She was pretty. He didn't need daylight to see it. Peter had felt her presence while he fought with Rhino and following him afterward, but he'd never expected the invisible enigma to turn into an attractive girl. June, as she introduced herself, had wavy brown hair that came to her chest in waves, split in a side part and framing a soft olive-skinned face. Her blue robes looked impractical for a fight, though she carried herself well. He blushed at the outline of her tapered waste and curves and looked back at her face. Her eyes were no better for him to look at; they were killer, deep brown pools. Focus, he scolded himself. Stop drooling, she looks sad! Yes, in her eyes her panic was obvious.
"So…how do you know my name?" he asked snapping back into hero mode, "I mean I don't generally go around advertising my secret identity."
"I don't know you, but I know…I know a Peter Parker who is Spider-Man," she said absentmindedly gesturing with her hand, still searching the city skyline for something. "You're sure there's no Avengers Tower? What about Stark Industries? Iron Man? Ring any bells?
He shook his head slowly.
She sighed heavily and squatted on the ground holding her head, "I don't know where I am, but I don't think this is my world."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you an alien?" he asked in shock.
She laughed hollowly looking back up at him, "No, at least I don't think so. What I mean is that this isn't my Earth, my version of Earth."
His eyes widened and he nodded slowly to what she was saying, "So string theory…multidimensional reality, matter displacement; they're all real," he whispered awestricken.
"I guess so, though I gotta tell you I'm not as hyped about it as you are," she groaned with a strained smile. He shook his head snapping out of the geeky rabbit hole he'd begun to go down in his mind and focused on the panicked girl in front of him.
"Hey, yeah sorry about that. I'm kind of a science geek," he said giving her an apologetic smile. It was a nice smile, she thought. "So, this is kind of a big day for me."
"Big day for me, too," she said sarcastically, "Given that I, you know, just traveled the multiverse through a dirty dish chute."
This caught him by surprise judging by the small o-shape of his mouth and the drawing together of his eyebrows.
She gave a weak laugh, "Yeah, I know exactly how that sounds."
He nodded and knelt in front of her, "How about to save ourselves a lot of discomfort and exposure, we go somewhere more…umm private than this lovely rooftop and you tell me everything and we try to fix this."
She nodded and stood in tandem with him. "Do you live nearby or are you still in Queens with your Aunt May?"
He couldn't fight the look of astonishment on his face and had to shake his head a bit to overcome the shock. She really did know things about him.
"Sorry, you know, multiverse-"
"-No, that's totally okay. Just a little weird. I don't mean that you're weird. You're not, you're actually very…Umm, I got my own place in the city. Now that May's got her nursing degree, she doesn't need my help so much with the rent and it's just easier to do my Spider-Manning living on my own," he said waving his hands nervously as he rambled.
She nodded with a small smile, "Cool, yeah, let's go there," she said starting to walk forward before pausing, "Umm how do you wanna…?"
It took him a minute to understand her meaning.
"Can you fly? Was that flying?" he asked, aiming his thumb back the way they'd come.
"No, I can't fly yet," she said regretfully.
"Yet?" he asked in disbelief,"Oh well, hey, don't beat yourself up no one's perfect."
She laughed at this. He decided he likes the sound.
"Umm, how comfortable are you swinging?" he asked.
"I don't know I've never swung," she replied hating how awkward it sounded, "I don't usually work with my world's Peter."
"Well, it might be quicker if you just hold onto me. Plus the-" he waved his fingertips imitating her powers "-kind of give away your position, Sparkles."
"They are not sparkles," she scoffed, "It's witchcraft. And clearly, I can avoid being seen when I wish, guy in bright red spandex."
Peter laughed sharply bringing his hand to his face in disbelief, "Witchcraft and multiversal travel! And to think I figured the most exciting part of my day would be battling a metal rhino."
"Happy to help," she replied sarcastically, "So, shall we?"
He nodded coming forward, "Is it okay if I…" he made a motion of bringing his arms around her.
"Sure," she nodded moving closer. He stepped closer pressing his chest to hers and wrapped his arm around her waist. June tried to fight the blush that threatened to spread across her cheeks as she felt his breath on her forehead. She had never been this close to a guy before. Meanwhile, Peter felt his manic stream of consciousness waft away as he pressed against the curves hidden under her robes. Her head came just under his chin, and she folded into him with ease, too much ease. He hadn't been this close to a girl since…No. He swallowed the lump in his throat down. This was a professional courtesy among heroes, a fact-finding mission. Nothing more. June noticed as his Adam's apple bobbed and looked down at her shoes.
He slid his mask over his face and tightened his grip on her, "Hold on tight."
He heard a small peep from her as he aimed his web and lifted off the ground. Peter wasn't sure what he'd expected, but the laughter that bubbled from her as he swung them through the air was certainly a surprise. It was loud and borderline cackling with a high level of joy, and he found himself smiling broadly beneath the mask. At certain sharp turns June clung more tightly to him, her forehead resting on his jaw, and he was grateful for the thin fabric that acted as a barrier between skin.
They landed on his rooftop with a soft thud before he lowered them slowly to his fire escape. Opening the window, he swung his legs over gracefully until he slid on a t-shirt, catching himself before he hit the floor.
"Welcome!" he said waving his hand grandly as he switched on a lamp and began scooping up scattered laundry from the floor, "Mi apartamento es su apartamento. Pardon the mess! I wasn't exactly expecting company."
June swung her black wedge boots through the window and stepped inside looking around curiously. Peter's place was small, too small to be advertised as charming even by even the most skilled realtor. It was an old studio apartment, the only furniture being an open futon, nightstand, an old armchair, two IKEA stools at the kitchen counter, and a small, crowded dresser. There was a fruit bowl stuffed instead with a random assortment of snacks and a closet overflowing with shoes, shirts, and books. The only personal touches were the pictures that Peter had taped to the white walls above the futon.
"No worries," she said avoiding a pair of Converse and a tech magazine, "¿Hablas español?"
Peter, mask in his teeth, opened the hamper and stuffed the clothes in as much as they would allow, which wasn't much.
"Un poquito," he said holding two fingers close together as he threw the mask into the hamper, too, "I only got to Spanish 3 in high school. You?"
"Sí. Mi mamá era mexicana," she replied looking at the pizza boxes and Chinese food containers in the trash, "Someone likes takeout. May I?"
He followed her gaze to the boxes, catching the past tense manner she talked about her mom. He wasn't sure what she was asking permission for, but nodded, nonetheless. She moved her right hand in a circular motion and flicked two fingers up. A gold energy flew from them and engulfed the trash can, disappearing the take-out boxes.
"Umm…wow! That's…thanks. Well, you know the superhero gig doesn't really offer spare time for mastering Julia Childs' cookbook," he said rubbing his neck with an embarrassed smile.
"Tell me about it. It once took my dad three hours to make an omelet," she chuckled at the memory. Dad, she thinks. He must be worried.
"Oh, is your dad in the business? Does he have powers like you?" he asked nodding at her hands, taking a seat on one of the wobbly barstools as she settled into the armchair.
"He doesn't have powers. My powers were sort of…an accidental side effect of a kidnapping plot," she replied laughing slightly at the look on his face, "It's a long story. But yes, he's a superhero. My dad is Iron Man."
From the proud tone in her voice, he realizes that wherever she comes from it must be a big deal. Peter nodded with some reverence, totally ignorant of what any of it meant.
"So, does he like…control metal or something?" he asked tentatively. June laughs loudly at this and spent the next half hour explaining who Tony Stark is in her world: his company, being kidnapped by terrorists, his role as Iron Man and as founder of the Avengers.
"So…you're a rich girl?" he smirked slightly. June rolled her eyes and leaned back in the armchair crossing her legs. Peter blinked a little at the motion.
"Yeah," she nodded, "I'm a rich girl."
Peter whistled loudly and chuckled to himself. "So, this must be quite the step down for you," he said gesturing to the apartment.
June rolled her eyes again, "It wouldn't be such a hardship if my governess hadn't just died on me." Peter's eyes widened.
"Oh my god! Did that happen here? Tonight? Did you just leave the body behind?" he rambled standing up. To his surprise she laughed at this, reaching into her robe pocket. For a moment, he thinks she's about the end him—serves him right inviting a beautiful, multidimensional witch into his home without asking more questions. Instead, June pulled out a black glasses case and flipped them open revealing a pair of gold cat-eyeglasses.
"This is Babs, my AI. Dad gave her to me to help me out if I ever got in a jam. She's been glitching here and there from the constant magical interference at Kamar Taj, but when I arrived here she just completely shut down," she mused sadly.
"Babs?" he questioned.
"Best Available Babysitter," she says slowly, "My dad has a fun sense of humor."
Peter threw his head back in laughter, "Aw man, I think I'd like your dad. He sounds like a neat guy."
She nodded, "Yeah, back on my world he's kind of other Peter's mentor."
Peter smiled despite himself, unable to stop the words. "So only a couple hours later and already he's 'Other Peter?'"
June blushed a little at this, "Well…he's a kid I've only seen a handful of times. You're…a very nice host."
"Nah, I'm a terrible host. It just occurred to me to offer you some water and I know Aunt May raised me better than that," he smiled from the safe distance of the barstool, "Does multiverse hopping make you thirsty?"
Honestly, her hormonal mind was thirsty for other things, but she bit back that retort as quickly as it popped into her head.
"No more so than usual," she said distractedly.
"So…how old is 'Other Peter' compared to you?" he asked, scratching his head.
"He's fifteen last I checked. When I left it was January…so I'll be twenty in three months," she replied.
"Oh, no way. I'm twenty actually," Peter replied, "And it is actually January here."
"January nineteenth?" she asked.
He nodded, "Yeah, twenty-seventeen."
"Crazy," she replied, "The date's the same, but that's about it. Though to be honest I wouldn't recognize half those buildings out there anyway. I wasn't in New York long before I got sent to Kamar Taj."
"Oh yeah? Where you from?" he asked curiously.
"Los Angeles."
"Ah, California Girl. I should've known, Sparkles. There's something easygoing about you. Must be that West Coast attitude," he teased.
June chuckled. "Have you even been to California?"
"Nope," he answered feeling playful, "But I'm sure it's great if you're from there."
She felt suddenly shy.
"Well…you'd like it I bet. We don't have as many tall buildings as you New Yorkers, but I'm sure you'd have your pick of the palm trees," she teased back, "I miss it very much actually."
He nodded in understanding.
"Well, Dorothy had it right when she said 'there's no place like home,'" he said softly.
"Oh thank God, you have a Wizard of Oz here! So, you're not completely uncultured," she said cheekily clasping her chest.
"Ah, you a cinephile?" he asked with interest.
"Umm more of a theater geek," she said admitted reluctantly.
"No!" he gasped in surprised, "I mean…I never would've guessed! You seem so normal, too. Do all witches have to wear the getup or is that just your…theatricality coming out?"
She threw a wadded sock at him, "I don't even care if that was clean. You're rude."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said laughing and holding his hands up, "I yield, please no more orphan socks."
They laughed together for a few more seconds before settling into an easy silence. It was bizarre, they both thought how comfortable the conversation had been. June, for all her people skills, didn't exactly have a heck of a track record when it came to making friends with people her own age. Peter, on the other hand, couldn't recall the last time he laughed this much.
"I just realized we haven't even talked about how it is you wound up here," he said clearing his throat after a minute.
June blanched for a minute. How stupid was she? She brought a hand up to her face in disbelief.
"Geez, sorry. I must…I must be a little off from it all still."
"If this is you off, I'd like to see you on," he said before he could stop himself. His eyes widened as she held his gaze. June pressed her lips together and smiled lightly.
"Smooth, Parker. I'm sure with the mask on and a life-or-death situation in the background, a line like that must kill," she teased.
He paled a little at her joke and she could tell she'd said something wrong.
"Sorry…did I say so-"
"No, no. It's um it's nothing," he said forcing a smile, "Yeah, I'm full of corny lines. Comes from being raised by an old fogey like my Uncle Ben I'm afraid."
She smiled sadly at him. Her universe's Peter had lost his Uncle Ben. He suspected she knew the same was true for him.
"So," he cleared his throat, "How'd a nice girl like you end up on my side of the multiverse?"
She began to tell him about Kamar Taj, the Ancient One, the attack on the Sanctums and her shortcut through the dumbwaiter to find Strange. Reliving the whole ordeal drained her of most of the energy she had left.
"And then a few cop cars and one Russian rhino later and here we are," she smiled waving her hands.
He nodded leaning against the countertop. During her story he had moved a few times, pacing, and pondering what she'd shared.
"Well, we've certainly got ourselves a modern-day Alice and Wonderland here, that's for sure," Peter commented.
"Curiouser and curiouser," agreed June, "Does that make you the Mad Hatter in all this?"
"Nah are you kidding? With this smile I'm definitely the Cheshire Cat," he joked, "Plus I've never really cared for tea. I had a friend who was going to move to England and…well, I warned them the tea would be no good."
She was perplexed momentarily by his change of mood but excused it as fatigue.
"So, you ever happen upon anything like this in all your Spidering career?" she questioned.
Peter shook his head, "Nah nothing remotely like this," he saw the worried look on her face, "but hey, we'll figure it out."
"Thank you," she said gratefully, "I'm honestly really relieved that I ran into you."
"Yeah no, of course. And obviously it worked out for me, too, because we got to meet…" he trailed off smiling at her, "And yeah I owe you for that bullet you stopped."
"Professional courtesy," she said waving her hand.
"So…are you a super? I mean like obviously you've got powers that are super cool, but do you have a cool name?" he asked.
"What like 'Spider-Man?'" she teased, "Umm no. My dad only recently got good with the fact that I have these powers and I've spent the last year trying to understand them better. The closest I got was a codename with the Avengers for safety reasons."
"Yeah?" Peter heard the slight edge of resentment in her voice, "What's your codename?"
She sighed, "Ferric."
"Ah," he said, a lightbulb going off in his head, "That which relates to iron."
"Yup."
"Man, your dad's a little bit of a narcissist, I gather," Peter observed.
Normally, June would have taken issue with anyone taking shots at her dad. But, she detected, he hadn't meant it maliciously. Moreover, she found herself giggling in agreement with him.
"Honestly, when you're the smartest guy in most rooms you don't exactly develop huge humility. I mean my dad hacked into the Pentagon at like fifteen on a dare," she laughed.
Peter exhaled dramatically in surprise, "Yeah no, humility certainly wouldn't be warranted." June started to yawn midway through the laugh and hid her face in her hands.
"Well, this has been…nice," she said getting up, "But I should probably be going. I didn't realize how late it's gotten." He eyed the old alarm clock on his nightstand, which flashed 2:34 AM. Had they really talked over four hours?
"Umm, not to be nosy, but where exactly are you planning on staying?" he asked pushing off from the counter he'd been leaning on.
"Oh, umm…" she drew a total blank. Everyone she knew was in a completely different universe.
"That's what I figured," he said rubbing the back of his head. "Stay here."
She eyed him for a moment, "Are you sure? I don't want to put you out or anything."
"Nah, it's cool. I can't just let you go off into the night, though that would be leaning into like a hundred different witch tropes," he smiled, "Please. I'd feel better knowing you're safe.
She nodded slowly, "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Thanks."
"Sure thing," he said digging into his drawers for a pair of sweatpants and an old sweatshirt with Garfield the cat in a Halloween costume, "Don't want your witchy robes to get all wrinkled. Then they won't be all spooky anymore."
She smirked as she took the clothes he offered and held up the Garfield sweatshirt, "Ahem, this is far spookier I should think."
"Yeah well, you and Garfield can scare off Mondays together," he teased, "Feel free to go change in the restroom."
She nodded, opening the door to the small white on white restroom. It was surprisingly clean compared to what she had anticipated. June changed into the clothes she'd been given, setting her robes on an empty towel rack. She held the collar of the ridiculous sweatshirt up to her nose; it smelled like Peter. Blushing furiously, she banished the thoughts of her ridiculous nature from her mind. She observed herself in the mirror instead, fixing a few stray strands of hair and magically cleaning her teeth in the absence of a toothbrush. She supposed she'd need to get some essentials tomorrow.
June shook her head staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, inside a strange apartment, in an alternate version of New York from across the multiverse. She wondered achingly how far she was from home, from her dad. She felt her powers begin to bubble as she thought about Kamar Taj: were they still alive? Did they think she was dead? Had Strange made it in time? So many questions just when she was starting to get a handle on things. Then suddenly her neurons fired off with one burning realization that caused her eyes to turn gold, when it dawned on her: she was going to have to share a futon with that boy out there; that agonizingly cute, frazzled, and easy to talk to boy. She took a deep breath, flattening the bubbles of her powers so to speak, feeling as her eyes reverted to their normal shade of brown.
Peter, to his credit, was no better. He had smiled to himself in the mirror closet as he realized he was still in his Spider-Man suit. It felt so nice to talk to someone in his suit again as Peter. It wasn't until he was in the process of slipping the old t-shirt over the hem of his pajama pants that his eyes landed on the futon. He swallowed hard rubbing a hand on his chin.
June came out of the restroom to find Peter standing in his pajamas, eyeing the futon while rubbing his chin.
"Hi," she said snapping him out of his reverie. He looked at June, thoughts going nowhere good at the sight of her dwarfed in his clothes. "Still spooky?"
He coughed, "Yeah, well, I sure wouldn't wanna mess with you."
She laughed and nervously looked at the futon.
"I was gonna make a web hammock for myself, so you can take the bed- um futon, I mean," he said suddenly unsure of what to do with his hands.
"Oh, well, I can't take your um your futon. You've been so cool and helpful with everything. I'd feel bad," she said embarrassedly.
"I mean, I don't want to make you uncomfortable," he spoke shyly for the first time that night.
She shook her head, "No, I'm not uncomfortable," she said eyeing what was essentially a bed, "There's room for two."
Peter opened his mouth a couple of times before speaking, "Uh yeah, okay. I'm just gonna go brush my teeth real quick. Make…um make yourself comfortable."
June nodded and watched him go. She sat down gingerly at first, almost expecting the piece of furniture to reject her outright. Then, peeling back the blue comforter, she settled in. She had nothing to do as she waited for Peter to come back out, and so propped herself on her knees to look more closely at some of the pictures he'd taped to the wall.
There were family pictures of a younger version of Peter with an older couple; she assumed his aunt and uncle. She noticed the more recent ones were of only the older woman. She blinked, feeling a sad seed sit squarely between her lungs. There were a couple pictures of Peter on a skateboard and some different areas of the city. Hitting her like a freight train was a picture of a beautiful girl, her face nuzzled up to Peter. The girl was beyond gorgeous, with her blonde hair and playful green eyes, and suddenly June felt like she was cataloguing her own features in her mind. Disappointment folded in her like a wet piece of cardboard as she looked at the picture another minute before laying back down.
Peter brushed his teeth quickly and spent the rest of the time in the restroom pacing, splashing water on his face, and giving the robes hanging from the towel rack side eye. A., he thought to himself, he had never had a girl's clothes hanging in his bathroom like that. He eyed them like a foreign traffic sign with unintelligible writing. B. There might very well be dangerous things inside her witch pockets, and it was probably a good idea to get back to his room.
Peter came out of the restroom to find June already laying down on the futon, hands awkwardly clasped atop her chest as her head rested on one of his two pillows.
"I hope it's okay I grabbed it," she said suddenly, "I wasn't sure if you had like a neck thing or something."
"Yeah no it's cool, don't worry about it," he said as he walked over to the other side of the futon and sat down.
"You're not gonna get the light?" she asked.
"Ah see, one of the perks of being Spider-Man," he said smugly as he laid down. Without missing a beat, he shot a web over at the light switch, the room immediately falling into darkness save for the few city lights spilling through the window.
"Nice. You're like a clapper light, but without all the incessant clapping," she joked.
"I aim to please," he said lightly as brought the blanket over himself, pleased with himself that she'd been amused.
"Umm, Peter?" she said into the darkness.
"Yes, June?"
"Your girlfriend isn't going to be upset that I'm here, is she? That I'm sleeping over. Here. With you."
Silence for a beat, before he cleared his throat, "No."
"Oh…it's just that I saw the picture. I mean I wasn't snooping, but it's not like it was hidden, so I just wanted to make sure."
"Yeah, umm, no it's fine. She…she died. Two years ago."
June stilled beside him tightening her face upset with herself.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"Nah it's cool. How could you have known? Besides, it was a polite question," he waited a few seconds before asking, "Your boyfriend won't be upset that you're sharing a bed with New York's favorite super hero, will he?"
She chuckled before answering, "No, I don't have a boyfriend."
"Really?" he said as something in him perked up, "A rich, knockout, sparkly witch like you? I thought for sure you'd have guys lined up around the block."
She blushed slightly and couldn't help the coquettish response, "You think I'm a knockout, huh?"
"I mean…it's like saying the sky is blue, ya know?" he chuckled breathily, "Really? No special someone who'll wanna kick my ass when you go home?"
He felt her shake her head beside him, "Guys aren't exactly eager to come to the door when they know your dad used to be an arms dealer and runs with spies, super soldiers, and gods. Not to mention the Hulk."
"What's a Hulk?" he asked turning slightly to face her better.
"Ah well, see do you have the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in your universe?" she said mimicking his movements.
He nodded.
"So, there was this guy, Dr. Bruce Banner, and he started experimenting with gamma radiation…"
They pushed the conversation well past 4 AM and when Peter drifted off, it was with a smile on his face for the first time in years, his and June's hands absentmindedly reaching out in their sleep.