Archive of Our Own

It was quiet tonight. Not completely quiet though, obviously. This was New York. But from up there, surrounded by rooftops, it was kinda peaceful.

Tyler landed on the edge of another building and crouched for a second, looking around. Nothing seemed out of place tonight, he was fine with that, but it made his patrol way less exciting.

He'd spent almost an hour chasing Rhino around the city earlier that evening and his entire body was starting to feel it. His shoulders hurt, one of his knees definitely wasn't supposed to make that noise every time he landed and he was pretty sure there was a new tear somewhere on the suit. 

His future self could deal with that, right now, he just wanted to go home. 

He checked the time on his phone.

11:47p.m., not bad.

Another hour and he’d leave, maybe less if nothing else happened.

He put the phone back inside his suit and shot another web, crossing the street, not thinking about it too much. After years of doing this, web swinging was as natural as walking for him. Most of the time he wasn't even paying attention, his body just knew where to move.

He landed on another rooftop. The city didn’t get nights like this very often anymore. He wasn't complaining, though. As much as he liked being spider-man, he was exhausted.

Maybe he'd actually get to sleep before two in the morning for once.

He pushed himself off the rooftop again and shot another web. He landed on the side of a building, looking down at the street below. A few people walked past without looking up. 

Suddenly, his spider-sense went off.

His muscles tensed all over his body. He let go of the wall on instinct and dropped as something flew past his head, close enough for him to hear it cut through the air. 

Tyler heard a metallic sound behind him that felt a lot louder than it actually was, he turned around and saw a dart buried in the brick wall. 

"...Seriously?"

He looked up, it was probably another guy with a grudge.

Nope. He saw a figure standing on the rooftop across from him. Even from that distance, Tyler could tell he was big. He had broad shoulders and maybe a long coat. There was also something resting against one shoulder that looked suspiciously like a spear.

"...Okay."

"Little rusty tonight, aren't you?" the man called out.

Tyler tilted his head.

"Well. I don't know, you missed."

"Good."

Tyler frowned.

"Good?"

"I would have been disappointed otherwise."

Tyler couldn’t come up with an answer fast enough, the man jumped.

He covered the distance between the two rooftops way faster than Tyler expected and landed only a few feet away from him. The concrete cracked slightly under the impact.

“That was kind of impressive, wow.”

The man just smiled and adjusted the spear in his hand, charging at him.

Tyler barely dodged the first attack. 

The tip of the spear scraped against the brick wall instead, sending small pieces of it flying everywhere.

"We're skipping introductions tonight, alright then!"

He shot two webs at the spear, trying to pull it away.

The man twisted the weapon and either strand had a chance to stick, it cut right straight through them.

Tyler blinked once, slightly concerned. 

"Didn't know that was possible."

He jumped forward, landing a punch that sent the man back a couple of steps.

Finally something that worked.

The stranger looked down at the mark forming on his jaw before looking back at Tyler.

A smile slowly spread across his face.

"Excellent."

Tyler stared at him.

"You're smiling?"

"I expected less."

"Oh, well that's... weirdly flattering."

The man attacked again.

Tyler moved fast, ducking under the spear and using the momentum to kick him back.

He'd expected this to be easier. Yeah, the guy was strong, but Tyler had fought people with insane powers, alien weapons, and way more experience than him before. A guy with a spear wasn't groundbreaking at all, although the primitive vibe definitely was.

The problem was that the guy wasn't fighting like someone who was trying to win. Tyler had seen enough villains to know the difference. They usually either wanted to hurt him, escape, destroy something or simply talk with about their tragic backstory.

This guy was just watching him.

Every time Tyler moved, his eyes followed him.

It was a little unsettling.

"Are you always so quiet during fights?" Tyler asked, jumping back as the spear swung past him.

The man didn't answer.

"Okay, cool. Love the communication."

Tyler shot another web, this time aiming for the man's arm instead of the weapon. The stranger moved before it could reach him, cutting through the web with the spear again.

It was getting annoying at this point.

Tyler landed on the other side of the rooftop, keeping his distance.

"Okay, I have to admit, that's a pretty useful trick."

The man only looked at him.

Tyler sighed.

"Right. You’re still not a talker."

He moved first this time, shot a web toward the ground and pulled himself forward. Then he kicked the spear out of the man's hand, sending it sliding across the rooftop. 

For the first time, the stranger looked surprised.

Tyler took the opportunity and pushed him back.

"See? This is usually the part where you realize fighting spider-man is a bad idea and you run away."

The man looked like he was holding back a smile. Weird. Most people weren't happy when they were losing a fight.

The man picked up his spear again.

"You're different than I expected."

Tyler tilted his head.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"It is an observation."

“Still weird, man.”

The man moved again but this time Tyler was ready.

He dodged the first swing, then the second one, and waited for an opening. This guy was strong, but he was also very predictable. All his movements were calculated. Which was kind of annoying because he was used to fighting people who were much less organized.

Tyler was about to make his next move when the spear changed direction just slightly, but it was enough for the tip to graze his waist. He immediately jumped back, his hand went to his side out of instinct. He looked down at the suit and noticed the small tear near his ribs. There was a little bit of blood, but it didn’t look serious.

"Really?" he asked, looking back at the man. "That was your big move?"

The stranger remained silent. He wasn't looking at Tyler's face now. His eyes were focused on the small cut.

That made Tyler a little suspicious.

"What?" Tyler asked. "Did you expect me to fall to the ground over a scratch?"

The man finally looked back at him.

"No."

He sounded so calm that it made Tyler feel a bit uneasy.

"Okay, I don't know what you're planning, but you're making it very difficult to not think you're a creep right now."

 The man ignored the comment and stepped back to pick up his spear again.

Tyler adjusted his stance, ready for another attack, but the man didn't move. He just looked at him for a second and then turned away.

"Wait, that's it?" Tyler called after him. "You're just leaving?"

The man didn't say anything as he disappeared between the buildings.

This guy had shown up, thrown a dart at him, fought him with a spear and then left. Which was not the strangest thing Tyler had dealt with, but it was definitely up there.

He pulled the suit away from the cut again. It wasn't deep, barely more than a scratch. Whatever the guy had been trying to do, it clearly hadn't worked.

At least that's what Tyler thought.

Tyler finally pushed himself off the rooftop and started heading home. He wasn't sure what he expected to happen after that, but standing around waiting for the mysterious spear guy to come back probably wasn't the smartest move.

The first few swings felt normal. His body followed the same movements it had done thousands of times before. He was still annoyed and slightly confused, he hated not knowing what someone's plan was. This guy had barely spoken, and didn’t even say his name, which made him a lot harder to figure out. 

Tyler adjusted his grip on the web and kept moving.

A few blocks later, something felt off. He slowed down and looked around, checking if his spider senses were picking up anything else, but nothing felt wrong. 

Tyler frowned behind the mask.

Maybe he was just tired. It had been a long day. 

So he shook it off and kept swinging.

For a while, nothing happened. Tyler almost convinced himself he'd been right. 

But then he almost missed a building. He caught himself before he fell, landing against the wall instead of crashing into it, but it still made him stop for a second because that wasn't supposed to happen.

Tyler looked back at the building he had been aiming for, trying to figure out what went wrong. His web had shot exactly where he wanted it to, but his timing had been off. Hm.

Tyler pushed himself off the wall and kept moving.

The longer he swung, the harder it was to ignore something was wrong. He tried to focus on getting home instead. 

His apartment wasn't that far anymore, and once he was out of the suit and lying in bed, he would probably laugh at himself for worrying about a tiny cut from a weird guy with a spear. 

He reached for another web, but his hand hesitated for the briefest second before he fired it. It was barely noticeable, but it threw him off enough to make him land a little harder than he meant to on the next rooftop. 

"Umm… Okay."

Tyler looked down at his hand, opening and closing his fingers a couple of times inside the glove, everything felt normal.

Maybe he was dehydrated, that would make sense sadly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had water. He had some coffee, two energy drinks and whatever was left in the fridge before patrol, but actual water? Probably not.

He made a mental note to fix that as soon as he got home.

He took a few steps toward the edge of the rooftop and shot another web. This time it landed perfectly, just like it always did.

"See?" he mumbled to himself. "You're fine."

And he was. But then his vision clouded again. 

The lights below blurred together, then everything went back to normal. Tyler stopped swinging immediately and landed on the side of a nearby building, tripping over his own feet.

He blinked hard, trying to steady himself.

"What’s going on here?”

He pushed himself away from the wall again. Home was only a few minutes away. He just needed to get there, drink some water, take the suit off and figure out what the hell that guy had done to him.

He didn't even make it to the next block.

Halfway through the swing, his arm suddenly felt weak. The web slipped through his fingers a split second too late, throwing off his momentum enough that he almost crashed into the side of a building.

"What the-"

Tyler shot another web. It attached somewhere above him, but his aim was off. Instead of carrying him forward, it pulled him sideways.

He slammed shoulder first into the wall, bounced off it and barely managed to catch himself before hitting the street.

"No, no, no."

This wasn't just exhaustion.

He forced himself back into the air, choosing the fastest route home instead of the safest one. If he could just make it another couple of blocks… Then his vision blurred again.

The lights of the city melted together until he couldn't tell where one building ended and the next one began. He blinked hard, trying to clear it, but it only got worse.

He fired another web and had no idea where it landed. A second later, he felt the line go tight and his body swung in a direction he hadn't intended.

"Oh, come on!"

He tried to correct himself, but his body wasn't cooperating anymore. His movements felt in slow motion, like there was a delay between what his brain wanted to do and what his muscles actually did.

He saw the next building too late, trying to shoot another web in a last attempt to avoid it but it didn’t work.

"Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me."

A second later, he crashed straight through a window.

Glass shattered around him as he hit the floor shoulder first, rolling a couple times and sliding across polished hardwood until he finally came to a stop on his back somewhere in the middle of what looked like a living room. 

He stayed there, staring at the ceiling.

"...Well."

That definitely wasn't his apartment. He groaned and slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows, wincing as little pieces of glass slid off the suit and onto the floor.

"Sorry," he called out automatically, still trying to figure out where he was. "I know this looks bad, but I can explain."

He took a deep breath and looked around, confused and dizzy.

"Actually, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on." He said mostly to himself.

A few seconds later he heard feet padding fast down the hallway.

The person turned not one, but three lights, they clearly weren’t taking any chances. 

“What the hell?”

The voice made Tyler look up.

A guy about his age stood frozen a few feet away, staring at the destroyed window and then at the masked stranger sitting in the middle of his living room. He had messy dark curls and brownish hazel eyes. He was wearing an old t-shirt and gray sweatpants, and looked like he'd been ready to go to bed before spider-man quite literally broke into his house. 

"Hi," Tyler said, giving him a small wave. “I’m sorry about your window, I’ll pay for it.”

The guy blinked once.

"...You're spider-man."

"I am."

"And you just crashed through my window."

"...Also yes. I’m sorry man."

Tyler looked over his shoulder at the shattered glass all over the floor. 

“I can clean it up for you if you want.”

The guy looked from Tyler to the broken window again, still looking completely lost.

"I... what?"

"I know," Tyler nodded. "I'm just as confused."

"...Are you okay?"

That was actually a really good question.

"I think so," he answered after a second. "I mean... I was about five minutes ago." 

“What happened?”

Tyler frowned and let out a breathy laugh. 

“I don’t even know, dude.”

The guy looked at him for a moment.

“Okay…Do you need anything?"

"Maybe some water." Tyler said as he pressed a hand to the side of his head.

"Yeah. Sure."

The guy turned toward the kitchen.

"Just... don't move too much, okay?"

Tyler heard the guy move around the kitchen while he stayed where he was, mostly because standing up again sounded like a terrible idea.

A few seconds later, he came back with a glass of water.

"Here."

Tyler took it carefully.

"Thanks."

He lifted the bottom part of his mask just enough to drink, keeping the rest of his face covered. It was always awkward trying to drink with the mask on. 

The water helped calm down the dizziness, but only for less than a minute.

Then it came back stronger than before. His senses were overloaded, everything felt a lot louder and he couldn’t think straight. 

Eventually the noise settled back into something he could ignore. But it still felt like he was losing control over his own body. 

“Hmm” Tyler looked at the glass still in his hand. “I thought water would fix it.”

The guy frowned.

“You did?” 

“Well, it usually does, I think.”

The guy stared at him. He probably thought Tyler was full of shit.

"Okay, maybe not."

He placed the glass on the table and leaned back against the couch. 

"Are you sure you don't need a hospital?"

Tyler looked up at him, even though the guy couldn't see his eyes.

"No… Maybe?"

The guy looked even more concerned.

“I can call an ambulance if you want me to.”

“No, no. Don’t worry. I’m good. I just need a moment here.”

The man nodded and crouched in front of him.

“What’s your name?”

Tyler blinked. No one ever asked that when they met him. 

"What?"

The guy shrugged slightly.

"I mean, you're in my apartment. Seems fair."

"Tyler."

The guy nodded, satisfied.

"Josh."

Tyler repeated it quietly.

"Josh."

Josh looked down at the floor covered in glass and then back at Tyler.

"Maybe you shouldn't be sitting there."

Tyler followed his gaze.

"Oh."

He had completely forgotten about that.

"Yeah, okay. Good point."

Josh walked closer and held out a hand.

Tyler stared at it.

He didn't know why that suddenly felt like a much bigger decision than it actually was. It was just a normal hand from a normal guy whose apartment he had destroyed.

Except the normal guy was also kind of cute. Which was not helpful at all.

Especially because Tyler was pretty sure his brain was already malfunctioning without adding random thoughts about strangers.

"You good?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

He grabbed Josh's hand and let him help him up.

The second he was standing, the room moved slightly.

Tyler tightened his grip.

"Okay."

Josh looked at him.

"Still good?"

“yeah, I guess.”

Josh helped him move away from the broken window and toward the other couch, making sure Tyler didn't step on any glass.

Tyler sat down and leaned back, rubbing his face over the mask. This was ridiculous.

He had fought aliens, had stopped buildings from collapsing, had been thrown through walls by people twice his size.

And now he was sitting in a stranger's apartment because he couldn't walk in a straight line.

"Sorry," he said again.

Josh looked at him.

"For the window? You already said that."

"For... everything, honestly."

They both stayed silent for a moment, then Tyler’s eyes shot up when he saw something move near the window.

“Did you see that?”

Josh looked over to the window.

“See what?”

“Oh, it was probably nothing.”

He looked away, trying to ignore it but a second later, his body reacted unexpectedly. His wrist moved and a strand of web shot out, landing straight on Josh's chest.

Tyler looked at the web connecting them.

"...Oh."

Josh looked down and frowned.

"Did you just web me?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Tyler turned back toward the window.

"I thought something was there."

Josh scanned the room. "Was there?"

“I don’t think so.”

“Hmm.”

Josh carefully grabbed the web and tried to pull it away. 

“How do I get this off?”

"I... usually can." 

Tyler tried to pull his hand back, but it didn’t work. They were still connected. 

Usually he didn't even have to think about it, it was just another part of him. But right now it wasn’t listening.

“Can’t you just… rip it off your wrist, or does that hurt?” Josh said, trying to hide the disgust that the thought brought.

"It doesn't hurt," Tyler said. "It's just... really strong."

He looked down at the strand.

"...And attached."

Josh crouched in front of him and took his arm.

"Can I?"

Tyler nodded and Josh turned his wrist over, looking at the small hole in the suit.

"So it comes out of there?"

"Yeah."

"That's actually kind of—"

"...What?"

Josh looked up.

"I didn't say anything."

Tyler frowned. "I thought you..."

He shook his head.

"Never mind."

Josh glanced down at the web still stuck to his shirt.

"Maybe you can get rid of this?"

"It shouldn’t be a problem…"

Tyler reached for the strand and the second his fingers closed around it, another web shot out of his wrist and stuck to the wall.

Josh looked over at it and let out a small laugh.

"Was that supposed to happen?"

Tyler laughed too, even though it came out a little nervous.

"Not really."

A few minutes passed. The web eventually let go on its own and Josh managed to peel the last bit off his shirt.

Tyler wished everything else would fix itself that easily. It hadn't.

He still felt dizzy, and it was getting harder to keep track of his own thoughts. Every now and then he'd forget what he was about to say, then remember it a few seconds later.

Josh sat back down across from him.

"Any idea what's causing this?"

"Maybe."

Josh waited.

"Some guy attacked me tonight."

Josh blinked.

"...What?"

"He came out of nowhere. Big guy, carrying a spear."

"A spear?"

Tyler nodded. "Yeah, I know how that sounds."

He pulled the torn part of his suit away from his side to look at it again.

"He barely got me. Just a scratch."

Josh looked down at the tear.

"And now this is happening."

"Yeah."

Tyler let the fabric fall back into place.

"At first I thought he just missed."

He frowned.

"Now I'm thinking he didn't."

Josh looked at him.

"You think there was something on it?"

Tyler nodded.

"I can't prove it, but I don't know what else it could be."

Josh didn't say anything for a moment.

"Can poison do all that?"

Tyler shrugged.

"I don't know. I've never been poisoned before."

He rubbed his forehead and let out a slow breath.

"Actually... that's probably not true."

Josh smiled a little.

"You don't remember?"

"I've been doing this for a while."

Tyler rested his elbows on his knees. He was used to knowing his own body, knowing when something was wrong and how to fix it, but right now everything felt off and he had no idea why.

Josh stayed nearby while Tyler struggled with his head. He kept getting distracted, missing things Josh said and having to ask him to repeat himself, which was starting to get annoying.

"Sorry, what?"

Josh looked back at him.

"I asked if you wanted more water."

"Right."

Tyler nodded, looking down at his hands.

Josh eventually stood up to take the glass to the kitchen, and Tyler watched him walk away while trying to convince himself he was fine. Then Josh's foot caught on something and the glass slipped from his hand.

Tyler moved without thinking. He reached out, expecting the web to come out normally, but nothing happened.

He stared at his wrist, confused, and tried again, unsuccessfully. 

"No… No.”

Josh looked over at him.

"Tyler?"

Tyler kept staring at his wrist, waiting for the web to come out, but nothing happened.

The broken glass was still on the floor between them.

"I would've caught that."

Josh frowned slightly.

"What?"

Tyler glanced at the pieces of glass, then back at his arm.

"I would've totally caught it."

He raised his hand again and tried, more out of confusion than anything else. Nothing happened.

Josh walked back over carefully.

"Is that bad?"

Tyler didn't answer immediately because he didn't know how to explain it. The web wasn't something he had to think about. It was just there, like moving his hand.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "It is."

He pressed his fingers against the suit out of frustration.

"That doesn't just happen."

Josh tried his best not to look too concerned.

"Maybe you're just too tired?"

Tyler shook his head.

"No."

He tried again, but the result was the same.

"No, that's not..."

He stopped himself, suddenly more aware of everything that wasn’t okay. The web wasn't working, his spider-sense hadn't warned him about the glass, and his own body felt slower than usual.

"Something's really wrong."

He stood up too quickly, moving away from the couch, but the second he was on his feet he felt worse. His breathing got faster, and no matter how much he tried to slow it down, it felt like he couldn't get enough air.

"Okay."

Tyler put a hand against the wall.

"Okay, I'm fine."

"You're not." Josh answered.

Tyler wanted to argue, but he couldn't. His chest felt tight, his thoughts were moving too fast and he couldn't focus on Josh's voice over everything else happening around him.

"I can't..."

He stopped and tried to take another breath but it didn’t help.

Josh stepped closer, slower this time.

"Tyler, look at me."

Tyler did. "I can't breathe."

"You are breathing."

"Okay, okay…"

Tyler shook his head, frustrated.

"I know I am, I just..."

He stopped again, trying to calm down.

Josh stayed in front of him, not touching him.

"Okay. Don't move. Just stay here."

Tyler nodded, but his hand was already pulling at the bottom of his mask.

He hated doing it. He never took it off around people. But right now he couldn't think about that.

"I need this off."

Josh's eyes widened when Tyler's hand moved to the mask.

"Wait, you don't have to—"

But Tyler was already pulling it up.

Josh couldn't finish the sentence. 

He hadn't really thought about what spider-man looked like under the mask. It wasn't something he had ever wondered about. He just didn't expect him to look like that.

Tyler looked about his age, with tired eyes and messy hair, and for some reason that caught Josh completely off guard.

Tyler took another shaky breath, barely paying attention to anything around him while he tried to calm himself down.

"Hey."

Tyler looked at him.

"You're okay."

Tyler shook his head slightly. "Yeah, yeah.”

He took another breath.

"I know, I just can't..."

Josh nodded, not pushing him.

"Okay. Just breathe.”

Tyler closed his eyes and tried to get his breathing back to normal. It slowed down a little, but the panic didn't fully go away.

"My powers are gone."

Josh immediately shook his head, but Tyler was already looking back at his hands.

“Why? No, it’s probably temporary.”

"What if it doesn't come back?"

Saying it out loud made his breathing pick up again.

He could deal with almost anything as long as he knew he would wake up the next day and still be spider-man. 

He didn't know if his body was going to fix itself or if this was really temporary.

“I don’t know what to do.” His voice cracked a little.

He rubbed his face, frustrated when he realized his eyes were watering. 

"This is so stupid."

Tyler laughed quietly, but it sounded more tired than anything else.

"I don't even know you."

His eyes shot up to Josh.

"And I'm having a breakdown in your living room."

Josh almost smiled, but Tyler still looked too scared for it to be funny.

Tyler leaned forward and hugged him.

Josh froze, caught completely off guard, but then slowly wrapped an arm around him and held him there.

Tyler didn't say anything. Josh could feel him trying to get his breathing under control, slowly matching it with his.

Tyler stayed there, slowly getting calmer, but the relief didn't last. 

"Josh."

Josh met his eyes right away. He could feel the panic in Tyler's voice.

"I don't feel so good."

The words came out quieter than Tyler intended.

Josh immediately straightened.

"What?"

"I think..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

His grip loosened and his body gave out before he could say anything else.

Josh barely managed to catch him before he hit the floor.

When Tyler woke up, the room was already bright. His head was still heavy, and for a moment he had no idea where he was. The memories came back all at once. The fight, the guy with the spear, the toxin, and ending up in Josh's apartment.

He wasn't on the couch anymore. He was in a bed, still wearing the suit, with a blanket covering him. His mask was laying next to him in the sheets.

Tyler slowly sat up, waiting for the dizziness to hit again, but it didn't. He still felt drained, but his head wasn't spinning anymore and his body didn't feel like it was fighting against him.

He looked to his left and saw Josh asleep in an armchair next to the bed.

Josh woke up slowly, still exhausted from the night before. He rubbed his face and took a second to understand where he was before his eyes landed on Tyler sitting up in the bed.

"You're awake."

Tyler nodded. "Yeah."

The relief on Josh's face was obvious, and Tyler felt a little bad that this stranger had spent the night worrying about him.

"How do you feel?"

"Better." Tyler rolled one shoulder. "Still tired."

Josh nodded, looking a little less tense than he had a few seconds ago.

Tyler reached for his mask from the sheets and held it in his hands for a moment. 

Josh knew who he was. He knew what he looked like, where he had been, and that the person behind the mask wasn't some cool hero from the news, but just a guy who had crashed through his window and passed out on his couch.

"About last night..."

Josh immediately understood what he meant.

"I'm not telling anyone."

Tyler looked up.

"You don't even know me."

"No," Josh said. "But I know you felt safe enough with me to take the mask off."

Tyler didn't know what to say.

"You know this is kind of a big deal, right?"

"Yeah, I figured."

"If people found out..."

He didn't finish the sentence because he didn't need to. Josh understood.

"They won't."

Tyler nodded slowly.

"Okay."

"Thank you."

Josh smiled a little.

"You don't have to thank me."

"Of course I do."

Josh shook his head, still acting like it wasn't a big deal.

Tyler wasn't really used to that. Most people either wanted something from spider-man or were scared of him. Josh was just... helping him.

"So..."

Josh raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

"I guess I should probably apologize for the window again."

"You really need to work on the apologizing thing."

Tyler laughed quietly, and Josh smiled back.

The smile stayed there a little longer than Tyler expected. When he realized Josh was still looking at him, he looked away first.

Tyler eventually stood up, testing his balance as he grabbed his mask.

"I should probably go."

Josh nodded, but Tyler could tell he wasn't convinced. 

"You're going to look into what happened?"

"Yeah. I need to figure out what was on that spear."

Josh frowned slightly but didn't argue. He knew Tyler wasn't going to let it go.

"Try not to end up unconscious in someone else's apartment next time."

Tyler laughed quietly.

"I'll try."

He moved toward the window, stopping when he remembered the damage.

"I'll fix this."

"I believe you." Josh nodded.

Tyler smiled, and the two of them stayed there for a moment longer than necessary.

"See you around, Josh."

"Yeah. See you, Ty…spider-man"

Tyler put his mask back on and left.

He swung through the city, but his thoughts weren't on the fight or the poison anymore. 

They kept coming back to Josh.

Somehow, he knew this wasn't the last time he was going to cross his mind.