Peter bit his lip as he shifted from foot to foot. He was currently contemplating wether or not he should knock on the door in front of him. Behind that door....there were so many memories. He wasn't sure if he would even be welcome.

Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing..." he muttered to himself. Slowly, he raised a fist to the door. He knocked three time and stepped back.

A few seconds later the door opened.

For a moment, no one said anything. They just watched each other. Neither of them knew what to do.

"Hi Peter..."

"Hi Mrs. Stacy."

Peter hadn't been to the Stacy's apartment since Gwen's dad died. He hadn't spoken to any of them since Gwen died.

Why was he even here?

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here. I'm...I'm just gonna go." Regret filled Peter's mind as he turned around and headed back down the hall.

"Peter, wait!" Mrs. Stacy called from the doorway. Peter stopped and looked at her. "We were just about to eat dinner. Please join us."

-/\-

Helen watched as Peter internally battled himself from the safety of her doorway. She knew he was going to refuse her offer of dinner. That was just the type of person he was. Thinking fast, she gestured for him to come in before he could leave.

She couldn't let Peter leave yet. She needed to talk to him first. It was too important to let this opportunity pass. 

-/\-

After seeing Mrs. Stacy beckon him over, Peter decided to stay for a bit. So, he followed her into the apartment.

Inside was exactly how he remembered it. The only changes were the numerous pictures of Gwen and Captain George Stacy everywhere. Peter bit his lip again. It seemed that he was regretting every decision he made that day.

Peter dropped his eyes to the floor and allowed Mrs. Stacy to lead him to the table. Gwen's brothers—Howard, Philip, and Simon— were already seated.

"Boys," Mrs. Stacy started, "Peter is going to be joking us for dinner tonight. Just have a seat Peter and I'll be back with the food." Peter did as he was told and sat in an empty seat. Peter tried not to think about the fact that his seat was once his girlfriends.

"So, Peter, what've you been up to recently?" Philip asked. Peter didn't miss the way he said his name. Peter didn't reply. He just shifted his gaze up to the oldest Stacy boy. The four of them sat in silence. At one point, Peter was considered family. He was even invited to family dinners and outing with them.

But everything changed after Gwen...

The awkward moment was disrupted by Mrs. Stacy. She came back in with a plate of chicken, mashed potatoes, and a salad. It was still silent as everyone filled their plates.

"Would you like anything to drink Peter?" Peter snapped his gaze up to Mrs. Stacy. "Um, water please." She nodded and got him a glass of water. Peter took a sip of it to show his appreciation and took a bite or two of food. He couldn't bring himself to eat much more.

"The ceremony was beautiful Peter." Mrs. Stacy said after a few minutes. Peter just kept his eyes on his plate and nodded. "We are so sorry about what happened." Again, Peter just nodded.

The remaining Stacys had shown up to May's funeral. They didn't say anything to him during it though. They knew what it was like for people to be constantly giving you their condolences.

"So, do you have anywhere to stay?" Howard, the second youngest and only brunette, asked. Everyone's eyes were on him now. "I, um, it's...yeah. Sort of." Peter looked up in time to see everyone sharing a look.

"That's...good." Mrs. Stacy said. "Yeah." Peter just wanted this conversation to end. "So where are you staying?" Philip asked. Peter looked at him. "It's not really important." Peter really wanted to stop taking about this.

"Please Peter. We just want to make sure your staying somewhere safe." Mrs. Stacy asked. Peter would have to be def to not hear the concern in her voice.

After a moment of debate, Peter sighed. "I'm supposed to be staying with the Avengers." Peter couldn't keep the obvious disgust out of his voice. At this, the youngest Stacy perked up.

"You're staying with the Avengers!?" Simon asked excitedly. "Well, I'm supposed to be." Peter said. "What do you mean 'Supposed to be'?" Philip asked. Peter just shook his head. The other four people got the hint and stopped talking about it.

Dinner continued on with the small family chatting with each other. Peter stayed quiet and just listened. Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea.

—/:\—

After dinner, Peter, Philip, Howard, and Simon all sat in the living room watching TV as Mrs. Stacy cleaned up. She had refused Peter's help when he offered.

After she was done, she disappeared down the hall to where the bedrooms were. A few minutes later she returned with a box.

"Howard, turn that off please." She said as she sat down on the couch with her sons. Peter himself was on their recliner (he wasn't currently reclining though).

"Peter, we want to talk to you about something before you leave." This statement made Peter weary. Whatever they wanted to talk about, he probably wasn't going to like too much.

Mrs. Stacy sighed and held out the box for Peter to take. "Peter, we know." She said.

Peter blinked.

He looked at all four of them and then at the box.

Slowly, he took it from her hands and opened it. Peter's breath caught in his through as he studied the box's contents.

Inside was one of his old suits. One of his old Spidey-suits. He had given Gwen an extra one incase of emergencies. She was, after all, the one who stitched him up after battles.

—//\\—

Helen Stacy watched with bated breath as Peter began to comprehend what she said. She watched as Peter turned from a sad, lonely teen into a broken and lost boy who had sacrificed and lost too much.

"We found it hidden in the back of Gwen's closet." She said after she realized Peter wasn't going to say anything. All of them noticed Peter flinch at Gwen's name.

"I'm so sorry..." he eventually choked out. Helen hesitated. She glanced at her boys who were also at a loss for words.

"For what?" She asked quietly. Peter's gaze shifted to a picture of Gwen and her dad. "For...everything. It's my fault."

Helen shared another look with her kids. "Peter...Peter, please look at me." It took a moment, but he did look up at her.

"Peter...we want to make sure you know something. We don't blame you for....them. So you should stop blaming yourself too. I know we haven't made much of an effort to keep in touch with you....but, we...we also wanted you to know that you always have a place here if you need it. Ok?" Helen could see her boys nodding their heads along with her words.

Peter nodded too.

Helen waited patiently for Peter to reply. She waited at he opened and closed his mouth a few times as if to speak. She watched him close his eyes and take a breath to calm himself.

"Ok." His choked reply was barley above a whisper, but they all heard it.

"Ok." And that one word from Mrs. Stacy finalized it. No matter what happened, Peter would always be a member of the Stacy family.

—•—•—•—

Oof.

Thank you so much cosmochild for letting me bounce ideas off of you!! I really appreciate the help!!

If anyone ever just wants to...conversate, about anything, PM me fam. I'm always in the mood to talk 😂

Mk, is that pic is of the Stacy kids. So Simon, the small blond haired kid on the left, is the youngest. Then Howard, the brunett, and then Philip. The y'all blond boy.

I don't know anything about them. Like at all. It took me hours to even learn their names and find that picture. And Helen is Mrs. Stacy.

Hope that clears things up if you were confused.

I sure as heck was.

#uneditedNeverEdited

Until next time