Chapter 26

[Third Person's PoV]

Peter safely made it back to his hideout in one piece and without any problems

Once he was inside his base, he placed Gwen on the sofa before going to a table and clearing it of any materials that were lying around.

He went and picked up Gwen's body, still encased in ice and wrapped in his webs, and placed her on top of the now cleared table. Subsequently, he carefully tore off the webs covering the casing, revealing only her cold, encased body.

Upon seeing her body, Peter took a deep breath before forcefully hammering his fist against the ice, breaking it and causing it to shatter everywhere.

After freeing Gwen from the ice, she remained motionless, lying there perfectly still. Peter gently took hold of her mask and carefully removed it from her head, revealing her face.

Her face bore bruises, a cut lip, and gashes on her cheeks with dried blood. Her breathing was extremely slow, nearly imperceptible; someone inattentive might mistake her for dead.

Peter removed his mask, gazing at her with sadness, and tenderly kissed her cold forehead.

Peter closed his eyes, recollecting the sensation of harnessing his lightning abilities. He extended his hand slightly in front of him, intermittently causing blue and black sparks to flicker between his hands.

Bringing his hands together, Peter began rubbing them against each other, amplifying the lightning in his grasp slightly. It wasn't potent enough to cause harm, but sufficient to provide a jolt to someone.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Peter couldn't resist injecting a bit of humor. "Clear," he quipped as he placed his hands on her chest where her heart lay, sending a controlled jolt of electricity toward her heart, rousing it from its cold slumber.

Gasping, she shot up from the table, breathing heavily as she caught her breath. "PETER!" she shouted, her voice filled with panic. Quickly scanning the room, she locked eyes with Peter and burst into tears, rushing into his arms. "Waaaahh, I thought *sniff* I thought I was going to die, waaahhhh."

Peter leaned his head against hers, tears streaming from her eyes as she poured out all her emotions about the ordeal. Offering a weary smile, he said, "Maybe it was a bit ambitious to take on a gang on just our second day of superhero-ing."

Gwen chuckled through her tears at his remark and replied, "*Sniff* hehehe, perhaps you're right." She looked up at Peter while their foreheads remained pressed together. Her lips trembled as she whispered, "I thought I'd never see you again, or my dad, or any of my friends... I was so scared."

Peter kissed her gently, reassuring her, "Everything's okay now, you don't have to worry. It's all over, I've taken care of Henrick and they should all be getting arrested as we speak," Peter said, embracing her tightly.

Gwen winced in pain; the bullets from her previous encounter were still lodged in her body. Sensing her discomfort, Peter loosened the hug slightly and said, "Right, sorry, I forgot about the bullets in both of us. Come, sit back on the table. I'll get everything we need."

As Gwen sat down, Peter began gathering the necessary items – tweezers, a small towel, a tray, disinfectants, and White Open Weave Bandages. Handing her a rolled-up towel, Peter advised, "Bite into this so you don't bite your tongue. What I'm about to do will hurt... a lot."

Nodding, Gwen placed the towel in her mouth, clenching it tightly, preparing for the pain.

Peter meticulously cleaned the tweezers and carefully began extracting the bullets from Gwen's wounds, starting with the one in her leg. Upon insertion, Gwen emitted a muffled scream, gripping the table tightly in agony.

Setting the first removed bullet on the tray, Gwen breathed heavily, the pain evident. Meanwhile, Peter glanced at the damaged table with a weary smile, remarking, "Poor table."

"POOR TABLE?! POOR ME, THIS REALLY HURTS!" Gwen screamed, yanking the towel from her mouth upon hearing Peter's comment.

Peter proceeded to sterilize the wound with disinfectant and wrapped it in the bandage. Looking at Gwen, he urged, "Come on, let's put on the bandage. We're not finished yet."

Reluctantly, Gwen sighed and placed the towel back in her mouth, closing her eyes and turning away.

One by one, Peter carefully extracted the bullets, causing Gwen to cry out in pain with each removal. As he finished bandaging the last wound, he sighed and remarked, "I guess it's my turn now." Peter tore off the webs wrapped around his arm and clenched the same towel Gwen had used earlier.

Handing Gwen the now-cleaned tweezers, Peter, biting down on the towel, instructed, "Do it."

Gwen nodded with a solemn expression and removed the bullet lodged in Peter's arm. Despite his silence, the strain on Peter's face and the table's new dents reflected the pain he was enduring.

After Gwen finished wrapping his arm, a sigh of relief escaped Peter. They scavenged the room for smaller bandages, tending to their minor wounds.

When everything was attended to, Peter sat on the couch as Gwen lay her head in his lap. Both closed their eyes, relishing each other's presence. Peter gently played with and caressed Gwen's hair and head, creating a serene moment between them.

Breaking the silence between them, Peter asked, "Are you going to keep going out there and fighting people?"

"What?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

"Are you going to continue fighting? I honestly don't know what you experienced in that moment, and I can't claim to understand how you're feeling right now because I don't," Peter said while leaning his head back against the sofa.

He continued with a sigh, "Coming close to death can be a pretty traumatizing experience, so it's understandable if you don't want to continue... Honestly, I don't want you to continue. I almost lost you, Gwen, but I will respect your wishes if you still want to pursue this, and I will support you all the way."

Peter then kissed her forehead, noticing her deep contemplation on the matter.

Gwen began reflecting on everything she had experienced in the past two days, even though the second day was still ongoing. Her thoughts wandered to almost facing death, confronting the gangster goons, assisting in the police chase, rescuing the hostages, receiving their gratitude, intervening in minor crimes, handling the colossal fire, aiding the children, and witnessing their admiration and gratitude, accompanied by their beaming smiles as they waved goodbye...

Gwen sighed deeply as she resolved her thoughts. Opening her eyes with a determined expression, she asserted, "I'm going to continue... I know you won't like it, but I want to. Yes, I almost died," Gwen acknowledged, raising her hands to her face. "Honestly, it was a terrifying experience, but quitting now would feel like a true loss.

"I can't stop thinking about the kids from the fire. Their smiles, their chance at life - it's because of us. We made a significant difference in just two days. I find joy in this, in helping and saving people. It means something to me.

"If I give up now, how many more lives might be lost that I could have saved? I fear that quitting would mean willingly letting people die. sigh I'm sorry for being selfish and causing you worry."

Peter smiled softly as he gazed into her eyes, his expression turning into a confident smirk. "What are you apologizing for? Didn't I promise to support you? It just means we need to grow stronger and better, so you won't have to go through something like that again."

"And didn't we vow to have each other's back when we embarked on this? This is just me keeping my promise to you," he added.

Gwen responded with a loving smile and gently took hold of the back of his neck, drawing him closer to her.

They then started kissing each which quickly turned into them making out and exploring each other's mouth...