Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any other Marvel characters. I only own my OC.
A/N: Spider-Man: No Way Home was so freakin' amazing. It made me so happy until I realized just how sad of an ending it was for Peter. Obviously don't read this if you don't want any spoilers for the movie. This is a one-shot for my story Infinite. When I finally cover the No Way Home story-line I might edit this part of the story. Until then...happy readings. But really? Is there any happiness here.
"I guess that's just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up."
― Lauren Oliver, Delirium
The holiday spirit was in the air as Peter made his way to Peter Pan's Donuts where MJ worked. Despite how cheery the air was, the seventeen year old couldn't enjoy that or take in the Christmas decorations that were around him.
No, Peter couldn't do that because he was too busy practicing what he was going to say to Grace and his friends.
A week had passed since Doctor Strange recast the spell in order to fix the mess Peter made with the multiverse. Now everyone didn't know who Spider-Man was, including his friends. But sadly that also meant they didn't know who Peter Parker was either.
Peter tearfully promised a crestfallen Grace that he would find her and their friends and tell them the truth. He made a promise that he would reunite with her and tell her that he loved her. They'd be together again as before.
And that was what he was planning on doing today.
The bell on the door chimed when Peter entered the donut shop. He immediately saw MJ at the counter. The others weren't there yet but he knew this was around the time they would join.
It was routine for them to visit MJ at work. He liked to believe they kept to that routine even with forgetting who he was. So while Peter waited for everyone to arrive, he made it seem as if he were looking at the menu, thinking about what he wanted. However he didn't have to wait long.
Peter was a bit startled when MJ gave him a friendly wave. So startled that he failed to notice the bells from the door chime again. He was about to wave back to her when he felt movement behind him. That's when he finally saw who MJ had been waving too.
"Hey MJ!"
Ned, Harry, and Grace greeted Michelle with smiles on their faces.
Peter's heart finally felt complete when looked at Grace. It'd only been a week since he'd seen her but to him it felt longer than that. It felt like a lifetime.
Grace still looked the same. Her wavy dark brown hair was let down, reaching her shoulders. Her red face-framing highlights stood out enchantingly. Her makeup was done with dark colors. Just as she started doing it since her dad's passing. Nothing too exaggerating but enough for her to stand out.
Peter liked the plum colored lipstick she was wearing. He knew that color was one of Grace's favorites to wear. He thought it looked very beautiful on her….and he'd told her that before.
Not that she remembered.
Her outfit matched her makeup style. It consisted of dark colors. The most colorful thing she had on at the moment was the cardigan she had underneath her coat. It was lavender, and it looked warm and fuzzy.
Peter watched as Grace sat down with Ned and Harry. MJ talked with them for a moment before she asked him if he was finally ready to order. Peter quickly stammered that he wanted a coffee. MJ nodded her head and walked off to prepare his order. She needed to make a new pot of coffee.
As he stood there waiting, Peter was able to hear what Grace and his friends were talking about. He watched as Grace opened her backpack to pull out a piece of paper. She set it on the counter with a huff.
"So I wrote this today during A.P. English, and it's super crap."
Michelle, who walked over as she waited for the coffee to finally be ready, quirked her lips, amused. "Super crap?"
"I don't think anything you write can be super crap Grace." Ned told his book loving friend with a smile.
"Let me read it." Harry grabbed the paper from her hands before she could protest and began reading to himself. He let out a whistle after he finished reading. "Wow, it's so depressing I'm beginning to get a headache." He grinned at her. "That means it's good."
"I'm always up for a depressing piece of writing." Michelle evenly said.
Grace appreciated her friends' compliments. However she still felt the poem could be better. She was a perfectionist when it came to her writing. "I'm going to have to step up my writing skills now that I've gotten into Wellesley."
Peter smiled happily. His girlfriend got into her dream school. Wellesley was Grace's number one school for college. She told him ever since she was seven years old that she wanted to go there. Grace wanted to major in English, and her plan was to eventually write a book. Now she was one step closer to getting that done.
"Why don't you just take a moment, relax, and eat this celebratory donut." MJ slid over a donut on top of a napkin. "It's even got sprinkles. Your fave."
"Thanks." Grace smiled at friend. "And MJ, I must say your enthusiasm right now is very endearing." She knew the reason why MJ was in good spirits was because her best friend had been accepted into MIT alongside Ned.
"It's her school spirit starting to show." Ned excitedly added.
Michelle's face brightened, and tried to downplay it as she gave her three friends a halfhearted warning type of look."If you three tell anybody about this, I will deny it."
"Michelle Jones finally excited about something?" Harry playfully commented. "No, not possible. Not even when it's about college. I mean…it's just college." He let out a scoff which then turned into a laugh.
Grace was able to laugh with him because she knew Harry was being sarcastic. He had come a long way with his education.
Harry hadn't taken his education seriously at first when he enrolled in Midtown, but that changed thanks to Grace. It was because of her that Harry got his shit together, and now he was going to a good university.
"Oh yeah, college is not at all important." Michelle followed his humor. "This coming from a Harvard acceptee."
Harry winked at her. "Tell anybody and I also will deny it."
"So are you going to keep the poem?" Ned asked Grace.
Grace let out a sigh. "No. I'm just not feeling this poem." She crumpled up the paper and threw it towards the trash can.
She hadn't properly looked where the trash can was, so her aim was awful. Instead of getting it inside the trashcan the crumpled up paper hit Peter on the shoulder. Of course to Grace she didn't know it was Peter but instead a random stranger she just hit.
Harry stifled a laugh. "Nice Grace."
"Oh shit." Grace immediately got up and walked over to the guy she just threw a paper ball at. "I'm sorry."
Grace was so close to him now that Peter wanted to hug her so badly.
It's me Grace! Your boyfriend!
But he didn't say that. He didn't even say anything he had rehearsed. Instead he just looked at her like a total idiot.
"Please don't tell me that caused permanent damage." Grace nervously joked as a way to make things less awkward. The longer he stared at her and stayed quiet the more she started to feel really bad.
It also didn't help that the boy was really cute. He looked to be her age. He had brown hair and a pair of the warmest brown eyes she'd come across. Brown eyes were never really interesting to her but for some reason she liked the boy's eyes. She was able to find comfort in them.
"Hello?" Grace softly spoke.
Peter blinked several times. The way she sounded concerned made him realize he needed to get himself composed. "Uh, it's okay." He reassured her with a smile. "Really, it's not a problem." He grabbed the crumpled up paper. "What is it?" He asked even though he knew exactly what it was.
Grace for some reason felt bashful all of a sudden. Why was that? She didn't even know him and she was acting as if she had a reason to feel this way. "It's just something I wrote."
"You're a writer?" Peter asked as if he didn't already know.
Grace nodded her head. "I like to think so."
"I bet you're an amazing writer." Peter said kindly.
Grace felt her face warm up. She felt even more shy than when her friends would compliment her. "Amazing writer? Uh I don't know. I mean, I want to be an amazing writer."
Peter already thought she was and he hated how she didn't think so already. He gestured to the crumpled up paper with his free hand. "May I?"
Grace's eyes widened. "You want to read it?"
Peter nodded his head. "If that's okay with you."
Grace didn't know why but she found herself saying yes. Maybe it was because he gave off comforting vibes, or maybe it was because he was on the cute side, but Grace allowed him to read her poem.
I see shades of blue and red, they are implanted in my head. I feel warmth, a familarty, but also dread. Dread that the warmth and comfort I seek will never be anything more but something bleak.
Peter felt like crying after he finished reading her poem. He looked at her with a soft, longing expression. "I think it's melancholically beautiful."
"Melancholically beautiful." Grace repeated faintly not breaking eye contact with him. "You think so?"
"Yeah." Peter replied, trying his best to keep his voice steady. "This is going to sound weird but can I keep it?"
That surprised Grace. "You want to keep it?"
"Yeah. I like it." Peter told her before giving her another smile. "Plus you're going to be famous one day with your writing and having something original by you would be so cool."
"You compliment me way too much." Grace let out a soft laugh. "I mean, you don't even know me."
"I know you." Peter said without thinking. Grace narrowed her eyes a bit, tilting her head. Peter went on to say what would save his slip up. "You're Grace Stark…Tony Stark's daughter."
Grace's features immediately relaxed. Of course he knew who she was because of her dad. She should have realized that a lot sooner. People sometimes still offered their condolences, which most of the time turned the conversation awkward. But this boy hadn't offered his condolences, he just talked to her. She liked that. It wasn't awkward like when people would bring up her dad. No, Grace and him were having a nice conversation…..and Grace felt bad that she didn't even know this nice boy's name.
"You know my name but I don't know yours." She lowered her voice, playful. "Seems a bit unfair, don't you think?"
Peter inhaled and then exhaled. "I'm-"
"Peter Parker!" Michelle called out his name for his coffee order.
"Yeah! That's me." Peter answered sheepishly.
"Peter Parker." Grace repeated the name slowly. She stuck out her hand for him to shake."Nice to finally know your name, and meet you."
Peter finally noticed two things as Grace offered her hand to him. He saw that she was still wearing the promise ring he had given her during their trip to Europe. He desperately wanted to kiss her then. He didn't know the reason why she was still wearing it, not if she didn't know who he was anymore. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that she still had it.
The second thing he noticed was the bandage on her forehead that was hiding behind a curtain of red highlights. He immediately started to feel guilt because she got that injury during the battle at the statue of liberty.
Grace was eplileptic and a head injury, even a small one to Peter, worried him. Thankfully she had been fine. But throughout the fight Peter kept worrying over Grace. He knew by now that stress for Grace could trigger a seizure.
Grace furrowed her eyebrows at the concerned look she saw on him. She then figured out it was because of the bandage on her forehead. "Oh, that. I'm clumsy." She shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say?"
Peter forced himself to stop staring at injury and instead shook the hand she was offering him.
The second Grace felt his hand in hers it was like she was shocked with electricity. Except strangely it didn't hurt or even feel weird. It felt…..familiar to her.
"I'm sorry." Grace frowned, bemused. She slowly let go of his hand. "Have we met before? I…I feel like we have."
Peter wanted to keep holding onto her hand but fought the urge to get it back. He instead focused on what she said. Was it possible that she was able to remember even a little bit? No….he thought back to what Doctor Strange said. Everyone no longer knew who he was.
And even though he promised Grace he would make her remember him, he couldn't deny just how happy she looked now. She looked so vibrant, and she looked that way because she didn't know who he was. He was happy for her but at the same time sad.
Peter wanted her to be happy, but he wanted her to be happy with him. However he knew he couldn't be selfish.
He started to think about the positives and negatives, and he quickly only then began thinking about the negatives.
Like Grace, almost dying was one of the negatives.
Peter thought back to Grace falling, and how she almost died. Peter hadn't been able to catch her but Peter 3 saved her in time. Peter would forever be thankful for him.
Since then he kept wondering….what about next time? What if next time luck wouldn't be on their side. What if Grace really did die? Peter wouldn't be able to handle that. He already lost May.
Losing Aunt May created a wound in his heart that would never fully go away. Another wound would be there if Grace were to die. A wound that would surely ruin him for good.
Peter realized he couldn't tell her or any of his friends who he was. They were happy without him. Grace was happy without him…..and he couldn't ruin her happiness.
Michelle called out Peter's name. Peter looked at his coffee that was starting to get cold and then at Grace.
"I…" Peter gulped. He hadn't answered her question but from the looks of it Grace hadn't minded.
"Need to get your coffee?" Grace finished with a smile. "Yeah. Cold coffee right now during this weather is not that great. I'll let you go then."
No. I'm letting you go. Peter thought as he began crying on the inside.
Grace politely said."Bye Peter Parker."
Peter didn't know how, since his heart was breaking, but he smiled through his pain. "Bye….Grace Stark."
Grace went back to sit down next to Harry and Ned. Michelle was back with them. Peter carefully folded Grace's poem to put it inside his jacket's pocket. As he grabbed his coffee he overheard Grace tell the three of them that Pepper wanted them over for dinner to congratulate them for getting into college. A celebratory dinner. Grace also said that Morgan wanted to see them.
Yet two more people who no longer knew who Peter Parker was. Peter sniffled, eyes glistening. Unknown to the four teens, Peter gave his friends one last look, gaze lingering on Grace smiling before leaving the donut shop.
It was then when he was walking down the loud and busy New York street that he allowed himself to cry.
I love you Grace. And it's because I love you that I am doing this.
Peter thought back to the other Graces that Peter 2 and Peter 3 talked about. Peter 3's Grace story stuck with him the most. She unfortunately wasn't able to get a happy ending but Peter would make sure that his Grace would. He couldn't stop Grace from getting sick but he would make sure she wouldn't die because of some fight he was a part of. He saw how Peter 3 was still heartbroken over the love of his life's death. Gwen.
Grace's fate wouldn't be like that.
Love meant making sacrifices. Peter was well aware of that by now. So for the girl he loved he would sacrifice his own happiness in order for her to be happy and safe.