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Miles thinks he's doing alright.
For the last two years since he told his parents he was Spider-Man and defeated The Spot - saving his dad in the process - he's been better at balancing his hero life and personal life.
He has better communication with his parents and he has now new friends. Not only in his dimension, but all over the Spider-Verse. He feels less alone and more comfortable in his own skin, both as Spider-Man and Miles Morales.
He's close to going to university and this time as an art student, like he always wanted. He didn't need to study quantum physics and dimensional travel anymore because he had the means to do it in the palm of his hands, one of the only good things Miguel O'Hara did. His parents were surprisingly relieved to have him give up on physics - his mom knew what his heart truly wanted and his father was sure the subject of his study was stupid at the time, though he would never say it like that.
Everything was going well. Great, even.
Except for his unresolved feelings and his constant avoidance towards the fact.
In the two years since he forgave Gwen Stacy, their relationship was a fine line between friendship and something more, but surrounded by hesitations and hurts that made them drift apart before anything could happen.
She's a friend he's forgiven but still feels a resentment that's mixed with desire and frustration and all the things he didn't know how to feel. He didn't draw her in his notebook anymore, but he still used the drawings of her as reference sometimes and used watercolors more than ever.
She had entered a short and slightly troubled relationship - doomed to failure in her own words - with her bandmate MJ, which lasted less than two months. Nowadays, MJ was dating Glory Grant, another bandmate. The situation would have been confusing for Miles if he didn't know Gwen.
He had also dated his schoolmate, Ava, for a much longer time. They got on well, both liked art and video games, she spoke spanish and was more outgoing than he was. The relationship was good, really, but neither of them liked the other enough to continue after she moved away. They still spoke to each other, and sometimes Miles missed her. His parents liked Ava, as did Ganke and his other friends. Gwen loved Ava, and converted her to punk music.
Three weeks after they broke up, he kissed Gwen after a night patrol in her dimension.
The two of them kissed, it was more honest to say. It was sudden, a response of adrenaline and a silly, unpretentious flirtation on his part.
It ended as quickly as it began and he remembers how Gwen's eyes grew big and filled with tears, making him panic.
"I'm sorry, Miles. Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that." And he felt something heavy in his chest, something bitter in his mouth, because the desperation of her apology seemed the same as the night she came back to rescue him in Earth 42. He didn't understand why that kiss was as repulsive to her as her betrayal.
"Hey, don't worry. I kissed you too." He couldn't look at her anymore, and there was an uncomfortable silence until she spoke again.
"It's late, I think I'd better get home."
He nodded to her as she went down the stairs of the building. He opened the portal and found himself in his own room within minutes, falling backwards onto the bed and grunting in frustration.
He wanted to curse the day he met Gwen Stacy, he wanted half his anger to be directed at her, he wanted to be able to feel something really negative. But all his irritation was directed at himself and the fact that after everything, he was more infatuated than he had been when he was a thirteen year old boy with a crush on an idealized version of this pretty girl he met for a week.
Because now he was weeks away from being eighteen and he knew better. He had been lied to and betrayed by her - and he understood her and her reasoning, but still. Still. He now knew that she was impulsive, stubborn, reckless, had no concept of the rules of sociability, no respect for schedules, no responsibility for her own health and didn't know how to express her feelings.
And yet, he was terribly, shamefully in love with her.
But he had a new sense of pride after having his trust broken and he couldn't give in. He didn't know how long he would go, he always just thought his feelings would suddenly go cold. But he still laughed at her lame jokes, he still smiled at her awkwardness, he still went to see her band that played music he didn't usually listen to, his gaze would always go to her on crowded rooms, his spider-sense would always activate when she was even slightly distressed.
But he could shallow all that and pretend, retain that information from her. Maybe it was a childish revenge, but he allowed himself that.
He would not make any moves.
They were spending New Year's with the Parkers. By them he meant a lot of people. Gwen, Hobie, Margo, Noir, Peni and a lot of the spider-people who could afford to spent time away from their families or didn't have families to spend the holidays with. Pav couldn't convince his parents and for the most part he didn't really want to be away from family and Gayatri. Miles didn't either, at first, but his parents were surprisingly encouraging. He wondered if that had anything to do with him going to therapy, and then thinking he was depressed. He wasn't really, he just needed help figuring out some stuff.
So there he was, at the Parkers apartment, with people being loud and eating to their hearts content, jazz music playing while Peter chased Mayday frenetically while she crawled the walls chasing the little red lantern light Hobie was pointing.
New Year's used to be his favorite day. He got to spend half of it with his uncle, they would listen to music, walk around town and go back home to eat anything Miles wanted. It was always fun, but never something be thought would be as meaningful as it was now that he couldn't have it again.
Maybe that was why he was there, running away from a world in which one of the people loved the most fell dead in front of him. He couldn't help of think of Miguel's words, how he told him Peter Parker was dead because of him. He had failed people before he even felt like Spider-Man, something he wasn't even supposed to be.
Suddenly, the air in the room was scarce and the lights were too bright. It was as if the spider sense had activated, but the symptoms had expanded into something larger and incomprehensible. He felt a cold sweat run down his body and a spasm run down his back.
He stood up suddenly, frantically, asking to be excused as he lurched past the guests towards the porch of the Parkers' house.
Passing through the door, he promptly leaned on the balcony, head down as he tried to draw in as much air as possible.
Sometimes this happened, his memories consumed his thoughts in an overwhelming way, the words of others echoed in his head and their doubts became his own. Maybe he shouldn't be this, maybe he didn't belong in this world. Maybe everything would be all right with the universes if Miles Morales wasn't Spider-Man.
He jumped when he felt a hand rest on his back.
"Hey, you okay?"
He turned his head in the direction of Gwen, who was crouching down a little on his side, her hand now caressing his back, her blue eyes scanning his face with a worried, urgent look.
He wanted to say yes because he wanted to believe it. But this was the Miles who knew better, who knew he didn't need to impress the girl in front of him and knew be should listen to his psychologist.
"No." He said with a shaky voice, his hands gripping the balcony.
Gwen grabbed one of his hands, turning his body towards hers and making him stand up straight. He realized that his hands were shaking. It was hot and cold at the same time. The world was suffocating.
"Do you want to sit down?" She asked, cautiously.
"I don't want to come in again." He admitted.
"All right." He squeezed his hand affectionately. "We can sit right here." She nodded towards the floor, and Miles could hear his mother's voice arguing with him for sitting on the floor in his new clothes, but he thought the trembling in his legs and the dizziness he felt would be fair arguments to justify his act.
He sat down guided by Gwen who was now holding his hands, and for a few moments that his mind was unable to calculate, they continued to sit on the floor of the Parkers' balcony holding hands and freezing their asses off. For Miles, it was an out-of-body experience. He believes that anxiety ate away at his cognitive functions for a good few minutes, but Gwen began to nod her head slightly and hum a tune softly.
This roused him from his trance and made his gaze fall on her, who stared out into the starless darkness, her thoughts seeming as far away as his had been a few minutes ago.
"Hey." He said softly, not knowing what he was getting at.
"Hey." He offered with a smile, her gaze still distant.
"Thanks."
With that, she turned to him. There was something in her expression that made Miles hold his breath and his eyes dry from refusing to blink. He couldn't read her gaze, but he knew it carried more than he was prepared to handle at that moment when grief haunted him.
He waited for her following words like one waits for a punch.
"What are friends for?" And she smiled again, gripping his hands tighter.
He knew that her words were automated and that something was being hidden, something that had been hanging in the air between them for too long. Something that was begging to come out.
But also something he wasn't ready to deal with there. And he believes she wasn't either.
He let go of her hands.
Her gaze quickly went to the floor, her posture slumping.
Miles pulled her by the waist, hugging her slightly uncomfortably, with both of them still on the floor and her cradled between his legs.
She made a noise like someone who opens their mouth before thinking about what to say and gives up before formulating any words.
She then adjusted herself and leaned her head against his chest, relaxing her body.
No one seemed to notice their absence, or perhaps it was a deliberate choice to respect the privacy of the moment.
They remained on the floor until the fireworks started, and when they entered, no questions were asked.
They spend a good while without seeing each other after. Not a deliberate choice, they just got busy. But when Hobie suggested they all crashed at his place, they spend time together for the first time in two months, walking around Old York with Hobie and his friends, and then going home to watch horror movies Miles didn't like much.
He was glad when it was time to sleep because he felt exhausted. He just fell into the mattress Hobie put down for him and immediately fell asleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night, he woke up suddenly, his chest moving violently, his cheeks cold with tears he didn't remember shedding.
He closed his eyes tightly, trying to control his breathing.
It was still difficult, and he didn't know why. It was all right. He was going to therapy, his family was safe, his friends were out of danger, he was going to college to study what he liked. Everything was moving towards the best moment of his life. But he felt this pressure on the back of his neck, the weight of something coming to knock him down. A reminder that all this would never be enough because he wasn't; he wasn't meant to be anything.
You proved Miguel wrong, man. Hobie said it once. Don't let his words haunt you. He was wrong, there are no anomalies.
And his rational side knew it, but something louder screamed inside him and made him wake up in a cold sweat and tears.
"Why are you awake?" A sleepy Gwen asked, rubbing her eyes. He hadn't noticed that she had slept on the mattress next to his; he was exhausted when he laid down.
And by the looks of it, so was she. It was dark, but he could see that the girl in front of him couldn't keep her eyes open. He smiled slightly. She was so cute.
"Yes, I think I've lost sleep." It wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth.
"Meet it up again, I don't think I will be able to stay up with you." She murmured, her voice muffled by her mouth pressed against the mattress. Her hair - now grown on both sides - spilled out all over the place. She slept all curled up, as if she felt cold. But she wasn't wearing a blanket.
"You don't have to stay awake, Gwen, I'm not afraid of the dark." He joked, flicking her arm playfully.
"I don't want to leave you alone." Her voice sounded softer, and he was glad she kept her eyes closed because he knew all his emotions always shined in his face and something in him broke at her words.
He'd blame it on post-nightmare sensitivity.
"You're here by my side. I'm not alone." He promised, to her and himself.
With that, she forced herself to open her eyes a little, and in the dim light she was all shades of purple. Her eyelids threatened to close again but she crawled from her mattress to Miles', falling onto his side.
He was startled, paralyzed on the bed. She didn't come any closer, there was a small space between them, but she stared at him with her tired eyes.
Gwen was like that, and it was something that took him a while to understand and get used to. She had a few quirks when it came to social conventions, and it had more to do with her upbringing than the culture of her dimension.
He imagined that this was one of the differences between them. Gwen saw no problem in sharing a bed, or touching him often, or even kissing him once or twice. Six times, to be exact.
He didn't know what to think of her actions and his reciprocity. He hugged her back, he leaned into her touches, he kissed her and asked no questions afterwards.
Perhaps he didn't know what to ask. Perhaps he was afraid of the answer.
But it made him feel good. And he was so damn tired of not feeling good.
"I think I'm going to fall asleep." Her words were followed by a yawn and her body relaxing on the mattress, moving a little closer to Miles.
She grabbed one of his hands, bringing it closer to her chest and holding on. She quickly fell asleep after, and Miles could feel her heartbeat on the back of his hand that was enveloped by hers.
It still took a while for him to be able to fall asleep again, but when he did, he had no nightmares.
No one commented on waking up to the two of them laying together.
Later that week, they met up with Pav in his dimension to just hang out. Which turn out to be the three of them running after that dimension's Mysterio, who had been stealing lab equipment from universities.
It was supposed to be quick and easy, it was three against one, and none of them were taking it that seriously. All they had to do was arrest him and go back to pay the ice-cream man they had to ignore to chase after Mysterio.
"I don't think I have that villain in my universe." Gwen commented as they swung their webs through the buildings.
"Yet." Pav added.
"Well, at least that's one good thing to not have. I don't know how you live without Netflix." Miles shook his head, still in denial about the information.
"What's Netflix?" Pav asked, cutting him off as he turned down the avenue, going from one building to another.
"Oh, come on." Miles grunted in frustration. How do these people live?
"I mean, your universe doesn't have Horror Scenes!" Gwen retorted, indignant at the lack of her favorite horror podcast show.
"Thank God?" Miles expressed his gratitude. He didn't understand what she loved so much about this genre.
"Guys, turn left." Pav pointed out. Mysterio had a trail of green smoke. "At least we all have Michael Jackson."
"Who's that?" Gwen asked.
Miles squealed embarrassingly in surprise.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Are they an actor?" She was swinging right by his side now.
"That's it, you're going to live in my dimension. You can share a room with me and Ganke." He heard her laugh in response.
"I love you two, and I would never say that in any other situation, but leave the proposals aside for now. He's heading for the subway." Pav let go to get down faster and the others followed.
"Hey." Gwen elbowed him lightly when they were back on the ground. "I'm kidding, we've got Michael Jackson."
"All is not lost."
"One of the best country singers of the decade." With that, she ran ahead of him behind Pav.
"Please, tell me you're joking." He screamed after her, following onto the subway station.
People were running out screaming, garbage everywhere and lots of bags abandoned on the ground. Miles helped a lady with two children up the stairs, but when he entered again Pav and Gwen had already captured Mysterio, and he was webbed to the iron pillar. Gwen had her mask down and was breathing heavily, some of her hair sticking to her neck.
"Well, that was quick." Miles commented. "What do we do now?"
Before he could answer, the trapped man spat a rounded device in Gwen's direction, which she grabbed by reflex. They stared at each other for a few seconds until the small dome exploded in a puff of green smoke, and Gwen dropped it to the ground.
Miles looked between the girl and the man tied to the wall, who was now struggling urgently.
"What's that? What have you done?" He raised his voice.
"Miles, don't worry. I'll take him away. You take care of Gwen. That's just a gas to disorient her, it doesn't do any more harm than that." Pavitr pulled back the webs and then pushed Mysterio to the ground, cradling him like a gift as he protested.
Miles glanced back at Gwen, whose gaze was unfocused and who remained paralyzed in the same spot.
"Gwen?" She turned slowly towards him, and lost her balance.
He leaned forward to catch her.
"Hey, hey. It's okay." Her weight was all on him, she couldn't seem to stand up.
"Dad, I don't want to die." She cried.
Miles looked back at Pav, who had Mysterio on his shoulders, carrying him like he was nothing. He had forgotten how strong Pav was, probably the youngest spider-person to have such physical strength.
"They're just hallucinations. It's happened to me before." He replied to Miles' frightened look. "But I promise she'll be fine. Take her to Miguel."
Miles felt the veins in his forehead pulsate, and just nodded as the other boy moved on with Mysterio.
He continued to hold Gwen for a moment, thinking about having to face Miguel again. They hadn't spoken for a long time, sometimes meeting and greeting each other followed by silence. Miguel had also been forgiven by him, but he couldn't lie and say he liked the guy.
"Please, I don't wanna die. I'm scared. I don't want to go." Gwen was whispering with a shaky tone, shivering in his arms. He held on a little tighter, feeling his stomach drop at her fright. He knew it wasn't real but she didn't know that.
"Gwen, it's Miles." He left a hand on her waist to ground her and touched her cheek with the other, guiding her to look at him. "You're okay. Nothing will happen to you."
"Miles." She repeated his name like she was learning it and her eyes were wide and searching his while face for something. She was so scared it was scaring him. "I want to see my mom but I don't want to die. I'm scared of going, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
He immediately hugged her but her body melted against him and he had to pick her up, adjusting her legs against his torso, her head resting on his shoulders. He could feel her sobs vibrate through his body.
"I'm taking you to Miguel." His name felt rotted in his mouth but he wanted to reassure her. Miguel would know what to do. "It's going to be okay."
She sobbed harder.
"You can let me die. I know you hate me." Despite her words, she held him tighter.
He was already opening a portal, but her words made him freeze. He wanted to remind himself she was allucinating, her mind was fuzzy and her words nonsensical. But his heart was beating so fast he felt like he was the one about to pass out.
"I...I'm not a good friend..." Her voice was distant and her tone so low it sounded like her singing voice. "Sorry...I want to sleep and I will die when I do...If I close my eyes I think...It hurts."
He didn't know if she was making any sense anymore. He didn't know what she was feeling or seeing. He thinks he was just as scared as she was; his hand trembling while holding up the dimensional-travel watch.
"You'll be okay, you can sleep." He pressed the watch, feeling a sudden urgency.
"No." He could hear that she was almost falling asleep.
"Okay, we can keep talking so you arrive there awake. Just talk to me." A big colorful portal opened up in front of them.
As soon as he stepped in, he heard her.
"I love you, I love you, Miles."
She kept repeating it in small whispers until she fell asleep. When they reached Miguel, Miles handed her to a doctor at HQ and fell into a chair. When he finally took his mask off, it was stained with tears.
He didn't come back to see her after. Hobie was the one to notify him that she was fine. He sent her a message apologizing and expressing his joy about her being fine, saying he would contact her soon so they could hang out.
A month had passed and he was staring at his ceiling, reminiscent of her words.
He didn't know how to interpret his feelings, he just felt overwhelmed by it all. Almost three years had passed since they were standing on a building while he hugged her and accepted her formal apology. And after all that time, they had this weird relationship he didn't know how to call.
Hobie would joke that it was the worst situationship in history. Miles wasn't sure what that was.
She was his friend, but he didn't feel like she was just that. He also didn't know what else she was. He knew she had kissed him four times and he had kissed her two times, and it felt so good and right but they always eventually moved away. She always looked guilty and he felt mad. But they didn't communicate, just pretended nothing happened.
Waiting for it to happen again, waiting to get hurt by desires they didn't know how to handle.
And why did they have to handle and not just give in to it? Why was she so scared but still kissed him, still held him, still cried announcing she loved him while her mind played tricks promising she was on the verge of death?
She once told him death loved Gwen Stacy. Maybe she still believed it would come for her sooner than later, even when he proved her wrong about canon events.
Maybe she was afraid that this love - and he had to admit he did tremble at the word too - would kill her anyway.
And the thing was, he was just as terrified. With different reasoning. He didn't think she would hurt him or betray his trust again, but she did before because she thought he couldn't handle the truth. She had this protective view of him, protecting him even from herself, and he was afraid he would never be able to truly reach her. He was afraid she would always view him as something she could break.
He brought his hands to his face, resisting the urge to scream.
He jumped when he heard a tap on his window.
He looked up to see Gwen, sitting outside with her suit on and her mask in her hands. The ends of her hair were pink again, but a lighter shade. Her strands looked a little wavy. She looked beautiful.
He realized he hadn't moved and she was looking at him a little apprehensively. He walked over to her window to open it, even though he knew she could do it herself. She wanted his permission to enter.
"Hi, Miles." She greeted him as soon as she stepped into his room.
"Hi, Gwen." He replied, extending his arm to close the window behind her.
She approached him, her eyes focused on his. But she hesitated, her mouth opening and closing, her eyes blinking rapidly. Miles continued to stand there, staring at her as if she were a predator, as if any movement could kill him.
"I'm sorry, I kept waiting for you to talk to me. I know you've been busy, I just wanted to see you and thank you for helping me that day." She broke the silence, crossing her arms around her waist.
"What are friends for?" He repeated her words, but with a certain bitterness.
Her narrowed eyes let him know that she had picked up on the sentiment, and she walked past him to sit on his bed. He remained standing.
"I'm sorry, all the same. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble." She had her legs stretched out on the floor and was staring at his blue converse. Which had once been Hobie's, and were now hers.
"You didn't cause me any trouble. That's what we do. You'd do the same for me." He said, knowing it to be true. Regardless of any turmoil or doubt in their relationship, where they were now let him know that they would take care of each other.
"I remember what I said to you. I'm sorry I scared you." Her gaze turned to him again.
"What do you remember?" And he swallowed as he waited for the answer, because thinking back on it had left him mulling over his feelings for a month.
"Everything." Her eyes were intense and didn't stray from his. It was a confession.
"You don't need to apologize." He meant it. Not only she didn't need to, he didn't want her to feel sorry.
"Miles-"
"What are you so afraid of?" He finally broke. Even his voice came out weird, loud and hoarse.
"What?" She seemed taken back by his sudden change of tone.
"Canon events aren't real. Is it so bad that you have feelings for me?" She flinched at his words, biting her bottom lip.
"Is it not?"
"Why? Why would it be? What's wrong with me?" He questioned her, moving around his room impatiently.
"What? Miles! There's absolutely nothing wrong with you, you're perfect." She quickly corrected him, offended by his thoughts. "It's not about you, it's about me."
He scoffed, rolling his eyes at her.
"What, are we in a telenovena? What does that even mean?" He shook his head in frustration.
"Why would you want to be with me after everything I've done?" She responded, in a low tone. "And I'm not...I'm not trying to play victim or try to look for pity, it just doesn't make sense. Why don't you want better?"
"Why do you keep assuming what's better for me? You're not my mom." He closed his eyes and released a deep breath. He didn't want to be rude with her. He was just fed up. "I forgave you, didn't I? You saved my father. It's been three years and you've been around my parents, they don't blame you for anything. Why do you want me to hate you and think you're a bad person?"
"I don't want that." She shook her head blinking away her tears. "That's the last thing I want."
"Than stop pushing me away!" He pointed his hands to himself, exasperated, desperate to move her away from whatever mindset had her still so closed to everything. So closed to him.
"I don't want to hurt you." Her voice was heavy again. He knew she was holding back so much. He just wanted her to let go, so he could too.
"Then don't." He moved to sit next to her. She swallowed, looking up to his ceiling in distress.
"I just feel..." She finally looked at him again, and he nodded to encourage her to go on. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me. But on your end, maybe it would've been better if we never met."
"So I would be alone?" He questioned her. "There's no rules to anything. Meeting you was great. Yes, you hurt me and lied. I got over it, now it's your turn."
"What if I hurt you again?"
"Then Hobie will beat your ass." He shrugged, putting a strand of hair behind her ear and then keeping his hand behind her neck.
She heard her nervous shaky laugh and he wanted to kiss it out of her.
He hated this barrier they built, hated how it was easier and simultaneously harder than it looked to break it. He had the trust issues mixed with a slight insecurity and she had the self hatred and self sabotage. What a pair they made.
He sighed, tired of standing behind a line.
"If you want my well-being, if you want me to be happy, you have to stop making up scenarios in your head about what can help me." He rested his forehead on hears, letting out a sigh. "You have to just ask me. I know what I need and what I want."
"And what is that?" She asked, breathless.
"You." He was looking at her lips, so he could see her parting them, no words coming out. Her hands held on to his jacket. They were trembling.
Please, don't leave again.
Choose me.
She pulled at his coat, as she had done more than once before, and kissed him. His hands instantly went to her face, pressing her against him in controlled desperation.
He could almost feel his heartbeat vibrating against her mouth, shocking her whole body. Gwen's cold hands went down to his waist, squeezing him. He jumped a little at the cold and she laughed agaisnt his mouth. He kissed her again, shallowing her laugh, drowning in her breaths. He kissed her again and again and again until he was dizzy. Until she was resting her head on his shoulder, pressing lazy kisses to his neck.
"Will you tell me again?" He whispered to her ear. "Without feeling sorry?"
For a moment she just hugged him tighter, but then she pressed her mouth to his cheek before giving in.
"I love you, Miles."
"She won't like me."
"Huh? Did your green goblin hit your head that hard?" He gently grabbed her head, checking her scalp. She playfully slapped his hand away. "She knows you. She already likes you, you know that."
"She knows me as your friend." She rolled her eyes.
"I mean, you're still my friend." He offered, elbowing her.
She gave him a look.
"Geez, relax, Gwanda." He placed one of his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him.
"Take a deep breath. I'm going to press the doorbell." She rolled her eyes again, masking her nervousness.
The door opened and his mother immediately smiled, pulling him into a hug and murmuring the usual greetings in a mix of spanglish that only she was allowed to use around the house. He smiled with his cheeks npw marked with dark red lipstick.
She then turned to Gwen, who had her hands clasped in front of her body and a completely unnatural posture for her. Her face was paler than usual and Miles really wanted to feel sympathy, but he had to stop himself from laughing.
His mother seemed to do the same.
"And look who's back!" Rio pulled the anxious girl into a big hug, which took Gwen a while to reciprocate. He doesn't think those two ever hugged before. It made him grow a stupid smile on his face that had his mom smiling back once she let go of the girl.
"Thank you for having me again, Mrs. Morales." Gwen responded, stealing a quick glance at Miles who sensed her discomfort again and held her hand. For reasons he was still learning, he knew she had trouble dealing with people. In general. He knew it was different for her, and he was getting to know why. They were learning a lot together, because they wanted to and allowed themselves that.
He knew they were scared of a lot, he knew there was a lot yet to learn, and he wasn't done falling for her. He thinks, in his universe, Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy never stop falling for each other. It's an endless way down. Or an endless way up.
"Please." His mom grabbed Gwen's hand, nodding for him to follow them inside too. "Call me Rio."