[Third Person Pov]
"Thank you…" Logan's rough, gravelly voice came out surprisingly soft and sincere as he stood beside Peter and Gwen, nursing a cold beer.
The three of them were watching Steve from a short distance away. The Captain was kneeling down on the grass, surrounded by a group of young mutant children. A warm, genuine smile lit up his face as he laughed along with them, fully engaged in whatever game they had pulled him into.
Peter and Gwen both turned toward Logan, genuinely surprised to hear such gentle words from the usually gruff Wolverine. Though Gwen hadn't known Logan for very long, she could already sense the kind of man he was beneath the tough exterior.
Logan lifted the bottle to his lips, pausing when he noticed them staring at him curiously. "You know, for finding Rogers… he's a great friend," he said quietly. "There's rarely anyone I can claim to know from my past. Especially when you've lived as long as I have. Most people from back then are long gone."
"I mean, no problem," Peter replied humbly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But it was a total accident that we found him. So there's really nothing to thank us for there."
"Besides," Gwen added warmly, a friendly smile hidden beneath her mask, "I'm sure you're not the only one who's happy to have someone around that actually remembers the past."
Logan took a long swig of his beer, finishing the entire bottle in one impressive go. He let out a satisfied grunt and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before looking directly at Gwen. "I want to thank you too. You're the reason I can remember *why* he's such an important friend in the first place. I'm grateful to both of you. This isn't a debt I can easily forget. So if you ever need the help of the Wolverine… don't hesitate to ask."
Peter and Gwen watched in quiet amusement as Logan turned and wandered off in search of his next beer.
The two spiders turned to look at each other and began to laugh softly. Gwen stepped closer, linking her arm with Peter's and leaning her head affectionately against his shoulder.
"What?" Peter asked with a chuckle, noticing her sudden burst of affection.
"Nothing," Gwen replied softly, her hold on his arm tightening just a little. "I just feel like we did something really good today. I'm not saying we don't do good things… but we rarely get to experience it and actually see the effects like this one."
"Aww, is someone getting sentimental on me~?" Peter teased, only for Gwen to playfully tap his side in retaliation.
"Oh, shut it, you," she retorted, rolling her eyes fondly.
…
Later, Peter, Gwen, and Steve stood outside Xavier's Mansion, saying their final farewells to the Professor, Jean, Scott, and Logan.
"Don't be a stranger now," Logan said as he and Steve clasped each other's forearms in a firm warrior's grip. "You know where to find me, Captain."
"Don't you worry about that," Steve replied with a warm, heartfelt grin. "It's nice to see a familiar face around here. I'm sure you already know how to get in contact with me."
After exchanging handshakes and kind words with Charles and the others, Peter opened a shimmering portal for them.
Steve took one last look over his shoulder toward Logan. The two old friends shared a final, knowing grin before the portal closed behind them.
They reappeared back in the gym space where everything had first begun. Steve let out a long, deep sigh of relief, his broad shoulders visibly dropping as if a heavy weight had finally been lifted.
"Thank you," Steve said earnestly, his voice filled with genuine gratitude as he looked between Peter and Gwen. "It's thanks to your help that the present doesn't feel like some lonely, far-away future anymore. It finally feels like a current 'now.'"
"Don't worry about it," Peter replied warmly, both he and Gwen accepting the thanks with graceful smiles. "You're honestly our hero. We're more than happy to help you out."
"Although if I'm being honest," Steve continued, his tone hopeful and lighter than it had been in a long time, "it all still feels a little unbelievable. But it's far more comfortable and manageable now."
"I'm sure the present isn't anything like what you're used to," Gwen said gently. "The world has changed a whole bunch since you last knew it. But change isn't a terrible thing. You just have to learn to embrace it."
Steve stared at Gwen for a long moment before something clicked. "Oh wait a minute, you're the one that recreated—"
"AHBABABABA!!" Peter interjected loudly, waving his hands frantically to remind Steve they were still in a relatively open space and needed to be careful about what he said out loud.
"Oops, that's right. My bad," Steve apologized, looking sheepishly at both of them.
Gwen turned toward Peter with a raised eyebrow. "You told him?"
"It was for a good reason, trust me," Peter said, raising his hands in surrender. He quickly created the Mirror Dimension around them once again, sealing them off in a shimmering, reflective pocket of reality.
"Yeah… I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that," Steve muttered, looking around at the surreal, mirrored environment with wide eyes.
He settled his gaze back on Gwen. "So… did you really recreate it? The serum, I mean."
Peter immediately started to pout. "So you think I'm lying or something?"
Gwen playfully pushed Peter's head away with her hand. "Yeah, I did," she confirmed. "Why? You're not offended, are you?" she asked Steve worriedly.
"What? No, I'm honestly very impressed," Steve reassured her, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "From what I've been told, it's been decades. Despite everyone's best attempts, it's been nothing but failure after failure."
Even with her mask on, Gwen's smug, proud expression was unmistakable to both men.
Peter and Steve then took their time explaining Peter's earlier suggestion in more detail. When they finished, Steve asked hesitantly, "Would that actually be possible?"
"Hmmm…" Gwen rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "It should be. It really wouldn't be that hard. I'll just need to use the DNA of an immortal jellyfish."
"…Excuse me?" Steve blinked in complete bewilderment.
Gwen smiled behind her mask. "An immortal jellyfish has a very fascinating ability. When stressed, injured, or starving, it can revert back to its juvenile polyp stage instead of dying. It's called cellular transdifferentiation — basically a full reset. By decoding its genome and incorporating it properly, I should be able to add that mechanism to the serum. It would reset the age and condition of Peggy's cells, making her younger again."
"You make it sound like it's something simple and easy…" Steve said with an awkward, stunned smile.
Gwen glanced briefly at Peter before looking back at Steve. "That's because it *is*."
"Surely not," Steve replied, still looking confused and wary. "Surely there's a price you're not telling me."
"Of course there's a price," Gwen scoffed lightly, crossing her arms. "The ingredients aren't exactly cheap."
"That's not what I…" Steve trailed off, scratching the back of his head in disbelief. Peter just let out a loud chortle, thoroughly amused by the Captain's reaction.
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