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heart-of-the-morningstar · 10 months

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Sidetracked

Summary: Pavitr wants to know what's happening to his city. But somehow, he gets sidetracked along the way.

Consider this a potential opening to Beyond the Spider-Verse. I wanted to write something that sort of paralleled Gwen's opening scene in Across the Spider-Verse. Pavitr is my new favorite Spider and I wanted him to have more screen time, so I gave him some! I haven't written anything in a hot minute so please excuse any mistakes and I hope y'all enjoy! This story is also on my AO3 here.

Commission done by @ssuzu

Pavitr was left alone standing on the collapsed bridge. Hobie, Gwen, and Miles had left with Jess to speak with Miguel about the whole Spot situation. The black hole below him was engulfing his city, some Spiders were circled around it doing their best to contain…whatever it was. Pavitr wasn’t sure. He wasn’t given any answers as to what was happening before his team departed.

Maybe they can tell me what’s going on, Pavitr thought as he swung down to meet the other Spiders down below. Unfortunately, they didn’t have many answers to give him. “We’re going to try and contain this anomaly,” one of them said. “The canon was broken,” another said. “It’s too dangerous for you to be here, kid. Let us handle this,” yet another one said. Pavitr became frustrated and gave up asking them any more questions. He swung back up to the broken bridge and made sure everyone was clear of the damage. Luckily, everyone was safe. He realized then that the day was ending, it was almost dusk. He needed to get home; he knew Maya Auntie would be worried about him after today’s events.

He landed in the closest alleyway to his home and made sure no one was around before he changed back into Pavitr Prabhakar. Luckily it was dark enough now that he could easily hide in the shadows. Hurriedly stuffing his suit in his backpack, he ran up the stairs to his aunt’s apartment. Please be asleep, please be asleep, Pavitr thought to himself repeatedly moving as fast as his legs could carry him. Quietly, he opened the door to the apartment, the door squeaking as it opened.

Maya Auntie was nowhere in sight. Although, he did notice that the television was on. It was the news. He slowly turned the handle of the door and silently closed it behind him. He walked towards the television that had the ruined bridge on display in full view on the screen. Flashes of broken concrete, mangled vehicles, and torn cables. Pavitr had only been Spider-Man for six months, he had never yet dealt with damage on this scale before. It was a miracle that no one was hurt. If not for the others, he didn’t even want to think of how bad it could have been.

“This was the scene today after the destruction of the Alchemax building earlier this afternoon,” the news anchor reported. “The bridge had completely collapsed while hundreds of people were traveling in and out of the city. But thanks to the heroic efforts of Spider-Man and what appears to be other Spider heroes, no one was injured during this crisis.” A slight smile appeared across Pavitr’s face. He really did owe them everything. Especially Miles, the new guy that had saved Inspector Singh when he himself couldn’t. “Yes, everyone has been saved,” the man on the television continued, “but what has everyone concerned now is the massive black hole that has appeared in Mumbattan. What this is or where it came from is unknown, but we here at the station were told by authorities that everyone should stay clear of the area. Rescue teams have already been deployed to ensure everyone residing there is moved to a safer location…” The reporter continued but Pavitr had stopped listening. He was tired and the news reminding him of this anomaly only made his heart sink. He didn’t want to hear anymore.

He had stopped walking and looked down at the arm of the couch where the remote sat. He reached down to grab it, but realized someone’s head was resting on the arm as well. It was Maya Auntie. She must have fallen asleep waiting for him. He knew how lucky he was to have her watching over him. After losing his parents and his Uncle Bhim, she was the only real family he had left. He grabbed the remote and pressed the “OFF” button, the television humming softly. He put down the remote and knelt in front of his aunt and began to shake her ever so lightly.

“Hi Maya Auntie, I’m home,” Pavitr whispered. Maya inhaled slowly and opened her eyes to see her nephew staring at her softly.

“Pavitr,” she answered, “Thank goodness, you’re safe. Where have you been? There was a terrible accident in the city today, I was worried about you!” She sat up slowly as Pavitr stood up to help her off the couch. “I needed to know you were safe, I wanted to wait up for you, but I suppose I let myself drift off.” Her nephew leaned in and hugged her tightly.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you,” Pavitr replied. “I promise I’m okay. I wasn’t anywhere near that part of the city.” A twinge of guilt struck him. He felt bad lying to her, but he also felt as though he didn’t have a choice. He needed to keep her safe, that was his priority. He couldn’t stand losing one more person. His aunt smiled at him and yawned, her eyes growing heavy. “Let’s get you to bed,” Pavitr offered. He led her to her room and opened the door for her. “I’ll see you in the morning, Maya Auntie. Good night.”

She smiled and nodded to him. Pavitr closed the door and breathed a small sigh of relief. He stumbled off to his room and threw his backpack towards the foot of his bed. He plopped down on the mattress, staring blankly at the ceiling. He needed to go to sleep, it had been more than an exhausting day. A mysterious villain from another universe caused irreparable damage to his city, he nearly lost the love of his life, and now there was a terrifying dimension-tearing hole swallowing up Mumbattan.

Maybe being Spider-Man isn’t so easy, Pavitr thought to himself as he tossed and turned his bed, desperately trying to turn his brain off. It was no use though, there was too much happening, and he had no answers for anything. He stared blankly out of the open window next to his bed; it seemed so peaceful outside considering the chaos that ensued only a few hours ago. Pavitr decided he couldn’t be idle anymore, not for this. He needed to talk to Miguel.

Springing up from his bed, he grabbed his backpack and once again threw on his Spider-Man suit, grabbing his inter-dimensional watch in the process. Praying the Maya Auntie wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night and notice his disappearance, he leapt from the window and thwipped his web towards the closest structure. He decided drawing attention to himself in this case would not be ideal. Once he reached a high enough building, he began leaping from roof top to roof top, avoiding swinging through the streets when he could. He wanted to create as little disturbance as possible when traveling to another dimension, those portals that the watch created were not easily missed.

Pavitr stopped on a high apartment complex that looked over a good chunk of the city. Despite all the action that took place today, Mumbattan was bustling like it always does. Traffic as far as the eye could see, flashing lights, crowds of people going who knows where, but to Pavitr, it was home. His home. And he was going to protect it. He had to. Spider-Man had to. As he scanned the city below, something caught his eye when he looked below him. A single light was shining through an otherwise completely dark building. He noticed someone standing on the balcony, a young woman. She was leaning against the railing, arms sitting crossed on top of the bar. She looked familiar, really familiar…it almost looked like…

Gayatri! Pavitr thought before pulling himself away from the edge of the roof. Out of all the places, how could he have chosen the one place his girlfriend lived? He’s never actually been to her place before, on account of Gayatri and him trying to hide their relationship from her father. He did, however, know that she lived in this part of the city. Pavitr approached the edge of the roof again, looking down once more. She was still there, looking over the city as he had been moments before. He wanted so badly to leap down and give her another hug, just to make sure she was alright. But she didn’t know about his secret double life as a crime-fighting superhero, no one did.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to drown out his thoughts. No, no, no, he chastised himself, I CANNOT go down there right now. I can’t just swing down and greet her as Spider-Man! What would she…I mean, how would I…this isn’t…, Pavitr struggled to come up with a good enough reason to walk away right now. He couldn’t. The fact that she had almost perished today left his knees weak and his head spinning. He had to check on her. Ugh, fine! But just for a second. I can come up with some type of excuse…He tossed his bangle and wrapped it around the complex’s chimney. Ever so slowly, he reclined his web downwards until it was at the same level as Gayatri’s balcony.

“Uh, hi Miss,” Pavitr greeted her, waving sheepishly. Gayatri turned her head, her eyes widened as she jumped back slightly before realizing who it was hanging outside of her balcony. She exhaled and waved back, giving him a coy smile. She couldn’t tell, but Pavitr’s heart was almost beating out of his chest. Gayatri’s smile was so comforting and warm, it was his favorite thing about her. “May I, uh, join you for a second?” Pavitr asked. Gayatri nodded and shuffled over so he would have space to land. Using his legs for momentum, he swung himself onto her balcony and retracted his bangle, landing inches away from her. His breath hitched and he clenched his fists when he realized that he was towering over her. Oh, this was such a BAD idea, he thought. But for some reason, Gayatri didn’t seem confused or afraid, which was a better outcome than Pavitr expected. She seemed…relaxed somehow? Both stood there for a few seconds, wordless, but for them it felt like hours had already passed.

“So,” Gayatri finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Spider-Man? It’s a lucky thing that my father isn’t home yet.” Gayatri moved back from the hero in front of her and leaned her back on the opposite side of the railing where she was standing before, crossing her arms and letting out the slightest hint of a giggle.

“Oh, yes! Well, uh,” Pavitr started to say, rummaging around his head trying to rationalize why he came here in the first place. “I was, y’know, swinging through the city, as I do and…I happened to see you standing here on your balcony. And I recognized you from the bridge today, you were that young woman on that bus. I thought I would umm, check to see if you were alright.” Pavitr mirrored Gayatri’s stance, leaning on the opposite side of the balcony’s edge and folding his arms.

Gayatri chuckled, tucking one side of her hair behind her ear. “I’m alright, thanks to you. Do you always check up on the people you save or is it just the pretty girls?” she teased.

“No, no!” Pavitr stuttered, “I mean, no I don’t always check up on everyone! You are very pretty…WAIT NO, I didn’t mean that! I’m sorry! I MEAN, yes, you’re very pretty, beautiful even, but uh, I just happened to see you out here and I…I should be quiet now!” Pavitr threw his hands over his mouth; he felt his pulse pounding in his ear and sweat starting to form on his forehead. He was unraveling quickly.

Gayatri only shook her head and laughed. “You’re very kind, Spider-Man. It’s not everyday you make a superhero swoon.”

Pavitr gulped. Something was off, he thought Gayatri would be flustered or even a little bit shy when she was face-to-face (sort of) with his hero persona. But no, it wasn’t like that at all. It was almost like she was…flirting with him? She couldn’t be, could she? Pavitr chuckled nervously, dragging his hand along the back of his neck. “Ha-ha, yeah. Well, I…I think I should get going. I’m glad you’re alright, Miss.” Before he could turn around and grab his bangle, he felt something grab his arm.

“Wait!” Gayatri nearly shouted. Pavitr remained frozen in place, his head telling him to leave but his heart telling him to stay. He chose the latter. Gayatri let his arm go once she realized he was staying put. “Sorry! I…I was wondering…” she continued, looking down at the ground and holding her one arm at her side. “You did save my life today, and your friends saved my father. I owe you more than I can ever repay. But…” she paused, “I can think of one thing I can give you that may convey my gratitude properly.”

Gayatri stepped closer to Pavitr until she was almost chest to chest with him. Pavitr remained motionless, tightly gripping the metal behind him. Tentatively, Gayatri lifted her hand towards the mask covering the boy’s face. She hooked her thumb under the fabric of the mask and looked back at him. Pavitr didn’t move, he couldn’t move, his limbs were frozen, and his voice disappeared. His breathing became shallow, he couldn’t even from a coherent thought. A small grin appeared on Gayatri’s face, slowly she began lifting his mask, finally revealing his lips. Without warning, Pavitr had snapped out of his trance and swiftly took hold of Gayatri’s hand.

“Wait,” he managed to choke out. Pavitr guided her hand down away from him but leaving his mask the way it was. “I’m…I’m flattered, really I am, but I…,” Pavitr trailed off, unable to finish his train of thought. Gayatri didn’t look sad or disappointed when he had stopped her just now, was she smiling?

“So, you’re saying you don’t want a kiss from your girlfriend, Pavi?” Gayatri questioned playfully, taking a few steps away from him.

“Wh…what did you call me?” Pavitr stammered. He stood on her balcony in complete and utter disbelief.

Gayatri only crossed her arms and laughed. “I know it’s you, Pavitr. It’s alright.”

There’s no way she knows, she’s bluffing, Pavitr tried to rationalize in his head. “I’m sorry Miss, you…you must have me confused with someone else! I’m not…”

“Pavitr Prabhakar,” Gayatri said, cutting him off. Her smile slowly faded as she placed her hands on her hips, “enough. Please.”

“I…I’m…” Pavitr stuttered, but it was no use. “I’m sorry.” He let out a deep sigh and reached for his mask. He grasped it and with one quick pull, it was gone. Gayatri hummed, finally seeing the face of the boy she knew was there the entire time. Pavitr remained still, looking down at the ground. He couldn’t bring himself to look up at his girlfriend, a mixture of embarrassment and guilt flowing through him. “How did you know?” Pavitr asked softly, tightening his grip he had on the mask.

Gayatri walked back towards him, seemingly in slow motion, until she was inches away. She reached up and placed one hand on his shoulder and the other under his chin, tilting his head upwards so she could see his eyes. They looked tired, even a little sad. She stood up on her tip toes and planted a small peck on his cheek. His head quickly darted away from her again, doing his best to hide his fluster. His warm red cheeks, however, were not so easy to conceal. Gayatri only giggled and placed her other hand on his opposite shoulder. Instinctively, Pavitr reached down and put his hands around her waist, managing to give her a nervous smile. “You do know my father is a police inspector, right Pavi? I think I’m a little more than capable of putting some clues together. You never really disguise your voice at all, your build is hard to overlook, and especially your naturally perfect hair was a dead giveaway!” She took her hand and began to twirl his hair between her fingers. “I knew it was you for a while now.” Pavitr chuckled, wrapping both of his arms around her and pulling her as close to him as possible. Gayatri smiled warmly and hugged him back like she wanted to back on the bridge.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Gayatri,” he pulled away from her, leaving one hand on her hip and the other cupping her face, his thumbs drawing circles on her cheek. “I just thought…it would be too dangerous. You and Maya Auntie are the most important people to me. If you ever got hurt, if you were ever in any danger because of me…”, he couldn’t bring himself to finish that thought.

Gayatri took her hand and placed it on top of his own, relishing in his touch. “I know I’m safe as long as you’re here, Pavi. I trust you.”

Pavitr smiled. He felt like the luckiest boy in the world to have a girlfriend who is so genuine and caring. He took his hand off her hip and brought it to her other cheek, cupping her face in his hands. He leaned down, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips against hers. He felt her soft lips curve into a smile as she kissed him back, he didn’t want this moment to ever end. He pulled away from her slowly, staring into her beautiful brown eyes and tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Y’know, if your father ever found out about this, he’d string me up by my own webs!” Pavitr quipped.

Gayatri let out a small chuckle, “Don’t worry about that, I at least know how to keep a secret!”

“Aagh!” Pavitr shouts, placing his hand over his heart, “your words cut so deep! How will I ever recover?!” All of a sudden, Pavitr arms shot out to grab Gayatri by her waist to lift her up in the air and began twirling her in a circle. Laughter escaped from both teenagers, echoing out into the night sky. It was a perfect moment. Almost.

Suddenly, a bright flash appeared across the way, on the rooftop directly in front of the couple. They looked at each other and back towards the now illuminated rooftop, they couldn’t tell what the source of the light could be. It started to take shape, forming rings of hexagons around it. A portal?, Pavitr thought to himself, but it didn’t look like the portals he had seen before. Normally, they were orange and yellow in color. But this one was flashier with a cacophony of different colors; it almost looked unstable. A few more seconds passed before a figure stepped through the portal. From what Pavitr could tell, this person was petite, they were wearing a hood and covered in mostly white. Then it hit him.

“Gwen!” Pavitr nearly shouted, waving to her vigorously. He turned to Gayatri, “It’s alright, she’s a friend, she’s a Spider like me! It’s kind of a long story, but she’s one of the Spiders helped me on the bridge today.” Gayatri smiled and nodded. They turned again to look at where Gwen was standing, but noticed two more figures had emerged from the portal. Pavitr recognized Hobie standing on the left of Gwen immediately. To her right was Peter, his baby Mayday in tow. His happy demeanor quickly shifted; something didn’t feel right.

Gayatri noticed the change in Pavitr’s expression. “Is something wrong, Pavi?”

“I’m not sure,” Pavitr admitted.

Gwen then launched herself over to them, landing perfectly and squatting on the balcony railing. She removed her mask, letting her hood fall behind her. Pavitr looked at her eyes, their bright blue color seemed dimmer somehow, almost drained, with dark circles underneath. She sighed and finally spoke.

“Pav, something’s happened,” she breathed. “It’s Miles, he’s in trouble. I thought I’d grab some friends to join my band.”

“Is Miles alright?” Pavitr asked worriedly.

Gwen sighed and looked away from him. “I’m not sure. I don’t know exactly where he is either, I just know he’s not where he’s supposed to be and that he needs all the help he can get. Are you in?”

Pavitr, still somewhat confused, nodded in determination. Miles saved Inspector Singh today as well as countless other lives; it was his turn to help him.

Gwen turned to Gayatri and stuck out her hand. “You must be Gayatri. I’m Gwen,” she greeted warmly. Gayatri mirrored her motion and shook her hand; Gwen had a stronger grip than she was prepared for. “Pav likes to talk about you a lot.”

“Gwen!” Pavitr scolded, making Gayatri laugh.

“We’ll bring him back in one piece, I promise,” Gwen told her. She turned to Pavitr, thwipping her web behind her in the process. “I’ll umm…give you two a moment.” With that, Gwen had flung herself back on top of the roof with the strange-looking portal.

Pavitr shifted towards Gayatri, holding her arms at her sides and leaning down ever so slightly. “I have to go,” he muttered. “Miles…he’s the one who saved your father today. If he needs help, I need to be there for him.”

Gayatri wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as tight as he could, Pavitr doing the same. “Go,” she whispered. “When you find Miles, please thank him for me.” Both of them let their arms drop down to their sides. “Please be safe.”

“Anything for you,” Pavitr agreed. He placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead. Pavitr leaped onto the railing of the balcony and grabbed one of his bangles. He launched it over to where Gwen and the others were standing. He looked back at Gayatri one last time and smiled. “I’ll see you soon,” he assured her.

“You better,” Gayatri joked, “because I’m very interested in knowing what you’ve been saying to all of your friends about me!”

Pavitr laughed, having a small blush move across his face. “Only good things, of course.” Pavitr reached out his hand, Gayatri placing her own hand in it. He brought her hand up to his face, kissing it softly. “I love you, Gayatri Singh, and I always will.” Without another word, Pavitr launched himself to join the other members of Gwen’s band.

“Ready to go?”, Gwen asked him.

Pavitr looked back to the balcony, waving goodbye one last time to the girl of his dreams. “Yeah,” he boasted, “let’s do this!” The team walked through the portal, the light finally disappearing, leaving Gayatri alone in the night once more.

“I love you more, Pavitr Prabhakar.” Gayatri sighed.

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