𝐄 𝐋 𝐘 𝐒 𝐈 𝐀 𝐍 {𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐦!𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫}

𝐏 𝐑 𝐎 𝐋 𝐎 𝐆 𝐔 𝐄

"You have someone?"

"No...I got no time for Peter Parker stuff. Do you?"
   
"It's a little complicated."

"I guess it's just not in the cards for guys like us."

"I wouldn't give up. Took a while, but we made it work."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

As he walked along the cold, wet New York sidewalk, Peter pulled his jacket tighter around his shoulders. He had no idea where he was going. For the past two days, ever since he had returned to his own world, he had been taking walks. They seemed to calm him. It was a routine, something he could control. For the past two days, he'd tried to wrap his head around everything that had happened to him. And for the past two days, those words echoed in Peter's head.

Don't give up. The other version of himself had given Peter a lot to think about. He hadn't thought about giving it a second chance. After all, he could barely even see any couple on the streets without thinking of her.

It had been years since the incident, ten to be exact. Instead of moving forward, Peter had thrown himself into his work, finding it much easier to focus on what was right in front of him than what had passed.

It had been ten years, and he could still see her face clear as day in his mind's eye.

It had been ten years, and he still remembered every second of that fight on the clock tower.

It had been ten years, and he couldn't escape the crushing weight of guilt. It had been his fault. It had been his fault that she was there in the first place. It had been his fault that, even though he managed to catch her, he couldn't stop the fall slowly enough.

For ten years, Peter could barely go a day without thinking of her. There had come a point where he had wanted to give up entirely. Still, he pushed on and continued to be the 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' that everyone expected.

Peter was tired of every day being the same.

The more thought he gave to Peter 2's advice, the more he warmed up to it. Maybe it was time for him to let go of the past. Maybe it was time for him to move on, but not forget. He could never forget. But maybe, just maybe, there was someone else out there for him.

Peter was so wrapped up in thought that he failed to notice his surroundings, which never happened. Because of this, he suddenly found himself running straight into someone. This person let out a surprised noise as she found her blouse suddenly covered in the coffee that she had been holding.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

Peter nodded quickly, embarrassed that he caused her to spill her drink. "Yeah, I'm okay. Are you?" After she nodded her answer, he continued, "Let me buy you another coffee."