March 26th - 2019

"What about this one? Do you like it?"

Peter gestured to the laptop's screen set in front of him and over the small dining table. The couple had been looking for a cheap apartment to live in New York. Gwen was now in the final lap of her studies. He could also end his studies back at Empire after attending the virtual classes for some time.

They had to look for a new place to live in since they wanted to go back and still live together. They were already used to such a thing. Despite living together for some time, only now does it feel like they were taking another step in their relationship.

They were now planning for the long run and they were part of each other's plans.

"I don't think so," Gwen spoke from behind the chair her boyfriend was sitting on. She playfully ran her hands over his hair.

"Well, I've found this one as well?" Peter scrolled down his wishlist page and opened the pictures of the apartment.

Gwen frowned, before speaking, "I think that's far too small."

"And this?".

"That's… too large for us. I don't think we can afford it."

"Gwendy… we have been doing this for weeks. I don't think we'll… find any apartment made of chocolate… if that's what you're looking for."

"Really? That's… quite a shame then." She sighed, heavily.

"The face you're doing right now is making me feel like the worst person alive, you know?"

"That's the goal." She teased.

"Such an actress you are." He paused, before taking her hand and leading her to sit down on his lap. "But if you want to continue living here, in England… I wouldn't mind. You have relatives here, we wouldn't be alone. My place is with you, wherever you might be. You know that."

Gwen cupped his cheek. She looked straight into his eyes. "These years with you here... I will never forget them. But I do miss my family and you certainly miss Aunt May. I think our place is there." She affirmed, reassuringly. "It's been wonderful, really, but I know how much you want this as well."

"It's not that. It's just…" He hesitated.

She spoke softly, "It's just what, Pete?"

"... I'm not entirely comforted with the idea of Harry being that close to you."

Gwen nodded slowly. "I see… I understand, but Peter… he's properly locked. We must live our own life while appreciating every single second we share. We don't know what could happen next." Gwen planted a kiss on his jaw. "Don't let the possibilities of what could maybe happen to affect our dreams… we'll do just fine."

"Yeah… I guess you're right, Gwendy."

Gwen cocked her head at him. "I'm always right."

"Of course you are," Peter kept her ego up. "So… do you like this? One bedroom and half, the other one is deactivated. There's a very small kitchen and a balcony near the park, it's rather cheap, the kind of cheap that would be pricey in any other city. I could open that account and then we could split the costs for a little while until we're well settled."

She nodded in agreement and looked back at the screen. They both had been saving money for quite some time. "It does look great, and it even has a suite? The possibilities are endless, I think."

He looked up to her, "What do you mean with that?"

"You'll see, honey... you'll see." She winked.

Peter inhaled deeply. There was a side of her that often gave him enough trouble, the good kind of trouble. He focused back on the screen. "Can I make the call? You are not gonna change your mind, right?"

"I don't think so, but there is always a slight chance."

"My god woman."

She smiled, happily. "I'm only joking, bugboy… I loved it. It's perfect."

Many weeks later...

Peter checked the many bags in the living room to see if everything was in order and if they hadn't missed anything personally. They were indeed coming back to New York The city he knew very well from tail to head. He did miss the noise of the city that never slept.

He would certainly continue his education there while selling photos to the Bugle. Not only that, he could rely on his web design skills. In the end, he didn't regret a single thing. He didn't regret having breakfast every morning with his girlfriend, catching her every night at Oxford, and sharing the same bed.

Those were memories he would never forget.

Yet, there was one thing he was having trouble finding among all the packing, his Spider-Man suit. He went back to their bedroom and opened the wardrobe to find the hidden drawer. There it was, his famous, or infamous to some, blue and red super-tight spandex.

Could I even still be in shape?

Peter dropped his clothes onto the floor and wore the suit over his body. He stared at himself through the mirror, flexing his muscles to him alone.

It seems... tighter than ever, or maybe I just gained some weight.

He finally wore the mask and made his way towards the living room. He fired a biocable to the ceiling near the entrance and kept himself above the frame of the door. She wouldn't immediately get to see him.

It didn't take long for him to hear the sound of keys through the other side of the door. It opened with Gwen announcing her arrival shortly after, "Peter, I'm home. Where are you…?" She looked around and found no one. She took a step forward after closing the door with the back of her foot.

"Hello, dear lady." Spider-Man formally greeted.

Gwen jumped and turned on her back as she got to see him hanging upside down on a biocable.

"God... you'll be the end of me. Why are you wearing your Spider-Man suit?" She questioned, confused.

"This guy… Peter, is this someone I should be worried about?"

"Oh. He's always after me, like… every day. Maybe he's a stalker of sorts." She placed her purse over the dinner table. He turned on the webbing to follow her. She then headed back in his direction.

Spider-Man suggested, "Maybe I should talk with him, uh?"

Gwen shook her head. "Nah. I quite like him... just a tiny little bit. He's handsome, and the abs… god, they're so nice."

She was now just a few inches from his masked face.

"I'm sure I can surprise you with what I have myself."

Gwen whispered, "Do you… really?" She lifted Peter's mask to expose his mouth. She felt his warm breath against hers. She leaned closer and connected her lips with his as their tongues fought each other.

She eventually let out a moan and parted lips with him. She spoke delicately, "I got something for us to eat." Her eyes were filled with lust and desire, but she tried her best to contain her instincts.

"I think I have what I need right here."

She smiled as they brushed their lips. "Maybe I'm just too much for you right now."

Spider-Man undid the top buttons of her shirt. "I'm… quite hungry myself... Ms. Stacy."

Longford - Heathrow Airport

Due to the much colder temperature found outside the airport, Gwen and Peter watched the planes land from their seats as they snuggled to keep each other warm during such cold and rainy nights. The snowflakes landed against the large window in front of them.

Eventually, Peter's phone rang and played the corny ringtone he still had from his high school graduation. The couple shared a brief laugh every time. He took the phone in his hand and smiled once he read who was the one calling them again.

"Hey, Aunt May."

"Hi, Pete. How are you, honey?"

"I'm good… we're good. We're waiting for our plane."

"That's such a good thing to hear. You have no idea how much I miss you guys."

"We miss you too, Aunt May. What are you up to?"

"I was hanging out with the girls, I just got home."

"You were getting drunk again with them, right?"

"Oh, dear… I wish." They laughed shortly. "Would you like to come over tomorrow night for dinner then?"

He nodded to himself, "For sure, Aunt May. We'll be there."

"Alright then. I'll be waiting for you two, love you guys!"

"Thanks, Aunt May. We love you too." He turned the call down and moved his phone back inside his jacket. He looked to his side and focused on his girlfriend. "She invited us to dinner tomorrow. She misses us."

"I miss her too, it will be great." Gwen kissed his warm cheek. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, anything."

"Now that we're getting back… are you… are you maybe thinking of suiting up again?"

Gwen felt rather uncomfortable by asking him such a question, and guilty as well. She could never forget the many days when he appeared in her window, filled with bruises and injuries, asking for her help to patch him up. Also an excuse to spend more time with her in her bedroom.

She continued, "You know I'm going to support you with whatever you might choose. I just... fear that someday you might not get back home." She sighed. She adored the idea of him being this symbol of better days, people needed that. She just began thinking more about the person behind such a symbol, and sometimes it had her worried.

Peter truly understood where she was coming from, he did. She had already lived through the situation she had just mentioned.

"Hey..." He moved his hand to her chin, gently. He made her look at him after she dropped her chin. "I haven't decided this yet... but your support means a lot to me, it truly does. I'm never leaving you or Aunt May, I can promise you this."

"You can?"

He leaned closer and slowly captured her lips, engaging in a kiss filled with passion.

"Airplane AIR-121 with destiny to New York just arrived. Please go to your gate for loading procedures. Thank you for the patience and we wish you a great trip."

The announcement interrupted the moment between them. He looked up to the panel. "That's our call."

Gwen kissed him one last time and rose from the seat. "Let's get going then?" She grabbed one of their bags and placed it around her shoulder.

"Let me carry that for you, will ya?" His natural accent came back. He set Gwen's bag around his shoulder.

She smiled. "You're such a gentleman."

"I aim to please."

"I know, Pete, I know."

They headed towards their gate while holding each other's hands. In the plane, they found their respective seats and again snuggled to pass the time. Gwen leaned her head on his shoulder and fell asleep there for a large part of the travel.

Many hours later, after arriving back in their hometown and taking the cab, they stepped out of the decent-looking elevator and walked through the silent hallway where the door to their new apartment was located. Peter took the keys off his jacket and opened the door of their new and already furnished apartment, before placing the bags over the carpeted floor.

"What do you think?" He asked, checking the surroundings,

"It's good enough for us," Gwen replied, amused. She stood in the center of the living room.

There was a kitchen that was connected to the small dining room, a balcony where it was possible to see the entire park, their suite, and one common bedroom next to the door of the bathroom in the hallway.

It wasn't the biggest apartment, far from it, but it served them well enough.

Peter snaked his arm around her waist and caressed her stomach. He kissed the soft pale skin of her neck. "Could we check our bedroom then?

She sighed heavily, tired. "I'd like that."

They entered the suite and prepared their new bed. She changed to her pajamas while Peter wore only his pair of boxers. As they laid themselves over the mattress, Gwen rested her head over Peter's chest and had her arm spread across his stomach. He nuzzled her golden blond hair with his arm around her waist, keeping her close to him.

After such tiring travel, they proceeded to live their first night in their new home. A new stage in their life was soon about to begin. They hoped it would bring them many good things, but that wasn't guaranteed.

Oscorp

"Is it ready ?" Fiers asked. At the greenish chamber, he faced the pod which contained a black substance of sorts. It nervously stirred itself around the pod. It was desperate to come out and find a proper host.

"With the little data that Richard left us with, I can't say precisely if it's ready for use. It's very well active, but we haven't tested it. Some side effects could exist. We think it could already heal the host as we intended." The engineer next to him replied,

"I know what it can do." Fiers kept his eyes locked at the pod. "Prepare the sample."

He hesitated. "It needs a host to properly work. We need to know what could happen."

"I have that sorted already, doc. We'll do some proper field tests. I already have the best possible candidate for it." He continued, "Richard's work won't be wasted despite his best desires of doing so."

"Understood." The man left the room and allowed Fiers to be alone in it.

You will enjoy it… for a certain time. Fiers thought to himself.

"Incoming call." The VI broke the deadly silence in the chamber and announced.

"Patch it through."

A holographic image appeared in front of him, it revealed a dark figure sitting in a wheelchair next to a large window.

"Long time… no see, Fiers." The weak voice complimented.

"Indeed." Fiers nodded.

"How are things at Oscorp?"

"The same as when you left it."

"Good… and Harry?"

"At RavenCroft. He's still recovering from the side effects of the serum. As he said himself... it comes and goes."

"I see… and have you achieved what you were supposed to?" The figure asked, rather impatiently.

"Almost. We need the boy's DNA, then things will be fully on track."

"He's back. That will not be a problem anymore."

"It won't." Fiers agreed.

"Right then, Gustav..." The figure began to cough heavily. He recovered, eventually. "Take care. I'm counting on you to complete your part of the deal." His image disappeared.

Fiers set his sight over the pod again, before placing the palm of his hand against it. The substance approached the region of the glass where his hand was set against. It wouldn't take much longer now.

A/N: Something sinister's on the way.

01/09/2020: Overall fixes were done.