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“Sorry.”
“It’s no problem,” Peter said for what felt like the tenth time in an hour as himself from another universe moved over so there’d be less danger of them bumping into each other again. Peter knew it wouldn’t work though. They’d been working on the cures for a while now and no matter how far away from each other they got, the other Peter always ended up in his space again eventually.
He was a very fidgety version of Peter, always playing with something in his hands, adjusting his goggles, running his hands through his hair. Peter was sure he didn’t fidget that much, and from what he’d seen of this world’s Peter, the youngest of the three of them, he didn’t seem to fidget as much either.
But this Peter, the one that was only slightly younger than him, couldn’t seem to stop moving. The youngest was with his friends at one of the other lab tables, but this Peter wouldn’t leave Peter’s side for longer than he needed to fetch supplies from the cabinets along the wall.
The fidgeting, the need for closeness, the way he mumbled to himself as he worked, it was kind of adorable if Peter was being honest. What was not adorable was the looks he kept giving Peter. Those were something else, something more intense. They were what distracted Peter when the other him fidgeted his way up the wall and onto the ceiling only to hang upside down from a web and ask what Peter was working on.
He’d always wondered what being on the other side of the kiss would feel like…
MJ seemed to like it when he kissed her while hanging upside down. He’d done it once and then it had become a thing, something she asked for or something he did impulsively when in costume. It was the Spider-Man kiss, as MJ called it. And Peter was so curious what it was like from this angle.
So, with another Spider-Man hanging next to him, Peter was tempted. He knew the other him wouldn’t mind, not with how he’d been looking at him for the past couple of hours. Those looks meant something, and if anyone could tell what Peter Parker was thinking, it was another Peter Parker.
MJ wouldn’t mind either. It would just be kissing himself after all—and wasn’t that a strange thought. This was a Peter Parker from another universe, someone he’d never see again. It wasn't like he’d be kissing someone that he was in danger of having some long-term affair with. No, it’d be one kiss. One kiss with a version of himself from another universe—though an admittedly attractive version of himself if Peter was being honest—and that didn’t count as cheating at all.
And if he didn’t stop over thinking this, he’d chicken out...
Good thing all Peter Parkers were a little impulsive. ‘Act first, think while doing’ kind of guys.
So, before he could think about it, Peter said, “Stay still, I want to try something.”
The other Peter looked over, not staying still—he never stayed still—fidgeting with the web he was hanging from, tilting his head to see if Peter was holding something, running his mouth because his tongue seemed just as prone to movement as the rest of him. “Oh sure,” he said, “Do you need to test something for—”
He stopped talking as soon as Peter touched his face.
It was so easy to move him where Peter needed. He was already facing him after all, already at the right height, and so against being still. His head moved easily under Peter’s hands until he was at just the right angle. Then, Peter leaned in and kissed him.
It felt similar, but oh so different. Their lips slotted together just as easily as his and MJ’s did, but the other Peter’s weren’t as soft. They were chapped from too many hours spent outside as Spider-Man, wind accosting him from all sides as he swung through the air. It was familiar to Peter in a way no other lips probably ever could be. His jaw was sharper than MJ’s and had a shadow of facial hair that prickled against Peter’s fingers. And his kiss…his kiss was hungrier than Peter was expecting, a harsh press of lips against his as though this Peter hadn’t been kissed in a long time and had been waiting, like he craved the touch he’d been denying himself and was going to take as much of it as he could get while it lasted.
Actually, maybe the way the other Peter kissed was exactly how Peter expected.
“Huh,” Peter said, when he finally pulled away. “MJ’s right, this side of the kiss is nice too.”
The other Peter was staring again, gaze more intense than it had been all evening. His tongue darted out to lick his lips as he swallowed loud enough for Peter to hear.
“Can I try?” he asked, voice a little breathless, a little shaky.
And it only seemed fair that Peter agree. His other self had indulged his curiosity already, and Peter knew what it felt like to wonder about the other side of this kiss without having anyone to try it with.
A jump from him and a drop from the other Peter had them switching places easily. Peter thought he heard a noise nearby—probably from the youngest Peter and his friends—but he didn’t want to look away long enough to see what it was.
When they kissed again, he heard something crash and a quiet “Oh my god,” but his spidey-sense wasn't telling him there was any danger. Besides, the youngest Peter could handle it. The two older Peters were a little busy.