epilogue
invisible string

     SOMEWHERE, far away, close, and everywhere at once, existed a universe where the Amazing Spider-Man finally returned home. Home home. He didn't return to his apartment where he was alone in one room and struggling to pay his rent. Peter Parker returned to where everything began. A suburban, two-story house in Forest Hills, Queens, where his Aunt May greeted him with open arms and a nice, warm hug. 

    "Where have you been?" she had chided him when she pulled away and let him step in through the door. "I have been trying to call you all day, I thought something had happened! Don't scare me like that, Peter."

    "I'm sorry, Aunt May, I know," he murmured, rubbing her shoulder. He hated to fret and worry his aunt. "I'm sorry. I just ... I had a few things to do and I lost track of time."

    She gave him a stern look, but it soon softened and she cupped his cheeks. "You're as bad as Ben was, I swear."

    Peter chuckled and kissed his aunt's forehead. After all he's been through and seen the past day, Peter Parker wanted to cherish his Aunt May. He wanted to be hugged by her, and hear her chiding, fretful words or feel her sweet kisses on his head▬because somewhere, out there, existed a Spider-Man who will never experience any of that ever again. 

    That was when he noticed the boxes on the dining table. Peter felt a lump in his throat and he stepped towards them, his heart skipping a painful beat. "Is all that ... Uncle Ben's?"

    Aunt May pursed her lips, and she sighed. She took off her glasses. "You know," she admitted softly, "it's so funny, I've been▬I've been trying to clean up around here, get organised and been putting some of Ben's stuff in boxes and ..." she rested her hand on the edge of the box, her fingers brushing along the jumper inside. "It's ... it's funny, the heavier the box gets, the lighter I feel."

    Peter stared at her, pained. "You throwing his stuff away?"

    "No," she whispered, shaking her head. "No, God no..." she took a deep breath as she looked at her late husband's things. "I couldn't do that. It's ... it's part of me. I'm just ... finding a better place for it." Peter's gaze fell, his heart twisting. "I'm gonna take one last look and I'm gonna put it where it belongs."

    His Aunt May looked at him, and he realised what she was telling him▬the advice she was giving him. Peter glanced at his phone in his hand, at the photo of the girl he lost tho looked so very much like the girl he saved across the universe. That lump returned. Out there, existed a Nina Hart who got a second chance, even if his didn't▬Peter Parker had given her that. He had helped give every other Nina Hart out there who was yet to die a chance to finally live. 

    Before he knew it, his feet slowly began to carry him upstairs. They walked across the wooden floors towards his old bedroom. Peter Parker pushed the door open, and it creaked slightly. Inside, was a life frozen in time▬half empty, and half full; the room of a teenage boy whose entire life changed the moment he got bitten by that spider. And how his entire life fell apart when he lost two people who mattered so much to him since then. Peter closed the door behind him and walked up to his old desk, the surface still messy with old photos. The wall above it was still filled with more▬pictures pinned amongst little memos he wanted to keep close forever. 

    Peter Parker picked one of the photos up and stared at Nina Hart's smile. 

    He kept his gaze on it for a long time before setting it aside and finding something else amongst the pile. Peter's tongue went dry as his fingers grasped a small drive. Tape had been wrapped around it with words scrawled in a blue ballpoint pen▬handwriting from a girl who for a moment, had risen from the dead. My speech! xx. 

     It was her speech from graduation. A speech Peter hasn't listened to in a very long time. He couldn't bear to watch it again. But right now, it was as if he finally found the strength. He reached into his bag and pulled out his laptop. He set it down on his desk and sat down on his old chair. Peter Parker's chest was tight, but he didn't let it stop him as he logged on, and carefully▬as if expecting the drive to explode▬he slipped the stick into his laptop. 

     The file appeared on his computer and Peter's finger shook slightly as he dragged his curser over to click on it. A video opened up. 

      Peter grew tearful when he saw her face again. His Nina Hart▬exactly how he remembered her, and yet didn't. Here, existed a moment he didn't get to see▬a moment he was late for and ended up missing. There she stood again as if she never even left, in her graduation gown and a nervous smile on her face. Dark blonde hair and sweet eyes▬beautiful, caring, and wonderful Nina Hart had a bright future ahead of her ... and never knew that she wasn't going to make it to see it happen.

    "Um," she began, and Peter could hear how nervous she was▬but refused to let it push her down; to keep her standing still. She was braver than even she had realised. "Good morning everyone: teachers, families, my fellow graduates..." She took a deep breath, and Peter watched those nerves fall away. He was unable to tear his gaze from his laptop screen, even when he felt that lump in his throat grow painful, about to overwhelm him. "It's an honour to stand here today and speak to you. These past four years, we've seen each other every day. It seems crazy to think that now, we might not glance one another for years, or even ever again."

    "But that's what makes high school special▬what makes today special. Our memories shape our future, our promises shape our pathways to becoming the people we were always meant to be. Our dreams, our hopes, our ambition▬our memories shape every piece of this, and that's what we will all share as we grow up and move on: memories. Wherever you go, wherever you end up, our memories will always be there to comfort us, to push us, to make us smile, or make us cry."

     Peter Parker hitched his breath, and he couldn't stop the small tear that fell down his cheek. He didn't wipe it away, because, despite the pain in his chest, there was something about this moment▬about hearing her voice and the words she spoke▬that was cathartic. Nina Hart never meant to speak this as a memory after she died▬for it to ever be watched by Peter Parker after he was left behind. It was felt deep in his chest after he had saved her life in another universe▬finally coming home with a feeling he'd never experienced since her death before: closure. 

     "To give us the determination to keep going," went on Nina, smiling from the stand, this moment captured forever on her mother's camera, "no matter what life might throw at us, no matter how alone or lost you might feel. Some of you, I've known since we were little, and Flash managed to flood the entire boys' bathroom in Grade One." There was some laughter and Nina's smile brightened. "Some, I've just gotten to know the past few years and some, I've come to know very close in my life▬and my heart." Peter watched her gaze drift upwards slightly to the skyline, and his own heart lurched painfully when he realised she was talking about him. "But there is something we all have in common, no matter how close any of us are. We all have ambition, and we all have a dream, and we all think that we're immortal▬and we're supposed to feel that way, we're graduating. But, like our brief four years in high school, what makes life valuable is that it doesn't last forever. What makes it precious is that it ends. And I know that now, more than ever. So, I want you all to promise me, that after today, no matter where we might end up, no matter what we might do, I want you all to live. To experience the world. To laugh, and to smile, and to cry. Take every chance life throws at you because those chances in life only happen once. Make memories, and hold onto those memories, because they will follow you everywhere you go. Memories do last forever. Even after we say goodbye."

     Peter Parker stared at the frozen capture of her smile even minutes after the video ended. He was crying, but he also breathed a small, sad smile. He finally glanced at the photos▬piles and piles of memories that he'll never lose. Where you go, I go, and Nina Hart was right. Even when she was no longer here, she would follow him wherever he went. She will always be a part of his path, just like he was a part of hers▬and she will watch him continue down the path with a smile because he nurtured the memories of her, and the memories they had together. He will let them guide him, and inspire him▬to let him move forward, and not keep him still. 

     Those memories gave him the strength to grab one of May's spare boxes and slowly begin to clean up his own childhood room. Some of it he'll bring with him back to his apartment in the City, the rest of it, he'll keep safe here. Some of it belonged here▬it should stay with the excitement, the thrilling chase and the growth this room represented in Peter Parker's life. 

     He was so caught up in packing all of these memories away, that he didn't realise someone was standing at the ajar door until Peter heard a soft knock. 

    Peter glanced up, surprised▬and that surprise grew when he saw who stood there. Unsure and hesitant, the young woman who hovered by his ajar door in her top and jeans, buried in the warmth of her jacket, didn't say anything at first. She pursed her lips, dark curly hair pulled back off her face today in braids. Her hand rested on the door handle, watching Peter and looking as if she didn't know what to say. 

     He blinked and stood up, his breath hitching. "Grace," murmured Peter, taken aback. "I ... What're you doing here?" he asked softly.

     "I'm sorry," said Grace Avery in the same tone. She glanced and gestured behind her, before moving her dark brown gaze back onto Peter. "I▬your Aunt May said you were in here and that I could come up ... Am ... and I interrupting, or▬?"

    "No," said Peter quickly. He shook his head and took a few steps towards her. "No, it's okay. I'm just ..." he managed a little smile, chuckling. "I wasn't expecting to see you."

     Grace shrugged and stepped into his room, gentle▬as if she could tell what he had been doing just by the sombre air settled around them. She glanced around his room, taking in his old single bed and the posters on the wall. He thought he caught a little smirk at the science jokes. "I should've texted you, sorry. I just ... when you didn't reply I ... I wanted to check if you were okay. I came here since you weren't at your apartment▬"

     "You came to my apartment?" let out Peter, filled with a gentle surprise. 

     She stopped glancing around and came to a stop in front of him. Grace Avery was hesitant. She was never hesitant. She was the most determined, stubborn, and sure person Peter Parker knew. If she wanted something, she grabbed it. She held an incredible amount of confidence▬and she had to. But today, it seemed that confidence wavered. "Yeah," she fiddled with her fingers. Since when did Avery get nervous? "I was ..." Avery pursed her lips and swung her arms at her side. "I was a little worried, Parker. You disappeared for a little while there," she tried to play it off as a joke▬as if she really couldn't care less, but Peter Parker saw it. He saw it in her eyes. She cared about him▬enough to be worried when he didn't respond to her messages. Enough to go out of her way to visit his apartment, and when she didn't find him there, came all the way to Queens where he mentioned his aunt lived just once. Grace had remembered that. "So ... you okay?"

     He shrugged, offering her a little 'meh' look on his face and then smiled. It was relieving, to be able to smile even after what he had been doing. "I just ... I had something I had to handle."

     Avery nodded. Her gaze turned a little analytical▬the same look she held when frowning at some angle she was investigating for her job. She then chuckled, shaking her head. "You know, Peter," she mused, "I like to think I'm good at figuring people out. But you ..." she tilted her head up at him, a gentle glint in her eyes, "... you're a mystery I keep trying to solve, but I never can." She crossed her arms, amused. "It's fun."

     His brows shot up, amused, too. "I'm fun?" said Peter, his chest light▬and he was feeling as if he could finally breathe. "Or am I mysterious?" he said that word very dramatically. She rolled her eyes with a smile, scoffing back a chuckle. "I mean, you said it yourself, Avery. I'm a mystery you cannot solve▬from you, I think that's a compliment. Are you complimenting me?"

     "Remember it, Parker," she chuckled, "because it won't happen again for a long time."

      "But compliments are free. Maybe if you give me more compliments, I might just tell you what my mystery is."

     That only made Grace Avery grin▬bright and mischievous. Peter Parker suddenly found himself mesmerised by it. "Being told a mystery takes all the fun out of it. I want to figure it out myself. That makes it rewarding."

      He watched her for a moment, a little grin tugging at the corner of his lips, too. "Well ..." Peter Parker found himself saying, "... When you figure it out, let me know."

      "I'm sure it'll be better than any other story I've written," she murmured and Peter's grin softened, taken aback once again. Grace offered him a little smile. 

      A chime from their phones echoed in sync. Both of them grasped their phones out of their pockets to look at their notifications▬both from different sources, but both said the very same thing.

     Grace's eyes widened. "Rhino's escaped from the RAFT. He's rampaging his way towards Times Square." And just like that, she grinned again, filled with excitement. "Oh, just imagine the front page headline this will get me." She turned towards the door, about to run out, but stopped last minute. She glanced back to meet Peter's gaze. "I'll see you around, Parker."

      Peter gave her a one-finger salute. "Show them what you got, Avery."

     She smiled one last time before disappearing back out into the hallway. Peter heard her footsteps rush down the stairs. Once she was gone, he glanced down at the police radio on his phone. He smirked back up to the ajar door. 

     Peter Parker tugged on his mask with one swift motion. Scattering his clothes, he ran to his open bedroom window and Spider-Man leapt out into the streets behind the house. Just as Grace Avery got into her car, she heard a cheer tore out into the sky. Her eyes widened and she glanced back, and her breath hitched in shock to see the blur of red and blue swing over the tree tops, heading towards the city across the water. The Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man had finally returned to save the day. 

*ೃ༄

    "IT'S BEEN a few weeks since the fiasco on the Statue of Liberty, and Spider-Man's cultists continue to contend that the vile vigilante is a hero," inside a quaint diner in Queens, the gruff, angry voice of J. Jonah Jameson echoed across small booths, two-seater tables and stools wrapping the counter. Behind the counter, a young, eighteen-year-old girl wiped the far end of the counter clean after a child accidentally spilled his milkshake. She sighed as she threw the paper towel in the bin and ripped off another piece. The soft eyes of an inquisitive young girl glanced up at the television, her plump lips parted in a soft exasperated breath and her brows knitted underneath dark blonde hair. She had a bandaid on her elbow after she had fallen off her skateboard when trying a new trick she had seen on YouTube after spending a good hour studying. The nametag on her uniform spelled the name 'Nina Hart' in bold lettering. 

     "Well, if he were a hero, he'd unmask himself and tell us who he really is," Nina Hart rolled her eyes at J. Jonah Jameson's words, "because only a coward conceals his identity! Only a coward hides his true intentions. Rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, this reporter will uncover those intentions, come hell or high water."

     Nina sighed and wiped up the last of the milkshake, throwing the paper towel in the bin. She took a deep breath and walked back to the other end of the counter, resting her elbows on the surface and meeting the gaze of the person sitting on the other side. "Jameson never stops, does he?" she mused. "I think it's courageous that Spider-Man doesn't show his true self to the world."

     She took the empty coffee cup and set it aside. Her friend, Michelle Jones, a tall, blunt but stubbornly loyal girl tilted her head to glance back at the television. She couldn't help but snort with amusement. "He called you a cultist," she teased Nina. 

     Nina Hart poked her tongue out. "Why can't he just show some Christmas cheer?" she said, scoffing. "I mean, is this guy always so angry? You know what Spider-Man did yesterday? He took down these thugs who tried to steal toys from a toy store, and Jameson's response? He twisted it around to make it seem like Spider-Man was the one that took all of those toys, and said he was ruining Christmas for kids!"

     "Why would those guys steal toys at Christmas anyway?" muttered Ned Leeds, who sat beside Michelle Jones. He frowned at his bagel, as if very disappointed with the world. He supported a large winter coat to brave the cold New York winter, his round cheeks and nose still a little flushed even after being inside in the warmth for a good thirty minutes now. "Like, what's the purpose of that other than to make kids cry?"

     "I asked the same question after watching Bridge to Terabithia," muttered Felicia Hardy as her long, polished nails scrolled through her phone, glancing at Instagram behind long lashes curved with her signature cat eyeliner. Her long, platinum-blonde hair fell down to the small of her back as she sat on MJ's other side. 

    Nina hummed, propping her chin on the palm of her hand as she leaned on her elbow. She watched the television for a little longer, gazing at the video of Spider-Man swinging past Broadway. She felt a twist in her heart that she couldn't explain. 

     She finally managed to tear her eyes away from the screen and was about to say something else to her friends when the door of Moondance Diner opened. Nina Hart glanced over as the bell rang a simple chime, echoing over the head of just another stranger▬like every other person who walked into the diner. 

     Nina pursed her lips and turned to her friends. "I'll be a second."

     Leaving them, she walked up to the register, putting on a polite smile as the stranger stood there. He didn't move for a long time, and Nina tried hard not to let her smile become incredulous. But it was hard, especially when he stared at her▬as if she was someone he hadn't seen in a very long time. 

      Soft honey-brown waves were subtly gelled off his brows, showing a pair of gentle eyes of the same colour. A flannel was tucked underneath a muted blue jumper and then hugged by a thick jacket on top to keep himself warm. He wore faded blue jeans and scuffed sneakers that looked as though he'd had them for years. He wasn't tall▬maybe only just taller than her. He held this boyish look about him that was starting to mature, but it suited him well▬a look that would set with his sharp jaw, but soften and brighten the moment he'd smile. Nina didn't know how she could tell that just by looking at him, but she could▬as if she'd seen it before. 

     Nina shook the thoughts in her head that were calling him handsome to grab her pencil off the counter. "Hey, can I help you?" she asked, jolting him out of his distant stare. 

     The stranger stammered a little until he forced himself to walk the remainder of the way. When he reached the counter, he clutched the paper in his hands a little tighter. The paper was creased with folds and use▬like he had been fiddling with it for a while now. "Hi," he finally let out. 

    His voice was hesitant and anxious▬shy and light in the back of his throat, but also heavy; he was struggling to speak. He cleared his throat and glanced down at the paper in his hands. His fingers were trembling under the sleeves of his jacket. "Um ... I▬" he looked up to meet her gaze again and tapped his chest. "My name is Peter Parker, and I ..."

    Nina waited patiently, though her brows knitted when his words trailed off. He watched her for an awkward moment. She bit the inside of her cheek, her brows lifting to prompt him to continue. 

     Peter Parker had words on the end of his tongue. He had a whole list of words. A whole paragraph to say. And yet, nothing came out. In the end, his shoulders slumped and what left his lips was something entirely new: "... Would like a coffee, please."

    Nina tilted her head, biting back amusement. But her gaze glinted with that same mischief Peter Parker knew all too well, and it pained him▬it made his heart ache in his chest, frozen not from the winter because she couldn't remember why he knew her so well. "Alright," she said, tapping the pencil against her cheek as her gaze lingered on him, bemused. Peter's gaze weighed down when he saw it. "One coffee, coming right up, Peter Parker. I'll just finish this, and then I'll do that for you."

    She left him at the counter, and couldn't help but glance back with a little intrigued smile. Nina quickly looked away and shook her head, not sure what his thing was▬maybe he was just shy, but either way, it made her heart flutter. She grabbed some doughnuts and placed them on plates, sliding them over to Ned and MJ. "There you go."

     MJ glanced at it, confused. "I didn't ask for one," she chuckled at her.

    "I know," Nina shrugged and propped her hands on her hips, proud. "But since you and Ned are now Engineers, I thought we should celebrate."

     "Wait, what?" asked Ned.

    "MIT," Nina chuckled at him. "They're the Engineers. That's their mascot."

     "Oh..." let out Ned and MJ rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She bit back an amused smile. "Right, right, right▬I should probably know that."

     "Hmm," Nina hummed, hiding her laughter. "You probably should."

     Felicia then leaned forward on the counter, gesturing for Nina to come closer. She did, a little curious. "What?" she whispered, chuckling.

     "That guy that came in," murmured Felicia in reply, subtly nodding towards Peter Parker waiting at the counter. "He hasn't stopped looking at you this entire time." She smirked. "He's cute," she admitted.

     Nina glanced over at Peter Parker who as soon as she looked his way, his gaze dropped down to the paper in his hands. Nina chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess," she mumbled, suddenly a little shy herself. 

     "Ask him for his number," MJ told her.

     Nina stared at her, shocked. "Shh!" she said in an urgent murmur and Michelle gave her a look. "I can't just ask a customer for his number, no matter how cute he is."

    "Then write yours on the coffee cup," Felicia offered.

    "No, I can't do that."

    "Why not?"

    "Because!" Nina let out under her breath, hunching as she stepped away to make Peter Parker's coffee. "That's weird. And don't you be weird to him▬" she pointed a finger at MJ and Felicia. "Ned▬" she moved the finger to him, "▬make sure they don't act weird in front of him. Or talk to him. Or do anything."

     Felicia held her hands up in mock surrender, smirking. 

     It didn't take long for Nina to make a coffee for Peter Parker. He didn't tell her exactly what he wanted, but she found herself making a cappuccino▬she wasn't exactly sure why, she just ... did, like it was a natural reflex. 

     When she walked back towards him, he seemed very distracted. Nina set the takeaway cup on the table. She fixed the lid properly and slid it gently across the counter. When he didn't look over, Nina couldn't help the small chuckle escape her lips. "Uh ... Peter Parker?" there was a little teasing tone to her voice. 

    He glanced back over, surprised. Nina chuckled again and nodded to the cup on the counter. "Your coffee."

     "Oh," he jolted forward like he had been shocked. He grabbed the coffee cup quickly. "Right. Thank you. Um ..." he hovered at the counter. Nina watched him, admittedly wanting him to say something else. There was just something about Peter Parker that made her not want him to leave. He filled her with a breath of curiosity and anticipation. 

     Thankfully, he found something else to say. "You▬you excited?" he nodded towards her friends. "For MIT?"

    She frowned for a moment, confused. Then she realised what he meant. "Oh," she chuckled and shook her head. "I▬uh▬no. I'm not ..." she gestured over at her friends, too. "I'm not going to MIT with them."

     Peter looked surprised. He hid it, though. "Oh?"

    "Yeah," Nina nodded. "I mean," she backtracked, "I applied, and I got in, but I ... I turned it down. I just..." she shrugged, shy. "It's hard to explain, I just ... there's something about New York I don't want to leave, you know? Sorry, if that doesn't make sense▬"

    "No, no," said Peter Parker quickly. "No, that makes perfect sense. I mean, it's home, right?"

    "Yeah," she smiled slightly, her eyes soft. His gaze was gentle, too, and yet there was a sadness about him▬lingering and something that was a part of him, following him around like a weight on his shoulder. "Yeah, it's crazy▬and you can't go a day without some guy in a costume trying to cause trouble, but..." Nina chuckled, nodding. "It's my home, yeah. I'm not ready to leave it, just yet. I got accepted into a college here, anyway."

     She saw something cross over Peter Parker's eyes▬a realisation, almost; one that made a soft breath escape his lips. Before he could stop himself, he said: "NYU?"

     Nina blinked, taken aback. She tilted her head, a curious smile tugging at her lips. "Yeah," she chuckled, unable to believe the lucky guess. "H▬How did you know?"

     Peter stammered and he tried to think of something off the top of his head, but he was always flustered under Nina's curious smile. "I▬uh▬well, I just had a feeling."

    She arched a brow, amused. Her heart fluttered like it had wings. It was strange▬how could she feel so comfortable and so taken by a person she'd just met? "You had a feeling?" she repeated, dubious. The smile grew. "Are you playing with me?"

     "What?" Peter Parker chuckled, too. "No, no, I'm not playing with you."

    "Then how would you know?" she countered, playful. 

     Peter's smile softened and then fell. His heart was racing, and it hurt▬it crawled up his throat and left an ache behind; only half-full, and missing the way Nina Hart seemed to make it complete. Her words, her teasing▬all of the little things about her Peter Parker knew like the back of his own hand she did completely innocent to their past made him feel like he was looking through a glass wall to the life he could have had▬the life he had and lost. 

     "Well..." he began slowly, trying to find the right words to say▬but what was the right thing to say? How does he tell her the truth? Would she believe him? "It's like ... sometimes, when you meet a person, you can just ... see what's coming." He shrugged, trying to keep the tone light because she didn't know. Nina Hart didn't know. "There's no way to explain it." 

    His eyes found the necklace resting above her uniform. She still wore it. Peter Parker faltered. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "That's ... that's a nice necklace. Where did you get it?"

     Nina glanced down at the broken glass necklace▬a mug cracked in half. She seemed to frown as if she wasn't exactly sure how she got it, either. "Uh ... a friend gave it to me. On a school trip."

     "A friend?" Peter's voice was stuck in the back of his throat. 

    "Yeah," she said, and her gaze flickered towards the street outside, as if looking for somebody high above. "I like hot chocolate. It was a joke we shared."

     Nina didn't see the defeated look on Peter Parker's face. He took a deep breath and reached into his back pocket for some money. "Right. Um," he set it down on the counter and she reached for it, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Look, what I was▬"

    Peter stopped. His eyes found the bandaid on her forehead, right above her eyebrow. His heart twisted painfully. Hearing his words cut off, Nina glanced up. She caught him staring at her again, and her brows knitted together. "Yeah?" she prompted.

     Peter Parker hesitated. He swallowed. His tongue was dry. "You okay?" he finally managed, nodding to the bandaid. 

    Nina blushed slightly at his concern. She shrugged and gave him a little smile. "I'm okay," she said. "It ... it doesn't really hurt anymore."

     A realisation sank deep inside Peter Parker's chest. It doesn't really hurt anymore. It wasn't just a cut, not anymore. It wasn't just a bandaid on Nina Hart's forehead. It was so much more than that. His heart seemed to wither and his promise withered with it. But no matter how much it hurt him and how much it tore him apart, he realised that he was in the same spot he was when he first became Spider-Man. The same battle that raged inside him when he came back from Berlin and had to look Nina Hart in the eye before stepping away. For her. To protect her. To keep her safe. 

     But now, it wasn't a battle anymore. Peter Parker made a decision. He knew what he had to do. He wasn't an excited kid with these powers he didn't understand. Peter Parker now knew what his life did to those he cared about. 

    Nina Hart was safe not knowing who he was. She was protected not knowing who he was. What put her in danger in the first place was when she knew he was Spider-Man▬when she was wrapped in all of his baggage; trapped in his web and slowly being poisoned. Nina Hart knowing Peter Parker got her killed.

     And Peter Parker loved her too much to ever put her in that sort of danger again, no matter how much it hurt him to do so. 

     Peter Parker had to let Nina Hart go one last time, forever. 

     He watched her put the money in the cash drawer. She looked up to meet his gaze again▬sweet and beautiful. She will never know how much he loved her; will never remember. She will live her life, and do all she was meant to do▬Nina Hart will change the world, but Peter Parker won't follow her when she does. He couldn't. All he could do was watch. 

     Nina gave him a little smile. "Is ... there anything else I can help you with?"

    I love you, Peter whispered the words in his mind. 

    He shook his head. "No," his voice choked in the back of his throat. He smiled through the tears threatening to well in his eyes. He slipped the paper with the paragraph he had rehearsed into his back pocket. A paragraph left unsaid; will always be left unsaid. "Thank you," he took the coffee and stepped away. His gaze wandered to where Ned, MJ and Felicia sat together. He took a deep breath and forced his feet to shuffle towards the door. 

     His eyes found hers one last time. "I'll ... I'll see you around, Nina Hart."

    Nina watched him leave. She watched him push open the door and turn left down the street. She watched him until he was gone, and then something struck her deep in her chest. For some reason, she felt the need to cry. 

    And then she realised something else. How did he know her name?

    "Wait," she let out, stumbling as she rounded the counter. Her friends glanced over, confused, but she didn't stop. Nina Hart pushed open the door of the diner and stepped out into the cool air. "Peter Parker, wait▬!"

    She skidded to a stop, searching the streets that were mostly empty due to the weather. Nina spun around, trying to see where he had gone▬to find him. She needed to find him, and she wasn't sure why. But she needed to. 

     But it was like he had disappeared.

    Nina Hart found herself looking up at the sky, her gaze fixed on the rooftops of the buildings surrounding her. She wasn't sure what she expected to find there, but she searched anyway. 

     Standing on the rooftop, where she couldn't see, Spider-Man pulled down his mask. His chest weighed heavy, but he did not let it stop him. He took a deep breath and heard the police radio in his ears. "Four-three-Edward, do you need EMS assist?"

    "Negative, Central."

    Spider-Man turned towards the city in the distance. He swivelled his feet in the light snow. 

    "We're gonna need a car tow."

    Taking off at a running start, New York's Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man leapt off the side of the building. His cheer ripped through the streets of Queens, echoing past Nina Hart's ears as she looked over. She watched with a grin on her face as he swung down low, donned in an iconic deep blue and red▬the spider emblem stood proud on his chest. 

     Spider-Man swooped upwards, high in the winter sky. He twisted his body and flipped backwards, holding out his hands as he heard a few cheers from the windows. No matter what Jameson might say, no matter what some might think▬there were a few out there, people who felt like no one cared about them; people who were often ignored by every big guy in his ginormous tower, suddenly felt seen the moment Spider-Man swung past their window. He was their superhero. 

    And that made him become less alone. 

    He dived back down towards the streets and flung out a web, pulling himself out of the dive last minute. The wind rushed past his ears▬and he tore through it, splitting it apart like he was sailing his very own sea. 

    And he'll always carry his experiences with him. The words his Uncle Ben and his Aunt May taught him▬With great power, came great responsibility. These powers came with a heavy responsibility. A responsibility to protect all those who couldn't protect themselves. To sacrifice for them so they will never have to sacrifice for themselves. 

    This was his responsibility, his gift and his curse. 

    He was Spider-Man. 

THE EN????#42$%
the end. ~%^4$2&*(

    a/n: hey guys, that's the end of this book omg. 

    I literally started this book in nov 2021 and now its nov 2023, that's crazy, and i was literally beginning to plan it/get my ideas in 2019. 

     i'm honestly not ready to say goodbye to nina and peter, and i know you guys aren't, either. but i want so say thank you for the insane amount of support this book has gotten. it's one of my most popular books on my account, and my favourite one to update because of your support. you guys are just as crazy in love with these guys as i am, and that's special. 

     if you want to read more about nina and peter, i do have my getaway car book, which is another universe that these guys are being cute in. it follows the ps4/ps5 spider-man games, and you don't really have to have played or watched ppl play those games to read it. i'm trying to write it in a way that you can read it without being introduced to the games/have limited knowledge on them. 

     if you didn't get the hint from 'the end' bit with the 'glitches' (lol), i have a miles morales book about into the spider-verse coming out. i still need to finalise some things, try and figure out some plot stuff etc but i will post another chapter here like an end credits to introduce the book soon. 

    i want to do a sequel for this book, but i can't promise anything. i have an idea, but i also don't want to push myself too far off canon for when/if spider-man 4 comes out. 

    anyway, thank you all so much for being on this journey with me with this book. ily all, so very much.