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.

58. I Am Hers, She Is Mine

April 22th - 2031

Peter Parker loosened his tie as he leaned himself back in the chair. He crossed arms and rested both his legs over the surprisingly organized desk and right besides a family portrait set next to the open laptop.

Nothing much going on, the price of being an efficient problem solver.

He sighed in frustration, before turning his head towards the horizontal wall of windows on his left corner. He could see the whole city from such view. From the Brooklyn Building to the Empire's State Building. It actually looked peaceful from his office.

That probably until he dressed up and gave space to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, a title he came up by himself once he realized what his alter-ego should inspire.

There's always something or someone to oppose, but that was a task for some other time. It was Peter Parker's turn to complete common and not life threatening objectives during his daily self. Thankfully, He already had finished most of his goals for the week, for a reason.

Elizabeth...

Peter still couldn't fathom how did that happen at the court. It was something completely overwhelming. He had never seen such thing before, and that's coming from a guy like him who has had seen a lot.

At first, he didn't know how to react. The same thing could be said about Gwen. She was just as confused as he was. Elizabeth herself was a tad bit affected, she couldn't exactly explain how she managed that. It just... happened. And so far, she didn't succeed at repeating whatever he had seen days ago.

Thankfully... I need to figure it out what that was, and what's it doing to my daughter.

Before Gwen was pregnant of Elizabeth, Peter deemed unlikely the possibility of their children developing any kind of different skill apart from what he already possessed, thanks to the spider-venom running on his veins.

How that would affect their kids, always had been his biggest fear and one of the reasons he considered dangerous having Gwen carrying his child, his DNA. It was a shot in the dark, a risk he wasn't willing to take, but Gwen was.

She wanted that more than anything else.

After all that, after creating beautiful lives with the only woman he has ever been with, he realized what he may have missed, and that's something he now wouldn't be able to live without.

Aiden, David and Elizabeth.

Peter smiled to himself, daydreaming.

Blood of mine. Our legacy in this world.

His thoughts were interrupted once the phone over his desk began to ring uncontrollably. He groaned in annoyance and sat straight in the chair and finally answered the call. He yawned. "Yes...?"

Matthew said, "Hey Pete, there's this guy who appeared looking for you. Ezekiel. I've never seen him around here before, specially dressed this way."

Oh, man... incoming lesson of the week...

"Yeah. Sure. I know him."

"Sending him up."

Peter ended the call with a heavy puff and rose from his chair, adjusting his tie while walking towards the door. He leaned his shoulder against it and waited patiently for the arrival.

It actually took two seconds until someone knocked on the door.

He opened it and was greeted by the sign of Ezekiel. The man wore brown shorts and a blue buttoned Hawaiian shirt. Peter deadpanned at the sight.

Ezekiel began, "Hello, Peter. I don't want to say it... but you look rather... grumpy?"

"You just said it." Ezekiel frowned in deep thought. "It's been a long week." Peter gestured him to come inside. Once Ezekiel walked past him, he closed the door and asked, "Okay, I must say - what's up with that?" He eyed his current selection of clothes.

Ezekiel looked down at his shirt. He then smiled. "Do you like it?"

"Why... these though?" Peter babbled.

"You don't like it." Ezekiel affirmed, disappointed.

"No, it's not that. I mean..." He looked down and opened his mouth to speak but proper words wouldn't come out.

He tilted his head to the side. "I thought you said I had to mingle amongst you humans...?"

"Yeah - for two years now, but it's winter, you're just drawing more attention." Peter sighed. "Whatever, man. At least you're trying." He approached the side of the desk and leaned his bottom against it before crossing arms.

Ezekiel stood still. He finally questioned, "You called?"

Peter nodded. "A hundred times, yes."

"My bad, I often forget it." He apologized.

"Yeah. Nevermind; it's about Elizabeth, though."

"What happened?" Ezekiel took a single step towards him.

"Some weeks ago, we were playing basketball, you know? I threw the ball and missed the score, then seconds later I'm seeing my daughter appearing in the air through a blink of an eye and making the point to us." Peter explained, rubbing his face with the palm of his hand.

"She... teleported?" Ezekiel guessed. "Is this what you're saying?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you could put it like that." He looked at the windows. "Thing is, I can't do that move, so how Lizzie can? She inherited my DNA, I expected similar... traits, not totally different. It's scaring the crap out of me and Gwen."

"Where did that happen?"

Peter answered, "Brooklyn Bridge Park. Why?"

"I need to check something, but it's good you're telling me this." Ezekiel said, determined.

"Okay... but, what's your opinion?"

Ezekiel turned on his back and began to walk towards the door he came from. "I really have to go now. Are you aware of the Stephen Strange Manor?"

He nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Good, go there - with Elizabeth." Ezekiel stepped outside and left the Parker alone.

"That was really helpful..." He whispered, the meeting didn't went quite as well as he expected, at least it felt like that.

Before he could walk around his desk to reach his chair, he felt a bolt trigger within his mind. His head instinctively turned to the large horizontal window, approaching it slowly after each step taken. He assumed a more serious expression and completely loosened his tie and then the first button of his shirt, exposing part of the red spandex under the raised silver webbing.

---

Crap, crap, crap...

Spider-Man quickly ran through the not so very welcoming and dark sewer underneath the chaotic streets of New York City, while trying to avoid thinking about what he was stepping into inside the greenish water.

His breathing was noticeably rapid and enraged. There were sections of the red and blue suit that were sharply cut open, evidenced by his exposed right ankle and left bicep. Not even the lenses were spared since they were severely damaged and filled with small tiny cracks.

How he managed to escape was certainly due to luck being on his side this time around.

Spider-Man heard the ingrowing sound of something powered by a small engine coming from his front direction. He looked down and saw what looked to be the 'toy' version of a tiny stone goblin fastly sliding over the water as if it was just a much smaller boat.

His perception kicked in too late.

"What in the -"

The object exploded into a colossal ball of burning fire that sent Spider-Man backwards in the air until his back violently crashed against the many bricks that once constituted a wall. He fell back into the water and on his knees, using both arms to support his heavy frame, gasping in pain thoroughly.

"Well, well, well... if it isn't little Spider-Man..." Jester spoke. Or Jonathan Powers to some, an athletic man with no superhuman abilities at all. His main skills always are a set of various joke gimmicks converted into deadly weapons, and his costume made justice to his name. "How does it feel to be on the wrong side of the law? How does it feel to see The Jester wearing a sheriff's badge?" He slowly walked towards the stunned hero.

Peter now heard the whirling sound of a glider coming from his left end, and before he could do anything, three tiny green spheres were throw at his chest as they instantly cracked open and engulfed his face into a cloud of green toxic gas.

"Man, you gotta see who we're hanging out with now. Jester and me, we're finally on the A-list!" The figure wearing an in-flames pumpkin ball over his head and tight dark green armor with scales on his arms and legs flew past Spider-Man after using his gadgets at the one.

"J-Jack O'Lantern...?" Spider-Man's voice became rough. The pupil of Peter's exposed left eye constricted tightly as he exhaled the gas. He felt his throat close and his eyes to burn as if someone was directly throwing acid at his face.

He slightly turned on his shoulder to at least take a look at his enemies.

"Oh, baby... this is just too awesome for words...!" Jester threw a conservative yo-yo containing plastic explosives inside its shell at Spider-Man's torso.

Peter collided against the sewer's side catwalk, he supported himself on it, giving the attackers free view of his back. "You want fries with that, honey?!" They provoked immediately after the strike.

He struggled to not lose his already fading away consciousness, and he almost did were not for a second explosive landing on his back that woke him up as he roared in pain.

"This gig seemed like such a bum deal at first." Jack grabbed him by the neck and lifted him out of the water. "Forced to do what they say..." He pressed Spider-Man against the wall over the catwalk.

Jester stepped out of the water and stood alongside his partner. "But when word from the top says kick the crap outta Spider-Man? What can we do? We're only obeying orders, right?"

Peter whispered, "I-I just wanted to do the right thing..." He barely could see anything besides the distorted image of the flames coming from Jack's pumpkin. "Did you know... my uncle died of a bullet wound...?"

---

Elizabeth found herself shooting up in bed, shaking lightly and covered in sweat. She checked her surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. She swallowed hard. Her vanilla painted bedroom was dark, but she could see still see the moon through the curtains in front of her slightly open window.

Everything appeared in order, but 'appeared' wasn't enough.

She inhaled deeply and stepped into the cold ground with her bare delicate feet and made her way towards the door, opening it carefully until she was inside the corridor. The entire apartment was emerged in total silence, she could even hear the strong wind outside kissing the first floor's windows. Her parents couldn't be awake, and definitely not her brothers as well.

Despite all the darkness, she could still see every corner very well, it wasn't necessary to turn on any light switch, doing that could result in someone waking up, especially her mother since she was a light sleeper.

Her father's genetic traits were always useful, it was just as normal as skateboarding.

Elizabeth took a peek inside Aiden and David's bedroom. They're both sleeping in each other's bed. Aiden was supposed to be tucked under the many blankets their mother had originally covered him with before leaving to her own bed. Not wanting for her younger brother to catch a cold, even if that was something very rare to happen to them, she approached him and pulled all the covers up to his neckline, fully covering his fetal position.

After completing her goal, she kissed the top of his head and left the room when she assured herself they were both properly sleeping. She closed the door and looked up to her parent's bedroom. She sighed heavily, wishing the vivid dream was just that, a dream.

She grew aware that her father could be out during the coldest or darkest night without a warning. He always said nothing could stop him from coming back, but her fear was there, despite his promise.

Ren suddenly appeared from the spiral stairwell and stopped besides her, wondering what Elizabeth was doing that late in the night. The pug had become slightly bigger, a meatball, as her father often says with the objective of teasing Gwen since she's the one that usually feeds him.

Elizabeth pressed her indicative finger against her lower lip. "Shh, doggy." She patted him in the head and walked her way to the end of the corridor. Thankfully, her parent's door wasn't locked. It rarely was. They probably had a important reason whenever that happened, she thought.

Elizabeth carefully pushed the door inside, immediately getting relieved due to the sight.

Her mother was facing the door, sleeping peacefully with a hand underneath her pillow. Meanwhile, she could see her father's left arm wrapped around Gwen's stomach - under the sheets, they're both safe in each other's arms.

Elizabeth exhaled deeply and eventually smiled contently. Both her heroes were at home. She could get back to sleep without wondering what her dad was doing outside in the cold city.

She closed the door and stretched her arms with a yawn as she strolled back to her own room, settling herself under the bed sheets once again. A cold breeze flew over her curvature, making her tremble slightly.

Elizabeth moved her left arm out the covers and towards the second drawer of her bedstand. She recovered what once was a belt which now contained a red button over it. She slid the 'glove' down her pulse and shot a webline towards the bottom of the window, pulling it down so that the wind remained off her bedroom.

She smiled proudly and placed the device back to her drawer and focused in getting back to sleep.

---

April 24th - 2031

Stephen Strange's Manor - Manhattan

"Elizabeth, don't touch it." Peter ordered. He was sat in the old couch located inside the living room of the large and fancy Stephen Strange manor.

The young Stacy girl grunted in annoyance and moved her hand away from the small gargoyle statue placed over the stand besides her side of the couch. "This place is... weird, don't you think, dad?" She adjusted her black headband and searched her surroundings, amused by the countless filled book stands and pictures from medieval times.

Peter crossed his arms. He had seen weirder, twenty years as Spider-Man made sure of that. "It's... unusual, yeah." He stared the rug with an engulfed by blue flames eyes painted on its middle section. His gaze now stopped at the large globe set close to the lighten fireplace, all that scenery was reflected in the chandelier above them.

It was an unique decoration. Gwen would certainly not approve it. He had heard about Stephen's others luxurious and houses, but the current one was really an exception.

"I'm incredibly bored..." Elizabeth rested her chin ontop of her knuckles thanks to the couch's armrest.

"I know you are." Peter repeated the same position but in the opposite side, both daughter and father standing still in the exact same way.

An unknown voice suddenly broke the silence, "Mr Strange will arrive soon, my beautiful lady."

Peter was startled, there was no one nearby. "What in the..."

The voice continued, "Down here, fool."

He finally saw the unbelievable. A red frog with yellow eyes faced them in the ground. It had popped out of the nowhere. "No freaking way..."

Elizabeth leaned forward with an enormous smile. "Oh my god, an actual talking frog?!"

It answered, "You're correct, beautiful princess."

Peter raised a suspicious eyebrow. He didn't exactly know what to believe at first, if that was indeed real, or the fact that the frog was sweet talking his very own daughter. "Okay, I have seen some stuff, but... I can't even... w-where are you even from? Is this some kind of... joke?"

Elizabeth interjected, "Do you come from the fairytales then?!"

"I doubt it. " Peter affirmed, suspicious.

"So, you're cursed? For real, though?" She couldn't contain her levels of excitement.

"Oh - yes, I'm very... very real, and only a kiss from a beautiful blonde princess shall remove the curse, as the tales say." The frog revealed.

Peter finally intervened aghast, "W-What - no! No freaking goddamn way, that ain't happening, ever!"

"I don't like you." The frog affirmed firmly.

Peter chuckled ironically, not enthusiastic about the whole situation. "Well, guess what..." He narrowed his eyes while mentally trying to come up with a burn towards the animal. He cleared his throat, still serious. "... I don't like you too."

It was definitely easier with a certain mask. He thought.

"Eh? Why won't you just go cry to momma." It provoked.

Peter closed his fists and almost jumped had Strange himself not appeared on their corner. "That's enough." The tall man wearing a tuxedo stated, drawing something in the empty air with his fingers as the frog exploded into a contained blue cloud of dust. "I beg your pardon, Mr Parker. Toad can be a little... emotional sometimes."

"Okay, what was that...?"

"Aww, he's gone." Elizabeth sighed.

"It's an illusion, given form by people's beliefs." Strange sat down in the comfortable seat so that he could properly face both visitors. He leaned forward to shake hands with Peter while simply nodding to Elizabeth who smiled back in return. "It's now back at Fabletown."

"Illusion...? That's... awesome." Peter confessed, impressed. "Is it magic? I can't actually believe I just asked that..."

Stephen smiled. "The shortest distance between two locations is a straight line, that's what just happened. Space and time, the more you know about it, the better you are at shaping it."

Peter was absolutely amazed, he always was hungry for knowledge, but he wasn't sure if he could deal or believe the one he was just told about. "Incredible..." He gulped.

"I wouldn't disagree." Strange replied. "So, what brings you here?"

Peter shook his head. "Yes - right. This is my daughter, Elizabeth." He placed his right hand over her knee. "And-"

"Oh, the child Ezekiel told me so much about it."

Peter raised an eyebrow. Elizabeth began curious, "You know Uncle Ezekiel, Mister? What did he say of me?"

"That you're special, and that I already can notice."

"You know the weird and sensitive Ezekiel?" Peter felt like he was out of the loop by the previous statement. "Also, I feel like you may know that-"

"Indeed. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I've no intents of exposing anything."

Peter deadpanned. His secret identity wasn't much secret nowadays. "That... that wasn't what I was going to ask..." He sighed heavily. "Wow, this whole mask thing is becoming useless... maybe I should wear a paper bag." He whispered to himself.

Stephen chuckled. "You are not doing any mistakes regarding your famous alter-ego, it's just that there's not a single thing that remains hidden from me when inside this house.

Peter felt relieved, kinda of. He looked at Elizabeth and gave her a reassuring brief smile. There's still the matter that caused the visit. "Thing is, well - how do I say this? Um... my daughter, pulled off something which I never expected her to, and... it's hard for me to imagine how that could be a variation from what I already can do since..." He paused. "... that's a long story anyways."

"So I've heard." Stephen looked at the girl, as if he was analysing her. She just shrugged her small shoulders. "There's definitely something... extra corporeal about her, well - you two."

Peter nodded. "I think that would be our sensorial thing, it's like a sixth sense of some sort... and it basically warns whenever something dangerous is about to happen before it actually happens, even I can't explain how it works after all this time."

"I... the fact that a human being possess this gift shows how far some us can go. It's extraordinary."

Peter quickly affirmed, "But that's not exactly natural."

"You think so?" Stephen countered just as fast.

"I wasn't... born with it." He cleared his throat.

"She was." Peter silenced. Elizabeth changed her gaze between her father and the weird guy. He continued, "From what I already can notice, she definitely has much more affinity with this particular ability."

"I do what now...?" Elizabeth frowned, confused.

"Tell me Elizabeth, do you know where your brothers are right now?" He asked.

"They're supposed to be on school but..." She suddenly realized her statement was now inaccurate. "... they're with mom at granny's house..."

Peter watched her with eyes filled by confusion and fear of the unexpected. "How did you know?"

"I didn't!" Elizabeth affirmed, surprised. "I just... I-I don't know!" She stuttered, before clearing her throat.

"It's pretty obvious space isn't an obstacle for you, Elizabeth." Stephen crossed arms. "This sixth sense... okay, why don't you simply call it... Spider-Sense?"

Peter's attention was fixated at his daughter. She rubbed the palm of her left hand with her free thumb. He shook his head and replied, "Um... that's bit cheesy, isn't it?" Stephen eventually nodded in agreement. Peter proceeded carefully, "So, what you're saying... is that Liz somehow has an improved... you know?"

Elizabeth mumbled. "I... I just want a new puppy to be with Ren." She swung her legs in the air, trying to not put much thought into all that.

"Not the words I'd use to describe it, but, yes... pretty much."

"But how does that explain what she did anyways?" Peter inquired, rubbing the back of his neck, a common mannerism of his whenever things get slightly more complicated.

"Oh, yes - that was pretty awesome. What a score." Elizabeth added, "You had to see Uncle Flash's face, he was -"

Peter sighed. "Lizzie..."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine..."

Stephen faked a cough in order to get their attention. "Like I said, I think space isn't a barrier to her, at all. It all boils down to your gift, you're aware of your surroundings, every detail, every noise and the fact that you can sense things before they happen is what reinforces my theory. I have not seen this for a long time... you all didn't."

Okay, there's some story here. Peter thought to himself. "Right... so, technically - it's not something she can't control."

"I can't state that with any conviction. There's so much to the unknown, everything changed the day aliens opened the sky, and despite my knowledge of... there's a realm of infinite things out there, and your daughter, is part of that. To answer you question, maybe in time, most likely. She's the only one who can answer that."

Peter looked at his daughter. She seemed pretty relaxed, he was probably more tense than her. Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders once she met his deep-in-thought gaze. He smiled lighty, it wasn't hard for Elizabeth to disarm her by any simple gestures. "Then it's up to you little one." He said softly.

"I'm not little, though." Elizabeth huffed, indignantly.

Peter chuckled, setting his gaze again over Stephen. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure it will be no big issue for her, hopefully." He rose from the couch, immediately followed by his daughter who grabbed his right hand. "We'll manage, our family always did."

"That I hope." He approached the two Parkers, offering his hand to Peter who took it on his as they complimented. "I must confess that I got interested in the subject, she's extraordinary; I will do some research, if I find anything useful, I will be in touch, Mr Parker."

"I appreciate it," He nodded thankfully, walking towards the exit and standing inches from the small stairwell that led to the gates they came from.

"One more thing, Peter." Stephen paused at the door, reluctantly. "Don't... ever forget who you are, the world will not."

Peter was taken by surprise. His words came out of the nowhere, and he couldn't make much sense of it. The doors slowly closed as Strange disappeared inside.

He cleared his throat and shook his head.

As they headed towards the main entrance, the gates opened without a single soul's assistance - giving them view of the busy city. The aura around quickly changed.

As if the manor wasn't part of the city, in some way.

"So, dad... who cleans the webbing you leave stuck in some buildings?" Elizabeth asked as they walked alongside each other.

"Hmm, you know, honey... I think you are spending far too much time with Harry."

She laughed.

---

Queens - Calvary Cemetery

"It's been what... almost two months by now?" Peter asked himself, staring down at George Stacy's gravestone. "I'm sorry about that, everything nowadays just tend to happen so fast I have trouble keeping track of everything."

He brushed the tip of his indicative finger against the name plate, cleaning the usual dirt the wind brought over the course of time. No matter how pointless it was, it was the least he could do. "I was visiting Ben as well, and you know... I think you guys would turn out to be great friends given the opportunity."

Peter smiled sympathetically. "Maybe in some other life, who knows." He continued, "But yeah, you know already. This is about Gwen. She's turning thirty six years old by tomorrow. One would not know that were not for her ID because gosh... she only gets even more gorgeous."

He sighed in anticipation after picturing Gwen's image in his head. Her radiant and golden hair, cute tiny nose, the freckles he could fully see and appreciate when she wasn't wearing any makeup, not that she needed, there was also her beautiful and huge green eyes and her provocative and sexy raspy voice.

Even her flaws were perfect, if that made any sense, he thought.

Sometimes I forget I am talking to her dad...

He cleared his throat. "What I'm trying to say is that... I owe you everything. Gwen is an angel, and I still don't understand how lucky I am to everyday wake up next to this precious woman." He sniffed lighty, the air was a bit cold. "I read that a good marriage is the union of two good forgivers, and I can say she's that too me, she could have abandoned me for all the questionable stuff I did or caused, but she didn't."

Peter flexed his left knee and stood on it so that he could be closer to the stone. "I will never know if you do accept this... I hope you do, but... I will always make sure that she's happy and safe." He paused for a brief moment, before smiling proudly. "You have to see your grandchildren, in fact - I just left your granddaughter, Elizabeth, at the school. And the boys are 'studying' as well, not much sure about Aiden, though."

Peter chuckled shortly. "They're brilliant. I only know I will teach them what you and Ben taught me. Gwen and I will." He stood up. "I guess this I everything I wanted to say, maybe I talk too much... my brain-dead enemies usually say that, I like to think they're overreacting, you never know."

He brushed the back of his neck, feeling rather tired. The morning wasn't lacking any action. And the weekly fatigue was already catching up. "Yeah, I think that's it. Have a good rest, we miss you, Cap."

After paying his last respects, Peter turned on his back and walked throughout the stone path that crossed the entire cemetery due to its ramifications. He had been for his parents' funeral, and years later Uncle Ben's. Those first days visiting his Uncle were hard to digest, but now he actually felt at peace.

He couldn't leave, though. Not immediately, he still had someone to check on.

And there he was. Harry Osborn stood close to a tree, looking down to the ground, a location Peter himself used to visit for many, many years. Harry didn't notice the Parker approaching his position from behind, his mind was far away to be aware of the world around him.

Peter moved his left arm around Harry's shoulder and gently brought him closer as some sort of hug. "What sparked your interest to meet here?" He read the description.

Harry Osborn | 1994 - 2019

"Weird, right? It's just that this scenario felt fitting." He replied, calmly.

"Fitting for what?" Peter stepped besides him to look at hia friend's face.

Harry began calmly, "Since we met again, since I began new life, stuff finally start to have a purpose to me." He paused. "Somehow, I'm still here."

"Aren't you glad for that?" Peter inquired, joining his eyes as they both observed the ground.

Harry didn't answer his question right away. He took a few seconds to himself. "I am. I got to experience stuff I once considered out of my reach, nothing money or name could buy."

Peter turned his head slightly at Harry. He remained quiet.

He continued, "It's like a whole new life..."

Peter asked moments later, "Isn't... having a purpose a good thing?"

Harry nodded. "It is... believe me, it's all I ever wanted again, but... there's this part of me that refuse to let go of this," He gestured to the grave. "I didn't have the chance to find out what really happened for me to be here and not buried down here..."

"Harry... you're fine now; this answer... does it really means anything?"

"It means a door that needs to be closed so that I can walk through a new one." quickly affirmed. "When you had the chance to find out what was the truth about your parents, didn't you pursue it? I need to find out why. For the things I caused."

Harry had a point, Peter thought. "Everyone makes decisions they can later regret, I'm no exception." He countered gently, recalling the night at Queens where he lost a dear one. "The truth came with a price, and I almost paid it. Was it a mistake? Maybe, there's nothing I can do about that now."

"But... how do you do it then...?"

Peter asked somber, "How do I do what?"

Harry cleared his throat. "Forget...? How do you wash away the things you've done...?"

Peter moved his gaze away into the horizon, the sun bathing his face with its now orange light. "You don't... you just learn to live with it."

Harry slowly nodded to himself, focusing on his words. "Peter... you have your life complete for the most part, you have a family and a good job, I'm a proud of you, and one day... I want that too, but I can't live without some closure man..."

"You also have a family, Hare." Peter gazed deep into his blue eyes.

Harry turned his head to look at him, giving the Parker a short smile. "I know..." He paused. "I won't be alone this time around, so there's that. Do you... do you remember teacher Williams...?"

Peter chuckled. "Of course, he was shocked to discover..."

"Mr. Osborn, would you mind staying a moment to speak with me?" Williams called out to the 9th grader as the boy made his way toward the classroom's exit.

Harry froze and looked back over his shoulder uncertainly. "Um- Yes Mr. Williams," the child responded. He turned away from the door and walked back to where the teacher sat behind his desk.

The boy stood there awkwardly, clearly unsure if he was about to be reprimanded for something. Williams got the feeling the boy was used of being singled out. "It's alright, you're not in any trouble. I just wanted to talk with you about your quizzes," He explained calmly, and watched as the student's face went from apprehensive to curious.

"Yes sir?" Harry said, inviting the teacher to elaborate. That was something Williams had noticed right away about this particular child; he was so well-mannered in comparison to most boys of his age. He was always quick with a 'please' or a 'thank you', and he used 'sir' more often than not.

As the child patiently awaited the details pertaining to reason for the conversation, Williams decided to get right to the point. "I noticed that your quiz grades have improved greatly over the past couple of weeks, and I was wondering what you had altered in your study methods that might have produced these results?" He questioned.

Harry shifted slightly before replying, "Well, my brother... I mean friend has been helping me through the practice problems, sir. Science overall is something he's a lot more comfortable with than me."

"And which friend would this be?" He pressed casually.

"I only have one; Peter. I think you have him in your biology class. He's really good with science," Harry informed, a glint of pride in his eyes.

Williams surprised by the response. He was in fact very familiar with Peter Benjamin Parker; a seemingly motivated student who rarely forgot to complete his own homework, unlike most of the students.

"I'm very glad to hear he has been able to help you. Keep up the good work, Harry. It's paying off," He finally stated with an encouraging smile before adding, "You're free to go."

Harry smiled in return and nodded. "Have a nice day sir," he said as he left the classroom.

Williams stayed at his desk pondering the strange information he had been given, and made a mental note to watch Peter Parker more closely in their next class. Perhaps there was even more to him after all…

Peter finished with a grin, "He ended up talking to me later on, wondering how I was able to help an one year older student. And I said 'Isn't that what friends do, help each other one out?'"

Harry laughed, thankful for such memories. He actually had to rebel against his father in order to enter the school where Peter frequented. "Thanks for never giving up on me."

"Hey, no chick-flick moments. I already have Gwen's." He mocked. Harry chuckled. "C'mere." He opened his arms as they hugged each other firmly.

They eventually let go of each other. Peter questioned, "So, what's are you doing next?"

Harry answered quickly, "Probably going to dig up this grave." Peter deadpanned. "I'm joking - I'm totally joking, I'm fine." He snickered at Peter's reaction. "Just going to do some research and stuff."

"Right, okay." Peter gestured him to tag along. "I'm buying us a coffee and you can tell me more."

Later in the afternoon...

At the kitchen, Peter filled the rounded cup with hot coffee that sent steam into the fresh air around him. When satisfied, he turned the specific area's lights off and strolled towards the L- shaped couch in the living room. He took a sip once he saw the one and only Gwen Stacy lying on her back and with the sheets covering most of her body until her breasts as she gazed the TV.

She seemed to be chewing something, and when they're cuddling minutes ago, that wasn't a thing. And she still didn't notice him right besides the couch.

Apparently, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island was far more interesting. A movie that went back to both their childhoods. Gwen had found the movie's VHS inside a box at her family's small farm. She would spend a great time watching it during winter when she was a child. And Peter with his dad in lazy weekends since they're both fans.

It was quite the surprise when Peter learned about the mutual liking.

He raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What are you eating, mommy?"

Gwen immediately looked up, startled. She was totally caught off guard. "My god, I didn't hear you, honey!"

Peter took another dramatical sip. "You hiding somethin'?"

"Am not." Gwen grinned, hiding her hands deeper into the blanket.

Peter placed the warm cup ontop of the coffee table where he couldn't accidentally kick it being such the clumsy man he is. She bit her lower lip in hope of ceasing to smile, something not easy to do when around her husband.

He leaned his torso forward to grab part of the sheet that stood between him and Gwen.

"No, no!" Gwen began to giggle as she tried to resist against him, and he wasn't even putting much strength into his hand, it's not like he needed any in this case.

Peter grinned joyfully and finally took the blanket off her body, revealing her white short and black tanktop, the cherry in the cake being the open chocolate bar placed over her belly. "Oh, look at that...!"

"Peter, it's awfully cold!" Gwen giggled, uncontrollably.

He quickly eyed her slender creamy legs. She was perfect in every way. "Well, if you actually wore something that covered more of you instead of this cute short and snug tanktop..."

"That's why I want you to cuddle with me instead of being mean." Gwen grabbed the chocolate tablet from her abdomen.

Peter smiled mischievously and threw the cover behind his back and up his shoulder, before diving in and over Gwen. She laughed as he laid down ontop of her.

Thankfully, he wasn't putting all his weight over her, that would be problematic.

After tangling each other's legs, the couple looked deep into each other's orbs, sharing a private moment of joy and passion. Gwen was the first to break the comfortable silence with a smirk. "Want some?" She offered a small block of chocolate on her hand.

Peter nodded. Gwen happily placed the tiny piece against his mouth as he took a bite, before moving the same hand to the back of his head and bringing him closer for a lingering kiss.

Gwen gently bit his lower lip and carefully pulled it before finally letting him go. She breathed calmly, watching her husband gather his breath as well while his eyes were closed, savouring her taste left on his lips. "How do you like it...?" She asked, genuinely.

Peter moaned slightly. "Hmm... tastes very good, always did." He moved her blonde fringe positioned over her forehead to the side, caressing the delicate skin underneath it, changing his glance between Gwen's eyes and every tiny detail of her face.

Gwen kissed his pulse and sighed heavily.

Peter frowned, concerned. He could tell something was off by her mannerisms, he had more than fifteen years to learn them. "Something wrong, Gwendy?"

"Nothing."

"Are you... sure?"

Gwen didn't reply of immediately.

I'm being a hypocrite... She thought.

She wanted to make sure she'd pick the right words. She began softly without looking at him, "When we're together... hugging, talking, fighting, making love - basically anything, you make me forget that there's a whole world out there, and I love that..." She paused, feeling Peter's fingertips against her cheek.

"Gwen..." He moved slightly to the side in the couch so that Gwen could sit next to him.

She continued, "But my world is not outside that door, it's here, and if something is wrong with it, it's hard to... to think about anything else; I can't do anything to help my own daughter, I can't forget the night after the... Liz was terrified, having nightmares, it took me half a hour to make her to stop crying and I-I..." She cleared her throat, gazing the fire place down in the TV wall.

"It's not your fault, Gwen." Peter said somber, "It's nobody's..."

Gwen silenced, avoiding his eyes. She wanted nothing else than the happiness of the family they created together after many obstacles, long after they're both gone, and the thought of something above their - or her level of control interfering that, was hard to digest. "I know. I'm probably... just overreacting, I think. I just don't want them to suffer due to a thing out of their reach, being chained to something or someone that does you no good."

Peter shook his head lightly in disagreement. "You're not overreacting, I get it. And I kinda feel the same way. It's just another thing we will figure it out, like we always do." He paused.

"How can you be sure?"

"Name one thing we didn't achieve." Gwen silenced. "Trust me, baby."

"I guess... I guess you're right this time." She looked at him, he leaned in and touched his forehead on hers, their noses brushing against each other.

The couple emerged in silence.

After a few seconds, Peter couldn't help but look at her, cracking a reassuring smile. "Hey, have I told you how beautiful you look today?"

"Peter... please." Her cheeks flushed, she was caught off guard.

"Okay, okay..." He chuckled and snaked his left arm around her back as she rested her head over his shoulder. "What about... have I ever declared my perpetual love for you?'

Gwen couldn't hold a giggle back. She sighed contently and set her emerald eyes to his, cupping his trademark clean jaw. "Plenty of times. I'm lucky to have found someone like you, Peter. You always know how to make us happy despite everything."

"It's my job, isn't it?" Peter held her right hand as they naturally intertwined fingers.

"Probably, and you do it perfectly." Gwen planted a kiss against the skin of his cheek. She talked next to his ear, "Is that date for tonight still up?"

"Of course it is, consider tonight as the pre-birthday party, the one for the two grown ups."

Gwen smiled. "Nice. Then I must search for a proper dress and take a bath. You go pick up the kids meanwhile."

"Can I at least watch?"

She let go of her husband and stood up, stretching her arms in front of him. "Go pick our kids."

He unabashedly eyed her bottom. The shorts weren't helping much. "I take back what I said earlier, these shorts are a must every time of the year."

Gwen groaned in disapproval, playfully. "Ugh, men." Peter laughed. She walked towards the spiral stairwell that lead to the upper bedrooms, before stopping once she touched the handrail. "And honey?"

"Yeah?" Peter leaned back into the couch.

"Thank you." She gave him a kind smile, before resuming her tracks.

"Anytime, Gwendy.." Peter replied gently, observing his wife until she finally disappeared from sight. He yawned, gathering the strength to stand up and get the keys of the car. It had been a lazy day until that point, both of them were on a break, he took it because of the incoming birthday, same for Gwen, although she had more compelling reasons, obviously.

Peter spotted the keys over the coffee table. It wasn't reachable unless if he leaned forward. Organic webbing, the perks.. but... that sounds really really nasty, stuff coming outta of my wrists. On a second thought, I rather... not. He finally rose.

---

Elizabeth listened attentionally to her teacher's lessons about American history. Her seat was placed in the line in the middle space of the room. She actually wanted to stay in the first line so that she could pay more attention to the board, but her friends were quicker to chose their places during the first day.

She stealthily glanced the room's window over her shoulder to check on her black ponytail that kept her kissed by the sun hair in check. It was just as fine as it could get. The class itself wasn't really interesting for Elizabeth, most of the topics she had already seen with her mother years ago.

It actually took some convincing to get Gwen to teach her. She thought it was too early to begin Elizabeth's studies at such young age, but the young girl persuaded her otherwise.

Amidst her teacher's words, Elizabeth caught some low chattering between some boys three seats behind her to the left. She could hear their whispering, and again, they were wanting to pull a mean prank over Miles Morales since he was sat between one of their friends.

She then closely heard the sound of a piece of paper being smashed together and shaped into a ball. She quickly looked at Miles who was surprisingly paying attention to the class. She tried to gain his attention.

Elizabeth silently called him by his name, getting annoyed by the fact that he was yawning at the board instead of actually looking at her. After raising her tone a little bit more, Miles finally met her eyes and frowned in confusion.

"Liz...?"

Elizabeth whispered, "Get down."

"What...?"

She insisted, "Get down!"

Miles cocked his head to the side and noticed Frank two seats in front of him turning around with his left hand raised as he prepared to throw the paper ball at him while the teacher was busy.

Luckily, Miles successfully managed to lean down once he noticed the malicious intentions. The ball flew right over him and stopped at Mark's face who was sat behind him and also part of the scheme. He immediately gasped in pain as the whole class including the teacher turned at them to see what caused the abrupt interruption.

It got ugly.

Later on after Elizabeth went through her last class, she now found herself walking between her friends Alice and Anye in the busy hallway. Everyone was urging leave the confinement and start the weekend.

"Did you two hear what happened with the boys?" Anye asked.

Alice replied, "Oliver told me some of them got a warning."

Elizabeth interjected, "That's cute." She rolled her eyes. "They're being mean back there to Miles."

"They are mean." Anye added.

"Boys." Alice mumbled.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Not all boys."

"You say that because you have a crush over Miles." Alice teased.

"What? I don't!" Liz narrowed her eyes. "He's just a friend. Okay? Besides, I -" She ceased once they walked past another corridor to their right, spotting a small group of boys cornering who looked to be the friend she was talking about seconds ago.

"Hey?!" She shouted towards them.

"Just leave it, Liz." Alice gently grabbed her arm.

"No, it's not right." Elizabeth replied, determined.

"They could hurt you." Anye warned.

Elizabeth argued back, "I don't care, there's no shame in fear - my father once told me, what matters is how you face it. This is not fair."

"Go play with your dolls, Lizzie...!" Frank exclaimed, and proceed to press Miles against the locker, his 'gang' forming a circle around him.

Do not ever use your knowledge against people who don't deserve it. Matt's words echoed in her mind.

The bully then heard some commotion behind him and the next thing he knew a school bag had been tossed against his head with some considerable force.

Elizabeth grabbed Miles by the ear and dragged him away from the group whose people were just as stunned as Frank after she quickly intervened.

"I'm fine, Liz! Ow, that hurts!" Miles complained once they walked past her friends and were away from trouble.

Elizabeth release him. "Go home, Miles. You're just causing more confusion." She ordered, folding her arms.

"But I did nothing, Liz!" He tried to reassure with her, she was clearly mad.

"I don't care, just go, and do your homework this time around." Elizabeth looked away from him.

Miles scratched his head, confused. "Okay... thank you, Liz." He said lowly.

"Humph." She slightly raised her chin. Miles eventually headed outside through the main entrance that led to the parking lot. She followed him with her eyes, seeing him cross the street safely, then she spotted her dad's car parked not far away.

Peter was actually leaned against the driver's door, checking on his phone while he awaited for his daughter. Elizabeth smiled, happily. She began to walk towards him.

"Dad...!"

Peter looked up and saw Elizabeth fastly approaching him. He moved his phone inside his jean's pocket and crouched a little so that he could hug her. She wrapped her arms around his chest and leaned on his shoulder. "Hey, little one."

She suddenly gripped his shoulder blade firmly. "Dad... how many times... do I have to say that I'm not little...!"

He raised his hands in defense. "Alright, my bad, sweetheart." He chuckled, before grabbing her backpack from her shoulders to place it inside the vehicle, instead he saw Elizabeth already sat in the front passenger seat. "Liz..."

She had teleported again. "No one saw it."

"How do you know?" Peter dropped her backpack behind his seat. He settled in and closed the door. "You're telling me you can now do this voluntary?"

"I just know." Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "And... only sometimes."

Peter chuckled. "Okay mini - Gwen, but seriously... Liz, we don't fully know what that can do, it may not be safe."

"I feel good." She quickly changed subjects, "By the way, dad... did you ever... helped someone back at school?"

He adjusted his seatbelt. "Um... sometimes, yeah. Why do you ask?"

Elizabeth hesitated at first. "Well... the boys were bullying Miles. I didn't let them..." She cleared her throat.

"What did you do?" Peter quickly asked, serious.

"I just took him away from them." She replied.

"Liz, I don't want you to get hurt, tell the principle instead..." He noticed how hypocrite he sounded, but that was his daughter involved. She stood quiet and with folded arms. "Elizabeth..."

"Fine." She hummed.

Peter smiled, relieved. "Tell you what, everything in its due time." She nodded, reluctantly. "So, Liz... I have a little date with mommy tonight, you guys will be okay with May?"

"What will you two do?" Elizabeth inquired, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Have some dinner," Peter turned the engine on, and continued, "The rest... well, adult stuff. Okay?"

"Gah," She mumbled, "I'm always the one left behind..."

"Elizabeth!"

---

"I must say I feel rather out of place here." Peter adjusted his black tie with his right hand while the other one was wrapped around Gwen's waistline. She wore a snug red as wine sweetheart dress. Her hair fell down to her shoulders.

The enormous and luxurious festival's area was filled by occupied tables and waiters strolling from corner to corner, there was even a dancing center which quickly became overwhelmed as the guests arrived.

Gwen looked up to the chandelier transmitting a soft and yellow dim light over the entire golden and white colored area. She smiled contently, "I like to think we're lucky for being invited to the twentieth anniversary of the company I work for the night before my birthday."

"I guess. Is your boss around here as well...?" Peter asked, sneakily.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Don't be immature." She step forward and took his hand as they adventured deeper into the saloon, being careful to not stumble against the many pairs of people on their way.

"Where are we going?" Peter gawked her exposed back, but that quickly changed once he spotted a waiter carrying a silver plate and countless sushis walk besides him.

"We have a table reserved for us, or me - technically."

"Oh, right... I'm the black sheep here I see." Peter said, mock-glare.

Some familiar voice yelled across the area, "Parker...!"

That voice, that tone... the not so present subtleness... dammit.

The pair stopped on their tracks and turned around, meeting Spider-Man's biggest non-fan who somehow managed to sneak inside the private event. "Jameson..."

The editor wore a brown suit and red tie, he hadn't changed much since Peter met him years back. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm accompanying my beautiful wife, Gwen Stacy Parker here." He slightly turned on his shoulder to admire her dress with a smile, still holding her hand.

She smiled back, content by the way he simply looked at her whenever he could, the lack of affection is something their relationship never had to deal with it. "Hi, Mr Jameson. Peter always tell me a lot of good things about you."

Her husband slightly tilted his head to the side, confused.

Jameson appeared flabbergasted. "Really? That's..."

"Yeah - yeah." Peter interjected, "Look, Jameson... you know I don't have a lot of spare time like some years ago, so pictu-"

"No, no, it's not what you think, Parker." He cleared his throat, "I just wanted to let you know that... the office miss your presence, and... so do I." He slowly evolved into a shade of red.

"Oh..." Peter was surprised. He knew Jameson was a good man, but that was a side he never really had ever thought he would see. "Um... T-Thank you, JJJ. And... the feeling is mutual."

"Um, alright." Jameson loosed his tie around his neck. "I should back to my wife now. Take care, Parker." He turned around and left the pair to resume their special date night.

"Okay, that was something..." Peter grinned.

She smiled, happily. "See? We all love you."

He chuckled. "I wasn't sure if that was-" He was silenced by a soft kiss after Gwen placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned in.

Gwen kissed his lower lip one last time. "While I appreciate our talks, sometimes you just talk too much." She released him so that they could walk over to their reserved table.

Before she could do anything, Peter had already stepped in and pulled the chair for her. "Here, madam, let me help you."

She smiled. "Aren't you such an old fashioned gentlemen?" Gwen brushed past him and slowly sat down, she could feel Peter's nose close while she adjusted herself in the chair.

"You smell lovely."

Gwen blushed, slightly. "Peter, we are having a public dinner..."

He finally settled himself in the chair in the opposite side of the rounded table. "You smell lovely in this dinner." He grinned.

There isn't a day where I don't fall in more love with this man... Gwen thought to herself, observing his handsome facial features. She spoke, "You seem relaxed, honey."

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm at this wonderful place with my gorgeous wife to celebrate her birthday, makes everything better." Peter placed both hands over the table and caressed the top of her left one, before finally intertwining fingers.

"Well, I'm glad for another evening for ourselves. They're rare these days. You don't often ask me out as you used to." She teased with a smirk. "I think you got far too accommodated in our bedroom."

"I must admit that is true... but I like to plan and top all my previous romantic engagements with this Gwen gal, you know."

"That's your excuse?" She giggled lightly, amused.

Peter nodded. "Maybe." He continued, "I have a question, honey. Back then, you ever wondered what the future would be like for us?"

"I think a lot of girls do, specially during the first boyfriend phase, or in my case - my only boyfriend."

Peter said cockily, "I'm a keeper."

"Eh... it's not like we never broke up before, right?" He shrugged, defenseless. She laughed shortly. "I just wanted you with me, and that seemed such a difficult thing with the whole vigilante thing, combine that with your health... a single night around you was perfect. Peter - I would do it all over again to be here and have what we created until now."

Peter nodded. "Agreed. Love you."

She smiled. "Love you more. Your turn now. What did you dreamt about?"

"Hmm... at first, I was feeling so many emotions at the same time whenever I was with you, it was addicting and it remains that way, you just made me feel alive when I had to cope with the loss of Ben and the thing with my parents." Peter paused, briefly. "Then came the worry of losing the only good thing to happen to me since... so, my goal was to keep you safe. Whatever it took."

"I know. I remember that." She stroked his hand. "I guess it's safe to say that what we went through only strengthened our relationship."

"Literally, in every way." Peter insinuated.

"You ass." Gwen chuckled.

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "We should order something."

She tilted her head to the side. "What do you have in mind?"

"It's your night, anything you wish, even branzino." He joked.

"Anything I wish?" Peter nodded. "What a task... well - to be honest if it were up to we would already be making love ontop of the bridge."

"That could be arranged," Peter played along, aware that she indeed meant that since she always wanted to try something different. "But you have to be well to later effectively burn those calories at some bridge. I'm the superhuman here."

Gwen smirked. "You're such a nerd." They were approached by a waiter carrying a cart of many drinks and glasses ready to be held by the countless guests. They took a pause of their banter to order their food while wasting some time by drinking champagne.

Peter spoke once they're again alone, "Everyone keeps telling me that. But hey, nerds now rule the world."

"I won't disagree, although you're an exception. I'm the pants of this relationship, and the supreme queen of our family."

Peter folded his arms, proudly. "Yeah, right." He continued, "A queen wouldn't ever beg."

"I never beg, silly goose." Gwen took a sip of champagne. "I would certainly beg for no more birthdays, though."

He cleared his throat and smiled playfully, "Birthdays are good for you, Gwendy. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest."

"Ha! Good one!" Gwen giggled.

"Told ya, I'm not running out of jokes." Peter grinned, content for making her happy whenever he could. "They just age like a fine wine."

Gwen snickered briefly. "Whatever you say, Spider - Boy. Now, I think I could use some wine... also, it's funny how wine can look like blood sometimes, right?"

"Um... what? Don't tell me you're tipsy already." Pete took a sip of water.

Gwen frowned. "I am not. It's just an observation."

He grinned, amused. "Careful to not faint, though. I don't know if I can catch you in time from here."

"Why would I faint, dear husband?" She tilted her head to the side, her golden hair falling into her right bare shoulder.

"Well... some girls do."

She took another sip of wine, before putting the glass back to the table. "Hmm, girls see more blood than boys, though."

"That's... a good point." Peter cleared his throat.

Gwen smirked, proudly. "Good. Now, would you pay us another bottle? Because I want this conversation to take a more direct turn as soon as possible."

The next morning...

The morning's light filtered through the lover's bedroom window, casting a beam that slowly woke up the fastly asleep blonde. The first thing she noticed was the enormous headache that made unbearably difficult to move her head.

Gwen was laid on her chest, her hands hiding underneath the comfy pillow. She could feel the covers stopping at her waistline, she was also wearing a camisole and panties, the creamy skin of her legs were in direct contact with the soft and cold tissue of the bed.

She moaned. "Hmm... I may have exaggerated..." The door of the bedroom was carefully open with Peter stepping inside - carrying a mug of hot steamy coffee. He closed the same door and walked towards her direction. She looked up to him, her green orbs slightly open.

Peter sat besides his wife and placed the mug over the bedstand. "Probably, but you were having a good time." He moved a lock behind her ear and leaned down, kissing the sensitive spot.

"Hmm... why are you wearing a shirt...?" Gwen murmured, huskily.

"Does it bother you?" Peter asked, massaging her back meanwhile.

"Yes... lay with me, please."

Peter smiled. He stood up and took off his shirt and walked around the bed.

Seconds later, Gwen felt a strong arm snaking its way around her back. She sighed in contentment. She closed her eyes once he began to plant a series of kisses from behind her ear and down to her cheeks. "Did I cause too much trouble...?" She whispered, delighting herself with his ministrations.

"Well, after you became all tipsy, you tried to hook up together this new potential couple, later you wanted to swim in the pool." Peter playfully bit her ear's lobe whist his hand adventured inside her camisole. "And... well, then you wanted to make up while I was driving, but you got annoyed and slept on my shoulder until I stopped at this food store to get us some real dinner, you thought I was going to leave you in the car so I had to pinky promise I wouldn't."

Stacy women their pinky promises...

Gwen groaned. "I'm a mess..."

"Nah, you're easy to get wasted, honey. Thankfully, you had a gentleman like me to watch your attractive butt." Peter teased. "It was funny, I had a great time." He moved aside her golden locks that covered the back of her neck and drew circles over the previously hidden blue butterfly tattoo. The initials of their children, and his, could be seen in different spots in the butterfly's wings.

She had gotten it days after Elizabeth was born, and when their twins happened, she added their initials later. It wasn't something Gwen let the world know about it, but only her beloved ones. It was too much personal.

Gwen replied, "Leave my butt out of this..."

Peter chuckled. "That's something I really can't do, baby." His right hand slipped under her camisole and further.

She grinned. "You're lucky I'm weak and defenseless right now, or else that hand wouldn't have went much further." She teased back, slowly turning around to face her husband. He was lying his head down on her pillow, she could feel his breath.

Peter smiled at the sight. "I wouldn't take advantage of a lady in need." He cupped her cheek lovingly, before leaning in and kissing her upper lip.

Gwen moaned and reciprocated the kiss, her left hand moving up against his bare spine and stopping at his smooth brown hair. They parted the relaxing kiss and looked at each other's eyes. She began to brush her forehead against his, caressing his jawline and without ever stopping eye contact, until Peter decided to quickly lick her upper lip and nose in a blink of an eye, surprising her.

That happened so fast the Stacy woman couldn't even properly react, at first she briefly frowned in disgust, but her giggles were impossible to contain as he cleaned her face with his hand.

"Sorry," Peter chuckled. "I guess you can say you're literally irresistible."

"You're nasty," Gwen mocked, playfully. She actually loved how goofy he could be, a trait that still was present after all the years they lived together. She began suspiciously, "But hey, did you... undress me?"

Peter moved his arm under her and rested his hand over her shoulder, bringing his wife closer. "Maybe, my heat kept you warm. After all, winter is coming."

Gwen laughed. "Peter, you're not in The Seven Kingdoms!"

He grinned, happily. "So you do pay attention when I'm watching it, uh?"

"Maybe, but you didn't answer my question..."

Peter smirked. "Okay, I did... the moment you laid down you feel asleep and wouldn't wake up. I swear I didn't look much, though. You do look cute with this camisole, my pick, by the way."

"Hmm... aren't you so thoughtful?" She winked. "Always thinking about everything and everyone. Like that vineyard you mentioned at the rooftop, were you sure about that? Or was it an excuse to get me more wine?"

Peter smiled. He brushed his indicative finger over her lower lip, appreciating every little detail that formed his wife. "If you want to, maybe. Tell you what, after everything is all said and done, we can go to Italy, grow our own vineyard... the kids will love the country, we could live somewhere away from the city, just us. Maybe in a mountain? Above some village?"

Gwen sighed contently, seeing her husband daydreaming about the future. "Don't think you're going to ever become the pants of this relationship in case we go live far away from the city one day."

"Damn. This marriage is costing my manliness..." He joked.

She giggled. "Some, I agree. But... I love this. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life."

Peter moved his body closer and carefully spun over her, bringing the sheets along as they were literally wrapped together by the many blankets by. Their noses were brushing against each other's.

He asked gently, "Even by the time we're old and sitting in our couch, taking care of our small horde of grandchildren?"

Gwen chuckled, looking deep into his eyes. "Sounds lovely, but yeah, even then." She paused. "I admit what you did last night was so... so special, I might need to stop teasing the soul out of you, even if I think you didn't need to go after such lengths."

If taking a night off for them to enjoy each other wasn't enough, Peter had planned something else entirely. He brought her to the reserved section of the rooftop, they talked, shared affection and enjoyed the comfortable silence around such high heights, until fireworks appeared near the Brooklyn bridge, the exact same bridge he swung them to many years ago.

Happy Birthday, Gwendy. The sentence the entire city saw with the help of a fearless lawyer who broke many laws to help a friend in need.

"You know... I have dealt with the mob, mutants, mercenaries, robots, monsters, hunters, what else... I guess dirty diapers can count as well...?" She laughed shortly, stroking the back of his head. "The list goes on, my body shouldn't even be standing together after all that, I don't know how it still does, wait - I do, because of the countless times you've put me together with bandages and stitches - even mentally, and now my beautiful girl is becoming a year older, so those fireworks were somewhat a way of showing this city how much I love everything you ever did for me, again, and again if needed..."

"Peter..."

He silenced her with a quick and soft kiss, before gazing her green eyes and whispering, "Happy Birthday, sweetheart." He gently touched her now very evident birthmark spot in the corner of her mouth.

She cleared her throat, and smiled thankfully, before capturing his lips on hers, passionately kissing him back while gently pulling the soft and short hair in the back of his head, not letting him go anywhere.

"Four minutes..." He whispered against her lips.

Gwen kept her eyes closed. "Hmm...?"

Under the sheets, Peter rubbed her belly as she instantly giggled at him. "Until they come rushing through that door put our bed into siege..."

Gwen slapped his intrusive hand away from her stomach. "Don't. And if you stopped me from drinking too much last night, I would offer you a quickie for all that hard word, but I don't feel you're up to the task too, nor deserve."

Peter laughed, sarcastically. "Me?!" He grinned, before quickly lifting her camisole above her stomach so that he could rub her belly once again, causing Gwen to burst into uncontrollable fits of giggles while she tried to resist on his grip.

Among the commotion, the door eventually was fastly open and the last thing they knew their children were climbing into bed and wishing the previously in distress woman a happy birthday.

And she got one. They did.

---

Aunt May's Courtyard - April 24th

"What?" Peter wiped the sweat from his forehead as one of Aiden's friend approached him whilst being accompanied by some of his football team's partners.

The sun wasn't being kind, and while the match between fathers and sons was entertaining, it was rather tiresome.

It was now the penalty shootout since the score ended in a tie.

"Aiden doesn't want to take the kick." He informed. The other kids began to form a circle around him. They all wanted their best player to participate in the last decision.

"Why not?!" Peter breathed heavily, spotting Gwen handing Aiden a bottle of water in one of the many arranged and busy benches. He could see his red shirt with his name written on his back right over the number seven.

"He's afraid to miss it again, Mr Parker." Another boy explained.

Peter sighed. "I see." He knew his son could be over confident, specially when he's leading his team, but he also was aware of his fear of letting people down. Gwen once told him about when he confessed the desire of being exactly like him. "Let me talk to Aiden."

He moved off the circle and shouted to get his son's attention. "Hey! Hey! Aiden!" Both Gwen and Aiden were caught by surprise and turned on their shoulders. "Come kick, come kick!" He gestured for him to come over.

"But-" Aiden didn't manage to finish his sentence.

"You hit them well, if we lose so be it! Come on, be strong!" Peter insisted. He knew he was being a bit tad harsh, but he didn't want Aiden to lose the trust he has over his skills, and that was a life lesson, to never give up, keep reaching.

Gwen gave her son a inspirational wink as she stroked his cheek, before gently retrieving the bottle from his hand. He nodded and began to stroll his way towards Peter who applauded him.

"Just like we always practiced, son." Peter caressed the back of his head. They both walked together towards the goal where most of their team was currently reunited at.

Peter was the first walk forward. The goalkeeper was the illustrious Flash, who grinned playfully at him. They agreed with the rule of adult going against adult and vice versa for the kids.

Instead of using his extra strength for obvious reasons, Peter chose his accuracy and sent the ball to the upper right part of the goal, scoring a point for the team, and boosting Aiden's confidence.

Not far away from the field, Gwen checked on the grill, hearing the sound of plates being arranged over the large horizontal table behind her, other parents were assisting her with everything, thankfully. It wasn't hard to spot children running around and giggling at whatever they were talking about.

A view she appreciated very much. She once was one of those children, goofing around, just being a child while her parents were busy with something. Now the roles had changed, and she could never complain about such change. It gave her a new perspective in live after she once again found true love seconds after holding her children for the very first time.

Gwen wiped her hands clean with the small pink towel and turned around to sit next to her son David who was busy half of a hot-dog, and making a small mess while doing so.

She resumed their talk from minutes ago. "Are you sure you don't want a little sister?"

"But I already have a sister, mommy." He replied while chewing the food, she found amusing how it was similar to her husband's way.

"What about a little one, huh? One you can hold by yourself?" She stroked his hair, appreciating its softness by the touch of her fingertips.

David took another bite and mumbled, "Hmm, I don't know..."

Gwen chuckled and smiled kindly, taking sight of the human-being she generated from her own flesh, and now such important person was a year older, like her. "Okay, you hang on now." She looked over her shoulder and moved her right arm down and behind the bench to grab a tiny red box she had hidden there earlier. "Here."

David cleaned his hands with the napkin and eyed the box with his big brown eyes. "What is that...?"

"I know you've earned tons of gifts by now, all of each you deserve, but this one is special." She handed him the object.

He slowly undid the tie that kept the box locked and delicately took its top aside. "A pendant, mommy?" He smiled, holding it close enough to his eyes. The string held a silver circle with the initial 'S' set in the middle.

"It stands for Stacy, my dad, your grandpa, made this shortly after I was born, and he used to wear it since I can remember." Gwen explained, helping David by moving the pendant down his head and until it reached his shoulder. "And now... it's yours."

He hugged her closely. She returned the hug and kissed the top of his head. "Thank you. I love you." He whispered.

Gwen massaged his back. She said softly, "And I love you too."

David sighed contently, such moment of tranquility didn't exactly last much once he unfolded his arms and grabbed the incoming small ball on his right hand. Gwen instantly turned her head and saw an euphoric Aiden laughing uncontrollably from a distance whilst Peter chastised him as they walked towards them.

"Aiden, you little punk!" It wasn't a powerful shot, more like a finesse one, but it still remained a careless act.

"Oh, come on! I knew Davey was going to catch it!" He argued back, not wiping away his grin.

"Duh," David deadpanned.

Gwen asked, "Did you guys win?"

"Yup!" Aiden nodded. "Me and dad scored, it was awesome!" He approached his mom.

She fixed his hair by moving her hand forward over his head, trying to get it spiked once again. "We all expected that, nobody can beat you boys."

"Hey, I feel excluded." Elizabeth walked out the house's backdoor that led into crowded backyard. She held a glass of orange juice while wearing a blue skirt and pink blouse. Her hair was tied up by a black ponytail. "Again, happy birthday, brother-"

She was cut off once Aiden embraced her, almost managing to spill out her juice. He whispered, "Thank you, Liz."

Elizabeth giggled. "You're welcome." She looked up to David. "And you too, little brother."

"Hmm? We're twins, Liz!" He protested. Aiden laughed.

Gwen interjected, "Well, to be fair, Aiden was the first to be born..."

Peter whistled shortly and looked away. "Drama..." He whispered, playfully.

Both twins laughed at the same time. Gwen knew they're just playing around, but she still loved how Peter had his way with words, were they romantic, inspiring or simply silly funny. Part of that certainly comes from what he saw, suffered or caused.

She always thought he could disarm any kind of situation without even wearing the suit, but only using words. His heart was just that big and kind.

Peter watched the family banter for a few minutes, content for being able to have such opportunity. He eventually walked away to enter May's kitchen once they're all busy.

The kitchen itself was filled with boxes of snacks, some were already open and empty since the demand was huge. He smiled once he got inside, he could still see traces of the house he grew over the years despite the new modifications he offered to May.

He chuckled once he saw the old TV in the counter besides the sink. If his memory didn't fail him, that was one of the first things Ben and May bought once they moved in. It didn't possess the best image quality or sound, but it sure made them happy regardless. He probably had lost the count of how many nights they spent watching cartoons together.

He supported himself in the counter by using both arms, gazing the ground while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hey, handsome one." Gwen called softly from behind. She slowly walked around the table as Peter looked over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing at all." Peter turned around to face her.

She cupped his left cheek and looked deep into his eyes. "You never were a good liar like most people."

Peter gripped her waist. "Well, I think I always was the weird one around."

Gwen moved her hand up to the side of his head, caressing his hair he adopted when they created the new suit. She loved it. "I fell in love with you because you weren't like anyone else..." She affirmed, passionately.

Peter leaned his forehead against hers as they both closed their eyes. His wife then used her free hand to turn on the TV without batting an eye on it.

"There..." She whispered. "Nothing much going on."

Peter observed the news. Indeed, nothing that required his attention, unless if he wanted to make an appearance at this woman's 60 year-old store highlighted in the channel.

"How did you know?" Peter ran his hand up to her back.

"I had a feeling." Gwen replied calmly. "Hard to take a break, Pete?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "Just a lot in my mind. Elizabeth's thing and then there's Harry and Ezekiel, and even the Avengers out there without me when Steve asked for my help." He paused. "You have no idea how happy I am, though."

"I would love to hear why." She stroked his smooth cheek.

"Well... all of this, being able to give them something I never had, actually makes me proud of myself, you know? For being here, with the beautiful mother of my children, and they as well, shows I've done some right." He explained, lowly.

"And you did," Gwen reassured. "As much as you miss Harry, you know he has to move forward with his life and own goals, you can't always be present... Ezekiel helped you countless times before, right? He's trustable, and he can handle himself, the same could be said about Steve; our little girl is also strong, she's handling everything well."

"I... I suppose you're right, Gwendy."

She smirked. "I'm always right." Peter chuckled. "And hey, I'm the one who always freaks out over absolute nothing in this relationship. Don't you start now."

"Sometimes, I guess." Peter smiled as he moved a golden lock behind her left ear, gently.

Gwen smiled back, appreciating the small gesture of affection. "I love you, hero-man." She said lovingly.

"The feeling's mutual." Peter tilted his head to his left side and slowly leaned-in with the goal of kissing her lower and soft inviting lip.

She stood still, slightly closing her eyes as he got closer. "Not here..." She quickly gave him a peck in the lips as some temporary compensation.

Peter nodded. "Right; you know, I still have to give you a proper gift." He recalled when they agreed to give the boys a special gift, he now wanted to do the same for his wife.

Gwen frowned. "What? I think the entire last night was enough." Peter opened his mouth to protest. "No arguing, seriously, I'm happy. If you want to win me over, you can always give me some chocolate. Now, if it's something else, just use your tongue."

"Gosh," Peter laughed, Gwen grinned once she heard the sound of his happiness and how she always managed to pull his leg. "Fair enough, honey."

Gwen intertwined her fingers with his and held his hand tightly. "Come on, we should be out there before they think we left our own children. Don't give MJ any ideas, my mom is around."

Peter nodded. She led him by the hand to the backdoor and stood there, observing the entire backyard while Peter rested his left arm over her shoulder and used the same to hug her cleavage while he kissed the back of her hair.

Gwen searched for their miniatures. She found David talking to a group of his friends, they were about to play catch. Elizabeth walked with a big smile alongside her friend Anye, they headed towards MJ and Flash who were watching Sarah in the small swing.

"Gwendy, sometimes I forget you're shorter than me, by a few centimeters of course, but it's kinda cute." He looked down to her emerald colored eyes, noticing how annoyed she seemed by the minute he finished his sentence.

"Shut-" Gwen suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Where is Aiden...?" She asked herself.

"I haven't seen him since our little reunion." He answered.

Gwen cleared her throat. "Peter. Your son. What is he doing...?"

Peter followed her gaze, eventually seeing Aiden Stacy Parker leaning his shoulder against the backyard's fence while he talked to some blonde girl of his age.

They're laughing, a different type of laugh. She noticed.

Gwen tried to do her best to read his lips."I have a brother, but I don't think he's into chicks for now, unlike me." She paused, before staring at her husband. "Peter! He's only six!"

"Okay, and what I'm supposed to do?! I wasn't like that, were you like that, cause I wasn't." He argued back.

"Oh my god, just do something, that's Justice, and her father isn't the most understanding guy when it comes to boys. God, I'm so embarrassed." Gwen continued, "Just don't stay here! Go there and stop him...!"

"Okay, okay..." Peter let his wife go of his arm and strolled past her. "Light up the Spider-Signal and daddy will come for your criminal." He sighed.

Gwen rolled her eyes. She gritted her teeth. Her boys were growing, too fast for her taste. The scenario she now lived wasn't something she expected to happen they way it did, it was a distant dream years ago, yes, but looking back, at everything they went through, her family of spiders deserved all of what they have now, and that would always be what matters.

They are the only gifts she would ever want.

"Mom?!" Elizabeth called from not far away. Gwen was brought back to the physical world where she and her sons were now a year older. "David's shoe flew across the fence...!"

She deadpanned. "Mommy's on the way..."

And here we go.

Gwen sighed and walked her way towards another accomplishment from her troublemakers. From riding a poor pug to accidentally succeeding at losing a shoe. Truly a descendant from Peter Benjamin Parker.

And she loved it.

Leaving the house, the only thing Gwen Stacy forgot to do was to turn off the TV due to her husband's more than welcome moves. Now, it reported a story to the emptiness of the kitchen.

"This is just in, eleven Wakandas were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, resulting in a body count of a least thirty individuals. No official response has been made, but people in social medias already demand justice regarding those involved, raising the question if the Avengers, or any superhuman should be allowed to operate without any type of official supervision..."

---

A/N : I know it's been some months, got caught up with some very personal stuff that made me lose the focus in writing this, but once I moved on, I came back in full speed. Studies also got in the way, but that's the usual. Anyways, this chapter was kind hard to finish, lots of narrative choices to choose, and what to remove. I really took my time to polish this, about two weeks alone, I hope it paid off. So, yeah. We got to know more about Elizabeth's abilities, I wanted her to be different from her father, to be rather unique, so I'm exploring that now. I also couldn't leave the romance out, could I?

The ending is a bride to what will be the final run of the story, there's some material to cover, I'm going to a place I haven't seen anyone or in any Spider-Man material out there, also adding important twists to some characters, and make this whole short storyline memorable and satisfying. There's a few plenty of chapters to go, for those concerned, don't be, you will get what you want here.

For now, that's it. Thanks to everyone who's still reading this, and waited patiently. Next chapter depends of the length, shorter probably sooner, and vice versa, so if you want, tell me what you prefer. Have a great one.