7 Reprimand and Encouragement

By the time Nick woke up, Gwen was back at the apartment and working on her laptop. As soon as she saw Nick emerge from the room, she turned around and flashed him a huge smile.

"Pete told me you went by your family's place today. How was it?" Gwen asked, really wanting to know about him and Stella.

" Mom and sister missed me, Emma wants to help me, Lorna is still upset with me, Alex is still pissed at me, and nearly got blown up in an attack on the place. So just a usual day at that place," Nick walked to the kitchen and started making two cups of coffee for them. He made sure to add the right amount of cream, cinnamon, and sugar to them.

"Didn't see Stella?" Gwen asked while taking a cup in her hand, her eyes pretending to focus on the laptop but occasionally darting back to him.

"I did. Didn't talk to her," Nick replied, opening up his own laptop to signal that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. But Gwen was clearly still on it.

"Nick," she said quietly, but he ignored her

"Nick," she repeated louder, still ignored

"Nick!" Gwen finally yelled, forcing Nick to look up from his laptop

"I know what you want to say, Gwen. I do. You, Peter, Alexis, my mom, Lorna. You have all said it before. But I keep telling you guys: she is better without me in her life. Whether it is just me alone, the fact that I am a mutant, or the fact that I am inhuman, each of those is a reason that I will bring harm to her eventually. It's better for me to stay as far away as possible," Nick sounded completely defeated. He had used the same excuse ever since he found out Lorna was pregnant but he was sure no one believed it. He wasn't even sure that he believed it anymore.

Gwen looked at his eyes and saw the pain in them. She saw how much he truly cared for the girl and thought he was doing what was best for her.

"What about me and Pete? Are you not afraid of us getting hurt?" Gwen changed the topic slightly

"I am. That's why I wanted you both to leave me alone but you're too stubborn. Plus, he's Spider-Man and you're Spider-Man's girlfriend. Petey will always be there to save you," Nick told her, unable to look at her anymore

Gwen closed her laptop before moving her chair next to Nick and giving him and hug around his slouched shoulders.

"And what about when we first met? Who was the person that saved me then? Remember what I said back then?"

Gwen was thinking of the night they first met.

It was just after Peter had become Spider-Man and was still learning the ropes. Nick was still in middle school at the time and had just gone through Terrigenesis. He was angry at his dad about... something that he couldn't even remember anymore. Whatever it was, it made him mad enough to just go into the city and walk around at night.

It was then that he saw Gwen getting mugged. She had to stay behind for some science thing and ended up being out super late. Without even thinking, Nick rushed over and socked the dude across the face before grabbing Gwen's hand and running away. The pair ran for a few minutes before Gwen finally called out and told him to stop since she was out of breath.

That was when she said the first thing to him that made him want to be a hero, even after seeing how terrible the life of a hero was. How most of the heroes that everyone looked up to were just normal people who had to deal with their own shit on top of stopping bad guys and saving the world.

"You said, 'Thanks. Plenty of people saw what was going on but you were the only one to help me. You will always be my hero.' Did I get it right?" Nick asked, looking up at the girl

"Hmm. And that will always be true. Even if I marry Peter and you never suit up again, you will always be the number 1 hero in my heart," Gwen confessed to him

Nick couldn't help but laugh when he heard that.

"Peter would be crushed if you told him that."

"I have," Gwen gave a proud look as she admitted it. "Told him that he would always be the number 2 hero in my heart, no matter what mistakes or choices he makes. But you would always be my number one."

Nick laughed again. He could believe that Gwen would say exactly that to Peter. And he could also imagine Peter's face. He would have been jealous of anyone else but not Nick.

Nicked held his hands to his face and let out a long and painful sigh.

"I gotta step up, don't I?" Nick asked

"Hmm. Wanna see my goddaughter more often," Gwen admitted her desire. Mei and Alexis sent her and Peter photos of Stella all the time. She really wanted to see the kid now that she had grown.

Gwen held Nick's face in her hands and made him look her in the eye.

"But more importantly, I want to see you get past this thing that has been haunting you for 5 years. Or at least make sure it doesn't stop you from being the version of you I know you can be."

Nick sighed to himself again.

"I probably gotta move into the Institute then. You and Peter mind watching over the apartment?"

"Oh, yes! We would hate this apartment looking over Central Park with 3 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. We would rather stay in that little studio," Gwen replied sarcastically

"I get it, I get it. Just make sure you guys don't move into my bedroom or make a mess of the place."

"No promises. I've been meaning to redecorate this place for awhile. When you bring Stella by, I'm gonna make her fall in love with it and wanna live here."

Nick held his hands up in surrender. He knew better than to argue with the Invincible Gwen Stacy.

"Got it. I'll call my mom in a bit and head over there in the morning."