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There's nothing that I wouldn't do (I'll find my way back to you)
Hands swirled in the dark of the Sanctum Sanctorum as Doctor Strange opened two portals. Golden embers hissed to life. Sparks of light shimmered on three maskless Spider-Men.
“All right… well.”
Doctor Strange let out a chuckle.
“Peter, Peter, and Peter. It’s been a pleasure fighting evil with you tonight.”
“Thanks for your help, Doc,” said the eldest Peter Parker with an awkward grin. He turned to his younger counterparts and nodded, pride and joy shining in his eyes. “I think it’s time to go. And remember, guys…”
He paused… before he finished:
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
The others nodded. With a solemn shake of the head in return, the eldest Peter Parker turned towards the portal.
Jazz music drifted in.
A fond smile pulled at his lips.
“I’m coming, Mary Jane.”
With that, Peter jumped. He vanished in a flash of light.
He appeared in a dark alleyway next to a jazz club he knew well. Warm night air grounded him, quieted his thoughts. Almost without thinking, Peter switched into his change of clothes - a gift from Stephen Strange - and walked up to the club. His feet guided him inside until he stood in front of that stage where she stood. Singing I’m Through With Love.
He just hoped she wasn’t through with him.
He knew she wasn’t when they shared a glance.
Peter offered Mary Jane a hand.
She took it.
He pulled her close, graceful and elegant, and they started to dance.
They weren’t through with each other.
They’d never be.
Silence, soft and blanket-like, fell on the Sanctum. Two Peter Parkers and a strange doctor gazed at each other in silence. Until…
“So I guess it’s my time to go, too.”
A sigh rocking his entire body, the second eldest Peter Parker squared his shoulders. He turned towards his own portal. Before he left, though, there was something he still had to say. He turned his head back towards Doctor Strange and, especially, his younger counterpart.
“Take care of MJ, kid. You never know who you’re going to lose too soon.”
With that, he faced the portal again. Peter took in a deep breath. In… and out. Words weighted on his shoulders. Atlas carrying the world.
“Um… about that. Peter?”
Two Spider-Men turned to Doctor Strange. He waved a hand. Impatient.
“No, no, no. That one.”
The second eldest Peter pointed at his chest.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. I, uh… you know how the multiverse works in mysterious ways? You never know what’s going to happen next, right?”
Peter blinked. Twice. “Right.”
“Right!” Another chuckle. Another wave of hands. “So, huh… there may have been some miscalculations about the universe you’re going to come back to.”
“Like what? There’s gonna be two Green Goblins destroying New York or something?”
“No! That’s not what I meant.” Strange pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look. I just wanted to warn you… about… um…!”
“Stephen!” intervened the youngest Peter. “Urgh, still feels weird to say that. Anyway. Stephen! Cut it out.”
“Sure.”
The Sorcerer Supreme straightened his back, pulled on his tunic, and smiled. He smiled a rather… strange kind of smile, full of wisdom, a hint of teasing, and some… was there some longing in there? Perhaps?
“There’s someone we both know waiting for you on the other side.”
The second eldest Peter’s face went slack. Jaw relaxed, eyebrows raised slightly. Something changed in his eyes. Something shined. Memories. Hope. An old life born anew.
“You don’t mean…?”
He never had the time to finish that sentence.
He didn’t need to, anyway.
“Peter?”
Peter spun around. That voice. He knew that voice! He hadn’t heard it in… oh, was it days, months, years? It felt like a lifetime ago. And yet he’d remember it amongst hundreds, amongst thousands. That voice.
Her voice.
“Gwen?”
Without hesitation, Peter jumped through the portal.
He barely registered any of it - the feeling of home, the smells and sights and sounds of his New York. He could only see and hear and think her. Gwen. His Gwen.
He didn’t want to think about how that was even possible.
He just wanted to believe she was real.
Real.
Back from the dead.
Finally, oh finally, Peter emerged from a hole in a brick wall. And there she was, a ray of sunshine amidst a dark alleyway. Haloed like an angel under the golden light of a street lamp.
She was there. Her whole perfect self.
“Peter! Wha-!”
His laughter cut her off. He swept her off her feet, spun her around and held her tight. So tight, it hurt. It hurt so good.
It was her, it was her, it was really her!
“Peter!” her voice giggled in the crook of his neck. “What’s going on?”
Peter shifted Gwen in his arms, and though her feet still never touched the ground, he shifted her enough so he could look her in the eyes. In her beautiful eyes. So bright and full of life. His hand automatically stroked her cheek, moving hair away from her face. He smiled the smile he could only smile for her.
“Nothing. I’m just… so glad to see you.”
“Where were you? I wanted to help you fight Electro but I couldn’t find you anywhere! I’m sorry, I…!”
“No! No, no, no, no, no!”
Peter kissed every inch of her face, her nose and eyelids and cheeks and lips, again and again and again, punctuating each no with a kiss. Finally, he pulled away. Breathless, yet elated, he said:
“You don’t get to be sorry! I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have protected you. I should’ve… should’ve gotten there in time! I’m sorry, Gwen. I’m so sorry!”
“Is it…” She grinned against his skin; a little dazed he was sure. “Is it about Oxford?”
“No. It’s about…”
Words he couldn’t say itched in his throat.
It was about her death.
She’d been dead.
And now she wasn’t anymore.
“We’ll find a way. Okay? I can’t leave New York and you have to go to Oxford. I get that. But we’ll find a way. You’re my path. Have I told you that already? It doesn’t matter, I’ll say it again. You’re my path. My one and only path. We’ll make it work. I swear we will.”
“About that…”
Peter swallowed all the words he wanted to say. He’d have enough time to say them, he was sure. That was what Doctor Strange had given him.
Time.
The gift of time.
“Yes?”
“When I applied to Oxford…” Gwen’s eyes shined with mischief. “I also applied to New York University. Just in case. And… I just received my acceptance letter. They said yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes!”
Peter’s eyes widened. Was he… was he hearing this right?
“So you’re not moving to England?”
“So I’m not moving to England.”
Their whole faces cracked into their widest grins yet. With a strangled laugh, Peter hugged Gwen tight again. Burying his face in her hair.
She was real, she was real, she was…! And this was...!
This was real!
“That’s amazing! But… But I don’t want you to sacrifice your dreams for me. You deserve the world and I love you so much and I…!”
“I’m not. Trust me, I’m not.”
She guided his face with her hand so he looked at her again. Gwen smiled.
“You’re my path too. I want to fight for you, too. Okay?”
Peter smiled. Easily. So easily.
She made him so happy just by being there. By his side.
“Okay. I like that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. We fight for each other.”
“We do.”
With that, he kissed her again. And she kissed him back. And again… and again…
He never wanted to stop.
They never would have to.
Not today. Not tomorrow.
They had all the time in the world to enjoy each other. Once more.
“Sooooo… um… Stephen?”
Doctor Strange blinked quickly. As if waking from a dream. Or coming up for air after being underwater too long. He gazed around, staring at the empty - well, emptier - room.
“What?”
He looked down at Peter. His own universe’s tiny version of Peter Parker, who carried so much bravery on such small shoulders. Doctor Strange cleared his throat.
“I mean… yes?”
“Are you sure they’re gonna be all right?”
Stephen huffed out a laugh. He put a hand on Peter’s shoulder and guided him towards the staircase. Back to the outside world, now shimmering under the cover of night.
“Yeah, Peter. They’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.”
Soon enough, after a quick trip to the Sanctum Sanctorum’s bathroom, Peter was trotting down the street, a spring in his step and his Spider-Man suit secured in his backpack. Around him, no one even spared him a glance. No one knew who he was. Not anymore.
Peter found MJ in front of the theatre. Waiting.
“Finally! The show’s about to start. Where were you, Peter?”
His mind came up empty. Think, Peter, think…
“Huh… A friend of Mr. Stark needed some help with, huh… internship stuff?”
“Oh! Right. The Stark Internship. How’s that going, by the way? Mustn’t be the same since he passed away. It’s been fun, though, I hope?”
“Yeah! There’s never a boring day at Stark Industries.”
With a cheeky grin, MJ offered him her hand.
“Now come on. The Greatest Showman’s waiting. And remember: for Halloween, we’re going as Anne and Phillip.”
“Of course. How could I say no?”
With that, they paid for their tickets and walked inside the theatre. As they were sitting in their seats, MJ turned to Peter.
“Have you heard about that Spider-Guy lately, by the way? It’s been quiet on the superhero front lately.”
Something squeezed Peter’s heart. Something like a mixture of relief and sorrow.
She really didn’t know.
She didn’t remember he was Spider-Man.
But if that allowed him to be with her… he’d do it. He’d take that chance and cast that spell a million times over. Just for her.
He would.
“Nah. I haven’t heard about him. It’s for the best, I guess. It means New York is safe.”
“Yeah. That's true. We're finally safe.”
Finally, the lights were turned out and The Greatest Show on Broadway! started. MJ rested her head in the crook of his neck and he rested his head on top of hers.
They held hands through it all.
Doctor Strange stood at the Sanctum’s window, the Eye of Agamotto casting asymmetrical shadows on him. Everything was so quiet once more. Wong was gone for now - he’d said something about having to go on a mission, the secret kind of course - and now there was only him.
Him and silence.
Something wrapped itself around his shoulders. Stephen laughed.
All right. He wasn’t completely alone.
The Cloak was with him, of course. His relic would always remain by his side. Oh, so loyal.
“Hey. We did good. Right, Cloakie?”
In response, the Cloak hugged him tight.
“Aw, you're adorable. For a sentient piece of cloth.”
Stephen let a smile grace his face. A wistful smile. The Cloak wasn't only hugging him for show. He knew it.
“I’m happy for them, too.”
Doctor Strange looked at New York’s skyline glinting like stars in the distance. They’d done good, today. A lot of bad, sure, but also some good, too. Thanks to them, thanks to Doctor Strange and the Spider-Men, the world was safe once more.
“They’re gonna be all right. I just know it.”