April 23rd - 2019

Gwen peacefully stirred and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. She felt two strong arms wrapped around her slim frame. She stretched drowsily on her side of the bed and next to Peter. She turned to gaze at him sleeping and she glowed with happiness.

Since the proposal, she felt happier than ever. The two of them had evolved their relationship to a whole new level and she never had felt as good as she did now.

Gwen turned her head to the clock set on the nightstand. It was a little over 8 in the morning. They had slept surprisingly long. She moved closer to Peter, thinking that it was time for him to finally wake up. She lay down next to him and gave him a soft kiss on his lips and stroked his brownish hair.

Peter slowly woke up and opened his eyes tiredly, but soon let out a kind smile as he woke up to the sight of Gwen in front of him.

"Morning, sleepyhead." She smiled back.

"Good morning, Mrs. Parker." Peter gave her a quick peck in the lips as he slid a hand underneath Gwen's nightgown and ran his fingers against her soft skin.

"Hmm… is that how everyone is going to call me from now on?" She moved on top of him, straddling him as she ran her hand over his abdomen and chest. The lace from her nightgown fell on her right arm.

"Soon… there's no turning back now." He lowered his hands to her thighs.

"I can't resist waking you up. Every time I do you look at me as if you haven't seen me in years."

Peter pondered her last words. "Well… I didn't see you for almost an entire year shortly after graduation."

She tilted her head to the side. "And whose fault was that?"

"You got me." He chuckled, shortly.

Gwen leaned towards him and rested her head down on his shoulders.

He stretched tiredly as much as he possibly could with Gwen being on his chest, "What time is it?"

"Late…" She answered drowsily. She could feel him move his arm a bit which ended up on her lower back and his fingertips began caressing her skin. It was a wonderful sensation. He moved his other arm across her shoulders, keeping her close.

Peter kissed the top of her head. "Last night was amazing."

"God… yes it was, Pete."

"Should we go on from where we stopped?" He turned them around, now lying over his lover. He began planting kisses in the spot behind her ear.

She closed her eyes. "As much… as I love… the idea… we don't have enough time for that." She ran a hand on his hair and held tightly in her hand a small lock of his hair.

"... but we do..." Peter held himself by placing his hands above her shoulders and he descended his kisses down her neck and collarbone.

"You… you know the rules." Gwen tried to form a sentence as he went on with his gestures. "... not before the wedding."

"When did we ever follow that rule?" He planted more kisses on her abdomen.

"... maybe we should." She opened her mouth slightly.

He kissed her thighs. "Do you want to…?"

"... not."

Gwen let out a brief moan and held the sheets tightly in her hand.

Quentin's Beck Hideout - Manhattan's Docks

Quentin unlocked the gates that led to what at first glance seemed to be an abandoned warehouse at the docs. He then closed the gate behind him and strolled towards the two gates that kept him from entering the warehouse.

By partnering with Gustav Fiers, he was allowed contact with a higher grade of technology for his own set of operations. It was a mutual alliance. He did know that there was some sort of hidden goal in it, though.

Quentin spotted his workers next to production tables and separated a large amount of tech spread across the tables. He approached the table which contained what was meant to be his combat armor, it was unfinished. It was colored in green and it had traces of purple. He had a thing for the theatrics and he was aware of that.

"When will we have it up and running?"

"Just a few more days and it should be ready." The worker replied, removing the welding mask that protected his face from the blowtorch's sparkles.

"Let's hope you are right. That bank won't rob itself."

"Quentin...!" A short, bald, and aged man rushed towards him.

"Toomes?" Quentin looked over his shoulder. "What do you want?"

Toomes stopped in front of Quentin. "Seriously, where did you get all this stuff from, what did you

Quentin sighed. "Does it matter? We can do almost anything from now on."

He kept the truth within himself.

"This doesn't look good. It doesn't come for free. What are you up to?"

"Look…" Quentin placed both hands on Toomes' shoulders. "Didn't you want to be rich and live a life of no effort and sweat? This is it. I have goals of my own and I won't back down now."

"What would your wife think?"

Quentin frowned. "... we're past the point where we would care how things are done, Toomes." He walked past beside him.

Toomes stared at Quentin's back. He mumbled, "... last time."

A couple of hours later...

"So where would you like it to happen?" Peter questioned. They held hands as they walked through the city and enjoyed some time together before they had to part ways for the day.

Gwen held a plastic cup of coffee in her free hand. She took a sip and answered, "I… don't know? I've never married before."

He chuckled. "Lucky me, uh?"

She elbowed him gently. "But yeah, I mean… we could search for a church if you want to."

"What if I told you I wouldn't mind doing it somewhere… unusual?"

"How unusual?"

"Like… different, not related to churches or anything like that, you know?"

"I see what you mean and yeah, I think I'd rather that too." Gwen frowned, in deep thought.

"But only if we can afford it, because -"

Gwen cut him off. "We'll find a way. "

"I don't want to ask your mother for money, she already helps us enough."

"And we won't. Trust me."

He grinned. "How are you so confident over this, Gwendolyne? Are you some sort of mobster?"

"Oh, I wish. Imagine our encounters."

"They would be fierce." Peter continued.

She nodded and took a sip. "... the lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, though. It's a beautiful place."

"What? For real?"

"Honey, my father was the captain of the NYPD. We have some connections that could help, maybe a discount."

"You thought of everything, uh? You probably already had everything arranged before I even proposed."

"Maybe."

They were interrupted, "Parker...!"

The pair turned on their backs while still holding hands.

Peter spoke, "Flash!" His eyes widened. They hadn't seen each other since the last time Gwen broke up with him.

Flash wore military clothes. He approached Peter as they greeted each other. "What's up, guys? Long time no see." He waved at Gwen. "Hey, Gwendolyn."

Peter eyed Flash's outfit. "It certainly feels like ages, man. You are certainly looking fancy."

"I just arrived from boot camp, I went to have lunch with the guys and I saw you guys walking by."

"I gotta say, you look good in this uniform." He pointed out.

Flash nodded. "What are you two up to?"

"I'm back working for the Bugle, still wrapping up college," Peter explained before looking at Gwen.

She said, "For now, I'm working at Empire State University." He looked at Gwen and smiled, proud of her achievements.

"Look at you guys, a power couple. I didn't think you two would get together once again."

Peter rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… we're full of surprises."

Gwen added, "... we are getting married."

"Wow! Congrats" He hugged both of them.

Peter patted him in the back. "Thanks, Flash. We appreciate it. You're invited, by the way."

"I'll be there, for sure." He looked over his shoulder when he heard his companions calling for him.

"Well, I should be going. See you guys soon, okay? Let's keep in touch."

Peter nodded. "Definitely." They waved goodbye to Flash as he strolled away from them. Peter looked at Gwen. "What do you think?"

"It was great seeing Flash again, and I'm happy that you invited him."

"Couldn't allow my biggest fan to stay outside my wedding."

"Don't get cocky now."

Herman Shultz's Apartment

Herman retrieved the bag from the hidden spot under his bed and recovered the gauntlets he worked on when jailed many years ago. He would finally put his self-taught engineer knowledge to good use.

Some fixes here and there in the gauntlets and it should be ready for use.

"I'm going to make you proud, brother. I'll take care of them."

Herman kicked the bag back to its spot underneath his bed and began to slide the metallic gauntlets down on his hands. He took the yellow leather jacket from his wardrobe and wore it over his shoulders. It would make it harder to identify him whenever he stopped using it.

He then hid his mask in the jacket's pocket and approached the entrance of the apartment, before turning the light off, emerging his room in complete darkness.

Empire State University - Gwen's Desk

"Seriously?! He proposed?!"

Gwen's colleague couldn't contain her excitement. They were inside the break room. Gwen's colleagues were asking for all the details of the proposal as they ate their respective lunches.

Gwen nodded. "Yes." She took a bite of the sandwich she had prepared before leaving her apartment.

"When?" Another colleague asked.

"Last night. Yeah, it was kinda out of the blue. I mean... I guess that's the whole point."

"Where?"

Gwen mentally sighed. How would she explain? It's not like they knew her groom was Spider-Man.

"Well… he brought me to the top of the Woolworth Building, but how did he manage to get us there without anyone knowing... I have no idea."

"That's so romantic, Gwen!"

"Oh yeah, it was." She focused on the TV set up against the wall. It was time for the talk show to now occupy the channel's time.

They continued, "Do you guys already have a date for it?"

"We haven't decided that, yet."

"Oh my gosh… I'm so excited!

A woman being interviewed in the talk show began, "Spider-Man saved me! He's so... amazing! If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now. Also, he's looking so hot in that new suit. Mr. Spider-Man, if you are listening, give me a call!"

The crowd at the talk show laughed.

Gwen wasn't happy. "Look at that! How can a self-respecting woman be like that!?" Gwen pointed at the screen.

She still couldn't deal with the sexual innuendos in the media towards Peter, or Spider-Man. Women and men, it didn't matter. They were all seeking him. Little did they know that she had the vigilante all for herself.

"What would you do if Spider-Man saved you?"

Gwen gently rubbed her nose, thinking. If they only knew what she had been through already. "I would be grateful… not wish him naked in my bed."

"I doubt it," Her colleague continued. "But seriously, what happened after that?"

"A wife has to be at the center of a man's life, Peter. Do you think you can do that?" May questioned her nephew. They were both sitting on the living room's couch. They were previously checking the family photos.

"I believe I'm ready." Peter held a glass of milk in his hand as he answered his aunt.

"Then I'm deeply happy for you two. You guys were made for each other... you deserve to be happy."

He nodded with a kind smile. "We're very excited."

"I'm proud of the man you turned to. Ben would be proud. Gwen is certainly in good hands."

"Your approval means the world to me, Aunt May."

Aunt May smiled kindly. "I will check if the cookies are ready, then we can talk about this further, okay?" Peter nodded. She got up and headed for the kitchen.

Peter took another sip of the milk.

She spoke from the kitchen, "By the way… I found this weird toy… or device in the basement; I think it's yours, it has this funny red led light in it. It has to be yours."

"Oh, Jesus…" Peter quickly raised from the couch and brought his hands to his hair. He thought about how he would explain that. He didn't even remember that his old web-shooters were still there.

Peter paced around the room. "Y-Yeah… um… yeah, I mean, thank you. It's probably mine. I need to check."

"It's in some box that contains most of your old junk."

"Okay, I'm going there." He hurried towards the door that lead to the basement.

Peter walked downstairs and spotted the box his May mentioned over the table in the middle of the basement. He began to stir its contents.

I'm such an idiot. How did I let this pass?

He then finally found the two web-shooters. He brought them close to his eyes and analyzed the pair. They weren't loaded with any cartridges. He was lucky, because if they were loaded and May activated them. He was busted.

He sighed in relief.

"Did you find it?!" May questioned once she approached the stairwell.

Peter accidentally dropped the box and everything that was once inside it on the ground. "Sure, it's from an old high school project of mine. I'll show it to Gwen."

"I swear I've seen those things somewhere else before."

"Nah, you probably didn't."

"You sure?"

"I'm pretty sure. Trust me."

Helen's Apartment

"Are you hungry, Gwen?" Helen asked from the kitchen as she prepared food for her kids to eat.

"No, mom. I'm cool. Thank you." Gwen checked her phone for any calls from Peter. They talked briefly before. Someone was trying to rob a bank and he would be offline for some time.

Simon, her youngest brother, watched some action movies next to her. Howard, who sat at the other end, watched her older sister. Gwen noticed his gaze and looked at him. "What is it, Howard?"

She didn't feel like falling for one of his pranks.

"You just look different."

She tilted her head to the side. "Different how?"

"Happier... it's on your face. I can't really explain."

"Well, I've got nothing to complain about so far."

Howard chuckled. "It's something to do with Peter."

"He plays a big role." Gwen nodded. "I'm just lucky to have him, most of the time."

They shared a laugh.

Gwen later shook her head and crossed her arms. "What about you?" She continued. "What are your plans?"

"Almost wrapping up law school. Then, I'll focus on being a prosecutor, you know?"

"Oh..." Gwen was surprised. It was her first time hearing that.

"I know. I just want… to continue what dad started. That's what I feel like doing."

"That's… really nice, Howard." Gwen cleared her throat. "You will just need to be careful, you will be dealing with every type of individual."

"Don't worry."

"I'm your older sister, of course, I need to worry."

He chuckled and then gazed at the watch on his wrist. "I'm dead hungry. Where's your boyfriend?"

"Well… you know how it goes."

New York - Lloyd's Bank

Herman fired another blast towards Spider-Man as the latter swung from pillar to pillar, evading the blast waves. He evaded another blast and landed on the ground near Quentin. He quickly began to run towards the criminal.

"I don't like people who flashier clothes than me...!" Spider-Man tried to punch Herman, but the latter quickly reacted and protected his face by closing his arms and having Spider-Man punch his hard metal gauntlets.

"Well… that's your problem!" After blocking the punch, Herman quickly made one step backward and with both hands, fired another blast towards Spider-Man who crouched and allowed the blast to land against one of the walls of the bank, leaving a trail of destruction behind him.

Spider-Man quickly fired a biocable at a table far away and then spun around, before releasing the furniture in Herman's direction. Herman was sent flying backward until he crashed against more tables on his way as they piled on top of him.

"Yikes… you okay, dude?" Spider-Man approached the destroyed tables.

Suddenly the ground started to shake and a blast came from within the tables that were on top of Herman. The blast reached Spider-Man's torso and had him crash hard against one of the bank's pillars.

Herman got on his feet once again. "Don't tell me you're dead now." He approached Spider-Man and noticed that the black suit was moving. The lenses were getting curvier and the white spider across his chest was now occurring even more space in his chest. The legs of the front spider were also now connecting with the spider's legs on his back.

"What...?"

Suddenly, Spider-Man raised his chin and fired two web lines at the ceiling above Herman. With his renewed strength, he made the ceiling fall over Herman, distracting him. Spider-Man stood up and grabbed Herman by the collar, before spinning him around and pressing him hard against the wall he was previously sitting against.

Herman prepared his right hand to release another blast, but Spider-Man quickly webbed them to the wall. Spider-Man kicked the gauntlet hard, shattering it in half along some of Herman's bones.

Herman shouted in pain. Spider-Man took the robber's mask off and watched him bleed through his mouth.

"Finish it.. finish it!"

Spider-Man stood still.

Kill him.

He held Herman by his shirt's collar. He raised his free fist and then began to punch Herman over and over again. He prepared his hand for the final blow, staring down at the criminal as tiny poodles of blood dropped from his bloodied knuckles.

Herman was unconscious.

No mercy.

"Spider-Man...!" One of the cops that arrived at the location called. The officer holstered his weapon at the sight of Spider-Man.

Spider-Man shook his head and looked over his shoulder. The bank was a mess. Damage everywhere. He let go of Herman and took both his gauntlets away from him, before smashing them together.

"I'm done here." Spider-Man walked calmly to the main entrance and fired a biocable at some building, disappearing.

He swung towards Gwen's mother's apartment. He could feel some pain coming from his ribs, but as ever, he just tried to ignore it. He eventually landed in the windows of some building and began to analyze his reflection.

He brought his left hand to his right lense, touching it delicately. He immediately felt his blood burning with adrenaline, his muscles hardened.

The suit… it powers me...

Spider-Man jumped backward, spinning in the air with open arms. He fired a biocable to slow down his falling. Nothing would get in his way. Nobody would ever touch his family, and if they ever did, things wouldn't end well for them.

Harry's Apartment

"Results?" Harry asked from his seat within the living room.

Fiers stood in front of him. He replied, "There are some. I don't know for how long, but the suit is certainly working."

Harry nodded to himself. "Good. Still, we did give him a weapon."

"An unfinished and self-harming weapon."

Harry took a sip of his drink. "That's what we are counting on." He continued, "...what about Connors? Do you think he will be able to help?"

"I will talk to him again soon. Are you willing to put his family on a pedestal?"

"If it comes to it. Are you of all people having second thoughts?"

Fiers shook his head. He noticed the green scars coming from Harry's neck. "Is it coming back?"

"I can handle it," Harry stood up and went to grab his jacket from the counter to hide the marks. "I haven't heard anything from Max."

"He usually stays at the city's power grid. For now, he's attending to his matters."

"Goblun?"

"Still going on, even if the rate of success is very… unlikely."

"Make it happen, " Harry ordered, drinking the last of the glass' contents. "I've never heard of Felicia."

"After you used the serum and spared her life, she disappeared." He continued, "Rumour has it that she's now working for Wilson Fisk. I believe her father got condemned to jail. Fisk could help them with that."

"Fisk? A pity... I liked her, she… deserved better." Harry rubbed the back of his neck.

"I need to head out. I'll bring you news soon." Fiers turned around and walked to the main door, leaving Harry alone in the apartment.

Harry made sure that Fiers was gone. He then raised his sleeve, spotting the marks that were starting to reappear. The time was coming and if he didn't act soon, death would be inevitable.

Peter knocked on the door to Gwen's mom's apartment. He still felt some slight pain from his ribs. Nothing that his special healing couldn't handle, but it still hurt like hell. He had changed to his usual clothes before walking inside the building.

Gwen opened the door and stood still with her arms crossed. She let out a tiny smile.

"Hi…?" He took a step towards her.

"Hi." Gwen kissed him back shortly and gently pushed him away since they weren't alone. "What took you so long?"

"We can talk about it later." Peter kissed her forehead. He whispered, "Do they know?"

Gwen whispered back, "I didn't say anything yet."

Peter nodded. Gwen took his hand on hers and led them inside after closing the door.

"Mom? Peter is home."

"I'm coming!" Helen answered from her bedroom.

Gwen sat beside Peter on the couch. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder.

He began "I stopped this moron from robbing a bank."

She was taken back for a moment due to his cursing. He barely spoke like that. "That's why you're late?"

"Yeah. I should have gone harder on him from the get-go."

"You did what was right."

He sighed. "Maybe." He looked down at Gwen's hand which was set over his thigh. The ring was wrapped around her finger. "It looks great on you."

Gwen smiled and kissed his cheek.

Helen entered the room. "Hi there, Peter."

He got up to hug her. "Hi, Helen. How are you?"

"Certainly better now with you two here." She sat down in the seat facing them. "So… what did you guys want to say?"

Peter and Gwen looked at each other.

Go for it. Gwen ordered.

They talked through her eyes.

Sure… He nodded.

"Hm, Mrs. Stacy… you do know that I love Gwen, right?"

Gwen teased. "You better."

Helen chuckled briefly at the playful banter. "It sure looks that way, yes."

"So, yeah… we… I mean, Gwen and I... we talked and we... well, I was the one who -"

Gwen interjected, "Mom, we're getting married."

"Oh..." Helen couldn't find any words to come up with a reply.

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, Peter proposed last night. That's what he's trying to say."

Helen wore a more serious expression. "Wow, I - well... do you think that you can take care of my daughter, Peter?"

"I would do everything for her, absolutely anything. She's the woman of my life."

Gwen smiled as she heard him talk about her.

He continued, "She's the one for me. I've known that since the day we met."

"Then you two have my blessing. I know that you love Gwen and that you're gonna make her the happiest wife ever." Her eyes started to turn wet.

"Mom?"

Helen wiped a tear off her right eye. "I'm so happy for you two," Helen spoke, huskily.

"Oh, mom. You're going to make me cry too." She stood up and sat in her mother's lap.

"Tears of joy, honey." She hugged her daughter. "Not long ago you were here on the couch with me while we waited for your father to come home. You always fell asleep and so I put you to bed. Now you are here, getting married. It just… happens so fast."

"I love you, mom." Gwen kept her close. "Thank you for everything."

Peter watched the heartwarming scene. He certainly wished he could tell his parents and uncle of such an important moment that was about to take place in his life, but he knew that whenever they were, they were watching them.

He didn't feel like interrupting the moment between daughter and mother.

Later in the night...

Peter glanced at the dark ceiling of their bedroom, fully awake. Gwen used his chest as a pillow and had an arm across his abdomen. He was having a hard time getting some shut-eye, it's not like he felt tired as well. Instead, he kept reflecting on the last days, the suit, his promotion, the wedding, and more.

He kissed his fiance's golden blonde hair. He then noticed that his part of the wardrobe was, for some reason, open. He could see his black suit inside. He stared at it for a couple of minutes. He felt as if the suit called for him.

Carefully, he moved away from Gwen and received a discontent moan in response. He pressed his pillow closer to Gwen and covered her with the sheets, before planting a kiss on her forehead.

Peter walked to their wardrobe and grabbed his suit. He stared at lenses, at himself. He quickly wore the black spandex and headed to patrol and put some things into motion.

A/N: Sorry if I took so long to update. This chapter was a bit tricky to write, for some reason. I'm not that satisfied with it. This one was the first fight that I ever wrote so I hope that it's not that bad.

04/09/2021 - Lots of changes. Peter and Gwen have a more intimate scene at the opening. I removed scenes that were too short and not that important to the experience, ex: Shocker being jailed. Trimmed some scenes for smoother reading. Many fixes were done. Dialogues were improved.