Achoo!

"Uck!"

Peter stopped as he reached the fire escape outside Gwen's bedroom window, sniveling up the snot that was dribbling again already despite him stopping only seconds ago to wipe it away. Being sick sucked. But it sucked even more when he had already made plans that he didn't want to cancel. So far, he had managed to hide his cold from Gwen throughout the week. It hadn't been too difficult at first and it seemed like it was fading. At least until he woke up that morning after being blasted out of his dreams by a sneezing fit. It was the middle of summer and he was freezing.

He hadn't really caught a cold or been sick at all since becoming Spider-man, with the exception of one time during his early days of catching crooks and criminals. But it hadn't happened in so long that he'd pretty much forgotten that he could still get sick as well as what it was like to be sick. Though he wasn't about to let that stop him.

Stuffing the used tissue into the pocket of his jacket, he raised his fist and tapped on the pane of glass. Gwen was seated at her computer, her eyes were glued to the screen until the sound of his knock caught her attention. She was already dressed too, in a pair of black jeans, a pink top and white silky summer scarf. As she crossed over to the window, she paused for a second and eyebrows pulled together in a frown. He could just about make out the shape of her lips to understand what she was saying, and as usual, she was unsettled by his disastrous appearance; his chestnut hair scuffed up and falling all over his head, his nose as red as beetroot and his eyes looking like they were glass.

She gaped at the sight of him and rushed to get the window open as quickly as she could. As she slid it upwards, Peter climbed through but she didn't have the chance to question him before a loud sneeze erupted from him like a volcano, and despite his hands over his face, showered her in snot. His eyes widened, mortified by what he'd just done and he reached into his pocket, grabbing the snotty tissue he'd stuffed in there only a moment ago and offered it out to her.

"Uhh… Did kisses get old that fast that now we're using sneezes to greet each other?" She joked, pushing his hand with the tissue back towards him. "You can keep that."

"Oh my God!" He blurted, as the tingling sensation traveled through his nose once again. "Gwen, I'm so- so-" He broke off as another loud sneeze came from his person. "I'm sorry." He sniveled.

"It's… fine." She screwed her face up as a tsunami load of green snot oozed into his tissue. "Are you okay?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow in doubt.

"Y- Yes I'm f-fine." He shivered. "Ready to go?" He questioned, flashing a sloppy toothy smile at her.

But Gwen was not taking his answer. She rolled her eyes at his obvious lie and stepped forward, unafraid of catching his cold, and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. Her eyes widened in alarm and she moved quickly to close her bedroom door and remove her scarf before forcing him down onto the bed.

"Peter, you are not fine. You- You're burning up!" She panicked.

"No, no!" He attempted to assure her. "Please can we still go? We've been planning this for weeks."

"Absolutely not!" She scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. "We will reschedule our plans, but for now we need to get you better."

Peter grinned. "I am better. Seeing you works like magic!"

"Sure it does." She sighed. "But we are not going anywhere tonight, Peter. Now get in bed."

"No."

Another sneeze. Followed by another, and then another resulted in more sniveling and having had enough of him using the same snot covered tissue, Gwen snatched it from his hands. Suppressing a gag at the sticky green snot, she tossed it into the trash can and picked up the box of tissues from her desk, placing them on the bedside unit.

"I think you're gonna need these, but for the love of God, Peter please just get in bed."

"Make me." He smirked.

Gwen wobbled her eyebrows and a smirk appeared on her own face. She threw back the covers and then bent down, untying and removing his shoes from his feet. With gentle force, she pushed him back. Not that it did any good as he just jumped back up again instantly.

"Alright, what's it gonna take for you to stay in bed?" She asked.

"Hmm…" He pretended to think it through for a moment. "I wouldn't mind resting and laying in this bed if you are my nurse."

Her jaw dropped at his answer and she almost expected to hear a clanging sound as it hit the floor. Once she recovered from the shock, she shook her head.

"Peter… Is this another one of your fantasies? Because now is really not-"

Another sneeze cut her off and she sighed. She knew that he was being cheeky, but she also knew that there was no other way to get him to stay in bed. His stubbornness was too strong to give in. Even when he wasn't feeling well.

"Alright. Fine. I will be your nurse." She agreed. "Just don't expect me to change into some ridiculous costume."

"Why?" He sniveled. "Are you saying that you have one?" He chuckled, resulting in a coughing fit.

Gwen winced as the sound of his cough came all the way from deep within his lungs and she couldn't bring herself to laugh at his cheeky question. She bit down on her lip and forced a smile.

"Wait here, I'm going to go gather a few things that could help you." She informed him, moving towards the door before turning back to him again. "And if I come back and find that you have moved, I will be spanking your ass when you're back in full health." She warned.

"Is that a promise?"

"Peter, I'm serious!" She groaned.

Achoo!

With that response, she looked back one last time before exiting the room. Alone for a minute, Peter allowed his head to sink back into the pillow, appreciating the soft cushioning as it did its part to soothe his aching head. He mentally kicked himself for not being able to give Gwen the night he'd wanted to give her; the night she deserved after all that they had been through. Though he knew that she was right, they could reschedule any time that they wanted.

He didn't have time to dwell on the thought before she returned to the room with her hands full of different things that he had not the energy to even try to figure out. She set them all out on the bedside unit and then took a seat beside him.

"I wouldn't get too close if I were you." He croaked. "I don't wanna get you sick."

Gwen laughed. "I've had a cold before, it's nothing that'll kill me." She rolled her eyes. "Though the same cannot be said for you."

Gee, thanks." He whined, rubbing his forehead with his hands.

Noticing his discomfort right away, she pulled his hand away from his head and put a damp but warm flannel in its place. She went to pull her hand away from his, only for his grip to tighten.

"How's that?"

"Feels… nice." He smiled weakly. "You have anything to drink though?" He asked. "My throat feels like a cat's been at it."

"Of course." She nodded. "I'll be right back." And then she left the room again, returning shortly after with a glass of water.

He sat up just enough to take it from her and took a sip, screwing his face up as it slid unsmoothly down his throat. She took it back and set it aside once he was done.

"Close your eyes, Peter."

"Why?" He questioned.

"It'll help with the headache."

"I don't want to!" He protested.

"But why? It's only going to help you."

"Because if I close my eyes then I can't see your beautiful face." He answered with a sloppy smile.

Gwen bit her lip, feeling her cheeks heat up, she dropped her gaze to her hands. "You are still adorable, even when you are full of germs." She exhaled silently. "Please close your eyes."

"Okay…" He pouted his lips, but his eyes slid closed regardless.

"And try this for your stuffed up nose." She suggested, reaching over to the bedside unit and picking up an item that looked like a chapstick. Instead when she opened it, she put it to his nose and without his eyes opening, he raised his eyebrows as a strong smell of menthol hit him.

"Damn. That's strong." He coughed. "Hey, Gwen…"

"Yeah?"

"This pillow is a little uncomfortable. Would you lay with me?" He requested.

While the idea of catching his cold did not sound appealing, she found that she didn't have the heart to refuse him when he was sick. Though being in jeans in bed did not sound appealing.

"Let me just change first."

"Noooo." He whined.

"Peter, come on. Being in bed with jeans on will be torture." She found herself pleading.

"Then just take them off and come to bed."

"Without putting anything else on?" She questioned.

"Yeah." He confirmed. "It'll be easier and you're tired from having to care for me, so it'll save you time."

She couldn't deny that she was feeling pretty tired after the unexpected turn of events. "How do you know? Your eyes are closed."

"I just know."

"Alright." She agreed, quickly slipping out of her jeans and climbing in the other side of the bed.

Peter yawned and rolled over onto his side, surprising her when he rested his head upon her chest. She brought her arm down so that it was around him and her fingers threaded through his messy hair, then let her eyes closed.

"Hmm…" He hummed.

"What is it?" She asked, opening only one eye.

"Nothing. I just… I love the sound of your heartbeat, Gwennie-"

"Don't call me Gwennie." She huffed.

She hated that nickname and had only tolerated it back when they were a lot younger than now. It was the same name her father had used on her when she was a girl and she had no desire to hear it ever again.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "Just the sound of your heartbeat… I wanna-" He broke off as a yawn escaped him. "Hear it every night." He finished.

Peter opened his eyes, blinking away all the grit that had accumulated over night. The events of last night came flooding back to him and he resisted the urge to cringe at how he'd been sneezing all over her and- and as he thought about it, he realized something; the pounding in his head had stopped and when he swallowed, his throat no longer felt sandpaper. The fog that laced his mind was gone. Completely.

He sat up partially, leaning on his hand for support, and looked down at Gwen. She was still asleep, which was unusual for her since she was usually the one to wake him up. Though the idea of waking her up didn't appeal to him, he wanted to be able to apologize to her for ruining their night and to thank her for not just sending him home, even if that's what he thought she should have done.

"Gwen…" He whispered.

When that didn't get a reaction, he leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her lips, pulling back and removing strands of hair from her eyes. This time she stirred, and a small v shape formed in between her eyebrows. With a groan, she opened her eyes and shielded her eyes from the intrusive sunlight that bled through the curtains.

"Good morning." He spoke softly.

"Ugh!" She whined. "My head." Her hands instinctively flew up to her forehead in a feeble attempt to ease the headache.

Peter's face twisted with concern. "You okay?"

"No." She answered. "But you seem to be better."

"Yeah." He chuckled. "I think your methods worked like magic."

"Good for you." She muttered.

"Say erh- you didn't catch my cold, did you?"

"Considering that you sprayed me with Peter germs, I'm beginning to think I just might have."

"Oh." He pouted. Guilt sank heavy into him and suddenly he didn't feel so good about finally being rid of the cold. "I'm sorry."

Gwen laughed, and then winced as it brought more pain to her head. "If you feel that bad then I can sell it back to you?"

"No. Thank you." He shook his head. "I told you not to get too close but you didn't listen, so this is on you."

"Peter!!!" She scolded.

Achoo!

"Anything I can do?" He asked, now serious again.

"Nope." She sniveled. "But cuddles would be nice." She added with puppy dog eyes.

"Are you kidding me? Gwen, I just got rid of that thing."

"Yeah, because you passed it on to me!" She reminded him.

"Ugh."

"Please…" She begged, pouting her lips.

Peter thought it through for a second. He agreed that it was, partially though not fully, his fault that she wasn't feeling well, and he thought about how she hadn't been too reluctant to get close to him. Having made up his mind, he sat up a little bit more and lifted his arm.

"Come here." He prompted.

She shuffled closer, laying her head against his shoulder and throwing her arm around his waist. His own came to rest around her back.

"Better?"

"Much." She smiled, snuggling into his side to make herself more comfortable. "Oh, and Peter…"

"Yeah?"

"Next time you have a cold, try and keep your germs to yourself." She finished.

Peter laughed through his nose and rolled his eyes before pulling her closer. He could tell that the next week with her battling the cold would be a long one.