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"C'mon, almost done..."
Peter's body aches as he tries to mend his suit. The fabric is torn and dirtied thanks to his latest villain. Thankfully, he has the materials to repair most of it. He can probably scrub out the rest of the dirt later, and then let it dry out before his patrol. That way he won't look like a complete mess.
Even during the holidays, crime doesn't seem to slow down. If anything, Peter has been dealing with more petty crimes and robberies lately. It's kind of sad, since most of them only need money for their families, but Spider-Man can't turn a blind eye to crime. He only has cuts and bruises for the most part, and his healing factor is already working on them. Unfortunately, the guy he fought tonight got in a few good hits, leaving him battered and bruised.
He's so focused on his work that he doesn't notice the small flash from behind him, and he practically jumps so high that he reaches the ceiling when someone taps his shoulder. Peter-3 beams brightly, "are you excited to see us?" He asks as he waves. Looking past his shoulder, Peter can see Peter-2 standing near the doorway. He leaves his suit on the desk and cracks his knuckles.
"What happened to you?" Peter-2 asks, voice laced with concern. Peter glances in his mirror and winces. Ugly splotches of purple and yellow are scattered over his skin in large patches, cuts scattered among the bruising. It's not life-threatening, but it's definitely not a nice thing to look at. Peter-2 takes his face gently in his hands, tilting and turning it to observe the magnitude of his injuries.
"I'm really fine," Peter says as he manages to squirm away from Peter-2's grip. In the minute or so they've been distracted, Peter-3 has already started looking around his apartment with a somewhat confused expression, grimacing at the mostly empty cabinets. Peter blushes slightly, he hasn't been able to get much money recently, so he only has the bare minimum for survival. "Are you looking for something?"
"This place doesn't seem very festive," Peter-3 replies as he shuts the cabinet and looks around the room again. Peter deflates slightly. Right, holidays. Usually, May would be frantic around this time of year, but now it's only him. Well, it's usually only him. Right now he has two houseguests from alternate dimensions, which is not something he thought he would get used to.
"I don't really have anyone to celebrate with, so..."
Peter-3 places a hand to his chest, faking a hurt expression. "You totally do! Why do you think we're here?" He replies. Peter blinks and then turns to Peter-2, who gives him a slightly sheepish smile. He sits up suddenly, eyes widening slowly. They really came over just for him? The thought makes him feel a sort of soft feeling in his chest, one of warmth and comfort.
"Well, we don't know what holidays you usually celebrate, so we might have to adjust a little bit," Peter-2 adds, but he agrees with the overall point. Peter sits up, ignoring the way his body protests the sudden movement. The two Peters start talking as the original stares out the window at the intricate lights and fresh snow. There's a warm, comfortable feeling growing in his chest.
"I don't mind, really. I'm just glad to have someone to talk to." Yeesh, that sounds a lot more sad and desperate out loud. The two of them stare at him for a moment and Peter wants to sink into the floor. His stomach suddenly growls loudly, making his face flush a bright shade of red. He's been surviving off of microwave noodles and chips recently, which isn't awful, but his metabolism definitely wants more.
"Let's just find you something to eat first," Peter-2 replies, slight amusement present on his face, mixed with a bit of worry. Clearly, he saw a glimpse at Peter's sad excuse of a kitchen earlier. Peter nods, trying not to make his hunger too obvious. There's no way they'll be able to cook enough for all three of them, and Peter has been saving up a bit of money for this time of year.
"There's a place down the street that usually gives me a discount, 's not traditional, but it's probably easier than anything else." He waves his money and his ID, which wins over his counterparts. A few moments, and a secured bag of cheap fast food tacos, later, the three of them are settled around his couch, some movie playing on the TV for background noise. It's not great, but it can keep Peter's attention well enough.
"...Thanks, by the way. For coming all this way just for me," Peter says after a moment. After that spell, he's been all on his own. It's been making it harder to appreciate small things like this. He's gone from freaking out over a dirty suit to settled between two people he considers family, the feeling of being cared for is sweet and gentle.
"You don't have to thank us," Peter-3 replies. "After all, what's the point of having a brother if you won't fuck with the multiverse to visit him?" Peter laughs at that. To anyone else, it would seem stupid, but it makes a suprising amount of sense to the three of them. Not even the entire multiverse can keep them apart at this point, a deep familial bond having formed rather quickly.
"I mean, most people probably have siblings that live in the same dimension," Peter-2 replies, earning a light shove to his arm. "But he's right, we're happy to spend time with you, Peter." Once they finish, they eventually end up lying around the couch and laughing at cheesy movies. One of them has a Spider-Man like character, but he's decked out in red and green instead of his usual red and blue. There's some sort of heavy Christmas theming that would make the suit ridiculous any other time of the year.
Peter's eyelids slowly grow heavy as the night continues on. He knows they'll probably be gone when he wakes up, but he feels satisfied with his night. The other two encourage him to actually get some rest, since he's going to do more Spider-Man work tomorrow. Eventually, he can't resist anymore, and he fades into unconsciousness.
Just like he predicted, he's alone when he wakes up. It used to be concerning, but with a slightly larger understanding of the multiverse, he knows they probably just had to get back to their dimensions before things got weird. He cracks his neck and winces from the odd angle he was sleeping at before glancing outside the window with a faint smile.
Maybe his holidays won't be so bad after all.