"And with that, we're officially halfway through our final year of school!" Flash called out.
"Well, for some of us," Harry corrected, gesturing towards Peter and Gwen. "These two love school so much, they'll probably be in it for the rest of their lives!"
"I don't know if I'd go that far," Peter said as they all strolled along, his fiancé in his arm, "unless they actually started paying me to be in school, and not the other way around."
"You guys have any plans for the holidays?" Gwen asked.
"Probably just another quiet year with my folks," Flash answered.
"Quiet?" Gwen questioned. "I thought you were the life of the party in high school?"
"Oh I was," Flash assured her, "but Christmas was always the one day of the year that my parents made me actually slow down and just enjoy the pleasure of their company for a change. I didn't understand it for a long time, but I've actually grown to appreciate it more over the last few years."
"And there was a time where I thought nothing could slow down the Flash," Peter teased. "What about you, Harry?"
"Me?" Harry questioned, almost appearing as though he'd been caught off guard at first. "Oh, I guess just another Christmastime filled with business meetings all the way up to the day of. Honestly, I might be lucky to even see him on Christmas Day this year... unless I go with him to some overseas business meeting to close on a major acquisition, that is."
"So, I'm guessing that's a no on the trip?"
Harry sighed.
"I don't know, maybe, maybe not. We'll see; I'll catch you guys later."
"I have to run too actually," Flash added, "I'll see you guys after break!"
From there, Peter and Gwen continued along the path as Harry and Flash walked off in different directions.
"I'm worried about Harry," Peter said. "For most of the semester, he's seemed... off, somehow. I don't know, just not himself."
"I agree," Gwen concurred. "He seems like something is always on his mind these days, or like nothing at all is on it sometimes."
"I'll try to remember to check in with him over break," he said. "You know, just one more thing on my to do list. Man, I really hope I do a better job getting May something early enough; I always say I'm going to get her gift before the last-minute rush, but sure enough, something always comes up."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Gwen said, "well, maybe not in what kinds of things distract you, but my dad is always so hard to buy for."
"Really?" Peter questioned. "I just assumed you'd get him a Knicks or a Mets Jersey, or some other memorabilia and you'd be set?"
"I could," she said, "but I don't like to settle for something like that, especially not this year."
"Why this year especially?" Peter asked.
"I mean, it's my last Christmas that I'm going to be living in his house during," Gwen clarified.
"Ah, makes sense," Peter replied. "You want to do something special, kind of like a last hurrah kind of thing?"
"Exactly," Gwen said. "But every time my mind just keeps getting stuck, like a bad engine going nowhere."
"I'm sure that you'll figure it out," Peter assured her. "You're the smartest person I know, and I'll do my best to try and help you brainstorm if anything comes to mind!"
Gwen glanced towards him, offering a grateful smile.
"I appreciate that," she said. "Also, I was thinking about Victoria and Ben."
"Me too," Peter said, "and I'm guessing that line of thinking led you to think the same thing that I'm thinking right now?"
"It did," Gwen confirmed. "We need to do something for them, or at least with them. They have all our memories but won't be able to make any new ones with those people for obvious reasons. They'll probably feel more alone than ever."
"Then we need to do something," Peter resolved. "Either Christmas Day or Eve, we need to see them, maybe even get them something... though it's kind of weird to imagine getting something for myself, essentially."
"True," Gwen replied, "but then again, Ben and Victoria have had some time since getting free of Dr. Warren to begin to forge their own identities, their own lives. They may be us on a DNA level, but they're still their own people."
"Fair enough," Peter said. "We should find a balance between the two."
"Exactly," Gwen said. "Wow, we really are getting more and more in sync all the time!"
"What can I say?" Peter questioned with a shrug. "Great minds do think alike after all, and I don't know another mind better than yours, that's for sure!"
"That's sweet," Gwen said, the two of them stopping and turning towards each other, "and I hate to leave your company, but I promised my dad we'd meet for dinner."
"That's right, I forgot about that," Peter replied. "You know, some days I'm convinced that my head would fall off if it wasn't screwed on and all that."
"Well, that's what I'm here for, after all," Gwen said, leaning in and giving him a goodbye kiss. "Talk more about Christmas plans tomorrow?"
"Can't wait," Peter replied, "and I miss you already."
"Love you," Gwen said as she turned to walk away.
"Love you too," Peter replied.
The next few weeks ended up being a whirlwind for both Peter and Gwen. For the former, it was primarily the fact that the Sinister Six all managed to break out, reform as a team and come after him again. It took multiple brutal fights just to bring in Sandman and Electro, which thankfully were the two most powerful and therefore generally the hardest to fight first. However, it took until the 23rd to finally bring down Dr. Octopus, who'd already been planning how to free his incarcerated allies when he'd found him. The doc had laid out several ingenious traps that Peter only narrowly managed to stay clear of, mostly thanks to his spider sense, before finally bringing the last member of his least favorite team in.
For Gwen's part, she'd obviously had a much less dangerous lead up to Christmas, but Peter had heard several stories of trying to beat the holiday rush while also still trying to get some things solidified for their wedding in advance of the new year. Ever since the day after his proposal, his fiancé had been eager to begin planning, though she made a point of getting his input often. Personally, Peter didn't really care a ton about most of the finer details of the day itself, so long as the two of them were husband and wife by the end of the day. It wasn't just her having wedding fever though; Peter knew that Gwen was eager to position herself well as she prepared to dive headlong into research while still pursuing her master's degree, so getting the details of their big day taken care of early made particular sense when considering the load Gwen planned to carry even afterward.
Fortunately, despite the chaos and constant distractions both pedestrian and superhuman, Peter ended up with some help in getting May's and Gwen's presents both thanks to Ben. He hadn't wanted to involve him if at all possible, but the guy had been more than willing to lend a hand in more than just on the streets (which he had already done to great effect regarding the Sandman and Electro captures, especially). When Peter had probed him about it, Ben had said that actually picking up the presents made him feel like he was still able to participate in the Parker family Christmas in some way.
Naturally, this only solidified in his head all the more that he and Gwen needed to do something for both Ben and Victoria, so, as the big day approached, they managed to work things out in their schedules where the four of them would get together on Christmas Eve, saving Christmas Day for May and the captain. The two of them worked together to brainstorm what gifts to get/make for them, eventually managing what they hoped were things that both would appreciate.
Eventually, the day before Christmas arrived, and Peter picked up Gwen and took her over to Victoria's place, where the four had agreed to meet. By the time the two of them arrived, Ben had already been there a few minutes earlier, and the four of them eagerly began to celebrate and have a good time. Frankly, the joy Peter saw on both Ben and Victoria's faces was more heartwarming than he'd anticipated; without them saying a word about it at first, he could just tell that they appreciated the gesture he and his fiancé had done for them.
Grabbing her wrapped gift off the counter, Gwen held it behind her back as she walked over to Victoria, who turned to her.
"Merry Christmas," she said, bringing the gift out in front of them and offering it to her.
"Aww, that's so sweet," Victoria said, taking the gift and eagerly tearing it up. She unfolded it, revealing it to be a shirt that read "From Your Favorite Sister." Almost instantly, tears began welling up in her eyes, causing her to have to take a moment to compose herself before offering Gwen a hug.
"Thank you," she said.
"Of course," Gwen replied, "and I really mean it too."
"I... I had no idea you thought of me that way," Victoria said. "Oh, and I got you something too!"
She then hurried off for a moment before coming back, offering Gwen a package too. She took it and opened it, surprised to find a framed selfie Victoria had taken of the two of them a few months ago.
"I know, we agreed that we wouldn't do something like this, for obvious reasons," Victoria explained. "I don't expect you to display it anywhere or anything; I just... I just thought..."
"I love it," Gwen assured her.
"Really?" Victoria said, seemingly quite relieved.
Gwen nodded.
"And I'm sure that I'll find somewhere for it."
"Come on man," Peter insisted, "take it!"
"Okay," Ben finally conceded, finally taking the gift he was being offered. He slowly unwrapped it, revealing a Rubik's cube. Ben played around with it for a moment before discovering the button Peter had installed on one of the corners, tapping it and causing it to shrink into a much smaller cube.
"Woah, nice!"
"I know that you said you always wanted one to take on patrol for down time," Peter said, "so I figured out a way to shrink it down when not in use so it can fit in one of the tiny compartments on our waist areas."
"I presume your use of the word 'our' there means that you made one for yourself as well?" Ben questioned. Peter shrugged.
"I mean, how else would we know who's faster?"
Ben shook his head.
"Oh, I got you something to by the way," he added, "or should I say, made you something."
Handing him a little pack, Peter opened it, discovering a web shooter compartment inside.
"What is this?" he questioned. "A new web formula you made?"
"Yep," he said. "I haven't had a chance to test it in the field yet, but basically this formula produces a thicker batch that can wrap up a grown person in one blast. Here, try it out!"
Moving over to where Ben kept a target, Peter loaded up the new fluid in place of his regular one before taking aim and firing. Sure enough, one shot wrapped up the target nearly from top to bottom instantaneously.
"Woah, this is awesome!" Peter complimented him. "Thanks!"
"No problem," he said. "I like to call it 'impact webbing.'"
"Makes sense," Peter remarked.
"I can give you the formula if you like?" Ben offered.
"No thanks; honestly, I kind of want to see if I can figure out for myself how you did this," Peter said.
"I can respect that," Ben replied. "Also, thanks for doing this, and tell Gwen I said the same. You guys really didn't have to do this."
"Man, do I really sound like that when I try to make someone feel guilty for doing something nice?" Peter questioned.
"Eh, I'd say the odds are pretty good," Ben replied, producing a chuckle from both.
"You're welcome," Peter replied.
"I had a great time," Gwen said as they strolled along.
"Me too," Peter replied, "I'm glad we did this."
"Same here," Gwen said. A momentary silence fell between them before Peter spoke up again.
"So... any hints about my present?"
"Nope," Gwen replied with a shake of her head. "You'll just have to wait until tomorrow."
"Fine," Peter pretended to grumble.
"Although," Gwen said, grabbing him by the coat and stopping both of them, "I suppose I could offer you one gift."
"Really?" Peter questioned. "What is it?"
Gwen simply smiled, leaning in, and Peter caught her meaning as their lips met, the cold air not bothering him anymore as they held their blissful positions for a few seconds. When they separated, Peter noticed some snow was starting to fall.
"Looks like it's going to be a white Christmas after all," he said.
"Yep," Gwen replied before turning back to him. "Merry Christmas, Peter."
"Merry Christmas, Gwen."
Hope you like it! Also, just a heads up, we are getting closer towards the end; we'll essentially have a final arc to go through soon, with the final chapter being a kind of epilogue to show what ended up happening with everyone. Chapters will begin being posted daily soon as we approach this.
Thank you all so much for the support! Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:10