This Is Our Path

by LucasA

Their lives were never the same after the incident at the Clocktower. Together, they've found comfort in each other's hearts, and their bond remains strong despite the countless attempts to wipe everything they ever had. A tale of the most important stages in their life, from the moments of calamity and happiness, to the difficult moments of sadness and reflection.

44. One Day

January 28th - 2028

Los Angeles

Was the sun always that bright? It most likely was. Being a person who always enjoyed to swing around the city and appreciate the view, Peter never took the time to actually analyze the burning star which has been active through thousands of years now. A normal person would probably close the eyes after staring it for a few couple of seconds, but not Peter, his eyes were genetically enchanted but that doesn't mean that he wouldn't get any eye injury by just looking at it. He was glad to be able to appreciate such beautiful thing for a little longer than the usual, after all, the world was ending and he may not see those bright, warm rays ever again.

Peter turned his head on the asphalt, seeing flames and debris dominating the ground where he was currently lying on. He spotted his mask next to him, one of the lenses was unfortunately cracked, it wasn't something unfixable, but it was his mask. He wondered for how much long he would have to wear it. So many memories the suit had given him, bad and good ones. To reach the future he had envisioned with his family, he certainly would have to keep wearing it, at least for a little longer. He would defeat Ultron and his army, once and for all, whatever the cost.

With a gasp, Peter moved his right hand to the sun's direction and blocked the strong light from his eyes as he slowly rose from the ground and stood on his knees. He looked around and basically saw the destruction that was now being a common thing to stumble on. The street was a ghost location; he barely heard any gunfire, the signal of resistance. This war has to end, he thought.

Peter was heavily injured, but he managed to reach for his mask. He slowly pulled the soft material down his face as the mask instantly locked itself with the rest of the suit, meaning that nobody not authorized by him could ever unmask him without applying a great deal of strength. He moved his right fist down onto the ground, supporting his weigh as the suit slowly powered on after the mask's insertion. It tightened itself over its owners' skin and started to temporary heal his damaged body while injecting more adrenaline onto his blood. He had to find his team and return back to his family.

It didn't take too long for a single drone to spot the once fallen hero and fly towards his direction. Peter looked up to the buildings, seeing the enemy's humanoid drone flying around the skyscraper and moving itself towards him, ready to engage.

He wasn't giving up. The fight was not over, not until his heart stops breathing.

---

Eight Hours Later

Gwen glanced at the clock that stood on the edge of the bed stand and sighed. It was almost eight in the morning and still no sign of Peter coming back from his very early mission to extract Steve and some soldiers to the base.

She had hoped to spend a nice, quiet morning with him while the boys were sleeping. Even Elizabeth, who for a reason which not even Adams could figure out, always had trouble sleeping for more than a few hours, she was currently curled next to her, taking a little nap, and giving her mother some company.

The only thing that was missing was … well, her husband.

It was not only bad because she wanted to snuggle with him on the couch and make out like they had after their wedding. He was her escape, or else she would get crazy with everything going on - like having no contact with her family. At least some of her friends - including Ellie, were safe.

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. When she turned her head to look at the source, she wished she hadn't the same instance. A little, black, hairy spider sat on the carpeted floor.

Gwen slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds of distress that ripped from her throat at the sight. To say that she hated spiders was very ironic since her own husband was a big one, but that was different, even at Oscorp she refused to see any spider samples. She was afraid of them, her fear bordering on a phobia.

She pulled her feet up on the bed quickly and scrambled into a standing position, her eyes never leaving the eight-legged animal when her breath came in short, irregular puffs. Where the hell was her husband when she needed him? Or the freaking Iron Man? Gwen squeaked and pressed her hand a bit tighter over her mouth when the spider moved a bit to the right. Damn it. She had nothing to kill it with. Not that her fear would allow her to get close enough to kill the animal, anyway.

Thank God nobody could see her right now. Flash, Howard or even Clint… every single one of them would have a field day if they saw her scared because of a single spider. Even Peter made fun of her fear of spiders from time to time. However, since he always made it up to her once they were alone; she let it slide most of the time.

Another muffled squeak tore from her throat when the spider moved again, this time out of view. Gwen leaned to the side to see the black thing under the couch. Where the hell was Peter when she needed him?

What did she marry him for when he wasn't even there to kill damn spiders for her? Right, she loved him. And then there was the lovemaking. And his abs. And his big brown doe eyes. And hands that could make her feel things that were probably illegal in some parts of the universe. She shook her head. Now was not the time to fantasize about what her husband could do to her with his hands.

Soft sounds from the front door caught her attention for a split-second before she focused on observing the enemy again. If the situation hadn't been so dire, she would have laughed at Peter's timing. Now, she was just glad that he chose this moment to arrive.

When he came into the room, wearing normal clothes and carrying a bag around his shoulder, he saw his wife standing on their bed with poor little Elizabeth peacefully taking a nap next to her.

Peter's eyebrows shot up. "Gwendy…?" He simply asked.

"There's a spider…Over there." She explained, her eyes still fixed on the animal when she pointed at it.

Peter burst out laughing. The great Gwen Stacy was afraid of spiders…that just never got old. If he told someone, he was sure that the other person would call him crazy. He hadn't believed it at first, either. Until the day he actually had to take care of a spider for his wife who had been deathly pale back then and pressed to a wall opposite of the offending animal. She was just as pale now, he noticed, but standing on the bed this time to put some distance between herself and the creature.

"Stop laughing, damn it!" She cursed. She would have glared at him if she wasn't occupied with giving the spider her best deaths stare.

He coughed, trying to cover up his mishap. "Sorry, honey, I didn't mean to." He joked, unable to keep from chuckling. When he saw the spider, he knew exactly why she was reacting so strongly. The spider was an ugly, he had to admit that. And it was probably the worst nightmare for someone who was afraid of them.

Gwen still stood on the bed, glaring daggers at the animal.

"What are you doing?" She asked when she saw Peter kneeling down on the floor.

"I'm going to catch it and take it somewhere else?" It was meant to be a statement but came out as a question.

"Oh no, you are not, you're going to kill it!" Gwen objected.

Peter sighed. "Why? It'll be gone once it's outside."

"No, it's going to come back inside!" She almost jumped when the spider moved again. And while she didn't jump, she moved as far away from the offending being as the bed allowed. "Peter, kill the damn thing, right now!" She holds her sleepy daughter's hand, softly.

Another deep sigh followed. It was no use arguing with her when it came to spiders, he had learned that the hard way a long time ago, still...

He moved his hand under the couch, allowing the spider to crawl on top of his hand, Gwen almost had a heart attack at the sight.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm not murdering a spider..." He mumbled, walking towards the door.

"You're not touching me again."

He grinned and opened the door. "We'll see about that."

Peter eventually returned back to the room, but this time he wasn't holding any spider on his hand which pretty much relieved Gwen. He approached the bed and chuckled. "You know, for a badass woman, you are pretty scared right now." He joked and shrugged when she sent him a death glare.

"Where did you put it?" Gwen asked as she climbed down from her refuge and carefully walked towards him.

"I went to the base's courtyard, and placed her back to the florist. I don't know how the Spider got inside; someone must have accidentally carried it." He smirked.

Gwen glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Stop laughing or there will be three kids growing up without a father." She rested both hands on his shoulders as Peter wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Sorry, love you." He kissed her lips, passionately. He had missed her presence after hours of exhausting and dangerous work.

"Hmm," Gwen kissed him back, before looking at his brown eyes, "Thank you for saving my life, my handsome husband." She teased.

Peter slid his hand underneath her blouse and gently caressed the soft skin of her back. He gave her another tiny peck on the lips and asked, "How's my little princess?" He gestured to his fast asleep daughter lying on their bed, using his pillow as support for her head.

Gwen smiled. "Liz woke earlier than the usual, and she went here to give me some company. Isn't she a little cutie?"

"Oh yeah, she's beautiful as her mother," He leaned down and kissed the pale skin of her neck as she stroked his brown hair and smiled at his delicate touches. "Steve is back, you know?" He buried his face on Gwen's neck, felling her natural scent.

"How's he?" Gwen leaned her cheek on top of his hair, falling for his loving embrace.

"He's a strong person, but it's not hard to see that the war is heavily affecting him." He replied.

"I know," Gwen nuzzled his hair, before he looked up as they shared a quick kiss. "It still is early; don't you want to take a quick nap?"

Peter moaned in contentment as she softly caressed the hardened muscles of his shoulders. "Yeah, I'm dead tired." He gave her quick peck on the lips and gently lifted her from the ground, holding her weight with both arms as she released a yelp, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Was that really necessary?" Gwen teased.

"I must pretend to be a real gentleman for my wife's amusement, because I'm a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e." He finished his last sentence in a very dorky way which made Gwen giggle at his silliness.

"Yes, you are."

Peter lowered Gwen on her side of the bed, next to Elizabeth, and walked around to reach his own side, before lightning up one single lamp, giving them a cosy sensation.

He lazily lay down on his side of their bed, moving himself closely to his sleeping daughter, and placing his right arm across her and his wife's waist, bringing them closer. He kissed the top of Elizabeth's blonde hair and sighed happily.

"I wish we could stay like this forever." He broke the silence, looking at Gwen's gorgeous green eyes, "Our kids never growing up anymore, no missions, and no fights, just us."

Gwen smiled, and entangled her legs with his. "I know, but hopefully we'll be seeing our own babies evolving into three great persons, going to college, hanging out with their friends, working. They are going to find someone for them, marry, build their own family, and be happy." She whispered, careful to not wake her daughter.

Peter rubbed her shoulder gently. "You're right, but I don't know about that dating part, at least not with Liz."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Why? Are you going to be just like my father? Overprotective and everything…? "

He chuckled, softly. "Elizabeth is fragile, sweet and innocent. I just don't want to see her getting hurt like how I did to you."

"Don't be silly, our relationship evolved, I don't blame you for anything." Gwen placed her left hand on his cheek and gently cupped it. He closed his eyes at her gentle touches, while kissing the palm of her hand, before slowly drifting to sleep.

She continued softly, "You're one of the best things that ever happened to me, don't ever doubt that," She cupped his cheek, "But be prepared, cause you're going to fight against a horde of boys who are going to after your daughter then."

---

One Hour Later

Peter carefully passed the shaver down his jawline, staring himself and his sons through the mirror in front of them as both shirtless David and Aiden lazily brushed their teeth next to the sink, standing over a small support that Peter had brought for them. He was finding the situation rather hilarious, but special at the same time. Spending some time with the twins and having a boy's time was something that he always enjoyed to, not that he never enjoyed playing with Elizabeth and her plushy toys when she was younger, he loved it and he would do it again if she ever asked him, but wrecking things up or playing some football was always welcome.

Aiden looked up at his shirtless father and stopped brushing his teeth's for a moment. "When can I shave my facial hair, daddy…?"

"Me too…" The three years old, David, mumbled.

Peter moved the shaver away from his cheek for a second and chuckled, "Well, when you're older, much older."

"Why? I already have some." He moved his hand to Peter's cheek and stole some of his foam, before passing the substance on his own cheek. He gazed his own image through mirror with a huge smile.

"You don't have any facial hair, buddy," Peter gently pinched his, covered in foam, cheek. "Believe me."

"That's not fair." Aiden complained as he gave some foam to his brother besides him.

"Life isn't fair." He joked, proceeding to finish the last area of his right cheek.

"Mommy told me that you gave me and Aiden your hair." Aiden wasn't giving up by any means.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "I think she meant that you two have the same hair as me because of genetics, if not, then she's nuts." He chuckled softly.

"You think she's crazy?" David turned to look at his brother.

"What if she lied to us?" Aiden asked back.

Peter sighed, "Guys, mommy doesn't lie. She's right about the hair, but I can't just give my facial hair to you two, when it's the right time, you'll have it." He explained.

David cocked his at Peter's reflection on the mirror, remembering another topic that both him and Aiden were speculating about. "Oh, why do you and mommy kiss each other so often?"

"Yeah, it's gross."

"Oh god..." Peter chuckled. He wondered himself when their 'lots of questions' phase was finally going to start. "Because that's what in love people do, most of the time."

"But why…?"

"Um... I don't know…attraction? It's a natural thing, you two are going to understand in the future."

Aiden turned on his shoulder. "Oh, I have a question!"

Here it comes...

"Where mommy and daddy met?"

"High school..." Peter replied.

"Really…?" Aiden widened his eyes in surprise. "You kissed her in school?! What if Elizabeth already kissed someone?"

"Oh no…!" David covered his mouth with his right hand as he exchanged a worried glance with Aiden.

"Guys, guys…!" Peter tried to control the situation. "Your sister is safe, she won't kiss until she's 18 years old, but you two got it wrong, when your mother and I met, we were 17, calm down for god's sake." He cleaned his face with a towel and then went to remove the foam from his desperate twins' cheek as well.

The bathroom door was unexpectedly open by Gwen who was wearing a bathrobe. She peered inside. "Why are you three taking six hours to finish whatever is that you guys are doing?"

Peter turned on his back and awkwardly smiled. "Hey babe…"

"Hi mommy…" The twins greeted at the same time.

Gwen raised an eyebrow when she noticed what looked to be foam at the corner of David's mouth. "Is that your shaver's foam in David's mouth?"

"Long story…" Peter placed the towel back to the sink and grabbed the twins with his strong arms and walked towards the door. "Morning mommy," He gave her a tiny peck on the lips. He walked past her and into the bedroom with their boys on his arms. "The bathroom is all yours."

---

"I kind of miss the good old times. You know, back when we were hunting simple bad guys." Steve said with an almost wistful expression on his face. He had arrived in the base a few hours ago for the next operation that they were going to perform together. Everyone were indeed missing him, his teammates and even mere soldiers. He gave his command to a more fitting person in the army so that he could help coordinate the new mission.

Now, he was just enjoying the little time with his friends.

Clint rolled his eyes at the assessment of the unofficial king of them. "The good old times…? Seriously, Steve…? Come on, back then, we all thought it was one big clusterf-"

"Clint!" Gwen interrupted, sending him a pointed look before lowering the gaze to David who sat on the marksman's lap, snuggled into his uncle's arms while he listened to the adults. He always enjoyed his presence, they both had a unnatural chemistry since he was born, and Clint enjoyed spending time with him as well.

"Sorry", Clint mumbled, stroking over the little boy's head.

"Uncle, stop!" David complained, trying to avoid his uncle's hand, but to no avail. He started squealing with laughter as Clint started tickling him and looked at his mother. "Mommy, help me!"

The adults laughed at the boy's dismay. Gwen chuckled and grabbed her son out of Clint's hold. "You've had enough fun torturing my son for now." She told the archer and watched her son hurry off to the bathroom to sort out his hair.

"He's worse than Peter, you know?" Clint said, leaning back with a grin on his face.

"Hey!" Peter objected, unconsciously dragging a hand through his brown hair.

"Who do you think David and Aiden got it from?" Gwen asked, grinning at her husband when she sat back down next to him. She kissed his cheek when she heard him grumble. "You know that I love your hair." She whispered in his ear and chuckled when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, Steve, remember when we had that bet going?" Clint asked the soldier, grinning from ear to ear when he saw Gwen raise her eyebrows.

"What bet?" How come she hadn't heard about that until now? She couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw Flash sitting on the edge of his seat, apparently deeming the conversation a lot more interesting all of the sudden. Gwen chuckled when she noticed Steve roll his eyes at the younger ex-marine. Apparently, she wasn't alone in her opinion.

"Oh, you know when you and Peter were expecting the twins, before you two knew the gender." He replied. By the look on his face, he had won that bet. Or so he thought.

"Who won?" Gwen asked, most likely setting the archer up for a big surprise. She had a hard time to stop herself from laughing.

"I did, I mean … come on, I'm accurate. They were stupid to bet against me in the first place," He explained, leaning back against the sofa. "I didn't give a specific time like the rest of those comedians, but I knew that it would be two boys."

"Yeah..." Steve scoffed. He had lost twenty bucks that day. "I thought it was just one boy."

Gwen and Peter shared a look, silently communicating. When Gwen nodded slightly, Peter coughed lowly before he started to speak. "Now that you mention, I remember accidentally leaving the sex result back at the Tower, Gwen almost beat me because she wanted to show the footage to her mother... you found it later, and handed it back to me."

Clint stared at them, wide-eyed. "What? When…?" He chuckled, awkwardly.

Steve narrowed his at him, "You didn't..."

"You cheated!" Natasha calmly protested from her sear, realizing what she had just done. "Um... I was on the bet too, I voted for another girl."

"Clint pay up." Steve demanded, holding a smile.

"What - are you implying that I saw the results?"

"You know very well. Now that they cleared the whole thing up, you cheated. I want my money." Natasha explained with her tone calm while she smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

Gwen looked at Clint before searching Peter's gaze, biting her lower lip to keep herself from laughing. Her resolve broke when she saw that Peter was fighting just as hard to keep a straight face and she started laughing again, everyone joining in at the look of defeat on Clint's face. Just for once, the joke was on him. And it was damn time, too.

---

January 28th - 2028

Present Time

Spider-Man approached the edge of the rather small building that faced a train track which stood a few meters from ground. The entire street was a ghost area, with no signals of life at all, just chaos, that wasn't the city where he grew up, but a warzone filled with destroyed cars and debris. He closed his fists, absorbing the negative energy coming from the area, and turning it into self-motivation. Ultron was going to pay for everything he had done to mankind.

"We're coming in hot!" Steve Rogers alerted through the private comn.

Spider-Man turned his head to his east side, the sun's bright light being reflected on his golden lenses. He saw the Super Soldier standing on top of the incoming train, fighting Ultron, more like evading his attacks while waiting for the right moment to engage. A small ship controlled by Hawkeye was following them.

Natasha had dropped from the ship and now was piloting motorcycle on the ground. They had successfully extracted the twins and now was time to handle Ultron himself, who somehow knew about their operation, ambushing the group during the process.

Steve threw his shield at Ultron's chest, barely making a scratch but just slowing him down. The machine grabbed it and dropped it off the train and into the ground, just in time as Natasha leaned down on her motorcycle to retrieve the special shield.

"I'm always picking up after you, boys." She sighed as she grabbed Steve's shield from the asphalt.

Spider-Man fired a web line to the opposite building and took one step further. He fell from the rooftop, still holding the web line on his hands. The train was just passing by and Ultron was ready engage Steve again. The web-slinger joined his legs on the air and dove towards the worldwide threat. Ultron noticed movement on his left, but it already was too late for any kind of reaction.

Spider-Man kicked Ultron out of the rain as they both crashed through the closest building's window and landed on the empty office. He had given a breach for Steve, now it was time to keep Ultron occupied for as long as he could.

"Peter?" Steve called.

Spider-Man knelled on the floor, and turned on his shoulder, seeing Ultron recomposing himself from the crash. "Keep going, I'all meet you guys back in the LZ." He ordered.

"We can go back -"

"Just go!" Spider-Man assumed a defensive position as his opponent stared him with deadly eyed.

"Peter... Good luck."

Spider-Man faced his opponent, standing in one of his many iconic positions. "Just you and me, pal."

"This is just what I wanted." He stated, approaching Spider-Man while destroying tables and whatever that was on his way.

Ultron laughed with his terrifying voice. He passed next to a desk and quickly grabbed, before throwing it at Spider-Man's direction who ran towards him and then slid under the table, and proceeded to reach Ultron as the object reached the glass and flew out of the building.

When they were about to collide, Ultron went to punch Spider-Man with his metallical hand on the face, but the agile human reacted quicker and spun over him. He landed on his back and moved his arms to Ultron's head, before firing one webline from one hand to another, and circling it around his eyes. Stunned, Ultron activated his propulsion system from his feet and flied backwards, smashing his back against one of the many columns, causing Spider-Man to gasp in pain, luckily the armour reduced some of the damage.

Seeing a breach, Spider-Man got out of the blind machine back and walked away, hiding himself behind a column some meters away from his opponent who had just removed the web from its face and was now looking out for him. He leaned his back on the cold material of the column and checked his body status through the mask virtual interface. His reading was off the charts, it was getting hard to breathe and difficult to concentrate, something was going on with his body, something bad.

"Hiding will only delay the inevitable." Ultron affirmed, checking the many hiding spots from the area. "At least you know that your efforts won't get you anywhere."

Peter shook his head and slowly leaned his head to the right, checking Ultron's position. He was now facing the machine's back. It was looking around, just in front of the column where he was hiding, he couldn't engage on his current state.

"Records show that you're one of the finest specimens of this planet, I think that Oscorp used to call you 'perfect'."

Peter widened his eyes inside of the mask. How did he know that? He thought.

"And I like to think...that you're my own perfect candidate!" Ultron violently burst his hand through the columns' concrete. Peter's sense didn't triggered so he was caught in surprise as he rolled on the floor.

Ultron violently came through the destroyed column and went to land his fist over Spider-Man who used his right arm to block the punch and then he quickly used his free hand to crash his knuckles against Ultron's metallic teeth, probably shattering some of his hand's bones on the process.

The machine shook its head and grabbed both hands as he lifted his opponent off the ground. Peter repeatedly kicked Ultron on the chest while Ultron tightened his grip over Peter's hands, slowly smashing his wrists.

"Humans never know when to stop, they just keep going until the objective is completed, and unfortunately... you're never achieving yours." Ultron released Spider-Man on the floor and waited for a response.

Peter gasped as he immediately brought his right pulse to his left hand, they were in a pretty bad state and his hands always were his primary weapon against bad guys. He slowly dragged himself close to the nearest window. "You talk like... a simple computer can't come up with such words.

Ultron followed him. "I'm beyond your understanding, and that's why your inferior race must be purged from existence. Your end will be the beginning of a new era."

Ultron used his feet to turn Peter around. He moved his right hand to his neck and pressed him against the window, staring the golden lenses of the mask which was now reflecting his own figure. Ultron quickly released him just in time to violently kick Spider-Man in the stomach as he flew through the window.

Quickly plummeting to his death, Spider-Man ignored the pain coming from his stomach and wrists and joined his legs as he opened his arms, slowing his descending and now gliding to the ground in high-speed, now a survivable one. He ultimately reached the concrete and rolled a few meters on the ground, before stopping near a Taxi.

He calmly kneeled and moved his right arm to the taxi's door, supporting himself as he stood up. He peered inside and noticed that the taxi meter was still on, marking 3,17$, an unfinished ride most likely.

"Sorry, I don't have the money either." He patted the Taxi. His special sense triggered, alerting him of the incoming danger that had abruptly landed over Spider-Man's friend, causing him to spin backwards in reaction.

"Damn son that was one of the cheapest rides I have ever seen here in New York." He tried to maintain a straight position, but the dizziness was affecting his fight skills, basically what kept him alive through the years.

Ultron stepped down into the ground. "Such an arrogantly sense of humour..."

"You know, my wife usually says that, maybe it's part of my charm," Spider-Man closed his fists when Ultron was facing him, "Like this one!" He kicked what would be Ultron's ribcage, barely getting a reaction. "Dude, you suck..." He gasped.

Spider-Man was about to recover his leg if Ultron hadn't trapped him by moving his right arm to his leg and hold it tightly. Ultron kept him trapped quickly enough to press his body into the Taxi's hood.

Peter tried to rise but Ultron pressed him back, he was definitely stronger than him. He repeatedly kicked Ultron and tried to press him off, without any success. Ultron placed his arm over Peter's neck, slowly suffocating him as he fought back, using both arms to move Ultron's arm away.

The machine leaned its red glowing eyes closer to Peter's golden lenses, maintaining his opponent trapped. What looked to be a red laser, was shot from Ultron's eyed and into Peter's left golden lenses, not ripping through the material, but just actually surpassing the glass and finding its way into Peter's eye.

He gasped, containing a scream full of anger and pain. Surprisingly, his eyes stood intact through the whole process, but his entire body was screaming in agony, a burning sensation.

Ultron turned off the laser and analysed the scan's results on his 'mind', while observing Spider-Man who brought his left hand to his left golden lenses, not so sure if his eye was still there.

"And here I thought that you're indeed perfect, you're now running against the clock... what a shame," Ultron backed a few meters away from Spider-Man and rose his powered hand at him. "There's no point in killing an already dead man."

---

Four hours later.

Peter sat on one of the beds in the infirmary with his back to the exit. He wore nothing but his black under suit as his Iron Spider armour pieces were stacked on the floor. The windows were opaque and only Adams and Gwen was present and standing near him. Peter was visibly dishevelled, exhausted and still with a throbbing headache.

The automatics had made brain scans and Adams was flipping through the results on a data pad.

Gwen picked up a small flashlight from the medical tray table nearby. Gwen aimed the soft light into his pupils for a moment. They were dilated indicating that Peter's optic nerves were damaged.

Gwen was concerned, but at least he had recovered since he managed to get aboard the shuttle after the personal encounter with Ultron. She had also noted he hadn't been his chatty self, and hadn't divulged much about his experience back there. Understandably he had rested and slept the trip back to the base.

Adams began talking professionally and looked up from his data pad, "It shows increased delta waves. You have a mild traumatic brain injury. A temporary loss of brain function, this can cause cognitive, physical and emotional symptoms in the days to come. I recommend rest, a lot of it for the next several days." He sighed concerned, "The nosebleed has me worried, it's a bruising of the brain. How do you feel?"

Gwen gritted her teeth troubled and returned the flashlight to the table.

Peter's speech was slurred, "Dizzy. I have a headache and my eyes hurt from the light."

Gwen asked evenly, "And you tell us this now?" She brushed past Adams to the light controls of the control panel on the wall near the office tables and turned down the light.

"Well, at least you can walk," Adams continued. "Your motor reflexes albeit slow are intact." He sighed, apologetic. "Sadly I want to refrain from giving your aspirin and ibuprofen for your pain. They think the blood and increase the risk of more internal bleeding." He smiled reassuringly, "Despite it all, I don't think your condition is life threatening, but I do want you to take it easy."

Gwen returned to Peter's side.

Peter nodded slowly and flashed a weak smile, "I will, can I go see my Aunt now?"

Gwen raised an eyebrow, not understanding if he was joking or actually being serious. "Um, Peter, you know she isn't on this base."

Peter narrowed his eyes at his wife. "Oh, I thought... I-I forgot that." He rubbed his eyes.

Adams shared a worried glance with Gwen. "I want you to stay here under supervision of the automatics for one night."

"Whatever you say, Doc," Peter replied dizzy.

Adams smiled and teased good-heartedly, "Oh my, you're receptive to my recommendations. This is a first."

Peter smiled weakly, "I guess. But I need to take a shower. I'll come back later."

Adams protested, "You're a bit wobbly legged."

"Yeah, well I'm reeking with sweat and want to get out of this suit," Peter pointed out. "And I need to talk to Tony, I think."

"No," Adams asserted. "He can wait until I clear you."

Peter shook his head slowly, "He needs to be briefed."

"Peter, I agree with Adams' assessment, no work related for you," Gwen urged as well.

Peter ignored that and peered at them. "With all due respect to both your professions, no…"

Stubborn man, Gwen thought annoyed. She glanced at Adams and asked evenly, "Can I talk with Peter alone?"

Adams was just as annoyed with Peter's stubbornness and replied evenly and nodded, "Of course, Mrs Parker."

Adams placed the data pad on the tray table and duly left the infirmary.

"What the hell went on down there?" Gwen demanded when the infirmary door closed.

"Ultron..." Peter said and crossed his arms.

"Yes, you told us that. And now you're behaving like a stubborn childish boy," Gwen shook her head scathingly. "Don't you ever risk your life like that again, do you hear me?" Once again he had risked his life and she had no idea how to deal with all the strong emotions tearing at her, it was always like that, she couldn't understand why he had to unnecessarily risk his life when he has three young kids to take care of.

Peter mused sardonically, exactly how I wanted to be talked to. He countered snide, "Thank you, dear, anything else?"

"Don't get snippy with me, mister!" Gwen exclaimed bothered with a glare, his behaviour wasn't helping.

"Of course not, you're the only one with exclusive rights being snarky," Peter reproached frustrated.

Gwen breathed hard and demanded coolly, "Excuse me?"

Peter was equally parts frustrated about their argument and exhausted from the encounter with Ultron and didn't' want to fight and merely shook his head, "Never mind."

"Fine," Gwen spat near furious and turned to leave, heading for the door. Over her shoulder she snarled, "If you want to risk your well-being, be my guest."

Peter scoffed. If there was someone that he had to listen, no matter the situation, it was his wife. "No, wait."

She stopped short of the door and turned to face his back. "What?"

Peter glanced over his shoulder at her and continued, "I stood behind to slow down Ultron while the team and troops recovered more civilians and the twins."

"I know that."

"We fought, he said some stuff."

Gwen turned around and returned to Peter's side. "Go on." She didn't want to know how much of pain he went through.

"Then Ultron...he approached me and the he shot some lasers from his eyes to mine, it hurt like hell." He sighed, frustrated, "I don't know what the purpose of that was... I feel that there's something more besides Ultron's desire to destroy mankind, Gwen."

Gwen said bleakly, "Everything we did this past month, all the hard work in tracking down every piece of minuscule lead, all those that died, led to that we basically have more questions than answers. The Breach is still an enigma." She asked carefully, "Why did Ultron allow you to go?"

"I-I don't know." He lied, if Ultron was right about his state, he didn't need to worry Gwen more. Maybe he was just saying things to bring him emotionally down.

Gwen grimaced sympathetic with gentle eyes and reached out and hugged Peter close. She kissed his lips and caressed his cheeks. Peter wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his forehead to hers and breathed out clearly overwhelmed by the experience with Ultron. Gwen wasn't sure what to say. She hoped her presence was enough.

Peter leaned back so he could look into her eyes and said quietly, "It invaded my mind and body for some unknown reason, not happening again."

"I'm sorry," Gwen whispered softly. "I'll stay with you here tonight. Or we can sleep in our quarters…but Adams wanted to monitor you."

It was bulky hugging her in the Iron Spider armour but Peter kissed her lips which she reciprocated tenderly and he took a breath of her scent. It was comforting being held by her and just feeling the warmth of her soft lips

Peter smiled weakly, "I would appreciate the company. Thank you."

Gwen smiled and said reassuringly, "I will help you the best I can."

Peter nodded grateful and took a breath to calm down. Gwen planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Daddy…?" Elizabeth called for her father as she stepped inside of the infirmary.

The couple unwrapped themselves from each other's arm. "Hey missy…." Peter smiled and opened his arms.

Elizabeth hugged him as he brought her into his lap. "Are you hurt?"

He stroked her golden hair. "It's nothing to get worried about it."

Gwen placed an arm around Peter's shoulder and spoke, "Daddy will be staying here tonight, just to check if everything is alright with him."

"Alright…"

"It's already late, sweetie, " Peter kissed her cheek, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I can't sleep when you are away." She said, softly.

Peter's heart sank; it wasn't only Gwen who was having a hard time with everything that was going on. "I'm here now; you don't need to worry anymore."

Liz hugged him again. "Okay."

Peter sighed, relieved, before nodding at Gwen as he caressed her back.

"C'mon little missy, I'll put you in bed." Gwen smiled.

Elizabeth kissed Peter's hand and then gently holds her mother's hand as they walked away from him and towards the door.

"Night, daddy, love you!"

"I love you too!" Peter smiled to himself as the most important girls of his life stepped out of the infirmary, holding each other's hands. He stretched his shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck. He was diving in exhausting, but duty always most come first.

---

Peter had arrived at the Virtual Conference Chambers and met up with Steve in one of the antechambers before walking up all the stairs. He had not been in these chambers for over a week, but it all looked the same. They entered the large empty room and saw the big vid screen facing them. Tony was already there, talking with the many important politicians.

The British representative, Louis, was speaking with Tony "Ultron's forces are in our territory as well. The US is no more or less unfortunate than any other country out there."

"But the US was the first United Nations country attacked; our reports suggest that we face the brunt of the attack." Tony argued.

The Australian representative, Yvonne, interjected, "How do you know that it's the case? New Ultron fronts are opening up everywhere."

"The reports are accurate." Steve said, the represents turned their attention to the Super Soldier "It is a full scale invasion, and indeed, the rest of the planet will soon follow."

The politicians, even Tony, were silent, watching Steve and his masked Spider-Man friend besides him.

He continued, "And it's just the beginning, we need to amass an effective defence and counter them. They'll just push forward, taking country after country the longer we do nothing."

"Your territory maybe suffering, but the British have lost London. The Russians and the Italians need to bolster our own defences." Yvonne informed.

"We must fight this enemy together!" Peter interjected.

The Australian told Peter in a sharp tone, "Mr Spider-Man, need I remind you that the last time we fought a large force it was because of your country's interest in the Tesseract?"

"True, but in the end we survived because the Avengers managed to handle the situation." Peter was more diplomatically this time then in his previous outburst. "But Ultron is much stronger than those Aliens."

Yvonne asked, "If we throw everything we have at the US and loose, what then?"

Tony intervened and told them, "We have a plan in the making. And frankly, it's all we got at the moment, but we found a blueprint some years ago in a secret Hydra's base. It originated from the Second World War.

"What is it exactly?"

A holographic image of the device showed up in the middle of the room. "It's appears to be a weapon of some sort, it's already being built."

She was perplexed, "And this is capable of destroying them?"

"So it would seem."

Louis was not impressed, "It's a fool's errand, and Hydra lost the war. Clearly the weapon is flawed."

"It was incomplete." Tony explained. "They ran out of time, and the war ended."

"Do you believe in this, Spider-Man?" Yvonne asked concerned. "After what you have seen of Ultron and his army?"

Peter turned sombre, "It sure as hell beats standing around here and arguing about it! We need to stand together to get through this."

The politicians said nothing; they watched each other, gauging each other for an understanding until Louis shook her head.

Yvonne turned to Peter, she spoke as she was superior in every way, "At the moment we cannot commit to the plan and give you the military support needed. Our own country must be defended."

"Farewell."

Tony rubbed his face and passed through them. "Never gets old." He stated before heading off the chamber.

When they were alone, Steve turned to Peter who was leaning his back against the wall. He spoke with a soft and concerned voice, "You okay?"

Peter removed his mask and sighed; he spoke in a mournful voice. "I don't know, Steve. I'm…it's just they're stalling." Peter shook his head.

"I understand your frustrations, but I need you strong."

"Yeah..."

Steve watched Peter in silence for a few more moments as he stood with arms crossed and looking down on the floor, "I'll go back to my own room, relax a bit, you should do the same."

Peter nodded and gave him a faint smile. "Sure. Night, Steve. "

---

The forest was thick with trees and underbrush, casting strange shadows in the dark. The air was cold enough that he shivered, his teeth chattered. Peter looked down to his hands and saw his old red and blue suit which he was now wearing minus the mask. He heard things in the distance, he was unsure if it was animals in the forest or something else. He heard the guttural noise getting closer to him, as well as feet running through the mud.

"It's something...Something that your mother and I have to do." Richard's voice echoed.

Peter turned around, searching for the voice's source. "Father…?" He called.

"Not choice, responsibility."

He instantly recognized the voice, his Uncle, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"I'm already dying; your blood can't make me die more."

"You're weak."

The Osborn's voices haunted him.

"At least you know that your efforts won't get you anywhere."

Something was stalking him. And fast.

"Are you afraid of the dark? Because I'm going to kill the light."

A strange creature emerged from the shrubs. It was almost human, deformed and with a grey and blistering skin with red- glowing cybernetics emanating.

To his horror, Peter recognized the face. Once beautiful, its red eye-cavities peered at Peter. The skin had begun to root and came apart, exposing the new metallic skin.

"Leave...Gwen...out of it."

Peter was aghast and dreadful watching an Ultron-like Gwen. His lips quivered and he wanted to burst out crying. His love had been taken from him.

Suddenly Gwen lashed out with an inhumane and piercing hiss and growl, it sounded like a language but Peter could not understand it.

Peter bolted away as fast as he could. She ran after but didn't quite catch up with him, but Peter couldn't shake his pursuer. They both crashed through the woods and bushes. Peter was exhausted, sweat poured from him and the rocks on the ground and the thick underbrush tore on his skin. Blood flowed freely. His adrenaline pumped furiously.

Suddenly he took a wrong turn and the path was blocked, he had run into a gorge. And the creature was just behind him.

The creature dashed forward with a shriek and landed upon him and he fell to the ground. The Ultron's – Gwen's– hand carefully felt his face and she gave a low his and furiously started to claw at his body. Peter tried to push her away without actually hurting her.

Sudden intense pain washed over him and the dream wavered and expanded from a small white dot into a piercing flash of whiteness filled with a slow buzzing.

---

Peter awoke with a scream while the whiteness slowly resolved into a dimly lit room. The veins pumped with blood and his heart pulsed hard. His muscles quivered and it felt like glass was piercing in his head while he sweated profusely. Peter sat up in a jolt and breathed hard.

He was still in the infirmary.

There was a scuffle on his right. In the nearby bed Gwen awoke. She had accompanied him to the infirmary hours earlier; she had elected to keep him company after he had talked with Tony and showered. Peter appreciated the company, but it had been strange sleeping separated in two beds; the infirmary beds were not big enough for two. They had been unable to cuddle and talk before they had fallen asleep as they usually did; instead they had to fall asleep without that intimacy they both were used to.

Gwen's feet hit the cold floor, she wore a white nightgown. She reached out and squeezed his hand.

"Peter?" Gwen asked drowsily but concerned.

"Just a bad-" Peter tried but was cut off.

"Dream…?" Gwen asked, worried. "More like a nightmare." She continued much softer, "And isn't that the crux of the problem, you label it as bad dreams but we both know you have some intense nightmares?"

Peter turned to face her as she wrapped her arms around his bare torso and rested her head on his shoulder.

Peter sighed weary and relented, "I know, I…I just don't want to bother you."

Gwen lifted her head from his shoulder and mustered not to roll her eyes upset at his childish behaviour. Gwen looked into his eyes and sighed softly, "You claim you want us to be open to each other and share those war related things…I do wonder sometimes if you really mean that? Do you think I would view you as a lesser man for the nightmares?"

Gwen suddenly recognized her own hypocrisy; she hadn't shared her own nightmare weeks earlier. Instead she had hid it, buried it. She also recognized it was not healthy for their relationship if they were unwilling to share. That was a sign of distrust, but she did trust the man she just…didn't want to bother him having her nightmares piled upon him as well. He had enough stress from the war as it was. And that stress was getting to him.

Peter looked down on his legs under the bed sheet and sighed ashamed, "I don't. I'm not... I don't know. I..."

Gwen kissed his cheek and assured, "I don't think you are, you know." She instructed, "Hop in a bit and lie on your side. We're going to make this work, you're not sleeping alone tonight."

Peter did as instructed and turned to the side, giving Gwen space in the bed. She crawled in under the cover and they wrapped themselves around each other in the cramped bed, there was almost not enough room for both.

He chuckled weakly, "This is…intimate."

She raised an eyebrow, "Since when did you complain about that?"

Peter could feel her cold feet and legs entangled with his. He said concerned, "You're cold."

Gwen smiled affectionate and teased, "I need my cheap heat source." She grimaced concerned and prodded, "Talk to me, Peter."

Peter nodded, his eyes turned sad, "I dreamt that you were a... machine. You chased me in a forest and killed me. There were some voices from those who died in the past. It was very intense and vivid."

Gwen squeezed his body and kissed his lips and said sympathetically, "Likely a side effect from what you experienced with Ultron."

Peter nuzzled close and mustered a smile, "Sometimes I forget how much you actually know about me, my little Avenger spy." He was happy to be wrapped with her, it made his horror from the nightmare dissipate slowly. Her presence reaffirmed that despite the intensity it was only a dream, she was very much alive, and so was he.

Gwen didn't know what to say. Sometimes it wasn't easy to comfort with words, she wished she was better at it, she thought. Instead she hugged him close and kissed his lips softly. Her Peter was much, much better at comforting with words than she was. He and his silver tongue…

"I don't know what to say to help you," Gwen confessed, feeling powerless at the current situation.

Peter smiled stronger, "You're helping a lot already. Don't fret about it."

Gwen smiled encouragingly, "Okay."

"What about you? Do you sleep alright?"

Gwen gritted her teeth a bit; she couldn't muster herself to lie to him. She didn't want to lie.

"I had a pretty rough nightmare a few days ago," Gwen confessed.

"You never told me."

"No, because…" Gwen grimaced ashamed and chuckled humourless at her own hypocrisy, "I don't want to bother you. You have enough problems as it is with the war."

"You're not a problem-!" Peter started to say, then thought better of it and stopped. He himself had kept his nightmares secret. He sighed, "We're pretty messed up aren't we? We're hiding personal things which hurt us."

"Not the word I would use," Gwen said dryly. She softened, "But you have a point. Don't you profess we should be open? I say we've failed a bit, really."

"We have," Peter agreed despondent. "So…what did you dream about?"

"I was in a city, Washington I believe. The Ultron's forces attacked and people died all around me. I was caught and put in some sort of machine and injected with nanites and was slowly turned into one of tbem, screaming for you before my mind was overrun with loud noises."

It ached in Peter when he heard that and held her tightly, "Jesus, woman, I'm sorry."

"It wasn't pleasant," Gwen replied sober, "just as your own nightmares I can imagine. I was shaken when I woke up."

"You should have told me…" Peter said quietly.

"Just as you should have," Gwen pointed out.

Peter kissed her lips, "You're right, of course."

Gwen nodded. She didn't know the time, but it was late. She smiled affectionate, "I'll keep you safe tonight."

"Thank you," Peter smiled. He loved that playful, loving and snarky woman.

---

January 28th - 2028 - Night

England - London

Matt sat in the Big Ben clock tower in the Palace of Westminster. Through the telescopic sight of his sniper rifle he peered down on London. He had been in the tower for almost three days now, taking out targets that appeared below. The intense fighting that had raged across the city had died down; only sporadic gunfire could be heard. The drones were still traversing the city, destroying anything and everything they came across. The once great city had been reduced to rubble, it hurt Matt and the unknown attackers had destroyed all military forces that had counter-attacked the city; Matt could not fathom the number of civilians and soldiers that had died during the fighting. Matt had been unable to do anything but sit in the tower with his sniper rifle and shoots anything he saw. He cleared the visor of his helmet that covered his entire head and sighed.

His leg still hurt and he had tried his best not to put any strain on it, although he had to wander downstairs to the abandoned restaurant in the building to get some food, otherwise he would have starved up in the clock tower. Up there he had been scared, he expected any time that some strange creature would burst through the service door, but for three days nothing happened, but he knew he could not stay up in the clock tower forever, he needed to find medical help for his leg, and he would be able to survive much longer with others. So for the rest of the day Matt had waited for the sun to set so he could slip out into the city. He was not entirely comfortable with walking outside with his leg, he would not be able to move as fast as he wanted, and if he came into contact with the enemy it could be problematic getting away. Maybe his team was going to find him; they were called the best for a reason. He needed to see his boy and girl again, so thinking negative wouldn't get him anywhere.

Matt began his way down from the clock tower. With his painful leg it took almost an hour to walk down the 300 steps down to reach the exit. He stopped and peered carefully through the service door he had gone in through a few days earlier, he surveyed the area before stepping out. Further down the street he saw the shuttle that he had crashed in. The nightfall made everything eerie dark, he regretted that he had not taken with him night vision goggles, but it was no time to dwell on that now. As far as Matt could see, the immediate area seemed clear of hostiles so he pressed on.

He was unsure where he would go, considering that several machines were on the other side of the Thames, Matt headed north instead. At the very least he needed to get out of the city if he could not find any military units within the city limits. He decided that the streets were too dangerous to walk through so he darted into the buildings instead, using the back alleys to move. His radio was functional so he tapped into the radio controls and searched the radio net for any radio communications, but there was nothing except the VI from the emergency radio broadcast.

"Greater London residents are instructed to go directly to the closest pre-designated evacuation sites. Pick-ups are every fifteen minutes. There are emergency evacuations in progress. Head immediately to your nearest emergency service shelter. Troops will be there to meet you. Bring citizenship identification and no more than one baggage item per person. Beware of your surroundings. Remain alert."

Matt shut down the radio feed and sighed. Things weren't getting any better. Maybe that super weapon that was being constructed rumours were just blind hope, wishful thinking. With one last try, he turned his radio on again and spoke.

"This is Corporal Matt Williams, Noble Team, and US Marine, anyone catching up this?" He called, not getting any kind of response. He was about to shut down his radio when a familiar voice responded his calling.

"Matt? Is that you?"

"James? Where are you guys?"

"We got pinned on the subway, we've been waiting to get in contact with you again for two weeks man."

"Really…?" He turned around, carefully checking his corners for any threat.

"Yeah, you know our team, no one gets left behind. We're called for extraction, we'll be assisting an operation coordinated by no one else than Steve Rogers himself. "

---

January 29th - 2028

"How's she?" Peter approached Clint who was standing next to the cell's door which was made with reinforced glass. Wanda was being kept there for security protocols while they don't reach the decision to trust her or not, but she had been collaborating after all.

"Um.. Quiet, I'm avoiding talking with her."

"She inquired anything?" Peter glanced the cell, seeing the brunette sat in her bed, looking at him, motionless.

He gulped, feeling guilty. "Yeah, questions like my name and accomplishments."

Peter sighed. "Alright, I'll make the final judgment then."

"As you wish…" Clint turned on his back and typed a password on the panel next to the cell's entrance, allowing the web-slinger passage.

Peter entered the rather small room as the door behind him closed. He crossed his arms and faced the mysterious woman who looked very calm, and that was a good sign, most of the time. She wasn't nervous or anything close to that.

Peter started, "I'm Peter -"

"Parker…" Wanda finished his sentence for him.

He raised an eyebrow. How she managed to know that was now literally bugging him. "Have we met before all this?" He asked.

"We haven't, the first time we're actually fighting each other, Spider-Man."

"H-How do you know that?' He took one step closer, trying to figure what was going on.

"I know lots of things, I know that you're in agony, fear, and you're slowly falling into pieces." Wanda replied, some weak red flares started to emerge in the atmosphere around them, "Ultron is winning, you're broken."

"I may be broken, but I'm not giving up, neither should you…"

She smiled; his position was typical from any glorified hero out there. "Okay, I won't be prying anymore, but tell me, what's your biggest fear?"

"That's a very personal question; ask Daredevil, the answer should be more intriguing than mine." He stated.

"I'm not a scientist, but I can tell that there's something wrong with you, physically."

"Enough about me..." Peter cut her off, "What are you planning to do now that you're here? Can we trust you?"

"Why live in denial? Why don't you look out for help?"

"There's no need for help, you just met me, you don't know anything about me or my life." He stated, trying to maintain a calm position. The atmosphere was tense.

"Does your wife already knows that? Or is she going to know when you're dead because of it?" Wanda asked, seeing his brown eyes now turning red.

Tired of mind tricks, Peter closed his fists and tried to suppress the anger that was overcoming him. He was feeling exposed, he wanted to beat something, let his primal state take control of his body and actions, vent his anger and frustrations. In a blink of an eye, his body relaxed, he was back to his normal himself again. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

Wanda stood up and approached him. "The real question is - Can I trust you?" She placed her right hand close to his cheek and absorbed the red aura from his figure, absorbing her influences back.

Peter opened his eyes, realizing that he was under her control for a brief moment, and what she's capable of. He sighed, and spoke, "Yes... yes, you can trust me."

Wanda stood in silence for a brief moment, analysing the man standings in front of her. Eventually, she nodded at him and returned to her previous spot.

"And thanks for helping me to save my wife, I've read the reports, you boosted the building's signal."

A way of proving her value, she thought. "You're welcome."

---

Base's Surface Gym

Peter took a hard fist to his cheek and fell on the canvas with a groan. Peter's lip cracked and blood flowed and filled Peter's mouth and he tried to spit it out but the mouth guard prohibited that and Peter had to swallow down the bitter taste. Even with his protective headgear his head pulsated hard after the blow from Thor.

Peter wore his regular training outfit with a blue protective headgear similar to those used by boxers , Thor was no different, they wanted to blow some steam off, and not get some injury, but behind all that, Peter wanted to test his body's physical state.

Peter conceded that Thor was definitely a good hand-to-hand fighter. The trio had decided not to adhere to the rules of sparring as neither of them knew the sport, it wasn't something one could learn after a 30 minute brief. Thor drew from years of fighting experience. There were various rules and arm drags, bear hugs, punches and headlocks of all manners, but for today the humans didn't need to bother with that and basically it was a free for all. Thor had the upper hand and could most of the time counter the attacks, and this made him annoyingly cocky as he had defeated Flash even if the he had fought admirably. Flash was on the bench with his protective headgear next to him, he exhaustedly gulped down water from a bottle.

As smart Peter was, he had been studying Thor when the Asgardian fought Flash so Peter had an idea how he fought. Thor was exceptionally good, and that showed.

The place was spacious and housed a variety of functions such as showers, storage and seating lobbies. And there had gathered a crowd of curious people around the ring where Peter and Thor was locked in combat, they had recognized the Asgardian fairly quickly and even a few women watched Thor with great interest, admiring his athletic body, most people didn't knew about Peter's identity, for them, he was just another soldier.

Thor cockily strutted around the ring, his predatory eyes squarely locked on Peter who was writhing on the floor mat. But he made the mistake of moving a little too close to Peter who suddenly peeled himself of the floor and lunged, smashing him on the side of the head with a fist which staggered Thor. Peter then locked his muscular arms around the Thor's arms and torso and dragged him down, both were on their knees, chest-to-chest. Peter pushed himself to his feet and lifted a struggling Thor up with him with a tightened hug; he arced his back and… WHAM! Peter and Thor smashed down and Thor slammed his side on the floor and his head hit the canvas hard.

The gathered small crowd outside the ring winced while others cheered or booed.

Peter let go of Thor and forcibly rolled him over and straddled the Asgardian and delivered a not so powerful punch to his

Anger flashed in Thor' eyes as he struggled free. One of his arms hit Peter's stomach and the human buffeted and gasped for air as Thor then smacked away one of Peter's arms and in a lightning strike his other fist connected with the side of Peter's face.

A dazed Peter fell over awkwardly on the floor and pushed away from the floor to get some distance from him for a re-attack. Peter staggered away but didn't come further than a few steps when it was Thor's turn to lunge at his friend. He grabbed one of Peter's feet and yanked hard and with a yelp Peter crashed down face first on the floor.

Thor pushed himself of the floor to attack but Peter rolled to his back and delivered a hard kick to Thor' shoulder and the God of Thunder staggered from the blow and fell back on his back.

Peter got up from the floor and dashed into Thor knee first into his stomach and grabbed around him who groaned from the knee-shot and started to pound Peter's face and shoulders with his fists as they rolled around on the mat and traded blows.

Their hearts were beating hard and loud. Adrenaline was flowing.

Thor rolled the human on his back and grabbed one of Peter's arms and dragged him up as Thor got back on his feet and pushed down the human face first hard on the floor and ringed the arm around Peter's' back who winced in pain.

With his free hand Peter pushed up from the floor, taking advantage of all his superior genetically enhancements and rolled around dazed. He used that momentum and managed to get on his side with Thor still clenched to his back. Peter jammed his free elbow into Thor' stomach which knocked the air out of him and he groaned.

Thor let go of Peter and rolled to his back and gasped for breath, gulping down air.

Peter got up and grabbed one of Thor' arms and yanked him up and drove him into the mat, Thor's chest slammed down and Peter pressed down one of his knees on one of Thor' arms as he followed through the movement and got on top of Thor' back and pressed down the Asgardian into the canvas and slammed his fists into Thor's shoulders and head.

Thor was disoriented and his vision was blurred.

"Damn you, mortal," Thor cursed into the mat and he soon followed up with a raucous chortle, "You win."

Peter stopped beating him grinned wild with a small trace of blood in his mouth and around his lips. Peter let go of Thor and stood up. So much for Thor's previous joke about his own reach and flexibility, and how he's a ladies man back at Asgard.

Thor rolled over and Peter hovered above him and offered his hand and the human pulled up his Asgardian friend. Both were out of breath, exhausted, sweaty and breathed hard, and not to mention bruised and sore.

Peter reached into his mouth and removed the translucent mouth guard, covered with blood and saliva. He pocketed it into his trousers.

"Was it as good for you as it was for me?" Peter snickered. He swiped away some blood from his mouth with his hand.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Thor replied annoyed. "You cheated." He cleared his throat and spat out more bodily fluids.

The small crowd, sensing it was over, left.

Peter frowned, "I did not cheat. You told us we had free reigns."

"Yeah, well, you cheated with all your abilities."

Peter shrugged matter-of-factly, "I did hold back." He teased, "Don't expect any 'reach and flexibility' in the showers though. I'm a taken man."

"Funny," Thor replied sarcastically.

Flash jogged over from the benches and grinned enthusiastically, "That was awesome! Humanity won."

Thor snorted with a glance at the Flash, "You lost before, so it's 1 x 1."

"Whatever," Flash shrugged dull. "So what's next?"

"Running," Thor said. He smirked and taunted, "And I'll out run both of you."

The Asgardian slender and strong body was capable of moving at high speeds, and they could easily outrun the avarage human.

"Yeah?" Peter countered. "You said something similar before the fight to."

Flash mumbled dull, "I hate running."

Thor teased good-naturedly, "Well, the way you're huffing and puffing in your black suit, I think this will be good for you, Flash."

"Whatever, big guy," Flash reproached. "Adrenaline will get me through anything."

"If you say so..." Thor gestured, "Let's go."

The two humans followed Thor to the track outside the gym. Behind them, small VI-controlled cleaners raced out from their hiding places in small nearby storage containers to clean and decontaminate the ring.

The base's courtyard was a huge, perfect for maintaining the soldiers physically ready for any situation when required. Soccer and basketball fields, running tracks, it was also good for a breath of fresh air. The landing zones filled with planes, helicopters and shuttles wasn't too far.

The trio trekked on and Peter discarded the head and mouth protection gear in a nearby trash bin, as did Flash. There were several runners on the two kilometre long track going around the massive courtyard. The trio got in position, one runner per lane, and Thor counted down and off they went. As suspected the predatory Thor sprinted quickly and was in the lead, taking long and fast steps.

Thor focused his attention on the long track ahead going around the courtyard, and even sore from the fight he pushed his body hard. The steady thump of his footsteps echoed in his ears and he felt beads of sweat roll down his forehead. Behind him he could hear his competition. Peter was close by, mere meters.

Peter had his target 'locked.' Determined to if not beat Thor, at least get in close. He kept forcing his legs forward to push harder to keep up his sprint; he felt the warm pull of his quads and smiled. He hadn't run properly in a long time, it was a great change of pace and scenery after spending hours on one of the tread mills of his apartment back at New York. Sweat ran over his body, his muscles stretched and pushed hard and his breathing was synched with the thump of his feet.

Flash on the other hand was lagging further behind them, struggling a bit. He was physically strong. Running was definitely not his strong side as he mainly focused his training on muscles and not endurance. His heart pounded hard, warmth seeped into his muscles which burned from the lactic acid, the air rushed in and out of his lungs and he had to force himself to breath in a well-paced rhythm but his breathing hitched in his throat a bit, making his already screaming lungs about to burst, aching for air.

That was when Peter started to feel dizzy again, his muscles falling him and his breathing getting heavier and heavier. He shook his head and maintained his speed.

One after one, they crossed the finish line, Thor of course had won but Peter wasn't far off. They breathed heavily, their muscles screamed.

"2-1," Thor declared smugly.

Peter nodded, "Good race. Damn your fast."

Thor chuckled as he peered at Peter's body, "You look like hell, Peter. You okay? You slowed down back there."

"I'm alright,"

"What will Gwen say when she sees you?" Thor snickered.

"She'll probably be annoyed with my physical state," Peter said. "And then we make up, worsening my state, but that she doesn't care as longs she gets satisfied." He joked.

They laughed.

They saw a nearby water cooler, these also dotted the training grounds, and both grabbed a bottle of water each and Peter took a second bottle for Flash who they patiently waited for. Both men greedily gulped down the cool water.

Eventually Flash crossed the finish as well, out of breath. His legs shook, his heart pounded and his lungs ached.

"Damn…" Flash cursed. He groaned and coughed. He bent his knees and leaned forward with his head between his knees, he placed his hands on his knees.

Peter walked over and asked concerned, "Are you alright, Flash?" He offered the water bottle in view of Flash.

"Yeah, I hate running."

Flash took the bottle and nodded grateful. He screwed of the cap and stood up and drank from the bottle.

"You're going to be alright," Peter said sympathetically and patted Flash's shoulder. "Maybe we should sit down somewhere?"

"Sounds good," Flash said content to hear that as he had swallowed half the water.

Thor nodded, "Sure, there's some benches over there." He gestured across the courtyard to a cluster of solitary benches with nobody there.

The trio left the running track and trekked on to the benches, they detoured to the water cooler and grabbed a few more bottles and discarded their empty ones in a nearby trash bin. They continued to the benches and sat down comfortably, facing each other, sipping on the cold, fresh water. Their breathing was calmer, as were their heart beats. Their muscles still ached a bit. They peered out over the massive facility and the attendants running, wrestling, throwing spears and so forth.

Flash asked to start up a conversation, "So this is what you Asgardians do for exercising?"

Thor nodded, "Yeah. They have been around since ancient times. Rooted in the military and is a regular part of our society, shows strength and merit, which is important to us."

"You're pretty good in hand-to-hand," Peter praised. "Ultron definitely is going to struggle with your people."

"I hope," He nodded. "Think we can win this?"

Peter stared the ground and took a sip of his water. "We find the Tesseract, and Ultron is history."

"Bastard machine..." Thor cursed.

"I know that it's not easy, but I believe that we're going to win this," He affirmed. "We go home, rebuild, and live rest of what life's has in storage for us."

"We've been through a lot over the years." Flash added.

Peter elbowed him, gently. "Still going, I just have to thank you guys for being there for me, means a lot."

"That's what friends are for." Thor concluded.

The trio nodded in agreement, enjoying the view of the sun hiding itself on the horizon of the bases. Peter meant his words, there isn't a lot of people that Peter considers his friends, he never had many, Harry was his only friendship for a long time, even when they were away, and after his tragic death, he learned to appreciate every single second that he shares with those people who he considers his family.

"Daddy…!" Two familiar voices called. Peter turned his head at the sound's direction and saw his boys running towards him through the long running way, with Steve just behind them, catching up with Peter's two little Spider-Men's.

Peter smiled and rose from his spot. "Hey!" He knelled on the floor as they both hugged him. He stood up and spun around, holding both twins with his arms, "What are you two up to?"

"We've been looking out for you." Aiden started.

"Yeah, mommy was helping Liz with her homework and it was very, very boring." David finished.

"Oh, that's boring," He chuckled. "Why don't we run this entire track, looks fun, right?"

Both Aiden and David examined the track with their brown eyes, not to enthusiastic about it. "But it's huge!"

"Hey, you guys want my old suit, right?" They both nodded at their father, "If you run this entire track with me, I'll consider giving it to you two. No sacrifice, no victory. "

"Really…?" Aiden grinned.

"Yep..."

"Okay then!" Peter kissed their foreheads and gently lowered them on the ground as the courtyard's lights poles were automatically lighten up. They both positioned themselves at Peter's side and waited for his signal. Thor, Flash and Steve just observed the energetic trio with a huge smile on their faces.

"Go!" Peter shouted as their boys instantly started to ran. He didn't moved at first, but let them form a considerable gap between him and their position, before starting running after them and let them think that he was struggling to catch up, and that gave the twins an enormous confidence boost, after all, they're defeating one of the most, if not the most iconic figure alive, Spider-Man.

---

After Peter had walked Thor back to the base he returned to his section and bathed the twins, he walked back to his room. Once home, he strolled through the room looking for Gwen, suspecting she had returned from her errands. He stopped at the computer's desk near the living room as he didn't see or hear her.

Peter called out, "Gwen?!"

A moment later she shouted from her current position, "I'm in the bathroom!"

Peter turned on his back and walked towards the bathroom. He saw several boxes and duffel bags packed with Gwen's personal items stacked in the corner, and on the bed the clothes she had worn was placed. Peter strolled into the bathroom and stopped in the doorway and saw Gwen in the large bathtub in the floor a few meters away. She looked quite happy, soaking in the warm bubble bath which smelled of lavender chamomile which filled the bathroom.

Peter leaned on the doorway and smiled amused, "Hey."

"Afternoon," Gwen smiled. "You look handsome as ever."

"Thanks." Peter said playful, "Speaking of 'looks,' you're sure doing an awful lot of maintenance over there, looks comfortable."

"It is comfortable," Gwen sighed content and slipped down a bit underneath the bubbles. "I needed this. Just relax a bit." She smirked sultry and raised one of her slender legs up from the bubbles, water and bubbles dripped down and she rinsed her leg slowly with her hands, "Want to join me?"

"Don't mind if I do," Peter smiled back and started the remove his clothes, throwing them away into the bedroom; some landed on the floor others on the bed.

Gwen lowered her leg into the water again and smiled amorous as she watched Peter strip in front of her.

"You're a very exquisite specimen, Peter," Gwen purred as she enjoyed the sight.

"What a ringing endorsement," Peter quipped and was soon naked and kicked the shoes out of the bathroom. He walked over to the large pool and stepped into it and walked over to Gwen. He lowered himself into the bubble bath at her side and slipped his arms around her slim body and held her close as they shared a kiss.

Gwen smiled and snuggled closer, one of her hands found its way under the water to his thigh and squeezed it affectionate while she draped her other arm over his shoulders.

"God, this was good," Peter sighed content as well, enjoying the feeling of her naked body and the warm bubble bath. He glanced at her and smiled, "You're very distracting, Gwendy. "

"Well, then I've succeeded in my nefarious plan," Gwen grinned.

"Which was?" Peter asked and inched a bit closer to her.

"Lure you into the bathtub and seduce you," Gwen said wanton.

"Sounds intriguing," Peter teased and nibbled on her lips which she reciprocated.

Gwen giggled as they parted, "It's good that you're so easy to manipulate."

"You can't help being so captivating, can you?"

"Nope," Gwen declared with a childish grin. Gwen sighed content again, "It's moments like this with you which makes me feel good, to get away and be alone."

Peter squeezed her body affectionately, "You're very loyal Gwen, and I can always count on you. Facing the war with you helps a lot"

"We're a team," Gwen reaffirmed. "You fill me with confidence, Peter."

Peter smirked, "It's not all I'm going to -"

Gwen giggled and swatted his shoulder, water splashed around them, "Stop." She pressed her body to his side with a sultry smile, "I've taught you well. You're a very good boy." She flirted.

"Definitely," Peter smiled adoringly.

Gwen smiled and looked into his eyes happily, enjoying the blissful moment of teasing. She contemplated quietly, "There's a tiny cut on your lower lip."

"Sparring…with Thor."

"Oh, okay then." Gwen leaned her back more closer to his chest and rested the back of her head on his neck. She sighed contently, appreciating such intimate moment. "How do you feel?"

"Much better now," Peter kissed her cheek and continued empathetically, "This will soon end, and then we're going live happily with our kids again, forever this time."

Gwen smiled, "My small family."

Peter caressed her bare stomach underneath the water. "You know, I look back, and I see two crazed teenagers in love, and now, we're married and parents of three beautiful children, have your ever managed this before?"

Gwen rested her hand over his. "When I was going to catch the plane to England, it was when I imagined what would happen between us in a few years if we're together back then, it broke my heart actually."

Peter kissed the side of her lips and said softly, "I know, but hey, here we are. I can't imagine myself living without you and the kids, you all are my life."

"And mine as well," She looked up and kissed his lips before asking, "Do you have any plans when this is all over, hopefully."

He smirked. "Oh yeah, I'm taking Ren for a long walk, tingle my little girl, play hide and seek with my boys, make up all day with my wife..."

Gwen laughed.

"... And maybe have one more baby."

Gwen deadpanned. "Peter... you're one amazing father, everyone knows that, but four kids?"

"What? I'm a love machine.' He joked.

Gwen couldn't help but laugh at his horrible joke. "You're awful, you know?"

He went to kiss the smooth skin of her neck. "Just speculation, baby, your wish is my command. You know how much I love to bug you about this."

Gwen giggled as she slowly passed the soap around her cleavage. She liked what she was hearing. Gwen smiled and mused softly, "It's something I'm hoping for. You know, I've been daydreaming occasionally."

"Daydreaming?"

"Yeah…An empty tropical beach, no people but our family. We're kissing, watching the kids and listening to the ocean."

Peter smiled, "That sounds inviting, Gwendy. I guess we've to settle for this bathtub for now."

Gwen smiled brightly, "It's not the location that matters, but the company so this is fine."

He sighed contently. "I love you, Gwen," He whispered next to her ear, "One more time because it always feels really nice to say, I love you, Gwen Stacy Parker."

She smiled. "You know that I love you too, and my god... you're so sweet."

"Oh, thanks for making me feel like I'm an eight years old." He joked, nuzzling her golden hair.

Gwen looked at him and gave him a tiny peck on the lips. "You're welcome," She teased, before asking, "By the way, what's up with that folder?"

Peter leaned his lips away from hers and gulped. "Um…nothing...?'

Gwen completely turned on the bathtub and leaned her, covered in bubbles, chest against his, before resting her hands on his strong shoulders. "Really…?"

Peter cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Gwen smirked. "Um...nothing...?" She repeated his phrase but now in a very sensual way, before moving her lips closer to his as Peter turned his head to the side, making her warm lips kiss his cheek.

"Hey, hey, let's not rush things..."

"Tell me," Gwen wrapped her slender arms around his neck and used her body to press him against bathtub, using the passionate friction in her advantage. She moved her lips close to his left ear and asked, "Please?" She gently bit his ear.

He chuckled nervously; he had to keep the secret safe, whatever the cost, even if that meant fighting against his wife's flirtations. "I just remembered I promised Liz that I would cook her some spaghetti tonight, you know, it's her favourite meal."

Gwen leaned back and gave him a serious glare. She gently bit her lower lip and spoke annoyed, "Fine. Whatever... We're having a talk later." She stood up and stepped out of the bathtub, leaving her husband totally one.

Peter sighed, feeling victorious and defeated at the same time. He looked up at Gwen who already had a white towel wrapped around her beautiful body. She was now standing in front of the mirror, wrapping a ponytail around her blonde hair. "What kind of talk?" He asked.

"The serious one…" Gwen replied, not looking at him. She walked away and left the bathroom.

Peter moved his hand to his face and took a heavy breath. "Oh my..." He splashed some water from the bathtub with a disappointed expression. "Not the serious one."

---

"Do you like it?" Peter sat next to Elizabeth in the circular table from the now empty mess hall, lowering his own plate filled with the spaghetti he had prepared for them. He looked down at his daughter with a huge smile of expectation as she tasted her father's work.

"Hmm…!" Elizabeth nodded, swinging her legs under the table, and slowly savouring the food's marvellous taste. There wasn't such thing as her father's food. She properly placed the fork in the small empty space of her plate and cleaned her mouth with a napkin.

"I'm assuming that you've enjoyed it then." He handed her a glass filled with orange juice.

"It's very good, daddy." She smiled, enthusiastic, before drinking the glass' contents. She finished it and looked up at him, "Where have you learned how to cook?"

"My Aunt taught me, she's the best." He brought the fork which had a small bit of spaghetti around it to his mouth and ate the food made by him. It indeed tasted good.

"You could teach me too." She suggested, "Uncle Howard said that I would never know how to cook if I asked mummy to teach me."

Peter chucked. Howard had to tease his beautiful sister, for his own sake. "Uncle Howard is silly; mommy is good cooker as well." He affirmed, "When she was carrying you, she spent a great deal of time learning a huge amount of recipes, she failed a lot at first, but she knows a lot by now. She could have asked me to cook for her every single time during the pregnancy, why she didn't? Because she wanted to cook the best meals just for you…." He gently pinched her nose, receiving an adorable giggle in return.

"I know, I will ask her then too."

"She will love to teach you."

Elizabeth smiled and moved next to Peter as he wrapped his right arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and said softly, "I miss grandma, my uncles, and my friends."

He drawn soft circles on her shoulder and kissed the top of her blonde hair. "Let's hope that they're safe, you'll see them soon. Trust me."

"I trust you, daddy." Elizabeth looked up and glanced at him with her innocent green eyes.

Peter smiled. "Thank you, honey," He kissed her pink cheek, "Could you do me a favour?"

"Yeah..." She nodded.

"I've made a plate for mommy as well, when you're done with yours, can you bring it to her? I'm going to see Flash after this."

"Have you and mommy argued?" She inquired, curious as to why he wanted her to deliver the plate by herself.

"Of course not, why do you say that?"

"Well, my friend, Molly, said that her parents aren't together anymore - they fought a lot. I don't want to see you and mommy fighting."

"Hey, don't worry, nothing is happening between us," Peter assured, "We may have some disagreements here and there, but that's something that all adults have, I love your mommy, everything is fine sweetie."

"Alright then..." Elizabeth gave him one of her cutest smiles, and asked, "Oh! Why do mommy and daddy have to kiss every time?"

---

Flash's Room

"What's your record?" Flash questioned Peter who was struggling to properly push up on the floor of his room.

"947." Peter replied, gasping softly.

"Wow, you have to hurry up because you only made 321 so far." He crossed his arms.

Peter did one last push, before lying himself on the cold floor, recovering his long lost breath. "Something... is wrong with me." He sat on the ground.

"I can see that," Flash offered his hand and helped him stood up him from the ground. "You have to see a Doctor, I almost passed you back at the running track."

"Yeah, you're probably right, not tonight though," He stretched his shoulders. "What's our next move? I was making dinner for Liz, missed the meeting."

"Well, the twins gave us lots of Ultron's facilities coordinates, including the one where the Tesseract supposedly is being kept, and guess what?"

"I'm listening."

"It's what creates those new versions of drones, and it's called 'The Seed of Life' by the big guy."

"Just what we needed to win this," He said, hopeful. "When are we going to retrieve it?"

"Soon, but you really should do some body scans before the operation is a go." Flash suggested, worried about his friend's health.

"I know, I know," He approached the closest wall and leaned his head against the surface, "I'm screwed." He sighed.

"What happened?"

"Gwen said we're having a talk later, but now it's later." He turned at Flash's direction. "She knows I'm keeping a secret from her."

If there's one thing that Peter knew Gwen hated, were secrets being kept from her, especially if they were his, that's why their relationship was based on trust, and while it was painful to not tell her what he was planning, it's for a good cause. It was basically the place where they would live the rest of their family together, guiding their kids, and growing old.

"Are we talking about the -"

"Yeah…" He nodded in frustration.

"Oh no, not the house..." Flash whispered, glancing the floor.

"She's going to try and break me." Peter rubbed the back of his neck.

"Mm-hmm," Flash pointed to the table where the blue folder was currently located. "I'm going to protect that, and, uh, you go in there, and you be strong." He patted Peter's shoulder.

"It won't be easy..." Peter shrugged.

"Remember, I'm not there to save your ass this time."

---

Peter retrieved the keys and unlocked the door of his bedroom and stepped inside as he looked for his wife who wasn't present. He needed to clear things up with her. "Gwen?"

"In a minute…!" She replied from the bathroom.

Peter cleared his throat as he slowly walked towards their bed, still holding the keys with his hands. "Um...so, honey, here's the thing." He noticed lighten candles in both sides of the bed stand, for some reason which he wasn't aware of. "I'm not trying to keep anything from you, you're my wife and that's part of the deal - I'm well aware of that," He paused. "I would, however, like to keep some things in the special category that you don't need to know about... yeah." He nodded to himself, before hearing the sound of the bathroom's door opening.

Peter turned on his back, his jaw almost falling into the ground at first; he did release the room's keys from his hands as the cold object fell from his hands.

Gwen was wearing tight red lingerie that left little to his imagination; her golden hair was lying on her shoulders as she placed her hands on her waist, giving him a show that he wouldn't ever forget. Both parts of her two-piece were coloured a very light powder red, lace decorations covering them. Her curves were accentuated, her rear fighting with her cleavage for his eyes attention. He wasn't quite sure where to look, every aspect of her body screamed at his intense desire. She gave him a sultry smile, clearly intending to have such an effect on him. The red pattern only accentuated her golden hair even more, and she used the advantage of being his favourite colour to turn that against him.

Oh god...

Peter's eyes roamed her whole body, undressing her on his mind, and slowly falling into her trap. He sighed and quickly shook his head, determined to resist against what he knew she was trying to achieve. "N-No…No…not today."

Gwen started to slowly walk towards him, adding a bit of sway to her hips. He quickly glanced her and continued, "This has worked on the past, but not today!" He stated.

"What is it?" Gwen asked, softly and mischievously at the same time.

Peter awkwardly gestured to her body, while trying to not look at her. "This, this, all that."

Gwen sighed, before cocking her head at him with a sensual smile. "What's your secret...? Peter?" She inquired again.

He stubbornly shook his head again. "My lips are sealed." He now glanced at the wall on his right side and kept his lips shut, while trying to look at what she was doing without actually making eye contact. That was one complicated situation for him to handle.

Gwen was now just a few inches from her husband's figure. She grinned at his pointless resistance. "Well... let me help you, unseal them." She purred. She leaned close to his exposed neck, breathing close to the skin, before kissing it and moving her lips to his jawline, sending cold shivers down his spine.

---

Someone knocked Flash's door, causing him rise from his desk's chair. It was probably Peter who was going to inform him about his little conversation with his deadly wife. Just in case, he grabbed the folder from the desk and walked towards the door. He turned the knob and was greeted by the sight of no one else than Gwen Stacy herself, she was wearing a purple coat and slippers and impatiently glared Peter's best friend.

"Hand it over." Gwen demanded in very commanding tone which he had never heard before. She wasn't going to simply accept a 'No' as an answer from him.

Flash sighed. He knew that Peter wasn't going to make it. "He cracked like an egg." He handed her the folder without any hesitation.

Gwen quickly grabbed the blue folder from his hands and opened it, reading the 'word' Pewen on the front page. She looked up at Flash and raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"It's the combination of yours and Peter's name." He muttered. "You were supposed to -"

"Whatever." Gwen cut him off and walked away, heading towards the room she shared with her husband.

"...get surprised. Okay, fine." Flash shook his head and slowly closed his door. Mission failed

---

"Peter, it's very sweet that you tried to surprise me." Gwen slowly turned to the folder's next page, carefully observing her husband's houses choices, some very luxurious, others more simple, simple compared to the expensive options he had compiled with Flash's help. Every single one was close to the beach.

"With the dream home," Peter smiled as he crossed his arms over his shirt and leaned his back against the bed's headboard. It wasn't meant to be like that, but at least he wasn't feeling like an outlaw anymore. "I like that one, right in the sand, the perfect house for the perfect woman. What do you think?"

Gwen smiled briefly as she looked at the photos again. She loved Peter's initiative, he just wanted to make her happy like always, but it was hard to think about the future with so much important stuff going on.

"It's not right, isn't it?" He continued, worried that she wasn't approving his plan. "You know, I could continue to play detective and try to read your mind -"

Gwen looked back at her husband and spoke, "Well, I haven't... Um... it's just something, it's hard to explain."

Peter smiled softly and moved his hand next to his face, showing her the golden ring that cemented their love towards each other. "Hello, husband, it's my official title, you can tell me anything."

"Um... when I was a little girl, and I was with my dad, we always imagined what my future would have been like, like my own dream house. I loved our little place at California, but I wanted my own place, my own fairy-tale castle... It's stupid." She stopped and shook her head.

"No, no, it isn't," Peter assured her, "Babe, please go on."

"Well, a cosy, homey, simple," Gwen smiled, "But we have a house, I don't think that we need to move on just because of an old dream of mine, there's more important things to focus on than that." She explained.

"It's perfect."

"Really…?" Gwen asked, softly.

Peter leaned closer and gave her a tiny peck on the lips. "I'm going to find our dream home, a place just for ourselves, our family, no danger, peaceful," He kissed her lips again. "It doesn't need to be luxurious, as long we're happy, it's perfect."

Gwen touched her forehead against his and closed her eyes as he caressed her cheek. "You know, this remembers me the moment when we're talking about our future family, eight years ago."

Peter carefully closed the folder and grabbed it from her lap and placed it over his own bed stand. He turned the lamp down and proceeded to snuggle with his wife as they wrapped themselves in each other's arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck softly.

"I do remember it," He kissed the top of her blonde hair; "I wish I still had that drawing."

---

Eight Years Ago

Peter sat against his pillow, with Gwen snuggling next to him as she observed his actions. He retrieved a pen and a small paper from his bed stand and started to drawn a house on the blank piece of paper.

"Our proper house, not apartment, for our kids to ran around and wreck things up." He smiled, not moving his eyes away from the paper.

"Kids…?" Gwen asked, playfully. She caressed his toned stomach and kissed his cheek.

Peter chuckled. "Better safe than sorry," He finished the house's door and proceeded to drawn their figures in front of the house's entrance, starting with himself and then moving to drawn his wife next to him on the drawing. He had an arm wrapped around her waist and she seemed to be holding something on her arms while he didn't finished that specific part, "A little boy..." He turned at Gwen's side. She smiled at him, a persuasive one. "Or a girl..."

Gwen giggled. "I'm okay if it's a girl or not, I'll love them equally." She continued softer and squeezed him lovingly, "I want you, but if it's my choice, I want a daughter first."

"A daughter, huh…?" Peter asked amused with a faint smile.

Gwen winked at him. "Well, I mean, if you want a boy we can discuss this someday."

"Maybe I want a daughter too," Peter smiled, getting lost in their tender moment.

"You don't need to say that only because I want a daughter," Gwen reminded him considerate. "We're two in this."

"Well, maybe I want a little daughter running around and sit on my lap and watch Lion King with me," Peter pointed out. "It's not bad to dream."

Gwen nodded and smiled as well, getting caught up in it all, "Yes, I want that."

Peter teased, "I bet you already have a name figured out."

"Maybe," Gwen shrugged matter-of-factly.

"Do I have anything to say about the name?"

"Probably not," Gwen replied snarky.

"I love you, you snarky and beautiful woman," Peter said lovingly and kissed her lips softly.

"I love you too," Gwen smiled as they shared a brief but passionate kiss.

Peter looked back at his finished drawing, daydreaming about their future. "One day."

She smiled softly. "One day."

---

A/N : Hey everyone, it's been weeks since the last update and I'm well aware of that, and it will stay that way from now on, I want to have more time to write the chapters with the quality that I'm aimed for, bigger and important. So, I'll update once or twice a month, but since this month marks the one year anniversary of this story, I'll push another chapter close to the date where the first chapter was published, April 28th.

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but this chapter was the biggest one, and I haven't reached that without effort, it was exhausting, for me, and probably for my beta as well, who again, finished the last details, so thanks again, FireflySurvivor.

Last part was a huge tribute to the "Chuck" series, one of my favorite moments of the whole show. "Chuck" lovers are going to notice it, I hope so.

Noble Team was reference to the Halo franchise, Reach. They're going to have a pretty big importance on the next chapter.

I'm already working on the next chapter, which will be pretty intense, so don't worry about me ever abandoning the story if the update takes too long to arrive, I'm always working on it.

Reviews are always greatly appreciated, while I'm writing this story for me and for you, they're pretty important, like fuel, but please constructive, if anything, I'll address it via PM.

Later!

Quotes : Chuck, Firefly, Avenger Age Of Ultron and Transformers.