Peter POV – Evening, Parker Household
The mailbox groaned under the weight of ambition. Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, Oscorp, DARPA, the FBI, FDA… all of them wanted me. Wanted me and the Sandevistan, my biotech, my brain.
I dropped the pile onto my desk with a grunt. "Nope. Not today. Not ever." I muttered.
Gwen leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. "You're seriously going to tell multi-billion-dollar companies and government secret organizations to shove it?"
"Yes." I said, spinning a letter from Stark Industries between my fingers. "Because I don't want fame. I don't want money. I want… purpose and I have it. Keeping people that are dear to me safe."
She walked over, sitting beside me on the bed. " Yeah, you're the boy who has it all."
I looked at her, realizing the weight of what I'd just said. " Don't pout. You also have me and everyone else."
Peter POV – Peter's Room
We moved to my room, the familiar hum of the Sandevistan in my back like a heartbeat. Gwen sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against my bed frame. I slouched in my chair, elbows on my knees, eyes distant.
" Wanna say something?" She said softly. " Don't deny it. I know you've been trying to decide whether to tell me something or not."
I exhaled, voice low and bitter. "I remember it all now. I was buried in rubble, broken, nothing left but then I was injected with a lifetime of spite and stubbornness. My past life… I was spiteful. Every failure, every slight, every lonely night festered into this… this anger. I didn't care about people, about life. I only cared about not being forgotten. And it failed spectacularly."
She reached out, fingers brushing my hand. "Peter…"
"No, listen," I said, voice trembling but steady. "I was the belittled orphan in an unnamed orphanage where everyday I saw kids get picked up except me. I vowed to never rely on anyone except myself. I studied day and night. I wanted revenge. On luck, on life, on everyone who made me feel small. I didn't care who got hurt. I embraced the dark. I survived by being smarter, faster, colder. I didn't trust anyone. I didn't… love anyone in that life.
I made the pinch fusion reactor all by myself but betrayal struck me down. Those whom I had deemed inferior killed me and wanted to take credit for the thing I created. I had contingencies as in my infinite spite I saw their betrayal. 4.28 × 10²⁷ gigatons of fusion energy went off the instant my heart stopped— enough to turn Earth into cosmic confetti.
I dragged an entire civilization with me. An extra dimensional creature for amusement got me reincarnated as Peter during birth and that in turn gave me everything I never had. The technologies while I'm given the how's I still had to figure out the whys. You must think of me as a monster."
Her eyes softened. " Peter, you're not that person anymore. I can see it."
I swallowed hard, feeling exposed in a way I'd never allowed. "You have no idea how alone I was. And I… I never thought anyone could reach me. Until you all did."
Gwen POV – Evening, Peter's Room
I crawled closer, brushing my fingers along his back, feeling the warmth and the faint hum of the Sandevistan beneath my hand. "You're not alone anymore." I whispered.
He shivered slightly at my touch, though he smiled faintly. "I think I finally understand what it means… to let someone in. And it's terrifying."
"Terrifying?" I teased softly, leaning my forehead against his shoulder. "You? Terrified? I find that hard to believe."
He chuckled, voice rough. "When it comes to you… yeah. Terrifying."
I leaned in closer, my lips brushing against his neck. "Then let me help you with that fear."
His hand found my hip, gripping tightly as he pulled me in. "Gwen…"
"I love you, Peter." I whispered, pressing my lips to his. My fingers traced along the ridges of his back, feeling the soft, mechanical hum of his Sandevistan. "All of you. Your past, your present and your future."
He froze, then exhaled, wrapping his arms around me. "I love you too. More than I've ever loved anything."
The kiss deepened, slow at first, then urgent, a release of months of tension, fear, and loneliness. I could feel the pulse of the Sandevistan beneath my fingertips, a reminder of the boy who had survived everything… and the man he was becoming.
Peter POV – After the Kiss
We sat there, shoulders touching, the soft hum of the Sandevistan mixing with our racing hearts. I let out a low laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
"See? Billion-dollar companies, world-saving biotech, life-or-death secrets… and this is still the best part of my day."
Gwen laughed softly, nudging me. "Don't tempt me to make out with you again, Parker."
I smirked, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "No promises."
She leaned back, resting her head against my shoulder. "Then this is it. No more secrets. No more hiding. We face it all… together."
I tightened my arms around her. "Together."
And in that quiet room, amid the glow of street lights and the hum of my cybernetic prosthesis, two broken kids—healed by science, guided by trust and bound by love—found a moment of peace.
The world outside could wait. Tonight, we were just Peter and Gwen. Two young adults in love.
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