seconds before. He saw the pain in Y/N's eyes. He heard the pain in Y/N's voice. All he could think about was how he'd felt that same pain, perhaps not physical from a blade to the throat, but emotional, from watching (what felt like an eternity but was only mere seconds) the love of his life falling to her death inside of that clock tower. To see Y/N, in such pain, was tearing him apart.

"Every time I sleep... every time I sleep I just fucking see him again, Peter! I see that fucking smile on his face! Over and over again I feel myself nearly die while my dead friend just looks at me horrified! They died scared, Peter!"

"Y/N..."

"Don't..." Y/N was hiccuping, breathing growing shallow as their stress stimming worsened. "Every time I look in the mirror, I... I... I see this scar, a-and I'm reminded... that... that my vow to never use my powers, ended with my closest friend d-dead in front of me! I could have done something! That man's face has been in my nightmares for almost SIX YEARS!"

"Y/N-"

"I don't ever talk about F/N anymore because I f-feel so guilty! Please d-don't tell me you understand any of that, Peter! How could anyone know what this is like!? How could y-you know or understand-"

"I do know, Y/N!" Peter interrupted loudly, almost angrily, his face overcome with heartbreak. "I do know! I understand! You want to know how I know? You want to know where my mistakes got me!?"

Y/N looked up at him briefly, before lowering their head again.

"In high school... I... I ran away after arguing with my Uncle Ben, stopped at a convenience store and this piece of shit robbed the place. Uncle Ben... he... he tried to wrestle the gun away from him, and he got shot. He died in front of me as I was putting pressure on his wound, Y/N. I felt his blood on my hands... in every sense... I felt it..." Y/N's sobbing had quieted to gasps and hiccups. When Peter moved closer, they grew tense, but he simply removed the webbing from their wrists. "That was the point where I started doing what you do... right now, this, anger. The rage. My vigilante journey started as a revenge mission. I-I... I spent a lot of time hunting for the man who killed Uncle Ben."

"I-It wasn't your b-breaking point, though... was it?" Y/N inquired shakily. Peter shook his head, and averted his eyes.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Exit Through the Lobby - Michael Giacchino >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:17

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"H-Her name... Her name was Gwen. Gwen Stacy... We went to Midtown together. She had the brightest smile... a-and the cutest laugh..." Peter was smiling at the memories, but that smile was overtaken by sorrow in seconds. "I wouldn't be the Spider-Man I am today without her. Sure, I'd... be a guy in a spandex suit fighting petty criminals, but, she inspired me to fight for so much more. Everything I couldn't figure out, she could. Everything I couldn't do, she did. And... and in the end... I... I couldn't..." Y/N was silent, waiting for Peter to continue. He took a long, deep breath, tears still falling with every blink of his eyes. Although time had passed, although he'd found some closure, he could still see it play out in his head, from beginning to end.

"I guess I need to go back a little bit... uh... Harry Osborn was my childhood friend, Y/N... Years ago, he... he told me he was dying.... Retroviral Hyperplasia. Norman, the old CEO of Oscorp, his father... he had it too..."

"He's... He's the Green Goblin... right?" Peter's nod confirmed Y/N's suspicions.

"It's my fault... that he's at Ravencroft... That he's the Green Goblin..."

"H-How...?"

"Harry was desperate to cure his disease. He... he said that he needed Spider-Man's blood to live. Because of my self healing, he wanted to do a blood transfusion. It would have killed him. I had to refuse. B-But... I feel like I was so dismissive... He hugged me, pleading with me to find Spider-Man, telling me he didn't want to end up like his dad..." Peter still felt a lot of guilt for how he'd handled everything with Harry. Of course, he was still furious with him, for inadvertently causing Gwen's death, but he missed his friend...

"The night that I fought Electro... Max... I told Gwen, that she couldn't be there. I tried to stop her from coming with me, but..." Peter wiped his tears in a futile attempt to compose himself. "She said she was with me... That it was her choice."

Y/N hesitantly, slowly, pat the space beside them, offering for Peter to sit next to them, and he obliged, leaning back against the wall and staring out into the cityscape. "Harry showed up right after Dillon died..."

"Died...? Wh-What do you mean he died?"

"He died that night, Y/N... I'll... I'll elaborate but... Harry saw Gwen, with me, and he figured out that me and Spider-man are one and the same..." Peter lowered his head and steadied his breathing, pressing his lips together. "He grabbed her. Dropped her from the air above a clock tower. I caught her, and we fell through the roof. Harry was relentless. He wanted me to hurt. He wanted me... to suffer... In the midst of it all, Gwen fell when his glider went haywire and crashed. I shot out a web... but it was sliced when the clock gears turned against it..."

[NOW PLAYING]

< Let Her Go - Hans Zimmer >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 0:34

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"I tried... I jumped after her, shot another web out, but I was too late. She... She was..." As the wind atop the roof picked in its intensity, Peter wept. "I lost track of how long I sat there... holding her... pleading, for her to stay with me... That fall was seconds long. I saw our lives flashing before my eyes in those seconds. Our entire lives. And I saw our life together... gone..."

[NOW PLAYING]

< Exit Through the Lobby - Michael Giacchino >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:17

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"I nearly killed Harry after that, Y/N. I almost beat him to death. I wanted... I wanted him to die." Y/N's body and nerves were aching with the feeling of regret. They recalled everything they'd said, everything they'd done, how cruel they'd spoken to Peter without even knowing it was him, without even thinking that Spider-Man, out of every person in the world, would understand their pain more than anyone else.

"I-I'm so sorry, Peter... for everything. Everything!" Their quiet sobs became louder, and soon, they were wailing with remorse. Neither of them were quite sure how it happened, but Y/N found themself crying into his chest, as he hugged them tightly. That was the first hug the two had ever shared together...

"Y/N, the Spider-Man you asked about, that first night we encountered each other... That bitter, violent, hateful Spider-Man, the one who stopped pulling his punches? Now... Now you know why..."

"I regret every word I spoke on that rooftop that night, Peter! E-Every word!"

"I'm not mad at you, Y/N," Peter argued. "I'm terrified that you'll spend years of your life doing what I did. I won't sit here and tell you I don't think those scumbags deserved what you dished out on them as Wrathful Rose, Y/N. But after a point, it destroys you. It consumes you. That's... that's what it did to me. And for a good near ten years... I couldn't find my way out of it."

Y/N moved back from the hug, and began to scoot away, wincing from the pain in their thigh. "Everything I've done... F/N would be terrified of me... I can't do this anymore." They hiccuped, and, rattled with fear at the person they realized they'd become, looked up at Peter.

"Turn me in."

"W-What?"

"Turn me in, Peter!"

"I'm not doing that, Y/N. I'm not."

"PLEASE!" Y/N was sobbing again, placing their hands on their head and tucking their legs closer to them. "I can't... Turn me in, Peter. I'm begging you to. All of this... it's... over. I'm done. I'm done..."

[NOW PLAYING]

< Solar Sailer - Daft Punk >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 2:42

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"Y/N..." Peter moved to crouch on his hands and feet, slowly closing the distance between the two of them again, planting himself in front of them, and gently taking hold of their hands, guiding them down to rest in his, intermittently giving them gentle squeezes.

"Will you let me tell you how I got out of this? How I got out of everything you're feeling...?" In that moment, their voice seemed to run away from them. In all honesty, they were surprised their distress hadn't brought it about sooner than it did. They nodded, but lifted one of their hands to try and hint at being unable to speak.

"Are you nonverbal?" Peter's question was affirmed with one more nod. "That's okay... It's okay. Let your body rest alright? Let your mind rest. I've got a lot to tell you about... I've got a lot to explain."

And explain Peter did. About the multiverse being real, about how he was dragged from his world into another Peter Parker's. He explained that Max Dillon had originally died fighting Spider-Man, and how because of a spell, of all things, gone awry, five villains ended up in Peter One's world. Y/N listened intently, hand still squeezing Peter's as he described Peter One's plight to cure the villains before sending them home. Peter could see the confusion on Y/N's face when he mentioned that Peter One's aunt May had been killed by Green Goblin.

"Not Harry... The... The Goblin from Peter two's world... His name's Norman Osborn. In that world, he was Green Goblin," Peter elaborated. "Peter One... he said he wanted to tear him apart for what he did. That's what I nearly did to Harry. I know that's what you want to do to Alan, to the man who killed F/N, and nearly killed you... but I'm telling you right now, it will tear you apart too..."

Y/N's lip trembled, and they sniffled.

"You know, there's a saying that all three of us Peter's have been told by someone in our lives. For Peter two and I, it was Uncle Ben... For our little brother, it was May. Even after the initial attempt to help the villains went bad, she never stopped believing in that saying. 'With great power, comes great responsibility.'" Peter saw Y/N's eyes watering again, and he softly placed his other hand on their forearm. "Peter Two and I didn't have the chance to stray from the darker path. We weren't going to let Peter One do what we did. I... I won't let you do what I did..."

"H-How...?" Y/N's voice was small, and it was evident that speaking was painful for them in that moment. "How do you... get out, of this...?"

"In my case... I found some much needed closure. I found redemption, of sorts. The other two Peters, they... They both have an MJ. Their girlfriends."

Y/N's expression made Peter chuckle. "IhIt's a lohot to take in, isn't it? All of this multiverse stuff? Peheter One's friend said his name, ahand we all answered him." When a giggle left Y/N's lips, Peter's heart fluttered, relieved to see his friend experiencing a moment of joy, if ever brief, at least it had been there.

"When Green Goblin set off an explosion on the Statue of Liberty, MJ, she fell... Peter One almost reached her, but he got knocked away by the glider... In that moment, I..." His eyes were tired from all of the crying before that, but he still had more tears to release. "I just saw Gwen... and I dove. I jumped right after MJ, caught her in my arms, and I did what I was angry at myself for years, for not doing the first time. I stopped our fall with my webs, after I had reached her..."

Peter had been terrified to look at MJ, as he stood on the ground holding her, pieces of broken scaffolding falling around them. All he could see was Gwen, lifeless... unmoving... All he could see was his own failure.

"The moment... The moment MJ affirmed to me that she was okay, I... I cried... Then, she asked if I was okay... To hear her ask that question, it... it made me realize that I could be okay... I would be okay... Saving her, sparing her Peter from the loss I went through, reaffirmed that the Spider-Man I was meant to be, the Spider-Man that Gwen wanted me to be, was still in my heart, somewhere... I just needed to find him... and I needed to allow myself more time to be Peter Parker again."

Y/N tearfully squeezed his forearm to comfort him, and when Peter looked up, they'd opened their arms to offer an embrace. Peter graciously hugged them, wiping his eyes hastily, and allowing Y/N to rest their head on his shoulder.

"You deserve your closure, Y/N. I wanna help you find it..."

The two lost track of how long they'd sat up there together, but after a few more minutes, Peter donned his mask, and retrieved Y/N's for them, before he dropped them off back at their and Gabisile's shared apartment.

"Are you sure your leg will be okay?"

"M-Mhm... I-I've... I've been through worse..." Y/N joked with a hollow laugh, wiping the fresh tears from their cheeks.

"I'm only a call or text away, okay?" Peter had removed his mask one more time, so the two could look at each other. "I mean that..."

"I-I know... Th-Thank you, Peter."

After he bid them goodnight, Y/N closed the window, pulled the curtains shut, and removed their suit. They properly cleaned and dressed their bullet graze, before pulling on long pajama pants to hide the bandages. Despite Peter's reassurance, despite his understanding of their harshness and cruelty, the guilt was crushing them. They placed the necklace back around their neck, and with a tearful sigh, they buried their blood-stained suit in the back of their closet, intent on it never seeing the light of day again.

[NOW PLAYING]

< In My Dreams - Anohni >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:09

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

The streets of New York were adorn with a thin layer of mist, the air wet from the heavy thunderstorm in the early hours of the morning. Peter slowly pushed open the door of the cafe and bookstore, his gaze immediately drifting to the empty space at the counter. Amari's eyes met his as he looked up from the register, and Peter was quick to notice his usual demeanor, carefree and friendly, had vanished, replaced by a tense body, and sadness. His attempts to greet Peter with a smile had failed. The silence was haunting. Only one other customer was in the store that morning. Gabisile walked back around the counter, freezing when she saw Peter. She looked exhausted, eyes swollen and face void of her familiar smile. Of course, Peter knew that this day was horrifying to Gabisile and Amari to have to remember as well. To see their friend, near lifeless, towing the line between survival and death, was a sight unforgettable, and forever haunting. He walked over, quietly sat down at the counter, and didn't even need to open his mouth to speak before Gabisile was answering the question she knew he would ask.

"Y/N... They're... They've taken the week off... I-It's today... Six years ago today..." Peter nodded, with more understanding than either Gabisile or Amari knew he had. "Amari and I- we... we tried to insist that one of us could be with them today... they refused."

"Where... where are they?" Peter asked quietly.

"They've been at the cemetery since they woke up," Amari answered bluntly, placing his head in his hand.

"Amari!" Gabisile hissed.

"Gem-Gem, I'm tired of dancing around what happened, aight? Do you not trust Peter?"

"This is about Y/N! You know they hate talking about it!"

Amari let out a yell of frustration as he gripped his locs with his hands. "Yes! I do know! But you wanna know what else I know, Gabisile? You hate talking about it even more than they do! Is this your fear for Y/N's wellbeing, or is it your own damn fear of having to relive that day talking right now!?"

Gabisile stormed up to Amari and poked his chest repeatedly. "Don't you dare get all self righteous high and mighty on me, Amari Jackson!"

"ME!? Miss Gabisile 'this isn't my secret to keep' Harris, is calling me high and mighty!? If you think for one damn second-"

"I already know! Alright!? Y/N told me themself!" Peter interrupted loudly, standing up from his seat. He couldn't take the bickering anymore. "They... they told me... I know.... about... about how they got the scar... about F/N..."

Gabisile and Amari stopped, both of them turning to look at Peter, stunned to see he was crying. "I know it's horrifying to see your best friend barely making it out of something alive... And... it's horrifying... to see someone die..." The reticence in the air was almost suffocating.

"Peter..."

"That day. Uh... the day I tried to tell you about... what happened ten years ago," Peter took a slow, shaky inhale through his nose, before letting the breath leave his lips. "G-Gwen... her... her name was Gwen..."

The two friends could only watch as Peter left a tip on the counter, and left the cafe and bookstore without another word. Amari looked over when he heard sniffling. Gabisile was crying, wiping her hands on her sleeves, an effort which proved fruitless when she began sobbing harder. Amari wordlessly offered his friend a tissue, his own tears falling down his face and into the hair of his beard. Gabisile placed her hand on his shoulder as she wiped her eyes, and the two exchanged silent apologies for arguing. Neither of them would ever forget seeing Y/N on that stretcher as the EMT's wheeled their dying friend to the ambulance. Both of them had nightmares for months after that day. After a few moments of silence, the two stared at the empty chair, and the tip lying in front of them.

"He didn't even b-buy anything..."

[NOW PLAYING]

< Stand in the Rain - Superchick >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:19

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Y/N hadn't moved from the grass where they were kneeling, eyes downcast and sullen. The weather alerts on their phone had been ignored, along with text messages, and missed phone calls. In front of them, sat F/N's grave, adorned with fresh flowers of their favorite variety. Y/N hadn't cried since the previous night. "I... I don't know what to do anymore, F/N. You'd be so disappointed... if you knew..."

For nearly twenty minutes, they said nothing more, their heart pounding uncomfortably, throat feeling tight as the tears finally began to form. Their body was rocking, hands gripping the fabric of their sweatshirt like a vice, lungs working in overdrive. It had begun to rain... The cold droplets of water stung the skin on their hands and ears. Even as the rainfall grew stronger, harsher, they remained where they were. All of their anger, their rage, their pain, fear, and remorse had built up like a pressure rocket, and with a scream, it burst. Y/N sobbed inconsolably, repeating apologies they told themself F/N would never hear.

They buried their face in their hands, and even as the mud began to form beneath them, they didn't move. All they could do, was cry, oblivious to the pair of eyes that were watching them from above. Peter was perched on the wall of a taller building right above the cemetery, clad in his Spider-Man suit, heart aching at the sight. He knew he'd done the same thing they did. He'd been where they were, and he knew that all he could do, was give them their time to grieve. With a heavy heart, he turned, and swung away to continue his patrol. Y/N was exhausted, soaked from the downpour, and cold. They'd lost count of how long they stayed, curled up in front of the tombstone, but as the shivers wracked their body, teeth chattering, they knew they'd grow sick if they didn't get back home and warm up. As much as it hurt to do, they whispered one final apology and goodbye, promising they would visit again, before weakly standing, and staggering down the cemetery path, feeling more broken than they'd ever been.

Later that night, Y/N cried themself to sleep, unable to speak, unable to think of anything except their guilt... Peter lay awake in his own bed, staring up at the ceiling for hours, mind racing with thought after thought, all of how he could help Y/N feel any better...

[NOW PLAYING]

< Karma Police - Radiohead >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:24

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

-It has now been two weeks since any of us in the state have seen a single sign from the infamous vigilante, Wrathful Rose. No incidents have been reported, no symbols have been left, no new names have been added to Wrathful Rose's exposé list. As the people of New York wonder where they've gone, there's a question we are all asking ourselves, are we better off, or worse off, without them?-

Peter gripped his coffee cup, staring up at the television screen. The reporter had been right. Wrathful Rose had disappeared, and for two weeks, no one knew why. He knew, and couldn't help but be angry with himself, feeling as though he'd failed them. In those two weeks, he hadn't seen them at all. Peter had made amends with Gabisile and Amari, who were quick to reconcile after their fight, and found himself enjoying their company, as much as he could be, given his sadness about Y/N.

-You wanna know what I think, folks!? Wrathful Rose is nothing more than a cowardly con artist whose control over the citizens of New York could only have ever ended in CATASTROPHE!-

The anger of J. Jonah Jameson's words made Peter clench his fists with spite. He hadn't noticed that his coffee cup had been crushed in his hand, of which the remaining contents spilled out onto the counter.

"Uh... You good, Pete?" Amari had witnessed the entire ordeal, mildly amused but mostly concerned. Peter glanced down, and jumped up, quickly picking up the crushed cup and tossing it into the trash.

"Y-Yeah! Yeah... Um. I'm so sorry about that." He apologetically and hastily tried to wipe the spilled coffee with a napkin.

"IhI got it," Gabisile insisted with a chuckle, holding up the rag and spray bottle she'd retrieved from beneath the counter.

"Gemma... How are they...?" Peter asked quietly.

"Quiet... Exhausted... They... They don't really talk to Mars and I much right now." Gabisile's voice was trembling, and Amari gently placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, before taking the dirtied rag and spray bottle from her hands. "I think they feel guilty... For a lot of things... Shame always weighs heavy on their conscience. It's that fear of failure... that fear of letting down people they love..."

She walked around to the other side of the counter, and sat down in front of Peter, shoulders shaking. "They told me, yesterday, that they let us down; Amari and I... Which couldn't be further from the truth, but... it's hard to hear the truth when your grief is lying to you. They said, that they let you down too, Peter. They said they let you down the most."

Gabisile's usual demeanor was gone. The bold, chipper extrovert was unrecognizable, almost scary to him. Subconsciously, Peter began shaking his head, slowly at first, and the rapidly. "No. No, they didn't let me down. Not for one second, they... they've never let me down..."

"I just wish they could hear us." She looked up, lips pressing together, before Peter leaned forward, and gave her upper arm a comforting squeeze. He wasn't expecting Gabisile to hug him, but he graciously returned it. "You're a good friend, Peter Parker."

That was all she said, before breaking away from the hug and heading for the back room. Before Peter left, Amari met him in a handshake, and thanked him. As Peter walked down the street, crowds of people everywhere around him, he couldn't take his mind off of the night he and Y/N opened up to each other on the rooftop. He knew from firsthand experience that healing never happened overnight, but he couldn't live with himself knowing that for the past two weeks, Y/N had been burdened with guilt and shame. Another report appeared on the television screen.

-Behind me, a crowd of Wrathful Rose's supporters are creating a tribute in hopes that the vigilante returns to their work, however, most seem anything but optimistic of their return-

At the back of his mind, Peter continued to think about what Alan meeting with Gustav and Harry would mean for the near future. He hadn't stopped thinking about it since that night. He knew that something bad was coming, and he was going to need Y/N's help.

***

[NOW PLAYING]

< In My Dreams (Slowed + Reverb) - Anohni >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:39

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Y/N awoke with a yelp, feeling the freezing cold hardwood floor beneath them. That was the forth time in two solid weeks that their dreams had caused them to fall off of their bed. Their arms and hands grasped at the bedsheets, pulling themself back up to sit on the edge of the mattress. As their eyes wandered over to the clock on their bedside table, they sighed with despondency. It was only four in the morning... Returning to slumber was not an option for them. They'd much rather be exhausted than see their mind replaying their pain. A knock on their window made them gasp sharply, their entire body flinching, arms and fists moving outward and inward. With a hesitant swipe of their hand, they opened the curtains to see Peter standing there. He silently pointed to the window, mouthing the word "please." Y/N obliged, and moved to sit at the head of their bed, tucking their legs into their chest and fiddling with their fingertips. They couldn't even look at him. Both were waiting for the other to speak first, but when Y/N made it clear they weren't comfortable initiating the conversation, Peter finally spoke. "You quit..."

"I-I quit..."

"Y/N, don't-"

"Peter, I-I feel so bad, about everything, okay? Right now I'm lost... I'm confused... I'm sad... I'm... I'm really hurting. I can barely sleep and when I do, i-it's all nightmares..." Y/N never got used to how painful it felt to cry, and their sinuses were burning from all of the sobbing they'd already done. "I, I've been dreading this moment. S-Seeing you again. I... I didn't know how I could ever face you again... after all that I said... and... and all that I-I did..."

"I forgive you for everything, Y/N! I already did. I understand, because I've said what you said... and I've done what you've done... Maybe not... not exactly word for word, or action for action, but I know this cycle. I know this path."

"I... I guess I just don't understand why you haven't given up on me yet..."

"I'm not giving up on someone I care about." Peter's voice was firm. "Okay? You're... you're the first friend I've made here since losing Gwen, and, losing the Harry I knew. I'm not about to lose you too."

"I-I'm still here, aren't I?" Y/N sniffed, and slowly looked up at the man in front of them. His expression had a pit forming in their stomach. "Peter... what else did you come here for...?"

"I need your help."

He saw the way Y/N's eyes widened, and they way their head shook rapidly. "No... Peter, no. I'm not. I can't-"

"Alan Proctor, Gustav Fiers, and Harry Osborn... They're planning something, Y/N. Harry knows I'm Spider-Man. If he sees me as Peter Parker, with you, or Gabi, or Mari, he'll kill all of you."

"Not if he doesn't know!"

"If he doesn't know already, he's gonna find out, Y/N!" Peter argued tearfully. "Please. If he doesn't already know who you are somehow, he'll find out... He'll find you... You're the only person who can help me do this... I can't do this on my own."

"D-Do what... Peter?" Peter was building up the strength to tell them. It was the hardest decision he'd had to make in a very long time. His choice went against everything his mind and heart were telling him to do. It was a choice that he still couldn't figure out where his younger multiverse counterpart found the strength to make. His hands were trembling, and his lips felt dry.

"I'm gonna cure Harry."

Y/N stared at him blankly, taking in every word, before their face morphed with disgust and disbelief. "What the fuck, Peter..."

"I know."

"Cure him? A-After everything he's done to you?"

"Killing him is not gonna make my pain go away. It's not gonna ease my guilt for making Harry feel hopeless. I cure him, he can't hurt Gem, or Mars, and he can't hurt you..." Peter gently placed a hand on Y/N's outstretched leg. "If we don't stop him, he will kill one of you, or all of you."

Y/N felt ill at the thought of losing Gabisile or Amari. They couldn't handle another loss. F/N's death had shattered them to their core. Just the possibility of losing someone a second time made them choke out a sob. "I-I... I can't go through that again, Peter... I can't..."

"Neither can I, Y/N. Especially not you... Not Gabi, or Mari."

Peter could hear Y/N's heart racing uncontrollably, their chest rising and falling with each shallow breath. "Okay. I'll... I'll do it... Whatever it takes. I don't want to lose you either, Peter." He moved to hug them, but they held up their arms.

"I'm f-feeling... I'm feeling s-sort of touch averse right now... I need a second. I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize. I'm sorry. I... I should have checked with you first..." Y/N lifted their hands, holding them out to Peter, who slowly took hold of them. He waited for them to initiate any further contact, gently squeezing their hands. They slowly leaned forward, and rested their head on his shoulder, letting go of one of his hands so they could wrap their arm around his middle. Peter lifted his hand to hold the back of their head, still squeezing their hand, and resting his forehead on theirs when they began to cry again. "We're gonna cure Harry..."

"Mm-hm."

"And we're gonna use your proof to take down Alan and Gustav."

"Wh-What if... if that man shows his face again? What if h-he tries to finish what he started...?

"We'll stop him. He'll never see another day of freedom in his life."

"I want to kill him, Peter. I... I want to watch him die. Make him feel the same fear I felt. The same fear... and same pain... F/N felt, and then some."

"It won't heal your pain... Killing Harry wouldn't have healed mine... Nearly killing him didn't take any of that pain away... But, if that man shows up, you and I are gonna stop him, alright?"

"I can't promise I won't try to kill him... please... Please promise me, that you'll stop me... if I try..."

"I promise," Peter whispered. "Y/N, please promise me that you'll try... to... to forgive yourself... Even if it takes years... It's taken me nearly ten to even begin to..."

With a deep breath, and another sob, they let go of Peter's hand and hugged him tightly with both arms, and as soon as Y/N initiated that contact, Peter returned it, giving them a squeeze. "I-I promise... I promise to try..."

After crying into his shirt for several minutes, Y/N moved back, and Peter gave a smile, and, despite his own tears, it was one of relief, and warmth. An idea crept into his mind, and he jumped up. "Come on. Pull on a sweatshirt and some shoes," he encouraged.

"Wh-What for...?"

"It's a surprise," Peter answered, unable to suppress his grin. "Come on! We gotta hurry!"

Without wasting another minute, Y/N obliged, unable to contain their own smile at Peter's excitement. They probably should have been expecting the web swing when Peter told them to hold onto him tightly, but it still surprised them nonetheless. Peter jumped, and Y/N couldn't help their shriek. The cold air stung their cheeks, and the sight of the buildings flying past them was too dizzying. They shut their eyes tight, refusing to open them until Peter had landed. He leapt down onto flat ground, still holding his frightened friend, who lifted their head, but covered their eyes with one hand as the other still clung to Peter's shoulder. "We're safe, Y/N. Open your eyes. Trust me." Bit by bit, Y/N peeked through their fingers, and softly, they gasped...

[NOW PLAYING]

< Young - Sam Smith >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 2:35

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Peter had taken them to the very top of the Empire State Building, just as the sun was beginning to rise. The radiant, golden glow felt sharp on their irises, but they gazed in awe at the orange and pink that had begun to paint the sky. With the stars still sparkling above, it took Y/N's breath away. Their friend carefully set them down, laughing softly at the flabbergasted expression on their face. The longer Y/N looked, the more their body began to move. At first it was a subtle sway, which grew to rocking on their heels. Soon, their smile was uncontainable and they flapped their hands with indescribable joy. "Peter! This... This!?" Again, their voice was gone, but this time, not from distress. The sight of Y/N overcome with giddiness, with a genuine smile and happy stimming taking over their body, was enough to get tears rolling down Peter's face.

"This is where I go, when... When I'm feeling the way you're feeling. I just sit up there," he nodded to the ledge, "and I take everything in. The air, the sky... I feel peace up here... I feel safe... I feel... I feel alright. That's what we are up here, alright? Both of us. That's what we'll be up here." Y/N was overwhelmed from their clashing emotions, and their lip quivered, covering their mouth with one hand as their stimming picked up in pace on the other. When they convulsed with a sob, Peter grew worried. Right as he had made a move to get closer, he let out a loud grunt at the impact of Y/N jumping into his arms.

"Wohoah!" Peter chuckled, laughing harder when he heard Y/N giggling. He attempted to steady himself, but the two ended up falling onto the ground. "Gohoing DOWWN!"

His tingle kicked in to keep Y/N from getting hurt from the fall, and he helped the still laughing individual to lie beside him once he was sure they were alright. It had been a long time, since either of them had felt as at peace as they did in that moment. The two of them stared up at the sky, watching as the daylight slowly crept up on the stars. In the midst of his pondering, he found himself feeling a little mischievous. With a turn of his head, he asked his question. "So, uh... When are we gonna talk about how you were totally letting me tickle you that night I caught you?"

Y/N's breath hitched. Loudly. They could already feel the heat creeping up their ears. It had been flustering enough knowing that Spider-Man had figured that out, but as it fully sunk in for them that it was in fact, their friend, Peter, who'd figured it out that night, they squeaked, and they turned their head back up to the sky. "I-I was not..."

"You were~" Peter insisted, smirking and scooting closer. "You could have gotten out of those webs any time you felt like it. Admit it."

"N-Not happening, Peter."

"I will bug you until you admit it. Come on~"

"Nuh uh..."

"Admit it, bug."

"B-Bug!?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna call you bug from now on. You are overdue for a nickname and you didn't seem too keen on 'Rosie Posey.'" The nickname made Y/N's cheeks feel warm.

"I'm not admitting to anything."

"No? Not even if IIII..." Peter lifted his hand, and ever so slowly began to wiggle his fingers in Y/N's direction, which made them squirm. "You still won't admit it?"

"Mm-mm," Y/N squeaked when Peter's fingers nearly touched their side. They could feel the urge to giggle growing harder to ignore, and when Peter pulled them closer, they shrieked, the giggles pouring out of their lips. "Peheheheter! PEHEHETER!"

"It's about time you got acquainted with tickle monster Peter Parker, bugs. I think you're really gonna like him~" Peter sat up, amused by how much Y/N was laughing just from the anticipation. "Why are you so giggly~? I haven't even started tickling you!"

"Behehehecause y-you're g-gohonna!"

Peter feigned a look of shock, and furrowed his brows. "Wait- How... How did you know what I was gonna do!? Do you have a secret power you didn't tell me about-?"

"Sehehecrehet pohohoweheher!?"

"Yeah. Secret power. You've got the tingle thing, don't you? Same thing I have."

"Nohoho IhIhI dohON'T!"

"Yehehes you do~ You've got a tickle tingle!" Peter was grinning like a fool, laughing at his own joke as Y/N hid their face in their hand. His hands hovered above Y/N's abdomen, and when they curiously uncovered their eyes, Peter began playfully attacking their belly over their pajama shirt, their sweatshirt having ridden up from their squirming. They let out a loud squeal, before they began laughing loudly, hands flapping with joy. "Yes you do yes you dooooo~!"

"Peheheheterrrrrrr!"

"Y/NNNNNNNN~"

His fingers spidered over their sides, and Y/N shrieked with laughter. "Thihihihis ihihisn't fahahAHAHAHAIRAAHAHAHA!"

"It's nihice to finally see how ahadorable you look when I'm tickling you silly!" Peter exclaimed. "Awww! Look at that smile~! You really are a cinnamon roll~"

Y/N was kicking their legs rapidly in the air, snorting and screeching when Peter's thumbs found their way to their hips. "WAHAHAIT! *hic* NAHAHAT THEHEHERE!"

"No? Does it tickle too much, bug~?" He was wickedly happy to finally see Y/N's reaction to the teasing, pouty voice. Their stimming went into overdrive and they hide their face with a whine. "Is somebody getting butterflies~? Yeah? Good! You're a giggly bug, aren't you~? Giggle-bug's a good nickname, don't you think? Or maybe, bugaboo~!"

"Youhouhou're sohoho meheheheaaaan!"

"I think you just don't want to admit you like being tickled~ Ah-! Don't you hide from me~" Peter gently moved Y/N's hands away from their face, still poking at their torso with one of his fingers. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"IhIhIt is fohor a cohold-hehehearted ahahand scahary vihigilanteheHEHEEEE!"

Peter had begun squeezing at one of their knees, and swiftly grabbed their ankle. "You're very far from cold-hearted, giggle-bug. And scary? Nuh-uh. Not when you're laughiiiiing~"

"Whahahat ahahare youhou- heheyyy! Dohohon't you dahahare!"

"Oh? Why not? Bad spot, bugaboo?" Peter swiftly pulled off their shoe and tossed it aside.

"Waitwaitwahait! OHOKAY! Ohohokahahay! IhI ahahadmihit it! WAHAIIIIT!" Their sudden squeak of admission was without a doubt one of the cutest sounds Peter had ever heard. He smile triumphantly, before wrapping their arm around Y/N's ankle.

"I'm glad. Because I'm having a lot of fun tickling you."

Before Y/N could say anything else, Peter's fingers were fluttering over their sock. They screamed into their hands, laughter jumping a full octave, hands stimming rapidly and uncontrollably. "I thihink this spohohot's wohorse than your hips, bugs~" Peter teased. He began chuckling impishly when after another minute, Y/N formed a forcefield around their foot, making Peter let go. They lay there, taking in air and giggling softly. Peter lay back down beside them, and they turned to look at him.

"Youhou... fihihihihight... dihihirty..."

"I do nohot! That was fair and square tickling!" He gave their side one last poke, heart fluttering at their giggly squeak.

"Wait a minute- Your forcefields have always been red... right? That one just now was pink," Peter noted.

"W-What?"

"Mhm."

"Huh..." The sun had almost fully risen, though the sky was still a little darker. As the gentle breeze brushed through the open spaces of the tower, the two caught their breaths, that feeling of peace unwavering in their safe place. "After... After all this is over... With Harry, and Alan... and that Gustav guy... I'd still like to put Wrathful Rose behind me."

Peter turned, studying Y/N's expression for a few seconds. "That's fair."

"I... I understand, if... you don't..."

"Bugs," Peter waited for Y/N to look at him, and held out his hand, gently squeezing Y/N's hand the moment they gave him theirs. "I'm not going anywhere. Whether or not you're still a vigilante after this is all over, you'll still see me walking into the cafe and bookstore for a coffee."

Y/N giggled. "Ohohokahay."

"I'll see you other places too, won't I? Like... Like maybe after... after we take care of what's coming, we can finally spend time together outside of the cafe and bookstore?"

"Youhou will. IhI promise."

Both of them were beaming at their agreement, and, with their hands still in each others' grasp, they watched as the sun finished rising.

***

[NOW PLAYING]

< The Equation - James Horner >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:23

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

The lights in Peter's lab flickered momentarily after he's flipped the switch, causing Y/N to cringe at the flash. "Sorry, bug."

"I-It's okay..." They muttered, shoulders shuddering briefly as a soft and short 'brrr' emitted from their lips. After they'd shaken the disruption out through their fingertips, they stepped inside, admiring the shelves and lab equipment, before gazing down at the concrete floor.

"Welcome to the Spider-lab."

Y/N turned back to Peter, who was locking the makeshift lab's door, the cheeky smile already tugging at the corners of their mouth. "S-Spihider-lab?"

"Thehe name is a work in progress, alright? I... haven't really had much time to brainstorm lately." Peter chuckled, before walking over to join his friend. "Did you bring your suit?"

"I did... but... I don't really see the use in patching it up... There won't be a Wrathful Rose to wear the suit after we cure Harry."

"You never know when you might need it, bugs. Besides. I've got a few ideas in mind."

"F-For the suit repair?"

"For a new suit."

"You'd... You'd do that for me...?"

"Mhm. I make all of mine." Peter took the suit from Y/N's hands when they held it out to him, smiling at their expression, which was full of curiosity, eyes wider than usual as they awaited more information. He lay the suit out on the table, before spinning on his heels and pointing to his friend. "And we'll make yours together. But fiiirst, tell me everything you know about your powers."

"E-Everything...?"

"Everything."

"O-Okay... um... what would you like to know about first...?"

Peter placed his finger on his chin, eyes wandering to the ceiling as he playfully exaggerated his pondering, and made Y/N giggle. "Telekinesis. Let's start there."

"I... I can only move what isn't living... I used to be able to, but... I can't anymore... The night... the night I nearly died... and um... h-held my wound shut, was the last time I could use my telekinesis on a human being." When their eyes began to water, Peter offered his hand for Y/N to squeeze. As they continued their ramble, they found themself subconsciously using their other hand to fiddle with Peter's sleeve, at which his heart grew warm upon noticing. "M-Maybe it's the traumatic experience of nearly dying? I-I don't know..."

"That makes perfect sense, bugs. Your body's remembering that you were on the brink of death... the last time you used your powers like that. You're protecting yourself." Y/N hadn't considered that before... For a long time, they had feared they were just too weak after that point... "Peter Two, uh... He can shoot webs right out of his wrists, and he mentioned... he mentioned he actually lost his powers at one point."

"H-How does that happen?"

"All up here," Peter answered, pointing to his temple. "Emotionally and mentally. Maybe that part of you won't be gone forever... You never know..."

"M-Maybe..."

"Alright. What next?"

"Surface level morphing. It's how I change my hair and eyes... But, i-if I get a wound, or... or..."

"A scar...?"

Y/N looked up at Peter, and their fingers reached up to brush over their choker, before they nodded rapidly. "I can't use my morphing to hide it at all. However... I can... change the shape of my facial features, but I haven't figured out how to make it last. So I... I wear the mask over my mouth and nose, just in case the hair and eyes aren't enough..."

Peter scribbled down Y/N's information in bullet points before looking back up. "Alright. Forcefields?"

"B-Buckle up... this... this one's a bit of a doozy..."

"I love a good doozy." Peter wrote down every detail Y/N gave him, and after briefly biting the end of his pencil, he immediately began writing out an equation. Y/N watched followed the pencil with their eyes, as it etched the graphite onto the paper. They wouldn't pretend like they understood what it meant, but it was fascinating to watch, and they quietly rested their chin in their hands, face aglow with wonder. Peter's ears picked up on a gentle noise, akin to little bubbles popping in the air, one by one. When he glanced up at Y/N, their breath hitched, and they bit their lip apologetically. "S-Sorry, I..."

"You don't need to be sorry." Peter smiled softly, and glanced back to the paper, echoing the same noise Y/N had made moments before, catching their simper in his peripheral vision. He couldn't help his breathy chuckle when he heard the sound once more. After a few minutes of echoing the sound back and forth, Peter finished writing. "Alright. Here it is. We add this formula into the material of your suit, you should be able to change the suit's color with your morphing powers. And if we add this one, you should be able to create forcefields that fit the form of your body. If someone tried to stab you, or slice you, the suit would make it much easier to block the attack with ease."

"H-How did you... The color thing...?

"Think about how some animals change color, right? Like a seahorse or an octopus. They've both got those pigment-filled cells called chromatophores. Except, instead of chromatophores that stretch and pull to display more of a certain pigment, your suit's got microscopic technology woven into the fabric that will react as though it's part of your skin, and, uh... let... let you change the color." He'd briefly trailed off as he saw how engaged Y/N was in his explanation. Their eyes were wide with awe, curiosity, and it was rather cute to see. "Come on. We'll make a square of it and do a trial run." It took Peter all of ten minutes to put it together, and he returned to the table where Y/N was sitting, holding up the little square with a smile.

"You ready?"

"A-As ready as I'll ever be..."

Peter gently placed the fabric over Y/N's forearm, and Y/N jumped when it illuminated in response to coming into contact with them. "It's synced! Okay, try changing its color." The two's eyes never left the fabric, and as Y/N used their morphing powers, the fabric began to turn blue, but their skin remained the same color. Y/N couldn't believe their eyes, and changed the color to green, and then red, and then pink.

"H-Hoholy shit, Peter!" When Y/N began happy stimming, the fabric briefly flashed a rainbow hue, and Y/N squealed. Peter was grinning ear to ear at his friend's giddiness.

Once the two had settled, they tested the forcefield element of the little square of fabric. Y/N watched as Peter dropped a pen downward toward their arm, and shrieked when it bounced away, though they eagerly met Peter's hand in a high five when he cheered. "Now that we know it works, we gotta make your suit."

"How... How long will that take?"

"Once I've got your suit measurements? It shouldn't be more than an hour and a half." Peter pressed a button on the machine he'd used to create the fabric. "While we wait for this to produce enough of this fabric for your suit, we've got a cure to make."

"I-I... I don't know how helpful I'll be, Peter... I'm... I'm not one hundred percent sure how all this works..."

"Heyy. Self deprecation is not allowed in the Spider Lab, bugs."

"I'm b-being honest!"

"Honesty schmonesty! You talk poorly about yourself again, and I'll tickle you to the floor."

"P-Peheter!!"

"Am I clear, giggle-bug~?" Peter poked at their sides a few times and chuckled softly over their adorable squeaks and happy stims. "Am I cleaaaaar~?"

"Yehehes! Yehehehess! Ohokahahay!"

"Good. Follow me." Peter handed Y/N a pair of goggles, and, after studying them for a few moments, they carefully placed them over their eyes. He had gathered all the materials he needed to work on Harry's cure. The air was scarily silent as Y/N watched Peter work. They bounced their leg on the stool they sat upon, eyes gazing at the chemicals and test tubes.

"What... um... wh-what was it like, f-fighting a guy with electrical powers...?"

"The fihirst time? Max... he uh... he was whooping my ass. AhAnd, to add insult to injury... he played 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider' on thehe Oscorp power plant tohowers."

Y/N looked at him blankly, before their lips curled into a smile. "Reheheheally?"

"Reheally." Peter grinned as he used a dropper to add another substance to the beaker. "IhI fucking hate thahat sohohong."

His friend was giggling even harder, unable to contain their laughter over the idea of Peter getting his ass kicked to a nursery rhyme. "Soho... What happened n-next...?"

"Max, he... he was shocking me... badly. Thankfully Gwen helped me magnetize the web shooters earlier. Stopped them from getting fried. I couldn't get my hands to fire them though... cause... you know... the muscle spasms Max's powers were causing. Gwen saved me. She uh... drohohove a car into him." Peter glanced up and saw Y/N's widened eyes, as well as their dropped jaw, and began chuckling.

"Ohoho my Gohohod!"

"Rihihight? Shehe... she dihidn't even hesitate... She was brave... she always did the right thing... even... even when..." Peter trailed off, stirring a mixture and focusing on his breath to keep composed.

"She loved you," Y/N reminded him, unsure if it was the right thing to say, but taking a chance. "Wh-When... when you love someone... y-you're with them through everything..."

Peter couldn't help but smile, a reaction which reassured his friend. "Youhou know, that's not the first time she saved me either."

"N-No?"

"Noho," Peter chuckled, his voice breaking slightly. "She uh... smashed a trohophy on Dr. Connors' head when he was the lizard."

Y/N couldn't help but giggle, before their smile faded and their eyes focused on Peter's work again, quietly stimming with their fingers.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Becoming Spider-Man - James Horner >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:17

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"Alright. I've managed to properly isolate my self healing factors..." Peter stared at the mixture in the beaker. "The issue before... uh... My dad, he mentioned... in a video message I found, that the reason that spider bite didn't kill me to begin with, was because the spiders were bred using his DNA. All other trials failed, because the subjects kept dying..."

Y/N was silent, eyes wide at Peter's explanation. "Y-Yeah... But, with a little tinkering, and with the knowledge I gathered from my multiverse trip, I think I solved the issue. So in about three hours, we'll have transformed the spider venom into a cure for Harry."

"That's... That's incredible, Peter."

The praise made Peter's face redden the slightest bit, but he smiled, and set the venom into a metal contraption, and lifted the beaker. "Care to do the honors?" Y/N beamed, and with a flap of their hands, they nodded, taking the beaker from Peter and pouring the liquid into the metal canister. Peter closed it tight, and set it aside.

"Alright! Now while wait for the formula to transform the venom, I'm gonna take your suit measurements." He pulled out a roll of measuring tape, and with a grin, began to unravel it. "This might tickle a bit."

"J-Juhust a bit?" Y/N questioned with a nervous giggle. "IhI'm not sohoho sure I truHUHUST YOUHOUHOU! Peter!"

"Ehh, mahaybe a lot~" The two sat together at the table after several giggle-filled minutes of taking measurements, both with pencils in hand. "So, I was thinking, if we do a rose emblem here, we can add one on the back as well."

"C-Could we add them to the inner wrists as well?"

"Of course, bug." Peter bit his pencil in thought, before looking over. "How would you feel about a series of little roses right here?"

Y/N glanced to where he pointing. The roses would rest along the part of the suit just above their scar. They subconsciously ran their fingers over their choker, and looked up at him with a nod. "Let's do it."

Once they'd gotten all the sketching done, the moved on to color scheme, and decided on a combination of white, gold, red, and pink. Of course, Y/N would be able to change the suit body at any time, so if they wanted to make the suit black, or red, they could do so. The two of them worked as a team, and with the help of one of Peter's many contraptions, the suit outline was cut out for them, and all they needed to do was sew the pieces together. "How good are you with a needle and thread?"

"Juhust make sure you've got lots of thimbles and bandaids." Y/N giggled. Peter operated the sewing machine, with Y/N closing off any bits that could only be sewn after the elastics were ran through. Once the suit was finished, he gave Y/N some privacy to change.

"Are you ready, bugs?"

"M-Mhm!" Y/N's heart was pounding as Peter opened the door to re-enter the lab. He froze in his tracks the moment he saw them. All of the chosen colors beautifully complimented Y/N's skin, and the hood rested upon their head in a manner akin to a rose petal. He noted that Y/N's hair had changed in hue to a soft pink. "I-I... I figured... the hair matches... s-so..."

"You look incredible, Y/N."

Peter smiled softly as Y/N rubbed their arm. "R-Really, it's... it's thanks to you, so, thank you, Peter."

"You know, you don't look so wrathful anymore. Have you thought about a new name?"

"N-Not really..." Y/N answered. "Since I won't be doing this after we cure Harry, I... I don't r-really see the point in renaming myself."

"You'll always be a hero, bug. Even when you retire from this life."

"IhI haven't been much of one, Peter..." Y/N sighed, a sad smile gracing their lips. They'd taken out their phone to check the time, but a headline notification at the top of their screen, made their heart leap to their throat. Their body began to rock, breath growing heavier, lungs feeling weak. Peter could sense their panic. He tried saying their name, but they were unresponsive.

"Buuuugs...?" His voice was drawn out, as he saw Y/N's face falling with despair, eyes dark with fear. "Y/N, please tell me. What did you just read...?"

The trembling individual swallowed dryly, and looked up into Peter's eyes.

"H-Harry Osborn was just broken out of Ravencroft..."

***

[NOW PLAYING]

< Sum Total - Hans Zimmer >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 2:51

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Harry stood, staring at the city below him through the glass of the BluangelTech tower. He could see the approaching silhouette of Gustav on the floor beneath him.

"It's not exactly wise to be standing out in the open when you're on the lam from Ravencroft of all places, Harry." The young man ignored Gustav's concerns.

"Can you believe it?" Harry questioned, smiling unnervingly as he peered out at the night sky. "We're so close."

"I still don't understand why you're putting so much faith into Alan Proctor's plan, Harry. You know as well as I do that he's no genius."

The young man's shoulders began to shake with a chuckle, which grew into a haunting laugh. "And you are, Fiers? I have spent, the past ten years... putting my faith in you. You sent six different people after Peter and you still couldn't kill him!?"

"We underestimated that boy's willpower-"

"YOU FAILED, FIERS. ADMIT IT!" Harry screamed, turning around and staring right at the Gentleman, his eyes green, teeth bared, and hair standing on end. "You fucking failed. You failed me. You knew how hopeless I felt after Peter refused to help me; after Menken framed me and took everything from me! And now you want to ride on the coattails of Proctor and I's success while you do nothing!?"

"You forget that I'm the one who's been loyal to you for a decade, Osborn!" Fiers walked up to Harry and pointed at him. "You're the one who initially failed to kill Peter Parker. You know that damn well-" Gustav's eyes widened, his breath hitching in his chest. He lowered his gaze, to see the blade that had pierced his stomach, before looking back up at Harry in disbelief.

"What IhI know damn well, is that you're fucking useless. And I don't need you anymore," Harry began laughing again, pushing Gustav to the ground, before grinning at Alan, who'd walked in just in time to see the Gentleman meet his demise.

"The plan will be set in motion tomorrow," he stated, grimacing slightly at the pool of blood on the linoleum floor. "What do you request?"

"I want to be the one, to kill Spider-Man. You can kill Wrathful Rose... If they're brave enough to show..."

***

[NOW PLAYING]

< Still Alive - Mt Eden >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:38

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Peter silently poured the cure into a syringe vial, the sound of his own breathing overwhelming his ears. As soon as he'd finished, he caught the sound of soft sniffling, before turning around and seeing Y/N had sunk to the floor, rocking and breathing shakily. He crouched down, and crawled over. Y/N seemed to know he was about to speak... "I-I'm terrified, Peter... It's one thing t-to be acting out of rage, on targets who never see you coming, but... this... I'm..."

"Hey, hey! Shh, it's okay. It's okay." Peter sat cross legged in front of them, their knees touching. "Y/N. We're going to get through this."

They weren't sure how long they sat there, but Y/N eventually moved into Peter's arms, hugging him as tightly as they could. Before it got too late in the night, Peter softly encouraged Y/N to go home, and get as much sleep as possible. He had a feeling Harry's plans were much further in motion than either of them knew... He made sure to give Aunt May an extra long hug when he stopped by to visit her that night, unsure of whether or not it would truly be the last time she saw him alive... Neither Peter, nor Y/N got a long, restful sleep that night. Y/N was clutching the usb drive of Alan Proctor's crimes in their hand, unwilling to let go of it even in their moments of slumber. Peter could sense that the inevitable day was not too far from them. He knew it could happen at any moment, and despite preparing as much as he could, despite preparing Y/N as much as he could, he was still uncertain of how everything would end... Peter was scared.

At work the following morning, Y/N didn't feel fully present in their body. Gabisile and Amari tried to help them feel more grounded; walking them through exercises, stimming with them, but Y/N couldn't shake their feeling of dread, made all the more strong when Peter walked into the cafe and bookstore, his eyes carrying that same look. "Damn! You too, Pete?" Amari exclaimed.

"W-What about me...?"

"You look stressed, Parker." Gabisile answered, before Amari could speak again. "And 'you too,' meaning Y/N is more stressed than I've ever seen them. They've been nonverbal all morning..."

Peter's heart sank, glancing over to where Y/N was standing. They were staring at the menu taped to the wall, anxiously pulling at their sleeves. He fiddled with his pockets, feeling for the cure and syringe inside. "Did you read the headlines last night, Mars Bar?"

"Who didn't, Gem-Gem?" Amari and Gabisile's voices sounded faint and were only growing fainter as a ringing began to disrupt Peter's ears. His stomach churned, and he looked toward the windows.

[NOW PLAYING]

< I'm Electro - Hans Zimmer >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 0:47

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

From outside, a loud boom, echoed through the streets, shaking the ground up to hundreds of blocks away. "The hell was that...?" Amari questioned.

When the ground shook again, followed by a car flying past the store windows, the patrons inside began to panic, all of them beginning to make their way outside to see the commotion. Y/N's breath grew shallow, having no time to think as Gabisile took their hand and led them out the door with Amari, Peter right behind them. No amount of planning, or preparation, could have prepared Y/N and Peter for what they saw. A large BluangelTech robot, shaped like a fallen angel, was walking in their direction, destroying buildings as it went. Despite being several streets down, it was growing closer at an alarming speed... When another car came flying at them, Peter tackled Y/N out of the line of fire, spinning around to take the brunt of the fall as Y/N shrieked and fell on top of him. Dust flew in the air, and into their eyes.

[NOW PLAYING]

< We Can Make the World Stop - The Glitch Mob >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:27

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Y/N and Peter looked up, and heard the echoes of an unsettling, horrifying, sickly laugh. "Harry..." The crowd began to scramble, screaming and yelling, unsure of which direction to go to flee. Gabisile and Amari had been pushed back by a wave of fleeing civilians, but Y/N and Peter could hear them screaming out their names and straining their voices.

"Y/N! PETER!"

"WE'RE OKAY!" Peter roared. "I'VE GOT Y/N! GO! GO! WE'LL FIND YOU!"

He sat up, and jumped to his feet, pulling Y/N behind a stack of junk in the nearest alleyway, placing his hands on their face. They were hyperventilating, stimming with distress and wiping their tear-filled eyes. When an explosion shook the concrete, Y/N screeched, body jumping violently. "Bug, hey, hey. Look at me, please. You don't have to look me in the eyes, but I need you to see me."

When Y/N hesitantly obliged, Peter smiled. He began to flap his hands, and by instinct, his friend followed. For a near thirty seconds, the two stimmed together. "Come on out, Spider-Man! Bring Rosie Posey with you!"

Y/N's eyes widened, as the panic set in with a jarring invasion of their thoughts. "Wh-What are we going to do, Peter?"

"Exactly what we said we would do. Alright? Have you got your suit on?"

"M-Mhm!"

Peter nodded, before taking out the vial containing the cure, and the syringe. "I need you to hold onto these. Alright? Use your suit to stay in the shadows, attack from the ground, alright? Remember your forcefields. We need to send this thing toppling to the ground."

Y/N nodded rapidly, and tearfully threw their arms around Peter. "I'm scared..."

"Me too, bugs. But I believe in you, okay?"

"O-Okay..." He returned the embrace, holding the back of their head and closing his eyes. When the two pulled away, Peter pressed a kiss to the top of their head, before he pulled his mask over his face, and turned, launching himself into the air, and out into the open.

"YOU WANT ME? COME AND GET ME!" With a deep shaky breath, Y/N removed their overclothes, pulled their mask up over their mouth and nose, eyes changing in hue to a deep ruby red, while their hair warped to the color pink. After pulling up their hood, They inched closer to the open, pressed against the wall, their trembling hands aglow with a pink. Time seemed to slow down as their eyes fell upon the chaos in front of them...

[NOW PLAYING]

< Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Lorde >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 2:36

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Screaming, crying, panicking, that's all that could be heard as waves upon waves of civilians ran through the streets. Peter swung above, seeing no signs of Harry, and concluding that he wouldn't be attacking head on just yet. He realized that the man controlling the mech was Alan Proctor himself. When a thrown blinking bomb threatened to fall directly into a group of people, Peter's web stopped it midair, and with force, he threw it at one of the mech's arms. "I hope you know, Proctor, this whole plan's gonna blow up in your face!"

Y/N used their telekinesis in a panic, stopping a flying piece of rubble from hitting a group of people, before sending it right into the mech's knee joint. It halted briefly, but recovered alarmingly quickly. They could see already that Peter was becoming overwhelmed out there on his own. For several seconds, they fought to move their legs. As they stepped out from the alleyway, they tried to stay hidden, ducking behind a car and morphing to match the color. The anguished and broken-voiced wail of a woman crying out a few feet away from them, as other crowd members held her back, forced them to peek out from their hiding space. To Y/N's horror, a child had fallen in the street, and was only seconds away from being crushed. "LET GO OF ME! MY BABY IS OUT THERE!"

"You'll die if you go back out there, lady!"

"I DON'T CARE! MY CHILD IS IN DANGER!" Peter fired his webs at the mech's ankle, his heels digging into the ground as he fought to keep it from stepping down and crushing the child. When he began to slip, Y/N's heart nearly stopped.

"NOO!" With a shout of their own, Y/N sprinted out into the open, and toward the child, nearly falling over themself. As soon as they approached, they shut their eyes, the child clinging to their leg, as the two became surrounded by a bright glow of pink.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Flynn Lives (Slowed and Reverb) - Daft Punk >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:06

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

The shortness of breath they suffered from the pace at which they'd sprinted, was made no less bearable by their racing heartbeat. Just above where they stood, with their arms outstretched, weighing down on their forcefield, was the giant Bluangel mech. Peter's web had slipped and he'd fallen backward, the full weight of the metal slowly beginning to push downward. Y/N unleashed a loud, strained, rasp filled growl, already feeling the pressure grow in its intensity. They could feel the beginnings of the burning sensation in their muscles, and their eyes fell to the frightened child sitting in front of them, legs tucked into their chest.

"Hey," they said softly. "It's gonna be okay-"

Their words were abruptly cut off by their own cry of pain, the mech pushing down with a startling amount of force, resulting in Y/N falling, with one knee planted on the ground. The child screamed, crying for their mother, who was sobbing and screeching from several feet away. "Shh, shh! Here! Look at me, sweetie!" Y/N pleaded.

"A-Am I gonna die?"

With a firm shake of their head, Y/N encouraged them to move closer. "Here. I... I need you to take the mask off of my face and look at me... alright?"

When the little reached out and shakily removed the mask, they curiously placed their tiny hands on Y/N's face, a gesture that melted their heart. "Hihi. Hi. What's your name, sweetie?"

"F... F/N..."

A faint ring began in Y/N's ears, eyes widening upon hearing that name. As the memories of their closest friend flashed through the back of their mind, they felt the tears pooling in their eyes. Despite the searing pain traveling through their body, as their forcefield strained against the metal threatening to crush both themself and the little on, they gave a gentle smile... a safe smile... Peter was yelling at the top of his lungs for civilians to clear the area, swinging and searching for a weak point in the mech. He felt the tingling in the back of his head, and quickly set the new plan into action, shooting his webbing through the hollow points in the metal, swinging around to make sure each one he'd shot had properly latched on. For Y/N, the urge to cry was overwhelming, but instead, they gave a pained smile. "Hi, F/N... My name is Rose. I have a best friend... w-with the same name as you."

"You do?"

"IhI do. F-F/N...? I... I need you to be brave for me right now, alright?" Y/N's lip was quivering, the tears slipping down their cheeks and over their lips. "Can you be brave with me?"

"Are you, s-scared too? Like me?"

Y/N nodded quickly, sniffling and blinking away the stinging liquid that obscured their vision. "I am... Even heroes get scared sometimes. But we're gonna be strong, F/N. We're gonna be strong together, okay? You and me."

...I won't fail you a second time, F/N...

They'd whispered those words to themself, suppressing a sob and nodding outward. "Look right out there! Over there! Do you see him?"

"Spider-Man!" F/N exclaimed, with an enthusiasm that made the weeping Rose laugh heartily.

"Spider-Man!" They repeated, gritting their teeth to bear the pain. "My friend Spider-Man is going to get the mean robot away from us, but it might take a minute. We gotta be patient, and we gotta be strong. Okay, F/N?"

"Okay!"

"Ahalright! We're a team right now, F/N. You're gonna help me keep this forcefield strong!"

"Yesyesyesyesyes!" With a bounce of their heels and a clap of their hands, they waddled to stand right in front of Y/N once more.

Amari and Gabisile peeked out from a car they'd been hiding behind together. Peter had landed on the ground, arms pulling at the webs he held in his hands with all the strength he could conjure. They realized he was trying to tilt the mech, and after glancing at each other, ran forward, unaware that from a distance, a pair of sickly green eyes, illuminated with spite and madness, were watching them, and taking heavy note of their actions.

"Ready, F/N? Reach! REACH! HANDS UP TO THE SKY AS FAR AS THEY CAN GO!" The child stood on their toes, arms outstretched above them, as they mimicked Y/N's stance, and made a fwooosh sound with their mouth. "YES! AWESOME JOB! KEEP THAT FORCEFIELD STRONG! GOOD JOB, F/N!"

"COME ON! HELP SPIDER-MAN SEND TAKE THIS FUCKER DOWN!" Amari waved a handful of other civilians over, joined by a few officers. When Peter looked up and saw the crowd, he strained to hold the web rope with one hand, before shooting out two more for them to grab onto. They split into two groups, and, with a collective of cries and huffs, began to yank on the webbing, heels digging into the ground. The pressure was sinking into Y/N's bones, every nerve in their body felt as though it were on fire. They knew that in less than a minute, the mech would crush them both.

"IT'S TILTING!" Gabisile cried, arms tightly around Amari's waist as she leaned back. "KEEP GOING!"

"WE NEED ONE MORE PULL!" Peter roared. "ON THREE!"

One...

F/N's mother let out a piercing wail in the midst of her sobbing.

Two...

A shrill, guttural scream left Y/N's throat and echoed against the city buildings, body on the verge of collapsing.

THREE

With one final tug, the mech lost its footing, and began to fall, the pressure on Y/N's forcefield lifting, and causing their body to feel weightless, as if they'd been lifted up by a thousand pairs of wings. Overcome with a mix of pain, sorrow, joy, and relief, they began to sob.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Peeta - James Newton Howard >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 0:34

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Some of the people helping had fallen backward from how hard they'd pulled, scrambling aside on their hands and feet or turning to get up and run. Peter desperately waved the rest of the civilians out of the way, the officers who assisted helping to pull them out of the area where the mech was destined to fall. He knew Alan Proctor would not survive the mech hitting the ground, and wasted no time in catapulting forward. He broke the glass and yanked the man from the control box, jumping just before the impact and using his web to break their fall. Though they landed roughly, with both Peter and Alan rolling on the ground a few times, they were alive. Alan was breathless, staring up at Spider-Man, too shocked to speak. Peter's blood was boiling at the man who was to blame for ordering the hit on Y/N's friend, and leaving Y/N broken and traumatized for years.

"Get. Up." He hissed, harshly gripping the back of his suit, webbing Alan's hands behind his back in seconds. "You're done, Proctor. Done."

[NOW PLAYING]

< The Briefcase - James Horner >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:15

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Y/N's body felt weak, and tired. They looked down at F/N with a proud grin, before the forcefield flickered, and disappeared, their eyes falling shut as they collapsed on the hot tar. "Rose?" F/N crouched down, their little hand gently patting Y/N's shoulder. With heavy breaths, Y/N opened their eyes, still in tears when they met the child's gaze.

"Wehe did it, Rose!"

"We... We... we did... Awesome job, little hero!" A weak groan left Y/N's lips. "I-I'm... so so proud of you."

...And I'm sorry I couldn't save you six years ago...

"F/N! F/N!" The child's mother nearly tripped on the scattered debris that lay in her path, but she only ran faster.

"Go... Go see your momma, F/N."

"I... M'gonna make sure you're okay first. Because you made sure I'm okay!" After those words were spoken, Y/N wanted to weep even more, but to their own surprise, they let out a joy-filled laugh. F/N's mother knelt down and scooped her baby up into her arms, sobbing with relief that they were safe.

"My sweet angel," she sniffled, pausing when her child pointed to the individual on the broken ground below them.

"Momma. I gotta help them up." F/N's mother was hesitant, but they slowly stepped forward, and knelt down, setting the little one down next to her. "H-Hello...? Are you alright, honey?" Y/N stirred again, and felt a pair of arms carefully helping them to sit up. Peter was worried out of his mind, and, after Amari and a few others assured him that they'd make sure Alan didn't go anywhere, he sprinted forward.

"Spihihider-Man!" The child giggled excitedly.

"Hi, kiddo!" Peter greeted, his cheerful voice growing panicked when Y/N slumped back in the woman's arms. "Rose... ROSE!?"

"Hi..." Y/N breathed, shakily moving to try sitting up on their own. "I'm... I just... How do you do this... all the time...?"

Peter laughed and pulled them forward into a tight hug. Y/N caught their breath, before their eyes widened, and they felt their face for their mask, forgetting they'd removed it.

"Rose?" The child was holding the mask out to them, a sheepish smile on their face. After Y/N had tiredly reached out to take hold of it, Peter helped them to stand up. Before they could return the mask to its place on the lower half of their face, the mother stopped them briefly.

"W-Wrathful Rose...?"

"J-Just... Just Rose, please..."

"They're not... wrathful... They're shiny, mama! Rose glowwws!" The child emphasized their exclamation with big hands and a precious little drawl, making Y/N laugh tearfully again.

"Rose is radiant," F/N's mother affirmed.

"Radint."

"Raay... deee... aaaant!"

"Raaaadiiant!"

"Does radiant mean shiny?"

"Yehes it dohoes, my little brainiac." She placed a hand on the side of Y/N's face, and smiled. "Radiant Rose, Thank you, for saving my baby."

"F/N was brave and strong for their mom," Y/N stated quietly, and smiling softly.

"Radiant Rose has a best friend with my name!"

"Doho they?" When the woman looked back up at Y/N, she could see the hurting in their eyes, and the ache in their heart. Y/N's breath hitched when the mother wrapped her arms around Y/N's shoulders in a tight hug before stepping back. She placed a hand on the side of Y/N's face. "Take care of yourself, honey. I'm sure your friend is very proud of you."

Another tear fell from Y/N's eye, but they nodded in acknowledgement, and placed the mask over their mouth and nose. The two of them crouched down in front of F/N, and held out their hands for high fives.

"We're proud of you, F/N," Y/N declared. "Stay safe, alright?"

"Mhm!" The child gave a tiny wave, resting their chin on their mother's shoulder, while they excitedly began to tell their mother the story of how they helped a superhero. An uplifting sight it was, however soon interrupted by officers approaching, gripping Alan's arms, still tied with the webs. Y/N's blood was bubbling with fury at the sight of him, and for a moment, Peter was scared things might go south, but as the individual stepped forward, eyes glaring daggers at the disgraced CFO, they stopped. They had nothing more to say to him. Like a machine with a command, they took the usb, containing the evidence of all of Alan Proctor's vile crimes, labelled with his name, from their pocket, and placed it in a speechless officer's hand.

"A gift... From Rose..."

As Y/N took a step back with intent to return to Peter's side, a voice startled them. "Hey! Where do you think you're going!?"

A sergeant took several steps toward them and pointed his firearm at Y/N with disgust. "You, are still wanted by the state. We have direct orders to take Wrathful Rose into custody-"

"You're not arresting my partner."

"Partner?"

"Rose, is staying with me, alright-? And if you've got an issue with that... if... if the state's got an issue..." Peter crossed his arms and jutted his chin toward the remains of the Bluangel mech, "...take it up with those effing robots."

The sergeant relented, and Y/N turned back, where they recognized that Peter was looking at them proudly, even if they couldn't see his face. He saw in their eyes how much they were still hurting, eyeing how they tugged at the sleeves of their suit, and opted to lift their spirits a little. "Who would've thought I'd live to see the day that Rosie Posey left the thorn bush."

"Shuhut the hell uhup."

[NOW PLAYING]

< Still Crazy - Hans Zimmer >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 2:42

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

A loud crack, followed by the sound of collapsing rubble, brought their moment of banter to a grinding halt. The two stepped in the direction of the sound, watching as a sphere, with its familiar blinking red rolled in front of them.

"ROSE-" Y/N had shrieked, hastily throwing up their hands and casting a forcefield around themself and Peter. The rest of the remaining civilians fled, screaming at the sight of another Bluangel robot, this one more goblin-like in appearance, hovering above the ground. Peter and Y/N's eyes met, the forcefield blinking away, both of them breathing shallow and sharply. He swiftly threw his arm around their waist, and by instinct, Y/N gripped his shoulders, bracing for Peter to start swinging. "This is gonna get a lot worse before it gets better."

"I-I figured!" Peter could hear his friend in the early stages of hyperventilation, heart pounding and body trembling, and turned his head in their direction. "Hey."

"Y-Yeah...?"

"Look at me." He waited for them to oblige, and gave their waist a gentle, comforting squeeze with his arm. "I've got you. Alright?"

"...I've... I've got you too..."

"Hang on." Y/N's legs wrapped around Peter's waist, and they shut their eyes, letting out a vocal stim in response to the fwip of the web shooters activating. After taking a deep breath, Peter catapulted them up into the sky. Y/N opened their eyes the moment their stomach settled, and winced at the arid air that was there to greet them. A chill wind washed down their body as the two ascended, and at an inhuman speed, Peter swung them forward. The motors whirred when the mech turned its head, the operator finally noticing Y/N and Peter's presence.

Peter's tingle sent him the warning for the incoming swipe the mech took in his direction, with every intention to knock them out of the air. "LET GO, ROSE!" Y/N released their grip without hesitation and Peter threw them upward. With a loud yelp, they landed on the robot's arm, and as they dug their foot into a groove, they anchored themself with a forcefield, body jerking forward when the mech shook its arm. Their telekinesis, still red in its hue, began to disrupt the servos. Peter shot webbing in every crevice he could see, spider crawling up the leg and jumping to the other to repeat the process. The mech began to spin out of control, and Y/N's stomach dropped, heartbeat leaping to their throat. Despite the wooziness, they continued to anchor themself and pull their body forward, growing closer to the metal face and hoisting themself up with a screech. All of their fingers enclosed in a fist, hand glowing pink with a forcefield, they hammered down at the glass that served to be the mech operator's window, creating a hole and using their forcefields to shatter the glass.

Peter swung up and landed right beside them, his tingle setting off a horrifying warning. He pulled Y/N out of the way as the man's arm reached to grab them. In his peripheral vision, he saw the reflection of the mech against the glass of the approaching skyscraper. Y/N yelped when Peter grabbed them and launched them up to the rooftop, the two falling from the aftershock of the mech crushing the opposite half of the structure and sinking into it, the top of goblin mech's head where part of the roof once sat. As the two caught their breath, their moment of relief was short lived, when a haunting, horrifying voice, filled their ears...

[NOW PLAYING]

< I'm Goblin - Hans Zimmer >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:43

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"Took you long enough, Peter. You've been delaying our reunion for far too long, don't you think?"

"Peter!?"

"Peter!? The fuck you mean, Peter!?" The two jerked their heads behind them at the two recognizable voices, horrified to see Gabisile and Amari standing deadly still, with the Green Goblin himself hovering behind them on his glider. Its pointed blades were pressed against their spines, threatening to impale them at any moment. A masked man stood behind the three of them, armed with a long blade.

"Shit..."

"G-Gem... M-Mars..." Y/N breathed. "P-Peter... he's... he's got..."

Peter took off his mask, and held up his hands cautiously. "Harry. They have nothing to do with this. They didn't know until you said my name-"

"But they LEAPT at the chance to help you when you were in trouble." Harry spat, before laughing and gesturing toward Y/N, who stiffened. "How about this one, huh?"

"Leave them alone, Harry."

A haunting laugh left Harry's lips, and he pointed to his mouth, gesturing to Y/N to remove their mask. "Hurry up."

Y/N couldn't do anything but comply with the demand, and slowly, shakily, removed the mask. Their eyes couldn't lift back up to meet Gabisile's or Amari's. They knew Harry was waiting to see who they truly were, so, with their lip trembling, their eyes and hair returned to their natural color, and with anger, they yanked down the neck of their suit and revealed the scar. "Y/N..."

"Oh my fuckin God..." Amari muttered.

"There they are~" Harry sang. "Y/N L/N. I'm a little surprised it's you. But then again, pain and rage do wonders for the mind, don't they? Look at what they did to me."

"How the fuck do you know their name!?" Gabisile snapped.

"You're in no position to be demanding answers from me, Gem-Gem. But, since I already planned on telling you, it's thanks to this man. Lucas. Terry. Why don't you show Wrathful Rose, who you really are?" The second Lucas removed his mask, a searing pain began to spread from one side of their throat to the other, ear... to ear... The ringing was ear-splitting. Y/N felt as though their throat was closing up, and subconsciously clutched at their neck. The man helping Harry, staring at them with his dark hair and green eyes, was the man who'd nearly taken their life.

"Foolish foolish foolish." Lucas taunted. "You were lucky I spared you after that night you know."

"Stop fucking talking..." Y/N hissed, eyes burning with tears.

"Your little friend was snooping around where they shouldn't have been," he sneered. "And you got caught in the crossfire. I should have hunted you down and finished the job-"

"AAAAARRRGHHHHH!" Y/N screamed with rage and charged at the man, who pulled out a blade and readied for their attack.

"Y/N, NO!" Peter yelled, making an attempt to run toward them but being stopped by Harry shooting a hook and wrapping it around his neck, yanking him back.

In a bout of quick thinking, Amari pushed Gabisile out of the way of the glider's blade and to the ground. Harry growled with anger and shot his glider forward, attempting to pierce Amari through the chest. "AMARI!" Gabisile screamed, running up and gripping the side of the glider, crying out when Harry sliced their shoulder. Peter freed himself and jumped up to fight the force of Harry's glider, dodging the swings of his blade.

"Run! GO! GEM! MARI! GO NOW!" Gabisile let go of the glider and scrambled backward on their hands and feet. Amari attempted to dive out of the way unscathed, but Harry clipped his arm and he let out a cry of pain, tumbling to the ground and groaning, the blood seeping through his sleeve. "Mari! Mars! Are you okay?"

"F-Fuck! Fuckin' goblin stabbed my arm!" Peter quickly pushed up Amari's shirt sleeve and webbed the wound to hold off the bleeding, shooting out another web and swinging a bomb away, up into the air, when Harry threw it toward them.

"Y/N!" Gabisile cried. "Y/N! Stop it!"

Y/N screamed when Lucas sliced at their skin, but the adrenaline of their rage kept them rushing at him. In another ten seconds, they had brought Lucas to the ground, using a forcefield to hammer at his temple and face, breaking his nose in the process, their eyes glowing red with rage once more. They wanted him dead. They were going to kill him. Amari stumbled over with Gabisile, and the two tackled them off of the now unconscious Lucas. "GET OFF OF ME!"

"No!"

"Y/N! ACK!" Peter was struggling to keep Harry at bay, but he shot out a web and took Y/N's blade from their hands. "DON'T!"

"What the fuck, PETER!?" Gabisile and Amari quickly grabbed their arms. "WHY DID YOU STOP ME-"

"I PROMISED YOU, Y/N!" He yelled. "I promised you, I would stop you from killing him! You asked me to promise I would!"

That reminder was enough to make Y/N burst into tears, with Gabisile and Amari hugging them tightly. The three didn't notice Harry had rolled a bomb their way until Y/N caught a glimpse of red. The still crying individual tried to throw up a forcefield, but the blast impact was too strong. As the goblin mech dislodged from the building, Y/N quickly pulled the cure from their pocket, and threw it onto solid ground, before the mech dropped... and the three friends felt the surface beneath them slip... Y/N, Gabisile, and Amari, were falling to their deaths...

[NOW PLAYING]

< Save Yourself - Jared Emerson - Johnson >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 2:06

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Fear... That's all Y/N's eyes could see, all their ears could hear and all their body could feel. They were falling, and not far above them, two of the most important people in their life were falling with them. Gabisile's eyes were shut, the fear of her approaching death leaving her unconscious. Amari was screaming, and swearing, trying to reach his hand down to Y/N's as he held tight to Gabisile's wrist. The last thing Y/N could remember, was the look on Peter's face as Harry hooked an arm around his throat and yanked him away from the roof's edge before he could jump after them. He had never wanted history to repeat itself, he had never wanted Y/N's history to repeat itself, and as he fought to push Harry off of him, he yelled Y/N's name at the top of his lungs.

He had to trust they would make it. He had to trust that they would save Gabisile and Amari. He had to trust that they would save themself. Harry was grinning madly as he tried to snap Peter's neck. "Hurry up... and finish what you started ten FUCKING YEARS AGO, PETER-" His fist flew into Harry's face, before he slung a web around the back of his head and slammed his knee into his temple, dazing him enough to make him fall backward. Harry violently swung at Peter, feral with rage and determined to kill. Peter wasted no time in firing his web shooter to grab the cure from where Y/N had thrown it up to him before they fell. The syringe was uncapped, and, Peter, kneeling on Harry's chest, stepping on his wrist, jammed the cure into his arm, yelling out when Harry's fingernails dug into his leg, his blade slicing open his side. Y/N was through with thinking, through with the suffocating feeling of fear and through with being trapped in their own head. All that echoed in their soul, was to save the people they love. With their throat raw from screaming, and a blazing pink, that lit up their skin, shot up their body out through their eyes and mouth, Amari and Gabisile were pulled forward into their arms, and the three were engulfed in a burst of light.

[NOW PLAYING]

< On Your Way - Daniel Pemberton >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 2:19

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Y/N stared up at the sky, their lungs feeling heavy with panic, breaths coming out at an unsteady pace. The solid ground of the roof they'd landed on almost felt like an illusion, as their eyes wandered to the skyscraper, the broken mech still crashed into the side of it. They weren't exactly sure what had happened at first, but when they frantically looked to their left and right, seeing that Gabisile and Amari were alive, they closed their eyes tight and curled up on their side, weeping. The impact had shocked Gabisile awake again, and, hands trembling, after she'd pat her body and squished her face for reassurance that she hadn't actually died, she shrieked, this time with joy, kicking her legs in jubilation and glee while Amari clutched his chest.

"I... fuckin... hate goblins," he panted, face washing over with fear at the sight of Y/N curled up on the ground and trembling violently. "Shit! Y/N!"

"Y/N?"

In between the two of them, Y/N had begun crying harder, their body aching with pain from exhaustion, and their wounds. Everything had happened too fast for them to fully comprehend in the moment, but now, every second, every sound, everything in their line of vision during that fall, was on loop in their brain. Their eyes were shut tight, afraid that opening them, even the slightest amount, would mean waking up back in the air, falling to their death alongside Amari and Gabisile. Amari's arms wrapped around their middle, and he lifted his crying friend into an embrace. "Y/N, hey, hey! It's okay. We're okay. We're okay."

Gabisile joined the embrace, and together, they consoled their sobbing friend, who'd begun rocking back in forth at a rapid pace, overwhelmed, and overstimulated. Their eyes were still closed, breath hitching loudly as they choked on the air. "Y/N. Look at me, look at me. We're alive. We're alive. You saved us. You saved yourself. We're safe." Y/N's arms shot up to clutch onto their friends' arms. Even though they were safe, held by two people they couldn't ever bear to live without, that lingering fear forced them to keep their eyes closed for nearly another minute...

[NOW PLAYING]

< Allerdale Hall - Fernando Velázquez >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 6:20

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Peter webbed Harry to the roof, knowing that when he finally came to, he'd be back to average human strength, and unable to break out of them. For a few seconds, he stared at his former friend, feeling his hand clench into a fist, his anger from years before still lingering. He knew that curing him had been the right thing to do, but it didn't make it any less easy to see Harry get even a fraction of his life back, while knowing that he took Gwen's entire life away. Despite his anger, his heart was hurting for Harry just as much, knowing he'd never been given a chance. The faint sounds of Y/N sobbing inconsolably were enough to make him turn his back to look toward the unconscious Lucas, and he quickly webbed him as well. ...Deep breath in... deep breath out...

Peter ran toward the edge of the roof, and jumped, swinging forward and launching himself to land in front of the three, still locked in a hug. Amari and Gabisile looked up, and made space for Peter to sit with them. Shakily, hesitantly, with Gabisile and Amari's encouragement, their eyelids lifted, and once they'd blinked the tears from their eyes, to see Peter looking back at them, they launched forward into his arms as he let out a breathy groan. He began laughing when he ended up landing on his back, despite his own crying, relieved that his three friends were alive. When he heard just how pained Y/N's cries had become, how broken their voice sounded, he hugged them tighter. "Aww, buhugs. You knohocked the wind outta me," he teased, relieved to the high heavens when he heard a muffled giggle.

"Fuhuhuckin a it's good to hehear you laugh." Peter poked at their sides and back a few times just to hear the sound again, grinning when they squeaked and kicked their legs. He sat up, still holding them tightly, giving them a big squeeze, and smiling softly at their hum of approval.

"I... I did it, Peter..." They fiddled with their fingers, which were clasped behind Peter's back. "I... I don't know how... but..."

"I trusted that you would. I... I knew, that you could do it, bug."

"It'll be a wh-while before I can do that again..." Peter's grin never faltered, and he moved back to place his hands on the sides of their face, his forehead resting against theirs affectionately... happily...

Their two friends watched the sight with melting hearts, glancing at each other with the silent agreement that the two were adorable together, whether that be in a platonic sense, or a romantic one. "Thahat's okay! I'm proud of you."

Y/N looked up at Gabisile and Amari, and began to feel their guilt settling in. "I-I'm really sorry... that I didn't tell you..."

"We're not mad, Y/N," Gabisile promised, smiling sadly. "I'm just saddened that you didn't feel like you could confide in anyone about it. You shouldn't have had to go it alone for this long. You can tell us anything."

"Even if the thing in question is about you being a fuckin vigilante," Amari added.

"The four of us are friends. Nothing's ever gonna change that." Gabisile's voice was firm, and proud.

Peter's smile was evident of his optimism. "Th-The... the four of us?"

"Fuck yeah, the four of us, Pete!" Amari exclaimed with a higher pitched voice, making Peter laugh lightly. "Although, I think I speak for Gabi and I when we say we'd rather not dahance with death like that again."

"Fahair enough," Peter relented, moving closer and gesturing for Gabisile to show him her injured shoulder, before stopping the bleeding with his webbing.

Gabisile grinned. "We'll still support you two in any way we can, though. We can promise you that."

[NOW PLAYING]

< Rue's Farewell - James Newton Howard >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 5:00

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

When an enraged yell echoed from above, Y/N and Peter looked at each other solemnly and sorrowfully. Harry had definitely woken up. After making sure Gabisile and Amari were alright, Peter lifted Y/N onto his back, their arms wrapping securely around his shoulders, and legs wrapping around his waist. He webbed their arms to his body, to ensure no chance of falling, before he swung the two of them to the side of the building, and crawled up to the roof. Harry looked up the moment he heard a noise, seeing the man who'd been helping him was out cold, before his tear-filled eyes rested upon Peter helping Y/N off of his back. His icy blue eyes, having returned to their natural color, glared daggers at the two of them. "What the hell did you do, Peter?" He hissed. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?"

Peter's jaw clenched more the closer he got to Harry, his eyes filled with tears of his own, still overcome with conflicting feelings about his choice. "What did I just do? You wanna know what I just did!? I just gave you the chance to live. A proper chance!" He glanced at Y/N, who walked over to their attempted killer, still unconscious from the blow they'd dealt to his head.

"I cured you, Harry..." He turned to look at Y/N, who was completely silent, hands clenching into fists as they continued to stare at Lucas. With a sharp exhale through their nose, they knelt down and slapped the man's shoulder.

"Wake the fuck. up." His eyes fluttered open, tugging at his wrists and realizing he was webbed. Peter was worried, and, remembering his promise again, tried to speak, but Y/N interrupted him.

"Y/N-"

"For years... I thought I'd be ready to kill you." They muttered, voice dripping with venom. "I told myself that the moment I found you... that... I would torture you, agonizingly, painfully, slowly, before putting you to death the same way you did my friend. The same way you nearly did me."

Y/N's eyes began to water, but they weren't scared. They were angry, confused, upset, and sad, but they were through being afraid of the man. With one tug, they exposed their scar and stared him dead in the eyes. "This right here, this scare is a reminder that you, fucking failed. You're not worth my blade. You're not worth anything to me... Am I clear? You'll spend the rest of your life... thinking... thinking about how I lived, how I came back, and how your loss was by my hand, but I will never think about you again after today. You're dead to my memory. Dead. And you will stay dead. That's my way, of killing you. Fuck you." Lucas smiled smugly, but Y/N said nothing more, stood up slowly, and walked away from him, wiping their eyes and stimming with their sleeves as they looked at the sun setting in the distance.

"Why... Why did you cure me, Peter? What, did you have a change of heart or something?" Harry's voice was one of taunting, despite his tears.

"I cured you... because it was the right thing to do, Harry. This changes nothing- this... You and I... There's nothing. Not right now. I do hope that there will be, with time..." Peter stepped closer and crouched down to meet his eyes. "You're looking at a very different Peter than the one who nearly beat you to death for what you did. Now, you get to live a long life, a healthy life. I made sure of it. Y/N and I made a proper cure. You won't end up like your dad, Harry. I promise..."

The realization was sinking in for Harry, and his eyes watered even more, the smile fading from his face. Peter could see the pain in his eyes, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I hope you make the most of it in whatever placed you're locked up in. I'll visit you... It might take time but I will. There's a lot I could have done differently when we reunited. There's a lot I could have tried to do. And... I am sorry, you know. I'm really sorry I couldn't help you sooner than now... I'm sorry I made you feel hopeless... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you... I really do hope that you find some happiness again, Harry."

Y/N had sat down with their legs tucked close to their chest, crying quietly from a whirlwind of exhaustion, relief, and grieving. In their peripheral vision, they saw Peter sit down beside them, and he offered his hand. Y/N slowly wrapped their arms around his middle instead, and Peter smiled softly, giving them a big squeeze, and kissing the top of their head. "I'm so proud of you, for what you just did. I... I know it was really hard to do... F/N, I... I know they're proud of you too..."

"I'm proud of you t-too, Peter. And... I know... that Gwen is proud of you..." Peter heard Y/N's words, and believed them wholeheartedly. It would take Y/N time to fully believe that wherever F/N was, that they were proud, but they trusted Peter's words, and it became harder to challenge them.

[NOW PLAYING]

< It's On - Superchick >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:28

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

"I guess, since we uh... since we did what we set out to do, I'll just be seeing you around as Y/N now. It's been nice working with you, Radiant Rose." Y/N silently pondered those words. After all the two had been through, both as Peter and Y/N, and as Spider-Man and Wrathful-turned-Radiant Rose, Y/N couldn't envision not being by Peter's side when he fought crime. They wanted evil people to pay... of course they did... but they didn't want to return to dealing vengeance the way they had been.

"Wrathful Rose... I'd still like to put Wrathful Rose behind me... b-but... Radiant Rose isn't done. I want to keep helping you... if... i-if that's alright with you, Peter." Peter's heart swelled with joy and the smile on his face told Y/N everything they needed to know. He nodded rapidly, and for a couple more minutes, the two stared at the sky, before donning their masks, waiting and watching as the authorities arrived and escorted Harry and Lucas away. When the two made their way back to the other rooftop, Gabisile and Amari had already left. Y/N called them to make sure they were alright.

"We're chillin- ARGH! GOD. DAMN. I'm... I'm vibin."

"They're suturing Mars Bar's wound. I'm up next. We promise we're aight."

"IhI'm glad," Y/N giggled.

"Hey."

"Y-Yeah, Gem-Gem?"

"Mars and I, we love you two. Aight? We fucking love you guys."

If hearts could glow, Y/N's and Peter's would have put every light in New York to shame. In unison, they both replied. "We love you too!"

"Fuck yeah! I got three platonic soulmates. Luckiest man on planet Earth." Amari commented, swearing at the sting of the suture. "Jesus H!"

"Feel better, Mars!" Y/N said with sympathy. "You're a badass!"

Y/N and Peter could hear the sounds of Gabisile blowing kisses through the speaker. "Kisses, you two! I'm sending lots of them! We'll see you later."

"Bye, Gem." Y/N hung up the call and stretched before sitting with Peter again, plopping down beside him and rocking their body.

"So..."

"Sooo..." Y/N repeated.

"Sooooo..." Peter's drawn out repeating of the phrase made Y/N giggle, and they rested their head on his shoulder. When a sudden screeching of tires, followed by sirens echoed below, Peter and Y/N's eyes met. "Sh-Should we... uh... I guess we should... you know..."

"Y-Yeheah... Uh... let's."

Peter hopped to his feet, and held out his hand, helping Y/N to stand up beside him. "I hope you're ready for a lot of adventure, Rosie Posey. Now that we're partners, there's gonna be a shit ton of saving to do."

"I-I'm... I'm more than ready, Peter. I'm Spider-Man's indefinite ally now." The smile on Peter's face was overwhelmingly bright, and as the two pulled their masks on for the final time that night, Y/N hopped onto his back.

"Hang on tight." Y/N didn't need to be told twice, and tucked their chin into Peter's shoulder as he leapt from the roof, the two swinging down to follow the flashing lights of the speeding police cars.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Rooftop Kiss - James Horner >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 2:35

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

*One and a half months later*

As Y/N walked down the cemetery path, fresh flowers in their hands, for the very first time, they wore a hopeful smile. Never before that day had they walked into the cemetery without crying, much less with a smile of all things. Once they'd adorned F/N's gravestone, they knelt down in front of it, and greeted their friend.

"Hi, F/N. A lot... a lot has happened in the past six years, but, I promise you, I'll be visiting a lot more. I'm... I'm really sorry I could only visit once every year for so long. I felt so much guilt for your death... Sometimes I still do, but..." They wiped their watering eyes, smile still present on their lips. "...Gem and Mars Bar help me get through it. A-And, a new friend... I really think you'd like him. His name is Peter. He's... He's amazing... I-I... I know you two would have gotten along."

Unbeknownst to them, Peter had stopped by the cemetery to say hello Gwen. He'd been sitting there for nearly an hour, telling her about how he'd found three new friends, all of whom he knew would be part of his life forever. He talked about curing Harry, about his promise to make her proud, to carry on protecting people... "Gwen... I promise, I'll keep making you proud. I won't wallow in my guilt and act out of bitterness the way I did for ten years. I'm gonna honor your legacy, and carry your message with me, everywhere I go."

On his way out, he saw Y/N, saying farewell to F/N. He placed his hands in his pockets, and smiled when Y/N turned around and saw him standing there. "I uh... I... I came to visit Gwen," he explained.

Y/N nodded understandingly, and, once they were close enough, reached up and gently pat Peter's shoulder. "She's proud of you."

"And F/N's proud of you," Peter replied, before remembering something he'd seen on his way to the cemetery. "Come on. I gotta show you something. You won't regret it."

"S-Swihihinging or wahalking?" Y/N teased, shrieking when Peter took hold of their hand and gently pulled them along.

"Running!" He yelled, and that's exactly what the two of them did.

[NOW PLAYING]

< I'm Spider-Man - Hans Zimmer >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 1:05

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Peter led Y/N down the block, the two of them weaving around pedestrians and breezing through crosswalks. Y/N could feel the wind in their face, and the warm sun on their skin. Their legs grew tired, but thankfully, they reached their destination before they were completely void of energy. "Alright, close your eyes."

Y/N obliged, and Peter guided them to stand in front of a brick wall, decorated with all sorts of graffiti. "We're here! Take a look, bugs!"

When Y/N opened their eyes, they gasped, still holding Peter's hand tightly, while their free hand flapped with joy. In front of them, were two spray painted emblems. One a Spider, over blue, and the other a Rose, over pink. Peter's had the initials "S.M." for Spider-Man, and theirs, had the initials "R.R." for Radiant Rose. The two friends stood there for several minutes, hand in hand, admiring the anonymous street art with awe...

[NOW PLAYING]

< Where Is My Mind (Slowed + Reverb) - Pixies >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 4:12

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

-It's been two months since BluangelTech CFO Alan Proctor sent the people of New York into absolute panic as he, along with disgraced former CEO of Oscorp, Harry Osborn, and a man by the name of Lucas Terry, unleashed giant robots that ran rampant through the streets. Lucas Terry, a man responsible for the death of a young BluangelTech employee named F/N FL/N, and for the attempted murder of an individual named Y/N L/N six years ago, was finally sentenced today, and will spend the rest of his life behind bars-

Peter walked into the cafe and bookstore just in time to see Gabisile and Amari, who, along with the rest of their coworkers, cheered and celebrated the news. Missing from the crowd, however, was Y/N, who'd requested a shift in the bookstore for the day. He didn't blame them for not wanting to watch the news report, given the numinous experience that had lasted six years.

-BluangelTech is now under investigated for dozens of unsolved crimes all tying back to the company. And, as we are finding out, all targets of the vigilante formerly known as Wrathful Rose have been discovered to be former BluangelTech employees-

He noted their peaceful expression, perhaps from or perhaps it was one brought about by distraction. Whatever the reason, they looked happier, and when they saw Peter walking over to them, they grinned, bouncing on their heels and rushing over to meet him. Peter was immediately greeted by a warm hug. Y/N stepped back after a few seconds, and their friend noticed something different. The choker around Y/N's neck was a gold chain with colorful charms, but their scar was in full view, Y/N no longer hiding it, the chain sitting just below.

-Mr. Osborn is also currently on trial for the murder of Gustav Fiers. As we are finding out, Mr. Fiers and Mr. Osborn were responsible for the attacks that occurred over the span of the past ten tears, of which the villains were dubbed, "The Sinister Six"-

"How are you fairing today, bug?"

"Eh... F-Fair to m-middlin' I think..." Y/N smiled when Peter chuckled. "H-How are you...?"

"Better, especially seeing you today. I uh... I really like the... the choker..."

"Th-Thahank you, Peter." Peter could see Y/N's eyes were burning with something. They looked as though they wanted to ask him a question, and ask they did. Well, tried to.

"P-Peter, I was... I was wondering if... I-I... I figured... I thought maybe... I wanted to ask you..." Y/N took a deep breath, and gently bumped their wrists together repeatedly for clarity and composure, hand gripping a book they were meant to be putting on the shelf. "Sorry..."

Peter smiled softly, and gently took the book from their hand, setting it in its proper place, before joining Y/N in stimming, following their movements. "It's alright, Y/N. Take your time. I'm not going anywhere." His encouragement of their stimming did not go unnoticed, and upon their lips appeared a simper, that only grew as they began to shake their wrists, allowing their hands to move freely, grinning as Peter joined in. Unbeknownst to the two, Gabisile had caught a glimpse of them taking a little stim break together on her way back to the counter from the backroom, unable to keep herself from grinning, a hand shooting up to her heart in adoration.

"What's got you all soft, Gem-Gem?" Amari questioned. "Did Sable text you- Oh... Ohhh! Oh that's so damn cute."

-Spider-Man and Radiant Rose have appeared inseparable since they saved New York two months ago, with the two heroes stating that they are now partners, and they've promised to continue protecting the people of New York together for years and years to come-

They watched as Y/N suddenly bounced on their heels with excitement at something Peter said, before giving him one more hug. When Peter walked back to the cafe section and sat down at the counter, he grew a bit timid at the way Gabisile and Amari were looking at him. "Uhuh... h-hi, Gabi... Hi, Mars..."

"What were you two getting giddy about over there?"

"Y/N... uh... Y-Y/N and I are gonna hang out after their shift... Y-You know, in a regular, non 'enemy threatening to destroy the city' kind of way."

"IhIt's about time you two had a proper friend get together!" Amari laughed.

"Aww! I'm so proud of our Mighty Junebug!"

"Mihighty Junebug?" Peter questioned with a chuckle.

Gabisile giggled. "Yeheah. Y/N's our Mighty Junebug. I'll call them MJ for short."

Peter's entire body froze upon hearing those two letters. His eyes widened when he glanced up at Gabisile, who'd turned to talk with Amari about the news report, before his gaze traveled back across the cafe to the bookshelves, where Y/N turned around and met his gaze curiously. When he gave a soft smile, his stomach fluttered upon seeing them giggle and happy stim, waving before they resumed sorting new books. His mind and heart had the epiphany in unison as he continued to gaze at them...

Peter Parker had just found MJ...

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OH MY LORD 😭💖 And thus, we conclude A Rose Without Thorns. This fic has been a good month in the making, and in all honesty, this piece of writing was extremely cathartic for me to create. Of course, I cannot relate to the reader's specific traumatic events, but my own experiences brought about that same feeling of rage, and that same feeling of bitterness. Writing a story in which the reader starts their path to healing and makes progress, is a good reminder for me of how far I've come with my own healing. I suppose that's one of the reasons Peter 3 is such a huge comfort character for me. /gen 💙 I hope this fic was a captivating read! I really wanted to find a way to wrap up some stories that TASM 2 left unfinished, since we never saw what happened in the years before NWH. Harry deserved better and this was my way of setting him on the path to a second chance, and perhaps in the future, he and Peter forgiving each other. /srs /gen 🥺 I also really hope you all enjoyed getting to know Gem-Gem and Mars Bar!!! They are without a doubt my two favorite oc's in recent years, and I will definitely be writing for them again, don't worry! /pos /lh 🥳🥰

Y/N propped their elbows up on the table, fingers clasped together to create a resting place for their chin, eyes illuminated with curiosity. Although they had no idea what Peter was about to work on, they watched with admiration as their lab coat-clad friend scanned the shelves and cabinets for the components he needed. Their legs swung back and forth beneath them while they awaited to hear what Peter would be doing.

"S-So..." Y/N internally winced at how awkward they felt they'd sounded. "What exactly are you... working on?"

Peter grabbed two pairs of goggles from the desk, holding out one set to his curious friend, who quickly put them on. "Since my little multiverse trip..." he trailed off as he carefully lit the bunsen burner on the table.

"...I've, uh, been thinking more... about how to neutralize villains without killing them in the process..." Peter looked back up at Y/N, who silently waited for him to continue. "Peter one's Aunt May... she... she was so passionate about it. So passionate about doing the right thing up to her final moments..."

Y/N remembered when Peter explained to them about being yanked from their universe and being thrown into another. For as long as they'd known him, up until that point, he'd been a serious person; Withdrawn, exhausted, angry. As Spider-Man, he was terrifying... vengeful... Y/N knew why, and understood why. They knew about the rage that had been building since he lost his Uncle Ben, and how losing Gwen Stacy was his absolute breaking point.

They weren't prepared for the morning that Peter showed up at their doorstep, with a bright smile on his face, and they especially weren't prepared for the moment he engulfed them in a warm hug. Y/N never denied that the interaction brought tears to their eyes. It was still taking some getting used to, seeing such positive changes in Peter, but Y/N was over the moon to see it happening.

Peter's words brought them back out of their pondering. "I figured, if I can cure them, like the other Peters and I cured Max, and Dr. Connors, and the guys from Peter two's world, that... they'd have a second chance too."

His voice had grown a little shaky, but he looked at Y/N with an optimistic smile.

"I-It's what Gwen would have wanted."

"Peter," Y/N looked up at their friend, who had begun to put on gloves. He paused patiently, attention on them as they spoke. "There is not a doubt in my mind, not one, that Gwen is so. proud. of you. Not a doubt."

Those words had Peter's smile growing bigger, and he nodded graciously, before tapping the outer frame of the goggles, silently directing Y/N to place theirs over their eyes. Y/N hastily obliged, giving a sheepish smile that made Peter chuckle.

They bit their lip with anticipation as Peter began to work on the new formula, mind buzzing with questions they wanted to ask.

"Please do tell, w-what is this formula meant for exactly?"

"At the moment, I'm trying to find a way to make my webs withstand larger amounts of force, and be more element resistant." Peter answered, picking up a different beaker and using a dropper to add a substance to it. "So, the stronger the web, the faster I can subdue a villain. The hope is that the webbing would last long enough to create whatever cure I need to make."

Y/N grinned at the both the explanation and Peter's enthusiasm. His face was aglow with an optimism that his friend had rarely seen before the multiverse mishap.

"I haven't ever seen you this excited before. It's really sweet." They hadn't really had time to think about the words before they left their mouth, and upon realizing, stared down at their hands, feeling embarrassment and a tinge of regret.

Peter chuckled, much to their surprise, and the soft joy on his face served to wash away their worry. "IhI'm telling you, bugs. You're gonna be seeing a really different Peter Parker than the one you've known. More relaxed... happier... one with a lot more time for fun. I hope it doesn't scare you too much."

"Tryhy me, Parker," Y/N giggled, legs swinging again. "Seeing you happy and having fun is far from scary."

After a couple of tedious hours, and a snack break, Peter was ready to test the webbing, advising Y/N to prepare to duck behind the table if anything went awry. With a deep breath, his pressed his lips together and conducted the first experiment. Test after test was a success, and Peter sighed with relief, before throwing off his goggles and exclaiming in triumph.

"YES! Oh my God, we did it." He was pacing back and forth, before he saw Y/N still partially crouched behind the table and reached out his hand. "Come on. All clear now. We did it!"

"W-We?"

"Yes, we!"

"I-IhI didn't exactly... I'm not... I'm not a scientist, PetERRR~!" Their voice raised when they were very quickly pulled to standing. "I mean, I just sat here-"

"Y/NNN." Peter interrupted, tone of voice oozing with a warning. "Don't. even. Don't do that. We did this together."

Y/N briefly studied his expression, full of pride and glee. They finally relented. "AhAlright. We did it."

"That's what I'm talking about, bug! Woo!"

Following their mini celebration, Peter filled his web shooters with some cartridges of the formula, before setting the rest aside as he prepared it for storage. His hand moved around the table in search of the vials he needed, brows furrowing at the mess of equipment he'd laid out in the midst of testing. He wiggled his pointer finger as his hand hovered over a box, before he wiggled all of them and reached down to confirm he's found what he was looking for.

"Gotcha." Peter began filling the vials, watching carefully to make sure he didn't overfill.

What the science enthusiast hadn't seen, however, was Y/N's reaction to Peter wiggling his fingers. Their heart skipped a beat at the sight, silently cursing their nervous system for sending a phantom ticklish feeling up their sides. Seeing him wiggle one finger had been enough to make them respond in such a way, but their stomach swarmed with butterflies the moment he began wiggling all of his fingers.

In the years of their friendship, Y/N had managed to never let slip that they were ticklish. Thankfully, it hadn't ever really come up in the past. They were certain that if he did find out, that they'd never be able to live it down, and also, they really did not exactly mind the idea of being tickled... at all (especially if Peter was the one doing so).

Right as they were silently internally thanking their lucky stars that Peter didn't see how they'd reacted, Peter looked over at them, which made them jump a bit more than they would have liked to admit, and they awkwardly averted their eyes.

"Y/N? Are you okay?" He set down the vials and leaned closer. "I didn't mean to startle you, sorry."

"I-It's okay, Peter! R-Really... I-I, uh, guess I'm just a little jumpy right now," Y/N rambled, briefly willing their eyes to meet Peter's before they looked at their hands and fiddled with their fingers.

Peter nodded understandably, before moving to pick up the vials once more, again, wiggling his fingers before he did so. He caught Y/N shift in the chair out of the corner of his eye, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're good?"

"Mhm! Never better! P-Peachy!"

It was very clear that Peter was not buying their answer, as they'd rapidly nodded, voice perhaps a bit too chipper. Nevertheless, he moved on, and carried the vials over to a safe. As soon as it was closed, he sighed, taking off his gloves and disposing of them in the trash. "One hurdle in becoming a better Spider-Man has been successfully leapt over. Now we need to think of something to do."

He sat down across from Y/N, who'd placed their hand under their chin with their elbow propped up. When Peter opted to sit the same way, Y/N giggled, and placed their other hand under their chin as well. Peter chuckled and copied their movement again. The two sat there, heads held up by their hands, as they tried to find a way to break the adorably awkward tension.

"So..." Peter started.

"Soooo..." Y/N repeated.

Peter grinned. "What should we do now?"

"Dihid you have any ihideas?" Y/N asked, unable to keep from giggling again.

"IhI've sort've forgotten how to have fun? Not... not like, forgotten forgotten, but it's just been a while. I don't know how to decide or where to start." Peter grinned again. "You gotta teach me."

"IhI'm not a good teacher, Peheter..."

"You've been giggling for two minutes straight, bugaboo. I think that indicates you're well versed in how to have fun."

"Youhou're mahaking me giggle!"

Peter laughed, looking down at the table with his entire head before sitting back up, and realizing he'd left a beaker out. With a deep, dramatic sigh, he stood up. "Guess I forgot to put this away."

Y/N had no time to brace for what they knew was coming, and visibly squirmed at the sight of Peter's fingers wiggling above the beaker. There was no possible way that their brain in that moment decided it was a good idea to make Y/N envision themself instead of the beaker... of course it still happened.

"Okay, am I missing something? That's like the third time something I've done has thrown you off. What's going on?"

"N-Nothing?"

"Are you sure about that?" Peter tilted his head curiously and leaned on the table with both his hands, before gesturing to the beaker. "Because I was just reaching for the beaker and- There it was! You did it again!"

"D-Did what!?"

"All I did was... Wait a minute," Peter pointed to the beaker, and then to Y/N, and then promptly looked down at his hands. "Are you... Wait a minute! You ticklish, Y/N?"

Damn it. Of course he had to say the word. Y/N shifted in their chair, adjusting their shoulders and biting their lip. "N-No...?"

"No? You totally just answered with the least amount of confidence in what you were telling me."

"Peter."

"Ohoh, don't you 'Peter' me bugaboo," Peter warned playfully. "Do you mean to tell me that in all the years of knowing you, I never figured this out?"

"W-We didn't really have much time for non Spider-Man related conversations, did we!?"

"Ouch. Point taken. But, how about we circle back to the whole 'my best friend is ticklish' situation." Peter rolled his pointed fingers around each other in a backwards motion to emphasize his words.

"You're making assumptions, Peter!"

"Am I?" Peter questioned with mock irritation. He slowly lifted his hand, pointer finger still out, and wiggled it. "Am I?"

Y/N couldn't stop the audible squeak, nor could they stay still, squirming again and looking away, stomach fluttering uncontrollably. Their ears were growing hot. They could feel them scorching.

"Youhou must be real ticklish if me wiggling one finger made you react that much."

"IhI'm not t-" There was no way Y/N was saying that word, and they cursed themself for trying. "Peter, th-this is ridiculous."

"Nuh uh. This sounds like it's gonna be a lot of fun~"

"P-Peter Benjamin Parker..." Y/N warned, slowly moving to stand up.

"Oh no! Not the full name!" Peter dramatically pretended to clutch his chest and raised his forearm to his forehead. "Anything but the full name! I'm powerless now!"

"Y-You're nohot funny!"

The cheesy but adorable smile on that man's face was making Y/N's heart beat faster. "Then why did you just giggle~?"

Y/N slowly began backing away from the table, eyes not leaving Peter's form for even one second. "W-Why are you... why are you rolling up your lab coat sleeves?"

"Because, I just found my next experiment." The 'too casual' tone of Peter's voice was concerning.

"O-Ohoh no..."

"Ohoh yes~"

There weren't really many places to run. Although the lab was pretty spacious, the only easy exit was to the right of Y/N. Peter saw them quickly eye the doorknob, and without missing a beat, the moment they moved to run, Peter webbed the door from top to bottom.

"Peter!"

"Oops. Sorry. My fingers slipped," Peter shrugged, a cocky laugh leaving his lips.

"You're such a dick."

"Who's the one calling me names?"

"Y-You webbed the damn door!"

"And you're stalling for time. I've got an experiment to conduct." Peter teasingly wiggled his fingers again, chuckling when Y/N squeaked and shot their hand up to their mouth to muffle the string of cuss words that were coming out of their mouth.

"D-Don't you dare. Dohohon't youhou dahAHAHAHARE! PEHEHEHETER!" Y/N shrieked when Peter suddenly ran toward them, sprinting away as fast as they could, only to jump and scream when he landed in front of them. Curse that spider agility. They were promptly swung over his shoulder, in one fluid motion, their screech making Peter laugh heartily. "Peheheheter! Thahahat wasn't fahahairrrr! Youhou ahand your stuhuhupid spihihdeher pohowehers!"

Peter was chuckling as Y/N kicked their legs in vain. He noticed immediately that they were definitely not kicking their legs as hard as he knew they could, and hadn't made much attempt to push off his shoulder. The gears began turning in his head, but he wasn't exactly sure why. Peter set his giggling friend down on the settee in the corner of the lab, webbing one of their wrists to the cushion without hesitation.

"Heheheheyyyy!"

"Alright! Now I can run some tests," he joked, adjusting his lap coat again. "I probably should've brought my clipboard with me for this. Oh well. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna remember the results."

Peter's teasing was making the anticipation so much worse. Y/N couldn't help but squeak from Peter's eyes meeting theirs. The longer he looked at them, the more they squirmed. "Stahap doing thahahaaat!"

"I'm juhust looking at you, bugs! I gotta study the test subject, don't I?" He placed his finger on his chin and pretended to think. "How should I start this experiment off...? Wait! Wait! I got it!"

Y/N let out a giggly whimper when Peter sat down on the edge of the couch and slowly lifted his hands into their line of vision. "D-Dohon't evehehen thihink ahabout it!"

"I've thought about it plenty, giggle-bug~"

"WHAHAT!?"

"You heard me~"

Y/N's face and ears were hotter than the lab's bunsen burner over the entire predicament they'd found themself in. Peter pretended to compose himself, putting on a fake serious face. "Alright. I gotta be serious now. This is a very important test. 'How ticklish is Y/N L/N?'"

"Dohohon't tihihitle tihihiiiis!"

His friend lightly kicked their legs and squealed as he began slowly spidering his fingers. Their free hand shot up to their face, partially hiding behind it and biting their lip in a poor attempt to fight off their urge to laugh.

"Is me just wiggling my fingers really that bad?"

"Yehehehess!"

"Ohohoh, this is gonna be so much more fun! Get ready bug~ I told you that you were about to see a different Peter Parker than the one you've known these past few years."

"Whahahat dohohoes thihIIIIS hahave tohoho doho wihihihith thahahat stahahatement!?" Y/N's voice spiked when Peter got close to their side and he snickered.

"Because, giggle-bug~ This Peter Parker is also the big. bad. tickle monster~" The voice Peter used sent a chill up Y/N's spine, had their stomach butterflies in overdrive, and made them screech and kick their legs even faster. "Aww~ Look at how much you're laughing already~! I haven't even tickled you yet~"

It was getting harder for Y/N to hide their giddiness. Little did they know, the gears in Peter's head were turning again.

"Stahahahap uhuhusihihihing thehehe voihoihoiiiiiice!"

"No can do, bugaboo~ Nuh uhhhh~ If it's making you giggle that much harder, then I have to~ I have tooooo~"

The sight of Peter teasingly fluttering his fingers combined with that damn voice had Y/N too flustered to look at him, and they covered their eyes with their arm, lightly biting their tongue and giggling harder.

"AhAlright, IhI think I've got enough data for this stage of the test. Conclusion? You're the most air ticklish person I have ever fucking met, bugs."

He gasped with feigned offense when Y/N flipped him off.

"Hey! Alright, that's IT!"

Y/N's hand shot down and they tucked their arm into their chest the moment Peter spidered his fingers on their sides, letting out a screech and arching their back, hiccuping with giggles. All of the anticipation their friend had made the inevitable outcome so. much. worse. The sensations were spreading to the rest of their torso and down their spine.

"PEHEHEHEHETERRRRR!" Their voice was the highest sounding Peter had ever heard it.

"WOAH! You sure you don't have powers, giggle-bug? No regular human is this ticklish. No fucking way."

"Fuhuhuhuck youhOUHOUHOUUU!" Peter pinched their hips and laughed at the pitch change in his friend's voice.

"Are you trying to make me tickle you more?" It had been an innocent question, but Y/N felt their heart jump into their throat, their eyes widening. It was then that Peter finally connected the dots. "Waaaaiiiiit. Wait. Hold on. You totally are."

Y/N was too giggly to feel upset, so they resorted to hiding their face in their hand and whined. He knew Y/N was starting to get embarrassed, and paused his hands, reaching up to carefully move Y/N's hand. "Bug."

Y/N bit their lip and kept their eyes glued to the back of the couch. "Buuuuug."

"Y-Yehehes...?" They were still giggling, but they sounded discouraged.

"Do you like this? I'm not being too mean, am I? Like... are you really having fun?"

The way Peter was asking the questions surprised Y/N, and with the little bit of bravery they had, they looked up at him. He looked worried... concerned... "Bugs?"

"I-I..." Y/N took a slow, deep breath, before resorting to nodding. "Y-You don't think it's weird that I... don't hate this whole situation...?"

"Is it weird if I said I'm having fun tickling you?" Peter questioned, unable to keep from smiling when he saw Y/N grow shy again and silently shake their head. "Bugaboo, I love seeing you laugh. I can't get enough of it. Especially since I never really got to before... at least not, you know, like this. I still can't believe I didn't know my best friend was ticklish."

"I went o-out of my way to make s-sure you wouldn't find out."

"You do realize that means I've got years worth of tickling to catch up on," Peter stated with a smirk.

"Whahahat!? H-Hehey! Peheheheter! PEHEHEHETER!" Y/N was squealing as Peter gently clawed their belly.

"Oh yeah~ You've got a free trip to giggleville~"

"NohoHOHOT THEHEHE VOHOHOIIICE! PEHEHEHETERRRR!"

It was a good five minutes before Y/N finally grabbed Peter's wrist with their free hand. "OKAHAHAY! OHOKAYYY! Nohoho mohohore! IhIhI'm gohonna dieeeeee!"

Peter chuckled, moving his hands away before freeing Y/N's wrist from the webbing. He sat there and admired them for several seconds, seeing how their expression was glowing and they were still smiling brightly, tears of mirth at the corner of their eyes.

"Thahat experiment was definitely a success." He held out his hands and Y/N grabbed hold of them. When he pulled them up to sit, he hadn't initially realized how close their faces were.

His heart beat a little faster, and he looked at his friend, who was still giggling. As he continued to laugh, his nose bumped against theirs a few times, their hands still gripping his. They looked up at him, face still warm, especially at how close they were.

"Youhou ruined thehehe sehettee wihihith the weheb..."

"IhIt wahasn't thahat ehexpensive!" The exchange only served to make the two laugh harder. When their laughter had finally died down, Peter smiled, before standing up.

"Whehere are youhou going?"

"To fill out my lab report." He declared.

"Youhour whahahat!?"

"Dihid you really think I wasn't going to write a report on how ticklish you are?"

"PEHETER!"

Peter yelped as Y/N jumped up and chased him around the lab, the two of them giggling uncontrollably all the while. Yeah, Y/N could definitely get used to the happy, fun-loving Peter Parker. On the other hand, Peter could get used to making more time to be that Peter Parker, and he could definitely get used to spending more time with Y/N.

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SHAHAHAHHASNJDK The gif lives in my head rent free. Again major thanks to the anon who gif'd it and a huge thank you to the awesome folks who beta read this fic! (Your feedback was super encouraging)!

Of all the fics I have written so far, this one absolutely flustered me the most. That finger wiggle makes me want to scream 😖🏃🏽‍♀️

After his multiverse adventure, he swore to make more time to be Peter Parker, and he intended on spending said time doing things he loves, and being unafraid

I definitely feel like the support he received from his Spider-bros and the closure that saving Peter 1's MJ gave him after years of being haunted by his failure to save Gwen would empower him to embrace more love, and fun, and joy, however it came about

And thus, we arrive at his favorite way to have fun after he meets you

If Peter finds out that 1. You're ticklish, and 2. You like being tickled, you are done for. That's it. That's the post

Peter is the living embodiment of the tickle monster and he is not afraid to remind you of that fact every day

This man loves your laugh and he will make sure he hears it as often as possible; he can't bear to ever see you unhappy

Meeting you brightened his whole world and he tells you as much

Whenever he's about to tickle you, he gets this mischievous little look on his face. The smirk, the eyebrow, the way he glances at you. If you see that look on his face, you're in trouble

He knows you notice and that you know what he's about to do. His favorite thing to do after you notice the look on his face is teasingly wiggle his fingers in the air while joking about you having the same tingle thing he does but, only exclusively for when you're about to get tickled (*screaming*)

If you just stand there nervous giggling with anticipation, he'll slowly take steps toward you, his smirk growing wider as you giggle harder and step away. Once he's got you cornered, he'll just place his hands on your waist or your hips and you shriek and laugh before he even actually starts tickling you

"I haven't even done anything!"

"Buhuhut youhouhouhou're gohohonna!!!"

"Oh? How'd you know!? Did you get the tingle again?"

"IhIhI dohohon't haHAHAVE thehehe tihihingle thihihiiiing!"

"Yehet you always know when you're about to get tickled, bug. You definitely have a tickle tingle."

"Staaaaahp!"

If you run, he will effortlessly chase you down (he's most definitely faster than you. He's Spider-Man, of course he'll catch you). Often though, he'll let you get away a couple times before he decides enough is enough and he catches you

He'll crawl on the walls and ceiling to get the drop on you, and then catch you with a triumphant "GOTCHA!" while you scream-laugh from being startled

The spider crawl- He will spider crawl toward you before tickling the daylights outta you and you screech every single time

Definitely slings you over his shoulder and tickles the backs of your legs

He is a sucker for hide and seek. He will absolutely be game to hunt you down and tickle you

Peter definitely does the playful sing-song taunting during hide and seek

"Come out come out wherever you are~"

"I'm gonna find you~"

"You can't hide from the tickle monster, giggle-bug~"

Yes, he calls you his giggle-bug (cute. CUTE.)

Totally does the thing where he pretends to leave the room, but when you come out of your hiding spot he jumps down from the ceiling (You fall for it every time)

Which of course results in more scream-laughing from you before you're trapped in his arms and tickled to pieces

He'll pin you with his webs if you're alright with it (if you aren't, he'll just scoop you up comfortably in his arms to tickle you silly. He never wants you to feel uncomfortable)

If you are okay with it, his favorite way to do so is pinning your wrists ever so slightly over the arm of the couch so your arms are bent and open at an angle (EVIL) cause then he can see your giggling face while he gets all your worst spots

Or he'll catch your wrists and web them together behind your back before sitting or laying you down somewhere and tickling you

He will totally web your ankles together and tickle you while you grip his shoulders or lightly pound on his back and he just looks back at you with the cutest smile

Or he'll expertly web your wrists together behind his back (absolute jerk) while you have your arms wrapped around his middle and you'll be trapped as he tickles your sides and back and you're just stuck there laughing into his shirt

Will also 100% web your wrists to whatever chair you're sitting in and stand behind you while resting his chin on your shoulder and attacking your hips

He'll joke about you needing a "tickle break" from whatever you're occupied with

"PeheHEHEHETEHEHEHERRR! IhIhIhIhIhI wahahahahas reheheheheadihiiiing!"

"You've been reading for an hour. Time for a tickle break."

If him teasingly wiggling his fingers in the air is enough to make you squeak, you are doomed

It's his favorite thing to do. He will find a way to sneakily do it if you two are around other people and grin when you stumble over your words or squirm

You know the whole "I'm gonna getcha~" thing? Yeah. He does that (rude)

If you're a shy lee (like meeee), prepared to be flustered every single second

Don't worry if you can't say the t-word though, Peter will say it plenty for both of you (he'll never make you say it though. This absolute sweetheart doesn't want you to feel embarrassed. Flustered, however... He'll fluster you to high heaven)

Peter is so. invested. in. making. you. laugh

I'm talking putting on different voices and reaaaallly getting into the tickle monster character. He'll do this wickedly good evil laugh and it makes you screech and lowkey terrifies you

Like you'll be hiding or running during the adorable hide and seek and chase games you get into and you'll hear the evil laugh of your tickle monster boyfriend and your hands always shoot up to cover your mouth because you cannot stop the squeaks and nervous giggles

When he catches you, as he's carrying you off to wherever so he can tickle the absolute hell outta you, he'll declare that you're trapped and do the laugh and grin when you scream-giggle and hide your face and kick your legs

On occasion, Peter totally cutesy-talks you. HE CUTESY TALKS YOU (this is self indulgent af I just want that cute soft shit in my life T-T) He's so playful

When he gets all cute with you, his voice gets even softer and sweeter and he just (ahsjsksdjd) he loves you and you're adorable and he adores you

"You're just the cutest human I've ever known in my life! Yes you aaare~!!!"

"Who's my precious giggle-bug? You're my precious giggle-bug~!"

"Aww~ Look at that smile!"

*cue your face absolutely burning as you continue to giggle uncontrollably*

You know the "somebody's been a bad lizard" voice? Yeah. He does that too. All the fucking time. It's DEADLY and he knows it flusters you BADLY

Like envision him talking about how you've been captured by the "big bad tickle monster" in that voice (I'm gonna go scream)

"Uh oh~ Did you really think you could get away from the tickle monster, giggle-bug?"

*cue you shrieking and giggling and insisting he stops doing the voice, which of course you know damn well he won't and you don't want him to*

"Is someone getting flustered~? Too bad!"

I highkey feel like he'd end up getting a unique tingle in regards to your lee moods (it's this different kinda tingle that gets him feeling warm and fuzzy) , so he knows when you want tickles, but sometimes he will straight up ask you if you want tickles and you absolutely MALFUNCTION

"Peter! W-What... where did that come from!?"

"I know when you're in those adorable lee moods, bug."

"If you know, then why ask the question!? Youhou have the tihingle thing!"

"Well, do you want tickles?"

*cue you letting out a squeak before hiding your mouth behind your hands and nodding sheepishly*

Him saying "tickle" in any context is enough to make you squeak, and he'll start giggling (full on giggling) about how cute your reaction is

"I was totally tickled by that guy tripping in the coffee shop today."

*cue you squeaking and coughing to cover it up*

*and then another person asking if you're alright*

"I-I'm f-fine! Just... Just choked o-on my d-drink. I'm good. P-Promise!"

*your adorable little shit of a boyfriend will gently pat your back and you see that he's expertly covering his smile with his hand as his shoulders shake with a giggle*

Peter teasingly singing the word "tickle" is DEADLY. It'll deadass make it tickle a good fifteen times more

"NONONONONONOHOHOHO D-DOHON'T SIHIHIHIHIHING IHIHIIIT OHOHMYHYGOD!"

"Why not, bug? It's such a fun word~"

*cue him singing it again which makes you screech and giggle uncontrollably as you feel the butterflies in your stomach get worse*

He loves the expressions you make when he tickles you

It doesn't matter if you think you look ridiculous, Peter is SMITTEN

Loves tickling you when you're cuddling

"H-Heheheyyy! Peheheheteheherrrr!"

"Looks like the cuddle monster's also the tickle monster."

Spooning? He'll tangle his legs with yours and claw at your belly while nuzzling your neck with his nose

Face to face? Playful back pokes that have you squeaking into his chest or shoulder

Right next to each other? He'll turn on his side and lean on his arm with this evil smirk and just teasingly wiggle his fingers right above your belly

His heart completely melts when you just tuck your hands into your chest and giggle, not even attempting to move away or stop the tickling

Your trust in him means everything. He cherishes your trust with every fiber of his being

Fully expect raspberries and ticklish nuzzles if he's resting his head on your tummy with his arms wrapped around your waist.

Ticklish tummy kisses. TICKLISH TUMMY KISSES

His stubble tickles. Badly. It drives you nuts when he nuzzles or kisses your belly because of that mf stubble

Same goes for neck and shoulder nuzzles and kisses. Same deal

"PffHAA! Nahahahat thehehe nuhuzzles! NohoHOOOO!"

"What? Is my stubble tickling you?"

"Youhou ahahahalreheheady knohohohow ihihihit ihihiiiiiis!"

"I had no idea!"

Will repeatedly tell you that your belly's the cutest belly ever

"IhIhIt's naHAHAHAT CUHUHUHUTE!"

"Oh yes it is, bug. You're not winning this argument."

"N-Nohohooo! Nohoho rahahaspbeherries- noho rahahAHAHASPBEHEHERRIEHEES!"

*cue you absolutely melting from how ticklish it feels while Peter just grins and nuzzles you lovingly*

Peter will make you admit you're adorable

He will also repeatedly tell you he LOVES you whenever he tickles you

"I love you, bug!"

"IhIhI lohohove youhou toohOOHOOHOO! PEHEHEHEHEHETEHEHEHER!"

"I love you I love you I love you~!!!"

Peter's so effing affectionate with you. He adores you

Whenever he's tickling you to pieces he just gazes at you with those lovesick puppy eyes and- ahshsjdjfk

After he's tickled the daylights outta you, prepare for an all expenses paid round trip to cuddle town (with the bonus of cheek and forehead kisses, and nose nuzzles. And lots more "I love you's"

I feel like he'd get so worried the first time he saw you cry of laughter when he tickled you

Like full stop before he panics while wiping the tears from your face and apologizing and asking if you're okay

And you're just reaching for his hands with hiccupy giggles still coming out of your mouth as you assure him you're absolutely okay

"Peheheter... IhIhI'm ohokahahay..."

"You know my heart breaks when you cry. I... I got worried. I didn't know if you'd gotten hurt... o-or if I was overdoing it... I... Are you really okay?"

*cue you cupping his face in your hands and doting on your sweetheart boyfriend while promising him that you are perfectly fine*

Peter can't help it when he begins crying himself, which makes you panic

"Peheter...? O-Oh no. Oh no! Peter!"

"It scared me... Seeing you cry..."

"C'mere, lovebug. I'm okay, I promise. They're happy tears. I promise. You make me so happy, you know that? So so happy."

He got so frightened. After you had reassured him, he snuggled you for a good twenty minutes, lightly tracing your skin with his fingers and drawing out soft giggles from your lips (also yes you call him lovebug endearingly)

You gave him lots of affection and thanked him for being so attentive and sweet

Eventually he was completely reassured one hundred percent, and you had stated that you'd much rather have happy tears from something fun and cute than be crying of sadness

After that, whenever you laugh so hard from being tickled that tears start streaming down your face, Peter doesn't panic, but he still goes full "I'm doting on you" mode

Like gently cups your face in his hands and nuzzles your nose and peppers kisses all over while his voice gets a little softer (I neeeeed)

"Aww, giggle-bug! Are you okay?"

*you just nod or go "mhm" or "uh-huh" while you're still giggling like mad*

"Do you wanna stop? Can I get you water? Lemme snuggle you. C'mere."

You two established signals for when you actually wanted to stop, since you bashfully admitted that saying stop was a reflex when it came to tickles and you never meant it when you said it (would be me)

You've got a word for full stop and one for a break. Once they're said, Peter scoops you up and dotes on you non.stop. Prepare to be pampered all day this man does not play around when it comes to caring for you

Post-tickle monster Peter is the SWEETEST with making sure you're alright after laughing for so long

If you get sore from laughing so hard, expect a hot water bottle or tummy rubs

He'll get you water and a snack and he'll hold you until you've got your energy again

Post (very one-sided) tickle fight naps are the best. Peter's the best snuggler

You two have deadass just conked out on the rug before. Peter pulled you to lay on his chest and webbed over a blanket and pillow and you two just snoozed on the floor

When you're sad, Peter pulls you into his arms and just loves on you. Forehead kisses, cheek kisses, back rubs, cradling the back of your head and holding you to his chest

And if you're okay with it, he gives the lightest and most gentle tickles ever, his voice soft and whispery as he sweetly asks if he can tickle whichever spot his hand moves to

"How about your belly, giggle-bug? You okay with some tickles on your belly? Hm?"

"Can I give you some rib tickles?"

"Are you alright if I give those ticklish hips a little squeeze?"

He'll utter the sweetest and most loving affirmations as you're quietly giggling in his arms

"That's my giggle-bug. I'm gonna take your mind off the blues for a little while."

"Aww, that laugh always melts my heart~"

"You're my whole world, bug. I'm gonna keep you safe."

"I love you~ I'm always so proud of you, you know that?"

"I'm so lucky I've got you in my life."

This sweetheart just wants you to be happy and giggly and safe all the time

Being Spider-Man is a stressful gig and it means the world to him that he can come home to you and be playful and soft and forget about the danger and sadness for a while. You bring him a lot of much needed joy and he promised to always bring you joy (I'm just so soft rn my hearrrt)

It doesn't matter how old you two get, Peter is wholeheartedly dedicated to making you laugh and keeping you happy and he will forever be your personal tickle monster

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry slumped back in his office chair with an exasperated huff, slightly sinking down in the cushioned seat, arms lying limp on the armrests. He wasn't sure exhaustion was intense enough a word for the burnout he was feeling. That day had marked the end of his first week back as the CEO of Oscorp after Donald Menken's shady dealings had been exposed, leading to his termination, and his first week of life after being cured of his retroviral hyperplasia. Everything had happened so fast, and he'd had no time to process any of it.

His head jolted up when he heard the echo of Felicia's footsteps out in the hallway, and when she walked in, he noticed she was holding a coffee. She'd been a strong support system for Harry since he'd first taken up the role of CEO, and was on his side during the point in time where Menken framed him for Max Dillon's accident. After he was cured, after he returned to the company, Felicia had been there to warmly welcome him back.

"I figured you could use a little caffeine to get through the rest of the work day," she stated, walking over and carefully setting it on his desk. "I've also scheduled your three meetings for this coming week and sent the information to your calendar."

Harry graciously accepted the coffee, and despite his fatigue, he gave a smile. "Felicia, you are an absolute Godsend. Thank you."

"I'm just doing my job, Harry." Felicia was a modest soul when it came to her work, though it was hard to miss her smile at Harry's words.

"No, I mean it. Your support since the start has been insurmountable, and I can't thank you enough."

With a quick nod of acknowledgement, Felicia bid him farewell before making the trek back to her own office space. Harry propped himself up on his elbow, carefully gripping the coffee cup in his hand, finding that the scent alone had him feeling the slightest bit more awake. When he took a sip, the hot drink drowned his tastebuds in the comforting bittersweet flavor.

The sudden buzz of his phone's text notification startled him, and resulted in him nearly spilling his coffee all over his desk. After composing himself, he cautiously set down the cup and glanced at the screen. When he read the names, he felt a pit in his stomach. Both Peter, and Y/N, had texted him. It wasn't the first time they'd attempted to contact their estranged friend. They'd tried calling, but each time they did, they could only get Harry's voicemail.

Harry could still remember waking up on the floor of the Special Projects wing, with Peter and Y/N looking down at him, both of them worried out of their minds.

Gwen stood a few feet away, holding a vial of blue liquid, with a syringe in her other hand. The syringe gun, that Harry had intended to use for the venom injection lay on the floor, broken, its contents spilled on the linoleum along with shattered pieces of glass. It took several minutes for his mind to register what Peter was trying to tell him.

"We figured out a cure, Harry. You're gonna be okay. I promise. You're not dying anymore. It's gone... I promise you, it's gone..."

Felicia had leaked Donald Menken and Alexander Smythe's illegal antics, clearing Harry's name and restoring him as Oscorp's CEO. Harry's actions of breaking out Electro had been seen as a misguided attempt to correct Donald and Alexander's wrongs, as they'd been experimenting on Max Dillon at Ravencroft, after all, so he faced no consequences.

He spent every day of the past week trying to understand it, trying to get his mind to register it, but all of his attempts were in vain. There was a growing feeling of guilt forming in his stomach and chest with each passing day... Everything continued to replay in his head...

In the midst of everything that happened the very day he was cured, he found out that Peter was Spider-Man. Harry wanted to be angry. He felt that he should have been angry. But, Gwen sat down with the initially enraged Harry, and explained what would have happened to him, had he been given the blood transfusion, or had he been successful in his attempt to be injected with the spider venom, at his request, in horrifying, and sickening detail. He watched the holographic simulations in absolute horror, his entire body washing over with goosebumps as he realized what he would have become. At a certain point, Harry had begun to cry, and had to turn away, pleading for the simulation to be shut off.

After they'd helped Harry calm down, Peter apologized with sincerity, for not explaining or elaborating more on why he couldn't give Harry his blood, as not even he knew exactly what it could have done at that point in time. Y/N also apologized, for growing distant, and for having to keep Peter's secret from Harry for so long. What they weren't expecting, was for Harry to apologize to all of them. Y/N didn't understand why he had any reason to be sorry. He was backed into a corner, with no options, and all he wanted was to live. They didn't, nor would they ever, hold something like that against him.

In spite of Peter and Y/N's attempts to assure their friend that they held no ill will toward him, their words didn't hold a candle to Harry's own remorse. Felicia had tried encouraging Harry to respond, to invite them to the tower for the day, but Harry was quick to politely shoot down the suggestions in any way he could. As much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, the vile words of his late father, and of Donald Menken, were etched into his brain, and would not leave him alone.

"You have such potential, Harry. Such fierce intelligence, and you're throwing it all away..."

It was still hard for Harry to believe he could make something of himself... It was still hard for him to believe he could restore some form of glory and good reputation to Oscorp again... It was still hard for him to believe that he wouldn't die in his sleep one night...

"You're going to die a horrible death. Like your father. The difference is, no one is going to miss you..."

No one is going to miss you... Seven words that Harry was beginning to believe after all...

The following week seemed to fly by in a disorienting blur. Harry was moving like a robot with no conscience, his body on autopilot. His eyes were dull, and tired, his voice was quiet, and almost strained... Felicia could see that the more time passed, the worse Harry was becoming. It was seeing Harry, asleep at his desk with tear-stained eyes, hair disheveled and office a mess, that solidified her next course of action. Although she knew Harry might be upset by it, she reached out to Peter and Y/N, pleading with them to visit despite Harry's prior protests.

***

Peter stood outside of the entrance to the Oscorp Tower, waiting for Y/N to arrive so the two could make their way inside. It was cold, and he could see his breath enter the air from his lips. His jacket and beanie did little to stave off the frigid, end-of-winter weather. Y/N walked at a rapid pace, body tense as they maneuvered through the crowds of people walking in the opposite direction. They weaved through them in a non-linear path, picking up the speed at which they walked when they saw Peter's eyes meet their own gaze.

"You got the call from Felicia too?"

Peter nodded, his nose growing red from waiting outside. "Yeah... I get the feeling she didn't tell Harry that we're here..."

"Considering he hasn't been answering our texts or calls, I'm certain she didn't tell him..." Y/N felt their heart sinking as they thought about their friend. "I'm... I'm really worried, about Harry, Peter... He's been so distant..."

"I-It's... it's definitely not easy to... uh... see what he saw... to... to learn what might have happened to him had we not thought out a proper cure..."

The two lifted their heads when the doors opened, Felicia waving them inside and leading them toward the elevator. "I didn't tell him I called you two here. But, I... I didn't know what else to do. He's been crying himself to sleep at his desk, and I-I can tell he's getting nightmares... I..."

"We appreciate you reaching out to us, Felicia." Peter looked at her with gratefulness, and he could see the sadness in her eyes. He knew she was fond of Harry, and Harry was also fond of her. Outside of work, the two had become close friends. "Especially since we couldn't reach Harry when we tried contacting him."

"H-Has... has he said anything? About... you know..." Y/N saw Felicia's eyes water briefly before she cleared her throat.

"That... he doesn't deserve your friendships. He hasn't been able to get those simulation images out of his mind. Menken's words have really been messing with him... He doesn't believe in himself anymore..."

The rest of the elevator ride was hauntingly quiet. Harry's home was a penthouse at the very top floor. Felicia had managed to convince him to go up and change out of his work clothes. Unbeknownst to anyone, he'd cried the entire time he was showering and changing into his pajamas, fearful he'd see the symptoms of retroviral hyperplasia reappearing on his skin. He stared blankly at television, eyelids feeling heavy, not bothering to wipe his fresh tear stains. His body jumped at the sound of someone knocking, and, assuming it was only Felicia, he slowly pushed himself off of the couch, and walked over to the door.

Harry shakily turned the handle, and when he was suddenly greeted by not only Felicia, but Peter and Y/N as well, he couldn't stop his lip from quivering. "Harry... Please. We really need to see you..." Y/N's voice was soft, and genuine. The CEO had no energy to argue, and stumbled aside so they could make their way in.

"I'll give you three some time to talk." Felicia stated. "Harry, I'll be back first thing in the morning, alright?"

"Y-Yeah..." Harry nodded quickly, his voice quiet and tired. "Thank you, Felicia. For everything."

His assistant gave a small smile, before nodding to Peter and Y/N. She closed the door behind her, leaving the three friends in awkward silence. Peter was the first to speak. "Haz, we've... we've been worried sick about you..."

"Why?"

"Because, you're our friend. How can we not be worried about you?"

"Y-You... you really shouldn't be. I-I thought I was clear enough when I wasn't responding back..." Harry trudged over to the couch, slumping back with a huff. Peter and Y/N followed, sitting down on either side of him.

"Harry-"

"It eats away at me, you know? How close I was to hurting you guys... how close I was... to... to taking lives... Every time I look in the mirror, I see that monster... that creature from the holograph simulation... That would have been me if you went along with my idea... and I pushed for it... I-I... I pressured you for it, Peter... I accused Y/N of abandoning me... of betraying me..."

"Harry, you were dying... We weren't helpful or as supportive as you needed us to be... as we needed to be... You were backed into a corner and running out of options-"

"I called you a fraud, Peter... I wanted to kill you! Dohon't make the argument that I didn't know you were Spider-Man. It doesn't justify wanting to hurt you... Why are you here? Why do you keep calling to check in on me? Why are... why are you still worried about me...? You cured me... right? So why don't you forget about me...?"

Harry's voice was breaking, body trembling with held back sobs, but he couldn't suppress his pain any longer. Fresh tears rolled down his cheeks, and he lowered his head to his hands. "I-I'm... I'm so. tired. All the shit my dad said to me, all the shit Menken said to me, it's all trapped up here!" He pointed to his head before hiding in his hands again.

"H-Harry... honey..."

"They were right..."

"Stop it. Stop that right now, Har-"

"Wasted potential... no one will miss me... The life story of Harrison Xavier Osborn-"

"Harry!" Y/N scolded, their face softening when Harry looked up at them, his eyes glassy and watering.

He didn't say a word when Peter and Y/N moved closer, instead, he broke down even more, initially trying to shrug off his friends' attempts at consoling him; but the closer they got to him, the more he wanted their comfort... the more he needed their comfort... His arms slowly lifted to accept their embrace, and without hesitation, Peter and Y/N held their crying friend.

None of them were sure how long they spent in each others' arms, but eventually, Peter grabbed a large blanket, and the three huddled close together beneath it. The warmth and safety Harry felt, with two people he loved to the moon and back, right by his side, was indescribable. It was quiet, save for the faint noise on the eye-straining, too-bright television screen, when Harry spoke again.

"I... I really don't know... how I'm the least bit deserving, of you two being my friends..."

Both Y/N's and Peter's eyes moved to glance at their friend in utter disbelief, and Y/N used their sleeve to gently wipe away the stray tears that were still traversing down Harry's pale skin. "Harry. Not another negative word about yourself. You hear me? We're not about to let you continue believing that anything Norman or Menken said is truthful. Both of them, are full of shit."

"Y/N-"

"Har. Your dad was the one who wasted his potential. Not you. Y/N and I, Felicia, Gwen too... all of us, would miss you. All of us would be fucking devastated if something happened to you."

Harry shook his head, feeling the guilt in his stomach. "No... Stop that..."

"Harry." Peter's tone of voice sounded all too familiar to Harry, and automatically, his body stiffened. He hadn't heard that voice in years. "Keep up that self deprecation and see what happens."

"What does happen?"

"You don't know what happens- Ohohhh~! Did you go all this time without knowing that Harry's-"

Harry covered his friend's mouth with a frantic hiss. "Peter! S-Stop. talking!" Peter moved away from Harry's hand with ease.

"That sass is gonna earn you a one way ticket to tickleville in a minute, Har."

"PETE!"

Y/N's jaw had dropped, and they stared at the two for a few moments, witnessing as Harry's torso was pulled into Peter's arms, his arms crossed over his chest and wrists in the brunette's grasp. He'd tried to stand up from the couch, the blanket falling onto the floor, but Peter was not about to let him get away. "G-Get off!"

"Cat's outta the bag now! Harrison Xavier Osborn, is astronomically ticklish. I'm talking, 'poke his side lightly and he'll shriek' ticklish."

"Sh-Shut up!"

Butterflies began fluttering in Harry's stomach and chest, heart beating faster, which he could begin to feel in his ears.

"Harry! How could you! I've known you for ten years and you never tell me that you're ticklish!?" Y/N questioned with feigned offense, placing a hand over their heart. "You wound me!"

"H-How could I t-tell you!? Peter! L-Let me go!"

Peter had adjusted himself so that Harry was laying with his back pressed to his friend's chest, still holding taut to his arms. "Haz didn't even know what tickling was until I tickled him."

"WHAT!?"

Harry could feel his face growing hot, and he knew his blush would soon be very visible. He squirmed, half-heartedly attempting to free himself from Peter's grasp. A sudden fwip! made him jump, a small yelp leaving his lips. His icy blue eyes glanced down, and he realized that Peter had released his hold on his arms, having webbed them to stay crossed over his chest.

"P-Peter..."

"Someone is long overdue for some laughs, isn't he~?" Y/N's teasing tone had Harry biting back a giggle, though they could very much see how hard he was trying not to react.

"Looooooong overdue~ Aren't you, Haz~?"

"Th-Thihis isn't fair!"

"Was that a little giggle I just heard~?" Y/N cooed, feeling their heart melt over Harry's blush. Harry's legs stiffened when Y/N moved them across their lap. "Wohoah! We haven't even done anything yet~!"

"B-But... buhut y-you're... you're gonna..." Harry stammered, another giggle slipping out.

Peter chuckled, as Harry's reaction was all too familiar to him. "You're damn right we're gonna~ Ohoh! There's the full on nervous giggles~!

"Sh-Shuhuhuhut uhuhup!" Harry squeaked, eyes widening when Y/N placed their hands on the couch space on either side of his hips.

"Alright, Y/N! I hope you're ready for 'Tickling Harry Osborn 101.' Lesson one, take note of how little he hesitates to sass or insult you." Peter smirked over Harry's expression. "Lesson two..."

Y/N was a bit startled by the sudden sound of Harry squealing loudly and kicking his legs, which they quickly wrapped their arms around to keep from kicking them in the face. Peter hadn't even actually tickled the squirming CEO. He'd simply wiggled his fingers close to his side, but Harry had felt it.

"Lehesson two isss...?"

"That Har is air ticklish as fuck."

"Stahahap teheheheaching thehemmm!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you not want to be tickled to bits by your best friends~?" Peter challenged with a raised eyebrow. Harry's timid silence made him smirk triumphantly. "That's what I thought~ Well? Care to join me, Y/N?"

Harry let out a giggly whimper upon seeing Y/N nod eagerly, and shrieked when they teasingly wiggled their fingers. "Which spot do I get first~?"

"Any. Lehesson three? He's ticklish everywhere!"

"P-Peter! Youhou absolutely suHUHUHUCK- HEHEHEY! HEYYYEHEHEHEEE!" Harry's insult was swiftly interrupted when Peter's hand slipped under Harry's shirt and two of his fingers fluttered over his bare side. "PEHEHEHETE!"

Harry's laughter was melodic, and pure giggles that spiked in volume and pitch depending on where he was being tickled. Y/N let out a giggle of their own, before they hovered their wiggling fingers over Harry's belly. "We're gonna make sure you believe us when we say you deserve our friendship, honey~"

"B-By t-t... ti... ugh! Whyhyhyhyhyy?"

"You can't say the word!? Harry! Oh my God! You're so fucking cute!"

"S-Stahahap! IhIhI'm nahat cuhUHUHUHUTE! Y/NNNNN! EHEEE- PEHEHEHETERRRR! *hic* Stahahay ahahahawahahay frohohom myhyhy eheheheARSAHAHAHAA!" Not only had Y/N begun gently and rapidly clawing at the ticklish skin on Harry's belly, but Peter, who'd not shaved his stubble, was leaning down by Harry's ear, which tickled unbearably badly.

Y/N grinned, immediately noticing that Harry had not even tried to free his arms. "Aww~ Are your ears too ticklish, honey~?" Harry could only let out a giggly whine and squirm.

"Shuhuhuuuush! Lehehehehet mehehe gohohohoooo!"

"You know damn well that you're stuck like this until you tell us you deserve our friendships, that you're always good enough, and that your potential is not wasted." Peter listed off the demands and poked Harry's sides while doing so.

"Gehehehet behehehent, Pehehehete!"

"Oh you're getting it now, Haz." Harry's breath hitched loudly when Y/N's hands immediately moved to rest on his hips. "Y/N! Y-Y/N! D-Dohohohon't! Dohohon't youhou dahAHAHAREHEHEEE!"

His nose scrunched up, the corners of his eyes crinkling with mirth and stomach swarming with butterflies. He could feel the sensations travel from his hips, up the lengths of his sides, and the sensations made him giggle even harder, hiccuping each time he inhaled for air.

"Aww~ Does it tickle too much~? You know how to make this stop, Har~" Peter's voice was soft and cute, the teasing tone of voice making Harry squeak repeatedly.

"IhIs someone weak to cutesy talk~?" Y/N cooed, fingers trailing along the ticklish skin across Harry's waistline. Harry's eyes briefly met theirs, before he closed them tight and squealed. His ears, cheeks, and nose were bright red, blatantly giving away just how flustered he'd become.

Peter began spidering his fingers over Harry's sides, and Harry screeched loudly, before dissolving into higher pitched giggling. His legs kicked out wildly, but the moment Y/N caught them, he froze. "Y-Y/N... nohohoho... Nohoho noho NOHOHOHOHO! STAHAHAAAAP!"

"Peheter! You weren't kidding! He's ticklish everywhere!" They'd meticulously squeezed and prodded at both of his knees, laughing loudly when he shrieked and tried to bend his knees out of sheer reflex.

After another minute, Peter held up his hand for both of them to pause the tickling, allowing Harry to properly catch his breath. He grew even more flustered when Peter leaned close to him, faces upside-down in each other's vision. "Had enough~?"

"F-Fuhuck off."

"Clearly he hasn't. You know how to make this stop, honeybun~"

"H-HOHONEYBUN!? WAHAHAHAIT! Nonono, Pehehete, PEHETE! Nohohot myhyhy neheheheck, noho- NOHOHOOOO! PLEHEHEHEHEAAASEEHEEEEE!"

"Say it, Harry~"

"FUHUHUHUCK YOUHOU GUHUHUYYYS!"

Y/N raised an eyebrow, and glanced up at Peter, who pointed at Harry's legs. They were quick to get the message, and with quick succession, they wrapped their arm around his ankles. "W-Woah, woah... H-Hehey... n-nohoho. Noho! Y/N! DOHOHON'T DOHOHO IHIHIHIT!"

"Last chance, Harry~ Tell us what we want to hear~"

Harry looked up at Peter, and then at Y/N, and timidly shook his head. "I-I can't..."

Without hesitation, Peter leaned down and began blowing raspberries right on Harry's neck, fingers fluttering over and squeezing his sides. Y/N's fingers were spidering over his socks, and the combined sensations made Harry scream, his giggles growing almost silent, save for the occasional gasp and hiccup. The tears of mirth were quick to stream down his cheeks, replacing the tears of pain and shame from earlier.

"PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEAAAASEEHEHEEEEE! *hic* IHIHIHI CAHAHAHAN'T TAHAHAKE AHAHAHANYMOHOHORRRRE!" He cried, body too weak to try and squirm away.

"Are you gonna say what we want to hear?"

"YEHEHESSS! YEHEHES! *hic* IHIHI WIHIHIHILL! PROHOHOMIHIHISEEHEHEHE!"

Peter and Y/N relented, their impatient expressions enough to make Harry squeak again. "IhI... I... deheheheseherve... youhour... youhour friendshihihips..."

"Aaaaannnnd~?"

"IhI'm... ahalways... gohood enough..."

"What else, honey~?"

"Myhy... my pohotential... ihihis not... ihis nohot wahasted..."

Peter discarded the webs with ease, and Y/N released Harry's ankles, but the two didn't let go of him, instead, they moved closer, and embraced him, tightly, comfortably, protectively. "Please don't shut us out anymore, Harry..."

Harry was still catching his breath, but after a few seconds, he clung to his friends, and closed his eyes, more tears of joy streaming down his cheeks. Peter and Y/N stayed with him that night, the three of them curled up underneath the blanket. That was the first night of peaceful sleep Harry had gotten in years. It was going to take time for him to be able to shut down the horrid opinions he had of himself thanks to his father, thanks to Menken, but he wouldn't ever shut his friends out again. He made that a promise to himself...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FIRST HARRY OSBORN ONESHOT POSTED TO THE BLOG!!!! WOOOOO!!! 🥳🥳🥳 I love him so much 🥺 Stay tuned for even more Harry content on this blog 👉🏾👈🏾 /gen /p

Until next time~!

Y/N stirred in their sleep, a small groan leaving their lips as their legs curled closer to their body. The faint noise of their own name reached their ears, but they didn't wake up just yet. A soft sigh was emitted by their boyfriend, who then sat back and chuckled, his mind alight with an idea. Ever so slowly, Peter moved closer, the bed sinking down a bit more beside his sleeping significant other.

"Wake up, buuug~" He sang softly, hovering his hand mischievously over their torso. When they remained as deep in slumber as they already were, Peter began lightly poking at their belly, grinning over Y/N's lips curling into a sleepy smile in an instant. He continued poking them, and soon enough, they were giggling, eyes still closed. "Buuuuuug."

Still no response aside from the sleepy giggles.

"Alright. Guess we're going all in with the wake up tickles."

He leaned over them and began to spider his fingers up both of their sides. Y/N's eyes fluttered open with a squeal. "WAHAHAAA! Peheheheheterrrr! Whahahat thehehehe hehehellll!?"

"Wakey wakey~!" Peter was beaming as his partner looked up at him, the corners of their eyes wrinkled with mirth. He was completely and utterly in love; and the meanest tickler ever. "This is a wake up message from your tickle monster alarm clock!"

"Wehehell IhIhI'm prehehehessing thehehe snoohooze buhuhUHUTTONNNNNN! PEHEHEHETER PAHAHARKERRRRRRR!"

The early morning rays of the sun were rather fitting in such a giggle-filled moment. All of the little dust particles seemed to be dancing in the warm beams. Y/N shrieked when Peter massaged circles into their hips with his thumbs. "Uh oh~ The tickle monster alarm clock doesn't have a snooze button~"

"DohoHON'T dohoho the vohohoiiiice! Noho!" It never failed to give Y/N butterflies when Peter spoke cutely with pouty lips. They were making no attempt to stop their boyfriend's playful ambush, however.

"Oh I'm gonna do the voice~"

With a chuckle, Peter leaned down and pressed kisses on his laughing partner's face and ears, both of which were warm with heat from his playful teasing and affection. Y/N just seemed to glow whenever they laughed, and he was absolutely captivated by it. They hid their face in his shirt as they grew more flustered, too timid to look at him.

"Aww~ Is the voice making you shy~? Good. Youhou're just so cute~!"

"Quihihit pehehehesteheherihihing meheheee!"

"Nuh-uh. Nope. Sorry. I love you. I gotta pester you with my love~"

"Stahahap dohohoing the vohohoiiiice!"

"If you don't want me to do the voice, then you gotta. get. up!" He emphasized each word with pokes to his partner's ribs, amused by how they jolted and squeaked in time with his tickling.

"Whyhyhyhyyyy!?"

"Because..." Peter stopped the tickling and leaned closer with a warm smile. "It's wash day!"

Y/N would be lying if they said their heart wasn't fluttering like mad at Peter's declaration. He was right. It was indeed the day of the week they designated as wash day for their natural hair. Their giggles subsided as their boyfriend relented, and they grinned, reaching up with their hands and guiding his face down to theirs, nuzzling their nose with his.

"You always remember wash day~"

"I'm always gonna remember. You're my whole world, Y/N. I'm crazy about you."

"Peter Benjamin Parker, you are an absolute angel, you know that? I love you." Y/N hummed, letting out a giggle when Peter carefully fixed their bonnet, which had become slightly askew from squirming with laughter. They gave him a quick peck on the lips, moving to get out of bed, when they were suddenly scooped up into Peter's arms with a shriek.

"I gotcha, bug~ Where to first?"

After Y/N had wrapped their arms around his shoulders, they looked up at him curiously. "You wanna make breakfast together?"

"Oh my God, of course I do! Yes! Breakfast! Let's." Even the most mundane tasks had Peter so excited when he got to do them with Y/N. With a giggle, Y/N kissed his cheek.

"Ahalright, spider-boo~"

That nickname caused Peter's cheeks, ears, and nose to be dusted over with a blush. He laughed timidly as he carried them into the apartment's kitchen. Making breakfast went smoothly, save for the occasional distracting kisses and dance break when "F/S" started playing on the radio.

Y/N shrieked with laughter as Peter's hands playfully pinched their hips, turning around and letting out a scream when they were suddenly dipped, his arms secure around their waist and shoulder blades. As dorky as their Peter Parker could be, damn, was he ever suave sometimes.

"Hey, good looking~"

"Hihi, honey-bun." His significant other hummed when his lips met theirs in a sweet kiss before he nuzzled his nose on their neck. "Hmph- Peheheter, PEHEHEHETER!"

"Whaaaat?" Peter whined with feigned confusion. "Whyhy are you laughing? Hm? And why is that laugh so effing cute?"

"Youhouhou knohow dahamn wehell ihit's youhour stuhUHUHUBBLE!!!"

Peter did know damn well. He was grinning from ear to ear. With one final kiss to their lips, he lifted them back up so the two could finally have breakfast. The two sat close to one another, Y/N's legs resting sideways across Peter's lap. The sounds of the ever-busy city echoed in the streets below and traveled up to the slightly ajar kitchen window.

"Have you, uh, picked a protective style...? F-For your hair I mean? Like how you did cornrows last week?"

"Mhm," Y/N answered with a warm smile, taking a bite of their food. "You remember the two strand twists?"

Peter's eyes were bright with adoration as he thought back to his partner rocking that hairstyle a month earlier. "Yeah! I do. You looked incredible. N-Not that you don't right now! You always look incredible, bug." That adorable shyness of his made Y/N want to shower his face with kisses.

"Thahank you, Peter." They giggled as they reached up and placed a hand on the side of his face affectionately. "My handsome man~"

"B-Bug..." There was that cute blush of his again. He glanced away, unable to handle how lovingly his partner was looking at him. "Stohop that. No. You- You can't just look at me like that..."

"Youhou fluster me all the time! It's only fair I fluster you back~!"

"Dohon't make me tickle you to the floor," Peter warned, his fingers brushing over the skin on their thigh, right above their knee. Had his hand not been there, Y/N most definitely would have slammed their leg up against the table out of sheer reflex. They'd let out a loud squeak, pointing at him with a warning of their own.

"Youhou wouldn't."

"Oh yes I would, giggle-bug~ You know I would~" He slowly wiggled his fingers right at their sides with a smirk, but as Y/N squeaked and braced for the return of their personal tickle monster, a loud crash, followed by a scream, could be heard from several blocks away.

Both of their smiles dropped, and they looked at each other, before glancing to the window. The city needed Spider-Man in that moment. Peter turned back, his expression apologetic. Y/N wasn't about to hear him talk negatively about himself and quickly interrupted. He had opened his lips to speak, but Y/N placed a finger to them to shush the self criticism they knew he was about to utter. "No apologies, Peter. You understand? None. The city needs you."

"I promise, I'll be back by the time you're deep conditioning." Peter was pulled into a loving kiss, after which, he rested his forehead against theirs.

"I'll be right here, okay, spider-boo?"

"Yeah. I'll see you real soon. I love you."

"I love you too."

***

Just as Peter promised, he was indeed back by the time Y/N was deep conditioning their hair. He leaned on the bathroom doorframe, lovestruck with a soft simper on his lips. "Hi~ Your, uh, your spider-boo is home~"

Y/N turned around, beaming proudly at their boyfriend, while silently thanking the universe for bringing their Spider-Man home safely again. They beckoned him over, and without hesitation, he was in their arms, embracing them tightly. He couldn't help the way his eyes grew a bit glassy when Y/N tenderly placed their hands on the sides of his face, scanning his skin for any injuries.

"Are you alright?"

"Peachy," Peter answered with sincerity and a rapid nod of his head.

"You're not hurt?"

"Not one bit."

"Peter Benjamin Parker, if you're lying to me-"

"Baby-bug, I prohomise, I'm okay," Peter insisted with a chuckle. "I'm even better now that I'm back here with you."

He gently turned his partner around and walked them back to the mirror, resting his chin on their shoulder. Y/N felt the familiar sensation of Peter's fingers tracing over their sides, which made their breath hitch in their throat. "Peter."

"Yeah~?"

"Don't you dare."

"I'm only picking up where I left off," Peter argued softly, kissing their shoulder and laughing as he moved his hands up and began gently clawing at their ribs.

"GAHAAAAH! PEHEHEHETER PAHAHAHARKERRRRRR!" Y/N was screeching, legs growing weak from the way the tickling sensations crept from their ribs all the way to their spine.

Peter was chuckling to himself. "You know, while I was out there, I stopped a car thief. Not the first time either. This guy though, he put up quite the fight... Anyway, I uh, I'm getting sidetracked. The entire time I was fighting him, I just kept thinking about how I couldn't wait to come back here and tickle the hell outta you."

Y/N could feel their ears growing near scorching hot from those words. This man. Every time he vocalized just how much he liked tickling them, or how much he wanted to tickle them, their face would ignite with warmth. Their ears always tingled and they could physically feel the blood rush in their cheeks.

"Does it really tickle that much, bugaboo?"

"YehEHEHEHESSS!" Y/N whined.

"Good. I love your laugh," Peter muttered, that pouty tone returning as he nuzzled their neck. When he heard the timer on Y/N's phone ring, he stopped his attack, allowing them to catch their breath before gave them a rather exaggerated smooch on the cheek and let them go. "Ahalright, I'll leave you be so you can rinse your hair. I'm gonna get out of this suit."

"Youhou better get your cute butt back here when you're changed."

"IhI will. My cute butt will be back here." He peered his head back through the door with the silliest little grin. "Your cute butt better still be in here so I can continue snuggling you."

"My cute butt will still be here."

Peter giggled, disappearing from the doorway as Y/N grabbed their designated hair drying t-shirt and held it with their legs while they turned on the cold water. The icy liquid hit their scalp and sent chills down their spine, skin dotted with goosebumps from the sensation. As soon as they'd rinsed the deep conditioner out, they carefully ran their hands over their head to draw out the excess water. When Peter returned, they were wrapping their hair in the t-shirt.

"My cute butt has returned."

"And my cute butt is happy you have." Y/N hummed and turned around, giving Peter a kiss and hugging him tightly, inhaling the comforting scent of his shirt. "I'm really glad you're okay, Peter."

"I'm not going anywhere, bug."

Once Y/N's hair was sufficiently dry, but not completely dry, they began to take out the products for styling their hair. Peter was as helpful as he could be in grabbing other items his partner needed, though it was a bit funny to see him take out the wrong container on occasion.

"This isn't twisting cream?"

"Noho," Y/N giggled. "Thahat's mahango butter."

"Ohoops. Sorry, baby-bug." Peter looked again, spotting the correct container and handing setting it on the bathroom counter.

"Thank you, honey-bun."

He watched with admiration as his partner seemed to effortlessly part their hair with the bottom end of the rat tail comb. "You do that like magic, you know that?"

"Lots and lots of practice." Y/N kissed his cheek before clipping the separated pieces. "You get used to it."

Y/N bit their lip as they pondered something silently. Of course, Peter noticed they had become lost in their thoughts, and tilted his head curiously.

"What's on your mind?"

With a deep breath, his partner responded. "I was... I was wondering. Would you like to learn how to two strand twist?"

Peter was a bit taken aback by the question, not because he didn't like the idea, but because he hadn't expected it. "I-I... uh... Are you sure? I mean I-I'd... I'd love to, but, is it okay with you? For me to..."

"Peter, I'm offering. It's okay." Their firm reassurance had Peter feeling a little more comfortable, and with a timid smile, he moved closer.

"Alright, bug. Please teach me."

Y/N walked him through the preparation steps, before handing him the section of hair they'd parted. Their eyes remained glued to Peter's face of concentration, as he carefully and meticulously repeated the movements that his partner had shown him. Although he was twisting at a turtle's pace, his gentleness did not go unnoticed.

"You can twist a little faster, Peter. It's okay."

"I just wanna be careful," Peter said softly. "You, uh, I remember you telling me once that you can get tender-headed. I-I don't exactly know how it plays in but I didn't want to cause you any pain."

"That's a good thing to keep in mind," Y/N relented, watching as Peter finished the twist and stepped back a little.

"How did I do?"

As Y/N studied the twist in the mirror, their smile grew. "You did great, Peter." They giggled at his heavy sigh of relief.

He didn't twist anymore than one section, but he supported Y/N the rest of the way. As the two sat in the living room, Y/N prepared to open the bottle of oil so they could massage their scalp.

"Y/N...?"

"Hm?"

"May I?" Peter gestured to the oil with a small nod of his head. "I want to make up for being gone most of breakfast."

After a few seconds, Y/N opened the bottle, guiding Peter to hold out his hands. "Slow circles."

"Got it."

"H-Hehey! P-Peheheter! Wahahatch the ehehehears!"

"You really are ticklish everywhere."

Wash days were a process, but Y/N could always count on their boyfriend to be entertaining, to distract them in the most adorable ways, to be curious but willing to learn, and of course, they could always count on him to be the tickle monster he was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter pressed his lips together, brows furrowing with concentration as he worked on upgrading his web shooter formula. He looked so focused, so in the zone, and on the other side of the room, his partner didn't want to interrupt him. Y/N's leg was bouncing rapidly, hoping to release the tension from their body silently, so as not to disturb their boyfriend's work, but it was getting harder to stay quiet.

Their body began to rock, as they tugged on their sleeves and tried to breathe deeply. They contemplated getting up and silently leaving the room, but before they could, Peter saw them in his peripheral vision, and he set down his tools. Peter knew when Y/N was feeling overwhelmed. The moment he saw the leg bouncing, they simultaneous body rocking and sleeve pulling as they tried not to cry, he stood up.

"Bug...?"

Y/N couldn't answer him, lest the tears finally fall from their eyes. Their boyfriend knelt down in front of them on the couch, his hands on either sides of their legs. "Bug... Hey. Hey... Do you need some support?"

"I... I didn't..." They sniffled, hastily wiping their eyes. "I didn't want to bother you, Peter."

"You're never a bother, bugaboo. Come on. Tell your honey-bun what's on your mind." Peter's use of Y/N's nickname for him made them giggle silently, shoulders briefly shaking.

"I-I, um... I can't exactly pinpoint what caused it... I just..." Y/N's hands began to flap, their brain aching for the feeling of clarity, but they stopped themself, setting their hands in their lap and clasping them together.

Without any hesitation, Peter gently took hold of his partner's hands, lifted them up, giving them a gentle squeeze to indicate they should keep them raised, before he began to flap his own hands. The simper crept up on their lips at the sight, and instinctively, their hands began to flap again. Peter didn't stop flapping his own hands, however, intent on encouraging his significant other to keep going.

"I don't know... what caused it, but I just feel really overwhelmed and I wasn't sure what to do." The words began to flow out like a perfect stream of water, the stimming granting their mind and their thoughts the clarity they'd been yearning for. "This morning I was feeling alright, but as the day progressed, I felt myself crashing. I didn't want to interrupt you by asking for help..."

"Sweet-bee, don't ever hesitate to ask me for help or support," Peter stated firmly. "You're my partner. I will always be here to lean on if you need me, okay?"

"O-Okay."

The man grinned, standing up and holding out his hands to a confused Y/N, who's hands were still flapping, much to Peter's delight. "Come on, bug. Stand up. We're gonna stim that stress away."

"Peter-"

"Stim. the. stress. away." Peter emphasized his words with playful pokes to Y/N's sides and belly, grinning when they giggled and squirmed. "I can totally tickle the stress away too if that's something you're looking for."

With a bite of their lip, Y/N placed their hands in his and squeaked as their boyfriend pulled them to stand in front of him. He released their hands and stretched side to side.

"Alright, what are we doing first? You're my teacher."

The encouragement and enthusiasm from Peter was making Y/N's heart flutter. They couldn't help but flap their hands with a shy smile, and that smile only grew as Peter followed along. "The hand flapping! Yes! Alright! I could do this all day! Good workout on the wrists."

Y/N began giggling, bouncing on their heels, which Peter joined in on almost instantly. Their chest was swelling with excitement. "I really want to jump!"

"So let's jump!" The exclamation was all Y/N needed, and they laughed as they jumped repeatedly, feeling the tension fading from their body. It was a precious sight, seeing Peter encourage and participate in stim breaks with his partner. He knew they'd needed the break for a while and knew they sometimes felt insecure about taking stim breaks around him.

Y/N was giggling even harder, their fists beginning to rapidly move apart and back toward each other. "Oh yes! I love this one!" Peter was beaming and chuckling, his significant other's stress having faded as though it were never there.

"Thahank you, Peter. IhI really needed the stim break."

"I will happily stim with you any time you wish, giggle-bug." His smile slowly morphed into a smirk, and Y/N's eyes widened knowingly. "Do you know what comes after a stim break?"

Y/N giggled and shook their head, already taking tiny steps backward as they began to happy stim. When they saw Peter lift his hands and wiggle his fingers, they shrieked with laughter and bolted from the room, Peter hot on their trail.

It was only a matter of time before Peter had caught them and began tickling them to bits.

"Peheheter! EEHEE! NAHAHAHAAAA! NONONONOOOO!" Y/N was well aware that Peter knew their protesting was insincere.

"Oh yes! You need a tickle break! I see those happy stims, giggle-bug~ Is this a favorite ticklish spot~?"

Y/N continued squealing and laughing in their boyfriend's arms, the web shooters still lying idly on the desk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter knew that with each day that passed, it was getting harder to ignore his feelings for his best friend. Every time they looked at him, every time they smiled, or giggled; everything they did, actually; Peter's eyes would sparkle with adoration. Aunt May could tell from the moment Peter first introduced Y/N to her. For years, she'd seen Peter lost in his grief, shutting out the idea of loving again, even the idea of having friends again. When he met Y/N, the friendship they shared brought him some much needed light, and a lot of newfound hope.

They knew about Spider-Man, albeit, they'd found out completely on accident. Peter wasn't sure how they'd react, especially given that he hadn't been the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man he'd tried to continue to be in recent years, but to his surprise, they'd hugged him, tightly, the only words leaving their lips being

"Please stay safe, Peter."

His feelings had been a little easier to suppress before the multiverse mishap. Any time the feelings would come creeping up, he would tell himself that a love between the two of them would end with Y/N dying, that history would only repeat itself, and that he'd lose them, just like he lost Gwen.

After he came back, however, with his newfound closure and steps toward self forgiveness, every little thing he adored about Y/N became impossible to ignore. The way their nose scrunched when they giggled... the way they took in the entire sight around them wherever the two would go... the way they looked at themself with admiration and pride when they were styling their afro in the mirror... every little thing they did... Peter knew he'd become smitten.

"What's on your mind, Pete?" Y/N's voice brought him out of his thoughts and he jolted upright, glancing over at his friend, who sat with their legs tucked in, ankles crossed over each other and arms wrapped around their shins. They bit their lip as their gaze met his, and Peter opened his mouth to speak.

"Uh... I..." he smiled sheepishly, a huff of air escaping in a small chuckle. "It's nothing, bug... I'm uh... I'm alright. It's nice- this I mean... sitting out here is nice."

Y/N tilted their head, their puffed-up hair bouncing slightly from the motion. Peter felt his heart beating a little faster. Their eyes were widened curiously, brows furrowed with concern, and it was incredibly cute. Despite their doubts that Peter hadn't been thinking about anything in particular, they smiled warmly at his revelation, and nodded in agreement. "IhIt is very nice."

In the brief moment of silence between the two of them, with the radio softly playing music, the two felt the most at peace either of them had felt for years. Y/N shivered slightly when they felt a droplet of water on their shoulder.

"You okay?" Peter asked softly, having noticed them react. His friend nodded, glancing out to the street. Peter's senses caught the sound of the growing pitter-pattering of droplets on the roof above them, and his brows furrowed. "It's about to rain..."

When the rain began to pour only seconds later, Y/N couldn't help the excitement that was swelling in their chest, and let out a short squee. It had been a long time since they'd seen a sun shower, where the cool drops of rain mixed perfectly with the warmth of the closest star to Earth. Upon seeing Peter's confusion, they giggled, and stood up, kicking off their shoes and socks in a haste before tossing them beside the front door.

"Come on. Let's go!" They encouraged.

Peter's mouth opened, closed again, and then opened once more. "O-Out... out in the rain?"

"Yehes! Turn the radio up! Lehet's go!" Y/N stepped out into the rain and tilted their head up to the sky, grinning at the way the droplets felt on their skin. Peter had turned up the radio, and grew distracted in the midst of taking off his shoes by the sight of Y/N spinning carefree under the rain. They looked ethereal, akin to a royal elemental being, or a fairy, who thrived in the sun and storm. The rain sat amongst their coils like the rarest of diamonds. Again, Peter was pulled from his thoughts by his crush. "Peheter Benjamin Parker, you better get your butt out here. IhIt's not often I'd be out here in the rain like this right after wash day!"

"Oh! Y-Yeah! I'm comin!" Peter tossed his shoes carelessly over his shoulder, not noticing Y/N's giggle when the shoes landed neatly beside theirs.

As he stepped onto the concrete path, goosebumps ran down his body from the cold droplets, however, that chill was soothed by the sun's rays. A further feeling of peace washed over him, as though the rain was the embodiment of safety, of certainty, and free of fear of any kind.

[NOW PLAYING]

< Lucky - Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat >

0:01 ─ㅇ────────── 3:12

⇄ ◃◃ II ▹▹ ↻

Y/N smiled brightly, glancing over to the radio when it echoed the sounds of one of their favorite songs. Peter glanced over to them with a look of adoration, an urge for playfulness taking over his mind. He approached his friend and bowed dramatically, glancing up with a charming grin. "May I have this dance, bugs?"

His friend fought the urge to burst into laughter at the voice he'd used, before standing poised and dramatically placing their hand in his. "You may, Sir Peter." He placed a hand on their waist, still holding their hand, while they placed their remaining one on his shoulder, over the dampened fabric of Peter's tee shirt.

The two began to step in time to the music, finding that their eyes couldn't look away from each other. Despite the rain, and despite the music, despite the sounds of the busy city blocks ahead of them, it felt tranquil, and quiet, like the two had nothing to worry about... like the two had nothing to fear. Y/N's lips curled into a smile, and they giggled when Peter twirled them, spinning them out and away from him. When he pulled them back into his arms, their back to his chest, he sneakily poked their side and chuckled when they squirmed.

"Peheter!"

"What? IhI didn't do anything!" He tilted his head curiously when Y/N crouched in front of the gutter. "Y/NNN... what are you doing- OHO SHIT!"

A handful of rainwater had been splashed into his face, further soaking his hair and shirt, and he sputtered, shaking his head with his eyes shut tight. Y/N doubled over with loud laughter, and Peter's heart fluttered at the sound. As he wiped the water from his face, his expression had his friend laughing even harder than before.

"Yeheah. Yeah. Real funny."

"You started it, Pete~"

"Yeah? Well I'm gonna finish it! C'mere!" Y/N shrieked when Peter's arms wrapped around their middle, giving them no time to run before he'd begun squeezing their sides. His friend squealed, legs weakening almost immediately, and as they sunk to the grass, Peter followed and leaned over them, grabbing their wrists in one hand before he teasingly wiggled his fingers above their belly.

"Peheheheter! D-Dohon't! Dohohon't youhou dahahahare!"

"Or what~? You can't exactly jump and run, now can you, bugaboo~?"

"Fuhuhuck yohour stuhuhupid spihihider strehEHEHEHENGTH- PEHEHETERRR! Nohohohoooo!" Y/N whined through their giggles, back arching when Peter clawed their tummy, spidering his fingers over their sides every so often. "Stahahaaaap!"

"You are the worst at sounding genuine about hating something you've admitted you like~" Peter grinned and took one wrist in each of his hands, pinning them down in the wet grass right at Y/N's sides.

"IhI ahahahadmihihitted nohohOHOTHING! STAHAHAY AHAWAY FROHOHOM MYHY BEHEHELLYBUTTON!"

Peter snickered, before leaning down and blowing a raspberry, which had Y/N screeching and frantically kicking their legs, their face warm from the teasing. When one nearly kicked Peter in the face, he released their wrists, and before Y/N could sit up to retaliate, locked their ankles in the crook of his arm and spidered his fingers along each foot. Y/N screamed and fell back into the grass, clutching their sides and giggling helplessly. Had Peter not secured their legs, Y/N would have likely actually kicked him in the face out of reflex.

"Gohonna splash water in my face nohow!?"

"NOHOHO! IHIHI'M DOHOHONE! IHIHIHI PROHOHOMIIIISEAHAHAHAAAAA!" As soon as Peter showed them mercy from the tickle attack, Y/N's body slumped further into the ground, and they lay with their head tilted to the sky, still giggling, and still grinning.

Peter moved back up to be closer to them, and curiously leaned over them when they closed their eyes. "Bug? GAHAAAA!" Y/N pinched his ribcage and caused him to nearly crumple and fall on top of them. He caught himself, and furrowed his brows.

"IhI told you tohoho stahay away from myhy bellybutton," his friend teased with a bite of their lip. As the two looked at each other, they realized just how close they were... noses touching, bodies almost mirroring each other. Peter's eyes wandered to their lips, before he looked back up at them. Every cell in his body was screaming for him to tell Y/N everything. He couldn't keep quiet about his feelings a second longer.

"Y/N... I... I fucking love you." His voice was shaky, and his throat felt dry upon seeing Y/N's eyes widen, but he continued. "I've been so scared, that telling you means I'll lose you... The last time I loved someone... she... she died... I can't go through that again. But, I can't ignore this anymore. I really, really, love you. A-And I don't want to be scared to say it... I don't want to be scared... to... to show you, my love..."

Peter hadn't realized he'd begun to cry, until Y/N reached up, and tenderly placed their hands on the sides of his face. "Peter Benjamin Parker. I love you too. You said it before I could..." Their voice broke, tears of their own filling their eyes.

"B-But what if-"

"No what-ifs, Pete. I've been by your side for years, that's not changing." Y/N argued firmly, planting a kiss on the tip of his nose. "Never. Youhou're stuck with me. And... I know what comes with this... and what comes with knowing Spider-Man. I'm scared too, but I trust you, okay? With all my heart, I trust you."

Peter knew it would take a long time for his fears to fade, and perhaps they never would, but he couldn't dwell on what might or might not happen. He thought about how his variants made love work, and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to try loving again.

"I trust you too. More than I can ever say with words..."

When his gaze once again wandered to his friend's lips, before looking into their eyes curiously, they nodded eagerly, before the two found themselves locked in a kiss. His hand moved to the back of Y/N's neck to support them, his other hand's fingers interlacing with theirs. After several more seconds, when the two parted for air, he rested his forehead against theirs.

"Youhou're helping me get the grass out of my hair later."

"Fair ehenough."

Peter lay down beside them, inviting him to rest their head on his shoulder, to which they happily obliged. Little did they know that Aunt May passed by the window, and saw the two lying in the grass together. The sight brought her to tears of joy, and she took a breath before walking away to resume her work. Up in the sky, as the rain stopped pouring, the beautiful colors of a rainbow were as vivid as ever as it sat amongst the clouds.

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Oh my GOOOOOOOOODDDDDD 😭 I had a lot of fun writing this one /gen /p 🥺 👉🏾👈🏾 I hope y'all enjoyed!!! AG Peter had me crying every time he was on screen in NWH I love him so much ❤️❤️❤️ Until next time, lovelies!

Peter pulled off his mask with a huff as soon as he'd closed the apartment window and shades. Patrol had been mostly uneventful, save for a carjacker, whom he'd swiftly apprehended and dropped off at the precinct. All he wanted after that was to get home and spend some much needed time with his favorite person in the world. When he noticed Y/N wasn't in the living room, he felt a tinge of panic. They always had a set routine for themself after work, so not seeing them where they'd usually be was an indication that something was wrong.

"Y/N?"

No answer. Peter rushed to check their bedroom, but Y/N wasn't there either. Upon entering the kitchen, an audible exhale of relief left his lips at the sight of his significant other sitting at the kitchen island, head resting on their arms, which sat folded atop the marble surface. Their eyes fluttered open, body jolting slightly when Peter gently touched their hand.

"Peterrr..." The sleepy smile on Y/N's face as they drawled out his name in a tired but joyful voice had Peter's heart melting.

"Hi, sleepyhead. Are you doing okay?" He questioned softly, thumb gently brushing across their knuckles. "How was work?"

"Stressful. I... I feel really burnt out... And I tried to... to stick to my routine when I got home... but I felt too tired... and it's really messing with me now..."

"I'm sorry, sweet-bee. I know the routine changes are hard and it feels stressful when you can't complete a task..." Peter said empathetically. Y/N lifted their hand to rest in his and gave it a tired squeeze, humming when Peter gently squeezed back.

He sat down next to them, and for several minutes, the two of them were silent, and content with just enjoying each others' presence.

"Y/N?"

"Hm?"

"Do you... uh, wanna get in some pjs and snuggle for a while?" The smile crept up on Y/N's lips again, and, as their leg bounced on the stool with a happy stim, they nodded. "Want me to make some cocoa too?"

"Yes please."

Their voice sounded so tired, so soft, and Peter couldn't help leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss to their temple. With Peter's support, Y/N got into their pajamas, after which they took a seat at the counter again.

"Are those Spider-Man pajama pants, bugs?"

"Y-Yeah...?" Peter was quick to reassure his sheepish partner that he found their pajamas very cute. He flipped the can of whipped cream he'd taken from the fridge, skillfully catching it before topping the two mugs of cocoa with the sugary silky swirl.

"Marshmallows or sprinkles?"

"Bohoth!"

"Comin' right up!"

As soon as the cocoa was adorned with sprinkles and cute little marshmallows, which he placed in a heart shape, Peter walked over to sit beside his partner and proudly set the mug in front of them. He'd made sure to use their favorite ceramic mug for their drink. It was one he'd bought them for their birthday and they never drank hot drinks out of anything else after that.

"P-Peter...?"

"Yeah, bumblebee?"

The smile on their lips was contagious and radiant, and as they glanced back down at the mug, they began to giggle happily, wrists shaking with joy. "IhIt looks sohoho cuhute! Thahank you."

Peter would never ever tire of seeing Y/N so physically happy. Despite the stress of the day, despite their burnout, he brought them a feeling of warmth and comfort. "Sooo... the big question is... Do we drink this out here, or do we drink it while we snuggle in the living room?"

After a stressful day of work, Y/N really needed the comfort, and immediately chose the living room cuddling, much to Peter's delight. As the two drank their cocoa, Y/N explained what had happened at work, and how everything began to spiral into exhaustion and sensory overload. Peter listened, and encouraged them to continue stimming as they talked.

"I just... sort of... shut down... my boss was really understanding, and I'm thankful, but I was embarrassed. And now I'm just... tired... and... I feel really discouraged..."

Peter knew... He knew that often times, even with reassurance from the people Y/N most needed to hear it from, it was hard to hear it, to acknowledge it, to believe it. The moment that Peter offered his hand, Y/N held it. "You are such a kickass human being, you know that, bug? The fact that even after that, you still found a way to work through the rest of your shift? I'm really proud of you. But, even if you didn't, even if you had to come home early, you did awesome... at navigating through that moment and coming out the other side."

"Thank you, Pete. I-I... I really do appreciate your encouragement. And thank you for always giving me the little reminders. I love you."

"I love you too, sweet-bee." Peter eyed a little bit of whipped cream on Y/N's lip and chuckled, pointing to his own to signal to them. Y/N quickly licked it from their lip, giggling at Peter's growing grin.

Soon enough, they'd both drank every drop of their hot cocoa, feeling warmth and a sense of calm. The two wasted no time getting closer to snuggle after that, tangling together and settling into the sofa. Peter could hear the gentle, tired breaths his partner was taking. His eyes gazed at them with pure love and adoration.

The moment Y/N felt Peter pressing a kiss to their cheek, they smiled. Peter grinned against their skin and kissed them again, this time right where their neck and ear met. A squeak from his partner startled him, but in seconds, the man was smirking, with a sudden urge for a little playful mischief. He kissed them a few more times, noting the way they squirmed in his arms. Whenever Peter let his stubble grow out, even the slightest bit, his kisses tickled a whole lot more than usual.

"What's wrong, bumblebee~?"

"Youhou knohohow what youhou're dohohoing, Peheter!" Y/N giggled, their hands beginning to flap as they braced themself for their boyfriend's inevitable tickle attack. "Youhouhou knohohow thehehe stuhubble kihisses doHOHO thihihiis!"

A yelp echoed in the room when Peter pulled them into his lap, followed by several squeaks and giggles as he affectionately peppered kisses and nuzzled his nose on their neck and shoulders. "Yehehes I dooo~ And I also know you love when IhI tickle you~!

The word immediately sent a wave of butterflies through Y/N's stomach and up their sides, and they leaned back into Peter even more, hands still stimming giddily. It felt nice to be able to have a giggle in the arms of the person they loved with all their heart and soul. When Peter's fingers began spidering on their sides and belly, they shrieked with laughter, legs lightly kicking out as a reflex.

"Peheheheheteheheherrrrr! Nohohohooo!"

"Ahawww~ Look at that smihile! You know what? You're too. cute! And I'm gonna tickle you more for it."

If only Peter could have seen the expression on Y/N's face after that comment. Their face and ears grew hot in record-breaking time, and Peter smirked when he felt the heat against his cheek as he kissed the side of their face.

"Dohohohohon't *hic* sahahaHAHAY thahahat, Peheheheheteheher- PFFEHEHEEEE! NOHOOOO!"

"Don't say it? Fine. I'm gohonna sing it~"

"DOHOHON'T!!!"

"You're too cute, and I'm gonna tickle you more for it~!"

Y/N's happy stimming picked up in its intensity upon hearing Peter sing the phrase. He let out a giggle and gently moved them to lie sideways in his lap so he could see their glowing, giggly expression. God, they were so cute. Peter wasted no time in playfully pinching at their ribs, and leaned closer, lovingly nuzzling their nose with his before planting a quick kiss on their lips, at which they giggled as they happily returned it.

"I think it's raspberry time~"

"Mm-mm! Mmnohohohooo!"

"Yehehes yehehes yehehessss~ I'm just... I'm just gonna..." with one deep breath, Peter blew an agonizingly ticklish raspberry on their neck. Y/N had to cover their mouth with one hand to muffle the shrill screech of laughter, not wanting any of their neighbors to complain about the noise. They hiccuped with giggles, letting out one final squeal when Peter teasingly squeezed their sides.

The two of them were still giggling several minutes later, with Peter hugging Y/N close, whispering encouragement and reaffirming that they did amazing with navigating through the work day, as well as happily reminding them they had the following day off from work, which meant they had a lot more time to spend together.

"I love you, Pete..."

"I love you too, bugaboo... IhI see those adorable tired eyes~ You can sleep. Get lots of rest. I'm right here."

After those words, Y/N's sleepiness overtook them once more, but this time, it felt far less distressing, being safe and comfortable in their boyfriend's arms, and knowing the following day would feel much better than the previous.

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