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rynhaswritersblock · 4 years

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the benefits of fake dating | p.p.

summary: although incredibly annoying, flash thompson’s arrogance was just what you and peter needed.

warnings: some cussing, flash being an idiot, and 5K WORDS I POPPED OFF SO HARD

+ + +

"Flash, I don't know how you got into this school with that pea-sized, misogynistic brain of yours, but somehow it still leads you to think that you telling me how I feel is attractive. Just fuck off, please," you sigh, shutting your locker with a bang.

"Alright, for now," the boy says, smug smirk on his face. "although I know you're just denying your undying love for me. I'll wait."

Your eyebrows furrow. "Did you not hear a single word I just said?"

"Nope," a new voice pops in and you turn to see Peter, words and expression monotonous as he stares at Flash.

"Aw, and the protector swoops in to save the day. Aren't you two a cute couple?"

"Oh-" the two of you blurt at the same time.

"We're not-"

"a couple," Peter finishes for you, roses blooming on you guys' cheeks.

"It's the only explanation for little Y/N's 'disinterest'. See you later, babe," Flash nods, walking off with a wink that only bewilders you more. You and Peter look at each other.

"Did he just call me babe?"

"Apparently," Peter shrugs.

Peter should be in theatre considering the acting he does around you. It enrages him to see such a jackass bother you constantly, and the pet names only make him even angrier. If it wouldn't ruin his hero image, he'd totally wipe Flash out during one of his patrols.

"I swear, that kid makes me question things I shouldn't have to even worry about. For example, why isn't part of the requirements for getting into this school common sense?" you ask, shaking your head.

"No clue," Peter sighs. "Sorry to cut this off, but I gotta go to-"

"Physics now, yup. See you later, shithead." you nod, shoving him the other way, laughing as he almost crashes into the cheerleaders.

You resume your way to AP Calc, letting your mind inevitably fall back into your conversation with Flash. Every freaking time Peter steps in, he immediately calls him your boyfriend. But, honestly, the thought of that didn't sound too bad.

+ + +

"MJ, you're not helping."

"All I'm saying is: you tell Flash he's your boyfriend, he leaves you alone. In addition, dating Parker doesn't seem so bad, especially to you, right?"

"MJ!" you groan, falling back onto the pillows of your bed. "It's fake dating. It's not like we'd..."

You suck in a breath.

"It's not like we'd actually date."

"Yeah," she scoffs, "tell that to the prolonged hesitation in the middle of that sentence."

Goosebumps ran across your skin at the gust of cool midnight air that rushed through your window, but you didn't bother close it. You were too comfortable.

"Whatever, MJ. I'm just saying, if Flash and the rest of the school thought we were dating, not only would that jackass leave us alone, but everyone else would. And maybe even Tony and the rest of the team."

And it was at that point that Peter, donned in his Spider Suit, landed on your fire escape. You didn't notice though, too preoccupied in your conversation with MJ to change your focus. He peeked through the window, the words "fake dating" immediately making him spin around against the brick wall, telling Karen to project your conversation to him.

"Imagine having the Avengers ship you with your partner in crime. Couldn't be me."

"MJ," you groan, "It's not like they actually think Peter and I like each other."

The boy's eyes widen.

"They just saw the opportunity and took it. We're each other's age and work well together. Seems like an easy target to me. Plus, they were probably getting tired of making fun of Nat and Bruce," you explain.

A small pain rips through Peter's heart. Even though he didn't act like it, he loved the way everyone acted like they were dating. It made him feel like it was real.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to get you to believe it, Y/N. But seriously, I don't see anything bad coming out of a fake relationship with Peter Parker," MJ states. You can practically see her shrugging smugly right now.

"Well," you say, firing up, "something bad that could come out of a fake relationship with Peter Parker-"

The poor boy outside, already looking stupid and stalker-ish, becomes even more flustered.

"- is that I could lose control of the feelings I already have, MJ. Do you realize how much that would mess up our friendship?"

Your words sting like icy-hot. On one hand, it sucks to Peter that you sound totally opposed to a relationship with him, but on the other hand, he's now 99% sure that you like him too.

He couldn't bare standing there any more. He swung home, all-consumed by his thoughts.

It would be a long night for Peter Parker.

+ + +

The bags underneath Peter's eyes were enough of an example of his insomnia last night. As if his brain didn't already love to overthink, the conversation he eavesdropped last night was enough to send him into overdrive, going over possibilities, how the two of you'd act, and just the very concept of fake dating itself.

Little did he notice, you shared the same look of under-eye bags (which you failed to cover with concealer), kept up by the same conversation.

The two of you were, obliviously, on the same page. You both thought that it was a pretty smart solution to the dilemma, but both were terrified of confrontation.

For being Avengers, the two of you sure were cowards when it came to love.

The school day passed quickly and slowly at the same time, the two of you fighting to stay awake as your history teacher rambled on and on about the Sokovia Accords. It was a Thursday, so the two of you kept your weekly plans to hangout at Peter's after school to study and just hangout. Needless to say, you two almost failed to miss your stop on the subway due to your sleep deprivation.

You enter the apartment, immediately greeted by May.

"Hi, you two," she smiles, grabbing her keys off the counter and swinging her purse over her shoulder as she talks. "I have a shift in a few minutes, so you'll be on your own, but I trust you."

"Thanks," you smile.

"Of cour-" she frowns. "Y/N, did you sleep at all last night?"

You feel the blood rush to your cheeks and cringe. "What? Oh, yeah, I did, I'm just... stressed, is all."

"Okay.." she eyes you, half-playful, half-serious.

"She's fine, May," Peter nods, which eventually eases the woman.

"Okay, fine. Don't keep her here too long, Peter, you both need some rest."

You give him a look and the two of you say goodbye to her before you go to his room. You eye him closely.

"Peter!"

He jumps. "Goodness, what?"

"Why do you have bags under your eyes?" you furrow your brows.

"I should be asking you the same thing," he huffs.

His attitude catches you off guard. "I asked first," you retort.

"Okay, okay, fine. I couldn't sleep."

Well, that was slightly underwhelming. "Why not?"

"I was... thinking about stuff," Peter shrugs. "not that big a deal."

"What stuff?"

A sigh of exhaustion and desperation falls from his lips as he shuffles through his bag, not looking for anything in particular, but rather a distraction. You clear your throat and hear his breath hitch.

"Do you want to date?"

Whoa there.

...

What the fuck?

The breath catches in your throat before your voices finally regains itself, a bit louder than you meant it to be. "What?!"

"No-" he sputters, eyes wide, "Like, fake date."

By some force of nature, his correction of fake dating surprises you more than just straight-up asking you to date him. Your mind becomes invaded by thoughts; questions about how he thought of that and oh shoot did he hear me last night? You sit down on his bed.

Silence fills the room that sends Peter into a thought spiral similar to your own, just about to make him break into a nervous sweat before you pipe up.

"Did you hear me last night?"

His chocolate eyes widen.

"You heard my call with MJ, didn't you?"

"How.. how would I even do that?" he stutters, rubbing the back of his neck with the hint of a crooked smile. You give him a look and he sighs. "Okay... maybe when I was on my way home from patrol I stopped on your fire escape, and maybe when I was about to come in through the window I heard you say my name, and just maybe that made me hide and listen to the rest of your conversation. And maybe I got Karen to hack into the call so I could hear it."

You shoot up from his bed excitedly, "Gotcha!"

"Whatever," he jumps back, startled, but with a smile.

You raise an eyebrow at him and plop back down on the bed, letting your back fall against the mattress. Peter marvels at how your hair is sprawled across the mattress before he, too, lays down next to you with a thud, making you laugh.

"So, fake dating, huh?" you tease.

"You're the one who came up with the idea in the first place!" he scoffs. A huff falls from your lips and Peter looks over at you. "Do you actually wanna do this?"

You shift your head to look at him. You feel that familiar feeling of the tingling in your stomach; the butterflies fluttering, the fireworks going off. Still, you hide it. "Eh, why not?"

The two of you sit up on the bed, legs criss-crossed and your foreheads less than a foot apart. Words began to fill the air as the two of you devised an intricate plan to fool everyone- well, except for MJ. And maybe May.

You came up with a set of rules:

1. No exposing yourselves to the public (duh) 2. Make it seem AUTHENTIC (hand-holding, nick-names, kisses on the cheek) 3. Go to and from school together 4. ONLY kiss on the lips if put under pressure and make it QUICK! 5. Love letters (????)

These were all scribbled on a scrap piece of paper from your journal, donned in your messy yet legible handwriting.

The whole process of coming up with this was a bit weird for the two of you. On one hand, you were super awkward with romance; your dream relationship was one where you could make fun of each other and laugh at rom-coms. On the other hand, as much as he hated to admit it, Peter Parker was a hopeless romantic. He wanted to be able to show you off and make you smile. Hence, rule #5.

He'd seen Instagram posts with clips of To All The Boys I've Loved Before. And, although he knew that movie didn't make sense to you, he found the idea of writing you love letters every day an incredibly good tactic to get you to fall in love with him.

Because, let's be honest, a huge reason that he was doing this was in hopes that just maybe the two of you would actually date. For real.

Little did he know, you felt the exact same way.

With a sigh, you folded up the scrap paper and handed it to him, getting a puzzled look in return.

"What?" you ask. "If anything, you're the one who's gonna mess up about this."

He perks up, an offended look painted on his face. "How would I possibly do that?"

"I don't know, you'd probably accidentally let it slip that this isn't real-"

Ouch.

"- or go too far with it. I've seen the look in your eyes whenever we watch rom-coms, Petey." you raise an eyebrow.

Jeez. Not only did you hit him with the already incredibly enforced friendzone (again), but you called him out for his love of rom-coms and called him Petey, a nickname that pulled at his heartstrings every time.

Guess he'd be hearing that name a lot more now.

He scoffs and shakes his head. "Whatever."

The paper crinkles as he unfolds it, scanning over the list one more time.

2. Make it seem AUTHENTIC

Hmm.

"Y/N?"

You hum.

"How are we gonna make it seem authentic if you can't even hear the word 'babe' without making a face?" he asks.

"Yeah, that's a good question. Maybe we should... practice?"

As soon as the words leave your mouth, you cringe. A crooked, smug grin tugs at Peter's lips and you scold him, only getting a boyish laugh in return before he pounces onto you, teasing you with lovey-dovey words and tickling you.

"PETER I WILL NOT HESITATE TO SEND A POWER BLAST RIGHT INTO YOUR CHEST RIGHT NOW!"

Your words make him freeze and he hovers above you, chocolate curls hanging over his forehead as the two of you pant, slight smiles on your lips. You raise a brow.

There go the butterflies again.

Peter's eyes light up and he plops down beside you, beginning to wrap his arms around you. You slap his wrist.

"What?" he asks accusingly.

"I should be the one asking that! What do you think you're doing?" you question, slightly bewildered.

"Jeez, Y/N, I'm trying to cuddle with you."

His blunt words practically knock the air out of your lungs, but you and your stubbornness refuse to let that happen. You relax slightly at way his eyes give you a look of "just let me do this" and you give him a small sigh and nod of approval.

Peter tries to hide his happiness and content as he turns onto his side, turning you with him. His arms wrap around your waist gently and pull your back to his stomach, lacing your fingers together.

As much as you hated to admit it, this was nice.

And it was especially nice when you felt him bury his face in the crook of your neck, letting out a relaxed sigh.

A few minutes pass and you lay there, eyelids getting heavier by the second.

"Pete?"

He hums.

"Are we supposed to fall asleep?"

He shifts, opening his eyes drearily. "Yeah, that's kinda the point."

"Alright, dumbass, I was just checking," you say with a smile, pausing for a moment. "Okay, my turn."

Peter furrows his brows at your words before he feels you shift in his arms, turning to face him and settling into his chest. He lets out a soft hum that makes you scrunch your face with a smile, feeling him pull you closer and entangle his legs with yours.

So, who's the one that made Peter Parker a god at cuddling?

You ignore your thoughts and eventually let sleep pull you in, relaxed by the soft breaths of the boy you were so close to- not just as best friends, but now physically.

When May got home late that night, she walked into her nephew's room to catch the sight of you two, having to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from letting out an excited yelp.

Naturally, she left the room with at least fifty pictures of the two of you.

+ + +

Despite the deepest sleep you two had ever had, your restfulness was broken within a split second by the piercing noise of Peter's alarm. You shoot up, eyes wide, only to be dragged back down by Peter's strong grip.

"Peter!" you yell.

"What?" he muffles into your hair, pulling you closer.

No time to fall into that. No matter how hard you want to.

"It's morning!" you exclaim, finally receiving the reaction you expected.

The boy practically flies up, expression matching yours. His eyes shift over to the clock, which, although inanimate, makes him jump out of the bed and begin hunting around his room.

"May!" he yells.

You snatch your bag and begin rummaging through it for your phone when Peter's door busts open, a very tired-looking May appearing in the doorway.

"Peter, what is it?" she pants, messy hair correlating with her exasperated expression.

"You let us fall asleep!" he exclaims, running his fingers through his hair.

Which- not that you notice- somehow looks even better in the morning. You completely ignore how its normally styled chocolate curls have gone wild and how it makes him even more attractive to you.

Yup. Totally ignored.

"Oh, honey," May sighs, a tired smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, "I called Y/N's mom last night to let her know she was sleeping over. I couldn't stand to wake you two up, especially considering the position you were in."

You whirl around to look at her, cheeks bright red as she wiggles her eyebrows playfully.

"May," Peter groans.

She laughs. "Not sorry!"

The door shuts and you two let out a collective sigh. You begin putting your bag together, feeling a bit out of place. The sounds of ruffling in the background makes you furrow your eyebrows.

"Pete, what are you doing?"

"Oh, uh," he turns from his dresser, shirt in hand. "I didn't think you'd want to go to school in the same stuff you wore yesterday."

Your breath hitches as he tosses you a t-shirt with a science pun on it. Classic.

You hum, smirking.

"Thanks, babe."

His expression is priceless.

"What? Might as well get practicing now," you shrug innocently.

Peter lets out a small laugh and the two of you resume with your routine, leaving the apartment with lunches from May and intertwined hands.

And, in addition, a sweatshirt from Peter that smelled just like him.

The two of you walk to school, sharing headphones and getting mildly surprised looks from the other daily commuters on the subway, surely pondering about how the quiet schoolboy from Queens was holding hands with a new mystery girl.

The looks only amplify once the two of you step onto campus.

Your hands are sweaty, fingers having been locked together for a solid twenty to thirty minutes. Still, it's easy to ignore when suddenly you're getting looks from mutual classmates whose gazes now have a weird magnetic pull to your hands. The two of you are mere inches away from your locker before MJ veers in front of you, smirking and clearly satisfied.

"Looks like the idiots finally got their heads out of their asses," she smiles.

"Michelle."

Her eyebrows raise in (impressed) surprise. You never call her Michelle.

"Fine, whatever, I know what's up," she shrugs.

Peter squeezes your hand reassuringly, a silent message of "everything's okay."

"However-"

Oh boy.

"Let's not waste time pretending you both don't want this to be real."

"MJ-" Peter blurts, pleading in his voice.

Right in time for Flash Thompson to enter the scene. Both MJ and Peter can practically hear your annoyed groan at his presence.

"I'll take that as my leave," the curly-haired girl winks before she beelines the other way.

"And that'll be my entrance," Flash smirks. "Parker, I see you've taken the whole protection thing up another notch?"

You practically feel the boy next to you puff his chest up in pride (whether it was fake or not was beyond you). "Well, as her- um- boyfriend, I'm pretty sure it would be a problem if I didn't stand up for Y/N."

You look up at him, smirk on your face. Maybe you were a little peeved at the idea of having to have a boy stand up for you, but you'd let it slide in this situation.

"Boyfriend, huh?" Flash asks, a hint of confusion written in his expression that you pick up on immediately.

"Boyfriend," you nod firmly.

God, if you and Peter were alone right now you'd totally intimidate him to get rid of his rising ego.

"Well then. If the two of you are dating, why don't you kiss her, Parker?"

Or Flash can do that for you.

You look over to see his cheeks bright red. He stutters for a second before Flash raises an eyebrow, prompting Peter to lean over and plant a quick kiss on your cheek.

There.

"On the lips, dumbass."

Nevermind.

"I... uh," Peter chokes out. He's not the only flustered one anymore.

"Oh, don't be a wuss, Parker. Just give Y/N a kiss or I'll do it," Flash smirks.

Whoa there, bud.

You squeeze Peter's hand both anxiously and reassuringly, frantically trying to silently tell him to just do it. Thankfully, he gets the message, taking a deep breath and turning to face you, fingers still loosely intertwined. You give him a slight nod and he slowly leans down, minty breath lightly fanning over your lips before a loud yell erupts in the hallway, making you two jump, as well as everyone around you.

"Eugene Thompson!"

You two, free-handed (which feels refreshing), look up to see Principal Morita speeding over to the boy in front of you.

"You're coming with me," he mutters angrily, grabbing a spluttering Flash by the wrist and dragging him down the hallway.

Grateful smiles bloom on you and Peter's faces and you laugh, resting your head on his chest.

"This isn't the end of this!" Flash shouts, pointing back at you two.

"Yeah, okay, Flash!" Peter yells back, donning a boyish grin. He speaks again, whispering, "What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know," you mutter, resting your head on his shoulder and smiling as he wraps his arms around you softly. "Jeez, cuddlebug."

Peter's face burns at the nickname, but he smiles, drawing circles on your back with his thumb.

"Whatever," he murmurs. "We're definitely not bad at PDA, though."

He got that right.

+ + +

You had everyone fooled.

The news spread quick, to both the school and the Avengers team.

You and Peter became relationship experts, holding hands in the hall, giving the other occasional cheek kisses, following all the rules you two had layed out.

Essentially, you both were living out your dream relationship.

You'd both be lying if you said you weren't trying to somehow make the other fall in love in hopes that the relationship would turn into a real one. You both went the extra mile- in your own ways. You'd make sure to give him plenty of kisses on the cheek- which he'd return- and call him Petey, all while wearing his clothes and using TikTok videos to guide your way (hehe). Peter would take extra thought into every word he wrote in his love letters and made sure to keep them interesting, writing them on leftover bags, old notes, or gum wrappers.

You open your locker, alone for the first time today after spending every second possible with Peter and talking to friends about your "relationship." A small, folded piece of notebook paper flutters to the ground and your face lights up, realizing it was your first letter from Peter. You unfold the paper with a smirk on your face.

"My favorite element is Uranium because I'm in love with U.

- Peter ;)"

The air in your lungs flies out. Of course he'd use a nerdy pickup line, but god, if it didn't make your stomach flutter.

"Hey."

You spin around.

"Speak of the devil," you say, waving the paper in the air.

He lightly smiles. "Was it good?"

"Are you made of Copper and Tellurium? 'Cause you're Cu-Te," you respond, getting a confused look from Peter before he's struck with realization.

"Nice."

"I know."

It almost made you want to write notes to him, but you'd figure you'd find a better idea rather than steal his.

The two of you walked into the Avengers Headquarters, fingers intertwined (as always).

"Well, well, well," Sam says, shifting his gaze from the TV over to the two of you.

The group was split in half when you and Peter announced the "news" about your relationship. One half was immediately ecstatic, running up to you with bright smiles on their faces and asking hurriedly about details. Opposingly, the other half didn't buy it one bit. When they heard the news, they gave each other wary looks and analyzed the two of you.

"Hi, guys," Peter greets, giving your hand a slight squeeze of anticipation.

"What on Earth-"

Tony is cut off by the sound of squeals from Wanda, Bucky, and Bruce, the group eagerly running to you with the biggest smiles you'd ever seen.

"FINALLY!" Scott yells as he runs down the stairs, ice cream covering his mouth and bowl still in hand.

It was a bumpy road.

You lay on your stomach, working on a physics worksheet, nearly falling off the bed when you heard a knock at your window. You raise your head to see Spider-Man gazing in. A sigh falls from your mouth as you roll off the mattress, stumbling over to the window and sliding it open.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" you yawn, falling back onto your bed and nearly crushing all of your papers.

He pulls off his mask. "Why are you so tired?"

"Pete, it's nearly one in the morning."

"Oh," he says quietly. Late nights never got to him.

You close your eyes. "Why are you here, again?"

"Well.. I uh," he hesitates. You grumble and he continues. "I was thinking about this whole relationship thing and it's authenticity and I don't know I kinda missed you and I was thinking maybe we could cuddle just cause it might help with the chemistry and stuff you know-"

"Just get in bed, Peter."

He shuts his mouth immediately, hesitating before piling your papers and neatly placing your things on your desk. Then he looks down at himself.

"Do you by chance have any-"

"Top drawer."

He pulls open the drawer to see a pair of his sweatpants and a t-shirt you'd stolen from him a few weeks ago. A smile pulls at the corners of his mouth at the knowledge that you'd worn these and kept them. He glances at you before pressing the spider at the center of his chest, feeling the suit loosen and fall to his feet.

You open your eyes.

Of course, you and Peter had seen each other in just underwear; you'd known each other for ages. But it was different now.

Your eyes scanned over his body, just donned in a pair of plaid briefs as he dressed himself. You look away as he turns around, clothed.

The boy then walks to you, picking you up lightly and adjusting you on the bed, pulling the covers and sliding underneath them behind you. You let out a sigh of relief, easing into him and letting sleep overcome you.

+ + +

You should've seen it coming.

Sure, you did, but you never acknowledged it. Your subconscious was playing a manipulative game and you desperately wished to have a talk with it.

You were in love with Peter Parker.

It was known well within you, but you'd never fully registered it until now, here, in the middle of a training session.

Heavy breaths flew out of you as you panted, sweat dripping off of your forehead. Peter stood a few feet away from you, in fighting stance, panting and sweating just how you were. His front curls were getting soaked in sweat, hanging over his forehead as he bounced on his feet. You couldn't help but let your mind get pulled away from your session and towards the fact that he looks so incredibly hot right now.

And then you got angry.

It made you mad that you'd held these emotions in for so long. You'd loved Peter your whole life and never once thought about making a move. It was stupid.

You didn't even give him the nod you normally do, throwing a punch and just barely skimming him in the gut. His eyes widened.

"Jeez, Y/N! You know I have fast reflexes, but that doesn't mean you ignore the signal," he pants, exasperated.

Your hard gaze meets his soft one for a split second before you begin laying it on him, the hardest the two of you had ever sparred. The poor boy was trying to talk to you the whole time, letting out pleads between his pants of desperation, trying to get you to calm down.

"Wow, you two really like getting at it, don't you."

You pull back, snapping your head over at Sam, open door behind him and smirk on his face.

Peter stops. "Uh, now's not a good ti-"

"Get out, Wilson, or I'll shove my finger up your nose so hard that-"

"Okay, okay, jeez," Sam smiles, walking out and shutting the door behind him.

An exhausted huff falls from Peter's lips as he looks at you.

"Y/N," he pleads, "what's wrong?"

You shake your head, entering fighting stance again. He sighs, doing the same before you resume your session, taking a swing at him and barely missing.

"What's wrong," you huff, knocking him out from underneath and pinning him to the ground. "is that I'm in love with you, dumbass."

His eyes widen. You let out a sigh, relief and sympathy immediately washing over you. You look down at yourself, practically straddling the boy on the ground.

And then he flips you around, hands on opposite sides of your head and his breath fanning over your face. He has a soft look, mixed with exhaustion and what seems to be relief and joy. Finally.

Peter Parker smiles, tilts his head down, and lays his lips on yours.

Fake relationship my ass.

+ + +

goodness gracious that took so long to write

#peter parker #tom holland #peter parker imagines #marvel #mcu #spiderman #peter parker x reader #spiderman x reader #fanfic #fluff #writing #peter #parker #thomas holland

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