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I. Peter One
Queens, NYC
31st December 2024
9:02 a.m.
Frankly, he doesn’t want to open his eyes. Maybe it’s why he’s spent the last hour in his bed, wide awake and yet pressing his eyelids together like his life depends on it. If he opens his eyes, it means that the day will officially start — New Year’s Eve and he is alone. For the first time in eighteen years.
No one knew him — these past couple of months hadn’t been easy on him but today, it was harder. Today, everyone is with the ones they love and… and everyone he loves is either gone or has forgotten he ever existed.
He just wants to close his eyes for a few more minutes before he has to face the reality of it. He wants to lay in there and pretend like in a few minutes, Aunt May will come in and scold him, telling him that he needs to get out of bed and start celebrating the last day of the year with a big breakfast. Maybe he has a happy New Year card from Mister Stark. Then, he can call MJ and Ned and hear them nag about their extended families visiting and boring the living light out of them. He smiles, wanting to pretend like the thoughts are real. If he concentrates hard enough, he can smell fresh coffee and…
“Rise and shine, kiddo,” a voice interrupts his thoughts, making him jump up, snapping his eyes open only to see two familiar faces in front of him, their hands full with muffins, what seems like waffles and coffee. Peter II and Peter III! Spider-Men! “It’s almost ten, what the hell are you doing in your bed?” Peter III says, raising an eyebrow. “And so much for being the Spider-Man of this universe. Your door practically fell open.”
“Couldn’t afford a better place,” Peter shrugs, still surprised by the turn of events as he gets out of bed, accepting Peter III’s coffee. The place is stupidly small. He has a living room which is his bedroom and his kitchen and laundry room and basement as well and well, a small bathroom which is his shower, too. And it is where he hangs his suit, too… what an apartment, truly. “But — what are you guys doing here? I thought you were back in your universes. I thought I’d never see you again.”
“So did we,” Peter II provides, as he puts the muffins and waffles on the table, sitting behind the only chair in the room. Peter III raises an eyebrow as he throws Peter a look which can only mean, look at the grandpa, already sitting . Peter barely stifles a laugh. “But this morning, the wizard — the one we saw on the statue of liberty — suddenly came through one of those portals and told us that… Well, he told us everything and then, he said he couldn’t stand for you to spend New Year’s Eve alone after all those problems. MJ had to visit the homeless shelter in Brooklyn today so I thought, might as well drop by.”
“And I was alone, too, so I thought, what the hell,” Peter III provides, shrugging as he picks a muffin. “And I have to admit, your universe has better sweats than mine, so there’s the angle.”
Peter wants to laugh at the joke and he wants to smile at the fact that they are here and it’s insane but it’s true and dear God, he needed this but instead, he gets choked up, a knot in his throat as he tries to fight the tears. He hasn’t cried in so long and yet, this triggers the repressed fears and loneliness of the past couple of months. Peter II notices immediately, his expression changing, “Peter, is there anything…”
Before he can finish the question, Peter throws his arms around him, trying to squeeze back the tears but a few find their way out, slipping down his face. “Thank you so much,” he says, his voice muffled as he presses his head into Peter II’s shoulder, allowing the eldest to pet his back kindly. It reminds him of the way Happy hugged him when he saw him in the Netherlands.
“It’s alright, kid,” Peter II says, allowing Peter to hug him until his tears had dried, feeling the hand of Peter III resting on his shoulder. When he finally pulls away, Peter III offers him a cold coffee and a muffin, sitting on his not-made-up bed.
“So what should we do today?” he asks, eating his third muffin of the morning. “Coming here, I saw a banner — Rogers, the Musical. It said something about an Avenger ? You are one, right?”
“Was, yeah,” Peter confirms, his face lighting up as he remembers something. “Right, I never got around to telling you about the Avengers, did I?” they shake their heads as Peter pulls out his phone, typing in a number. “Tell you what — how about I take you to a musical to see The Avengers?”
“Huh?”
———
II. Peter Two
Manhattan, NYC
31st December 2024
1:07 p.m.
He has to admit, even though life back at home is pretty sweet, he needed this little break. With MJ and Peter wanting to have kids, and being Spider-Man, Petter pretty much was going through life with no stops to catch his breath but being here — with friends (granted, they are respectively younger than him, but nonetheless) — is the thing that Peter didn’t know he needed. Especially accompanied by pizza.
“I cannot believe you are going to eat that,” Peter III says for the third time that day, wrinkling his nose. “Pineapple pizza? Who likes that crap?”
“I do,” Peter simply says, shrugging. Call him crazy but nothing tastes better than good old pineapple on a quality pizza. “It’s better than Margarita, Parker. What is so delicious about… a whole lot of cheese? Why make it a pizza when you can just eat… cheese.”
“You hold no appreciation for good taste, man,” Peter III gruntles as Peter I lets out a soft chuckle. “What?”
“Nothing, just seeing you two argue over pizza while I’m chilling with my cheeseburger gotta be the most fun I’ve had in a while.”
“Jeez, your life is even more boring than mine,” Peter III rolls his eyes but can’t help the small smile tugging at his lips as he takes a slice of pizza, putting it in his mouth. “I am telling you everything tastes better when you are on vacation.”
“Is this a vacation?” Peter I cocks an eyebrow.
“For me, it is — I’m like millions of lightyears away from my universe — doesn’t get farther than that. This is so cool,” Peter III mumbles excitedly through the food in his mouth, making Peter chuckle before turning to the youngest of the group.
“So, Pete, what are you going to do about graduation and college?”
Peter I swallows his food before sitting up more straight as if he is getting ready to turn a report card in to his dad. Peter smiles to himself — he is going to enjoy being a father, that’s for sure. “I actually didn’t know but a week ago, coming home from my job — I deliver Pizza —”
“No way,” Peter laughs, remembering the good old days, “I used to deliver pizza, too. It was my first job. Fresh out of home, in college and busy. I got fired, though. Being Spider-Man does not agree with the delivery schedule.” Peter I laughs, nodding,
“Honestly, I thought I was going to get fired the first day on the job. Mister Kovinsky was not happy with the state of the boxes cause of all the swinging but I manned up. Had to pay the rent somehow…”
“Don’t get me started with the rent,” Peter III growls, rolling his eyes. “Like why can’t I just live there for free? Just for a month? Honestly, my back hurts from all the saving people!”
“Right?” Peter I exclaims, smiling, “ It’s no way to run a business , they say! Since when has shelter become a business?”
Peter III gasps dramatically, his eyes widened as if he’s terribly offended. “I know, right? Should young men die on the streets of this cruel city because they can’t afford a tiny, teeny bit of money?” The way his face moves while saying the words makes everyone laugh. When they are finally done being dramatic children, Peter turns to face Peter I again,
“So? College?”
“You sound like such a dad,” Peter III mumbles, mouth filled with pizza again and Peter effectively chooses to ignore him as Peter I chuckles, rubbing his neck.
“Right. So I was thinking about going to a local college. I can still take the late SATs and apply before spring rolls around. They might let me get in. Also, I have a few records from when I was at Midtown High, so that should suffice. Luckily, I am not erased from public records.”
“Good,” Peter nods. “You know, college is really important, okay? If you finish it well, you might be well on your way to finding a more stable, flexible job.”
“Being Spider-Man and all, I don’t think that’ll work out,” Peter I says grimly.
“Hey, kid,” Peter says when he notices the shift in young Peter’s face, resting his hand on his shoulder. “You’ve got a long way to go. You’re eighteen. You don’t have to have everything figured out right now. I’m just saying — education gives you more options, that’s all.”
“Yeah,” Peter III agrees. “Also, it’s fun to learn new things, right?”
“Words of a true nerd,” a guy says, barely passing their table as he throws a look at them. His white-silver hair glistens, his dark eyes mischievous as he looks at the three of them. He can’t be any older than Peter III as he cocks his head. “Sorry, didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” With that, he’s gone, sitting on the other side of the restaurant.
“That was… weird,” Peter I shrugs, taking another bite of the sandwich. “It’s really good.”
“Uh-huh,” Peter III says but his eyes flashover at the stranger every now and then, shaking his head as soon as they land on him and then the ritual continues. It makes Peter smirk. He can very well remember the feeling of checking someone out.
“Careful, Parker,” Peter teases, poking his side with a smirk. “You are drooling.”
“What? No — I — I am not drooling. I was just — uh —” Peter III tries to mutter something out but the faint blush on his face and the way he downs an entire slice in one breath tells Peter that his guess was accurate. “This is — very — um — delicious. Right.”
“Take a breath,” Peter says, not quite letting go of the teasing demeanor, “you might choke. Or do you like that?”
“There is literally a kid here,” Peter III exclaims, blushing furiously as Peter I and Peter laugh, shaking their heads.
“Don’t mind me, guys,” Peter I says with a smirk. “I won’t stand in the way of loooove .”
“Shut up,” Peter III mumbles.
———
III. Peter Three
Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC
31st December 2024
7:35 p.m.
He loves this theater. What he loves less is Peter I & II teasing him about that boy from earlier. As luck would have, he was sitting right in the front row when they got to the theater. It was hard to miss the white, white hair and even harder to ignore the teasing smirks of Peter I & II. That was why he was so grateful when the show started with a skinny, small man-child with the physique of a twink turning into a supersoldier and punching Hitler in the face. He had to admit, it was an amusing show if a little tacky.
But now that it’s an intermission, Peter doesn’t feel so good. Especially not with the way Peter II is looking at him with his I-am-older-so-I-can-look-through-your-soul-you-young-kid and he is not appreciating the way he’s almost thirty and yet that look can get to him. The youngster is somewhere geeking out about ‘how inaccurate Mister Stark and Captain are because he has a deeper appreciation of the characters of the Avengers’ to anyone who is willing to listen. Peter really did try to listen but honestly, it’s harder than you think when you have zero ideas who those guys were in real life.
“What?” Peter scoffs once the gaze of the old Peter becomes too much for him, crossing his arms on his chest.
“Nothing,” Peter II finally says, shrugging with a smile. “Tell you what, you go get some water to cool off cause you look pissed, Parker and I’ll try to find Peter, alright?”
Peter huffs out his breath but it does sound like a solid plan and he does need to clear his head so he nods. “Alright. D’ya want anything? What about Pete?”
“I guess we’re all good,” Peter II shrugs. “So I’ll see you inside, champ, okay?” Peter nods as Peter II walks about but not before hesitating and adding, “It’s alright to have a little fun, okay? However, that fun might present itself.” The dad Peter — yes, Peter started calling him sad after all the lecturing at the restaurant — says before Peter has the chance to flip him off and go off to find water before the intermission is up.
He expects to find it pretty easily but who knows? Things don’t work out for anyone whose name is Peter Parker. “Where is the stupid shop? I just want water,” he mumbles under his breath, expecting the universe to magically point him towards it since magic is very much real here.
What he doesn’t expect is to be blindsided by a handsome stranger. “I keep running into you,” the silver-haired man says, making Peter turn to face him as he holds two bottles of water. “Searching for something like this?”
“You, again,” Peter says, raising an eyebrow. “Stalking a nerd, are we?”
“Don’t tell me you got offended by that small remark?”
“What can I say? I like to remember things like nerds do,” Peter offers, shrugging. A small smirk, though, has made its way on his lips as he checks him out.
“Touche,” the stranger says, offering his hand. “Felice Hardy,” he says.
“Peter Parker,” Peter says, taking his hand.
“You might be a nerd but you are an extremely cute one,” he says, his voice low as he nears him. “And cute nerds are kind of my type, you know.”
“Backhanded compliments, smart,” Peter smirks. “Too bad intermission is too short for you to convince me how calling me a nerd is supposed to be endearing.”
“I only need five minutes,” Felice says, nearing Peter flirtatiously. Peter’s entire being is telling him to go back but Peter II’s words echo in his ears. He oughta have fun and by God, Felice is so attractive.
“Sounds tough — I’m very hard to convince,” Peter says, stepping closer to Felice. Their faces are barely apart and he can tell that any time now, their mouths are about to crash. Thanks, Spidey-sense, he growls internally before Felice pushes him against the wall, his mouth crashing into Peter’s as his hands fumble with the door, opening the door of the bathroom. “Convenient,” Peter growls as Felice deepens the kiss, slamming the door shut as their wet breaths fill the place.
“We don’t have much time,” Peter pants into his mouth before Felice shuts him up by shoving his tongue down his throat, his hands fumbling with Peter’s belt.
“Five. Minutes,” he punctures every word, yanking his pants down, making him suck in a deep breath, tight against his boxers.
Oh, God, I am going to be very impressed, am I not?
———
Happy New Year
Queens, NYC
1st January 2025
00:01 a.m.
“I love you guys,” Peter III says, content.
“See you later,” Peter II says, with a smile.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Peter I says, with his heart warm and fuzzy.
And they all have more to say — and they all know all the words in the air and above all,
Happy New Year.
Until Next time.
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