Spider-Man stood on top of the antenna found at the Chrysler Building. His now darker silhouette was hidden within the night. His new suit improved his camouflage when required. He watched out for the city, looking out for any signals of trouble in which his participation would be needed. He got what he searched for when spotted the explosion that took place on top of the Brooklyn Bridge.

He immediately leaped off the building and swung towards the bridge. As he cut short the distance between his original position and the bridge, it didn't take long for him to realize what was taking place there. A huge chunk of the bridge was damaged due to the explosion moments ago. On top of that, Gwen Stacy was seemingly laid unconscious on top of the bridge.

"...Gwen…!" Spider-Man swung his way through the bridge as the people under him left their car and hurried towards the distance he was coming from. He let go of the webbing in his hand and as he was about to reach the surface the Gwen was laid upon, a pumpkin bomb was thrown on his side and sent him back to the ground.

He landed on top of the car, crushing the roof underneath his back. Harry Osborn flew back to the bridge in his glider and stopped above Spider-Man's level, before slowly descending the glider towards the car in front of him.

He spoke, "You really thought we're over, huh?" A spear was ejected from his glider and into his hand's grip. He jumped off the glider and towards Spider-Man with the spear in his hands.

Spider-Man leaped to the side and landed on the ground beside the car as Harry dug the spear in the front window. Spider-Man then kicked the car off the bridge and towards the water with Harry still on top of it.

The glider followed the car as it flew away while Spider-Man quickly jumped towards the top of the bridge and began shooting webs towards it. Harry had already recovered and was already flying his way towards the unconscious Gwen Stacy as well. It was a race for who reached her first.

This can't be happening again...

Spider-Man finally set foot on top of the bridge's tower. Harry arrived quicker and now had his right arm draped around her chest, keeping her against him in the glider as he stared down at Spider-Man who was found back at the bridge's tower. They were already physically distant from each other.

"Stop, Harry!"

Harry cackled as he moved his free hand around Gwen's face. Her eyes were shut, she wasn't aware of what was happening. He laughed one last time as Peter jumped towards them and heard the whiplash sound from Gwen's neck.

"...no!

Peter jolted awake, eyes snapping open instantly. He immediately began to assess his surroundings, checking for any threats. He groaned as he properly awoke, realizing that it had only been a dream. He checked to his left, seeing Gwen sleeping safely by his side. She had an arm draped across his chest, gently pressing her body into his side.

Peter looked down at his form, his body was covered in a light sheen of sweat and his breath came in rapid gasps with his heart still hammering in his chest. He raised a hand to his face, rubbing the sleep from his eyes forcefully. He looked to the bedstand to check what time was.

4:23 AM - April 22nd

Jesus...

Slowly, Peter extracted himself from Gwen's arms, rolling quietly out of bed. He walked from the bed and over to the bathroom on his boxer. He released the water, cupping his hands and splashing the cold water over his face. He then looked up and began studying himself in the mirror above the basin.

The nights were getting harder to go through. He couldn't sleep. His body and mind didn't allow him to.

It was just a dream… a dream… everything is just fine.

Peter turned to face the exit of the bathroom and then leaned against the door's frame as he watched his girlfriend.

Gwen slept peacefully. She had her left hand resting on his pillow while her entire frame was covered by the sheets. She had a habit of taking his part of the sheets as they slept together. She never declared herself guilty for such an act, but Peter didn't mind it at all.

He once again entered the bedroom and opened his section of the wardrobe, revealing the black suit in the hanger. It had some shades of purple as well. He stared at it for a couple of minutes. It called for him.

Peter wanted to feel in control again, to avoid the dreams that were haunting him, and there was only one way to accomplish that.

"Pete...?" Gwen called gently without ever opening her eyes while she groped his side of the bed, trying to find him. As she realized he wasn't next to her, she rubbed the sleep away from her eyes and slowly sat in the bed, spotting Peter in front of the wardrobe.

She questioned, "Bad dreams?"

"Something like that. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Come here, please." Gwen patted the empty spot in the bed. She had an idea. "Lie down here, on your chest."

Peter granted her wishes. He laid down on his chest and rested his head on a pillow at the upper end of the bed. He felt movement next to him as Gwen positioned herself over him, resting her knees against his hips.

Before he could ask anything Gwen began massaging his back in a circular motion. Her touch was enough to relax his body causing all of the muscles in his back to loosen up completely. He felt himself both relaxed and began to feel sleepy at the same time.

They stood like that for a few couple of minutes.

"Is that okay?"

"I feel… good. Thank you, Gwendy."

They fell into quietness again, Gwen continued her ministrations for another couple of minutes before slowly coming to a stop, dismounting his body. As she stopped, Peter felt completely at ease, more relaxed than he had felt in a long time. He slowly rolled onto his side, Gwen slipping into his arms next to him. He gave her a tender kiss on the cheek, receiving a smile in return.

Peter brought the sheets up, covering them.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked, gently.

Peter nodded and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He didn't say anything at first but maintained eye contact with Gwen. He blinked first, averting his eyes from her piercing gaze. He didn't want to tell her about his dreams, to concern her that he dreams of her death, but could he deal with this himself? He had such a thing for the past couple of weeks since he suited up again and it wasn't working well.

Peter knew he hadn't tried to deal with whatever was going on. If he dreamt of her death, he could only imagine what she actually went or still went through due to the trauma she endured in the past.

"I... it wasn't anything important. It's fine."

"You're important to me," Gwen placed a hand on his chin, reassuringly. "Tell me."

Peter sighed. "I… I just keep dreaming about the bad things that happened to us over the years, but...the worst part is when these dreams are about you."

"...and?"

"... and every single time you die, over and over again. It's always the same dreams, sometimes with a different twist to them. It's the opposite of what happened that night."

"I see, Pete. Maybe it's just the stress. Spider-Man is back and maybe that has you thinking about stuff you didn't put much thought into until now. I'm not sure, something like that." Gwen caressed his messy hair. "... but I'm not leaving you, ever."

"... thank you… so much. You being here, it means everything to me." He leaned in to capture her lips on his.

She kissed him back before suggesting, "Maybe that gym idea can help?"

"Maybe, I'm going to think about that."

"You do that, you can patrol later. You already left in the middle of the night."

Peter was puzzled. He didn't remember ever leaving their bed last night. "Did I…?"

"Yup, of course, I would notice it."

"Huh… I don't remember doing that. That's weird."

"Maybe it's the dreams… and the stress. We'll figure it out."

He smiled. "You're great."

"Do you know what else I'm great at?" She spoke, suggestively.

"What?"

"Cuddling."

They shared a laugh, before wrapping themselves in each other's arms, enjoying the closeness, and before finally falling asleep again for the rest of the morning.

A couple of hours later...

Peter sat on the desk that Robie had lent for him at the Bugle. He was searching for the past years' criminal headlines which he had missed while he was living in England. He opened the huge and dusty folder Robie had handed to him. He began searching that could be related to the experience he went through in the alleyway.

Gasses. Hallucinations. Toxins. He searched for anything related to these keywords and more.

Oscorp CEO Harry Osborn behind bars.

Spider-Man defeats a mechanized rhino.

New York's vigilante disappears. Will he ever return?

Cletus Kassady is finally behind bars.

New York suffers a great increase in tourism numbers.

Peter sighed and went out to grab a cup of warm coffee.

This will take a long time...

Gwen found herself hanging out with Mary Jane at Times Square. She held a plastic cup filled with coffee. Her name was written in it alongside the drawing of a smiley under it. They were visiting shops since Gwen managed to finish her duties earlier than usual.

She also looked forward to knowing Mary Jane better.

"Is that offer to go somewhere and have fun still up?" Gwen wanted to make Peter forget about Spider-Man and his other responsibilities for a few couple of hours.

"Of course!" MJ replied, excited. "What do you have in mind?"

"I want to bring Peter somewhere that we could relax. Maybe a dance club? Not too loud, though." She took a sip of her coffee.

"There is this dance club where I usually go. It can be really nice there."

"Sounds perfect."

MJ teased, "Why not too loud, though? Are any of you guys going.. crazy?"

"What - no!" Gwen and MJ laughed. "Peter… he's just under a lot of pressure, like working for the Bugle and attending college at the same time, along with some other stuff."

"Oh, I understand." She nodded, glancing at the enormous panel on the building in front of Times Square.

"What about you? Are you from here?" Gwen asked.

"I used to live with my parents in New Jersey, where I was born actually." MJ continued,"... and well… I just couldn't live with them anymore, too much angst. My father certainly didn't help."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"It's alright, honey. It's in the past now." MJ smiled, reassuringly.

Suddenly, MJ stopped her tracks and focused her attention on a dark red shoe that was being exposed in a store beside them. She couldn't resist the desire to try it on.

"What?" Gwen asked surprised, studying her friend's amused expression.

"C'mon!" MJ grabbed Gwen's free hand and led her inside. They would stay there for a couple of hours.

Back at the Daily Bugle...

Quentin Beck, originally accused of murder, still hasn't been caught and put behind bars. The story of the man who took a former movie producer's life isn't likely to be done anytime soon.

"That has to be you!" Peter shouted, forgetting that he wasn't alone. He moved his eyes away from the piece of paper and saw everyone from the floor looking at him, eyebrows raised.

"Sorry, guys."

Everyone resumed what they were doing after sending him an annoyed expression, leaving. Not that he cared about it, he had more important things to deal with at the moment.

Quentin Back… you better sleep with your eyes open from now on.

"Peter?" Robie called from behind him, placing a hand on his left shoulder to gain his attention.

Peter turned on the chair he was sitting on and looked up to the man now found in front of him. "Thanks for the old issues, Robbie. They were really helpful."

"No problem, son. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I believe so, yes. Thanks again."

He nodded. "I also wanted to thank you for your tremendous effort lately. You really put the Bugle back on track in a very short time."

Peter nodded professionally. "My pleasure."

"And for that, I'm also promoting you to full-time web-designer for the Daily Bugle. You will be responsible for keeping us up to date on the web." He gently patted his shoulder.

"What…?, I… just wow..." He never expected such a thing to happen. "Thank you… thank you for this."

"This desk where you are sitting now, it's completely yours. Feel free to place your stuff here." Robbie took an envelope from his suit's inner pocket and handed it to Peter. "This is a bonus along with your new wages. Just don't forget to take pictures of Spider-Man, or else Jameson will be the one crawling the walls."

"I'm without words, Robbie."

"Just go pay your girlfriend a nice dinner. Okay?" He smiled.

Peter nodded.

Not just that...

Harry entered the apartment he bought using a fabricated identity so that he wouldn't be recognized. He fouled himself walking down the steps from the kitchen as he entered the living room and faced the windows that gave him an enormous view of the city.

The place was considerably large, a living room at the center which connected with a long balcony and kitchen. There was a stairwell that led to his bedroom and some other areas. Everything was already furnished.

He took his glasses and jacket off. He then placed his belongings on the counter next to the balcony's entrance and went to grab a bottle of whisky from one of the cabinets that were filled with beverages. He retrieved a glass and placed it next to the whiskey bottle, before pouring his drink into it.

He took some pills from the cabinet and ingested them as he took a sip of his whiskey.

He headed towards the balcony and brought his drink along with him. He looked over the city as the many focus of light began to appear due to the sun's departure on the horizon.

Harry wondered if everything bad that had happened to him, from his mother's death and to where he was now, was because of him. He didn't believe in bad luck, there was no such thing to him. The truth was, he grew up in a family that was never meant to be a proper family. He believed that was the root of it. He inherited a disease he barely understood how it came to exist, and he also inherited a family infected deeply by such a disease.

Was his father… ever good? Did the disease corrupt him? He didn't believe he would ever fully know.

Eventually, he felt the pain coming from his neck and arms. He focused on his torso and below and noticed that the green marks were now appearing over his arms. It was happening again.

"Jesus, MJ… you wanted to check on this one shoe." Gwen gasped. "But you bought four shoes!" She helped MJ carry the many bags.

MJ laughed, shortly. "You have to admit… they do look great!"

"They certainly do, but you will have to hire me to work for you if you keep doing stuff like this. Whatever you truly do for a living, it's better than what I do." They headed for MJ's car.

MJ smiled, happily. "I will certainly tell you, doll." MJ opened the back doors and placed the bags at the backseats. Gwen did the same after MJ gave her room at the door.

The pair then headed for the front seats. Gwen sat next to MJ and then opened her purse, grabbing her phone. She checked for any unread messages.

PP: When will you be home?

GS: Very soon. Movie night?

In just a couple of minutes, Peter answered her text.

PP: Something ever better. Let me know when you arrive at the lobby.

"Home?" MJ questioned, observing Gwen who wore a rather puzzled expression across her face.

"Yeah… I think so."

Gwen Stacy stood still in front of the building's entrance like her boyfriend wanted her to. She waited for any signal of him. It had been a couple of minutes. She hoped that nothing got caught in his way like it usually happened in their relationship. He had gotten better at it, though.

The people that walked past her suddenly stopped and looked up to the sky. She raised an eyebrow and then decided to follow their gaze as she turned on her back to check on what had gotten their attention.

"Heads up, hottie!"

She widened her eyes and let out a yelp as Spider-Man swung his way towards her, catching her in his arms as they met each other. Her phone was left in the air she previously occupied, but Spider-Man quickly webbed it back before it landed on the ground.

They quickly ascended from ground level as the webbing in his hand

"Are you the blonde bombshell I've been hearing so much about?!" He shot another biocable into the buildings.

She hugged him close, still catching up with what just had happened. She was caught off guard. "You're crazy, Peter!

"Crazy for you!" They began descending in the air once again. Gwen tightened her grip over him.

She let out a short laugh. "You will get me at the Bugle's front page one of these days. Spider-Man captures the daughter of the NYPD's former captain."

"That would be quite the headline, Ms. Stacy. You would certainly make a lot of women jealous."

She punched him playfully in the chest. "You wish!"

Peter laughed. He led them closer to The Woolworth Building. The warm light in the windows and the exterior walls of the building set a moody tone to it. As they set foot at the highest point of the building, Peter led her inside the crown of the building. They were inside an area exclusively for themselves, there were also many openings like the one they came from where they could watch over the city.

Peter took his mask and dropped it on the ground. He then cupped her cheeks and kissed her deeply.

Gwen was still rather confused at what was going on with her boyfriend, but she closed her eyes and kissed him back. She couldn't resist the way he held her cheeks.

Peter parted from the kiss but still held her cheeks in his hands. He stared deeply into her emerald-colored eyes. "You do realize that I love you so much, right?"

She teased, "I'd like to think so, yes."

"Then I'd like you to be sure once for all." He took her hand and got on his knees.

Her heart immediately began to race as she started to realize what was about to happen. "Peter…?"

He shot a biocable to the ceiling with his free hand and pulled through the webbing a tiny box into his hand.

Gwen cleared her throat. "I…"

He opened the box with one hand while she held hers. He knew that everybody close to him would always be in danger, but he would do his best to keep them away from any possible harm that they could suffer. He wanted to live the life he thought they both deserved, and that was a life one where they would share a house for the rest of their lives.

He began, "If there's something that I never doubted, it's that you're the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with. I will never forget the first time I talked to you, or when I awkwardly invited you out and our first kiss. Those are memories that I carry close to my heart. You were there for me when I was lost."

Gwen covered her mouth with her free hand. Her eyes began to turn wet.

Peter continued, "You saved my life more than once and you understand why I do what I do." He inhaled deeply. "I'm never letting you go once again, that's why I'm here now. Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy… will you marry me?"

Gwen freed her mouth and began shaking her hand slightly in the air. "Peter… oh my god - Yes! Yes! Of course...!" She got him up on his foot and crashed her mouth into his as a tear slid down her right eye.

Peter kissed her back and held the box firmly in his hand. The pair parted lips once again. Peter took the ring from the box and then took her hand on his once again. The golden ring looked shiny and carried a tiny crystal on top of it. He gently slipped it across Gwen's finger.

"I love you, Gwen." He looked up and met her eyes.

She let out another tear. "'I love you too, Peter… so, so much. They hugged each other. "You make me so happy, the happiest I have ever been."

Gwen later looked up, holding him firmly by the suit's collar, pushing him closer, before kissing him passionately. They were starting a new stage in their relationship, one that she always looked forward to.

Peter whispered between the kisses, "I want to show you something."

"Not now," Gwen whispered back "Let's just stay here… a little longer.

A/N: That was something else.

01/09/21 - Fixed sentences. Improved dialogue. The proposal scene was completely revamped from the ground up. This is a new version, a better one. The nightmare scene was also completely changed, it features the same characters and type of ending, but the rest is now completely different.