Five and a Half Hours Later
7:00 P.M.
Christina's POV

Christina stared up at the grand sign and peered at her best friend's name printed under the title of the musical she was due to see at 7:30, Manhattan Memories. She was fully aware of the dozens of people in line behind her and Peter having his arm hooked around hers in a formal way, and how that made her face turn ever so slightly pink. She was nowhere near as shy as she once was before they had gotten together, but she would have her moments where she was subtly timid.

The teal chiffon dress that extended past her feet and the dark crimson heels that adorned them and the turquoise satin gloves made Christina feel grand as she carefully stepped forward with Peter at her side; she recalled something that had happened fifteen minutes prior, when he had initially picked her up so they could travel to the Broadway theater on his motorbike.

She remembered hearing the knocking on her front door – Sidney had gone back home at this point – and walking towards it to open it. She would never forget the earth-shattering grin on Peter's face once he got a good look at his love, and how it nearly brought her to tears. She had known, in that five-second moment of pure albeit non-awkward silence, that the night to follow would be magical.

"You look... perfect..." Peter had whispered as he admired every feature of his beloved girlfriend, longing to always assure her that she was stunning to him. He had noticed that her blonde hair was twisted into a pretty french braid and that she only had a slight bit of makeup on her face, a few layers of mascara and light pink lipstick. But that didn't matter to him; Christina was beautiful either with makeup or without it, and he was never unhappy with that since he had always seen her as stunning.

Peter never knew how, but Christina's beauty seemed to become greater each time he saw her; he could never put a finger on how that was possible, but he didn't care. He longed to see her every day, whether that be in a goddess-like dress or in a plain hoodie and sweatpants. He loved her regardless.

Christina hadn't taken a single second to hesitate to say, "You look perfect, too." It was true, he looked rather cute in his formal suit that he was wearing to the play. And the flirtatious but sheepish smile was enough for Peter to blush furiously, and that only made her smile even more.

"Um, thanks..." he had replied before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on Christina's left cheek, not being able to miss how her own face had turned red. It was an incredibly adorable sight that he would never get tired of seeing.

Right now, just before Christina and Peter were about to walk up to the small window where they were to receive their tickets for the musical, the blonde glanced up at the sky above her. Her lips curled upward as she admired the speckled white dots that lit up the blackness surrounding the city tonight.

The stars are enchanting, she thought to herself as quickly as she could. I should let them take me later tonight. When I go to sleep, I'll think about them. Shooting Stars. The Stars are Mansions Built by Nature's Hand. The beauty of them is sacred. They remind me of late nights at parks when I was little....

"Chris..." came Peter's voice from her right, and she turned her head to look at him.

"Hmm?" she muttered, peering up at him for a moment.

"We're next," he said, pointing ahead of them. Christina noticed that they had been standing in the exact spot for longer than intended and she giggled awkwardly.

"Right," she replied. "Sorry..."

The couple walked up to the clear window, more aware of their surroundings now that they had gotten out of their awe of the building in front of them. It seemed that they were just in shock that they ever ended up at a grand place such as this and that they had been invited by a good friend of theirs.

"It's beautiful..." Christina whispered to herself with an awestruck smile gracing her features.

"Good evening, ma'am," Peter said politely to the woman at the clear window, clearing his throat. "Mrs. Watson-Jameson left tickets for the two of us. Peter Parker and Christina Johnson."

The lady nodded curtly before turning to ask her assistant for said tickets; once she got the slips of paper, she slid them under the speaker on the window. "Enjoy the show, guys!" she said enthusiastically.

"Thank you," Christina spoke up kindly. "You have a good night."

The two then walked into the elegant lobby of the building, Christina being careful not to stumble due to her heels and her prosthetic hand clutching a small section of her gown so she wouldn't trip. Her eyes were bright with admiration of the decorations and chandeliers, and she was nearly pulled into a trance by their beauty. "Wow..." she murmured under her breath.

"What is it?" Peter asked her, his eyebrows raised a little.

"I never thought a place could look so... gorgeous," she whispered to him, and she could then feel Peter moving his arm around hers so that he was holding her hand. The feeling of it made her flush and go crimson.

"It is beautiful here," he muttered in reply before leaning a little closer to her. "But you're prettier."

Christina couldn't stop the shy little giggle that erupted from her and she instinctively covered her mouth with her metal hand, and Peter would repeat the moment in his head for days to come since he hadn't seen anything more sweet and endearing in his whole life. He wasn't able to help the smile that appeared on his face at the sight of his girlfriend laughing.

She has the cutest laugh, he thought to himself for a moment.

Meanwhile, as Christina walked through the huge double doors and into the auditorium, she couldn't escape the feeling in her heart that was there when

she glanced towards the balcony doors, her blue eyes lighting up when she saw a figure swinging back into the apartment. She stood to her feet from his bed, not allowing her bridesmaid dress to make her stumble over her feet as she jogged to the doors. She gladly opened them for him, a huge grin making her features bright and noticeable as Peter shot out a final web to get into the apartment.

"Hey," she murmured, holding his gloved hands as they both chuckled from the slight urgency of Peter's return.

"Hey," Peter replied before ripping his mask off and placing a kiss on Christina's forehead, making the both of them blush like crazy. "You okay? You didn't have to stay here and wait for me."

"Well, I wanted to," Christina replied with a loving smile. "What mayhem did you have to go stop?"

"It was a police chase," Peter explained as he adjusted his messy hair. "Some bandits robbed a well-known bank and the NYPD chased them but they wouldn't pull over. So I had to swing in and stop them. They're in jail now, so I have nothing else to do right now."

Christina simply nodded her head before peering back up at her boyfriend, an expression of concern in her eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked in a gentle voice, looking over him to check for any wounds. "Did you get hurt or anything?"

"No, I'm okay, really," he replied, placing his hands on her waist and holding her close. "I'm not hurt, I promise."

Christina audibly sighed with relief as she rested her head against his chest, feeling the odd texture of his suit with her real hand and finding strange comfort in that. "Good... that's good..." she muttered more to herself as she fully relaxed.

"You don't have to worry about me, Christina," Peter assured her as he moved his hands upward, caressing her back to comfort her further while resting his face against her brunette hair. "It takes a lot for me to be badly hurt by an enemy, so you don't need to be concerned."

"Well, you're my boyfriend," Christina reminded him as she looked up at him again. She remembered their conversation an hour prior when they solidified their relationship, and she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter from the reminder. "I want to worry about you. But I won't smother you or anything like that."

"And I won't do the same with you," Peter promised. "I understand that I don't always have to protect you. But I still love you regardless."

"And I love you..." Christina replied before standing on her tip-toes to place her lips on his for a moment.

They shared a brief but delightful kiss before returning to their hug, and Peter leaned his head against hers while interlocking his arms around her torso. "Really, though... are you okay right now?" he asked her, just wanting her to be completely alright emotionally. After everything the two had endured together during Christina's extended journey through the paths of grief and depression, all he wanted was for her to be happy and safe; he could feel her prosthetic hand on his back and that reminded him of the other night when the former human arm had melted off thanks to Octavius's experiment. Just the visual of that made him feel sick again.

Christina slightly nodded, humming lightly to herself. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said, entirely truthful and honest as she smiled softly. "I think... I think I'm fully okay now."

Peter just grinned at that as his eyes closed slowly. "That's good," he murmured before noticing that she was still wearing her fancy dress. "Um... I have hoodies in my closet. Did you have an extra set of clothes in case?"

"I'm wearing leggings under the dress," Christina pointed out, her entire face turning pink for a moment. "You said you have hoodies? I need to get the hell out of this dress and these damn heels..."

Peter nodded as he chuckled, heading towards the closet and grabbing a plain white hoodie that he hadn't worn in quite a while. He then went back to her and held it out to her, watching her take it from him. "You can change in my closet," he told her. "I'll change out of my suit over there." He pointed to the furthest corner of the room from the closet. "That way you can have some privacy..."

Christina smiled at how respectful Peter was being, and she felt her heart warm at the simple gesture. "Okay, thanks," she told him in response, removing her heels and stepping towards the closet. She quickly changed out of the elegant gown and into the hoodie, leaving on her black leggings and hanging the dress on the hanger the hoodie was on earlier. For a few seconds afterwards, she considered allowing Peter to see her prosthetic arm since he hadn't gotten a good look at it yet. She was still insecure of how it looked but she knew damn well that Peter wouldn't judge her for her appearance.

So, acting on a sliver of impulse, she carefully removed the white satin glove, making sure it didn't catch or tear on the metal. She stared at the sleekness of the arm, almost admiring its otherworldly nature but not quite.

She then adjusted her hair to make sure it wasn't in her face before walking back into the room entirely, her head down for a long moment. She then sat back down on Peter's bed and fiddled with his blanket.

"You look adorable in that," she heard from behind her, and she naturally turned to where Peter's voice was coming from... and she had to try her best not to stare.

She couldn't lie to herself and she had to admit that Peter was way more handsome and good-looking than she had initially realized. She had mainly focused on his face and eyes in the past, and he was already cute from the start – she figured that she may have had a crush on him many years before because of how charming he was – and she often referred to him as 'pleasing to look at.'

But now it wasn't just his eyes and facial features that were attractive to Christina. He was pulling the gray sweater he had on earlier back over his head, and she could briefly glimpse his biceps and abs, and her face became blood red as she looked away. He was suddenly a hundred times more attractive than she ever thought he was.

She wanted to maintain her casual attitude, so she kept a straight face as she looked back at Peter, keeping her eyes locked with his. "Um..." she mumbled before gesturing to his torso. "Did you get like that when you got your powers?"

Peter glanced at her after pulling the sweater on and nodded his head lightly, figuring it was a normal enough question. "Yeah, I did," he admitted. "The super-spider bite resulted in stuff like super-strength and durability and stuff like that."

"Well, no shit," Christina replied jokingly, chuckling along with him. "I guessed that when you stopped that train the other day."

Peter smiled at that, shrugging his shoulders a little bit as he went to sit down next to Christina. "Yeah, that day was just exhausting," he pointed out, gently nudging her shoulder with his and unknowingly causing her to blush more from his close proximity. He even grabbed her hand and tenderly interlocked his fingers with hers, glancing at her.

"Uh, yeah..." Christina whispered more shyly, her head lowered once more to avoid his gaze. "Yeah, I guess it was..."

Peter took notice of the brunette's timid body language and voice and took the context of her prior question into more consideration. Once he realized the real reason for her asking how he had gotten a lot more buff in the past few years, he couldn't prevent the teasing smirk from creeping onto his face. "Oh..." he mumbled, kissing her cheek gently. "Were you looking?"

Christina couldn't bring herself to say it out loud so she just nodded her head, allowing her eyes to flutter shut from how embarrassed she was.

She's so cute like this, Peter thought as he delicately moved a section of her brown hair away from her face so he could see her better. "Did you, um... Did you like what you saw?" he asked, also becoming shy as he pecked her on the temple, lingering there for longer than necessary.

Christina instinctively leaned into the touch as a shaky sigh slipped past her lips. "Yes..." she murmured almost inaudibly, before clearing her throat. "I-I liked it... very much. But I want to be respectful."

Peter felt extremely bashful now as he gently squeezed her hand in his, laughing quietly. "Y-You're allowed to stare as much as you want to," he replied, choosing to encourage her while tracing his thumb over her palm. "I'm not gonna stop you."

Christina finally turned her head to look at her love, confidently leaning forward to place an affectionate kiss to his jaw and fully acknowledging how he shivered from that. "Then you don't have to be shy about telling me I'm pretty," she mumbled almost silently, resting her forehead on his shoulder as her blush slowly faded away.

"You're not pretty, you're beautiful," Peter said bravely, peering down at her lovingly. He then reached out to caress her cheek as carefully as he could, admiring every single feature of her perfect face. "You really look cute in my hoodie, by the way..."

Christina pecked his lips in reply to that compliment. "Why, thank you..." she whispered.

Peter then thought back to a night of great importance for him and Christina and a small idea popped into his mind that made him struggle against the smile forming on his face. He awkwardly but quietly cleared his throat as he lowered his gaze. "Um, uh..." he said under his breath, his breathing becoming shaky. "Do you remember that kiss we shared... a few years ago... when I was in that suit?"

Christina's confidence very quickly vanished as she nodded her head, never being able to forget that night for all of the good reasons. "Yeah, I do," she said. "It was a lovely kiss. Probably one of the only... kisses I ever enjoyed sharing with someone."

"Really...?" Peter replied, perking up at that response.

"Yeah, it was..." Christina admitted, biting her bottom lip bashfully. "You're a really good kisser."

"So are you," Peter complimented. "Would you maybe... want to kiss like that again?"

Christina grinned at that idea, fiddling with the hoodie a little bit as she thought of something. "Yeah..." she said. "But I want to do it in a different way... Can I be the one that's upside-down? As opposed to you..."

Peter just nodded his head, which was all Christina needed before she carefully laid down on his bed. He then moved to sit on the floor in front of her as he saw her move to where her head was hanging off of the mattress. Upside-down. And she looked absolutely gorgeous this way, with her hair dangling like a crown being perched there, and he almost wanted to cry from the effect she had on him.

"Are you sure you're okay with me kissing you?" he asked but Christina raised a hand to shush him, making him go quiet instantly.

"Yeah, I am," she assured him. "I promise."

That was when she placed her hand on the right side of Peter's face and brought him into a meaningful kiss that succeeded in sending her heart into palpitations. Unlike the first time she had ever kissed him, where she was cautious about each second of it, she was more sure of herself and she didn't hesitate to be passionate with him, and it seemed to be the same way with Peter as well and that relieved her. So she moved her lips against his in an unforgettable way, her hand moving to the back of his head to comb her fingers through his hair like she always did.

Peter was still gentle with Christina but he added a sense of passion to the way he was kissing back that would have made her knees go weak if she were standing. He placed a hand on her arm to help her feel safe, which she greatly appreciated; he shuddered at the feeling of her fingers in his hair, shivers going down his spine when it happened.

The simple kiss slowly turned into a makeout session that, while slightly heated, was still controlled and wholesome.

Christina would never bring herself to forget how quickly her heart was beating when Peter moved to where he was holding her in his arms, caressing her cheekbone with his thumb... or the way he pressed sweet little pecks just under her jaw while he held her hand and how it had left her breathless and slightly dizzy... or when he tucked a singular strand of her brown hair behind her right ear....

She wanted this for the rest of her life; she couldn't imagine life without moments like this, moments where she would be held by Peter and have her name be whispered to her. Little moments like that would be more than enough and, even if that's all it would be combined with the often pleasant kisses, she would die a happy woman.

In the present, the blonde broke out of her thoughts as she sat down in the middle of the very first row of the auditorium, the one closest to the stage. Although she acted normal as she looked towards the breathtaking curtain in front of her – Peter was sitting to her left – she had an all-knowing smile on her face that was subtle but would be questionable if someone examined closely.

While Peter had solely planned on them attending the musical and then going to Central Park to relax and witness a meteor shower afterwards, Christina had additional plans for later that night; plans that she was nervous about but also very sure about. She just hoped said plans wouldn't shock Peter too much, but she had no doubt that they would and she wouldn't be surprised if they did.

"You excited?" Peter whispered over to her, a smile of anticipation on his face.

"Yeah, very," she answered without a second thought, nodding her head anxiously. "I'm sure she'll be fantastic."

"Me too," he replied, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

Christina then peered to her right and saw a familiar face at the end of the row, and her eyes lit up with recognition as she snapped her fingers at the person. "John!" she called out in a whisper-yell.

John Jameson's attention was drawn to his good friend and he smiled towards her, waving happily in greeting.

After Peter also silently greeted John, the lights dimmed to where it was nearly pitch black in the room; Christina felt a little antsy as the swelling orchestral music filled the auditorium while she stared towards the stage. "Oh boy..." she murmured, tapping her human fingers against her leg out of pure enthusiasm.

The large curtains in front of her parted and slid away from the center of the stage, revealing a stunning staircase as part of the set design and a silhouette wearing a bluish-whitish gown extending to a train across said stairs. The lights illuminated her figure, and Christina leaned forward slightly to examine her best friend's fiery-red hair tied into a fancy-looking bun and how her arms were spread out in a grandiose manner.

"They say that falling in love is wonderful..." Mary Jane sang out loud to the audience, her voice coming out more beautiful than Christina would have thought since she had never heard her sing before.

The blonde leaned towards Peter and whispered, "She's amazing..."

Peter nodded in reply as he said, "Yeah, I agree."

"It's wonderful... So they say..." Mary Jane continued with a smile before the crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause.

Christina continued to listen to the lyrics of the song but, for a second, she locked eyes with Peter and he looked back at her with utter adoration on his face. The expression made her blush, and she became even redder when she felt him carefully putting his hand on her left knee; this was something he always did whenever he wanted to be loving towards her and she didn't think twice before placing her prosthetic hand over his to return the gesture.

Little did she know, even the feeling of her metal hand over Peter's made him grin endearingly as he admired her. He was so grateful that she was happy tonight and that she was safe and content with everything; it only made him more joyful that she truly got the help she needed in order to be her old self again. Now, she was the woman he had fallen in love with to begin with and he was proud of her.

"I love you..." he whispered very quietly, but just loud enough for his girlfriend to hear over their friend's singing.

"I love you..." Christina replied with the sweetest smile on her face that made Peter's stomach perform somersaults.

"I can't recall who said it..." M.J. went on in her perfect singing voice. "I know I never read it... I only know they tell me that love is grand..." During the time she sang, as she walked closer to the edge of the stage, she was able to spot both Peter and Christina sitting in the very first row. The first thing she noticed was how adorable they were being in the moment, and she knew that the song reminded her of their love and it never failed to make her smile despite performing for hundreds of people.

After a few seconds, Christina happened to glance around the few rows of the people and notice how engrossed they were in the performance... or so she thought. She approved of how many citizens of Manhattan had gathered here to witness this musical and, although she wished that her family were here with her, she knew that they were having a lovely time at Coney Island.

That was when she saw someone she desperately did not want to see.

The man that was slightly younger than her and that she absolutely despised was sitting in one of the very high balconies and watching the performance with binoculars. Just the sight of Harry Osborn alone made her grit her teeth and her shoulders started tensing up. Sudden memories took over her mind as she frowned, and she was surprised that no tears stung her blue eyes. This was especially when he turned his head to face her, almost as if he knew she was there.

Christina was suddenly back in the night when she tried to take her life and Harry was shoving her to the side. She remembered how painful it was when her back struck the wall and how horrifying it was when he had gotten up in her face.

"You're a fucking bitch, you know that?! I don't even know why I decided to be friends with you in the first place..."

She tried to shake her head in order to snap out of it, but it wasn't working. What he said isn't true, she attempted to assure herself. He's wrong. He's just a dickhead that likes to tell lies.

Mary Jane's voice on the stage slowly transformed into the speed of running through molasses and it was almost as if Christina had entirely zoned out.

"You're a horrible person and you're not good enough. You will never be good enough for anyone. Nobody here loves you or is ever going to love you, you hear me?!"

Christina recalled screaming at Harry to leave her apartment or that she would call the cops. The expression he had given her in return before exiting never failed to terrify her.

"You should have fucking died that night..."

"Christina?"

She looked at Peter and immediately noticed that he had also spotted Harry in the balcony after following where her gaze had gone, since he was very concerned for her. She then glanced down and saw that his hand had moved to be over her metal hand and that he was grasping it delicately.

"Are you alright?" he whispered. "We can leave now if you want."

"No, it's okay..." Christina assured him, shaking her head. "I'm alright. I can handle it, I guess I was just shocked to see him..."

Peter slowly nodded before reaching over to hold her right hand for a moment. "Okay..." he mumbled. "But I'm right here for you, sweet girl... If you need to leave as soon as possible, we will."

"I know," the blonde murmured before resting her head on Peter's shoulder just as a huge and thunderous applause broke out from the crowd as the first performance of Mary Jane's finished.

A/N: this chapter was way longer, which is a relief lol

ANYWAYS, thoughts on this chapter? did you enjoy it?

i know there isn't a lot of christina and peter's date here but not to worry, the rest is for the next chapter!!😁

thoughts on the date scene in general even if it wasn't a very long scene?

what did you think of the extended flashback to right after Part Two's ending? it got extremely adorable and cute real fast!

did you like how peter was flirting with christina? i made sure it was endearing enough.

what about when they recreated the upside-down kiss from Part One?😏

thoughts on the cute little moment they shared while mary jane was singing?

and yayyyy... harry showed up... what a delight... you readers are TOTALLY not going to hate him even more in this part of the story!!!😃

i'm glad peter comforted christina when she saw harry, though.🥺

predictions for the next chapter? there is a small moment in this chapter that is subtle foreshadowing...😀

be looking forward to the next chapter!

-denbroughswife