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[ 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.' ]

You knew an aunt May and ... and uncle Ben?

[ 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. ]

And is uncle Ben ...

[ Is he okay? Peter wants to ask, but he trails off into silence before he can. Maybe he doesn't want to know. Maybe he shouldn't know. A part of him wonders if he'll just wind up feeling really bad about it, guiltier knowing that uncle Ben could have had a long, full life if Peter had just --

He presses his mouth into a thin line. ]

Okay, so what's the next thing? [ He's not sure how braced he should be for it, but he mentally prepares himself for just about anything as his mind buzzes with question after question, most of which he isn't sure he can even ask Gwen. ] The stuff that's supposed to be cool?

[ she almost jumps the gun, almost offers him a smile and a yes, because isn't that great? but she's not completely terrible at reading body language sometimes, and that's obviously- not what he needs. she knows the double-edged sword with knowing how different things are in different realities. hello, he's proof of that. so she can wait, keep it to herself. ]

Well, it's definitely cool. But- Let me just say I'm only telling you this because I want you to know and hear it from me first, not because- I expect anything. From you. [ like a big HEY ME TOO or something. ehh. it makes sense in her head. ] I'm telling you because I trust you, and I want you to be the first person I like- tell. That's it.

[ it's.. not that big of a deal, in the long run, but it's important to her, okay. the first time she was here, she was still keeping her identity a secret. nobody could know who spider-woman was. and now she's out? but. she didn't want peter to find out just like everybody else. ..it made sense in her head.

so it's really just good timing when she spots the pizza guy heading their way from behind the counter with a little box - holding their slices, she knows, because they make eye contact and he nods, and she holds a hand up for him ]

I got it!

[ and yeah. well. here goes nothin'.

thiwp. from his hands to hers in a split second, webbing caught on the corner of the box. she cuts it off so she can put it down on the table, and then. that's it. maybe. that's-

yeah.
no, wait. ]

Sometimes I wear a costume and swing from webs and go by the name Spider-Woman. Or- Spider-Gwen. Ghost Spider. [ sigh ] The Bugle keeps changing my name. [ she waves a hand ] Either way. I don't even know if that stuff means anything to you, but, there. That's it. That's my secret. ..Not-so-much a secret anymore, back home, but it hasn't really come up here. Still. That's it, that's the thing.

[ Peter's head turns, pausing at her wrist, and then at the pizza box, and then staring at the length of string that had kept the two things bonded together.

It's webbing. It's webbing. That's definitely webbing.

His mouth doesn't quite open into an 'O' because ... something about this? Something about all of this? Her confession, the little demonstration? It just makes sense. It's a surprise, yeah - sure, definitely, but it's also ... whoa.

He shakes himself out of his still-stunned reverie, swallowing and gesturing to the webbing and then remembers the last time she was here in Deerington, when hthey'd both wound up at the amusement park and he somehow found himself roped into the circus performance one night. He doesn't remember a whole lot about that whole experience other than it was probably embarrassing and he could have died, but he does remember someone saving him. He'd chalked it up to some other Spider-Man having saved him from tumbling to his doom, but it hadn't been a man at all.

Now it all makes a whole lot of crazy weird sense.

It was - ] - you. [ Probably confusing if he leaves it at that, so he continues in hushed tones. ] Last time at the circus. That was you, wasn't it?

[ her eyes are just kinda big round saucers while she waits for his reaction, because maybe how he takes this means more to her than she'll ever let on. the you makes her mouth twist up a bit, because huh? but- ]

Oh! Yeah, yes. That was me. [ she gives him a bright smile before she's opening the pizza box between them, four fresh-as-hell slices of pizza shining there in that little box. so greasy. so beautiful. she's like, actually distracted by it for a second. but no, this is important. ] I could be way cooler about it and not take credit, but it totally was, I won't lie. [ a beat ] You were falling! I didn't want you to get hurt. So I just- reacted. But like, I wasn't wearing my mask, and I didn't- That's the only reason why I left so fast. I mean, you found me anyway, but-

[ whatever, she waves her hand again ]

Yes, that was me. Is the short answer to your question.

That was awesome. I mean, you really saved me back then and I never got to thank you. [ Beat. ] Mostly 'cause I had no idea who saved me to begin with, but. I guess I always thought -

[ He shakes his head. ]

So you're like - you can do ... everything a spider can? [ God, that sounds so stupid. ] I mean, with the webslinging and the sticking to walls and stuff.

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