Watching as Gwen hobbled through the front door, supported by crutches, Peter sighed and followed her indoors. It had been a long night for them both, and though he had been hiding it, his anger had not disappeared or even lessened. If anything, it had increased after the hospital trip. He had been fighting the part of him that wanted to leave and find Venom all night, and still was. But as long as she was awake, she wouldn't let him leave. Closing the door behind him, he followed her  into the front room and sat down next to her on the couch. Like most times before, he had no idea what to say, and instead of trying, he wrapped his arm around her. Only then did he find the right words.

"I'm sorry, Gwen." He started. "You were right, and I should have listened to you. I should have known better than to believe that this could ever be over."

"It's okay, Peter. I'm not upset with you. If anything, I'm just glad that they didn't achieve what they set out to do."

"Me too." He said with a small smile.

"A broken foot will heal, but I don't even wanna think about how much worse it could have been." She added, closing her burning eyes.

"Well, they won't be getting another chance. I'm gonna end this before they do."

"Not this again." She sighed. "You aren't going to end this, Peter. We are going to end it."

"Sorry, but no. Not this time." He refused. "It's just not a risk that I'm willing to take. This is one battle that I need to fight on my own."

"Please, don't start this again. I don't have it in me to argue with you over it."

"Good… because you're not supposed to."

"So, what? I'm just supposed to chill and be okay with you walking alone into a fight that you might not come out of?"

"I didn't say you had to be okay with it, just that you have to understand it." He shrugged.

"Wow." She scoffed. "Of all the things, I'd have thought that it's obvious I do understand and that is not what I'm getting at when I tell you I'm not okay with what you're trying to do!"

"Y- you're upset, and I get it. With everything going on and hormones and-"

"No!" She cut in. "That is not what this is."

"Don't you think you're overreacting? If I can go and deal with them then this nightmare will be over, and we can finally be free."

"Or you get yourself killed because you acted on emotion rather than rationally." She added. "And no, I don't think I'm overreacting."

"I just think…" He sighed. "I don't know, I just think that if it weren't for the heightened emotions that you would see things as they are."

Gwen's eyes widened before she frowned. "Okay now… now I'm upset with you."

"What? Why?" He questioned.

"Because you're not taking my feelings seriously, you're not listening to my concerns and no matter how I'm wording it, you still aren't getting it."

Peter stared blankly at the window, not knowing what to say without upsetting her further. He wasn't willing to back down, but he didn't want to argue either.

"Look, let's not dwell on it at the moment. I don't want to upset you. That's not my intention, maybe we should discuss it later when we're not sleep deprived and are able to think straight." He suggested.

"If I didn't need those damn crutches, I'd have walked out of this room already… but I don't have the energy." She admitted.

"You need to rest."

"I can't." She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid that if I fall asleep, you're not gonna be here when I wake up."

"I will be." He assured her.

"How do I know?" She challenged him. "See, I have the worst feeling that you're just waiting for me to fall asleep so that you can sneak off."

"Ouch, your lack of trust in me is hurtful."

"I do trust you, Peter." She corrected him. "I just know what happens when you're so angry that it blinds you."

"But you can't stay awake forever." He sighed. "What do I have to do?"

"Hmm…" She thought aloud. "Lay with me, at least then I'll know if you move."

Peter smiled at the suggestion and nodded. Not only would this help her to settle, but it would give him time to think about his approach. Finding Venom wouldn't be easy when he didn't want to be found, and he didn't want to leave Gwen home alone again. It could have been part of the plan all along, to trick him into going after them so that he wouldn't be able to get back in time to stop them. He would find the right time to go and fight Venom, but for now he had to convince Gwen that he wouldn't act on his anger.

With that in mind, he laid back on the couch, pulling her with him. Resting her head on his chest, with her arm around his waist, she closed her eyes at last. His own head rested against the arm, and he closed his eyes, though sleep failed to come. Slipping away would be impossible without waking her up.
____________________________________

It was dark outside by the time Gwen awoke, having almost completely forgotten about the events of the night prior. Though it all came flooding back when she opened her eyes and Peter was no longer laid on the couch. Her heart began to pound in her chest and she found breathing to be a challenge as she struggled into a sitting position and then stood up, with the aid of her crutches.

"Peter?"

With no response, she headed out into the hall and glanced around. Her fears that he had given into his anger intensified as she still found no sign of him.

"Peter?" She repeated, trailing off into the kitchen.

Even though there was no sign of him, she refused to believe the worst and headed back into the hall and glanced up the stairs.

"Peter, if you're playing games, this isn't funny!" She called, growing frustrated.

Still without a response, she retreated back into the front room and sat back down, pulling out her phone. She scrolled until she came across the contact that she was looking for, and her finger hovered above the call button. Her hope was slowly slipping, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out. But she had to, so she hit the green button and bit her lower lip while it rang. A few seconds passed before the other end of the line was retrieved.

"May?..." She began. "I- I'm sorry for calling so late, but… is Peter with you?"

"No, I haven't seen him since I left last night."

"Oh no…" Gwen whispered under her breath.

"You mean… he's not with you?"

"I don't know. He was here when I fell asleep, but I woke up and I don't know what's happening."

"I wish I could help, but as I said, I haven't seen him."

"Don't worry, maybe I'm just overreacting." She shrugged, thinking back to Peter's words from the previous night. "And I'm sorry to keep on, but do you think you could get over here? I just… I really don't feel safe being alone right now."

"Of course, I'll be there as soon as I get Simon to his after school club."

"Thank you." She said, feeling slight relief. "See you soon."

Hanging up the call, she threw her phone down beside her and ran her fingers through her hair. No longer able to deny the obvious, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to keep herself together. She had no idea where Peter was, or how long he had been gone because she had allowed herself to fall asleep. A dull ache was beginning to form in her head and she felt beyond sick, not knowing if he was safe or not.

"This cannot be happening…" She muttered to herself, staring at the photo that was displayed on the coffee table; a photo taken during their high school years, and she couldn't help but notice the huge boy-ish grin on Peter's face.

"... What have you done?"
____________________________________

Swinging onto a higher roof top, Peter crouched down to remain unseen and stalked the pavement below. Across the road was the bar that, only a few months ago, he had picked a fight in and let his opponent win. He had seen Eddie come and go from there several times when he'd passed it before. If there was any place he was likely to be, it would be there. Removing his mask, he was able to get a better view of the people going in and out of the bar.

He watched several people, ranging from bulky biker men to desperate middle-aged women, pass through the doors, but no Eddie. Minutes turned into hours, and he almost gave in and headed home, but as he swung down from the rooftop, commotion coming from the alley beside the bar caught his attention.

With caution, he inched over to the entrance and ducked quickly behind a pile of old garbage bags that reeked of rotting fruit and spoiled meat before he could be seen. He drew in a deep breath and held it, peeking around the side of the bags, at the source of the commotion. In the middle of the path, two figures stood arguing. He instantly recognised one of them as Eddie, though he couldn't put a name to the other person.

Peter slipped his mask back over his face and as he overheard Eddie mouthing off. He had no idea what the situation was, but the guy was distracted, and that gave him a perfect opportunity to ambush his enemy. Stepping out from behind the garbage bags, he straightened himself out and crept silently towards them.

Too busy yelling, neither Eddie nor the other person noticed when he stopped just a few feet short of being in between them. With his fists clenched at his sides, ready for a fight, he decided to make himself known and cleared his throat.

"Oh… great! I knew I should have sprayed myself with spider repellent this morning."

"You think you're funny?" Peter fired back.

"I think I'm hilarious." Eddie laughed.

Peter grit his teeth, letting out the breath he had been holding as he felt his anger burn up again. Seeing Eddie laugh was the trigger and without quite grasping what he was doing, he activated his shooters. As the web attached itself to Eddie's chest, he tugged on it, sending him flying into the wall. The other person who had been arguing with Eddie before the interruption had already left, which he was glad of.

"You waited until I was absent, barged into my home and went after the person I care about more than anything in this world and now…" He raged as he advanced towards Eddie, stopping when he was only inches in front of him. "... You're going to pay for it."

Grabbing Eddie by his shirt, Peter punched him square in the face and before the former had the chance to retaliate, he did it again.

"It worked… he's angry. Use that." Venom hissed.

Eddie smirked. "I'm doing you a favour, Parker. With all the issues you have, your kid is doomed before their life has even begun."

Peter's eyes blazed with rage. Anything else that had been there before had long since vanished, along with his will to show mercy to Venom's host. He pulled Eddie closer to him again, gripping his collar until his knuckles hurt and then threw his fist into his face once again.

"Keep going… the more we wind him up, the more blinded he will be, and when I strike back, he won't know what hit him."

Spitting a mouthful of blood at Peter, Eddie continued to laugh. "And your girl… you already killed her once… it's only a matter of time before she-"

"Shut up!" Peter screamed as Eddie got back to his feet.

Using a web, he brought down the metal ladder of a fire escape on Eddie, knocking him back to the ground and jumped to the wall before he got back up.

"What's the matter? Are you scared, Spider-man?" Eddie taunted.

"Not enough. Dig deeper."

"I would be too if I picked a fight that I knew I couldn't win." He added.

Peter pushed himself off of the wall, and shot another web, swinging from it and landing a kick in Eddie's chest, causing him to stagger backwards. Landing on his feet, he removed his mask from his face. He wanted Eddie to be able to look him in the eye while they thought, and wanted him to feel the wrath of his fury.

"And once I'm through with you, I'm going back for your girl… and this time, I won't fail."

"Once you're through with me? Funny, because I don't see you fighting back."

"Come on… I'm right here. If you wanna kill me, then do it." Eddie prompted. "But I'll bet it's all just talk. You don't have the balls to do anything other than throw a punch. It's pathetic. You may look tough with that costume on, but underneath it, you're nothing but a coward."

"As a pose to a man who needs something sinister just to make himself feel good?" He fired back. "Say anything you want about me, but it doesn't change the fact that you are a poor excuse of a human… going after an innocent little baby because you're too scared to face me."

Eddie's eyes lit up in amusement as finally found the right words. The words that would unravel Peter.

"Innocent?" He laughed. "Hardly."

"I'm not here to play games!"

"Neither am I." Eddie growled. "You're gonna regret this ambush, Parker. I'm gonna beat you within an inch of your life and then I'm gonna drag you back home and I'm gonna force you to watch as I rip your devil spawn from that girl of yours and gut it like a pig, until the walls are covered in blood."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Peter screamed again.

"Make me!"

Peter yelled in anguish as anger rattled through him, causing tremors in his body. He charged towards Eddie, knocking him flat on his back as he pinned him to the ground. Before he could make his move, Venom's black tendrils emerged from his back and wrapped themselves around Peter's neck, cutting off his air. No matter how much he pulled at them, they would not loosen and with a simple flick, Venom sent Peter flying through the air and crashing into the wall before he fell flat on his face.

"You make this too easy."

"Who said I was giving up?"

Though shaken up, he refused to back down, and using a web, he swung himself back over to Eddie, who was almost completely buried inside Venom, and sent his foot flying into his face. As the latter retreated, the former staggered back, and Peter glanced around the alley in search of something he could use against them. His eyes settled upon a discarded baseball bat, near the garbage bags he had hidden behind earlier and shooting another web, he retrieved it.

Eddie eyed the bat, and then caught Peter's eyes which sent a shiver down his spine. He had seen a similar look in them, back when they'd gotten into the fight at Starbucks, but not on this level. The coldness, the rage and the hatred had been amplified by a thousand, removing anything that Eddie had been able to exploit. Except the one thing that he had been exploiting the most; his anger. With one swing of bat, Eddie dropped to his knees clutching his chest, and with another, blood poured from his head. Despite wounding him, Peter didn't stop there. With a third swing, Eddie was doubled over, and with a fourth, he was forced flat onto his stomach. Raising the bat again, he brought it down in between his shoulder blades. Unable to stop, Peter continued to bludgeon Eddie with the bat, crying out in rage in between each hit he made.

Blood spilled onto the pavement beneath Eddie, and as the bat caught the back of his head, more blood splattered across Peter's face. His grip on the bat tightened and he raised it in the air once more, but as he went to bring it down, he stopped.

One and a half years ago…

With his senses tingling, Peter turned around slowly, and drew in a breath when he saw Gwen. She had followed him. He'd told her not to, even webbed her to a car to ensure she didn't, yet here she was. He opened his mouth to speak, ready to tell her to run far and fast, but before he could get the words out, the whoosh of a hoverboard, followed by a gust of wind. Then, hovering in the air between himself and Gwen, was Harry. 

Peter watched, the feeling of dread intensifying with each passing second, as Harry glanced back at Gwen and then looked at him with eyes gleaming with hatred.

"When you said Spider-man said no… You meant that YOU said no…" Harry hissed.

"Harry…" Peter swallowed. "What did you do?"

"What you made me do!" Harry spat. "You were my friend, and you betrayed me."

Peter winced as Harry's tone changed from angered to pained. Guilt washed over him, wishing that there was more he could have done to help his best friend. But giving Harry what he had asked for was not an option.

"No, I was trying to protect you…" He insisted.

"Look at me!" Harry roared, the anger returning to his voice.

"Hey… it's going to be okay."

"You give people hope…" Harry cried, his eyes glassy and filled with hate. "You took it away."

"No, Harry-"

But it was useless. No matter what he said, nothing could get through to Harry and it finally dawned on him; his best friend was too far gone.

"I'm going to take away yours!"

Present Day…

Peter raised the bat once again, but suddenly found himself unable to bring it down on Eddie. The tremors throughout his body got more violent, and with shaking hands, he dropped the bat. He froze for a moment, unable to tear his eyes away from the bloody sight in front of him, and suddenly felt sick to his stomach. It wasn't the blood, or the sight of Eddie, but knowing that he was the one who had dealt the damage.

He staggered back, almost drunkenly, and let out an unsteady breath, closing his eyes as regret and guilt flooded through him, replacing the rage that had taken hold of him. This was not real. All of the hate and the anger that had consumed him wasn't who he was. He didn't live for revenge or for the kill. But it frightened him, how close he had come to killing Eddie.

Peter felt his heart leaping into his throat with each beat as he crept back towards Eddie. If he were to hit him again, he was as good as dead, though even if his host died, it would not stop Venom. He would just find another and the cycle would repeat itself. But he had no intention of fighting him anymore, afraid that if he did then his rage would take over again. With the weight of his actions weighing heavy on his chest, he offered out his hand to Eddie, who looked up at him through hooded eyes.

"I- I'm sorry…"

"Awe, look at that… he's broken. We've got him right where we want him, now is the time to fight back." Venom ordered, making a mockery of Peter's display of remorse.

"It's o- okay, P- Parker…" Eddie choked and reached out to take his offered hand.

Peter tightened his hand around Eddie's fingers with the intent of helping him back to his feet. But as the latter made contact, Venom's black tendrils emerged from his back and enveloped Peter, lifting him five feet in the air.

"Your mistake…" Eddie began. "... Offering a hand to the enemy." He finished with Venom's snarls getting louder.

With great force, Venom flicked Peter away like a bug, sending him flying through the air and crashing against one of the metal ladders that led up to a fire escape. Peter groaned in discomfort as he rolled over onto his chest and jumped back to his feet, then leapt in the air and clung to the wall to avoid another blow as Venom violently swung two of his tendrils with the intent of knocking him down again.

"It's not one I'll be making again." He stated, jumping off the wall again, and shooting a web that temporarily blindsided Venom.

Using the few seconds he'd given himself, he made a run for the main road. Though he was fast, he wasn't fast enough, and Venom's tendrils caught up to him, wrapping around his ankle and tripping him up. Digging his fingers into the pavement until he felt his skin begin to rip and blood trickle down his hands, he attempted to stop himself from being dragged back into the fight. Numbness spread through both hands, forcing him to give in and as he dangled upside down, the sticky tar-like substance that made up the symbiote began to cover Eddie until he disappeared, leaving only Venom.

Peter's jaw dropped as Venom's mouth opened and a huge, snake-like tongue, covered in blood and drool slid across his face, leaving behind a trail of slobber that dripped into his open mouth.

"Ewww." He grimaced.

"Hungry." Venom stated and then opened his mouth wide, revealing hundreds of razor teeth.

"Aw, come on. You don't want to eat me, I taste terrible." He insisted. "I haven't showered in three days, my ears are full of wax, oh… and I've got gas, so if you eat me then you're gonna have a bad taste in your mouth." He babbled.

Venom didn't care for his babbling, and his mouth only opened wider as he held Peter directly above, ready to drop him in when loud singing caught the symbiotes attention. Peter also glanced towards the entrance to the alley, and saw a rather large man jay-walking towards them, singing a drunken song. Venom paused, with Peter inches away from his mouth, and growled in frustration.

"Next time, Peter."

With that, he dropped him back to the ground before launching himself high up on a rooftop and sprinting out of sight. As the drunken man neared him, Peter slipped his mask back over his face and then launched a web, swinging himself up and away before he could be discovered.
____________________________________

Too wrapped in her own thoughts, the sound of the door opening and slamming closed again startled Gwen. Exchanging a look with May, she grabbed hold of her crutches and forced herself up off the couch, moving as fast as she could into the hallway. Her eyes instantly fell upon Peter and she froze as she took in the sight of him.

He was wearing his suit, something she hadn't seen him in for a very long time, but it was torn, exposing the skin of his chest beneath. His mask was hanging from his hand down by his side, prompting her to look up at his face. Though as she saw the blood splattered across him, she almost wished she hadn't.

"Peter?" She whispered, biting down hard on her lower lip.

"H- hi Gwen." He greeted sheepishly.

After a few seconds, the shock began to wear off and her eyes began to burn. Moving almost too fast, she closed the distance between them and threw her arms around him, letting the crutches clatter on the floor. Though as he wrapped his own arms around her, she pulled away, balancing with great difficulty.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through tonight?" She challenged.

"Look, I-"

"No, you look." She cut in. "You swept my concerns under the rug and ignored my feelings as though it meant nothing to you and then you tricked me into falling asleep so that you could go and do exactly what you were told not to anyway!"

"I- I'm sorry, okay?"

"No. Not okay." She said, wobbling as she struggled to stand. "I woke up alone and confused because you weren't there when you promised me that you would be and I've been trying to hold it together since then but not knowing where you were and if you were okay didn't help."

"But wait, I-"

"You didn't call. You didn't text. Not even a note to tell me where you were-"

"Because I knew you would try to follow me!" He interrupted.

"Try to follow you? No, Peter. I wouldn't have allowed you to leave in the first place." She argued.

Peter flinched as she lost her balance and moved to catch her as she fell forward, steadying her with one hand while retrieving one of her crutches with the other. She took it as he offered it out to her, but didn't bother to thank him for his effort and instead, her cold eyes bore into his own.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry?" He shrugged. "I'm only sorry that I had to trick you, but I'm not sorry for kicking their asses after the stunt they pulled. I'll never be sorry for wanting to defend you."

"And if it was just a trick to get you out of the way so that they could come back?" She fired back. "Couldn't do anything then. And I don't always need your help, I can defend myself. I did defend myself!"

"Yeah? Then why are you walking around on crutches?"

"That is hardly fair." She scoffed. "So, you've never been injured in a fight before? Never had the Lizard dig his claws into your chest? Never had Harry hit you so hard that it knocked you down?..." She bit back. "Never had your ass beaten by Venom and came home all bloody?" She added, eyeing the state of him.

"It's not what I meant!"

"I know exactly what you meant, Peter."

"Oh?"

"You think that just because I've been knocked down in the past, and because I lost one fight, a fight that I was not only outnumbered in, but also at a huge disadvantage, that I'm not capable of defending myself."

"I never said that." He denied, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"It's not about what you said, it's about what you're implying." She corrected him. "But it doesn't matter, that's not what this is about, you're just changing the subject and I am not about to drop it."

"Of course you're not." He muttered. "You're just gonna constantly nag me about it until I get tired and apologize and then you'll bring it up in every future argument because it'll help you win."

"I'm not doing this…" She huffed. "I don't wanna fight with you, I just thought that you'd at least respect me enough to fill me in on your nighttime activities. But I guess not…"

"This isn't about respect either, you know that I do respect you."

"Fine!" She snapped, having had enough. "But I don't think I wanna stand here going around in circles with you, so when you're ready to come clean with me then I will be upstairs, and I don't want to see you a second sooner than when you're ready to prove that statement."

"Upstairs? At least let me help you-" He began, reaching for the other crutch that remained on the floor.

"I can manage myself!" She cut in, struggling but eventually managing to retrieve the crutch and then making her own way up the stairs.

"Sheesh." Peter rolled his eyes before he turned and stalked into the front room.

Expecting to be alone, he stopped in his tracks when he took note of May sitting on the couch with her foot tapping impatiently on the wooden floor as though she had been waiting for him. He gulped nervously as he came to the conclusion that she was, in fact, waiting for him.

"Alright, give it to me straight, how much of that did you hear?"

"Not much, only the entire argument." May answered with a shrug.

"Then you know that it's reasonable for me to not want to get into it. I did what I had to do, Aunt May, to fix the situation. Yet all I get is a kick in the nuts for it."

"Language!"

"I'm sorry." He sighed, throwing himself down on the other end of the couch. "But you understand, right? She's just overreacting."

"Oh, Peter…" May shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm with Gwen on this one."

"What?" He questioned. "You can't be serious!"

"I am serious." She corrected him. "What exactly did you think was gonna happen when you chose to ignore her and then take it a step further by tricking her?"

"Well, I- I don't know."

"You weren't thinking at all because you let your anger blind you."

"And that was a mistake, but I couldn't sit back and do nothing."

"No one asked you to." She pointed out. "All you had to do was stay here and listen to her, but you didn't."

"Yeah, but I didn't wanna upset her."

"She woke up alone in the same house that, only hours prior, someone barged in and attacked her. I don't think it's unreasonable for her to be upset."

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked, resting his head on his fist. "I made a mistake, I should have been here instead of starting a fight out there, and I know that now."

"You really want to hear my answer?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

"You drag yourself up those stairs and listen to her side of things."

"And then?" He pushed.

"Then, you tell her absolutely everything that went down in that fight, because seeing you come home in this state is only going to play on her mind if you don't."

"Okay. Listen first, talk second. Then what?"

"Then you grovel and apologize." She informed him. "And I don't mean the cheap apology that isn't sincere, I mean the kind of apology where you do absolutely anything she may ask of you to make it up to her."

"Right." He nodded.

"Let me hear you repeat it, so I know that it's clear."

"Listen. Talk. Grovel." He summed up.

"Perfect." She concluded. "Ah, and one more thing."

"What?"

"Don't pull a stunt like this again." She added.