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#peter parker enemies to lovers
waitimcomingtoo · 1 year
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Daughters Will Love Like You Do
Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader
synopsis: Peter gets hired as Morgan’s babysitter and tries to ease the tension between you and her
Themes: enemies to lovers, modern family references 😳, sibling rivalry
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“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
You screamed when you heard a voice coming from behind the open refrigerator door. You quickly shut the door and saw a boy you didn’t recognize standing in your kitchen.
“Oh my God. Where did you come from?” You asked as you put a hand over your pounding heart to calm it.
“Lower east side of Queens. And you should probably put that back.” Peter said and nodded towards the beer you had just taken from your refrigerator. Once you calmed down from the scare, you threw your guard back up and narrowed your eyes at him.
“Thanks for the advice, random boy in my home, but I think I’ll stick with my original plan of getting drunk by the pool.” You smiled sweetly at him. You started to walk out of the kitchen when Peter grabbed the beer bottle out of your hand without even touching it. He pulled the web he had used off the beer and quickly disposed of it before putting it back in the refrigerator.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that. That’s Mr. Starks beer and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want his underage daughter drinking it.” Peter said, sounding genuinely apologetic
“I’m 20. I’m like 6 months under age.” You rolled your eyes and went back to the refrigerator. You started to pull it open but Peter pushed it closed.
“Then in six months, I won’t stop you.”
“I’d like to see you try and stop me now.” You scoffed and opened the refrigerator again. You took out a bottle of beer and dangled it in his face for a moment to show him you’d won. He reached for it but you yanked it back, making him stumble forward. With your faces close together now, you smirked before pushing him away.
“As fun as this has been, I gotta go.” You said and started to leave again.
“I’m gonna have to tell Mr. Stark that you’re drinking his beer. I wouldn’t want him to think I’m the one doing it.” Peter called after you. You froze in your tracks as you tried to think of a way to get him to keep your secret. You looked down at the silky robe you were wearing over your bathing suit and got an idea. You subtly opened the robe and pushed it open so that Peter could see your boobs in your bikini top.
“Are you sure you have to do that?” You asked as you batted your eyes at him. Peters eyeline didn’t flinch and he didn’t so much as glance down at your busy.
“Nice try.” He chuckled. “But I was raised by an aunt who grew up during the second wave of feminism in the 70s. Your eyes are up there. That’s the only place I’m looking.”
“You have an answer for everything, don’t you? Who even are you?” You grumbled and tied your robe shut.
“I’m Peter. Your dad hired me to babysit Morgan for the week while he’s away.”
“Wait, what? Why wouldn’t he ask me to babysit?” You asked, feeling slightly insulted.
“Probably because you’re irresponsible.” Peter shrugged.
“You don’t even know me. What makes you think I’m irresponsible?”
“The beer bottle in your hand.” Peter said simply and you realized he wasn’t trying to insult you. You sighed and handed him the beer bottle before getting a sinking feeling inside.
“I didn’t even know my dad left.” You mumbled without looking at him. You didn’t want him to know this, but it hurt you that Tony left without saying goodbye.
“He left this morning after his goodbye ceremony with Morgan.”
“After his what?”
“The ceremony where they say goodbye and he gives her enough kisses and hugs for each day he won’t be here.” Peter explained, making you feel even worse.
“Oh.” You said quietly.
“He doesn’t do that with you too?” Peter asked when he saw the disappointment on his face. You quickly threw a sarcastic smile on as you put your guard back up.
“Nope. I’m the first born daughter. He doesn’t do anything with me.” You tried to laugh it off but you couldn’t hide that it hurt you. He was always so quick to shower Morgan with attention but when it came to you, you felt invisible.
“I didn’t even get a text that he was leaving.” You said, mostly to yourself.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Peter asked sincerely and took a step towards you. His tone was so kind that you almost gave in. But instead, you got defensive, just like you always did when someone tried to care about you.
“Yeah. Can you braid my hair too? And maybe we’ll even have a pillow fight?” You said sarcastically before rolling your eyes at him.
“Your words say one thing but your tone says another.” Peter replied. Just then, you heard a crash followed by Morgan crying in the other room.
“Hm. Your boss is calling you.” You snorted and pointed towards Morgan’s bedroom.
“Coming Morgan.” Peter called and ran towards her bedroom.
“Have fun playing dolls. I’ll be out by the pool.” You called after him before grabbing a beer bottle and going out to the pool.
You laid down on one of your sun chairs and had a good fifteen minutes of quiet until you heard the sound of the sliding door.
“Hi Y/n!” Morgans muffled voice pierced through your earbuds. You took and earbud out and lowered your sunglasses to see Morgan and Peter standing by the pool.
“What was that?” You asked.
“I said hi.” Morgan repeated as she nervously played with the goggles in her hand.
“Oh. Hey.” You gave her a quick smile before putting your sunglasses back up. Morgan looked up at Peter for reassurance and he nodded at her to let her know he would handle it.
“Mind if we join you?” Peter asked as he walked up to you. He looked at your body for just a split second before looking back into your eyes.
“I do mind, actually. I came out here to get away from all the baby stuff.” You said and gestured to the floaties in Peters hand. Morgan overheard the comment and looked down at the ground.
“Don’t worry. We’ll stick to the shallow end. Come on Morgie.” Peter said triumphantly and went back to Morgan. You tried to go back to your music but couldn’t help but watch Peter. He tugged his shirt off and dropped it on the ground before putting on some sunblock. With the protection of your sunglasses, you unapologetically checked him out and paused your music so you could focus. Peter then knelt down and applied sunblock all over Morgan’s face. You couldn’t hear them, but Peter was making Morgan laugh louder than you had ever heard her. He then helped her put on her floaties before putting her goggles on her. You couldn’t help but smile at how sweet he was with her, but that fondness quickly dissipated when they started going in the water.
“Peter, wait. Can she even swim?” You called to them as you pulled your earbuds out.
“No. That’s why we have floaties.” Peter said as he held Morgan’s hand and walked down the pool steps with her. You chewed your bottom lip as you watched them go fully into the water. They started to splash each other but all you could think about was how little she was compared to how deep the water was. You got off your chair and walked over to them.
“Wait. I don’t like this. It’s one thing when there’s a lifeguard but it’s making me anxious for her to go in the pool with just me and you here. If something happens…” You trailed off and looked to Peter for help.
“Nothings gonna happen. Don’t worry. I have super quick reflexes and I’ll be with her the whole time.” Peter assured you.
“But she’s so little.” You said nervously as you looked at Morgan.
“Watch this.” Peter said and grabbed one of the diving rings. He dropped it but shot a web at it before it could touch the water. Your eyebrows went up and you found yourself impressed with Peter.
“I’ll be even quicker if it’s her. I promise. She’ll be safe.” Peter assured you. Curious of him now, you sat down on the edge of the pool and put your feet in the water.
“How did you do that?” You asked him. “You did it before too.”
“I’m Spiderman.” He shrugged.
“You’re what man?”
“Spiderman.”
“Spiderman? So you have spider powers?” You laughed and expected him to say no.
“Yes. And it’s not-“
You cut Peter off by covering your mouth and bursting out laughing. Peter couldn’t even be upset because he was too charmed from hearing your real laugh for the first time.
“How did you possibly get spider powers? We’re you bitten by a super spider or something?” You laughed and leaned your chin on your hand to look at him.
“Yes.” Peter sheepishly admitted.
“WHAT?!” You burst out laughing again and clapped your hands.
“Shut up. Your dad doesn’t even have powers. He just has a metal suit that does all the work.”
“It’s an iron suit, genius. Not metal.” You said and tapped the side of your head. Peter gave you a look and you realized your mistake.
“Iron is a metal, isn’t it?” You asked him.
“Yeah. It is.”
“Whatever. Go play mermaids with your boss.” You snorted and stood up.
“Fine. I will. But it’s really sweet that you were so worried about her.” Peter said with a teasing smile.
“I wasn’t worried about her. She’s not even my sister.” You said in a quiet voice so Morgan couldn’t hear.
“She’s your half sister. Is there a difference?”
“My dad had her while I was a floating around as a pile of dust for five years. I don’t even know her.” You shrugged and gestured to Morgan, who was sitting on the pool step with some mermaid dolls.
“Then why don’t you come in the pool with us and get to know her?” Peter whispered to you.
“Pass. I don’t babysit.”
“It’s not babysitting if it’s family.”
“You’re right. At least with babysitting, you get paid.” You said and started to walk back to your chair. Peter sighed in disappointment to see you leaving.
“Come in if you change your mind.” Peter called after you. You gave him a sarcastic thumbs up before putting your earbuds back in.
Peter played in the pool with Morgan while you laid in the sun. You snuck glances at them every so often and Peter caught it every time.
“You know, the pools a lot more fun when you go in it.” Peter shouted to you.
“Boys are a lot more fun when they’re silent.” You shouted back.
“Come play with us Y/n!” Morgan called to you.
“Sorry. Can’t hear you.” You said and pointed to your earbuds. Peter saw the disappointment on Morgan’s face and quickly reassured her.
“She wants to play with you. She’s just busy.” Peter told her.
“She’s always busy. She never wants to play with me.” Morgan said quietly.
“Maybe it’s just because you guys are so far apart in age. She’s a little too old to play.” Peter tried to convince her.
“I guess so.” Morgan sighed. Peter looked back over at you and made it a personal mission to get you two to connect before the week was over.
Peter didn’t see you at all the next day but caught you when you came in from a night out. You came stumbling through the front door and immediately took your heels off to ease the pain. You looked up to see Peter in his pajamas on with Morgan on his hip. He was humming something in her ear as he bounced her up and down.
“Oh my God. Are you gonna breastfeed her too?” You laughed at the sight in front of you.
“Shh. I finally got her to sleep.” Peter hushed you and checked to make sure Morgan was still asleep.
“How? Did you tell her the story of all the girls you’ve dated and she felt so uncomfortable in the silence that she fell asleep?” You asked him.
“Very funny.” Peter narrowed his eyes. “And what makes you think I haven’t dated any girls?”
“Everything about this makes me think you haven’t dated any girls.” You said and gestured to Peter and Morgan.
“You may be right. But that doesn’t mean I can’t date them if I wanted to.” Peter whispered.
“It absolutely does.” You whispered back and wandered into the kitchen. When you got in there, you saw a cup of water, a plate of toast, and some ibuprofen. You smiled at the kind gesture from Peter before downing the ibuprofen. He wandered into the kitchen after putting Morgan in her bed and smiled to himself when he saw you eating the toast he made for you.
“So what about you? How many heirs and princes have you dated?” He asked you teasingly.
“None. I don’t date.”
“Really? Why not?”
“Because boys are stupid and not worth my time.” You shrugged and took another bite.
“I mean, that’s absolutely true on all counts, but don’t you want somebody to love?”
“No. I have me.” You shrugged as you looked down at the plate of toast Peter had made you. You felt like you had let him in just a little too much and started to get defensive again.
“How come its powerful when you don’t date but lame when I don’t?” Peter asked as he walked closer to you.
“Because mines a choice. Yours is sad.” You replied. You didn’t like that you were being mean to Peter, but it was your natural instinct to push people away when they were kind to you. You looked into Peters eyes and decided to fight against your nature.
“Thank you for the toast. And the water. You didn’t have to do that.” You smiled sheepishly at him.
“No problem. Can you just do me a favor and let me know when you’re going out next time? I don’t want to be a nag but I am the babysitter, so I kind a need to know where the babies are.”
“Fine. But just so we’re clear, you’re Morgans babysitter. Not mine.”
“Got it.” Peter chuckled. “And I’m sorry if it feels like I’m smothering you. It’s just that my natural instinct is to take care of people.”
“Aw. You’ll make a great mother one day.” You smirked and patted his chest.
“Thanks.” He blushed. “So where were you tonight?”
“A party.” You shrugged.
“Ooo. Fun.” He clicked his tongue. “Did you meet anybody worth mentioning?”
“I just told you. I don’t date.”
“Ever?” He asked with a teasing smile.
“Never.” You said simply. Peter looked down at the ground and shook his head.
“Huh. That’s too bad.” He smiled softly as he looked up into your eyes.
“Why is that too bad?” You wondered.
“No reason. Goodnight.” Peter smiled sweetly at you before heading off to bed. You frowned in confusion but shrugged it off and went to bed as well.
The next morning, you went down to the kitchen to follow the smell of pancakes. You walked into the kitchen to find Morgan sitting at the table with a high stack of pancakes in front of her. Peter was busy giving her pancakes a face using whip cream before squirting some whip cream into his mouth. When he looked up, he made eye contact with you and quickly put his mouth over his hand.
“Y/n. Hi.” He said with a mouthful of whip cream.
“Hey Peter. Having fun?” You laughed and raised your eyebrows at him.
“Good morning. Breakfast?” Peter asked and handed you a plate of pancakes.
“Thanks. You make a pretty good housewife.” You winked at him and took the plate.
“You mean that?” Peter blushed and pretended to tuck hair behind his ear. You laughed and rolled your eyes at him before taking a seat at the kitchen counter. He sat across from you before talking some pancakes for himself.
“So how come you’re staying here for the week? Shouldn’t you be in school or something?”
“I’m off this week. Spring break.” Peter told you.
“Hold on. You’re spending your spring break babysitting a five year old? Exactly how much is my dad paying you?”
“Nothing. He said he needed a babysitter on short notice and I want him to know I’m as reliable as I am responsible.” Peter shrugged and took a sip from his coffee. You raised a skeptical eyebrow at him and he looked away from you.
“Plus, he pays for my tuition.” He mumbled.
“Ah, there it is.” You snorted. “I’m just saying, he pays for my tuition too but that doesn’t mean I’d willingly change a diaper.”
“I go on the big girl potty now.” Morgan said, making you roll your eyes.
“Congrats. Same.” You said sarcastically. You thought Peter would laugh but he just looked at Morgan to see if she was okay.
“You just don’t see the appeal because you’ve lived in a place like this your entire life. I live in a s-h-i-t-t-y apartment that’s the size of your walk in closet. Plus, I love kids. So why wouldn’t I spend a week living in mansion with a great kid?” Peter shrugged, making sure Morgan overheard.
“Because you have no friends to hang out with instead?” You asked sarcastically.
“Funny.” He rolled his eyes. “What about you? You’ve been home most of the week too.”
“I don’t feel like going out.” You shrugged and took a bite of your pancake.
“Why not? Don’t you have daddy’s credit card to spend?” Peter teased you right back.
“Don’t you have your virginity to keep forever?” You whispered so Morgan couldn’t hear.
“Listen, since you’re asking nicely, I’ll give it to you.” Peter said and held up his hands.
“Woah. What would your feminist aunt say to that?” You laughed.
“She’d tell me I was the most handsome and special boy in the world.” Peter shrugged, making you laugh again.
“You know what, I think she may be right.” You humored him, making Peter blush. You were enjoying the time you got to spend with him, only to be interrupted but Morgan tugging on his sleeve.
“Peter, can we go play now?” She asked.
“We’re talking, Morgan.” You said, a little coldly.
“Oh. I can go play by myself.” She said sadly and took a step back.
“No, it’s okay. Go head to your room. I’ll be there in a minute.” Peter quickly assured her. You couldn’t hide the disappointment on your face as Peter chose her over you. You knew it was silly, but it hurt you to see him get up. You’d been having a nice conversation and now he was gonna run off the second Morgan needed attention. It reminded you of your relationship with your dad and that made hot tears of frustration come to your eyes. You got out of your seat before Peter could see you cry but he stopped you.
“Y/n, wait. Please stay.” He said, sounding a little desperate. You stopped and turned to him wigh folded arms.
“Why don’t you join us? We can all hang out together.” Peter suggested. He was feeling the same connection you were and didn’t want to leave, but his job was to be with Morgan. Deep down, you knew that, but it still hurt to see him leave you at a moments notice. You looked between him and Morgan as a familiar sinking feeling set in.
“I already told you. I don’t babysit.” You said and started to walk away.
“Maybe we can talk later?” He called after you, but you didn’t respond. Peter sighed before putting on a happy face for Morgan.
After sulking in your room for a little bit, you decided to go check on Peter and Morgan. You couldn’t help but overhear the constant laughter coming from Morgan’s room and wanted to see what could possibly be that funny. But most of all, you felt guilty for the way you behaved in the kitchen and wanted to say hi to show them you were sorry.
You pushed open Morgan’s door and burst out laughing when you saw Peter in sparkly red lipstick, messy blue eyeshadow, and hot pink blush. All this was topped off by the three curlers he had in his hair.
“Oh. This is good.” You laughed and took out your phone to take a picture.
“See Morgie? I told you you were a natural at makeup.” Peter said, making her smile.
“Can I give you a makeover Y/n?” Morgan asked hopefully.
“Hard pass. I’m not trying to look like that.” You laughed and pointed to Peter, making Morgan’s smile fall.
“If you didn’t come for a makeover then why are you here?” Peter asked you.
“I just wanted to see what you two dorks were doing.” You shrugged. “And I wanted to tell you I’m going out tonight. Since you asked me to tell you.”
“Oh. Okay.” Peter nodded as his disappointment set in. He hoped to get to talk to you some more after Morgan went to bed, but now he knew he’d spend the night alone.
“See you later, Pete.” You waved to him before shutting the door.
“Bye Y/n! I love you.” Morgan called after you.
“You too.” You unenthusiastically called back.
Tensions were high the next day when you didn’t come down for breakfast. You didn’t feel like seeing Morgan or Peter so you stayed in your room until you needed to eat. You got a snack from kitchen but got distracted by Morgan’s voice in the other room.
“Oops.” Morgan said following the sound of glass shattering. You ran into the room and saw a picture frame on the floor in many pieces.
“What happened?” You gasped and pulled her away from the frame so she wouldn’t get cut by the glass. Once she was safely away, you went to go inspect the frame.
“I’m sorry. It was an accident.” Morgan apologized. When you saw the picture she had broken was the only picture of you and Tony in the entire house, you felt something snap inside. You had to walk by wall after wall that was covered in pictures of Morgan from the years you were snapped away. There were family portraits that you weren’t in all over the place but the one photo that Tony hung up of the two of you when you were five now laid in pieces on the ground. You looked to the side and saw the one of million of Morgan’s toys that had done the damage.
“Ugh! You did this on purpose you little brat.” You stamped your foot and felt more like the brat yourself.
“Woah. What’s going on in here?” Peter ran into the room when he heard the shouting.
“She broke a picture frame.” You said and picked the picture of out of the glass.
“On accident!” Morgan quickly explained.
“Oh please.” You scoffed and folded your arms. Peter knelt down beside Morgan and pulled her into his arms.
“Y/n, she’s five. I really don’t think it was on purpose.” Peter said in a kind tone.
“It’s the one picture hanging up around here that she’s not in. How could it not be on purpose?”
“I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” Morgan whined.
“You know what? Things were so much better before you got here.” You snapped and stormed out of the room with the picture still in your hand.
You sat in your room for a little while until you heard a knock at your door. You hoped it was Morgan so you could tell her you were sorry for overreacting, but it was Peter that opened your door.
“Hey. Any interest in some hot coco?” Peter asked as he peaked his head into your room. You were sitting on your bed with your chin resting on your knees as you stared at the picture of you and Tony.
“Don’t. Don’t be nice to me right now. I don’t deserve it.”
“If it makes you feel any better, she cried the other day because she didn’t like the spoon I gave her for her ice cream. Five year olds don’t really have control over their emotions yet.” Peter said as he took a seat on your bed.
“Neither do 20 year olds.” You mumbled and turned away from him.
“Do you think we could talk?” He asked and set the hot chocolate down on your nightstand.
“What do you want, Peter? An explanation?” You sighed. “I have nothing to tell you. I don’t know why I’m so angry all the time. I wish I knew but I don’t. So just go away before I snap at you too.”
“I don’t need an explanation. I just want to know what you’re thinking. I hate it when things are unbeknownst to me.”
You laughed at his choice of words and reluctantly looked at him. He looked like he genuinely wanted to know what was bothering you, so you let your guard down.
“I disappear for a couple years and when I come back, my dad is married and has another daughter. And I wasn’t there for any of it. He dated my mom for years but always told her he wasn’t the marriage type. Then all the sudden, I get blipped and gets married to his assistant and has a kid with her? He doesn’t even talk to my mom anymore. And he barely makes time for me.” You said for the first time out loud. Peter stayed silent as he listened to you but put his hand over yours to let you know he understood. You felt tears come to your eyes the more you thought about it.
“I just…I just feel like he completely moved on to his new family. I’m the only part of his life that still hangs around and sometimes…”
“Sometimes what?” Peter asked when you trailed off.
“I feel like he doesn’t want me anymore. I think he wishes I wasn’t around.” You admitted as your tears spilled onto your cheeks.
“What? That’s crazy.”
“Is it? I feel like I’m just his random adult kid from an old relationship that hangs around his house while he raises his new kid with his new wife.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t feel that way. You’re his firstborn. You’re irreplaceable.”
“I thought I was. Until he replaced me.” You said as you stared at the picture of you and Tony. Peter looked at the picture too and smiled a little. You were about Morgan’s age in it and smiling wider than he had ever seen before. You traced the outline of your dad with your fingernail and let out a sigh.
“I know I could be nicer to her. I know she’s just a kid. But she was already five by the time I first met her. I never saw her grow up. We never had a chance to bond because I wasn’t there. Now I’m here and I have no idea how to connect with her so I don’t even bother trying. I’m not good with kids like you are. I have no idea how to talk to them.”
“Is that the only reason you won’t play with her?” Peter wondered. You looked him in the eyes and smirked a little, knowing he saw right through you.
“I resent her.” You admitted. “I resent her for replacing me. My dad missed me so much that he had another kid and now, I’m nothing to him. I’m just Morgan’s older sister. I can never measure up to her.”
“You’re a lot more than that. You’re you. And there is nothing replaceable about that.” Peter said as he rubbed his thumb over your knuckles. You looked at your intertwined hands and smiled a little.
“Plus I had to teach Morgan how to put her hands in her pockets yesterday. She didn’t even know how. So there’s not much to measure up to.” Peter added, making you laugh.
“Why are you so good at this?”
“Because. It’s my job to take care of Tony Starks daughters.” Peter shrugged.
“Wait, he didn’t actually ask you to look after me, did he?” You raised an eyebrow.
“Here. Why don’t you read the text.” Peter offered as he handed you his phone. You looked at him skeptically before taking his phone to read his texts.
“Hey Penis Pecker tell me what you got for number seven on the geometry homework or I will stick my finger up your-“
“Oops. Wrong text.” Peter quickly grabbed the phone. “That’s my friend Flash. Here.”
You laughed at him before looking at the new text he had pulled up.
“Hey Pete the treat. Thanks again for offering to babysit. I’m sure you’ll have your hands full with my youngest, but please keep an eye on my Y/n too. She seems distant lately and I’m not sure if she’s a typically youth raging against the machine or if there’s really something bothering her. Her door is always closed when I try to go talk to her so maybe you can get through to her in a way I can’t with your youthful boyishness.” You read off Peters phone. You felt tears come to your eyes to see all your fears put to rest.
“He’s right. You are very boyish.” You laughed softly and wiped your face.
“He cares about you. He just doesn’t know how to show it.” Peter assured you as he brushed some of your hair off your forehead.
“I guess I don’t really give him a chance. But he could still try harder. He didn’t even say goodbye to me before he left.” You pointed out.
“That’s my fault. He was about to go into your room to say goodbye and I kinda told him not to.” Peter sheepishly confessed.
“What? Why?”
“I sorta gave him the idea that if he gave you some space, you’d come to him. I told him not to try so hard.” He admitted.
“You’re giving my dad parenting advice?” You chuckled.
“Yeah. And clearly I should stop because it didn’t work. I tried to help him out but I just ended up hurting you.” Peter sighed and shook his head in embarrassment.
“I don’t know. I think it’s sweet you tried to help him.” You said as you played with his fingers. Peter blushed all the way to his ears as he looked up into your eyes.
“You’re sweet in general.” You smiled softly. “You’re a really nice guy, Peter. I don’t know why I’m so mean to you. I don’t know why I’m so mean to everyone.”
“That’s okay. I know why.” Peter said and nudged you a little.
“You do?”
“Yeah. It’s probably because you’re on your period.” Peter said sweetly. You narrowed your eyes at him before cracking a smile.
“Oh really?” You humored him.
“Yep. Women are really overemotional. It’s not your fault. If you learned to plug it up-“
“It’s less funny and more offensive now.” You cut him off.
“I’ll stop.” He said immediately. You laughed and looked into his eyes again. This time, you didn’t feel the urge to push him away. Instead, you wanted him closer.
“Do you think me, you, and Morgan could hang out tonight?” You asked him.
“I don’t know which one of us would love that more. Me or her.” Peter grinned.
“Probably you, perv.” You mumbled out of the corner of your mouth.
“Yeah. Who am I kidding? Its definitely me.” Peter chuckled. You looked down at your intertwined hands again before giving Peters hand a squeeze.
“What if I’m not good at talking to her?” You asked without looking at him.
“Kids are easy to talk to. All kids really want is two things, to be happy and to make you happy. So just match their excitement when they speak and say what you think will make them feel special.”
“You think I can do it? I’m kinda a bitch.”
“I know you can do it. Come on. Let’s go see what she’s up to.” Peter said and led you out of the room with his hand. You got to Morgans room and knocked on her door without ever dropping Peters hand.
“Hey Morgan. Mind if I join?” You asked as you entered her room.
“Really? You wanna?” She asked excitedly.
“Of course. Where can I sit?” You asked when you saw the tea party she had set up with some of her stuffed animals.
“Right here. Next to me.” Morgan patted the spot next to her that was conveniently left empty. When you sat down beside her, you saw there was a place card with your name on it that Morgan had made. Your name was sloppily written in crayon with hearts all around it.
“This is so cute. How’d you know I was coming?” You asked and picked up the card to see it better.
“I always leave this seat open for you in case you ever want to play with me.” Morgan explained as she poured you some pretend tea. You froze and looked up at Peter, who gave you a reassuring smile. The urge to shut her out went away and instead, you wrapped and arm around her.
“Thanks, Morgan. That was really sweet of you. It’s the best seat in the house.” You said and hugged her to your side. Morgan eagerly hugged you back before turning to Peter.
“Peter, can you get a tiara for Y/n please?”
“Gems or feathers?” Peter asked her. Morgan looked at you and you seemed to read each others mind.
“Feathers.” You said in unison. Peter smirked and got a tiara with pink feathers out of Morgans toy box.
“Ooo. Just my style.” You danced a little as you put the tiara on your head. While you did that, Morgan placed a sparky blue tiara on Peters head.
“How do I look?” He asked you.
“Very handsome. Like a prince.” You answered, making him blush.
“Peter is Queen of Spiderlandia.” Morgan explained to you.
“Is he now? Very impressive. And what are you the queen of?” You asked Morgan.
“I’m not the queen. I’m the princess.” Morgan replied as she pulled a drawing out from under her teacup. She handed it to you and you saw a stick figure of a girl with your colored hair in a poorly drawn tower. Down below, a stick figure with Morgan’s hair color stood on the ground with a sword in her hand.
“You’re the queen. But you’ve been locked in your room by an evil force that Peter said was called “puberty”. And that’s why you never leave your room.” Morgan explained her drawing to you. You felt sad inside to hear the explanation she had made for herself to justify why you never left your room, but you kept on a happy face for her.
“Aw. Did Peter say that?” You smiled sarcastically at him.
“I don’t think Peter said that.” Peter said quickly.
“I’m the princess. And it’s my job to set you free.” Morgan continued as she pointed to her stick figure at the bottom of the drawing.
“Well thank you, princess. Your work here is done. You set me free. Now I can come to your tea parties.” You smiled softly at her as you tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Really? You will?” She asked hopefully.
“I will. So I can come hang out with my sister.” You nodded and she threw her arms around you. You stiffened at first, then hugged her back. Peter watched with a proud smile as the two of you finally connected.
“One sugar cube or two?” Peter asked you and held up the bowl of pretend sugar cubes.
“Two please.” You said and held up your tea cup.
“One for me.” Peter said out loud as he pretended to put a sugar cube in his cup. You couldn’t help but laugh at how dedicated he was to the performance.
“And eight for Princess Morgan.” He said and pretended to put exactly eight cubes into her cup.
“Eight?” You laughed in surprise.
“I’m five. Give me a break.” She shrugged and took a sip of her pretend tea.
“You sound just like dad.” You laughed again and Morgan smiled proudly.
“Speaking of dad. Mr. Stark just texted me.” Peter said as he checked his phone.
“What did he say?” You wondered.
“Oh wow. He’s home early.” Peter read off his screen.
“He is?” Morgan asked.
“He is.” Tony said from the doorway, making you all jump.
“Well look at that. My girls are getting along. Isn’t that something?” Tony smiled fondly and leaned against the doorframe.
“Daddy!” Morgan cheered and ran to hug him. Tony scooped her up and kissed her cheek before looking at you.
“Hey Y/n.” Tony said in a low voice and threw up a peace sign.
“You’re so weird.” You laughed and got up to hug him. Tony froze in surprise and looked at Peter for answers. Peter gave him a double thumbs up so Tony hugged you back tightly.
“I missed you.” You said as you rested your head on his shoulder.
“I missed you more, sour patch. Is this the part where you’re sweet again?” Tony smiled teasing at you but sounded genuinely curious.
“Nope. Now get out. I’m spending time with my sister.” You said playfully and pointed out the door.
“So Peter can stay but I can’t?” Tony pretended to be offended.
“Yep. Girls only.” You replied. Peter cleared his throat and you gave him an apologetic smile.
“Sorry.” You mumbled. Tony kissed your cheek before leaving Morgan’s room. You took her hand and sat back down at the little table to continue your tea party.
“Hey Morgan, do you think you could do my makeup after this?” You asked as you pretended to pour her some more tea.
“Yeah! Do you have somewhere special to go?” Morgan asked excitedly.
“I do. After this, Peter and I are going on a date.” You said simply, making Peter choke on his fake tea.
“Really?” Morgan gushed.
“Really?” Peter asked hopefully.
“Yeah. So make me look really pretty, okay?” You said and tapped Morgan’s nose.
“Okay.” She grinned and went to get her makeup kit.
“A date, huh? I thought I couldn’t get those.” Peter said
“Yeah, well.” You shrugged and sipped your tea. “Never say never.”
Tag list 🏷️
@awesomebooklover17 @thebookwormlife @imanativeofswlondondahling @serendipitous-amor @tom-hollands-wifey
@whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @andreasworlsboring101
@letsloveimagines @peterparkoure @a-villain-vying-for-attention @justcallmehitgirl
@jackiehollanderr @maryjanee23 @geeksareunique @emmamarshmellow
@unbelievableholland @flixndchill @sovereignparker @every-marveler-ever
@undiadeestos @caelestii-e @eridanuswave​ ​ @fiantomartell @solarxmoonchild
@canyouevencauseicant @illwritetomorrow @thehappygrungelife @saysomethingspiderman
@smilexcaptainx @quaksonhehe @kelieah @seasidecrowbar @lovelessdagger
@electraheart-3174 @unbelievableholland @yourtypicalhotmess @horanxholland
@thesuitelifeofafangirl @marshxx @heyheycharlatte @nooneinvitedfascistbarbie
@maybemona @alexxcorona113 @lethal-wisdom @xo-spidey
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helloheyhihowdyheya · 10 months
Text
Rose Thorn Blues | p. 1
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Peter Parker x fem!reader
Masterlist
Summary: The other Daily Bugle intern has been a thorn in your side all summer. But if you wanted the job, you'd have to work with him. And you'd do anything to get it.
Word count: ~7k
Warnings: Enemies to lovers!! Banter. Criminal activity. Swearing. A bit of angst but not really. J. Jonah Jameson lol.
A/n: I think this'll end up being around 3 parts, but we'll see. This has been tumblin' through my mind since last year, so I'm glad to finally let it out lol. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading <3
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You used to enjoy the clear sky on a sunny day, the vibrating blue that stretched until it curved around the horizon. Used to love the way the lapping waves of the Atlantic shimmered for miles, its ripples echoing the sky’s image. The blue of the world before the sun came up, or the indigo quiet of a rainy day.
You even used to love how red the rusted bricks outlining your apartment building looked, tracing the tips of your fingers along them as you walked by, scarlet pebbles breaking off into your palm. The cherry glow of a late-night diner’s “Open” sign made the beats of your heart stutter, its lights reflecting off the glass and illuminating puddles littering the sidewalk. Even with the occasional rose you passed on your way to work, the red petals surrounded by thorns and overgrown weeds, you still leaned your nose in to smell its sweet crimson scent. 
But that was before your internship at The Daily Bugle, before you had to write countless stories on Spider-Man all the time, and before you knew Peter, the other intern. Now, every cloudless day or trip to the ocean, hell, even the plump blueberries in the grocery store or a swirling glass of Merlot, an obnoxious red stoplight, or the tiniest cut exposing a drop of blood turned your stomach. You knew people could change you, but you’d never expected to hate the shades of red and blue — until you stared at it every day while standing in Parker’s shadow.
You’d shake your head, shove your fingernails into your palm, blink so hard your vision turned bright just to erase those colors from your mind and him from your thoughts. But you would have no such luck as you weaved your way through New York’s sidewalks under the summer sun, a barely-there breeze passing alongside the traffic. Your hand clutched your phone tight in its grasp.
On it held a photo of Spider-Man you’d just taken earlier that morning. He stopped a robbery, and you captured the moment he’d ripped off a car door to use as cover — a story that J. Jonah Jameson would love to spin into something ridiculous. You had nothing against the superhero, but it was what your boss wanted. The boss that would decide which intern would receive a full-time position at the end of the summer, and you wouldn’t go down without a fight against Parker.
He always had clearer photos and more information on Spider-Man — always seemed to get on the scene before you. You wouldn’t have been that upset if Parker actually was a better reporter than you, but that smug, chronically late asshole certainly wasn’t better than you. Not when you worked twice as hard just to watch him successfully stumble his way through this internship. 
And that stupid shrug he gave you when Jameson chose his story over yours! He’d mutter, “Better luck next time,” as if you weren’t covering for his ass half the time. You weren’t sure why you did it anymore. Maybe you didn’t want to watch him get fired since this wasn’t an easy opportunity to get, but you definitely wouldn’t mind sitting back and enjoying him get chewed out by Jameson.
But that was unimportant now as you made your way into The Daily Bugle’s building, savoring the air conditioning as your breath tumbled from your mouth. This picture and the eyewitness statements you took would create a story Jameson wouldn’t think twice about choosing, especially when Parker always came in late in the mornings.
Walking through your floor’s doors, photo pulled up on your phone, you quickly dropped your bag at your desk before making your way to pitch the idea to Jameson. You’d mentally written the first half of it on your walk here already.
Your steps faltered though as you neared the office, hearing your boss’s voice echoing through the office.
“Good work, Parker. Finish it by noon, and we’ll publish it today.”
He was already here? Silently, you gritted your teeth, peering into the room. And of course, out walked Parker, one hand holding papers and the other shoved in his pocket.
“The one day you’re on time… I can’t believe this,” you quietly muttered, feeling a weight sink into your stomach. His shoulders hung casually while yours raised up and down with your breaths. His half-smile made you stare daggers into him.
He just raised an eyebrow at you. “Good morning to you too, sunshine. Most people happen to love my presence.”
You silently ignored his nickname for you as you said, “Then most people must be lying to you. What story did you give him?” You pointed your head toward the office, chewing on the inside of your cheek.
“So you can go in and try to one-up me?” He scoffed, his eyes annoyingly bright and warm. “No thanks.”
As he made to walk away, you grabbed his arm despite your aversion to being near him. Even the heat of his skin made you too warm, just another reason to stay away from Parker. “I lied to Jameson last week while you were off doing who-knows-what when you should’ve been working. Now what was the goddamn story?”
The sound of other employees talking and making coffee filled the background. If you could just beat him, you’d be part of them one day. So you didn’t let up, waiting for him to answer as he looked between your hand and your eyes. He shook off your touch after a moment.
You watched his jaw tick, his eyes roll to the back of his empty head. “Fine. And because I don’t think I could handle the second-hand embarrassment. I’ll tell you that if your story’s about whatever Spider-Man was up to this morning, you might want to skip telling Jameson.”
The grip on your phone loosened a bit, along with the hope you’d put into this — into trying to prove that you were a good reporter too. But, of course, you were always stuck finding stories on Spider-Man, and too late with them anyway. Anything else wasn’t important news, not at this company.
You tried, and failed, to keep your frustration from your voice as you asked, “And how did you get here before me with that story? You’re literally never here on time and just always have some bullshit idea that’s barely a story.”
Parker just gave a short laugh, smirking at you. “And yet… I still beat you. Kinda stings, huh?”
You gave a grumbled “Piss off” before letting him walk past you this time. You filled up your water bottle, headed to the bathroom, made small talk with some woman you’d immediately forgotten the name of — all distractions so you didn’t have to go back to the desk that sat much too close to Parker, especially while he worked on the story that should’ve been yours.
When you finally returned, you refused to look at a particular person across from you — the two intern desks only separated by a half wall. You just fished out your headphones at the cheap desk with no air conditioning under the city’s hot summer.  
A much-needed break from Spider-Man you gave to yourself, you continued working on a story you started researching last week. You’d gathered some statements and data about new unsafe water conditions in certain parts of the city. The story wouldn’t star on the front page of the website, or even the second. Third, if you were lucky.
The morning passed with minimal shouting coming from Jameson’s office and just a few “friendly” follow-up emails with sources you hadn’t heard back from. In the brief moments of silence between the end of one song and the beginning of another, you listened to traffic flowing through the streets below and the droning sounds of keyboards and the printer.
Only once you finished up the first draft of your article and turned to grab your notebook from a drawer did you notice a sticky note plastered on the edge of your desk. In messy handwriting, it said, “You type like a child bangs their fists on a piano” followed by a doodle of the sun, with sunglasses.
It wasn’t difficult to tell whose horrible scribbling this was. So after writing “Eat shit <3” on the back, you crumpled it up. You tossed it right at Parker’s face as you stood up, going to a meeting with one of the full-time writers here. Instead of knowing he caught it like always, you pretended it hit him right in the eye and gave him a papercut.
You didn’t look back as you approached Alice’s desk, the lead writer of the office. Her black curls bounced as she lifted her head, smiling at you. “Ready?”
“Yes, and thank you again for meeting with me,” you said, nodding with your notebook under your arm. She stood up, motioning you toward an empty office for the informational interview — mostly just asking her about her career in hopes it could help yours.
Sitting across from one another, you took notes as she spoke about herself and answered your many questions. Your writing filled one page after another, your wrist becoming sore but ignored under the weight of knowing this information could be important. When you asked what advice she would give to someone just starting out as a reporter, the silence that followed made you finally lift your head.
Alice looked at you with a soft smile while your pen stalled. “I would tell them that it’s not an easy career. And that it’s not for those without passion. You have to want this — and show it. The stories out there you want to tell… you can’t be afraid to search out the truth. ‘Leaving well enough alone’ has never been in my vocabulary.”
Your unfocused stare stayed on her while you processed those words… and the worry that you weren’t cut out for this work. There were stories you wanted to tell, but you couldn’t find the place to tell them. A cynical part of your mind shouted that maybe Parker did deserve the job at the end of this internship more than you.
The thoughts must have been evident on your face because Alice spoke again, her voice calm but stern. “Don’t worry. I see the passion in you. The best advice is to not let Jameson or anyone else stop you. ‘Kay?”
You nodded, unable to stop the smile on your face. So caught up in her words, you wrote down a condensed version of her answer: Follow your heart. Your thumb rubbed over the dried ink of the page, feeling the ridges of each letter. “Thank you, Alice. I’ll keep trying,” you said, and meant it. 
She let out a light laugh, the sound loosening the tight muscles in your shoulders. “You better. I’ve been rooting for you to get the job,” she whispered, giving a wink that had you laughing too.
“Well I can’t let you down then, can I?” Letting your smile fall just a little, the curve of it no longer touching your eyes, you silently hoped that you wouldn’t disappoint her. Thanking Alice again, you made your way back to your desk with too many thoughts running through your head.
Slow moments passed as you returned to your chair, the cheap thing squeaking underneath you with each movement. Still, you closed your eyes for a second, just feeling the cushion beneath you, the armrests under your hands, the backrest keeping you from collapsing. A breath filled your lungs, chest rising inch by inch. You would not wait for anyone’s permission to change the world — even if that just meant ignoring your lying thoughts to change your own little world.
Slowly, you went back through your notes, adding bits here and there that you missed while Alice had spoken. At the bottom, you just underlined her final advice… letting the words bleed into your body as you promised to keep them at the center of your stories.
It kept you focused on your article surrounding unsafe water quality in the city. Thankfully, the hours passed quickly, and you got the article up on the site by the end of the day. All with minimal interruptions from Parker — despite another sticky note that said “Thanks for the granola bar ;)” on it. And sure enough, the granola bar you had on your desk was no longer there, but you silently tossed the note in the garbage without letting him know he got to you.
Though, with no snack, your stomach was definitely grumbling as you packed up. So you made the trek to a cafe with your backpack on, one headphone in, and a middle finger aimed toward Parker when he tried talking to you, a smirk plastered on his face that told you he had nothing important or nice to say.
The summer heat hit you as you exited the building, making you strip off your office-appropriate blazer. Still, you didn’t mind the sunlight after spending all day inside. Your music drifted into your ear, the beat of it matching your steps. You turned the volume down once making it into the bakery with the best after-work treat, the pink sign outside painted with cursive words: “Pat’s Pastries.”
Baked bread and sweet chocolate filled your nose, the smell helping you forget about work for a minute. You ordered your favorite cookie, pointing to the biggest one behind the glass. Silently, you ignored the whole tray of Spider-Man themed cookies they’d begun selling after the superhero saved the store from a robbery.
Instead, you just left the shop with a bite of the cookie already in your mouth. It practically melted on your tongue, tasting better than any granola bar Parker could steal from you. The cookie lasted you all the way home, filling you with a pleasant warmth.
In your apartment, you stood in the entryway for a moment. With slow movements, you removed your shoes, setting down all of your things. You’d only been collapsed on your couch for a few minutes before your phone vibrated. Part of you thought to ignore it and let the weight of your heavy eyelids drag you into a nap, but you knew it could be work. A groan came from your throat as you saw that it was work — a comment left on your article already.
People that commented on these pieces often had few nice things to say, so you braced yourself upon opening the site. Your thumb slid across the screen until you reached the bottom. Left by some guest user, the comment simply read: “What’s new? Beaumont fumbles again…”
Beaumont. Ellis Beaumont, the current city manager. He’d certainly faced as much backlash as any other official since he’d taken over five years ago, but you hadn’t considered him all that much when researching for this article. Did he have to do with poor water conditions in the city?
Before you could stop yourself, your hands went to your laptop. Your fingers typed across the keyboard, searching for relations between him and other issues the city faced recently. What came up most often was Beaumont’s press releases after most of them. His salt and pepper hair sat tightly cut to his head, no specks of dust visible on his expensive-looking suits. In each one, he stated how he and his team would work on fixing the problem — from unaffordable housing to upgrading technology throughout the city.
It wasn’t new to see a leader promise to do something and not follow through, but something kept sticking with you while you researched. At some point, between the sun falling behind the city skyline and ordering takeout to be delivered, you found yourself with dozens of open tabs and tired eyes.
Raking a hand down your face, you let out a long sigh. You finished reading another speech where he promised to fix something, crumbling infrastructure this time — “if only we had the funds!” And cue the part where he asked for donations to his nonprofit organization or proposed a government plan that would cost the citizens in tax money. Yet… hadn’t he raised the money? The last you’d checked, the street he’d mentioned repairing still had its potholes and unusable sidewalks.
A knocking on your door brought you to it, your eyes never leaving your computer screen. You just grabbed your food and paid the deliverer with a mumbled “thanks” before walking back to the laptop.
As quickly as you could, you yanked out your notebook from your bag and wrote down everything about Ellis Beaumont — before your food got cold. Your wrist ached again as you flipped the page, continuing to fill the lines with his career, his promises, and his letdowns.
Each of his projects toward bettering the city came with asking for money — money that didn’t show back up in the work. He’d made no updates as to how much he had raised or how he was going to use it. At the end of your notes, you wrote down in heavy ink: “Where is Ellis Beaumont’s money going??”
And even as you ate, trying to watch the comfort show you’d put on, your mind kept working in the background. Had others not also wondered this? Or if they had, did he have them in his pocket already? Sleep fought you that night, making you toss and turn in bed. But you had a story.
Walking into The Daily Bugle, you ‘clocked in’ (let Jameson see you in the office) and dropped off your bag. With just your notes, a pen, and a granola bar so no one would steal it, you made your way back out of the building.
Right before you made it from the office, though, a mop of dark hair appeared at the door. A small part of you wanted to somehow hide, the other part unable to resist the draw of him for whatever reason. But Parker chose for you, his eyes lighting up when they caught on your form. Your following scowl was enough to make him laugh.
“There she is, our lovely sunshine,” he said, leaning against the door frame. You ignored the sarcasm dripping through his words.
Instead, you raised your eyebrows and told him, “If Jameson asks, I’m out researching a story. Got it?” 
“Woah, woah, woah.” Parker pushed off the frame. His smirk was enough to set you off, but then he held out a hand to block you from passing. Behind your unyielding glare, you secretly hoped he tripped over his untied shoelaces or smashed his hand in the office printer. As he came closer to you, he asked, “Where are you off to? I haven’t seen any sightings of Spider-Man.”
“That’s a shame,” you said, uninterested. Grabbing his forearm, accidentally feeling the hard muscle underneath, you moved it out of your way. “Have fun getting him coffee!” You shouted it over your shoulder, leaving him standing there while you ignored the heat on your palm from touching his skin. 
You shook your hand out, waving away the memory as you took the subway over to City Hall. It had to be as good as any place to start researching where the city’s money went after Ellis Beaumont flashed a white smile and pocketed it. He probably wouldn’t talk with you, but anything to get you closer would be worth it.
Emerging from the subway station, your eyes squinted against the brightness. Still morning, the heat hadn’t settled in yet — just leaving you with a sunny walk and a nice breeze.
The building’s intimidating size rose high toward the sky. A statue of justice, a woman holding scales and a sword, stood atop City Hall — staring down at each person as you entered the front doors. The ornate architecture and grand staircase inside didn’t help settle the daunting feeling crawling in your stomach.
Still, you walked up to the man sitting behind the front desk there, trying to look as friendly as possible. Smoothing out your outfit and putting a smile on, you said, “Hi.”
He looked up with a classic customer service grin to greet you. “Hello, how can I help you?” he asked, leaning toward you slightly.
You kept your shoulders back, mustering some sort of confidence in your investigation. How would Alice do this?
With a clear voice, you directly asked, “If I was looking for records of donations for a government-related nonprofit, would they be here? I couldn’t seem to find them online.” You gave him an unassuming look.
“Typically, but what nonprofit were you looking at?” he asked, typing something into his computer. You took out your notebook low enough that he couldn’t see past the desk.
Pretending to rack your brain for the name, you said, “I think it’s called Stronger Together. I love being able to see where my donation goes — it helps make me feel closer to the community, you know?”
Your hand ready to write fell limp when his mouth pressed tight, his eyes leaving the screen to meet yours. “Ah,” he said, “Well Mr. Beaumont is not always able to update that information, as he has many responsibilities to maintain.”
“Of course, I understand. Though, I also noticed that the recent infrastructure project has yet to be enacted. Is there an update on that?” You willed your voice to stay steady, to be unwavering under the impatient gaze of this man.
A muscle seemed to twitch in his jaw. “I don’t believe the organization has given one, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been working on it. He is a very busy man.”
“Busy enough that I wouldn’t be able to speak with him directly?”
“I’m afraid not,” he said, shaking his head, but he didn’t seem too sorry at all. “We could take your number for him to call you when he’s available, but…”
“He’s very busy,” you finished, giving a smile as you bit back a pained sigh. “That’ll be okay, I’m happy to have helped the cause.”
“Yes, and we’re very thankful for your donation.” The tight grin he gave looked like it hurt his cheeks to make.
“Well, thank you for the information,” you said. Just as you were about to leave, beginning to leave with nothing to show for the story, you turned back. “I know this is quite specific, but would you know what Mr. Beaumont’s next project is?”
Another flicker of impatience flashed across the man’s face, his hands clasping together. “No, I wouldn’t, but I’m sure it will be a great help to the city whatever it is. I think there may be a nonprofit fundraiser this weekend… but those are typically closed events — for investors and friends,” he said, his smile turning less warm by the minute. “You can donate online anytime.”
“Great, thank you,” you muttered before turning around, frantically jotting the little information you received down in your notes while walking away. You swore you could feel the man’s eyes on you until you slipped out the doors. 
The entire ride back to the office, this story ate away at you. Everyone seemed to be keeping information on Beaumont’s money close to their chests, even about what his supposed nonprofit was really doing.
‘Stronger Together.’ You rolled your eyes, beginning to feel like he was the only one getting stronger. And he was having another fundraiser so soon? Probably for something like conservation this time — his team would likely make a whole show of planting a couple trees and get praised for it. 
As soon as you got back to The Daily Bugle, you ignored everything as you dropped into your chair and opened your computer. Your fingers flew over the keyboard to type up the notes, both for decoding your scribbled words and ensuring you kept the information in multiple places. You tried tuning out the background chatter and the gnawing worry that this whole story would lead to a dead end, but you couldn’t ignore everything…
“Whatcha typin’ there?” Parker said as he swiveled his chair around the desks to look at you. Glancing for a moment at him, you saw the shit-eating smile pointed your way.
Your face flashed a fake grin. “Your resignation letter, Parker.” You continued typing, not responding to his quiet scoff. But then he stood up, his steps gentle against the floor. He towered over you as he came around to look at your screen.
Before he could even reach your desk, you switched tabs to a blank page. Without glancing up at him, you silently waited for him to stop watching you. It worked well enough at first, your mind happily turning blank instead of entertaining him. 
But he put his hand on the edge of your desk, his body now much too close to yours. The warm scent of him washing over you had your skin prickling, your fingernails pressing into your palm.
Barely heard above the blood rushing past your ears, his voice came out quieter than you’d expected. “So secretive. You won’t even share with me?”
Ignoring the glint of smugness on his face, you turned to look up at him. “So you can try to one-up me? No thanks,” you repeated, using his words from yesterday. 
“But given my track record for front-page stories, I’m sure you could definitely use my help.” Parker shoved a hand in his pocket, winking at you with those stupid dark eyes. In that moment, you wondered whether you could somehow frame him for helping Spider-Man and get Jameson to tackle him. 
So caught up in that happy fantasy, you didn’t catch Parker’s other hand creeping across the desk until he’d already snatched your notebook. And before you could even stand to grab it back, his leg came up and pushed on one of your desk chair’s armrests, sending it spinning.
While your legs tried stopping the chair, you heard him say, “How are you even able to read this? Okay, I won’t tell Jameson, but you’ve gotta be honest with me: do you know how to write? Or read, for that matter.”
“I was walking while taking notes– whatever, Parker. I don’t need to explain myself to your dumbass,” you whisper yelled at him, stalking over to his side of the desks. But he moved the notebook away, cocking his head to the side.
With a grin that told you just how much fun he was having, he said, “Huh, I didn’t know your pretty little head knew how to multi-task.”
You opened your mouth for a second, processing that he called you pretty, before rolling your eyes. “Must be hard to imagine anything with your smooth brain. Now give me my notebook back.” 
In the background, you heard Jameson screaming to some poor soul on the phone. You hoped it at least covered up your bickering with Parker. But it wouldn’t be able to drown out the sound of you strangling him, which you were now seriously considering as he held up a finger to you. 
In a calmer voice, he asked, “Are you really doing a piece on Ellis Beaumont?”
Scoffing, you reached over and grabbed your notebook from his grasp. He didn’t seem to put up much of a fight, hopefully mentally perceiving the threats running through your mind. As you returned to your desk, you glanced once more at him — and got caught on something in the look he gave you.
“Yes,” you told him before sitting down, leaving Parker and any distractions on that side of the half-wall. The last thing you heard was a sigh before you put your headphones in.
For the rest of the day, you finished writing up your notes and your other assigned work. In between projects, you secretly continued researching everything you could about Beaumont and where those donations went. Site after site returned empty, most of them just filled with propaganda for his non-profit.
With weary eyes and a fuzzy mind, you finally found something as everyone in the office began to finish up. You wiped a hand down your face, a weight lifting from your shoulders when you discovered an address.
Searching through countless websites, some of which you probably shouldn’t have been using your work computer for, you combed through records of donations to Stronger Together. Most listed City Hall or Beaumont’s address in their donation. But one other address continued popping up more than a few times — somewhere in upper Manhattan, far from where the organization would operate from.
If you were listening to Alice’s advice to follow your heart, you would’ve stayed home. Your pounding pulse yelled at you that going to check out this address after sunset was the worst idea you’d ever had.
On your walk home and all through dinner, you pushed back against the trickling fear down your spine — caused by the ice-cold voice in the corners of your mind filled with every worst-case scenario. It only grew louder as you neared the address. 
You hadn’t done much field work before, or any that hadn’t just involved taking blurry pictures of Spider-Man and making New Yorkers talk to you. As you walked along the sidewalk with your shoes tapping against the cracked concrete, following the directions on your phone, you wondered whether you were cut out for this. You kept your head on a swivel and senses alert, but did you have any clue what you were going to do once you reached the building? No, not really.
You had come after dark, so breaking in certainly didn’t seem out of the question. And as much as you disliked thinking about him, knowing that Parker wouldn’t back away from this if he were here kept your legs moving. 
Before long, with a warm breeze at your back, you came up to a large warehouse. It sat in a pretty empty area — one with few people around that you could see. A few street lamps illuminated the space around it, the light stretching down a small alleyway next to the building. Craning your neck, you began walking down it, seeing whether you could peer in anywhere.
Your fingers brushed along the building’s side as you passed by several dark windows. Unable to spot anything through them, you crept toward the back. No workers, or anyone really, seemed to be there. Nothing except for a metal fire escape. It seemed to lead up to a door with more windows lining either side. Fluorescent lighting shone from inside. 
Swallowing hard, you forced your body to walk toward it. Each step you took up went slowly, trying to keep your feet silent as you climbed the stairs. Under the weight of the stars and night sky, even with the sounds of traffic passing by, each breath felt too loud.
Silently wishing to anyone that’d listen, you hoped no one stood on the other side as you slowly looked in. But you only found boxes — not all that surprising, but disappointment mingled with the relief coursing through your muscles. 
Hundreds of boxes sat throughout the warehouse, lining countless shelves. You made a guess that they probably weren’t storing any tools for fixing the infrastructure like Beaumont promised. But you wouldn’t be able to find out what they held without breaking in, something you didn’t think your nerves could take.
Though… someone else could show you what’s inside. 
From the corner of your eye, you saw a brief movement along the floor of the building. Someone moved into view, dressed in a black uniform and holding a clipboard in their hands. They walked to a shelf you could just barely see and opened up one of the boxes. They set the clipboard aside to pull out something… long and metal. At the end appeared to be a claw of some sort–
Internally, you winced, instantly able to recognize it from all your articles. It was one of Doc Ock’s arms. The other side was full of fraying wires, no doubt ripped apart from a fight with Spider-Man. God, why did everything always have to come back to Spider-Man? 
And, in that moment, you must’ve pissed off some god of fate to deserve this irony. As you were about to pull out your phone to capture the evidence, your thought alone summoned the man. A web attached to the worker, the other end coming from the red and blue superhero crouched on a support beam. Within a second, he pulled them up to the ceiling and cocooned them in webbing to dangle there — the scene forcing an involuntary gasp escape your lips.
Spider-Man had jumped down with supernatural grace and looked like he was going to investigate the box further, but whipped his head toward you at your gasp. Your heart crawled into your throat, your hand snapping up to cover your mouth.
Racing down the fire escape, your scrambled thoughts tumbling around your head, you hurried back to the street away from what you’d witnessed. But before you could leave the alleyway, a flash of those dreaded shades of red and blue dropped down in front of you — your feet stumbling backward as you barely kept a startled scream from coming out.
“Hey, hey. Not here to hurt you. I do the opposite actually,” Spider-Man said, his hands up to show you he meant no harm. His voice sounded unnaturally deep, but blood rushed past your ears, clouding your senses. You shook your head slightly, trying to focus on getting out of there.
“But uh…” he continued, cautiously taking a single step closer, “I don’t think you live at this address. Is that right?”
You absentmindedly chewed on the inside of your cheek, debating on how much to tell him. He’d caught you sneaking around, but was that technically even a crime? Most likely. But clearly, you both were after some pretty similar things. So, while nodding your head toward the warehouse, you quietly asked, “What’s in there?”
His head tilted to the side as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Some no-no things. Which is probably why I should handle it, right?”
“Handle it how? By handing it over to the police?” you asked, a small jolt of panic rising in your chest. “What if it connects to something larger?” Your questions assumed that he didn’t exactly know where this warehouse came from and how it connected to Beaumont, but maybe not. Still, you couldn’t risk cutting this whole thing off early and breaking the investigation apart… and the story.
“Does it connect to something larger?” he asked, his gaze never seeming to leave you. You couldn’t tell much behind his mask, but the weight of those white eyes stayed focused on your face. They watched every microexpression crossing your face, despite the urge to hide from them.
Knowing you needed him on your side, or at least to not cover you in webs, you gave him a little more. Nodding, you said “Yeah, I think it does. I’m not sure how it all fits, but…”
“But?”
Pursing your lips, you let a breath pass before answering him. Jameson would kill you if he knew you were having this whole conversation without taking ‘photographic evidence’ and helping out Spider-Man. But that man was a prick anyway.
Letting out a long sigh, you said, “Check out Ellis Beaumont’s non-profit. I don’t think the donations are going where he says they are.”
He just cocked his head, but you moved around him, ready to leave this place and those watchful eyes. Your gaze avoided his as he let you pass toward the street, though he yelled out, “Do you need me to walk you home?” You just waved him off, your pace picking up. Still, he shouted a “Thank you!” for the information as you made the journey back to your apartment.
Unable to calm your body back to normal just yet, you found yourself jumping at every noise around you until your apartment door locked behind you. What you’d seen ran through your head again and again. 
What did Beaumont want with Spider-Man? Or was he working with the villains to get rid of Spider-Man? His money couldn’t just be going toward costume dress-up storage, but breaking into that warehouse alone was out of the question for you. Leave it to the superhero rather than risk your neck.
Your brain racked itself for answers, working to figure out what interest Spider-Man had in showing up at that warehouse anyway. Even into the next morning, these thoughts plagued your mind. It left you in a haze as you entered The Daily Bugle — the noise of the coffee machine and Jameson’s muffled yelling more distracting than usual.
Even more offputting was that sat at your desks was Parker, the second time he’d ever beaten you into the office. Immediately, his eyes found yours, but you didn’t have the energy to give him a sneer or a smart-ass comment. You just started up your computer, planning to type up your notes again. Your hand rubbed down your face as you waited for it to turn on, already anticipating the inevitable interruption.
Sure enough, Parker stuck his head over the half-wall, leaning his forearms along the top of it. His chin rested on them as he said, “You look rough.”
Without raising your eyes to him, you let out a long sigh. “Wow… Thanks,” you said, letting an unimpressed look take over your face. You opened your notebook, turning to the pages where you wrote every piece of information you could remember after the events last night.
Parker raised his hands up in surrender, as if he hadn’t insulted your appearance. “Jus’ saying, you seem a bit stressed. Need any help, sunshine?”
At that, you finally raised your gaze to meet his — his ruffled hair dipping over his forehead while waiting for your response. 
You squinted your eyes at him, your eyebrows furrowing at his words. “...I’m not letting you take this story from me, Parker.”
“Hey, I could merely co-author this story with you,” he offered with that smirk of his. “And I’m sick of writing about Spider-Man’s favorite restaurants to order from. C’mon.” He dragged out the word, practically begging you.
Crossing your arms across your chest, you considered him for a moment and his offer. His mouth tightened, drawing your gaze down to his lips and the sharpness of his jaw. Not the time.
“You really want to help me?” When he nodded, you still didn’t believe him. With a scoff, you asked, “Are you going soft on me?”
A sharp laugh escaped his mouth. “Don’t get used to it. This would cost you a week’s worth of granola bars.”
“Aren’t you the one asking to join?” you questioned with a smile you couldn’t hide. When he didn’t budge despite his ridiculous demand, you just muttered, “I’ll think about it.”
The long groan he gave as he sat back down told you how he felt about your answer, but it was easier to ignore now that he wasn’t staring at you. Why he was so interested in this story made no sense to you — not that you thought about it long as you finally typed up your notes. 
Instead, you tried to figure out where to go next, where this warehouse might lead you. But a growing fear told you that it wouldn’t lead anywhere, your research online not giving you someone to question or even contact information for Beaumont. This politician seemed to keep things annoyingly tight under wraps. 
As minutes slipped away while you ran into dead end after dead end in your searching, you internally debated whether to accept Parker’s help. Waves crashed in your stomach, the tide receding far away as if in anticipation of a tsunami — one threatening to destroy you. Letting him in meant risking your story, and risking the chance that he could get all the credit for your work.
As much as you hated the idea of sharing this with him, part of you thought you might’ve been in over your head. Especially after the run-in last night. And Parker certainly knew his stuff… sometimes. Not that you’d tell him that.
It was only once your search about Beaumont and that warehouse frustratingly turned up blank once more that you let out a sigh. It seemed it’d be a story with him or no story at all.
“Parker?” you called across the desks. 
The sound of his chair shifting joined his raspy, “Yeah?” You bit back a grin as you realized you’d woken him up from one of his frequent work naps. When he swiveled into view, the red spot on his cheek from where he must’ve laid it on his arms confirmed your suspicions. 
Still, you had to clear your tight throat before telling him, “You can help. But only if my name goes first, got it?” Before he could respond, you followed with, “And I take the lead on things, okay?” Your stare pierced his eyes, silently begging him to not take this from you.
The small laugh he gave loosened your tense shoulders just a bit, made your fists unclench. “Whatever you say goes…” he said, nodding with the most honest look you’d seen from him. “With some exceptions though. Cause you have a lot of bad ideas I’d like to veto.”
You wondered whether asking for Peter Parker’s help was one of those terrible, idiotic ideas. You hoped not.
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@reidslovely
318 notes · View notes
vauxxy · 4 months
Text
sad, beautiful, tragic
distance, timing, breakdown, fighting
silence, the train runs off its tracks
kiss me, try to fix it
could you just try to listen?
hang up, give up
and for the life of us, we can get back
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peter parker x reader!!
(treacherous part 2)
PLOT - in which peter parker tries to talk to his rival after multiple drunk make out sessions the previous night.
WARNINGS - sexual references, no smut, make out scenes, allusions to sexual activity, weed, smoking, kiss and makeup attitude
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“just talk to her, don’t be an arse” gwen smiled, swaying with the movement of the subway. the sun peeked through the windows as the train made its way out of a tunnel and closer to their destination.
“what exactly are you supposed to say to someone you made out with like, 3 times while drunk?? especially if you used to hate their guts”
“i don’t know, ‘sorry i hated you before, i just internalised my fetish for goth stoners as hatred- let’s make out some more’ or something-“ gwen joked, before being cut off by a frustrated peter.
“are you kidding me? she’s gonna spot us across the carriage any second now and i won’t have any idea what to say to her!”
y/n sat cross legged in her seat, reading some depressing book from the early 1900’s about some depressing characters, written by a depressed closeted gay man. she tucked a chunk of hair behind her ears before re-adjusting her headphones. “i bet she’s listening to fucking my chemical romance or korn or some shit,” peter chuckled as his eyebrows furrowed, gripping onto the hanging bars of the train carriage.
“nope, look on spotify,” gwen corrected. peter turned away from y/n to look over at gwen, his eyes drifting to the screen of her phone.
“it says she’s listening to… taylor swift?” she said, a confused expression painted on her face. peter jolted his head back in shock, overcome with anxiety. “aunt may loves taylor swift…” he murmured, the rustle of the train carriage pulling him away from gwen.
“let me see what song,” peter insisted as he gestured to see gwen’s phone. she passed it over to him, watching his face move as he read the title.
“sad, beautiful, tragic… i’m pretty sure that’s from red, right?” peter questioned. gwen shrugged her shoulders in response. “i don’t know. i’m more of a midnights and evermore type of girl” she replied. peter scrolled down to the lyrics of the song, his eyes widening and his lips pursing.
“gwen, i’m totally fucked”
y/n had slept on what had happened the previous night. spider-man saved her from getting robbed and gave her some very unhelpful advice. what the fuck would spider-man know anyways? he doesn’t get any bitches. y/n may have also ghosted peter, but who cares? y/n put her heart out on the table, for some reason expecting more from the person who constantly teased her everyday for 2 years. sure, she should’ve saw it coming, but she didn’t. which is why she was going to be as dramatic as possible.
this meant a new playlist. no more limp biskit; nobody cries to ‘break stuff’!! it was time to listen to the entire red album on repeat, along with ‘ultraviolence’ and elliott smith. y/n was fully ready to be a sad little bitch.
on monday morning, she scored a seat on the subways and started listening to her new playlist, putting on one particular taylor swift song on repeat while she read her sad little bitch book. she looked up for a split second to see peter and gwen talking.
‘oh, so he can make time to talk to gwen, but not the girl he snogged three times?’ y/n thought.
y/n turned up her volume and put away her book as she listened to the lyrics of the song. the train pulled up to the station within walking distance to her school and so she stood up. catching the eye of peter as she walked to the doors, she quickly averted her gaze and took a few steps back.
peter flinched at the sudden eye contact, turning his full body towards gwen. “gwen. do something” he anxiously muttered. gwen nodded, smiling innocently, before beginning to casually walk over to y/n.
“y/n! how’d that hangover treat you?” gwen asked, pulling in y/n for a comfortable hug. y/n smiled hesitantly and embraced the act of affection. “so, so badly,” she replied, thinking back to the incident that followed the day after the party.
“the hangover is the least of my troubles” she stated and she glanced over at peter, who was watching both of them. “oh, do you mean…” gwen asked as she gestured over to the lanky boy trailing behind them, walking onto the platform as the train doors opened.
“what? no! i was mugged,” y/n announced, arching her eyebrows. peter didn’t look surprised. y/n took note of this, feeling somewhat offended that he didn’t care.
“y/n! are you okay?? how did that happen?” gwen asked, completely and utterly shocked. peter walked over. “wait, yeah… are you okay y/n?” he asked, breaking out of his anxious state for one moment.
y/n sighed softly, rolling her eyes. “i’m fine, spider-man saved me and then gave me some very unhelpful advice.” she said as she pursed her lips, her eyes darting between gwen and peter. “he’s a total ride though- i hope he’s not like… 46 or something,” she continued. gwen chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand as her cheeks turned pink. “did you get to feel his abs?” she asked as the trio walked across queens to get to school.
“yeah, they were rock hard. i didn’t expect him to be so fit!” y/n exclaimed. peter tried to stifle his blush as they got closer to the school, blocking out their conversation.
as they entered the gates, gwen quickly walked towards her class, leaving the two alone.
“um, we have math-“
“i know, peter” y/n interrupted. her voice was cold and unemotional- a stark difference form her previous cheerful demeanour. this was the guy that she was squabbling with for years now… the guy that she also maybe had a few steamy dreams about as well. her preconceived notions about peter were contradicting with her fantasies and the realities of what happened over the weekend- causing her to spiral into a semi-depressed state of rage.
peter, on the other hand, knew exactly what he thought of y/n. he always thought that she was attractive, but a total arse. now, he found her being an arse super endearing. but that could have something to do with the fact that they made out 3 times and he almost touched her boobs.
the two walked in awkward silence to their math class, a strong tension in the air. they took their seats and sat painfully silently for an hour.
y/n tapped her pen on her notebook, not listening to a word the teacher was saying. ‘fuck it,’ she thought, ripping out a piece of paper.
she scribbled a few words down before passing it over to peter.
‘make up for ghosting me by skipping second period and hiding in the unisex bathrooms’
‘sure :)’
the unisex bathrooms were dimly lit, far away from the rest of campus. surrounded by unused classrooms. the unisex bathrooms were a prime hookup spot… but for y/n, it was her own personal hotbox.
she lit the end of her joint and put her lighter in her jacket pocket as she leaned against the bathroom wall. y/n took a drag as she stared at the wall. she took another short hit, before passing it to peter. he did the same, his legs crossed.
“so why didn’t you text me, dick face?” she started, crossing her arms. smoke escaped her lips as the talked, mesmerising peter.
“dick face?” peter repeated, stifling a grin as he shook his head.
“um… i guess i didn’t know what to say,” he replied, passing back the joint. y/n smiled awkwardly as she rolled her eyes. “classic parker…”
“well, do you know what to say now?” y/n asked, sliding down to the floor, head level with peter. he shrugged his shoulders. “kinda,” he muttered.
“are you gonna say it, mcslutty?”
“i don’t appreciate the name-calling, y/n.” he said irritably, his voice somewhat breathy.
“you ghosted me too, remember?” peter added, raising his eyebrows.
“yeah, but i was mugged!” she said defensively, opening her mouth in shock. “obviously i was too busy!”
peter laughed, covering his face. “fair point.”peter pursed his lips, looking down before taking another hit of the joint.
peter took a deep breath in, tapping the floor anxiously. “i really like you, y/n” peter averted his eyes. “i used the think i didn’t, but i was just lying to myself so i wouldn’t have to confront the fact that there’s actually nice stuff about you,” he’s smirked.
y/n chuckled. “what nice stuff?”
“your face, obviously. your musical skills, your rolling skills. you’re also really funny, and you’re so generous. you’re not nice to everyone, but you still help everyone- if that makes sense? but yeah… shit like that i guess,”
y/n smiled sincerely, slightly tilting her head to the side. “that’s pretty sweet, shithead”
it took them a whole 40 seconds before they started jamming their lips together, peter’s hands gripping y/n’s waist as she sat on top of his lap. her hands cupped his face gently, occasionally pulling a hand away and running it through his hair.
she pulled away for air, before continuing her attack on his lips, her hands trailing down his torso as she fiddled with his shirt. peter pulled away, looking up at her before her eyes drifting to her hands.
“what are you doing there?” he asked teasingly, his voice limited to a hoarse whisper.
she began to frantically kiss his neck, her hands still fiddling with the fabric of his shirt. “felt something hard. wondering if you’re ripped or just really horny.” she muttered breathily, one hand resting under his shirt as she caressed his torso, while the other hand gripped a bundle of his hair.
he looked as her curiously as she felt up his chest, watching her pull away with a look of shock and confusion. “peter? what the fuck?” she exclaimed, her hair messy and cheeks red.
“what? what’s wrong?” peter asked, panicked as his eyes drifted down to his pants, before meeting her eyes again. his face turned red, putting up his hands in surrender.
“hey, you were the one grinding against my-“
“no, you’re fully ripped!” she whispered, her eyes wide as her hand retracted from under his shirt. “jesus christ…” she muttered, lifting his shirt to take a peek.
peter burst out into a fit of dry laughter, tilting his head back and lightly hitting the wall of the bathroom stall.
“oh, yeah. that.” he said casually. y/n grumbled, standing up.
“right. i was not expecting that.” she huffed, her face completely red.
“anyways, i’m not fucking you in a hot-boxed bathroom stall at school. if you decide to stop being a little bitch and message me, maybe i’ll forgive you for ghosting me.” y/n proposed, leaning against the wall as she looked down at peter.
peter nodded, standing up. he opened the door, turning to face her. “yeah, i definitely won’t be ghosting you anytime soon. sorry about that, by the way.” he murmured.
“it’s fine. just as long as you send me a picture of your abs after school.” she demanded, her face completely serious as she looked peter up and down. peter nodded, his eyes wide.
she bit her lip, meeting his eyes once again. “seriously, they’re almost as good at spider-man’s.” she added, exiting the bathroom- leaving peter alone to deal with his thoughts.
63 notes · View notes
parkerpeter24 · 1 year
Note
“We got snowed in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.” with enemies to lovers peter like maybe they had to stay there overnight after a mission and are stuck for a couple days
pairing : mcu!peter x reader
2.0 masterlist ❄️
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“the joystick is broken and it’s all your fault!”
“it’s not a joystick.” he rolls his eyes, “it’s a manual controller for the quinjet.”
“great. calling me stupid isn’t gonna help us.” you swear sometimes peter parker could drive you so mad.
“i never called you stupid!” he throws his hands up in the air like he’s just heard the most ridiculous thing ever.
you and peter started out friends. really good friends. maybe a little more than just friends but everything changed for some unknown reason. however right now isn’t time to reminisce. you tried to contact tony so many times but the signal on your phone was very week.
your safest option would have been the quinjet but the crash-landing meant a hazard that it could explode at any given time. hence, the two of you find yourselves walking on the snow to both find a shelter and get away from the explosive.
you walk at a fast pace, leaving peter behind along with the faint sound of snow crunching under your feet, “you can’t possibly walk any slower.” you comment, knowing he’s rolling his eyes at you, “roll your eyes all you want, if there’s an explosion, you’ll be fried first!” you yell louder than you meant to, partly because you were mad and partly because the wind was starting to sound like an obstruction.
not for peter though. he hears you loud and clear. and as he does, he runs up and ahead of you, “happy now?!” he yells back.
after another round of you two trying to outrun each other, you find a little cabin, a slight hope that you won’t die of cold at least.
you approach it first. you look in through the windows to see if anyone is in there.
“there’s a lock on the door.” peter points out, giving you a smirk.
you feel your cheeks heat up in embarrassment before rolling your eyes, “whatever.” before you can suggest any way to open the door, peter’s fist is colliding with the lock and in mere seconds two pieces of the metal are on the ground.
you try to hide your surprise but there’s no way peter will lose a chance to annoy you, “you’ll learn eventually.” he shrugs, making his way inside and leaving behind a groaning you to follow.
fortunately for the two of you, the cabin already had some uncharred wood near the fireplace. your lighter helped you light up the fire.
“you smoke?” you look up to find peter, who now has a quilt wrapped around his shoulders that he probably found in some part of the cabin. he walks over to you and sits cross-legged on the floor in front of the new fire.
“no, it’s just a special lighter.” you answer, settling beside him, “my dad’s.”
there’s a quick moment of silence as peter racks his brain for something to say next but all he finds himself saying is, “he used to smoke?”
“you really don’t know how to converse huh?” you chuckle.
“not to you.” he shakes his head, however, you can tell that he wasn’t being mean, “we never “converse”.” he says, air quoting the word ‘converse’.
“well, now we are.” you say, looking over at him. you catch him looking back. you’d meant to smile at him but his soft, brown eyes in the glow of the fire, staring right into yours make it difficult to think straight.
peter snaps out of the moment first. he focuses at the the dusty floorboards, “why do you hate me, anyway?”
“because you’re a jerk?” it comes out like a question, like you don’t mean it at all.
“that’s probably the nicest thing you’ve said to me.” peter rolls his eyes, not looking at you.
“how does it matter, we’re probably going to die anyway.” it was the first time anyone said it out loud and that made it so much more real. you two could probably die tonight and there was no way of communicating to any of your friends, “i-i’m sorry.”
peter senses your anxiousness. your heart is beating louder now but he doesn’t know how to help, not really, “wanna share?” he asks, offering you one end of his blanket.
you think for a moment before finally shifting closer to him, taking the blanket and placing it around yourself.
there is less space between you and peter. so much less space that your shoulders are touching. you don’t dare look at him because your faces will probably be inches apart if you turn. peter wraps an arm around your shoulder when your heart doesn’t slow down, “you okay?”
“well we got snowed in a cabin in the middle of nowhere so yep! fine as i’ll ever be!” you give him a nervous laugh.
“okay...” he says, though, not believing you.
it’s after some time of silence that he nestles against you. you’re tired as well and you can feel his relaxed breath against your skin. for once you don’t mind peter parker breathing down your neck and find yourself smiling as you fall asleep in the arms of the one that you hate. or maybe you don’t.
the next morning tony find the two of you snuggling inside the cabin. he’d finally been able to trace your location. he shakes his head, clicking a picture of you two and sharing it to pepper along with a text ‘told you these two were made for each other.’
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taglist | masterlist ✨
taglist : @the-girl-in-the-chair @annathesillyfriend @uwiuwi @spideyspeaches @prancerrparkerr @usergarfields @theglitterymess @quaksonhehe @lowkey-holland @starlight-starks @piscesparker @incorrectsourwolf @wildxwidow @annab-nana @blankspaceblankday @kelieah @arvinsvintage @parkersdahlia @raajali3 @tommyfroggie @saturnpeter @ellabellabus07 @holland-styles
283 notes · View notes
mediocre-daydreams · 2 years
Note
IDK IF YOUR PROMPT LIST IS FOR REQS BUT I JUST HAD A BRILLIANT IDEA peter parker x stark! OR avenger!reader and they both have obvious crushes on eachother but don’t know how to approach it so the ALL of the avengers just decide to push them together by driving peter insane with jealousy, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM is just like “if nothing’s going on between you two, you won’t mind if I ask them out right?” OR just them hogging all of r’s time and being close to them and kissing r’s hands or lifting r into the air and just absolutely smothering her, but ITS EVERY SINGLE AVENGER IN THEIR OWN WAY (it doesn’t have to be immensely flirty but for some characters), and peter does not know why the fuck everyone is throwing themselves at r all but he of a sudden AND HE DOES NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT and reader is plain confused but enjoying the way everyone’s being so nice to them lately and it all leads to a “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU1!1!” with a flushed peter parker and him just heaving and catching his breathe after he says it
i adore this!! i had hoped to keep this under 3k but of course i ended up writing a full fic and jesus christ i need to learn how to compress anyways here u go!!! thank u for this request <3
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(un)requited infatuation
pairing: peter parker x avenger! reader
summary: peter parker is in love with you and he won't do anything about it. but if there's nothing going on between the two of you, the rest of the avengers are free to make their moves, right?
warnings: idiots to lovers, jealous! peter, swearing, really really brief insinuation to sex, a lot of horrible flirting, partial nudity (not sexual), a mini-argument between sam and peter and it's like 5% angst, and tall girl 2.
w/c: 6.4k
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
“you don’t think i want to?” peter groaned, rubbing his forehead with frustration.
“trust me, all of us know you want to,” bucky deadpanned. the 40s man in him was dying to slap some sense into the kid, but the post-soldier bucky knew it would be hypocritical, seeing as his love life had been smaller than a pym particle ever since he left wakanda.
“all of us know you want her,” sam sighed, slinging a heavy arm over peter’s shoulder, jostling him as if it would knock some sense into the love-stricken spiderboy. “and trust me, most of us do not want to know how much you want her.”
peter blushed. “i- i have no idea what you’re talking about.”
with his free hand, sam maneuvered peter into a tight hold and shook him vigorously. maybe it wasn’t the most elegant strategy, but they were avengers, after all. being all fighty and confrontational was their thing.
“listen up man, i’m actually going to kill y-”
“hey bucky, sam… peter?” you had that ever-present skip in your step as you passed by the trio, your signature bright smile melting peter just a little bit more. your chirpy expression only faltered when you saw peter, looking like a deboned fish, in sam’s arms.
“is peter, like, good?” you squinted, eyes flickering between the three men as you tried to figure out who had liquified the boy.
“yep! all good here!” peter squeaked weakly from sam’s arms, trying to stand straight and regain his dignity. you smiled awkwardly.
“great! uh, i’m glad you’re good. anyways… bye,” you grimaced, feeling a little disheartened at the way the three avengers had stiffened at your appearance. you were new to the team, but you’d made such an effort to get to know everybody and that made it hurt even more when you saw that bucky, sam, and peter still didn’t like you.
“i think that’s enough of our ministrations for today.” bucky pried peter from sam’s arms and patted peter on the head reassuringly, if not a little patronizingly. “you’ll get the girl one day. even if that day is far, far into the future.”
as bucky and sam walked off, peter buried his face in his hands. fuck you! he’d been infatuated with you since you first arrived, and watching how quickly you’d bonded with the rest of the team, seeing you in action, and being on the receiving end of your kindness had only intensified his feelings. unfortunately, he only seemed to get worse and worse at interacting with you the more and more he fell. it wasn’t his fault that you were so pretty, and clever, and brave, and thoughtful, and-
from afar, bucky and sam watched as peter drowned in his incompetency. the two of them had been unsuccessfully playing matchmaker for peter since they’d realized his feelings for you—which didn’t take long; the boy wasn’t exactly subtle or good at keeping secrets—and they were fuming.
“i think it’s time to pull out the big guns,” bucky declared, locking eyes with sam, who steeled his jaw in determination and nodded forcefully.
“seconded, brother. tomorrow. at sunrise. operation idiot is officially in play.”
--
“hey doll,” bucky smiled at you charmingly as you rubbed your eyes to rid yourself of any sleep crust and scratched your arm. you hummed at him in half hearted greeting, not conscious enough to recognize (much less reciprocate) his flirting.
you yawned, opening a cabinet to search for the new mug you may or may not have purchased just to piss tony off. of course. he’d placed it on the highest shelf, at the very back, thinking you wouldn’t bother digging around to find it. well, he was fucking wrong.
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(the mug. at least, it's my depiction of the mug. u can imagine ur own of course)
you hoised one foot over the countertop to try and find some footing as you jumped up, grounding yourself on your knees and steadying yourself on the marble. bucky chuckled, watching you struggle. he came up from behind you, tugging down at your oversized sleep shirt and making you jump in surprise. you whipped your head around only to find yourself face-to-face with his chest.
“bucky, what the fuck are you doing?” you mumbled, making no effort to push him away. you were too uncaffinated to deal with his antics.
“just being a gentleman.” you seated yourself fully, legs dangling over the counter as you leaned into the warmth of bucky’s chest. even this early in the morning, he smelled like his woodsy cologne and you were tempted to bury your head in his henley and continue sleeping. it was pointless to entertain that daydream. steve scheduled a mandatory training session for 6:15, not thinking much of the time, because he, unlike you, was a morning person.
you could hear the slow trickle of other grumpy avengers shuffle their way into the kitchen. your line of sight was squarely blocked by bucky, and you figured since you weren’t able to see anything anyways, it wouldn’t hurt to close your eyes for just a second, right?
“by the way, your shirt was riding up. i didn’t think you wanted anyone else to see that,” he chided, searching through the top-shelf mugs for the one you were looking for. you could hear faint clicking before your forehead slammed into bucky’s chest and you dozed off.
“are you- did you fall asleep?” bucky cupped your chin softly, admiring your ability to sleep so easily. okay, fine. maybe he was a little jealous.
he set your stupid mug on the counter beside you and wrapped your arm around his neck so he could carry you off your precarious position. you were unaware of your surroundings, still contentedly asleep as bucky gingerly placed you on a couch.
“she’s out?” rhodey raised his eyebrows, sipping his coffee to hide his amused grin.
“yeah. pretty girl’s out.” bucky moved to stroke your hair, sneaking a glance at peter from his peripheral. his grip on the handle of his mug was so strong that bucky could see the veins peter’s forearms bulging. he stifled a laugh. he considered kissing your forehead, but he knew it was too early. the fun had just begun.
as more avengers congregated, the hushed morning whispers had turned into fully voiced complaints and the clattering of utensils as everyone scrambled to fuel themselves before training. you blinked blearily, waking up to the sight of wanda’s face smiling prettily above you. her red hair draped around your face.
“wan?” you groaned, pushing her out of the way so you could sit up and stretch. you slapped yourself a couple times to wake yourself up.
“you’re cute when you sleep,” wanda giggled, kissing your cheek. “you and me and nat should have a sleepover sometime.”
natasha waved you over from a stool at the island. “good morning, sleeping beauty.” she kissed the crown of your head and rubbed your back, looking right over you to make direct eye contact with peter, who quickly looked away. his jaw was clenched. 
“here, have some of my smoothie,” wanda cooed, cupping your cheek with a delicate hand. you mumbled you appreciation as she held her glass out for you; you sipped from her straw under wanda’s watchful gaze. her face was just inches from yours. 
“you know, we technically just kissed,” she joked, poking your cheek. you laughed, her teasing giving you a burst of energy.
“we don’t need any technicalities. you and me. sleepover. i’ll kiss you stupid,” you rebutted, snatching the glass from wanda altogether, slurping away.
the witch bit her lip as she and nat exchanged smug looks. though peter was pretending not to look, his thoughts were so loud that wanda didn’t need to put any effort in to read his mind. peter was furiously. wordlessly, he slammed his green juice on the table and stormed off to the gym.
“what’s wrong with him today?” you were too distracted by your drink to really care.
“i have absolutely no clue,” natasha shrugged.
--
you were half an hour in and you wanted to die and/or curse out steve. he looked perfectly fine even after lapping you twice already. he wasn’t even sweating.
you’d run four miles and a stitch had already begun to creep its way into your side. you clutched your waist, slowing to a jog as natasha made her way over.
“if you’re done running, why don’t we have some fun?” she watched as peter’s punching bag took a harder hit, spinning from the force of his punch when he heard natasha’s suggestive comment. you didn’t pick up on it.
“wanna spar?” you challenged, raising to your toes and getting in her face, moving side to side as if you were swaggering.
“you’re on, sweetheart.”
the two of you were frequent sparring partners. you’d been working together for so long that your matches were more like dances, and you’d gotten so familiar with each others’ patterns that it had forced the two of you to develop new moves and strategies. mutually beneficial.
you moved to wrap your hands, but steve beat you to it.
“allow me,” he motioned for you to sit down as he took your hand in his larger one. the two of you sat in comfortable silence, with the only noise being quiet conversations between breaks and the sound of pants and grunts from the other avengers mid-workout.
“you look beautiful today,” steve smiled, looking up from your hands to admire your face.
“i look like i’ve just run four miles and am about to pass out,” you countered, rolling your eyes. “and that’s because i have.”
steve laughed, even though what you said really wasn’t that funny. you furrowed your brows at him, confused. steve’s sense of humor was mostly dad jokes and outdated references. whatever; it wasn’t like you were about to complain about the supersoldier learning to loosen up.
when he’d finished with his wrapping, he brought your hand up to his lips and kissed the back. you blushed, having not expected such affection from the man who’d torturously forced you awake on a wednesday morning.
“now you be careful in there,” he lectured, wrapping his hand around your head to stroke your hair. you were in the direct line of sight of his biceps, and you couldn’t help but blush. “go easy on natasha. we both know you’re quite talented.”
you felt your face heat up even more and you prayed that your reaction wasn’t visible. “t-thanks, steve. that means a lot coming from captain america.”
peter had stopped punching to watch the interaction between you and steve. steve wasn’t known to be particularly adoring or play favorites among trainees, much less with his fellow avengers, so peter couldn’t help but feel a bubble of resentment swell in his gut. it wasn’t directed towards you, but to steve. peter was fully aware of your talent and ability in the field. heck, you’d gotten him out of tough situations more times than he could count. so what if he was bitter by the fact that steve was able to vocalize those praises to you while he could barely hold a conversation past small talk with you?
it wasn’t fair. you flourished under steve’s reverent stare and seemed to grow taller with each compliment he bestowed upon you. if steve had been interested in you before, why hadn’t he said something earlier? peter had recognized how incredible you were the moment he met you. it wasn’t fair that steve had taken months to reach the same conclusion yet still got the privilege of flirting with you when peter wasn’t even sure if you considered him to be a friend.
he couldn’t control himself as he watched steve held open the ropes and you ducked between them smoothly. he couldn’t help his trailing gaze as your thighs swiftly moved and as your back ducked between the ropes and he couldn’t help imagining what it’d be like if instead of the ring, your thighs were wrapped around his neck and wriggling as he-
nope. he cracked his knuckles, tearing his eyes away. he cursed his earlier self. he should’ve worn darker colored shorts. sam, who was being spotted by bucky as he lifted weights, set the bar down and kicked bucky in the shin. sam pointed to peter, who’d thrown himself into a concentrated haze of pull ups. his spider bite had made pull ups especially easy for peter, and today, he was moving twice as fast as usual.
“oh, he’s jealous alright,” bucky whispered from the corner of his mouth. he raised his eyebrows at sam.
“don’t every worry about it,” sam maintained. “i’ve got the perfect ending planned.”
--
the best part of finishing training was the promised movie night that you and rhodey had negotiated in. you needed a break sometimes, you’d argued, and movie nights were good for team bonding as well as an effective and entertaining way to relax after a gruelling day.
you lost yourself in a steamy shower haze as you brainstormed all the movies you were planning on fighting for that evening. you had originally been leaning towards a horror movie, just to spite steve, who was a strictly romcom fan, but after he’d doted on you in the gym and left you all flustered, you felt like you couldn’t do that to him.
humming a quiet tune to yourself, you went through your normal skincare routine and dried your hair, taking care to keep it protected after ​​it’d been in such a tight updo the whole day. you wrapped yourself in a towel, preparing to change into something more comfortable, before you realized you’d left your favorite set of pajamas in wanda’s room after your last sleepover. no worries, her room was only a few doors down from yours.
stepping into some slippers and into your undergarments, you shuffled your way over to wanda with the towel still tightly wrapped around your body. you weren’t particulary uncomfortable with wandering the halls like this; injuries were an inevitable part of the field and most of the avengers had seen each other in some state of undress when tending to each others’ wounds. it wasn’t inherently sexual.
“wanda?” you called softly, shifting awkwardly so you could knock on the door while still covering yourself. you knocked again, raising your voice.
“m’lady?” came a booming voice from behind you.
“aaah!” you shrieked.
“aaah!” thor screamed.
“aaah!” wanda gasped.
you’d dropped your towel, frightened by thor’s booming voice from behind you. you scrambled to pick it up as thor covered his eyes and dramatically lamented.
“my fine maiden, i have corrupted your modesty!” he boomed, spinning around with heavy thumps of his feet. you tried to comfort him, wrapping yourself up again. at this point, it didn’t really matter. what had been done was done, and you were thankful that you’d at least put on undergarments before leaving your room.
“thor, it’s fine, really, i-”
nat and rhodey stuck their heads out of their rooms at the sound of the god’s loud cries.
“how can i ever repent? a fair lady such as yourself should never have to experience such intrusive exposure!” he wailed. “‘tis my fault, m’lady! i have breached your privacy. this is an egregious act! how ever can i redeem myself? i offer my sincerest apologies.” thor dropped to his knees with a loud thud, eyes still covered.
“‘c’mon thor, it’s all good. we’re all good, okay? apology accepted. you haven’t, uh, breached my, um, modesty. my exposure is not… intruded?” you sunk down to his level and patted his giant arm comfortingly. “there, there.”
thor cracked open his fingers and peered out at your shyly. “really?”
“yep,” you said, popping your p and giving him one last firm pat. you turned to wanda. “can i have my pajamas? please?”
she ushered you into her room and slammed the door shut behind her as natasha and rhodey howled with laughter at the red-faced god of thunder.
--
“…and then, my towel dropped and thor saw me practically naked and he was bawling,” you wheezed, slapping your knee as the avengers around you howled with laughter at thor’s expense. his arms were crossed like a toddler having a temper tantrum, and you slid over to him so you could give him a tight hug.
peter froze, eyes widening as he took in the scene before him. he’d taken some time to clean his room and in the meanwhile, most of the avengers had already gathered for movie night and apparently, you and thor had found time to get naked. he wanted to die.
“it’s okay, big guy.” your arms were only able to wrap around half of his body, but his tense muscles relaxed under your touch. thor glanced over at bucky and caught his wink. thor nodded in understanding.
with a surprised squeak, you found yourself lifted up by two strong hands and placed onto thor’s lap. thor hugged you tightly from behind. “thank you, fair maiden. you are too forgiving. in asgard, you would be championed for your kindness.”
you tilted your head back to meet his gaze. he smiled down at you fondly and patted your cheek. peter, blood boiling, couldn’t bring himself to look away as he watched the two of you cozy up on the couch. he took a seat in the closest open space, which just so happened to be between sam and the end of the couch. sam pursed his lips to hold back his mischievous glee.
you were laughing at all of thor’s jokes. why didn’t you ever laugh at his jokes? oh, that’s right. because he never told any jokes in front of you, because he was too fucking nervous.
tony strutted into the common area, arms laden with bags of candy. he tossed them in the air and they showered the group, some of them hitting heads and some of them falling directly into open hands.
“over here!” rhodey called to you, waving a bag of swedish fish in the air. you groaned, but excused yourself from thor’s cuddles. peter wanted to sink into the couch cushions. all day, the avengers had been hitting on you, going so far as to do you favors and even give you special treatment that they’d never given to anyone else. it was as if suddenly, everyone had come to the startling realization that you were beautiful and incredible and priceless. peter thought it was unfair. he’d been the first to recognize that, but all of a sudden, you were surrounded by admirers who’d stolen you from peter’s lovestricken grasp. the fact that you were so kind to everyone who’d adored you today and had never taken advantage of all their efforts only made him angrier. you were so fucking sweet, and he wanted to punch you in the face because of it.
tony groaned. “don’t start this, rhodey.” he only smirked. you stood in front of rhodey with your arms crossed, a withering glare burning through rhodey’s face as you evaluated his bag of swedish fish.
“i am confiscating this illegal substance.” you held your hand out impatiently. “you are being charged with the posession and use of dangerous substances.”
rhodey popped another swedish fish in his mouth, chewing obnoxiously on the sticky candy.
“oh yeah? and what gives you the right?”
“i- i’m making a citizen’s arrest. this is a threat to public safety! your fumes are contaminating the air, and whatever this-” you grabbed the bag from his hand, “-is, it’s a menace. it should be criminal to enjoy these. god, peter could probably base his web fluid off of whatever’s in this candy—that’s how sticky it is!”
peter’s head perked up like a summoned puppy at the sound of his name, which did not escape the observation of sam and bucky.
“i- yeah! did you know i make my own web fluid?” he blurted to his own mortification.
“i do! it’s so sick, i don’t know how you managed to do that without using fancy stark stuff, it’s so genius! i wish i-”
“alright children!” tony clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously. “movie time! sam, it’s your turn to pick out a movie.”
the room erupted in protest. 
“but that’s not even-”
“we’ve never taken turns before-”
“bullshit! you made this up-”
“what is sam blackmailing you with to get you to side with him?”
tony threw his hands in the air. “enough! my tower, my rules. and today, i say that sam gets to pick the movie.” tony sent sam a not-so-subtle wink that sam couldn’t help but snickering at. he grabbed the remote and flourished his hand towards the television for the dramatic announcing of his movie pick.
“ladies, gentlemen, and gods!” thor nodded, pleased. “may i present to you… tall girl 2!”
the reaction was immediate and violent. nobody was happy. well, nobody except sam and bucky.
--
half an hour into the movie, you found yourself intertwined with sam right next to peter, who had been trying his best to fix his eyes on the screen and being pitifully unsuccessful every time. you weren’t oblivious to the negativity radiating off of your seat neighbor, but he’d seemed to be upset with you for the entire day and you weren’t in a confrontational mood. you’d actually found yourself a little entertained by the movie, so when sam had called you over, you’d planned on falling asleep on his shoulder. now, you were holding your breath as you watched jodi humiliate herself in front of the entire cast. 
“pssst,” sam whispered in your ear. you instinctively brought your shoulder up to protect your ear from his tickling breath.
“what?” you hissed.
“i need to tell you a secret.”
“what are you, 12? why didn’t you tell me earlier? we’re in the middle of movie night.”
“i forgot,” he whined, wrapping his arms around you and pulling your flush to his chest. his face slipped into that dangerous combination of the puppy eyes and pout, and as he inched closer and closer to you, you felt yourself cave.
“fine, asshole. what is it?” you grumbled, taking both of sam’s cheeks between your hands and shaking his head back and forth in annoyance. sam swatted your hands away and motioned for you to come closer. you pressed your forehead against his.
to anybody else, the gesture would’ve seemed intimate. to peter, it wasn’t just intimate. it was like a knife to the chest. and having it happen just a few feet from him? that was a twist of the knife. hearing your soft whispers and watching as you caressed sam’s face was like pulling out the knife and letting peter bleed out.
to you and sam, this was a compromising position. not because it held any romantic or sexual significance, but because sam was fully aware that you would not hesitate to head bump him like you’d done last time he’d pulled you in close and tried to tell you a “secret” that ended up being him screaming into your ear. sam was like your irritating cousin that only visited on thanksgivings, but was also the only cousin your age and thus, the two of you were forced to get along. you had a familial bond, and the thought of being romantically involved would make the two of you gag. it felt incestual.
sam slipped a finger beneath your chin. at this point, peter wasn’t even bothering to hide his stare. his eyes were boring into the back of your head, and he prayed that the darkness of the room would hide his obvious jealousy. it did not. his face was very much illuminated by the brightness of tall girl on the television screen.
“what the fuck are you doing?” you whispered under your breath, careful not to breathe too forcefully and tickle sam’s face. he had thrown a mini-fit the last time you’d made that mistake.
“my secret’s about peter,” he hiccuped through his whisper, fighting the urge to break out into a full blown laughing fit.
“peter?” your voice grew higher and sam felt the tremor that ran through your body. he smirked.
“yeah. he’s right there though, so maybe we should talk about this in another room?”
you nodded. peter couldn’t make out anything you were saying, only that you’d agreed to something, and he prayed that it wasn’t about a hookup. fuck the bleeding out and slow death. sam was fully aware of peter’s crush on you—he was the one who encouraged peter to make a move—and here he was, seducing you right in front of peter’s face. he couldn’t tell if he wanted to kill sam or himself more. maybe sam first, and then himself.
“let’s get out of here,” sam said, louder in volume so that the people around the two of you could hear. a small chorus of ooohs and teasing points followed as sam took your hand in his and began dragging you away. you trailed behind him, shooting peter a nervous glance as your mind raced with all the possibilities of what sam wanted to tell you. was he going to warn you that peter hated you? that you shouldn’t sit next to him anymore? that he’d been acting so on and off with you because he couldn’t keep up the facade of tolerating you?
peter bit his tongue so forcefully he thought he might’ve drawn blood. he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to soothe his pounding heart, before jumping to his feet as well.
“sam, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he growled, the insecurity of being overheard or watched by other avengers leaving his brain altogether as he met the eyes of the man who’d betrayed him.
“what do you mean, what am i doing? i’m just getting some fresh air,” sam shrugged nonchalongly. “hey man, are you okay? you seem a little worked up.”
peter looked at you apologetically for just a split second before he shoved sam in the chest and sent you stumbling backwards. you stood motionlessly in your spot as you took in the scene before you.
“keep your hands off of her,” peter seethed, poking sam in the chest with such aggression that sam was forced to take a step back. “you- i can’t believe you.”
sam held his hands up placatingly, shaking his head as if what peter was saying was unbelievable. “you never made a move. you don’t own her, peter. you keep saying there’s nothing going on between you two, so i figured it was fine to shoot my shot. unless there is something i’m missing?”
“no, we’re just fr- fuck, no! i-”
you scoffed, tugging on the back of peter’s shirt to move him out of the way. “sam, what did you do? i know you’re behind some sort of meddling, you little shit.”
“nothing, nothing! i was just going to tell you something and then spiderboy got all jealous and bothered.” sam rolled his eyes. “whatever. you guys deal with it. i want juice.”
the common area was silent with the exception of peter’s heavy breathing and a tall girl 2 musical number. you tapped peter’s elbow weakly.
“pete? why don’t we… go somewhere else,” you grimaced as you watched him struggle to compose himself and meet your eye.
“yeah. okay,” he sighed, dropping his head.
you considered taking his hand, but he seemed volatile and you didn’t want to risk agitating him more. instead, you walked in silence to your room as peter followed like a kicked puppy, eyes never leaving the ground.
you held the door open for him and in the darkness, you swore you saw him blush. the only light in your room was the moonlight streaming through your window, and the atmosphere seemed too intimate to break by flipping the overhead light on, so you tapped a small lamp in the corner of the room.
you motioned for him to sit on the bed. he hesitated before sinking into the mattress, dropping his head into his hands while he rested his elbows on his thighs. you sat next to him cautiously, not sure if you should say the first word.
you couldn’t tell much time had passed, but after what seemed like years of silence, he inhaled shakily and blurted, “i’m sorry.”
“i- you don’t have to apologize to me. probably sam, though.” you sighed, kicking your legs back and forth nervously.
“no, i’m- i’m sorry that i interrupted you guys. what you do in your private life is none of my business, and i shouldn’t- i had no right to get upset at you.” he paused, spitting out his next words as if they physically pained him. “or… or sam.”
“it’s okay, you weren’t interrupting much. sam wanted to tell me a ‘secret,’ apparently, and he was just being theatrical. i’m sorry if we disturbed you.”
“i-” peter scoffed and he wasn’t sure if it was because of how ridiculous he’d been acting or how painfully oblivious you were. “he wasn’t going to tell you a secret, he wanted to hook up with you. and i just- i saw the two of you leave and i was so angry.” he turned his torso to face you, and for the first time since his fight with sam, he looked you in the eye. “i don’t know if you know this, but you’re… you’re magical. in every way. and- and i always thought that about you, and i just think that- that you deserve the world.” he ran a hand down his face. “you deserve someone who really cares about you and i didn’t want—and i know it’s none of my business and it’s not my place—but i didn’t want you to be with someone that couldn’t see that about you. i know sam’s a good guy, but he never… he hasn’t been in a relationship in months and he’s not looking for one and i just didn’t want to see you hurt. i didn’t want you to be another girl he sleeps with and then forgets about. because you’re not like everyone else, you know? how could anyone forget about you?”
you stared at him, your jaw dropped. peter closed his eyes as soon as he saw your expression, his face crumpling with devastation. he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and his mouth parted just slightly, like he was going to say something more, but then he pushed himself off the bed and moved towards the door.
you were outraged. “are you serious right now?” you snapped. “no. no, you don’t get to say all that and leave. sit down. you’re not leaving until we talk this out.” you stood in front of the door, quirking your head as if daring him to object. he didn’t.
when the two of you settled back into your previous positions, you sucked your bottom lip.
“sam and i, huh?” 
peter nodded solemnly.
“sam and i…” you snorted. “never. that’s never going to happen. he’s like, a sticky toddler brother. or the extended family you visit that you’re forced to babysit. god, no. we’d never see each other that way.”
peter was unnervingly still, but you could see his hands clench into fists as you spoke. you slowly moved your hand to hover over his fists, giving him the opportunity to pull away if he wanted to, but he didn’t. you rested your hands over his, prompting his fingers to uncurl and settle down.
“sam wasn’t trying to… he wasn’t going to hook up with me. he was going to tell me a secret about… about you, actually,” you muttered. this time, it was your turn to look away bashfully.
“about me?” peter marveled. he was pretty sure he knew what the secret was. fuck sam. if sam was going to reveal peter’s huge crush on you, he could’ve spared peter all the suffering and jealousy and just tell you outright.
“yeah. he never did though, because…” you trailed off, waving your hands around explainitorily.
“yeah, sorry about that,” peter said, scratching the back of his neck. he opened his mouth to say something at the same time you did. the two of you laughed it off awkwardly, and he swore his heart palpatated a bit when you insisted he speak first. everyone knew speaking first was the lesser choice.
“right. in case i haven’t made it really obvious and awkward and haven’t completely humiliated myself,” he sucked in a harsh breath and fixated his stare on his shaking foot to avoid your gaze, “i like you. a lot. i thought you were so pretty when i first met you, and i never meant to fall for you, but god, whenever i see you talk to the team and every time you save my ass on missions and every time you try and talk to me even when i’m being a cold asshole, i just fall more and more in love with you. and i’ve been so unfair to you—this whole thing is so unfair to you—because i’m just springing my feelings on you after having been so distant and it’s just that… you make me so nervous,” he laughed mirthlessly. “and you’ve got such a- a magnetic presence that nobody can resist and today i watched everybody finally come to the realization of what i’ve known this whole time, that you’re absolutely amazing, and i was so jealous because everybody else could express that to you and i couldn’t. and i know that’s stupid because it’s completely my fault for not being able to talk to you properfly, and-”
“stop. stop, peter- shut up,” you interrupted, grabbing peter’s face and turning it to meet yours. he shivered as your eyes flickered between his; he felt like you had looked right past his hazy nervousness and right into his heart.
peter grimaced, stomach churning, mind blank, and mouth dry. he couldn’t predict, for the life of him, what you were going to say. never had he pictured himself in this situation, so he’d never been able to overthink it and come up with every possible ending. so he just sat there.
you didn’t quite know what to say either. this was not a situation most people found themselves in. there was no precedent.
“i’m flattered,” you started, and peter winced hard. it was a classic frienzone move. “i’m flattered that you think that way about me because i think that way about you and i can’t believe-” you exhaled, shaking your head in disbelief. “this is so crazy. i- peter, you fucking idiot! why didn’t you just-” you tugged at your hair. “god, i’ve been so in awe of you this entire time and i didn’t say shit and you didn’t say shit and now this is where we’re at.” you groaned and threw yourself backwards onto your bed, staring at the ceiling. “i’m so mad at myself,” you mumbled.
peter was baffled. “i’m not following?”
“sorry, that didn’t really make sense, did it?” you propped yourself up on your elbows. “i liked you too, peter. well, not liked. i’ve liked you this whole time and i still do, and i was just too scared to do anything because you’re so smart and witty and everyone loves you and, well, you don’t know me nearly as much as everyone else so i thought you just didn’t like me because you’d never treat me the same way and i know i’m new and that changes the team dynamic so i just thought it was pointless to, you know, pursue anything,” you gulped at peter’s silence. he had clenched his jaw and was staring at the wall wordlessly and unmoving.
 “was i wrong? should i have said something? you still feel that way about me, right? please, peter. say something, please… peter?” you whispered, voice trembling. maybe you shouldn’t have called him an idiot. or swore at him. damn, you really weren’t good at being romantic, were you?
 he turned around, cheeks flushed and eyes glossy, and whispered so softly you almost thought you’d been imagining it. “can i kiss you?”
you blinked. “can you- yes, you fool! com’ere, asshole.” you scrambled to your knees as peter clambered onto the bed and you grabbed the fabric of his shirt and he took your jaw in his hands and he kissed you, oh that boy kissed you stupid.
it was all wandering hands and tight embraces and silent screams of “don’t leave me,” and “i’m here,” and “finally,” and you were breathless and mesmerized when he finally pulled away.
“peter…” you whimpered, and he moved so his back was to the headboard, extended his arms, and spread his legs so you could find a home between his body. when you buried your face into his shoulder and hooked your arms around his, you fought back tears as you cursed yourself for all the insecurity that’d held you back from being here, in his arms, for months. but you were in his arms now, and it felt like you were always meant to be there. your body molded into him, and this time, it was you who was boneless and melting into the arms of another.
peter rubbed your back, likely going through the same thought process, when you spoke up again. “you said you loved me.”
peter sighed, kissing the top of your head. “yeah, i did. is that okay?”
“it’s okay. i want to- are you going to stick around after this? because i want to be able to love you too, and i don’t know if your feelings have changed because so much has changed just now,” you rambled, “but if you’d let me, i really want to love you. i want to love you.”
he twisted his torso so he could meet your eye. “you think i’m going to leave after this? after i’ve been pining after you for months? never. you could never get rid of me. i’m here for as long as you’ll let me be. and if you could love me one day, then damn, i’d be the happiest man in the world.”
he ran his thumb under your eye to catch the tear threatening to spill over. you smiled wobbly at him and with a quick raise of your chin, you pressed your lips to his once more.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
i'm considering doing a couple mini-fics/drabbles of their relationship after this one-shot! thoughts?
mini fic: group hug drabble: you are in love
peter parker masterlist | main masterlist
taglist: (comment to be added!)
@im-a-slut-for-fluff @bambamwolf87
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thebookanaconda · 7 months
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Guess what I saw on reddit today!!!
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supercap2319 · 8 months
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"Parker we shouldn't." Y/N moaned as Parker's lips were on his sweet spot on his neck. That part that made Y/N crazy and left him a whimpering mess. Parker pressed their bodies together as his hot breath was on his neck.
"We shouldn't have the first time, Stark." Parker said. He began to put his hand in Y/N's pants and teased his growing erection. "Before I fuck you senseless. Flash Thompson is having a party tomorrow night and I want you to come."
"I already did come. Or have you forgotten?" Y/N half jokes/whines as Parker teases his sensitive dick head. He let out a breathy chuckle. "You certainly did. All over my fucking face. It was hot."
It was hard to focus on anything as Parker attacked Y/N's neck and jerked him off, but he tried to maintain control. "Are we going as friends or enemies?"
Parker scoffed. "Enemies, dumbass. You actually think I would have people associate me with you?"
Y/N frowned. "You fucking asshole." He kissed him harder tugging hard on his stupid sugar brown hair.
He watched as Parker took off his shirt and pushed him onto the floor as Parker looked down at him and smirked. "You're a fucking cock slut, Stark."
"And you're a slut slut, Parker. Now shut up, and fuck me."
"Aye aye captain."
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marvelwitchergilmore · 4 months
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A Moment Of Everything
Summary: Peter Parker x Fe!Reader -> You and Peter have never gotten along, but can two nights in Florence change things for good?
Disclaimer: Swearing, fluff, angst. Mentions of blood and wounds. I was watching The Proposal last night and got inspired. Enemies to Lovers. See this for whichever Spider-Man you wish. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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You knew things had to change eventually. 
Yourself and Peter couldn’t go your whole lives hating one another. 
You just didn’t expect it to change quite so much. 
It had all started one night when you were on a mission with each other. 
Two days in Florence, Italy. You were both sent to monitor a suspect. And, like usual, Peter was off with you. He didn’t seem too happy about having to share a bed at the hotel. And, even though he didn’t particularly like talking to you, he would still do it. Only, that night, he didn’t. 
When he didn’t have to talk to you, he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t even look at you. 
So, the night before you were expected to fly back home, you called him out on it. 
He didn’t listen to you. He simply walked away from you. He followed the guy and you had to go with his plan. Whatever his plan was, you had to guess. 
Only, the suspect got away. 
“We’ll find him again.”
Peter just grunted. 
“Peter.”
Nothing. 
“Peter!”
Again, nothing.
“Jesus Fucking Christ! Peter!” He finally slowed down and looked at you. “What the hell is your fucking problem?! I get you don’t like me, but we’re meant to be together in this!”
“We are together in this.”
You couldn’t help but scoff. “Bull-shit. You have done nothing but ignore me this entire trip. If you have a problem with me, you can just say it. Where are you going now? Or am I not allowed to know that either.”
“Back to the hotel. Not like you’d tell me.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
You tried running to catch up with him. 
“Nothing.”
“No, go ahead. Tell me.”
Soon enough you both made it back to the hotel and inside the room before the conversation continued. 
“Tell me, Peter. I can take it.”
“No, you can’t.”
“You don’t know me-”
“You’re right! I don’t!” Peter turned around and looked at you, forcing you to stop in your tracks. 
“I don’t know you! I don’t know anything about you! Because you don’t share anything.”
“Well, excuse me for wanting to keep my life a little private.”
“A little?!” Peter raised his eyebrows and scoffed. “A little private is not telling your co-workers where you're going when you say you’re going on holiday. A little private is not showing them a thousand pictures of your new puppy. Your life is anything but a little private.”
Clearly, he had more to say so you waited. And you didn’t have to wait long. 
Sighing, Peter rubbed his forehead for a moment before looking back at you. 
“I have known you for almost ten years and you have told me less than three things about yourself. And yet, an hour before we leave to come here, Hank from the Biology lab does…what? Flirts with you for five minutes, tells you his coffee order and you’re practically marrying the guy!”
“Peter, that’s none- Is this what has been bothering you since we left? This?! Just because I decided to talk to a guy and tell him about my day…why does it bother you so much that I don’t talk about myself?”
“Because I am meant to be your teammate. You have known me for almost ten years and never once have I hid anything from you. We are meant to trust one another. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like me or if I didn’t like you, what matters is that you trust me, and that I trust you. This partnership is meant to go both ways.”
You didn’t know what to say. You just kept looking at Peter. It looked like the world had been lifted off his shoulders whilst he also started beating himself up over what he just said. His chest was heaving and for a moment, you thought he was gonna walk towards you but instead, he took a step back. 
“I’m going for a shower.”
When the door closed behind him, it took you a moment to gather yourself. 
You couldn’t deny that he had a point. Maybe you hadn’t told him as much as you could have done, especially for being teammates for almost a full decade. But it wasn’t like he didn’t have his faults in it, too. 
Maybe instead of ignoring you and only talking to you when he needed to, you might have warmed to him more rather than seen him as a stand-offish person who you would trust to save your life, but wouldn’t trust to put it on the edge first. 
After twenty minutes, Peter emerged from the bathroom, freshly washed, clothed and ready for bed. He put away his dirty clothes and put his wash bag back in his bag before climbing under the covers that lay at the bottom of the bed. 
He hadn’t said anything when you both arrived at the hotel late at night. Just took some sheets out of the cupboard and put them on the floor. When you entered the room, you said he was being ridiculous.
He just said the bed was too soft for him and that he wouldn’t sleep. 
After an hour of back and forth over you telling him just to get into the bed, since it was big enough for a family of five, never mind two, he still decided to stay on the floor. 
As you lay in bed, listening to the distant noises of the city, you tossed and turned before settling on your back. But you still couldn’t sleep. 
Then you heard Peter. 
He was tossing and turning, too. 
Eventually, you heard him sigh in annoyance of sleep not taking over him. 
So, wrestling with your own mind, you spoke up. 
“I like Greek Mythology.”
A few seconds passed and then; “What?”
You faltered for a moment before speaking up again. 
“I-I like Greek Mythology. I always have.” you said before explaining, taking your time. “When I was five, my grandmother gave me some of her old books. In the pile was a kids illustrated version of Greek Gods and Goddesses. I was obsessed. And I mean, obsessed.” 
You laughed a little as you explained your obsession with Greek Mythology to him. Meanwhile, from the floor and out of sight from you, he smiled. He couldn’t even think of when he’d heard a smile in your voice. Never mind a laugh. 
It was once of the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard. 
“For three halloween’s in a row, I went as a different Goddess.”
You fell silent for a moment in the memory before you started to speak again. 
“I hate coffee. I try it once every year and it’s always the same. Absolutely disgusting.” you chuckled a little. “I spent every summer away from home at Camp where I ran a book club. I watch Rom-Coms when I’m sad because they make me feel better. My favourite flowers are blue tulips. I don’t watch thrillers because they remind me too much of work. And, I haven’t told anyone this much…ever.”
Only as you finished did you realise how much you had told him. And you felt a pang of anxiety in the pit of your stomach as Peter remained silent. 
“Are you still there?”
Peter swallowed thickly and nodded his head, despite the fact you couldn’t see him. “Y-yeah. I’m here. Just…processing.”
“Okay.”
That conversation had been just over eight months before you got a knock at your apartment window one evening. 
You had taken a couple weeks off work since you hadn’t taken any vacation days…ever. Barton had practically banned you from the building for two weeks. 
The rain had been pouring over the city and, with all your work finished, you had rushed out and got some supplies before sitting in front of your TV, watching one of the many rom-coms your DVD collection provided before pulling a few books from your shelves and reading through them. 
At some point, you had fallen asleep, still fully dressed, under your blankets, listening to the quiet silence of your apartment as the rain hit the windows outside. 
Only, rather than continuing to sleep throughout the night, you heard a continuous tapping. 
So, leaning up with tired eyes, you looked around. The loose braid you had stuck your hair in had fallen out, your bobble being lost between the cushions somewhere.
The apartment was shrouded in darkness, save for the street lights outside still lighting small sections of your apartment.
Along came more tapping until finally you turned towards the sash window that lay by the fire escape. 
You furrowed your eyebrows as you saw him through tired eyes. 
Making your way over, you pushed the window open and Peter made his way inside. 
“Sorry for waking you.”
You just grumbled and closed the window to stop the rain from flying in, though it didn’t stop the small puddle made by Peter who was practically soaked to the bone from the rain. 
“Ah, so this is who I lost you to.” Peter said with a slight smirk as he spotted one of your Mythology books. 
“Barton said I was banished from HQ until my vacation days were finished. What are you doing here at this time of night? What even is the time?”
“I didn’t know where to go, and you’re the only one who I trust to do the job well.”
“What job?”
Finally looking at Peter, you saw it. 
His body, and his clothes, were splattered with blood. You couldn’t tell how much of it was his and how much of it could be somebody else's. 
“You didn’t kill anyone did you?”
“No.” Peter answered. “They’re alright, just at the police station getting booked.”
You sighed as you took in even more of his wounds. “Alright. Meet me in the bathroom in two minutes. Give me your jacket.”
Peter removed it and you took it from him, including his grey hoodie. 
“Bathroom?”
“Down the hall and to the right.”
Peter nodded and walked down whilst you headed into the kitchen and shoved his jackets into the washing machine and pressed start. Then, from the top cupboard, you pulled down your first-aid kit that contained everything from princess plasters, from when you had been looking after your neighbour's kid for two days, to a stitching kit.
Twenty minutes later, you had a basin full of warm, blood stained water, a once-clean face cloth covered in stains of blood and a grown Avenger sat on the edge of your bathtub, wincing every now and again and you cleaned him up. 
“Remind me again why you came to me?”
You turned Peter’s head to face over your right shoulder as you cleaned a graze and cut just above his eyebrow. 
“Because I trust you. And I didn’t feel like getting another lecture from Laura.”
“Ah,” you nodded and Peter laughed a little. 
Then he hissed. 
“Sorry, I'm almost finished with this one.”
“It’s okay.” Peter flicked his gaze to you a couple of times. “T-thank you for doing this.”
“What else would I have done? Kicked you back out of the window?”
“You could have done it. I did wake you up. Clearly I didn't learn my lesson from the first time.”
You chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I did nearly beat you up.”
What Peter meant was just over two months ago. You had both become friends of sorts. But, you had fallen asleep at your lab desk one night and Peter came in to wake you up and you nearly cursed him out so much that you even had him convinced he was an intruder trying to break into your home. 
“But, if you hadn’t come to me, I probably would have cursed you out when I found out, anyway.”
“Found out?”
“You can’t hide anything from me, Peter. I know everything,” you joked. 
“But do you?”
Peter’s question slipped from his tongue before he could stop himself, but you didn’t know what to do. So, your eyes turned from his and you tried your best to remain calm until you saw a large spot of blood coming through his black t-shirt. 
You tried your best to get to the wound that was beneath it without him removing his shirt, but you both knew it was no use. 
So, awkwardly asking him, he stood and you looked to him only to find him looking back. 
Slowly, he removed his shirt, trying his best not to stain the rest of his body from the blood you had just cleaned away and for a moment, you were met with his body in front of you. 
Most of the blood was coming from that one wound but the top of his arms now showed a little bruising, as well as his torso, though it was more healed than you thought it would have been. 
Finding yourself staring for a little too long, you forced your gaze back to his face where he’d removed the shirt from over his head and lowered himself back down onto the edge of the tub, opening up his legs for you to stand between them once more. 
Though, it was in that moment that you realised how close you had been standing to him this entire time. 
“Th-This might sting a little.”
Peter nodded and you watched as he clenched his jaw and tried to suppress the grunt that tried to escape from him as you cleaned out the wound. 
“You might need some stitches.” you mentioned. “I can do them here, though they might not be Laura standard.”
“I think I’ll survive.”
You nodded and tried your best to ignore the fact that Peter was looking at you as you looked for your stitching kit and began working. 
In your peripheral vision, you could see some of his bruises already starting to heal, though some might take more than a couple hours.
Even with his adapted DNA. 
“If you want, you can stay here for the night. I have a spare set of pyjamas if you need them.”
“You sure they’ll be my size?”
You laughed a little. “My, uh, my neighbour gave them to me. She bought a set for her husband but when they came they were too big for him. She told me to keep them in case I ever had someone…stay the night. They might be too big for you, too but they have a drawstring so…”
“Okay.”
You looked at him for a split second and then looked back to his wound with a small nod. 
Soon enough you finished and stepped back to grab the face cloth before dipping it into a fresh basin of warm water to clean off the rest of his wounds that would heal soon enough. 
“Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
As you looked at Peter when he stood, there was a moment of…everything. 
Neither of you were moving, yet his eyes and your own spoke a thousand unspoken words between their gazes. 
Without thinking, Peter lifted his hand to meet your own, allowing you to place the cloth down before he pulled you a little closer. 
Your name left his lips in a small whisper, a plea, a wish of permission.
You felt yourself stand a little taller as his other hand came to your face, brushing the loose hair from your face, behind your ear. 
His eyes continued to flick from your eyes to your lips, as yours did the same with him. 
There was time for you to stop. For you to say no. And if you did, he would have stepped away and, most likely, would have apologised and left. 
But you didn’t want that. 
Each tantalising moment that passed, you wished for time to hurry up. For his lips to finally meet yours. 
And once they did, there was no turning back. 
At first it was soft, until you both became hungry for more. 
Leaning in, your hands came to his neck to pull him closer to you. 
Eventually, the kiss broke apart for a moment, your heads resting together, your eyes partly closed. 
“Was that-”
“Just shut up and kiss me again.”
Peter chuckled a little before feeling your lips connect to his, allowing his hands to pull your body flush against his.
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shayyprasad · 4 months
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stuck with you | peter parker
summary: you love him, but you hate him. maybe you'll be able to love him a little bit more if it's really just the two of you.
"we're lost." you declared. 
"no, we aren't."
"yes, we are!"
"fine, then, mr. navigator, where are we?"
"um... er, we are— we are right here."
you rolled your eyes, along with a string of curses. 
peter sighed, "this is my life now. i have climbed this hill, and will die upon it."
"shut it. we've only been walking for 20 minutes. in the direction you said to go," you threw you hands up in frustration. yes, walking for 20 minutes, but stranded for maybe around 3 hours, you'd guess.
the plan, at first, was to wait for your father, tony, and the rest of the team to find you, but it'd had become quite evident after a while that they weren't coming for you.
"just because i have spider-sense, doesn't mean i have common sense!"
"well, i know that now!" after a moment, you pinched the bridge of your nose. "look, us stupidly arguing isn't gonna get us anywhere, okay?"
peter sighed, half-heartedly shrugging. you went back to fiddling with your ear comm, hoping to get it back online. for a moment, you heard static, and you squealed.
"what? what?"
and then it went back to silence. "goddamnit." you were very, very close to chucking it off a cliff. "aren't you, like, a tech genius or something? can't you do something with this?"
"i already tried. all i got was radio silence. we're completely off the grid, dumb-ass."
"you don't think i know that? god, why did i get stuck with the spider-kid?" you mumbled the second part under your breath.
"hey!"
oops. forgot about the spider-hearing. 
"okay, well— at least— at least my powers don't consist of freaking levitation!"
"it's not levitation!"
"my bad, telekinesis."
"psychokinesis!"
"same thing. who cares?"
you scowled and used your mental concentration to lift him a good 20 feet into the air.
"don't—" he yelped, "put me down!"
"don't put you down?"
"no! put. me. down!"
"can't hear you up there."
"you actual piece of— drop me! wait, no, not—"
you weren't doing anything bad. just what he told you to do. peter landed on the ground with a loud thud. that had to hurt, you thought.
"because all i can do is levitate things," you mocked, "how dumb. at least i don't shoot webs out of my ass-crack."
"i don't—"
but by then, you'd already tuned him out. one of your headaches was coming on, because you normally didn't lift heavy things in the air, or really, not most things. you were still figuring out how to use them.
it wasn't something you regretted though, it was very worth it.
"—and you know, i'm sure that—"
how was he still going?
"—because you haven't even started—"
i might chuck him off a cliff instead.
"—crazy, since—"
you gritted your teeth, massaging your temple, "please stop talking."
"hah! i'm sure you'd love— y/n? are you good?"
"yes," you waved his concern off (along with the butterflies in your stomach), "i'm fine."
"regret that yet?"
"no," you grinned. "never."
peter flopped down, sitting up against a tree. "i'm sure."
you joined him, taking a seat beside peter. in complete exhaustion, you dropped your head on his shoulder, quietly inhaling the smell of him. pinewood, aftershave, and a tinge of sweat. 
he flinched slightly at the action, but looped an arm around you. 
moments like this made being near peter actually nice. for once, you enjoyed his company. but the feeling didn't last long, because the reality of being stranded in a giant forrest/jungle/whatever other word for this place hit hard after a second.
"jeez, are we ever gonna get home?"
"yes. maybe. i mean, probably." he stammered.
"this is definitely worst case scenario. stuck on an alien planet, lost in— in whatever this was. were these even trees? were trees purple with yellow studs sticking out of them? 
you didn't know. you just wanted to go home. granted, peter's presence was making this slightly better, but still. 
"it's okay," you heard him say. "you can sleep. i got you, y/n." peter kissed the top of your head, and you subconciously smiled.
"you know," you murmured, "i'm glad that if i'm stuck with anyone here, i'm stuck with you."
and then you were falling, falling, into a deep, dreamless sleep, with pitch black envloping you entirely.
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preciouslandmermaid · 3 months
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🕸🕷 my heart is a hornet's nest 🕸🕷
Pairing: Insomniac Peter Parker/Spider-Man x Fem!Reader (code name: “Huntress” + she is Kraven’s daughter)
Rating: T
Summary:  It's been thirteen months since Kraven was killed by Venom. Despite everything, you're still in the city and helping a nerd - named Peter - in his garage try and save the world. It's hard to ascertain where your old life as a hunter ends and your new life begins. Somedays you can't even tell if you're moving forward or not. But, the pull you feel towards Peter is magnetic. And it's bound to end in catastrophe if you pursue him.
Even as part-time Spider-Man, Peter knows his relationships with others puts them at risk. He doesn’t want to throw you back into the carnage, into the fray, to the wolves you claim to be so comfortable around. He can't risk it. He can't risk you. And the long nights in his garage are really, really starting to wear at him.
Prompt: "Are you afraid of me?" / "Do I look afraid?"
tags: enemies to Lovers/enemies to friends to lovers, no use of y/n, secret identity, unresolved romantic tension, first kiss, light angst, slow burn, mutual pining !!
🕷🕷 ( read on ao3 ) 🕷🕷
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Kraven snaps your name like a whip.
“You’ll oversee this one, huntress.” he says without looking away from the screen.
A mixture of pride and trepidation curdles beneath your skin. Kraven is trusting you, but he trusts plenty of his hunters. You lick your lips. The transfer of Martin Li. You promise Kraven that you’ll put the team together and leave before the hour.
No one questions Kraven’s decision. You don’t get special treatment purely because you’re his blood. In fact, if you look closely (which you won’t), you’d say that Kraven treats you worse than his other hunters. He expects—he demands – more of you.
There will be a target on your back when Kraven completes his hunt and finds a worthy enough predator to kill him. But that’s nothing new. You’ve had a target on your back since you were young enough to understand the way of the world; predator and prey, hunter and hunted, kill or be killed.
You lift your arm-- THUNK!—the throwing knife hits its bullseye.
“Huntress,” a hunter named Erik approached you, “you want five VTOLs?”
THUNK! This one is a little off-center and you blame Erik for distracting you. You exhale, balancing your weight, and lining up your shot. Erik is bold. Kraven named you the leader of Li’s abduction. He shouldn’t be asking questions. Your eyes narrow.
You pivot on your heel, fast as a viper’s strike, and flashing silver spins through the air. It’s beautiful.
Erik makes a strangled sound in the back of his throat.
Your throwing knife wobbles from where its pinned Erik’s hood to the wall. His eyes flick to the blade. He’s lucky you didn’t miss. Otherwise the blade would’ve sank into his throat or he would lack an ear for the mission ahead.
“That’s what I said,” you yank the knife from the wood, freeing him, “wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Erik says, voice tight and clipped, and his eyes darken. You know he is loyal to Kraven, not you. If he managed to kill you – Kraven would be disappointed, but he wouldn’t mourn you. Nature is cruel and so is your father. You sheath your throwing knives while keeping one eye on the hunter.
Erik hasn’t left which means he could be planning his next move. You tense and wait for the inevitable blow. Come on, you think, try it. You’d be happy to fight off your frazzled, nervous energy. You should probably conserve your strength in case things with Martin Li go bad.
Erik nods, “huntress,” and leaves.
You roll your shoulders and return to the weapons cache. I’ll bring Martin Li to Kraven and he’ll have his wonderful fight. He’ll achieve his dream.
Nothing will go wrong. Nothing could. You’ve been planning this for months.
******
Peter wobbles to his feet, his head ringing. Whoever these guys are—they’re serious. The tech they’re using is insane. Invisible drones. Laser swords. What’s next? A few giant mecha-robots intent on crushing Harlem? He shouldn’t think about it – he doesn’t want to jinx it.
He stares into the face of the capable, dangerous stranger with smoke burning his nostrils and scalding his throat.
Dark soot clings to your clothes, your expression venomous and focused, furrowed and tight. The light frames you, bouncing off the east river in sparks, and refracting over the small throwing knives clutched between your knuckles. She’s fast, like really fast. Fast enough that he’s concerned you have a spider-sense of your own. Who the hell are these guys? Miles kicks a drone in mid-air and metal-on-metal crunches together like a compacted soda can.
Peter jumps before the blade can slice through him. It whistles through the air, hits and – literally bounces! -- off a metal pole. His lenses widen. He twists his body. His nerves ignite with impending danger, but he’s in the already dodging the first blade.
He’s Spider-Man.
He can’t stop physics.
Your second blade cuts through the air and burns when it cuts his shoulder. He lands on his feet, a sharp inhale drawn through his teeth, and resists the urge to check the injury. She can’t have that many knives on her!
Your lips quirk, “are you afraid of me?”
“Do I look afraid?”
“Hard to say,” you make a gesture around your face, “with the mask and all.”
“Where’s yours?” he propels through the air with his webs slung behind him, “I thought--” you deflect his punch, “most bad guys—” you stumble backward when he kicks your chest, but recover quickly, “want to keep their identities a secret.”
“I have no shame in who I am,” your leg swings over his head.
“So uhhh...who are you?” he quips. His palms land flat on the cold, metal surface and his spine curves, his body moving like a question mark, and avoiding the onslaught of your assault.
“Serious question!” he says a little louder this time while your silver knife dances through the light as it carves his webs into flimsy pieces.
A burst of green flares flash against the gray smoke. His heart flips. The raft jolts to the side. They’re going to drag the ship underwater! The heavy-duty spears punch through the metal as if it was made of tissue paper.
“We gotta get this ship free!”
Peter spares a final glance over his shoulder and you leap from the other side. Are you landing on another boat? A life raft? Are you going to swim away? He has no clue. He can’t spare any further brain cells on it though. He slides down the tilted raft toward the giant spears that function like fish-hooks into the industrial, military transport raft.
***
It’s been approximately thirteen months since Kraven met his end.
You’ve found that keeping count provides some strange, twisted comfort. You wake up, check your calendar, and strike another tally mark into the wall. It feels good to carve the line into the sheet-rock, little flecks of white catching on your thumb and falling like cremated remains onto the hardwood floor and clinging to your socks.
Sometimes you run into old hunters, vying for territory, and hoping to claim some scraps that Kraven left behind. Many, however, fled to Kraven’s homeland to play out the tragedy of a power vacuum and continue Kraven’s legacy.
None of them have impressed you. Not the ones that have sought you out, hoping to kill Kraven’s kin, and earn glory. And definitely not the ones who you’ve run into accidentally. Those are the worst. They’re cowards. They’re mice. You stumble upon them, trying to eat the crumbs off Kraven’s table, and your retribution is swift and bloody and a pain in the ass to clean up.
You wonder what Peter Parker would say if he knew. You pull your sweater over your head. Peter, the nerd running a research foundation out of his garage, happens to be your only...well, friend is the wrong word...but he’s your only something in this city.
You aren’t supposed to have ‘somethings’. Attachments, as Kraven would call them. Attachments made you weak. You thought it was hypocritical for your father preach this advice when he had a wife and multiple children. Not anymore though, you finish lacing up your boots, everyone’s dead now except for me.
The cassette clicks with a satisfying ‘CLUNK’ into the player and you slide your headphones over your ears. The player was a gift from Peter. No. Gift is the wrong word. It’s on a loan.
“What’s this?” You cradled the cassette player, “it looks ancient.” You twisted the sharp-grooved circles. They remind you of strange teeth. You click the play and pause button. It’s clunky. It’s right-angles and lackluster chrome and the buttons make noise.
It’s the antithesis of the technology you grew up with around Kraven.
You love it.
Peter rolls his chair over to you, “it’s not ancient. Maybe vintage. God, do we call it vintage?” he sounds so baffled that you almost smile, “you know, record players and vinyl are making a big comeback so it’s only a matter of time before Walkman do too.”
He doesn’t wait for you to respond, “do you want it?”
“Huh?”
“I’m not using it obviously.” He smiles, “I think I have a few cassettes lying around and there’s no shortage of music shops in Brooklyn.”
Your fingers tighten around the device. The wild part of you, the part that Kraven nurtured through violence and toxic loyalty, wants to throw the device on the ground. See how sturdy it is and compare it to the tactical, military-grade equipment you grew up with. How many pieces will it break into? A dozen?
You gaze into Peter’s earnest face. His eyes are warm, light mahogany. There are soft lines that kiss the corners of his eyes. You think when he is old, he will have many wrinkles around his eyes, and it takes a second longer than normal for your lungs to refill.
“I’ll borrow it,” you say, unable to accept his random kindness, “and return it before our work is done.”
“Great!” Peter coughs, rubbing the back of his neck, “I mean, that sounds good.”
The cassette clicks, whirring warm in your palm, and switching the song. The subway rushes past in a gust of tepid, moist air that smells both stale and greasy. You scan the crowd. The citizens range from individuals wearing jean jackets with sewn patches, to baggy street wear, to plastic bags on shoes, to gym athletics and smart watches.
Someone gets on the train wearing a camouflage parka. Your spine stiffens. Your fingers twitch to the weapons hidden inside your coat. Do I know your face? You shift your body and peer at the subway windows, allowing the ghostly transparent reflection to reveal the stranger’s face.
As you wait for the right angle, the right lighting, you consider your options. Tail them out of the train—could be a trap, but their numbers are never that high. Get close, press the blade to the artery in their thigh, let them see your face before you sink the blade in and leave on the next stop. The timing would be tricky, but not impossible. Not for you. Bail on Pete and spend the next several days tracking the stranger until you’ve found and confirmed their hideout. An ambush. Quick and silent.
The stranger coughs into their sleeve and your fingers fall away from your knife.
You’re glad Pete isn’t here. You’ve never traveled together and you likely never will. It’s safer that way. It keeps him out of your personal life.
“That’s the problem with attachments,” you mumble to yourself, “you start wondering what they might say if they knew you.”
*****
Pete rubs his eyes with his fists, “do you hear birds or is that just in my head?”
You don’t lift your head from the microscope, “it’s birds.”
He yawns. There have been plenty of late nights in his garage shared with you, but this one feels different.
Maybe it’s because of the mercurial light flickering along the planes of your face.
Maybe it’s the notes by your hands, the edges of your fingers smeared black from ink.
Maybe it’s the unplugged headphone wire dangling from your throat and brushing ever-so-often against your exposed collarbones.
Shit. He blinks, looking away. He can’t get mixed up. He’s grateful to you. You donated the notes first, but then pieces of Kraven’s equipment, and then...you came around more and more. You wanted to see what he was doing, wanted to see his progress, or ‘see how helpful your notes are.’ He likes it. He likes having you around.
But, even as part-time Spider-Man, Peter knows his relationships with others puts them at risk. He doesn’t want to risk you too. And it’s not because you can’t fight. To him, you’re finding your place outside of Kraven’s shadow and he doesn’t want to mess that up. He doesn’t want to throw you back into the carnage, into the fray, to the wolves you claim to be so comfortable around.
The sequences before him blur into gibberish. He peeks up through his hair back to you.
Your name is the first word out of his mouth, followed shortly by “you’re bleeding!”
“I tried to catch the sample,” your voice is laced with frustration, “I can’t believe I dropped it.”
“It’s fine,” he opens the first-aid kit that’s stowed beneath the desk, “let me see.”
***
You blink at Peter. Earnest, helpful, kind Peter. You cradle your hand to your chest. It stings, but you’ve faced hornets stronger than this. The tiny shards of glass bounce colorful reflections from the holiday lights strung around Peter’s garage. The wild voice tells you to dig the shards out with your nails.
The blood is starting to stain the hem of your sweater.
Peter doesn’t blink. He doesn’t flinch away. His offered hand holding the gauze doesn’t shake.
You swallow. Why isn’t he shying away from the woman made of shrapnel? Doesn’t he know you’re lethal?
“What?” his eyebrows lift, “are you afraid of me? Or is it medical care in general?” soft humor folds into his brown eyes, “I promise my co-pays are reasonable.”
His words shatter the stiffness of your muscles.
You say, “do I look afraid?” you extend your bloody hand to him.
His fingers curl lightly and gently around your wrist. He flushes the wounds with water before plucking the glass out with a pair of tweezers. His brow furrows in concentration. Your neck prickles and a tingling sensation travels down your spine.
You’ve seen his furrowed brow a hundred times. However, you’ve never experienced it as the subject. Peter holds an antiseptic wipe between his long fingers. His touch is unbearably gentle and you wish you had something to compare it to.
“This might hurt a bit,” the soft, low rumble of his voice is strangely intimate.
The words fall out of your mouth, “I’m used to it.”
“Are we going to unpack that?” He slides the wipe across your angry, throbbing skin.
“No,” your lips twitch, “unless you have a psychology degree I’m unaware of.”
You’re fascinated by the way his fingers move along yours, light and precise, carefully wiping away the blood and wrapping your hand in gauze.
He says, “maybe it’s time for a career change.”
You smile. “What career?”
Peter chuckles, “okay, I walked into that one.”
His eyes lift to yours and his jaw slackens, like he’s finally caught the creature stalking him in the woods, and his fingers twitch on your wrist. The charged moment hangs undisturbed in the air, sending signals through the ether and rearranging the flow of blood in your veins.
His cheeks flush rosy and sweet. The pink hue reminds you of that pivotal morning a few months ago when Spider-Man gave you a sunrise and Pete’s number and a hope for a different future. Your fingers curl into his. And the carefully wrapped gauze prevents you from feeling the warmth of his palm. The wild voice tells you to rip the bandages off and run home. Your knees bump into his.
There’s always so little distance between you.
It’s a small garage, after all.
You tilt forward and hear Pete’s sharp inhale. There isn’t a moment of hesitation. Not for you. You know when to strike, when to move, and when to hide. It’s been drilled into you since birth. Hesitation is a lack of courage, in confidence, and you’ve never lacked either of those.
Peter’s mouth collides with yours.
Your ever-present and paranoid guard slips and you close your eyes to savor it—savor him.
The pliant softness of his lips melds into yours and your exhale shudders between your lips. His hand slides from your throat and holds your cheek, his thumb pressed into your cheekbone, and your hip bumps into the side of his workbench when you stand.
Peter remains on the stool, his neck arched, and his lithe legs part for you to enter the space between them. The thrill illuminates your chest like a red flare against a black sky. His lips play against yours, eager and a little clumsy, and you clutch the front of his wrinkled cotton shirt.
He mumbles your name.
“Shh,” you nose skims along his, recapturing his lips, because you think words might ruin it. The hanging lights flash their merry little dance. There’s fragments of glass under your boots. Ink stains your fingers, blood stains your sweater, and Peter’s tongue stains your lips.
You’ve experienced blood lust. You’ve felt it pounding through your ears and sharpening your focus into razor-thin virulence. You’re familiar with the excitement of a good hunt, a worthy opponent, a well-matched fight. Spider-Man, you think, I’ve felt this with him. But those were mixed with violence, and blood, and bruises.
This – this moment with Peter – is wholly different. Your heart pumps the same blood, pushing it through arteries and valves, but your hands move to caress, to clutch, and stroke through the fine strands of his hair. Your lungs tremble, not in pain, but in elation. The passion rolls through you in waves of syrup and brushes your skin like branches of fir.
Peter’s phone buzzes – loud and incessant – and he groans before tearing his mouth from yours. His cheeks are ruddy, eyes bright, and his chest heaves with hungry gulps of air. You’re glad to know you aren’t the only one affected by the strong pull of – whatever this is – between you.
“Sorry, I’ve gotta--” he lifts the phone from the table, “hello?”
You watch Peter’s face while he talks on the phone. He’s too expressive. He’d make a terrible hunter. And probably a bad poker player, too. You want to kiss him again just for the hell of it. And feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath your palms, feel his breath mingling with yours, his tongue and the blunt force of his teeth.
“I have to go out, um, do you want to come with?” he tilts his chin toward the garage door, “we could – uh – get something to eat along the way?”
You hands twitch at your sides. Your coat, draped on the desk chair, is laden with hidden pockets for knives and darts and small vials of poison. An arsenal for protection, an arsenal for vengeance, the truth of your soul. A soul that Peter cannot – should not – bear witness to.
“Can’t.”
His expression deflates, but he recovers with an easy-going smile.
He shakes his head, “that’s cool,” and says, “another time then.”
You make a noncommittal sound.
***
You finish setting up the tripwire at your apartment door and wipe your palms on your sweatpants. The windowpanes glisten with raindrops, painting the empty corners dark blue, and blurring the myriad of ever-changing traffic lights.
You scratch beneath your ear, upsetting your headphones, and flop onto the couch. The cassette whirs like a little hamster running through its wheel as the song fills your head and blocks out the honking below. You’ve grown to like the city of noise, the city that never sleeps. It’s a concrete jungle. A unique hunting ground.
Tap, tap, tap --
You jerk upright and your head whirls to the noise. Spider-Man perches on the ledge of your window, his red and blue suit shiny and dripping. You cautiously close the distance and begin to disarm the trap before unlatching it. It creaks noisily as it slides open and old paint chips cling to the windowsill.
The cool wet air is tinged with the scent of exhaust fumes.
“Weird time to visit,” you say.
“I was in the neighborhood.” He slips through the window like a salmon and lands soundlessly on the hardwood floor.
You’re going to have to move. You don’t want Spider-Man keeping tabs on you.
“But this isn’t a social call,” he continues, “I need your help with something.”
You lift one eyebrow, “I’m not a mercenary,” then you add, “and even if I was, I doubt you could afford me.”
Spider-Man laughs. “It’s nothing like that!”
You fold your arms across your chest. Spider-Man gives you the vague details of a criminal that he’s had trouble tracking down, could use your expertise, and fighting skills, and so and so forth. It’s a good pitch, you’ll give him partial credit for effort, but you’re not interested in becoming a vigilante – or a hero.
“So, what do you say? We’ve teamed up before.”
Against the symbiote. But, your motivations were selfish. You weren’t helping Spider-Man or trying to save the city. You were weakening Venom.
“No thanks.”
“What?” His lenses widen, “seriously? After my whole speech and everything?”
“Try a power point next time.” You shrug, “I’m retired. No more fighting for me.”
Spider-Man glances around your apartment and there’s evidence of your hypocrisy across every surface. A case of black, tactical arrowheads sits on your coffee table. There’s several target posters hanging on the wall across from your couch with pockmarks embedded into the paper. There’s unfinished gadgets and an open toolbox on the floor near the kitchen where you like to eat breakfast and tinker.
“You’re a bad liar,” there’s a smile in his voice, “just this once, huntress, that’s all. For old times sake.”
You muster the energy to glare at him, but it lacks true heat. “You mean the old times when I was actively trying to kill you?”
Spider-Man shrugs languidly, “we all have bad days.”
That wildness, the hunter that lives inside you, under your skin and in the marrow of your bones is grinding its teeth and trashing into your ribs. It’s hard to determine where you begin and the hunter ends or if they’re destined to forever be intertwined.
You’re a wildcat, unable to be truly domesticated and all your attempts have been in vain.
But, then you remember the warmth of Peter’s lips, his gentle hands, and genuine laughter. You tell yourself, there is room for softness inside of me, for even tigers can purr.
You tell Spider-Man to wait while you get dressed.
“One time,” you hold up a finger, “that’s it.”
“One time.” he agrees with a nod.
Together, you rush into the monotone rain-soaked evening for your first hunt since Kraven’s death.
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njordr · 9 months
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idk its just something about the way it would take SO LONG to chip away at miguel’s walls/resolve until eventually he finds peter’s idiocy charming and finally he says okay you merciless fucking idiot ill answer your knock knock joke and hate myself for it later but also somehow it evolves into peter’s hand resting on his shoulder whenever he’s spiralling bringing him comfort & how nice the soft of his belly is and he’s actually not a complete idiot he’s capable and a good dad and he’s smart and he’s kind of just toally unprepared for how peter surprises him with understanding and empathy and how human he is
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youandtom2 · 11 months
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Little Birdie Part 2
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Summary: You always thought you hated Tom more. But after a wild night that has now led into a confusing situationship you start to question who you should be hating more: your nightmare brother Andy, or his best friend Tom? w/c: 8.8k TW: just brothers being horrible A/N: Wow wow wow okay here it is. Please be kind as I am still easing myself back into this. And I know compared to the first one, it's barely anything, but writing 8k was actually a REAL struggle for me. There's probs mistakes and horrible writing but hey! i did it. And also DO NOT WORRY THERE WILL BE A PART 3. I DON'T INTEND TO LEAVE THIS STORY AS IS BUT I THOUGHT YOU GUYS SHOULD AT LEAST HAVE SOMETHING. okay okay okay all forgiven? Enjoy :)
LITTLE BIRDIE PART 1 // MASTERLIST
There was a book you once read years ago exploring the relationship between humans and dreaming, and it captivated your mind from the instant your fingers turned the first page. You were thrilled by its language, its storytelling, its theories and explanations to the point where you were absolutely obsessed by the enigma that is dreaming. The leading theory intertwined with its words was that dreaming was a human’s way of analysing their memories, learning from situations with hindsight and acting as a rehearsal for future challenges. 
It was a book you rarely forgot and a book you rarely shut up about. You remembered the moment you finished it and the profound imprint it left on your mindset. Your hands didn’t want to let go of it. From then on, it prompted you to question every dream you ever had since then.
The dream you had last night certainly fulfilled that theory. Images of your own troubled memory involving your own troubled brother flashed before you. Aside from the unstable, hostile relationship, there was actually another reason why you tended to stay away from Andy. And for some reason, your mind decided to remind you just last night in the form of a dream. 
Ten years ago, when you were eleven, you had just finished reading Matilda for the first time, one of the few books that occupied a home on your shelf as one of your all-time favourites. The storyline was almost an uncanny retelling of your life and because of that you immediately fell in love with it. You found so much of yourself in Matilda; a lonely girl with a love of books living with a family that didn’t quite understand her. Admittedly, your parents were much kinder to you than Harry and Zinnia Wormwood, but you couldn’t say the same about your brother. Andy resembled Matilda’s menacing brother, Michael Wormwood, in every way.
Prior to reading the book, you had had an awful week dealing with your brother who was in the early stages of his teenage years and you had yet to find a way of escaping his torment when your parents weren’t around. That was until you read Matilda, sitting on your front in a pillow fortress, swinging feet and unblinking eyes with the book perched so close to your face. One of your favourite moments was when Matilda had cleverly pieced together a very daring prank involving bleach hair dye, originally intended for her father but you took inspiration from it in any way you could and decided to replicate something similar for your brother. With the confidence given to you by Matilda, you found your mother’s bleach and concocted a mixture that was poured directly into your brother’s shampoo, cackling as you had finally gained a way to get back at your brother. At the time, you thought it was enough to keep him off your back, that with enough time he would realise the error in his mistakes for ever having mistreated you like Matilda’s brother Michael did. 
It was the biggest regret of your life. 
Things didn’t go your way. In the end, it was Andy that made sure you realised your mistake and a day later, you had suffered more than you ever had before. 
Enraged, Andy had stormed into your room, hair blazing with a tinge of orange that originally had you in fits of giggles, but when you realised the true extent of his anger, you weren’t laughing for long. He had fought to grab you by your ankles and vigorously drag you from your bed whilst insults and slurs passed through his lips. You had kicked and squealed but your parents were out for dinner with business partners. You were left by yourself, left to suffer the carpet burns up the length of your spine as he pulled you out of your bedroom, to defend yourself when he had pulled you to the edge of the half flight of stairs and sent you tumbling down the steps. Being a carpeted staircase with fewer than 10 steps, you got away with what could’ve been worse but it didn’t mean that the injuries you sustained you didn’t ache from. So blinded by anger, unprecedented for a fourteen-year-old, Andy couldn’t explain to your parents how you ended up with a split head that needed stitches. He couldn’t explain how you had ended up with carpet burn blisters on your back. He couldn’t explain why he did what he did simply because your parents didn’t need an explanation. They knew what had prevailed. 
It was a night you realised just how far Andy was willing to go to show how much he hated you and you vowed to never risk provoking him again. It was also a night Andy vowed to never risk hurting you again after the trouble he got himself when your parents arrived back home. 
Well, at least not physically. Little birdie would already have scuttled away before it escalated to that point.
The dream had fizzled out into a dark void as the memory turned blank. As you arose from your slumber, you wondered why, of all nights, would your conscience decide to resurrect such a memory. Again, you reminded yourself that no one really knows exactly why people dream and what messages they carry, but if you were to guess; perhaps knowing what transpired last night between you and Tom, it was your deeper conscience telling you to consolidate an old opinion of yours; that Andy was the truer evil you should be hating more. Not Tom. Not after how Tom looked at you with a soft glazing of affection in his eyes just before you fell asleep, tenderly caressing the skin of your thigh with a grounding squeeze, the very feeling that made your heart jump with giddiness. 
Longing stare, gentle touch, soft whispers. 
Maybe it could be a feeling you could get used to. You were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt just to feel more of it. 
The soft cotton of your black suite caressed your skin as you tossed and turned. The early morning sun streamed in through the small square window in the corner, illuminating the entirety of the shed. You had never slept on the couch before; it felt so out of routine. You were much more used to the bed upstairs hidden behind the blackout curtain, so you weren’t accustomed to waking in the bright morning light. It was somewhat uplifting. Albeit, the cramp in your neck was less so. 
You basked in daylight’s glow for just a minute before acknowledging how bare you were sandwiched between a blanket and the couch. Despite it being a foreign feeling, it was hardly startling compared to the savagery your body endured last night. Your ass stung, your pelvis throbbed and your head pounded. But nothing hurt more than the tightness in your chest, a pressure so suffocating that your heart was almost murmuring to be free. The pain of solitude was a bitter one. 
You, along with the black cinders of a dead flame, a raggedy towel and bottle of half-empty whisky lying by the side of the couch, and a broken promise were the result of what happened when Tom Holland got his way.
He didn’t stay. 
You wanted him to stay and he knew that, but he didn’t stay.
Your pain tolerance had been worn down to its last thread and you wanted nothing more than to be cocooned in comfort and warmth. You sought recovery under the thin blanket, grasping it in fists and pulling it tightly over your shoulder as you turned on your side while a sigh deflated from your lips.
It was too good to be true. Tom was never going to change and now, neither will you. You should just keep hating him like you did before.
~~~~
Andy also seemed to be a no-show when you eventually entered through the back patio doors into the living room. Although the air was still and calm, there was still a feeling of unease crawling up your spine when you walked past the mess left behind by Andy’s friends. Without thought, your eyes subconsciously landed on the settee where Tom had placed himself last night before he came to you, where he had sat with fire in his eyes as you bravely threatened to expose his misdemeanours. You remembered feeling like you had achieved something, like you were the victor of a battle that seemed impossible to overcome. Little did you know it was a threat he was going to face head on, and suddenly last night’s…punishment instantly flashed in your mind. 
Upon the thought, a sudden flash of realisation coloured your mind and your hand whipped to clamp over your neck. You almost forgot. The bruise on your neck. Shit, was it bad? 
You shifted nervously in front of the sheen of the oven door, seeing not one but multiple red splotches staining the skin of your neck in its reflection. Fuck, fuck, fuck! How could you walk around here so brazenly with that on your neck? Trust Tom to be an issue even when he wasn’t here. Bastard. 
“You got nerve comin’ back in here after your little stunt last night.” Andy’s groggy voice along with shuffling bare feet entered the kitchen. Fuck, you were hoping for a little reprieve to wash, change and lather your neck in makeup before Andy even had the chance to leave his bedroom. Between the dream you had last night and the bruise to your neck, Andy suddenly being here caused your heart to thump a little harder in your chest, but it was his tone that made your blood run cold. 
He sounded…pissed. Well, that was nothing new. But aside from his usual abhorrence towards you, there was something about his expression that resounded a little deeper. Grumpier. His eyes also looked at you a little differently, like he knew something about you that he hadn’t before, something contemptible and there were no second guesses as to what it was. He can’t know. How could he know? Tom--he wouldn’t…would he?
Your hand stayed resting against your neck out of pure guilt while Andy roamed the kitchen, searching fridges, cupboards, drawers.
“What?” 
He froze in his tread and turned to look at you expectantly with a deep scowl. “Uh, the whole Tom thing? How can you not remember what you did? Are you that fucking stupid?” 
You swallowed thickly, quickly preparing words. “It…it wasn’t my fault! I didn’t know what he was going to do!” 
“Well, what did you expect? You were pretty much asking for it!”
You took a hefty breath, body shaking with anger. “Fuck you, Andy. Just fuck you. Why can’t you just be on my side for once? That’s what brothers are supposed to do!”
Andy scoffed and turned back to the measly bowl of cereal he poured himself. “Well if you had just given me a slice of pizza like I asked then none of it would've happened! That’s what sisters are supposed to do, right? Do you know how pissed he was after you blackmailed him? He was blaming me for it, saying that I told you everything and how I betrayed him and how he can’t trust me anymore. I mean, how the fuck did you even know all of that?” 
Oh. He’s talking about that. 
Your hand remained casually resting against your neck, under the shield of your hair as a sigh blew past your lips. With quieter subdued words, you mumbled, “you guys aren’t exactly the quietest when you’re drunk and high.” 
“Well mind your own business and put some headphones on next time!” 
“Whatever.” 
“Why are you holding your neck like that?”
“I slept on my couch last night. Got cramp in my neck.” Ready to leave with your secret still undisclosed, you turned to make your exit from the kitchen, heading towards the bathroom. 
“Weirdo.” 
The shower was a degree or three colder than you would usually have it. Something about the freezing cold water inflicted a feeling of clarity upon your skin, like a breath of fresh air, cleansing the stains of the debauchery of last night’s secret. Even as you stepped out, you exited with a new mentality and left the promiscuous past to drain away with the water. However, in its place frustration took over. Typical that whatever relief was to be had from the refreshing shower was only to last mere minutes, because now the heat of loathing had consumed you. Of course, your inner-consciousness blamed it on Tom, but there was a small minority that was self-loathing too for even letting it happen. You should’ve known better. 
You stopped, frozen to the spot. The thing was…you did know better. You passed him off as a womaniser, the ‘selfish player’ who strives for nothing but his own satisfaction and only chases girls that share the same intent. You read him like one of your books, exposed everything you knew about him directly to his face and he confirmed it all without hesitation. So was there really anything surprising about what he did? No, of course not. You knew how sharp the blade was before you let yourself get cut by it. 
So why were you still bothered by it?
The thought still followed you as you mindlessly dabbed concealer over your neck. You watched yourself in the mirror and for just a moment tried to avoid looking at yourself as just a reflection and rather how others would see you.
It was obvious you had never been adventurous with your appearance, your virgin locks hung around your usually make-up free face, adorning wise but inexperienced eyes. What you saw was what you got. Nothing you wore represented your family’s wealth; plain, basic clothing and lacking the expensive accessories that your brother might choose to wear, but it showed that you didn’t need money to be content and preferred a simple life. The more deductions you pointed out about yourself, the more you regretted ever reading Sherlock Holmes, because fuck, you were so readable. So transparent to the eye that you assumed it was why Andy knew how to push your buttons, that your parents knew exactly what books to get you for your birthday, and possibly how Tom was able to win one over on you. 
The epiphany hit you hard and fast. Perhaps knowing Tom wasn’t the issue. After all, it certainly didn’t cause any vulnerability on his part. Perhaps the issue resided with never considering what others saw in you. Tom knew you would grow curious despite how adamant you were of opposing the idea. He knew that even though he was everything you hated about your brother and more, you would still fall into his trap. He knew how he made you feel when he was near, dissecting every sign until they were raw and unfiltered. He just knew. He even fucking told you!
“You’d be surprised at what I know about you.” Because you were so fucking readable.
Your head sunk deep into the caverns of your hands, quietly swearing an oath to yourself to stay away from Tom Holland until you figured out how not to be so transparent. 
“Hey, dude. I’m sorry about last night. You up for comin’ round again tonight? I’ll get dinner and beers. My treat. Cool, dude. See you at about 7.”  
As the words of an invitation echoed through the hall, you realised it was going to be much harder than you anticipated.
~~~~~
You spent most of the afternoon fretting over how you could avoid Tom’s inevitable return to the house. Your eyes gazed out of your bedroom window to see your shed exactly the way you left it. You couldn’t face going back there tonight. Tinted with Tom’s presence, it now served as a constant reminder of last night so it wasn’t exactly the best place to be if you wanted to avoid him. Being in the house was too risky which meant the only option you had left was to simply leave.
As 6:45pm ticked by, you tied your shoelaces, grabbed everything you needed and descended down the stairs, ready for your walk. You weren’t exactly sure where you were going to go, maybe you would find a Starbucks somewhere and read, but right now, your priority was to leave the house first and foremost. 
“Where you goin’?” Andy had asked, his lips already sealing around a bottle of beer. You were surprised he even cared enough to ask. 
“Out.”  
“Good. Can finally give me some peace.” 
Never mind. “Whatever.” 
“Scuttle away, little birdie,” he chimed, seconds before you slammed the front door. 
The pebbles clicked loudly underneath your feet as you marched your way down the private driveway. The sun had already begun to set beyond the horizon leaving behind orange remnants to colour the sky. Despite the day creeping into night, it was still warm and you praised yourself for leaving behind the jacket you considered wearing and indulged the feeling of having a warm breeze gloss over your arms. It was the first time you had seen outside of your house in a while and with that came the realisation that there was as much beauty in the real world than there was in your books. You should’ve done it sooner. 
No, really. You should’ve. Because Tom’s Lamborghini was slowly rolling up your driveway towards your house. You checked your watch; 6:49pm. Fuck. He was early. Why was he early? Why couldn’t he have turned up when he was supposed to? Why must you have to go through this again? 
Heartbeat accelerating, you looked back towards your front door calculating whether you had enough time to run back, but it had seemed you had walked too far and he had driven too quickly. There was no turning back. You had to face him head on.
Sweaty palms sunk deep into your pockets as you continued your stroll towards the gates, head down and ignorant of everything around you. Naively, you hoped for him to simply drive past you and pay you no mind, but of course, it was Tom Holland. Any opportunity to be a pain in your arse he was going to take it. You just wanted to be invisible, and despite the tinted windows and the pounding music coming from within, there was no way he wouldn’t see you and there was no way you were going to be able to avoid him. 
You expected a slow stop, a rolled-down window and a witty comment to leave his mouth before making the rest of the journey towards your house. And in all honesty, you would’ve preferred it that way. In fact, you would’ve preferred anything over what actually happened. 
The bubbling rumble of the engine stilled just a few yards ahead of you. The door opened and slammed shut again seconds later where a hearty silence followed. Quietly desperate to know what he was doing, you couldn’t resist the urge to lift your head to see him casually resting against the side of his car, waiting for your approach with his hands deep into pockets. Dark eyes latched themselves onto you as you neared and they instantly ignited a flame inside you, one that you hadn’t learned to tame yet. 
In the split second you had before anything was said, you reflected back upon your earlier epiphany about how readable you were to him. Although you hadn’t found a solution to it as of yet, you decided to play into it, letting your brows sink into a scowl, writing the words ‘fuck off’ across your features with as much ambition as you had. 
His head cocked to the side, purposely exposing the blemish you had regrettably left on him last night. You seethed at the sight. “Hey, little birdie. Where are you headed?” 
Fuck him and his patronising, mocking tone. “Out.”
“At this time?”
“Maybe I would've liked it to have been at least thirty seconds earlier, or if you were ten minutes later. Either way.” You had intended it to be a clear insult to him, but yet you couldn’t fathom why he was chuckling with that stupid grin on his face. He took a step closer and folded his arms, his eyes examining you head to toe. Even in a different light, his eyes still contained the same lascivious quality as they honed in you. You really wanted to shiver but you also didn’t want him seeing what those eyes did to you, not when you were supposed to be pissed at him. 
Longing stare…
Wordlessly and without warning, his hand reached out towards you allowing his fingertips to glaze over your jawline, purposely tilting your head to expose the part of your neck you doused in makeup. Your body burned at his touch, a violent act of betrayal of your own conscience as it pleaded with you to hate him rather than quietly yearn for him. 
Gentle touch…
He watched the hidden bruise carefully, twitching under the bob of your throat from swallowing nervously and perhaps with a twinge of guilt for having concealed it. Why you felt guilt, you weren’t quite sure. It had been estranged from your emotions all day, and if anything, you felt empowered by concealing what he left behind. But under the scrutiny of his disapproving glare, you were far from the feeling.
The click of his tongue spiked in your ears. “Andy doesn’t know, does he?”
“No. But I guess that doesn’t matter, does it? I suppose you’re just going to go and tell him anyway-”
“He won’t believe me. Not unless he sees what you’ve covered up.” 
“It’s better that way.” 
“And why’s that? I thought we agreed that little birdie’s free to do what she wants--” 
“And I thought you agreed to stay.” The words had fallen out in a trice before you had a chance to stop them. Tom wasn’t a fool to miss the anger behind them, and had he been a straight-up idiot, he would’ve missed the sadness in your eyes too. 
His hand retracted the moment you continued. “That’s why Andy doesn’t know; because I got played by your game even though I know what you’re like, and it’s fucking embarrassing. I didn’t want Andy to find out that I was that stupid and naive to think that maybe for once, you wouldn’t be an asshole. It’s like it’s all some sort of prank for you, isn’t it? Because after all, you’re the one that comes out on top and I’m the one being humiliated. It’s always been that way, I should’ve been fucking smarter to know it was never going to change.” 
Tom swallowed every word and embraced the silence for a moment before muttering your name in a voice quieter than normal. 
Soft whispers…
“Just…do me a favour and leave me alone. Shouldn’t be too hard for you. God forbid Tom Holland spends more than one night with the same girl.” 
Not sparing a second look, you turned towards the gate and quickly walked further from Tom who was left with nothing else to say. Although you were already fully convinced, you had secretly given Tom one last chance to explain himself. Just one chance to stop you and explain why he didn’t stay like he said he would, and still as you walked away and exited through the gates, he didn’t take it. 
Each step you took was harder and quicker than the last. You drove your heel into the ground as that same frustration pumped through your veins, constantly abasing you for being so caught in the humiliation of it all. 
“Fuck,” you whispered to yourself when you noticed your hands shaking. For a while, you spiralled into your own subconscious questioning why his absence this morning hurt you in a way you didn’t expect it to. No matter how profound your own self-analysis of what you were feeling was and why you were feeling it, you couldn’t find a remedy for it.
And like with every other problem in your life, instead of confronting it, you ran away from it.
~~~~
“Hi mum. How’s the holiday?” Your tone was chirper than usual as you spoke into your phone. It didn’t at all reflect how you were feeling inside, but you couldn’t let your mum worry about you. It would ruin her holiday. 
“Hi honey, it’s nice hearing from you. It’s amazing; weather’s sunny and warm, the food’s great and all is relatively stress-free, well, except from when your dad dropped his passport at the airport and nearly lost it--” 
“Jesus!” 
“I know! I told him! The moron. Anyway, how are things with you and Andy? You sound like you’re outside. Oh God. Is the house still standing? It hasn’t burnt down has it?” 
An airy chuckle fed through the line. If only she knew that Andy was just half of your problems. “Yes, it’s still standing so no need to panic. And I’m out for a walk. Decided I needed to leave the house for a bit to get some peace and fresh air. Andy has…been his usual self. Don’t get mad but he had a party the first night.” 
“Ugh! I knew it! Truthfully, I always knew he was going to throw a party but I didn’t think it was going to be as early as the first night! Great. Now I owe your father a grand. It wasn’t too disastrous, was it? You must’ve spent the night in your shed. Did you get pizza delivered?” 
You opened your mouth but no words came out. You never told her you were going to be staying in your shed, nor did you ever tell her about ordering pizza, regardless of the fact they happened on separate nights. She was still, in some aspect, right. 
“Y-yeah, I did.” A long sigh broke the pause in between your words. “Hey, can I ask you something? And be honest with me.” 
“Sure. What’s up?” 
“Am I predictable?” 
Your mother somewhat spluttered through the phone as she tried to find her words, obvious enough that if she had just said the first thing that came to her head you would’ve already had your answer. 
Yes.
But of course, she was your mother, and in her sweet, maternal manner, she decided to answer delicately. “Well, you were always set in your ways, even from a young age. Very much a creature of habit. Routines and tendencies, you know?”
“So…I shouldn’t have a routine?” 
“That’s not what I’m saying. Everyone has a routine. For example, your dad and I get up at 7 every morning, we’re at work by 8, we come home at 5, we make dinner, we watch TV. Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, I go to the gym. Yes, I have a routine but that doesn’t mean you’re going to know whether I’m in the mood for tea, coffee or vodka and it’s the same with you. I know you spend your evenings reading, but that doesn’t mean I know whether you’re going to read romance, mystery or horror. My point is; just because you have a routine, doesn’t mean your personality is predictable too, just the likelihood of your next steps. I’m just making it apparent that yours hasn’t changed since you were young. What’s got you asking?” 
The truth sat on your tongue.
Andy’s best friend, Tom, whom I’ve hated most of my life, said he was going to fuck me even though I didn’t want to fuck him, but I still let him fuck me, and now I’m angry that I let him fuck me because it proved that he knew I was going to let him fuck me. 
Obviously, that wasn’t what you really said. “Lately I’ve been feeling like everyone seems to know what I’m going to do before I even know what I’m going to do.” 
“Well, change up your routine. Read in the afternoon and take a walk in the evening. Spend time in the living room instead of the shed.” 
You hummed quietly, deliberating her advice. You remained quiet for just a second too long for her liking.
“Honey?” 
“Yeah?” 
“I can’t help but wonder if this has something to do with Andy. He hasn’t said or…done anything hurtful to you, has he? You know it would break me if he was to repeat what he did ten years-” 
“No, no, it’s okay. He hasn’t done anything in particular, at least nothing I can’t handle myself. Now go and enjoy the rest of your holiday. I’ll text you soon, love you.” 
She sighed, unconvinced, but replied back with the same familial passion she had always shown you. 
As the hours drifted late into the night, you made it to your local Starbucks and sat with your hot chocolate encased in your hands. While your book lay unused beside you, your old habits drove you to blankly stare out of the window, casually watching other people as they continued on with their life while you reflected on your own. The conversation you had with your mother still ran circles around your mind, and as ever the insightful person she was, you thought it best to heed her words carefully. Change your routine, she said. 
What was your routine? What was a guarantee in your life? Well, for one, you had to look no further than your own memory of Tom’s words not too long ago. ‘It's hard enough that the sight of Andy makes you scuttle away so easily…’. As much as it pained you to admit, he was right. It was the only cause-and-effect Andy and his friends could rely upon. The longer you thought about it, the more and more of your little tendencies surfaced in your head. 
So you decided to change them all. 
When your mother said to change your routine, when translated into your mind it read along the lines of ‘when Andy comes along, don’t scuttle away. When his friends are invited over, stay in the house. Throw them off, don’t let them know your next steps.’ Although it was going against your human nature, you were going to put your mind to it. Do not let anyone have a higher power over you. Do not let anyone know what you might do next. It was going to be a real test of your mental and emotional stability. 
~~~~~
As it had appeared, that test arrived sooner than you anticipated. Not two days after your mother had bestowed you with her advice, Andy had organised yet another party at your house. There wasn’t exactly a strategy in place per say, but you had already pre-emptively taken everything from your shed because you didn’t want to dangle the temptation of retreating to your sanctuary in front of you. You wanted to remain strong in your ambitions no matter how you were going to do it or how difficult it was going to be. 
As night fell, you watched from the upstairs office’s tall windows as people started to flood into the house, just to get an idea of what to wear. You wanted to look the part, wanted to look like you belonged there and not just a lost ghost floating around the house like you had been before. Most girls you saw were pretty casual, thankfully swapping the short dresses and skirts to jeans and a nice top, choosing comfort over style, nevertheless still maintaining that expensive price tag. That shouldn’t be an issue; you pondered over the choice of Balenciaga shoes you had in your wardrobe. 
Once the party had started, you gave yourself a generous 45 minutes to psych yourself up for the night ahead, throwing back a few drinks you had brought in from the shed, fixing up your hair and makeup with a little more detail, and spending many, many minutes staring at your reflection in the mirror. Your eyes fell to your neck, the deep purple of the bruise had simmered to just a faint wash of pink that it wasn’t completely obvious to the eye, almost invisible in the dark. The foundation brush in your hand hovered a few inches above it, wavering between covering it up and leaving it be. 
No. Leave it. Who cares who sees it? Not you. Not anymore.
The brush rattled against your vanity desk as you dropped it, turning towards your bedroom door and walking downstairs before a second thought could cross your mind. 
With each step you took, you counted the number of things that were a guarantee for tonight: drink, drugs, games, chaos, debauchery, gambling, a mess. You had always seen the result of those things when you stepped onto the scene the next morning, but tonight, you were going to see them happen in action. A little daunting if anything, but if you were trying to look on the brighter side, you were fulfilling an unsuspecting part of your curiosity that had always wanted to see what exactly Andy got up to during these parties of his. 
The crowd was once again split between the open living room, the kitchen and the veranda. There was no doubt that in time other rooms would eventually be used for other things, but the night was still young, sober and relatively innocent. You wanted to grow with it. 
You couldn’t help but notice how you caught a few eyes with your entrance; a group of girls in the corner whispering between each other, a few of Andy’s friends turning their heads to catch a glance; shock, confusion and curiosity evident in their pregnant stares. It was attention you weren’t used to receiving, but that was the whole point of tonight. Change your routine. Be unpredictable. Be unreadable. Take control. 
There was a pair of eyes you had yet to see, though. 
Longing stare, gentle touch, soft whispers. 
Stop it. 
“What the fuck are you doing here?” It was Andy, lips pursed, teeth gritted. It was obvious your sudden appearance was startling to him, and it was no surprise to you that he wasn’t taking it well. His control was slipping…
“Here? As in my own house? What could I possibly be doing here?” The sarcasm dripped from every word as you yanked back your own arm from Andy’s fist. 
“You’re not supposed to be here.” 
You smirked. “Says who?” 
He opened his mouth again, at a loss, but was interrupted by louder, higher-pitched voices as they swarmed in from behind him. “Oh my God, Andy, is this your little sister?” It was Morgan, the girl Andy had brought back to your parents’ bed on the first night. She seemed to be engrossed with you, introducing herself animatedly and already inviting you to get drinks with her from the kitchen, much to Andy’s dismay. Despite being a little dumbfounded by Morgan’s sudden interest in you, you decided to not question it with the sheer satisfaction of knowing that you were stealing his attention. 
“She was just leaving.” 
“What? No, come on, let her join. You said tonight was going to be chill. ‘The more the merrier’, you said. Remember?” 
Morgan whisked you away by the curl of her arm wrapped around your shoulder, bearing nothing but her pearly whites as she escorted you to the colourful array of expensive vodka bottles, mixed amongst the fat, golden champagne bottles on the kitchen counter, every second one uncorked. Morgan helped herself to the champagne glasses stacked up in the tall cupboard like she had done it so many times before, grabbing one for herself and one for you. God, it was like this wasn’t even your house and she was the hostess. 
“It’s so nice to finally talk to you. You know you’re like a myth to us.”  
Your laughter was loud and abrupt. “What?” 
“No, seriously. We all knew Andy had a little sister but, like, we never see you.” 
She handed you a glass of bubbling champagne and you took it delicately between your fingers, twirling as you reflected upon her words. “Well, I’ve decided to change that.” 
“Good for you. I’m sure there’s plenty of people who want to meet you--oh! Talia! Over here! It’s Andy’s little sister!” 
A slender body circled around yours and facing you was Talia, the girl you once fantasised over replacing. She greeted you with a smile on her face against the backdrop of her long, blonde hair as a red hue crossed yours. It was a smile that seemed genuinely welcoming and a sly thought spawned in your mind; maybe she doesn’t know about you spying on her that first night…
You couldn’t imagine her being so welcoming if she did.
“Oh hey! I can’t believe you’re here. It’s so strange seeing you outside your shed.” It was so strange to see her not latching onto Tom. Speaking of, where was he? “By the way, thanks for letting me use your toilet that first night, I don’t think I would’ve made it if you hadn’t. I was just so drunk and I literally couldn’t hold it.” 
“Sure, it was no problem.” 
“Really? I kept thinking that I had pissed you off.” 
Well…“Don’t worry, it wasn’t you. It was…um, Tom. Didn’t want him in, honestly.” 
A look of disgust contorted her features at the mention of his name. It didn’t make sense in your head albeit it was something you could resonate with. Perhaps you weren’t the only one to be foolish enough to lose at his game. Her eyes rolled widely and the click of her tongue conveyed a message that didn’t need words. She apparently despised him. Both a sucker for gossip, Morgan filled you in on the details with Talia giving extra snippets of insight every ten seconds or so, and after an unnecessarily long and dramatic build up, you found out that Talia and Tom used to have a little friends-with-benefits-no-strings-attached situation going on over a number of months. Talia had been using Tom in the same way he was using her; to alleviate boredom. It wasn’t news, honestly. In fact, it was hardly discreet. But the shock came from what Talia told you after. 
“He texted me like three nights ago saying he wanted to end it.” 
He would’ve been with you when he texted her. You must’ve been asleep by the time he did. A nervous glance to your left gave away your paranoia, regardless you probed for more. “Why?”
“Something about maturing or growing up or whatever.” She flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder with a short, unbothered sigh, her phone now perched in front of her face. “Oh well. I mean it wasn’t like we were exclusive. I can get my fun elsewhere.” 
Stuck in thought, your eyes mindlessly gazed over Talia’s shoulder where your focus pulled your attention to the living room, full of bodies sitting, standing, conversing, drinking, all blurring into one amalgamation of movement. But there in the centre of the room was one motionless figure, a solid rock amongst the waves and it caught your attention immediately.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. 
Adrenaline was fed through your veins at the sight of Tom, just like it had done before. His stature was strong and confident as he faced you, clutching a beer in hand while the other burrowed into his pocket. He had you in his sights and with a glare so firm from eyes so dark, you found yourself being ensnared by them. You couldn’t put a name to the expression on his face and it left you wondering what his intentions were. Several ideas coursed through your mind but none had any semblance of plausibility.
With slow and careful movements, Tom tilted his head in a smooth motion to crack his neck. Only then, did you figure out what was going through his head.
With a breath caught in your lungs, you stayed vigilant as he subtly raised his beer just inches into the air with the neck of the bottle tilted slightly in your direction, dedicating a small, personal toast with the gentle nod of his head. What the hell did that mean?
You swallowed, cautious. You turned your attention back to Talia. “So…um, you haven’t heard from him since?”
Her eyes looked at you from the phone. “No. Knowing him, he’s probably moved onto someone else. Lucky bitch whoever it is. Tom was kinda my favourite to fuck around with. He knew what he was doing if you know what I mean.” 
“No.” You deadpanned. “I don’t.”  
Oh yes you do…
Having that very enlightening conversation with Morgan and Talia was just the first of many. Every second you spent around the house, the more people began to realise that you were here to stay and took the opportunity to find out all about Andy’s mysterious little sister. As introverted as you thought you were, you were actually enjoying the conversations, realising that not every one of Andy’s friends were as conceited as he was. At first it was the girls, watched by many begrudging boys as you single-handedly stole their attention, a problem that could only be resolved by joining them, chatting to you, finding out more about you and lure out the embarrassing stories of Andy they knew you had stored away somewhere. You were more than happy to oblige as it passed that point in the night when people had estranged themselves from sobriety, opening up with every drop they drank, including you. Although, you told yourself you didn’t want to take things too far, not on your first night of liberation from Andy’s silent clutches of which he was struggling to retain. 
You had chatted to all but two. Two boys who had cowered to the far ends of the room for the majority of the night, watching, observing, refusing to follow the crowd. There was no attempt to patronise you, manipulate you, mock you in any way because, like your mother had suggested, you were completely out of routine. So out of character that the boys didn’t know what to do and unlike what you were dreading earlier, the party had developed into something you were happily embracing. It had actually pained you to take a break from the party when your phone had completely drained of its battery, so overused from adding multiple people on socials, adding numbers, taking photos that it had actually died. 
Quietly excusing yourself, you made your way up to your bedroom believing you hadn’t been followed. It wasn’t until you tried to close your door behind you that a foot had stopped it from sealing you in. You barely made it to your charger when the intruder grabbed your arms and violently spun you around.
“What are you doing, get the fuck out my room!” Alcohol fuelled your anger as you spat words at your brother who was far from pleased. 
“You little shit. You told all my friends about Mexico?!” 
Mexico was your biggest weapon against Andy. It was a time where you and your family went on a summer holiday to Cancun a couple of years ago; an amazing time for you, but for Andy, it was his most embarrassing memory. Just days after arriving, Andy had an unfortunate incident involving the sea, lost swimming trunks, and a very awkward interaction with a lifeguard. Andy was absolutely mortified and the rest of the family giggled uncontrollably as they vowed to him to never tell a soul. It didn’t stop them from talking about it when the family got together, and while they kept their promise to never tell another soul, you had been embarrassed one too many times by Andy to solemnly keep that vow. 
“Serves you right for embarrassing me in front of your friends all those other times-”
“That’s not the fucking same!” 
“In fact, you’re right. Mexico doesn’t even begin to cover the amount of times you’ve embarrassed me. Now get off me before I start telling all your friends about everything else.” 
His grip tightened, containing your struggle. “You’re not going back downstairs,” he ordered. 
“Face it, Andy. You’re just too scared to admit that all your friends actually prefer me over you. That’s why you never ever let me near when you have them round.” You knew all too well that you were provoking him, something that you promised yourself never to do again, but you’ve lived so many years cowering from him. Just for once, you wanted to give him what he deserved. 
“Shut up!” Enraged, Andy shoved you, and you landed just short of your bed, your spine landing onto the wooden bedframe with a clatter. With the door being closed and the music blasting downstairs, no one could hear the fight ensuing in your room. Once again, you were left to fend for yourself. But you were older and stronger than what you were ten years ago, surely you could stand a better chance against him. 
In a tanlge of limbs, punches and kicks were thrown where and when possible, the two of you caught up in a careless fight with no clear winner. It lasted several pain-inducing minutes until the final, winning blow was taken by Andy who had managed to get you pinned to the ground. You weren’t sure what to expect from him as he forced you to the ground. Of course damage had already been done, but what else could Andy do to ensure you would stay here like he wanted you to? He knew as well as you did that at the first chance of escape, you would take it, so with every second that passed, the worry and fear in you increased. He was stuck for options, having nothing to keep you pinned. 
There was an intense moment of anticipation. Your eyes remained locked in place with his as you internally battled it out with each other, waiting for either to have the chance to do something. 
You clocked the moment his eyes wandered to your neck and heat rushed to your cheeks because you knew exactly what caught his attention. 
“What’s that?” 
“None of your business,” you spat. “Let go--” 
“Is that…is that a hickey?” His voice was incredulous as he brushed a harsh finger over it, expecting it to be make-up but when it didn’t disappear, his eyes locked back onto you and his hand remained around your neck. “Who?” He demanded. The fire inside him roared ferociously. For a moment, the thought that he could potentially suffocate you crossed your mind. “Who?!” 
To both of your surprise, the door swung open. “Dude, what the fuck are you doing? Get off of her!” 
Andy’s weight was alleviated from you very swiftly, and your eyes caught on to the soft brown curls of Tom as he hauled him away from you, giving you just enough time to catch your breath and find your feet. By the time you came to stand, Tom had Andy shoved against your bedroom wall, a look of confusion riddling his face. He still didn’t know why his best friend had sided with you, and it made him all the more angry to think about what you had said earlier. He wasn’t ready to admit anything. 
“Are you fucking crazy?” Tom yelled, face reddening by the second. “She’s your sister?!” 
Andy glared at him through furrowed brows. Defending you was so uncharacteristic of him so it felt like a stab in the back for Andy. “Why are you taking her side in this, man?” 
“How could I possibly take your side when you just attacked her?” 
The two boys continued to argue in front of you while you stood silently behind them. The novelty of having Tom openly defend you against Andy had yet to wear off, so you were curious to see how far he would go and how it would play out.
“Dude, she told everyone about Mexico!”
“So? You’ve embarrassed her in front of all of us before.” Damn, right he has. “You told us all she was a virgin--”
“Was?” There was a brief silence in the argument, the gears winding in Andy’s head. His eyes twitched, stealing a glance of you behind Tom’s shoulder but contempt drove them back to Tom. “You know, don’t you? Who did it? Huh? Who left that thing on her neck?” 
“Probably someone who can do a better job of looking after her than you can--”
You decided to finally cut in. You mustered the confidence and spoke firmly. “Tell him.” 
Tom turned to you, a little surprised, almost as if he wanted confirmation of what you just asked him to do. With his eyes gazing over your features like they had done so many times before, he was able to clearly see the resolution written in your eyes and the confidence he saw as you stood your ground, unblinking. A small smirk tugged at his lips. He could read you so well. 
Little birdie’s free to do what she wants. 
“It was me.” 
“You…no, you’re lying. I don’t believe you.” 
“He’s telling the truth.” You came to a stand in front of Andy. “The night you had all your friends round for sports night. Tom left early, didn’t he?” 
“How do you know that, you were in your shed…”
“Because he didn’t go home. Did you not think it was weird that he came back the next day with a hickey on his neck? That it’s just as faded as mine is now?”
An epiphany soon glossed over Andy’s eyes. “You were holding your neck…but you-you said you had neck cramp.” 
“Or I was covering something up.” 
Andy looked to you, to Tom and then back to you, betrayal and anger riddling his features. Between you and Tom, neither of you could quite tell who he was going to lash out at first and as a precaution, Tom took a step in front of you, curling his arm around your front. You initially thought it strange that Tom felt the need to protect you given what your brother had just found out, especially since you knew that you were considered ‘off-limits’ to your brother’s friends. Then again, it wasn’t out of brotherly-protection, it was out of greed and possession, and knowing Andy and his lack of familial compassion, you realised that you were just as much in the firing line as Tom was. His next words attested to that. 
“You…whore.” 
Now Andy had called you a lot of things, but a whore was never one of them. It had your blood boiling, your skin crawling with absolute disgust, and your molars grinding together. What did you do to deserve a brother as rancid as him? 
The moment he uttered that word, you pounced for him in a blinding rage. What stopped you from actually hitting him was Tom, making a very mature decision to collect all of your flailing, swinging limbs and calmly escort you out of the room. Andy attempted to retaliate but with a swift and threatening ‘do not fucking touch her’ from Tom, he retreated and sulked his way to his room. Regardless, you refused to relent until you were safely out of his sight, out into the front garden and trailing towards the front gate with the music of the party dulling behind you. 
Once you reached the gates, Tom turned to you once to ask you if you were okay and in your alcohol-adrenaline-induced state, you simply nodded. That was good enough for him. 
Wordlessly you followed Tom, having little to no idea what he was doing or where he was taking you. All you knew was that he had your hand in his and you were walking out of your driveway. You shook your hand lethargically to test whether or not he would let go but his grip only tightened, apparently adamant on his decision to take you away from here.
“Where are we going?” 
“We’re going back to my house.” 
“Why?” 
“So that this time, you’ll know I’ll stay.”
All things considered, you should’ve said no. You should’ve reminded yourself exactly why you were trying to avoid Tom. You should’ve stopped him and given him a ‘what-for’ for all the hurt he had caused you like you did with Andy. But you didn’t because you couldn’t stop reminding yourself of why you wanted to say yes.
Rough hands, dark eyes, desperate moans. Longing stare, gentle touch, soft whispers.
You were tired of the reasoning, tired of the tension, tired of constantly battling, and tired of trying to decipher what every little minute detail meant. You just wanted to say yes and get on with it. 
So you did. 
Part 3 coming soon
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helloheyhihowdyheya · 10 months
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Rose Thorn Blues | Sneak Peek
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Peter Parker x fem!reader
Here's a little sneak peek of this long enemies to lovers, work rivals fic with tasm!Peter (my beloved <3). I plan on posting the first part on Friday :)
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You used to enjoy the clear sky on a sunny day, the vibrating blue that stretched until it curved around the horizon. Used to love the way the lapping waves of the Atlantic shimmered for miles, its ripples echoing the sky’s image. The blue of the world before the sun came up, or the indigo quiet of a rainy day. You even used to love how red the rusted bricks outlining your apartment building looked, tracing the tips of your fingers along them as you walked by, scarlet pebbles breaking off into your palm. The cherry glow of a late-night diner’s “Open” sign made the beats of your heart stutter, its lights reflecting off the glass and illuminating puddles littering the sidewalk. Even with the occasional rose you passed on your way to work, the red petals surrounded by thorns and overgrown weeds, you still leaned your nose in to smell its sweet crimson scent. But that was before your internship at The Daily Bugle, before you had to write countless stories on Spider-Man all the time, and before you knew Peter, the other intern. Now, every cloudless day or trip to the ocean, hell, even the plump blueberries in the grocery store or a swirling glass of Merlot, an obnoxious red stoplight, or the tiniest cut exposing a drop of blood turned your stomach. You knew people could change you, but you’d never expected to hate the shades of red and blue — until you stared at it every day while standing in Parker’s shadow.
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vauxxy · 2 years
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“treacherous”
(any version) peter parker x reader
(rivals to lovers because that’s the best trope)
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peter parker ends up being roped into coming to betty brants party, despite immensely disliking the person who urges him to come. the party sparks a strange realisation and challenges their previous thoughts and feelings towards one another.
warnings: straight people and guns and female pronouns and alcohol and swearing xx
“fuck off penis parker”
y/n turned her head away from her lab partner, dragging her hands across her face as she crossed her legs. peter rolled his eyes and rested his head in his hand. “whatever, it was just an idea,” he scoffed, scribbling something down in his note book. y/n furrowed her brows.
“are you fucking serious? a study on what causes ‘goth girls’ to become pot heads? that’s an obvious dig at me and i won’t stand for it”
“what do you suggest then, y/n?”
peter smirked, fiddling with his pencil as he looked up at y/n.
“maybe a study on what causes guys with tiny dicks to become nerdy virgins” y/n proposed, loudly closing her science book. “oh wait,” she continued. “i think we know the answer to that one already!”
peter parker folded his arms and leaned back into his chair. “you’re such an… interesting personality, y/n” he laughed as the bell rang.
the rest of the class quickly fled the scene, most uncomfortable by the two teenagers’ constant arguing. their shoes lightly tapped the ground, y/n seemingly faster than usual.
as she hurried to her locker, gwen stopped her. “you’re in a rush” she stated, leaning against the metal doors next to y/n as the other girl frantically put her books in her bag.
“i’ve got to do the groceries, make dinner and meet with the bank all within the next few hours so i can go to this stupid party you want me at, so i’m in a little bit of a rush i guess” y/n joked sarcastically, pushing a hand against her hair anxiously.
“i can help you out if you want?” gwen offered, walking away with y/n. y/n shook her head as she headed towards the subway with her friend. “honestly, it’s all good. it’ll only take me an hour or two anyways” she smiled, catching the eye of a familiar nerd waiting for the train to area.
y/n and gwen. turned to face peter. “are you coming to the party tonight?” gwen asked, leaning her head on y/n’s shoulder. peter pursed his lips in response. “i didn’t even know there was a party” he replied, turning off his phone. y/n chuckled, shaking her head. “that’s so… like you, peter” she chuckled as the subway arrived at their platform.
the three got into discussion as the doors opened, walking in and luckily finding seats. “are you still pissy about the goth-pothead comment?” peter asked, staring at the screen of his phone. y/n shook her head and arched his brows, turning to face peter. “i don’t give a flying fuck about that, i have the memory of a fish,” y/n replied.”i just liked teasing you” she smiled.
“you should come peter, it’s at betty brant’s house” gwen interrupted, hanging onto her school bag. peter chuckled, slightly shaking his head. “i’m not too sure about that one,” he replied. “parties have never really been my thing” gwen gasped and put her hand on her heart. “that’s so crazy! who could’ve known that the skater boy didn’t like parties” she joked playfully, holding onto the trains hand rail as it moved around.
“you should come, i’d love to see you as a drunken idiot” y/n smirked. peter gazed up at y/n, crossing his arms. “oh, i am not good at being drunk- i get all weird” peter muttered awkwardly, causing gwen and y/n to instantly light up. “you need to come now!” gwen laughed, covering her hand with her mouth. he shook his head, standing up. “i’ll think about it” he murmured reluctantly, slinging his bag over his shoulder at the sound of the train announcing his stop. “you better come, i wanna see you make an absolute fool of yourself” y/n teased, pushing peter lightly. peter looked back at y/n, pursing his lips and meekly waving goodbye to the two girls.
as he left, gwen turnt to y/n. “you know he’s into you, right?” she stated, taking peters old seat next to y/n. y/n chuckled sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “very funny, gwen” she responded. she nodded her head, nudging her shoulder a bit. “he’s got a thing for emo girls, even ones he supposedly hates” gwen affirmed, smiling.
“i don’t care anyways, i couldn’t like a jerk like that”
“are you sure? you flirt with him every chance you get”
“no! that’s just banter, don’t get it twisted” y/n scoffed, standing up for her stop. “i’m gonna go run some errands before the party, see you then” she smiled. gwen nodded, waving goodbye.
- - -
running from the bank to the grocery store back to her house was a rather tiring routine, but she had to do it to make sure her siblings were all tended for before she even thought about enjoying herself.
while she was walking to the bank, she felt a pair of eyes staring daggers into the back of her head, but as soon as she turned around she found absolutely nothing to be afraid of. this had been happening much more than usual, causing herself to become more cautious than usual.
getting ready for the party, she felt the same fear she felt at the bank, but it was more so about what gwen had said before. to soothe her nerves, she called her friend and put the phone of speaker as she did her makeup.
“we’re gonna get pete so drunk tonight, i wanna know what he was talking about on the train” gwen laughed, causing y/n to subconsciously smile. “i wonder if he’s a funny drunk or one of those depressing ones with no filter” y/n responded, grabbing her keys and walking out of her bedroom.
she put her hand over the speaker of the phone and shouted out to her siblings. “i’ll be back in a few hours, call me if you need anything” she announced, heading out of the house as her siblings all said their goodbyes.
hopefully the night wouldn’t end in disaster.
- - -
“bottoms up!” gwen shouted, already hammered 50 minutes into the party. y/n, gwen and peter were all sat in betty’s spacious bathroom, close together with a bottle of vodka and a carton of apple juice. the three teens took their respective shots, each at different stages of drunkenness.
y/n sat back into the coldness of the empty bathtub with a bottle of beer in her right hand and a shot glass in the other. “i feel like my body doesn’t align with my brain” she cried dramatically. gwen turned to her friend, leaning against the cabinet underneath the sink. “how so babe?” she replied, popping every other letter she spoke. peter’s eyes moved over to y/n intrigued by her sentiment.
“i just feel like my boobs should be bigger!” she sulked, sitting up to face gwen and peter. gwen sympathetically arched her brows, cradling the vodka bottle. “no! you have great boobs…” she slurred as peter turned beetroot red and turned away from y/n, leaning against the bathroom wall.
“but what if i want double d’s??!!” she exclaimed, leaning back. peter leaned his head to the side. “for the record, i think your boobs are nice” he stated, clearly out of it. y/n and gwen were both taken back by this sudden comment. “uhhh, thanks?!” y/n stuttered, covering her face in embarrassment. “don’t think too much about it, weirdo” peter defended himself, “maybe if you weren’t such an emo you’d like them more”
gwen suddenly jolted up, as if something clicked. “y/n you’re right, he doesn’t have a filter when he’s drunk!” she smiled, turning to peter. y/n’s eyes lit up, mouth opening slightly. “i’d like to think i’m a very well held together drunk person” peter nodded his head, assuring himself. y/n shook her head, leaning over to pat peters shoulder. “i literally don’t understand a single word you said”
“well, this newfound information deserves a game of truth or truth” gwen suggested, taking another shot. peter refused at first, but he didn’t really have a choice in the matter anyways.
“peter, truth or truth?” gwen asked. peter took a while to think, tapping his chin. “i think i’ll take a wildcard here and say… truth” he reposed. “since when we’re you so observant of y/n’s boobs?” she asked, causing y/n to object. “that’s a weird question-“ she was cut off by peter answering almost instantly. “i am a very observant person, i see things” he justified, slurring his words. “but” he continued, “y/n is a pretty girl, despite her rude comments and scary makeup so i’m obviously gonna notice her nice boobs”
y/n tried to form a sentence but all could come out was a confused “thank you??”
after a few beats of time, she straightened her back and peeked over at peter. “someone wants to get into my pants” she sneered. peter threw up his hands defensively. “hey, no way! gross…” he muttered. “i’m just telling the truth, you’re the one making it weird”
gwen nodded her head in satisfaction. “okay, now you ask someone” she insisted, passing the bottle to peter. “okay, gwen… truth or truth?” he asked, taking a swift and instantly regretting it as the taste hit his mouth. “truth” she replied, curling her knees towards her chest. “what’s the weirdest secret you know about anyone at this party?” peter questioned. gwen took a few moments to think of something.
“betty is screwing the camera dude for her little morning announcements” she nonchalantly replied, shrugging her shoulders. y/n gasped. pulling at her hair slightly. “i called it!” she shouted.
the game continued, the questions getting weirder and more provocative as time went on.
“y/n, truth or truth?” betty asked, crossing her arms confidently. “truth” she replied.
“who’s the most fuckable person at school?” she smiled like a drunken sailor. y/n didn’t hesitate one bit, absolutely smashed. “peter” she whispered loudly, pointing at the boy who was now sat next to her in the bathtub.
peter’s eyes widened, frozen in place. “what?! why me?” he asked, chocking on his words. gwen gasped, grasping at the torso of her dress in shock. “you’re tall and you’re secretly ripped… and you’re awkward and nice but not to me which i find a little attractive” she muttered. “you’re a major dick with a terrible attitude- but i feel like if i was to do anything with anyone you’d be the nicest” she stated as her eyes fluttered.
peter was at an utter loss for words. “are you two into each other and just decided not to tell me?” gwen, cried, smiling as she laid back. “i don’t like peter, i just find myself being very, extremely attracted to him” y/n, bit the inside of her mouth. “despite his obvious and unavoidable flaws, of course” she continued. peter stared at her in shock, pushing his hair back. “honestly, i agree” he interjected. “i find myself thinking about y/n a lot, but i don’t like her” he said.
“that’s literally the definition of liking each other” gwen affirmed, drinking the last bit from the bottle. “i need to get more!” she shouted, standing up. “get something fruity” y/n pleaded, reaching out. “sure” gwen agreed. leaving the room.
moments passed, and quickly y/n moved towards peter. “do i like you, penis parker?” she asked, resting her head on his shoulder. “how am i supposed to answer that question” peter laughed, leaning into the movement.
“kiss me so i know if i like you” y/n demanded, jolting up and facing peter.
their faces were mere centimetres apart, they could feel the warmth of each others bodies.
“are you sure?” he asked, moving in a little closer.
“yes i’m sure, don’t be a pussy” she responded, placing her hands on peters shoulders.
suddenly, their lips made contact as their bodies intertwined. peter put his hands in her waist as he leaned further into the kiss.
the expression turned more passionate, but before they could continue the door opened suddenly.
“can you guys leave? it’s 2 am!” betty demanded, holding a trash bag filled with empty bottles and plastic cups.
the two jolted off each other, startled by her sudden entrance. “oh, shit-“ she clenched her teeth as she realised what the two were doing. “sorry, you’ve got 30 minutes to wrap… that… up” she hesitantly remarked as she walked backwards out of the doorframe and closed the door.
the two sat in silence for a few seconds.
“i can’t tell if that was a good idea or not” peter sighed, sinking into the floor of the bathtub. y/n closed her eyes. “i’m so confused” she muttered, covering her face. peter turned towards y/n again and moved the hands from her face before leaning into kiss her again. y/n returned the gesture, pulling herself into him.
“guys betty brant is kicking us out-“ gwen announced as she opened the door, her eyes widening at the sight in front of her “HOLY SHIT!” she shouted, gasping loudly. the two pushed off of each other again, moving to separate sides of the bathtub.
“umm… it’s not what it looks like?” y/n said, not even sounding convincing enough for herself. “no, it definitely is what it looks like” gwen nodded leaning over to let out an exhausted laugh. “i fucking called it!” she cheered, parading out of the bathroom.
y/n stood up, gesturing her hand out to peter so he could follow. “i should probably get an uber” she stated, stepping out of the bathtub as peter took her hand. he followed and nodded slightly. “me too to be honest, i don’t think i can drive” he laughed, stumbling a little.
the two exited out the bathroom and awkwardly walked outside the house together.
the cold air hit y/n’s face as she stared at her phone screen, waiting for her uber to arrive so she could get out of this awkward tension.
“do you wanna talk about what happened?” peter started, looking over at y/n. she looked back, noticing the large distance between the two. “no-yes, no??” she responded, putting her phone in her jacket pocket. “i’m gonna sleep on it, if that’s okay” she finally replied cohesively, fidgeting with her hands. peter nodded, hiding his hands in his jean pockets.
the uber pulled up to the sidewalk, announcing that the uber was for y/n. she took a step forward towards it before peter grabbed her hand and pulled her into one last kiss, sinking into the moment. y/n clinched onto him as if they’d never speak again, holding him closely.
she pulled away a few seconds later, taking a step backwards. “uh, i’ll see you later penis parker” she remarked, stepping inside of the car. peter waved as the car started and drive off with the girl he was snogging a few moments before. he took a deep breath in, holding his face. “what the fuck…” he muttered.
- - -
it had been more than 24 hours since the party and there was complete radio silence between both parties. peter was hunched over in his bed, staring at his phone as he yearned for a text from y/n ti meet up or something. it was already sunday night and they were supposed to sit next to each other for the first two periods in the morning.
to take his mind off the stress he was feeling, peter put on his suit and climbed out of his bedroom window.
he swung around the streets of queens for a few good minutes, taking in the cold air as it collapsed against the fabric of his suit. he wound up on the rooftop of the tallest building in sight, staring over the city streets. his eyes traced over every movement he could see, swinging his legs over the end of the building.
in the corner of his eye, he could see two figures standing in an alleyway nearby. suspicious of the situation, he cautiously swung closer to navigate the situation better.
“hand over the money, i know you have it” a booming voice announced from the distance, instantly alarming peter. moving closer, he could see that the figure responsible for the voice had a handgun pressed against the second figure.
quickly, peter swung towards the alleyway and dropped right behind the armed man. he punched him down almost instinctively and pressed the front of his body against the cold floor. “what do you think you’re doing, threatening people this late at night?” he asked, webbing the gun to the ground and holding the man’s hands behind his back. “the fuck?!” he shouted, muffled by his face smashed against the concrete. peter webbed his hands in place and stuck him to the ground before standing up and looking at the other figure.
he instantly recognised the girl in front of him, chocking out of pure shock and somewhat rage.
y/n?
“attacking a teenager? not cool, man” he sighed, quickly contacting the authorities and standing by y/n. she had tears in her eyes and was shaking harder than anyone peter had ever seen anyone shake before. “are you okay ms?” he asked, holding into her shoulders. she shook her head, sobbing quietly. “i’ll get you out of here” he stated, grabbing onto y/n and webbing the man to the floor once again, just in case.
he swung the two back the the top of the building as her tears wet the torso of peter’s suit. it took everything in her power to not kiss her again and hold onto her as tightly as possible.
he set her down, rubbing her back softly. “do you mind telling me what happened?” he asked, crouching down to her level as she sat on the floor of the building. she nodded, sobbing a little quieter.
“that- that was some weird stalk-stalker” she cried, trying to explain herself. “he was following me around all week because- because i’ve been going to th-the banks”
peter nodded slowly, trying not to rush her. “i think he though i had money… but i definitely don’t have- like any…” she sighed, drying her eyes. she bit the inside of her mouth. calming down a little. “you don’t need to worry about him anymore, he’s going to jail for a very long time” he reassured her.
soon enough, y/n started talking to the masked superhero about her week. “i’ve been having a lot of financial issues, and boy issues, and like… issues” she stated, laughing a little bit. peter’s ears pricked up. “boy issues?” he asked, instantly regretting it. so unprofessional he thought, internally judging himself. “oh yeah,” she laughed. “i don’t think you’d wanna hear about that, you’re a whole ass superhero” she smiled, shaking her head.
“i’m all ears” he reassured her, crossing his arms.
“well… there’s this boy who i used to really super dislike but we got drunk- like shitfaced drunk, and we kissed like three times and i liked all the times…” she frowned, covering her face. “but i’ve been busy so i accidentally ghosted him- but he’s been ghosting me too!” she argued with herself, perusing her lips. peter instantly filled with regret.
“it sounds like you two really like each other, maybe just be truthful to how you feel” peter suggested, fiddling with his hands. y/n nodded. “that’s probably a good idea” she agreed, standing up. “and stay away from banks for a while” he laughed, patting her in the back.
peter swung y/n home, making sure she was safe before heading back towards his bedroom for the night.
“what the fuck…” he muttered, collapsing into his bed.
im probably gonna do a part two cause im a little nerd xx
also i refuse to edit any of this so sorry if there’s mistakes lol
happy days 🫶
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starker1975 · 4 months
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I love writing Peter as a shy, virginal sweetheart. But one of these dayssss, I’m going to give him a major, systemic upgrade, and write him as a boss bitch who rocks Tony’s world. This tik tok has influenced me.
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mediocre-daydreams · 2 years
Text
group hug (extra one-shot to "(un)requited infatuation")
read the main fic HERE
pairing: peter parker x avenger! reader
summary: you and peter have finally confessed your feelings to each other courtesy of the conniving tomfoolery of sam and bucky. everything is perfect. now you just have to face the smug motherfuckers.
warnings: swearing, mentions of tall girl 2 (lowkey it was a good watch i laughed through the whole thing because it was so horrible), tony is a brony and sam is a swiftie, mentions of sex like ONCE, wanda and nat are silly silly stupid
w/c: 1.2k
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the morning after is a phrase usually reserved for regrettable one night stands and the realization that you’ve committed a heinous crime and now must go on the run. you were not expecting the morning after to be a morning tangled up in the arms of the boy who loved you, under expensive goose-down covers that a billionaire had supplied, and basking in the radiance of sunlight streaming in from your eastern facing window.
it sounded ridiculous, you knew. but one of the most horrendous days of your life had resulted in one of the most unbelievable mornings, and perhaps, an unbelievable future.
there was only one thing that could spoil your heaven—confronting the conspirators responsible for 1) having all the avengers team up to shower you in unusual amounts of affection 2) provoking peter into a fight, and 3) setting up the foundations of your new relationship.
you were not ready for that. you didn’t think you’d ever be. but for now, you could pretend a little longer.
hugging peter from behind (yes, you were the big spoon), you buried your face into his shoulder. you’d spent a good amount of time… exploring each others’ mouths… last night, and you hadn’t bothered properly changing (or stripping) into your normal sleepwear.
peter smelled like sandalwood and nutmeg and you—tucked in each others’ arms and shielded from the rest of the world between your blankets and pillows, your scent on peter was a reminder that he had already begun to find his way into your life, and that he’d be staying for a while.
peter groaned and the sheets shuffled as he rolled over to face you. never had you appreciated the sound of sheets before. it meant there was someone next to you, someone who had stayed.
“g’morning,” he murmured before promptly burying his face into your hair and falling asleep once more. you smiled into his chest, where he’d pulled you close. you’d suffocate in his shirt any time if it meant he was yours.
--
“g’morning!” bucky smirked, sipping his coffee while leaning against the countertop. you scowled at him. for some reason that you couldn’t quite decipher, those words did not sound nearly as pleasant coming from bucky’s mouth.
peter was still changing; he’d refused to leave the bed until after you’d gotten ready for the day and now he was lagging behind. 
“where’s spidey?” tony waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“ew, no! watching a big jealousy, testosterone fuelled showdown isn’t exactly a turn on, if you know what i mean.” you looked pointedly at bucky, who shrugged his shoulders carelessly.
sam sauntered in moments after with his arms in the air, stretching dramatically and covering his mouth as he stifled a loud yawn. he beamed as soon as he saw you.
“samuel,” you warned. “samuel wilson, do not look at me like that.”
“samuel,” he mimicked, pitching his voice up an octave. “i’m not looking at you anything but normally. you know what i am looking at?” sam waved to something behind you. “hey peter parker!” he drawled, stretching out his words. peter looked murderous, and you couldn’t really blame him.
“i swear to god, sam—”
“hey, you got the girl, right? jarvis, play ‘how you get the girl’ by taylor swift.” he threw his arm around peter’s shoulder and you were reminded of the last time you’d seen them like that, when sam and bucky had formed their evil master scheme. you shuddered. yesterday was not a day you wanted to relive.
“look man, i’m sorry. but let’s be honest, you weren’t going to do anything about it, were you? not until months later. technically none of us actually made a move. we just… we were just nicer.” sam turned to you. “not that we’re not normally nice to you. we were just extra nice, because-” sam tilted his head towards a disgruntled peter, “-of this one here.”
peter wrangled himself out of sam’s hold. he busied himself with making breakfast to avoid conversation.
“so, we wanna know all the juicy gossip,” wanda and nat sat you down and begged for details. out of all your teammates, you knew you couldn’t stay mad at wanda and natasha. they were the people you’d confided in about peter, after all. and they’d never tried to pull something to the same extent of bucky and sam, so for that, you had to be grateful.
“okay, okay, i’ll tell you,” you caved, motioning for them to lean in. they did so eagerly. “we went to my room… he confessed his undying love for me and presented me with a bouquet of red roses… and then from underneath my bed came a barrage of spiders that climbed all over me and gave me mini hugs, and then we had really wild, nasty, loud make-up sex.”
wanda and natasha pulled back, disappointed. “i feel like half that story is true and the other half isn’t, but at the same time, i didn’t hear anything last night. but he is spiderman, so does he actually have the ability to control spiders, or something?” wanda questioned, turning to nat.
“i mean, i believe the roses thing. the kid always had a flair for the dramatic. but he doesn’t seem smooth enough to tell someone he loved them. i mean, he literally couldn’t hold a conversation with you for months.”
“i vote going to your room, the red roses, and the spider hugs are true,” wanda decided. natasha nodded in agreement.
you pursed your lips. “yes! that’s exactly it,” you lied, giving them two thumbs up. they high fived each other proudly.
“c’mon man, say something,” bucky prodded. peter was still awkwardly going through the movements of her normal morning routine, trying his best to avoid eye contact with bucky and sam. you felt a little bad for him. yesterday was mostly about targeting him and not you, and if you were upset by the matchmaking, you could only imagine how peter was feeling.
sam and bucky raised their eyebrows in surprise as peter suddenly turned around to face them. they braced themselves for an angry outburst or a yelled lecture, but instead, peter’s voice was quiet as he mumbled something unintelligible.
“huh?” bucky cupped an ear. “i’m 106, bro. you gotta speak up.”
“whampedntagrl,” peter muttered.
bucky and sam looked at each other. “a little louder, please?”
“what happened in tall girl 2,” peter hissed. bucky and sam were able to keep their composures for a grand total of four seconds before breaking into howling, drawn out laughter.
“you guuuuys!” tony squealed, clapping his hands together, delighted. “this is the power of friendship. jarvis, play the my little po-”
“alright!” you stood up. “i think it’s time-”
“-it’s time for a group hug!” tony exclaimed, excited that he was finally the one to initiate a team bonding exercise instead of steve. “bring it in, folks!”
you were squished into natasha’s side and your face was plastered into sam’s back, but as you choked through tony’s tight grip, you managed to smile. your friends were stupid, conniving, idiotic assholes. but those same friends had been the people who brought you and peter together. you hated yourself for it, but you loved these little shits.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
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taglist: (comment to be added!)
@im-a-slut-for-fluff @bambamwolf87 @yourallihave
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