83 Chapter 83

[Third Person's PoV]

Peter took a deep breath to prepare himself for the conversation he was about to have with his aunt. He looked up into her eyes while instantly replying, "No."

"Excuse me?" she asked with a tone of authority.

Hearing her tone, Uncle Ben and George Stacy chose to remain quiet, knowing they would be the ones to get scolded if they said anything. So all they could do was silently support Peter.

"This isn't a matter of discussion, young man. I wasn't asking; I was telling you," Aunt May stated with her arms crossed.

But Peter didn't back down. "This is a matter of discussion, Aunt May. I love you, but this is where I'm willing to put my foot down and argue with you about it. I'm not quitting on being Spider-Man, no matter what you do or say."

"And I say you will quit. I will not stay up all night wondering if you're going to come back alive or dead. Must I reiterate that you are still 15 years old? Is it so much to ask that you spend it like a normal teenager, going to school, making friends, hell, even going to parties? A boy your age shouldn't be worried about going out at night and saving people!"

"Age isn't what's important here!" Peter said, raising his voice. "Age isn't a prerequisite to helping people in need! I can still go out and live a normal teenage life like you want. I can't in good conscience just stay still while knowing I could be going out there and saving lives!"

"And I keep telling you that that isn't something you should be worrying about. Damn it! That's the reason why there are officers like George over here; that's their job, not yours!" she said, raising her voice to Peter's level.

"That may be true, but there are some things I can do because of my powers that he and no matter how many officers there are, simply can't. Why can't you just understand that?"

A look of rage overcame Aunt May's face as she reached over and grabbed him by his collar before shaking and yelling at him with tears in her eyes.

"And why can't you understand that I'm worried about you, Peter? You are like a son to me. I may not be your biological mother, but I'll damn well say I raised you like one. I don't want to worry. I don't want to spend every waking day and night wondering and worrying if you're hurt out there, if you're suffering. I don't care about the lives of strangers; your life matters more to me than a million others!"

Tears started streaming down Peter's face as he looked at Aunt May's tear-stained face. "It's exactly like you said, you raised me. I'm like this because you raised me. You and Uncle Ben taught me to be the kind-hearted man that I am today. I know I'm probably going to suffer; the path of a hero is never easy. I didn't start doing this because I thought that; I didn't delude myself into thinking I was the exception. Like you and Uncle used to say, 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.' So no matter how much I suffer, I want to help people, save them, protect them, all because that's how you raised me to be. So why, damn it… why can't you just be happy and be proud of me?"

Gwen quietly held her mouth as she started shedding tears as well. Uncle Ben, seeing how the situation was dissolving, sighed as he stood up and started to separate them.

"That's enough, you two. Yelling and screaming at each other isn't going to solve anything," he said as he took Aunt May's hands away from Peter and brought her close to a hug.

Aunt May started to sob on Uncle Ben's chest. Peter didn't say anything as he started walking away and out of the house with tears still streaming down his face.

Due to his high emotional state, Peter didn't care about being seen and simply started swinging away.

As Uncle Ben comforted Aunt May, he turned towards Gwen and looked at her softly as he mouthed, "Please look after him."

Gwen nodded her head before running after Peter. George sighed as he put his police cap back on. "I'll leave you two alone. I have some thinking to do on my own, and I need to return to work."

Uncle Ben just nodded as he rubbed Aunt May's back.

…

Peter sat on top of a tall building, watching cars pass by with his arms wrapped around his legs and his chin resting on his knees.

Gwen finally caught up with Peter, arriving where he was sitting and settling right next to him, mirroring his position without saying a word.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Gwen reached over and gently placed Peter's head on her shoulder.

They remained like that for a few minutes before Peter decided to break the silence. "Sorry…" he muttered.

"Why are you apologizing?" Gwen asked softly, sounding confused.

"For looking so pathetic and crying in front of you like that. I'm supposed to be the one you can count on and be there to support you in your time of need."

Gwen playfully pouted. "Do you really think so little of me? Do I seem like someone who would think less of you just for expressing your emotions?"

"No…" Peter replied, smiling slightly. There was a long, comforting silence between them before Peter once again spoke up.

"Well, that was a mess... definitely not how I expected it to go."

"And how did you imagine it?" Gwen asked curiously.

"I mean, I definitely thought there would be a discussion with a lot of words, and I thought it would have been more between you and your dad, given how nervous you were beforehand. The tears were definitely unwelcome guests."

"I don't think my dad had a chance to properly digest the situation. We'll probably talk a lot more when we get home…" Gwen awkwardly said.

"Man, I'm really starting to regret this…" Peter muttered.

"Honestly, I'm glad we did," Gwen said.

Peter looked at her with a raised brow, to which Gwen reiterated, "I mean, yes, there was a lot of screaming and tears, but that just showed how much you two love each other. I thought that was very beautiful."

Peter then smiled. "I guess you're right… but I still feel kinda crappy for making Aunt May cry like that."

"That just means we have to reassure her that she has nothing to worry about, though I do think she's going to keep on worrying no matter how much we reassure," Gwen awkwardly smiled.

Peter stood up and walked behind Gwen, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck.

"That's true… plus, I feel like our discussion isn't truly over," Peter muttered.

But before Gwen could say anything else, the sound of multiple police sirens filled the air, followed by several cars, causing them to sigh.

"And it looks like neither is our job," Peter said as he stood up and took out his mask from his pocket.

Gwen did the same, putting on their masks before stripping off their clothes to reveal their suits underneath.

They both then jumped from where they were standing and swung away, following the police cruiser.