Preparation
Seeing as there would be nothing more to do for the day, he and Peter Two settled on finding somewhere to stay for the night. Thanks to his older counterpart’s forward thinking, they had enough supplies to last the night without starving or freezing to death. They had thought about using their webs to make hammocks or some kind of nest, but they had decided against it once they had seriously thought about it. They didn’t need to add any more reasons to worry Peter Three. Snuggled tight in their sleeping bags under a bridge, Peter was reminded of the many nights he and the other Peters had spent under the stars before they were able to fake papers and afford their current crappy apartment.
“What are you thinking about?” Asked Two after a few minutes of silence.
He stared at the concrete bottom of the bridge, his eyes scanning each graffitis that adorned the porous surface. “I’m thinking about home, and when we used to camp like this. It’s weird not having Three here. You two are the only constant I’ve had in my life since I lost everything, so not having him here feels wrong.”
Peter Two’s arm wrapped around him and Peter melted into the hug as his older counterpart began talking. “I miss him too. What happened today was… so far from what I expected to happen. Somehow, him not remembering us didn’t even cross my mind, I was so sure we’d be done in a day, two if we really stretched it.”
He chuckled bitterly as he turned to face his variant. “I guess Wanda really wasn’t kidding when she said that it was going to be hard.”
“Yeah,” snickered Two. “Give me supervillains any day, but denial? That’s gonna be a real bitch to deal with.”
“Language,” said Peter almost instinctively.
The older man didn’t often curse, hence why Three had dubbed him ‘youth pastor’. A strangled cry suddenly ripped through his throat as he realized what he had just said.
His sudden shift of mood didn’t go unnoticed by Peter Two. “Pete? What’s wrong? I’m sorry, did I say something that—”
“No,” he choked out. “It’s just— Tony used to say that when someone cursed, he told me it first came up as a way to tease Captain America. And I know it’s stupid, it’s already been two years, I shouldn’t feel that way anymore, but I really miss him.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” quickly reassured Two. “The guy was your mentor, and even if I don’t agree with everything he did, he was still important to you and that’s what matters. It’s been nearly twenty years now and I still have days where having Ben gone hurts like the day we buried him. It’s normal to feel that way, you didn’t get time to process it correctly.” Peter opened his mouth to speak but Two was quicker. “And no, Spider-Man is not a suitable way to deal with stuff; Three is the perfect example of that.”
“How did you deal with your stuff?” He asked as he straightened himself up. “You’re obviously the most adjusted one out of all of us.”
Two chuckled softly at that. “Well, I’m older, for starters, so I had more time to deal with everything. But MJ really helped me get better. We were both different kinds of messed up, but we made it work.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he chuckled again with a fond look on his face. “A hero complex is a given when we do what we do, PTSD, anxiety and abandonment issues, of course.”
Peter rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Of course.”
“MJ had an abusive father, so we had to work through that. She also had a really bad case of imposter syndrome that only got worse when she tried to go on Broadway.”
“Broadway, uh?”
Even after all this time, it felt surreal to hear about another MJ. Peter Two rarely spoke of her since he only got reminded of how she was left alone without warning. Still, it was nice to hear about his life.
“She has the voice of an angel, not that she’d believe you, she’s too hard on herself; that we’re still working on it.” Suddenly, the glint in his eyes dimmed and he sighed sadly. “Well, we were working on it anyway.”
Guilt crept in his chest at his comment and his brain immediately kicked into problem solving mode. “You know, Wanda could probably get you back home… if you really wanted to.”
There was a long pause before Peter Two spoke again. A selfish part of him hoped that he’d decline the offer, that he would tell him that Mary-Jane was probably better off without him anyway like he had decided. His brain also brought up Peter Three, and how he had quietly confessed one night that there was no one waiting for him in his universe; no family, no friends. He was convinced that his universe was better off without him and Peter thought the same thing about himself, but that wasn’t the case for Two.
When the older man finally broke his silence, it was to utter one single sentence.
“I’ll think about it.”
***
They were woken up early the next morning by the sun rising and shining in their eyes. Quickly, they changed clothes and packed up their sleeping bags before heading for a coffee shop equipped with a bathroom so they could freshen up. The money Peter Two had brought wasn’t much, but there was enough to buy a cheap coffee so they could stay to talk over the plan of the day.
Peter was halfway through reading the newspaper when he decided it was time to start planning. “What are we going to do when we find Three? I don’t think he’s going to want to talk to us.”
The man took a sip of his coffee before answering. “We’re gonna have to ask him for help, you know just like I do that no Peter Parker would refuse to help people in need.”
“And how do we explain yesterday?”
“Simple,” shrugged his counterpart. “We met a Peter with his face but it turns out it’s someone else. We just stumbled into the wrong universe and we need to figure out a way to leave; the scientific possibilities alone should entice him enough to help us.”
Peter nodded in agreement, the plan seemed like it might work, but he hoped there wouldn't be any more unpleasant surprises. They covered more details, such as how they would make him remember once they’d found Three. So far, they hadn’t thought much more than simply having him question his life, memories were easily triggered after all. When their plan seemed thorough enough to work, they finally decided to leave and try to find their missing brother. However, as soon as they got up, a girl holding a tray of food blocked their passage to the door.
“Samples? They’re free!” She said with a smile a tad too wide to be genuine.
To be truthful, he was starving, but his spider-sense went off when he went to grab one of the snacks, just as Peter Two blocked his path with his arm. “We’re good, but thank you.”
The employee’s smile wavered for a moment, a glare replacing it for half a second before she grinned again. “Oh, but I insist! You’ll see that they are the best you’ve ever tasted.”
“Again, no, but thank you for the offer,” refused the older man with a polite but firm smile.
With narrowed eyes and thin lips, she reluctantly let them pass. Peter could feel shivers running down his spine as she continued staring at them when they crossed the door. She sharply turned back to serving clients once the door closed behind them and they were finally outside.
“So… that was weird,” he couldn’t help blurting out, his eyes still lingering on the spot the girl had been just a moment ago.
“Yeah,” agreed Peter Two with a sigh. “I don’t think this world wants us here.”
Peter frowned at that. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know much about magic, but if all this is made to keep Peter Three blissfully unaware of the real world, it makes sense that the spell has built in defenses to fight against exterior threats.”
“Us,” Peter realized. “But we didn’t have trouble finding and talking to him yesterday, so what changed?”
His counterpart shrugged. “Beats me, you’re the one who has magic in your world, you should know more than I do.”
They continued theorizing about the made up world around them until the sun was bright in the sky. They were both starving, so they stopped at a hot dog stand before continuing their walk. While they met no other interruptions, they were still aware of the eyes following them from the shadows; their presence didn’t go unnoticed anymore. As with any unsure situation, they relied on their spider-sense to take them where they needed to go. His spider-sense led them to a small park filled with families and couples enjoying the warm weather.
Peter heard a laugh that made his spider-sense tingle in a way that only one of his brothers could do. Sure enough, he spotted Peter Three walking through the crowd. What he noticed first about him was his eyes, they were happy and crinkled in joy, next was his smile, it was one of the widest he’d ever seen the older man wear. But the one thing that truly stood out to him was who Peter Three was walking with.
Because at his side and holding his hand was none other than Gwen Stacy.