Where in the timeline: several years after the TASM trilogy, they're pretty newly married.

Letter: K

Word: kids

Author's Notes: so I wasn't going to do this at all, but several people suggested it.

"Peter... I've been thinking."

Aforementioned man looked up to his blonde beauty of a wife and made a puzzled face, giving her his full attention. "About what?"

Gwen wouldn't meet his eyes, staring at her left hand and fiddling with her rings instead. "I mean... Our first anniversary is coming up... And I was thinking..."

He cupped her hand in both of his, causing her to meet his eyes. He gave her an encouraging smile.

"I want kids," she breathed in a rush.

Peter immediately drew back, his smile faltering. Kids were the last thing on his mind. Maybe in the past he had a desire for children of his own, but he simply couldn't handle the idea anymore.

A thousand excuses suddenly surged through his brain.

He and Gwen had talked about this before. Spider-Man would prevent things from being how they should be. He might not always be able to be there, and though Gwen's income from Oscorp was nothing to sneeze at, but it would go away the second she became pregnant, because her line of work often involved chemical hazards.

"Gwen..." Peter could think of a thousand logical excuses to come next, but while they were logical, they weren't really valid. Most of them could be easily dealt with, but the one issue that couldn't be remedied was the one he also refused to bring up.

He left the table, leaving Gwen astonished and teary-eyed.

The fire escape was the nearest exit, and the one she wouldn't dare follow him out of. He sat on the rusted old thing, trying to control his breathing while the cool wind battered his face.

Peter's DNA had been permanently altered by that spider bite. As far as he had found out, there was nothing he could do to remove the spider's DNA.

Which meant that if he had children, they would be just like him. They would have the great powers, and when he was gone the great responsibility would fall to their shoulders. He didn't want his children to live like he had to. To constantly hear the city cry for help, and to either ignore the call or answer it and sacrifice their lives. To be a social outcast. To be painfully different.

But at the same time... He wanted kids. He wanted to hold a newborn baby and tell Aunt May who they looked like. To see all the tiny milestones and know what it's like to have a little person looking up to you. He wished he could be everything his father hadn't been, but with Spider-Man, he was likely to end up gone much sooner.

There was a tap on the window. Peter turned and found Gwen smiling warily. He wasn't ready to have this conversation. He never would be, either. All he could to was push through it.

The window opened and closed, and the husband and wife soon sat on the couch, hand in hand.

"I'm sorry," Gwen said quietly.

"No, you shouldn't be. I just..."

"Peter if you think I haven't thought about what could happen to the kids with your genes then you're wrong. I've thought about it long and hard and I decided it doesn't matter. I would love them no matter what, and I could deal..."

"I don't want them to do that. It's—it's such a burden. Not knowing if you'll come home, knowing the people you love are always in danger."

Gwen leaned into him, and he could feel her body trembling all over. "Please..."

Peter sighed. "Give me a little while."

About a year after that conversation, they held a little girl. She was precious as could be, and completely normal for as much as they could tell. And three years after that, a boy. It was such an amazing experience that neither of them could imagine a world where they had hesitated to have kids.