Chapter Text
Thursday:
“Miles, come on, let’s go!”
“Coming!” Miles called back; though, realistically, he was nowhere close to being ready. He couldn’t find his toothbrush or his dress shoes, and half of the clothes he needed were still in the dryer. Not to mention his tie seemed to have disappeared…
He was getting ready for a trip to Earth-616. Not his “home” Earth, of course; it was Peter (B) Parker’s. And Miles was visiting-as was all of the spider family-because of tomorrow’s event:
Peter and Mary Jane’s wedding.
Well, their second wedding; but still, a wedding. It was four years now after the event with the Kingpin’s collider, after they’d all been brought together. During that time, Peter had rebuilt his relationship with his ex-wife, Mary Jane Watson. It hadn’t always been smooth-they’d nearly broken up a few times-but in the end, the two had made it work.
And in two days they would renew their vows, and Miles-who’d played a big part in giving Peter the nudge he’d needed-was to be the best man.
Speaking of which, Miles reminded himself that once he found everything-his toothbrush, his shoes, and had gathered the rest of his clothes-he still needed to finish his best man speech.
“Miles, seriously,” he heard his dad say; but this time, his voice was closer. Miles turned around and saw his father standing in the doorway, shaking his head at the open suitcase on his son’s bed. “Please don’t tell me I’m looking at an unpacked suitcase,” Jefferson said.
“Um...you’re not?”
Jefferson rolled his eyes. “Miles, Peter’s been out there waiting for fifteen minutes.”
“I know,” Miles said, grabbing nearby clothes and tossing them into his suitcase.
“And I know you have a history of running late, but come on, now.”
“I know, I know,” Miles repeated, spying his tie sticking out from under his bed. “I just need, like...ten more minutes.”
Jefferson shook his head. “I thought Spider-Man was supposed to be fast ,” he said, leaving the room.
As Miles stooped down to look under his bed, he thought about how things had changed over the last four years. For starters, his parents now knew he was Spider-Man. That had been a fun conversation. It’d taken them some time to get used to things-his mom especially-but over time, things had gotten easier. They also knew about the multiverse, goobers, and were experts at getting webbing out of his clothes.
As for Miles himself, he was still at Visions Academy but now a senior. He still roomed with Ganke, and the two of them were set to graduate in less than two months. Miles had been accepted to NYU but was considering taking a gap year before attending, while Ganke was set to enroll at Columbia University.
He was still Spider-Man; only now a more experienced one. He’d seen new villains, old villains return, and nearly lost his life a dozen or so times. But still, he wouldn’t trade being Spider-Man for anything in the world.
Miles was also still dating Gwen Stacy, Earth-65’s own Spider-Woman. The pair had been dating for four years now and had gone through a lot-met each other’s parents, said “I love you,” and had even had a glimpse into another multiverse where they were married. When they’d first discovered it, it’d seemed so strange- married ? But now, it honestly didn’t seem that strange.
The pair-which Peter jokingly referred to as “Gwiles”-had been through a lot; however, there was one thing they hadn’t been through yet-
Intimacy.
They’d had their fair share of making out and being handsy, but they still hadn’t crossed that line yet. At first it was because they both thought they were too young; when they’d crossed that hurdle, it just seemed they could never find the right moment. To be honest, Miles had hoped that this weekend would give them the chance: not only were his parents not attending (they were taking advantage of having the house to themselves to have a “staycation”), but Gwen’s dad also wouldn’t be in attendance-he’d received an invite, but had declined. Miles still remembered the conversation he and Gwen had had after finding out they’d be unchaperoned over the weekend:
The two spiders were sitting on a roof, watching the sun set.
“So, um...do you want to…” Miles had begun, trailing off.
“Do I want to do what, Miles?” Gwen had asked. She’d been teasing him, knowing full well what he’d meant.
“You know...maybe get a room together?”
Gwen had smiled. “We could. A double?”
“A double what?”
“Double beds.”
“Oh! Um….I mean if you wanted, I just…”
“Oh my gosh,” Gwen had said, leaning over, cupping his face and kissing him. “Miles, yes I want to get a room together. With one bed.”
He’d returned her smile. “Cool.”
“Yeah,” she’d said, blushing slightly. “Cool.”
“Just so you know, I was implying, you know...sex.”
Gwen had snorted a laugh. “Really? I wasn’t picking up on that.” She had taken his hand in hers and squeezed it.
“So you’re okay? You’re ready?” he asked.
She’d looked at him and smiled, and Miles had sworn she’d never looked more beautiful. “As long as it’s with you, Miles, I’m ready.”
Try as they might, it ended up being not meant to be, as the spiders had been paired up with someone to share a room with for the weekend. Miles would be rooming with Noir, while Gwen would be sharing a room with Peni, leaving Ham and Miguel to share a room for the weekend.
Still, Miles knew he would enjoy the weekend; he had a few days in (not his) New York, he’d be with his friends, and he’d be with his girlfriend. What more could he ask for?
Finding my toothbrush, for starters , he thought to himself.
And sex with Gwen; that definitely would’ve been nice.
“Miles!” his dad yelled from the next room.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” he responded. Running out of his room, he grabbed the needed clothes from the dryer; as luck would have it, his toothbrush was sitting on top of it, and Miles vaguely recalled putting it there this morning when he’d tossed his wet clothes into the dryer.
Sloppily throwing everything into the suitcase and barely getting it closed, he grabbed his best man speech from his desk, shoved it into his pocket, and made his way into the front room, where his parents and Peter sat waiting.
“Okay,” Miles said, gasping for air, “I’m ready.”
“You’ve got everything, mijo ?” his mom asked.
“ Si, mami . All good.”
“Aren’t you going to need these?” Peter asked, holding up Miles’s dress shoes.
“Whoops.”
“Did you pack your suit?” Jefferson asked.
“Of course, dad,” Miles said, nodding to the suit he held over his shoulder.
“No, your other suit,” his dad asked.
It took Miles a minute to realize his dad meant his spider-suit.
“No,” Peter spoke, answering for Miles. “At least I hope not. It’s a strict spider-free weekend.”
“ Bueno, mi amor ,” Rio said, hugging her son. “It’ll give you some time to relax. Take a break from all of that web-swinging. Have fun with your friends.”
“I will, mom,” Miles replied.
“But not too much fun,” Jefferson warned.
“Dad…”
“They’ve got separate rooms,” Peter said.
Jefferson looked confused. “I’m talking about drinking.”
“Dad, seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. You’re eighteen, Miles.” Looking at Peter, he asked, “What were you talking about?”
“Uh...I, um…”
“We’ve gotta go,” Miles said, giving a quick hug to his dad. “I’ll call you guys.”
When he and Peter stepped outside, Miles glanced at him. “Real smooth, man.”
“Yeah, I know,” Peter responded, taking out his goober. An alley and flick of the switch later, and they were at their destination.
In Earth-65…
Black...or red?
Gwen Stacy stood in her room, her suitcase ninety-nine percent of the way packed. She had her dress for the wedding, a swimsuit for the pool, and “nice” clothes in case she and Miles decided to have a date night over the weekend. But she couldn’t decide on this last item:
Black or red?
Laying on the suitcase in front of her were two pieces of lingerie; one red and one black. They weren’t something she would normally wear, nor were they something she would buy willingly. But, over the past week, Gwen had come to a decision:
One way or another, she and Miles were going to sleep together this weekend.
It’d been something that had been building for a while, yet was constantly put off. There was always a villain to fight or interdimensional problems to solve. And if that weren’t enough, there were things like tests, school projects, roommates, or the ever-present danger that was their parents.
Seriously, how was she supposed to find time to sleep with her boyfriend? It was like the universe (or in this case, the multiverse) was determined to keep it from happening.
To be fair, Gwen had been hesitant at first. It’d taken her some time to come to terms with her feelings for Miles; after that, it’d taken her a while until she’d been ready to act on them. She could be, she knew, a hesitant person when it came to relationships. And as much as she loved Miles, as much as she was in love with Miles, she knew that having sex together was a huge step.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to sleep with Miles; she did. But she wanted it to be the right moment; and it didn’t get any righter than having a weekend with no parents.
When Peter had announced he was getting remarried, Gwen figured that if she and Miles were ever going to get a shot, this weekend was it. They’d be in a nice hotel (where the wedding was happening), in a romantic setting, and most importantly: no parents.
But then Peni had asked Gwen to room with her-excited about having a “sleepover”-and the rest of the spiders paired up; Ham with Miguel, and Miles with Noir.
Despite this little setback, Gwen remained determined. She’d been tempted to ask Peni for help, but she felt unsure of how that conversation would go:
Hey Peni, you know how we were going to share a room? Could we not, maybe? Why? Oh, because Miles and I want to lose our virginities.
Yeah, she’d rather avoid that talk.
She and Peni were friends, yes, but not “tell her about sleeping with Miles” kind of friends. And all of the other rooms were booked, so any chance she had of getting a place for just she and Miles had been squashed.
Even though she didn’t want to go to Peni for help, Gwen had needed some kind of help. She lacked any experience in this category; she’d needed someone who she could trust and-more importantly-had a little experience in this department.
So she’d gone to Em Jay.
Probably not the best idea, but it was what she decided to do. Em Jay and Gwen had grown closer over the past year, with Gwen caving and telling Em Jay that she and Spider-Woman were one and the same. So after the redhead’s initial excitement/squealing, she had agreed to give her friend some help.
Their first stop? A lingerie store.
Gwen had practically been dragged, kicking and screaming to the store. It was so not her kind of place, but Em Jay had insisted that it was important for her big night.
“Honestly, what’s the point of lingerie?” Gwen had asked. “You wear it for ten seconds and then it’s laying on the floor, right?”
“It’s sexy,” Em Jay had said. “Trust me. It gets guys in the mood.”
“Wouldn’t me being naked get him in the mood?”
“It’s all about confidence,” Em Jay replied, holding up an option. “ *Your* confidence. He’ll get one look at you, and…”
“Okay, okay,” Gwen replied. “I got it.”
In the end, she’d left the store with two choices. She liked the red, it did make her feel confident about herself. And she’d also chosen the black, as that was Miles’s favorite color.
“Gwen?”
She nearly jumped, surprised to see her father standing in the doorway. Quickly, she shoved both options into her suitcase.
“Yeah?”
“Are you bringing these shoes?” he asked, holding up a pair of her dress shoes.
Gwen shook her head. “Yeah. I forgot about those.” Taking them from her dad, she tucked them into her suitcase, without opening it all the way.
“All set to go?”
“Just about,” she said, looking for her pajamas.
“When are you coming back?”
“Sunday, dad,” she answered, finding what she was looking for. Being careful again with how wide she opened her suitcase, she shoved them in.
“Tell me again why you’re going today?” Captain Stacy asked. “If the wedding isn’t until Saturday, why…”
“Peni wanted to hang out,” Gwen explained, taking one more glance around her room. “And besides, it gives me a chance to look around Peter’s New York. You know, when I’m not there for a different reason.”
“Hm. Taking your suit?”
“Nope. Peter said to leave it.” Looking up at her dad, who still stood in the doorframe, she asked “Are you going to be okay, having the place to yourself? Do I need to worry about you throwing some kind of wild retiree party?”
Captain Stacy barked a laugh. “If you call some of my buddies coming over for a poker game, then yeah, it’s going to be wild.”
Gwen grinned, just as her phone buzzed, alerting her to a text. Picking it up, she saw that Miles had texted her.
When are you getting here? The rooms are awesome!
Be there soon, Spider-Boy , she texted back. Miles texted back an emoji with rolling eyes, followed by a heart.
“That Miles?” her dad asked.
“Yeah. He’s already there,” she answered, pocketing her phone. Figuring she had everything, she zipped up her bag before going to give her dad a hug.
“Call me,” he said, returning the embrace.
“You know I hate calling,” she responded. “I’ll text you.”
“Call me,” he repeated. “You know I hate texting.”
“You’re old,” she teased, grabbing her suitcase. “I’ll see you on Sunday.”
Peter and Mary Jane were getting married at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City. It was a little ( read, a lot more ) out of the couple’s price range, but with some saving, raises, family help, and a little bit of luck, they had been able to pull it off. When they’d first begun dating, Mary Jane told Peter it was always a dream of hers to get married at the Four Seasons. It’d been too out of their price range for their first go-round, but once Mary Jane had said yes the second time, he’d made it his goal to pull it off.
Currently, the spiders-Peter, Miles, Noir, Peni, and Ham-sat around a table in the lobby of the hotel as they awaited their sixth member, Gwen.
“This is a really nice place, Pete,” Miles said, taking everything in.
“Yeah Miles, you’ve said that already,” Peter said, chuckling.
“Five times, last I counted,” Ham pointed out.
“I’m just telling the truth,” Miles replied.
Someone passing by gave an odd look at the table, prompting Ham to respond with “Take a picture, why don’t ya? It’ll last longer.”
The gawker moved on, making Miles smile at their flusteredness. The group was currently “incognito,” all out of their Spider costumes, except for Ham; the thought was that people may respond better to a Spider-pig than an actual live-action pig, wandering around the hotel.
“Sorry, he’s my bodyguard,” Peter called to the lookie-loo. It’d taken some doing, but Peter and Mary Jane had been able to come up with an excuse as to why Peter was hanging out with a pig and an anime-looking schoolgirl: bodyguards.
“Why do you need a bodyguard again?” Miles asked.
“Because, being Spider-Man’s official photographer has me in constant danger,” Peter explained. “And Spidey’s worried about me, so…”
“Here we are,” Peni finished, smiling.
When Miles still looked befuddled, Peter said “Come on, you got a better explanation?”
“Just say you’ve got two superheroes at your wedding,” Miles said.
Peter seemed to think about it. “That actually may have been better…”
“When does Miguel get here?” Noir asked.
“Later tonight,” Peter answered. “He’s a little mad that he has to leave Lyla behind.” He glanced at Peni. “Sorry about Sp//dr 3, by the way. It was hard enough getting Ham a pass, I don’t know how we could’ve let them allow a seven-foot-tall robot.”
“Seven and a half feet tall,” Peni corrected. “I made adjustments.” Shrugging, she added “I could have brought him. He’s good at hiding.”
Miles raised a doubtful eyebrow.
From where they sat, the group had a clear view of the front doors to the hotel. The doors opened, and Miles began to grin as he saw Gwen walk in, looking slightly overwhelmed at the grandness of the establishment.
“Gwen’s here!” Peni exclaimed before Miles could say anything.
“About time,” Peter muttered.
Ignoring them both, Miles was the first to get up, making his way over to his girlfriend. “If I was that kind of guy,” he said, taking her suitcase, “I would say something about how you’re late.”
“And if I was that kind of girl,” she responded, returning his smile, “I’d say something about the scoreboard being Miles late forty-three times to my eleven?”
“Forty-two,” Miles corrected.
“Still…” She gave him a brief kiss before the two walked over to the rest of the group.
Greetings were exchanged, after which the spiders went to their rooms to relax for a bit. There were plans to meet for a late lunch, but the group wanted to get set in their rooms, while Peter claimed he needed a nap. Ham returned to his room, while Noir and Peni decided to take a walk around the hotel.
Miles brought Gwen’s luggage to her shared room with Peni. “I still don’t understand,” he said as they stepped off the elevator, “how I got here before you did. You’re always talking about how fast you pack.”
“I do,” Gwen replied, “I was...distracted.”
“Right, distracted. Unlike me ,” he boasted. “I have laser-like focus and…”
Gwen stopped as they arrived at her door. “Let me see if I can guess: you scrambled to get everything you needed at the last minute, almost left something behind...I’m guessing dress shoes, maybe? And if it weren’t for Peter ‘escorting’ you, you’d still be in your room, packing up?”
Miles paused, before answering with “Peter told you, didn’t he?”
“No,” Gwen answered, using the keycard to unlock her door. “ Noir told me. But nice try, Spider-Boy.”
She stepped inside, Miles right behind her. The room was nice, Miles was right about that, Gwen thought. The two beds were well sized, and Peni’s suitcase lay on top of one of them; Miles put Gwen’s luggage on the other. Sneaking a peek into the bathroom, Gwen loved how roomy it was-just about the size of her bedroom in Forest Hills-with its individual tub and shower.
While Miles fidgeted with his phone, Gwen walked to the outside facing window, and glanced at the street below.
“Is it ever weird for you,” she began, “being low to the ground?”
Miles looked up from his phone. “What?”
“Ever since I became Spider-Woman, I’m so used to heights,” she answered. “It’s always weird when I’m not high up.”
He shrugged. “It’s the fourth floor; it’s all they could do.”
Gwen smirked. “Where’s your room?”
“Me and Noir are down the hall,” he responded. “Six doors down.”
“So close, and yet so far,” she muttered. Behind her, Miles stood, pocketing his phone. Walking up behind Gwen, he wrapped his arms around her waist; Gwen instinctively leaned back into his chest, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I missed you,” he said, softly.
“It’s only been four days, Miles,” she joked. “Needy much?” When he didn’t respond, she glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling. “I missed you, too.” She turned so she was facing him and, cupping his cheeks, brought his face to hers, kissing him.
Miles returned the kiss, and when he felt Gwen’s tongue try to slip into his mouth, he pulled away with a teasing smile. “You really did miss me, huh?”
“Shut up and come here, Spider-Boy,” she responded, pulling his face back to hers as Miles pulled her closer. This time he didn’t resist when she introduced her tongue; he gladly returned the favor.
It’d been four days since they’d last seen each other-dinner with Gwen’s dad-but even longer since they’d had any time alone. And with their original plans of sharing a room scrapped, they were eager to take what they could get.
After almost a minute and a half they reluctantly pulled apart, Miles resting his forehead on Gwen’s.
“If only we had our own room,” he joked.
“Yeah,” Gwen said, catching her breath. “Um...about that…”
There was the sound of the door being unlocked, and the two spiders turned as both Peni and Noir came in. Peni almost immediately looked away, seeing Miles and Gwen standing so close while Noir raised an eyebrow at the two. “Are we interrupting something?” he asked.
The two teens awkwardly pulled away from each other. “No,” Gwen answered, pulling at her shirt. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” Peni said, plopping onto her bed.
“We finished our walk,” Noir replied. “Was wondering where you two were. Peni said you’d probably be here.”
“And here you are,” the animated teen added.
“Yeah, here we are,” Miles said softly, clearing his throat. “Any idea how long Peter’s going to nap? Because I’m getting hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” Gwen said, taking a spot on the bed next to Peni.
“Says the girl who nearly downed an entire pizza last week,” Miles replied, earning a teasing glare from his girlfriend.
“Any word on Miguel?” Gwen asked.
“I don’t think he’s here yet,” Noir answered. “I’ll tell you what, though, I don’t envy him.”
“What do you mean?” Miles asked.
“Ham’s a snorer,” Noir explained.
“Sounds like someone else I know,” Miles said, giving a sly smile at Gwen, who rolled her eyes. She had once stayed in Miles’s dorm before they were dating, and he’d quickly discovered she snored as well.
“Well, you won’t have to worry about that with me, kid,” Noir said, taking a seat on Gwen’s bed. “I sleep quietly...like the rain.”
“That...that doesn’t even make sense, man,” Miles told him.
Noir shrugged. “Yeah, that wasn’t one of my better ones.”
Over the next half hour, Peni and Gwen talked about things the two could do tomorrow, while Miles and Noir caught up. Noir’s plan for the weekend included watching lots of movies in the room; his new favorite pastime was to watch films when visiting the more “modern” multiverses. After a little while they were joined by Ham and the newly-arrived Miguel, who jokingly chewed the group out for not being there to meet him.
“So where’s the man of the hour?” he asked after greeting everyone.
“He said he was taking a nap,” Peni said.
“Who takes naps?” Miguel asked.
“Me,” Miles offered.
“Well yeah, you’re still a kid,” Gwen joked.
“You’re still playing the age card?” he shot back.
The group’s phones suddenly vibrated or beeped, and one by one they each checked their devices. Peter had sent a text in their group chat, letting them know he was ready to meet up.
The spiders began to leave the room, off to meet Peter and Mary Jane in the lobby. Miles stopped Gwen before she left the room, though. “What?” she asked.
“What were you going to say, before?”
“Before what?”
“Before Peni and Noir came in, you were about to say something about...sharing a room?”
“Oh. Uh…” She started to tell him her plan, but realized that despite her end goal of them sleeping together, she wasn’t sure how or when or where it would happen. “It can wait,” she said, taking his hand.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, squeezing his hand. “I’m sure.”
Miles shrugged, and the two left the hotel room, off to catch up with the rest of the group.