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When Gwen looked up, her spider-sense screamed. For once in her life, she didn’t react in time.
The girl stood still and watched tons of rubble collapse on her.
Wow, she thought. That one almost had me.
Then she happened to look down, and noted that she could see the toe of a blue pointe shoe peeking out of the rubble. Also, she felt distinctly not-solid. And she was see-through.
Oh, she noted with a faint sense of horror. She didn’t feel dead. And she wasn’t, just somewhere close to it.
Gwen sat- as much as one can sit when one is something akin to a ghost- and waited. She figured either she’d die, or someone would find her.
She watched the battle rage on for hours and felt life slip further and further from her grasp. With a sense of dread, she discovered that she could feel her heartbeat fluttering like the wings of a baby bird. She wanted to shake herself, to yell at her heart not to give up- surely someone would find her soon.
Gwen felt a tugging sensation, as if it were trying to pull her away from her tomb of rubble. She fought desperately against it, clinging furiously to life. She was going to live, dammit.
Gwen Stacy, Spider-Woman, was not going to die. She refused to become another on the endless list of dead girls. She’d fought so fucking hard, and she was going to get that damn happy ending.
So, she reached for that tiny flicker at the back of her mind that let her know that Miles was okay. And she yanked, sending out a desperate cry for him.
—
When Miles felt the tug at the back of his mind, the sheer desperation tugged him off-balance. The battle was over- Spot was gone, his dad was safe, and he’d just been arguing in circles with Miguel for a while.
At Gwen’s call, however, he leapt into the air and made a beeline for where she lay beneath the rubble. The boy looked around desperately, searching for any flicker of her.
And then he saw it.
Bright teal poking out of the rubble.
He dug into the debris, ignoring the protests of his aching muscles. With every rock he tossed aside, he got closer to Gwen. The sharp concrete and glass tore at the fingers of his suit, but he couldn’t be bothered to care. How was he supposed to worry about his suit when Gwen lay entombed in rubble?
Miles finally uncovered her and pulled her out of the rubble. Ever-so-gently, he laid her on flat ground and felt for her pulse. He felt it flutter and give out under his fingertips, and Gwen went eerily still.
“No,” he growled. “Not this time.”
His fingers sparked.
—
Gwen felt herself slipping further and further away, unable to hold on any longer. She let go, and gave herself up to the nothingness that pulled her away from life.
She felt something.
A jolt, like someone had zapped her with static.
Gwen’s sapphire eyes snapped open. Her lungs greedily drew in a breath as she saw Miles hovering above her. She could see his lips moving, but she could only hear a very faint ringing.
Everything hurt. Through the fuzziness of her mind, she concluded that she probably had a couple broken ribs, at least, and probably a nasty concussion to go with it. More as well, she was sure, but she didn’t know quite what. But Gwen was Spider-Woman. She always got back up.
She could just barely hear Miles now, his voice creeping back in. He was murmuring soft words to her, stroking her head as it laid in his lap.
God, it hurt, but Gwen couldn’t help the dorky smile that split her face.
“Hi, Spider-Man.”
“Hey, Spider-Woman.”
Miles grinned stupidly back at her.
Gwen laughed, reaching up for his face.
“C’mere,” she whispered.
Miles leaned his head down towards her, and if you’d asked him, he would’ve told you that Gwen’s smile could have illuminated the whole city. If you’d asked Gwen, she would have told you that Miles looked like an angel, the sun silhouetting his head.
Both of their senses tingled, and Miles pulled Gwen tighter against him, his muscles tightening defensively. He whipped his head around. Sparks danced furiously in his eyes as he recognized the man behind him.
“You.”
“Me.” Miguel stepped forward, his arms crossed over his chest. “You think you’re clever, don’t you? Breaking canon? Sure, maybe it’s possible. Maybe New York won’t collapse if your dad lives.” He stepped forward. “But canon won’t ignore you forever. Especially if it’s the two of you.”
Gwen’s eyes widened in alarm, and she tensed. She struggled wildly in an attempt to get up. Miles helped her sit up, and stayed seated next to her, his arm wrapped protectively around the girl’s shoulders.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Miles asked, his question hanging in the tense air.
Miguel laughed. “You really wanna know?” He pointed a claw at Gwen. “She knows.”
“Miguel, don’t do this,” she warned. “You said you wouldn’t use that against me. You promised.”
“Gwen? What is he talking about?” Miles spoke quietly, glancing at her.
Gwen Stacy struggled to her feet, glaring daggers at Miguel.
“He’s talking about ASM-121. The death of Gwen Stacy. She falls for Spider-man, and then she falls for Spider-Man. It doesn’t go well for her.”
The girl stumbled forward, propelled by the rage and adrenaline of the thousands of dead girls that shared her name and the fate that canon dictated for her.
“Fuck that. I’m not dying to further anyone’s story. I’m not gonna be an inspiration or a martyr. I’m gonna be me, and I get to be selfish and messy and alive. I get to love someone because I love them, not because canon says I have to.”
Gwen squared her shoulders. “Your ‘canon’ can shove it. I’m living a life, not a story. I make the choices here.”
—
Gwen sat cross legged on the ceiling above Miles’ desk, watching as he did his homework. Being a hero didn’t get him off the hook with his parents, clearly, as he was doing extra Spanish work to catch up.
To amuse herself, Gwen was flipping through his sketchbook. Tucked between the pages was a drawing that she hadn’t noticed before. When she got a good look at it, she realized that it was a hasty, scribbled pen drawing of her, slumped in the rubble.
“Miles…?”
He looked up, and his eyes widened. Miles snatched the drawing from her hands and looked away. “You weren’t supposed to see that. I drew it after a nightmare, is all. Just needed to get the fear out somewhere, and…” He trailed off.
Gwen carefully unfolded herself from the ceiling and dropped down to look Miles in the eyes. “Hey. I’m not gonna die. Well,” she paused. “I am someday. But not anytime soon.”
Slowly, Miles looked up to meet her cerulean gaze. “But doesn’t it scare you? Being… close with me?”
Gwen cut him off with a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let the warmth sweep through her. He tasted like something warm and rich that she just couldn’t place.
When they broke apart, she leaned her forehead onto his.
“That,” she said, “is what I think about canon. I’m not scared of what could happen. Are you?”
Miles answered her by kissing her again.
“Does this mean I get to call you my girlfriend?”
“If you want to.”
“Of course I want to. In fact-”
Miles picked her up and spun her around, Gwen giggling all the while.
“Wait- come here.”
He grabbed Gwen’s hand and they ran to the roof.
Miles cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. “Gwen Stacy is my girl!” His words blended into the typical cacophony of a Brooklyn afternoon. “And she’s the coolest in the whole multiverse!”
Gwen practically tackled him in a hug, peppering kisses all over his face. “You’re such a dork,” she said affectionately.
“If I agree, can I have another kiss?”
—
They stayed on the roof until the golden afternoon sun gave way to the cool dusk.