Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

When Ramona woke, she did so slowly. She hadn’t even opened her eyes yet, before she could feel the pain in her side. She shifted, clenching her eyes even tighter shut as the pain bristled through her entire body. 

Okay, it hurt to move right now, but her metabolism would be kicking in. What might take someone else a few weeks to heal from, Ramona’s arachnid abilities require only a few hours or days. 

She lay still for a while after that, letting the pain settle back down into something bearable, eyes still closed, piecing together what had happened for her to end up in this situation. Her head pounded slightly, and her mouth was quite dry. She could tell she was still wearing her mask, because it was slightly harder to breathe than usual. Her mask was built for breathing, obviously, but still, it was quite uncomfortable. She felt the need to pull it off, but before she decided on it, she opened her eyes slowly, remembering where she was. 

Oona’s. 

She had been stabbed and beaten up last night. 

Well, she can only hope it was last night. Maybe it was weeks ago, and she’s been out cold for ages. 

And then she had made her way to Oona’s apartment, asking for her help. 

She blinked up at the ceiling, getting an understanding of her surroundings. Her head buzzed slightly, as if waiting for her brain to catch up with the rest of her. 

She also remembered the other fight. The one that still seemed to hurt more than the wound in her side. Because she had fought with Oona, as Ramona, not as Spider-Woman. They never really fought, so that was new, and Ramona didn’t like it one bit.  

Ramona turned her head, wincing at even that small movement, and took in the room properly. It was a small room, with mismatched furniture and colours all over it. Photographs of Oona and Maple were taped to the wall, alongside photos of Oona and Ramona, which made her heart ache a bit. Posters of musicians, and celebrities joined them there on the walls. The walls themselves were covered in an ugly wallpaper, one that Ramona knew Oona hadn’t chosen herself. They’d both spent a lot of time in this little apartment together, but admittedly less ever since Spider-Woman took up most of Ramona’s free time. But she knew that this used to be Oona’s mom’s room, before she left for India. Oona and Maple had shared the singular other bedroom in the apartment for a few years, and Oona had given it a couple of months of her mother’s absence to move into the secondary bedroom. She had told Ramona once she wasn’t sure her mother was ever going to come back, especially with Oona turning 18 soon enough– old enough to truly raise Maple on her own, as if she hadn’t been doing that for years already. So the wallpaper was their mother’s. Oona never had bothered to tear it down. 

Ramona was lying under a blanket that hadn't been on her when she passed out, in a bed that smelled unmistakably of Oona, and her whole body ached at the realisation. At the memories of all the times she and Oona had slept side by side.

She reached her hand down under the blanket, she was still in her suit, but there was a chunk cut out of it around her side. A bandage wrapped its way around her torso, messily, but effective enough. Ramona wasn’t actively bleeding at least. She felt her arms, and her sleeves were still on skin tight. Oona wouldn’t have noticed her tattoos that were so obviously Ramona. It made Ramona feel warm, how much effort Oona had gone to in order to ensure she kept Spider-Woman’s wishes of not revealing her identity. 

Everything hurt in a low, exhausting way that made even lying still feel like effort. She let her eyes fall shut again for a moment, focusing on breathing slow as she tried to decide whether she had the strength yet to actually sit up.

"You're awake."

Her eyes snapped open too fast, and she winced hard at the movement, sound catching in her throat.

She hadn’t heard Oona come in, which was a change.  

She was hovering by the door, leaning her hand against it. She clearly hadn’t slept. She was in the same outfit as the night before. Both from when Ramona crashed through her window, and their unfortunately eventful movie night. Except now, it had a few blood stains on it. Ramona felt awful. Oona had looked so beautiful in that outfit. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ve just been checking on you. Making sure you’re not flatlining on me,” 

Ramona tried to push herself up onto her elbows, and immediately regretted it, a sharp pain along her side making her hiss. 

"Hey don't move, just–," Oona was at her side instantly, hand hovering uselessly like she wasn't sure where it was safe to touch. "Just stay down. Please. I've had a whole night of worrying about you almost dying in my bedroom, I don't need to stitch you up again,” 

Ramona let herself sink back against the pillow, "Sorry."

Oona sat down on the bed beside her, but her body seemed more tense and stiffer than usual. 

"How bad does it hurt? On a scale of one to 'I need to lie about needing a hospital again.'"

Ramona paused, deciding on an appropriate answer. "Manageable. I heal faster than normal people, so I should be fine soon. How long was I out for?”

“Not long, it’s morning now, but you came in last night,”

Ramona nodded, “I’m sorry about your shirt, by the way,” 

Oona looked down at her blood stained shirt, and shrugged. 

“It’s fine, it went down for a good cause,” She said it lightly, though Ramona could hear the tiredness in her tone. “You know,I basically invented a whole new medical procedure last night. So, you’re welcome. I think I should get like…a noble peace prize or something just because you’re still alive,” 

Ramona stared at Oona’s side profile through the mask, feeling a mixture of gratitude and also sadness, that Oona had to go through all of this for her. 

"Thank you,” she finally said, just above a whisper.

"Don't thank me, I nearly threw up twice." She laughed, but it was short and lacked any humour. "I had to sit on the bathroom floor for a solid five minutes at one point just breathing through it. Which is weird, because I’ve never felt that way about my own blood,"

Ramona swallowed, "I'm sorry you had to do that."

“You don’t need to keep apologising. It’s okay,” 

They fell into a silence, not uncomfortable, but not as comfortable as Ramona and Oona were used to together. 

“How did you even know where I lived?” Oona finally asked. 

Ramona hesitated, thinking it through, “I uh, followed you home one night.”

She immediately regretted ever opening her mouth. But then she looked at Oona, and there was that smile back on her face that she knew so well, teasing, and it made Ramona feel better about her fuck up. 

“Oh my god. Did you do this to yourself? Just trying to trick me into getting close to you? Are you just here because you’re in love with me or something?” 

Ramona went quiet. She hadn't meant to. The joke should have been easy to deflect, and laugh it off. But something about hearing it said out loud, plainly, made every word she might've said just dry up in her throat.

Oona's grin faltered slightly at the silence stretching a beat too long, before her expression shifted, softening into something more careful, more searching, mouth opening like she was about to say something…

But then a figure appeared in the doorway of Oona’s room. Her twelve year old sister, Maple, with her eyes wide and mouth dropped open.  

For a second, nobody moved. Maple just stood there, eyes flicking between Ramona's masked figure and Oona sitting close beside her, clearly trying to process what exactly she was looking at.

“What the fuck is happening?” Maple suddenly asked, voice coming out slightly strangled. 

“Maple, please-,” Oona started, but Maple was coming in closer, still shocked. 

“Is this actually Spider-Woman? Like the superhero, in your bed?” 

“Maple-,” 

"Why do you have blood on your shirt?” She questioned, staring at the stains on Oona’s outfit, “What happened? Did she– did you fight someone? Is she dying?”

"Nobody's dying, calm down–,”

"You don't calm down when there's a bleeding superhero in your bed, Oona!" Maple's composure cracked entirely now, the panic of a twelve year old girl breaking through whatever maturity she usually held. "Did you call anyone? Does anyone know she's here? What if someone's looking for her–,” 

"I handled it, okay? I patched her up, she's fine, she's healing,"

"You patched her up? Since when do you know how to do that?" Maple looked between them again, more disbelieving than panicked now. "You can't even put a bandaid on without getting an air bubble stuck in it."

“Well, she isn’t dead, so I think I did alright,” 

“Yet,” Maple continued for her, “I’m Maple by the way,” 

Ramona couldn’t help but smile under the mask. She had known Maple since she was six years younger and only slightly less mature than she is now. 

“Hi Maple, I’m…Spider-Woman,”

“I have a question for you, Spider-Woman,” Maple continued.

“Shoot,” 

“Why did you choose red and blue for your suit colours?”

"Every hero's gotta have a signature color scheme," Ramona explained. "I went with red and blue."

"Huh." Maple tilted her head, studying the suit. “You just decided on a whim?”

Ramona shrugged, “I guess. For what it's worth, I actually thought I picked up green and blue fabric,” she paused, “Then when I saw people talking about it, I realised that my stealth suit was actually…really bright red. But hey, it works I think,”

Maple hummed, “I mean, I think a stealth suit in New York would be better as gray, unless you were in central park,”

Ramona laughed, “yeah, I guess you’re right,” 

"...You're colorblind," Oona finally said, as if just catching up. "Red-green."

Ramona didn’t hesitate, she was used to telling people she was colorblind. "Yeah."

Before Oona got a chance to say anything else, Maple continued. 

“This is kind of insane. This is actually the most insane thing that has ever happened in this apartment, and last month there were three pigeons in our kitchen."

Finally, Oona stood, walking towards her sister, physically ushering her out. “Look I’ll explain it to you all later Maple, I promise. And I love you, but you need to like, go and eat breakfast and leave our guest alone,” 

“Okay, fine! But listen Spider-Woman, I do have some opinions on how we can instate some better rules into this city to make it a better place, if you ever feel like talking about them!” 

Ramona laughed to herself, before Oona turned around, shutting the door of the bedroom behind her. 

“I’m sorry about her,”

“No, don’t be sorry. She’s great, genuinely,”

Oona smiled slightly, “yeah, she is,”

The two of them fell back into silence. 

“You know, you should get some sleep.” Ramona said. 

Oona immediately brushed the idea off, “no, it’s okay,”

“Oona, seriously. Please.” 

Oona opened her mouth to argue again, but closed her mouth quickly after, not taking much to give up. 

"I'll set an alarm. Twenty minutes, that's it."

"How about an hour?”

"Twenty minutes," Oona repeated, though she was already curling up in the chair beside the bed. 

Ramona was about to suggest she sleep beside her, but given the moment just before Maple interrupted them, she didn’t want to make Oona uncomfortable. 

"I mean it,” Oona continued, “Wake me up if you need anything.”

Ramona nodded. "I will."

Oona closed her eyes, and within a few minutes, Ramona could tell she was asleep. Ramona watched her for a long moment, feeling the familiar, aching pull of wanting to be near her.

But she couldn’t. She had been here long enough. 

Carefully, quietly, she pushed herself upright, testing her legs, finding them steadier than before. She glanced back once at Oona, asleep in the chair, and allowed herself a moment longer than necessary before easing toward the window. Before she reached for it, she grabbed a sticky note and pen off of Oona’s makeshift desk, writing: Thank you for everything. I promise, I’m alright. Thanks doc. She placed it on the desk next to the pen, then finally reached for the window. She slid it open slowly, without a sound. Then, she slid through it and disappeared out into the morning light before Oona could wake and try to stop her.

***

Ramona didn’t bother climbing through her bedroom window today. She decided she’d just take the stairs. It took her a bit longer than usual, but she could practically feel her metabolism kicking in and healing her faster than usual with each step she took. Her suit was balled up in her hand. She’d changed into some spare clothes she kept stashed around the corner, in case she ever needed them. She didn’t really feel like people needed to see a gross looking Spider-Woman walking slowly throughout the city. 

When she unlocked the door, she only took two steps for Annie was immediately on her, grabbing at her shoulders. 

“You’re finally back! Oh my god,” she exclaimed, hands reaching out to touch all of Ramona’s face both with soft, but rushed hands. "Where the hell were you? You didn't come home last night, you didn't text, I've been sitting here running through every worst-case scenario in my head. I thought that maybe you went home with Oona but clearly by the look of you, you definitely did not. You look like you got hit by a bus.” 

Annie's eyes dropped to the suit still clutched under Ramona's arm, and her whole expression shifted. "Why's your suit like that? It's– that's not just torn, Ramona, that's like cut up. Is that blood?"

"I got hurt. I'm fine now, though. Healed already, mostly."

“Mostly?” Annie repeated, lifting Ramona’s jaw to look at the bruise that was slowly disappearing there. If she were anyone else, the swelling would probably be there for weeks. “This all looks like it was bad, like actually proper bad. Where were you?”

Ramona hesitated, walking to sit down on the sofa’s arm, exhaustion catching back up to her now that she could finally rest again.

"I did go to Oona’s" she admitted quietly.

Annie's eyebrows shot up. “And what, did Oona punch and slice you?” 

“No, I…I went there after I got stabbed, I guess you could describe it,”

Annie’s mouth dropped open. “Stabbed?! Like knife in hand, now in your chest kinda stabbed? Like a scream movie?” 

“More like a slice in the ribs, I guess. I was just…distracted okay, Oona and I had gotten into a fight,”

Annie rubbed at her eyes, clearly confused. 

“I feel like this timeline isn’t right,” 

Ramona sighed half heartedly, “I went to the cinema, Oona was flirting with this girl Stacey Mallory, I got annoyed, we fought. We left. I was angry so I went on patrol, but got distracted and got stabbed. I didn’t know where else to go, home was too far, and so I went to Oona’s. Spider-Woman went to Oona’s. And I guess she stitched me back up as I bled out on her floor,”

Annie sat there for a long second, blinking, visibly trying to piece the whole thing together in order.

"Okay. Okay, so you fought with Oona, as Ramona. Then you got stabbed as Spider-Woman. Then you went crawling to the same girl's window, except now she thinks you're a completely different person, and she patched you up not knowing she was fixing the same girl she was mad at like an hour earlier,”

Ramona nodded slowly.

Annie huffed out a breath, “damn, girl. You just love making all of this more complicated don’t you,” 

Ramona groaned, squashing her face into her hands, “fuck, I do, don’t I?”

“Hey, it’s okay though. I think. You’re like…you’re okay, right? That sounds like a lot,”

"I'm okay." Ramona said into her hands first, then lifted her head enough to actually mean it. "Tired, and a bit sore. But I’m okay."

“Good, I’m glad. And please never do that again,”

“What part?”

“Get stabbed, preferably. Disappear without any word, come home with stitches and a torn up suit. The whole thing really,” Annie explained, “and you don’t think Oona like…knows now?”

"I don't think so. I mean–,” Ramona hesitated, “she kept the mask on when I passed out, and she only cut the suit where she needed to. It’s not like she saw my tattoos or anything I don’t think. So no, I think she still thinks I'm just Spider-Woman. I don’t even know if she would have helped me if she knew I was just Ramona,”

At that, Annie audibly laughed. 

“Sorry, that’s just the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,”

Ramona stared at her, confused.

“Oh come on Ramona, she’s going to help a masked vigilante but not her best friend that she fought with a total of one time? You’re being slightly dramatic,” 

Ramona couldn’t help but smile as she shoved Annie in the shoulder, “shut up,”

The two of them smiled at each other, but after a moment, Annie’s face relaxed, reaching over to gently put her hand on Ramona’s shoulder.

"Okay, go shower. Sleep for like twelve hours. We'll figure the rest– we’ll figure Oona, out later." She squeezed gently, "I'm really glad you're okay, though. Genuinely. You scared me."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, just… I’m not kidding when I say never do any of this again. I'd like not dying to be a general policy going forward."

Ramona smiled wordlessly at her sister, before leaning in and pressing her head against Annie’s shoulder. She didn’t want to hug her properly, from fear of the injury, but it was close enough for now. 

***

When Monday came around, Ramona made a point to not check her phone for any Spider-Woman alerts before school. She was going to get there early, and try, at least for a few hours, to be a normal teenage girl instead of a superhero. 

She also just wanted to see Oona, if she was being honest, wanted to see if she had gotten any sleep since yesterday morning. 

She spotted her before homeroom, at her locker which was only a few doors down from Ramona’s. As if feeling her gaze, Oona turned to look at Ramona. It was quick glance, and her usual smile didn’t appear on her face. Safe to say things might be a little awkward with them for a while, after the Stacey Mallory situation.

"Hey," Ramona said finally, walking over and turning to her own locker. 

"Hey." Oona offered something close to a normal smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes the way it usually did. "Alright weekend?"

Ramona hesitated for a moment, unsure what to respond with. 

“Yeah, I guess,” 

“Cool,” 

And that was that. 

Oona shut her locker, and neither of them said anything else. There was no teasing, no easy conversation, just the quiet shuffle of the hallway around them and the specific awkwardness of two people who usually never ran out of things to say to one another.

They walked to homeroom together anyway, out of habit, the silence stretching the whole way, neither of them quite finding their way back to their usual conversations. 

By the time the bell rang for them to head to their first class, Ramona had spent the entire time distracted, wondering if she should ask a question, or apologise, or anything really. But then it was too late, and Oona said a polite see you at lunch before heading off for her next class.

By lunch, Ramona dropped into her usual seat between Ellis and Oona. Sully and Ellis were already deep into some argument about a movie and their opinions, and Oona slid in beside Ramona, close but not quite as close as usual.

"I give up, you’re never going to stop being stubborn, are you?” Sully questioned. 

Ellis shrugged, “guess not. And you’re never going to stop being oh so wrong,"

Sully rolled their eyes warmly, before turning to Oona and Ramona. 

“So, you two have been quiet all morning. Did you guys get up to anything this weekend?"

Ramona paused, waiting for Oona’s response before she gave her own.

"Not really." Oona picked at her food. "Stayed in mostly. Watched some stuff with Maple."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

“Ramona?” Sully asked. 

She coughed, “uh, yeah, same I guess. Just…slept most of Sunday,” 

"You’re both so boring," Sully said, unbothered, before going back to a conversation with Ellis. Ramona sat there, thinking about Oona’s answer and how makeshift surgery and staying awake for hours turned into stayed in, and watched some stuff. 

She glanced at Oona sideways and for a second their eyes met, Oona’s expression unreadable, before she looked away again, back to her food. 

Ramona kept turning it over, all through lunch. The way Oona had turned an entire night down to nothing. With no elaboration, no drama, and no story. Because that was the thing. Oona loved telling dramatic stories. That was who she was. The mugging had gotten a full, animated retelling within a day, the alley run-ins had been recounted at this exact table with such enthusiasm that Sully had asked for updates unprompted for a week straight, the time she walked past Kaia Gerber and swore that they had a spark. Oona didn't sit on things like this. Except she just had.

Spider-Woman showing up bleeding at her window should have been the single biggest thing that had happened to her all year. But all Oona had said was that she stayed in, and let Sully move right past it. And Ramona didn't think she perceived it as anything negative. She wasn’t keeping it in because it hurt, but almost as if it was something she was keeping, just for herself. 

The realization sat strange and warm in Ramona's chest, tangled up with guilt and hope equally. And yet there was nothing Ramona could say to signal that she knew what Oona was doing. She couldn’t act as if she knew that Oona was genuinely becoming close to Spider-Woman. Maybe closer to her than she currently was with Ramona.

Ramona considered this. Then decided she was getting kind of sick of being Spider-Woman. She didn’t want it at all, if it meant losing Oona. She just wanted her best friend back.

***

Ramona caught up to Oona after their last period, right as Oona was about to close her locker for the day.

"Hey." Ramona appeared right beside her. "Can you walk me home?"

Oona glanced up, surprised by the directness of it. "...What? Why?"

"I just want to talk, like…properly." Ramona gestured vaguely. "Please."

Oona studied her for a long moment, before zipping her bag shut. "Yeah. Okay."

They walked in silence for the first few blocks, heavier than their usual comfortable silence. Ramona kept trying to find the right place to start, but kept immediately losing her nerve.

"Are you gonna actually say something," Oona said eventually, "or did you just want company on the walk?"

"I'm working up to it."

Oona let out a short laugh, and just waited. 

Ramona only was able to make herself speak as they turned onto her own street, "I wasn't on a date that night. Annie panicked when you showed up and made it up on the spot. There was no girl."

Oona stopped walking. Paused. Turned to look at Ramona. "Are you being serious?"

"Yeah."

"So these past days " Oona dragged a hand through her hair, "I've been feeling stupid for being upset, then stupid for pretending I wasn't, and it wasn't even real?"

"I'm sorry. I should've told you it wasn’t true."

"Why didn't you?"

“I mean, I tried, but I didn’t know how to explain where I actually was."

Oona scrunched up her face. "Where were you, then?"

Ramona cringed at herself. "I can't tell you that."

"Of course you can't,” Oona responded with a sigh.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s not fair. I’m not being fair to you. I just have like-,” she gestured vaguely around, beginning to walk again. Oona fell into line with her. “-a lot of baggage, at the moment. It’s not that I don’t trust you. Like, I trust you so much Oona, and it kills me every time I have to avoid telling you something. It’s not to hurt you. It’s like, the opposite of that, I guess,"

Oona wrapped her arms around herself, quiet for a beat, her eyes a flurry of confusion and sadness, but also a tinge of affection. 

"I don't know what to do with that, Mona" she said. "I don't know how to just accept that you can’t tell me, and move on like it's nothing."

"I'm not asking you to think it's nothing,”

"Then what are you asking me?"

"I don't know. For time, maybe." Ramona replied, voice slightly shaky. "I know that I’m kind of a mess, and I’m depressing, and that having someone like Stacey Mallory in your life is easier than being with me…” Ramona faltered, “than being friends with me,”  

"I never said I wanted someone easier." Oona’s voice came out sharp, almost defensive. 

"You don't have to say it out loud for it to be true. Why wouldn’t you want a cool girl Stacey Mallory over me?"

"Stop doing that.” Oona rebutted. The two of them were now stood outside of Ramona’s building. Ramona was too focused on Oona to bother reaching for the apartment building’s front door. 

“Stop deciding what I want before I even get the chance to say it," Oona continued. “I don’t want easier Ramona. I just want you to feel like you can trust me. I just want to be on your team, like we used to be.” She took a step closer, “You mean everything to me. You know that, right?”

Ramona held very still. "Oona–,"

"No, let me– " Oona pressed her hands quickly against her eyes, visibly fighting internally with herself. "I’m always just so scared that I’m going to lose someone else. So when I hear  that you’re on a date and you didn’t tell me, or you try suggesting that I should be with Stacey Mallory instead of you. It hurts, Ramona.” 

“That’s the last thing I have ever wanted to do.” Ramona replied, voice cracking slightly. 

"I know that. I do," Oona shook her head, eyes glassy. "But I keep preparing for it anyway. Every time you disappear, every time you get weird and cagey, some part of me just goes this is it, this is the part where I lose her too. And I hate that I think that. I hate that I can't just trust that you're staying. But I've just never been good at trusting people to stick around."

"I'm not people, though. I'm me."

"I know." Oona's voice wavered. "That's exactly why it's worse. If it were anyone else, I could just walk away before I get hurt. But it's you, and I don't know how to protect myself from losing you, because I genuinely don't think I could handle it. Not really."

"You're never going to lose me, Oona." Ramona promised, taking a step closer.

"You keep saying that like it's simple. It isn’t always a choice you can make,”

"It is simple. It's the simplest thing I know." Ramona reached for her hand, careful, giving her every chance to pull away. "No matter what’s going on with me, it doesn’t change how I feel about you. You’re not losing me. You’re never losing me. I’d rather die, than live without you in my life.” 

"You can't promise that," Oona responded, shaking her head. A tear fell down her cheek, and Ramona took her spare hand and carefully wiped it away. 

"I can, and I am." Ramona continued, words tumbling out of her mouth faster than she could think them, "I know I've been distant, I know I've missed things, I know I let Annie's stupid lie sit for way too long, and I'm going to be better about it, I swear.” She squeezed Oona’s hand tightly, “I'm going to actually try instead of just disappearing every time something gets hard. Because you deserve someone who doesn't just vanish and expect you to be okay with vague not-answers. And I know I can't explain everything right now, but I can promise you that I'm not going anywhere, there is no version of me whose best friend isn’t you. I just-,” 

Ramona didn’t get a chance to finish, because all of a sudden, Oona was kissing her. 

It caught her completely off guard. Oona's hands found her jaw, so sure despite the tremble still lingering in her fingers, and kissed Ramona like she'd been holding it back for months and simply ran out of room to keep containing it. Ramona froze for the smallest of seconds, before every inch of her body screamed at her to kiss Oona back. So she did, just as hard, one hand coming up to rest against Oona's waist, the other reaching up to run her hand through Oona’s hair. She stood on her tiptoes to reach her, to create as much physical connection between them as she could, and she didn’t care. Because Oona was right in front of her, in her arms, kissing her back. Kissing her first, to be exact.

It wasn't a soft or gentle kiss. It was raw, and a little clumsy with how much feeling and yearning was being poured into it. Oona made a small, involuntary sound against Ramona’s mouth and pressed impossibly closer, and Ramona, whose senses were usually so high to her surroundings, completely forgot about everything and everyone except Oona. Ramona kissed her back with the same desperate intensity, never wanting to let go.

When they did finally break apart, breathlessly, Oona kept her forehead pressed lightly against Ramona's. Her eyes remained closed, and hand gripped the front of her jacket like she wasn't quite ready to let go either. 

“I’ve wanted to do that for such a long time,” she whispered. 

"Yeah?" Ramona's voice came out breathless, still catching up to everything. 

Oona hummed, her nose grazing Ramona’s, “mhm hm,”

Ramona kissed her again, slower this time, less desperate than before. As if memorising every second. 

Oona let herself sink into the kiss, her fingers drifting toward Ramona’s waist.

Immediately, Ramona flinched.

It wasn’t a big flinch, but Oona felt it immediately, pulling back hastily. "Shit. Are you okay?"

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine,” Ramona answered, it’s not as if you stitched up my stab wound yesterday, “I ran into a door knob. It got me at a bad angle, I guess,”

"You ran into a door? You're the least clumsy person I know. You have like crazy instincts," Oona's eyes lingered a beat too long. It wasn’t quite suspicion, instead more of a thought that was only just blooming in her mind. She glanced at her hand, then back up, quiet for a second, before visibly deciding to let it go.

"Be more careful around doors," she said instead, softly. She then stepped back into the space between them, arms looping loosely around her waist, avoiding the hidden injury under her clothes.

"You wanna come up for a bit? Annie's not back til later,” Ramona suggested, gesturing to the building behind them.

Oona took a half step back, eyes glinting with mischief and warmth. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Ramona opened the door to the building, leading Oona inside. They took the stairs two at a time, fingers interlocked the entire way.  And the second that they reached Ramona’s room in her shared apartment with Annie, Oona was kissing her again. She was unhurried this time, like they finally had all the time in the world to figure out exactly what this was between them.

***

Ramona survived less than 24 hours without Annie finding out about her and Oona. And that was mainly because for most of those 24 hours, Annie was at college or at a high school friend’s house party. So when they finally sat down on the couch together, casually and unremarkably, Annie somehow immediately knew. 

“You’re happy.” Annie stated, her thoughts unreadable in her tone. 

Ramona didn’t respond. She couldn’t. Because she was happy, and she didn’t have it in herself to deny it. Instead, her smile simply grew and her brows raised. 

Annie sat up fully, tossing her phone practically across the room. "Oh my god. Did you finally tell Oona?"

Ramona tried and failed to fight down her smile. "...Maybe."

"Maybe?" Annie was on her feet in an instant. "Ramona. Ramona, oh my god, is this a real maybe or a deflecting maybe—"

"I guess….we kissed. Like, a lot.”

Annie let out a sound that wasn't quite a scream, hands pressed to her mouth, vibrating with barely contained energy. "I knew it. I called it. Do you remember, when I said she was jealous and you didn’t believe me?!"

"I remember,”

Annie grabbed her by the shoulders, practically shaking her. "Oh my god Ramona. Tell me everything. Every single detail without skipping over anything."

Ramona rolled her eyes, and tried her best to pretend that telling her sister how Oona had kissed her outside this very building wasn’t the most exciting thing to ever happen to her. 

***

The way Oona and Ramona’s relationship began to evolve started small. 

At lunch, Oona started sitting close enough that their knees pressed together under the table. Where there used to be an inch of space, most likely to prevent either of them from feeling the blood suddenly rush to their faces, was no longer. Neither of them mentioned it, it was just something that became their new selves. During a movie night at Sully's, Ramona felt Oona's hand find hers in the dark, fingers lacing together. That was before Oona immediately fell asleep and missed practically the entirety of Uptown Girls for probably the third time, much to Ellis’ dismay. 

Walking home became its own kind of ritual for them too. They'd take the long way even when they didn't need to. They would walk slower on the last few blocks before their buildings, trying to fit as many stories and jokes as they could in that short period of time. Although most of the time, they wouldn’t be able to resist heading into each other’s apartments to make out anyways.  

Sully, Ellis, and Maple, just like Annie had immediately seen through the two of them and their newformed relationship. They were all overjoyed for them, and Maple made a point of mentioning just how long it took for this to eventuate.  

It was hardly a surprise then, when the group didn’t feel even the tiniest shift in dynamics. At lunch a few days after Sully and Ellis had found out, Ramona was tucked comfortably against Oona’s side at their table, with Oona stealing whatever food she could off of Ramona’s tray like she always was doing. Except now she also pressed a quick kiss to Ramona's cheek at the same time, like the two habits had simply become one.

"You two are going to kill me with this whole romance thing you’ve got going on," Sully had said, smiling.

"You're just bitter that you're single," Oona replied.

"I am extremely bitter, yes. Please continue being disgusting, I will suffer through it."

There was a night two weeks after their first kiss that just felt so utterly perfect for them. It felt like the first time in months where Ramona almost had forgotten entirely that she was Spider-Woman, and that the city might need her. Because instead of worrying about saving the city, Ramona was simply stirring a cake mix, with Oona rushing around her, trying to collect all of the ingredients that Maple was telling her to grab. 

“Oona! That was like… double the amount of sugar I said!” Maple exclaimed, but she was smiling in shock at her sister. 

“You said a cup!” 

“Yeah, but you’re meant to flatten the amount on top, not just leave a giant mountain of sugar covering it. I didn’t say a heaped cup,”

"You just said a cup. It’s kind of your fault for being vague about it,” Oona tried to argue. 

"It's common knowledge, Oona,”

Oona turned to Ramona, holding up the now sugarless cup. "Back me up, Mona. That was a reasonable amount of sugar, and it’s not my fault if it wasn’t. 

Ramona stopped her mixing for a moment, considering her options. “It was way too much sugar,” 

Oona’s jaw dropped, and she grabbed her heart in faux hurt. 

“You wound me,”

“But hey,” Ramona continued, leaning closer to Oona’s face, “I really like sugar.” 

Oona reflected Ramona’s lean in, but before their lips connected, Ramona revealed her flour covered finger and dotted the flour onto Oona’s nose. 

"Hey!" Oona exclaimed, hand flying up to her nose, "That was– that was a violent attack Ramona. I trusted you,”

"You walked right into it."

"I was going in for a kiss."

"Well, you should have seen it coming." Ramona responded with a grin. Then she watched as Oona slowly and deliberately dipped her own finger straight into the flour bag before swiping a streak across Ramona's cheek before she could dodge it (she could have if she wanted to, but she didn’t). 

"There. Now we are even,"

"That's not even, you got way more on me," Ramona rebutted, reaching over to get more flour and wiping it on Oona’s cheek. 

Maple was watching the entire exchange from the other side of the kitchen counter. "You two are actually so embarrassing. I can't believe I have to witness this."

“Oh yeah?” Oona asked, reaching in for more flour again. She looked at Ramona, and Ramona could see the mischief in her eyes. They both knew what to do. In a matter of seconds, they both rushed at her, flour in hand. 

Maple shrieked, way too late to dodge, and got hit square in the face with a double handful of flour that sent a small white cloud puffing up around her head.

"You're dead," she gasped, wiping frantically at her eyes, already lunging for the bag herself, laughing. "Both of you are so dead–"

Oona backed away, but she was laughing too hard to fully commit to running. "Hey you basically declared war with the cup!"

Maple got a fistful of flour and hurled it wildly, catching Oona square in the shoulder and Ramona somewhere across the jaw, and within seconds the kitchen had descended into complete chaos. Flour was flying in every direction, and all three of them were shrieking and laughing, ducking behind the counter and using anything they could as makeshift cover. Most of the time was spent with Maple and Ramona teaming up on Oona. 

"Truce!" Oona finally yelled, breathless, holding both hands up, covered in flour practically from head to toe. "I surrender,"

Maple held up her arms in agreement, nodding, before rushing over one last time to hug Oona tightly, the flour on both of themselves meshing together. 

Ramona leaned against the counter, laughing, completely covered head to toe in flour. She watched as Maple and Oona collapsed into a fit of giggles on the kitchen floor. Something in her chest ached in the best possible way. 

The cake didn’t go into the oven for another half an hour, and when they ate it, it was definitely too sweet. But, it was the most fun Ramona had in what felt like forever. And she was just so glad that she could have a fight that didn’t result in webbing someone to a wall.  

Despite the good times though, Ramona was still Spider-Woman at the end of the day. She still had to keep secrets, she still got called away quickly. There'd be a dinner interrupted by a buzz against Ramona's thigh. She’d say a lie like Annie needs me, sorry, or simply that she had to do something and she promises she’ll tell Oona soon. Oona seemed to be alright with it most of the time. She’d never push, as long as Ramona was as honest as she could be with her, but sometimes Oona’s stares held for a little long than necessary as Ramona walked away from her in a rush. 

Oona had stopped asking when Ramona would show up late to school, but she would watch her for a few minutes after, wordlessly searching for something in her eyes. Oona always accepted whatever excuse Ramona made out loud, even though something behind her eyes clearly filed it away instead of letting it go.

Ramona told herself it was fine. She told herself Oona was just observant, and was worried, and that noticing things wasn't the same as knowing about them.

She was wrong, as it turned out, though she wouldn't understand exactly how wrong until the night her police scanner sent her swinging toward Oona's street for an emergency that didn't ever exist.

Ramona was perched on a rooftop, an hour or so into her patrol when her phone buzzed against her hip, alerting her of a new crime taking place nearby. She pulled it open, skimming it until she landed on the street name to head in that direction.

The address made her stomach drop before she'd even fully processed it.

Because it was Oona’s street. Right outside Oona’s building to be exact. 

She was swinging across buildings before she'd finished the thought. She was thinking about every worst-case scenario she could imagine, and then immediately tried to tell herself that it could be a coincidence, that it could be anyone. 

She dropped into the street outside Oona's building so fast that the pavement cracked faintly beneath her feet. Immediately, she scanned wildly for any sign of a struggle, not bothering to check it out from above.

But when she looked around, there was no sign of any kind of violent attacks, thievery, or any struggles. 

“Hey Spidey,”

Immediately, Ramona turned at the voice. Oona’s voice. Across the street, Oona was stood casually against a wall, waving slowly at her. She looked perfectly fine, as if she’d been waiting there for a while. 

"Oona–" Ramona's voice came out breathless, adrenaline still roaring through her as she gave a sharp swing over the busy New York traffic to the other side of the road. "What’s happened? I got an alert that there was something happening here. Are you alright?”

"I'm fine,” Oona replied calmly, smiling slightly. 

Ramona blinked under the mask, confused. She scanned the street again as if the danger might still be hiding somewhere. "There's no one here. What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I called it in myself."

Ramona faltered. "...What?"

"I called it in. I told the dispatcher that I saw someone getting attacked on this corner." Oona's voice was steady, completely calm. 

Ramona's stomach dropped straight through the pavement. "Oona, you can't just–  that's a real emergency line, the cops will be arriving any minute,”

“I know, which is why we don’t really have time to just stand around,” Oona continued, taking a few steps until she was right in front of Ramona. “I’m gonna need you to swing me out of here before someone shows up and starts asking questions,”

“Oona-,” 

"Oh come on, Spidey. I committed what my sister once told me was a crime for this conversation, the least you can do is get us out of here before I get arrested for it."

Ramona hesitated half a second longer before giving in, wrapping an arm securely around Oona’s waist, feeling her arms lock instantly around her neck.

"Hold on."

"This is going to be so fucking awe-,”

She didn't get to finish the sentence before Ramona launched them both off the ground, and Oona's whole body went rigid for exactly one terrifying second before dissolving into a full-throated, delighted scream as they swung out over the street.

"Oh my god!!" The scream cracked straight into laughter, wind whipping her curly hair back. Both of her arms tightened around Ramona's neck. “This is insane!” 

Ramona couldn’t help but smile under the mask, too afraid to speak or drop any focus from carefully swinging Oona over the traffic and buildings below.

“We’re leaning into it, we’re leaning into it!” Oona shouted, trying to relax a bit more, “WOO-HOO!” 

Ramona continued grinning underneath the mask, some of her earlier panic being replaced by the contagious excitement of Oona’s utter delight. 

They swung for another minute, maybe two, before Oona's laughter took on a slightly different edge.

"Okay!” Oona continued, her hand suddenly going to her face. “I’m feeling a bit sick though now, so can you like, actually stop now though?! Like actually stop?”

Ramona couldn’t help but laugh to herself at the sudden change, but she dropped them down onto a nearby rooftop as smoothly as she could. 

Oona immediately stumbled off to the side, hands braced on her knees, breathing hard.

"That was the best and worst experience of my life," she managed, some of the colour returning to her face. "Ten out of ten. But I don’t think I am ever going to be doing that ever again,” 

"Understood."

"Okay." Oona took a steadying breath, and when she looked back up, all the earlier mischief had settled into something quieter, more deliberate. "So. This is about you."

Ramona's stomach tightened. "What about me?"

"You disappeared.” 

Ramona just stared at her, confused. 

Oona continued. “After I patched you up. You climbed out my window and I haven’t seen you again for three weeks. All you left was a sticky note.”

“Oh. I’m sorry,” 

“We run into each other three times in one week, and then nothing after maybe the most insane night of my life?” 

“Well you didn’t need my help, and…I didn’t need yours,” Ramona tried to explain. 

“So that’s all it was?” 

At this, Ramona’s gut spun. She had no idea where this conversation was going. Did Oona want more with Spider-Woman? Despite making out with Ramona only the night before? Did she want friendship? Fame? 

“What did you think it was?” Ramona managed to ask. 

Oona took a step forward, shrugging. 

“Something more, I guess. Was I wrong?” 

“Oona-,”

Oona took another step closer, before freezing entirely.  

“For what it's worth," she continued, voice deliberately lighter, "I have a girlfriend now. Since you've been gone."

Ramona didn’t know what to think to that. It was weird, having two relationships with her girlfriend. Should she be happy that Oona was talking about her? Upset that she was clearly flirting with Spider-Woman? Should she be jealous of herself?

"...Congratulations," she finally said.

"Thanks." Oona tilted her head, something glinting in her eyes. "So I guess this means we can't flirt anymore, huh? It’s quite sad, really. I was really enjoying our thing."

"Yeah," Ramona said carefully, "I guess not."

Oona hummed, considering something. "But she's not here right now."

"That doesn't really matter–,” Ramona tried to argue, getting suddenly very defensive of herself.

"Doesn't it, though?" Oona stepped closer. And Ramona should have moved, she should have said something, should have done literally anything other than stand there frozen as Oona reached up to touch her mask. Before she ever so slowly grabbed at the edge, rolling it a bit higher until it just revealed Ramona’s mouth. 

"Oona–,” Ramona attempted, voice cracking halfway through her name. Her mouth was dry, knowing that for the first time Oona was looking at Spider-Woman’s mouth, and wanted it. 

But Oona was already leaning in, and Ramona who realised in this very moment that she was helplessly and hopelessly in love with her own girlfriend simply let it happen, meeting her halfway, and kissed her with such tenderness and love. It was soft and slow, nothing like the frantic kiss that Ramona had shared as herself with Oona. This one felt so sure of itself, like Oona was in total control of it all. 

When she finally pulled back, Ramona's brain took several seconds to reboot.

"Wait," She blinked, the mask still rolled halfway up her face. "You have a girlfriend.”

She sounded so dumb as she said it, mind blurry with too many conflicting thoughts. 

Had Oona just cheated on her? With herself?

“Yeah, I do,” Oona concluded. 

Still holding the edge of the mask, Oona gripped gently onto it again. For a moment, Ramona thought she was pulling it back down, but upon realising she was instead pulling it up, she grabbed Oona’s hand quickly.

“Oona-,”

Oona just stared at her. Her green eyes glimmering, and her face now serious.

“Please. It’s okay,” Oona replied.

It took a long second, feeling like a million years. But somehow, staring into Oona’s eyes, Ramona relented. Letting the girl in front of her, pull the mask upwards. Past Ramona's nose. Past her eyes.

The evening air hit Ramona’s face in a way that felt so different to every other time she has taken off the mask. She felt completely exposed, staring at Oona, who was staring back at her. Her expression was…completely unsurprised. It wasn't doing any of the things a person should do upon finding out their girlfriend was secretly a superhero.

She was just looking at Ramona, soft and steady. Running a hand down her face until it landed on top of her collarbone. She looked at her like she already knew exactly what she was going to see.

"Hi Ramona," Oona said quietly.

Ramona's whole body had gone numb. "Oona–,"

"You have two siblings, Annie and Connor." Oona started, saying it as if she had rehearsed it. "You knew exactly where I lived. I’ve known you long enough to know what you’re handwriting looks like on that sticky note, even though I didn’t believe it then. You're colorblind, red-green to be exact. And when I touched your side that night we kissed outside your building, you flinched in the exact same spot Spider-Woman got stabbed."

Ramona couldn't breathe. She just stared at Oona, her mouth slightly open. 

“You disappear all the time, but can’t tell me why. Annie lied about the date because being Spider-Woman is crazier than that. Although your dumb voices tricked me for a while, I think internally you started giving up and started sounding more like Ramona.” Oona continued listing, “And also, I never told you my name.” She took a deep breath. “I think I’ve known for a while now, but it’s a crazy thing to think. But I just wanted you to trust me enough to tell me yourself. And when you didn’t, I had to force your hand a little bit,” Oona concluded, her mouth twitching fondly. 

Ramona stood there, feeling more naked than she'd ever felt in her entire life. Oona reached out, gently, brushing a strand of hair away from her face like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"You could've just told me," Oona said softly.

"I was scared."

"I know." She stepped closer, resting her forehead lightly against Ramona's, the same as they had done after their first kiss. “I'm not mad. I get it. I just… I don't want you to have to hide from me anymore.”

Ramona's breath came out shaky, something between a laugh and a sob catching in her throat. "You've basically had a whole case file built against me."

"I've had a lot of time to think about it," Oona said, a small, watery smile appearing on her face. "You're not exactly subtle, for a superhero."

"You didn’t know for months,"

“Because I was in denial that I loved two people, and they just so happened to be the same girl,”

"You love me," Ramona repeated, as if she needed to hear herself say it back before she could actually believe it.

"Obviously." Oona rolled her eyes, though her voice wavered slightly, betraying how much less casual she actually felt about it than she was pretending. 

“And not just because I’m a superhero?” Ramona questioned, half a tease, half serious.

"Ramona." Oona took her face in both hands now, steady, certain. "I love you. All of you. I loved you before I knew, and I loved you after I figured it out, and it never actually changed anything, because it was always just you. I loved Spider-Woman because she was you.”

Something in Ramona's chest gave way entirely at that, and she let out a shaky breath, leaning into Oona's hands.

"I love you too," she whispered. 

"I know." Oona was laughing now, somewhere between overwhelmed and relieved. "You've been extremely obvious about it actually, looking back on it. That time you saw me looking sad from a rooftop– not very subtle,”

“And you were sad because you thought I was on a date with another girl,”

Oona shoved at her shoulder half-heartedly, “shut up,”

“Meanwhile I was only ever thinking about you,” Ramona finally said

Oona's teasing faded slightly at that, something softer taking over.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Ramona reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together through her gloves. "Every time I put that mask on. It was like I…like I finally got to let myself say things that I was too scared to say as Ramona,”

"You needed a mask to flirt with me,” Oona replied, teasing tone reappearing. 

“Yeah because you were my best friend. Besides, you called me hot to my face without knowing it was my face."

“Well, I really wasn’t wrong,” she said, leaning her face down ever so slowly, “only thing is now I’m going to have to hunt everyone who runs a Spider-Woman fan account down for sport,” she paused, "but you know it is kind of insane that you came to my house bleeding out immediately after we fought at the cinema," Ramona blushed, "I didn't know where else to go. I was...distracted," Oona smirked at her, leaning in closer. "I'm glad you felt like you could still come to me,"

Ramona smiled, and went to respond, but it didn’t get a chance to escape as Oona’s lips met hers. 

When they parted, Oona asked, “now, can we please walk home because I don’t think my stomach could take another swing over New York City today,”

Ramona grinned, tugging her toward the fire escape instead of the ledge. "We can walk. But you’re going to have to give me your sweater.” She gestured down at the rest of her suit. 

Without pausing, Oona pulled off her sweater and handed it over. Ramona put it on, breathing in Oona’s perfume. 

“People aren’t going to notice that you’re wearing Spider-Woman pants?”

Ramona looked down, then shrugged, “it was a kid’s costume party,”

"Perfect," Oona said, already lacing their fingers together for the trip down, "and I’m so glad we’re walking because I really don't think that throwing up on my superhero girlfriend is how I wanted for all of this to end.” She paused, “also, does this mean I get to be like a sidekick now?”

“Absolutely not,”

"Rude. I saved your life. I've earned at least a little cape,”

“I’ll get you a cape and a trophy from dollar tree, and you can have my eternal gratitude. Take it or leave it,”

"That's such a scam." Oona bumped their shoulders together as they hit the street, still grinning. "But fine, I will settle for that. And the knowledge that I am the only person who knows who you are under the mask,”

“Annie knows,” Ramona immediately responded. 

Oona gave a dramatic sigh, “fine, the second person to know,”

Ramona squeezed her hand, “second’s still pretty exclusive. And you found out on your own,”

“You told Annie?!” Oona exclaimed. 

“No, she saw me in my suit in our apartment,”

“Okay, see now I have to hear every story possible that you’ve kept from me these past months. Like, start from the very beginning,”  

Ramona laughed fondly, “okay, well first there was a spider bite-,”

***

A couple of days later, Ramona pushed open the apartment door expecting a quiet Tuesday evening. She had just gone to the supermarket for her and Annie, but when she returned, all of a sudden people were jumping out from behind the couch, streamers were taped around the room, fairylights hung, and a giant banner hung across the wall reading I TOLD YOU SO!

She stopped dead in the doorway, "what is happening right now."

"Surprise!" Annie appeared, “it’s an I told you so party,”

"Oh my god."

She glanced around the room. Luckily, there wasn’t that many people. Just Annie, Oona, Ellis, Sully, Connor and Maple, all staring smiling at her. 

"Because I called it. Weeks ago. Do you remember that conversation and how you promised I could throw a party if Oona liked you back?” Annie continued. 

“And I’m really sorry,” Oona cut in, moving in to grab Ramona by the hand and pull her further into the room, “but I really, really do,”

"I hate parties," Ramona tried to rebut, but it wasn’t very believable. 

"Well you promised me so you now don’t get a say,”

“Happy birthday little sis!” Connor exclaimed, clearly having paid zero attention as to why he was actually here. 

“It isn’t her birthday,” Sully whispered to him.

“So what’s the point of all this? I heard party and I kinda went all in,”

Sully looked between him and the others, patting Connor on the back. “I’ll explain it to you later,”

“Sully made a cake, of course,” Annie continued, leading Ramona and Oona over to a picture perfect double tiered cake. “And Maple helped me make the sign, and Ellis helped me set up the decorations. It was really a team effort,”

“About as much of a team effort as it was to finally convince you two that you’re meant to be together,” Maple pointed out. 

“Maple!” Oona exclaimed, laughing, “I figured this out all on my own, thank you very much.” 

“Annie and I have been plotting for like a year now, so I doubt it,” 

Annie walked over and wrapped an arm around Maple’s shoulders. 

“Exactly, so this party is more for our hard work than it is for you, Ramona. So you better enjoy it,”

Ramona sighed as dramatically as she could. 

"Fine," she muttered. "Fine. I'll have a good time."

"That's the spirit,” Oona kissed Ramona on the temple. 

 The party swept forward from there, the small apartment somehow holding more warmth than its small size should have allowed. Ramona found herself laughing and eating cake, enjoying the experience more than she thought she would.

Across the room, Sully had cornered Connor into a full debate about pizza toppings.

“Sully, pineapple is practically what makes a pizza,” Connor argued. And Sully looked like he was about to lose his mind in real time. 

Nearby, Maple and Oona were joking with one another as they ate cake, and Oona stole a strawberry that was on her sister’s slice, much to Maple’s dismay. She then proceeded to steal singular strawberries off of the rest of the uncut cake and sharing them with Maple, both of them on the lookout for Sully or Annie’s scoldings. 

Annie however, was too busy sitting on the couch with Ellis. The two of them seemed to just be in a completely lovely and pleasant conversation, smiling and laughing often. Ramona couldn’t help but notice the way their knees grazed one another occasionally, and how neither of them pulled away. Maybe she’d be the one having to throw an I told you so party someday soon.

Ramona watched all of it happen from the edge of the room, content. All of the people she loved in one space, nothing changing for her relationships after finding out her secret. One day, she’d get the guts to tell all of her friends, because they did deserve to know. For now, she was quite content with how her life was.

Oona found her way back to Ramona eventually, slipping an arm around her waist, following her gaze across the room.

"Are you having a good time?”

“Surprisingly, yeah,” Ramona replied tenderly. 

“You’re just a softie at heart,” Oona teased. 

Ramona turned to her, the edges of her mouth lifting, “only for you,”

“Okay that was almost too cheesy,” Oona said with a laugh. 

Ramona wanted to tell her to shut up, but instead, she did so with her mouth, capturing Oona’s mouth with her own. When they leaned back, Ramona let her head tilt onto Oona’s shoulder. 

For a moment, she let herself forget everything else.

The noise of the party faded into the background, replaced by Oona’s quiet laughter and the warmth of her beside her. Ramona smiled, watching their friends across the room. It was strange, almost, how normal everything felt. How right.

Then her phone buzzed.

Ramona sighed, pulling it from her pocket and glancing down at the screen.

A crime alert notification.

Oona noticed the change in her expression. “Spidey stuff?”

Ramona looked back at her, a little nervously. “Yeah.”

Oona simply smiled. “You should go,” 

Ramona hesitated. “But–,”

“Ramona.” Oona gave her waist a gentle squeeze. “Go save the day.”

Ramona smiled, leaning in to press one last kiss against Oona’s lips.

“I’ll be back.”

“I know.”

Ramona slipped away from the party, already reaching for her backpack with her suit in it as she headed for the front door. She glanced back one last time.

Oona was still watching her. Ramona smiled.

At that moment, she realised that she didn’t have to be two people. She didn’t need to act as if Ramona and Spider-Woman were two different people, like she had with Oona initially. Instead, Spider-Woman was a part of her. A part that she didn’t need to give up to be with the friends who knew and loved her. Annie knew, and she still considered Ramona to be just her little sister. Oona knew, and she loved both parts of her, not as if they were two different people, but just two elements of the girl she loved. 

And it wasn’t just Spider-Woman saving the day, but Ramona too. She could be proud of herself for that. She didn’t need to hide behind a mask anymore, not with Annie, not with Oona, and now she saw, not with herself either. 

And so when Ramona left, it wasn’t like she was leaving one life behind at the party, for another. It was just Ramona stepping out the door, heading off to save the day before she came home to her family once more.