"On that point, you really don't need to worry. If you keep eating burgers, pizza, fried chicken, and drinking soda, then once you hit thirty, you'll end up just as handsome as me."
"Are you seriously confused about what handsome means? I'm the one who's handsome. Clean-cut, sunny, youthful, refined. You... you look like the kind of guy who'd disappear the second you got dropped into a slum, and you still have the nerve to call yourself handsome?"
Looking at how shamelessly self-satisfied middle-aged Peter was, Peter felt his stomach starting to turn. If he really was going to end up like that one day, it would feel worse than death.
"But I am you, aren't I? Sooner or later, that'll be you too. You need to learn to accept it."
"Suddenly I don't even want to be Peter Parker anymore. I feel like the name itself has been insulted."
Giving the older, heavier Peter and his belly another long look, Peter covered his eyes. It was just too painful to see.
"Hey, would one of you mind getting me down first?! This position is seriously uncomfortable!"
Miles was still wrapped up like a dumpling in webbing, both hands stuck in place. His whole body felt sore.
Peter pulled out a small sharp knife and neatly sliced through the webbing, finally setting the Black kid free.
"Wait a second. Where are you even shooting your webs from? I didn't see you carrying web-shooters."
Middle-aged Peter seemed to notice something off. He looked at the younger Peter with obvious surprise and interest.
In response, Peter casually raised a hand into a web-shooting pose, and a strand shot right out.
"Other than electric webbing, I never use those little gadgets. I can fire webs naturally. You guys can't?"
Peter deliberately played dumb.
He was doing it on purpose, just to knock the older Peter down a peg. For some reason, seeing the middle-aged version of himself annoyed him.
"I always made my own webbing, then liquefied it and stored it in cartridges. Isn't that just instinctive knowledge that comes with the mutation?"
Middle-aged Peter said it seriously.
"Yeah, exactly. That's why I came up with electric webbing. I just don't use it much. Carrying web-shooters makes me uncomfortable."
"It feels weird at first, sure, but once you get used to it..."
"Stop. That sentence sounds way too suggestive. Let's drop the subject before it turns into something we can't publish."
Peter immediately cut him off. The guy had just said Peter talked too much, but honestly, he wasn't much better himself.
"Alright then. Since there's another Spider-Man around, that makes things a lot easier. Here's my suggestion. We sneak into Kingpin's underground facility, start the quantum collider, then everybody goes home and finds their own mom. Sound good?"
Middle-aged Peter suddenly looked a lot more confident. Since he was the oldest, he had naturally slipped into the role of team leader.
"Not interested. You two can go play by yourselves. And this world doesn't only have me. Other Spider-People from other universes got dragged here too. Don't say I didn't warn you. And Kingpin isn't easy to deal with."
The second he realized this guy was trying to drag him into the plan, Peter pulled his mask back on and prepared to leave.
He was only here to watch the show. Not to get dragged into every mess.
"Hey, where are you going?!"
"Back to sleep. You two have fun."
Peter swung away on a web and vanished.
That left only Miles and middle-aged Peter staring at each other.
Neither of them noticed that a tiny red-and-blue micro-spider tracking device had been stuck to the older Peter's suit.
It was tiny, light, and only glowed faintly. It was almost impossible to notice.
...
By the time Peter got back to Gwen's place, he had already changed back into the suit from before. Even though he'd been gone for half an hour, Gwen was somehow still in the shower.
Of course she was.
Women really were delicate creatures. If it were Peter, ten minutes would've been enough.
On the way back, Peter had also stopped at a store and bought a pack of cigarettes. Right now he was leaning against the balcony railing, lighting one and looking up at the stars.
This world was full of things he knew and things he didn't. Peter had no idea how he was supposed to deal with what came next, so for now, all he could do was take things one step at a time.
But one thing he did know.
Whatever came next was going to be dangerous. Otherwise, Spider-People from all those universes wouldn't have gathered here.
Better safe than sorry.
"Peter?!"
Suddenly, he heard Gwen calling from the bathroom.
Peter stubbed out the cigarette and walked over in a few quick steps, asking through the door, "What is it?"
His spider powers could easily have let him sense everything inside, but Peter didn't use them.
He might be shameless sometimes, but he wasn't that kind of pervert.
"Um... I forgot to bring my pajamas in. Could you help me? They're on my bed in the bedroom..."
"Sure."
When Peter stepped into Gwen's bedroom, the first thing he noticed was how neat it was.
It smelled good too. He couldn't tell whether it was perfume or some kind of scented oil, but the scent was pleasant.
Apparently, even in this universe, police officer Gwen still liked white-and-pink tones. The whole room had a soft, cozy, slightly girlish feel. There were posters around too, all of them Spider-Man-related.
On the bedside table sat two framed photos.
One was a family picture of Gwen with her parents.
The other was clearly of Gwen and Peter during their college years, when they were in the middle of being in love.
Peter could tell from the photo that Gwen's face was glowing with happiness. The other version of himself looked the same way.
"Peter, did you find them?!"
Hearing Gwen's voice snapped Peter back to reality. He looked toward the bed.
There, neatly laid out, were a pajama set and underwear.
He smiled, picked them up, and said, "Yeah. Just reach out and take them."
"Okay."
Gwen sounded a little embarrassed. She cracked the bathroom door open, her body only barely wrapped in a towel.
But as she reached out to take the clothes, the movement pulled the towel loose.
"Ah..."
Gwen let out a startled cry.
Peter reacted instantly. Before the towel could fully fall, he grabbed it and pressed it back against her body. From start to finish, he deliberately kept his eyes off her, though his face turned bright red anyway, because he had accidentally caught a glimpse.
Gwen hurriedly took the towel and wrapped herself back up. Her face was flushed as she took the clothes from Peter's hands and said shyly, "Thanks, Peter. I'll get changed now..."
"Yeah. I'll go get some air on the balcony."
Peter nodded, turned away, and went back outside. Then he lit another cigarette.
The cigarette burned slowly. Smoke drifted from his mouth, through his nose, and back out again, and little by little, he relaxed.
Peter had definitely been feeling overheated a second ago.
Well, he had to admit it.
The Gwen of this universe had an incredibly hot body.
And since he was still a virgin, he had nearly gotten a nosebleed.
Inside the bathroom, Gwen shut the door and stood there awkwardly, her heart refusing to calm down. At that moment, she genuinely wanted to disappear down the drain.
How did something like that even happen?!
Did Peter see it? Or didn't he? He seemed too calm, so maybe he didn't see anything?
Then why am I kind of hoping he did?!
Gwen, what is wrong with you? You're pathetic! I seriously despise you right now!
While changing into her pajamas, Gwen suddenly felt the skin across her chest burning hot. She remembered that Peter's hand had brushed there by accident just now, and the blush on her cheeks deepened again until she looked like a perfectly ripe apple.
And just like that, her thoughts started running wild.
Calm down. He's only seventeen. Don't think about weird things!!!
But the more she tried to calm herself, the more vivid the memory felt.
Once she finally changed and stepped out of the bathroom, she felt a little better when she saw Peter standing on the balcony with both hands on the railing, lost in thought.
Trying to act perfectly calm, Gwen sat down on the couch and was just about to start a casual conversation to ease the awkwardness.
Then Peter, still facing away from her on the balcony, suddenly said, "Don't worry. I didn't see anything. Don't treat me like some kind of creep, and you don't have to feel awkward either..."
"..."
Gwen's composure shattered instantly.
Did you really have to say it that directly?!
I was already trying to forget that happened!!!
"Well... it's not a big deal. I'm twenty-six, after all. I'm not going to obsess over something this small..."
Gwen forced out a smile, though her face got even redder.
"I'm basically staying in your place for now, so sorry for the trouble. By the way, does the landlady want me to pay rent... why is your face as red as a monkey's butt?"
Peter put out the cigarette and turned around. He saw Gwen sitting rigidly on the couch, doing her best to calm herself, her whole face bright red.
And this was the person claiming she wasn't obsessing over it.
And she still had the nerve to say she was twenty-six.
Was she sure she was an adult?
"You're broke right now. What exactly would you pay rent with? And don't make me sound that mercenary. A beautiful landlady has standards too."
Gwen shot him a look, then casually picked up the glass of juice on the table and took a drink.
"Um..."
"Gwen..."
"What?"
"That's my juice."
Gwen: "???"
You waited until after I swallowed it to tell me?!
You did that on purpose, didn't you?!
(End of Chapter)
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