ahaha i mean i just had to walk in and ask for a job but thanks they have corndogs for sale there so it seemed like a no-brainer also did you know you get paid for going to college here????????? so i'm going to college too
i'll skate with ya but i'm sure you'll be fine we'll get you on rollerblades, everybody can rollerblade
what!! ghost physics would be so cool but of course you're like a GIANT science nerd so maybe not i'm going to school for music so i don't have to worry about that i'd be okay with taking drum lessons with a ghost
we should hang out so we can actually talk i'm going to want to explain things in emojis and that won't be cool until after we've talked about it forreal
so
wanna grab pizza somewhere?
still trying really hard not to sound ominous btw still super bad at it
[ this is gwen trying to brace herself for peter parker feelings suddenly being a thing around this guy. maybe. maybe she'll be fine. it's a mystery. ]
[ This conversation is going in a million different directions and Peter isn't 100% sure he's following - and he's a straight-A honours student at one of the most prestigious high schools in the state. ]
[ and that's all she wrote, because there's literally a place called peter's pizza here so obviously that's where they're going to hang out. for their not-date. she probably shouldn't have called it that. it was just a figure of speech? whatever.
and if she gets there first, it's because she's there sooner than twenty minutes- webswinging gets a lot quicker when it's really cold out. so she's there earlier and already has a giant soda at a little two-person table, a little card with a number sitting at the edge so the guy knows where to bring the four slices she ordered.
two for him, two for her. her treat, considering she's about to either confuse the shit out of him or rock his whole world the way hers was when she found out he's peter parker. kind of. okay, maybe it'll be different for him. she's already been through this, in a way. she doesn't know if he has.
only one way to find out.
she's got a mouth full of sprite when she sees him walk into the little pizzeria, her chair facing the entrance because, well. she's a cop's kid. she doesn't even think about it anymore. anyway, her mouth's full so she just waves him over, making a face when she has to swallow the carbonated drink down too fast ]
[ Peter won't lie, he's been kind of wringing his hands over this weird date-not-date-whatever-it-is-hang-out-thing because the conversation had taken a very strange turn. He really shouldn't even be surprised about it because of the place they're in, and all the horrors he'd come to expect - and yet, Gwen had always seemed so normal. The people here ... even with their powers and abilities, and coming from totally different universes ... they always seemed so normal.
So - yeah, he's a little nervous. The way she'd asked him whether his name was 'Parker' could only indicate that it meant something to her. It's a pretty common surname as far as surnames go, but she'd been so deliberate, as though she wanted confirmation and not just because it was a random surname she'd plucked out of a register or something.
He licks his lips and heads to the table she's already sitting at, lifting a hand to wave back while he musters up a slightly awkward smile. ]
Hey.
[ He lingers by the edge of the table for a second long enough to make it noticeable ... before he finally settles into the seat across from hers. ]
I ordered us pizza. [ she doesn't miss a beat. ..well, there's a short pause after she says that, but there wasn't one before. anyway. ] On me, for being so cagey via text. That's the worst, I know it, so- Sorry. For doing that.
[ it's not an emotional apology, but she seems sincere enough. her fingers drum on the table, looking up to see if the waiter is heading over, but it doesn't even look like he's paying attention to the slices he put in the oven to reheat for her, so. hm. ]
I have a lot of stuff to tell you. About me, mostly. And it's usually pretty easy to be like hey, this is a thing- But I don't know where to start. So. [ she holds up a finger and then fishes around in her backpack for something, eventually pulling out a little stack of photos. the one she singles out and looks at for a moment ends up on the table, and she slides it across so he can look at it. ]
At the risk of sounding like a cop- do you recognize anybody in this picture? Besides me.
[ it's a good chance he doesn't. but there may be an uncanny valley sort of recognition there, considering it's a picture of her, aunt may, uncle ben, and peter, all standing in front of a table with some kind of science fair project on it. peter's holding a blue ribbon, but his expression doesn't match the same jubilance as the rest of the little group. peter- doesn't actually look much like the peter sitting across from her, but more like a younger version of the older peter here. kind of. if you squint and turn your head the right way. so maybe may and ben won't look like his may and ben either. but there's a chance they will, and that's- that'll make things easier to explain.
sort of.
in an alternate universe type of way.
but he already knows the older peter here, she knows that, so. maybe she won't break his brain? it's fine. ]
[ Peter picks the photo up, lifting it to study the figures. He recognizes Gwen, yeah, she's definitely the most familiar person in this image.
The other three though ... no. There's no immediate recognition, nothing that makes him think that the boy is a friend of his, or someone from school, or someone he'd saved once as Spider-Man. The older woman and man ... nothing there either.
He's about to put the picture back down but something compels him to give it another look. It's ... it's weird, he doesn't know who they are, but they don't feel like strangers either.
It's nothing he can really put a word to, however, and the easiest thing to do is to shake his head. He'd rather have Gwen explain this increasingly concerning conversation anyway. ]
[ it's not as heartbreaking as it could have been, so at least there's that. but she doesn't really have it in her to fluff up the story, either. not when she'd rather get to the stuff that isn't so heavy and sad.
she reaches across the table and points out each person as she talks, her touch light though, like she's afraid of hurting the photo ]
That's May Parker, Ben Parker, and Peter Parker. Where I'm from. [ she pauses, maybe to let it sink in, but she doesn't let it sit quiet for long ] Aunt May and Uncle Ben are like family to me. Peter was too.
[ but she's not ready for that part of the conversation yet. the past tense. she probably never will be. maybe she doesn't want to throw that at peter, in case maybe the rest of this doesn't even ring a bell. maybe his world is that much different. ]
So your name means something to me, but I'm only telling you because I don't want you to think I'm making comparisons or anything. No expectations. It just didn't feel right keeping that from you, now that I know who you are. And I'm guessing there's no Gwen Stacy, where your from. Which is also okay, and definitely explains why this conversation didn't happen the first time I was here. [ she huffs, sitting back in her chair ] I still can't believe I didn't figure it out on my own. But. Anyway.
That's the tough part of what I wanted to tell you. I swear, the rest of it is pretty cool. Well, hopefully it's cool. Either that or it'll send you running for the hills. It could really go either way.
[ oh god, please let him be spider-man, please let him be spider-man ]
Ready for that part?
[ she's not rushing him though, she's genuinely asking ]
Wait. [ Peter has to press the spot between his eyes for just a second, his mind whirling as he works through this revelation. ]
Wait, wait, wait, hold on, I just - I need a second here. That's - [ He can't even get to the May and Ben Parker stuff - not yet. It's too weird, it's too weird.
He looks at the other Peter Parker again. ] This is me? From another world? [ Cool cool, okay, so this feels like deja vu. ] There's another one of me?
[ How many Peter Parkers are there?
Maybe it's best not to answer that just yet, in case the answer is something like 'oh, you know, a million. There's an entire planet of dorky nerd loser-type Peter Parkers just west of Earth.' ]
[ yeah she's just going to let the another one of me question slide, because obviously there isn't much experience in the whole multiverse thing, from his side of the conversation. which is okay. makes her kind of hopeful, actually. maybe he was never bitten. maybe he's just this totally normal guy with a totally normal life.
... nah, she doesn't actually hope for that. but gwen's a little bit selfish, sometimes. ]
Mhm. Grew up in the house next door. Every time I visit my dad, I visit them, too.
[ well, not recently. not since she got out of jail. ben.. hasn't forgiven her yet. for her secret. but that's here nor there. ]
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congrats!
okay but what if i can't really rollerskate
the same way i'm really awesome at ice skating
[ AKA not even a little bit at all good. ]
🙂 ...
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they have corndogs for sale there so it seemed like a no-brainer
also did you know you get paid for going to college here?????????
so i'm going to college too
i'll skate with ya
but i'm sure you'll be fine
we'll get you on rollerblades, everybody can rollerblade
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like
i'm actually learning more at fear and strange i guess?
and like does going to school here even matter, what are they gonna teach us? ghost physics?
[ hard pass! ]
you'd be surprised gwen
i don't think
i mean
yeah
just wait
i'll either surprise or impress you w how bad i am
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but of course you're like
a GIANT science nerd
so maybe not
i'm going to school for music so i don't have to worry about that
i'd be okay with taking drum lessons with a ghost
what's fear and strange?
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its not a bad thing
i like science
science is easy
oh yeah!! you should totally join fear! and maybe strange if you're into it
fear's like, this official unofficial group here who research the scary and weird stuff that happens here so we can protect people better
and strange is kind of this project my old roommate started up to help people too
but its more like through building stuff like robotics and tech
when he left i wasn't sure whether i could handle it on my own but then logan said he'd help me and he's like, a legit adult, so its back up again!
1/2
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
i don't know if i'd be much help in either of those things
but you can definitely call me when it gets to the protecting people part
ohyea i gotta tell you something
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any way that anyone here can help people i think it's kind of our responsibility to right?
[ You know, what with the whole 'with great power' speech ...
But - uh. Yeah. Never mind that, because -- ]
oh okay
yeah
uh yeah
what's up?
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we should hang out so we can actually talk
i'm going to want to explain things in emojis and that won't be cool until after we've talked about it forreal
so
wanna grab pizza somewhere?
still trying really hard not to sound ominous btw
still super bad at it
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you know
yeah
i'm trying not to be worried but you're kinda making me worried
is everything okay forreal gwen??
did something happen?
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please don't worry at all ever
question tho! unrelated but definitely related
is your last name parker?
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it's usually a cause to worry
but okay um
i'll try not to
[ EXCEPT NOW HE'S WORRYING because that last question, wh...at ... ]
yeah
[ ...
... ]
why
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don't worry about the why
😉
me and you are meeting up for pizza now and i'll explain all the stuff
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???
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and its not bad either
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[ this is gwen trying to brace herself for peter parker feelings suddenly being a thing around this guy. maybe. maybe she'll be fine. it's a mystery. ]
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[ This conversation is going in a million different directions and Peter isn't 100% sure he's following - and he's a straight-A honours student at one of the most prestigious high schools in the state. ]
yeah
i mean
okay yeah
ackshunnnn cause i need this in my liiiife
[ and that's all she wrote, because there's literally a place called peter's pizza here so obviously that's where they're going to hang out. for their not-date. she probably shouldn't have called it that. it was just a figure of speech? whatever.
and if she gets there first, it's because she's there sooner than twenty minutes- webswinging gets a lot quicker when it's really cold out. so she's there earlier and already has a giant soda at a little two-person table, a little card with a number sitting at the edge so the guy knows where to bring the four slices she ordered.
two for him, two for her. her treat, considering she's about to either confuse the shit out of him or rock his whole world the way hers was when she found out he's peter parker. kind of. okay, maybe it'll be different for him. she's already been through this, in a way. she doesn't know if he has.
only one way to find out.
she's got a mouth full of sprite when she sees him walk into the little pizzeria, her chair facing the entrance because, well. she's a cop's kid. she doesn't even think about it anymore. anyway, her mouth's full so she just waves him over, making a face when she has to swallow the carbonated drink down too fast ]
--Oof. Hey. Hi.
[ s m o o t h ]
heLL yeah
So - yeah, he's a little nervous. The way she'd asked him whether his name was 'Parker' could only indicate that it meant something to her. It's a pretty common surname as far as surnames go, but she'd been so deliberate, as though she wanted confirmation and not just because it was a random surname she'd plucked out of a register or something.
He licks his lips and heads to the table she's already sitting at, lifting a hand to wave back while he musters up a slightly awkward smile. ]
Hey.
[ He lingers by the edge of the table for a second long enough to make it noticeable ... before he finally settles into the seat across from hers. ]
Uh.
[ Speaking of smooth. ]
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[ it's not an emotional apology, but she seems sincere enough. her fingers drum on the table, looking up to see if the waiter is heading over, but it doesn't even look like he's paying attention to the slices he put in the oven to reheat for her, so. hm. ]
I have a lot of stuff to tell you. About me, mostly. And it's usually pretty easy to be like hey, this is a thing- But I don't know where to start. So. [ she holds up a finger and then fishes around in her backpack for something, eventually pulling out a little stack of photos. the one she singles out and looks at for a moment ends up on the table, and she slides it across so he can look at it. ]
At the risk of sounding like a cop- do you recognize anybody in this picture? Besides me.
[ it's a good chance he doesn't. but there may be an uncanny valley sort of recognition there, considering it's a picture of her, aunt may, uncle ben, and peter, all standing in front of a table with some kind of science fair project on it. peter's holding a blue ribbon, but his expression doesn't match the same jubilance as the rest of the little group. peter- doesn't actually look much like the peter sitting across from her, but more like a younger version of the older peter here. kind of. if you squint and turn your head the right way. so maybe may and ben won't look like his may and ben either. but there's a chance they will, and that's- that'll make things easier to explain.
sort of.
in an alternate universe type of way.
but he already knows the older peter here, she knows that, so. maybe she won't break his brain? it's fine. ]
It's okay if you don't, I'm just- curious.
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The other three though ... no. There's no immediate recognition, nothing that makes him think that the boy is a friend of his, or someone from school, or someone he'd saved once as Spider-Man. The older woman and man ... nothing there either.
He's about to put the picture back down but something compels him to give it another look. It's ... it's weird, he doesn't know who they are, but they don't feel like strangers either.
It's nothing he can really put a word to, however, and the easiest thing to do is to shake his head. He'd rather have Gwen explain this increasingly concerning conversation anyway. ]
What's - uh. What's going on here, Gwen?
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she reaches across the table and points out each person as she talks, her touch light though, like she's afraid of hurting the photo ]
That's May Parker, Ben Parker, and Peter Parker. Where I'm from. [ she pauses, maybe to let it sink in, but she doesn't let it sit quiet for long ] Aunt May and Uncle Ben are like family to me. Peter was too.
[ but she's not ready for that part of the conversation yet. the past tense. she probably never will be. maybe she doesn't want to throw that at peter, in case maybe the rest of this doesn't even ring a bell. maybe his world is that much different. ]
So your name means something to me, but I'm only telling you because I don't want you to think I'm making comparisons or anything. No expectations. It just didn't feel right keeping that from you, now that I know who you are. And I'm guessing there's no Gwen Stacy, where your from. Which is also okay, and definitely explains why this conversation didn't happen the first time I was here. [ she huffs, sitting back in her chair ] I still can't believe I didn't figure it out on my own. But. Anyway.
That's the tough part of what I wanted to tell you. I swear, the rest of it is pretty cool. Well, hopefully it's cool. Either that or it'll send you running for the hills. It could really go either way.
[ oh god, please let him be spider-man, please let him be spider-man ]
Ready for that part?
[ she's not rushing him though, she's genuinely asking ]
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Wait, wait, wait, hold on, I just - I need a second here. That's - [ He can't even get to the May and Ben Parker stuff - not yet. It's too weird, it's too weird.
He looks at the other Peter Parker again. ] This is me? From another world? [ Cool cool, okay, so this feels like deja vu. ] There's another one of me?
[ How many Peter Parkers are there?
Maybe it's best not to answer that just yet, in case the answer is something like 'oh, you know, a million. There's an entire planet of dorky nerd loser-type Peter Parkers just west of Earth.' ]
You knew an aunt May and ... and uncle Ben?
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... nah, she doesn't actually hope for that. but gwen's a little bit selfish, sometimes. ]
Mhm. Grew up in the house next door. Every time I visit my dad, I visit them, too.
[ well, not recently. not since she got out of jail. ben.. hasn't forgiven her yet. for her secret. but that's here nor there. ]
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