Bringing the item on the hanger into full view, Gwen let out a surprised gasp as she took in the sight. In her hands, May was holding one of the most beautiful dresses that she'd ever laid eyes on; a skater dress in elegant lilac with a scoop neck and cap sleeves. It fell just above the knees and was decorated with a bow on the left side of the midsection. Bringing her eyes back up to meet May's, she was too stunned to even give an answer.

"Peter really loves you, and I know that means that you're a special girl. If you mean a lot to him, then likewise you also mean a lot to me so I would really love it if you'd accept this dress as a gift from me to welcome you into our home." She stipulated, waving the dress around to showcase it.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly…" She began modestly.

"Ah, hush now, I insist. It will only be sitting collecting dust otherwise." May said, offering out the dress.

Touched by May's kind offer, Gwen found herself feeling a little lighter than she had been recently. The gratitude that she felt towards this woman, who she was only just beginning to get to know, was one of the strongest she'd experienced. She thought it through for a moment and then smiled before finally accepting the offer.

"Thank you, this means so much to me. More than I could ever express." She said, appreciative of Peter's aunt.

"Now what are you waiting for? Go try it on and get ready for your Prince charming… Or should that be Prince Peter." May chuckled, gleeful as she watched Gwen slip away to the bathroom to change. 

____________________________________

Standing in front of the mirror in his bedroom, Peter almost couldn't believe that the reflection staring back belonged to him. Digging through the box of his uncle Ben's belongings, he'd found a suit that had stood out amongst all the blacks and grays; a baby blue colour with a silky silver tie and a matching baby blue vest with a white shirt underneath. 

Looking at himself wearing it now, he couldn't help but smile as he remembered his uncle Ben and all the times they'd shared before his tragic murder. Shaking off his little moment, he pulled the ring that May had given him earlier out of his pocket and began twiddling it around his fingers. He thought about practicing in front of the mirror but quickly decided against the idea, labeling it as cringe. Instead, he tucked the ring safely back in his pocket and took a deep breath.

"You got this, Peter. Gwen is the love of your life and after tonight, you can finally move forward." He encouraged, giving himself a little pep talk.

Fiddling with his hair to make sure there were no wild strands, he slipped his phone into his front trouser pocket and put on a pair of formal black shoes before heading out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen to wait for Gwen to join him. 

____________________________________

Unlocking the door, Gwen stepped out of the bathroom and back into the room where May was waiting for her. The woman's face lit up at the sight of the dress being worn once more.

"Does it work?" She asked shyly, unable to stop her cheeks from flushing pink.

"My dear, the dress looks perfect on you and you really make the colour pop." May complimented.

"I- I do?" Gwen questioned, glancing briefly at her reflection in the mirror that hung on the wall opposite her.

"Yes. Now, let's get your hair fixed and then you'll be good to go." She stated, holding both a straightener and curler in her hands.

After an hour of playing around with different styles, the two women finally agreed on a beach wave with braids on either side being held together in the middle by two bobby pins decorated with a mix of tiny pearls and diamonds. Once her hair was done, May left the room to go and inform Peter that she would be down in just a moment. 

This moment gave Gwen the perfect time to prepare herself mentally for the evening. It had been quite a long time since they'd last gotten to go out and have fun without anything standing in the way or something going wrong. Her plan was simple; enjoy the night while it lasted, because she hated the uncertainty that came with each day. As soon as she felt ready, she headed out of the room and slowly descended the staircase.

Peter stood in the hall, looking up the stairs expectantly and as soon as he caught sight of Gwen, his mouth dropped open wide. He'd never seen her wear anything like this before. Happy with her work, aunt May walked away with a smile and left the couple to it.

"Are you ready to go?" Gwen questioned as she took in his goofy shocked expression. 

"Woah…" He gasped under his breath.

"Hello? Earth to Peter? Are you there?" She asked, unable to stop herself from giggling.

"Huh? Oh uh… Yeah, I'm ready." He answered, snapping out of his daze.

"What is it?" She quizzed, noticing his stare and worrying that something didn't look right. 

"Nothing. Just erh- You look beautiful." He told her as he offered out his arm.

"Thank you." She smiled as she linked her arm through his and let him lead her towards the door. 

____________________________________

They didn't wait awfully long for a taxi, roughly about ten minutes, and Peter felt butterflies in his stomach as he held the door open for Gwen. 

Once inside they were greeted by a waiter, who introduced himself as Vincent, and were seated at a table for two over by the window that overlooked the harbour. Looking through the menu with great attention to the details, it wasn't long before they ordered, both choosing the same meal; The Chicken New Yorker, and drink; a glass of fruit punch. 

The waiter took note of their order before going off to place it, leaving them in only each other's company. Nothing could distract them from one another, Peter's eyes were fixed on Gwen's and her focus was on no one but him. He had been waiting for a night like this for so long and now that it was finally here, he didn't want to waste a single second of it, worrying about anything else in the world. After everything that Gwen had lost recently, this night was just what she needed. Tonight her smile wasn't just for show, it was genuine.

"Not to ruin this perfect night, but I just want to ask… Are you doing okay?" He questioned, contented that she seemed happy and wanting for it to be real this time. 

"Honestly… Yeah. I know it sounds odd but I am beyond okay. It's been a tough week for sure, but I can't be sad forever and my mom would want me to be living my life, not stuck in the past." She answered truthfully.

"I'm really glad to hear that. You deserve to be happy after everything." He said with a beaming smile.

"So do you… Are you?" She questioned, her mind getting lost as looked into his eyes for any sign of how he was feeling. 

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He answered.

"I don't know… Because I haven't really given you an easy time lately." She explained, her smile wavering for a split second before returning to reassure him.

Peter remained silent, thinking over her words. It was true, recently they'd gone over a rocky road. Though that did nothing to change the way he felt. If anything, it had only made him love her even more. 

He muttered a thank you to the waiter as they returned with the meal and drinks, placing them down and wishing them a wonderful time before heading back into the kitchen. Breathing in the scent of well cooked chicken filets and sauce, he paused for a moment as he went to pick up his knife and fork; remembering what Gwen had said.

"Look, things may have been rough and yeah I admit that some of those words hurt me but that doesn't mean anything anymore. I've moved past it and going through it together has only made me love you more." He informed her, his heart beating loud enough for him to hear as he admitted this.

"Yeah, I guess we all have our flaws huh? I admit though, I feel the same way. I couldn't love you any less."

With that topic finally out of the way, they were able to eat their meal in peace without any negative thoughts between them. Between getting ready and all the conversation, he realised that he had forgotten to plan how he would go about it. Nerves began to flood through him, yet despite this he continued to smile and remain calm. There was still a couple of hours at least to figure something out and if he couldn't then, he would wing it. 

Time flew by while they were in the restaurant and they were soon finished eating before it had even gotten dark outside. With it being the beginning of summer, the air outside was warm and had little to no breeze. They walked at a steady pace as Peter's arm hung around her shoulders, keeping her close to him. It wasn't long until they'd reached the destination that he wanted to bring her; New York City Harbour. 

Only a few weeks prior, she had been passing by when she'd seen his message that he'd webbed across the Hell Gate Bridge, telling her that he loved her and winning her back after making the mistake of pushing her away. It made him happier to know that he wouldn't be making that one again. 

Realising that he still had his costume on him incase of an emergency, despite agreeing to no Spider-man tonight, an idea struck him. The difficult part was executing his plan without raising any suspicions within her.

"Shoot!" He cursed, grabbing her attention as her smile faded.

"What is it?" She asked, alarm rising in her chest.

"I just remembered… I had a surprise for you, but I need to go get it. I don't want you see it yet though, would you mind if I quickly go and get it? I will be five minutes tops, I promise." He requested, crossing his fingers behind his back in the hopes that she wouldn't be angry with him. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin this perfect night that they were having.

"Oh… I… Well, I mean I guess it's okay, if you really have to." She said trying to sound optimistic but the disappointment being clear as day in her voice.

Peter's smile faded as her tone sent a wave of guilt through him. He thought the idea over once again, but quickly decided that the final outcome was worth it because she would understand when the last of the daylight faded at 9pm sharp. 

"I'm sorry, Gwen. Five minutes, I promise." He assured her. 

Giving her a kiss on the forehead, he took off running in the opposite direction and headed towards the bridge once he was sure that she could not see him. 

Gwen stood speechless at the harbour as she had barely anytime to process his quick disappearance. She rested her elbows on the wall in front of her, resting her head against her fists as she willed herself not to cry. She couldn't help but feel a little abandoned, though she knew that he meant well and clearly was trying to do something nice. Rather than letting her anger take control, she silently counted down the seconds that he'd been gone, just waiting to hit the five minute mark. 

55…56…57…58…59…

One minute.

A minute and twenty seconds. A minute and forty.

Two minutes.

10…20…30…40…50…60…

Three minutes.

Three minutes and thirty seconds. Three minutes and forty.

"BOO!" Peter yelled from behind, tapping her on the shoulder.

Hiding the laugh that wanted to escape at his goofy entrance, she turned around and hugged him. She knew that if she didn't then she'd only end up letting her earlier feelings take control. 

"Three minutes and forty seconds." She announced.

"Wait… Were you timing me?" He asked.

"Well, there wasn't much else to do." She admitted.

"See? I told you that I would be no longer than five minutes. Am I forgiven?" He questioned, pouting his lips.

"Hmm… I suppose, you didn't even take five minutes, so I can forgive you. But please don't disappear again." She pleaded.

"I promise, I won't." He agreed.

Glancing down at his watch, the butterflies in his stomach became restless as he saw the time. In only ten minutes time, she would finally understand why he'd left her alone for five minutes. 

"Where did you go anyway?" She asked curiously.

"Ah, now that's a tough question. I'm afraid I can't answer you until nine o'clock. In about eight minutes, there will be no need to explain." He informed her.

Unimpressed with his vague non-answer, she folded her arms and scowled at him. Noticing this instantly, he placed both his hands upon her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

"I promise that you're going to love it." He insisted, stepping out of the way of her view of the bridge.

Standing by her side and making sure that she was completely focused on nothing other than the bridge, he fumbled around in his pocket and found the ring; holding it tightly in his hand. As the last minute of the hour of eight o'clock came around, the sun began to disappear, being replaced by a beautiful blue. 

9:00pm 

Gwen stared out at the bridge intently as it began to light up, ready for night time drivers. Finally, the lights on the end of the bridge that was opposite to where they were standing lit up and her eyes widened as she saw what was written with web on the supporting beams of the bridge. Thinking that she was mistaken, she rubbed both her eyes with the back of her hand before looking again. Sure enough, there was no mistaking what she had read. 

Scribbled across the bridge in a fine web pattern were the words; Gwen Stacy, will you marry me?

Absolutely speechless, she turned to see Peter still by her side, with one knee resting on the ground as he looked up at her. His eyes were burning with hope that was almost as bright as the lights that illuminated the bridge.

"W-What?" She stammered, unable to collect her words enough to form a sentence.

"So Gwen Stacy, will you marry me?" He read the words written on the bridge aloud. 

Her hand flew up to cover her mouth that dropped open as she was left completely stunned by his surprise. She could feel her legs begin to shake as she caught sight of the ring that he was offering out to her in his hands. Swallowing hard, she took a second to recompose herself before attempting to speak.

"Yes." She answered, biting her lip as she felt the full force of the surprise hit her.

Upon hearing her answer, his smile turned into a grin that couldn't possibly get any wider as he stood back on his feet and slipped the special ring on her finger before pulling her into him and kissing her fiercely. As he broke the kiss, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears and stared into her twinkling eyes that reflected the glowing lights from the bridge. 

"If I haven't said it already, you look stunning tonight." He complimented her, only now processing her full appearance. 

"T- Thank you." She whispered, no longer able to speak aloud.

Even after the surprise, they didn't leave the harbour until after all traces of daylight fully left the sky and spent the time focused on nothing but each other. Peter felt so many emotions that it was impossible to put them all into words. He was relieved that she'd said yes, overjoyed that they'd had the perfect night, but most of all he felt an overnight surge of love. There was something about Gwen that made him fall deeper for her every single day and although he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, he was beyond certain that nothing could ever change it. 

"I love you, Peter Parker." She whispered.

"I love you too, Gwen Stacy." He said back, embracing her and swaying in an almost dance-like way.