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Chapter Text

It had been three months since the whole multiverse shenanigans and life could not have been more hectic for Peter Three.

The second he got back home, he’d done research on multidimensional traveling, but the internet hadn’t been as helpful as he thought it was going to be. Peter even tried to find if there was a Doctor Strange in his own universe. The only Docter Strange he’d found, was a man that acted as a wizard on children’s birthday parties, which Peter found ironic.

So, when he found nothing to help him, he decided to build his own theory, between work and Spider-Manning. Now it’s three months later and Peter is pretty sure he’s figured it out.

To celebrate his own victory, he’d got to a local café.

“Sir, we’re closing up.”

Peter woke up with a start, scanning his surroundings. He was still at the café, only is was empty, apart from the waiter that stood in front of him.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to stay so long.” Peter apologized.

“It’s fine,” the waiter said as he turned around to fill a glass of water. “You seemed so peaceful, I’d figured I could let you sleep until closing time.”

He put the glass in front of Peter. “Drink up.” He said firmly.

Peter complied as he had a look at the man. He wasn’t very tall, but seemed to be carrying himself quite well. The white blouse he was wearing stood out nicely against his light brown complexion and Peter was able to spot a sleeve of tattoos on his left lower arm.

“Tell me. What do you do that would make a young man like yourself pass out after only three beers?”

Peter laughed to himself. “I’d tell you, but you wouldn’t believe me.”

The man turned to him. He had a small grin play along his lips. “Try me.” He said.

He meddled it over for a bit. He’d just think I’m making it up anyway. Peter thought. Just leave the Spider-Man thing out of it.

“I’m working on a device that will allow me to travel to alternate universes.”

The waiter stopped wiping down the bar and looked up at him with a frown on his face. “Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“Well,” He said while throwing the dishcloth in the sink. “Tell me more about it. I might be an ordinary café owner, but I’m quite invested in sci-fi films.”

Peter stood perplexed as the man looked at him with an honest smile. “It’s quite a long story. Can I walk you home?”

“You think I need you to walk me home?”

“No no no, I don’t!” Peter spluttered. “I just- It can be dangerous on the streets this late, and I don’t know-“

“Chill,” he said. “I was only joking. I’d love to hear your story. Just let me close up.”

“Oh, sure.” Peter stood up from his stool, collecting his jacket and walked towards the door as the waiter shut the kitchen down. He frowned to himself. Why am I talking so easily to this guy? If he had learned anything in the past years, it’s to not let anyone else know too much information. It was too dangerous.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Peter forced a smile as they exited the cafe and closed it up. “You’re working on a machine that would allow you to travel to different universes?”

Peter nodded. “Yep. I’m pretty sure I’ve finished it too.”

“How’d you come up with it?”

“Hmm, right. You promise not to call the insane asylum on me, when I tell you?” Peter asked with a grin.

“That depends. If your storytelling skills are as all-over-the-place as your hair, I might.”

“What’s wrong with my hair?!” Peter asked, fake-offended. “It’s all over the place! Did you even try to tame it this morning?”

He was right. Peter had pulled another all-nighter and when he was finished Spider-Manning, he’d immediately gone back to finishing his machine. Leaving no room in between that and going to the café in the first place, he hadn’t had the time to check his appearance.

“No, you’re right,” He said. “I’ve been busy lately.”

“I can see that. Now tell me your experience! I’m getting exited!” The man was practically skipping instead of walking along.

“Right, it was about three months ago when I was walking through New York and I noticed everything change. The buildings stayed mostly the same, but the stores inside had changed in a split second. Turns out, I was pulled into another universe.”

“Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” Peter said. “I was there for a day when I met another version of myself. He told me he fucked something up with the multiverse, which caused me to be pulled into his.”

The man gaped at him. “Wow, that’s insane.”

Peter hummed in agreement. “That’s not all. There was another Peter from another universe pulled in as well. So, at that point there were three Peter’s in one universe.”

“Your name is Peter then, I assume?”

“Oh yeah. Peter Parker. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Michael Jameson. Pleasure.” Michael smiled and reached out his hand for Peter to shake.

“Jameson? Do you happen to be related to that news reporter?”

Michael laughed. “Yes actually. He’s my uncle.”

“I work for him. I take pictures for the Daily Bugle.”

“No way!” Michael said. “Please tell me he pays you fairly. I know he’s quite greedy.”

Peter smiled sheepishly. “Define fair pay.”

“Oh I’m so sorry. I’ll try to talk to him about it the next time I see him.”

“That’s alright. It’s just a side job anyways. My real job is at Oscorp,” Peter said. “But hey, we’re getting side tracked.”

“Yes, so three Peter Parkers in one universe.”

“Correct. We spend some time together there and we actually became really close in the time span of just a day. When we were send back to our own place, I immediately started working on my machine. I mean, I just got two brothers, I’m not giving up on them so quickly.”

“Brothers? Aren’t they alternate versions of yourself?”

Peter sighted. “Yes, but we’re different ages, look a little different, so it feels more like brothers then other me’s.”

“And now you have a way to get back to them, right?”

“Yes and no. I have the machine done. I just need a lot of power to get it to work. That’s not even the problem. I have a friend who can give me access to that, but the problem is, that I don’t know where I’m going to end up.”

“What do you mean?” Michael asked.

“There are an unbelievable amount of universes and the machine I have, allows you to travel, but you’d have no idea where you’d end up.”

Michael nodded. “So the machine needs a way to know to what universe it has to go to?”

“Something like that.”

“It would probably need something from that universe to get there, right?”

“Maybe. What are you onto?”

Michael stopped walking. “Okay, I’m just a sci-fi nerd yeah, so call me out if I’m spitting complete bullshit. But you were in the other universe, right?” Peter nodded. “Even if this is your universe, you probably got some traces of the other universe left in you body, just because you were there. Like, you breathed that air you drank that water and ate food from there. So there must be something of that universe in you, that you could find and use in the machine!”

Peter stood shocked as he tried to wrap his mind around Michael’s theory.

“It’s probably complete bullcrap, isn’t it?”

Peter’s eyes widened as he thought of what Max had said when he was in the other universe. The power feels different here. If the power feels different it might not be too far fetched to think the air is different as well. Even with all the extra electricity removed from Max’s body, he still had a good connection with power and he had told Peter that he could still feel traces of the other power in his system.

“I’m sorry-“

“You’re a genius!” Peter cut Michael off. “You are absolutely right! This could work!”

“You don’t have to say that to make me feel better.”

“Nononono, I’m serious!” Peter exclaimed. “There must be traces of that universe left in me and I think I don’t even have to separate it from my normal energy for it to work on my machine! As long as the machine can recognize the different universes and give you the option to choose which one to go too…”

“Please tell me I didn’t just become the cause of you not sleeping for another month.” Michael said.

“Nah, If I’m lucky it’ll be done in 72 hours.”

“Let’s make that a week. That way you’ll have time to sleep and I won’t find you passed out on my bar again.”

“You don’t like finding men passed out on your bar?” Peter teased.

“Generally not, but when it’s a handsome, multiverse traveling scientist, I don’t mind it as much.”

Shit. That was flirting. Peter hadn’t given anyone the chance to flirt with him in a long time and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it right now.

“Ehm, I’ll just go home.” Michael said, adverting his graze away from Peter. “My apartment is across the street.”

Peter snapped out of his thoughts and saw Michael nod towards the big building behind him. “Eh, yeah.” Peter said. “Thank you for listening. And your genius idea.”

Michael smiled weakly and walked past him. “Yeah, bye.” He quickly made his way towards the front door and shot Peter another small smile before shutting the door behind him.

Peter stayed for a minute, staring at the closed door.

Wonderful job, Parker. Just wonderful.

-

“And you are a hundred precent sure this is going to work, and not roast you to the core?” Max asked as him and Peter walked over to the gates of the power grid.

“There is no such thing as a hundred precent sure in science theory, Max. That’s why it’s called a theory,” Peter told him. “Besides, I’ve survived your electricity blasts before, so I’m pretty sure I won’t die.”

Max shook his head as he opened the gates and let Peter inside.

After the multiverse trip, Peter came back into his universe only to find out that Electro had been saved from his own demise with the help of Peter One’s invention that sucked all the power out of him. Spider-Man apparently vouched for Max and he was cleared of all his crimes, while Oscorp was sued. Max had gotten his job back and had even been promoted and finally got the recognition he deserved for designing the power grid.

Peter and Max stayed in contact and Peter could now say that he officially had one real friend. Harry was still in prison, along with doctor Connors who was still charged for trying to turn the city into lizards.

It was now a week since Peter’s conversation with Michael and in the meantime, Peter had rebuild the machine into a bracelet. Since there was quite a lot of tech that went into the thing, the bracelet was quite thick and covered most of his lower arm, but it wasn’t meant to be worn all the time anyway.

“How much do you need?” Max asked, referring to the amount of electricity that was needed to charge the bracelet.

“I think around the amount a car would need to start up,” Peter said. “So if you could charge it up double that, that would be nice. You know, to-“

“To make sure you can get back as well? Yeah, I get it.” Max said. He collected a couple of cables and fiddled with the computer, as Peter pulled up the menu on the bracelet.

The small screen showed two universes to choose from. The universes both had some long number when they got registered into the device, but Peter had renamed them into universe 1 and universe 3. Universe 3 being his own. The bracelet had shown a percentage of the amount of universe it had found in Peter’s blood. The first one had only 0,2% while the other one had the rest. This told Peter that the first one was Universe 1 and the second was his own.

“Connect these to the thing.” Max said as he handed Peter the other end of a cable.

Peter stuck it into the end of the bracelet and clicked it into place. “I’m turning on the electricity now. If it hurts, tell me and I’m shutting it off, alright.” Max said with a stern look at Peter.

“Yeah, of course.”

Max pressed a digital button and Peter’s super hearing immediately picked up on the high sound of the electricity flowing through the cable, into the bracelet. He didn’t feel anything besides the metal slowly heating up. Luckily, he wore his suit underneath his casual clothes, so the heat didn’t press directly on his skin. After a minute or two, Max stopped the flow and took the cable from the bracelet.

“Everything good?” He asked Peter.

“Yep, it just got a little warm and it’s vibrating a bit, but nothing more then that.” Peter said.

The screen showed a small text saying: 2,5 jumps. “I got two and a half jumps. So I should be able to get back just fine.”

Max seemed impressed and shut the system down. “Alright, I’ll see you soon then.” Peter said while he was about to press the button of universe 1.

“Whoa whoa, hold up. Don’t jump right here!” Max warned. “You’ll probably end up in the same place in that universe. How are you going to explain that you are right here in the power grid?”

“Oh right,” Peter said.

-

Max loaded up a battery for Peter to take with him as a backup. That, along with a couple parts, to make another bracelet, were put into a rucksack and slung over Peter’s shoulder. In the last moment he thought of putting a casual outfit in the bag as well, as he would be wearing the Spidy-suit during the jump. With the rucksack on his back, he swung though New York.

Arriving at the Empire State Building he climbed all the way to the top. Peter gave one last look at his own city before turning his attention to the screen on the bracelet. He tapped Universe 1 and it asked for confirmation to jump. He confirmed and a loading screen showed up. The bracelet began to vibrate more then it usually did and the second the loading screen disappeared, a shock of electricity shot through Peter’s body. His muscles cramped and he lost his grip and stickiness on the pole.

It took him seconds to realize he was falling down the Empire State Building.

Chapter Text

The closer he got to the ground, the more screams he heard from the people that were standing underneath him. He was snapped back to reality when he heard a voice yell out: “Spider-Man!”

His fingers snapped towards his web shooters and a second later the web attached itself to the Empire State Building.

He was able to finish his swing like he usually did and landed on the side of the building. Peter frowned as he looked at the bracelet around his arm. 

That wasn’t very pleasant. He thought.

The people on the street below him seemed to have calmed down and were now collectively taking pictures of him.

He leaped off the wall and shot out his webs to swing further thought the city. While he swung around he cautiously looked around to see if he found any signs that he did actually end up in the other universe. Or more specifically, Peter One’s universe. 

When he saw halfway across New York he landed on top of a building to get the bracelet off his arm. It sat in the way when he was trying to swing, so he put it in the rucksack. Peter stood up to have a look around. 

How on earth am I supposed to find Peter One? 

The only places he knew where to look, where MIT, his old high school and maybe the Statue of Liberty. 

“Here’s another piece of news, folks. For the second time in a three month time span, the menace Spider-Man was seen wearing a different suit. Does this criminal not have anything better to do then keep the attention on himself?”

The voice that spoke was familiar. He turned around and saw a Billboard with J. Jonah Jameson’s face on it. He was missing most of his hair, in comparison to the last time Peter saw him on his own TV. Next to Jameson’s face there was a video playing of Peter falling from the Empire State and catching himself with his webs.

“Well, let’s hope Peter One sees this and comes to look for me.” Peter told himself. “Let’s make myself useful in the meantime.”

-

After two hours of patrolling around the city Peter was starting to feel anxious. He webbed up the last of the robbers he had come across and took off towards the Statue of Liberty.

Just like the last time he was here, they seemed to be working on the Statue. The shield they wanted to add, wasn’t finished yet, which meant they had to build it again after the fight the Spider-Men had there. Peter swung his way up to the crown and sat down on the middle spike. The rucksack was uncomfortable on his shoulders, but he couldn’t take it off, in fear of losing the thing.

For about thirty minutes, he played games on his phone, when he heard the familiar sound of webs behind him.

“Peter?” Peter One asked carefully.

“Peter!” Peter Three said in excitement as he stood up and turned towards his younger self. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting here?”

“How- how are here?!” Peter One exclaimed as he jumped into a hug.

“That’s gonna take some time to explain,” Peter Three said. “How have you been?”

Peter One shrugged. “That’s also gonna take some time to explain.”

Peter Three studied the young Spider-Man, noticing that his excitement had disappeared. “How about we go to your place and tell our stories over a nice slice of pizza?”

“Okay,” Peter One said. “Do you have other clothes with you? ‘Cause I do’t think it would be a good idea to have two Spider-Men swing around.”

“And then what? You expect me to walk home?”

“No,” Peter One laughed. “I’ll carry you.”

“Absolutely not.”

-

Turns out, swinging is not as fun, if you are not in complete control yourself. Peter Three told himself as a note for later. 

Peter One had swung him all the way home after Peter Three had changed into civilian clothes. The young Peter shut the window of his apartment behind him once the two of them were inside.

“Tell me everything!” Peter One said as he pulled his mask off.

“Alright, you should change while I give these pizza’s a place.” Peter Three said when he relieved his shoulders of the rucksack they had managed to stuff the pizza boxes in, along with all the other junk that was already in there.

Peter One nodded and hurried to grab some normal clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. The small apartment only had two rooms, but for a place in Queens, it really wasn’t too bad.

It was then that Peter Three was reminded of the fact that Peter One lost his aunt may, and that he must have been living on his own for the past three months.

Peter Three shook his head and took the pizza’s out of the bag and sat down at the kitchen table.

Peter One jumped out of the bathroom and practically flew towards the chair across from his brother. “Alright, start talking.” He said as he grabbed a slice of pizza.

Peter Three told the story of how he made the bracelet and how it worked, while the two ate. Peter One bouncing with excitement at the idea that they should be able to visit each other whenever they want.

“I do have to mention that it’s not very pleasant,” Peter Three said. “The thing gave off quite a shock and cramped up my muscles for a bit. Almost plummeted to my death because of it.”

“Right, so I’m getting Jameson on my head about that for the next week.” Peter One said.

“Oh definitely. He already mentioned the suit, as you know.”

Peter One nodded. “Yeah, he mentioned the suit two months ago as well. I took some inspiration from yours and Peter Two’s suit when I made it.”

“Yeah, I noticed. How have you been, anyway?” Peter Three asked carefully, knowing full well that Peter One might brush it off.

“Alright, I guess. Was in a shelter for two weeks before I got this place. Got a job as a photographer for Jameson, like you and Peter Two suggested. I also do some tutoring at the library. Then I’m studying for my GED and go on patrol when I have the time.”

“Why are you studying for GED?” Peter Three asked.

“Ehm, well…” Peter One started as he fiddled with the sleeves of his sweater. “For you all to go home, the world had to forget Peter Parker.”

Peter Three frowned. “Forget Peter Parker. The world doesn’t remember you at all?” Peter One shook his head. “So, what? You have just been alone this whole time? Did you tell anyone?”

Again Peter One shook his head. “I was going to talk to my friends, but… I don’t know, I thought they would be better without me. Safer, you know?”

He did know. He knew exactly what his brother was talking about, but it sounded absurd, coming from the younger boy’s mouth. 

Peter Three dropped his face into his hands and groaned. “You know, if Peter Two was here, he’d tell you you are being stupid.” He looked up to see Peter One look away. Guilty. “But he’s not. So, I’ll just say, that I do get it, but you can’t be alone like this.”

“They’ll just get into trouble, like before.”

Peter Three stayed silent, knowing fully well he was exactly the same. His only friend was Max and that was only because of circumstances.

“Right, let’s talk about the multiverse," Peter Three said. Peter One looked happy with the change of subject and Peter Three decided to leave it there. “For starters, I have most of the parts to build you a bracelet as well and a battery that you can use as well. Second, I was wondering if you have anything that comes from Peter Two’s universe?”

“I have a piece of Docter Octavius’s tentacle and a few of the Goblin’s weapons,” Peter One said. “I also have the electricity we extracted from Electro lying around somewhere, but I guess that’s not very useful.”

“Alright, that’s something to go with. Let me worry about getting you a bracelet, while you try to extract some DNA from one of those items. Can you do that?”

Peter One got up, exited to be doing something interesting, while Peter Three moved to work on another bracelet.

-

It was late that night, that Peter One had managed to get some of Peter Two’s DNA from the knife that had been stabbed into the oldest brother’s back. It might be a bit morbid, but it was the only thing he was able to get. Doctor Octavius’ arm didn’t have any DNA on it and the only thing he could get from the pumpkin bombs were finger prints.

Peter Three was still out, trying to collect some more parts that he hadn’t been able to get in his own universe, so the apartment was empty.

Even when Peter Three wasn’t here, Peter One hadn’t felt this happy since the memory spell had been cast. The knowledge that his older brother had been working non-stop to get to him, was a comforting thought.

Somewhere he felt guilty. Guilty that he hadn’t been trying to find his brothers as well. Over the past three months he had already been feeling guilty over the fact that he had responded with a simple ‘thank you’ when Peter Three told him and Peter Two that he loved them. During his lonely days, which was most days, Peter One wished he could go back and tell him he loved him too, because the relationship between the other Spider-Man was really the only relationship he wasn’t scared of keeping.

There was a knock on his door and there his brother stood, with a plastic bag in his hand.

“I’ll have to go back tomorrow,” Peter Three said. “Can you believe they were out of screws? I mean, I know it’s 1 A.M. but simple screws, come on, any store should have those.”

“Pete-“ Peter One started, but he cut himself off.

“Yeah?”

“Eh, I got the DNA, I think. I haven’t tested it in the bracelet jet, but…”

“Really? That’s great! Let’s try it out!” Peter Three said.

He dropped the plastic bag next to his rucksack and took the finished bracelet onto his lap. He clicked a very small button and a small hole opened in the metal.

“Can you drop it in here?” He asked and Peter One took the vile that had the tiny bit of Peter Two’s blood in it. Carefully he let it fall into the hole of the bracelet. 

Peter Three closed the hole again and turned to the screen. A loading screen was seen and after a few seconds, a very long number appeared above the Universe 1 and 3 buttons.

“That must be it,” Peter Three said. “As you can see, the percentage of your universe also went up a bit.”

“You are amazing, you know that right?” Peter One said honestly.

“Might have heard that somewhere before,” Peter Three mumbled as he changed the long number into Universe 2. “Alright! This one should be ready to go. I’ll get the screws tomorrow and finish up yours as well.”

He put the device back into his bag and let himself fall onto the bed. “What’s on your schedule tomorrow and the couple of days after that?” He asked Peter One.

“Just work. Tutoring I mean. I can easily call in sick for at least a week.”

Peter Three looked him in the eyes. “But you would miss out on the money,” He bend over to search in his bag. “How much do you need?”

“No, Peter,” Peter One dismissed. “I don’t need you to pay for that. I can manage just fine-“

“Hey, my apartment isn’t too expensive and I won’t have to pay for electricity or water during the time I’m gone. So, please let met pay for you now. You need it more then I do.”

“You really don’t have to do that.” Tears welled up into his eyes and Peter Three quickly stood up and embraced him into a tight hug.

“Come on, you’re a seventeen year old kid. Everyone can use money at that age.”

“I’m eighteen.” Peter One protested.

“That’s even worse,” Peter Three patted his brother’s head and pulled out of the hug. “Do you have anything I might fit in for tonight? I don’t mind sleeping in these clothes otherwise.”

They were able to find a pair of joggers that weren’t too short on him and a tank top with a Star Wars quote on it. After a short argument they decided to just cuddle up in the bed together.

“Peter?” Peter One asked, once they lay in bed.

“Hmm?”

“I love you too.”

Peter Three’s eyes snapped open and looked at his brother. “Where is this coming from?”

Peter One shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. During the battle my mind wasn’t really there to take in what you said, but in the days after I wanted to tell you the same thing.”

“Have you been feeling very lonely?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You know, it’s not wrong to have some friends.” Peter Three said.

“But-“

“I know, it can be dangerous, but… You remember Max?”

“Electro, right?”

Peter Three nodded. “I actually became friends with him in the last three months. He’s the first close friend I’ve had since… Gwen,” He took a deep breath. “I had forgotten what it was like to talk to someone about all of this Spider-Man stuff and it really does feel good to get it of your chest.”

“But if I get too close to Ned and MJ again I just know they’ll get into danger again. I’ve gotten both of them into trouble before. Even Ned’s girlfriend at the time and Flash were almost killed because of me and they didn’t even know I am Spider-Man.”

“Flash you say? I don’t know what he’s like in your universe, but in mine, he was quite the bully.”

“Oh, he is in mine too.”

“I actually became friends with Flash in our last year of high school.” Peter Three said. “It’s not that close of a bond, but we text every once in a while and we hang out sometimes. Even just surface level relationships like that are good too have. It’ll probably make you feel less guilty.”

“I don’t think I could have a surface level relationship with Ned and MJ, knowing what we went through together.” Peter One said.

“Then find other people. Just the other day, I spoke to this waiter. I told him the story of our multiverse adventure, without mentioning the Spider-Man stuff of course, and it felt really good to just, get it off my chest.”

“You told a random waiter about the multiverse?” Peter One asked perplexed.

Peter Three smiled sheepishly. “Well, I didn’t expect him to believe me at first. But he actually came up with the whole DNA thing. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him.”

“Well, then I sure hope you’re going back to thank him and ask his number, so you can have another chatting friend.”

“Hmm, I don’t know if he wants that.”

Peter One frowned. “Why not?”

“I kinda blew it. At some point, he complemented me and I didn’t know how to respond to it, so I didn’t respond at all. And after that he got awkward and left quickly.”

“You’re an idiot.” Peter One stated.

“I thought I was amazing!”

“That too, but you’re an idiot when it comes to social skills. Do you even know his name?”

“I do actually,” Peter Three said proudly. “It’s Michael Jameson. He’s J. Jonah Jameson’s nephew.”

Peter One blinked at him for a few seconds before saying: “You know his initials are MJ, right?”

Chapter Text

“You know his initials are MJ, right?”

Peter Three stayed silent for a couple seconds, before saying: “Do you have any idea how many people there are with MJ as their initials? That is just a coincidence.”

“It could be, but since he’s Jonah’s nephew, I feel like it isn’t.” Peter One said. He couldn’t help the grin that got on his face.

“Tsk. You have no right to talk, baby spider.” Peter Three said has he roughly rubbed his hand through Peter One’s hair. “Maybe I’ll give it a try. I do need to thank him for the universe skipping idea.”

“Oh yes. You should do one of those big romantic gestures!” Peter One teased. “Show up at his bar on a white stallion while serenading him with some old Kelly Clarkson song.”

“I’ll have you know that I am an excellent singer. But who the hell is Kelly Clarkson?”

“Oh boy.”

-

“Are you ready? Spider-Kid?”

“Please stop. We need to come up with better nicknames.”

The two Spider-Men stood on top of Peter One’s apartment building in their civilian clothes. Underneath, they wore their spandex suits, completely hidden from an outsider’s view. Each of them had a rucksack over their shoulders and they both wore their finished multiverse-traveling-bracelets.

“Alright, alright. Might I remind you, you’re gonna feel a light shock as you go.” Peter Three said. He tapped Universe 2 on the screen and gave his younger counterpart a quick smile and said: “See you on the other side!” Right before he disappeared into thin air.

Peter One felt a tad nervous as he followed Peter Three’s example on the bracelet. While the loading screen was on, he felt the metal of the bracelet vibrate and heat up on his skin. The big electric shock shot though his body and he almost fell to his knees, but he was stopped before he hit the ground.

“Easy kiddo.” Peter Three said as he held Peter One up on his feet. “Told you, it’s not pleasant.”

When he regained control over his muscles Peter One shook out his limbs. “Did it work?”

“I’d say so. Everything looks a bit more orange here.” Peter Three said, looking out over the city from where they were standing.

Peter One looked up to see that he was right. The whole environment all around seemed to have an orange hue to it. “You’re right. What is that?”

Peter Three shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s different in every universe. Yours doesn’t have a hue like this. It just had more vibrant colors. Compared to my universe, that is.”

“Okay,” Peter One said as he stood up and walked to the edge of his former apartment building. “How do we find Peter Two?”

As if on que, a loud explosion sounded from somewhere further into the city. The two looked at each-other before jumping off the building and running towards the scene as fast as they could. They had to make their way though a horde of people that tried to get away from the place of destruction before they got a glimpse of their oldest brother.

The man was swinging around while waves of force followed after him, destroying buildings around him.

“Schultz, you need to clam down!” Peter Two yelled as he slung a loose end of a lantern at the man that stood on the ground. “This won’t do you any good!”

“Oh, shut up!” The man on the ground shouted. “You don’t know what’s good for me! You’d better let me off, pal!”

He shot another shockwave at the Spider-Man that was swinging around.

“Sooooo… Do we help? Or...” Peter One asked Peter Three.

“If it gets out of hand, I guess?” He responded. “Let’s keep our webs at the ready.”

While the two of them readied their webshooters, Peter Two was still swinging around the villain on the ground. Every time he came close to the man, he was either blasted back into a building, or a wave was shot at the buildings above innocent civilians. Peter Two did his best to keep all the people safe, but he was struggling. The Shocker simply wanted to get away with his bank robbery, but was putting way too many people in danger.

“Alright, we’re stepping in.” Peter Three said, taking his mask and putting it over his face. “I want this over with, so we can have some quality brother-bonding time.”

Peter One jumped onto the building next to them and began to climb the walls, his mask already over his head. “I think I’ve fought this guy before.” He said. “He was just a sidekick though.”

Peter Three followed climbing up the walls on the opposite skyscraper. “Okay. How’d you take him down?”

“I just webbed him up. His shockers were powered by alien tech, so once it was stuck, he wasn’t much of a threat.”

“You guys and your alien tech.” Peter Three huffed. “I want to hear those stories as soon as we sit down.”

When they both stood on top of the buildings, they looked down on the scene and saw Peter Two holding up a large piece of rubble above a crowd.

“How are we-“ Peter Three wanted to say, but he was cut off by Peter One swinging over and taking rubble from Peter Two.

“We’ll take care of the people. You focus on the Shocker.” He ordered Peter Two who hung to the building, probably wearing a look of disbelief on his face.

“That’s one way of doing it.” Peter Three told himself as he swung over as well, ushering the civilians away from the scene.

“What- How are you- What!?” Peter Two exclaimed, heading over to the other side of the street.

“Less questioning, more catching supervillains, old man!” Peter Three yelled. He took the rubble over from Peter One who was still holding it by his webs. He thew it to the side, only damaging the next building a little.

The Shocker noticed the extra opponents that had entered the scene. He let out a frustrated string of curse words as he started blasting his shockwaves in all directions. Peter One and Three split up to help manage the destruction on opposite sides. Meanwhile Peter Two used the other two as a distraction, while he creeped up on Schultz from behind. He shot his webs at the man’s feet, sticking him to the ground. In his confusion Schultz stopped shooting and Peter Two used the opportunity to web the shockwave blasters to the man’s body.

With Schultz immobilized, Peter Two collected all of the money-bags the man had taken out of the bank and flung them back towards the building.

The other two Spider-Men landed next to him and Peter Three patted his brother’s shoulder.

“I guess this was more of a surprise then a party, but still a surprise party nonetheless.”

“How did you even get here?” Peter Two asked when he had finally found all the words to complete a full sentence.

“We’ll explain in private,” Peter One said. “We should get out of here.” He nodded towards the police cars that entered the scene.

Peter Two nodded. “Follow the leader I guess.”

-

“I guess you really are the most organized one out of us,” Peter Three said while he looked around Peter Two’s apartment. “Or is it because of your lady?”

“Both,” Peter Two said as he pulled off his Spidy-suit. “I do most of the cleaning, because I don’t want her to come home to a dumpster.”

“I like it,” Peter One said. “What does she do? Her job, I mean.”

“She works at a bar.”

Peter One hit his elbow against Peter Three’s arm. “MJ who works at a bar. What a coincidence, huh?” He teased.

Peter Two raised an eyebrow at his brothers. The youngest grinned brightly as he sad down on the couch.

“Peter Three has met his MJ, but he has not accepted it yet.”

“Ugh, will you shut up about it already? I’ll see what I’m gonna do about it once I get back to my universe.” Peter Three grumbled as he plopped down on the couch next to him.

“Oh, well that sounds nice,” Peter Two said. He put three glasses of Pepsi on the table and sat on the remaining chair. “Tell me about her.”

“Uhm, it’s not a girl.” Peter Three said as he took a sip from his drink. “His name is Michael Jameson. He works at a bar. I told him that I was looking for a way to travel the multiverse and he gave me an idea. It worked out, as you can see, and little Pete thinks I should make some big romantic gesture to thank him.”

Peter Two laughed as Peter One frowned. “That was a joke. And stop calling me little.”

“Alright, all-mighty-baby-Spider.”

“Alright kids, let’s keep it nice.” Peter Two interrupted. “How about you tell me how you got here.”

“Oh, that was all Peter Three.” Peter One said.

Peter Three looked at his younger brother surprised.

“What? Got to give credit where credit’s due.”

“Right. Well, I had been thinking about the whole thing and it took me some time to figure out how to make it work, but it worked out in the end. And like I just said, Michael helped me come up with the idea of how to find these specific Universes.”

“So you can just jump to every universe now?”Peter Two asked.

“In theory, yes.” Peter Three said. “But I wouldn’t try that. We might get that Doctor Strange on our asses again.”

“We haven’t heard from him yet.” Peter One said. “I thought he might come and find us after you ended up in my place.”

“He must have some bigger issues to deal with. Speaking of which. We need to find some energy.”

Peter Two frowned. “What did you do?”

“Nonono, it’s nothing bad. It’s just that these bracelets need a lot of power to make jumps and I only have half a jump left.” Peter Three said as he quickly took off the metal around his arm. “We should also make one for you, of course, but powering these is priority number one, since I’m not planning to spend the rest of my life in this universe.”

“Alright, how much do you need?”

“About the same amount to start up a car. One issue: I have no idea how to transport it into the bracelet.” Peter Three said sheepishly.

“Then how did you do it in the first place?” Peter Two asked while Peter One shook his head and dropped it into a pillow on the couch while he smiled.

“Max Dillon did it.”

“Max… Electro?”

“Yup.” Peter Three confirmed. “Though I have to say, he’s no longer Electro. Peter One did a great job with his cure.”

Peter One immediately looked away to hide the blush on his cheeks. “’S not that hard.”

Peter Two and Three exchanged a look, before Peter Three threw himself dramatically on top of the youngest.

“Oh no little Pete! You really are the smartest kid ever alive. Take it from the older and wiser Peters. You are extraordinary!”

“Yes you are!” Peter Two jumped in. “Otto is so thankful for your help. You have no idea how much I have to hear him complement you. ‘He’s so much more productive then you are, Peter.’ ‘Why can’t you be more like the young kid, Peter?’ It’s sooo frustrating to have the one father figure in my life, love the youngest child more.”

That made the two younger brothers burst out laughing. And Peter Two smiled proudly to himself.

“I guess father and son both have eight legs, huh?” Peter Three asked

“Hmm, no we haven’t gotten around the part of giving me extra legs yet. Can we get some tips from you maybe?” He asked the last part to Peter One.

“No, the legs I had were part of the nano suit Mr. Stark gave me. It doesn’t respond to me anymore, so you’re gonna have to find something else.”

“Otto has been working on nano technology, so maybe you can give him a few pointers,” Peter Two suggested. “You don’t have to, of course. I understand if you don’t want to help him.”

Peter One jumped up. “No, of course I would like to help him! I haven’t been inside a lab in months!”

“Let’s give Otto a visit in the morning then.”

-

The three Peters entered Otto Octavius’ lab the next morning. The room smelled sterile and in every corner, some kind of experiment was brewing. The doctor himself seemed to be working on a tablet while two of his mechanical arms were puzzling a machine together. The remaining two arms turned toward the three boys, alerting Otto, who looked up from the tablet.

“Ah Peter, what a pleasure to see you again, my dear boy.”

Peter Two couldn’t help the smile that played on his face as he watched the other two marvel at the place. He walked over to the doctor and embraced him.

“It’s good to see you too, Otto. And I’m sure you’re excited to see these two again.”

“Pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Octavius.” Peter One said as he shot the man’s hand.

“Pleasure is all mine, my boy,” Otto smiled brightly at the kid as he moved over towards Peter Three who still had his eyes at the tentacles that were putting working in the machine. “You are Peter Three, if I’m correct.”

“Ah, yes.” Peter Three said, direction his attention towards the Otto. “It’s nice to formally meet you, sir.”

Otto laughed softly. He turned back to the tablet as he began speaking. “The moment Peter informed me about your visit, I returned to my long-deserted project of nano technology. I was hoping the young Peter could help me along,” Otto looked back up at them. “Now, I do understand you all have something to work on as well?”

“Yes, actually,” Peter Three said. “We want to make another multiverse bracelet and we need to figure out how to charge them.”

“Well, you can use all my recourses for that. If you enter the door on the other side of the hall, you can find more machines you can use.” Otto said.

Nodding, Peter Three went to gather is materials. While Peter Two joined him, Peter One followed Dr. Octavius. He watched the man pull up some documents on the tablet and send them over to the three-screened computer on the desk.

“I have not yet tried to make a prototype, but I am fairly certain this is the same formula that was on your suit when we first met.” Otto said.

Peter One marveled over the calculations on the screen as it reminded him of Mr. Stark’s holograms. “I would say you’re right,” Peter said. “This looks familiar to me. Do you mind if I check the whole thing? Just to be sure.”

Octavius smiled. “But of course. I have learned my lesson after all. Would you like something to drink in the meantime?”

“Yes, that would be great.”

-

“They are a special bunch, those Peter Parkers.” Otto told Peter Two. The adults sat around the dining table, both drinking coffee. Peter Three was fully caught up in his project and had zoned out at least one hour ago. Peter One on the other hand, had fallen asleep on the desk. Peter Two had noticed how fast the youngest had fallen asleep last night, because of that, he assumed the boy hadn’t been getting enough shut-eye lately.

“They are.”

“That includes you, my boy,” Otto said with a slick smile. “Maybe I haven’t said this enough. You are important.”

Peter Two hid behind his coffee to mask his hart that just jumped in his chest.

“You are a remarkable jong man. I don’t think I have ever seen someone go through so much personal growth, as you have.”

Peter Two’s throat swelled up but he forced to look up at the man that had been acting as a parent to him for the last three months. For even longer if you count the memories he gained of the changed past. Otto had appeared back into the point of time where he left off. The same applied to Peter Two. That meant the years on from the moment where Otto had come back had played out differently then Peter Two remembered. The second Peter had come back in his universe, his mind was flooded with extra memories. Memories of the changed universe. From time to time it became hard to differentiate the memories from each timeline, but he managed.

“I wonder how the multiverse is going to affect us. That Doctor Strange seemed to think it could be dangerous.” Peter Two said, hoping Otto would go along with the change of subject.

Otto sighted. “Well, I assume multiverse travel should not be possible in the grander scheme of existence. So I don’t believe this is completely safe.” The man then smiled and Peter was able to spot a mischievous glint in his eyes. “But what is science without a little risk, huh?”

“As long as-“

“I’ve got it!” Peter Three exclaimed as he held up the metal bracelet. “I’ve got the universes in. Now all we need to do is charge the damn things.”

“Alright!” Peter Two said. He couldn’t help the smile on his face as he saw Peter Three’s excitement.

“I’ll hook them up to the arc reactor prototype I have.” Otto said as he sat his coffee down.

Peter Three handed the three bracelets over and doc walked off. Peter Three’s eyes fell upon the sleeping kid. “How long has he been out?”

“‘Bout an hour.” Peter Two responded.

“I’m worried about him. I think he’s lonely. And feels guilty.”

Peter Two nodded in agreement. “Guess you know how he feels.”

Peter Three turned to him with an annoyed frown on his face “Please-“ But before he could continue Peter Two held up his hand to stop him.

“I’m not trying to get you to talk. I’m pretty sure you’re getting better. The kid is new to it and needs some of our help to get better. Believe it or not, I struggled too. Right now, I think we’re the only ones who can help him get back to himself.”

Chapter Text

“Since we finally have some time off, I would like to hear your alien stories,” Peter Three said, plopping down on his own couch. “I don’t care which one of you starts.”

Last night, the three Peter said goodbye to Otto and jumped to universe three. The second they appeared however, Peter Three had to jump into his costume to fix some of the damage that had been done in the days he was gone. The other two helped behind the scenes, not wearing their suits and keeping away from camera crew. It was only seven hours later that the city had returned to it’s natural state. The three Peters made their way to Peter Three’s apartment, while listening to multiple news broadcasts about Spider-Man being incapable of protecting the city.

Peter Two moved some junk out of the way to sit backwards on a chair, while saying: “Mine’s not too long. I can start.”

“Great!” Peter One exclaimed as he jumped on the couch as well, swinging his legs across Peter Three’s.

“Alright then,” Peter Two said, adjusting his position on the chair. “I can’t really tell how it got to me, but I found out later that it came from a meteor. By it, I mean the symbiote we call Venom. It’s kind of like black, slimy goo. It needs a host to survive and it bonded with my suit, turning it black.”

“So, black goo that came from space turned your suit black?” Peter Three laughed. “Honestly, I expected more.”

Peter Two rolled his eyes. “If only that was all that it did. It amplifies negative emotions and I couldn’t take it off that easily. Not that I wanted to. I felt stronger and more confident in the black suit. I could fight criminals more easily but it destroyed my relationships with others.”

He sighted and looked at Peter Three. “It’s one of the reasons I really had to work hard to fix my relationship with MJ.”

“I got rid of it eventually. I hit the bell of a clocktower and the symbiote got off. However, it found Eddie Brock. A guy that I pissed off pretty hard, by exposing his photographs as a fraud.”

Peter One laughed. “So? That’s not a bad thing is it?”

“I didn’t do it in a very respectful manner.” Peter Two explained. “But the symbiote bound to Eddie and they became Venom. So, naturally they came after me.”

“Naturally.”

“We had this battle and Flint came to help, as well as Harry in the Goblin suit. I managed to separate the symbiote from Eddie with high tones, but Eddie didn’t want to let it go and he jumped back into the goo right after I had thrown a pumpkin bomb into it.”

“And that was the last you’ve seen from it?” Peter One asked carefully.

Peter Two nodded. “That’s the last contact I’ve had with extraterrestrial life.”

“I’m guessing it didn’t get a five star rating on alien-companion . com” Peter Three asked.

“No, zero out of five. Would not recommend for use.” Peter Two said laughing along with Peter One. “But now it’s your turn, kid.”

Peter One frowned at the nickname, but let it go as he sat up. “Well, I guess aliens are much more common in my universe. I was on a school trip when I noticed an alien space ship very close to the city and I decided to investigate.”

“Whoa whoa, what? You’re saying there was an alien space ship? And you you decided to ‘check it out’?” Peter Three said exasperated. “How many space ships had you seen before that?”

“None in the flash, but on the news a lot. There as an alien invasion a few years prior to this.” Peter One said.

The older Peters stared at him in shock. “How did that end?” Peter Two asked.

“The Avengers took care of it.” Peter One shrugged. The day before he had explained the Avengers to his brothers. They wondered about the technology he used to have and of course his relationship with Tony.

“But anyway, I got over there and saw Mr. Stark already fighting this really big alien. He told me that the aliens were there to steal Doctor Strange’s necklace. I had to save him but we got beamed up the ship. That’s when I got the Iron Spider-suit! It helped me breathe in space.”

“Stark let you come into space?” Peter Two asked.

Peter One shook his head. “No, he send me home, but I stuck on anyway. We were too far up in space when he found out.”

Both Peter’s rolled their eyes, knowing fully well they would have done the same.

“So we freed Doctor Strange and then found out the aliens worked for Thanos. Thanos is the big purple alien that is like, the main bad guy here. We crashed the ship onto a planet and then we were ambushed by another group, who thought we worked for Thanos. They were Drax and Mantis, who were both also aliens, but other aliens, and there was Nebula who is like this blue cyborg lady and there was Peter Quill who was from earth.”

“His name was Peter? Are you serious?” Peter Three asked. “Like we don’t have enough of those as it is.”

“We called him Quill anyway, to avoid confusion. But they explained, to me at least, what Thanos wanted. There are these six infinity stones that all have a different ability. Thanos was collecting all the stones and he wanted to wipe out half the universe.”

“Half?”

Peter One nodded. “He thought it would balance the word. If he collected all the Infinity stones, he could snap his fingers, and half the population would disappear. Randomly selected. Doctor Strange had the Time stone in his necklace and we were going to protect it. Thanos came to us and we had this whole battle, with magic and weapons. Eventually we got him sedated and we tried to pull the glove with Infinity stones off of him, but Quill hit him and he woke up. Then he threw a moon at us and stabbed Mr. Stark. Strange gave up the Time stone and Thanos left.”

“I have a question.” Peter Three said. “What the fuck do you mean by: He threw a moon at us?”

“Thanos had the space stone and so he could control one of the moons the planet had and make it shatter down on us.”

“Kid, I don’t know what to say. You really went trough some shit.” Peter Two said.

“Oh, but that wasn’t all of it, actually.” Peter One said as he fiddled with his fingers. “Thanos actually succeeded.”

“Excuse me?!”

“I thought you had the Adventures? Didn’t they stop him?” Peter Two asked.

“Avengers. And let’s say, they tried, of course. And they fixed it. Can I continue then?”

“No,” Peter Three said. “I need something to drink first. Anyone else?”

“Yes please.”

A few minutes later, they all sat back down with their drinks and a big boul of crisps.

“Right, so ehm, where was I?”

“Thanos left?”

“Oh yeah. Well, we recovered from the battle, but not long after I felt something was off. The others did too and they started disappearing. Mantis, Drax, Quill and Strange all turned to dust. And ehm… so did I.” Peter One said with a crooked grin.

The others were silent, staring at the boy.

“You… died?”

“Sort of, yeah.” Peter One said. “For five years.”

Peter Two shook his head. “You better finish this story. I’ll ask questions afterwards.”

“So, for me it didn’t feel like five years. I just woke up again and Doctor Strange told me it had been five years and the we had to go back to earth to fight Thanos. We portaled there and so did all the other superheroes.” Peter One said excited. “It really was amazing! You should have seen it. We were with so many! But yeah, we attacked Thanos and his army. I was swinging around with the Infinity gauntlet at some point and Captain Marvel took it from me, she’s really, really cool and really powerful. And then… well, I don’t really know how it all happend, but Mr. Stark got the gauntlet… He snapped his fingers.”

“Excuse me? I thought snapping your fingers with the gauntlet meant, half the universe gets wiped out?” Peter Three asked, frowning.

“With the gauntlet you can make basically anything happen with the snap of your fingers, I think. Tony used it to wipe out Thanos and his army.” Peter One sighted. “It’s just that the stones are very powerful and take up a lot of energy. Tony didn’t… make it.”

“I’m so sorry, Peter.” Peter Two said. “He really sacrificed himself for the universe, didn’t he?”

Peter One nodded, swallowing thickly.

“Now, I understand why he was such a big deal in your universe.” Peter Three said.

“Yeah, he was great.” Peter One said. “He invented time travel, you know.”

“Holy… Your universe is actually loco, you realize that, right?” Peter Three asked.

“So what happened in those five years?”

“Nothing, for a long time. The Avengers killed Thanos, but he had already destroyed all the infinity stones. Then Tony invented time travel. The remaining Avengers got together to collect the infinity stones from the past. Black Widow died during that.”

The two Peters raised an eyebrow at him.

“She was one of the original Avengers. She wasn't superpowered. Just skilled. But anyway, when they got all the stones into their time, Dr. Banner had the gauntlet and snapped his fingers to bring everyone back. It worked, but somehow, Thanos from the past had come to our time and attacked. So that last battle we fought was actually against past Thanos.” Peter One took a handful of crisps. “Then Steve Rogers used time travel to put all the Infinity stones back in the time they came from and decided to stay in that time and grow old with his love. Something he didn’t get to do in his life.”

“Okay… So, three Avengers died?” Peter Three asked.

“Peter One shook his head. “No, two. Rogers just grew old. And Dr. Banner did survive his snap.”

“How?”

“Something with radiation. He’s also the Hulk and he consumes ration or something. His arm was just damaged, but that about it.”

“Kid, I don’t know what to say.” Peter Two said.

“I do.” Peter Three piped up. “Your universe is fucked up.”

-

Peter One and Peter Two stayed for two more days, before they jumped back to their own universes. The two older Peters made Peter One promise to come to them if he ever felt lonely. Peter Three had Max make them all some re-chargeable batteries to take with them. After long, emotional goodbyes, Peter Three was on his own again.

He spend a few days catching up with his work ar Oscorp and after he had a good nights rest, he prepared himself for a visit. Peter Three walked towards Michael’s bar, with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He knew he was walking unreasonably fast, but he was nervous.

Were flowers too extreme? What if he’s not even there?

When he stood on the street across from the bar, he saw Michael inside. The man was cleaning one of the tables next to the window. He had a concentrated look on his face that Peter almost mistook for frustration, if it hadn’t been for the customer that spoke to him, making a bright smile appear back on Michael’s face. Peter had a look over the note in his hand, checking the lines he had prepared. He took a deep breath and put the note in his back pocket, only to notice the paper kept sticking to his fingers. He muttered to himself as he moved the bouquet over to his other hand in order to try and peel the thing off. He gave up when he started ripping the paper. He sighted as he put the hand in his pocket to conceal his stickiness, hoping his nerves will have calmed down when his had to take it out.

Peter straightened his shoulders and strode towards the café with fake confidence. A bell sounded as he opened the doors. The bar was full with chatter and some jazz was being played over the speakers.

At the sound of the bell, Michael looked up. “Welcome, can I offer you… oh.” He stopped speaking as he noticed Peter. His eyes falling upon the flowers in his hand.

“I ehm- This is for you.” Peter said as he stretched his arm out. “I was wondering if you could ehm… Or maybe I can wait, I can do that too.”

Michael’s lips were pressed shut as his eyes were shooting from Peter to the flower bouquet in front of him.

“What I’m trying to say is… I wanted to…”

“It’s okay. Take your time.” Michael said, his face now suppressing a smile.

“Don’t patronize me!” Peter pushed the flowers further forward, in attempt to get Michael to take them. “I was wondering if you could take a few minutes off to have Ice cream with me?”

Michael took the flowers after he had put away his notebook and pen. “Ice cream? It’s March.”

Peter nodded. “I know. I just thought you would like that more than a coffee, after serving that all day.” He had another look around the shop. It didn’t seem particularly busy at the moment. “I could also wait. Until your shift is over. Or break or something.”

“No, it’s okay,” Michael said. “I can spare a couple minutes. Let me put these in water, yeah?”

“Of course.” Peter exhaled when Michael turned around. He quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket, to see if the note was still stinking on. Thankfully, it wasn’t and the paper was now a scrunched up mess in his pocket. He looked back up and saw Michael hang his apron on a hook. The barista came over with a bright smile.

“Let’s go then.”

Chapter Text

The two men stepped outside to make their way through New York. Sadly, the weather was getting worse. Dark grey clouds drifted above them, and Peter hoped it wouldn’t start raining before they got to the ice cream shop.

“I wanted to thank you for your brilliant idea,” Peter said. “It worked exactly the way you said it would.”

“Really?” Michael eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, does that mean you did it? You really traveled through the multiverse again?”

Peter nodded. “Yep.” He said, popping the p.

“So? Tell me a bout it!” Michael asked excitedly.

“Well, I’ve made the device into a bracelet so it could come with me if I travel to another universe, you know? I charged it with the right amount of power for al least two jumps and put my own DNA into it. The device could recognize traces of the other universe and I was ready to go. It took me a while to find Peter One when I was there, but we made him a device as well. He also had some DNA of Peter Two laying around, so the next day, we jumped to his universe. We made him a bracelet and now we can all jump to every universe whenever we want to.”

Michael was silent for a while and stared unbelieving at Peter. Peter looked at him as he bit his lip. The man’s eyes sparkled in admiration beyond the ridiculously long lashes.

“That’s amazing.” Michael said, finally. He still seemed to struggle to find words as the words came out softly.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, it is, I guess.”

They arrived at the ice cream shop where there was unsurprisingly no queue.

“What flavor do you want?” Peter asked as he took his wallet from his back pocket.

“You don’t have to pay for me.” Michael said.

Peter scoffed. “Yes I do. I pulled you away from work and I need to thank you for helping me.” His tone was firm to let Micheal know that he wasn’t budging on this.

“Alright, I want… grandma’s apple pie.”

“Really? That’s so extra. Does it even taste good?” Peter asked in surprise.

Michael shrugged. “Guess I’ll find out.”

“I’ll have vanilla.” Peter told the teenager behind the counter.

“Really? Vanilla? That’s the most basic flavor there is!” Michael said. “You must have American tastebuds.”

That wasn’t really why Peter liked basic flavors. After the spider-bite, his senses got more extreme. Including his taste. Even a simple strawberry ice cream could be too sweet for him now. So he had to tone down all the spices and the amounts of sugar in his diet.

“I guess I do,” He said, taking the cones from the teenager. “At least I’ll know what I’m getting, unlike some people.”

Michael smiled as he took the ice cream from Peter. They stepped outside and the second they did, raindrops started falling from the sky. A low thunder rumbled trough the air as the sky had turned a dark grey.

“Ehm, we should find some shelter if we don’t want our ice cream to wash away.” Michael said.

“My appartement is around the corner from here,” Peter suggested.

“If this is the part where I get murdered by you in your apartment, then I have to refuse.” Michael said as he grinned.

Peter choked on his ice cream. “What? No, I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything-“

Michael's grin dropped and his eyes looked concerned as he stopped the other man’s rambling. “I didn’t mean that, Peter. You get nervous way too easily. I’m only joking around.”

Peter knew his social skills had been decaying over the years. He spend all his time working or spider-manning. He even had trouble making time for aunt May, let alone attempting to date anyone. Michael was the first person he was really socializing with after all that time. Well, besides his multiverse counterparts of course, but that was different. They were him.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this.” Peter apologized.

“Gone on a date? Or socialized?” Michael asked. His tone wasn’t judging whatsoever. His question seemed as simple to him as if he was asking Peter’s favorite color.

“Both, I guess.” Peter said as he rubbed his neck with his free hand.

Michael nodded. “I assume you have your reasons for that, and I’m not going to ask you about that now. Let’s get to your apartment before my apple pie ice cream is washed away.”

Peter lead the way to his house, the both of them pulling the hoods of their jackets far over their heads and leaning over the cones of ice cream to protect it from the rain. As Peter unlocked his front door, he realized he did not clean his place to be ready for visitors.

The living room was a mess. Carton boxes with technical parts stood everywhere and clothes were scattered all over his bed, as well as a lab coat with some chemical stains on it. On the supposed dinner table stood multiple phials with web fluid in different stages of the making process.

Luckily, Peter had made a habit of hiding his spandex suit away in his closet, back when he lived with his aunt.

“Ehm, sorry for the mess?” Peter apologized.

“You know, I didn’t expect anything less from you,” Michael said, smiling. “It’s exactly what I imagined your place to look like.”

“I’m not sure you mean that as a compliment.” Peter said as he shut the door behind him and took off his jacket. “But I’m taking it as one.”

Michael smiled even brighter at Peter’s comment. “See! I knew you had a sense of humor!”

“You can move some stuff away from the couch,” Peter said as he took both his and Michael’s jacket to hang above the heater. “I’m sure there’s nothing important there.”

When he turned back around Peter saw Michael was not sitting down, but instead looking at the phials on the table while he licked his ice cream. “What are you woking on here? It looks like spiderwebs.”

Peter panicked a little inside. “They aren’t. No wait, they are. You remember I work for Oscorp?”

Michael nodded.

“Well, they were experimenting with spiders there years ago, trying to create webs that can be used in the medical field, but the use of actual spiders was shut down, for animal cruelty and such.”

“That makes sense.”

“So, we’re now trying to recreate the formula without the use of spiders.”

“You should ask Spider-Man for some help with that.” Michael joked.

Peter had to bite his tongue to keep his laugh to himself. “Yeah, I’m sure that guy knows how to make good webs.”

“I mean, yours don’t look bad tho,” Michael said as he studied the most developed phial closely. “You could sell this stuff to some dedicated cosplayers.”

“You think so?” Peter asked curiously as he licked his ice cream. It wouldn’t be so bad to earn some extra money.

Michael nodded. “Especially if you can recreate his webshooters as well. And I have no doubt that you could, with your whole multiverse traveling and all.”

“Maybe it’s not such a good idea to have random cosplayers get their hands on functional webshooters.” Peter said.

Michael laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Wait,” Peter said as he shoved the last bit of his ice cream cone in his mouth. “I’ll show you the thing.”

“The thing?”

Peter rummaged trough a drawer in his closet and took out the multiverse bracelet. He walked towards his couch and moved some of the mess away. Michael’s eyes were curiously on the bracelet as he sat down next to Peter.

“This is the multiverse bracelet.” Peter said as he turned it on.

“You call that a bracelet?”

“What else am I supposed to call it? Its metal and you wear it around your lower arm.”

Michael thought for a while. “Right, I can’t think of anything right now, but if I ever do, I’ll let you know. How does it work?”

Peter turned it on and the screen lit up. “As you can see here,” He said as he pointed to the battery icon. “It is not charged right now. You need a lot of power to jump to another universe. And the rest is pretty self explanatory. Universe 1, 2 and 3. You click on them, and you go there.”

Michael’s eyes were filled with wonder as he looked at the thing in Peter’s hands.

“It’s amazing. You are amazing. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Might’ve heard it somewhere before.” Peter mumbled.

“Well, they were right. You are amazing and I’m surprised no one had handed you a nobel prize yet.” Michael praised him.

Peter dropped his head back on the couch. “I don’t think that’s ever going to happen. I’m not sharing the idea of multiverse traveling with the world, let alone the fact that I can work with it.”

Michael’s enthusiasm died down. He tilted his head sideways, looking like a confused puppy. “Why not?”

“Too dangerous. You never know what people want to do with it. They might do something bad. Even I have been tempted to do something… wrong.”

The room was silent for a while.

“It’s because of her, isn’t it?” Michael asked. His eyes were looking at a polaroid picture on the wall. The picture showed Gwen while she was sipping a smoothie in Central Park. It wasn’t the only picture of her Peter kept in the room.

Peter swallowed thickly and nodded.

“Who is she? If I might ask?” Michael asked carefully.

“She’s… she’s Gwen.” Peter chocked on her name. “She was my girlfriend.”

It felt wrong to call her his girlfriend. Gwen was so much more to him. She was his best friend. She was his partner. She was…

“Was,” Michael said. “She isn’t anymore?”

“She’s passed away.” Peter said softly. He wasn’t sure if Micheal had even heard him.

Michael sucked in a breath before raising his hands in defense. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for asking, you don’t have to talk about it.” He said hurriedly.

Peter shook his head. “It’s okay. It’s been a while, but I haven’t been able to…”

He took a moment to collect his thoughts. He couldn’t possibly put into words what Gwen had meant, or what she still means to him. She was the reason he was still doing what he does, but also the reason Peter doesn’t socialize anymore. Micheal being his first real attempt of connection in the past decade.

The words Peter Two had told him a few days ago popped into his head again. ‘I’m pretty sure you’re getting better.’ He was right. Peter was getting better. Whether that was because of the other Peters, or time, or maybe even Michael, he didn’t know.

Peter looked at the man beside him carefully. He had his left leg tugged underneath himself and he was paying with his fingers as he bit his lip softly.

In that moment Peter made up his mind.

“I’ll never stop loving her.” He told Michael. “She saved my life.”

“I’m glad she did,” Michael said a small smile slowly coming back to his face. “I will never tell you to stop loving her. I could never ask that of you, nor do I want to ask that of you. She’s important to you and I can see she will always be.”

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat away and fully turned to Micheal. The Asian man’s eyes were more sincere then Peter had seen them before and he almost seemed to be tearing up himself.

“Her loss was… is still hard for me,” Peter said softly. “My mind isn’t always healthy for me. But I try to get better for her.”

Michael nodded, understanding what he meant. “I guess that’s all you can do. But I would like to get to know you better. Maybe I can help you when you feel bad, from now on. If you want me to.”

As much as Peter appreciated it, he feared Michael might not be ready for Peter’s hectic life. But as Peter Two had said, it took some work for him and his MJ, so maybe, if given the chance, Peter and Michael could make it work too.

“Why?” Peter asked, sitting upright and attempting to make the conversation more lighthearted. “Why would you sign up for this?”

Michael smiled softly. “Honestly, I’m very intrigued by you. You seem confident at first, but aren’t actually. It’s.. how do I say it? Cute?”

Peter raised his eyebrows at him. “Cute?”

“Yes. Or maybe it’s your fluffy hair. Or those doe eyes. Or maybe it’s the fact that you look like a guy who goes skateboarding on the weekends, but you’re actually a scientist.”

“I do actually go skateboarding sometimes.” Peter said, trying not to get flustered over the other things Michael just mentioned. “‘M pretty good at it actually.”

Michael shook his head smiling. “See? Is there anything you can’t do?”

-

A few weeks later Peter found himself happier then he had been in a long time. He caught himself thinking about Michael while he was working or on patrol. During breaks, he found time to chat with him or long, late night phone calls.

It was Friday afternoon when Michael called him during working hours. Peter looked at his phone and then scanned around the lab. Two of his colleagues were slacking off their work and nothing important was about to explode, so, Peter snuck out of the room and ducked around a corner. He quickly took the call, before Michael could press away.

“Hi, Peter speaking.”

“Hi Pete, it’s Michael,” The man sounded a bit nervous. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

“No, of course not. I was just taking a break.”

“Okay… Well, I’ve got a question.”

Peter frowned at Michael’s nerves. It was usually Peter who was stumbling over his words.

“Are you okay? You sound stressed.”

“Nonono, I’m fine. Just ehm... Do you have something important to do tomorrow evening?” Peter could picture Michael biting his lip on the other end of the phone.

“No, I was going to take some pictures for the Bugle, but nothing important otherwise.”

“Right, so… My family is having a dinner to celebrate my parents 40 year wedding anniversary and they kind of expect me to take someone with me. I have some friends I could ask, but I thought, maybe you would like to come? If you don’t want to that’s okay! It’s not like we’ve known each other for that long and maybe you don’t want to meet my family at all but-“

“Yeah, sure.” The words had left Peter’s mouth before he could really process it himself. “Sounds fun.”

“Really?!” Michael’s tone had completely shifted. Finally sounding more like his cheerful self. “You don’t have to say yes because you feel pressured.”

“I’m not. It sounds nice. And I appreciate you thinking of me to bring to this event. It must be important for you.”

Michael made an uninterested sound. “I guess. It’s just a dinner at my parents’ house, so nothing too fancy.”

“Okay, can you send me the details later? I have no clue what to wear to something like this.” Peter asked, he felt some nerves set into his system.

Michael laughed. “Of course. Don’t worry about it.”

-

That night Peter was surprised a second time that day when he stepped into his apartment. A figure was sitting in his windowsill. When Peter turned the light on, it became clear who it was.

“Hey little Pete!” Peter said as he pulled his jacket off. “Have you been waiting here a long time?”

Peter One shrugged. “‘Bout thirty minutes, I think.”

The boy didn’t even have a fake smile on his face. He was looking away from Peter Three as he was still sat on the windowsill, gripping onto the frame firmly.

“How about you come inside? Want some tea?” Peter Three said as he walked further into his place.

Without answering Peter One pushed away from the window and hesitated before sitting on the couch. Peter Three kept his attention on the young boy as he made cups of tea for both of them. The kid was still looking at the floor as he tucked his knees to his chest after kicking off his shoes. Peter Three took the cups and went to sit on the couch as well. He offered one cup to Peter One, who didn’t take it.

“So, is there any particular reason you came to visit?”

That did it apparently. Peter One looked up and his eyes welled up with tears. A heart wrenching sob came from his throat and he broke down crying.

Peter Three quickly sat the two cups of tea down on the salon table and pulled the kid into a hug. The boy was shaking and his hands grabbed the front of Peter Three’s shirt. All Peter Three could do, was rub the boy’s back and silently shush him. Seeing Peter One this distressed made Peter Three’s hart ache.

When Peter’s sobbing had died down enough, he pushed himself away from Peter Three to wipe the tears from his face.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on? Or would you rather that I distract you from it?”

“Just… lonely.” Peter One’s voice was barely a whisper.

Peter Three nodded and took a sip from his tea. The kid picked is own cup and carefully started drinking as well.

“So, you came here to have some fun with me?” Peter Three asked with a smile. “Assuming I’m always up for an adventure?”

For the first time today, Peter One looked up with a smile. A fake smile. But a smile nonetheless.

“If you have time, of course.”

“I always have time for you kid. Always.”

Chapter Text

Peter Three slowly woke up the next day. He squinted his eyes closed against the sun that shone through the curtains. His first response was to put his arm over his face, when he felt that he couldn’t. He peeked one eye open to see Peter One lay next to him, on top of his right arm.

The older spider-man smiled softly at the boy, who was still too deep asleep to notice Peter Three pull his arm from underneath him. When his arm was slid under the kid’s body, Peter three climbed over the wall to escape the bed without disturbing Peter One.

He dropped to the ground and had a look at the clock. It was just before 12. Peter grabbed his hands together and stretched them above his head as he walked towards the kitchen. As he took a pan from the cupboard, he saw his phone light up on the table. Peter sighted and walked over to have a look at it.

It was a message from Michael, saying he was going to pick him up at five as Peter’s place. Peter Three smiled as he typed a response with one hand and used his other to click his simple web-shooters on his wrists.

He dropped the phone back on the table and started cooking breakfast for Peter One and himself.

It didn’t take long for Peter One to wake up once the eggs were in the pan.

“Morning kiddo.”

“Morning,” Peter One rubbed his hands in his eyes as he sat upright with his legs crossed underneath himself. “What time is it?”

“Twelve. Did you sleep well?”

Peter One hummed a positive while he rose from the bed. He walked over to his bother to look over his shoulder. “Is this your breakfast or lunch?”

“Don’t worry, it’s breakfast for me as well.” Peter Three grinned. “How about you take a nice shower while I finish this up.”

Peter One just nodded and disappeared into the bathroom, while Peter Three looked after him.

Last night Peter Three took the kid to his favorite skating ramp to teach Peter One some of the first basics of skateboarding. As fun as it had been, Peter Three was still worried about his brother. The smile never seemed to reach his eyes, and he wasn’t as talkative as usual.

But he guessed it was a good sign at least, that Peter One came to visit at all. As Peter Two had said, he was lonely and feeling guilty.

Peter Three set the table and not much later, Peter One came from the bathroom, with his hair sill damp and wearing one of Peter Three’s shirts that was about four sizes too big for him.

“That actually smells really good.” Peter One commented as he sat down. “I didn’t think you could cook that well.”

Peter Three placed his hand on his chest in fake offense. “How dare you! What gave you that idea?”

Peter One shrugged. “Last time we had dinner together, you ordered pizza’s.”

“That was because we were in your universe and I don’t know how your kitchen works.”

“It’s just a regular kitchen.”

“You don’t understand, cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen is not that easy.”

Peter One’s mouth curled up a little. “Sure. Do you have anything planned today?”

Peter Three smiled widely as he chewed his egg. “You won’t believe it,” He said through his full mouth. “I’m going to have dinner. At Michael’s parents place.” He said after he swallowed.

The kid’s expression changed into one of disbelief. “What?!”

The proud smile didn’t leave Peter Three’s face. “He invited me yesterday to come with him to celebrate his parent’s 40 year anniversary. He’ll pick me up later.”

“But how did you- Last time we spoke, you barely acknowledged that you could potentially date him.” Peter One asked, but a more honest smile played on his lips.

“I asked him out after I came home. We haven’t stopped chatting since.”

“Really? And he’s aware that this is a date situation?”

Peter Three nodded. “I even told him about her. As much as I could of course.”

“That’s great! What are you going to wear? Have you bought his parents a gift yet?” Peter One asked, stuffing the last of his egg in his egg in his mouth.

“Gift?”

Peter One stopped chewing. “Oh come on Pete. You can’t be serious? It’s a wedding anniversary, you should buy them a gift!”

“Shit! What do I get them?” Peter Three felt his hart speed up quickly. 

He had been impressed with himself, about how well he had been keeping his nerves under control up until now. But maybe that was because Peter One acted as a distraction last night. 

“Do I get them flowers? Or wine? Shit, what if their culture has something specific that you should give?”

“Culture?” Peter One asked.

“Yeah, I mean his mother is Pakistani.”

“I thought you said he was related to Jonah Jameson? Isn’t he like the whitest guy ever?”

“His dad is Jonah’s bother.”

“Oh,” Peter One said. “But, don’t you think Michael would’ve told you something if there was something you should know about?”

Peter Three nodded to himself and grabbed his phone to have a look at the message Michael sent him.

“It just sais, Wear a simple white blouse. Jeans are okay with them as long as they’re not ripped. That’s literally it. Nothing more then that.”

Peter One shrugged as he stood up and grabbed both plates to put in the sink. “Then I wouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

“Right, do you want to come shopping with me then?”

“Yes please!”

-

Eventually they had bought a special set of fresh tea, along with a small bouquet of flowers. They also bought a new pair of jeans that Peter Three was currently pulling up while brushing his teeth.

Peter One laid on the bed, watching his brother struggle as he skimmed through a magazine.

“Hey, as much as the general public is writing bad things about you, this magazine has a whole article in appreciation for you,” Peter One said. “‘A witnesses said that Spider-Man helped her from a group of predatory men, and the web-slingerseemed non too pleased with the aggressors. Going as far as to insult them for their behavior and console the witness and walk her home afterwards.’ Or this one: ‘Spider-Man takes notice of the little people, like giving directions or helping a child who’s backpack had ripped.’”

“Uh-huh, yes, very nice, but I’m a little busy right now, Pete.” Peter Three said. “Where did I leave that freaking tie? If it’s at aunt May’s place I’m going to cry!”

“Over the chair.” Peter One said.

“Ah thanks.”

“But read this: ‘We should always be thankful for Spider-Man. As much as the media likes to paint him as a reckless vigilante, they refuse to look at the fact that he helps keep our city safer. Keep spreading positive stories about our superhero to support him.’”

Peter Three did look up at that. “What magazine is that?”

“InsideOUT.”

“I didn’t know there were still people who wrote positive things about me.”

“Why is that?”

“You know, after Gwen. I didn’t patrol for quite some time, letting the city, almost literally, burn. Then when I did go back, I stopped pulling my punches as much. Fucked up some criminals pretty badly. People didn’t agree with that. Which is fair.”

“I mean, that’s not a good enough reason to hate you still.”

Peter Three shrugged. He stepped back and spread his arms out. “How do I look?”

Peter One looked him up and down and nodded approvingly. “It’s good to know that at least some version of me manages to look good without trying.”

“Without trying?!” Peter Three’s voice cracked. “This is me at my most trying! I’ve never tried this hard!”

Peter One laughed out loud, making Peter Three smile as well.

“I mean to say, you’re just wearing jeans, a white blouse and a tie and it looks really good, as simple as it is. I’d still look like a child.”

“You are. You are still a child so there is nothing wrong with that.” Peter Three grinned.

Peter One stuck out his tongue and went back to reading. Peter Three walked into the bathroom to make his hair presentable.

He had barely wet his hands when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.” Peter One yelled exited.

“No, wait!” Peter Three scrambled to shut the bathroom as he heard Peter One open the front door.

“Hello, you must be Michael.”

“Uhm, yes I am. I’m sorry but I’m here for Peter Parker?”

“Yes, of course. He’s still getting ready in the bathroom. Come in.”

Peter Three dropped his face in his hands and groaned softly. His heartbeat sped up, and he had to close his eyes to take slower breaths. 

It was going to be fine. Michael is great. His family knew he was coming. It was going to be absolutely fine.

He looked up at himself in the mirror and took one last deep breath. After brushing his hands trough his hair one last time, he opened the door.

He found Peter One sitting cross-legged on his bed again, while Michael stood in the middle of the room with his hands the front pockets of his pants. The man was wearing a simple black blouse with a simple gold necklace.

“Hi.” Peter Three said.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I’m a bit early.” Michael said while his eyes scanned over Peter Three. An amused smile appeared on his face. “You look great, but-” Michael’s hands lifted to Peter’s tie. “Lose the tie. It’s not that serious of an occasion.”

Peter Three felt his cheeks heat up as Michael undid the tie from his neck and handed it to him with a smile.

From behind the two of them, he saw Peter One grin at them.

“Ehm, right. Michael, this is Peter One. The me from another universe.” 

Michael turned around and reached out to shake Peter One’s hand.

“Really? It’s nice to meet you. I can see what you meant with the whole ‘we’re more like brothers’ thing. When did you get here?”

Peter One shook Michael’s and with a smile. “I arrived last night, but I guess I’ll be going now.”

“You don’t have to,” Peter Three said earnestly. “You can stay as long as you want. I’ll be back later tonight.”

Peter One nodded and stood up from the bed. “I know. But I think I’ll give Peter Two a visit and then go back to my universe. Who knows what happens if I stay away too long.”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you again,” Peter Three said as he reached out to hug his brother. “Do you have enough power?”

“Yeah. I’ll make sure to load up in Peter Two’s universe again.” Peter One said as he embraced the hug.

“Good. Then I guess I’m ready to go.”

Michael smiled and took Peter Three’s hand in his own. “Can I see? The universe thing?”

“Sure. I’ll walk outside with you guys,” Peter One said. “Oh, and don’t forget the gift.”

“Oh, almost forgot.” Peter Three let go of Michael’s hand to grab the wrapped gift and bouquet of flowers from the table.

“You got a gift?” Michael asked.

“Yeah, for you parents. Is that okay?”

Michael shook his head wile a big smile grew on his face. He leaned forward to give Peter a peck on his cheek. “Of course.”

Peter Three felt his cheeks heat up again and had to turn his face away to spare himself of that embarrassment.

“C’mon, let’s go!” Peter One yelled from outside the door. “Don’t want to keep the family waiting.”

Grabbing a hold of Michael’s hand with his free one, Peter Three walked the two of them out the door.

“Why aren’t you jumping to the other universe right here though?” Michael asked Peter One while Peter Three was locking up the door.

“Because I land at the exact same place in that universe. And I don’t want to appear in a random person’s living room.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

The group stepped outside and Peter Three lead them to the side of the building, into an alleyway. Peter One put the bracelet around his wrist and set up the menu.

“It’s probably not that exciting to watch.” He said.

“I highly doubt that.” Michael responded.

“Hey kid,” Peter Three said. “It was nice to see you again.”

Peter One looked up to his brother and gave him a tight lipped smile in return.

“Don’t hesitate to come back here if you feel like it, yeah? You’re not a burden.”

“Yeah, I know. I love you.”

Peter Three raised an eyebrow at him, but he couldn’t help the smile on his face.

Tapping twice on the bracelet, Peter One gave a quick salute with his fingers and a split second later, he glitched and disappeared.

Next to him, Michael jumped and a high squeal left his mouth. “Was that supposed to happen? That glitch?” He looked at Peter Three in shock.

“I mean, all the other times I’ve seen the others jump, it happened. And it certainly feels that way.”

“Okay then,” Michael looked at the spot where Peter One had just disappeared from one more moment and then turned back to Peter Three. “Let’s go, I guess.”

Michael lead him to the dark blue car that was parked in front of Peter’s apartment building. He opened the passenger’s door and dramatically gestured for Peter to take a seat.

“Why thank you, good sir.” Peter said with a smile. Michael made an extra bow before taking his place behind the wheel.

“My pleasure.”

Chapter Text

“All right, are you ready?” Michael asked.

The two of them stood in front of the door to Michael’s parents house. Michael hadn’t pressed the doorbell yet, but Peter had already spotted some people from inside the house trough the window. And they had spotted him.

Peter adjusted the grip on the tea and flowers he had bought and nodded.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Michael’s thumb rubbed the back of Peters hand as he pressed the doorbell with his other hand. “I’m sure they’ll love you.”

Peter exhaled deeply to calm his nerves. The last time he ‘met the parents during dinner’ was pretty disastrous. That being said, he was only seventeen back then, and had been new to the Spider-Man thing.

So maybe today wouldn’t be as bad. Maybe he’d be fine.

The door opened and showed an old man with white hair and a pair of light blue framed reading glasses. The man’s eyes seemed to disappear under the bushy eyebrows when he smiled and pulled Michael into a hug.

“Good to see you again, son.” The man sad. “And you must be Peter.” He pulled away from Michael and reached his hand out to greet Peter.

“Yes sir, pleasure to meet you.” Peter said as he shook the man’s hand.

“You can call me Greg, son. I’m glad you were able to make it tonight. I’m sure Michael dropped it on you the last moment, didn’t he?” Michael’s father said.

“Dad please…” Michael groaned.

“I’m just teasing, come in, come in. I’m sure your mother wants to meet Peter.”

Greg was right. The moment Michael shut the door behind them, an older woman, who Peter could see looked a lot like Michael, stood in front of him with a bright smile.

“Hello, You must be Peter,” She said as she reached out to shake his hand. “I’m Munira, Michael’s mother.”

“Pleasure to meet you ma’am,” Peter said as he shook her hand. She placed her hand on her heart and gave a small nod. Her eyes sparkled as she looked Peter up and down.

“I brought you and your husband something to congratulate you on the anniversary.”

He handed her the bouquet of flowers and held the present out to Greg.

“Oh, how thoughtful! You’ve done well with this one Michael.” Munira told her son as she used her free arm to give him a hug.

Peter felt his cheeks heat up and accidentally made eye-contact with Greg. The man winked at him and Peter had to look away to spare himself further embarrassment.

“Come inside, come inside!” Munira said. “I’ll just put these in some water before serving dinner.”

Michael came to walk next to Peter and gave an encouraging smile. “I told you so.”

He lead Peter further into the house, straight into the living room. The room felt warm due to the orange wallpaper with a tiny leaved pattern and the slightly yellow lights. Towards his right side, Peter could see the beginning of the dining table that had already been set with plates, candles and bowls with cut-up vegetables.

Peters main concern however, was with the few people that were chatting as the TV played in the background.

“I did not expect to see you here tonight, Parker.” J. Jonah Jameson stood leaning against the windowsill with a glass in his hand.

“Can’t say the same, sir,” Peter said, in attempt to keep his confidence. “I’ve been anticipating this dinner with you for a while now.”

The other family members looked slightly confused and Michael seemed to hold his breath for his uncle’s reaction.

Jameson then let out a laugh that quickly turned into a wheeze.

“I have always appreciated your character, Parker,” he said. “It’s such a shame you don’t work for me as much as you used too. It’s hard to find good help these days and you’ve always delivered high quality work to me.”

Peter heard Michael release a breath and maybe he himself, did the same.

“Maybe I should introduce you. This is Peter, my boyfriend.” Michael told his other family members.

Peter smiled politely as he shook hands with everyone, including the elder woman sitting in the big red lounge chair. He stood next to Michael to chat with his relatives and trowing in a word or two when he felt it was appropriate.

More people entered the house not much later. A couple with their kids and another older woman. The two kids immediately seemed excited when they saw Michael and came running over to him, jumping in his arms and hugging his legs.

“Hi uncle Michael!”

“Hello Jesse, good to see you.”

“I got an A for reading at school uncle Michael!

“Really? I’m so glad to hear that Alex!”

Peter smiled at the interaction and turned to shake hands with the people he assumed to be Michael’s cousins.

“Hello, I’m Peter,” He said. “I’m Michael’s boyfriend.” He felt a sensation in his stomach as he said those words out loud. Every time before, Michael introduced him, but now he had officially given himself the title of boyfriend. Maybe for the first time in fifteen years.

“Oh really?” The woman said as she shook his hand. “I hope you’re a better guy the the last one he brought over.”

Peter’s eyes widened and the nerves returned.

“Don’t worry, man. That’s not going to be too difficult,” The man shook his hand. “I’m John, Michael’s cousin. This is my wife Dora and those are our kids.” He nodded to the children that had managed to push Michael to the floor and use him as a bouncy-house.

“Jesse, Alexander, get off your uncle’s back and come meet Peter.” Dora said.

The children reluctantly let go of Michael and came to stand next to their parents. The younger boy stretched out his hand for Peter to shake, which Peter did carefully.

“This is Alexander, and that’s Jesse.”

“I’m six now!” Alexander exclaimed happily to Peter, holding up six fingers.

“Really? You’re so big! I don’t think I was that tall when I was your age.” Peter said enthusiastically.

“I’m the almost the tallestes in my class. Only two others are more tall, and also Stevie and Luna, so only four!” The kid rambled.

“Wow, that’s so cool!”

“Momma, I gotta tell grandpa John about my reading!”

As those two made their way to find Jameson, Jesse stood with his hands behind his back mindlessly looking anywhere but at Peter. Michael came to stand with them, in his hand a raw carrot to chew on.

“Hey Jesse,” He said as he put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Peter is actually a very good skater, aren’t you?”

“Well-” Peter started but the boy’s eyes lit up.

“Really? Like skateboarding or on blades?”

“Skateboarding, I’ve been doing it since I was about twelve years old, I think.”

“Me too! Well, I mean, I’m twelve now, but I’m just staring out and it’s really difficult, but I’m getting better!” Jesse said.

“We could skate together sometime. I’ll teach you some of my tricks,” Peter said. “If your parents are okay with that of course.”

John jr. had been in conversation with another aunt, so Jesse poked his father in the side to get his attention.

“Huh?”

“Can Peter teach me? Skateboarding?”

“Skate- I mean, sure. You know how to skate?” John jr. asked Peter, suddenly curious.

Peter shrugged. “Yeah, well enough.”

“Oh, you don’t look like that type of guy.”

“Peter has the most random skills, I swear,” Michael laughed. “Skateboarding, photography, free-running, chemistry. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“I actually cannot bake to save my life,” Peter said with a smile. “And I’m sure there’s more.”

John jr. huffed a laugh. “Better then that guy David, huh Michael?” Michael pouted and averted his eyes. “All he did was play video games all day.”

“Yeah, David was lame, uncle Michael. I’m glad you’re no longer with him.” Jesse said.

“Yeah I know. Let’s not mention that man again tonight. Or ever.” Michael said with sigh.

“I bet you only liked him because he was muscular.” Jesse said with a grin.

Michael pulled Jesse to his chest and playfully ruffled his hair. “I told you to stop talking about him, didn’t I, little ibex,” Jesse laughed as he tried to claw his way out of Michael’s grip. “Besides, Peter is muscular in a much more attractive way, and most definitely stronger.”

Peter had to stifle a laugh.

The way Michael acted around these kids was really adorable. They clearly loved him too. Actually, Peter noticed Michael was generally well-liked in his family. Most family members had come to him to ask how he was and seemed genuinely curious about his life and well-being.

He felt a slight sting in his heart. Peter still had aunt May of course, but he often did long for more. If only uncle Ben was still here. If only his parents hadn’t crashed as they ran away with their research. If Gwen- Maybe then he could’ve had a family like this too.

Peter was snapped out of his thoughts when Michael’s parents called everyone over to the dinner table. Peter was sat in-between Michael and Jameson’s wife, with Jameson across from him. Jesse insisted that he sit next to Michael and Peter noticed the wink Michael gave towards his nephew.

Michael’s father stood at the end of the long table and called for everyone’s attention by clearing his throat.

“I want to thank everyone for coming tonight. We did not want to make a big deal of our anniversary, but it felt like a good opportunity to bring the family together again. So without chatting on any longer, enjoy your meal.”

The family started digging into the different foods that were placed around the table. Peter had a look at everything and found that he didn’t really recognize most of the dishes.

“First time eating Pakistani?” Michael asked.

“Ehm yes, but I’ll say that it all looks great.” Peter said.

“That’s okay. We’ve got lots of different stuff. There is some biriyani, chaat, mutton korma, tikka,” Michael named while he pointed everything out. “And of course we’ve got some roti bread. Anything that seems appealing?”

“You know what, I trust your judgment,” Peter said. “I’ll try whatever you think I like.”

Michael smiled. “You’re putting a lot of pressure on me there. But lets see.” He tapped his chin as he looked over the table. “How are you with spices?”

“Not great. I have American taste buds, remember?”

“Oh yeah, with your vanilla ice cream. Maybe you should start with some biriyani and tikka, I feel like that’s a safe option.”

“Alright, If you say so.” Peter filled his plate and carefully tasted. The tikka was spicy, especially with his over-sensitive taste buds. But in combination with the biriyani, Peter was actually able to enjoy the spicy food. Ever since the spider-bite, he had completely stopped eating anything more spicy then a sweet chili sauce.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had something like this. It’s really nice,” Peter said. Michael’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Did your mother cook this?”

“Yes, it’s mostly recipes that she brought from home. She doesn’t always cook like this, though. It’s just for the special occasion.”

During the rest of the dinner, Peter noticed Jesse smuggle his olives onto Michael’s plate when his mother wasn’t looking, and Michael always quickly popped the olives in his mouth, only to grin at his nephew when his cousin turned back around.

“Hey Parker,” John sr. said. “What other job do you have, besides working for me? I assume you didn’t ask for a reduction in hours because you’re hanging around doing nothing all day.”

Peter swallowed some bread before speaking. “I work for Oscorp. In the research lab.”

“Oh really? And what kind of things do you research there?”

“Lots of different stuff actually, but all within the medical field,” Peter said. He noticed some of the other family members get their interests peaked. “I look at viruses to create vaccines, but I’ve also worked on spiderwebs for operations and genetic modifications.”

“Wasn’t there another Parker working for Oscorp a few years back?” An uncle asked.

“Ehm, yes. Richard Parker, that was my dad.”

“Ah, your father must be proud that you’re following in his footsteps then.” Jameson said.

And there it was. The family topic.

“My parents actually passed when I was young, but I’d like to think so.”

John sr. and the other family members seemed taken aback. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Jameson said with a surprising amount of sincerity. “May I ask what happened?”

“They left on a trip for work, but ended up in a plane crash. I was raised by my aunt and uncle after that.”

“I didn’t know that,” Michael said. “You did talk about you aunt. May is her name, right?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah I lived with aunt May till I was like twenty eight. Uncle Ben passed when I was in high school.”

“Did your aunt and uncle have any children of their own?”

“No, but I’m lucky to have found two brothers elsewhere.” Peter said with a wink at Michael, who choked on his food as he tried not to laugh.

“And how did you meet Michael?” Dora asked.

“Eh, we met in his café.”

“Ah yes, you were passed out on my bar.” Michael grinned while Peter grimaced.

“Michael, I hate to break it to you,” John jr. sighted. “That is not something you should find attractive in a man.”

Michael laughed. “Sorry Peter, I shouldn’t have worded it that way. Peter had only ordered three low-alcohol beers. He was just tired, huh?”

“Yeah, I hadn’t had much sleep those weeks, with work and the personal project I was working on. I came to celebrate my own victory with a beer, but I really should’ve laid down for a nap as a reward.”

The family seemed to except that explanation and Peter saw Jesse look around in confusion. “What personal project?” He asked curiously.

“Ehm…” Peter exchanged a look with Michael, who subtly shook his head in response. “I can’t really tell you. It’s supposed to be a secret until I can make it perfect.”

“You know what it is, don’t you Michael?” John sr. said, looking intensively at Michael while he ate. Peter was reminded of the fact that John sr. was a news reporter. And as much as he did cover the topic of Spider-Man, he was interested in anything special or out of the ordinary to write about.

“I do. And no, you’re not getting anything out of me, uncle. It’s not for you to hear about. And definitely not for you to write about.”

“Anything interesting is good to write about. If you-”

“Lay off dad,” John jr. said. “Can you leave the reporter at home for once and just have a normal conversation? Keep telling about how you guys got to know each other, please.” He gestured for Peter and Michael to continue.

Jameson seemed taken aback, but kept quiet.

“Right, ehm, I woke you up to close down right?” Michael asked Peter, clearly rhetorical.

“Yeah, and we got to taking as I walked you home,” Peter said. “You gave me an idea on how to finish my project, so I had to come back later to thank you for that.”

Michael smiled fondly. “You came in with flowers and offered me ice cream. In March.”

“And I have no regrets. Those flowers stood on your bar for weeks. You only threw them out when they were too shriveled up to keep any second longer.”

Time ticked by the rest of the evening. Peter offered to help clean the table after they finished dessert, but he was almost physically kicked out of the kitchen by Michael’s mother. The family gathered in the living room, pulling chairs from the table to create more seating. The television was turned on and filled the room with background noise while the family kept talking.

Michael had pulled Peter onto the couch next to him, subtly leaning into Peter’s chest while they listened to Alexander share a story about his Lego characters.

“Breaking news: A mysterious figure has been seen breaking out animals from the Central Park Zoo, causing a massive disturbance,” The chatting in the room died down and Greg turned up the volume on the TV. “The police, fireman and animal control have arrived at the scene and are attempting to return all of the animals back to their enclosures, but it proves to be a difficult task. The mysterious figure also has not been caught yet.”

The TV footage, presumably filmed by visitors, showed parrots flying around, followed by the camera turning to see a horde of zebras standing a few feet over.

It switched over to the next video, security camera footage. A man with broad shoulders, dark hair slicked back and wearing something that could most closely be described as something directly pulled from a ranger in the savanna.

The man turned his face towards the security camera showing the nicely kept beard and big, angry eyebrows, while he saluted and confidently walked over to the next enclosure to open up.

Peter’s senses flared up like they never had before.

This man meant danger.

Chapter Text

The family stared at the TV as more footage of escaping animals was shown. Peter needed to get out there, his senses were screaming at him to jump up and go. But he couldn’t leave just like that.

“May.” he said. He shifted slightly to pull his phone out of his pocket as Michael shifted to give him more space. Aunt May would occasionally go to the zoo with her friends, and this situation seemed to be the perfect moment to use it as an excuse.

“What’s wrong, Peter? Everything alright?” Michael asked.

“No,” Peter said as he stood up from the couch, pretending to look for May’s number on his phone. “Aunt May was going to the zoo tonight with her friends.” He put the phone to his ear and nervously tapped his foot as he waited.

He kept looking at the television, where new footage of the mysterious man showed him leaning over a lion that was passed out on the ground, a small blow dart in it’s hip. Peter didn’t have to pretend his nerves at the moment, because the longer he looked at the man on the TV, the deeper the uneasy feeling in his stomach sunk.

“She’s not picking up.” He said, slight panic in his voice.

His eyes met Michael’s who had stood up as well and seemed almost as freaked as Peter himself. “I can drive you there.” He said, feeling in his pockets for his car key.

Peter shook his head. “No, there’s a train station nearby. I can take a train from there directly to the zoo. It’ll be faster.”

Michael bit his lip and nodded. Peter quickly turned around towards the hallway. He hastily put on his shoes, but struggled with the laces. He grumbled under his breath as the laces kept sticking to his fingers.

“Here, let me.” Michael said. Peter looked up at the beautiful man who knelt before him. As Michael tied his laces, Peter took the time to take some deep breaths.

“I’m sorry,” He said. “I just need to-”

“-know if she’s alright. I get it.” Michael said, brown eyes looking at him. “She’s important.”

Peter nodded. Along his blaring spidy-sense, he now also felt guilt pop up in his stomach.

“I’m already so happy you could make it tonight. It was nice to have you here.” Michael raised from the floor and took Peter’s jacket from the coat rack.

“It was fun. Your family is amazing. I just feel bad for leaving early.”

“Don’t be,” A new voice said from the door into the living room. Peter turned around to see Greg and Munira. Greg’s arm around his wife’s shoulder. “You were a pleasure to have around, son. We understand you have to take care of your aunt.”

“Thank you, sir,” Peter said, walking towards Michael’s parents to shake their hands. “The food was delicious and you have all been very welcoming. Maybe I can make this up to you sometime?”

“Maybe another dinner? And perhaps that could be an opportunity for us to meet your aunt?” Munira asked.

Peter smiled. “I’m sure that can be arranged.” He zipped up his coat and made his way towards the front door that Michael opened for him.

“Text me when you know she’s alright, okay?”

“I will.”

Peter hesitated for a moment, looking at Michael and then outside again.

Fuck it.

He turned to Michael and pressed his lips softly and quickly against his boyfriend’s. He made a small noise of surprise, but then swiftly brought his hands to Peter’s face to deepen the kiss.

After a few seconds, Peter stepped back and he could see the grin on Michael’s face, which quickly turned into a bright smile.

“I’ll talk to you soon.” Peter said, unable to push away a smile of his own.

“You’re adorable.” Michael mumbled with a cheeky grin.

Peter playfully shrugged at him before finally turning around and start jogging towards the train station. Underneath the butterflies that had erupted, he still felt that deep unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. Unsure whether it was from the guilt of lying to the family, or from the strange man on the TV, sending all his senses into overdrive.

He really did try to not involve Spider-Man tonight. He wasn’t even wearing his suit underneath his clothes, like he usually did. Luckily, he did manage to stuff his suit into a secret pocket Peter had sewn into his coat himself. Now he only had to find a place to change. Somewhere no one would see him go in and out.

“Alright, let’s see what that pet-shop-boy is up to.”

-

When Peter finally arrived at the zoo —wasting about a quarter of his web-fluid, he really should have taken the train— there was no one left around. He was only accompanied by a couple of birds and small monkeys on tree branches.

Peter carefully walked into the open space. His sense was still going haywire, so the man that caused all of this, must still be around.

But where?

His question was answered when an ostrich ran right past him loudly voicing it’s distress. Peter turned around to see the big man walk towards him, a long gun resting in his hands. The man seemed surprised to see him, but not displeased. That unsettled Peter more then anything.

“Hello there, big fella,” Peter said. “I don’t believe we’ve met before. Would you care to inform me why you’re so keen on spreading rabies throughout the city? Not that I don’t enjoy a good chase every once in a while.”

The man kept a steady pace as he came forward. He raised the gun close to his face and squinted one eye closed. Taking aim.

“Hey hey, there’s no need for that. You’re not a talker, I get it, but-” Peter had to cut himself off when the man shot. He jumped out of the way, the blow dart only just grazed past him, planting itself into the neck of the ostrich that ran away in the distance. It only took a couple more steps before dropping to the ground, motionless.

The hunter lowered the gun again. He then rolled his shoulders before breaking into a sprint towards the animal. Peter had to turn his head to follow his vision because the man was gone within a second.

Way too fast for any regular human. That, together with the incredible aim, hitting a moving ostrich so far away…

Peter ran over to where he was now leaning over the ostrich the same way he had with the lion on TV. Now that he had a closer look, Peter saw the man was holding a syringe in his big, clawed hands.

Claws. Actual fucking claws. This was gonna be good.

“Hey there buddy, I don’t think that’s a good idea for someone with such big, strong hands. How about you put those pretty paws in the air, yeah?”

Of course, the man did not respond. He just kept on doing whatever he was doing to that poor ostrich.

“Okay then. Your choice.” Peter shot his webs at the mans feet, binding him to the ground.

He did look up at that. His eyes first going to the webs and then looking up at Peter. The man’s face was completely neutral apart from the tiniest movement in his dark eyebrows. He stood up, wiping his hand across his mouth, leaving a small trail of blood behind.

Lovely.

Peter took a more active stance in case the man was going to pull some crazy move.

The man looked down at the ostrich again and put the syringe into one of the many pockets on his pants. Then he rolled his shoulders again.

With one fluid movement, he had pulled his foot free from the webs that used to hold him to the ground. He came running towards Peter with his claws beside himself. Peter jumped right over him when he came to close for comfort. He landed behind the hunter and was about to land a punch in the man’s side, when the man had already turned around and used his arm to block the punch. Instead Peter got a facefull of thick, meaty knuckles connecting with his own jaw.

It was followed by a punch in his stomach, that launched him a couple feet away. He groaned as he scrambled back up to his feet.

Peter shot out more webs, attempting to tie the man to the ground, or at the very least incapacitate his arms. But the man still surprised him with his speed and was able to avoid at least half of the webs that Peter fired.

The man was struggling in the multiple layers of web that tied his right arm to his side and both his feet on the ground. He started grumbling out loud in a language Peter couldn’t understand, but sounded mostly like Russian.

“Dude, I’m pretty sure the furry convention was a month ago. Then again, I don’t know if normal furries would be happy to have you around them.” Peter said as he walked towards the hunter. “What do you want with these animals? Injecting them with chemicals?”

As he came closer, Peter noticed the man’s eyes seemed to shimmer with a very unnatural yellow color. Worst of all, his Spider-Sense had not settled down at all, even with the man tied up.

“You are different.” The man said, looking at Peter with intrigue.

“You do speak!” Peter was actually surprised. “That makes things so much easier for me. Who are you? And what’s all of this about, huh?”

The man kept silent again. His free arm reached out, his fingers moving to invite Peter to come closer.

“Yeah, no buddy. You’ve got something going on there and I’d rather not have those claws rip my suit.” Peter looked down to check his web fluid, seeing that he only had about a quarter left in each shooter.

His sense flared up again but about a second too late for Peter to react to the arm that swung at his chest. A claw caught his collarbone and pulled him down to the ground. A loud roar came from the man as he ripped himself free from the webs. He stumbled forward into a sprint.

The hunter picked up his long gun and took off, running out of the zoo at a speed, that was too fast for Peter to catch up to on foot.

Peter felt his collarbone, feeling that it wasn’t broken, but bleeding heavily from the four nails that punctured through his suit and skin.

“Why can’t they ever just wait for the police to take them away?” Peter mumbled. His collarbone might not be broken, but some of his ribs definitely were. He still reached out his arm to swing after him.

He swung around for about ten minutes, but couldn’t find any trail of the man. Not even scared citizens that he might have run past. The streets were empty, apart from some loose birds and other small animals that the hunter had released. People must have hidden away in their houses.

Landing on top of a building, Peter had another look around, but came to the unfortunate conclusion that the hunter had gotten away.

Peter tilted his head back and groaned out loud. Could nothing ever just work out the way it should?

Alright, then. All he had to do now, was fix his personal life. Pick up his clothes and phone, get out of his suit, go to aunt May, then call Micheal.

-

Peter walked up to aunt May’s house late that night. He hoped she was still awake at this hour. He had called her when he had gotten to his phone, hanging up right away. All to prepare for the lie he was building to cover up his identity for Michael.

He rang the doorbell and to his luck, the light in the hallway turned on.

May opened the door and Peter immediately pulled her into a hug.

“Oh my god, May! Please pick up your phone next time.” He said.

“What are you talking about Peter? I’ve been here all day.” Aunt May said as she rubbed his back, clearly noticing his relief.

“May, the zoo? I thought you were there with your friends and then the news of that man. I called you to ask if you were safe, but you didn’t answer.”

“Oh Peter, I was at the zoo last week. I only go once every four weeks or so,” May said as she pulled out of the embrace and put a hand to his cheek. “I must’ve missed your call. What happened to your face?”

Peter took her hand away from his cheek and grimaced. “Eh I, went to the zoo first. That man from the TV ran into me,” May’s eyes widened and she immediately looked him over. “No, May. I’m fine. He was just running away from Spider-Man and crashed into me. He’s just a lot heavier then I am.”

May shook her head as she smiled. “Well come inside then. You should put some ice on it.”

He followed her into the house, and sat on the couch, putting effort into not straining his broken ribs too much. May came back with a bag of frozen peas that he could press to his face.

“So, how are you?” May asked as she sat down across from him. “How are things with Micheal?”

Peter had mentioned Micheal maybe three times over the phone, letting her know it wasn’t that serious, but maybe getting there.

“Well, I was actually at his parents’ place before I came to look for you.”

May gasped and clapped her hands together. “You said your relationship wasn’t serious yet!”

Peter laughed. “I know, I know. But Micheal texted me yesterday if I wanted to come along to his parents’ wedding anniversary dinner. It was kind of last minute.”

“Oh, I see. Well how was it?” The sparkle of genuine joy in her eyes, almost brought tears to his own.

“It was really nice, May. His family is so kind and welcoming, it’s amazing,” He said. “They asked me over for another time, and invited you along. To introduce you all.”

Now it was May’s turn to tear up. “Oh, I would love to, Peter. I’m so happy for you!” Peter put the peas on the side table to offer her another hug. He had to suppress a wince as she grabbed his waist tightly.

“I always hoped you would find someone again,” May said softly. “You’re so good and you deserve to have someone that special with you.”

Peter slowly exhaled to keep himself from breaking down right there, with the consequence of making May concerned. Again.

“I know May. I’m really happy too.” He said as she let him go.

“I just know that Ben would love this too. He’d visit Micheal’s café and never go anywhere else for the rest of his life.” Aunt May said.

Nodding, along, Peter suddenly remembered he had to text Micheal.

“Oh, I need to call Micheal actually. To let him know you’re okay.”

“Of course, I’ll grab a drink for you.”

He took his phone from his pocket and dialed Micheal’s number. Unsurprisingly, Micheal took it immediately, like he had been staring at his phone waiting for a call.

“Is she okay?!”

“Yes, she’s fine.” Peter smiled at the sound of his voice. “I messed up the date. She wasn’t even at the zoo and she just missed my call.”

He heard Micheal sigh in relief. “Oh thank f- Well that’s a relief.”

“I’m so sorry for leaving early because of this. I really should’ve known and just called her another time.”

“No no, I told you it’s okay, Peter,” Micheal said. “I loved having you around and everyone understood that you needed to go. You left a good impression. Jesse even asked me about the skating again.”

“Oh really? Well I’m up for it.” Aunt May came back into the living room with two glasses and a bottle of wine.

“Is that him?” She whispered. Peter nodded. “Can I speak with him?”

“Micheal, my aunt is here and she wants to talk to you, is that okay?”

“Oh, sure!”

Peter handed the phone to May, who greeted Micheal happily.

He leant over the table to fill the glasses for both May and himself. He was curious on what May had to say.

“Oh yes, Peter is scattered like that. He’d forget his own head if it weren’t attached on his shoulders.” She said.

“No worries. I would love to meet you soon Micheal, Peter has told me nothing but good things and he seems so much happier since the two of you met.”

Peter cheeks heated up and he grabbed the pack of frozen peas to put it back onto the bruise. Sitting back down on the couch. But… embarrassing you in front of your partner must be a trait people gain when they become parents.

Chapter Text

Things did not seem to slow down after that. And sadly, Peter wasn’t talking about his relationship with Michael.

For some reason, crime ran rampant throughout the city much more then before. Even in broad daylight, so many more crimes seemed to take place. And Peter was not only struggling to get to all of them, —having to leave work in the middle of a shift in extreme cases— but the criminals seemed to have picked up on the same skill the Hunter had.

Super speed.

Peter only managed to send about a fifth of the criminals to the police and J. Jonah Jameson seemed to have picked up on that. The Daily Bugle was full of criticism and other papers took his example after a week or two.

It was late in the evening. He sat on the edge of a building in his suit. The apartment below had the TV on at full volume. Perfect for him to hear any urgent news coming on, while he could keep a lookout over the city himself.

He was tired. So fucking tired.

He had thought about going to visit Peter Two, for a little bit of rest and advice, but with the current state of the city, he couldn’t leave everyone to fend for themselves. He would just be running away from everything and things would only be worse when he got back.

If only he could just call across universes.

He frowned when right at that moment, his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw the caller ID.

“Hi, Max.” He answered as he put his phone to his hear. “What’s up?”

“I figured I should check in on you,” Max said. “I’ve been following the news. Things seem pretty crazy out there. Are ya doing alright?”

“Yeah…”

Peter slowly sucked in a deep breath and released it to stop himself from losing his composure. No one had asked him that question before. Not in this context, at least.

“…No actually,” Peter said. “I just can’t seem to- Something seems different a-and I can’t explain why or what it is exactly.”

“Okay, calm down Peter. Just relax. Can you try to explain it to me? Is it something to do with you? Or the crime itself?” Max spoke calmly. Maybe something he picked up from his therapist.

“I- I don’t think it’s me. It’s some criminals seem to have like… super speed.”

Now Max sounded surprised. “Super speed? How’s that?”

“You know I’m like pretty fast and I have my sixth sense and all that?”

“Better than anyone.”

“Criminals seem to be getting faster than my sense,” Peter rubbed his hand over his forehead, shifting his mask slightly. “And I don’t think my sense is getting slower because there are still other situations where it works normally. But for some criminals, my sense alerts me, and then their fist is already in my face before I can react to it. And when I look back up, they have run off almost without a trace.”

“That’s… concerning…” Max said.

“And because people noticed Spider-Man is off-his-game, they got more confident and started attacking during the day. Now my boss is getting annoyed with me for leaving work, and I haven’t seen Micheal in person in the last six weeks.”

Max was quiet for a minute before he spoke. “Have you thought about asking your brothers for help?”

Peter sighed. “Yes, but I’m sure they’ve all got more important stuff to do. And it’s bit stupid to ask for help from yourself, isn’t it?”

“I’m sure they don’t see it that way,” Max said. Peter could imagine him rolling his eyes. “You’d help them, if they asked, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’m sure you see the irony in what you just said. Just one day is enough to help you get a good night’s sleep and take a little break. Knowing you, you haven’t slept more then 5 hours a night the last month.”

It was actually less then 3, but Peter wasn’t gonna say that now.

“Alright, you got me there.”

“You’re right I did,” Max sounded pleased with himself. “And don’t let the news make you feel bad, alright. It’s just stupid shit-talking.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m used to it.” Peter said. “Thanks for checking in on me, Max. I appreciate it.”

Max hummed in acknowledgement. “’Least I could do for you, Spidy.”

Peter chuckled. “Alright, bye! I got another universe to visit.”

-

About an hour later, Peter stood rang the bell of Peter Two’s apartment. The door was opened by a woman. She had dark red hair up in a bun, and her blue eyes looked him once over.

“Can I help you?”

“You must be M.J.? Right?”

“Eh. Mary-Jane yes. And who are you?”

“Ah right,” Peter extended his hand to her. “Peter Parker. Or you might’ve heard of me as Peter Three.”

Her eyes widened as she hastily shook his hand. “OH! Peter Three! I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d be so…” She paused.

“So what?” Peter laughed.

“So… cool.” She smiled.

“What?!” Peter looked down at himself. Sneakers, jeans, a t-shirt, a denim jacket with a hood. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Peter would never wear that. And definitely not style his hair like that. And I met the other Peter a while back, the young one, and he looked pretty similar to my Peter.”

Peter was stunned. “I- I don’t know what to say to that.”

“Right, sorry, come in, come in. I’ll get Peter for you.”

She lead him inside. Peter looked around the apartment that was at least triple the size of his own place. A nice kitchen that was divided from the living area with a half-wall. Then there were three doors. One leading to the bathroom, one to the main bedroom and the last one to the guest room/office. The windows stood open, letting in the fresh air as well as the city ambiance.

Mary-Jane opened the office, calling Peter Two.

“Hi Pete,” Peter Two came from his office, wearing a light blue blouse with a dark tie over regular jeans. “Good to see you again. What brings you here?” He said, smiling bright.

“I eh… came to ask you for a favor.”

“Oh? Do you want to sit for a bit? You look tired.”

“Yeah, probably…” Peter Three mumbled.

“Do you want something to drink, Peter?” Mary Jane asked.

“Yes, that’d be great, thank you.”

She nodded and walked to the kitchen while the two Peters sat on the couch.

“She’s beautiful.” Peter Three whispered, leaning closer to his brother.

Peter Two chuckled as he looked over to his wife. “Yeah, I know. Don’t you get any ideas though. You have your own MJ.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry. Micheal and I doing great!”

“Really? That’s good to hear,” Peter Two said. “Then what do you need me for?”

Peter Three sighed. “Right, ehm… I was wondering if you could maybe, do some spider-manning for me, for like a day.” He was almost afraid to look Peter Two in the eyes.

Peter Two seemed surprised. “I mean… sure. I don’t see why not. Why though?”

“It’s difficult to explain…”

Mary Jane came back holding a tray with glasses of juice and a bowl of grapes. “Here you go. Do you want me to leave for a bit?”

“No, of course not m’am. Thank you.” Peter Three waved her off.

Mary Jane placed her hand one her chest, eyes wide as Peter Two barked a laugh. “What did you just call her?”

“Eeehhh…”

“Just call me MJ,” Mary Jane said. “Or Mary-Jane if it gets confusing with your own MJ and all that.”

“Right,” Peter Three grimaced as Peter Two poked his elbow in his side. “Sooo… anyway, my universe is a bit messy right now.”

Peter Two nodded for him to continue as he grabbed his drink.

“The crime has gone up and some criminals seem to have super speed.” Peter Three said. Unsure whether that was the right way to to name it. “Like, you know how our spidy-sense warns us of danger right before it happens?” Peter Two nodded again, his eyebrows narrowing a bit. “Well, criminals seem to be catching up with it. And since that makes me look like i’m off my game, more people started committing crimes, and now the city is a mess.”

“That is strange… and you’re sure it’s not your spidy-sense that’s a little messed up because of sleep deprivation?”

“Pretty sure, since it seems to work just fine on other criminals and other things around me.”

“Alright,” Peter Two said as he popped a grape in his mouth. “And you want me to have a go at it for a while?”

Peter Tree rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I… I haven’t had good night’s sleep in over a month and, my boss is angry at me for skipping work too much and I haven’t seen Micheal in a while.”

“Sounds like you need more then a day to catch up on all of that.” Peter Two said, giving his brother an accusatory raised-eyebrow.

“No no, I can fix all of that with just twenty-four hours. There’s no need for you to stay longer, I can handle it.”

MJ then cleared her throat, getting the attention of both Peters onto herself. “It sounds to me like two days would do you a lot better, Pete. One day to catch up on your sleep, one day to catch up on your work, and an evening to you and your MJ. Don’t you agree, darling?”

Before Peter Three could say anything do deny her offer, Peter Two was leaning in to kiss his wife on the cheek. “I love you, you know that, MJ?” She smiled at his words and turned to fully press her lips on his.

Peter Three hesitated a little before breaking up the moment with a soft cough. The couple broke their faces apart, only to keep their hands tightly intertwined.

“I guess there’s not much I can say to change your mind now, is there?” Peter Three said, leaning further back into to couch.

“Nope, I’ll pack some stuff and we can go right away.”

“Thank you.” was all Peter Three could say at that point. Unable to push a warm feeling from spreading through his body.

-

For the first time in weeks Peter got more then 10 hours of sleep. He woke up at 2 in the afternoon feeling well-rested, not only physically but mentally too. He took his free time to deep-clean his apartment with the news playing on the tv in the background.

The news reported on Spider-Man being active all night and morning —not forgetting to mention his suit looked a little different again— and how he caught numerous criminals.

Peter wondered if Peter Two had noticed the same issue with his sixth-sense, or if had been his own problem after all. It didn’t seem like Peter Two was struggling at all…

He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. No, it was fine. Things would turn back to normal eventually.

Later that afternoon, he was walking home from the grocery store, when Peter Two spontaneously landed next to him.

“How’s it going, citizen?” Peter Two asked, falling into pace next to him.

“Doing much better now, Spidy.” Peter Three replied with a grin. “But I could ask you the same thing.”

“It’s alright, but I do understand what you were talking about. It’s strange that some of the seem to be faster than natural.”

Peter Three sighed in relief. Thank god it had nothing to do with himself. On the flip side, something else must be going on then…

“Hm I’ll figure it out then,” He said. “Do you want to join dinner tonight? I’m making homemade chicken stew.”

Peter Two turned his head to him. “You can cook?” Even without seeing his face, Peter Three could imagine the surprise under the mask.

“Why is that so surprising to you? I’m a full grown adult! Little Pete didn’t even believe me when I told him.” Peter Three said.

“Oh, I guess... I’m just not that great of a cook myself, so I thought that was a universal thing.”

“Really? I thought you liked doing household chores?”

“I do. Cooking has just never been my strong suit. And it’s not that I can’t cook at all. Just, basics really.”

Peter Three laughed at that. “Alright then, all-mighty-oldest-Peter, dinner will be ready at seven. Be there so that you can taste what real food is supposed to taste like.”

“I’ll be there, citizen.” Peter Two laughed before shooting out a web and swinging away again.

So it was three hours later when Peter Two climbed in through the window of Peter Three’s apartment. He closed the curtains before taking off his mask and inhaling the scent of chicken stew.

“Wow, that smells amazing.”

“Told you so,” Peter Three said as he put plates on the table. “Bon appétit, sir arachnid.”

The both sat down. Peter Three waited for his brother’s reaction before taking a bite himself, because of etiquette of course, not nerves or anything.

“You really weren’t kidding,” Peter Two said, looking astounded. “This is great! And entirely homemade?”

Peter Three nodded, taking a bite himself. “Yup.”

“You gotta teach me someday. I’ll blow MJ’s mind with this.”

“Ha, nope! This is gonna be a Peter Three special from now on. No other Peters are allowed to make this ever.”

Peter Two rolled his eyes. “And there is that Parker ego. I should’ve expected it to show up sometime.”

“Excuse you, my ego is slightly underdeveloped actually-”

“Ego and self-esteem are two different things in my book, little brother.”

Peter Three scoffed at that. “If you say so, old man. Anyway, how was your day? Anything weird happened?”

“Apart from the occasional guy with that weird speed thing, not really. Although, I get the impression that it’s not really super-speed that’s making them catch up to us.”

“Oh, how that?”

He frowned as he looked for the words to explain. “I think they are immune to our spidy-sense. Like our sense works just fine, just not on their actions.”

Confused, Peter Three stopped eating. “So, something is affecting our sense.”

“Yeah, well I noticed that when those guys shot with guns, my sense worked just fine on the bullet. But if they tried to hit me with their bare hands, or a gun or something, then it wouldn’t. So that’s why I think the people themselves have something that affects our sense. Because it clearly doesn’t bleed over into the weapons.”

“How is any of that possible?”