The next hour or so passed in a blur. Emergency services came and went. First was the paramedics who examined the bodies and confirmed Gwen's worst fears before taking three bodies away in bags. Then came the police; investigating the scene and cordoned off the entire apartment.
As soon as he could get her to move from the spot, Peter led her out of the apartment, into the elevator, onto the ground floor and out into the city. The entire walk back to his aunt May's house was silent. Occasionally, she would glance at him and squeeze his hand in appreciation, but not once did she speak. Even when they finally got indoors and up to his bedroom, she just sat down on his bed.
Feeling helpless in this situation, despite knowing exactly how she felt, he went and sat down next to her and placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him so that she was leaning against his side.
"It's okay to cry Gwen, I did when I went through this with my uncle Ben." He said softly.
"I don't wanna cry… Because if I start then I'm afraid that I might not be able to stop. All I wanna do is find the killer and take them down." She stated, her voice void of any emotion.
"Revenge is a slippery path, trust me that is not one you wanna go down. I promise, I will find the killer and make sure that he or she is punished." He warned her.
"What so they can spend their life behind bars while my brothers will never get to grow up and graduate? It's not enough." She snapped, pulling away from him.
"You're right. The system is corrupt, I know that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He began, feeling stupid.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." She sighed.
"It's okay. I understand." He assured her.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she felt a stray tear trickle down her cheek and instantly wiped it away.
"You don't have to hide how you feel from me." He told her.
Her stubbornness caving in, she let herself fall back against his side as her lower lip began to tremble. She bit down hard on it and fought back the overwhelming urge. He placed his hand on her back, rubbing in a pattern of small circles in an attempt to comfort her.
"Whatever you wanna do from this point forward… I'm with you. One hundred percent." He said softly.
"I wanna do some more training… Starting now." She informed him.
"Now?" He questioned, surprised by her sudden decision.
"Yes now. Putting aside the unusual powers, I want to learn how to fight." She stated.
"Alright… Though we should wait until my aunt May is asleep first."
"That's fine. In the meantime we can finally get that suit stitched up." She suggested.
Peter didn't want to say anything, he feared it would only make her angry with him, but he could see clearly that she was wanting to be doing something to avoid her feelings. She was in denial. It worried him, yet he knew that it was a perfectly natural response to death. The shock hadn't quite worn off yet, but when it did… That's when he would step up the most. He remembered everything that he had felt when his uncle Ben had died, and hated to think what that pain would be like if it were tripled.
"I'm gonna go fetch the sewing kit… Do you need anything?" He asked as he stood up.
"Nope." She answered, still showing no signs of emotion.
Glancing back over his shoulder at her one last time, he left the room to go find the required tools that they needed. Downstairs in the kitchen, his aunt May was drying and packing away a stack of washed up dishes.
"May…" He began, his mind troubled with bothersome thoughts.
Putting down the bowl that she was in the middle of drying, she looked up and turned around, giving Peter her full attention.
"What's wrong dear?" She asked, picking up on his concerned facial expression.
"I uh… I kinda need some advice." He admitted, rubbing his hand over the back of his head feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Advice? Ah, now you've come to the right person." She assured him.
"Well… It's just that my girlfriend, Gwen, recently suffered a major loss. Like… Like tonight, and now she says that she is fine but I don't know… I can see it in her eyes, she's not really but she won't admit it. I really don't know what to do or… Or say. I want to help more than anything but I just feel so helpless." He confided in her.
May paused for a second, taking in the gravity of what he was saying, and then thought back to her own experiences with loss. Getting closer to him, she gave him a sympathetic smile.
"People grieve loss in many different ways, Peter. There is no real guide for how to get through these things. All you can really do is be there for her. Of course, you can't force her to open up but when she does, you can be there to catch her when she falls. For now, just let her have her moment of numbness… Then when the timing is right, take her out and show her a good time. It won't take away the pain, but it will help her to heal." She advised him.
Thinking it over in his head, he knew that what she was saying made sense. At this point there wasn't much that he could do for her, not until she would let herself feel again at least. He gave his aunt a nod to show that he understood what he was being told and continued to think. There was another topic that he wanted to speak to May about, but it didn't feel like the right time to bring it up.
"Is that all?" She asked.
"What? Oh, uh… Yeah, for now. There is something else but it's not the right time." He informed her, picking up the sewing kit and turning back towards the stairs.
"I like this girl, Peter. Don't screw it up." May told him with a smile.
"That is something that I will be trying my hardest not to do." He responded before heading upstairs.
Back in his bedroom, he placed the sewing kit on the bedside unit and sat down, trying to think of something to say.
"Shall we do the suit then?" He asked, his tone neutral.
"Yeah." She agreed absently and handed him the suit that she had taken off whilst he'd been downstairs.
"I love you." He reminded her.
"I love you too." She said, the slightest hint of emotion seeping into her voice.
Opening up the little box, he pulled out a needle and thread and looped it through before getting to work on the suit. Gwen just sat in silence, watching what he was doing until he'd finished. With a sigh, packed away the needle and remaining thread, dropped the suit in his lap and turned to her.
"Look Gwen… I know you're probably numb right now and I don't wanna push you… But I want you to know that when you're ready to - if you'll ever be ready, then I am here for you and you can talk to me about anything." He informed her, his eyes full of warmth despite the emptiness in hers.
Upon hearing his words, she blinked a couple of times and bit her lip. Her gaze dropped to her hands that were resting in her lap and then moved back to him.
"Thank you, Peter. I appreciate that." She responded, attempting a smile.
"Of course."
After the conversation died down again, she swallowed and looked at him again then caught him by surprise by wrapping her arms around him tightly, embracing him in a hug. Although surprised by her actions, he closed his eyes and leaned into the hug, hoping that it was bringing her the slightest shred of comfort at least.
"You know, when I went through this with my uncle, I found comfort in doing right, protecting others from the same fate. But it is important to understand that with these great powers, comes great responsibility. What I'm trying to say is that you've got to find a balance. Be angry, that's good to use in a fight… But don't let it consume you. Instead, find something that calms you down." He said, trying to get through to her.
"I don't need to find that something… I already know what calms me down and… It's you. As long as we're fighting together, I think I'll be okay… Eventually at least. Right now, I just want to become the fighter that you are." She told him, emotion finally returning to her voice.
"You're already a strong fighter, Gwen… But I understand the need to keep pushing forward."
"I need to be doing this. If I don't then I'll be left thinking about things and that's the last thing that I wanna do right now."
Feeling her frustration rising, he stood up and offered out his hand. Tilting her head in confusion, she took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet.
"Ready to get started?" He questioned.
"Beyond ready." She answered, a stone cold rage in her eye as she thought about all the things she would do when she caught up to the person who killed her family.
She would not go easy on them either. She'd already made that decision from the moment she saw the horrific scene that the killer had left behind. When she found them, they will wish that they had never set foot inside the apartment.
