Stepping out of the cab, Gwen's eyes filled with wonder and excitement as she took in the sight of Oxford city center. She turned her head to watch as Peter paid off the cab driver and took hold of their suitcases, taking the lightest one into her own hand. For a brief second her eyes flickered down to her broken wrist that was still in a cast, and became annoyed by how helpless it made her feel. Though not wanting to ruin the moment she'd been dreaming of since high school, she pushed the feeling aside and focused on getting up the steps to the Travelodge Hotel; having booked a room earlier that morning to use in the meantime while they looked for a suitable apartment to rent over the next year until she'd finished her studies.

As they entered the building, a fair sized place with blue and purple carpets, mahogany coloured walls and a staircase on either side that led up to the rooms, Peter placed the suitcases down below the receptionist desk while Gwen spoke. After checking in, a man wearing a standard black suit and a dickie now helped them with their luggage as he led them upstairs to one of the vacant rooms, unlocking a door with the number 24 screwed on in gold metallic letters. Once alone after being handed the keys, they put all their luggage down and turned to face one another. Gwen smiled. Peter smiled harder.

"We made it." He stated, as he took in the sight of the room.

"Yes we did." She agreed, gazing at him with a warmth in her eyes, different to how it had been back in New York. "I love you, Peter." She added.

"I love you too, Gwen." He responded, wrapping his arms around her. "And it feels so good to finally be able to be with you and not have to worry about anything bad happening." He said, having made peace with his worries.

"My only question is what do we do now?" She wondered aloud.

"Now?" He questioned.

"Yeah. Not like right now. I mean like now that there's no more threats or bullseyes on either of our heads… Do we just live life normally now?" She explained.

"Hmm… I never really thought about it before, but since you mentioned it… Yeah, I guess. We can still help people, when needed of course, but we can live without fear and having to pull these Mission Impossible type stunts." He answered, putting some thought into the matter as he spoke.

"But people already know who we are. I mean… Not us, but they sure know about our super powered alter egos, and that alone is enough to bring threat to our door." She pointed out.

"Right, I know that. Look, can we just put the subject on the back burner and enjoy ourselves?" He questioned.

"Of course. I- I'm sorry, I don't know why it crossed my mind. I still can't remember the full details of what happened the other night, perhaps I'm just being edgy." She explained. "You know what? I'm gonna freshen up a bit to get my mind straight." She added, moving in the direction of the bathroom.

Slipping inside and closing the door behind her, the first thing Gwen did was walk over to the sink and rinse her dusty feeling hand that wasn't encased in a cast. Once she was satisfied that her hand was clean, she cupped it under the running tap and brought the water up to her face, splashing it over to wake herself up. Opening her eyes, she looked into the mirror and drew in a breath.

"Why can't I remember?" She sighed, frustrated with the holes in her memory.

Rubbing her eyes clear of grit, she turned towards the door, feeling exhilarated by the change of scenery.

'You may not remember… But I do!'

Gwen stopped abruptly with her hand resting on top of the door. She spun around, confused about where the voice had come from and even more about who it belonged to.

"Snap out of it, Gwen." She scolded herself.

'Oh, I'm not the one that needs to snap out of it. At least I remembered what really happened that night.'

This time she turned around, leaning on the sink to support her weight, she thought hard about the night of the fight. She tried to fill in the blanks based on what she had learned from Peter, but it was no use. Feeling somewhat defeated, she glanced up into the mirror once again and jerked back almost instantly, causing her to fall against the glass of the shower. She looked away from the mirror and shook her head, then looked back again; confused to find that her reflection was now normal. She swallowed hard and straightened herself up, not wanting to be alone any longer, she exited the bathroom.

"What, did you make friends with the toilet monster or something?" Peter joked, noticing her back in the room.

"Ha, yeah something like that." She answered, forcing a laugh.

"Oh no… What's wrong?" He questioned.

"Huh, nothing's wrong. Why would you think that?" She said, acting surprised.

"Because you forced a laugh, and I know when you can't bring yourself to laugh there's something wrong." He pointed out.

"I'm fine, really. It's just that… I still can't remember anything and it's kinda frustrating. But you know what? It doesn't matter. What matters is that we are here. Happy and safe. Together." She admitted, closing the distance between them, reaching up to take his face into her palm and planting a kiss on his lips.

"You're sure?" He insisted.

"Yes." She assured him.

"O- Okay then." He concluded, dropping the topic and nesting his head in the crook of her neck. "And I don't mean to bombard you with questions, I just worry about you… A lot. Especially with everything that has-" He began, but stopped when she pressed her index finger against his lips.

"No, ssh… Don't. Don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for. Please, for once, can we be our old selves without all of the anxiety?" She pleaded.

"Of course…" Peter agreed. "Milady." He added as a smirk escaped onto his lips and he swept her off of her feet.

"Hey! What are you doing?... Peter, you're going to drop me!" She squealed as he stumbled over a smaller suitcase that he'd forgotten about.

"Practicing for the big night when I'll be doing this after our wedding… And besides, I've done this millions of times and out of all of those, how many times have I dropped you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Zero." She answered truthfully.

"Exactly." He laughed, walking over to the bed and laying her down.

She laid with her head propped up against the headboard, holding back a laugh as he removed her shoes from her feet, drew the curtains in the room, sat on the bed, removed his own shoes and reached above the bed to turn the light out.

"I could have helped prepare for a good night's sleep, you know." She told him jokingly.

"Oh, I'm perfectly aware that you could have. I just wanted to do something nice." He informed her.

"Okay, come on. Give it up. What have you done?" She questioned, shuffling into his arms as he laid down on his back.

"Wha- Nothing!" He claimed, his voice coming out as a mere squeak. "I was just being good to you, honest." He answered.

"Relax. I'm joking." She said, resting her head on his chest.

"I knew that." He shrugged.

"Sure you did." She laughed. "Hey… Peter…" She began.

"Yeah?" He questioned.

"I know that we agreed not to discuss it while we're away from the city, but I really need to know… Why did I end up alone at that park?" She asked.

Peter sighed. He still didn't think that telling her the full story was a good idea. It had only been a matter of days since the ordeal, and there was no point in telling her something that would upset her all over again. They were in Oxford now, and for the next year or so, they could leave the troubles of Harry Osborn and New York City behind. His only hope was that she didn't remember sooner than he'd anticipated.

"You don't have to answer. It's just a thought that has been on my mind since the hospital." She added.

"No, it's fine. Unfortunately… We got into a fight. Nothing major, it was stupid really. I said some regrettable things and you stormed out. I guess during your blind anger, you stumbled into the park." He fibbed, feeling awful as the words left his mouth. He hadn't been counting on her asking him any questions other than what she had back in the hospital.

"Oh." She mouthed, unsure of what to make of his answer. With the holes in her memory, it was impossible to determine exactly what he could have said that had made her so upset.

"Sorry." He apologized.

"N- No worries… I guess I just wasn't thinking straight afterwards." She brushed off. "Anyways, we should probably get some rest so that we can explore a little before Monday." She stated.

"Yeah, you're right." He agreed, closing his eyes and resting his cheek atop her head.

"Goodnight, Peter." She yawned, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

"Goodnight, Gwen." He replied sleepily. "I love you." He whispered.

Gwen didn't reply, already fallen into a deep sleep after their long day of travelling. Peter, however, couldn't seem to fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about how his little white lie had now expanded into more lies. He despised himself for it. He felt stupid, knowing that he should have just been honest with her from the start about what really happened. With his hand resting lightly around her waist, he could feel the even rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He felt beyond guilty, thinking about how happy she was right now… And how she wouldn't be happy at all if she knew that he'd lied.

*********
A/N; Wow. I can't believe I've actually made it to this point. The end of the story. I just can't believe it. This makes me beyond happy and I just want to say a few thank yous to everyone who has been by this story from day one. To all those who have read the chapters, voted on them and so much more... Thank you. It truly means a lot to me.

I also want to announce that there will be a sequel to this story, which I will be working on within the next couple of months; The Afterglow. I think that this is also the fastest that I have ever finished a fanfiction too, so this is an achievement.

I would also like to personally thank Sparda242 for all his help with this story from the very beginning when it was just in draft stages. Thank you for all your help in overcoming dry patches and for reminding me of details that I'd have otherwise forgotten. This story would not have made it to the end without you, so thank you for sticking with it and hearing out all the rambling and crazy ideas that I'd shared. 😀

Alright all of my amazing followers and readers; thank you for everything. You all made this possible. I hope that you all have the best Saturday ever and stay cool. Take care everyone. 😀