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lovinglyyours · 2 years

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Dancing Is A Dangerous Game- Part Two

Had to repost because my tags are broken Pairing: TASM! Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of death, anxiety, please let me know if anything is missing from this list.

Plot: You and Peter keep meeting each other, being horribly cute along the way. You start to feel some insecurities from the past. Just in time, the two of you share your first kiss.

A/N: Hello! I know it has been a long couple of months. I have received all of your warm and loving responses to my first part and I am loving that you guys are all enjoying my writing! I’m sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. I’m hoping I can be forgiven as I have been going through an academic slump with school and didn't have the will to write a part that was worthy for you all. I will try to be better in the coming months. Lovingly, Yours.

Word Count: 5,399 (please let me know if you see any errors <3)

It wasn’t long after your interaction with the hero that you decided to call Victoria over for an impromptu gossip session. The two of you had the next day off, so she came over faster than anticipated, red wine in hand.

Soon after the story was told, Victoria spent the next minute or so with her head thrown back, laughing. You felt the edges of your mouth fighting back a grin, pushing Victoria’s shoulder with a soft grunt. “It’s not that funny,”

“No, not really. It's just the fact that he said that he’d miss you.”

“He just really liked my company!”

“What about Peter?” Victoria questioned, taking a sip of her wine.

“What about Peter?” You repeated the question back at her before it clicked. “I’m not dating a superhero, for the third time this evening! Peter… I forgot to text.” You groaned out, glancing over at the stove’s clock. You frowned at the time, knowing that one in the morning wasn’t the best time to text someone.

“Just text him anyway,” Victoria sighed, reading your mind with a sly smile. “If you don’t I will.”

“No, thank you. I would rather not follow my first text up with ‘sorry that wasn’t me’ like I’m seven years old.” You joked as you pulled out your phone, not needing to enter your recent call list as Peter had texted you less than ten minutes ago.

A grin blossomed onto your face as you read the text. Is 1 am an appropriate time to text a lady?

You felt Victoria’s head lean onto your shoulder, reading the message with a snicker “Lady, sure.”

“I am a lady!” you shooed her away with a laugh. Your fingers lingered over the keyboard for a second before you texted back. Some people would call this a booty call… but 1 am works for me.

You set the phone down on the table face up, looking over at Victoria again who was studying the webs on your window. “He leaves a mess behind, huh?”

“He makes up for it by being witty,” you paused seeing the look your friend gave you over her shoulder. “What?”

“Don’t be weird with the superhero,”

“I’m not,”

“Look at me, look at me, I’m enamored with Spiderman.” Victoria teased in a sing-song phrase, laughing at your frown. You were about to say something when your phone let out a chime. “Saved by the bell.” She grinned, watching you pick up your phone.

I’m gonna have to ask my students that on Monday. Now, how does one work genetic coding into a booty call and can I make it a research question?

As flattered as I am about being the topic of a research question, I don’t think your students will enjoy their professor talking about his love life mid-lecture.

Victoria let out a long sigh from the couch, looking back at you with a frown. “Stop texting the dear professor and gossip with me on the couch,”

“Okay, okay…” you groaned, leaving the phone on the counter, sitting down on the couch next to Victoria with a smile. Something felt good, maybe it was the wave of giddy emotions that kept washing over you, but something felt right.

At work on Monday, you were pursued by a group of nurses that kept asking about your blind date. May was the one who pulled you to safety. “Sorry, I have a big mouth sometimes.” She said as the two of you rounded the corner towards the pediatrics wing. “Did Peter behave himself?”

“He did,” you laughed as she looked over at you with an amused smile. “It was a lovely date,” you assured her, watching her eyes soften at your words. You glanced at the clock, it was nearing the end of your shift, and you suddenly felt light on your feet.

“Well if anyone is going to make him break out of his shell, I’m happy it’s you.” May sighed, looking up at the clock with a soft curse, “I forgot about that,”

“About what?”

“Peter left a book of his at the house yesterday and I meant to drop it off before my shift today, but…” She trailed off, her fingers tapping on the clipboard in her hands. Her shoulder’s straightened in a second, looking over at you with a bright smile. “You get off soon, yes?”

“I mean, yes, but,”

“Perfect, follow me back and I’ll give you the book! You can bring it to Peter at work!”

“Oh, May, I don’t think he’d be okay with that. I mean, I’m still a stranger.”

“Well, you know him better than any of the other nurses here and you’d be helping his old Aunt out so I’m sure he’d be grateful!”

“I suppose, but I don’t know where to go.”

“His building is the one right next to the science laboratory on campus, it’ll be room 240! Oh, you really are such a doll for helping, thank you.” She beamed, grabbing onto one of your hands with a soft sigh.

You laughed gently, head spinning from the interaction. How did she wrap you into all of this? It would stupid of you to overlook the idea that she meant for this to happen. For all you know, she could have planned this since she left her house this morning. Nonetheless, you weren’t one to put up much of a fight, so as soon as the clock hit four you were wrapped up in a trench coat, book in hand.

It was funny, the book was Pride and Prejudice and something gave you the impression that Peter picked up a copy because of your date. You ignored the giddy feeling gnawing away at your stomach as you got into a cab. The university was far from the hospital and you still didn’t feel safe walking the streets without company, so cab fare it was.

The spine of the book was new and just slightly worn, and the pages were adorned with annotations that made you feel guilty for looking at them. They weren’t anything personal in the slightest, just funny quips here and there about how dreamy Mr. Darcy was or how Elizabeth was in the right.

As the cab got closer you pulled up a map of the university on your phone, trying your hardest to find the science laboratories on it before the cab stopped. When the cab did stop you were walking aimlessly amongst a sea of students. It felt strange to be on a college campus, strangely nostalgic and also very foreign.

You eventually found your way to the right room and the only way you knew was because you could hear his voice from outside the doors. You held your breath as you sneaked in, sitting in the back of the lecture hall next to some girls who were taking notes like crazy. The hall was packed with people and Peter seemed to be in his element as he pointed at some slide on the screen.

Peter heard the back door open and close with a loud thud but he didn’t let his eyes follow the stray student, it wasn’t strange for some students to come in later than others, so he didn’t bother.

It wasn’t until the students started to stagger, leaving or coming up for questions, that he saw a familiar trench coat in the background. You were in line with some girls, one of them kept hitting you with her bag, earning a frown from you every time she twisted or turned.

When you finally did get to the front, you kept getting interrupted by students. Your mouth would draw into a tight-lipped smile, making Peter hold back a chuckle as he answered questions about quizzes and assignments. Then it was just the two of you in the lecture hall.

“What are you doing here?” Peter asked you with a laugh, watching your shoulders relax. Seeing you so frustrated, while amusing, got old fast. He liked the smile that was growing on your face much better.

“Somebody’s aunt is making me run an errand,” you said, holding the book out towards Peter, who grabbed it with lightning speed.

“May?”

“Do you have another aunt?”

Peter’s face went straight at that, letting out mocking laughter as he played with the book in his hands. “Did you read my annotations?” he whispered, a light blush settling over his cheeks.

“Do you want the real answer?”

“So you did.”

“I can’t believe you wrote that Mr. Darcy was the bee’s knees, what are you? A flapper girl?”

Peter’s features relaxed at that, fanning his face with his hand in a playful way before he spoke in a ridiculous southern accent “Why I can’t help it, he’s so dreamy.” He liked the way you laughed at that, eyes rolling as if you were sick of him, but leaning slightly into him as he spoke.

“Why didn’t she just give this to me tomorrow?” Peter pondered aloud, before catching your eyes. He frowned seeing the way you were looking at him, a tad amused and a tad astonished like you couldn’t believe what you were hearing. “What?”

“Peter, she set this up.”

“No,” he looked at the book before he let out a breathy chuckle. “Oh, she set this up.” He laughed, his back leaning against the podium behind him.

You sat down on one of the seats, leaning against the armrest with a groan. “All that just to get us in the same room together,” you covered your mouth before laughing.

“Well, since you’re here,” Peter started, watching your eyes lock onto his own. He felt a lump rise in his throat, stuttering softly before you nodded to the unspoken question. Then, the two of you were leaving side by side.

One thing led to another and now you were sitting on the floor of his living room with a slice of pizza in your hand. He did not know how the two of you found your way back to his apartment, but Peter wasn’t complaining. In fact, he was ecstatic to have your company. He liked the way your eyes would stray from the movie on his television and make their way over to his, smiling when the two of you stared over at each other.

Peter wasn't accustomed to this type of behavior, that is to say, he hadn’t experienced it in a long time. Sometimes he would catch himself thinking about Gwen and what she would say about you. Would she hate you? Like you? He eventually decided that she would like you. Peter found peace in moments like that. He found peace in remembering her kindness and found peace in the way it was a sign he was moving on after all of these years. He still had such a long way to go, but at least it was a start.

Peter’s attention was pulled by you once again, smiling at the way you pointed at the screen. Now it was coming back to him, the two of you had gotten into a discussion about which adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was better, the 2005 or the 1995 version. Which meant that the two of you were watching Colin Firth on the screen. “I love this part,” you gasped, mouth moving before you knew it to quote the scene “I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow.” You muttered, just soft enough that it might have gone unheard if Peter hadn’t been paying attention.

Peter didn’t say anything, he just kind of stared. He really didn’t mean to, because your head turned towards him again and this time he felt all of the air leave his lungs. Your head tilted to the side seeing the way Peter was staring at you, the air filled his lungs slowly. “Peter,” you said his name in a soft tone. He nodded as your lips tugged into a slow, warm smile. “You have pizza sauce on your cheek.” Your hand reached over to swipe at it. Peter felt his cheeks grow warm and he let out a low chuckle, he was about to say something stupid before you were suddenly standing up and looking over at the time.

“It’s getting late,”

“Oh,”

“I should go home,”

“Right, I can walk you?”

“It’s okay, I’m just going to take a cab.”

“I can walk you, seriously.”

“Well, okay, it’s kind of far.”

“More time to talk, let me get my coat.”

The two of you walked in silence for the first couple of minutes or so, walking close to each other on the sidewalk in peaceful bliss. You liked the way his hand kept brushing yours, earning a soft apology from Peter every time. Peter liked the way you let out a laugh every time he apologized, before telling him it was okay. It had eventually gotten to the point that you gained enough courage to hold his hand, and from there on out the two of you held hands as you walked.

“Do you like cats?” You felt the question escape your mouth at an alarming rate, wanting to kill the silence between you.

“Cats?” Peter repeated the word back as he thought for a second. “Yeah, I think they’re nice.”

“Like dogs better?”

“I did when I was a kid, but I think if I had to choose one now I would probably pick a cat.”

“I have a cat, in my apartment,”

“Well, now I need to know the name.”

“No, it’s embarrassing.”

“You can’t just start a sentence with telling me that you have a cat and then not telling me its name,”

“I,” you paused, looking away from him with embarrassment “Its name is kitten because he doesn’t respond to anything else.”

“Oh, I love it!” Peter stifled a laugh.

“Stop,”

“I’m not doing anything,”

“You’re disrespecting me and my kitten!”

Peter dodged your hand as it moved to hit his arm, laughing louder as you struggled to pull your hand away from his. “Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He laughed out as you sent him a playful glare.

You settled into your walking pace again and squeezed his hand, “I forgive you, for now,” You grinned and Peter squeezed your hand back.

The walk home was then filled with playful conversation, little things about how Peter liked the Wintertime above all seasons and how you hated that you couldn’t see the night sky in the city. By the time the two of you got in front of your apartment, you were both holding your sides with laughter.

“Parting is such sweet sorrow,”

“William Shakespeare,”

“Darn, could have sworn it was Austen.”

Peter ignored the cold breeze that greeted his hand when you pulled your hand away to reach for the lobby doors. “I had fun tonight,”

“Me too,” he said, letting the unspoken ‘we should do it again sometime soon’ linger in the air as you waved him goodbye and you were gone.

Peter really did like the snow, he liked how quiet it made everything. In a storm, you could only hear wind and cars passing by. A little part of him wanted to move away from the city, but as time went on, and as certain radioactive spiders made him turn into a superhero, he knew it wasn’t much of an option for him. The dream lingered, however, he wanted that dream for him and Gwen one day. He wanted to be living in suburbia with kids or maybe just a bunch of cats, he didn’t care, but that dream died the same night she did.

Maybe that’s why he was trying to convince himself that it would never work between the two of you. He was too damaged, too broken, to deal with someone so radiant. All those little moments during which he felt like it was the right moment, weighed on him and crushed those little dreams. You didn’t need all the baggage Peter brought with him, nor did you need the press coming after you for being Spiderman's girlfriend.

The funny thing about people is that they have hope even when they are filled with despair or anxiety, so despite everything, Peter found solace in the fact that you held his hand. You didn’t pull away in disgust or say anything to hurt him. You were true to your emotions and that gave Peter hope in thinking that it could work, that it wouldn't be so bad, that he might move on one day. A snowflake landed on his lashes as he walked home smiling.

Surprisingly enough, when you got home you half expected the vigilant to knock on your window. But, after an hour of glancing over at the window, you knew that tonight wasn’t a Spiderman night. Somewhere between dates you must’ve accidentally linked the two men together and just suspected that after you saw Peter you would see Spiderman or the other way around.

Maybe it was wrong of you, but you liked the way they made you feel. The two of them, separately, made your lips turn up into a soft smile. Peter made you feel gentle, almost like how someone feels when they receive a bouquet from someone special. Spiderman filled you with a more intoxicating feeling, a little dangerous, but fun.

You spent the rest of the night in bed feeling rather restless until Kitten curled up by your side and you were falling asleep.

The next morning your mind was free of men, super or otherwise, as you locked your door on your way out. You had a later shift, so you wanted to spend the better half of the day doing something for yourself, something fun.

Okay, maybe your sense of fun was a little warped because you got coffee every day but today it was a treat for yourself so it made it fun. You didn’t feel too bad walking down the street during the daytime, people crowded the streets and you felt safe hiding in masses. You were trying your hardest to meet Victoria for brunch at some hole-in-the-wall spot she boasted about, something about how they had adorable latte art.

You always felt a little jealous of Victoria for the things she did outside of work. The only reason you were out having some form of a life was because of work or Peter. A little sad, but true.

The brunch spot was decorated with forest green decor, it almost looked like someplace that could be a cute picnic spot. You smiled as you slid into the seat across from Victoria, watching as she frowned down at her phone.

“What’s up?”

Her head snapped up to look at you, her frown deepening for a split second before she was forcing a smile. “Nothing, just dating things.”

“You’re dating someone? Why didn’t I know about this?” You said, a smile growing slightly as you watched her shoulders hunch over with defeat.

“Because, we aren’t even dating. Just talking, it doesn’t matter.” She sighed, resting her head on her hand as she looked over at you. “How was Peter?”

“Damn charming,”

“Gross,” she joked, as she slid a menu towards you.

“Right?” You joked with her, opening the menu with a soft hum.

“Do you think the two of you will become a thing?”

“I think it’d be nice, yes. Why do you ask?” You peered over the menu for a second or two, waiting for her answer.

“No reason, I just can’t imagine Spiderman would be very happy about you getting a boyfriend.” She held out the word ‘boyfriend’ in a teasing way, the same way children did in school. You laughed softly at that and gently kicked her with your shoe underneath the table.

“Stop that,” you laughed as you set the menu down, standing up. “Are you going to be a big girl and order food with me or do you want mommy to do everything for you?”

“I’ll be a big girl, just this once,” She stood up and shot you a look before finishing with “Mommy,”

You swatted at her for that, covering your mouth as you giggled. “Let’s go then,”

Patricia, at the front desk, had one hobby; gossiping. There was nothing in this universe that she loved more than gossiping, well she loved her wife dearly, but gossiping was just too much fun. So it was no surprise to you that when you came into work you had a pair of eyes on you everytime you passed by the front.

“What is it, Patty?” you groaned as you went behind the desk to talk with her.

“May, said something about her son or something,” You opened your mouth to correct her but didn’t have the energy to fight with her as she continued. “Something about how the two of you are seeing each other.”

“Gosh, I hope we can see each other, thank god for vision.” You teased her, watching her brows furrow before you nodded quickly. “We’ve just been on one date.”

“She said you saw him again yesterday,”

“That’s because she set that up,”

Patricia let out a soft hum before she started drumming her fingers on her desk lost in thought. There wasn’t much happening at the moment with anyone and the drama was lacking, truly tragic. You smiled at her, opening your mouth to say something about the date when someone came through the front doors, donning a tight white tee and jeans. “Speak of the devil,” You muttered through a sigh.

The second that Peter’s eyes met yours a smile broke out on his face. Your own face mimicked his, smiling wide as you walked around the desk to talk to him, letting it be a display for anyone watching.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Peter asked once he got closer.

You raised an eyebrow at that, “Having a plague themed birthday party, you?”

“Ha ha,” he forced the chuckle out as you rolled your eyes at him. “May wanted to have dinner tonight so I’m here to pick her up.” He folded his arms across his chest before he leaned in closer to you. “Is that lady at the front desk staring me down?”

“She’s a married woman, why would she stare you down?”

Peter’s eyes locked with yours as you leaned in towards him before he groaned softly. “If I knew you were working I would’ve brought you something.”

“Flowers?”

“Food. How long till you're off?”

“Midnight,”

“I can always come back and walk you home or just get you a ride home?”

“Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

“Yes,”

“No, I can walk home alone. I don’t want you to lose your beauty sleep. What would the campus girls say if professor Parker had bags under his eyes?”

Peter shook his head at that before letting his hands drop down, liking the way you looked up at him with that smile. It was playful and horribly flirty, “They’d live, I’m not letting you walk home alone at midnight. I’ll be back to pick you up, okay?” Peter said as he took a step back from you as Aunt May rounded the corner.

“Peter,” You started as he started to walk away from you.

“I’ll see you later,” he waved a small goodbye to you as you felt the pager on your waist vibrate with a small chime and you were rushing back with a broad grin on your face.

May was watching Peter’s foot bounce at the table, smiling into her glass of wine as he glanced at his phone on the table. “Peter, what are you so nervous for? You’re just walking the girl home.”

“Right,” His foot slowed to a stop as he let out a slow exhale “I’m just scared that I was too forward with saying that I’d be there at midnight?” he questioned himself before he took a sip of his water.

May laughed softly as she watched Peter’s eyes dance across the table nervously until they met her’s. His shoulders dropped with a sigh, giving her a sweet smile before nodding, as if reading her mind. “I’m being paranoid, I know. I just haven’t done this in a while.” Peter’s voice trailed off softly, a soft feeling of grief moved through May as she watched him slump over a little in his chair.

“Eat your food and relax,” she said softly, reaching across the table to give his hand a gentle squeeze.

Peter felt the ball in his throat get smaller at that, squeezing her hand back with a chuckle. He felt like a kid sometimes, a little foolish and a little anxious, but May always helped him calm down when he got too carried away. She was family and she was sticking by his side. “I’m just scared,” Peter whispered, his throat tight with emotion.

May let out a friendly chuckle, nodding. “It’ll pass,” and somehow Peter knew she was right.

You felt awkward just staring at the clock. It was almost midnight and you were rushing through reports, double checking things to pass the next five minutes. It was actually a pretty slow night, a rare occurrence that you were always grateful for. In the break room you undid the ponytail your hair was in and combed through your hair nervously.

Victoria had found you around six o’clock, earlier that day, and started questioning you again on the status of your and Peter's relationship, sure it was fun to talk about, but it seemed like that's all she wanted to talk about. That might’ve been normal for some people, but not her.

Whenever she would ask if the two of you were official yet she would get this worried look in her eyes, almost like she was silently terrified when you said no.

You stared at yourself in the break room mirror, sighing as you let the thought go. You always did have a hard time with trusting people around you, it was something you had worked on for the past two years, Alex was the one who said it first. Now, whenever you had that sick feeling of anxiety in the pit of your stomach, you had to remind yourself that if you acted on those feelings you were just proving his point.

The clock hit midnight and three minutes later you were standing outside waiting for Peter. He didn’t take long to show up, popping up in an area you were sure you had just checked. “Hey, Cinderella,” he called out as the two of you walked to each other on the sidewalk.

“You call me that because you’re picking me up at midnight?”

“How’d you put that thought together?”

“Process of elimination or something amazing,”

Peter held out his arm for you to grab a hold of, giving you a wickedly sweet smile as he did so. You mouthed a gentle thanks as you linked your arm around his, pulling him tighter as you felt how warm he was.

“I feel like I’m always walking you back to your apartment but you never walk me back to mine.”

You turned your head up to look at him with a playful frown “You trying to tell me you want me to come back to yours tonight, big guy?”

“First of all, ouch with the big guy comment! Second of all, I’m a gentleman who wants the same treatment as a lady, that is all!”

You broke out into a soft giggle at that, nudging his ribs softly. Your laughter died away hearing Peter let out a very soft, very real, groan of pain. “Did I hurt you there? You okay?” You asked him curiously, your walk slowing to a stop to pull away and look at him.

Peter felt his palms become sweaty as he shook his head quickly. “No, No, No, that was fake. It was a joke!” He said calmly, hoping you didn’t see through his lie. He didn’t really know what he would do if you found the bruise on his stomach that your taser had left just nights before.

“Peter, I don’t know if you know this, but I am a nurse. I can tell when you’re in pain and when you’re not.” You sighed in front of him, motioning to his shirt. “Just lift it up so I can see what’s up.”

Peter felt his face flush, pulling the hem of his shirt down quickly with a nervous laugh. “No, I’m fine! It’s just a bruise!”

You raised an eyebrow at that, looking at his face and then at his arms as they held down the hem of his shirt. You felt your heartbeat quicken as you finally spotted some familiar patch work on his arm. “What happened to your arm?” You whispered softly, reaching out to grab a hold of his forearm gently.

Peter felt himself panic once more, not knowing if he should pull his arm back and lie or if he should just say he cut himself with something at work. Yeah, because everyone knows how dangerous a job teaching broke college kids is, don’t be stupid Peter. He smiled sheepishly at you before talking, “Cut myself with knife at home the other day,”

You brushed your fingertips over the gauze with a soft hum, he was definitely lying, but why? “What about the stomach thing?”

“Bumped into a desk at work, it's nothing. I promise,” He felt your eyes on his chest, puffing out a soft sigh before shaking your head at him. His arms dropped to his side as you stared him down, trying to put on his best, not nervous, smile.

“Can I see, just for peace of mind?”

“No, it’s really okay.”

You pressed your lips together into a thin line, hands reaching out for the hem of Peter’s shirt playing with it softly. Peter felt his nerves take over as he stared down at your hands. Maybe it was because he was so damn touch starved, but a small part of his brain forgot why he was stopping you from basically undressing him in the middle of the street. Right, spider something and something else that he’s probably forgetting.

You looked up at him feeling a sudden shift in the air, hands trembling slightly as your fingers got a better grip on his shirt. “Peter, you really don’t have to lie.”

“I know,” he muttered softly, eyes meeting yours for a second before they moved back to your hands. It was a little ridiculous how quickly he was caving, he felt like a teenager; horny and a little stupid.

You felt your stomach flip as he leaned in a little, “You promise to tell me the truth later on?” you felt your voice get softer, hands slipping under his shirt to touch the warm skin underneath.

Peter let out a low laugh upon feeling the contact of your cold hands against his abdomen, his hands making their way towards your waist, pulling you just a tad closer. “Mhm,” was the only response he could think of as you smiled up at him. Your hands squeezed his sides for a second before they moved towards his back, tracing your nails against the curves of his skin.

You were leaning up now and Peter’s eyes dipped to your eyes and then your lips with one quick motion, suddenly a light shiver went down your spine. You felt your hands slide up Peter’s back, lifting his shirt up ever so slightly in the process.

Peter didn’t show much of a reaction though, his hands just tightened around your hips. “Can I?” was all he said as the two of you became inches apart.

You only let a soft hum of a response before he kissed you, your eyes fluttering to a close as you kissed back. Peter’s lips met yours in a timid way at first before you kissed him back deeper and he melted right with you. His hands moved up to your face, cupping your face in his hands, keeping them there just along your jawline. You let yourself smile into the kiss, pulling apart from his lips slowly. “I forgot what we were talking about,” was all you whispered before Peter started laughing.

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lovinglyyours · 2 years

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Dancing Is a Dangerous Game

Pairing: TASM! Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of a mugging, knife, taser?? That’s about it.

Plot: After traveling to a different universe, a twenty-seven year old Peter Parker tries to turn things around, and that includes Aunt May setting him up on a ‘blind date’ with you

A/N: The reader is around 24 in this. I also did some digging and definitely found a fake university for Peter to teach at, I wanted him to be a professor so bear with me! Please let me know what you guys think about this little chapter!

Word Count: 6,883

New York City was anything but safe at night, in your mind no city is ever truly safe at night. There is some comfort knowing that there are certain people with responsibilities to the public, responsibilities like keeping the public safe. Maybe that’s why you only had a tiny taser on your keychain as you walked home.

Joanna did this every time the two of you were supposed to work together. Always something about how her family needed her or how she was too sick to come in, the regular excuses one makes to get out of work. It was starting to get to the point that you were sure she just didn’t like working with you.

Nonetheless, you covered her shift at the hospital all alone, again. Now it was four in the morning, your legs ached, and eyes burned as you walked home with your keys in your hand. It wasn’t your first time walking home alone at night and it wouldn’t be your last. You grew up just outside of the city and knew how dangerous it was at night, and yet, here you were walking down the street towards your apartment building.

You played with your keys, playing with the purple taser attached to them. It wasn’t until you heard the faint sound of heavy footsteps behind you that you gripped the taser tighter in your hand. Your weak legs picked up the pace and then the person behind you followed. You knew that if you ran they would just run right after you, and currently, you didn’t have that kind of energy.

They caught up to you when your foot hit a patch of ice, causing you to slip, and then their arms were around your torso, a small knife digging into your side painfully. You could feel yourself panicking as you tried to tase their leg in your struggle, but the knife just pressed deeper. “Come on, I just want whatever money you got in that bag of yours. I don’t want to kill you.” That voice was deep and threatening, you squeezed tears out of your eyes.

“I don’t have any money,”

“Sure you do, let me see.”

His hand moved for your purse, tugging harshly at the strap. Your fingers trembled against the taser once more, making a move to get a hit in before he could rob you. To your dismay, he caught on quickly and knocked the weapon out of your hand. “You’re starting to piss me off,” he muttered as you stumbled out of his grip into a dark alleyway.

“Help, somebody, anybody!” you screamed into the dark alley, pressing your back up against a nearby wall as you moved away from the man. You couldn’t see him in the light but you could tell in the dark that he didn’t have a mask on, just a simple hoodie blocking his features.

You started yelling again, yelling as loud as you could for some help, for anything. You were about to try and make a run for it when a familiar vigilante dropped down in front of you. “Really? No mask or anything,” he tsked as he dodged an incoming punch before he let out a prolonged sigh. “Come on, if you just let me do my thing we can all go home in one piece.” Another punch, another sidestep, another sigh. “Alright then,”

You were searching the ground for your keys and your taser, picking them up as your mugger kept lunging over towards Spiderman. You knew you should have picked up the keys and ran out of the alley, but this horribly petty side of you wanted to make him hurt just a little. You turned the taser on, charging at your mugger with full force. Then with one simple sidestep, you were accidentally tasing Spiderman. Your mouth felt dry as you quickly pulled the weapon away, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t aiming-”

“That’s okay,” he groaned as he held onto his stomach in pain, head snapping over to the mugger before he said, “Oh great, a knife.” Then you were being spun around and out of the way as Spiderman received a nice slash to his arm.

It wasn't long before your mugger was webbed against a wall and you were calling 911. The hero was about to make his farewell when your hands grabbed hold of his wounded arm, making him wince as he looked in your direction. “No,” was all you said before you were pulling him out of the alleyway.

He stumbled as he followed, a frown hidden beneath his mask. “I don’t usually make it a habit to follow women who tase me,” he quipped as you pulled him along the street.

“Yeah, well I feel guilty and you’re bleeding and, I don’t think I could sleep well tonight knowing I tased Spiderman and made him get stabbed.” You pushed, taking a turn towards a semi-nice-looking apartment building as you opened the lobby door, pulling him into the building.

He knew that deep down he could have easily gotten out of your grip, honestly, he could have left you all alone in that alleyway. Then again, that wasn’t very friendly of him. He was trying to be better, trying to be more neighborly and friendly, so against his better judgment, he was being dragged into an elevator.

You were panting gently as you gave his back a gentle shove, making him step into your apartment first. “You know, this is pretty unprofessional,” Your eyebrows raised at that and you pointed over to your kitchen table chair, watching as the masked hero sat down obediently. You nodded sharply before you were rushing over toward your bathroom to fetch the first aid kit you had under the sink.

“Do you have a lot of experience patching up people’s wounds?” He asked as he looked around the apartment, it was a pretty standard New York apartment, his own looked vaguely similar to it.

“I would hope so,” you said as you stepped into the kitchen, setting the kit onto the table before pulling off the trench coat that hid your scrubs, “I mean, I’ve had the job for two years now.” you teased as you sat down across from him with a smile.

He stared back, palms growing warm as he watched you. This scene felt too familiar, well minus the scrubs and certain other things, but still too familiar for his liking. Breathe, Peter, this is a New Yorker being a good samaritan, relax.

Your hands played with a small bottle of peroxide as you watched Spiderman start to have what seemed like a panic attack, “Hey,” you set the bottle on the table as you reached over for his hand, man that suit felt weird, “Are you okay?”

Spiderman let out a soft groan as he nodded slowly, “Sorry, I think I’m not used to this,” he lied as he heaved out another heavy breath. He leaned forward, bracing himself against his knees as he tried to calm down.

“Hey, look at me,” after a moment or two his head turned towards you “sit up and,” you sucked in a breath “Inhale,” you let it go slowly “Exhale.”

You heard a breathy laugh break out as he swatted at your hand gently, “I know how to breathe,”

“Do you? I am shocked!” you teased as you pulled your hand away from him, getting to work on the task at hand. You sighed gently as you searched for a needle within the kit. “You know I can’t hold you hostage here, you’re the one with superpowers, not me.” You reminded him once he seemed to calm down more.

“I mean you’re not wrong, but when someone– let alone a nurse– drags you back to her apartment, you can’t really turn down free healthcare.”

You chuckled softly as you scooted your chair closer to him, “No one ever said that you were so,” you paused searching for the word.

“Amazingly witty?”

“Funny, I was about to say dull,” you teased as you moved in to get a closer look at the cut on his right arm. You grazed your fingers against his suit before you heard a gentle hiss come out from the hero, “Sorry didn’t know the joke got to you that much,” You muttered the joke as you pulled away from him. “Does the suit come off in one big piece or… I just need to get to that arm,” you paused “Please.”

He was laughing at that, watching as your cheeks turned a light shade of pink, “This is where I say that you should take me to dinner first,” he watched as you frowned up at him, holding the needle up in a menacing way. “Give me a second,” he groveled as he began to pull his suit down to his ribs “This okay?”

You didn’t stare too long, but the thought lingered a second too long, it felt creepy to think about. In the end, it was impossible to deny; Spiderman was fucking ripped. You nodded as you set the needle on the table and went back to the peroxide, dabbing the gash gently. “What’s your favorite food?”

“I was kidding about dinner you know,”

“I know that,” you pressed a tiny bit harder against the cut with a laugh “I’m asking because I don’t know you and you’re shirtless in my kitchen so I ask a question and you answer and I feel better about letting a strange man into my apartment.”

“Strange man? I’m a very local, very well-known hero and you asked me to get shirtless, miss… nurse.”

“You can call me Y/N,”

“Ah, pretty name,”

“Thank you,” you finished cleaning the bloodied area with a smile before you let out a humming sound “Now about your favorite food?’

“Apple pie,”

“Orange chicken,”

His foot was bouncing as you set to work with the bandages, listening to you mutter that it wasn’t deep enough for stitches. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty as the silence between the two of you grew, so he decided it was his turn to ask you something. “Are you okay?”

“Thanks to you I am, yes,” you pulled away from him with a sweet smile before you were back to wrapping gauze around his arm. “Would you turn down a meal, Spiderman?”

“Right now?”

“I make a mean grilled cheese,”

His foot stopped bouncing and he let his head turn up towards the ceiling in thought, he wouldn't be comfortable eating in the suit. He’s done it before but it wasn’t very practical. However, he could go for something to eat. Did he eat dinner? No, he had lunch at work, but then he got a call from Aunt May. Yeah, he could go for a grilled cheese. “I won’t turn it down, no,”

Once you were done, you watched as he began to roll the suit back up before you hit his hands gently, “Hold on, I think I might have some clothes from an old boyfriend you can have!” and before he could say anything back, you were off of the chair and running around your apartment.

He wanted to tell you that he was just fine in his suit, but he guessed that you wouldn’t listen to him, so he sat at your kitchen table with his chest exposed. You came back in with a pair of holiday pajama pants and a plain gray tee-shirt with a smile on your face, it made Peter want to smile back.

“Poor guy is missing his candy cane pajama pants,”

“And now I bestow them to you, Mr. Spiderman.”

“I feel like you like saying my name,”

“Spiderman, why would you say such a thing?”

“Alright, alright, please tell me I can change in the bathroom,”

“She’s all yours,” You walked over to the kitchen with a smile. It was funny, he was good at keeping a conversation going. You pulled the bread out of the cabinet as you allowed yourself to get lost in thought. He was attractive from what you’ve seen and funny, well, so far. It was almost charming, but at the current moment, men had little effect on you as you were almost mugged less than an hour ago.

You were flipping the sandwich over on the other side when he came back into the kitchen, clearing his throat softly. You looked over your shoulder, smiling at the sight; the clothes fit him perfectly. He held up his suit in one hand, “Got a bag I can borrow?”

“Under the sink,” you replied as you watched him from the stove, laughing softly at the sight. He still had his mask on, but he was wearing candy cane pajamas and they almost matched. When he looked over at you, you simply turned away and went back to making the sandwich.

“Thank you, for everything.”

“You’re welcome,”

“Seriously, I don’t know what to say,”

“Eh, it’s a little selfish on my part because I like the idea of having a hero in my apartment after I almost got mugged. Might leave the front door unlocked tonight, I’m not sure,”

“Please don’t, you might tase me again.”

“I said I was sorry,” you whined as you pulled the sandwich off of the pan and put it on a plate before you got to work on another one for yourself. You could hear the soft patter of his feet as he got closer, leaning over your shoulder as he watched you make the sandwich.

“What’s the secret?”

You turned your head at that, looking up at him. He was taller, well when he was close it was natural he seemed taller, what was the question again? “Oh, I just put mayonnaise on the bread to make it more golden.” You breathed out nervously, watching him nod a little. “Uh, Spiderman,”

“Hm?” he let out the sound, his face seemed like it had gotten closer. You could feel your cheeks begin to burn as the hero stayed his ground, inches away from you. It wasn’t like you to feel so nervous around, well anybody. Then again Spiderman wasn’t just anybody it felt like he was more of a somebody. Important enough to be well known throughout New York City at least.

“You’re just a little close,”

“Oh,” And with that he was walking away from you, sitting back down at the kitchen table with a nervous smile. You fought back a grin before you were turning back towards the stove, flipping the sandwich over with a tiny sigh.

As you were setting the plates down on the table before you disappeared back into the kitchen to get the two of you some water. You played with the rim of your glass as you waited for some sort of conversation to begin. Then again, just because he’s here doesn’t mean he has to talk. It would just be nice to talk, instead of you sitting here staring at him dumbly as he ate with half of his mask rolled up. He had a strong jaw and nice teeth, stop staring at his teeth.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier,”

“Oh, I wasn’t! I’m just not used to it I guess.”

“Used to what?”

Your mouth parted at that, searching for an answer as Spiderman smiled over at you. He had a pretty smile, it made you feel weak at the knees, stop. Think of an answer, anything, stop staring at him. “Tall men near me?” you said lamely, earning a soft laugh from him.

“Right,” he replied as he took a sip of water, watching how your eyes flickered over his face. You weren’t very good at hiding your emotions. That was for sure, curiosity must have been eating you alive. Peter didn’t really blame you, if he had a stranger in his kitchen he’d be anxious to know who they were too. Then again, you did invite him to stay longer.

“You have nice teeth,” you suddenly said, smiling nervously over at him before he started laughing at you.

“Are you being serious right now?”

“You do! They’re nice! I keep looking at them,”

“I thought you were looking at me because I’m so stunning,”

“I’m sure you’re lovely Spiderman, but I’m not into guys with stubble.” You teased, pointing at his chin, laughing as you watched him touch his chin quickly. It was, technically, a lie. You didn’t mind some stubble, but he was fun to make fun of.

“It’s basically nothing,”

You let out a playful groan and proceeded to ignore him by eating the last few bites of your sandwich. “I think I should get going,” You heard the hero’s chair scrape the floor softly as he stood up, walking his dishes over to the sink. You felt your heart drop into your chest, anxiety washing over you at the thought of being alone tonight.

Your eyes focused on a crack on the surface of the table as you stressed about the night ahead of you. You didn’t realize how much you needed someone else to be around you right now, it was a natural reaction to be afraid of being alone after a semi-traumatic event, but still. A hand softly gripping your shoulder pulled you out of your state, “Hey, I’ll patrol the area a little tonight,”

His mask was pulled down all the way again but you could tell there was a small smile under it by the tone of his voice. “Thank you for everything,” You stood up, standing in front of him for an awkward minute or so before you pulled him into a tight hug. “If you ever need some medical attention, or maybe just some company, you know where to find me,”

His arms raised in the air for a second, giving your back a gentle pat before nodding, “I’ll keep it in mind, thank you.” He said as you pulled away from him with an awkward smile. You let out a soft ‘oh’ before you were handing him the bag with his suit in it, reminding him once again that he was in candy cane pajamas. He laughed as he took it, heading over to your living room window, opening it. He stopped on the windowsill, looking back at you one last time before giving you a tiny wave and disappearing into the night.

“Woah, back up, he was shirtless in your kitchen?” The red-head questioned as she sipped on her iced americano.

Your hands moved with you as you spoke, “Yes! He was kind of gorgeous,” you joked before taking a sip of your mocha. Victoria laughed sweetly before she hit your arm in a playful way that silently meant ‘continue telling the story.’

“I asked him if he was hungry and I gave him,” you covered your mouth as you laughed at the memory “I gave him Alex’s old clothes, those candy cane pajama pants! Spiderman owns them now!” you cackled softly into the empty cafe. Victoria joined in with your laughter before you continued, “I made him a grilled cheese and there was some more not-so-witty banter and then I told him that he could always swing by if he needed to and he was gone.”

“Wow,” she sighed softly, “So, why did you give him clothes?”

“His suit was ripped and I don’t know, it looked uncomfortable?” You questioned yourself with a sigh, watching as your friend nodded. She had that look in her eyes that meant ‘oh, girl’ or something sassy of that kind.

“I’m going to be pissed if you start secretly dating a superhero.”

“Vic,” you laughed at the notion, waving your hand in the air as if to wave off the idea completely. “Come on, don’t be silly! Besides, I’ll probably never see him again.” You stated before you were looking down at the timer on your phone. “We have to be back in twenty,”

Victoria already had her jacket on by the time you were standing up, groaning that ‘you took forever’ before the two of you were walking down the street towards the hospital. “Speaking of dating,”

“No, not another blind date,”

“Come on, it’s been two years since you and Alex broke up! We know his Aunt,”

“Who is she?”

“May Parker, you know the nurse over in pediatrics?”

“Oh, yeah, nice lady,” you muttered to yourself softly before letting out a long sigh, “What’s his name?”

“Peter Parker,” Victoria answered with an excited smile, “He’s a bioengineering professor over at Empire State University,”

“Nice school,”

“I know, according to Mrs. Parker he’s wicked smart,”

“One would hope so,” you joked as the two of you reached the hospital doors, “Alright, fine, give me the details.”

It was a cold Saturday night and you were tugging on your gloves as you walked out of your door. You were running a tad bit late because you had tried something new with your hair, it didn’t work out the way you wanted it to but you were running later so you let the curls be. You were shivering before you got out of your building, hailing a taxi as quickly as possible, thankful to be out of the chilling air. The bar Victoria told you about wasn’t too far from your apartment but tonight you would rather be warm than practical.

The bar wasn’t run down, nor was it elegant, the best way to describe it would be nice. Victoria begged you to agree to a dinner with the stranger but you told her that you didn’t want to be trapped in a dinner with a stranger, you wanted to get to know him a little more before that.

As you waited for your date, you sat at the bar nursing a glass of water anxiously overthinking everything. Were jeans too casual? What if he came better dressed? Maybe you should have worn some earrings to match your top! No, it was cute as is… was it? Yes, your boobs look good in it. “Are you Y/N?” a familiar voice called out, sending soft shivers of excitement down your spine.

When you turned your head towards the voice, you were greeted with a man with handsome features and a kind smile. Your heart rate steadied as you nodded, “Yes, you must be the famous Peter!” You exclaimed softly, putting your hand out for him to shake.

“Oh god, what did Aunt May tell you?” He grimaced as he shook your hand quickly, soft hands, sweet smile. You waited for him to sit down next to you with a tiny hum.

“Just that you’re incredibly smart and handsome and,” you dramatically brought your hands up to your chest “Perfect for me,” You laughed heartily as he shook his head.

There were two reasons why Peter agreed to the blind date; Aunt May said that he owed her a favor and he remembered that name, and then he had to come because of his burning curiosity. Now, you’re sitting next to him at a bar, looking lovely as ever. Maybe it was wrong of him to come on the date having known you, but you didn’t need to know that he was Spiderman and you couldn’t possibly have known if he was , so maybe it couldn’t be that bad.

“So you’re a professor?” Your sweet voice pulled Peter out of his guilt-ridden thoughts quickly, smiling over at you.

“Yes, I teach some classes about genetic engineering and bioengineering.”

“Oh, so you actually are brilliant!”

Peter felt his face grow hot as he laughed off his nerves, “I wouldn’t say brilliant, more academically headstrong, or something witty like that.”

You grinned at that, liking the way his hands nervously ran through his hair, “Are you going to get a drink?” you asked, his eyes darting over to the bartender quickly.

“Maybe,”

You raised your hand, catching the bartender’s eyes in a second before you ordered a margarita and then motioning over to Peter so he could take his order. Once he ordered, you sucked in a small breath in an attempt to push out your anxious tendencies. “Do you do this often?”

Peter gave you a small smile, sadness prevalent in his eyes as he shook his head side to side, “No, it’s been a while if I’m being honest.” He caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the background and he focused his eyes on your kind smile, not daring to follow the memory.

“I understand,” you puffed out a sigh as you and Peter were handed your drinks. “Relationships are hard.” You said, playing with the tiny black straw in your drink. Your eyes locked onto Peter’s in a marvelous second and you were smiling again, raising your drink towards him “Cheers?”

Peter was grateful for the positive change of pace and he clicked his glass against yours, “Cheers!” he replied before the two of you drank lame sips of your drinks.

You pulled away from the drink laughing, it was funny, the two of you had similar mannerisms and yet seemed different in so many ways already. Peter smiled hearing your laugh and he was reminded of how sweet the sound was once again. “So, Nurse,”

“So, Professor?”

“Tell me about yourself,”

“What is this a job interview?”

“Could be,” He liked the way your smile grew at that and the way your fingers tapped against the side of your drink.

“My favorite holiday is Christmas,”

“You got the job.”

You picked up his hand and shook it firmly, “Oh, thank you, Mr. Parker!” Peter shook with the handshake dramatically, quickly pulling his hand away from you, feigning pain as you laughed with him.

“Seriously, what do you like to do, besides looking beautiful at bars I mean?” Peter invited with a handsome chuckle, there was that wide smile again– the one that made your knees feel weak in your chair, paired with pretty amber eyes.

“Well as fun as looking beautiful is,” You grinned, feeling the edge of your ears grow warm at the compliment. “I like reading,”

“Oh? A fellow scholar,”

“Well, if you count Jane Austen novels scholarly then absolutely!”

“There are worse authors you could have said, so I do believe she is scholarly indeed, by my decree.”

“Perfect, so long as she has the Parker seal of approval.”

He laughs with you at that and takes another sip of his drink as he shakes his head side to side, “I really like talking to you,” he sighs suddenly, shivers shooting down your spine nervously. It wasn’t his words that made you tense, it was the way he was looking at you, soft and kind eyes with a hint of sadness in them.

You swallowed the melancholy feeling down with a soft laugh, “May gave me some pointers,” you joked, watching as his eyebrows raised with sudden amusement.

“You’re joking, right?”

“Something about turning everything blue and red?”

“I was washing the American flag boxers, I own,” he watched as you threw your head laughing “I owed, in college.”

You moved your hands up to quote May, “Alright, laundry sheriff.” You laughed out in a bad impersonation of Peter, earning a scoff from the man next to you.

Peter could feel the heat growing on his face as you made fun of him, but it was also because of the thought of May talking about him with you and most likely your other coworkers. “I can’t believe that she told you that,”

“I’m pretty sure my mom does the same thing,” Peter let out a soft ‘oh’ as he motioned for your continue, “Okay, she loves telling people that when I was nine I was convinced that I was going to marry one of the Jonas brothers and made everyone call me ‘Mrs. Jonas’ for a year straight,” You finished, immediately regretting telling the story as you watch Peter’s smile grow.

“I didn’t realize you were a married woman,”

Your hand reached over, smacking his chest softly “Peter, don’t you start,”

He laughed softly as he reached up for you hand, examining it before tapping the ring finger playfully, “No ring,”

“No ring,” you repeated softly, watching as Peter’s thumb rubbed a soft circle around one of your knuckles. The feeling sent your heart into a frenze, beating hard against your chest.

“Want to get something to eat?”

“Right now?” his hand held yours gently, pulling you up before he was letting go of it to fish out his wallet to pay the bill. You felt a soft protest build in your throat before he was handing the bartender the money and the two of you were on your way out of the bar. “Peter, slow down, jeez.” You gasped as you tried to keep up with his fast pace.

“Sorry, Missus, have to make sure we get there fast so nobody sees us,”

You mocked a laugh as Peter slowed his pace to match yours, “Where are we going anyway?”

“A taco stand,”

“Do you usually take all of your dates to this taco stand?”

“Just the ones that are married to international musicians, you know the usual,”

You casted a glance over at him before you were putting your foot out to trip him, but Peter simply stepped over it with ease before saying, “Why don’t you just pull my pigtails and call me pretty already?”

“You’re the one who is being mean, I only have the laundry thing,”

“Good,” he teased as he hooked his arm around yours, pulling you with him as he hooked a slow left on the sidewalk.

Peter was watching you bite into a taco, holding back a smile as your eyes grew wide with enjoyment, “These are so good,” you groaned as you took another bite. Your eyes met Peter’s in one swift, embarrassing, moment before you were covering your mouth quickly. “Why are you staring?”

“I’m not,”

“Peter, we are making direct eye-contact,”

“Don’t I just have the prettiest eyes?” Peter changed the topic, fluttering his eyelashes quickly as he watched you give him an annoyed look.

“I don’t know if you’re annoying or boyishly charming,”

“One vote for boyishly charming,”

“I can’t believe you teach people,” you taunted softly before turning your attention back to the tacos in your hand.

“And I can’t believe you have sour cream on your nose right now,” Peter’s finger reached over quickly, brushing it off with a smirk. He brought the finger up to his lips and licked it off with a satisfied sigh, watching how your cheeks turned a dark shade of pink. Maybe that was too far on his end, but he did like the way you looked when you were at a loss for words. Your cheeks were so red and you eventually turned away with an embarrassed ‘whatever’. Peter was sure that he liked your smile the most, the way your eyes lit up when you smiled was a treasure Peter was sure to cherish for days to come, but he was getting ahead of himself again.

This wasn’t supposed to be permanent, because eventually you would find out or he’d tell you and he’d mess it all up again. Peter’s smile faded at the memory, blonde hair losing its luster, blood coating it’s ends. He couldn’t breathe again, gripping the park bench for some grounding. He blinked and suddenly you were on your knees between his legs, looking up at him with a worried look on your face.

“Hey,” that soft whisper made his eyes focus on yours again, and he felt his lungs fill with oxygen. “You okay?”

He nodded, watching as you stood up in front of him before awkwardly taking your seat next to him again. Fuck, he fucked this up already. “I’m sorry,” he stuttered softly, his hands playing with the ends of his plate nervously.

“It’s okay, I think we all get overwhelmed time and time again,” Peter’s head turned towards you as you spoke, your eyes catching the glow of street lights, “Even on first dates,” you quipped sweetly, smiling a heart warming smile that made the world seem just a little bit kinder. It was true that the following years after Gwen’s death he kind of went on a dark streak, but something about traveling to another universe kind of makes you gain a new perspective. Just his personal opinion at this point.

“No, because I didn’t mean to ruin the good date and now I’ve gone and done it and,”

“Peter,” you laughed sweetly at him, “I’m still having a good time, I never said it was ruined.”

“You’re having a good time?”

“I’m still here aren’t I? Now are you gonna eat tacos with me before walking me back to my apartment or what?”

Peter felt a familiar bubble of anxiety in his chest as the two of you walked home, soft wind passed through the two of you, earning a soft shiver from you as you pulled your jacket around your body tighter. He couldn’t pin down why he was so nervous, nor could he pin down why he kept thinking about Gwen of all things, but you still had a smile on your face so he must be doing something right tonight. It could have been that he hadn’t been on a date since her, he was almost seven years out of practice, but test runs considered, you were by far the prettiest contender thus far.

“You know what I wish we could see more of?”

“Hm?”

“The stars,” you pointed up at the black night sky, soft stars making their appearance in a scattered fashion.

“The university has an observatory,”

“Does it?”

“Maybe, I could take you there sometime?”

“Is that an offer for a second date, Dr. Parker?”

“Only if you play nice,” He teased as the two of you reached the lobby doors of your apartment. His hands buried into his jacket pockets, palms sweating as you rocked back and forth on your heels playfully.

“Do you want my number?”

“Yes,” Peter replied quicker than he would’ve liked to as you held your phone out towards him with a sly smile. Peter’s hands brushed yours, reminding him of the soft sparks he felt whenever his hands touched yours, punching his number into the phone before giving himself a call.

“Peter,” you said his name, mouth feeling dry as his head cocked to the side as if to listen to you better. “I had a really fun time tonight,”

“Anxiety attack included?”

“Anxiety attack included.” you nodded as Peter smiled, he took a step towards you at that and leaned down slightly. He smelt like the pleasant mix of sandalwood and orange blossoms, your eyes met his with a nervous smile before you were pulling on his collar, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. “You’ll have to earn a kiss on the lips if you really want one,” you teased, stepping away from Peter with a laugh. The light and playful pout on his lips told you that you were going to be in trouble sometime soon, especially if he kept up with his charming attitude.

“Goodnight,”

“Goodnight,” and then you were gone and Peter was running off to look for a place to get into his suit.

Okay, so maybe patrolling right after your date wasn’t the best idea. Peter was pacing the rooftop of the apartment complex, contemplating swinging by your window instead of doing any actual crime fighting. Maybe it was because it was so cold, but crime seemed lacking tonight. Perfect for New York City, terrible for him. He liked a good distraction, and right now he could certainly use one.

Meanwhile, you were pacing your apartment on the phone with Victoria, giggling as she was screaming over your date. “I cannot believe you said that!”

“I know,” You flopped down onto the couch with a soft groan, “You don’t think it was too forward?”

“No, it's perfect! ‘You have to earn a kiss on the lips’, stunning!”

“I didn’t want to freak him out, Vic!”

“I doubt you did, the poor guy was probably overwhelmed. May did say that he hadn’t been out on a date in a while.”

“I know, I know, you’re right.”

“I usually am,”

A soft tapping made your head pop up from the couch and turn towards the window, you felt your throat tighten with excitement seeing a certain masked vigilante at your window. “Hey Vic, I’ll call you later, my cat threw up.” you lied, mumbling a sweet goodbye before hanging up the phone. You opened the window in a hurry, practically pulling the hero in with a laugh, “What are you doing here?”

“It’s too cold for criminals tonight,” the hero explained, pointing at your wide grin “Somebody looks all giddy,”

“I do not,” you paused, before nodding with a gentle chuckle, “I do, don’t I?”

“What happened?”

You walked over to the couch with a sigh, sitting down with your legs crossing each other “I just went out on a date, a good date, for the first time in a while.”

“That explains it,” Peter grinned beneath the mask, watching your fingers play with the couch cushions. “Why isn’t he up here then?”

“Slow your role Spiderman, you know you’re the only man allowed in my apartment, and unchaperoned at that!”

“Me? I feel like I’m getting some sort of award,” he teased, leaning against the back of the couch. You let out an uncharacteristically loud laugh, patting the couch with a hum. Peter felt himself hesitate, but he ended up sitting on the opposite end of the couch, staring at your wide smile.

“He was really nice, and funny,”

“I’m nice and funny,”

Your head tilted to the side with amusement, “His humor is more charming, yours is more annoying, yet funny, quips.”

“I wonder why I even try,”

You laughed at that, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,”

“You better be, or else I might invite a chaperone next time!”

“Oh, how horrid!” You gasped out dramatically as you spread your legs out on the couch, your socks almost meeting the hero’s outer thigh. “Seriously, why are you here? And follow up question, are we becoming friends?”

“Like I said, crime is low and I would like to believe we are, yes.”

“Can I tell my mom that I’m friends with Spiderman?”

“Only if I get to tell your dad,”

“Oh, we might have a deal,”

A warm silence filled the space between the two of you as you let out a relaxed sigh, too giddy to feel bad about taking up Spiderman’s free time. Peter watched as your head rolled back and body relaxed against the couch with a louder sigh of happiness. “Did you kiss him goodbye?” he suddenly asked, knowing the answer.

Your head raised at that, looking over at the masked man with a tiny chuckle, “On the cheek and then I was stupid,”

“Stupid, how?”

“I said,” you trailed off, hands reaching up to your cheeks as you continued, “I said that if he wanted to kiss me on the lips he needed to earn it,”

“Woah,”

“Was it too much?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“You’re a guy, maybe? I just need to know if he thinks I’m crazy or not,”

“As a guy, I’m sure that he’s mad about you or whatever.”

You sat up at that, sitting on your knees as you pointed at him with a small grin, “Be serious,”

“Okay, okay, bossy,” Peter moved to look at you directly, a suited up hand reaching out for yours with a confidence he didn’t seem to have outside of the mask. “If a woman like you said that to me, I’d be over the moon, truly.”

“What does that mean?”

“What?”

“A woman like me, what does that mean?”

Peter moved his hand away slowly, only for you to grab ahold of it quickly, keeping him frozen in place as you looked over at him. Your fingers were shaking, making Peter question the interaction entirely. What did you think he was going to say? “It means that you’re beautiful and smart and, from what I’ve seen, kind.” His voice came out sweeter than he intended, but anything was worth it to see that beautiful smile stretch across your face, wait had you gotten closer to him? Oh, you still smelt like warm honey and amber, intoxicating and sweet.

Peter cleared his throat softly before he stood up from the couch with lightning speed, earning a slightly shocked expression from you as he made his way towards the window again. “I should probably leave you so you can text your date, or get some sleep. I, I, I can always stop by later some, uh, some other time! Maybe tomorrow, or some other date in the near future.”

“In the near future,” You laughed as you watched him from the couch.

“Right, I’ll miss you, I mean I’ll see you later.” And just like that he was gone, the window snapping shut with a soft thud, leaving you and your cat alone in the apartment, reeling from the recent interaction.

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