Everything hurt.
His foot felt like it was about to break, as he kept shoving the base of his shoe against the giant gear that was only a few moments away from ruining everything.
A few moments away from sending Gwen, on the other end of Peter's web, careening to the concrete floor at the bottom of the clock tower.
His lungs and ribs ached, as he struggled to breathe, as he stared up at someone who, up until just a few moments ago, had been his best friend. But that didn't seem to matter to Harry. Harry, who had a death grip around Peter's neck, was sneering down at him, as his own throat was being held fast by some of Peter's webs.
Harry used to have everything. Lost, to some bullshit venom. Venom that Peter had told him, time and time again, was not worth the pain. Was not worth the bloodshed.
Peter would be the one to know, wouldn't he?
Although, he never imagined it being quite like this.
And he never imagined bringing Gwen into it, either. He should have listened to her father. Captain Stacy had wanted her to live a long, happy life. He had wanted that, for his daughter, like every parent did. And Peter wanted that, too. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to let her have that, separate from himself.
He should have never let her come with him tonight. He should have kept far, far away from her, and let her go find that happiness on her own.
But he was too scared to lose her, and always had been.
But now, Peter was holding her entire life in his hand, at the end of his web. A web that was only a whisper away from snapping. And he didn't know what he'd do, if he failed to protect her now, when she needed him most.
Harry's grip on his neck tightened, and sapped the energy from his bones, as he tried to do everything he could to keep Gwen safe. He kept fighting the gear, and gripping the web for dear life. But he knew he couldn't hold on much longer.
And then she called out to him.
"Peter?"
He couldn't help but look. Some unknown reflex that he didn't even think to fight.
And then his entire body went rigid. He could feel it happening, before anything truly moved. The momentary slip in focus had just screwed him.
His foot slipped. The gear snapped out of place. The minute hand chunked on. Slack suddenly came in to the web in his hands.
Gwen.
Peter watched the clock hands wildly spin out of control behind Harry, and the gears started to knock each other out of place and clamber to different sides of the tall tower. He used the chance to shove Harry off, and sent him flying away with the gears he was still glued to.
He wheeled around and stared over the edge of the gear, his eyes immediately snapping to Gwen.
Time seemed to slow.
The love of his life stared up at him, eyes wide, hair framing her face as her mouth sat open in a silent, permanent gasp for air.
He could remember setting ground rules with her and her letting out that stupid little laugh, and her wiping her nose in that cute way she did, and hiding in the closet with her at Oscorp. The memories weighed on him like bricks, like giant steel beams and human-sized gears.
Go. Go. He had to go. He had to get to her.
He grabbed the edge of the gear and shot off, down, rocketing down towards her. Gears tumbled past him, careening towards Gwen. He hoped none of them would hit her. He hoped she'd at least be saved from that.
He already knew he wouldn't be able to reach her, not on his own.
He reached out his hand and folded his fingers. A gesture that meant I love you, if you asked the right person.
I love you, as his web fired and weaved past all sizes of gears, by some sort of miracle.
I love you, as it found its mark, and securely got hold of her.
He hadn't cared where it landed. At the time, it seemed trivial. And maybe now, it still was. Just reach her. He had just wanted to reach her at all.
He could see tears rolling down her cheeks, and could see her let out a shaky breath and close her eyes.
He stuck out his arm to grab something—anything—and managed to grab a pipe. He slammed to a stop in the air.
But the web kept going, and kept going, and Peter watched, horrified, as it only kept going and going and going and—
It made a loud snap in his hands, as all the slack suddenly vanished.
And it didn't cover up the harsh smack that sounded throughout the tower.
The horrible, sickening, bone-chilling crunch against the concrete.
An earth-shattering, world-ending, stomach-churning sound.
Gears clattered to the concrete floor all around her, and the hands of the clock finally slowed and made a resounding clang throughout the tower.
1:21.
The clocktower said it was 1:21 in the morning, as Peter hung from his pitiful little pipe, and stared down at Gwen at the end of his web amidst the wreckage of yet another one of his great escapades as the amazing Spider-Man.
She wasn't moving. She wasn't calling out to him.
She simply hung, like a ragdoll, all the way down there.
Panic rose in his chest. He clung his end of the web to the pipe before letting go and careening down to the floor.
Something that he could do so easily. And something that would kill literally anybody else.
As he fell, he couldn't get the sound of the thump out of his head. He couldn't stop hearing it, over and over and over in his ears, before the gears clanged together and off of the concrete.
He landed with a soft thud and stared at Gwen. Dangling, limp, from the very same web that was supposed to save her.
Her big eyes were still shut, and all emotion had been wiped off of her face.
He ripped off his mask and heaved for air as he stared down at her. As the weight of the past few minutes started to settle on his shoulders.
As Gwen…
As…
"Hey," he said breathlessly as he wrapped his arms under and around her. "Hey." He picked her up from her perch in the air.
"Gwen?"
He ripped the webbing off of her and took her limp body in his arms. "Hey," he murmured as he lowered her. "Hey!"
But she stayed lifeless in his arms, horrifically still, despite his quiet pleads for her to just open her eyes, to just acknowledge him, if even for a moment.
He struggled to breathe as he sat on the floor, sliding his legs around in glass and dirt and leaves, and refusing to let her hair touch the ground.
He wouldn't let it become ruined. Not now. And maybe soon, she'd open those gorgeous eyes of hers, and all would be right with the world.
"Gwen?" he asked a bit louder, as he kept holding her, loosely moving her around and shaking her. Because maybe if he shook her enough, she'd wake up. Maybe she was just asleep. Maybe she was just—
A hiccup of a sob escaped him, and then another, as he kept shifting his hold on her, kept grabbing around her, kept trying to find that comfortable spot, just for her, to wake up in, because she would wake up. She had to wake up. She had to.
He fought down a scream. But at the same time, he wasn't sure he would ever again have the energy for something like that, as the weight of Gwen's soul started to set in.
"Hey," he choked out between huffs for air.
She lay propped up on his leg, eyes still closed, and makeup still as perfect as it had been earlier in the day.
Motionless.
"Breathe," he murmured. She was still there. She had to still be in there.
He gingerly held the side of her face.
"Hey, Gwen," he barely got out in a whisper.
He searched her face for something. Anything. He dragged his hand down to her shoulder.
"Hey."
He let out a gasp of a breath as he kept changing his grip. Her neck uselessly moved from side to side as he kept changing how he held her face again, and again, and again, and she simply went with the flow of his hand.
She had to still be here. She had to be. She wouldn't leave him here, alone.
His heart pounded against his aching ribs and his lungs begged to scream, but he kept holding his breath, could barely take in any of the air around him.
He couldn't afford to lose her.
"Hey," he whispered. "You're okay."
He wished somehow, someway, for it to be true.
He nodded as he carded his hand through her hair. And after a few moments, he started to shake as he held her head. "Gwen?" he asked desperately through quiet sobs.
And then his sobs started to echo around him, in the stillness of the clock tower. There were no gears to churn the clock hands on. Nothing to click along. Time stood still, as tears rushed to his eyes.
She couldn't be gone.
"Gwen?"
Peter's mouth quivered when he was only met with silence.
It shouldn't have gone this way. It wasn't supposed to go this way.
He brushed her hair out of her face some more, and took a gasping breath in before saying, "Stay with me, stay with me." His breath caught in his throat as anxiety rose in his chest. "Stay with me, stay with me." He furrowed his brow and said even firmer, "You stay with me!"
And then blood started to slowly roll out of her nose and down her cheek.
"Stay," he whispered, just loud enough for her. "Stay."
The blood seemed to sneer at him, a stain on her spotless face. And he sneered back, at the reminder of his failure.
He failed.
Peter's brow knit together as he held her head in both arms. Tears hung in his eyelashes.
"Gwen."
The blood started to roll down the laugh lines on her face. Perfect features of herself, that were now frozen in time.
"Gwen!"
He bent over her, tears streaming down his cheeks as sobs racked his body.
Because she didn't stay. He hadn't helped her enough for her to stay.
"No, please!" he shouted. "Ple—" sobs shook his body. "Please." His breaths became quick, and shallow, and his cries carried up the clocktower and up through the broken glass ceiling and into the dark sky.
But she laid there on his knee and in his arms, unmoving. Because of what he had done. Because he failed to catch her.
…
…Everything hurt.
His chest and throat hurt, as he gasped for air between his cries, as he curled up and put his face in the crook of Gwen's neck.
And his heart pounded against his ribs, as it asked why.
Why did it have to be Gwen?
He kept her close. Because this would be the last time, wouldn't it? He kept running his fingers through her hair.
"I can't do this without you."
Author's Note:
Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading my first published fic. I recently watched Andrew's Spider-Man movies for the first time and really enjoyed the second one, so my friend and I decided to throw something together.
This one-shot was co-authored by Anne Tutusuvich, if you'd like to go check out her profile as well! We're going to be posting another co-author fic in the coming months on her profile :-) (~annetutusuvich)
If you want to read more from me, check out my profile! Again, thank you for reading! I appreciate you :-))