The second her boots hit the court, Luna stumbles forward a step not from the landing, but from the adrenaline finally crashing in her veins. Her breath catches in her throat as the chaos fades, replaced by the soft hum of gym lights and the echo of silence bouncing off polished floors. She looks around slowly, the normalcy of it all almost surreal. An empty college gym, half-lit and quiet, smells like sweat and history and some weird kind of peace. It’s so far from the world she’s used to the cameras, the spotlights, the danger — and somehow, she’s never felt more exposed. Her eyes flick to Peter.
“You really know how to show a girl a good time,” she says with a smirk, voice a little rough around the edges, a little too breathless to hide everything she’s feeling. “Web-slinging past helicopters, dodging SHIELD agents, and landing me in a gym where I can smell three years of varsity sweat.”
She takes a step closer, voice softening. “But also? Kinda perfect.” There’s something in her face then something unguarded. She reaches for him, fingertips brushing the edge of his suit, grounding herself with his warmth. “I didn’t expect this to get so… real. I thought I could keep it light. Tease you, flirt a little, pretend like it didn’t mean more.” She hesitates, then looks him straight in the eye.
“But then you held me like I mattered more than all of that — the names, the labels, the headlines. Like you saw past everything I pretend to be.” Her fingers curl gently around the front of his suit. Not clinging — just staying.
“I know what they’re gonna say. About me. About us. That I’m reckless. That you’re distracted. That this is dangerous.”
A beat.
“And they’re right.” Her smile curves slowly — fierce and full of something like pride.
“But I don’t care. Let them talk. Let them come.” Then she reaches up and hooks a finger into the collar of his suit, pulling him just a breath closer.
“Because if we’re doing this… I’m not hiding it. Not you. Not us.” And with a mischievous glint in her eye, she glances toward the basketball hoop behind him.
“Also… fair warning: I’m terrible at basketball. But if this turns into a second date, I fully expect you to go easy on me.”
"Isn't it amazing to see? If you inhale everything just deeply enough, you'll get the smell of old glory in here and what makes ESU great. It could also be that nacho cheese machine that still hasn't been cleaned out all summer long, but we'll just chalk that up to the overall charm of my alma mater," Peter chuckled, glancing over at Luna to see her take in the scenery of his college. "It's not my first choice for a first day I promise, especially since there isn't exactly a football or basketball game going on with high stakes at the moment, but given our current predicament, it was the quickest place I could think of hiding out until we've got some breathing room." Thank goodness the public facing audience didn't know that Peter Parker was actually Spider-Man, or else there'd be a lot more headlines that Peter wanted no part of.
The latest romp through the city while trying to outmaneuver SHIELD agents of all people (assuming that's what they were anyway) had Peter's mind racing, and he wondered with Luna being somewhat still fresh to the superhero game after maybe what, two years of experience? He wondered just how committed she was to the idea of actually defying orders of her label, defying the potential negative feedback of dating someone like Spider-Man and having all of her icy hooks caught into him. While he wasn't a big K-Pop star, Peter had seen what type of effects the weight of success, fortune, and fame could have on a person, such as his best friend Harry Osborn. It was a lifestyle he wouldn't wish upon anyone, and yet here he was, gallivanting around in the moonlight with the charismatic singer who'd be the face of a musical generation when it was all said and done.
"Listen, I totally get that you wanna be rebellious. At the end of the day, you're more than just a pop star and a superhero, but a human just like me. You've got basic wants, needs, desires, and a whole lot more that you wanna be able to feel. I like you as much as you like me, and I respect that you don't want to run from the public about it. It's probably driving your PR team absolutely bonkers with what's going on right now too, huh?" he chuckled. "Why don't we just take things one day at a time and see where these daily strife and struggles lead us, yeah? Big decisions are fun and all, but let's try and work our way up to your next incredibly big decision with a bunch of smaller, more incremental ones that can pave the way for your big one, yeah?" He webbed a basketball off of the nearby stands and took a shot from halfcourt, smirking underneath the mask as a swish sound could be heard from the ball going smoothly through the net without any issue whatsoever, followed by thwipping a web over at Luna's ass and cracking it, making a loud sound effect that echoed through the gym.
Luna freezes at the sharp pop against her, her head turning toward him slowly, like she’s processing the audacity. Then a slow, dangerous smile curves across her lips.
“Oh… so that’s how it is?”
The click of her boots echoes across the court as she starts toward him, each step deliberate, the kind that feels like a countdown. “You give me this whole, thoughtful, take-it-slow speech — really selling the whole ‘gentleman’ thing — and then your first move is to web me?” Her brows lift. “Interesting strategy, Parker. Risky. Reckless.”
She stops just shy of him, close enough to catch the faint heat radiating off his suit. “You do realize you’re playing with fire,” she says softly, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Or in my case… ice.”
Her hand drifts down to the strand of web still clinging to her hip. Without breaking eye contact, she wraps her fingers around it, letting frost ripple outward until it crystallizes and shatters into glittering shards on the hardwood.
“Careful, Spider-Man,” she murmurs, stepping closer until the air between them feels electric. “You keep poking the snow queen, you might find out how fast she melts.” Her voice dips even lower. “And between you and me? I don’t do slow.”
She tilts her head, gaze flicking to the hoop he just sank a perfect shot in. “Here’s a deal. First to ten points decides our next tiny, harmless, completely innocent decision.”
Her eyes lock on his, fierce and playful all at once. “Fair warning, Parker… I play dirty. And I never lose.”
