Heaving a sigh, Gwen rolled onto her back and grit her teeth as another chorus of loud snores vibrated through the mattress from Peter, who'd been sleeping soundly through the night. She hadn't a clue how long it had been going on, but it's all she'd heard since waking up for the bathroom two hours ago and while it had been funny and cute for a good moment, it was nothing more than an annoying noise keeping her awake now.

"PETER!"

Her voice was loud. At least, she thought it was. But with the deep sleep that Peter remained in, it seemed she could put her lips to his ear and scream his name and he still wouldn't stir. She had already given up on getting any more sleep, though if she had to lay there listening to what she thought sounded like a mix between a chainsaw and a squealing pig, it would drive her crazy. With little patience left, she sat up, rubbing her eyes clear as she tried to think of a way to wake him. Another loud snore tore through the otherwise peaceful room, and she drew in a breath, grabbed the pillow behind her and raised it high in the air. When another snore came, she brought it down, waking him up with the pillow to his face and putting an end to the snoring.

Peter batted the pillow away and propped himself up on his elbows, bleary-eyed and barely focused. "A simple good morning would have been enough." He said teasingly.

"Not when I've been awake for the past two hours listening to you sound like a dying pig trying to mate with a fog horn!"

"Huh…" He nodded, unable to hold his laughter. "Interesting choice of comparison."

"It is not funny."

"Never said it was." Despite his words, he couldn't kill his laughter. "Sorry?" He offered with a shrug.

Leaning back against the headboard, Gwen folded her arms across her chest and the scowl never left her face. Instead, she made it a mission to glare at him until he was no longer in hysterics.

"Oookay. Let me think…" He hummed, his face now red. "Good morning? I love you? You look nice? Are any of those an acceptable apology?"

"No."

"Alright. How about breakfast?"

"What breakfast?"

"Waffles or pancakes or maybe bacon or-"

"Bacon and waffles smothered in peanut butter and chocolate with milk."

"Yuck. I don't think that's a good combo."

"Peter?" She arched an eyebrow.

"Okay." He agreed. "Let me go start making it and you can join me downstairs when you're ready."

With that being said, he threw back the covers, swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his arms out in front of him before standing up. Gwen watched him with eagle eyes as he made his way to the door and opened it, causing it to creak.

"Stop!" She yelled.

"What now?"

"You opened the door wrong!"

"Uhhh, I didn't realize there was a wrong way to open a door."

"Close it and open it again." She demanded.

"Bu- but-"

"Just do it!"

Peter swallowed whatever joke was rising in his throat and begrudgingly closed the door only to open it again and have it creak the exact same way that he did before. Before she could ask him to close and open it again, he disappeared out into the hall as quickly as he could. He'd thought the day before had been long, but he had a feeling that today might just be longer. As he reached the kitchen, his mind wandered back to Venom and the Lizard and the mountain of problems that needed solving. Time ticked by too fast, and each day it was the little things that added to the pressure to put an end to the feud with Venom. He refused to allow his son to be born and raised into a war zone.

It was impossible to fight them both at the same time and win, but with the Lizard on the loose there was no way he could get to Venom alone. It wouldn't be easy, but curing Connors was the first step. He pushed the thought aside for the time being as he threw a few rashers into a pan, and waffle batter into the waffle iron, turning around as the floorboards creaked under weight.

"Waffles are currently underway." He announced as Gwen trudged into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Don't forget the barbecue sauce on the chocolate."

"First of all, ew. Second of all, you said nothing about sauce on chocolate."

"I forgot after all of your snoring." She shrugged.

"Alright. I'll make it happen."

Gwen exhaled slowly and propped her head in her hands, resting her elbows on the table. Whether from the lack of sleep or from the two hours of snoring, she didn't know, but her head was starting to ache and coherent thoughts were barely manageable.

"You know, I was thinking… if I can sneak back into Oscorp and find the cure for Connors perhaps later or tomorrow then that'll help water down the threat just a little."

"Seriously? You want to risk going back there?"

"Not really, but I don't really have much of a choice."

"I know." She snapped. "Sorry… maybe we should talk about this later, I'm still trying to wrap my head around last night."

"Yeah." He agreed, taking the bacon out of the pan and placing two rashers on each plate. "But we've got to make use of the time we have, I'm just thinking ahead. That's all."

"No, you're right to think ahead. Perhaps we can come up with a plan of action after we've eaten."

Peter remained quiet as he removed the waffles from the iron and laid them out on the plate before taking both over to the table and setting them down. "Oh, sorry. I forgot. The… saucy chocolate and the milk."

"Don't worry about it, I'm not too hungry anyway."

"Are you sure about that?" He teased her. "I'm pretty sure I've got competition as the biggest eater in this house."

"Yeah, not today."

"Okay, let me know if you change your mind."

Gwen flashed him a small smile as she tore a piece of waffle off and put it in her mouth. Though it lasted barely a second as she watched Peter cram the whole thing into his mouth at once and chew it loudly.

"Stop eating so loud! I can hear all the chomping and it's disgusting."

"Huh?" He muttered with a mouthful, raising his hand to keep the food from falling out and chewing faster before swallowing. "You've never complained before, you always laughed."

"Peter!"

"Okay." He said, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. "Aren't you a ray of sunshine today?" He added teasingly, earning a glare.

"I'm done with breakfast anyway." She shrugged, pushing the plate as far away from her as possible and then leaving the table, trailing off into the front room.

With a quiet chuckle and an eye roll, Peter followed her lead out of the kitchen and found her sitting on the couch, flicking through channels on the TV with the remote.

"Can I join you or are the claws still out?"

"Yes, you can join me. Get over here."

Happy with the answer, he made his way over and took his usual seat next to her, watching the different pictures flash across the screen as she continued to flick through the channels. After another minute or so, she gave up and switched it off, resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"Tired?" He guessed.

"No, not much." She answered without moving. "Just a little achy from yesterday. My back kills right now."

"Yeah, me too. Venom is a beast alone without the Lizard as well."

"Those, and impatient assholes in the city."

"Oh yeah?" He arched an eyebrow in curiosity. "Am I missing something?"

"Yesterday, when I was waiting outside the hospital, I was about to catch a cab and some pompous dick decided to barge in front of me and pushed me over because he was desperate to get home after seeing his mistress when he should have been home with his wife."

"Wow. Really?" Peter's eyes widened. "Did he-"

"No, no." She cut in. "I think I hit my back a little hard when I fell, but he didn't do anything beyond that."

"I wish I was there, I would have sorted him out!" He huffed.

"Actually, I think I handled the situation pretty well on my own."

"What did you do?"

"In his rush he dropped his wallet, so I picked it up and tossed it down a drain." She laughed as a smug smirk twitched at her lips.

Peter sat for a moment with his mouth partly open, trying to create a mental image of what she'd said, and then laughed along with her.

"That's my girl." He praised.

"Eh, he had it coming." She shrugged, and flicked the TV back on.

All conversation ceased as the morning news lit up the screen, catching both their attention with footage of Spider-man and the cops being shown. Peter's laugh faded and his smile with it, already knowing the slander that was about to fill his ears.

'The masked vigilante, dubbed Spider-man by the public, was seen causing chaos at the scene and preventing the local officers from carrying out their duties, ultimately resulting in the deaths of the four officers on site at the time. While most of the details remain unknown, it is believed that it was he who committed the murders. Meanwhile, when asked for commentary, locals have had a lot to say.'

"I'll bet they have." Peter sighed. "Turn it off, please."

Gwen didn't bother to ask any questions before jamming down the button that turned the TV off, cutting off one of the locals mentioned mid-sentence. Lifting her head from his shoulder, she replaced it with her hand.

"They talk a lot, but they don't always know what they're talking about." She offered.

"Oh, I think they do know. Yet they remain ignorant because it's easier than speaking the truth." He ranted. "It's pretty damn hilarious that none of these reports acknowledge the giant reptile running riot. They shot me! How on earth could I possibly have killed them when I wasn't even conscious? This is utterly ridiculous! I'm used to slander but this… It's this kind of crap that makes me want to hang up the mask!"

"Peter, calm down. Okay, just breathe for a minute."

"... I'm sorry, it's just their ignorance, it's so…"

"Frustrating." She finished for him. "I get it."

"Yeah, I feel… bad enough as it is sometimes, without hearing all of the absurd slander."

"It's nothing but shallow words from ignorant people who don't know you at all, and are too gullible, always believing what the media tells them about who Spider-man is and what his intentions are, and they can't possibly comment accurately on things they know nothing about. They don't know the amount of times he has saved them, the times he has been wounded and nearly killed protecting them, and all that he risks on a daily basis to ensure no harm is done to them, their families, people they care about… they know only what they're fed by all these journalists."

"It worries me a bit, to be honest." He admitted. "I couldn't care less about what they want to say, but the thought of our son seeing these kinds of reports one day, when he's old enough to share and keep the secret, terrifies me."

Gwen pulled her lower lip between her teeth as he locked his eyes on hers, and took a breath. "It won't be like that, Peter. He'll always hear the truth from either of us, not from some reporter on the TV."

"Yeah." He agreed. "I just hope that's enough."

"You're doing better than you think. Don't listen to them, listen to me… someone who actually knows you."

Peter's smile returned, small but there, and without another word on the subject, his arm extended around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. The next few minutes were spent in a comfortable silence, enjoying the peace and the feeling of time standing still. In that moment, there was no ongoing battle with lizards and symbiotes, no intrusive and exaggerated media, and no pain. It was a safe space. One that they both needed more than words could express.

"I could get used to this." He sighed in contentment. "If anything makes all of the hassle worth it, it's moments like this."

"A consolation prize." She laughed. "You know, I think I might just finish that waffle after all."

"Hah! I knew you couldn't resist."

"Little help please?" She asked as she shuffled forward in a feeble attempt to push herself up off the couch.

Peter chuckled as he got up from where he was sitting, offered out his hands and helped her onto her feet. "Damn, you're getting heavier."

"Excuse me?" Gwen folded her arms across her chest, narrowing her eyes as she looked back at him.

"Aaannnddd, I just stuck my foot in my mouth didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." She scowled. "I'd love to see how hot you look if we strapped a bowling ball to your stomach."

"Oh, come on. You know that's not what I meant."

"Just go away and make use of yourself."

"Okay, okay. Sheesh, this is going to be an interesting few months." He muttered and stalked towards the hall.

"PETER!"

He stopped short as the screech of his name bounced off the walls and he threw his head back as he turned around.

"What now?"

"Where are you going?"

"You just told me to go away, so I was doing that."

"No, but you weren't supposed to actually go away."

"Huh?" He arched an eyebrow, scratching the back of his head. "But you literally- okay, which is it? Am I staying or going?"

"I told you to go away but that doesn't mean you're supposed to do it."

"So, what you were really saying is you want me to stay?" He quizzed and she nodded. "Then why didn't you just tell me to stay in the first place?"

"I don't know, but don't leave!"

Exhaling through his nose, Peter retraced his steps back into the room and resisted the urge to roll his eyes by laughing it off instead. Gwen's arms unfolded from her chest and dropped back by her side as she remained quiet, waiting for him to speak.

"Better?"

"No. Get over here."

"What do you mean? I am… ohhh, gotcha." He said, snapping his fingers in realization. "Come here, you goof."

Her frown disappeared quickly, replaced with the biggest grin she could manage as she grabbed him by the t-shirt and pulled him close enough to be able hug him. As her arms extended around his neck and his around her waist, she boosted herself up onto her tiptoes, almost struggling to keep her balance.

"This is nice, but I hear the remaining waffle calling me."

With that, Peter released her from the embrace and gave a nod of approval. Gwen giggled and trailed out of the room. Feeling a little peckish himself, he followed her towards the kitchen, and almost crashed into the back of her as she stopped short in the doorway.

"Careful, I almost walked into you." He chuckled.

"Right. Sorry." She muttered, and continued into the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" He prompted.

"Yeah, my eyes were really unfocused for a second there, it was-"

Peter's eyes narrowed in a frown as she left her sentence hanging, and widened again when she moved almost drunkenly, staggering back. A panicked gasp escaped him and he lurched forward, putting both hands out in front of him to catch her.

"Alright, time for you to sit down." He said in humour, despite his uneasiness.

"No, it's okay-"

"Hush."

He didn't give her the chance to argue, gripping her shoulders and guiding her over to the table where he pulled out a chair then applied a little pressure until she gave in and sat down.

"Better?"

"A little." She admitted.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, it was weird. I just felt dizzy out of nowhere."

"And now?" He pressed.

"Little bit better, but you shouldn't worry. I'm sure it was nothing, moved too fast, that's all."

"Hmm." He hummed. "I'm not entirely convinced, are you sure you're fine?"

"Well, I can't lie. I don't feel all that good, but it'll be okay. Probably just need to eat, I only had one bite."

Peter wiggled his eyebrows and pushed the plate with the waffle back in front of her. She snuck a glance up at him, and then tore another piece off the waffle. Though as soon as she swallowed it, her face twisted in discomfort and before Peter could ask any questions, she pushed the chair back causing the legs to screech against the floorboards, and rushed across the room to the sink. He winced as she retched and forced back a joke about his cooking, pacing calmly over to where she was standing.

Despite all of the heaving and retching, nothing came up. Gwen could feel his hand on her back, rubbing in full circles and slowly, the feeling began to ease and she was able breathe easier.

"I'm officially worried." He commented. "You said you felt fine."

"I do… or did, food seemed to make it worse again."

"Go lay down on the couch, I'll bring you some water and today we can take it easy."

"Maybe a bucket too, to be on the safe side. And a blanket, it's freezing right now."

"I'm on it" He nodded. "Come on, let's get you sat down. I'm not taking any more chances." He added, and his hands returned to her shoulders as he walked with her back into the front room and waited until she was seated before returning to the kitchen.

A hefty sigh left Peter as he filled a glass with water and set it down on the counter. No matter how many times he'd smiled and joked, he couldn't shake the feeling that lay beneath. Something wasn't quite right, and though he couldn't figure it out, it had been bothering him ever since their narrow escape from Oscorp the night before and only worsened throughout the morning. His anxiety was at an all time high, and keeping himself under control was proving to be a challenge. By the time he had gathered everything that Gwen had asked for, the skin of his lips was torn and stinging. With a thick blue blanket thrown over his shoulder, the bucket in one hand and the glass of water in the other, he returned to the front room.

Placing the glass down on the coffee table and setting the bucket down on the floor, he took the blanket from his shoulder, shook it open and laid it down over Gwen so it covered her from the chest down. She looked up at him with an appreciative smile, but he didn't return it. All he saw in that second was how much her usually rosey skin had taken on a more pale, ghostly tint and he swallowed back the urge to make a fuss over it.

"Water?" He arched an eyebrow, retrieving the glass full and offering it out.

"Thanks." She muttered as she took it.

"Y- you will tell me if you feel worse, right?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm not hiding anything, I promise."

"Good." He sighed. "Do you need anything else? How about an extra blanket or- or I could-"

"Peter, relax. This is enough, I don't need anymore for now… except you."

"I wish I could relax." He chuckled. "With all that's been happening, my mind is everywhere at once."

"Sit with me for a while. You need to take care of yourself as well, especially after last night."

As Gwen's eyes met his, Peter caved in and sat down as she pulled her feet in to make room. His head flopped back against the cushioning of the couch and he closed his eyes, taking a minute to breathe easy and clear his mind. A small smile twitched at his lips when he felt her head on his shoulder, loose strands of blonde hair tickling his neck, and her arm come to rest around his waist.

Eddie's hands pulled at his hair as he stumbled aimlessly through the streets of the city. He could feel Venom inside of him, angrier than before, trying to rise to the surface to wreak havoc and his hold over the symbiote was hanging by a thread as thin and delicate as petals of a wilted flower. He'd managed to break free solely because of the flames, but without them he was powerless.

Clenched in his fist was another syringe, the whole reason he was putting up a fight against the symbiote in the first place, and keeping Venom from crushing it was yet another battle. One that he was winning by only an inch.

Through a series of stops and pounding his head with his fist to block out the vicious reprimands of Venom, he eventually managed to regain his sense of direction and started off towards the destination he was desperately trying to reach.

"Turn around." Venom hissed.

"No!" He spat. "I'm not going to let you do this…"

"You forget who's in control here, Eddie."

"If I don't get this to Peter then-"

"Gwen and the baby will die and we win. After that we can finally have the revenge we want on Parker."

"The revenge YOU want!" Eddie yelled, glancing around as his tone caught the eye of several passers-by. He swallowed in anger, and then lowered his voice. "I never liked Peter, hated him even, and I thought I wanted revenge but… if you've taught me anything, it's that revenge is a dark road to travel on. If killing a baby that hasn't even been born is the way to get it then- then I don't want it!"

"Revenge is the only way forward. Without this hate you hold for Peter, you are nothing."

Peter jolted awake with a start when he heard the pounding of a fist on the front door. He lifted his head slightly, and exhaled a sigh as he felt Gwen, now fast asleep beside him, with her arm still flung lazily across his waist and her upon his chest. Seconds passed and the pounding at the door started again, this time louder and sounding more urgent. A groan of protest rose up through his throat, and reluctantly, he moved her arm back to her own side and then cupped her face gently with his hands, taking care not to wake her up, and shuffled out of his seat before laying her head back down where he'd been sitting.

He crept silently out into the hall, surprised that she hadn't already been awoken by the hammering on the door, and rubbed his eyes free of sleep before sliding the latch across and answering the desperate knocker.

"What's the meaning of-" Peter froze, letting his unfinished sentence hang awkwardly in the air. His eyes widened in shock, and darkened as his nostrils flared with anger. "You aren't welcome here!" He growled and swung the door with the intention of slamming it, though a firm hand prevented him from doing so.

"Listen!" Eddie snapped. "I don't like you and you don't like me, but you're going to want to hear-"

"Nothing. I don't want to hear anything from you. Get off my porch, I'm warning you."

"Peter, I didn't come here to fight!" He protested. "You want me to leave and I will, but I didn't come here to rattle you… but to give you this." He added, extending his arm away from him and unclenching his fist, offering out the syringe he'd been carrying on him.

"And why would I want this? Some sort of freaky formula from Oscorp? Something to revoke my powers or perhaps a deadly-"

"No!" Eddie cut in, growing frustrated. "You're going to need it. Trust me."

"Trust you?" Peter scoffed, almost to the point of laughing.

"Just this one thing. Why not?"

"Let me think… you harassed my wife in public, snatched her off the streets and even broke into this very house and attacked her just to get back on me. Not exactly a good track record, is it?" He listed. "I've heard enough, get off my porch!"

"She's sick!" Eddie said hurriedly.

"Wh- what?" Peter frowned, but removed his hand from the door, folding both arms across his chest. "How do you-"

"Since last night." He interrupted again. "The dizziness, the nausea… it's only going to get worse."

"She'll be okay, she just needs rest. It's kinda a package deal with-"

"You're not listening!" Eddie hissed through gritted teeth. "I'm trying to help you but I can't if you don't listen. But you should know that she won't survive past the week, her or the baby."

"And you would know how?"

"Because Venom is inside of me! It's taking every ounce of control I have to keep him at bay right now… you don't think that I know every move made by him using MY body?!"

"That doesn't mean you're not capable of lying and trying to trick me. You said it yourself, you don't like me. So, why are you trying to help me?"

"I may not be a good person, I've done shitty things but I'm not a child murderer. I got myself into this not knowing how deep it was gonna get. I thought I'd beat you badly and that would be the end of it."

Peter clenched his fists, quietly resisting the urge to throw a punch. "That's just it. You're pathetic, you were trash before Venom, absolutely nothing and without the symbiote you are still nothing. Just a pathetic low-life with no direction in life. I don't trust you and I never will. Now, get off my doorstep, take your syringe and shove it up your-"

"What's going on?"

"Oh, great." Peter muttered under his breath as he turned slowly and saw Gwen standing in the hall, taking in the sight before her. "Nothing. Go back to the front room, I'll be there in a minute."

"Fine! If you want to lose it all then go ahead. I couldn't care less, I was trying to turn the situation around. That's all. But sure, go ahead. Let her die. Let your baby die. Not my problem anyway. I'll be glad to laugh at your pain! My last piece of advice; bruises." Eddie snapped, whirling around on his heel and stalking away in anger.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." He sighed, closing the door once Eddie had disappeared from sight.

"You didn't. I woke up because I needed to use the bathroom, and all I heard was arguing."

"It's nothing." He shrugged.

"No secrets." Gwen said with a half smile. "Remember, Peter? We both promised."

"I do remember." He assured her.

"Then don't go back on your word. It wasn't a promise that was made to be broken." She pleaded, forcing back the tears threatening to fall.

"Okay." He agreed. "Go do what you need, when you're done I'll tell you exactly what happened."

"Really?" She smiled, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"I promise." Peter confirmed with a smile of his own. "Do you… feel any better?" He added hesitantly.

Her smile faded quickly as he registered his question, and she covered the change by turning her face away.

"Gwen?"

"Not really." She admitted. "Actually I feel kinda worse than before. My head hurts and my stomach is somersaulting right now."

It wasn't what he'd wanted to hear, but it was an honest answer. Peter attempted to keep his face neutral, and managed just barely.

"That's okay, not exactly good but we'll deal with it." He muttered.

"Right. Anyway, after I've been to the bathroom you and I are going to talk, I need you to keep me in the loop." She said sternly, and trailed off up the stairs.

Peter drew in a breath and headed back into the front room, throwing himself down on the couch as he tried to wrap his head around everything. Eddie was not to be trusted, that much he was certain of. Knowing Venom, it was all just another trap set for him to walk right into. Though that didn't explain all of the things that Eddie seemed to know, and he couldn't make sense of what was said before he'd walked away. But it wasn't something he was about to dwell on. His main concern was curing the Lizard so that he could take on Venom without any bigger complications. It wouldn't be easy, the first time was challenging enough, but it could be done, and the sooner, the better.

He couldn't sit still now, after their unexpected visitor, he felt restless. There was no rest until things were done, and with that, he got up again, and hurried up the stairs. If he had any chance at all, he would need his suit to be at its best and after the scrapes he sustained while defending himself against the Lizard and the cops, repairs were needed.

"P- Peter?"

As he passed the bathroom door, he froze at the sound of Gwen's voice. Her tone was not one he liked, she sounded pained. At the thought, his eyes widened and he tapped lightly on the door that separated them.

"Everything okay?" He managed, and without waiting for her reply, tried the handle.

The door clicked open with ease, and Peter's eyes drifted down to the floor. His heart dropped when Gwen stared up at him through glassy eyes. She remained, doubled up on the floor, trembling as she struggled to keep herself sat up. One hand was set on the floor, and the other clutching at her chest.

"Oh my God…"

"I- I don't know what's happening." She choked, and screwed her eyes shut.