( DISCLAIMER: this chapter contains a sex scene towards the end. however, it's not too graphic in detail and is more emotional than anything. but still, be aware! )

Fourteen Hours Later
9:12 P.M.

As Christina scrubbed the pot she had used for making chicken alfredo in the sink, she hummed to herself almost absentmindedly as a way to fill up time in her head. After all, she didn't have any other way to occupy herself before going to bed so this was the closest she could think. The mundane action was almost therapeutic in a way and it put her at ease, especially considering the events the night before still plagued her from time to time.

She wasn't able to get those haunting words that Peter had said to her out of her mind: "I couldn't push her away and yell at her or protest or say 'No.'"

How could someone do something so heinous? Christina thought nastily as she shook her head to herself. That fucking bitch. Karma will get her soon enough, no matter how it happens.

She knew Peter wouldn't be completely alright for quite a while after that and she completely understood, and guilt had consumed her after she had sort of pushed him away on the phone that morning. She supposed it was her trying to give him some space in case he didn't want to be around anyone after that, and she wanted to respect his boundaries and not push him over the edge. He was hurt and she wanted to do everything to make him okay again... to make him her Peter again.

But she didn't quite know what to do.

She was glad she hadn't said a word to Sidney about it, not wanting to put more on her shoulders after the horrific nightmare the girl had. She had suggested that she call Arabella to calm herself down some more, and it seemed to have worked because she was soon giggling over the phone and cracking terrible jokes like she always used to. The nightmare could have just been triggered randomly; after all, trauma can do such a thing to you and Christina had been there before.

It still happened sometimes, where she would have a nightmare about Norman coming after her or having to watch her perish before her eyes. But she got past it almost too easily now and that's how she knew she had come a tremendously long way since last year.

Christina then rinsed the pot from the dish soap and set it on the drying rack, where it would remain until the morning. She then wiped her hands on a nearby towel and walked towards the hallway, preparing to turn down her bed so she could go to sleep.

This was broken off by the landline phone ringing shrilly in the living room and she jumped slightly at the loud noise. Suddenly grateful that Sidney had returned home earlier that day, she jogged over to the phone and picked up the receiver, raising it to her ear.

"Hello?" she spoke up, clearing her throat.

"Hi, Christina," came Aunt May's voice over the phone and Christina could sense the slight shakiness right away. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you this late."

"You're not bothering me at all, Aunt May," she gently replied as she looked down at the sleek floor below her. "Is something the matter?"

"Um, I think you need to go see Peter..." the older woman said very hesitantly. "Something's happened and he's a wreck. I'm very worried about him and I think you're the only one that can pull him out of it."

"What happened?"

And so Aunt May went on to tell her that Captain George Stacy had called her over to the police station along with Peter to discuss something with them. According to him, the man who had been believed to be Benjamin Parker's killer for so long – whose name was Dennis Carradine – was not actually responsible, instead being just an accomplice and witness. They had all been lied to for over three years now and, since the actual killer – his name being Flint Marko – had escaped from Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, just eight miles from her childhood home, they had every reason to be frightened.

But Peter had a more severe reaction, according to May, having shouted at Captain Stacy about them catching the wrong man behind Uncle Ben's murder and having not said anything for years. Apparently, May had never seen her nephew so filled with rage in all of the years she had raised him.

Even Christina was quite irritated with the situation. How come the NYPD hadn't said a word about the actual man responsible for the killing?! It reminded her of a plotline she had seen in Freddy vs. Jason, where the police force in Springwood had tried covering up the killings that both Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees had committed before the epic battle. This was eerily similar to that, and she had to do something.

"I'll go talk to him," she assured Aunt May. "I'm sorry you two had to go through that."

"Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault, Christina."

_____

One Hour Later
10:20 P.M.

As soon as she reached the floor of his apartment building, she sharply rapped on the door in the most frantic way she could, not giving a shit if she disturbed any of the neighbors.

"Peter, will you open up the door, please?!" she called into the room behind the barrier between her and her boyfriend.

All she heard in response was the police scanner echoing something out to her: "L-20 Parkway, all officers in the vicinity, please report. We have an abandoned vehicle and an abandoned man in the middle of the street. Sorry, Wabash Avenue."

Then, nothing.

"I know you're in there, Pete," Christina continued as she sighed heavily. "You can't hide away forever. Come open the door or I'm coming in myself."

When the door opened, the blonde timidly stepped into the room and carefully slipped her arms around Peter so she could hug him; she could sense his hesitancy to embrace her in return but he did, mumbling a weak 'Hey' as he held her close, genuinely grateful that she was here. But, when Christina pulled back, she saw the depressing circles under his eyes and she reached up to caress his cheek out of deep concern.

"Aunt May called me..." she whispered. "And... she told me everything. I'm so sorry. I should have known. I was so worried about you."

"Don't be..." Peter muttered in reply; his voice was so close to being monotone. "I'm fine."

"Don't give me that bullshit, please..." Christina protested in that gentle voice she always used for him. "You're not fine, and I know you're not. I came here so I could make sure you were still sane... and that you wouldn't do anything you regret."

Peter raised an eyebrow in appallment at this statement. "What, like... try to find my uncle's killer?"

"Obviously," said Christina. "I don't want history to repeat itself... like what happened with that Carradine guy." That was to remind Peter of when he had told her all about how he had chased the thought-to-be killer down after initially seeing Uncle Ben die and indirectly causing the armed man's death.

"He had a gun on me," Peter reminded her sharply, narrowing his gaze. "I made a move, and he fell. I already told you this."

"You didn't say it like that," corrected Christina. "Don't leave out the part where you broke his wrist and how that led him to fall to his death."

Peter tilted his head in disbelief as he gawked at her, absolutely shocked at the words she had just said and unaware that she would actually go that far in trying to get through to him. "Excuse me...?" he said.

Christina instantly backed down as she sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. "Look... I didn't come to argue with you, Pete," she countered. "I came to comfort you and that's it. I care about you and you know that, surely. I know how you're feeling right now and I want to make sure you stay sane. I... I want to be here for you, just like always."

"Okay," Peter replied bluntly as he stared back at her. "I get it, thank you. But... I'm fine. I don't need your help."

The blonde stared right back at Peter with an expression of pure surprise as she raised an eyebrow. After all this time, after all they had been through together, here she was being pushed away by the one person she had grown to trust the most with the exception of Margaret. It reminded her of when she had done the same thing to him for over a year and a half after losing her mother, believing that she didn't need any support or comfort until she was forced to ask for it.

"Alright," was all she said before turning towards the door.

"Chris..."

"No, I get it," she muttered before turning to look at him again. "But I want you to know that, when you say that, it means that you do need and want my help. But I'm gonna back off until you're ready to admit that to yourself. Because that's how it went for me. I had to build myself up to admit that I needed help... and you were right there. So, when you finally want my help, I'll be there. Because, after all... everybody needs help sometimes, Peter. Even Spider-Man."

She then spun back around and pried the door open before shutting it behind her, choosing to give her boyfriend some space before he decided to accept help from her.

After all, she figured it would be the best idea instead of pushing his buttons even more than they already were.

She just hoped he wouldn't go too far off the deep end.

_____

Nine Hours Later
June 16th, 2005
7:13 A.M.

In order to wake herself up better, Christina splashed ice cold water onto her face from the bathroom sink since she had trouble sleeping the night before. She had had a weird nightmare of seeing Peter, only he wasn't recognizable, his face completely blank and emotionless as he just stared into her soul... nothing else. But, somehow, it really creeped her out to no end.

She knew that version of Peter wasn't her Peter, but she began to worry that that was what would happen if he went too far in the future. It didn't help that he had already started going in that direction last night and she feared that her boyfriend would no longer be the same if she came across him again. And she had tried to reach him, to get through to him, and she had failed.

If he sunk further into his abyss, there would be nothing else Christina would do for him except for pulling him out of said void. And it would put her through so much agony that would force her to recall how she felt almost a year ago, and that thought made tears sting her eyes.

What was that one quote from a book she read...? The one she remembered and etched into her mind when she had read it for an English class in her Junior year of high school....? 'But who can remember pain, once it's over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh. Pain marks you, but too deep to see. Out of sight, out of mind.'

She wished that what was going on wasn't her reality, that way she could sleep better at night; she wanted it to be a story of fiction, a fairytale of some sort. It felt like a story, to her, one she was telling to herself in her mind... she had nobody else to present it to, after all, so this was close enough. It was all she could do now.

As she traced the outline of the medicine cabinet mirror, absentmindedly studying it with interest, a knock came from her front door and that made her lift her head up. Snapping away from her thoughts, she walked out of the bathroom and towards the entry hall so she could open the door to see who it was. When she spotted the person, her eyes grew wide for a brief moment with trepidation before switching to worry.

"Pete...?" she murmured as she reached her shaking hands out to him. "W-What happened...? What's wrong?"

A distressed Peter immediately collapsed into Christina's arms as he sighed with pure relief, finding complete comfort from her arms being around him. "I'm sorry..." he muttered tiredly and desperately. "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have pushed you away...."

"Hey, hey, hey..." Christina murmured delicately as she pulled Peter into the apartment and shut the door behind them. "It's alright. What happened?" She then moved back from the embrace so she could examine him, and she visibly winced at the extremely dark circles under his eyes and how some of his hair had fallen into said eyes; to her, he seemed like an absolute stranger, completely unrecognizable.

Peter just shook his head as a single tear trickled down his left cheek. "I... I don't know... what's happening to me.... I'm sorry. I should've... I should have listened to you..."

The moment Peter's eyes seemed to soften by looking at Christina in the face, the blonde fully relaxed and succumbed to the happiness she felt that he had finally come to her. "It's alright..." she whispered in his ear as she pulled him back into the hug. "I'm just glad you're here, okay?"

She then led him to her bedroom where he could sit down or even go to sleep if he needed to, silently letting him know that he wasn't bothering her or invading her privacy. She sat down next to Peter and started rubbing his back as he rested his head on her shoulder, and she hummed softly as she pecked his forehead.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked gently as he moved his arms to where they were around Christina's waist.

"Don't worry about me..." she murmured soothingly. "Just worry about calming down, alright?"

Peter nodded as he took a couple of deep breaths to stay calm, making sure to never lift his head from her shoulder until she told him to do so. After what he had done the night before, he was beginning to regret going down this path, but he was glad to have Christina by his side; he should have never pushed her away, not when she was possibly the best person to go to for advice or help. It reminded him of when she pushed herself away from him the year prior due to her grief and he now entirely understood how she felt whenever she did.

"Are you okay...?" Christina eventually questioned as she looked over at Peter.

"No..." he admitted, which made the blonde kiss his cheek to offer more solace.

"It's perfectly fine to not be okay," she assured him as she moved her arm to caress his cheekbone like she always did. "You and I know that. But I'm glad you pulled through and came over. I'll do anything I can to help you feel better, okay? I promise..."

Peter's head moved up and down as he then pecked Christina's cheek, cheering up slightly when he saw her face turn pink from the contact. "You're absolutely beautiful, sweet girl..." he whispered so quietly that he almost couldn't be heard.

Christina's face went from pink to blood red in less than a second as she looked down bashfully. "Says you..." was all she said as she giggled in a very shy way. But her attention was brought back to Peter the moment he gingerly took her chin between his fingers and pulled her into a loving kiss. She cautiously kissed back, her lips moving against his as carefully as possible so she wouldn't make a wrong move like what happened to him the other day. Her heart fluttered against her ribcage as her hands moved to his shoulders.

Peter slowly stopped the kiss and rested his forehead against hers as he sighed. "I love you..." he said almost inaudibly.

"I love you..." Christina mumbled instantly in reply.

"I... I want to make it up to you..." he added as he looked deeply into her eyes. "Can... um... Can I make love to you, Chris?"

The woman froze for only half a second in pure surprise before nodding her head ever so slightly, her heart now hammering in her chest. "Yeah... Yeah, you can," she said. "But only if you're completely okay and comfortable doing so. I don't want to make you uncomfortable after –"

"You won't..." Peter murmured, and Christina could see by the look in his eyes that he actually meant that. While there was only a sliver of lust in his expression, he mainly looked at her with pure and unconditional love. "You could never do that... not when I'm always comfortable with you. I want to prove that I'm sorry... that I should have never pushed you away or hurt you."

"Pete, I already told you that there was no reason to be sorry..."

"But I can't forgive myself until I know you're completely happy again," Peter pointed out as he frowned. "Please... Let me make it up to you, sweetheart."

Hearing his sincerity and genuine hope to see her smile again convinced Christina, and she leaned in and gave Peter a fervorous kiss that blew the both of them away; but what really shocked her was when Peter returned it with so much more fiery passion than she had ever seen in their whole relationship, and it made her shiver when he placed a hand on her neck and caressed her jaw with his thumb.

He's never been like this, she thought in bewilderment. But she couldn't deny that she didn't mind this at all.

After a few moments, Peter pulled back from the kiss and his lips trailed from her cheek to that one particular spot behind Christina's right ear. Feeling him giving attention there made her instantly tilt her head back in bliss as a shaky sigh left her, and that only made him pull her closer in response.

Her right hand creeped up to Peter's hair soon afterwards and began tugging on it, yearning for a reaction from him. What she was unaware of was that an outside force had affected him prior to this moment; and, although Peter had torn himself away from it, it was still influencing him. As a result, all of his sensations were heightened tenfold, and that was most certainly including pleasure.

Once Christina started doing this, Peter moved them to where they were laying down on her bed. He then gently grabbed her left leg and hitched it around his waist as he started grinding his hips against hers, making the both of them moan with relief as the familiar ecstasy began returning to them.

Soon, he was inside of her and Christina's low moans grew to being soft cries of euphoria and desire. Her fingernails dug into his back and her legs desperately hooked themselves around his waist as all she could think about was the fact that Peter's love for her felt utterly and truly real in this moment, and he was definitely proving that. Although she wanted to take control, she decided that it was absolutely fine if he was the one in control from time to time, although it was rare.

But one thing was certain, she would never get enough of this with him. Because, one day, they would be at a point in their lives where this would never be able to happen again, this love. So she needed to make the best of it while she could and feel as alive in her skin as she could possibly muster. After all, life flashed by in an instant and this was only a millisecond of that instant.

A/N: that got spicy out of nowhere, huh?🤭

ANYWAYS, thoughts on this chapter? i know, a little shorter but the next chapter is gonna be hella long!

what did you think of the moment where aunt may called christina?

what about the scene with chris and peter in his apartment?

what about her response to him telling her he didn't need her help?

thoughts on the moment where peter showed up apologizing profusely?

and, finally, the sex scene...?🤭🤭🤭

predictions for the next chapter?

i would say be looking forward to the next chapter... but you're all gonna hate me...🫤

-denbroughswife