Archive of Our Own ^beta

Earth 65

Soft sunlight flickered between the curtains to Gwen’s dorm room. Such was the beauty of her dimension, it covered her room in a gentle marigold watercolor, dispersed by hints of scarlet enveloping the couple on Gwen’s bed. Had one of them gotten up to open the window, they would have smelled that nice fragrance that always nestled in the air after a heavy rainstorm, the scent of freshened trees and grass, of the maples and pines that adorned the dorm area just outside of Gwen’s window.

Gwen had always loved that scent.

But neither of them had thought to get up to open the window. It wasn’t long since they had woken up, and the two of them had happened to find themselves a little preoccupied.

“What about this one?”

Miles’ fingers trailed over the soft skin by Gwen’s belly button till it reached a small scar. He carefully grazed his fingers over it, feeling the almost leather-like skin there. Gwen shuddered ever so slightly at the touch.

Miles paused and looked back at Gwen where her head rested against his arm, her beautiful skin exposed to him, only lightly covered up by a top she had insisted to put on for modesty’s sake. The way a light blush still trailed her cheeks was so endearing to Miles, he resisted the urge to just cover her face (and maybe neck) with kisses. Instead he cleared his throat and waited for her reply, watching as her soft gaze flickered over his hand by her scar and wondered if he had reached one with some particular painful story to it. But instead a half-smile fell to her lips and her fingers joined his by the small dent in her skin among several.

“My dimension’s version of Green Goblin. One of the first ever fights I had, not long after I was bit.”

“Shit…” Miles simultaneously caressed her scar and her fingers hovering by it, and pictured in his mind a fourteen, maybe thirteen year old Gwen battling one of their most notorious enemies, and that soon. He had himself battled Kingpin at fourteen, but strong as that guy was, he hadn’t used deadly projectiles or explosives Miles would have been in danger of suffering some permanent scar from (well, not counting that Kingpin could have killed him, of course). It would be over a year and fighting some dozen more enemies before Miles would get his first scar.

“Yup, it was pretty painful. His glider struck me and left me that.”

Miles snuggled his nose against her temple and placed a light kiss there. Gwen sighed in enjoyment and caressed his fingers in return.

“It healed pretty quickly though. Just not all the way.”

He hummed his sympathy next to her and continued lightly caressing over the scar. A shy smile on Gwen’s face while she moved her gaze to Miles’ chest, strong and defined, and pressed against her side (unlike her, he had not insisted on putting his shirt back on… and it wasn’t like she would complain).

Gwen allowed herself to lift her hand to trace over his skin in return, feeling his strong muscles. Heartbeat once again picked up inside her own chest when she did so. She had been impressed with Miles’ "growth spurt" when he had been fifteen. He was seventeen now, and it only continued to do him favors.

Gwen knew how Miles would occasionally tease her for how… handsy she could get with him, but it couldn’t be helped when they found themselves in this intimacy right now. And she would only tease him right back for being equally touchy with her, after all. Miles especially loved to sneak a hand under her shirt to caress her waist, whether they were watching a movie on the couch or strolling down the street together. It never failed to make her heart flutter or beckon the occasional giggle, a sound that made Miles weak in return.

Gwen’s hand traced over his abdomen and her smile fell when it reached the scar she sought. She softly ran her fingers over it just like Miles had done with hers.

“... hard to believe it’s been two years.”

Miles followed her gaze to the scar and nodded slowly against her.

His first ever scar, courtesy of the Spot. Not that the former “villain of the week” himself had inflicted the wound on him. No, the walking humanoid "Abyss" had settled himself for creating destructive portals all over New York instead, and in a moment of carelessness, Miles had been caught in one. It had sucked him in and then flung him back out with a force so powerful, Miles’ spider-sense had been too late to warn him about a rebar poking out of some skyscraper rubble. By the time he came back to himself from the impact, he had looked down to find the rebar penetrating his lower body, a disturbing amount of blood gushing from the torn entry.

Miles still winced at the memory two years later. It had taken both his super healing, and the tender lifesaving skills of his own mother, to have recovered from it. The end result was a half-moon shaped scar he now shared the exposure of with Gwen’s own in the privacy of her dorm bed. Miles thought it was dramatic enough that he had been left with this permanent marker on his skin (and it no doubt was), what he hadn’t expected was for Gwen to reveal the extent of smaller battle proofs that she herself had scattered on her body. A revelation she had shared with him last night, when she had exposed herself entirely to him for the first time.

They had not meant for it to happen like it did. The spontaneity was still a surprise and left the young Spider couple a little disbelieving and flustered where they lay wrapped in each other’s arms afterwards.

They had been on one of many missions, only this time, it had happened to be in Gwen’s own dimension. She and Miles had been tasked to stop a powerful cartel of which a Mysterio from a different dimension had taken it upon himself to hijack the leadership of.

The illusionist of one Earth 78 had hoped the change in locations would somehow offer a “fresh opportunity” for his misdeeds. Unfamiliar with the recent influx of dimension-traveling superheroes, however, the caped mystery man had not counted on being faced with two Spiders coming for him instead of just one, a miscalculation that Gwen and Miles made sure cost him dearly. Of course, the villain was lucky they hadn't simply decided to send a whole group after him, but Gwen and Miles had insisted they would take him on their own, something they often liked to do.

After a lengthy investigation and then an all-out fight was finally won and the two of them had sent the bad guy back to a holding cell in HQ, a dramatic storm had decided to mark their victory.

The previous night

Rain and wind roared around them while the triumphant Spider couple raced back to Gwen's dorm. The currents were so powerful they could barely hear each other shout. The rain was freezing and soaked them to the bone. Any other day, Gwen and Miles would have gone for a victory swing around the city, dancing in the sky like only they could and chasing the sunlight of either the setting or the rising sun together.

This was decidedly not one of those days.

Finally scrambling through the window of Gwen’s dorm, adrenaline and laughter filled the room while they hurried out of their soaked Spider-suits and into some dry clothes. They pulled their masks off and wrung them, watching as brief, yet solid streams of water spilled from the fabric onto Gwen's carpet. A disbelieving look exchanged between them and they burst into a new round of laughter.

"Damn, Mother Nature wasn't on our side tonight." Miles shivered while pulling the rest of his suit off, being very grateful that he had visited Gwen's dorm enough times that he had left spare clothes for himself there. He could always just travel home if he hadn't, but he really didn't want to leave Gwen yet. It was the weekend after all. As long as she was free, he hoped to spend the night.

"No shit?? I can't remember ever swinging through a storm like that before, or having my suit this drenched. This is definitely a new." Gwen's shivering matched Miles' while she also peeled off her suit, revealing her black sports underwear underneath.

Gwen reached for a dry top when she felt Miles' eyes on her. She turned to see him not even hiding that his gaze was wandering over her exposed body, his lips forming a smile that was somehow both tender and teasing at the same time, and it made her knees wobble. Why would he hide his gaze after they'd been dating for this long, after all? Gwen swallowed and shot him a mock-offended expression, but it must have been evident to him how little she meant it. She wanted to return the favour by checking his body out in return, but was thwarted by the fact he had already gotten a loose shirt on. Unfair, Gwen thought. Why had he been so quick to change clothes? She certainly wouldn't have minded admiring him a little like he was doing with her right now.

Gwen was about to say something, to half-heartedly tell him to "keep his eyes to himself" or something, when he turned away on his own, a darker shade to his cheeks as he did. He bit his lip and Gwen couldn't get over how attractive it looked when he did that.

Gwen drew a slow breath at a sudden atmosphere that had emerged between them. The relaxed laughter they’d shared just moments ago had awkwardly died out. The sound of the rain drumming against her window and the shuffling of their clothes were the only ones present, and it became impossibly loud to their ears.

“Man… even through the mask, my hair got soaked. It’s a mess.” Miles uttered in an attempt to break the silence. He turned back to her with a pout and she laughed in relief as well as how cute he looked at her. Sure enough his afro didn’t look as even as it usually did and he wondered if she had a towel lying around. Gwen threw him one and took one for herself, her own golden hair she had now grown out to be an even shoulder length was dripping tiny creeks down her collarbone.

Drying her locks with the towel, Gwen looked back at Miles to see him wiping through his curls all carefully, as if he was afraid to get them out of shape or something. She scoffed and figured that wouldn’t do.

“Don’t you know how to properly dry your hair or something? C’mere, let me do it.”

Miles had been about to protest, to make some playful remark that maintaining the perfect shape of his hair was a delicate art or something. But before he knew it Gwen was in front of him, her hands already caressing him through the towel while she wore an adorable smile, and how could he say no. He answered her smile with his own, but made sure to comment that she “better be careful with the do’”. Gwen only rolled her eyes with a smile.

“You mean, like you once were with my hair?”

It had been a while since their memorable second meeting had been brought up, Miles got caught a little off-guard. He shook his head with a sheepish smile.

“Come on, babe, it’s been three years. Please let that little incident go?”

“Mm-mm.” Gwen shook her head while her smile grew wider. She was about to say more, but he beat her to it.

“Considering you kept that haircut for over a year… maybe I’m wrong, but, it didn’t seem like you minded it too much.”

It was Gwen’s turn to be caught off-guard, not helped by the satisfied grin on Miles’ face as he was well aware how calling that out got to her.

“Yeah yeah, shut up. I still had to trim it to make it look somewhat fine after you ripped half of it off, you know.”

“Yet you still didn’t grow it out.”

It was Miles’ turn to run his hand through her hair like she was doing to him, a mock-sad expression on his face when he let the now long locks on her left side glide through his fingers.

“Not gonna lie, I kind of miss it.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and playfully swatted his hand away.

“You just want to hear me say it again, don’t you.”

“Huh? Say what…?”

The feigned innocence on his face annoyed her further. She knew well that a blush was spreading on her cheeks by now. It was exactly the reaction he seeked.

“That I kept it because…”

“It reminded you of me.”

Miles finished the sentence for her. The grin on his face had grown so wide Gwen momentarily considered pulling his hair in retaliation for the teasing. She thought better of it, worried if in a moment of annoyance she’d forget her strength and actually pull some of his strands out by accident. This really wasn’t the time to get back at him for that.

Besides, once Peni had informed her what the meaning of “mint condition” action figures were, Gwen had realized in horror that she had perhaps unwittingly already gotten payback for her hair, even if that had never been her intention. Before she had managed to explain her genuine mistake to Miles, she had wondered if he had considered that action of hers to have been an actual revenge. If he had, Gwen was certainly glad to have corrected it.

“And since you got your wish and I actually am your boyfriend, you didn’t feel the need to keep the style anymore.”

“My wi…”

Gwen’s face burned at his ‘explanation’ of her reasoning. She dried his hair a little rougher, unable to meet his eyes at that moment.

“I did not keep the hairstyle because I wished you were my boyfriend. Get over yourself.”

He laughed under her moving arms. A placating “Alright, alright, I’m sorry” uttered from his lips while he raised his hands to grab at her wrists, hinting for her to slow the rough motions down. Gwen could hear the poorly hidden amusement in his apology, and knew well what his thoughts were. After what she had confessed to him as part of her apology from almost two years ago, it wasn’t like she could really blame him.

What had once been a source of comfort and atoning words to Miles, letting him know just how much she had thought about him and missed him during their 16 months apart, it had since become fuel for his teasings instead, calling her out for how “obsessed” she had been with him when he had, quote, “thought he had it bad”.

Gwen almost regretted how much she had shared with him.

But only almost.

Gwen met his eyes again that were looking a little more tenderly at her now. It made her heart pound and she breathed a little slower to calm herself. Her eyes dropped an inch to regard Miles' face, even further refined since their reunion from two years ago. A bit of stubble grew on his chin that complimented his more manly features perfectly.

Gwen felt her arms getting a little heavier. Next to thinking he'd become even more handsome, Miles had also gotten taller than her in the past two years, and holding her arms up for several minutes like this while moving through his locks was a little tiring. A smile traced her lips at the memory of how he had once been shorter than her, when they had first met. Miles was getting to be a full head taller than her now.

Without thinking much ahead, Gwen dropped the towel behind his neck and gently pulled him towards her bed.

“You need to stop hitting these growth spurts, you hear me? Come here and sit down so it’s easier for me.”

“Uhm, okay…”

Miles gaped a little at her action and it was his turn for his heart to act up, a heat settling in his cheeks. When he saw Gwen’s determined expression, however, not a hint of a blush while she pulled him and gestured for him to sit down on her bed, he figured she really was this serious about just drying his hair. Regardless, he wasn’t about to protest the change of location.

Gwen sat down next to Miles and continued her gentle motions. Despite the access to his head being easier, it became clear to her that she had just about wiped him dry after their little back-and-forth. Her gaze fell to his neck that was still glistening from the rain and absently moved her hands there next.

The realization of the setting then seemed to hit her after all, and her movements slowed down.

Their eyes met again while her hands tenderly caressed over his neck through the towel, and the atmosphere that had been between them a moment ago returned a bit too strongly now. Any teasing mood between them had all at once vanished. Only nervous breathing and the sound of Gwen’s hands trailing back and forth from Miles’ neckline to his shoulders were present.

Their eyes locked a little too long and it was too much, Gwen had to look down to his hands that fidgeted against his thighs.

Gwen had to wonder, why should they feel this awkward about the situation? It wasn’t like their relationship had been all innocent for the nearly two years they’d been together, after all. They had certainly shared their fair deal of makeout sessions at this point. During some of them, she had let Miles slip a hand under her shirt and touch her breast while their lips moved against each other.

Eventually, Gwen recounted with reddening cheeks, they may have experimented a little with second base too. That kind of thing might have taken place during movie nights that allowed for subtlety underneath a shared blanket, or in the heat of a makeout if they had found themselves unsatisfied with the kissing alone.

After nearly two years of dating, however, they had continued to draw the line there. Gwen supposed she had thought they were a little young for it and otherwise wanted her first time with Miles to be special. And Miles for one had never pressured her about the subject. She knew he knew her well enough to understand that she had her reasons for holding back, and that she would let him know once she did feel ready. Gwen imagined… or at least sorely hoped, that she would be together with Miles for many more years to come. The big step of sleeping together had thus not seemed like something they needed to be in a hurry for.

Here and now… on this night, however… There was something that suddenly felt different.

Maybe it was something about the warmth and comfort between them here, on Gwen’s bed, while a storm raged outside, making them feel like the only two people in the world at the moment. It had passed midnight and a soft darkness surrounded them, only slightly illuminated by a tired street lamp a few feet from her window, casting an almost auburn glow into the room, further augmented by the watercolor hues of her world.

The unexpected intimacy from simply sitting here and drying his hair. Then the soft skin on his neck. Miles’ tender yet intense gaze that peered into the blue of her eyes from between where her arms moved. The closeness of their bodies. The silence that seemed to say everything they didn’t.

"Gwen..."

Gwen jolted at the sound of his voice. It was low and filled with a certain... heat. His hand was on her leg and he caressed her. Gwen's eyes fluttered at the feeling of his fingers brushing the inside of her thighs. She felt him inching closer to her hip area. It sent a shudder through her.

Her hands that had moved increasingly slow finally stopped. She looked from his hand to his eyes. There was a subdued, yet somehow still clear desire in them. Gwen was certain her cheeks once again turned a crimson shade.

She wondered if her own eyes revealed her just as much.

She rested the towel against his shoulders.

“There.” she almost whispered, “All done.”

A soft huff from Miles’ lips, followed by a barely audible “Thanks...”

Their lips met, carefully. Gwen wasn’t even sure which one of them had leaned in first. It was impossible to tell.

She slipped the towel from his shoulders to the bed and wrapped her arms around him. His arms embraced her right back, pulling her tight against him so she shifted onto his lap. A fire spread within her, spread from her chest to every reach of her body. Their kiss quickly grew from soft to somewhat desperate.

Gwen didn’t wait long to pull him down with her, letting him know she wanted him on top of her. Miles was more than happy to oblige.

Hearts thundered in the two teenagers’ chests while their breaths grew heavy and the dry clothes that had been so welcome to put on were discarded again, revealing skin still damp from the rain underneath.

It was somewhere at this point, while Miles caressed and kissed parts of Gwen’s body he hadn’t kissed before, that her scars emerged to him, one by one.

There were two underneath her collarbone, another between her belly button and hip. Later when they were done and she would lie with her back to him, Miles would playfully caress her bottom and find one by the dimples over it.

Tiny scars Miles wondered why he hadn’t noticed before, or why she hadn’t told him about them. In the heat of their foreplay, he wasn't in the mindset to ask her then, and he also worried if they might have been some source of pain or even embarrassment for her.

Gwen must have noticed him noticing, however, for she jolted ever so slightly when his fingers grazed the one by her belly button. He paused at the sight of it, examined it carefully, then bent down to place his lips on it. It earned a soft hum from her, and he decided that there would be a better time and place to bring them up than at that moment.

So he tucked them away at the back of his mind while they kissed and trembled and held each other.

They woke up in a daze the next morning.

Miles was on his stomach, left arm draped over Gwen who lied nestled against him. Soft smiles they were dimly aware of rested on their lips.

In the almost two years they’d been together, they had shared a bed many times. They loved the closeness of it, the intimacy. In the wake of the Abyss’s defeat, it had begun as a means of comforting each other, and it never quite stopped being that with how deep the wounds from the battle had run, both physically and psychologically. It was when Miles had first told Gwen that he loved her.

Gwen had told him earlier, before the battle against the Abyss had begun. She had told him, then immediately followed it by saying she didn’t expect him to say it back. In fact, she hadn’t wanted him to say it back.

“I don’t deserve to hear it.” she had said. “I don’t expect anything from you. But you deserve to know that you’re loved. … That I love you. Whatever happens today… I just want you to know.”

It had been too much for Miles to take in. They had just been about to battle the Abyss, after all. He had almost thought it was unfair of her to confess to him during that moment.

And he couldn’t get over how similar it was to his dad’s words from when he had first gotten his powers. It had made his heart ache.

Just like that day in his dorm room, he hadn’t been able to respond. In Gwen’s case, he wasn’t sure what to respond. Not at that point. He might have known that he loved her, but was he ready yet to fully forgive her? As if to confirm her words, however, Gwen had immediately webbed away from him, following the team they had gathered into battle, not giving him the chance to reply.

A few days later, Gwen had gotten into bed with him to comfort him during a milder panic attack he suffered thanks to the repercussions of the Abyss's defeat and the near-mortal wound that was still healing on his abdomen. They had held each other through the night. Unbeknowst to Miles, Gwen had lied awake a while after he’d eventually fallen asleep, watching and caressing his face, a tired, happy smile on her lips.

When they woke up the next morning, Miles had reached a hand out to tuck some strands of hair behind her ear. Then he’d told her.

“I love you, Gwen.”

To Gwen’s embarrassment, hearing him say it had made her shed a few tears. Miles had been confused, and she’d let him know that she truly meant it when she didn't believe she deserved for him to return her love so soon.

Miles had answered softly, “You can't decide that for me either.”

Then he’d leaned in to kiss her.

The feelings and energy that buzzed between them now was similar to that morning when they had both learned that they loved each other. A new kind of awkwardness and happiness perhaps was added to this one. All they knew was that neither of them felt ready to get up and out of bed to begin a new day of crime fighting right away. This morning was too big. It had to sink in.

Miles snuggled closer to Gwen underneath the duvet, earning a satisfied hum from her. He trailed his hand over her shoulder, down her waist, across her hip. He sleepily kissed her neck. Gwen sighed in enjoyment and pressed her back closer to him, signaling her approval.

Miles then moved his hand to caress softly over her butt. He playfully squeezed her. It took Gwen by surprise and she giggled into the pillow. Miles answered with his own giggle, hot breaths on her skin, and she was about to turn around to pull him in for a kiss, when she felt his hand pausing.

“... you have another one.” he whispered when his fingers reached a dent just over her bottom. His voice was still hoarse from just waking up. She could still hear the hesitant tone in it.

Gwen was silent for a few seconds. She then turned around and met his eyes for the first time since they fell asleep the previous night, and she thought she’d melt at how tenderly he looked at her. A blush surely spread on her face once again and both teens felt awkward and elated at the same time that they had shared their first time together.

“I think you found all of them.” Gwen said with a soft smile and leaned in to peck him. He nudged his nose against hers when she pulled back and his hand drew scribbles over her stomach.

“... do you… want to tell me about them?”

Gwen nodded. Apart from perhaps… one of them, there wasn’t really a particular reason she hadn’t shown them to him. There hadn’t really been a time she thought had been right to suddenly bring up to him that she had scars. Otherwise, she had simply forgotten about them. They were small enough that they weren’t often on her mind, after all.

Exposing her entire body to Miles yesterday, however, Gwen had inevitably felt self-conscious about them being laid bare for him. But if she had ever worried that Miles would somehow judge her body for them, that fear had quickly proven irrational. Ridiculous, even. Warmth spread inside her when she recalled how Miles had placed gentle kisses on her scars upon finding them the previous night. Why would she have expected anything different from Miles?

She had no words for how much she loved him at that moment. And this morning.

“I’ll share my scars with you. Just, um…” the blush deepened on her face when a chill on her shoulders reminded her of how she was still in a state of undress.

“Let me just wear a few clothes first… it’s a little too bright in here.”

Another chuckle from Miles while she leaned over to pick up her top and panties from the floor. At least he didn’t protest which she briefly worried he would, not being sure to what extent his teasing mood would be this particular morning. She wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with her face turning an even more crimson color than it already was.

Thankfully he held back any teasing quips he should think of while watching her timidly dress herself. Miles was happy merely lying back and gazing in wonder upon her, his hand absently trailing over her hip while she pulled her top on.

Miles honestly had to nearly pinch himself that this was real. That Gwen really wasn’t only available to him as a drawing in his sketchbook anymore. She was living and breathing and in bed with him. She was his girlfriend. And now she was his… They were each other’s first time.

The road they had to take to get to this point may not have been easy, but once they had reached here, Miles could do nothing but wonder how he’d gotten so lucky.

Gwen turned back to him to see him hint with a smile for her to rest against his arm while she’d tell him her stories. The blush on her cheeks grew again, but she smiled and obliged.

His other hand cradled her waist while she settled on his arm. She drew in a breath at the return of the intimacy, but managed to focus. Her lips parted and she started telling.

—

“So… the one at your back, then?”

“My Vulture. Hit me with wings sharp like a razor’s blade just as I tried to dodge. … It wasn’t long before I turned fifteen, actually.”

“Damn… you had some bad luck fighting some of the worst ones while you were that young.”

Gwen nodded with a ‘tell me about it’ look.

“You got that right… It’s been some years since my last scar now though. Hopefully it means I’ve gotten better at this whole thing.”

She said with a half-smile, meeting Miles’ eyes who continued gazing at her in that tender hazel shade she thought she’d drown in. In another twinge of shyness, she looked down, her eyes falling to his left shoulder, and her smile faded again when an unpleasant memory unwillingly traced her mind. Despite their closeness at this moment, Gwen didn’t feel like letting Miles know just how grateful she was that he hadn’t suffered some permanent scar from Miguel’s claws that had once nearly torn that shoulder open.

How would she have dealt with his body bearing a permanent reminder of her greatest failure against him? Sure, it had been Miguel who had attacked him, not her, but Gwen could only remember how she hadn’t spoken up while the older Spider forced his beliefs and violent behavior on Miles, terrified of “Canon Events” and destruction of the multiverse as she had been, and so she felt as if the physical wounds Miles was given might as well have been from her.

It was a terrible thought that Gwen shook away, and inadvertently made her take a deep breath to calm a sudden strangling lump in her throat.

Even after atonement and forgiveness and two amazing years of being together, it was still a sore memory to visit. Sometimes, Gwen had to remind herself that Miles really had forgiven her, that he really did love her and wanted to be with her, not through any doubt that Miles would give her, but doubt that would rise within her own mind thanks to her self-resentment.

Stop it, Gwen. Look at where you are. You and Miles… the two of you just made love for the first time. Stop doubting his feelings for you. You owe him better than that.

“You okay…?”

Miles had noticed her subtle, but sudden change in mood, not helped by a tear forming in the corner of her eye. Gwen quickly wiped it away and nodded again, a shaky smile back on her lips.

“I am… I’m just…feeling a little sentimental, that’s all.”

“Gwen…”

Another breath to steady herself, she lifted her head to peck his lips. Pulling back just a few inches, she let her eyes hold his and whispered “I’m fine”, her hand caressing by his temple. Still seeing a touch of confusion in his gaze, she decided to steer his attention back to their topic, when she realized just which scar was left.

Oh right… that one.

Her attempt to return to a lighter mood surely failed when another tear formed in her eye, and she could predict the worry spreading on Miles’ face. She hated ever being the reason for him making such an expression.

“Gwen… you don’t have to tell me about them all if you don’t want to.”

Gwen followed his gaze and realized her hand had unconsciously shifted to rest on the small, slightly curved scar just under her collarbone.

“I’m fine, really, I just….whoo, too many feelings welled up at once there.”

She focused on her warm palm on her chest and took another deep breath, knowing it shouldn’t be too hard to talk about that scar. Really, it had been years since at this point. But having the memories of what she considered her two greatest failures swirl through her head at once like that overwhelmed her. She felt Miles’ hand caress over her abdomen and grabbed it for comfort, and by meeting his gaze again she could tell by his empathetic expression that he had likely guessed where that particular scar originated from.

“I mean it, Gwen. Only talk about it if you’re fine with it. I totally understand if you don’t want to share about them all.”

“I know you understand” she sighed and felt her body calm down a little, his presence and hand in hers helping a lot once she allowed it to.

“Maybe you already guessed it anyway…” she paused to observe his expression. He nodded slowly after a moment.

“Your… um…” he paused himself, hesitant if she really wanted him to say it. She nodded subtly back at him with a pensive smile.

“Peter… right? When you had to… when you…”

“Yeah.” she interrupted to let him know he didn’t have to say more. She could handle it from there.

“It’s the only one I… I didn’t notice when it happened. I told you all about that night before… Except that tiny part I guess.”

Miles heard the shaking in her voice despite her brave face. He had been leaning on his arm to look down at her this whole time. He lied fully down now to snuggle his face against her temple, bringing his other arm around her to pull her even closer to him, if it was possible. She gave an approving sigh and held onto his arm.

“It was after I got home and… in my panic and grief I… started tearing my suit off. I couldn’t bear to wear it at that moment, I just… got this urge to get it off, you know?” Gwen’s brow furrowed and she took more deep breaths to steady her breathing before continuing. Miles waited patiently, not wanting to say anything before she was done.

“And when I did… this sharp pain tore at my chest. I looked down and I saw a… huge glass splinter wedged under my collarbone. Right there.” she tapped lightly at the scar. “I had somehow been so filled with panic and adrenaline that I hadn’t even noticed it. Not until I nearly tore it off along with my suit, that was.”

Miles cringed beside her. He moved his hand to place it over the nearly x-shaped scar, gently feeling it and hoping she felt his warmth against it. He watched her face and was waiting for her to shed more tears at any moment, but aside from her shaky voice, she held it together. He wondered if she had revisited that night in her memories so many times she had become somewhat numb to it.

“I’m so sorry, Gwen.”

He shifted to lean over her, bending down to kiss her scar like he had done with her others. She closed her eyes and gripped his shoulders.

“All these wounds you got… they suck. This one in particular.” he spoke softly between his kisses to her marked skin.

“Yeah, well, you know. Battle scars and all that… Makes us look more badass at the end of the day, I guess.”

Gwen enjoyed the feeling of his warm kisses on her skin and let herself be fully in the moment. Maybe if she were to dig into the memory on her own, she wouldn’t be able to keep herself from crying, a terrible pain and lingering feelings of self-blame gnawing at her chest. But having Miles here, in bed with her and reminding her over and over how much he cared about her, it was that much more bearable. She could even allow herself to think that she wasn’t doing Peter any favors reprimanding herself like this, that blaming herself only cast a dark shadow over their memories together. That Peter would only be happy about her moving on from the pain of his death, and doing so, she would ultimately have an easier time thinking back on him. To cherish his memory rather than mourning it. To accept that it wasn’t her fault. That it had never truly been.

“That’s one way to look at it.” Miles pulled his lips back to gaze up at her with a gentle smile. She drowned in his eyes as usual and softly giggled, recalling the moment she had said that line to him first, of which he surely meant to call back to now. He looked at her for a moment, then shifted forward to hover over her, face directly over hers. He tangled his fingers with the golden hue of her locks. Gwen’s hold on his shoulders tightened.

His eyes flickered back down to her scar and his brow furrowed slightly.

“So… what about that last one?”

Gwen blinked up at him and wasn’t sure what he meant at first. Her hand trailed from the scar over her skin to the spot he looked to, and realized there was indeed another dent in her skin there she had almost forgotten about.

“Oh… that one.” She almost had to hold back a snort.

“I fell off my bike when I was seven.”

Miles’ eyes went wide and he blinked back at her.

“Wait, really?”

“Yup. They’re not all “badass”, I’m sorry to tell you. I was a dumb kid and rode my bike into a ditch with sharp rocks.”

“Ouch.”

A tiny laugh escaped Miles’ lips of which he immediately stopped himself and apologized.

“Sorry, I guess it sounds a little funny now, but it probably really sucked when it happened.”

He moved his hand to brush his thumb over the tiny evidence of a bike crash from over a decade ago. Gwen only giggled in return and moved her hands to hold around his neck, pulling him in a little closer.

“I’m sure it did. I honestly don’t remember it too well.” she caressed through his hair, then paused to give him a look.

“On second thought… I do remember it well and it did really hurt… I think you need to kiss that scar too to make me feel better.”

Miles’ eyes once again widened at her. She thought she saw his cheeks darkening slightly.

“So that’s how we’re playing this, huh?”

She giggled, a sound that always made him weak while he gazed down at her beautiful self underneath him. The sight became too much and he didn’t have to be asked twice to grant her request.

He grazed his lips over her collarbone, moving from one scar to the other. He placed soft kisses on them, like she’d asked. He then moved slowly upwards, trailing his lips over her shoulder to her neck, carefully testing if she would welcome it at this moment, or if she’d tell him that it was enough of that now, that it was too late in the morning for another makeout. Or something more than that.

But Gwen only let out a soft moan underneath him and ran her hands across his shoulders.

Encouraged, Miles added a little tongue to the neck kisses and trailed his hand down her waist, over her thigh, back up again. On its way up her waist, he slipped it under her top, touching the soft skin there again. Another moan at his touch. Her breathing slowed down and tickled his ear.

She surprised him by grabbing his head to pull him away from her neck and towards her lips instead. They met with an eagerness that reminded a little too much of last night, earning blushes from them both while their hands danced across each other's skin. Gwen’s heart raced and she barely got to wonder if they were really about to make love again when-

*crack* “All units, we have an ongoing bank robbery at 200 Park Ave. Possible hostage situation. Requesting immediate back-”

Lips parted and the young couple halted their movements while the police radio on Gwen’s shelf faded into more descriptions and occasional cracks in signal. A sigh from Miles’ lips and his forehead met hers.

“Terrific timing.”

“Isn’t it always?” Gwen huffed while she collected all the willpower she could muster to playfully push him off of her.

“You’d think they could take a break for one day.” Miles conceded with a groan and joined her in jumping out of bed. “Do you want my help?”

“A simple bank robbery, I’ll be fine. There might be some crimes going on in your dimension at this hour, don’t you think?” Gwen moved to the chair where their soaked suits from last night had been hung and tossed Miles’ to him, before examining her own. They weren’t 100% dry yet, but it would have to do.

“Most likely. I should check in with my parents anyway…”

Gwen always felt a little melancholy whenever he had to leave, a feeling that was definitely strengthened now after the night and now morning they had shared.

He had barely finished putting his suit on when she was in front of him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her head against his neck. He immediately embraced her in return.

“I’ll see you later?” she whispered against his neck.

“You bet you will.”

He tightened his hold and placed another soft kiss on her neck.

“Movie night next time…?”

“Movie night.”

They pulled apart for a quick kiss. It was different this time, somehow. They would always share one before separating, before one of them were off to fight a crime on their own, before one of them activated their watch to head for their home dimension. They lingered ever so slightly on this kiss, thoughts of last night racing through their mind, hearts picking up paces in their chests. It still felt overwhelming. They wished they had a little more time to let it sink in.

“I love you.” Miles interrupted their thoughts to tell her again. Gwen’s breath hitched and she barely got to whisper “I love you too” before he leaned in to peck her lips one final time.

“... Now off with you.”

He smiled, that beautiful, teasing smile of his. Gwen shook her head while she stepped back to pull her mask on. She was thankful to do so to hide how crimson her face once again turned.

Gwen opened her window and finally got to take in the pleasant after-rain air that she loved. She filled her lungs and jumped to perch on the edge. She turned to look at Miles as he activated his watch, various belongings of her room floating around him while the chaotic petals of his own custom-made watch swirled behind him. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Gwen that he had been able to make his own not long after Hobie had taught him how. And with the encouragement from Miles, Gwen had not long after made her own. Suffice to say, Miguel had been less than pleased that his and LyLa’s once unique invention of dimension-hopping watches had been replicated by a bunch of teenagers, but with some convincing, he had allowed them as long as they worked properly and didn’t “blow stuff up” as he begrudgingly put it.

“You let me know the second there should be any trouble, right?” Miles inquired while the lights of the portal illuminated his frame.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?

Gwen blew him a kiss with a wink. Miles blew a suave one in return before backing into the dimensional entry with a smile that was somehow both dorky and charming at the same time, it made Gwen snort and nearly lose her balance where she perched. She shook her head and leapt into the sky, the image of that smile not leaving her mind.

While Gwen slinged herself through the chilly New York morning on Earth 65, the feeling of Miles’ kisses on her scars still warmed her body. She knew the feeling of them would continue to warm her the rest of the day, every hour until she saw Miles again.

Until she had him in bed with her, kissing the scars once more, they would continue to warm her.