P3 - Chapter #15: Rekindlement

(Several minutes later...)

It was all pitch black for Peter Parker. He could hear faint sounds but he couldn't make them out. Slowly recovering, he struggled to open his eyes but the view was blurry. Peter let out a painful groan when he felt the pain after getting knocked out by Kaine.

Something was odd however. He didn't feel like he was laying on the ground nor the raindrops soaking his outfit. Instead, there something concrete behind him, which confused him. He was sitting on a bench. Then, it dawned on the teenager. He was not on the same rooftop where he had fought his cousin.

As soon as he fully recovered, the sounds of raindrops hitting on something above him prompted Peter to look up. The raindrops were hitting on a canopy that shielded him. Which made him realize that Kaine had brought him here.

"You're awake..." a familiar voice spoke to the teen.

Peter turned his eyes to the source of the voice and saw Kaine standing in front of him, who immediately averted his eyes in shame. The older Parker stood still shakily, not moving. Words wouldn't come out from his mouth, as he was held back by the whispers of doubts and fears within his mind.

Meanwhile, Peter kept his eyes on his cousin, unsure of what would come. He stayed on the bench, not even making a movement. The thoughts within his mind began to race. And it made him fear the worst might have happened.

There were no words... Just fear between the two.

Kaine gritted his teeth in frustration. He knew what he needed to do. He knew that he needed to confess and admit of his wrongdoings. And yet, this feeling of...uneasiness stopped him. As if it was taunting him that it was too late and it wouldn't matter whether he confessed and admitted or not. It even taunted the teenager with the possibilities of negative outcomes. Taking a deep breath, Kaine decided to do it, no matter how hard would it be. And slowly... words began to come out of his mouth.

"Flint is still alive," Kaine revealed to his cousin, "I spared him... Because I almost took the life of a father. I brought him and his partner to the police station, along with a special note to take care of his sick daughter..."

Upon hearing that, Peter let out a sigh of relief, as if his fear was finally gone. Behind the mask, tears of joy began to flow from his eyes. Everything didn't come in vain after all; the risks he had taken and his efforts. In the end, his cousin saw the error of his ways.

The older Parker still averted his eyes. He then continued, "Pete... I know I did bad things. I messed up real bad." Sighing regretfully, he tried to look at Peter, with glassy eyes, "If you're mad at me, it's okay... You can punch me or slap me or anything, I deserve it. I deserve-"

Peter immediately rose from the bench and pulled his cousin to his warm embrace. "Hey, hey... Shh... It's all in the past," he assured the older Parker.

Kaine's eyes widened as Peter embraced him. He froze in disbelief and shock. Slowly, he returned the embrace, still shocked with the fact that Peter had chosen not to hurt him back. "W-Why...?" was all he could ask to his younger cousin.

Peter looked at Kaine in the eyes, and underneath his mask, a smile formed–a smile of joy. "Because... I'm glad you're back." Then, his smile faded, "I am hurt because of what you chose and what you were going to do, Coz..." He sighed softly, "I was scared to lose a brother."

"I'm really sorry... And I should've listened to you and the others too."

"It's alright, now. I forgive you, Kaine." Peter chuckled and patted his cousin's shoulder, "Welcome back, Coz."

They then let go of each other from their embrace.

"Well, we gotta go home now and take a rest. Otherwise, we'll get sick," noted Peter.

"Mhm..."

Before they went their separate ways however, Peter told Kaine something. "Oh uh- Almost forgot, Anna said hi by the way. She really got worried and slightly pissed. She told me to tell you not to ghost us next time."

'Wait what?!" exclaimed Kaine, which earned a giggle from his younger cousin. "Oh no. Ah fuck... Ann's gonna kill me..."

Peter just patted Kaine's shoulder a few times, "Don't worry, Kaine. If you wanna say sorry, you can do it on Monday. Might as well as face her wrath." His giggle turned into something resembling a villain's laugh.

The older Parker just pouted under his mask, "Ha ha ha, very funny."

After that, they bid farewell to one another and swung back to their respective home.

While swinging from building to building, Kaine pondered whether he could patch things up between him and his mother... He didn't get a chance with his father but he got one with Peter. And he wouldn't waste it with his mother. Though just imagining her anger already made him shiver. But he deserved it. After all, he didn't listen to her and it led to a big problem... He decided to do it tomorrow. Kaine could only hope for the best because he didn't know how it would turn out...

For now, a good night's sleep was what he needed.

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A/N: One thing wrapped up, with a few more to go ;) Go to the next chapter to find out :D