𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 | P. Parker

Chapter 11 - Hello Kitty Pajamas

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Tony enlisted Gwen for help when choosing what Peter should wear back. She decided to have a little fun and chose a shirt about five sizes too large that wrote 'I survived my trip to NY' with a taxi cab underneath. For pants it was a hot pink Hello Kitty pajama pants and slides on his feet.

After the clothes were bought and he changed, Tony took the suit and flew away.

Gwen changed out of her suit and into some leggings and a sweatshirt she kept in her backpack. Like this Peter and her Peter, she also kept a bag with her with an extra change of clothes, some cash, phone charger, and tampons.

The number of times she got her period while on patrol was astronomical. She already had quite a lot of experience with washing blood out of clothes – from periods or fights – but it was still a pain to wash it, so she kept some simple things to prevent blood from seeping and staining her suit.

Lemon and water can do wonders. And bleach, that helps too.

One the walk back to their apartment building, Peter started to cry - it was quiet sniffles, but Gwen heard him loud and clear. Gwen slowed down her walk, letting Peter catch up with. She bumped his shoulder with his. "Hey," she said softly, "you okay?"

Peter didn't reply, nor did he seem to have any sort of reaction to her question.

She sighed. "Look, if that suit made you Spider-Man, then maybe you shouldn't have the suit." Now that got Peter's attention as he snapped his head up to Gwen with a bewildered look on his face. "A piece of clothing doesn't make Spider-Man a hero – his heroism, and bravery, and smarts, and his skills do."

Peter cracked a smile, but it immediately dropped. "I lost the Stark Internship," he mumbled.

"But you can get back some normalcy in your life," she suggested. "I don't know what I would give to be normal and not have any powers. Now don't get me wrong, I love my powers and wouldn't trade them for anything, but sometimes I wished I could just be oblivious from all the danger we're around every day. And that my biggest stressor was finals week and not an alien black goo."

They reached the apartment building and went up the elevator together.

Peter went further down the hall to his apartment before Gwen called out to him.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, just know I'm here," she told him, a small smile on her face. "Sometimes, it's nice knowing we're not alone here."

He just nodded his head.

Gwen sighed again, disappointed that she couldn't get him to talk to her. She remembered how alone she felt when her Peter died – it was suffocating her. Sure, her Dad knew about her alter-ego, but he didn't understand what it was like to save New York every weekend from mad scientists.

And then she met Miles and the rest of the spider gang. She didn't feel so alone anymore because she knew there were other people like her out there. They were universes away, but they were there – they existed, and that simple thought comforted Gwen to no end.

She still had the selfie she took with Miles on her phone to prove her point.

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When Peter walked into the apartment, May stood there with an unreadable expression on her face. She inhaled deeply and stormed inside. "I've been calling you all day. You didn't answer your phone. You can't do that. Then this ferry thing happens." She raised an eyebrow. "I've called five police stations."

Peter didn't answer. How could he?

"Five, she continued. "I called five of your friends."

"I'm fine," Peter tried.

"I called Ned's mother."

"May, I'm okay. Honestly. Just relax. I'm fine."

"I called Gwen. When she didn't pick up, I called again."

"May, I'm fine."

"You." She pointed a finger at him. "Cut the bullshit. I know you left detention. I know you left the hotel room in Washington. I know you sneak out of this house every night. That's not fine. Peter, you have to tell me what's going on. Just lay it out. It's just me and you."

A pause.

Then Peter's eyes well up with tears. "I lost the Stark internship," he whispered.

May clearly wasn't expecting that answer because she looked taken aback and said, "What?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"I just thought that I could work really hard, and he could -- he would, you know." He sighed sadly. "But I screwed it up."

He sat down on the couch, using the hem of his shirt to wipe his eyes. "Oh . . . it's okay. It's okay. It's okay," she said comfortingly, hugging him close to her and stroking his hair.

"I'm sorry I made you worry," he mumbled out into her shirt.

"You know I'm not trying to ruin your life."

"Yeah, I know."

"Just . . ." May trailed off, not knowing how to comfort him. "I used to sneak out."

Peter didn't know how to reply to that, so he just said a simple "Yeah."

May scowled at him – not that Peter could see it or anything. She then smelled his hair. "And take a shower. You smell." She took a second to think what he smelled like, but she couldn't think of what it exactly was. "You smell like garbage." Close enough, she thought.

"I know."

The following day when Peter and Gwen made their way to school, Peter plugged in his headphones a few moments after saying his daily good morning to Gwen. He needed some time to mull over the words both Gwen and Aunt May said last night. He figured that since he can't be Spider-Man anymore, he might as well get his normal high school life back — something Gwen had suggested yesterday. If he was being honest with himself, Peter was sort of glad he was getting some normalcy back into his everyday life. He would have more time to worry about his crush on Liz and hanging out with Ned more rather than stopping muggers in the streets of New York.

So in some weird way, having the suit not even being an option for him, lightened his load mentality. He would always be Spider-Man, but for now, the title would be shelved for a little, and he could just be Peter Parker, a kid from Queens, New York.

He got to spend more time with Ned aka finally building the Death Star; getting his grades back up (especially in Spanish); and having to spend more time in detention after storming out.

But he also left Gwen behind.

One morning, Gwen walked out into the apartment hallway to meet up with Peter like usual, he wasn't there. And normally, he would at least send a text to her as to why he wasn't there, but it was radio silence – and it had been for a while. When she had enough, she knocked on their apartment door, only for May to open it, telling her that Peter left half an hour ago.

Peter didn't really realize he was leaving Gwen behind, he just did it subconsciously. Maybe he wanted to distance himself away from all things Spider-Man, and to him, that included Gwen.

So, if you asked MJ or Gwen Stacy, they would both say that Peter Parker was an adorable idiot who really doesn't realize a good thing if it was staring at him in the face.