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In every universe, Gwen Stacy falls for Spider-Man.
And in every universe,
It doesn’t end well.
Miles doesn’t know how he ended up there, but he’s teetering on the edge. His layered sweatshirts don’t shield him from the cold, brutal wind blowing– threatening to knock him over.
"Miles!” Gwen calls out, desperate.
How did it come to this? Miles knows his only way out is over the edge, but he can only think about the happiness that he’d experienced just days before, and how it came to this. To the end.
Gwen snuck through Miles’ window at his dorm, pulling down her mask, revealing her blonde hair, with washed out pink ends. Her smile made his heart bloom, like a flower with a thousand petals that were dying to soak up the sun. She saved him a year ago, she brought him back to his Earth, and together they defied all odds. His universe didn’t collapse. His dad didn’t die. And they did it together.
“Wanna go for a swing?” She asked.
“Just a sec,” He was scribbling down the last bit of his homework assignment. A junior now in his prep school, he was nearing the end, a year away from graduating. He’d gotten the hang of things, balancing his regular life and Spiderman life, but especially school, he had to graduate on time.
Gwen occupied herself by looking around his room, picking things up and inspecting them like she’d never seen action figures in her universe. This time, she didn’t rip the box open (she learned the hard way that Miles preferred to keep things in the box).
“What brings you over here?” Miles asked, watching her turn on Ganke’s computer. “Careful with that. He’ll freak if you delete something. Like one of his games.”
“I’m not a complete dunce, Miles. Just checking things out.”
“Okay! Okay,” He said, arms up in defense. “You never answered my question.”
“Just wanted to come visit my favorite Spiderman.”
Miles felt his cheeks heat up, the petals sprouting from his heart beginning to thud into his ears. “Right. Well, we’re wasting daylight.”
“I’ve been waiting on you.”
Gwen took his hand and yanked him along. Together, they swung along city skyscrapers. Miles would never get used to the feeling, the adrenaline of falling and falling, then catching himself, lurching himself forward again. They wove in and out of tight spaces between big trucks, under bridges, from rooftop to rooftop. The sound of their webs catching onto ledges and walls synchronized. Miles was smiling behind his mask, laughing with Gwen who was making quips along the way. She was more carefree now, she tore down the walls she built so high, she let herself have friends. Have a family. But there was a small part of Miles that felt like Gwen wasn’t completely letting go with him, and just him. He tried to push the feeling aside, to shove it down, but there was something tugging at him, begging him to ask.
He led Gwen into a secluded alleyway, one where he often practiced his graffiti, climbing higher atop one of the buildings. He almost called out to her, telling her to wait up, but she let out a loud cheer as she flipped through the alley. Miles found himself smiling, about to shoot another web out to follow, but Gwen stopped suddenly. She looked around (he swore he could see question marks above her head) and dropped to the ground.
“Miles?” She called out, her voice bouncing off the walls. She cleared her voice and with a deeper tone, called, “I mean-uh- Spiderman? Where’d you go?”
Miles’ smile grew wider, concealing a laugh. Gwen tried to hide it, but she was just as much of a dork as he was. With a quiet thwip he cast a web to the edge of a fire escape, and with just the right timing, flung himself backward from the building, landing upside down in front of her.
“Miles!” She yelped before hitting his shoulder, hard enough to send him swinging towards the wall.
His back hit the brick wall with a thud. “Hey!” He huffed, but he was laughing, rubbing his back with one hand while the other reached up to take off his mask. “So, I can say I successfully scared Gwen Stacy? That’s being crossed off my list.”
“Your list of what?” Gwen didn’t take her mask off, but she was raising her eyebrow.
“Bucket list.”
“Don’t be so morbid, Miles,” She said and reached over, taking his mask from his hand. “And put this back on. Someone could see.”
“No one comes down this alley, ever. I promise, I’ve been here a lot,” He reached forward to grab it back but she pulled her arm away. “No fair.”
“You’re pouting,” She said pointedly.
“C’mon, you find it cute!”
Gwen crossed her arms. Her stare was unwavering, but she relented, handing it back to him.
Miles could feel the blood beginning to rush to his head, but he liked this angle of the world. “Why are you holding back on me?”
Gwen seemed taken aback, “I’m not holding back.”
“You are,” Miles said. And, god, he was beginning to doubt everything.
Gwen peeled off her mask, her hair somehow perfectly coming into place. Her lips tightened and he could see the way she was thinking. Mapping out every answer carefully, deciding which route would lead to a good outcome.
And Miles feels so stupid. He wants to hide his face and keep swinging and forget he even said anything. Nothing was easy for him, he could only try so hard. It was all he did for everyone, to save the universe, to get good grades, to be your average-friendly-neighborhood Spiderman . To tell Gwen he loved her– he loved her so much every bone in his body craved her smile, her laugh, her determination, her spark.
“In every universe,” Gwen started. Her voice was quiet, anguished. “I watched myself die. I mean, the version of myself that fell in love with Spiderman. I watched her die a horrific death. And even though all of this “canon” stuff has been bullshit, I’m terrified . I don’t want to die, Miles, but I love you.” Her hand reached out, pressing her hand to his cheek. Her palm was warm against his cheek, but where her fingertips rested around the line of his chin, they felt electrified.
Miles met her eyes. Even though he was upside down, he could see the fear in her eyes, the way her lips trembled. He knew she’d been through a lot, at some point, everyone and everything she stood for had turned against her. Miguel, her dad, and now she was faced with the fact that because she loves Miles, she could end up paying for it with her life.
He reached up with his free hand, placing it atop hers, “It doesn’t have to end like that,” he told her. We can rewrite the story, make it ours.”
Gwen found her lips turning into a crooked smile, “You think we can do that?”
“We can do anything.”
There was a beat of silence. Gwen ran her thumb delicately against Miles’ chin, “I’m gonna kiss you now, okay?”
“Okay,” Miles whispered back.
Gwen leaned forward and closed the gap between them. Their lips slotted together and Miles could feel every nerve in his body light on fire, every petal in his heart that beat for her blossomed and spiraled out of his chest. And when she pulled away, it felt like it was far too soon, but her cheeks were pink and she was grinning. Then she was laughing, pressing kisses against his cheek and nose, coaxing loud laughs from Miles.
She was free from her final constraints. Together, they would rewrite the story of Gwen and Spiderman– they would no longer be doomed.
Miguel was furious, showing his fangs, closing in on Miles. This was the second time he’d been cornered by him, but this time was different. He was caught off guard, wearing only his hoddie and jeans, he had nothing. His fear was stopping him from becoming invisible, and even if he could reach out and shock Miguel, it most likely wouldn't do much.
Miguel was back with a vengeance. Ferocious. Unforgiving. Beyond the point of anger. He lost everything, his daughter, his universe. It all disappeared in front of his eyes. Yet, a new Spiderman, a fifteen year old who barely had skin in the game, saved his father, defied all odds of “canon” and Earth 1610 didn’t collapse.
“You’re going to kill him!” Gwen yelled, but she was scared to get close. She couldn’t beat him by himself.
“You ruined everything I built,” he spat. His eyes were red and he inched closer, claws dangerously reflecting the light. “You were a mistake. I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance.”
Gwen ran forward, firing a web at Miguel’s wrist, tugging with all her strength. An attempt to knock him off balance, but he slashed through it with his talons. And in a millisecond, he was lunging towards Miles. Miles, who panicked, who’s instincts failed. Instead of ducking and rolling to the side, he got caught off balance and fell backwards, plunging off the ledge.
“Miles!” Gwen cried out. Without thinking, she dove off the ledge in pursuit. Miles was free-falling, plummeting downwards at a deathly speed. His doe eyes were petrified, arms flailing up like he was trying to reach for Gwen, screaming.
Gwen flung webs, trying to connect herself to a ledge or anything that would stick, and using her other hand to try to catch Miles. Please , she willed herself.
Time seemed to slow. Miles became aware of his own demise. He inhaled, eyes locking with Gwen one last time, he mouthed I love you.
She flung out more webs. It caught around a piece of scaffolding on the side of the tower, and finally, she caught Miles around the waist, inches from the ground. His head lolled and there was a snap . Gwen, who thought she saved him, suddenly became aware of the reality. She killed him. The speed of his fall, the force at which she caught him, his body couldn’t withstand it.
“No, Miles, no ,” She lowered to the ground with him, pulling him into her lap, cradling his head. She grabbed his cheeks, looking at his face that was still paralyzed with fear. “Please, Miles, come back to me,” she whispered, unable to see through her own tears. Sobs wracked her body, her arms holding Miles tightly, trying to will him back to life. His eyes, that used to stare so sweetly at her, were lifeless. His body didn’t move, didn’t twitch, didn’t laugh, didn’t lean up to kiss her. His mouth didn't move, didn't say a word. There was no pulse, no heartbeat, no inahles or exhales. He was dead, sprawled across her lap while she cried over his body. Burdened by the knowledge that she killed her best friend, the love of her life. This wasn’t supposed to happen; Miles was never supposed to die, it always should’ve been Gwen. And she wished for a moment that it was her, if anyone deserved this fate it was her, she decided.
The loss, the burden, the weight of it all never left her shoulders. His death was forever etched into her conscience, unwavering. The city around them never stopped, neither did her sorrow. She lived knowing she couldn’t save the person most important to her.
They couldn’t rewrite their story and maybe, they never stood a chance.