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capswife · 2 years ago

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how it should have been

hello loves! this is an andrew!peter x fem!reader, i hope you guys like it! to those of you who celebrate: merry christmas and happy holidays to those who don't.

thank you dearly to my betas who helped me make this big thing cohesive

there are SPOILERS for nwh, so read at your own discretion :)

prompt: reader wakes up in the wrong universe after dying in her original one

pairing: andrew!peter x fem!reader (fem pronouns, no specific anatomy)

warnings: swearing, nwh spoilers, mentions of death

word count: 8449

You can barely see anything. It’s too dark to make out your surroundings and you’re cold. You shiver, looking around to try and get any idea of where you are. A bright light starts rushing towards you and suddenly, you’re falling.

You’re falling among several pieces of debris. A shadow above you is chasing you, too, but you can’t make out any discerning features. You fall for what feels like forever, the ground getting closer and closer. The debris starts to cloud your vision, the shadow disappearing behind it. The last thing you feel is pure terror.

You wake with a start, a thin layer of sweat covering your body. You let out a long sigh, covering your eyes with the back of your hand. You had another nightmare. You have them every night, after all, a continuous falling with a chasing black shadow above you. You always wake right before you hit the ground.

You finally decide to get up, attempting to rid your thoughts of your nightmare. You have your first day back at Midtown today - it was the first day back for everyone, including the majority of those who disappeared five years ago. When you woke up that day, you were cold and laying on the concrete. Your head was pounding with a raging headache and your back hurt, too. With no idea where to go or what to do, especially with no recollection of how you’d gotten there, you go to the police. They sent you to a foster system since you were under the age of 18 and you were placed in a foster home just outside of the city.

They were kind enough to buy you all of the necessities - clothes, shoes, and a phone. Your foster parents are never home much, but you appreciate all they’ve done for you thus far. You dress for school, eat a small breakfast, and begin your journey to Midtown.

The short train ride helps with waking up and forgetting your nightmare. The rumble under you settles you, somehow reminding you that you’re alive. A nightmare is just a nightmare, nothing more.

The crowd outside of Midtown is daunting. There’s groups of people talking amongst themselves as you pass them and their soft conversations fall on deaf ears. You push the door open and step inside, the air conditioning inside the building a lot colder than it is outside.

Your first class is on the second floor. You make your way up the stairs and find an empty seat in the classroom, paying no mind to the two boys who slide into seats in front of you. They converse in hushed voices until the teacher arrives. She takes attendance, calling out names in a random order. You raise your hand when she calls yours and you’re about to zone out again when she calls a name that has your heart rate increasing.

“Peter Parker?” She says and the boy directly in front of you raises his hand and you stare at the back of his head, trying to figure out why his name struck a chord in you.

After class you catch him as he’s leaving with the guy he sat next to. “Hey,” you call after him and he pauses, offering you a friendly grin.

“Hey,” He replies and when he notices your hesitation, his grin falls a little. “What’s up?”

You take a moment to think of how to reply. “Your name is familiar,” you say and he exchanges a glance with his friend.

“Uh,” Peter chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “[Name], right? Sorry, I don’t know anyone with that name. Well, I guess I do now.”

You give him a smile. “Sorry, yeah, it was kind of weird to start out with that.” You hold out your hand, offering a handshake to introduce yourself.

Peter takes your hand, shaking it. “No worries, it’s nice to meet you.”

His friend finally speaks. “Were you blipped, too?”

“Yeah, um,” you shake your head a little, casting your gaze down to your feet. “Yeah.” You settle on saying, smiling a little awkwardly when you look up again.

“My name’s Ned. Peter and I both were, too.” Ned holds out his hand to shake as well, and you mirror his movements. Your hands bump and you laugh a little as you shake his hand.

Peter lets out a long breath, his shoulders rising and falling with it. “Well, you’re more than welcome to sit with us at lunch. I can imagine being blipped might, uh, bring us together.”

You’re taken aback by his offer, but nod in agreement. “Sure, thanks.”

—

Your friendship with Peter and Ned grew stronger over time and, soon after, they introduced you to MJ. You four became a solid friend group - you guys did everything together. It made you feel better to have friends that didn’t judge you for your memory loss. Your therapist believes it was due to PTSD and there’s not much to be done about it. It barely affects you. You wonder about your parents and why your name wasn’t registered in the system often, but thinking about it too much causes your nightmares to get worse. It always makes them worse, so you try to avoid the topic when possible. Your friends didn’t ask after the first time around and you’re thankful.

You shiver as you enter the cafe that MJ works at, your coat is a bit too thin for the weather outside but you didn’t bother to grab a heavier one. You spot Ned sitting in his usual spot and MJ behind the counter. You approach him and take the seat next to him, nudging him softly in greeting. The air is heavy as you, Ned, and MJ await Peter’s arrival. Your letter from MIT sits in front of you, folded in half from being in your pocket. Ned’s sits in front of him as well, way more pristine looking than yours.

“Are you guys nervous?” You ask the other two.

MJ shrugs. “I don’t know, kind of.”

Ned nods. “I don’t know either. Just want to open it already.”

You’re not expecting to get in. You’re not sure any of you are, especially in light of the recent events surrounding Peter’s identity as Spider-Man. You found out the same day as Ned, as the two of you were waiting in his bedroom when he crawled in through the window in a full suit. Something about Peter being Spider-Man just made sense, but you had no idea why. The bell above the door rings as Peter opens the door, approaching the three of you with his own envelope in his hand. You all exchange glances before opening the letters, the thick silence being filled with the sound of paper ripping.

You read the first sentence of the letter and your heart falls. You knew this was going to be the outcome and yet, you feel a lump forming in your throat. You sigh heavily, putting the letter down and pushing it away from you in a small form of anger.

You shake your head a little as you make eye contact with Peter. MJ and Ned have similar expressions of disappointment on their faces.

“It’s alright,” MJ breaks the silence and you nod, agreeing with her. In the grand scheme of things, it’s terrible and unfair, but you wouldn’t trade your friendship with Peter for the world. Everything would be okay, even if you had to wait a year or so before applying again.

“Peter,” you say upon seeing the look on his face. “We all love you. We wouldn’t trade our friendship with you for a college admission, anyways. We can apply again.”

“Yeah,” Ned says. “Don’t worry about it.”

—

You find out the next day that Peter did, indeed, worry about it. Your phone vibrates next to you on the end table and you answer without much hesitation upon seeing Peter’s contact. “Hey, what’s up?” You say casually, laying back down in your previous position in an attempt to get comfortable again.

“Hey, hey, are you okay?” Peter asks in an alarmed voice.

You sit up, suddenly confused and worried. “Yeah, everything’s good here. What’s going on?”

“I need your help,” he says, “I can explain it once you get here.”

“Okay,” you say without any more convincing, placing your phone between your shoulder and your ear as you pull on your shoes. “Where am I headed?”

You arrive at 177A Bleecker Street just as Ned and MJ do. “Hey, do either of you know what’s going on?” You ask, your hands deep in your jacket pockets and they are trembling slightly. Ever since Peter called you, you’ve felt sick with anxiety. You couldn’t tell if it was for him… or something else.

“No,” MJ says, approaching the door to knock on it. “He called me, said he needed my help… All of our help.”

Doctor Strange opens the door and you force your expression to be neutral, following behind your friends inside. Peter emerges from the left side of the building, rushing to give MJ a hug and nodding at you and Ned in thanks.

The three of you have a short but enlightening conversation with the Doctor, namely a “please Scooby-Doo this shit.”

Peter leads the three of you down to a basement, but catches your arm as you're passing him to inspect the contents of the room. “Are you alright?”

You frown a little. “Yeah, why?”

Peter releases your arm. “You seem anxious.”

You chuckle a little. “Well, your call certainly sparked some anxiety, Peter.”

“That’s not it,” he protests. “Is something going on?”

You shrug. “Apart from this,” you say, gesturing to the extra part of the basement. “I guess something just doesn’t feel right.”

Peter nods. “Right, it’s probably best I just explain it to you guys.”

Peter gives the three of you a run-down on the situation. Villains from other universes and an unhinged spell. The feeling of something being wrong just seems to get worse for you - especially when Peter speaks about a green, flying guy. Something about it just sends shivers down your spine and makes you want to hide.

When Doctor Otto mentions Osborn, it gets even worse, if possible. Your body tenses and your eyes grow wide. The name ‘Osborn’ sends a shiver down your spine.

MJ looks at you with a concerned glance. “Are you alright?”

You nod. “I just don’t like this.”

MJ’s silence doesn’t help you feel any better, but you try to ignore it.

You want to help despite your unconscious fears, so you stay behind with MJ and Ned, watching the live feed from Peter’s phone as he treks through a dark forest.

Suddenly, a man made of electricity appears behind Peter. He tries to trap him, but you watch as the flash of orange flies directly through the enemy. You hate the way your chest tightens in anxiety when the video cuts. This guy makes you feel the same way that the green one does - afraid. You stand, starting to pace around to try and rid yourself of the feeling in your gut.

It only gets worse when two new villains arrive, trapped behind the invisible walls of their makeshift cells. You hate the way one of them stares at you silently, watching as you avoid his gaze and turn your back. You see recollection and confusion in his hard gaze, but you have no idea why. You breathe deeply as MJ answers the call from Peter, letting you know he’s okay.

“Are you alright?” Ned asks, approaching you and placing a hand on your shoulder.

You nod. “Yeah, he’s just… staring at me,” you say back, your voice low enough for only Ned to hear.

Ned turns a bit to look, seeing the electric one boring a hole into the back of your head. “I don’t know what his problem is, but you’re safe,” He mumbles back, patting your shoulder before turning back to the computer. You let out a shaky sigh and await Peter’s return.

“Hey,” the electric guy says and you turn. “Do I know you?”

You shake your head. “I don’t think so. This isn’t your universe-”

“She does look familiar,” the lizard speaks, approaching the edge of his cell to look at you better.

You’re about to reply when Peter brings in another guy, dressed in green and purple. Your stomach clenches uncomfortably when his eyes pass over you and pause. You raise your eyebrows in question, but he says nothing.

“Osborn?” Doc Ock asks the newcomer.

You hold in a gasp of shock, moving backward to put more space between you and him. Something about him, something about that name scares you. MJ shoots you a look, wordlessly asking if you’re okay. You want to say yes but the fear in your body won’t let you reply.

Strange appears a few seconds later, trapping the final guy in his own cell. You stand near the same spot, staring as Peter and Strange have an argument over whether or not to help these guys. Something about the spell being reversed upsets you, too, but you can’t figure out why.

Peter runs past the three of you, MJ guarding his exit from Doctor Strange. It doesn’t matter, though, he disappears with his own portal to chase Peter down.

Peter returns sometime later, yelling about how he won in his battle against Strange and asks you three to hold onto the spell while he figures out cures for the villains. You follow MJ and Ned back to Ned’s house, settling into a kitchen chair while the three of you wait for Peter’s call.

It never comes, though. “I’m gonna press it,” MJ says after around an hour of silence from Peter and countless news stations covering the damage done to Happy’s apartment building where he and May were staying.

The news of May’s death overwhelms you. It makes you feel small in comparison to everything that’s going on and you need some fresh air. You feel safe enough, the complex is unknown to the villains thus far and even then, you feel you would see them before they saw you. Once outside, you try calling Peter again, but he doesn’t answer. You didn’t expect him to - he was mourning the loss of his Aunt and you understood that. You sent him a text, telling him that you guys were there for him whenever he was ready to talk about it.

Your spot on the stairs outside is a nice sightline of the lights of the city, even though the view itself was mainly of the garbage alley outside the building. You’re immersed in your own thoughts when you see movement out of the corner of your eye in the alley. You frown, standing slowly and peering into the alley. It’s a bit too dark to make out anything other than dumpsters but you are certain you saw something move. You stand, opening your phone to call Ned, only to have a call from him appear on your screen. You answer. “Ned?”

“Yeah, you gotta get back up here, [Name].” Ned says, his voice urgent.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” You say as you start to climb the stairs. “I saw something moving in the alley, I can’t tell if it was an animal or a person, but…” You trail off. “I’m really worried about him.”

“We all are,” Ned agrees.

“I just wish he would pick up,” You say as you knock on the door. You hang up as MJ unlocks and opens the door. The look on her face is that of surprise. “What?” You ask softly as you step inside.

“Um…” MJ says, clearly not knowing how to phrase what she wants to say. She turns her gaze to face the kitchen and as you’re turning to look, your heart begins to race. There’s a guy standing there, in a Spider-Man costume, but it’s not Peter. You stare, an uncomfortable lump forming in your throat and your eyes begin to burn with oncoming tears. “He’s-”

“Peter…” You whisper, cutting her off. You know him. You remember him. You remember his voice, his touch, his smile. You remember your dates and how he bought you flowers. You… remember falling. The nightmares you’ve been having for months, the ones where you fall and wake before you hit the ground, were your last memories. The shadow chasing you… it was him. It was your Peter, chasing you down in his Spider-Man suit, trying to catch you.

“[Name]...” He says, his voice shaky. His eyes are full of tears that begin to roll down his cheeks.

“You… know him?” Ned asks, looking between the two of you.

You can’t manage to speak, so you nod. You can’t seem to move, either, shock filling your entire body and paralyzing you as memories flood back. You recognized Peter’s name because this is your Peter. You went to school with him and you fixed his wounds when he crawled in your window at night. How did you get here?

Instead of you having to move, Peter approaches you slowly. “[Name]...” He whispers, reaching out to grab your hand. You let him and he laughs in denial as more tears roll down his face. “You’re… real…” His voice meek, as he moves his shaking hand up to your cheek and gently rubs the skin with his thumb.

You stare at him. You can barely comprehend all of the memories that come associated with this Peter, let alone the fact that in his universe, you died. “I’m supposed to be dead,” you whisper. “I-I fell…”

This causes him to cry a bit harder. “I tried to catch you. I… Your head…” He closes his eyes and forces the tears out of them. Peter steps forward, wrapping his arms around you tightly and burying his face in your hair. You wrap your arms around him, his familiar scent making this frighteningly real. You don’t belong in this universe just as much as he doesn’t. His hand comes up to hold the back of your head, his gloved fingers tangling in your hair. He’s holding your head exactly where it hurt when you woke up and you feel it’s intentional. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He whispers in your ear.

“I’m sorry,” MJ interjects. “What is going on?”

Peter lets you pull away but doesn’t move from your side, his hand finding yours and playing gently with it. It’s as if he’s reassuring himself that you’re real, not in his imagination.

“Peter was my boyfriend… We both went to Midtown and…” You shake your head, unable to get your thoughts in order. “He was… fighting that stupid green guy, his son, and he… I fell. I died.”

“So, wait, you’re… not from this universe, too? You blipped, though, right?” Ned asks, the look on his face just as confused as MJ’s.

“I thought so. I showed up when everyone else did but… my memories…”

“Blip?” Peter asks, looking at you with red rimmed eyes and a concerned look on his face.

“There was this alien guy, he wiped out 50% of the population,” Ned explains. “Our Peter, me, MJ… we all disappeared and came back five years later. [Name] woke up the same day we did.”

“I woke up on the concrete.” You say softly. “My head and-and my back were really hurting but I… was alive. I didn’t remember anything.”

“But you remembered Peter’s name,” Ned adds.

“It was familiar, but I had no idea why.” You turn to Peter, who’s still tearing up, but he offers you a small smile.

“So… wait, does that mean when the spell happens… [Name] will leave, too?” MJ asks.

It hits you then as MJ speaks that if you return to your universe, you might die. “Oh, my God, I… I could die.”

“You’ve been here for a while,” Ned offers. “This could have changed your fate just like theirs, right?”

“I-I don’t know,” You say, looking between Peter and Ned. “We have to get a hold of him.” You say and MJ nods.

“Ned, try to find him again,” MJ says, gesturing to the ring on Ned’s hand.

You’re confused, watching as Ned opens a portal, similar to the ones you’ve seen Strange using. Another man steps through and you share a look with Peter. He looks a little older than the rest of you.

“Hi…” He says, smiling kindly. “I’ve seen you guys before but… that’s not your friend…” He continues, looking at Peter with a perplexed look.

You jerk away from Peter, closer to MJ, as he shoots a web at the new guy and you watch as they both mimic each other’s movements. You look between the two of them, bewildered at their reactions. “Alright,” you say, looking at MJ. “I will say… I don’t know this one.”

She chuckles a little. “Good to know.”

“Well,” you say. “We need to find Peter, our Peter.”

Ned nods and MJ pulls out her phone to check if he had replied yet. She shakes her head, looking up to the group.

“Well,” older Peter begins. “Is there some place he goes to… get away from everything?”

“Mine was the-” Suited Peter starts.

“Empire State building,” You both say at the same time. You share a glance with him, blushing a little under his intense gaze. You’re starting to remember the smaller details the longer he’s in your presence. As much as you’re happy to know who you are, you worry for the future of your duration in this universe and possibly your old one.

MJ recalls he might be atop the school building. The group leaves Ned’s house, walking quickly to avoid other people seeing suited Peter and the magic box. Suited Peter, your Peter, walks close to you. You hold out your hand to him and he instantly takes it, intertwining his gloved fingers with yours. It turns out that MJ was right - Peter was sitting on top of the school all by himself. You gently squeeze Peter’s hand, letting go and following MJ and Ned up to the roof.

You hate to see him like this. He looks so small. MJ, Ned, and you approach him, crouching down to hug him in an effort to comfort him even a little bit. Your heart breaks as he cries and you rub circles onto his back, trying your best not to cry yourself. You loved May the couples times you met her and seeing one of your best friends this distraught hurts.

When he calms down a little, MJ introduces him to the two new Peter’s. He’s shocked, but doesn’t let it get to him. He wants to press the button and send them all home. He’s angry about May, he wants the Green Goblin gone, but that spell might send you to your death, too.

MJ and you exchange a look and she moves the box just out of his reach and she glances up to them, hoping Peter will get the message and listen.

“I lost… I lost [Name].” Suited Peter says, the reflection of light in his eyes making it evident he was tearing up. “She was my MJ.”

The Peter next to you looks at you, confusion written all over his face. “[Name]?” He asks, but you shake your head.

“Peter,” you say, your voice trembling a little. “If you press that button… I might…”

“[Name] might die, too.” Ned says. “When the blip happened, [Name] woke up the same day as the rest of us, but she’s not from this universe. She’s from his,” He gestures towards suited Peter.

“What?” Peter asks softly, looking between you and suited Peter. “You’re-?”

“My memories are still slowly coming back, but I… You remember my nightmares?” You ask and he nods, so you continue. “Those nightmares are my last memories. The shadow chasing me… it’s him. He was trying to catch me.”

“So… You somehow made it into this universe after you died in his?” Peter asks and you nod again. “And you could…” He trails off.

“Peter, we get it,” older Peter says. “When my Uncle Ben died, I hunted down the men that I thought did it. I got what I wanted, but it didn’t make it better.”

“I got rageful,” suited Peter adds. “I stopped pulling my punches.” He looks down at you and you stare back, trying to force down the uncomfortable lump in your throat. Hearing about how upset he was saddening and you hope that he never feels like that again.

You look at your friends and let out a shaky sigh. “It’s worth a shot, right?” You ask.

Peter eventually agrees and all of you head to the lab inside the school building. The three Peters discuss who is going to repair whose cure and you watch from your place on a stool, leaning onto the counter. You’re immersed in your own thoughts when someone sits in the stool next to you. You turn, finding suited Peter wearing a lab coat.

You laugh a little, reaching out to touch the fabric of it. “Why?” You ask simply, a soft grin adoring your face.

“Makes me feel professional.” Peter responds, offering you a smile as well. It slowly drops, though, as you look at him.

“What?” You inquire, leaning forward a little and placing a hand on his knee. “You okay?”

He screws his eyes shut, moving to place his hand over yours. “[Name], I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

“Peter,” you say softly, taking his hand in yours and squeezing it reassuringly. “I forgive you. You tried to get me to leave, you tried to save me… That’s all I could have asked for.” He doesn’t speak, so you continue. “I’m fine now, let’s focus on that, right?”

He nods, finally opening his eyes. “Right. I’m really glad you… you’re okay. I’m not certain how this even happened but I’m really fucking glad.”

You move both of your hands up to his cheeks, taking in his soft features. Being able to touch him makes your anxiety dwindle just a little, so you’re grateful he lets you. “I’m glad too,” You respond, smiling as he leans into your touch. “Can I grab you something for the cure?”

Peter hums softly, pressing a kiss to your palm as you remove your hands from his cheeks. He gives you a short list of things and you stand, walking to the adjacent room full of lab materials.

You’re in there for a few minutes when you hear footsteps approaching you. You see suited Peter out of the corner of your eye. “Hey, sorry, I found the first two but I’m missing the last one. Are you sure they don’t have it out there-” You pause, feeling his arms wrap around you from behind. You sigh, leaning back into his chest, still surveying the cabinet for the last ingredient. “What’s up?” You ask.

“[Name].” He whispers in your ear, squeezing you lightly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah,” you answer, still looking for the last part among the various bottles, but it’s getting hard to focus with Peter so close to you.

“How mad would you be if I asked to kiss you?” He asks, his voice low.

Your heart beat jumps in your chest. You certainly wouldn’t be mad, but… was he sure? “Peter,” you say, turning around in his arms. “It’s been… years, are you sure?”

“Yes,” he replies instantly. “I’m sure.”

“Then… As long as you don’t mind that there’s several people next door-”

Peter doesn’t have to even think twice before he’s pulling you closer by the waist, his lips hovering over yours. “Are you sure?” He mumbles.

Your eyes find his and you nod, slowly. “Yes,” you whisper back.

The moment his lips found yours, memories upon memories start to flood back. The two of you, sitting side by side on his bed, in your car, in the back hallways at school. You sink deeper into him the longer he kisses you, your hand pulling him down closer by his neck. He pulls back just enough to suck in a breath before he leans back in. He kisses you with a fervor you didn’t know possible, moving you back enough that your back rests on the cabinet doors. Peter pulls back a little, his forehead resting on yours. His hands squeeze your hips, slowly moving them up until he’s holding your cheeks in his hands.

You weren’t done yet, though, tilting your head up to press your lips against his once more. You tangle your hand in his hair, gently pulling. He lets out a breathy groan against your lips, kissing you briefly once more before pulling away to rest his forehead against yours again. His hands drop from your face, finding the same place on your hips as before.

“Hey, [Name], did you- Oh, God-” Ned’s voice rings out and you pull back abruptly. Your cheeks grow warm under Ned’s wide-eyed gaze. “I’m, uh- I’m sorry. I just needed-”

“Don’t,” You start, seeing the last ingredient you need sitting on a far counter instead of in the cabinet. You move from Peter’s arms and grab it, ushering Ned out of the room in the process. “Don’t say a word,” you whisper to him.

Ned nods rapidly, making his way back over to his computer. You set the bottle down next to the others, trying to rid your body of the tingling you’re feeling in the tips of your fingers. Peter walks out of the room and you blush under his gaze, moving back to your original stool.

Thirty minutes pass before everyone is ready. You stand across the counter from suited Peter as they discuss the plan. The Peters would lure the villains to the Statue of Liberty and cure them, the rest of you would stay here and keep the box safe after they threw it back using Ned’s newfound portaling powers. After they were cured, you guys would press the button and hope everything works out.

You’re nervous, probably more so than everyone else. You worry that everything might not go as planned and even if it does, what about you? What happens when the button gets pressed? Would you die?

“Are you alright?” Peter, original Peter, asks, concern written on his face. The rest of the group watches the two of you, similar expressions on their faces.

“I’m worried,” you admit. “I’m worried about the plan and everything going smoothly… but I might die. That’s really worrying me.”

“We’re not gonna let that happen,” he says. “We’ll figure something out, okay?”

You nod, wringing your hands together nervously. “If I… disappear, with everyone else, I want to make sure I said this before.” You look up at Peter, Ned, and MJ tears threatening to pool in your eyes. “I love you guys. Thank you for being the best friends I could ever ask for.”

Peter wastes no time in pulling you into a hug. Ned and MJ join in, too. You’re thrilled at the idea that you get to go back home, see your friends there, but these were your friends, too. Losing them was just as painful as you could ever have imagined.

When you pull back from the hug, tears have finally started to fall. They step back, Ned wiping his eyes as he does so. You turn to suited Peter and hug him, too. His hold on you is tight. “Please be careful,” you say.

Peter presses a kiss to the top of your head, leaning down and kissing you briefly after. “I will be, I promise.” He says back, squeezing you one last time before letting go.

“Well, let’s kick some ass.”

“Cure,” older Peter corrects. “Cure some ass.”

—

You’re waiting anxiously for the villains to arrive, when suddenly, you hear electricity crackling. “I think the electric guy is here,” You say, trying to see if any of the Peters are coming, ready to catch the box if need be.

“MJ, heads up!” Original Peter calls out, throwing the box into the portal. MJ catches it.

“Alright, Ned, close it.” She says, jumping a little in place.

The portal doesn’t close. “Alright, uh, just keep trying,” you say, looking around the lab for a weapon if you need one. You come up with nothing and Ned is still struggling to close it.

“It’s fine! Just keep trying,” MJ says.

You peek into the portal, your blood running cold. “Guys, there’s-”

“That is a lizard!” MJ shouts and all of you start to run. The lizard is right on your tail as he chases you around the tables and you have no choice but to run through the portal. Ned opens up another portal as you guys run past, effectively slowing him down with a gush of water. This aids in Peter catching him and being able to use the cure on him.

Ned tries to open another portal. Instead of a safe place, Doctor Strange appears, stepping out and immediately taking the box from MJ. “Where is he?”

You try to grab the box as MJ does, but neither of you are quick enough. “Wait, wait, wait!” MJ says.

“Before you do anything Mister– Doctor Strange, sir, Peter’s plan is working!” Ned yells.

“Pressing that button might kill me!” You add, panic setting in your body. “Please, just wait-”

“What plan? Kill you?” Strange asks, looking between the three of you.

“He’s curing them,” Ned explains.

Dr. Strange approaches the edge of the scaffolding and peers over, seeing that Dr. Connors is no longer a lizard.

“Did you just open a portal?” He asks Ned, who nods, before portaling away himself.

“Guys,” you say shakily, your entire body trembling. “If he presses that button-”

“Can Spider-Man come out to play?” A voice says and you see multiple green lights in the distance, rapidly approaching.

“Oh, God.” You whisper, your body tensing anxiously. You can’t hear or see anything that’s happening, until you hear an explosion. You watch as the spell expands and races across the sky, disappearing into the clouds. You’re barely able to comprehend that the unstable spell escaped before you hear the loud noise of metal crunching.

The scaffolding you’re standing on tilts. You’re falling. You attempt to grab something, but your hand slips.

“[Name]!” Ned shouts, but his voice echoes in your ears.

The wind whips around you as you fall. You know you’re falling fast, you have to be, but everything is slow. Original Peter jumps after you, nearly grabbing your extended hand, until the Goblin knocks him out of the way.

It feels like a nightmare. It feels like your nightmare. Falling, falling, falling - but this time, there’s no shadow chasing you. You squeeze your eyes shut, not wanting to see how close you are to dying. The ground is rapidly approaching, you know it. You’re terrified. All of the work everyone did to try and fix everything feels meaningless as you plummet to the concrete below. Shouts reverberate in your ears and you can’t discern who’s yelling. Your ears are ringing.

Suddenly, someone is touching you - their arms wrap around you protectively. You hit the ground in their arms with a thud, vibrations shooting up your body as you hit the ground. You slowly open your eyes, one eye at a time and you stare straight up from where you fell. It seems so far up now from your place on the ground, but you’re not dead. The rest of the scaffolding is falling, the giant shield is falling, too.

You look to who caught you and all oxygen escapes your lungs. It’s Peter, the Peter that carried the burden of not saving you before, the Peter who loved you. “Holy shit,” you manage.

He’s crying. He’s crying so hard as he drops to his knees, continuing to hold you bridal style. Peter buries his face in the crook of your neck. “You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay,” he mumbles over and over, reassuring himself and you that he caught you. You are okay, he saved you.

“Holy shit, Peter,” you repeat, gripping onto him as tears burn your eyes. You’re crying because you lived, you’re crying because he caught you, you’re crying because this is how it was supposed to be. “You have to go help,” you say as he lifts his head. “I’m okay, I need to check on MJ and Ned.”

“Okay,” he says softly. Peter presses a kiss to your forehead and helps you get your footing, shooting his web and swinging to the base of the statue to find original Peter.

You run around the rubble littering the ground. “MJ! Ned!” You call.

“[Name]!” MJ shouts back, running up and hugging you tightly.

Ned runs up, hugging you tightly, too. “You’re okay!”

“He-He caught me. I thought, holy fuck.” You say, your hands still trembling from the adrenaline.

“[Name]! MJ! Ned!” Original Peter calls from below and the three of you rush to the barrier, MJ waving her arms in the air.

“We’re okay!” She shouts back.

You watch in horror as Peter fights the Goblin. He nearly kills him, too, before older Peter stops him.. You’re staring so hard you see the Goblin move. “Watch out!” You yell, but it’s too late. Older Peter gets stabbed. They manage to cure the Goblin, not before the spell gets even more out of the control. The sky is starting to split in places, revealing a purple gash with several white figures within it. “Oh no.”

Original Peter heads up to Strange, who’s perched at the very top of the statue’s torch. You turn to MJ and Ned. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Everything’s gonna be okay,” Ned assures you, placing a hand on your shoulder.

You wait there for what seems like forever before original Peter finally lands in front of you. The three of you rush to hug him. He checks to make sure you’re all okay, too.

“So, we should go, right?” MJ asks. “Figure out what to do about…”

“I’m sorry,” Peter says, a contrite look on his face. “We can’t help [Name].”

Your heart rate picks up. “What?”

“The-The spell, we can’t contain it and… you guys are going to forget who I am.” He explains.

“What?” Ned asks.

“Forget who you are? What are you talking about?” MJ adds.

“It’s okay,” Peter reassures. “I’ll come find you and I’ll explain everything. It’ll be like none of this ever happened.”

“What if that doesn’t work?” MJ protests. “What if we can’t remember you? I don’t wanna do that.”

“I know, MJ, I know.”

“We can’t come up with a plan or something?” MJ asks, she’s getting desperate.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Peter says sorrowfully.

Peter hugs you first, so tightly you think he might kill you if he squeezes any harder. You return the hug. “I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry,” He says to you.

“It’s alright, we tried, right?” You respond as he pulls away. “Peter, please don’t think whatever happens to me is your fault. You tried, we all tried, I’m not angry.” The look on his face tells you he doesn’t believe you. “I got to see my Peter again. I got to meet you and Ned and MJ. Whatever happens, I’ll be alright.”

Peter finally nods. “Okay,” he whispers.

You hug Ned and MJ separately. “I love you, all three of you.” You say, looking between them. “If I somehow find a way to contact you, I will, I promise.”

You want to let them say their goodbyes, so you step away and down the stairs, rushing to get to the other Peters quickly. You know you don’t have much time.

Suited Peter, your Peter meets you in the middle, though, pulling you close. “[Name].” He says, his voice trembling. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. If you don’t come with, if-if you..”

“Peter, it’ll be okay.” You say and somehow, you believe it. “If curing them, making them better changes their fate? Then my fate will certainly change, too.”

He hugs you tighter. “I love you, [Name], I love you so much. No matter what.”

Your heart swells. You open your mouth to reply when all of your body starts to tingle. It feels like pins and needles all over. You pull back and notice you're almost transparent. Peter is, too. You watch as he reaches for you. It’s the last thing you see before everything turns to black.

—

You gasp loudly as you sit up, feeling around to grab something. You’re blind with panic until your Dad bursts into the room. “Hey, hey, [Name], are you alright?”

You stop, turning to face the doorway. You’re still breathing heavily when you make eye contact with your Dad, who’s looking at you with concern. “What happened?”

“You must have had a nightmare.” He says, walking over to feel your forehead. You feel his hand touch your cool forehead. “I have to go to work, are you alright?”

“Yeah…” You manage, pushing your hair out of your face after he removes your hand. “Must have been. I’m okay.”

“If you’re going to hang out with Peter, shoot me a text, I’ll make an extra plate of dinner.” He says, moving back towards the door.

“Peter?” You ask incredulously.

“Yeah, your boyfriend?” Your Dad answers, holding the door knob. “You said he was probably coming over tonight. Just give me a heads up, alright?”

You nod slowly as he closes the door behind him. You shakily press two fingers to your wrist after he leaves, feeling the delicate pulse under your fingertips. You’re alive, you changed your fate, and clearly, Peter was still in your life.

You scrambled to find your phone that was buried in your bedsheets. You finally find it and try to unlock it, but your password isn’t working. You can see that you have several messages from Peter, but you can’t see them. “Shit,” you mumble, looking around your room for a jacket, jeans and pair of shoes. It’s your old room, you know that, but you have no idea where anything is. It seems like… someone lived here. Maybe it placed you in a universe where Peter did catch you and you took your own place.

You finally find a pair of jeans, taking off your sleeping pants and pulling them on. You grab a jacket off the back of your desk chair, heading out into the kitchen. This was your old house for sure, everything’s familiar. The coffee pot is in the same place, your shoes, everything. Except for the walls - the paint is a darker blue than you remember it being. You try to shrug it off, pulling on your shoes and heading outside. You don’t really know where you’re going to go.

You decide to check places Peter might be and you want to start with the cemetery. If you’re alive here, then your tombstone would be missing, and Peter might have gone there to check. You rush past the people on the sidewalk, apologizing as you nudge them to move around them.

The cemetery is nearly empty when you arrive, save for one person standing in the far corner, staring down at a tombstone. You read the various headstones as you pass, looking for any names you recognize. As you’re getting closer, you realize the person is taller than you thought. You don’t want to startle them, so you try to make your steps louder. They’re not paying attention though and as you approach, you hear their voice. “[Name], call me back when you get this. Your headstone is missing and May asked about you before I left. I think everything worked. Please call me.” He sighs, ending the call and pocketing his phone.

You can’t help the wide grin that spreads across your face. “Peter,” you call, just loud enough that he can hear you.

Peter whips around so fast you can barely register it before he’s rushing at you, hugging you so hard it knocks the both of you to the ground. The grass is damp from rain and you can feel it soaking into your jacket but you can’t find it in you to care. “[Name], fuck!” He says, laughing happily and pressing kisses to your cheek repeatedly.

You giggle, gently trying to push him away so you can stand but he isn’t budging, kissing you lightly all over your face. “Peter, the ground is wet.”

“Don’t care,” He replies, finally kissing you on the lips. You sink into the kiss, pressing back with the same amount of force as he is. Peter pulls away after a few moments, smiling down at you like you’re the best thing that he’s ever laid his eyes on. Honestly, you might as well be. He helps you stand, chuckling at the various blotches of mud on your jacket and jeans. “Oops.”

“I just got here and you’re already ruining my clothes?” You joke, wrapping your arms around his neck so you can look at him just a little longer.

“You’re here and you’re alive and you remember,” he says, a smile on his face.

“It’s still coming back to me,” you admit. “But that’s better than nothing.”

—

You unlock the door of your apartment, closing it behind you and toeing your shoes off by the doormat. You hear noises coming from the kitchen as you shrug your jacket off. “Peter?” You call, setting your jacket on the coat rack near your front door.

“In the kitchen,” Peter responds.

You turn the corner, finding Peter standing in your kitchen, wearing your apron that is entirely too small on his frame. You raise your eyebrows, walking over to him and peeking into the bowl he was mixing ingredients in. “What are you making?”

Peter ignores your question, turning his head and kissing you briefly. “How was your day?”

“Fine,” you answer. “No Spidey tonight?”

“Nope,” he says, walking over to the fridge to grab an egg. “I’m clearly very busy being a chef.”

You chuckle. “I should get you your own apron at this rate.”

“Maybe so,” He replies, transferring the mix in the bowl to a separate bowl.

“Is that supposed to be a cake?” You inquire, trying to dip your finger in the mixture to taste it. He moves it out of your reach before you can.

“You’ll find out.” Peter grins, opening the oven and checking the pan on the upper shelf. He takes off the apron after closing the oven, folding it and setting it on the back of a dining chair.

“Well, if it is a cake, you’d be a baker. Not a chef,” you point out.

“Same thing.”

“Not-”

Peter cuts you off by grabbing you by the waist and pulling you closer to him. “I’m gonna need you to go in the bedroom and stay there until I say.”

You look up at him and tilt your head. “You don’t need help?”

“Not at all. I’ve got it under control, my love.” He smiles, kissing your nose affectionately.

“Alright, fine.” You say, moving back and grabbing your phone from your bag. “I’ll be impatiently waiting.”

You close the door behind you, flopping down onto the bed on Peter’s side. You bury your face in his pillow, taking in his familiar scent. You smile in content, pulling your phone out to browse social media while you wait. You find a couple articles on Spider-Man and his recent qualms with basic crime, but nothing too crazy.

After about an hour, Peter calls for you. You get up and walk into the kitchen to find a stack of pancakes, a plate of eggs, a plate of sausage and bacon, and several topping choices for the pancakes sitting on the table. “I should have guessed,” you say, smiling at him.

“It is nearly a tradition, after all.” Peter responds. “Go on, sit, sit.”

You sit down in the chair across from where he usually sits, going to grab the tongs before he stops you.

“Let me. Close your eyes,” He says from beside you, taking the hand he grabbed and pressing a kiss to it before letting go. You oblige, closing your eyes. You hear him moving around for a moment before he stops. “Alright, open them.” His voice is a bit shaky.

You’re about to ask him what’s wrong, but when you open your eyes, you figure out why. There’s a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of you, but written on the pancakes in frosting is: Marry me?

Peter is beside you, already down on one knee, a small box with a ring inside of it in his hands.

“Peter…” You whisper, your eyes already welling up with tears.

“[Name], my love, I really never thought I was going to be able to do this. I was so, so happy when I met you originally and I wanted to do this after we graduated college. I wanted to be with you forever,” He sniffs, trying to avoid crying too hard. It was an emotional topic for the both of you. “You meant so much to me that when you… I could never forgive myself for losing you. So when your friends said your name, my heart broke. It was hard to even hear your name and I never would have thought it would really be you.”

You’re really crying now, tears rolling down your cheeks as he speaks.

“This last year of being able to be with you again, really be with you, has been amazing. Moving in with you, being able to wake up next to you… I wouldn’t trade it for the world. We used to joke all the time that I’d write it on a cake or something, but cakes remind me of birthdays. This is way more important than any birthday. [Name], will you marry me?”

You’re nodding before he even finishes. “Yes, oh my God, yes.”

He grins, full of so much happiness as he stands, pulling you up with him. He easily slips the ring onto your finger. Peter sniffs again, smiling, before he kisses you with all the passion he can manage.

You kiss back with just as much eagerness, a warm feeling spreading over your body. You finally feel complete, standing here with him, knowing that it’ll be the two of you against the world.

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