Harry Osborn. A name that had somehow slipped Gwen's mind up until Peter had mentioned it. Suddenly, everything that had happened that night at the clock tower came rushing back. But there was one thing that he had never explained to her.

"What do you mean?" She questioned.

"Those things he did… Becoming the Green Goblin… All of it was my fault." He admitted.

"Your fault, how? Peter, don't say that! The only person responsible for Harry's actions is Harry. Not you." She corrected him.

"No… You say that now because you don't know the full story." He refused.

"So tell me!" She pleaded, raising her voice despite not intending to.

Taken aback by her sudden tone of voice, a frown emerged onto his face and he stood up instantly.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think any less of me!" He snapped.

"I… Peter, I didn't mean to raise my voice, I'm sorry and as for thinking less of you, I could never. It is impossible for me to think any less of you because I love you too damn much!" She informed him.

"Oh. I'm sorry Gwen, I thought that you were getting annoyed with me." He said, lowering his voice to its usual volume.

"Please just tell me… Tell me what it is that you think would make me change my mind about you." She requested again.

"Back before any of the madness, when Harry's father died and he took over at Oscorp, I learned that Harry was dying. He found out about my photography of Spider-man and just assumed that I knew him. So he asked me to bring Spider-man to him. After hearing his request, I couldn't do it but my conscience got the better of me and I went to see him, not as Peter but as Spider-man. He and I had a conversation and he started begging me for my blood, but I explained to him that I couldn't risk it; I mean what if it killed him quicker, I could never live with myself if that happened. As expected, he got mad and accused me of letting him die. I left and then he resorted to extreme measures, causing him to become what he is now." Peter explained, saying each word as though he was reliving those moments inside his head as he spoke.

Gwen stood up after he had finished speaking and took both his hands into her own. Despite how awful she felt for him, now knowing the whole truth behind his pain, she gave him a weak smile. 

"You were just doing what you thought was right and Harry, rather than accepting that, chose to do these extreme things. That is not your fault. You are not responsible for how immature the boy is. So don't you dare put that on yourself." She corrected him.

"Yeah, but then I used my blood to save your life… And I don't regret that. I love you and would do anything to keep you safe. But I can't help thinking, what if my blood would have cured him? I mean it healed you, so is there any reason to believe that it wouldn't have worked on Harry." He questioned, more to himself than to her.

"Actually, there is. What you healed me from was a broken neck, and what Harry was suffering from is an incurable genetic disease. I mean yeah, it worked on me because I was injured, not plagued with illness. Your venom infected blood may have healing powers but I highly doubt it can cure that level of disease. If that were the case then Oscorp would know about it already just by the tests that they have run." She pointed out.

Thinking about it for a moment, Peter realised that there was a high possibility that she was right about that. After all, she did used to work at Oscorp which meant that she would know a lot about the tests they ran. Taking a deep breath, he found the weight around his shoulders had lifted slightly and his head felt a lot clearer now that he had opened up to her. 

"Right… Of course. You're probably right. I just can't help but think ''what if, you know?" He confided in her.

"Yeah, I get it Peter, I understand far more than you think… Especially when I think about my father, but the truth is that we can't beat ourselves up over what could have been. Anything could happen at any time and so rather than staying stuck in the past we should just live in the moment." She told him.

"Oh Gwen, do you have any idea how lucky I am to have you? I don't deserve you. Not one bit." He said sweetly, wrapping his arms around her waist. 

"I'm here with you right now because I want to be, don't ever think that you don't deserve me. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life and it scares me because I don't want anything to ruin what we have." She confessed, her cheeks flushing pink as she looked into his eyes.

"Nothing will ruin what we have together, I would rather die than be without you." He told her.

Hugging him tightly, finally the two of them had gotten almost all the negativity out of their system and were now mostly at peace. Feeling a little cooped up indoors, Gwen felt a sudden need to get outside and be doing something rather than sitting around inside all day. Stepping back from the hug, her eyes went blurry and she staggered back in a dizzy haze.

"Woah, you okay?" He asked, concerned as he grabbed hold of her in order to steady her.

"Just a little overheated and feeling kind of funny, but I'm fine. I think that I just need some fresh air. That's all… It's been a stressful morning." She explained, half guessing the cause herself.

"Oh… Do you wanna go somewhere? Maybe get out for a while?" He suggested, not daring to leave her side in case she fell.

"Yeah… Can we go do some more practice runs?" She asked.

"Is that really a good idea? I mean if you're not feeling well-" 

"I'll be fine, really. I just need to be active, I feel." She insisted.

"Alright then, but please tell me if you start feeling worse." He requested.

"I will." She agreed.

After freshening themselves up, the two headed back to the same location that Peter had taken her the day before. It was not as late this time though as the afternoon was barely upon them, so they would have to be more careful than before. 

Sneaking back up to the rooftop, Gwen turned to face Peter, waiting for him to instruct her. Though before she could ask for any, she remembered something else that she was supposed to tell him.

"Hey… Uh… Peter, there's something that I forgot to tell you earlier." She began. 

"Okay, go on." He prompted, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Last night, when I got home, I snuck into my room to change and I was kinda slow. My brother barged into my room and he… Well he caught me." She explained anxiously.

"Caught you? What do you mean he caught you?" He questioned.

"I mean that he caught me in my… In this." She finished, making a hand motion that referred to her suit. 

Peter's smile faded as he processed what she was telling him. The thought of someone other than himself or her knowing their true identity worried him greatly.

"Gwen! How could you let that happen?" He quizzed in panic.

"Wha- I didn't mean for it to happen. I moved as fast as I could to get changed out of it. It isn't my fault." She defended, slightly hurt by his accusatory tone. 

"You have to be more careful, if someone finds out who we really are then our friends, our families will be targeted. Do you want that?" He questioned harshly.

"No! Of course I don't… Peter, he's just a kid! I had a conversation and there is one way to buy his silence." She mentioned, hoping to take the heat off herself.

"How?" 

"He said he won't tell my mom if… If I can get him a picture with Spider-man." She told him, her worried eyes cast down at the ground.

"A picture? What did you say?" He asked, now intrigued.

"I said that I would try my best." She answered honestly.

"Try your best? Oh my God, Gwen! What do you think is going to happen if that picture is taken, huh?" He raged.

"Well I-" She began to answer, but was soon interrupted.

"He's going to take it to school, he's going to show his friends. Said friends are going to go mad thinking that he knows Spider-man and then they're all going to want pictures! This is a disaster." He said, the last couple of sentences coming out in a shout.

The volume of his voice had her flinch and step back. She felt as though he lacked confidence in her and if that was the case, it hurt to know. 

"It was a mistake! I know that, okay! And I didn't mean for it to happen, but in a place full of family it is bound to happen. I'm sorry! What else do you want me to say? It's clear that you lack trust and confidence in me and knowing that hurts me! I made a mistake, just like we all do at times… There's no need to shout at me for it!" She snapped.

Turning her back to him, she stared out at the buzz of the city below, shocked and hurt by his reaction. Standing in silence, Peter ran his hands through his hair, hating himself for how he had just acted. She was right about one thing. Everyone made mistakes and he shouldn't have gone off on her about one tiny error. Wracked with guilt, he slowly approached the edge of the rooftop, where she stood. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, only for her to shrug it off. 

"What do you want?" She asked coldly, not bothering to face him.

Thinking for a moment about what to say, he sighed and decided to go ahead despite her frosty tone; which he knew that he deserved. 

"Gwen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that…" He began.

"Too damn right you shouldn't." She retorted.

"I guess I was just worried that if people found out then the ones that we love would be in danger, but you're right. He is just a kid and so I have decided that I will do the photo." He continued.

"Okay. That's fine. I still don't forgive you though." She informed him.

"Look, I was wrong to shout at you and I truly am sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me instantly, but I want to know how I can make it up to you." He requested.

Feeling frustrated, Gwen reached up and yanked her mask off, pulling her hood down along with it. Still, she didn't bother to turn around as she spoke.

"I just want you to trust me." She whispered.

"I do trust you." 

"Then show me." She concluded.

"Okay. I will do that. I promise." He agreed.

"Good." 

"Hug?" 

"Hmm… Alright." 

Turning around, she let herself fall into his arms. Still not feeling too great, she closed her eyes for a moment. Tired of all the problems.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

"If we can make it through this practice session with you proving that you can trust me, then I will forgive you." She offered.

"Deal." He stated.
_________________________________________

Down on the ground in the city below, Harry stopped as a sign of movement on one of the rooftops caught his attention. Sneaking around all the busy bodies, he made his way up top of the building opposite before pulling out a pair of binoculars in order to get a closer look.

His eyes widened in shock over what he saw. Up on the rooftop there was Spider-man, but that wasn't what caught his attention. Standing next to the masked hero was yet another. This one was dressed in a white and black suit, and had a hood over their face. 

Alarmed, thinking that the hero may have called for backup after his girlfriend had been killed, Harry instantly decided that this needed to be investigated. 

However, he knew that he would need to be discreet whilst doing so. If Spider-man discovered that he was being spied on, then all hell would break loose, and Harry couldn't have that… Not yet at least.