#and I don’t like that MJ left that guy at the alter but I do like what she said to Peter afterward. I said someone needed to give Peter a

[excusemebutiquit]

Okay okay okay okay update GREAT movie!!! That fight with Doc Ock!!!! Was so awesome!!! I wanna watch it like, 1000 times. I might go do that right now. And I am Obsessed with how Tobey Maguire plays Peter Parker. I love the difference between him and spiderman even though they’re the same character and I love how incredibly awkward he is all the time. Great movie. I have heard that people don’t like the next one as much but like. I really wanna watch it now.

Watching Spider-Man 2 for the first time and Alfred Molina does not disappoint!!! Also someone give Peter a support system PLEASE!!!

[spideyspeaches]

We always have been ↬ fem!p.p

A/N: AHHH I love genderbent Peter skjkjhjka and I’ve only seen @justme--emily​ write for her so far so I wrote one of my own 😤

Summary: It was not every day you crash into your ex boyfriend in a Stark Gala, was it? Your ex boyfriend you dumped right after your senior prom? It was probably her Parker luck striking, never a good sign, she learned that from experience. 

Warning: um cursing lol.

Pairing: female!Peter Parker x Harry Osborn

WC: 2k

When Mister Stark had asked her to attend one of those glorious charity galas, Penny had been elated, internally (and externally) jumping at the thought of wearing fancy gowns and walking past pretentious rich bureaucrats and business people.

She was practically lost in paradise when Miss Potts had accompanied her to shop for her dress, a beautiful blue and red full length gown, hugging her in her curves with a chinese collar neck and embroidered bust (very on brand of her). 

“Is your dress comfortable? Oh god I think I should have altered it myself, it’s not too tight right?” May fretted, fixing her hairdo and last minute make up she learnt from makeup hacks videos. Groaning, Penny nudged May by her shoulders, sitting her down on her twin bed, holding her aunt’s cheeks.

“May, the dress is comfortable! Miss Potts made sure that it was altered to my size okay? Now calm down, it’s just one night.” She smiled, folding her hands under her chest. Her dress was truly comfortable, and she looked undeniably good, she checked (she was a nerd, yes, but she wasn’t blind. Especially now that she had 20/20 long vision due to her spider powers.)

“You know how I feel about you going to fancy parties, baby.” May sighed, making her wince, “the last time you went to prom ended in a disaster. Both of them”

“I know May, but on the bright side, it gained me an actual paid internship. And Mister Stark and Miss Potts are going to be present the whole time!” She reassured, squeezing her aunt’s shoulders. In all honesty, she understood her anxiety, shuddering as she remembered her prom fighting Liz’s dad, and then breaking up with Harry, “besides, I have my spidery powers remember? I’m a big girl May, I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can sweetheart, god look at you all grown up, Ben would be so proud of how much you’ve grown, my little woman.” May sniffed, getting up to caress her head. She shook her head at her aunt’s emotional state, smiling as she bowed her head at the nickname. It was something Ben used to call her- little woman.

“Ben would be proud of you too May.” Penny said, willing her eyes to not water at the sudden rush of sentiment she felt at the mention of her deceased uncle.

“Now, shoo before I change my mind and keep you all to myself!” May laughed, fixing the non existent crease near her shoulders.

“Okay okay! I’m going May, jeez it’s like you and Mister Stark are holding a shared custody of me.” Penny snickered, scrambling to wear her uncomfortable heels, the ones that matched her dress.

“Maybe I am, but I get to be the primary guardian!”

Laughing, she gave her aunt a kiss to her cheek, doing a preliminary check of her cell phone and emergency bracelet, blowing her a kiss before walking into the car that was standing outside their apartment.

The car ride was silent, her stomach bubbling with nervousness and excitement. She was practically vibrating in her seat, glad that Tony had sent another driver instead of Happy- he would have teased her incessantly for being so nervous. She had grown close to Happy, the man growing fond of her as well, but he could be an embarrassing dad at times.

The gala was everything she had imagined, brightly lit in an overpriced hall, adorning overpriced decorations with people in overpriced clothes. 

“Hey Mister Stark! Thank you so much for inviting me!” She grinned, skipping towards her fath- mentor. 

“Hey Pen, wow don’t you look beautiful. A little too beautiful, beware of those good for nothing boys you hear me?” Tony smiled, hugging her, a protective hand on her shoulder. 

“Oh don’t mind Tony, hun, he’s only joking.” Pepper said, giving her a kiss on her cheek and doing a once over, just like May had. 

“I’m serious Pep, if those boys even tried anything, you call me okay? I’ll take care of them.” 

“Mister Stark, you can’t just threaten teenagers.” Penny giggled, looking at Pepper with a smirk.

“Barely a teenager kiddo, why did you grow up so fast?” He smiled, a fond look in his eyes.

“I’m nineteen Mister Stark, I think I can take care of those boys themselves.” 

“Hell yeah you can, that’s my girl.” 

Easy for her to say, because not long after that, Mister Stark and Pepper had abandoned her to talk to some prominent dealer about some… deals concerning Stark Industries, she didn't ask.

By the end of an hour, she was already bouncing on her heels, bored out of her mind. Even the Avengers could entertain her only so much, going back to their important work. And 

Penny was an awkward girl, always finding herself in situations she was unwilling to participate in, so socialising was out of question.

She remembered the one time she had accidentally spilled coffee all over Mister Stark’s touch sensitive keyboard, stuttering the whole time. He hadn’t even been mad, reassuring her that he had done that enough times before, hence the liquid resistant keypads. 

And then there was that one time the school nurse had called Tony when she was experiencing period induced fever. That was embarrassing, if not a little heartwarming to know that he cared about her enough to confront Pepper about menstrual problems. She was his daughter in everything but blood, he reminded her that every day, though not verbally.

There was also this one time she had been caught kissing MJ, but none of those were going to top what she was facing right now.

Literally.

“Penny! Penny Parker?” Harry’s chirpy voice rang in her ears, his footsteps sounding increasingly closer as she tried to hide her face behind her (non alcoholic) drink, frantically walking towards the vague figure of Mister Stark as fast as she could with her overly expensive stilettos.

It was not every day you crash into your ex boyfriend in a Stark Gala, was it? Your ex boyfriend you dumped right after your senior prom? It was probably her Parker luck striking, never a good sign, she learned that from experience. 

Finally standing near Mister Stark, she tried to stand next to him, ignoring the weird look he was giving her. Penny was petite, always has been small for her age, so she was glad Mister Stark could cover her with his side. Apparently he got her cue, as he shifted slightly to hide her from whomever’s view.

“What’s wrong Pen? Some pesky boy chasing you? Accidentally met your ex?” He joked, giving the old businessman in front of him a handshake and smirking at her with amusement. 

“Something like that.” She shrugged casually, snickering at Tony’s wide eyes. 

“Penny! Hey it’s me, Harry.” He said, nearly standing behind her. He was either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave, weaving his way through the crowd to stand right in front of her. He probably hadn’t noticed her clinging to Tony, which is why he came forward, a big goofy grin playing on his handsome face, sending her heart into a frenzy, his blue eyes shining under the gleaming lights. 

“Uh, h-hey Harry.” She grimaced, elongating his name with a chuckle. Shuffling forward, she ignored Tony’s raised eyebrows, opening her mouth to speak, but all she could look at was Harry Fucking Osborn standing in front of her, “Um, small world?” 

Her words sounded distant to her, heart heart a lump in her throat. She felt underprepared for these situations. Sure, they had broken off on a semi- good note, but it didn’t make whatever this was any less awkward. 

“Small world indeed.” He said, much softer than before, a solemn expression taking over his face, “It’s not every day you get to meet Penelope Parker in a Stark Gala. Heard of your internship by the way, I knew you were smart enough to get it.” 

“Oh, thanks about that. I guess you’re an unwilling guest here? Haven’t seen Mr. Osborn around.” She smiled shyly, shuffling on her feet.

“Yeah, kind of, I mean you know how he is.” He shrugged.

“How long have you two known each other?” Tony interrupts the two, watching in amusement as both his pseudo daughter and Norman’s son blush under his gaze, as if just noticing his presence.

“Uhm, Hi Mister Stark! B-big fan, hi oh my god Penny I’m standing in front of Tony Stark.” Harry stuttered, shaking Tony’s hand for a little too long.

Staring at him with confusion, he shook Harry's hand back, silently asking Penny the lingering question.

“He’s a bit of a fanboy.” She answered. 

Harry was still looking at Stark with his wonderstruck expression. 

“Well it’s always good to meet my fans, but you didn't answer my question, kid. How do you two know each other?” Tony said, smiling as politely as he could while his hand was still stuck in Harry’s grip. 

Realising that, he instantly let go, standing awkwardly as him and Penny said at the same time-

“I’m her ex boyfriend-”

“He’s my best friend.” 

His eyes widen, realising what he had just said.

“You guys dated? And when were you going to tell me about that Pen?” Tony asked, baffled at the thought of Penny dating a guy, and Osborn’s son of all people. 

“Well, you see, I was going to tell you soon, but then we broke up. You know? We haven’t talked since.” Penny said, the last sentence directed towards Harry. She was looking at him now, gritting her teeth.

“Well did you expect me to call you after you dumped me? During prom nonetheless? I was ashamed, Pen, I couldn’t do it.” Harry said, looking apologetic. It made her heart clench, inherent guilt building up in her tummy. It was her fault, technically. 

“Yeah but, Harry you were my best friend before my boyfriend, and I missed you okay? You could’ve at least called.” She defended. Tony was good at reading the room, so sensing a banter building, he quietly left the area, not wanting to witness the misunderstanding.

“I really missed you too Penny, I- I didn’t think I was good enough for you, gosh I really fucking love you.” He said, immediately stiffening. 

Even back when they were dating, they had never said the L word to each other, not even when they were best friends, and now? Well he had just made the air more thicker than before. 

“You- you what?” She asked, voice small as her heart jumped. She moved closer to him, holding her hands out, reaching to touch his shoulders. Her hands set on his silky tuxedo, she stroked her hands in a slow motion, dropping them immediately when she realised she was touching him.

“I really fucking love you Penny, even if you don’t want to get together, can we still be friends? Go back to our movie nights and lego sessions?” He asked, furrowing his brows as if to keep himself from crying. 

No words left her mouth, her breath hitched when he moved forward, chest stuttering. With a sudden confidence she didn’t know she had, she leapt forward, capturing his lips in hers. Their lips moved with a sync, his familiar ocean scented deo invading her nostrils, his soft skin against her. The world around her melded in a technicolour blob, the only thing she could focus was his heartbeat echoing in her ears.

“I really fucking love you too by the way.” She said, pulling away from the kiss. She vaguely spotted Miss Potts in her periphery, shaking her head with a smile as she held back Mister Stark.

“So, are we friends then?” 

“Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“We are more than friends, you dumbass. We always have been.” 

I’m a thirsty bitch, pwease give me feedback? 🥺🥺

[regrettablewritings]

Peter B. Parker Pre-Relationship Headcanons

A/N: Why? Because it’s my blog, I love Peter B. Parker, and not enough people are still writing for him.

How did they first meet?: Normally, people in apartments prefer to keep to themselves. New Yorkers are especially not an exception. But it’s a little hard to avoid meeting someone whose crying you can hear going on through the thin walls of your cheap apartment -- no matter how much you may want to. Maybe the delivery person was tired and misread the address, but they wound up delivering an extra-large pizza to your door instead of the one to the right of your place -- the one where at any given moment, you could be hearing crying, a phone alarm clock going off for way too long, or an animal documentary playing. Pettiness told you to just keep the pie for yourself as revenge for him being such a weirdass, whoever he was. But the decent person you really were reminded you that doing that wouldn’t really accomplish anything. Besides: If the dude is already crying so often, why make it even worse by stealing his pizza? Sighing heavily, you shuffled over to your mysteriously somber neighbor to try to do the right thing . . .

What was their first impression of each other?: To be perfectly frank, not good. Peter had made his first impression to you before you’d even met him -- and you thought he was a weirdass! That, or really depressed. Given the apartment building you both lived in, it could very easily have been both. But when he opened that door, revealing himself to be a very tired-looking 30-something, you knew it was probably more the latter. And even though it was technically your third impression of him, the sour expression he wore with the equally unpleasant curtness over how you weren’t the delivery kid left a bitter taste in your mouth. The aftertaste stuck with you, tainting your thoughts of him for weeks on after. So it really shocked you when he reappeared after going silent for about a week, having seemingly done a complete 180. No, not seemingly -- had! As it turned out, his time in Miles’ dimension had caused Peter to become more introspective. Both on his life, and how he wound up treating others in it. Including you. He felt pretty bad for how things had started off. In hindsight, he was coming from a pretty dark and arguably even selfish place. Heck, the first thoughts he had of you (annoying, a nuisance) weren’t even based in reality: Rather, they had been muddled by his own cynicism and depression. And he really did regret that it never transformed properly beyond that, even during the scattered few times you would see one another as you left or returned to your respective apartments. When he tried to start over, being kinder, his impression of you was someone who was guarded -- as you had every right to be. It would take some time and a lot more mellowing before he learned that you were more of a shy, concerned person at the heart of things.

Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?: Peter honestly didn’t know how much he should let the others know about when it came to you. Was it really appropriate to use the cross-dimensional communication system to reveal that he not only was no longer involved with MJ on a romantic level, but also was potentially eyeing somebody new? No, but the disturbingly insightful Noir caught on and demanded that Peter come clean after using some detective mumbo-jumbo about how his pupil dilation indicated the presence of another woman in his life. Everyone to both Peter’s relief and embarrassment is supportive of this new chapter in his life, gently jabbing at how incredible it was for such an “old-timer” to put himself back out there. Even though the usage of “leap of faith” made his cheeks burn (how dare his own protégé once again use the phrase against him), part of Peter couldn’t help but wonder where such a leap might take him. Or if this was a leap he should even take. You, on the other hand, try to keep your budding attraction to your neighbor a secret from your loved ones. Yes, you’re a grown-ass woman, but that doesn’t make it any easier that you’re crushing a little higher than you normally do, age-wise. But eventually, the strain of bottling it up (coupled with your friends’ pestering) let to you coming clean. Of course, there were a lot of initial taunts on the matter but once that had calmed down, they were surprisingly supportive. “It’s New York,” they reasoned. “We’ve got some weirdo in a red suit swinging around and shooting webs -- you getting with your older neighbor is one of the most normal things that could ever happen in this city.” A fair point. But still, you had some concerns . . .

Who felt romantic feelings first?: You did, and the realization of it made you convinced you must have Daddy Issues floating around somewhere, though it was debatable to you if Peter could even qualify as a Daddy. You don’t even know where or when it started! (And frankly, you’re not sure if you want to because the chances that it happened when he was horking down on something is just too big a risk to take.) And even though you knew stranger things have happened, this was something you never would have guessed when you once humored the idea of meeting your “one true love” in New York City.

Did either of them try to resist their feelings?: You both did, and both had a laundry list of excuses reasons as to why you did. Yours started with the age gap, continued with things such as being worried he saw you as immature, and didn’t so much end as it did thud to a conclusion at your inner conviction that his heart still belonged to his ex-wife. And Peter didn’t even know where to begin with his. Most would probably suggest the fact that he was Spider-Man, but he would beg to differ. Yeah, it was a big deal, but so was (at least to him) the idea of an age gap and coming across as a creepy old guy. And even beyond those was the fact that being a depressed 30-something living in a shoddy apartment with a newspaper job despite having a degree in physics. (So basically, he’s peak Millennial.) To him, it just wasn’t a good look. Besides, was it right of him to go after someone new? Was it fair to him or you? Or was that just intrusive thoughts doing the talking? Whatever it was, the poor fellow couldn’t help but feel he was at a bit beside himself. And at the end of it, the two of you were just overthinking things to the point of nearly exploding. 

If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?: Do you know how many strange things random people walking around New York have told the both of you? You’ve learned not to invest a whole lot of thought into it. Not gonna lie, the idea would petrify Peter on so many levels that it’s not even funny. For one, he’d spent all this time convinced that MJ was his one true love. And now the universe is telling him that there isn’t a one singular true love!? Besides, what if he messes this one up? He talked a big game about a leap of faith, but that was with familiar territory: He knew MJ and how to approach her and be with her. But you? You’re something else. Not a bad something else, but . . . not quite one he knows exactly how to approach, especially this far into the game that is his life. To be perfectly honest, he might actually try to keep some distance and hope that you aren’t aware of how the two of you are connected. He doesn’t mean to hurt you, but he doesn’t mean to hurt you, if that makes sense. Peter knows his alter ego can cause a lot of pain and strife, and it was hard enough just going through that with MJ; he doesn’t want to drag another person into that, not if he isn’t sure if they’d be ready for it. But he will keep a close eye on you. Not only because you’re a citizen of the city he swore he would protect, but now he knows you’re meant to be particularly special to him. If he can’t love you up close, then the least he can do is at least make sure you stay safe. Maybe even fed, as he sometimes knocks on your door, claiming that he ordered too much food and would like to give you some. Perhaps he leaves a bag on your doorknob full of spices you may have wanted or coupons for things he thinks you might need, knowing that you’re probably scrimping and saving just as much as he is. Just little things to assure that you’re fine, seeing as he surely couldn’t do so as yours. . . . Right? See, the funny thing about soulmates is that while it comes down to the individuals what they can try to do about it, the bond between them will always been inevitable, given the right circumstances. So it was always inevitable that the distance would be worn away by the man who put them there. It was always inevitable that Peter would enjoy your company, and you his. What wasn’t inevitable was the fact that Peter would be standing in the middle of a bodega, reaching for a pack of candy he thought you might like, pause, and then silently curse himself. Whether he knew it or not, he took a leap of faith. And now he was in far too deep to get out.

[harryspet]

little doe [5] peter parker

[Warnings] peter parker x oc, multiverse oc, fluff, angst, filler chapter, mentions of needles, little editing

A/N: This is going to be the second to last chapter in this series! The support on this story has been great and every like, reblog or comment really makes my heart all warm and fuzzy. 

Like, reblog and let me know what you think!

In which a kiss makes her forget her pain. 

word count: 2.2k

2 MONTHS LATER

“It seems the pills are keeping all her vitals normal,” Pepper unstrapped the blood pressure device from around Doe’s arm. Doe wasn’t sure what all the devices were for but Peter had insisted that Pepper was just making sure she was healthy, “Blood pressure is normal, temperature is higher than average but that’s to be expected. You’re a very healthy girl, Doe.”

Doe grinned, understanding that she had passed whatever test was just given to her. Pepper handed her a blue lollipop and Doe eagerly accepted it, popping it into her mouth. It was Doe’s first time back at Stark Labs and it made her wonder how her life could’ve changed so much in three months. 

“How is she at home? How are her powers?” Pepper asked Peter who was leaned against the wall. The small white office was starting to make him feel a bit claustrophobic. Peter felt a bit anxious which he hated since he knew that Pepper would never hurt her. Still, he felt overly protective whenever Doe left the safety of his apartment. 

“She’s great at home. The beginning was a little rough but we’ve gotten to know each other,” Peter’s eyes raked in Doe’s appearance, how she’d insisted on wearing that bright blue dress that she claimed made her feel like royalty. She turned heads whenever they were in public but it was best for Peter to let her be, “And her powers … it’s clear they’re much stronger when she’s sad or angry.”

“Ah,” Pepper had a light bulb go off above her head, “A true drama queen. I’ve had people doing some research, trying to narrow down what version of earth she might hail from but, without Fury’s top-secret information, I doubt we’ll have much luck.”

Peter tensed up at the mention of Fury, his arms crossed, “You’re not thinking about contacting him, right?”

Pepper sighed, “No, Doe is adjusting well so I don’t see a need to. You’re doing a good job, Peter, I know it must be stressful,” Peter was usually hypercritical of himself and, even though he knew Doe was happy, he still couldn’t help but feel like he’d made mistakes, “Could you hold onto her? I’m going to have someone draw her blood so we can test it and make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

Peter nodded, moving from the wall to where Doe was sitting on the lab table. Pepper grabbed her clipboard and filed out of the room. 

“I did good, Peter?” Doe asked, her English having improved astronomically with MJ teaching her all the time. 

“You did,” Peter assured her, “But we have to do one more thing before we go home. One of the scientists is going to take your blood. That means they have to prick you with a needle.”

“It will hurt?” Peter nodded, tucking a strand of her bright hair behind her ear, “I no want to.”

“You have to. It’s to make sure you’re healthy so you can keep staying with Peter.”

Doe thought it over but she wasn’t fully convinced and soon there was a man in a lab coat that entered the room, “Stay still, okay?” Peter grabbed ahold of Doe’s hand as the man began the short procedure.

Doe’s heart began to race as the man tied the band around her forearm. She began to panic even more as she saw the needle, “No, no, no can’t, Peter! Peter, no!”

The man flashed Peter a concerned look and Peter continued to try to console Doe but she had shut her eyes tight, “Peter! Peter! No, no, no-” Peter smashed his lips onto hers and she stopped her tantrum immediately. He felt Doe’s body relax and Peter held her lips on his as the man pricked her arm with the needle. 

Peter pulled away when her blood had filled the vial. Doe blinked, staring up at Peter in a daze before looking down at her arm. The man was about to open a band-aid when Doe interjected, “Pink color, please?”

The man grinned before picking out the neon pink band-daid, placing it down on where the blood was just drawn, “There you go, dear.”

“Thank you, please. Sorry for yell,” Doe apologized, happily gazing at her new band-aid. All of her little mannerisms made Peter blush. 

As soon as the man left the room, Doe pulled Peter in again for another kiss. He stood between her legs as her lips moved against his. She felt him reach between the waistband of his pants and he had to grab her hand to stop her before she began something that Peter would have to finish. 

“Not here,” Peter rushed out and Doe pouted. Another thing that she couldn’t wrap her mind around was that they couldn’t do certain things in public, “Let’s go home, Doe.”

+

Their trip to Stark Labs lasted longer than Peter initially anticipated and it was dark out by the time they made it to his side of town. Peter shifted the vehicle into park, looking over into the passenger seat to see that Doe was close to dozing off. He looked around the almost empty parking garage and got an eerie feeling. 

“Stay here,” Peter whispered but Doe only moaned something tiredly, nuzzling into her leather chair. Peter opened his door slowly, wanting to take a look around. 

Peter took a few steps and the feeling he had got even worse. He gripped his emergency web-shooters as the sound of screeching tires flooded his ears. A series of black escalades appeared from nowhere, circling their car in the empty parking lot. 

Peter wasn’t worried about taking them down, he could easily do that with his superhuman strength. He was worried because he knew exactly who was going to step from that black car. 

“Look who I’ve run into,” Fury spoke, his usual ‘I am all-knowing’ look on his face, “Peter Parker.”

Peter’s lips pressed into a thin line, “What do you need, Fury?” He wouldn’t have made such a big entrance if he didn’t have some life-altering news for him. 

“Fine, I won’t beat around the bush,” He adjusted his jacket, looking over Peter’s tense appearance, “I think you’ve left some big information out in the last few calls we’ve had.”

Peter shook his head, his arms crossed as he pretended to search his memory, “No, I don’t think so.”

“You’ve grown a lot the last few years,” Peter knew already that he wasn’t the same bumbling, innocent boy he used to be. “I admire that about you but I think you’ve gotten a little too big for your britches. You’re dealing with something you couldn’t possibly understand the future ramifications of.”

Over the last two months, Peter had thought a lot about this very conversation and the future he wanted with Doe. They had only known each other for a short amount of time but Peter already knew her. He knew what he wanted them to be.

“Peter?” His heart stopped as he heard her tired voice. Soon, that voice grew worried as she appeared from around the car, Peter was quick to be at her side. 

“Doe, go sit in the car,” Peter winced as the girl didn’t budge, looking past Peter’s shoulders to see Nick Fury standing idly by. 

“Bad guy?” Doe asked, an otherworldly power was dancing on Doe’s fingertips and she was ready to protect Peter at all cost. 

“No, not a bad guy-”

“Multiverse Being #165, believed to be from Earth version 482,” Fury interrupted and Peter turned, an eyebrow raised in confusion, “But it seems Peter has given you a new name. It’s nice to meet you, sweetheart.”

Peter grabbed her hand as Doe moved to stand beside him, “M-My name is Doe.”

Fury’s eyes wandered to wear their hands held each other, “I can tell she’s adjusting well.”

“She’s not going anywhere, Fury, if that’s what you’re here for,” Peter stated firmly, “And she won’t be apart of whatever scheme you’re planning next.”

“I don’t plan schemes, Parker. Everything I do is for the benefit of the entire planet.”

“And everything I do from now on is for her,” Doe looked up at Peter, not catching every detail of the conversation but understanding how serious the conversation was. Even when she had caused trouble around the apartment, she had never seen him this tense, “So I decide what happens.”

“And if earth needs her? For the greater good?”

“I decide,” Peter stated again, knowing it would be a long time before she was ready for anything like that, “If she trains if she doesn’t. Just trust me, Fury.”

Fury thought for a moment. Although he was constantly questioning Stark’s decision to trust him, Fury decided to back down, “Remember I got my eye on you, Parker.” After an intense staring contest, Fury was off and Peter had won for now. 

Doe stared up at Peter and as he saw that same innocence in her eyes, he squeezed her hand tightly. 

+

Doe despised Peter’s video games. Especially when Ned would come over and they’d sit on the couch for four hours straight playing them. Doe’s love and attention meter dwindled by the second but she couldn’t do what she normally did. If she threw a tantrum she wouldn’t get a sticker on her “Good Behavior Chart”. 

She stared up at the fridge where it was displayed in all its glitter and construction paper letters. She could get a reward at the end of each week for having good behavior every day and today was day seven. 

As the clock above the stove turned to midnight, Doe grabbed the chart off the fridge and marched into the living room where Peter was still playing a video game, “Peter,” She called his name, knowing he couldn’t hear her through his headphone, “Peterrrrr.”

As Doe came into a view, Peter quickly shouted, “Just one more game and then I’ll tuck you in. One more.”

Doe’s shoulders fell before a light bulb went off in her mind. Since today was technically over, she didn’t have to be on her best behavior anymore. Doe took a seat by Peter who was playing shirtless and in his boxers. She set the chart to the side before crawling beneath his arms and into his lap. 

She nuzzled her face into his neck, her hands running over his strong chest and then his biceps, causing Peter to pause the game. Doe grinned as Peter set his controller to the side, and she straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands slid over her bottom, gripping the flesh there as she leaned in to kiss him. 

Peter had already closed his eyes and when their lips never met, he opened his eyes, “Sticker please?”

Peter’s head tilted back in realization, “You tricked me!”

Doe giggled, grabbing the chart to show him, “No trick. Peter and video game is bad. Peter and Doe is good . . . Doe and sticker is very very good.”

“Fine, you’re the boss,” Peter complied, swooping Doe up as he stood from the couch, “I guess you’ve been a good girl all week … if you don’t count the smoothie incident.” Doe pouted, thinking back to how she didn’t know you had to put the top on the blender. The smoothie still ended up tasting good which was all that mattered to her. 

Peter carried her into the kitchen and set her down onto the counter as he began ruffling through drawers, “Ah, here they are,” He opened one to find an assortment of stickers, “Which one do you want?”

This was Doe’s favorite part and she had practically ranked them all for her favorite to least favorite. She pointed to one shaped like a rainbow and Peter proceeded to place it onto the Sunday square. Doe clapped in excitement, knowing she was only a week away from filling up the entire month. 

“Gift now?” She asked, biting down on her bottom lip, as Peter placed the chart back on the fridge. 

Peter yawned, “What would you like this week?”

“Sex.”

Peter’s mouth parted in surprise, “What?”

“Like Game of Thrones.”

Peter blinked, confusion evident in his expression, “When have you been watching Game of Thrones?”

“MJ watch with me. She like when people-” Doe made the motion of a knife being stabbed into her stomach. Peter grabbed her hands, pulling them back away from her stomach. 

Peter shook his head in disbelief, “I really need to change the locks and you shouldn’t be watching shows like that.”

“Sex is bad? But we do sex-”

“Yes but-” Peter cut himself off as his thoughts interrupted him, “It’s just different, Doe. And we do a lot of things but we haven’t actually ... “ It was a line that Peter had yet to cross and he was still quite satisfied with what they already had. 

“Peter?” Doe held his face in her hand, wanting him to reassure her. 

“The first time you have sex … it might hurt and I-I don’t wanna hurt you, Doe.”

Doe’s face softened at the look of worry in his eyes, “Like the nee-dle?”

Peter nodded slowly, “Kinda like that, yeah.”

“Then Peter will kiss Doe and make feel better,” Doe grinned and a smile stretched on Peter’s face as his eyes lit up with happiness. Doe leaned into him and Peter did the same. The touch of their lips sent sparks through them and fireworks seemed to explode in the kitchen. 

As Peter pulled away to catch his breath, he stared at the beautiful creature before him with gratitude, “I love you,” He thought his heart my race or that he’d sweat nervously but Peter had never been more sure of something. 

“I … I different kind of love Peter.”

+

Hope you enjoyed this! If you have an idea for something you wanna see in the last chapter then feel free to send me an ask!

[unlikelyempathpruneauthor]

If its meant to be

Tom x reader ; Josh x reader (in the end)

Summary: Okay so i've written this so many times but i am going to mix joshua bassett in this. So Josh plays Harley in Spider Man far from home as your love interest who is Tony's daughter, Amelia. Tom feels weird that you didn't tell him about Josh and you get in a fight and take a break, but you both found someone else and saw you weren't meant to be.

a/n: i wrote this in like 30 minutes so it might be trash. Haha feedback is always appreciated! Love you all!

“So we do have a couple announcements for some characters.” Jon said as you were all in suspense but you and Tom knew what was going on, your characters were getting love interests, and this made you nervous. I mean you haven't been with anyone else besides Tom so having Amelia get a love interest scared you. You didn't want this to affect yours and Tom’s secret relationship.

“Peter and Amelia are getting love interests, Peter with MJ and Amelia with Harley.” Jon said as you looked at him with a questioning look.

“What do you mean by Harley? There is no one playing Harley.” you said with a giggle as Jon coughed adding to the confusion.

“Well that's the other announcement we are adding on to our cast, with���.” he said doing a drumroll and Josh walked out with jazz hands as you were in shock seeing your long time bestfriend.

“No way Josh!?” you said as you two were greeting each other with a hug. You hadn't seen him since ever, he had introduced himself to everyone as everyone was happy to see the new addition to the cast. Everyone besides Tom though, he was protective of you because you two hadn't really officially told people you are dating and well you hadn't talked about Josh to Tom.

After this meeting you, Tom, Z,  Josh and Jon needed to be in another meeting to talk about the love interests.

“So I know this is new to all of you, but I would like for you guys to spend time together, you know to get the chemistry going for the characters, this is required and I know beef has been on about Tom and Z, but I want you to be comfortable when we start filming and I know you are all good friends.'' Jon said as you all nodded. You and Tom knew this was needed especially when a new castmate and love interests were introduced.You had gone back to your room as you heard a knock and saw Tom standing outside as you opened the door.

“Hey, is everything okay?” you asked as he coughed which you knew was a bad thing so you let him in wondering what was upsetting him this time, you had hoped the talk you had the night before would be reassuring enough.

“I-uh, wanted to know if this is going to affect us?” he said with his worried eyes as you half smiled.

“Tom it shouldn't, me and Josh have been friends for years and i'm sorry for not mentioning him, and I trust you with Z, so you should be able to trust me.” you said as he stood silent which altered your mood knowing what this meant.

“But you don’t.” you added as you continued to pack up your stuff to get to your shared room with Josh, Jon wanted you guys to be roommates with your love interest, which wasn't bad, you knew nothing would go on with Josh and vice versa.

“It's not that I don't,” he said as you cut him off quite angrily.

“Then what? Look Tom, I'm not going to cheat on you, he's my best friend, and yeah he's a guy, but you and Z are so close too.” you said as he sighed knowing that you were right, but he just felt uncomfortable. You trusted him, you and Z were very close too, so there was no weird feeling.

“I know, but we haven't really officially announced our relationship and I want to.” he said, placing his hands on yours as you frowned.

“No Tom, the only reason you want to is because Josh is my love interest, I'm not doing it because you're jealous.” you said as he scoffed.

“Please you’re  jealous of Z all the time.” he said as you were left in shock. You were insecure, but it was one time and he had reassured you and you believed him and you trusted him

“You can’t bring up that one time I was insecure, I was reassured, and I grew to trust you.” you said leaving the room. Not wanting to continue this conversation that you know was going to get heated. You knew leaving was bad, you didn't want to let this love interest get in the way of your relationship.

The very first day of filming came around and you were hanging out with Josh as Tom was hanging out with Z, but adding a little drama into the conversation. Z was always there to help with this type of stuff and Z didn't mind, but she sometimes was on your side, so advice was given to him so he can grow up so you two could have a good and healthy relationship.

“Look Z it's not that I don't trust her, it's just she never brought him up and now she has to be roommates with him?” he said as Z kinda scoffed.

“Tom you're giving me a reason to defend her.” she said as he frowned.

“What why?” he asked as she laughed at the male.

“Because of how you're reacting right now. Look at me and you we are friends too, it's not bad for her to have a friend as well. Look when me and Jacob were dating he had gal friends and he knew I was friends with you and many other guys and he didn't mind at first but its because that's work. Our job comes with stuff like this but trust is also built.” she said as he looked at her confused..

“Then why are you two not together anymore.” he pointed out as Z held her chest with sarcastic agony.

“First off ouch, and second because he didn't understand what my work meant to me. And you are acting like him so i'd suggest you trust her before she decides to leave you which I wouldn't be mad at her for.” he said as he rolled his eyes as you were all called in for a scene.

“Okay, and ACTION!” jon said as everyone went along with their roles. In the airplane Peter had walked up to you.

“Hey- what's Harley doing here?” Peter asked as you looked up at him from your seat.

“I guess Pepper thought I needed a buddy, I don't want to ruin your plan with MJ, so it works right?” Amelia said as Peter nodded.

“Yeah right..” he said as Harley sat next to you with a dual headphone adapter.

“You will not believe what I found in my pocket, we can watch movies together now,” he said as you smiled and Peter sat back in his seat with Ned.

“AND CUT! Okay that was good, let's take a lunch break everyone.” Jon said as you all walked off the set.

You and Josh ate lunch together as you posted instagram posts on your instagram story.

“So me and y/n are here eating and you will not believe what she is eating.” Josh said as he pointed the camera at your food.

“Don't expose me.” you said as he giggled.

“No I will, she is eating berry soup, what even is that?” he asked as you giggled trying to explain.

“It's literally in the title.” you laughed as you pointed out his food.

“Okay but like still-” he said as you cut him off with a laugh.

“Josh you're literally eating a bagel with blue cheese cream cheese, who even likes blue cheese?” you said as he flipped the camera at himself.

“Uh- okay you got me there.” he said as the story ended.

Tom huffed seeing you smile with someone else, but he tried reminding himself you two were just friends. Z had seen him replay that story so many times she took his phone.

“Z, give it back.” he said with a laugh which caught your attention as your smile faded and you looked back at Josh. During the filming  you had a blast, yet you and Tom were not talking. Not even texting. After filming was wrapped, you had said goodbye to Josh but you two were going to meet again during the press. Once you were back at your hotel you were cleaning everything up, again the similar knock was hit on the door as you sighed going to go get it.

“Look I don't want to leave fighting, I just- I do trust you, I just don't like how close you are with Josh.” he said as you raised your eyebrows.

“Tom are you hearing yourself, it's the same things you said last time.” you said as he sighed.

“What are you talking about?” he said as you started to get tears in your eyes knowing what was coming out of your mouth was going to hurt.

“You know what, this isn't going to work out.” you said as he looked at you sternly.

“Are you serious? So that's it we fight and you just want to end things.” he said as you scoffed.

“Tom we have been fighting for days, i just think we need a break, you know to let you know what you want.” you said as you left with tears in your eyes and leaving Tom crying and having the feeling he just lost something great that will be someone else's.

…

Weeks later you and Z were talking after Tom had told her you had broken up with him. She wasn't mad at you, she knew this was coming and well she was there to support more for you but for Tom also.

“Look boo, you were in the right here, I told Tom to grow up and well he didn't.” she said as you laughed.

“Well I mean it's just a break, until things settle down.” you said as she nodded.

“Yeah I know, just don't get hung up over just one dude, meet new people.” she said very enthusiastically.

“I can't really do that.” you said as she grinned.

“Yeah right what about Josh?” she said as you shook your head.

“And look like I broke up with Tom to be with Josh.” you said as she looked at you very seriously.

“Girl, like you said its a break plus your relationship wasn’t public, and Tom met someone didn't you see.” she said as you nodded. “Look all i am saying is give him a chance, see where it goes.” she said as you nodded.

“Okay fine.” you said as you hung up hoping to see her soon for press.

…

Months passed and you were packing for press with the cast. You and Josh had started talking and let's say things were getting somewhere, he had admitted he liked you for awhile, but wasn’t sure if you were single, and you had explained everything to him about Tom, but you admitted you liked him too, which created a little relationship between you both. Josh then called you and you smiled seeing his name. You answered as you placed your phone on a stand.

“Hey you!” you said as he smiled looking at you packing.

“Hey babe, are you ready for the press?” he asked as you smiled.

“Of course i am, are you?” you asked as he grinned.

“Yeah I am, I get to see you again berry soup.” he said as you laughed at the nickname.

“Oh okay blue cheese I am happy I am going to see you too.” you said as he smirked with the nickname you gave him.

“Oh haha, well we're going to hang right?” he said as you nodded.

“Yes of course why wouldn't we hang out?” you asked as he sighed.

“Well I thought you would only hang out with me since it's required by Jon.” he said as you shook your head.

“No bubs, I want to hang out with you.” you said as he nodded.

“Okay good, so i'll see you soon?” he asked with a shy smile as you nodded.

“Yes blue cheese i'll see you in...like 7 hours..” you said as he giggled.

“Alright berry soup.” he said as you both hung up with excitement that you two were going to be able to see one another again.

…

As you arrive at the hotel seeing that Josh was looking for you and you surprised him with a hug as he was happy to see you too giving you a tight hug. You two missed on another so much you had dreamed of this. “Hello blue cheese.” you said as he smiled with a grin.

“Hello berry soup I missed you.” he said as you gigiled and he gave you a peck on your temple as you sighed happily to see him.

“I missed you too...bubs.” you said as your foreheads touched. You then were meeting up with everyone else. Z had walked up to you with a hug and hugging Josh as well.

“You don't mind if I steal her do you?” she asked as he shook his head.

“She is my source of warmth, but I’m sure I’ll be warm..” he said as you playfully punched him as he held your hand and let go when you walked away.

“So you took my advice.” she said as you smiled.

“Yes I did Z.” you said as she grinned.

“To be honest i knew you liked him when you were filming your scenes with him.” she said as you baffled. I mean you did, but what type of person would you be if you told people that while you were with Tom, if you were true to yourself you liked Josh since you met him and well maybe this was your chance.

“Well then, we will see.” you said going back to Josh.

As you all got to your first interview you and Josh sat next to one another playing with the mic, Tom had noticed how close you were, but he knew those feelings for you were gone, he met Nadia, and well, he was quite happy, and you were happy for him truly.

“Hey guys, welcome, today we are here with Spider- Man far from home cast!” the interviewer said as you all smiled. The interview consisted of any hopeful spoilers, but lucky none were out. Personal questions came near the end and you were surprised one of them was or you.

“So y/n, you're character Amelia got close to Harley, do you think you and Josh are close.” she asked as you smiled looking at him and back to the interviewer.

“I would say we are, I mean we were in a couple projects together in the past and we have been in touch since then, and when Jon had made the announcement of a new castmate, i was shocked but happy to be reunited with an old friend.” you said as you looked at josh with a smile.

“Do you all feel like a new castmate was a good thing?” she asked as you were scared for what people had to say, you were over the moon Josh was a part of a project you had been a part of for years, so you hoped people were happy too.

“It was such a good thing, you know I love everyone, but the more people we add the more love we have as a family.” Z said as everyone nodded.

“Yeah it honestly adds so much more chemistry between us.'' Jacob said.

“Yeah i agree with that since Jon loves big families, its honestly the best family ever.'' Tom said as everyone agreed. You were glad he was being a professional at this, but you were too since the beginning and you were glad it was a mutual feeling.  After this interview ended, you all had like 2 hours to chill after working on interviews. Your next one was a talk show. You went back to your room as Josh had texted you asking if you wanted to go out for lunch. You agreed as you got out of your hotel meeting Tom eye to eye which surprised you.

“Uh did you need something?” you asked as Tom shook his head staying silent.

“Can I come in?” he asked with an awkward smile.

“Uh yeah sure.” you said moving out of the way as he entered.

“So you and josh are you..?” he said as you smiled.

“Uh i'm seeing where things go.” you said as he huffed.

“So, you ended our relationship to be with him?” he asked as you shook your head.

“No I didn’t, but I could say the same about you, but i'm not that type of person, but i'm truly happy for you.” you said as he just looked at you.

“Look, I just want an explanation as to why you ended us.” he said as you shook your head.

“I'm not doing this now, we are over and we both found people who understand us and I just want to leave it at that alright. I meant what I said that day, that we weren't going to work out. I know that we were on a break, but it was the best for us.” you said as he had started to tear up and he nodded.

“Yeah you’re right, I am happy and I'm happy for you too.” he said as he left your hotel room and you got ready to meet up with josh. You were happy with Josh and you were happy for Tom. You two just weren't meant to be as much as you two wanted to be. You knew this was a part of heartbreak and you had grown, you both have. Josh was the best thing that happened to you, and you knew Tom was too, but in a way he helped you grow and let you have the chance to meet Josh again and have a future of some sorts with him.

[lovelyirony]

Silly Goose

so fun fact: i don’t know anything about the plot of captain marvel but i have seen textposts about fury and goose the cat who is somehow not a cat. special thanks goes to @dr3belxd 

A lot of shit has happened. Captain Marvel gets reintroduced into earth, and brings Goose with her. 

Fury mildly tolerates Goose. 

(So this is a fucking lie. Fury gets Goose all of the treats in the world but still is scared of Goose because that little shit lost him an eye. Because of affection.) 

The thing is this: people just think Nick has a cat. He likes cats, he does, but he generally prefers that Goose stick around so that she can help him with some enemies. 

What he doesn’t like is when Goose decides that she is bored of Carol and would like some adventuring, please and thank you. 

This includes when she sneaks on the plane because Spider-Man decided to take a class trip and take the damn suit. 

And then there’s Mysterio. 

Fury knows it’s too good to be true. Doesn’t mean he can’t help, but he still doesn’t trust this fucker. 

“I’m from another dimension where the world ended,” Mysterio says tearfully. 

Fury knows for a damned fact that if you were choosing another dimension to go to, you sure as hell wouldn’t choose his. He also knows that Mysterio is not actually from another dimension most likely because he immediately knows small gestures, like a hi-five or a middle finger. 

(Fury knows that no one could catch on that fast.) 

So, Spider-Man. He’s in Europe taking a class trip and also acting like an idiot because he has a crush. He is also dealing with an identity crisis because he feels like he has to live up to his heroic name and he keeps seeing Iron Man everywhere he goes. 

It’s a lot. But Fury also knows something is up, because Maria Hill said she had a bad feeling. 

You always trust Maria Hill when she says she has a bad feeling, or else you basically get an end of the world situation. 

So, Peter Parker. They have to steal him from most likely the worst hotel in Italy, and Goose immediately zooms and starts purring and butting her head against him. 

“Hi kitty,” Peter says, smiling as he bends down to pet Goose. Fury stiffens. 

“Don’t get too close to her face. She’ll scratch you up.” 

No, instead Goose leaps into Peter’s arms and settles down. 

“You’re a nice kitty,” Peter says. 

“This is not the point of this meeting.” 

They meet Mysterio. Goose leaps out of Peter’s arms and starts hissing up a storm. She arches her back, and Mysterio just kind of takes one step back. Peter frowns. 

“Who are you?” 

- 

Peter doesn’t give Quentin Beck the EDITH glasses. He can’t, and he’s not sure why he put all his trust into a cat that probably shouldn’t be in Italy, but the one thing he’s learned from animals is that if they don’t like you from the get-go, you don’t get trusted by anyone else. 

He sees Beck’s eyes twitch a bit. 

“That’s fine,” he says, voice tight. “Maybe some other time, hm? Those glasses could help me out a lot, Pete...” 

Peter frowns. 

There’s something off. And maybe it’s because he’s finally thinking about this, and the glasses resting in their case aren’t reminding him of the legacy he has now, but something...something is off. 

About all of it. 

The bar he’s in, it’s shifting and people are looking at him carefully. 

“I, uh...I have to get back to my classmates, they’ll worry,” Peter says, lying very terribly. “I’ll see you later, Quentin!” 

And he rushes off. 

Tells Ned. And MJ by default, who was sick of hearing her roommates talk and decided to eavesdrop. 

“Not eavesdropping if you guys are too dumb to notice that I’m here,” MJ says with a shrug. 

“That is a lie but I don’t know how to prove it,” Ned says, squinting. “Hey Peter, what did you say his name was?” 

“Uh, Quentin Beck?” 

“No fucking way. He got past SHIELD and used his real name? Guy’s an idiot!” 

“What do you mean?” 

“SHIELD didn’t do their research. Beck got fired from Stark Industries because he was trying to sell an invention as a weapon device to the US government against strict orders. Tony Stark fired him, and...wow. Okay. Released BARF, which Binarily Augmented Retroframing. It’s really similar to Beck’s invention, so--” 

“Don’t have time,” MJ says. “Peter, he’s after those glasses. Probably because they can see through the holograms he’s using if it’s similar technology. Go tell whoever it is that followed us here. Now.” 

-

For the record, Maria had a bad feeling about Beck. It was too good to be true. Peter Parker rushes into their secret base of operations (which is not secret because at least four people have peeked into the windows, but whatever) and Goose is immediately attached to him. 

“What is it?” Maria asks. 

“It’s about Beck. He’s not actually from a different dimension, he just manipulates technology and holograms on a whole other level, and we need to stop him.” 

Goose purrs as Peter picks her up, absentmindedly petting her as Maria sighs. She gestures to Fury. 

“Go get your guns, Hill. We’ve got some shit to take care of.” 

Beck is not happy about any of this. At all. Especially not that there’s a fucking cat who apparently just changed the damned kid’s mind about giving him the glasses. He was so fucking close, and no. 

To make matters worse, his hotel room is facing a twenty-foot-tall mural of Iron Man. So life hates him a lot. 

(Which, of course it does.) 

And now he’s facing the stupid cat and the kid in the Spider-Man suit, and it’s just. Ugh. 

“I wanted to do this the easy way,” Beck says, getting his suit on. “And now? Well, Parker, your world is about to be so much bigger.” 

The illusions suck, by the way. For Peter, at least. He can’t tell what way is left or right, and if he could, it probably wouldn’t make much different. They’re all shooting blind. 

Except for Goose. 

Goose is unbothered by the green smoke and a guy with a damn fishbowl for a head, and decides that now is the time that she will be a show off. 

She absolutely rips the shit out of Beck’s costume. There’s a yell as Quentin Beck gets absolutely slammed into the ground, tentacles reaching for the helmet. He’s held up again into the air. 

Peter is suitably shocked. 

“Holy shit, what the fu--” 

“That’s just what she does when she’s hungry,” Fury says, tired. “Goose, drop it.” 

Quentin gets unceremoniously dropped from about ten feet up. 

“Oh god,” he groans, trying to roll himself over. “What in the hell...?” 

“That’s what happens when you try to pull one over the director of SHIELD,” Fury says. 

(Maria does not laugh but there was no “try” about it. Fury had been fooled.) 

Peter just. Cannot believe that a cat, who is technically not a cat but something called a Flerken, saved the day. Allowing him to actually enjoy a vacation. That’s...that’s new. 

It helps that Fury is still mad that Goose has given Peter no life-altering changes to his physical appearance, and it is very amusing to see a man who dresses exclusively in black and leather roll his eyes as he picks up Goose and hands her another treat. 

“Didn’t Carol say not to give her another treat?” 

“She took out one eye, I don’t want her to take another one out.” 

Goose settles in Fury’s lap, content (for now). 

[forasecondtherewedwon]

Peter and MJ, coworkers who barely know each other's names, but could draw each other's faces from memory, get stuck in the elevator together at the end of a work day

Thanks for the prompt, Anon! I started writing the fic for this so fast haha

Overheard at the Bugle

Pairing: Peter Parker x Michelle Jones (Spideychelle) Rating: M Word count: 5394

Summary:

Peter's having a late night at the office and finds out he's not the only one working overtime right before he and the new reporter, Michelle Jones, get trapped in the Bugle's unreliable elevator. He just needs to handle this situation calmly and not do anything to give away his secret identity. It'd be easier to focus on the task at hand if his enhanced hearing wasn't picking up something very unusual coming from the voice recorder in Michelle's bag.

Peter tries to keep a low profile at the Bugle―he doesn’t need anyone giving a second thought to the guy who turns in crisp closeups of Spider-Man week after week―but he didn’t realize he’s invisible. He’s gotta be for the custodial staff to start shutting the lights off on his floor as he’s still sifting blearily through the emails that arrive every five minutes; they’re all stamped with Sent from J. Jonah Jameson’s iPhone. Almost in the dark, Peter snaps his laptop shut, shoves it into his messenger bag, and sprints for the elevators. He’s not scared of the dark (what kinda hero would that make him?), but after lights-out comes locking the doors and he’s not keen on spending the night here. Though his apartment might not be much, it’s his escape from work.

He skids around the corner to find the glow of an elevator that’s just closing.

“Hold it!” Peter shouts, shooting his hand out to part the doors as a frantic tapping comes from inside.

“I was pushing the button…” a woman explains as he steps in.

She turns her head and a spill of wavy brown hair is pushed aside to reveal the face of Michelle Jones. Peter swallows. His gaze goes from her startled brown eyes to her finger, now slipping off the Doors Open button.

“Yeah,” he says, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder, “this thing can be temperamental sometimes.”

“Right. Ground floor, I assume?”

“Yep.”

He moves off to a respectful distance as she presses the button to take them down and the doors close. His heart’s hammering. Though he’s heard the confident tone of her voice plenty, she’s never specifically spoken to him. Nor he to her. Luckily, the walls of the elevator have an intentional burnish with the scuff of wear on top, so there’s no chance of her catching sight of his stare in their reflections. Peter doesn’t mean to, it’s just that she took her hair down. She mostly wears it twisted and pinned at the nape of her neck and probably just shook it out when she got into the elevator, heading home. He gets it. He has his tie jammed into his bag, collar unbuttoned, and sleeves cuffed up to his elbows. Nobody gives a shit about dress code after the boss is gone, especially if they’re working late with no guarantee of overtime pay. Quit looking at her, he thinks, and snaps his gaze down to the floor. He can still smell her shampoo, courtesy of the enhanced senses.

“Sorry about the lights,” Michelle offers, turning her head enough to address him, but not enough to meet his eye because he’s standing beside and slightly behind her. “I let one of the custodians know I was on my way out a few minutes ago. Thought I was the last one left.”

Peter frowns. That’s weird. Not what she says, but that, when she speaks, he thinks he hears an echo. My one-on-one exclusive with Spider-Man, it says, in the voice of the reporter currently sharing the elevator with him. He opens his mouth to ask Michelle if she hears it too and catches himself. That’s a habit he broke years ago, when he realized there are way more things other people can’t hear and it only risks freaking them out and exposing himself to reveal that his senses are more animal than human.

“Don’t worry about it,” he responds distractedly.

The first thing to know about Spider-Man is that he’s not a nine-to-five kinda guy. Without regular business hours, he joins me for this interview in my Brooklyn apartment on a Friday evening. The red suit is predictable; the rap he gives my living room window to announce his arrival smacks more of cheeky showmanship. This reporter has to wonder whether, for him, finally submitting to such an in-depth, sit-down conversation is a type of performance. Surely the man behind the mask knows his audience is rapt for any details on the life of a figure who, despite his status as a trusted friend to all, is so much a mystery to this city’s inhabitants.

Ok, what? Peter’s brain is spinning like a frisbee. He’s never given the kind of interview Michelle’s disembodied voice is describing, and definitely never given it to her. He’s never been to her apartment, doesn’t even know where she lives, and certainly isn’t eager to invite questions in some sort of exposé. Maybe what he’s hearing are just the notes she’s preparing for a future interview. Did Jameson assign this? He’s certainly nosy about Peter’s alter ego, but the tone of the piece is more curious than their boss’s usual style―scathing, obstinate, malicious. She sounds intrigued by Spider-Man, not like she’s luring him into a trap.

The elevator jolts. It grinds. It halts. Michelle makes a sound of distress and taps Doors Open. She looks at him over her shoulder, face worried but also… flushed? Maybe she gets anxiety attacks.

“It’s alright,” Peter tells her, one foot in Spider-Man’s De-escalation Mode. He raises his hands in hopefully a calming gesture and her eyes dart to them, gliding over his bare forearms. Crap, does he seem threatening? He lowers his hands.

“I know it’s alright,” she assures him. “I just… who wants to be stuck at work?”

Michelle gives him a slight smile to accompany her joke and he returns it.

“Got a story to work on?” Peter asks.

His motive is partly to understand the narration he heard (which is still going on, a murmur beneath their much louder voices), but also to focus her on something besides the fact that the elevator is not moving.

“Just filed one actually, so, you know, theoretically free for the weekend.” She makes a phonily excited face that emphasizes how very not-free they are.

The continued jokes are a good sign that she isn’t overly alarmed. He’s still stumped about the story though. As she pulls her cell phone from the large leather bag over her arm, Peter tunes into the background noise. With the elevator silent, that’s just the recording of Michelle’s voice.

‘…later than I thought you would be,’ I inform him. He makes his excuses and where I would normally be annoyed by a failure to be punctual, I find myself charmed by New York’s man in red. I wonder where his adventures have taken him tonight, if his actions have prevented violence, saved lives. If his mere presence has inspired onlookers and comforted those who have lost faith in our traditional systems of stagnant courts and killer cops…

There’s no way Jameson can be aware of the spin she’s putting on this. Spider-Man’s no hero in the eyes of the editor-in-chief, just a menace, a pest, a cockroach climbing up the pantleg of the people who are supposed to enforce justice. That’s not the only thing that’s confusing. Peter’s fairly hung up on the fact that she’s conducting this interview like he’s there. Could just be her process. Playing the whole thing out to get a feel for however long it might be, where small talk might hypothetically cut into her list of prepared questions.

“No service,” Michelle huffs, tucking her phone away again. “You?”

Peter, startled, gets his phone out to check, though he already knows this elevator is a dead zone. He shakes his head. Frustrated, she moves her hand to jab the Help button. The one meant to connect the rider with 911.

“Don’t bother,” he coaches when she pushes it a second time after nothing happens. “I think that thing’s just for show.”

“Oh yeah?”

She’s arch, irritated. Peter stays calm, knowing it’s not really meant for him. People can get testy in stressful situations. Being trapped in an elevator is one of those. Not for him. For him, a stressful situation is a bullet graze or leaping from one office tower to the next and realizing in midair that he’s out of webs. Trapped in an elevator is a relaxing start to his weekend in comparison.

“Jameson never lets anybody inspect it. He’s a control freak, scared of spies. He thinks somebody’s gonna bug the elevator,” he clarifies to Michelle’s raised eyebrows.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, well, have you met him?”

She exhales a laugh at that.

…invite him to get comfortable, I’m surprised at him choosing a seat at the opposite end of the couch I’ve just sat down on. I’d intended the chair across from me and think that should be obvious to him. Perhaps it is. The mask doesn’t make him the easiest man to read.

“So we’re just fucking stuck because Jameson’s scared of, who? Reporters from other papers? The CIA? Edward Snowden?”

A tingle goes down Peter’s spine when she swears. She’s commanding. Does she know that or is working under Jameson putting her qualities in the shadow of his, wielded for domination and intimidation?

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” he says.

“This button’s never worked?” Michelle checks, leaning her knuckle into it to keep it depressed. “This is a major safety issue. Imagine there was a fire right now.”

“You should call somebody and report him.”

He can’t help being playfully sarcastic and thinks, for a second, that she’s going to bite his head off for it by the way her eyes flash. Then he thinks he might not mind. Then she laughs and he tries to take a normal breath.

“What do we do?” she wants to know.

What do they do? What do Peter and the woman he’s eyed across the office since she arrived at the Bugle two months ago do? Forced together by unhealthy work hours and a broken elevator? He shifts from one foot to the other.

“Hope the custodian decides to watch for you to leave the building and comes looking when you don’t.”

“I hate that plan,” Michelle informs him.

“Go ahead and come up with another one,” he invites earnestly.

She turns so she’s facing him and lets her back slump against the wall of the elevator. She shrugs to ease her bag off her shoulder. The strap tugs a little at her emerald-green blouse before it slides down her arm. She sets it on the ground by her feet. It looks like she’s doing what he suggested. Now it’s just Peter and her quiet voice, which he can tell is coming from the bag. Michelle must have a recorder in there. Probably thinks she shut it off, but the volume’s just really low.

‘…when you’re out there?’ I have to inquire of him. At his easy laugh, I shelter behind my coffee cup, taking a slow sip. ‘Lonely?’ Spider-Man repeats. ‘In a city this size?’ He’s being coy now. I’m certain he knows what I want and it’s the dare implicit in this exchange that prompts me to press him. ‘Not lonely for just anybody,’ I begin…

Crossing his arms, Peter rests against the back of the elevator, trying to be subtle as he tips his head to the side to hear more. He’s getting into this story now, even if it’s not real. For the first time, he’s starting to see how Spider-Man might be a pretty compelling guy. He likes this person she seems to think he is; he’s more interesting coming from her lips. Of course, not as interesting as she is, with her leading questions and the agenda she’s voicing for her recorder if not for the man she’s interviewing.

“Have you worked at the Bugle long?”

His gaze twitches over to Michelle’s face when she speaks.

“Since right outta college. Why?”

“Just wondered if this had happened to you before,” she explains, waving her hand at the elevator’s useless panel of buttons. “And I knew you were here before me.”

“You did?”

He shouldn’t sound so breathlessly hopeful. Obviously, she knew he was here first. Michelle could’ve noticed him one time in the past two months and seen him do anything to indicate that he’d been here longer―escape Jameson’s office just before he could get roared at, jiggle the plug to make the coffee machine in the breakroom work. But Peter does sound that way because of her tone. She says it like an admission and she breaks eye contact.

‘…you don’t want one?’ He declined my offer of coffee once, but I think he may change his mind now that we’ve warmed up to each other a little. Spider-Man twists and I can feel him regarding me from behind those large white eyes. ‘I’d have to take the mask off to drink it,’ he points out. I promise that I’m not trying to blow his cover, just be hospitable. Besides, I counter, he doesn’t need to expose his whole face. The mouth will do.

“So, has it?” she counters, ignoring his question.

“Has what?”

“Has it happened to you? The elevator shutting down?”

“Oh, uh, once or twice, but it was always in the middle of the day and there were a bunch of other people in the elevator with me, so it didn’t go unnoticed long. Jameson hassled me for missing meetings while I was trapped though.”

“It’s not like you could help it,” Michelle says.

“True, but…” Peter shrugs. “I learned to take the stairs.”

“Bet you’re wishing you took them tonight.”

He laughs.

“Not really. I mean, uhhh…” The sound drags out embarrassingly as he can’t manage to pull his gaze away from her surprised face.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she says, saving him. “I think you’re keeping me saner than I would be alone.”

Right. That’s all. Which is enough, really. He’s glad to be of service, especially if that service is helping her not totally lose it.

“No problem.”

‘…because I can do more good if I’m an anonymous symbol,’ Spider-Man tells me. His body language has changed, shifting forward with the urgency of his words. ‘But some people must know,’ I say. ‘Your real identity can’t be a secret from everyone.’ ‘No Spider-Man is an island?’ is his clever rejoinder. I agree with absolute sincerity. ‘Even the strongest person needs to let others get close to them,’ I insist. Where he’s tugged his mask up, his mouth shifts from a wry grin to thoughtful softness. I find my gaze lingering there.

“Any ideas?” Peter asks, feeling hot.

The temperature inside the elevator is moderate, but Michelle’s words, as she draws him deeper into her story, are making him surreptitiously flap his collar to encourage air down his shirt. He’s starting to feel like this is something he’s not supposed to hear. Alright, it’s likely that nobody was supposed to hear it if these are just her rough notes before composing an article. Whatever. What Peter’s realizing is that maybe nobody’s supposed to hear this interview ever. The questions are too personal, too human-interest for the kind of paper they work at, and the way she depicts her responses is… intimate. Full of sensory details. It’s as though he’s in this apartment with her, sipping at her coffee, staring at her down the length of the couch. A Friday night, her voice said, and tonight’s one of those. How would Michelle Jones feel if she knew she was spending an evening with Spider-Man right now?

“I think the custodians would’ve made some noise by now if they knew anybody was in here and if they haven’t realized we’re missing, then I’m not sure anyone else will. I don’t know about you, but I live alone. I probably won’t be missed tonight because my friends will just assume I’m working and turned my phone off. I’ve been considering,” she goes on, “that we’ll either have to climb out the top and hope we’re close to the doors aligning with one of the floors or get these doors open. Either way, we need something to open the doors. Personally, I didn’t pack my crowbar.”

Peter stares at her in awe for a minute. She really did come up with a plan. Several plans. He knows he can help―he doesn’t need a crowbar to part the metal doors―but he can’t just wrench the doors open with his bare hands and act like it’s no big deal. He’ll need an explanation, which can’t be the truth. Revealing himself at the Bugle? To a Bugle reporter? Seems like the worst possible scenario. He doesn’t think Michelle is anything like Jameson in her motivations or basic moral compass (fine, he doesn’t know her, but that’s the sense he gets), and yet, she works for him. It’s her job to give him something fresh, something captivating, and he’s just not sure that her fascination with Spider-Man would be enough to make her want to spare Peter Parker the nightmare of his identity being splashed across Monday’s front page.

“Me neither.”

“This isn’t sustainable,” she mutters. He looks at her with concern. Louder, she adds, “If I get restless enough to climb through the ceiling, promise you won’t look up my skirt when I ask you to give me a boost.”

“Promise.”

Michelle assesses his face and he tries to appear his most transparent and trustworthy. Gradually, her eyes move away from his, but he’s still watching her and sees her stare at his throat, then his chest, and down. Whoa, Peter tells himself. Not a good idea. This woman might be a little hung up on Spider-Man, maybe even has a crush, but you and him are two different people.

Meanwhile, on the recording: …switch it off for him, holding the voice recorder up so he can clearly see that I’ve done it. ‘There,’ I say, ‘no one’s listening now. It’s just you and I.’ ‘So I’m supposed to feel closer to you without it?’ Spider-Man asks. ‘Don’t you?’ is what I want to know.

“Screw it,” Michelle decides a minute later, standing up straight. “I’m getting us out of here. Can you pick me up?”

Peter drops his messenger bag in an instant.

“Yep.”

He watches while she kicks off her black patent high heels (maybe picturing her pressing one of those bad boys into his chest), then they both tip their heads back and examine the ceiling panels.

“Front corner, maybe?” she suggests. “Just so I’m as close as possible to where the doors will hopefully be and I don’t have to wobble around up there in the elevator shaft.”

“Sure,” Peter agrees.

They cross to the appropriate corner and he bends his knees, locking his fingers to offer her a step. She grabs his shoulder for balance and lifts her foot, about to place it in his braced hands, then pauses.

“I’m Michelle, by the way.”

“Peter.”

“I know.”

He’s baffled and flushed as they shake hands, but he can’t dwell on it because her fingers are digging into his shoulder right before she presses her foot into his swiftly repositioned hands and hops up. She gives a small shriek as her body wavers before steadying herself with her palms against the ceiling. Peter drops his gaze. He can tell by her knees that she’s crouching slightly and he’s not glancing any higher than that. Her skirt falls to just below her knees and, as they lean into each other to keep her up, he ends up with her thigh pressed against the side of his face, the black fabric of that skirt under his cheek.

“You got me, right?”

“Right,” he says, careful not to ramble and divulge how little effort bearing her weight requires.

“Ok, I’m going to try to get a grip on this panel and slide it open.”

“Sounds good.”

Peter is looking straight across at the wall. He is not looking higher than her knees. He has no thoughts about the scent of her skirt and no theories on whether the lavender comes from her fabric softener or lotion that he’s also not imagining her rubbing into her skin before she got dressed for work this morning. She sways in his grip and he braces his arms more firmly, unable to do anything about her leg against his face. Michelle grunts and her body heaves as he hears her shift the ceiling panel. Her toes curl around his fingers. He exhales in relief; if she can figure this out without him needing to call on his super-strength, awesome. She goes home with a sense of accomplishment and he goes home maintaining his secret identity.

“Ok,” she calls down. “It’s open. Lift me higher.”

“Higher,” Peter mumbles to himself. Then, to her, “Uh, I might have to, um, hold your legs. But I won’t look at anything, I swear.”

“I’ve trusted you this far.”

Her voice is wry and he chuckles.

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Michelle says.

With a bounce of his shoulders, he hoists her up. For a minute, he keeps hold of her foot, but then one of his hands clutches the back of her calf while the other cups her heel. Her weight pulls away from him as she hauls herself up through the ceiling.

“Is there a door?” he asks.

“It’s dark… Can you get my phone? It’s right inside my bag.”

“Ok, hang on. Literally,” Peter adds.

“Ha ha,” Michelle responds dryly, but when he gently releases his grip on her, he finds that she’s able to hold herself in place with her elbows. Her legs dangle and he hurries.

Their conversation and the rush of the action they just took concentrated his senses. Unfortunately, he’s now holding her work bag open and the sounds from her voice recorder are pouring out louder than ever. Still too quiet for her though, at this distance.

‘…didn’t think a suit that tight could hide much, but I’m still pleasantly surprised.’ ‘What, this?’ Spider-Man teases. I abandon my coffee cup and push my reading glasses up into my hair as I set my notes aside to lean in. He might as well have a web stuck to my chest. His awareness of his own physicality is evidently as precise afterhours as it is while he’s on duty because he skims a hand down his abdomen, appearing to almost accidentally hook his thumb in the band of his boxers. ‘You want the real scoop?’ he asks me, prying the elastic away from his skin provocatively. The taste of coffee is still thick and rich in my mouth when I encourage him: ‘Go on, Spidey. Don’t stop there…’

Peter almost drops the bag.

“Did you find it?”

“Yeah! Yes. Mhmm, I’ve got it.”

He returns to Michelle and wraps one arm around her legs. With his other hand, he lifts the phone towards her. Her fingers clasp his, then locate the phone and take it from his grip. He holds still while she turns on her flashlight and has a look around. So, Michelle doesn’t have a little crush on Spider-Man. She’s hot for Spider-Man. Which means she’s hot for Peter, in a way. Except not, he reminds himself, because you’re just her silent co-worker. You’re never going to―

“FUCK!”

“What? No. What? What is it?”

“The next door’s way too high,” she says. “We must be almost lined up with one.” She taps him on the head with her phone and he slips it into his pocket for safekeeping as he prepares to help her down.

“We’ll find another way.” Will you? he asks himself.

“Quick question.”

“Uh huh?”

“How do I do this?”

He’s holding most of her weight now and, pressing a hand to flatten her skirt against her leg, chances a peek up at Michelle. Her head’s still through the ceiling, arms still braced over the open panel. What would definitely work would be her just letting go and him catching her in his arms, but maybe that’s too much faith for her to put in a random guy from work. Although he’s capable of lifting her, catching her falling body is a completely different thing. As with their escape in general, they don’t have a ton of options.

“Just let go slowly,” Peter coaches. “I’ll adjust how I’m holding you and you can sort of slide down my body.” The awkwardness in his tone garbles the last part.

“I can what?”

Dammit. She’s waiting to come down. He clears his throat.

“Uh, slide down my body?”

Her anxious laugh disappears into the elevator shaft.

“What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” he hears her hiss to herself. To him, “Yeah, ok. I’m coming down now.”

“I have you.”

Peter’s counting on the giddiness of being returned to the ground from a height to distract her from the too-skillful way he maneuvers his hands on her. Making sure her skirt never gets rucked up, not placing his hands anywhere truly unforgiveable. He holds her hips, not her ass, and turns his head so his face doesn’t wind up in her crotch. He’s really gentleman-ing his butt off when the recording in her bag calls out, ‘Harder, Spider-Man!’

His hands slip. A second ago, his head was level with her stomach and now his face is buried in her chest, the cup of her bra pressing back against his temple. Immediately, Peter tilts back from his shoulders.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry―”

“I’m ok, I’m good,” Michelle protests as they wriggle together to set her down. He forces her phone back into her hand.

“Your skirt was slippery…”

“I know. You did great, Peter, seriously.”

“…and I heard…”

He shuts his mouth fast, but her flustered expression dissipates as her probing gaze finds his eyes.

“What did you hear?”

Peter pushes at his sleeves and refuses to answer. Her powers of deduction don’t rely on him at all. She whirls to her bag, crouching and dropping her phone in to extract the voice recorder instead. Holding it to her ear in investigation, Michelle probably hears the words By the time he has me on all fours, I can tell that Spider-Man’s on board with my remark on the importance of letting someone be close to him at the same volume he does standing three feet away. He’s basically plastered himself to the opposite wall. She looks about as mortified as he figures he’d feel if he made a recording of a very personal fantasy and someone listened to it. Man, should he have just told her at the beginning? There didn’t seem to be a way to handle it well.

Michelle stops the playback and puts the recorder away. The elevator is abruptly quiet without the whisper of her voice. All the while, Peter’s staring at her, seeing what she’ll do. The most probable conclusion for her to come to is that he heard a single sound, a blip, and has no clue what the recording contained. The way she stands, leaving her bag on the floor, seems to confirm this. But she doesn’t look over at him.

With a sigh, he decides to do what Spider-Man would do and put the person in need first. What Michelle Jones needs from him is a way out of this embarrassment, and this elevator. Peter walks to the doors and stamps his hands to the metal. First, a little compression to get a good grip and then… Scrunching his face with the effort, he puts his back into it, forcing the doors apart. Next, he does the same thing to the outer doors, separating them to reveal a darkened hallway. The floor’s about three feet higher than where he’s standing inside the elevator, but that’s nothing for someone to scramble through and head for the stairs.

He steps away to let her go first. She doesn’t move.

“Should we talk about that?” Michelle asks, pointing at the doors, after what has to be a full minute of her studying him.

“I… work out? A lot. I work out a lot,” Peter says with more conviction on every try.

“And about this?” She grabs her recorder and waves it at him.

“You… use that to, uh, keep track of your ideas.”

She steps up to him and, without dropping her gaze from his face, reaches out to touch his wrist. Her fingers move from tracing his skin to ringing his web-shooter. He wears them to work pretty often, but always covers them with the cuffs of his shirt. Which he rolled up. Because he thought he was alone. There’s no reason for her to know what they’re for though, right? They could be medical alert bracelets, or just jewellery. It’s not like they’re branded with ‘Spider-Man’s Web-Shooter, 1 of 2.’

“You wanna talk about these?”

Peter opts out of replying.

“I know what they are,” she says. “What they’re for. I’ve researched you, looked at a lot of video footage and photographs, many of which I think you took, which seems equal parts fucked-up and brilliant. I noticed them right after we got stuck.”

“I have… a severe peanut butter allergy,” he says unconvincingly.

“Bummer,” Michelle shoots back, unsympathetic. Yeah, it was a terrible lie, but he’s gotta at least be able to say he tried to deny her accusations.

“It is, it is a bummer,” Peter agrees, nodding. He licks his dry lips to wet them. “Sometimes, I have such a craving for a PB and J and I can’t―”

She leans in and gives him a quick kiss.

“I’m… confused,” he admits.

“I know who you are,” she begins. “You don’t have to say it out loud, on the off chance somebody really has bugged this piece of shit elevator, but your severe peanut butter allergy bracelets, in combination with how you opened those doors, are pretty good evidence when compared with my research. So, if I take my supposition as fact―”

“Peanut butter…”

“Save it. If you are who I strongly believe you to be, then you were able to hear god knows what on that recording. Which I am an idiot for forgetting to erase or record over. Meant to do it last night… ugh, anyway. The important thing is that you heard it and you didn’t bolt through those doors the second you got them open. Why.”

When Michelle’s on a roll, he learns, her questions come out as demands. He quits trying to sneakily unfold his cuffs in a way-too-last-ditch attempt at concealing the truth.

“Ladies first?” he tries.

“I’m not going to use what I know. I promise you that. You’re a good person and as far as I’m concerned, your secret’s your secret. You do a hell of a lot more for this city than Jameson does with the trash he prints, my own contributions obviously excluded. Now I’m the only one held over a barrel here, Peter. You heard what you heard. Tell me why you stayed.”

“You needed me.”

“After you got the doors open.”

Peter thinks. Not just about whether or not to speak, but if he’s ready to say what he’s about to say.

“I needed you. It’s like what you said in the story―I mean, the recording. I don’t let many people get close to me.”

“Why would you let me be one of those people? It took being stuck together before we even had our first conversation.”

“A good feeling, I guess,” he explains. “Plus, you’re kinda my dream girl and I just found out that, at least on the physical side of things, you’re really into me. Like, really into me.”

“You can shut up about that now,” Michelle says.

“Why? You didn’t. You had so much to say.”

“Hmm, maybe I like Spi- I mean, that guy better when I’m speaking for him. Fortunately for you,” she says smugly, “I’ve thought Peter Parker the photographer was cute since the day I started working here.”

“That is news to me.”

Michelle wraps her arms around his neck, smirking as she leans her body against his.

“I was getting around to telling you. Are you surprised?”

“It’s a real scoop,” Peter acknowledges as his hands feel out the lithe shape of her back through her blouse.

“Oh my god, you heard that part? That part? How could―”

He more or less molds his mouth to hers. She more or less gives him a tour of her Brooklyn apartment before they spend the night in bed together and rise to a hot cup of coffee.

more clichéd tropes and prompts

[moonlit-imagines]

Undercover

Peter Parker x Fury!reader

warnings: gun

a/n: this is dumb

prompt:

You were tasked with keeping an eye on Peter at Midtown High after he had become Spider-Man. It was a harder mission than you thought it would be, though. You were adopted by Nick Fury when you were just a kid. A kid with super powers and a dangerous sense of being.

You weren’t used to being around people your own age. And the mixed bag of personalities really made you glad you didn’t go to school. You were shocked at the way some of these kids conducted themselves.

“Hey!” You looked to your side to see Peter sit beside you in the lab stool. “I’m Peter.” He introduces himself as he scooted up to the table. “Sorry to bother you, but you seem like down-to-earth person. You don’t talk much, but...” He hesitated and chuckled. The teacher had started his lesson, but you wouldn’t pay much attention, anyways.

“I’m y/n. It’s nice to meet you Peter.” You mimicked his mannerisms just like Auntie Nat had taught you. That’s how you make friends, right?

“Yeah, you too.” He tapped his pen against the table. “So, uh, what’s your favorite subject?”

“You’re great at small talk.” You joked.

“Miss l/n, I know you’re excited for your first day, but please pay attention to the lecture. You’re a bit behind.” The teacher interrupted your conversation.

“Yes, sir.” You smiled warmly and faced front.

“Wanna sit with me and my friends at lunch?” Peter suggested.

“Sure, why not?”

—————

You saw Peter waving to you from across the lunchroom, trying to grab your attention. You chuckled at his efforts and passed by each table of babbling students until you reached Peter’s.

“Guys, meet y/n. They’re new. That is all I know.” He introduced you to his friends, who you had already been debriefed on and knew everything you needed to know about them.

Elizabeth “Betty” Brant: School News Co-Anchor, Ned’s ex-girlfriend

Edward “Ned” Leeds: Peter’s best friend, occasional help

Eugene “Flash” Thompson: Social Media influencer, “Spider-Fan”

Michelle “MJ” Jones: Captain of Academic Decathlon team, ally to Spider-Man

But you played it off as if you’d never even heard of these people in your life. Not everyone was like you, they didn’t have all the knowledge about you the moment you met. Just put on a smile and act like you’re glad to meet them!

“Hi,” You waved awkwardly, “nice to meet you all.” You were suddenly very aware of how heavy your backpack was.

“Hi, y/n! I’m Ned!” He got up to shake your hand. “That’s Betty, Flash, and MJ.” He pointed to each one of them respectively and they each gave you a slight nod and wave. “So, what school did you come from?” He asked. You had rehearsed this.

“Albany High.” You scoffed and they all laughed.

“Gross! You’re better off here, anyways.” Flash winked.

“Aaanyways, why don’t you sit down and eat, huh?” Peter just made you aware that you were still grasping onto your lunch tray and standing in front of the table.

“Oh, wow, sorry. I’m not really thinking straight today.” You sat beside Peter and Betty got her camera out to take a picture of you two cracking jokes.

“Aw, you guys are so cute!” She commented and Peter’s face went red.

“Y/N, what are your thoughts on Spider-Man?” Flash asked with a huge grin that would have scared you if you weren’t a trained agent of SHIELD.

“Oh, uh, I’ve seen some videos of him around here. He seems pretty awesome, I hope to see him around sometime.” You shrugged it off and turned back to Peter. You actually didn’t hope to see him without a mask on because Tony’s AI would recognize you quick and your cover would be blown. You’d met Spider-Man under your alter-ego before, though.

“I bet you will! We’ve seen him a lot. I found out he follows me on Instagram!” Flash started gushing about Spider-Man, which you expected.

“So, y/n, have you gotten to see much of the city yet?” Peter got your attention once more.

“No, not really.” You shook your head and went back to eating.

“I’d love to show you around!” He exclaimed a bit too excitedly. You straighted your posture and felt as if everyone was watching you. “Sorry, I came on a little strong there. How about after school I can show you a little bit of the city. If you would like.” He rephrased.

“I wouldn’t be opposed.” You answered with a sly little smirk that Peter couldn’t resist.

—————

You’d been undercover for two months and Peter still hadn’t figured out who you really were. Occasionally, the two of you would run into each other during patrol. It wasn’t anything too special, but there were a few notable team ups.

You and Peter made it a daily thing to sit next to each other in the cafeteria and chat. He was sweet and you were happy that you were forced into this mission. Nick Fury works wonders, hm.

The static murmurs of the cafeteria came to a quick halt, then turned into an uproar as everyone turned their attention to the TV. The news was on and there was an attack taking place. You turned your attention back to Peter as he slowly got up from his seat.

“I need to go to the bathroom. Don’t come looking for me if I’m gone for a while. Ate a food truck burrito last night.” Peter rushed off and you knew exactly what was about to go down.

“What was that about?” Betty asked.

“Don’t know. I’ll go check on him.” You went off and got suited up. You had to figure out who was conducting these attacks in New York. Peter shouldn’t have to do it alone.

You made your way to Peter’s location and hopped on the intercoms.

“Hey, Spider, you miss me?” You flew by and gave him a little salute.

“Took you long enough.” He caught up to you and met you on a rooftop.

“Any ideas on who’s to blame for this one?” You watched as a few robots flew by and blasted buildings. The sound of windows shattering gave you a headache. “Wait...”

“What?” The eyes in his mask squinted.

“Those are prototypes Tony created some years back. Who could be controlling them now?” You asked rhetorically.

“Ultron?” Peter mumbled.

“Ultron was destroyed, Spidey. There’s a person behind this. Someone who has access to Stark Tech.” You tried to rationalize the situation.

“There was a guy I fought in the UK! Mysterio, he had partners. What if one of them still has access to Stark’s tech?” He asked the suit.

“Not Unlikely.” You shrugged and took another look at the situation. “We need to do something quick.” You stated the obvious.

“Got a plan?” He asked you and his suit at the same time. Neither of you could answer at first.

“Okay, I could get to one of Tony’s old labs if we could steal one of the robots. I’ll be able to track him to the source.” You told Peter and he got right to work. You followed soon after and both worked to retrieve a lightly damaged robot. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

“Hey, I got one!” Spider-Man told you over the comms.

“Great! Sending the lab location to you now. Meet me there.” You instructed.

“Peter?” His suit AI interjected. “I recognize y/v/n’s voice from somewhere.” She told him.

“Oh, yeah? Where’s that?” He asked as he swung through the city with a robot corpse under one of his arms.

“School, Peter. It’s y/n. Only y/n’s last name is not l/n. It’s Fury. I believe Mr. Fury erased their information from our server, but Mr. Stark had plenty of backups.” His AI informed him. Peter stopped swinging and stopped at a nearby rooftop to process this.

“You coming, Spidey? Starting to get worried.” You were already good to go in the lab.

“Oh, uh, yeah! Right behind you!” He swung to your location and tried to be calm about this newfound knowledge. The city was loud, he couldn’t quite calm down.

“You alright, kid?” You snapped Peter out of his daze. “Any injuries?”

“No, no. I’m good.” Peter set the robot down and you got to work. “So, y/v/n, do you go to school?” He asked.

“What?” You didn’t look away from your work.

“Like, do you go to high school or college?” He asked again.

“We’re getting into personal territory, Spider-Boy.” You laughed off his questioning and continued your tracking. “Almost there...aaaand...got it!” You turned around to see a visibly frustrated Spider-Man.

“Spidey, you’re pacing. What’s the deal? Why are you asking questions like that.” You started to giggle. “Wait...is this a desperate attempt to flirt with me?” His Spider-eyes went wide.

“What?! Are you kidding me?” Peter walked towards you, getting extremely close. “You lied to me.” He whispered.

“Huh?” You said in a normal tone, which only upset him more.

“You lied to me,” he repeated, “y/n.” Your eyes went wide underneath your mask and you studdered. “We have to go. Now.” He looked at the screen to get to coordinates, then left you in the dust. Your cover was blown, you had honestly never planned for this. Your dad had taught you how to be careful, this was the first time anyone had figured it out on their own. “Are you coming?” He asked bluntly over the comms.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” You answered as if you were unbothered. You know, like dad had taught you. You caught up to Peter and barely said a word to his as he swung about the city. “We’re here. Sublevel three. I’ll go in headfirst as a distraction, I need you to shut the program down.” You instructed him.

“I don’t take orders from you.” He grumbled.

“Spider-Man.” You snarled.

“Fine.” He snuck in the side of the building and you walked right through the front doors. “Let me know when you’re ready.” He told you. You walked down the three flights of stairs and straight into the office that William Ginter Riva was hiding in. You kicked the door in and he spun around in his chair, absolutely horrified.

“Shut it down, asshole.” You got distracted by all of the targets listed on his screens. You were really off today. It was getting bad. You didn’t even realize Riva was pointing a gun at you. Peter was watching it all play out through the vents, and he knew Riva was about to pull the trigger. He kicked out the vent and took Riva down. You let go of your breath and stared at Peter, absolutely in shock. You thought this was it for you.

“C’mon. Let’s shut it down.” He began typing on the computer and rebooting systems to terminate. The bots all began destroying each other. At the count of three, you shut it down at the same time and sent the program to self-destruct.

“We gotta get out of here.” You grabbed Peter by the wrist and led him out through your original entrance. As soon as you left the building, Peter took off, leaving you amongst the rubble of the city. You sighed and kicked a piece of robot. “Guess I better get back to the school.”

A quick change in costume and a little cleanup, good as new. No visible bruising, didn’t smell like straight-up sweat, and back to civilian clothes. Well, student clothes. You snuck back into the school and explored the empty hallways. There was a slight echo in each step, but you heard another echo, as well. Shit, if it’s a teacher, you’re going to need a pretty amazing cover story.

A student came around the corner and you both stopped in your tracks. It was Peter! You each looked a little relieved to see each other, but not very. Peter stomped over to you, yet you just stood right there. There you both were, standing in the middle of the hallway.

“I can’t believe you.” He spoke low. “How could you lie to me for so long? I trusted you and I trusted y/v/n and you both let me down.”

“Peter, this is a mission. I had no choice.” You placed your hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth, I really am. There are so many times that I would have, but I have a job to do.”

“We both do. It’s our job to protect.” He pointed out. “You’re not protecting anyone by lying.”

“Peter, my mission was to protect you. Before Tony died, he gave my dad, Nick Fury, a message asking him to keep an eye on you. I’m the eye.” You admitted. Peter’s expression softened and his lips parted slightly as he put everything together. “Are you okay?” You asked. He pulled you into a hug and you weren’t quite sure what to do at first, but you hugged him back.

“I’m...sorry I freaked out there.” He pulled away and rubbed the back of his neck. You each heard footsteps coming from around the corner and quick thinking led to him opening the janitor’s closet and pulling you inside with him. It was a little crammed. It was actually very crammed. You and Peter stood face to face, about three inches apart.

“Hey.” You chuckled.

“Hi.” Peter chuckled back. You two completely ignored the footsteps for a minute and just stared into each other’s eyes.

“Enjoying the view?” You tried to cut the tension, which kind of worked? Peter didn’t answer for a moment, but instead he leaned in and kissed you. Yes, next to all of the cleaning supplies. You didn’t pull away, you didn’t want to pull away. You realized that this is what you’ve wanted for a while, you just didn’t know because it had never happened before. Peter pulled away.

“I’m sorry, was that okay?” He turned red in the face. You grabbed his face and kissed him again, a little more passionate than last time. He wrapped his arms around your waist and you did this for a while. Yes, in the janitors closet. It was a day to remember.

[knightofameris]

jar of stars — peter parker (p. iii)

Setting: After homecoming, but during the sophomore year of high school Gender: Neutral Contains: Flufffffffff, a little bit of angst but honestly not really lol. Word Count: 2.2k

Summary: (Y/n) has a thing for paper stars. They also have a thing for Peter Parker but then an itsy bitsy spider comes ‘round and practically plays matchmaker.

a/n: Let me know if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes or if I accidentally say ‘she/he’ instead of the gender neutral ‘they’.

So, I finished this months after starting this and I’m posting this a few weeks after finishing it. It’s a little rushed towards the end since I kinda lost inspiration. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this series! I have two more series (6-part and 8-part w/ epilogue coming up but I have no clue when they’ll be finished.

p. i || p. ii || here!

Enjoy!  [repost from old account]

❝ the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed                     that one eyebrow that defied gravity           it was like you were falling for him all over again ❞

“You can’t just take someone, swinging through the buildings of Queens, Peter!” Tony yelled, gesturing his entire arm out. Peter walked up towards his mentor in his outfit, his arms out as he tried to explain himself.

“Yeah but Mr. Sta-”

“A bup bup bup!” Tony raised a finger up in the air, effectively shutting Peter up who could only tighten his mouth in a straight line. “I’m talking here. Peter, I know you like this person a lot. (Y/n) right? What was it that you said to me about keeping your identity a secret?”

“To keep my loved ones safe.” They both said at the same time.

“Exactly,” Tony walked up towards Peter and wrapped an arm around the young teen. The two began to walk towards the car set outside the compound, ready to drive Peter home. “Someone could easily snap a picture and (Y/n) would be attached to your alter ego. I know you’re terrified to ask them out as - well - you,” Tony gestured towards Peter’s entire body.

“Wait, what do you mea-”

“But you’re going to have to. And not play around as Spider-Man to do so. Pepper is always in danger because of me. And trust me, I hate it. I’ve pushed her away in the past a few times and all of those who have been close to me because I’m scared of them getting hurt. You don’t need that on your conscience that young, if at all. I really - and I mean it - I really think you should stop talking to them. As Spider-Man, anyways.”

Peter  pursed his lips as he took in everything Tony said. Nodding his head, he said, “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll stop talking to them. As Spider-Man.” The two of them finally reached the black car, Happy already in the drivers seat.

Tony reached over to open the door for Peter and then patted his back. “I knew you were a smart kid, Parker.” Peter smiled up at Tony as he got into the car.

“Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“Uh, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Tony?” Tony quirked a brow and pointed at the boy seated in the car. “Oh, whatever, just get home safe or May will kill me.”

Tony patted the top of the car once the door shut and watched until the car left his line of vision.

Peter looked inside your room, watching as you worked on some stars while binging a show. He probably should knock, since this was kind of creepy, but you just looked so calm. No worries in the world. However, he raised his hand and rapped two knuckles on the window. You jolted a bit in your seat, looking at the window only to smile in relief when you recognized his mask.

You took off your earbuds and got up to open the window. You leaned out of it staring at the whites of his mask.  

“It’s late, what are you doing?” You asked, smiling and recalling the earlier events of the day. You couldn’t read the emotions etched on his face, but the way his body shifted side to side and how he moved his head to the side you could sense that something was up. You frowned. “Spider-Man?”

“Sooo, Mr. Stark caught me taking you through Queens.” He scratched the back of his neck, still not meeting your eyes. “He said I shouldn’t do that, or talk to you as Spider-Man. And I think so too. It can put you in serious danger if one of my enemies caught me with you and I don’t want to be the reason you get hurt. I’m really sorry and I hope you understand.” He began to walk away and raised his arm up to head back home but you reached out towards him, grasping onto his arm.

“Wait!” You urged. He glanced back at you. “Just, wait for a second.” You let go of his arm and ran into your room. Digging under your bed, you reached for a certain jar and ran back to the window. You held out the Spider-Man themed jar to him.

“It-It makes sense,” you said, “to stop talking to me. I get it. And as much as it sucks, I’m glad I got to know you. So at the very least, take this. You know, to remember me.” He gingerly took it out of your grasp and adired the spider design on the side.

He looked up into your eyes, “Thank you.”

You choked back a few tears before you said, “Good luck in life. And stay safe.”

Peter smiled. “I will. Thank you, (Y/n). For being a big part of my life. Make sure to tell Peter by the way.”

You nodded your head in response, not trusting your voice, before he jumped off the fire escape and into the night. You sighed, glancing up at the night sky. You weren’t met with the twinkling of stars, for they did not shine that night.

The dark circles under your eyes would not go away, no matter how much concealer you tried to put on. That much was evident to all your friends.

MJ frowned and furrowed her brows as she put an arm around you. “Dude, why do you look like you were up all night studying.”

Not wanting to tell the truth you replied, “Because I was?”

“Dude, (Y/n), you’re going to be fine,” Ned said, nudging you slightly with his elbow. You made sounds of protests in response but then quickly looked over at Peter. He was deathly quiet and usually would rush over to you the moment he knew you were killing yourself over school. But he looked just as tired, he was just lucky he didn’t have dark circles as evident as yours.

No one knew that you were close friends with the hero of Queens. Not even MJ but she knew something was up when you’d stop replying to her texts or wouldn’t hang out with her at night. So it’s not even like you could tell someone how you’ve been feeling since he cut you off.

It sucked. But you knew that it was because of how it could put you in danger. But there was still that voice in the back of your head wondering if he just cut you off because he was tired of you. Insecurities of yours wandered around in your head for the rest of the day.

You sat next to Peter with Ned, Cindy, and a few others, at the lab table in physics. Your head on the desk, looking at Peter’s well defined profile. You were thankful that Mrs. Warren didn’t assign any work after the AP exams; it meant you could sleep. But for some reason, even though you were extremely tired, you just watched Peter play card games with the rest of the group. The way his eyes crinkled when he laughed at something stupid. That one eyebrow that defied gravity. It was like you were falling for him all over again.

Maybe you should follow Spider-Man’s advice. Even if he never spoke to you again, you trusted him.

Your eyes began to close, listening to the voices of your friends and Peter’s laugh lulled you into dreamland.

The annoying sound of your alarm caused you to groan as you rolled over to slam the snooze button on your phone. You closed your eyes again as you drifted off into dreamland but the alarm that was set five minutes after went off causing you to groan again.

Your drowsy eyes slowly opened up as you rubbed your face with your hands. Tossing the blankets to the side, you groggily got up to get ready for school. You really regretted staying up to finish a season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine before the last day of school. Nah, it was so worth it.

It had been about a week and a few days since Spider-Man cut everything off with you. But with how it was the last day of school, you figured you should end it following his advice.

So there you were, standing in front of your jar-shelf trying to pick a confession jar. Which one would Peter like the most?

“It’s Peter, he wouldn’t care which one. Just if he got one,” you thought. And you knew you were right but the other voice kept saying otherwise. It wasn’t until your dad yelled at you saying you were going to be late, again, that you grabbed a random one and ran off to catch the subway.

The last day of school went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, you didn’t see Peter all day or even after school. Block schedule for finals were the worst.

“So you’re finally doing it?” Michelle asked as she walked you to the station.

You nodded your head, “Yeah, I haven’t seen him all day and Ned hasn’t either. So I’ll probably stop by his place since it’s on the way to mine.”

“Alright, doesn’t sound to bad. Tell me how it goes, loser,” Michelle smirked and you rolled your eyes, punching her shoulder lightly as she walked off to her train to take.

“I’ll text you tonight, get home safe, ho bag!” You called out, ignoring the looks from the older adults around you. You smiled to yourself as you got onto the train and shifted around to look for a seat, only to realize you were going to have to stand this time around. Again. Which was fine.

You gripped one of the handles as you pulled out your phone to check your messages. Replying quickly to a few friends, you pulled up Peter’s chat and let him know that you were stopping by. You shoved your phone back into your pocket and took a deep breath for what was to come.

You knocked on Peter’s apartment with two fingers and went back to grasp the straps of your backpack to ease your nerves. You waited for a bit and then heard a ruckus on the other side, only to see May open up holding a rag. She paused and then burst into a smile as she realized it was you.

“(Y/n)! It’s so nice to see you,” she gushed, ushering you into the apartment. You smiled up at her, your eyes flickering over to Peter’s door as you talked.

“Yeah, it’s been a while Mrs. Parker!” You brushed a hand through your hair.

“Oh,” she waved the rag nonchalantly, “just call me May. You’re probably here for Peter, you can just walk in, he just got back from school.” You nodded your head and thanked her before heading over into his room, taking out the jar from your bag.

You knocked a few times before clasping your hand around the doorknob and let yourself in. You suddenly became more aware of the jar that sat in your hands when you made eye contact with Peter who looked up at you from his bed on his phone. He jolted out of his bed and fixed his hair from tossing around in his bed.

“(Y/n), I just got your message,” he breathed out. Smiling as he moved around his room trying to clean up his slight mess. As he shuffled things around on his desk you couldn’t help but notice an oddly familiar jar that sat perched on it. Your face scrunched up in confusion and you tilted your head as you tried to recall the star jar that sat on his desk.

Peter looked up at you, “So, what do you need to-”

“Holy shit.”

The jar in your hand would have shattered if it hit the floor. But Peter reached forward fast enough to catch it before it did.

Peter probably should have realized you’d figure it out, that he was Spider-Man. So when he glanced up at your frozen figure, worry flooded over him.

“Peter?” You asked sternly, your finger pointing at the jar you had given him, or Spider-Man, weeks earlier. He followed your eyes that were looking in the same direction as your finger then back up at you.

“Yeah?”

“Are you Spider-Man?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, okay. Well, that jar’s for you. You should open it.” You walked out of his room, closing his door for a second. Peter stood there watching you leave, his mouth agape. Glancing down at the jar, realizing that you had followed his advice, then up to see your back about to leave his apartment, he set down the jar on his desk and ran after you.

“(Y/n), wait!” Peter called for you, jumping over the couch and setting his hand on your shoulder. You stopped mid-step but didn’t turn around to face him. “I - uh - I don’t know what to say.”

You closed your eyes, unsure of how to feel. “I liked you.”

Peter tilted his head and pulled his hand away from your shoulder. “Liked?”

You chuckled and moved your head down a bit. “I liked you, you know. Spider-Man. And you. God, I don’t even know what I’m feeling. Relieved? That I wasn’t confused on who I liked? Happy? Because it’s you.  Or mad? Since you essentially used Spider-Man to get to me. Kind of broke my heart when Spider-Man stopped talking to me and when you got too busy with the Stark Internship to even make time for me or Michelle or Ned!” You brought your arm up to your face, wiping away stray tears.

Peter stood there and pursed his lips. His eyes watering a little bit since he was frustrated at himself for doing this to you.

You opened your mouth, about to tell Peter you were going to leave when you heard him talk.

“I’m sorry.” He shifted his weight on his feet and you turned to face him. “I am so, so, sorry about the distress I put you through.” He looked into your eyes, occasionally glancing elsewhere. “I shouldn’t have  to use Spider-Man to get close to you like that. I should have made more time for you as me. I just-uh-I should have told you about Spider-Man. And I’ll make it up to you! Because talking to you again as Spider-Man made me so ecstatic. I thought-I thought you hated me. You never gave me a jar and-and I was always scared. Scared to talk to you as me. So-so-so I thought,” Peter waved his arms around, not really looking at you by the time he got here, “I thought Spider-Man would be easier to talk to you. And it was-”

You wrapped your arms around him into a hug. “You talk wayyy too much Parker. I get it. It still doesn’t make it right though.” Peter smiled and you felt his arms wrap around you.

“I know. I’ll make it up to you.” Peter nuzzled his face into your hair.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Okay,” you slightly moved away from Peter looking up at him. “I trust you.” Peter grinned. “Now, you just gotta fill me in on everything.”

“I will.”

[heartofholland]

bitter - p.p.

summary: you worked your whole life for this, and peter parker took it away without a single second thought.

word count: 2.5k

warnings: a bit of swearing but for comedic effect i swear

authors note: this is my first (and most likely last) time writing. if its not good blame my C in english <3. this idea randomly came to me in the middle of the night and i though i’d give it a shot. shoutout @hollanderheart​ for not only motivating me to write and post this but also being my own personal hype woman at all times. enjoy!!

---

You had never had a solid reason to hate Peter Parker. He was smart, quiet, and always kind to you and everyone around him. You thought he was a nice boy, and never had a problem with him. Until now.

Until Peter fucking Parker stole your internship.

The news was initially broken to you through hallway gossip. Not believing the story, you went straight to the only person who you knew wouldn’t feed you bullshit, MJ.

“Did Peter get the Stark internship?” You practically screamed. MJ turned, stunned from your sudden close proximity and your wide, questioning eyes. Closing her locker after grabbing the books she needed for her next class, she answered, “Yeah, he’s had it for like a week, why?”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Your back hit the lockers and you rubbed your face in frustration.

“Well, I didn’t know you were so invested in Peter’s business all the sudden,” she quipped, not realizing you weren’t in the mood based on the death glare you returned.

“You realize I’ve been working on getting that internship for like, my whole life right?” You scoffed and let your head fall back and hit the locker.

“It must’ve slipped my mind, my bad.” she replied coolly.

You groaned, “I can’t believe Peter Parker just destroyed my future.”

“I’m gonna sit this breakdown out, I have to study for my Calc test.”  She gave you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before making her way to the library.

There you stayed, leaning on the lockers frozen with solitude, or was it anger? You couldn’t quite tell.

The rest of the morning passes with a breeze, just going through the motions of your daily routine without even thinking. Everything just felt numb. The final bell rang, allowing you to get away from the possibility of making any contact with Peter. The hatred you held for that boy was unimaginable.

The internship at hand was a once in a lifetime experience. The September Foundation Internship. One high school junior, hand picked by Tony Stark himself, was hired to work alongside the mastermind for an entire year. Rumors claim that if you’re cool enough, he lets you try on the suit. Others claim that if you stay late enough, you can see the Avengers in their daily lives. But no one has ever been able to verify them. Now meeting the Avengers would be cool and all but that's not why you wanted this internship. By featuring this on your applications, it was basically one way ticket to acceptance.

To any school. Anywhere.

Though your resume may be long winded, having the internship on there puts you ahead of any other student there. And if you were trying to get into MIT, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to be friends with an alumni. A very prevalent alumni who donates large sums of money each year.

What irked you the most was that you didn’t even get a letter of rejection. You had to find out through gossip. Like really? How long does it take to write an email?

Hey sorry you sucked so much that you didn’t get the internship. Better luck next time!

XOXO Iron Man :)

Sure, Peter Parker was a hard worker with a big brain but there was no way he was more qualified for that job. You had hundreds of hours of community service, a spotless report card, professional relationships with many prominent authoritative figures, and you participated in extracurriculars that Peter hadn’t even heard of. So how did he get in over you? Sure he has marching band, academic decathlon and robotics but in no way could that ever put you a step above him. It’s not like he’s some sort of superhero saving lives.

The fact that you couldn’t come up with a single thing that could make him stand out over you annoyed you to no end. The internal conflict occupied your brain for almost a week until you decided to confront Peter.

You spotted him in the cafeteria, laughing with Ned acting like he did absolutely nothing wrong.

Oh boy did he have it coming.

“So how’d you do it?” you accused, slamming your lunch tray down and sitting down across from him. Ned scootched away suddenly uncomfortable with your closeness and accusatory voice. Since becoming official with Betty, he knew how women’s emotions worked (to an extent) and he knew that tone did not mean sunshine and rainbows.

“W-What are you talking about?” he squeaked, confusion written all over his face. His eyes bouncing all over your features as if it would help predict what you were going to say to him.

“The September Foundation Internship,” you started with a calmer tone, “How’d you beat out all 5000 candidates, including yours truly?” You smiled innocently, but Peter knew that look meant anything but.

He looked around for a second, coming up with absolutely any excuse to satisfy your jealousy, “I did- I didn’t ask Mr. Stark so- so I really don’t know.” He turned to Ned widening his eyes as if sending a telepathic call for help. Ned frantically shook his head, not wanting any part of his problem. He deals with enough angry teenage girls as it is, he wouldn’t voluntarily put up with any more than he needed.

Peter panicked, spouting out the first thing that came to mind, “Well in my application I-I mentioned that I like to build LEGOS, so I guess Mr. Stark assumed I’m good with my hands?” uncertainty prevalent in his voice. He visibly winced at that poor excuse of reasoning.

You were surprised, “Oh, ok. Thanks Peter,” getting up to move towards your typical spot in the cafeteria.

“Real smooth, bet you really fooled her there,” Ned teased his friend, noticing the concern on his face, “What was I supposed to do? Just casually mention I’m Spider-man? She wouldn’t believe me!” Peter weighed.

LEGOs.

A toy that was meant for children beat you out. Embarrassed was an understatement. You played with Barbies and Polly Pockets! You even played with the sexist “girly” version of LEGOs! Granted you probably haven’t picked up a toy in maybe 10 years but still! That just isn’t fair.

---

“Mr. S-Stark could I have some advice?” Peter was quite literally shitting his pants with nervousness.

Tony looked up from his blasters he was tinkering with, “I mean you can ask but I can’t guarantee I can be your Dalai Lama” he taunted.

“Um okay well,” Peter gulped, “This really pretty girl at my school is mad at me and I don’t know what to do”

Tony was stunned, “Girls talk to you? And you hold a conversation? Congrats kid you’re growing up!”

Peter was embarrassed, “Well, not exactly. You know that internship you host every year?” His hands were shaking from nervousness, so he dropped his web shooters and clasped them in his lap so Tony wouldn’t notice. But of course he did, setting down his blasters and turning his chair to put his complete focus on Peter.

Well that totally makes this conversation easier!

“Of course. But I’m not giving it to you. I spend enough time with you already as it is.”  

That helped ease his stress, “Well to cover for Spider-Man I just tell everyone I do the Stark internship, forgetting that there is a real internship. So this girl applied for the September Foundation Internship and is mad because she thinks I took it from her. But that's crazy because she's like the nicest person and worked so hard for this internship and there is no one I know that is more deserving of the spot and-,” Tony cuts him off, knowing the boy could ramble for days.

“What’s her name?” He questions, “Y/N Y/L/N, But I’m not asking you to like give it to her because that’s not fair, just give her a tour of the tower or something for her to finally realize I’m not that important around here,” Peter justifies.

“I’ll see what I can do.” With that, he walked out of the lab.

---

You’ve accepted the fact that you didn’t get the position and have continued to build your resume, filling in the space you left for the internship.

“Mr. Harrington? Flash isn’t here today so do you want me to do the lab alone?” You asked, grateful your annoying lab partner isn’t there attempting every pick up line in existence on you. Each one followed up with a denial and you completed the lab on your own.

“No,” Mr. Harrington said. “Ned’s partner isn’t here either so you can pair up with him.”  

Begrudgingly, you stood up to join Ned at his lab table. Curious you ask, “Who is your partner?”, Ned hesitates in his answer, “Oh, Peter is busy with the Stark internship.”

Nevermind. Any progress of acceptance you thought you’d made was gone.

“Oh, okay.” You ended the conversation knowing you couldn’t handle dwelling on your failures any longer.

You would’ve been able to juggle the internship and school. Peter can’t even stay a whole day of school without leaving. This was just another reason why you were more qualified than him.

-

Peter was just arriving at Avengers tower to talk to Mr. Stark about how he altered his web shooters to increase the output of webs. He took the elevator up, assuming he would just be in the lab like he always is. And he was there, just not alone. He catches their attention when walking in, embarrassed to be seen so caught off guard.

“Ah Peter! So good to see you! I want you to meet our newest intern, Y/N Y/L/N!” Tony smirks at the boy whose eyes are blown wide staring at the girl in front of her.

“H-Hi Y/N. C-congrats on the internship.”

“Thank you Peter.”

“Well I have to go check on Cap, he gets angry when he doesn’t have his green smoothie. You guys get comfortable with each other! But not too comfortable, I don’t need to see any angsty teenager lovers in my presence.” Tony winked at Peter before he left the lab.

“Well that's awkward,” the girl begins, “I think I just stole your job.”

“Wh-what?” his eyebrows knitted together.

“Well you’re always gone for the Stark Internship so I just assumed it was the September Foundation Internship?” Now they’re both confused, clearly Mr. Stark wasn’t clear on Peter’s affiliation with him.

“N-no I just do a different intern job for Mr. Stark. I-I just clean up the lab.”

He has really gotta pick up his excuse game.

“So you’re a janitor?” She frowns.

“N-no I just make sure it’s tidy for Mr. Stark, organize the supplies and order more when he needs,” Peter stuttered.”

Ok now he's improving with his justification skills.

“Oh ok? Well I have to go, I have a charity thing.” You made a solid attempt at cutting the tension between you both..

---

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

Tony spins his chair, spotting Peter at the entrance. “Well I reviewed her application and you were right, she does deserve it. Plus, I know how you struggle with the ladies, so in a way I was throwing you a bone, whilst still getting a prodigy by my side.”

His jaw set, “I’ll have you know I am perfectly good with the ladies and don’t need your help,” Peter stormed out of the lab like a toddler.

“That’s not what you said in the lab the other day!” He calls after him, knowing full well he was out of earshot.

---

Peter has never felt so relieved than when the quinjet touched down on the top of the building. The mission was a complete disaster. If he had to explain the definition of “abort mission” he’d probably start with that.

After stepping off the quinjet, Peter made a beeline for the kitchen. His throat scratched every time he swallowed, probably from yelling into the coms trying to navigate through the pure chaos.

Passing by Wanda, he could tell by her facial expression he wasn’t in good shape. He could feel the dried blood stuck to his skin and the smell of sweat was unavoidable from even 10 feet away.

After his five minute walk, which would be better described as a limp, he made it to just get a glass of water. Finally, the rush of moisture runs through his whole body. Whilst peacefully chugging his entire cup of water he hears the sound of glass shattering, followed by the words,

“What. The. Fuck.”

He knows the voice from anywhere. Hell, he hears it on the morning announcements with Betty every goddamn morning. Frozen, he doesn’t know what his next move is. Does he run and act like it never happened? Does he just accept it and brush it off like no big deal? His rough draft of an explanation is slowly being put together in his head when you move in front of him.

“You’re not an intern. You’re fucking Spider-man.”

“O-oh hey Y/N, didn’t see you there”

Real smooth Parker. Why don’t you talk about your LEGO skills again. Just try and see if you can make this conversation any more awkward than it needs to be.

“Cut the bullshit. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She always knows how to get straight to the point. Something he always admired about her.

“I-I-I didn’t think it was important?” The apprehension isn’t helping his persuasion skills in the slightest.

“Oh being an Avenger is just a common occurrence nowadays?” You push, determined to get a real answer and not a half assed excuse.

“I mean if you live around here yeah everyone is some kind of super hu-”

“Peter.” You cut him off, annoyance obvious in your tone.

He sighed, “Yes. I am Spider-man. The only people who know are Ned, Aunt May, and the rest of the Avengers. And now you.” Distress was obvious on his face

You began to feel guilty once you saw the panic on his face, “I won’t tell anyone,” you squeak, the first drop of sympathy Peter has ever received from you.

“Thank you, I’m sorry for not telling you. You’re part of the team and deserve a real confession, not finding out by accident.”

The guilt train is on a two way track tonight!

“No, it was your secret. You deserve your privacy.” A small smile tugged at the edges of your lips.

“Thank you for being so understanding. Now that the secret is out maybe we could work together on my suit sometime?”

Peter is nervous. Why is he nervous? Did he just accidentally ask her on a date. Oh god what if she isn’t interested?

“I’d love to Peter! It's a date!” Your smile beaming gave Peter a surge of confidence, and he reached around your waist to pull you into a hug. You were both ecstatic to have finally started to see each other as friends, and even a little more than that.

Your trances were broken when you finally spoke up, “Maybe you should take a shower first,” as you finally realized the stench in your close proximity.

A flush creeping up his face when he realized. “Let me go shower then we can continue this,” he beams.

“See you then Spider-man!”

[ohshit-itsyagorl]

Four Dipshits and a Michelle

Part 6

Y’all I’m getting tired of linking all the chapters every time I post an update, so I’m just going to link the first part and my masterlist.

Part 1, Writing Masterlist

Read the story here on AO3

Summary: Michelle never believed in soulmates. But what happens when she turns seventeen and gets her mark? What happens when she inevitably finds the person with the matching tattoo? And what is she supposed to do with Peter Parker. Her best friend in the whole world. Her crush. Someone she feels drawn to for some inexplicable reason.

Also, I know it’s been a long time since the last update (yikes). I actually update every Sunday night on AO3 and just haven't had the time to catch up, so if I ever go a long time without updating just check there first lol. Alright, here we go...

Michelle woke to the sound of a camera clicking and soft snickering. The sun made her head hurt, eyes blinking rapidly.

“I’m sending this to the group chat,” she heard Ned say from somewhere behind her. She yawned into Peter’s chest. Oh no—this was not happening right now. She turned her head to see Ned standing in the doorway, furiously typing away on his phone, grinning like an idiot.

“Ned,” she whined, “please don’t.”

“Too late. It’s already done.”

“Damn you, Ned. It’s too early for this shit,” Michelle complained, though she kept her voice quiet so as not to wake Peter sleeping behind her.

She carefully tried to shimmy out of his grip, successfully turning around to face the edge of the bed, but when she tried to scoot out of his arms she found she couldn’t.

Peter mumbled something and pulled her closer to his chest, arms banding around her waist—going under her shirt—as he buried his nose in the hair at the base of her neck.

MJ felt her cheeks redden as Ned tried and failed to hold in his laughter, letting out a loud cackle that effectively woke Peter up and simultaneously ruined MJ’s morning.

She turned her head and watched as he blinked the sunlight out of his eyes, then looked to Ned, who pointed at MJ, who wanted to sink into the ground and die just to escape the embarrassment she felt crawling like ants under her skin.

Peter looked down at her. He stared for a second—two; then he seemed to realize what he was doing—one hand wrapped around her waist while the other disappeared under her shirt, scraping across her ribs, dangerously close to the undersides of her breasts. “Oh my—oh my god,” he cried, quickly withdrawing his hands and sitting up. The sheet pooled around his waist, and MJ shivered as her eyes dropped to his chest. To that spider tattoo over his left nipple. Peter covered his face with his hands, tight muscles rippling with the movement. MJ bit her lip.

Click.

“Goddamnit, Ned!” Michelle screeched. She grabbed a pillow, soft sheets scraping against the calluses that covered her hands from drawing, and threw it at his head with all her strength.

Ned squawked in outrage. Then seemed to remember what he was doing. “Man, Betty and Cindy are never going to let you guys live this down,” Ned muttered, looking at his phone. “So embarrassing.”

Michelle stumbled out of the bed, grabbing her phone and bag on the way to the bathroom. She flipped them both off for good measure. She slammed the door and collapsed down onto the toilet. Pulling out her phone, she opened up her text messages.

Four dipshits and a Michelle:

Ned: Check it out!

Ned’s text was followed by a photo of Peter and her. She had her face pressed against his chest, his arms were banded around her sleeping form, and his nose was buried in her hair. The sheet had been kicked down to their waists, and Michelle blushed when she realized her shirt had ridden partway up her back. It did look rather incriminating, though it really wasn’t. She scrolled down.

Betty: WHAT THE FUCK?!?

Cindy: I FUCKING KNEW IT ERIJFNCNDLW

Then there was the other image. The one of Peter’s shirtless chest, abs on full display, hands covering his face. And there she was—obviously looking lower than his face, biting her lip, large t-shirt hanging off her left shoulder, clearly showing she wasn’t wearing a bra.

She opened the other group chat with incoming messages—the one with only Betty and Cindy.

Cindy: Well, this is a morning I will never forget

Betty: The way she was looking at him in that second photo, tho

Cindy: I KNOW! MJ with horny eyes is almost scarier than MJ with angry eyes.

Betty: Someone’s got the hoTS FOR PARKER!!!

Betty: MJ, have you locked yourself in the bathroom yet?

Michelle’s fingers flew furiously across her keyboard.

MJ: Those were NOT horny eyes.

There was a split second where the bubble icon popped up. Then it disappeared. Reappeared.

Cindy: They were definitely horny eyes. Betty?

Betty: I agree. The council has convened. Michelle Jones has a crush on the nerd next door.

Betty: Also, SINCE WHEN HAS PETER BEEN RIPPED???

Cindy: Yeah, when the fuck did that happen?

MJ: He’s had abs for a while.

Cindy: You’ve seen him shirtless before?

Betty: !!!

Cindy: Girl, you are so screwed.

MJ: Stop trying to kill me. I died, like, twenty minutes ago.

Betty: But you LOOOOVE him

Michelle shut off her phone at that. One minute. She would allow one minute of embarrassment, then move on.

She leaned her head back against the wall and groaned, trying to use the cool tile to calm her racing mind. Her eyes fluttered shut, slowly counting down from sixty. Fifty-nine. Fifty-eight.

The way Peter had reacted, like he was uncomfortable waking up with her. She had been uncomfortable, too, but that was because of Ned. What if Peter was uncomfortable because of her?

Forty-five.

Her skin still felt like it was on fire, mark tingling pleasantly in a way that sent shivers down her spine. She cursed quietly.

Thirty. Twenty-nine.

And maybe the unrequited love was starting to drive her crazy, but she could have sworn he had been breathing her in—he had been asleep, of course, but…

Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve.

Her whole body cried out at her to tell him, to be with him, to make him feel good—body and soul.

Seven.

But she couldn’t.

Three.

Silence. Resignation. Determination.

One. Zero.

MJ stood up and shucked off her t-shirt and Peter’s boxers, nearly tripping in the tight confines of the bathroom. And maybe she was being selfish, but she shoved the boxers into her bag along with her shirt. Peter wouldn’t miss one pair. But wearing his clothes… it just felt so right, and she decided that after this morning, she would allow herself that small satisfaction. She put her hair up into a ponytail and looked at herself in the mirror. Then, before she could think better, she reached out a finger and touched her tattoo. Hissed. It was so sensitive—so sensitive after a night spent curled up with him. She could feel her heart beating quickly in her ears, but she could also feel the pulsing rhythm of a slower heartbeat; Peter, it seemed, had calmed down more than she had.

She put her clothes on and marched out of the bathroom. “Not a word from you,” she snapped at Ned as she stalked past. Peter had already put on a shirt and shorts, thankfully. She didn’t think she would be able to keep her eyes off that spider tattoo and then Peter might start to get suspicious.

Michelle turned to look at them. “So… the park and then lunch at Delmar’s?” She asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Peter replied, running a hand through his hair. Michelle looked away quickly, lest her eyes track the movement.

Ned noticed, though. He smirked. “Shut up,” MJ quipped.

“I didn’t say anything!”

“You said nothing very loudly,” MJ grumbled. Ned just grinned at her. She flipped him off.

————————————————————————

By late August, the heat had become pretty much unbearable, the little air-conditioning units used in the cramped New York apartments no match for the sweltering summer.

Which is why Michelle found herself reading on the fire escape with a fold-out chair, trying and failing to cool down, sweating buckets and hating mother earth.

She turned the page. A small breeze swept through the alley and caught her bookmark. She reached out blindly to catch it before it flew out of reach of the fire escape. Just as she caught it, upper body leaning over the railing, sweat plastering her hair to her forehead, she felt hands come to steady her waist.

MJ screeched and whipped around, punching her attacker straight in the face.

Spider-man stumbled backward, hand reaching up to cup his masked jaw, and cried, “What the hell was that for?” His voice was clearly being altered by mask. Another way to protect his identity, she guessed.

Michelle shook out her wrist. “You touched me.”

Spider-man’s eyes widened. He reached his hand up as if to run it through his hair, but he was wearing a mask. “I was trying to help!” He said indignantly, bringing his arm back down and crossing them both over his chest. “I thought you were going to fall.”

“I wasn’t even off balance,” MJ quipped. She reached to push some stray curls off her sweaty forehead, then eyed his suit. “Shouldn’t you be dying in that thing? It’s, like, over a hundred degrees out today.”

“Built-in cooling technology,” he said, leaning against the railing. Michelle rolled her eyes; she supposed he thought it looked cool. It did, but that was beside the point.

“Lucky you,” she snarked. “I’d kill for that on a day like today.” She motioned to her sweaty face.

“The sweat suites you, darling,” he said, white eyes shifting down her body.

Michelle’s face reddened. “Oh my god, that’s disgusting. You could be forty—and if you touch me again, I swear—”

Spider-man’s eyes widened in shock. “No—I’m not forty! I’m a boy—I mean—young man!”

Michelle raised her eyebrows. “How old are you, exactly?” She asked. She waited a moment. “If you don’t answer I’m going to assume you’re older than thirty, which is still creepy, by the way.”

“I’m not, okay?” He said. She waited. “…I’m seventeen.”

MJ furrowed her brows at that. She was seventeen. She could know him. “Okay,” she said.

“You believe me?”

“Do I have a reason not to?” She arched a brow at him, a small smile tugging on the corners of her lips.

He shook his head furiously. “All I’m trying to say is you’re still really pretty, even with all the…perspiration.”

She looked at him more closely; something about him seemed familiar, the way he talked, or the way he held himself—maybe she really did know him from school. “Thanks, I guess. You’re not too bad yourself for a teenager wearing a spandex unitard.”

His hand slipped from the railing, and he stumbled to keep his footing. MJ’s shoulders shook with repressed laughter as she watched him, forgetting for a moment how hot out it was. “It’s not spandex!”

Michelle reached out and touched his arm. He froze. She chuckled. “It sure feels like spandex.”

“Well, it’s not,” he said a bit defensively. He nodded to her book. “What are you reading?”

“A Secret History by,” she checked the cover, “Donna Tartt.”

He nodded. “Is it any good?”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “Yeah, I’ve actually read it before, though. I ran out of new books and I’m too lazy to go to the library so I just picked up an old one.” She shrugged.

“Maybe I’ll go get it after the superhero gig tonight,” he said. She held out the book to him. He just looked at her, then at the book. “What?”

She rolled her eyes. “I was offering for you to borrow it, dipshit.”

His eyes widened again—it was actually a little creepy how they dilated; like, how did they know when to dilate? “Really?” He squeaked, reaching out to grab the book.

She pulled her hand back. “You’re not a serial killer, are you?” She eyed him suspiciously.

“What? No, I’m a superhero,” he said, still holding his hand out. “Why is that part of the vetting process for borrowing one of your books?” He made little grabby motions with his fingers.

“I feel like being a serial killer goes hand-in-hand with ruining borrowed books,” she said, narrowing her eyes. She handed him the book. “But if you damage it, I’ll kill you—friendly neighborhood Spider-man my ass.”

“Who’s the killer now?” He joked. Then he tilted his head to the side. “Well, I’ve got to go. Duty calls!” He reached his arm out and shot a web, swinging off the balcony with the book in his other hand.

“Don’t you dare drop it!” She called after his retreating form. She shook her head, not sure why she was smiling.

———————————————————

Michelle saw Spider-man again two days later. She was out reading on the fire escape again when he landed with a soft thud. She didn’t look up right away, determined to finish one last page.

He cleared his throat.

“I know you’re there,” she said.

“Oh.”

MJ let out a hum, reaching blindly for her bookmark and slipping it between the pages of her book. She looked up at him. “What do you want, Spider-pig?” She smiled to herself at her inside joke, remembering that day in biology with Peter.

He held her copy of A Secret History out to her. “I finished. It was really good—I can see why you enjoyed it.” She took the book from his hands, peering at him from her chair. His eyes narrowed at her.

“What do you want? I can tell you want something,” she deadpanned.

“What should I call you?” He hopped up onto the railing. Her eyes widened a fraction watching him. He chuckled, “I’m not going to fall. Spider-man, remember?” He mimed shooting webs out of his wrists in rapid succession.

“You can call me Michelle.”

“Really? Your friends call you Michelle?” He swung his feet back and forth, leaning back over the railing so his body hung precariously over the alleyway below to grab a piece of garbage floating in the breeze.

“No. I have a nickname, but you can call me Michelle.” She didn’t just let anybody call her M or MJ, and just because he could swing around the city on wisps of silk didn’t mean he deserved special treatment from her.

He huffed a breath. “Fair enough. You look nice today. How have you been?”

Wow, that was a lot to unpack. She looked nice? She was wearing a ratty old painting shirt that hung below her knees and her hair was up in a topknot. How had she been? Well—

She decided to ignore the first comment. “I’ve been fine. I painted today so now my back hurts, but beauty is pain, right?” She said, gesturing to her paint-stained t-shirt.

“You have paint on your face,” was his only reply. He leaned forward, reaching his hand out toward her cheek, “Here, let me.” He brushed his finger over where she assumed the paint was, but then his eyes narrowed and he ran a finger over the spot again.

“It won’t come off, Idiot. It’s dry.” She smirked at him as he withdrew his hand.

“You didn’t punch me,” he breathed.

She raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t. Don’t get too comfortable, though—I might be in a bad mood next time you try to pull shit like that.” She mimed a quick sucker punch, then blew on her fist as if to cool it off.

Spider-man laughed at her antics. “You could give most common criminals a run for their money, you know.”

She shrugged, looking down at her hands. The paint under her fingernails seemed way more interesting than it had earlier that day when she had opted not to spend twenty minutes cleaning it out. “I learned from experience. My dad—” She stopped herself before she could say anything more. That was too much information; information she hadn’t even told her best friends, that she definitely did not want to tell an almost-stranger.

She was saved by a ding coming from next to her on the chair. She picked up her phone.

Four dipshits and a Michelle:

Ned: Has anyone seen Peter? We were supposed to meet to build the millennium falcon.

MJ snorted. She quickly typed out a reply.

MJ: Nope. He probably stayed late at the stupid Stark internship.

MJ: Also, you’re both total dweebs.

She looked up to see that Spider-man wasn’t sitting on the railing anymore. She almost had a heart-attack when she heard a voice right next to her ear. “Peter… Peter Parker?”

She squawked, turning around to see him upside down in an army-crawl position on the wall behind her. “Never,” she panted, “do that again.” Then his words registered. “Wait, you really know him?”

Spider-man propped his head up on his elbows. “Yeah, I know him—from the, uh, the Stark internship—which, by the way, is not stupid.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s rude to read someone else’s messages.”

“Well, I got to go,” he said suddenly. “I have somewhere I need to be.” He shot a web to the roof of the building next to hers and launched himself off the fire escape, disappearing as quickly as he’d come. Michelle looked down at the book in her lap. “Hey!” She looked up to see a red and white mask peering at her from above. “What book are you reading?!”

“The Assistant by Bernard Malamud!” She called back.

He gave her a thumbs up and disappeared again.

She waited, but he didn’t come back a second time.

Part 7

[drunk-onsunlight]

Day #11 of Promptmas

Chapter 11: Gosh, your lips look delicious!

Summary:

Fancy family dinner. Peter asks MJ why she is stealing money and MJ tells him about a little guy involved in her superhero adventures.

Notes:

This chapter is the reason this whole fic exists! I had a very clear image of a conversation between MJ and Peter about their alter-egos and this huge fic started there. It's almost the end and I have to thank again to @spiderman-homecomeme and @elbris for all your kind and lovely comments! To all of you reading this fic, have a Happy Christmas Eve, have some fun with your families and let's hope the next year brings us all health and lots of success :D

(Read on Ao3 for more notes)

Concept: Mistletoe kisses

Dialogue: “Usually it’s just a kiss under the mistletoe” & “It’s that… mistletoe?”

December 24th

After a few minutes making snow angels, they decided it was a good time to grab something to eat so they got inside the house to change clothes, warm up a little and eat with the rest of the group. MJ and Peter entered their room while Ned and Betty did the same.

“I’m going to take a bath, I’m freezing. You can change or shower here I’m using the bathroom from the hallway” Peter left before MJ could tell him they needed to talk

MJ took her time taking a hot shower. The snow angels were fun until you were totally wet and freezing wanting to drink something warm and have a huge fluffy blanket around you. Her jeans, white shirt, a blue coat, her underwear and converses were discarded on the bathroom’s floor. Every bathroom had at least one fluffy bathrobe and MJ loved hers. She turned off the shower and wrapped herself in the robe. She didn’t have clothes in the bathroom so she needed to grab some from her bag. When she opened the door Peter was already in the room. Apparently he forgot his clothes too.

“Oh! Sorry, I forgot my clothes before my shower” Peter apologized but MJ wasn’t sure about what

“It’s fine. I forgot mine too” MJ moved on her tiptoes to her bag. There was a tension in the room that wasn’t there a few days ago. Maybe because they never got inside each other’s rooms and now they were sharing one. Or maybe the fact they were just wrapped in fluffy white bath ropes and totally ignoring last night’s events

“I’m going to change in the bathroom, you can change here if you want” Peter offered MJ after he collected some clothes

“Yeah. That would be… nice. Thanks” Well, apparently her brain was on resting mode these days when she got close to Peter

MJ waited until Peter closed the bathroom door to change her clothes as fast as she could. She had a nice dress on her bag and decided to wear it. It was a beautiful white dress with floral designs. The dress was knee length and had a deep v neck on the front. The only problem was the zipper, she couldn’t close all of it. While she was trying to close the half top of the zipper on the dress, there was a knock on the bathroom door

“Are you ready? Can I go out?” Peter asked from inside the bathroom

“Am I ready? Kind of… Aammm… I’m struggling a little with a zipper, can you help me?” She took some white flat shoes and moved closer to the bathroom door but Peter didn’t open the door or answer her question “Peter?”

“Yeah?” MJ was sure she had imagined how deep his voice sounded with the question

“Can you help me?”

“Yeah” When he opened the door MJ had to take a look at Peter twice. He was wearing a light gray drill pants with a white shirt, he tried to make the outfit a little informal wearing black sneakers and left the shirt a little unbuttoned at the top. After a few seconds of MJ pretending to be perfectly good with Peter looking that good she turned around so he could help her pulling up the zipper from her dress

“I couldn't get the full zipper up” MJ knew she was tense. It wasn’t the first time she had seen Peter looking good on some drill pants or him helping her pulling up a zipper of a dress, but the circumstances were totally different from a few years, months and even weeks before. MJ tensed more when she felt Peter’s left hand on her waist, holding the dress in place to make easier pulling the zipper up.

A million years happened before the zipper got to her neck, or that’s what MJ felt. That and one of Peter’s fingers ran through her skin before getting covered for the dress. When Peter was done, he put both hands on her shoulders

“Now we are ready for the fancy dinner” MJ shook her head nodding a few times. She was speechless after so much contact and Peter looking like that on those stupid pants. Her hair was wet and her curls were framing her face. She wasn’t going to dry her hair, she was going to trust the hair conditioner to control the curls “Michelle, you look pretty”

“Therefore I have value?” MJ saw Peter’s face went from a slight blush to pale in two second after her comment

“No! That’s not what I meant…” He was trying to explain to her so she decided the joke was over

“I’m messing with you” MJ had a laugh a little at Peter’s face “You look… pretty, too. We should go, they are probably waiting for us” MJ opened the door that lead to the hallway followed by Peter. They got to the dining room on the kitchen and everyone cheered when they showed up.

“Finally!!! What were you guys doing that took you so long?” May went to hug MJ and Peter at the door of the kitchen. Stopping them from fully entering the room

“I don’t want to know what they were doing. Thank you” Ned answered May before they could.

“Ned! Leave them alone! They didn’t take that long. Maybe they were just chatting” Betty send some meaningful looks at MJ and she understood what she meant. The conversation they had pending. MJ looked at Betty and move her head trying to tell her that they haven’t talk yet

“Peter?” Morgan turned everyone’s attention to her calling her big brother

“Yes, peanut? Need anything?” Peter tried to move from MJ’s side but Morgan didn’t let him

“No! I’m good. Can you look at the top frame of the door, please?” MJ and Peter looked up after a small look between them

“It’s that… mistletoe?” Peter asked softly to MJ

“Yeap” MJ answered making a pop sound at the end. Maybe they could get rid of this situation without actually kissing

“Just get over it. I don’t know how that got there but every couple did it. You are the last ones” Happy told them like it was such an easy task. Maybe if they were together it could be easy. MJ looked at Betty begging for help

“Just a little peck, come on guys!” Betty said looking at MJ with an ‘It’s now or never’ kinda look

“Usually it’s just a kiss under the mistletoe. You don’t need the full ritual” Anthony was making fun of the situation. They probably looked terribly stressed for the situation

“Full ritual?”

“What ritual, dad?” Pepper and Morgan asked at the same time looking at Anthony

“Yeah. Different societies saw mistletoe as peace, fertility, love and even health. But I will tell you all the stories after those lovebirds kiss” Tony dismissed more questions about the history of mistletoe and now everyone was looking at them, waiting.

“Come on Peter. It’s not a big deal, just a little peck and they will let it go” MJ turned to look at Peter who looked totally pale. It was a big deal but they had to talk about many things and if that turned out well then maybe they were going to be able to do it again without all the baggage they had right now.

“Sure?” Peter whispered close to MJ and she was speechless once again. She nodded a little and felt Peter’s breathe on her face. Sometimes she forgot Peter grew up a few inches taller than her at some point so she found herself looking up at him, noses almost touching.

They moved forward at the same time, moving their heads to the right. MJ closed her eyes as soon as she felt Peter’s lips on hers. The kiss didn’t last more than three seconds. They backed a little and while MJ opened her eyes she heard everyone talking happily but she didn’t get the words they were saying. All she wanted was to feel Peter’s lips on her, but this time a little longer than before. So she did

She placed her hands on each side of Peter’s face to pull him closer. As soon as they lips met again he placed his hands gently on MJ’s waist. His lips were soft against hers, not fully pressing them together. She felt like he was waiting for her to do something she felt comfortable with, not to cross any lines she didn’t want to cross.

MJ decided to go all the way with the kiss, because maybe Betty was right, it was now or never, they could talk about it later. She opened her mouth a little, allowing Peter to taste her. When she was already putting the tip of her tongue in his bottom lip, someone shout at them

“Oh, for God’s sakes! Get a room!” Ned shouted at them and they jumped away from each other as far as the door frame allowed them.

“Shut up, dork!” MJ finally entered the room and found a free chair next to Betty. A few seconds after she sat, Peter sat down in front of her. Time to pretend that kiss was definitely not their first kiss between them, but MJ was too flustered to even talk to Betty

“Is everything ok? You look like you want to run away or maybe you want to pass out” Betty tried to call MJ’s attention but she couldn’t drive her eyes away from Peter. If she looked like she wanted to run away definitely was a running away with Peter if the way he was looking at her was a solid clue of what they both wanted.

“I’m good”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The diner was amazing. 150 minutes of pure torture and delicious food that some amazing chef did for all of them. MJ and Pepper found tasty options for them with vegan food while the others enjoyed their meals. When they were finishing the desserts, Morgan started to say they should go to sleep so they could wake up early to open their presents.

“You know what, Morgan? I totally agree with you! Let’s all go to our rooms and we can open the presents sooner” MJ tried not to laugh at Peter’s comment. She could feel his leg bouncing and she bet Ned, who was sitting next to Peter, could feel it too. Ned spoke softly in Peter’s ear and their postures changed, they were definitely up to something

MJ noticed that Ned was rubbing his hands on his pants nervously. Suddenly he stood up from his chair and looked at Betty. Peter smiled a little and his leg stopped bouncing, his hands were hidden under the wood table.

“Betty” Ned spoke with such security everybody turned to look at him and went silent

“Yeah?” Betty spoke softly and her back straightened

“We have been dating for so long someone can think the feelings have changed from the first time I saw you on school” Pepper gasped and placed her hand on his mouth, May started to tear up a little, Morgan pulled her phone and started recording and MJ looked at Peter asking him with her eyes if it was what she thought it was happening and Peter confirmed it with a little nod “I still remember seeing you every day on the hallways and some classes and one day I told Peter that you were the most beautiful girl in the world and that I would be the luckiest man alive if you spend a minute with me. Now we have been together so long but I can’t wait to see you every day and every morning and every night for the rest of my life. If you let me”

Ned opened his hand to Peter and he pulled his hands from under the table with a little red box. Ned took it carefully and rounded the table to get to Betty. He offered his hand to her to help her stand up. Betty was already covered in tears and had a red nose. Anyway, to MJ she looked adorable.

“Elizabeth Brant” After saying her full name, Ned got down on one knee and Betty sobbed harder “Will you marry me?” Ned dropped Betty’s hand to open the little box revealing a beautiful golden ring with little emeralds and a diamond in the center. MJ had to clean a single tear that escaped her right eye

“Of course I’ll marry you Edward!” Betty said right after Ned opened the box and she threw herself to his arms and kissed him on the lips.

Everyone around cheered while Tony and Happy offered some tissues to Pepper and May. Morgan was still filming while Ned stood up and putted the ring on Betty’s finger. Peter walked around the table and stood next to MJ.

“You knew about this” MJ wasn’t asking. She was sure they have planned all of this

“And you interrupted us while we were buying the ring” Peter whispered to MJ but she could tell he was half joking half serious

“What do you mean?”

“Let me remind you my little encounter with Rhino a few days ago. Where Prowler appeared to have a nice chat with you and then you took Ned out after a car almost crushed him. We were buying the ring that day” Peter took MJ’s hand to move her away from all the hugs and tears from the girls and the handshakes from the boys

“We seriously need to talk about that… and other things. I was chatting with Prowler but not in a friendly way, I needed information. Now I get why Ned was holding that little bag like his life depended on it” MJ wasn’t looking at Peter but she felt his eyes on her all the time

“We do need to talk. Let’s congratulate the couple, Betty can show you the ring we picked and we can go talk somewhere else” Peter didn’t wait for an answer. He took her hand and led her back to Ned and Betty. He went to hug Ned and they spoke for a while. In the meantime MJ hugged Betty and congratulated her

“I’m really happy for you Betty! We were talking about the possibility of all this and it was a still a surprise!” A few days ago while they were doing pizza, Betty told MJ about Ned and her talking about buying a cute house and maybe a wedding but they never thought it would be this fast

“Look at the beautiful ring!” Betty extender her delicate hand to MJ and she looked at the beautiful ring once again. It was a plain ring with a little braid on both sides of the diamond and six little emeralds completed the ring.

“It’s beautiful Betty. I can believe Ned and Peter actually picked this ring for you”

“Peter was there?” Betty was surprised too. The two losers picking jewelry? And nice jewelry? A total surprise

“Yeah, he just told me about that day”

“You are going to be my maid of honor, right Em?” Betty was looking at MJ with bright eyes and of course she was going to be there for her best friend on the most important day of her life

“No if you make me wear those awful pastel dresses that people use in weddings” MJ was joking and Betty knew it so they laughed at the comment

“I’m sorry ladies but we have to go. Betty, congratulations! I hope you guys keep having a very happy life together” Peter hugged Betty and give a little peck on her cheek and took MJ’s hand. He started moving away from everyone, saying their goodnights and telling Pepper that the menu was amazing and the food delicious and other formalities.

When they managed to get out of the kitchen Peter walked faster. MJ thought they were going to their room but apparently he had other plans

“Where are we going?”

“Rooftop”

“Of course” MJ had learned a lot from knowing that Peter is Spider-Man. His safe place was whatever rooftop he could get to and he definitely wasn’t a man of patience. Once they arrived he let MJ’s hand go and invited her to sit next to him on the edge of the cabin

“Where do we start?” Peter voiced what she was thinking. They needed to get the thing with Rhino, Prowler and Octopus out of the way first

“One day a kid appeared in the lawyer’s office and said something about his uncle having some weird tech and he was afraid he could get in trouble for that and wanted help in case it was illegal. Of course nobody payed attention but something made me go to him and I decided to invite him for something to eat so he could tell me this story about his uncle” It was the first time MJ talked about how she became Black Cat and it was easier that she thought, maybe because it was Peter “He lives with his parents, they are a lovely family. Rio and Jefferson take care of him like any other parent would, so I cut the possibility of him getting attention because they weren’t treating him correctly. He speaks so fondly of them it’s amazing to see. He remind me a little of you. He is a nerd, he cares too much, loves science, wants the world to be a better place for everyone. And that’s why he came to the office”

“How old is he?”

“He is older than Morgan but not much. He is 12. One day he was visiting his uncle, Aaron Davis, and found some kind of weapon along with some papers he didn’t quite understand but he knew they were important. He took a few photos and showed me the papers. They are trying to create clones from supers. They designed some formulas to make super soldiers like Capitan America but of course they turned out terribly wrong. You know most of them, Green Goblin, Rhino, Prowler, all of them just want power but while they do that, they hurt people.”

“I recognize the name of the kid’s uncle. I crossed paths with Aaron Davis like a year after I became Spider-Man and he did mentioned having a nephew. What’s the kid’s name?”

“Miles. His name is Miles Morales. And he was right, his uncle is doing illegal stuff but nobody wants to pay attention because there are big heads after all of them” It was the first time MJ talked about Miles with his name, she always protected him while exposing the case to different people

“Who?”

“Dr. Conrad Markus and Dr. Otto Octavius. Markus is behind the idea of clones and Octavius behind the obsession for supers. Aleksei Sytsevich aka Rhino and Aaron Davis aka Prowler, got involved with Markus and Octavius. Their idea of becoming more than regular citizens was all they needed to get involved. Now they have designed tech to cause massive damage wherever they are. So one day I was talking to Miles and he told me he wanted to be like those superheroes that dress up with a suit and stop the bad guys. So I did it”

“That’s how you became Black Cat”

“Exactly. I designed the leather suit and Miles came up with amazing ideas for me. The idea was to steal as much money and equipment as we could from them but I needed to be fast, agile, strong and the most important, imperceptible. I had claws to attach to walls, some mountaineering equipment, a very nice pair of lenses I stole from Markus that let me see far away and I actually can see different spectrums which is really cool”

“Why the name?” MJ had to laugh a little at how her name was born

“One day I was fully dressed in the leather suit with the wig and the mask and I found a few security wards on Markus lab and I turned off the cameras, the microphones and definitely kicked some asses there. The last one told me I looked like a black cat and he didn’t know how but I have managed to bring them enough bad luck for a year. I told Miles about it and he started calling me Black Cat. That’s how it started”

“He seems like a really nice kid”

“He is. Every time he risks going to his uncle's house it gets on my nerves. Aaron loves Miles but I don’t know what he would do if he finds out Miles is stealing information from him to help me steal money and equipment from them so I can frustrate their plans”

“What about a few days ago, the park and then the Rockefeller center?”

“They already know I exist but they don’t know I’m stealing from them. The information they have is basically what Spider-Man knew about me. Someone stealing money from time to time that maybe they can recruit for they little clan. I needed information about their plans, but you ruined it”

“Me? Why me?”

“Peter, they saw Black Cat and Spider-Man going away from a fight together. They are not going to trust me anymore with information about anything. They are probably thinking we work together but if they read the tabloids, they may be thinking we are together, as a couple”

“Aren’t we?” MJ covered her face with her hands and they laughed softly

“Like pretended or for real? Because I have no idea anymore” MJ was seeing her breathe become visible every time she spoke

“Ok. We have covered your secret identity subject. Which, I have to say, is amazing and I would love to meet Miles one day”

“He totally loves Spider-Man. You are gonna meet him, soon. I promise”

“Also what you do it’s amazing. I’m sorry for judging you, I freaked out a little with the whole situation. Now I can say I respect and admire you even more than I did a few minutes ago. And I would love to share with you how I became Spider-Man, but maybe when we get home. It’s a long story”

“Thanks loser. I would love to hear your story too, whenever you are ready to tell me, of course” Peter grabbed MJ’s hand one again. His hands were warm and they weren’t soft, she could picture him now, climbing up walls, holding his webs from building to building, punching villains every now and then “How on earth I never saw you beaten up? I have seen the news Peter, you got into pretty bad fights with Rhino lately” She haven’t noticed but she was caressing Peter’s hands between hers

“Remember I send you a few messages of me ‘getting out early’ or ‘having a last minute meeting with Tony’? Well, I was probably recovering in the Avengers Facilities after a fight”

“How is your investigation on Rhino going? I remember seeing some notes on your board the other day…” She couldn’t finish her sentence because Peter pulled her closer to him and kissed her. It wasn’t a soft kiss like the first one, it was filled with urgency, unspoken words and even lost time. After a few minutes they had to pull apart, damn the need of air.

“I really like you, Em”

“I really like you too, loser”

MJ felt like she was a teenager again. Her heart was beating fast and she was sure he could hear it, her hands were trembling a little and she didn’t know what to say. And apparently Peter didn’t know either, they were just looking at each other like it was the first time. After a moment they just started laughing. MJ turned her face away from Peter and looked at the ocean, it was a beautiful view.

“You want to go to sleep? It’s getting late” Peter stood up from the edge of the rooftop and offered his hand to MJ

“Yeah. That would be nice. I like this dress but I’m freezing here” MJ forgot to bring a jacket or coat with her and now she was craving a warm blanket

“You look amazing” She stood up with Peter’s help and they started walking back to the inside of the house

“Thanks, again”

When they got to their room MJ took one of Peter’s shirts and went to the bathroom to change. She had a little bit of trouble with the zipper but managed to pull it down by her own. When she was ready she did the same Peter had done early. She knocked the door and asked him if he was ready. After she came out of the bathroom, she lay down on the bed next to Peter who was texting on his phone

“Karen tells me the investigation is going good. The formula I design for some webs can help with Rhino. The formula is basically chemicals that can affect his armor, the corrosion should do the magic once and for all” After he stopped talking MJ got close to him and placed her head on his chest

“Night loser” MJ whispered and Peter kissed her head softly. After a few seconds she was asleep in his arms

[marvelrus-exe]

Fic Rec List

A collection of fics I really like.

If you don’t see your favorite fic on this list, send it to me! I’m always down to read a good fanfic :) 

Started: 3/26/2020

Updated: 3/26/2020

Avengers

You Took A Polaroid Of Us by @ptersparkers 

The avengers can’t seem to understand why you’re so obsessed with taking polaroids until they come across your scrapbook.

Bucky Barnes

Series

Long Black by @evanstarff

After a disastrous HYDRA coup goes wrong, Bucky Barnes is forced to go under witness protection at a coffee shop – with you as his highly trained ‘bodyguard’. Is something brewing between you or is he just tall, dark, and bitter?

Execution of Future Technologies by @valkyriesryde

Bucky meets the girl of his dreams the day before he ships out again and she holds a mystery about her that he can’t resist.

Love Isn’t Always On Time by @youvebeenlivingfictional

A S.H.I.E.L.D assignment that’s deeper than deep cover leads to an agent being lost. It’s only fair for a woman whose days are numbered to be obsessed with time. 

Relationship Tutor by @samingtonwilson

College AU. Bucky, a relationship novice, asks for your help in dating your friend. Unable to say no to him, you agree despite everyone and everything telling you not to.

Just One Kiss by @sarahwroteathing

Bucky Barnes has been chasing after you since he was ten years old, but you’re determined not to give in. How long can you hold out when all he’s asking for is just one kiss?

Dichotomous by @jalapenobarnes

As a pharmacist in one of new york city’s busiest hospitals, you’re tasked with establishing your place and your value amongst your medical peers who constantly undermine you and your intelligence. or so you think. 

The Fallout by @whitewolfbumble

You had been a ghost for years, taking down the bad guys from the shadows that had once enslaved you. That is until the Avengers finally caught up with you and yet again your life changed. But your past won’t stay dead and everything starts to shift when a familiar face joins the ranks: Bucky Barnes. He may not remember you, but you certainly remember him.

Wild Horses by @whitewolfbumble

Kicked out of school and exiling yourself in a town time forgot, one little incident lands the sights of the locally infamous Avengers biker gang square on you. Wild horses run faster and there was no chance to turn back now. 

Astrophile by @all1e23

Orion Rebecca Barnes’s favorite thing in the whole world (besides her daddy of course) is spending hours after school in the bookstore by her house and the owner GIVES her any book she wants; she’s the coolest girl Orion has ever met.  

It doesn’t take long for Bucky to notice his daughter’s sudden interest in constellations and the large stack of astrology related books piling up in her room. He’s spent her entire life trying to teach her about the stars and where her name came from with little interest from his little comet and all of sudden she’s in love.

A Lesson in Love by @buckyywiththegoodhair

In which you’re assigned to write a story about romance, a subject you know nothing about, and Bucky, a hopeless romantic, offers you his assistance. 

Bucky Barnes Vs the Crime Novelist by @kentuckybarnes

A mysterious stranger you meet in a library turns out to be your dream come true. Apart from your life suddenly being in danger, that is.

One-Shots

Five Times Y/N Comforts Bucky and One Time He Comforts Her by @spideysrogers

Basically just comfort porn

Sergeant Boinky by @valkyriesryde

Bucky’s got a new interest and Sam and Y/N are taking full advantage of it.

Birthday Kisses by @sarahwroteathing

Sam starts a birthday kiss tradition to make up for your missed birthday and hopefully nudge a certain grumpy ex-assassin in the right direction.

Crazy Stupid Love by @justkending

Stress leaves everyone a little crazy. Good thing there are attractive men at bars who can help you take your mind off of things. tr45

Steve Rogers

Series

Call sign: Renaissance by @captain-kelli

After a rescue mission gone wrong, you retire as a pararescue airwoman. When an old friend of yours comes calling, asking you to spearhead a disaster response team for the Avengers, you have to decide if you can let go of the past in order to save lives. Will you move on and possibly fall in love? Or will the demons of your past come back to haunt you? 

Solace by @marvelcapsicle

Five years ago, after the loss of a loved one, Steve isolated himself from everyone. He desperately tried to find solace in solitude, unable to realize how lonely he became in the process. Until he meets you—another lonely soul, alone in the middle of nowhere. You were both seeking solitude but found something else along the way.

The Lonely Tree by @sarahwroteathing

You have a favorite tree which you make sure to pass every day on your way to class, but one day you find you’ll have to get used to sharing it with a friendly art student.

Love Isn’t Always On Time by @youvebeenlivingfictional

A S.H.I.E.L.D assignment that’s deeper than deep cover leads to an agent being lost. It’s only fair for a woman whose days are numbered to be obsessed with time. 

Courage and Kindness by @softhairbarnes

After your parents died you were left an orphan with only your stepmother to look after you. When a tournament is announced in honor of Prince Steven, you think you’ve finally found a way to make your dreams come true.

Love and War by @kayteewritessteve

In a harsh medieval world, you set out on a perilous quest that will lead you onto a forbidden land. A land ruled and controlled by a ruthless Warlord King, one who does not look favourably upon trespassers of any kind, and punishes all with an iron fist. You may not know exactly where this quest will end, but what you do know is you will forever be altered by it. And that knowledge alone is what truly terrifies you the most.

Secrets and sins by @kayteewritessteve

You flee from an abusive situation and find yourself on the other side of the country, creating new friends and possibly finding new love. But will you be able to escape your past? To truly move on with your life? Or will everything come crashing down around you in the blink of an eye.

One-Shots

The End Of The War by @redgillan

Everyone knows you and Steve can’t stand each other, but after he runs into you after one of his fights, he starts to see you in a different light.

Peter Parker

Series

Far From Him by @ptersparkers

Mj seems to think the summer trip to Europe is exactly what you need to forget the events of the snap and the death of tony stark. only, peter parker doesn’t seem to know your real identity and trying to tell him you know he’s spider-man becomes a mess and a half. 

One-shots

Wait, You’re Spiderman? by @ptersparkers

Midtown high’s applied science class visits the stark tower, leaving y/n and peter in a compromising position.

What a Suprise by @ptersparkers

You and Peter both go to Midtown High and he’s got the biggest crush on you. What Peter doesn’t know is that you harbour the same feelings and Tony Stark is your not-so-related uncle.

Starbursts by @srsly-stilinski

Spiderman takes a break from patrol to see the world through someone else’s eyes. 

Local Dumbass by @thinkoutsidethebex

Peter keeps trying to tell you he’s in love with you, and it’s not going so well. Or is it?

[monaisme]

Day 27: “I wish I had never given you a chance”

* *Six months ago* *

“Hey, Parker, do you have a minute?”

Peter looked over his shoulder, positive someone named Parker would be standing behind him. When he saw no one, he turned back to Flash. “Are you talking to me?”

Flash scowled, “Ha-ha, Parker, really funny.” He looked up and down the hallway, appearing to be rather uncomfortable. “Really, do you have a minute to talk... just talk?”

It was Peter’s turn to check and see if the hallway was clear. He was suddenly very nervous that Flash’s buddies would suddenly swarm, leaving Peter bloody, bruised, stained, soaked, or some combination of the four. He wasn’t in the mood for it... not today. “I have to get going, Flash, so if you and your band of thugs are planning something, can we get it out of the way quick so I’m not late—or at least have a chance to change before hitting the subway?”

Flash’s scowl changed to something Peter hadn’t seen on him before. Whatever it was, it was a genuine emotion—not the ‘Flash’ bravado he put on for the masses.

It had Peter concerned. “Flash? Is everything okay?”

He cleared his throat, “Look, I don’t want to make a big deal out of this. I just... I mean...” He huffed in frustration. “It has come to my attention that I am perhaps not the... nicest... person on the planet and that I should be working on bettering myself as a human being.”

“What are you talking about, Flash?” Peter couldn’t contain the confusion.

Flash looked up, like he was praying for patience, or maybe willpower? Regardless, he kept going, “This isn’t easy for me, Parker so cut me some slack!” He breathed heavily.

“Flash?”

“I’m serious! I’m realizing that I’m a bit of a shithead and I’m trying to change—and I can’t do that if you’re wondering if my friends are hiding around the corner waiting for me to spring a trap.”

Peter had to take a second to pick his jaw up off of the floor. There were so many things he could say in response to Flash’s declaration. ‘What a fantastic life choice!’— ‘I’m proud of you, Flash!’ –- but when he opened his mouth, “Just a bit?” spilled out.

Neither of them said anything of a few seconds, and then the loudest snort laugh Peter had ever heard came out of Flash’s face... which led to the two of them howling in laughter in that empty hallway. Every time one of them calmed down, they’d look at the other and start all over again.

Eventually they stopped. Peter was bent over at the waist catching his breath and Flash was wiping the last of the tears off his cheeks. Their eyes connected, and something passed between them. Nothing life altering or soul shattering, but... something.

“That was fair, Parker,” Flash acknowledged and with a sincerity Peter didn’t know was possible from the other, he said, “I am sorry for the things I’ve done, and I’m going to try to do better.”

Peter wanted to be the better person, but there was so much history. He smiled at his high school nemesis—oops, ex-nemesis and replied, “I look forward to seeing the change.”

He thought he saw Flash’s face fall, but in a second the look was gone.

“I’ll have to take that.” Flash accepted graciously and then, “So, yeah,” The moment was over. “I’m gonna go now, I think my Dad’s here to pick me up so...” Flash pointed some fingers guns at him, “I’ll see you at practice, ‘kay?”

Peter smiled, “You bet, Flash. See you at practice.”

* *Five months ago* *

Lunch period was just starting when the announcement came over the PA system, “Eugene Thompson, please report to the office. Eugene Thompson to the office, please. Thank you.”

Of course, half the cafeteria called out the requisite ‘ooooooh’s’ and Flash, who was sitting only a table over, looked over at Peter, with Ned and MJ, and shrugged. He grabbed the apple and water bottle off of his tray and brought the rest over to Peter. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be. Can I ask you to watch this, and if I’m not back by,” he checked out the clock on the wall, “Say quarter after twelve, you guys can finish it?”

In unison, the three all turned to looked over to the table of friends that Flash had just left, “Why not ask one of them?” Ned asked.

Flash chuckled and shot down the idea. “I’m not in the mood to play ‘which food did they spit in?’ Thank you very much. If you can’t that’s cool, but...”

Peter jumped in, “We’ve got it, Flash. We’ll watch the clock. 12:15pm.” He didn’t quite know what else to say. “Um. Hope it’s nothing catastrophic?”

Flash grimaced. “Me, too. Uh... thanks.” With a small wave he exited the cafeteria.

Ned jumped on him first, “Dude! What the heck!? I know you told me he’d apologized but that was straight out of the Twilight Zone!” Ned was freaking out.

MJ, always the level headed of the group, nodded in approval. “I can appreciate the effort he’s making to break out of a social construct of his own creation. It must be difficult to make a change when everything around you stays the same.” She looked across to Flash’s buddies and then to Peter.

He rolled his eyes at the implication. “C’mon, MJ. It’s been a month and there’s a lot of history there, you know? I’m... yeah. It would be nice to believe this is real, and I’m hopeful, but give me more than five minutes to get used to this, please?”

“I understand that, Peter, and I can appreciate history—just remember that we’re meant to learn from it, not get stuck in it.”

Peter appreciated the advice for what it was—really, but he and Ned had an ongoing tic-tac-toe tournament Peter decided he’d rather they focus on that. One thousand, six hundred, twenty-nine consecutive draws after ONE brain fart on Peter’s part...? Yeah, he was working toward redemption.

At ten minutes past twelve, Flash came back into the cafeteria, looking desolate. He meandered between the tables and stopped in front of theirs. He didn’t ask, just sat down and stared into nothing.

They were all curious, but Peter was the one to ask, “Flash? Is everything alright?”

Flash blinked and looked up at him, almost seemed surprised to see him. “Oh, uh, my mom needed to drop off a new house key. She won’t be home after school and she had the locks changed this morning.”

“Oh, okay.” He awkwardly replied. “Um... here’s your lunch.” Peter slid the tray in front of the dazed teenager. “I promise you, it’s spit free and everything.”

“Thanks.” Flash stared at the tray and quieted.

The three of them exchanged looks of concern, and though no words were spoken, they all came to an agreement.

“Hey, Flash,” Peter piped up, “Um, if you’re mom is gonna be gone after school, did you want to come over to my place? We’re, uh, going to be putting together a 3000 piece puzzle of the Milky Way and I’m going to lose my mind if they make me sort edges by myself. You’re welcome to join us if you want?”

Flash blinked back again.

“It’s even nerdier than it sounds, but we’re all about embracing our inner geek at this table.” Peter added.

Ned held up the infinite tic-tac-toe game as further proof. “True story, Flash.”

Flash looked over at MJ who just shrugged. “I’m not a nerd. I’m just smarter than them... which is why I make them sort.”

Peter could see that Flash was considering, so he tossed in one last incentive. “If you come, I won’t make you eat my Aunt’s walnut loaf.”

Flash smiled then, and it was almost sincere. “That sounds like fun. I’ll meet you guys out front after school?”

They all agreed, and Flash took a bite of his lunch.

* *Four months ago* *

Peter had been gone for a couple of days for an ‘internship retreat’ and it was time to crack down and get back to work. Spanish waited for no one.

“I can’t believe you actually have an internship with Tony Stark, Peter.” Flash teased him relentless as he made flashcards.

“And none of us can believe it took you so long to believe it, Flash.” MJ droned out over the edge of her textbook. “Seriously, he gets picked up in a new luxury car every week.”

Flash blushed over it again. “C’mon, you have to cut me a little slack, I mean really? What are the odds that something like that would happen to—“ The group braced, still cautious but hopeful... “anyone, let alone a junior in high school?! I was talking to my dad about it last night and he says with luck like that, you should be playing the horses.”

Peter chuckled and shook his head, “I’m not one to look at odds, Flash. My luck is only about fifty-fifty at the best of times.”

“And our odds of passing this exam will be less than that if we don’t stop yammering and get to work! Let’s go, losers!” Ever the taskmaster, MJ started barking out verbs to conjugate—and everyone got back to work.

* *Three and a half months ago* *

“Hey guys, guess what!?” Peter rushed up to them all congregated at Ned’s locker. “Mr. Stark got tickets to the premier of that new Oscar Isaac movie next week! He’d need to hang out with all of the mucky-mucks, but he can get extra tickets for us, if we’re okay with sitting with the rest of the peons—his words, not mine—if you want. I just have to let him know how many we need and then we can go with him in the limo!”

Ned freaked! “One for me, please! I’m content breathing in the same space as Poe Dameron even if the movie is supposed to suck, thank you very much!”

MJ had, of course, read the book that the movie was based on. “I’d be interested to see how a female director could have done a better job. Sure, I’m in.”

Flash was quiet.

“Flash? Are you in?”

Not looking quite comfortable with himself, Flash asked, “Are you sure he meant me, too?”

“Yeah, Flash. He means you, too. Did you think I’d be offering this to only some of my friends?”

Flash released a slow breath. “If you’re sure, then I’d love to come. Thanks.”

* *Three months ago* *

“Where’s Flash?” Ned asked as he sat down at their table at lunch. “He wasn’t in Comp Sci and Mrs. Berman asked me if I knew where he was.”

Peter and MJ pulled their phones out, checking to see if there were any unread texts or emails they’d missed.

They had nothing.

Peter took a second to peck something out.

11:45am

PBWanKenobi: Hey, man! R U ok?

Flash was normally like a beast with replying back to texts. MJ said he had a serious case of FOMO and Flash hadn’t disagreed. None of them understood how he had yet to be caught or have his phone confiscated.  

And none of them had heard from him by the end of lunch.

12:24pm

PBWanKenobi: Hey, let one us know you’re alive?

Peter had just fallen asleep after a rough evening of Spider-manning when his phone pinged.

11:58pm

TheFlash: The message you have sent is undeliverable.

11: 59pm

TheFlash: The message you have sent is undeliverable.

* *Two months and three weeks ago* *

“Flash!” Peter practically bulldozed him over in his relief at seeing his friend safe and sound. “Are you okay? What the hell happened to you? We were so worried?!”

MJ and Ned had stayed back, Peter doing enough freaking out for the lot of them.

Flash flushed with embarrassment. “Um, can we maybe talk about it later? It’s, uh...” Flash looked around the busy hallway and Peter figured it out pretty quick.

“Oh! Yeah, of course. Sorry about that.” Peter stepped back, hands thrust into his pockets and trying to be calm, cool, and collected.

No one bought it, and before long they were all laughing at Peter’s dorkiness.

“C’mon, losers, we’ve got Chemistry in five minutes.”

* *Two months ago* *

Peter tried really hard to not make a big deal of it, but Flash was going through some big shit. His mom had kidnapped him! Wait, it was a ‘custodial disagreement’ and Flash had disappeared. His mom had driven him over state lines without his Dad’s express permission and had destroyed his phone so they couldn’t be tracked.

They’d been found anyways.  

It was insane.

Flash’s mom was out on bail but not allowed to see him and Flash’s dad had taken back the house she’d been living in.

And Flash wasn’t doing too great.

He’d started spending time with his old buddies again, which was cool! Totally okay, but they were still jerks and Flash was hurting.

Flash promised it was only because of his Dad. Apparently these buddies were the kids of some of Harrison Thompson’s wealthiest clients and Flash was supposed to be in on the schmooze.

Anything to make a buck, is what Harrison Thompson said.

Anything to get a leg up, is what Harrison Thompson said.

Suck it up, Eugene, you’re not here to make friends. You’re here to make connections. It’s about whose holding all the cards. It’s about the win-win-win, is what Harrison Thompson said.

Peter didn’t like Harrison Thompson very much, and he’d never even laid eyes on him.

* *One month and one week ago* *

Peter had talked to Mr. Stark about the situation with Flash during their lab time. He didn’t quite know how to process everything and with May working her second shift rotation at the hospital, he was stuck for advice on how to deal with it all.

“Maybe the kid needs a break?” Mr. Stark suggested. “Why don’t you guys all come out to the lake house for the day, take a breather from everything. The weather is certainly nice enough for it. I’ll grab Pepper and we can jump in the SUV. You can all bring your swimsuits and we can make a day out of it. I’ll barbeque. Pepper will yell at me for burning things! It’ll be a gas.”

Peter rolled his eyes at his mentor. “Are you sure? I mean, it sounds great, but are you sure-sure-sure about it? I know the lake house is kind of your thing...” Peter didn’t want to intrude.

Tony walked over to Peter’s station and looked him in the eye. “Kid, if you say this kid is good people, then I’m going to trust you. And if you say this kid needs a hand and this is what I can do? Then I can do it.”

Peter thought about the last weeks and how withdrawn Flash had been. He knew he wasn’t hearing a quarter of what was going on at Flash’s house and he knew that Flash’s dad cast a wide shadow. Maybe a trip out of the city would be what Flash needed to open up?

He’d decided. “If you’re positive, Mr. Stark, I’ll take you up on that offer. I think it’ll be exactly what he needs.”

* *Three weeks ago* *

It really was exactly what Flash needed.

They’d spent the day in the water. Tony had installed a tire swing last spring and a slide at the edge of the dock during the summer. It was glorious. MJ had goofed off for a bit, but when Pepper came out to sit on the dock, she’d left the water to be all ‘mature.’ Whatever. Peter, Ned, and Flash made farting noises with their hands in the water. If Tony had joined them in the water (making farting noises, too!), no one would tell—but there were pictures.

They grilled burgers and hot dogs and ate until too full.

It was the perfect day.

* *One week and three days ago* *

5:32am

TheFlash2.0: Peter. 911 Call me.

5:33am

TheFlash2.0: Peter. Wake up.

5:33am

TheFlash2.0: Peter. Please wake up!!!!!

5:36am

TheFlash2.0: On my life, Peter! It wasn’t me! I swear it!

5:45am

TheFlash2.0: Please! I’m phoning.and you’re not answering! It your phone on silent?

5:45am

TheFlash2.0: *is dammit!

5:50am

TheFlash2.0: Peter. I don’t know what to do..

Neither Flash nor Peter were at school that day.

The reporters outside of his Queens apartment made it impossible for Peter to leave.

The beating he’d received from his father after the argument had made it impossible for Flash to leave.

* *One week and one day ago* *

10:23am

TheFlash2.0: Please thank Mr. Stark for filing a police report. Not sure if you care, but I’m with my grandma and I’m safe.

10:23am

PBWanKenobi: I care.

10:25am

PBWanKenobi: I’m glad you’re safe.

* *One week ago* *

The press conference had gone as well as could be expected. After the photo had been released, things had been... chaotic.

Pepper had already been prepared for someone to make the assumption that Peter was Tony’s kid—but when Harrison Thompson had implied that Peter was Tony’s...

Peter felt nauseous even thinking about it.

MJ had been horrified by all of it. When she and Pepper had decided to visit on the dock, they’d been relegated to phone babysitters. MJ wouldn’t stand for just sitting and watching. She’d grabbed everyone’s phones and snapped like every moment was a precious memory. Ned had a picture of Mr. Stark dunking Flash under the water—and then another of Flash coming up and spouting a mouthful back at him. Peter had him, Ned and Flash doing cannonballs off the dock. They each had a couple of selfies of MJ and Pepper hamming it up all on their own...

Flash had a couple of photos of Mr. Stark and Peter—Peter had been standing... just standing and talking to Flash in the distance. You could see him in the picture. Mr. Stark had, for the first time EVER, managed to sneak up on the kid. Flash had played along as the distraction. He could have dunked Peter, zinged him, splashed... anything. But no, Mr. Stark, in a moment of affection gave Peter a hug from behind. It was sweet and tender—and photoshopped.

Harrison Thompson had ruined it.

He had taken something so wholesome—he had taken a piece of his own son’s joy and twisted it—had tried to ruin lives.

The man was a monster and with that one press conference, Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries had destroyed him and his reputation spectacularly. She revealed every lie, every fraud, every deception—all of the evil he had ever done. He would never work in the state of New York again. And he would never have custody of his son again. And if, by the end of it, he was never free again, no one would complain.

It gave Peter some satisfaction, but it wasn’t enough.

How was Flash supposed to move on from this? How did Peter?

* *Three days ago* *

The hope that the interest by the press would die down after the press conference had been a pipe dream.

Mr. Stark had finally convinced Aunt May to relocate to the tower for everyone’s safety and sanity.

Honestly, Peter was sure May agreed to the move simply because it would get him out of bed.

The joke was on her, though.

They’d grabbed a couple of duffle bags and Peter’s backpack for school and headed over. Tony and Pepper had prepared a guest room for Aunt May, and of course Peter already had his own space. And that is exactly where he headed when Aunt May went to drop her bags in her room.

... and Peter figured if he never left, it would be too soon.

* *Present Day* *

“Peter, come on, sweetheart. You can’t stay in bed forever. You’ll start growing mushrooms in your armpits if you don’t shower.”

“No, I won’t.” Peter mumbled into his pillow.

“Okay, well if you won’t get out of bed for me, will you get out of bed for someone else?” May pushed.”

“Tell Ned I’ll call‘im tomorrow.”

“It’s not Ned.”

“Tell MJ I’ll call‘er tomorrow.”

“It’s not MJ, sweetie.”

Peter grabbed an extra pillow and shoved it over his head. “Then tell whoever I’ll call them tomorrow!”

A familiar voice came from the doorway. “My grandma hasn’t gotten me a new cell phone yet, so you can’t call me tomorrow.”

Peter popped up from his hidey-hole, not even embarrassed by his state of grossness. “Flash?”

“Hey, Parker.” Flash greeted, shyly.

“Are you okay?” Peter noticed the fading bruise under his left eye. “I know your dad is in a bunch of trouble, but tell me he’s goin’ down for child abuse, too, please?”

Flash looked uncomfortable for Peter’s eagerness. “Um, yeah, he’s been charged so that’s a thing.”

“Cool, I’m glad to hear that.”

“And I’m going to be living with my grandma for a bit—just while everything is straightened out with my mom and the house and everything.”

Peter had remembered that from the text. “That’s good.”

“So, um, I’m wondering if I could get your phone number for when I, uh, get my new phone. I can’t really transfer stuff ‘cause my phone is in an evidence locker somewhere.”

It all felt so surreal. How could this be so easy for him?

“Um, Peter? It’s cool if you don’t want to--”

“Shit! No! Sorry—zoned out there for a second. Of course you can have my number! Just—“ Peter jumped out of his bed and rushed past Flash to his desk to grab a pen and paper.

“Geez, Parker, your aunt wasn’t joking about the mushrooms!” he teased as Peter scribbled his number down on an old math worksheet.

“Funny, Flash. Ha-ha.” He thrust the piece of paper into Flash’s hand. “There, but if you’re going to be a jerk, you can call Ned instead. I still haven’t beaten him at tic-tac-toe so he kind of deserves it.”

“Cute.”

“I thought so.”

Neither said anything for a bit. Peter had too many things he wanted to ask, and it seemed that Flash had secrets he’d wanted to keep.

“Can I tell you something?” Flash blurted out.

“Of course you can.” Peter answered. “You can tell me anything.”

“That’s good, ‘cause I really want to tell you how this all started.”

Peter assumed he was going to talk about the photos and the ‘anonymous’ press release revealing sordid fabrications, but no.

Flash started telling a story that was disjointed and already in progress, and that was okay. He’d probably told it in his head a million times, but out loud? This was most likely the first time...

Flash needed to be heard and Peter would listen.

“It had been a really bad night—for my parents, I mean. He hadn’t hit her, but he’d been so mean to her, and I could hear her cry... and it wasn’t even the first time, you know? It just sounded, I don’t know, sadder that night.

“I stayed in my room, ‘cause that’s what we do, but then my mom came in. I pretended to be asleep. I just couldn’t deal with it. I mean, it always feels like too much but that night...” Flash trailed off for a minute.

Peter let him take his time.

Flash sniffed and rubbed at his nose. “Anyways, she sat on my bed and whispered that she loved me... and then she said... she—she was so afraid I’d grow up to be like him, Peter, and...” He inhaled and then exhaled. “And I just couldn’t.

“I couldn’t be someone that my mom couldn’t love... and so I made a decision to change. I had to! And I knew that it had to start with you. I knew if I could redeem myself with you, then I had hope.”

“Wow, that’s terrifying deep, Flash.”

Flash ran his hand through his hair. “It is, and I’m glad to know you’re as freaked out by it as I am.”

Peter chuckled, “Aww, Flash. I knew we had something special...”

Flash gave him a playful shove. “Don’t be an ass. We’re having a moment here.”

And Peter nodded. “We are.”

“After all of this, a part of me wants to say that I wish I had never given you a chance to forgive me... that I was meant to play the villain forever, but I’d be lying. So...” Flash offered his hand. “Peter Parker, I’m not sure when I’m going to be back in town, but thank you. Thank you for forgiving me... even if you never said it. You showed it. And thank you for being an example of a decent human being. I didn’t have that so...” Flash rubbed his nose again.

Peter teared up, and took Flash’s offered hand. “Thank you, Flash Thompson, for trusting me, even if I didn’t understand why you needed it. You’re a good person, and I’m glad you’re my friend.”

The two stood there, hands clasped. Peter chuckled low, “Look at us, being all emotionally mature and not an MJ in sight. She’ll never believe it.”

Flash joined him. “You’re so right. Too bad we couldn’t take a picture”

Peter processed what Flash had said and groaned. “Too soon, man. Too soon.” With another chuckle and some playful shoves, they parted.

“I’m sorry to interrupt this bro moment, but Flash, you’re grandmother says it’s time to go.” May called from the door.

“Okay, May, we’re coming.” Peter said. “Just give us a minute, ‘kay?”

“Alright, don’t be too long though. She’s worried about traffic.” She replied and then left them again.

“I still haven’t apologized for my dad, Peter. I’m so sorry for everything—“ Flash rushed out.

“Nope.” Peter interrupted him. “No apologizing for him. You are not responsible for the decisions other people make. And besides, you can’t choose your blood, but you can still choose your family, right?”

Flash thought about it for a second before agreeing. “Right.”

Peter looked at the door, then back at Flash. “So I guess this is it for now—you’ll call as soon as you get your new number, right?”

“I will.”

“And you won’t join any AcaDec teams so we don’t have to crush your dreams in any future competitions, right?”

Flash smiled and shook his head ‘no.’

Then Peter nodded in satisfaction. “Then you’ll be fine.”

Flash smiled wider then. “Yes, I will be.”

... and eventually, he was.

 @febuwhump

[hollandspiderling]

Homecoming Redemption || Part Two - The Asking

Summary: After everything that has happened to Peter, all he wanted was to have some sort of normalcy for his senior year. With the new school year finally underway, so far everything seems to be going to plan. He and his friends are trying to not let the effects of recent events get the best of them and everyone is moving forward. Now with the homecoming dance quickly approaching, what will Peter do once he realizes that he needs to find a date? 

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Warnings: A rom-com series with a hint of angst. Swearing and underage drinking to come. Everyone is 18yrs old in this and all of the Avengers survived the blip. His identity is still a secret after defeating Mysterio because Peter deserves a break and time to breathe after everything he’s been through LOL

Word Count: ~4.6k

Author’s Note: Welp, I tried to write and schedule parts to be more on top of myself, but that was an epic fail. I wanted to focus on spending time with family and friends more during the holidays and preparations for finals sneaked up on me. The future parts will come when I am able to, but I hope this extra-long update makes up for it! I hope you all enjoy this update lovelies, xoxo Astrid. ❤

Teaser | Prologue | Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Every morning it was a routine for you and Peter to ride the subway to school together. This has always been the case ever since you transferred, and he became your tour guide for the ins and outs of the city as well as Midtown Tech. You’ve grown so accustomed to his presence every morning as he met you at his stop with two bagels and coffees in hand. The only times that you guys did have separate mornings were when you would meet with your council at the beginning of each week. So, it was an odd thing for you to wake up to a text from Peter saying that he wasn’t able to accompany you that Friday morning to class. You’d be lying to yourself if you weren’t disappointed by not having your daily dose of Peter’s morning rambling. It was always his upbeat personality that usually helps set your mood for the rest of the day. Because of how close your friendship was, he was the only person that managed to see the rare times where you’d let down your walls and become vulnerable with yourself. Whenever you stressed about upcoming projects, he’d always be the one to reassure that you had it in the bag and were worrying over nothing.

You sighed to yourself as you aimless watched the undergrounds of New York whizz past you as the subway train left Peter’s stop. It’s been a busy week for both of you for some reason. You knew Peter’s schedule by part so when he texted you that he was staying late the day before and not being able to come that morning piqued your interest. Peter would tell you everything so the vague answers he was giving you whenever you talked to him was picking at your mind. As much as you wanted to bug him about it, you knew you had to give him the space he needed because you trusted him. Whenever he was ready, he’d come tell you whether it was school or Avengers related, you’d wait until he was ready to talk to you.

Now with the last day of the school week ahead of you, you shook your head to clear your mind for the day. There was a lot to do and you needed to start making the spreadsheet and presentation for the homecoming court. As you stepped out of the subway, your eyes squinted from the bright, warm sunrays that were beaming down on you. Smiling to yourself, you took a moment to bask in the small moment you had with yourself. Nodding to yourself, you made your way towards Midtown and began to mentally go over your checklist.

--

Peter anxiously bit his lip as he paced back and forth in front of his locker. Everything that he planned for was finally happening and he was so nervous. He’s never done anything like this before and the fact that he asking you made it even more nerve-wracking. Some people might find it odd because his alter ego is Spiderman, but because of how much he wanted this to be perfect for you, he didn’t want anything to go wrong that day. It was hard to sleep the night before because of all the scenarios that popped into his head and he groaned, letting his head rest against the cold metal.

“I’ve never seen the school this empty before. Parker, you owe us coffee for having to wake up this early.”

His head snapped up and heard two people chuckle at his wide-eyed expression. Seeing who finally arrived, he smiled in relief.

“Y-Yeah of course. No worries, once all of this is done, I’ll get the coffee you want.” He said as Keila and MJ approached him with the big banner being held in MJ’s arms.

“Chill, Pete. There’s no reason to be worried, you gotta believe in yourself.” Keila smirked at him.

He nodded to their words as he rubbed his palms together and pursed his lips together.

“No yeah, you guys are right. I shouldn’t be worrying about it too much.”

“There you go Parker, that’s the confidence that we need. Also, nice change of vibes dude.” MJ complimented with a nod of acknowledgment.

Peter looked down to see what the boys helped him pick out to wear for the day. Kai had lent him a pair of black joggers and Ned helped him pick out a white shirt with a black graphic on it that wasn’t his typical science pun. Alex finished the outfit off with a denim jacket that he found in Peter’s closet when all of the boys came over after school.

“That’s all thanks to us, ladies.”

He looked behind him to see Alex and Kai coming up to them with beaming smiles. Kai had his hands behind his head as he leisurely walked up next to his twin sister and they high-fived each other. Alex slung his arm over Peter’s shoulders and encouragingly gave it a squeeze.

“Don’t worry Pete, Kai and I got everything covered for ya. We managed to get the boys of the team to distract Brad during lunch period. If that doesn’t work out, then Kai and I will handle everything ourselves, alright? All you need to do is concentrate on getting Stark as your date.” Alex smirked.

“Thanks guys, I know that you didn’t have to do all of this, but I appreciate it that all of you guys did.” Peter smiled.

“Oh, but you can’t forget about the best part.” Ned interjected as he came up to the group with Betty beside him as she held the basket containing all of your favorite snacks and small things that reminded him of you.

Everyone exchanged their hellos and with each other and Betty handed the basket over to Peter. She smiled at him and he gave her one back.

“Don’t worry Peter, we’ll be right behind you to support you. I’ll go hide the poster with the girls in the council room since it’s closest to the cafeteria. Alex and Kai will double check with the basketball team after second period and you’ll be scotch free to do your asking.” She reassured.

“Thanks Betty, it’s been a really nerve-wracking twelve hours.” He laughed.

“You’ll be fine Peter.” Ned confirmed as more students began to fill the empty halls.

“Is there anything else that you need from us, Peter?” Kai asked.

Peter shook his head and smiled at them as his grip on the basket tightened. “No, not necessarily. Having your support with me right now before everything else has been the most reassuring.”

“We’re glad to be of help for the greater cause.” Alex joked as he playfully wriggled his eyebrows.

Everyone rolled his eyes and Keila clapped her hands together. They all looked at her and she pointed at the clock. “As much as I would love to continue our conversation of hyping Peter up, it’s almost time for her to get here so let's all disperse so she doesn’t grow suspicious.”

Peter waved at them as he turned towards his locker and began to enter his combination. He hoped with his entire being that everything goes well that day. Grabbing the empty duffel bag, he had from his gym class, he put the basket in it and hung his backpack onto his locker. A soft smile crept onto his face as his eyes landed on the bouquet, he bought from the flower shop next to Delmar’s. Gently putting it into the duffel bag as well, he took in a deep breath and mentally began to reassure himself that nothing was going to ruin what he was going to do for you.

--

You raised an eyebrow to yourself as you noticed a huge crowd forming around the entrance of Midtown and tilted your head. Nothing was happening for the student body, so with curiosity, you began to head over towards the crowd. Some people in the back noticed that you were there and began to shuffle away. Murmurs of your presence spread through the crowd as excited whispers began to surround you and you had a feeling of what was happening. With a sigh, you began to rub your temples because it was too early to be dealing with this. Cautiously, you ascended up the stairs and your eyes landed on the group of boys holding out a poster.

The expression on your face flattened as you read what it said, and you mentally wanted to kill yourself. Rumors of Brad asking you to Homecoming was floating around for the past week and you decided to filter any idea of that actually happening out of your head. You could agree that he certainly did improve looks-wise after the blip, but that added another level of cockiness towards him which didn’t really appeal to you. The poster was decked out in red and gold letters saying, “I may not be a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, but I could be your date to homecoming?”

Girls in the crowd were gushing at how cute the gesture was as you plastered a fake smile on your face. You met eyes with Brad, and you could just feel the sense of pride and cockiness radiating off of him. If anyone knew you, they should know that anything that is affiliated with your uncle was off-limits and seeing how that was the first miss for him, you weren’t sure what else he had planned for you. You were pretty sure that all his smarts went out the door when he realized how hot he was and only put his energy towards getting girls.

“Brad…what is all this?” you asked as you tentatively eyed him once you stopped in front of him.

Crossing your arms over your shoulder and shifting your weight onto one of your legs, you waited for him to respond. He grinned down at you and one of his teammates passed a bouquet of flowers towards him to pass to you. You raised an eyebrow and looked at the bouquet. You accepted it from him and internally groaned. No one knew this except for Peter, but you were allergic to daisies. There were baby ones accompanying pink lilies within the bouquet.

“Thanks Brad, but I’m allergic to daisies.” You muttered.

He grimaced and said, “I was planning on giving you roses, but the market by my apartment ran out of them when I bought them last night. I can take those back from you if you’d like.”

You shook your head and he nodded in understanding. He readjusted his position and smiled down at you. “Well despite the flower mix up, I do hope that you know what I’m about to ask you.”

Nodding along to his words, you scanned the area to see that the council had joined in the back and confusion spread throughout your being when you noticed their expressions. That was something you had to address later, and you filtered it into the back of your mind. Turning your attention back to Brad, you continued listening to him.

“Y/N, will you be my date to homecoming? You’re the smartest and most gorgeous girl I know, and it would be an honor of mine to take you to this year’s dance.”

With all these people watching, you mentally grimaced as you didn’t want to publicly humiliate him in front of half of the student body. Despite having a huge dislike for all that was happening, you swallowed your pride for the time being and gave him a tight-lipped smile. You gave him a small nod and he beamed widely as everyone began to cheer for you guys. Before he could completely celebrate, you dropped your façade as people slowly dispersed to leave you guys alone. You stuffed the bouquet into your backpack to throw away later and closed your eyes as you felt a headache coming.

“What’s wrong, L/N?” Brad asked.

“Brad, we need to talk.” You sighed.

--

Peter sighed to himself as he heard the first bell ring and half of the class filed into his first period. He lifted his head off of his arms from the power nap he decided to make and cussed to himself when he noticed that Flash was making his way towards him.

“Penis Parker!” Flash obnoxiously greeted as he sat on the empty desk next to him.

“Flash.” Peter greeted.

“What’s got you panties twisted, Parker? Is it because of what happened just now?” He cheekily asked.

Peter gave him a confused look and Flash’s eyes widened. “Wait, you didn’t see what happened at the front of the school?”

Rolling his eyes, Peter shook his head in response and turned his attention towards getting his materials out for class. He heard Flash laugh out loud and settled down into his assigned seat that was in the row in front of him and across to his left. Peter watched as Flash turned around to face him and smirked.

“Brad asked Y/N to the dance and she said yes.”

Peter’s eyes widened and he could feel his heart drop to his stomach. There was no way that happened because his group made sure about it. Taking his phone out while their teacher began to take attendance and Flash flipped him off, Peter hurriedly checked his notifications to see that everyone was trying to get a hold of him. He mentally kicked himself for being stupid enough on leaving his phone on do not disturb out of all times and buried his head into his arms. This was not part of his plan and now he lost his chance. Sighing to himself, the rush of thoughts began to move faster than he could comprehend.

Rather than being happy and nervous, the negative emotions he was feeling was getting the best of him. Thoughts of how you were alone and probably grew somewhat closer to Brad when he was gone began to fill his head. Maybe Brad was the guy that you were referring to yesterday and he was always and will only be your best friend. There was still that weight of leaving you alone without meaning to when Thanos happened and both of you spent the majority of your time in Europe trying to get back into the gist of things. You were so patient with him and helped him figure out his problems during Mysterio but he realized that he wasn’t really been paying attention towards you more than he should have. If he did, then maybe he would have had a better chance with you.

The familiar heavy feeling filled his chest as Peter felt his muscles tensing and the shortness of his breath began to overwhelm him. Shaking his leg, Peter leaned against his seat and tightly gripped his desk as he tried his best to concentrate on what his teacher was teaching them for the day. Instead, most of his hidden insecurities got the best of him and his mind spiraled more into the negativity that was spreading throughout his body. It was slowly becoming too much for him and before, he would have cared about his attendance in class. That went out the window when he chose to become Spiderman and that was the only option Peter saw at that moment that was going to help him calm down.

With an anxiously raised hand, he waited for his teacher to call on him.

“Yes, Mr. Parker?” His English teacher asked.

“Can I go to the infirmary; I don’t feel so well.”

She nodded and let him go once she noticed his pale complexion and Peter hurriedly grabbed his things. As much as he would have loved to look forward to his original plans, right now he needed to ground himself. Peter made his way towards his locker and hurriedly grabbed the things he prepared for you. A sad feeling came over him and he made his way towards the nearest trashcan. Opening the bag and grabbing the bouquet he bought you, Peter thought he was ready to throw it away. But as his hand hovered over the trash bin, he sighed. Putting the bouquet back in its place, he sullenly slung the bag over his shoulders and made his way out of school. He didn’t want to see you and Brad together so Peter decided to go to the one place he knew that would help keep him at a better place.

--

You bit your bottom lip as you eyed your phone as the minutes of the clock ticked down towards the end of your last class of the day. There was something off that day despite having an allergic reaction for most of the time. Peter had been missing all day and it wasn’t sitting right with you since he wasn’t answering his phone either. That was something out of the ordinary and once the bell rang, you were going to get to the bottom of this situation. Once the bell rang, you gathered your things and bit your bottom lip as you hurriedly made your way to your locker. Your friends had told you that they weren’t sure where Peter disappeared off to since they saw him that morning, but you couldn’t pinpoint what could have triggered him to leave.

As you grabbed your stuff that you needed for the weekend, you thought of all the places he could be. You already contacted F.R.I.D.A.Y and was notified that he hadn’t gone to the compound. Aunt May said that he hadn’t stopped by the apartment when you texted her during your lunch break and everyone else wasn’t sure where he could be. Sighing to yourself, you hoped that wherever Peter was, that he was okay.

“You okay?”

You jumped out of your thoughts when you looked behind you to find the girls standing around you. Giving them a small smile, you nodded and closed your locker after throwing the last book you needed into your bag.

“Yeah, I’m just worried about Peter…he hasn’t responded to me all day.”

The girls looked at each other as you looked at your phone once more. You felt yourself frown as you saw that there were no new notifications on your phone and ruffled your hair.

“I think I might know why…” Betty said sheepishly.

You raised an eyebrow at her and noticed that all of the girls had the same look on their face. Betty shifted around and said, “I think it’s because I heard Flash confronted him and said something that set him off.”

Hearing Flash’s name made you roll your eyes and facepalmed yourself. Flash was an idiot and knowing how his dynamic worked with Peter, that guy knew exactly how to push his buttons. What didn’t settle with you, was the fact that Peter actually let his words get the best of him. Usually Flash was just an annoying asshole that everyone would just brush off, despite the rare good interactions he had with anyone.

“Well, looks like I have someone’s ass to beat then.” You huffed as you determinedly cracked your knuckles and began your mission to find him.

“Ah, ah, ah not so fast homegirl. I think finding Peter would be more important than that.” MJ coaxed as you felt her and Keila hold you back from hurting Flash.

The other girls laughed as they saw you pout at MJ’s words. “But it’s Flash!” you whined.

“Even if it’s Flash, you’ve been worried about Peter the entire day so I think you can save kicking his ass another day.” Keila chuckled.

“Ugh, I guess you’re right…I just don’t know where he could be.”

“If Peter was triggered by something, maybe he went home?” Betty suggested.

You shook your head and said, “I’ve already checked the compound and his apartment. He hasn’t been answering any of my texts either.”

“Maybe he needed to be in a happy place. Do you know any places that he’d hide at?” MJ asked.

You racked your brain for any ideas and one place popped up in mind. A groan escaped your lips as you slapped your forehead.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why didn’t I think of that before?” you said to yourself as you hurriedly hugged the girls and ran towards the exit.

“Thanks for helping me guys! I’ll let you know what happens.”

You hoped that Peter was still at the only place the two of you promised to be at if the other one didn’t want to be found by anyone else.

--

The bell of the café rang as you entered the small establishment. Soft jazz music filled the air as you scrunched your nose and scanned the place. ‘Oh thank god…’ You smiled to yourself as you spotted the familiar curls nestled on top of his arms. Shaking your head, you quickly ordered your usual drink at the place and quietly slid into the booth Peter was taking a nap at. You set your chin on top of your palm and your facial expression softened. Without thinking, your hand reached out and began to play with his curls.

You felt him move underneath your touch and he sleepily blinked his eyes open. A chuckle escaped your lips as you waited for him to figure out that you were in front of him. He slowly moved into a sitting position and ran a hand through his hair, looking around the café. It was a habit of his to be slightly sluggish when he just wakes up and you cleared your throat to let him know you were there. His eyes widened and he straightened up in his seat.

“Y/N? W-What are you doing here?” he asked.

You gazed at him as he searched your gaze and replied, “You didn’t answer me all day, I was getting worried.”

His eyebrows furrowed as he grabbed his phone out of his backpack and he sheepishly smiled. “Sorry, Y/N I accidentally forgot to take it off do not disturb.”

You laughed and thanked the waiter that brought your coffee. Taking a sip of the warm drink, you gave him a look of concern and he shifted his eyes towards the rest of the café. He played with one of the edges of his notebook that was in between you two and you knew he was hiding something from you.

“Pete…what’s wrong? I need you to talk to me.”

He shook his head and looked down as he held his hands together in front of him. “It’s nothing, really. I just overreacted over something little and it led to getting overwhelmed with everything.”

You sighed as you set your cup down and reached over to grab his hand. He looked up at you in surprise but felt himself relaxing underneath your comforting touch. You silently asked him again with a look and he tapped your hands. Taking that as a sign, you leaned back into your seat to give him his space.

“I’ll tell you when I’m ready, but for now as a distraction, tell me about your day. I heard from Ned that you got asked to homecoming and you said yes.”

You choked on your drink and laughed. Peter looked at you with wide eyes as you paused to look at him once more and laughed. “Oh Pete, I only said yes because I didn’t want to humiliate the poor guy in front of the whole school. The way he asked was horrible.”

He gave you a questioning look and you tucked some of your hair behind your ear. “It was disastrous, Peter. Brad bought me a bouquet with daisies, of all flowers. Are you kidding me? I had to suffer from my allergies for the first half of the day and he had the audacity to quote my uncle as a way to ask me to homecoming. It was atrocious.”

You laughed so hard that you accidentally let out a snort. Peter laughed at the bewildered look in your eyes and he smiled back for the first time since you arrived.

“Wow, I-I didn’t expect that it was going to be that bad.” He replied and smiled to himself.

“It was, I wish you were there to see it, Pete. You would’ve seen through the bullshit façade I was putting in front of him. Ugh Pete, I wish you were there today in general. It would’ve been great to just have you by my side today.” You sighed.

He gave you a smile and laughed to himself. Without you knowing, you were giving him the reassurance that he needed. The tension that held within his body was finally being let go as he listened to your day and admired the expressions you showed while sharing what you’ve gone through. His eyes traveled to the duffel bag that was beside him and he contemplated whether or not he should just do it right then and there.

“Peter, what’s in the bag you have right there?” you asked as you noticed his gaze shift towards it.

He stiffened up and Peter suddenly began to grow nervous. You watched as he fidgeted with his fingers and you reached out to give him a reassuring squeeze. Watching as he took in a deep breath, you waited for him to say what’s been on his mind.

“Wouldyouliketogotohomecomingwithme?” he asked really quickly.

You smiled to yourself as you processed what he had just asked you and Peter kept his eyes shut, afraid of rejection. Without trying to give it away, you bit your lip and tried to be as silent as you could.

“C’mon, Y/N…you can’t leave a guy hanging like this.” Peter said as he peeped through one eye.

A giggle escaped your lips as you shrugged, and Peter sighed. He grabbed the bouquet out of the bag and passed it over to you.

“Hopefully this helps settle your answer.” Peter continued and kept looking at you in anticipation.

You felt your cheeks heat up and emotions take over you because of the certain flowers that he got you. Roses were always your favorite because they were your mother’s favorite and sunflowers were another one you loved because your mom had always called you her sunflower.

“Aw Pete…you didn’t have to…” you murmured as you hugged the bouquet to yourself.

He smiled at your expression and sighed in relief. “This wasn’t how I originally planned it, but I’m glad it all worked out in the end.”

Hearing his words, your head snapped up and you asked, “You were planning on asking me?!”

Peter nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck and grabbed the basket before sliding it towards you.

“I was supposed to do this big asking at lunch period, but Flash told me what happened this morning and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I told you that I was overreacting…”

“Oh Pete, it’s Flash. He can go suck it for all I care, and you know better than that.”

“I know, I know…I just-I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s okay Pete, but to answer your first question, I would love to go to the dance with you.”

You smiled at him before getting up from your seat and leaned over to kiss his cheek. His eyes widened when he felt your lips on his skin and looked up at you as you leaned back into your set. A wide smile came onto his face as he watched you hugged your basket excitedly.

“So, Peter Benjamin Parker, shall we head back to your apartment and devour all of these snacks together?”

Taglist:  (lmk if you want to be tagged! Tagged those who asked and who I think might enjoy this fic || Crossed out means I wasn’t able to tag you!) @averyfosterthoughts​ @ithinkimightlikehim @ homecomIng @meganlikesfandoms​ @tomfiction4​ @justcallmehitgirl​ @procrastinatingismybiggestflaw​ @mrhollandisart​ @yeahimcrying​ @littlebookbengal​ @caretheunicorn​ @mara-twins​ @jackiehollanderr​ @imsocial-not​ @ibookishqueen​ @itjustkindahappenedreally​ @3tothe1 @babebenhardy​ @kewl-r​ @llamazarecoolaf​ @mrsfortune1306​ @dangerousluv1​ @distracted-paganism​ @stxfxniexreads​ @mybitchborky​ @autty0314​ @problems-in-paradise​ @megaprincesscakes​ @fangirling12566​ @marvel-ousnesss​ @happywobble​ @zabdisamor​ 

[lady-of-the-imagines]

Bitten Pt. 2

Summary: Ivy Stark met Peter Parker the day he became Spiderman

Word Count: 2,017

Warnings: None

Part 1

“So, do you live in the tower with all the avengers?”

Ivy nodded in response, having taken a too-big bite of pizza moments before.

“That’s so cool,” He stated “What’s it like? Does your dad let you go on missions and stuff? Oh, were you here when the aliens invaded?”

She laughed and held up a finger, chewing quickly before attempting to respond. In all honesty she usually hated when people asked her about the Avengers. Most of their questions were invasive, and it always felt like she was nothing more than a gateway for inside information. But Peter had seemed so excited just to be in her presence that she couldn’t bring yourself to feel annoyed with him.

“Four years ago I was on a tour of this boarding school in Massachusetts to see if I wanted to attend alter on, so I was away when the house blew up and my dad moved here. I wasn't here when everything went down with the aliens either, I’d moved in with my mom in San Francisco after the whole house thing so I pretty much missed everything interesting.”

“I completely forgot your house blew up. I’m really sorry I shouldn’t have even asked, I-.”

“Don’t be, my dad quite literally asked for it; Unless you fired a missile, then you should definitely be sorry.”

He chuckled at that and took another bite of his pizza.

“How long have you lived in New York?” she asked.

He shrugged, “My whole life.”

“A born and raised New Yorker,” she stated, more to yourself than to him.

“So, do you go on missions?”

“Oh crap, we gotta go the group should be done with the tour in like ten minutes.”

Ivy shoved her bag over her shoulder and grabbed their pizza. Pulling Peter’s arm they hurried out of the pizzeria, shooting a grateful smile toward the staff on your way out. Conversation was stalled as they hurriedly ate the rest of their slices and rushed toward Oscorp.

“Wait,” she held an arm out to Peter to keep him from going in. Pulling out the napkins she’d left in her pocket, she handed some to him and they wiped the grease from their mouths. Now looking clean and very unlike two students who’d abandoned their tour group, they walked inside.

“I’ll text MJ to find out where everyone is.”

“I’ll text Ned.”

MJ responded first. They were heading toward the entrance where Mr. Osborn would lead the class to a demonstration on the control of radioactive rays in the lab. This was new, they’d never offered this on any of your prior visits.

“They’re headed toward us, so let’s just stand off to the side and join them in the back of the group.”

“Ya know you still haven’t answered my question, right?” He asked.

“What question?”

“If you go on missions with the Avengers.”

She winked, “Classified information Parker. So classified that even my dad wouldn’t tell you.”

“But you-“

He was cut off as their guide entered the lobby.

“And here we are, back where we started. I can wait with you until Mr. Osborn gets in and then you’ll witness our demonstration.”

You slipped in beside MJ quietly, giving her shoulder a gentle nudge. She placed a bookmark between the pages and slipped her book into her bag.

“How was pizza?”

You shrugged, “Pretty good, lots of superhero questions.”

“So nothing new,” she nodded “Did you know about the demo?”

“No I think it’s new, what’s it all about?”

“Basically it’s some old machine they used to use in like the 50s to control ‘radioactive rays’ in the lab. Should be interesting enough.”

Ivy nodded, “Cool.”

Peter and Ned moved to stand with the two of you, both boys peppering her with questions once again. Peter wanted to know if she’d ever tried holding Thor’s hammer. Ned wanted to know if she’d ever held Cap’s shield. Peter asked how many suits your father had built, and Ned wanted to know if she got to work closely with Bruce in his lab.

She answered their questions, avoiding any that were a bit too invasive so as to not give too much away. Peter checked in to make sure they weren’t bothering you, and for once she could honestly say the questions didn’t bother her. The look of joy on their faces outweighed any grievances she might have. By the time Mr. Osborn arrived, they’d finally exhausted all the questions they’d thought of on the spot and moved on to regular conversation.

“Hello children,” He smiled “I hope you all enjoyed your tour around my facility. I’m sure you’re all good and bored now so let’s get to the fun part, shall we?”

The group followed Mr. Osborn to the display room where a young intern was waiting, handing each of you goggles. They stood behind a panel of glass so as to distance themselves from the rays as much as possible; though she did take note of the fact that there was a gap between the glass and ceiling. Ivy leaned over toward Mr. Osborn.

“You’re sure this is safe?”

“I’m surprised at you Ms. Stark,” he stated “with all the things your family does I wouldn’t have thought you to be scared of a scientific display.”

“Well Norman, in my experience things never go as planned, so I try to be as safe as possible.” She pointed toward the gap.

He simply waved her off and pulled his goggles on. She was worried, but there wasn’t much she could do about it, so she simply put on her own goggles and moved to stand with her friends.

The contraption before them was like nothing they’d ever seen (mostly because it was absolutely ancient). Two red orbs were held up by by machinery. The body reminded her of a spotlight, a metal rod protruding from the center. The rods connected into the orbs with two little ‘arms’ connecting on either side of the orb and passing through. Each machine was placed opposite the other and they were facing it from the side.

“Everybody got their goggles on?” Mr. Osborn asked. When he received a sufficient answer he gave a thumbs up to one of the men in the room and the display began.

Ivy heard a gasp from a few of her classmates as the machine sparked to life. It shot into gear with a loud whirring sound and the visual was bright to say the least. She was impressed by the sight and made a note to ask Mr. Osborn and her father about this when she got the chance. As the display wound down and the bright light faded, she removed her goggles and looked to the others.

MJ nodded, eyebrows raised and it was she was just as impressed. Ned’s mouth was still hanging open as he moved to say something to Peter who looked distressed. His brows were knotted together as he rubbed his hand, mouthing the word ‘ow’.

“You okay?” She questioned.

“Yea, I’m fine. Just a bug bite or something.” He stated, letting go of his hands and shoving them into his pockets.

“Dude, that was awesome!” Ned exclaimed. This seemed to snap Peter back into the moment and he pulled off his goggles, the pair now speaking animatedly about the demo.

Ivy walked alongside Mj as the class headed back to the main lobby. Mr. Osborn thanked the class for coming and sent you all on your way back to school. Peter and Ned sat across the isle from them now, still speaking among one another.

“That was cool.’ She commented to her friend.

“Cool because the display was awesome? Or cool because you got to skip out on the tour and get pizza?”

“Why not both?” She grinned. MJ rolled her eyes and Ivy stuck out her tongue.

The bus ride home was even louder than the bus ride there. Everyone was freshly energized and discussing in detail the purpose of the machine, and how exactly it worked. Even Mj was up for conversation, tucking her book into her bag to give Ivy her full attention.

When the bus pulled to a stop in front of their school, Mr. Harrington stood up so everyone could see him. He read out the current time and instructed everyone to head to study hall to wait out the end of this period.

“Do we have to go to our next class?” Harry groaned “It’s the last period, we might as well go home.”

“Yes Mr. Osborn, field trips aren’t an excuse to skip class.” Judging by the look Flash shot Harry, they still wouldn’t be attending.

“You guys wanna skip last period?” Ivy asked MJ, Peter, and Ned in a soft whisper.

“Where’re we going?” MJ questioned.

“We could head to my place.” She shrugged.

“I don’t know,” Peter said “they could call our houses and my aunt and uncle would kill me if they found out.”

“Dude,” Ned pulled Peter into a quiet conversation facing away from you. You held back a laugh, looking to MJ. She seemed confused and simply shrugged, unsure of what to say. They boys finally pulled back and Ned frowned.

“I think we’re gonna stay here, sorry.” Peter stated.

“Don’t worry about it.” she shrugged “Give me your phone for a sec?”

“Why?” He questioned, handing it over anyway.

“I’m gonna put my number in just in case you change your mind.”

She typed away, adding an emoji of the iron man mask next to her name for good measure. As she handed him back his phone Mr. Harrington instructed everyone to head inside. The four shuffled down the aisle with the rest of the class and made the short journey to study hall.

On your way there, Ivy sent a text to her dad’s driver to come get herself and MJ in about fifteen minutes. He replied quickly, simply sending a thumbs up, and she put her phone away.

“Hey,” Ned called to Ivy once they’d all sat down “I meant to ask you about the Iron man suits.”

“I can’t tell you much about those, my dad wants to keep most things about them a secret. That way nobody can successfully recreate them.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” He nodded “Is it okay if I ask some basic questions? Like about how long it takes to make them and stuff like that.”

“Fire away.”

When the bell rang Peter and Ned walked Ivy and MJ out to the front of the school.  A sleek black car waited patiently for the pair, and Happy Hogan rolled down his window so they could see it was him.

“Ready?” He asked. She nodded, holding up a finger to tell him they just needed a minute. When Ivy turned back to her friends she could see Ned staring wistfully at the car. Peter, though he was trying his best to hide it, also seemed to be battling with himself over wether to stay or go.

“You sure you guys don’t want to come?” She asked.

Ned looked to Peter who locked eyes with her, lips pressed tightly together. He didn’t say anything for a moment, likely weighing pros and cons in his head. Finally, he shook his head.

“No, I think I’ll stay behind, I’m not feeling that good anyway.” he turned to his friend “If you wanna go Ned, you can.”

“No that’s alright,” He sighed “we had plans after school anyway, I’ll stick with you.”

“Okay, well you’ve got my number if you change your minds.” She started moving toward the awaiting car “See you guys tomorrow.”

Ivy slid into the back seat of the car beside MJ, smiling at Happy.

“Who were they?” He asked as he began driving.

“Peter Parker and Ned Leeds,” MJ responded “they’re on the debate team with me.”

“We met them on the trip today.” Ivy chimed in.

“Huh, alright. So how was the trip?”

“Really boring but Norman showed us this machine from the 50s that was pretty amazing.” Ivy stated excitedly.

“It was awesome!” MJ exclaimed, the pair launching into detail about the demonstration.

Tags:

@eridanuswave @crumpets-are-better-with-jam @lilithmouse