#reader x peter

“Wait, you have a girlfriend?” Sam asked Peter. The Avengers team was gathered for one of Tony’s events. Sam and Bucky were on Peter’s case. Here was this cute girl, flirting away with him, and he awkwardly turned her down.

Of course the guys were immediately asking what was wrong with him. Why he’d turn down such a pretty and interested girl.

“I don’t believe you,” Bucky stated. “How come we’ve never heard of her?”

Peter shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “Because I knew you guys would act like this about it… Tony knows, but I didn’t think it’d really matter to anyone, so why talk about it.”

“Because,” Sam started to respond. “We need to know all about her. Have to make sure she’s good enough for our youngest team member. Make sure she knows if she hurts you she’ll have to deal with us.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “We’ve been together since sophomore year of high school. I think if she was going to hurt me she would have done it by now.”

“You’ve been seeing someone for 5 years?” Clint asked from behind him, sounding very surprised.

Peter sighed. “Why don’t you guys just have a team meeting about this since it’s so important.”

“We just may.” Nat said from her spot beside Clint.

Peter shook his head, disbelieving they really would.

And boy was he wrong.

The following morning there was a team meeting.

Even Tony couldn’t believe his team members. They were hounding him for answers. Who was she, what is she like, how old is she, is she cute… he wanted to just up and leave. However he couldn’t. He told them all that if Peter wanted anyone to meet you he would do it on his own terms in his own time.

That didn’t last very long though, they were all saying something about meeting you every time they saw him.

Peter wanted to pull his hair out. They were all driving him bonkers.

“Tony,” Peter called as he entered the lab, he’d just made it away from the prying Maria Hill. He set his bookbag down on a table and found him working on a project.

“Yeah, Pete?” Tony asked, still focused on his work.

“I need to do something about everyone nagging me about Y/N. I can’t take it.”

Tony glanced at him, “you could always bring her to meet them…”

“There aren’t any other options? I don’t want her to meet them…”

“Why is that?”

Peter thought for a moment. “I just… I don’t want them teasing either of us. Most especially I don’t want them threatening her.”

Tony chuckled. “So you’d rather prolong it?”

He thought it over, “No I guess you’re right… I just… I don’t know how… I’d prefer to not bombard her with everyone at once but I also wanna just get it over with…” He huffed and ran his hand over his face.

“I’ll get a dinner together, that way it’s a bit easier on you and you don’t have to worry about her being alone with anyone specific.”

Peter let out a small sigh of relief. “That’d be awesome Tony, thanks.”

“You what?!” You shouted at Peter. He’d just told you Tony was having a dinner so everyone could meet you. “No! I told you I can’t handle that. No, they’re all gonna hate me and wonder why you’re even with me. And-“

His hand on your face cut you off before his lips fell on yours. “You’re the most perfect person. They’re gonna love you, almost as much as I do.”

You sighed and searched for the lie in his eyes, but there was none. Just the beautiful light and dark browns you’d loved since day one. Nothing but the truth came from him. Well at least he thought that. It was another story of if they really would.

“I love you, they will too, and even if they didnt I don’t care. You and me, don't forget that.” He placed another kiss on your forehead. “I’ll be with you the whole time, plus they’re all great. I promise. It would mean a lot to me if we could finally do this.”

You whined a little from the worry in your gut. “You’re lucky I love you…”

He smiled so wide before kissing all over your face.

When the night came you thought you were going to hurl. You couldn’t even remember getting there. But suddenly you could feel Peters hand on your back and you were in an elevator.

“Y/N, baby take it easy, it’s gonna be fine.”

“I-I can’t, Peter, I-“ the elevator dinging cut you off. Your stomach flipped in sheer panic.

The doors started to open and Peter was quick to press the close button to stop them. He pulled you close, trying to ebb your coming panic attack. “You have nothing to worry about, love. They are fantastic people. They’re family, don’t think of them as anything else. They’re gonna act all protective of me probably, but they are going to love you and you have nothing to worry about. I want you to meet them, but I don’t want to pressure you into this. S’why you haven’t met them yet… but if you can’t handle it-“

You inhaled him deeply, his protective arms almost calming you completely. You cut off his sentence, knowing how important this was to him, and you couldn’t just avoid it forever. So you cut him off so you wouldn’t be tempted to take his out. “I’m fine, I can do it…”

“You sure?” He asked, pulling back ever so slightly.

You nodded and pressed the door open button.

He guided you out and into the living room where everyone was.

They were all chatting about this and that, but the second they all laid eyes on you and Peter they stopped their conversations.

“Hey guys, this is Y/N,” Peter introduced.

You offered a small wave and shy smile, not really able to look anyone in the eye.

They all greeted you, happy looks on their faces.

Peter guided you to sit down on one of the couches, it seemed like they left the double seater for you and Peter. He figured it was Tony’s doing so no one got in your face or made you uncomfortable. He slid his arm around your shoulders.

“It’s nice to see you, Y/N,” Tony greeted. You’d met him once, it was a quick interaction a few years ago, you barely said anything to the man, but you knew how important he was to Peter, and how important Peter was to him.

“You too, Mr. Stark,” you said, your tone shy.

“How come Tony got to meet her and we didn’t until now?” Sam asked, eyes skeptical and arms crossing over his chest.

Peter shrugged. “Because that was less than a minute thing and it was in passing.”

“We should know everything about Y/N here,” Thor stated. “How do we know she can be trusted with your heart, Peter?”

Peter knew he was screwing around, but you did not.

It kind of hurt, it hurt more when Bucky followed up in agreement.

Peter went to retort but Steve cut him off. “Guys come on, they’ve been together longer than we’ve had the team back together. I don’t think she would do anything to Peter.”

That made you feel a little better but then Sam spoke.

“Doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.”

“Oh my God, guys,” Nat stated. “How about we all just get to know the poor girl before judging her on things we know nothing about?”

Bucky and Sam exchanged a glance. Clint nodded in agreement with Nat. Thor huffed in annoyance.

“So,” Rhodey chimed in, trying to kill the awkward silence. “What do you do, Y/N? Do you still go to school or do you work?”

You were grateful for the distraction. You could talk about something like that easily. “I study forensic science at CUNY.”

That began the questions of why you chose that, why you’d want to be around dead bodies, and the like.

The whole thing was a lot of pressure. Soon enough they were moving on to even more personal questions. Like what your parents do for a living, what your relationship with May was like. How many relationships you’ve been in. How often did you and Peter get into fights. What you would do if someone kidnapped you because they wanted to get to Peter.

At that point Peter had had enough. “Guys come on! This excessive, can’t you ask her normal questions? It’s not like we need your approval. Can’t we just have normal conversation?”

“No,” practically all of them answered in unison.

You placed your hand on Peter’s thigh and offered him a reassuring look. You really were okay, it might be stressful having to answer all their questions but you were adjusting to being around them. You didn’t want your boyfriend stressing himself out because they were questioning you, even if some of the questions were extreme. You’d answer a million more for this to go well for Peter.

He sighed while placing his hand over yours. He knew exactly what you were thinking. He felt he definitely owes you for this, most especially your patience.

“Listen,” you started to all of them. “If Peter means half as much to you all as he does to me I know exactly why you’re so adamant about questioning me. But if it makes any difference, I love Peter, I would never intentionally do something to hurt him. I don’t know what I’d do without him. So, please if you still feel like I’m not good enough for him keep asking your questions, because so long as he thinks I’m good enough, nothing else matters to me.”

The team was quiet for a few minutes. They exchanged glances, a few whispered to each other. It was tense, you regretted saying anything as you shrunk in your seat.

“You hurt her, Pete,” Bucky was the one to break the silence. “You’re gonna it.”

“I can’t believe you got yourself a girl willing to speak up to us and it took you this long to get her to meet us. You were doing something wrong, kid.” Sam added.

You were shocked. So was Peter.

“Welcome to the family,” Thor added next.

Peter smacked his forehead, of course this would be the outcome. Not that he really minded all that much.

“Don’t take anything the guys say too hard,” Nat leaned over and assured you. “You fit in great already and they’d never really hurt Peter. Leave me your number before you go, I’ll make sure you’re invited to the next girls night.”

You were beyond confused, everything switched gears so quickly. You nodded shortly to Nat before looking at an exasperated Peter who was not getting a safe sex talk from Steve of all people, Sam and Bucky laughing to each other.

Tony offered you a wink from the end of the table as he caught your eye.

As confused as you were you realized you were no longer nervous like you were when you got there. You chuckled to yourself, kind of regretting waiting so long to meet these people that were so quick to add you into their family.

Tags: Wanna be tagged? Just ask!

The plan wasn’t perfect, but it was going to have to do. The first thing Peter did that morning was find you.

You kissed him like what had become normal before homeroom, but something seemed wrong. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Peter lied. “Can we go talk real quick?”

Anxiety settled in your gut but you nodded and followed him. Once the two of you were alone in the gym you finally spoke. “What’s wrong Peter?”

“I need to tell you some stuff, and you might hate me for it or think I’m crazy but, I need you to know.”

Your frown at him deepened.

“I’ve… I’ve been seeing your brother’s ghost… and he wants me to tell you… to tell you that he knows you hate him but you need to answer a question for him.”

Your eyebrows knit together as you looked at your boyfriend skeptically. “Uh… are you feeling alright?”

“He’s fine,” Connor said appearing before the two of you.

You jumped back, the world spun.

“I thought I had this,” Peter said, reaching out to you to stroke your back.

You looked back and forth between them. You blinked hard, then another few times before you realized you weren’t imagining things.

“Yeah well,” Connor started. “I decided I needed to ask myself. This is for me… not you.”

“O-Oh my God,” You said, tears filled your eyes. You didn’t even know what to do or say.

“Y/N… that night I… that I killed myself… did you ignore me on purpose?” Connor asked.

“W-what?” You asked, you hadn’t heard him, you were still too shocked.

Connor sighed. “I knocked on your door and called out a few times… you didn’t answer, remember?”

You shook your head. “I-I don’t remember because I had my headphones in… I was blocking out you trashing your room. Y-You tried coming to me?” Tears slipped down your cheeks.

“Just needed to know you didn’t ignore me on purpose…”

“C-Connor… h-had I known…” a sob slipped past your lips. You couldn’t believe this. All of this. You could have stopped all of this.

Peter pulled you close.

“I just wanted to stop hurting everyone… but I see now… I just made everything worse like usual… Listen Y/N it’s not your fault. If I just… tried a little harder… maybe if I was more like Peter I-... I just needed to tell you myself that I love you… and all that stuff Peter told you I said, that was all him but it’s funny because I always thought those things too.”

That was news to you, something you’d think about later, but right now you just continued to cry into Peter’s shoulder.

“Peter needs your help sis, I need your help to help him. Can you do that?”

You nodded into Peter’s shoulder. “I love you too, Connor. I-I’m so sorr-”

“Don’t apologize… I had plenty of chances to fix things… but I’ll be damn sure I fix things now. Peter is my best friend. Without his help now… I definitely wouldn’t be making the impact I’m making with him making the Connor Project. He needs your help proving we’re friends… maybe we weren’t before all this, but he did what I asked him to do. He’s a good friend and right now someone doesn’t believe that. Think you can deal with that?”

You looked up at Peter.

He offered a sort of sad half smile at you. “I’m sorry I lied… but… nothing else with you has been. I promise.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Connor followed up. “Dude’s got major feels for you.”

You nodded. “I don’t know how to feel about all of this… but if this is the least your asking of me, Connor… of course I’m going to help.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

“Hey M.J.,” You greeted walking into your study hall, the only class you shared with her.

She looked up from her book and eyed you skeptically. Even though she’d been working with your mom and boyfriend, that didn’t mean she interacted with you much. “Hi.”

You sat in the desk beside hers. “I appreciate all that you’re doing for my brother.”

She almost looked surprised. “Yeah well, I’d hope someone would care about me if I killed myself.”

You nodded in agreement. “He was never all that nice to me as we got older… but at least he had Peter…”

“Oh, did he? Did Peter set you up to this? Send you here to lie to me so I might believe him and Connor were friends?”

Her accusation didn’t phase you. “They weren’t seeing eye to eye at the time… But Connor really cared for Peter. Peter won’t admit it, but it really hurts him when you tell him that they weren’t.”

“Peter can cry to you all he wants. But you don’t honestly believe they were friends, do you?”

“I do.” You told her. You felt weird about this conversation you were having with her, but your brother and Peter needed your help. “Look, my brother liked Peter. It was probably one of the reasons they had their fall out. Peter only found that out when he got the letter. But, Connor was friends enough with him that even after they stopped talking he offered his friend his last words.” You stood and left her, going to sit alone. You had your own things to figure out. The first was what you were going to do about Peter and your parents.

/\/\/\/\/\/

M.J. cornered Peter that afternoon. “So, your girlfriend lectured me about not hurting your feelings. If you were such great friends with Connor, prove it. I want to see his suicide note.”

Peter was beyond surprised. “No, that’s not allowed to be public knowledge. I’m not going to share it with anyone.”

M.J. glared him down.

“Just give it to her,” Connor said. “I’m sure if anything, it’ll help prove things.”

Peter wished he could respond to Connor but he just sighed and removed the note from his bag. He wasn’t sure why he was still carrying it, but something about it was a reminder.

M.J. read the note over. She looked at Peter and nodded before handing it back. “Fine, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. Connor’s parents are way shittier than I thought they were…”

Peter shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that… but things weren’t perfect for him.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

“We’re in the clear,” Connor said to Peter as he was walking home.

“I have a bad feeling,” Peter told him, just as his phone buzzed.

It was a notification from The Connor Project page.

Peter’s stomach dropped, Connor’s would have too if it could. Peter immediately called M.J. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Take it down now!”

“No,” M.J. answered. “The world deserves to know why they should be giving to our charity. His note was a message to all of us, not just you. He felt pain. He felt unloved by you and his family. Imagine the funds we’ll get now.”

“Is that all you care about?! What about the Stark’s privacy?! How do you think people are going to take the fact that Connor felt shut out? How did you even post it all?!”

“I have a photographic memory, I just re-typed it. This is exactly what we needed for the project. Having his note there for everyone to see, it will bring more people to be aware.”

“Take it down!”

“It’s fine, Peter. Who is really going to get upset about it?”

A few days later, after you decided you were tired of always having Peter at your place you decided you’d go to his.

The two of you were cuddled up on the sofa enjoying a movie when his aunt arrived home.

“Oh, hello,” May said, setting her things down on the kitchen table.

“Hi, Mrs. Parker,” you greeted, offering a small wave before returning your attention back to the screen.

May’s brow was arched as she looked at her nephew’s panicked look.

“Hey May,” Peter said, knowing he’d been caught. Peter only agreed to having you over because May was supposed to be working late.

“Someone’s gonna be in trouble,” Conner whispered into Peter’s ear, making him twitch before the boy disappeared again.

“What uh what are you doing home so early?” Peter asked, playing things off.

“I wasn’t allowed to get the overtime I was promised so they sent me home.” She explained. “Did you get that message I sent today about those scholarships?”

Peter winced inside. “Yeah,” he answered, not telling her he hadn’t actually looked at them.

You glanced up at Peter, wondering what they were really talking about.

“We’ll work on it this weekend,” May told not asked.

“Can’t this weekend, got Mrs. Stark’s big Connor Project event this weekend, have to be there to help.”

May was about to respond but you started speaking before she could.

“You’re coming, right Mrs. Parker? We’d really love for you to be there,” you looked back and smiled warmly at the woman.

May was taken aback, she was just finding out about this and now she was being invited?

Peter almost smacked himself. He didn’t relay his and May’s invite to her. Frankly, he didn’t plan on it. Not like she’d go anyway, right?

“Peter, did you forget to give her the invite?” You chuckled, glancing at him.

“Yeah, sorry May, I’ll go grab it.” He practically fled to his room to find the invite.

“Good job, getting caught in the spider web you’ve spun, Peter,” Connor greeted him.

“Stop,” Peter said, holding his hand out. He pulled the invite from the front pocket of his bag. “It’s all fine, okay? I’ve got it.”

Connor held his hands up in defense.

Upon returning to the living room he now found May sitting with you, she actually looked like she was enjoying the conversation. He offered May the envelope and took his place back at your other side.

May opened it, paying Peter no mind, and continued the conversation with you. You two talked for an hour, of just about everything it seemed.

When May finally decided to return to her room she paused. “Oh, by the way tell your parents I appreciate the invitation and I’ll be there. Also, Peter since we now have this we’ll do the scholarships on thursday night.”

She didn’t wait for an answer.

You settled back into Peter, and he pressed play on your movie that had been abandoned.

“Peter?” You asked quietly. “Why does your aunt seem so determined to get you on scholarships? You don’t even start applying for colleges for another couple months at the least.”

Peter definitely wasn’t expecting to have to explain this to you. He didn’t often talk about his home life with you, it just wasn’t something you really did. He rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s just been freaking out because we virtually have no money especially for me to go to college and she needs me to go because I’m too smart and she can’t support me forever. Not that I want her to but I haven’t even started looking at places… everytime I do I just… it freaks me out…”

You sat up and faced your boyfriend. You cupped his cheek, “hey that’s totally understandable, baby. I’m sorry you have to deal with that… why didn’t you tell me you’ve been stressing about it?”

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected to happen, but it certainly wasn’t this. “I-I dunno… just a lot going on… I mean, it doesn’t really feel right complaining about money when you literally lost your br-“

You placed a finger over Peter’s mouth with a sigh. “Peter, I don’t want our entire relationship revolving around my brother. I wanna move on. I want this with you, just because that is what really brought us together doesn’t mean that’s what we need to focus on all the time. I get when you have stuff to do for the project, but when it’s us can we please just not talk about that? You’re my boyfriend, I like you a lot for you not because I need you in order to cope with my brother killing himself. I want to be able to go to you and complain about my own life and I want you to do the same with me no matter what’s going on in the others life.”

Your words stunned him. “I just… I don’t know how you do, Y/N… I want this so badly, I do. But I just feel like if we fully stop acknowledging Connor… he won’t- it’ll…” he was unsure how he wanted to put it. “I don’t want you to stop liking me if I seem like I don’t care about Connor… like what else do you even see in me? I’m a loner and a nerd and I don’t think I’m handsome enough to be with you and-“

“I don’t need you to sell me on reasons to want you, Peter. I like you. I like you now. I liked you before anything happened with my brother. I want to move on from his suicide. This is our relationship, not his. Stop listening to that voice in your head that’s invalidating everything. Listen to me. What if it’s just us? Only us, nothing else matters. Can we try that?”

Peter listened to you, he cupped your cheek. You were right. All this time, he’d been so focused on Connor when it came to you that he forgot he was actually with you sometimes. That he wasn’t just your friend that you hung out with. He needed to have a whole relationship with you, not this game he’d been playing where he felt like he was stepping around sleeping cats.

“What do you say?”

“Of course,” he let out a small breath of a chuckle.

You could only smile and place a gentle kiss on his lips. “Thank you,” you whispered.

“You too, Y/N.”

May just giggled, not taking her eyes off the road. “You’ll see, hon.” 

Peter groaned, sinking further into the passenger seat. He looked out of the window, the image of your simple birthday text burned into his mind. All it had said was happy birthday, pete. see you soon xx. Peter knew you had other things to take care, but he had still expected more from his best friend. His mind was going crazy with different scenarios, and although there were heaps, he was still genuinely shocked when they came to a halt in front of the Avengers tower. 

He looked at his aunt suspiciously as they made their way into the elevator. May brought her phone out, texting someone, he assumed, before slipping the device back into her purse. The ride was quiet, his thoughts deafening the sound of the elevator as it moved through the compound. He didn’t notice what floor they stopped on, and he didn’t bother asking, just following his aunt as she stepped out. Peter looked around in awe. It had been awhile since he had been inside the compound. May paused in front of the door, telling him to open it. He did, hesitantly. 

“Surprise!” 

Peter was overwhelmed. The crowd looked at him as May nudged him into the room. He physically felt his eyes grow as he looked around the room, the familiar faces staring back at him. He found Ned who grinned at him, a crooked bowtie around his neck. Next, he saw Tony who smiled at him, giving him a nod when their eyes met. Michelle flipped him off with a grin and he chuckled. He let his eyes glide across the room, his heart filling with happiness at the sight. They hadn’t forgotten about him. 

“Guys, I- wow,” Peter stumbled over his words, inwardly scolding himself for sounding like an idiot in front of all his friends and idols. “Thank you.” 

The group all nodded and cheered at his words. He turned back to his aunt who was already looking at him, her eyes blank with unshed tears. Peter dove in for a hug, a string of giggles escaping May as he did. She wrapped her arms around him, whispering a happy birthday into his ear. He thanked her several times, almost forgetting about the crowd of people there all for him. May stepped back, placing both hands on his shoulders, smoothing the fabric of his black blazer. 

“It wasn’t my idea,” she whispered, her eyes focused on something behind him. He turned slightly, following her gaze. 

“Y/N did this?” His eyes found you, standing quietly among the Avengers. You looked so out of place that Peter wanted to laugh. You were already watching his embrace with May and his eyes met yours for a moment. He looked away, his cheeks heating up. “Wow. She’s beautiful,” he breathed, earning a chuckle from the woman in front of him. 

May nodded. “She sure is. Now go thank her and mingle with your friends. Just don’t think that I approve your nightly activities because I brought you here.” 

Peter nodded slowly, walking toward Ned who was eagerly talking to Tony. The older man turned around with a smile as he got closer, pulling him into a hug. It was slightly clumsy and awkward, but nothing compared to the this-isn’t-a-hug hug they had shared after Berlin. 

“Happy birthday, kid,” Tony congratulated him, patting him on the back. “Good friend you have there.” Tony motions over to you and Peter nods quickly in agreement. 

“Yeah, she really is. Thank you, Mr. Stark. For all of this,” Peter looked around the room, still having trouble comprehending it all. “Um, do I owe you anything for Aunt May’s dress? I know she works really hard and all, but that dress looks-”

Tony’s chuckle interrupted him. “Don’t worry about it, kid. It’s nothing. Now, you should really go thank the one who put all of this together.” 

Peter turned to Ned and the two of them quickly shared their handshake as Ned congratulated him. Several other people came up to him as he made his way over toward you, wishing him a happy birthday and offering compliments. Some of them fellow superheroes and some people from school that he had never really talked to. He assumed they were only here to see if he really had an internship with Tony Stark, but at the moment, he didn’t really care. 

You were standing in the corner by the bar when he reached you. A black dress was shaping your body beautifully, and he found himself wondering why you would hide away in his shirts and baggy hoodies. He swallowed thickly, your grin causing something to shift within him. He had never really experienced it before when he was around you, and he wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he knew he liked the feeling. He wrapped his arms around you, pressing you tightly against his chest. 

“You really are the bestest friend anyone could ask for,” he whispered, pulling away and helping you regain your balance. “Thank you.” 

You shrugged, rubbing your red-painted lips together. “I just had the idea. Tony fixed the rest.”

“Oh, c’mon. You told him. I can almost guarantee he forgot my birthday was coming up and you invited everyone from school. Tony probably doesn’t even know where Midtown is.” 

“I- well, I guess, but this wouldn’t have been possible without him. Ned helped, too.” 

Peter felt a new fondness for his friends. Grabbing your hand into his, he kept you by his side as he walked around the room, thanking everyone for coming. He even thanked Flash, who you had invited hesitantly. Peter didn’t even care, pleased that the event had proved once and for all that Peter did, in fact, know Tony Stark. You had smiled at Flash innocently, waving at him as Peter pulled you away to go greet the next person. There was an almost-childlike grin plastered on his face as the two of you walked around, and it made you incredibly happy. It felt good to see Peter getting to be a regular teen for once. 

The music changed suddenly as you, Michelle, Ned, and Peter were all hanging out. You watched as Tony and Pepper made their way to the dance floor, swaying together to the soft music. Natasha and Bruce followed. Soon, multiple students from Midtown were dancing, too. The sight reminded you of a school dance and it was all kind of discouraging seeing as you had yet to experience a good school dance. 

“I, um- do you want to dance with me?” Peter pursed his lips, rubbing the back of his neck as his pulse began to race. You widened your eyes at him, nodding frantically, and with a smile, he took his hand in his own, leading you to the dance floor. 

You wrapped your arms around his neck and he placed his palms on your hips, thankful you weren’t able to feel how clammy they were. Neither of you noticed Aunt May snapping a photo or the whispers coming from your classmates. Frankly, you didn’t care about anything other than the moment with Peter. 

“You look beautiful,” Peter whispered, grateful you had your head on his chest and weren’t able to see his faint blush. Little did he know that you were grateful for the same exact reason. 

“Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself,” you replied just as the song came to a stop. “C’mon. I think we’re doing cake and singing.” 

You grabbed Peter’s hand in yours, pulling him along over to the DJ booth. Peter noticed that Tony had gone all out, and he quickly made a mental note to thank him again later. Peter was pushed to the front of the crowd, a huge, frosted cake coming to view on the table with various cards and gifts. He looked at you taking your phone out from your purse. You shot him a grin as you pressed the record button on the screen. Peter wasn’t entirely sure who counted it off but all of a sudden the entire crowd was singing him happy birthday. 

The two of you make your way closer to the house, grateful the dark is concealing your movements. Peter covers the guard in webs, gluing him to the wall of the house. You compliment his work, and the two of you tiptoe to the front door, or maybe the lack thereof. You briefly wonder why they would leave their door open like that. You certainly wouldn’t if you were a villain. 

A wave of nerves comes over you and you can feel your heart begin to increase in beats per minute. You had been training with Natasha and Wanda for a few months, but being in the middle of the real thing was definitely not the same as training with the two women at the compound. Not to mention, you had only been in one real fight so far in your short superhero career. You still had trouble understanding why Tony let you and Peter go. 

“Rock, paper, scissors. If I win, you go in first,” you suggest quietly, your nerves getting the best of you.

“Why would I go in? You’re the invisible one!” 

“Yeah, but,” you pause, realizing how weak your excuse is. “You have more experience and you have Karen and your webs.”

“Fine,” Peter sighs and a brief moment of silence follows before he continues. “How about this? You go in first to see where the guys are. Maybe you’ll even be able to grab the drive without them seeing. I will follow you and make sure you’re safe.”

Gulping, you nod, knowing this was the best plan you would be able to come up with. You kick off your black boots and start to unzip your dark purple - eggplant as Tony explained it - suit. Peter pulls off his mask so fast that you freeze mid-motion, the top of your bra exposed. His eyes are wide when he turns to look at you and you frantically look around, inspecting your surroundings. 

“W-why are you getting undressed?” Peter sputters, desperately trying to keep his eyes above chest level. 

“I kinda have to get naked for this whole invisibility thing to work. I haven’t fully learned to make my clothes invisible yet.” 

Peter just cough and you suspect his cheeks are flushed although it’s too dark to know for sure. You had been training with him for awhile, too, as well as sharing three classes at Midtown, so you had noticed certain quirks about him. You continue to unzip your tight bodysuit, ignoring the feeling of Peter’s eyes on you. He had seen you in shorts and a sports bra before, so you figured this wasn’t too different. 

The suit pools around your bare feet at the ground and you step out of it, kicking it to the side. You concentrate, pretending not to hear Peter’s breath hitch. Glancing down, a proud smile makes its way to your lips when you realize your body had disappeared. You unhook your bra and let it drop, sliding off your underwear as well. You also make a mental note to tease Peter about this later in front of the team. 

“Okay, I’m going now. Remember, you’re my backup.”

Peter nods and pulls his mask back over his face, following you. You assume he’s using his enhanced hearing to keep track of your footsteps because he doesn’t bump into you once as you sneak up the two flight of stairs. You come to a halt at the top step, peering around the railing. You notice there are three guys sitting on a couch, their backs to you, and one guy standing at the end of the long computer desk, also watching whatever program was on the TV. 

You take your chance, walking as silently as possible, your eyes focused on the flash drive. You grab the small device gently, curiosity getting the best of you. You turn it around in the palm of your hand, looking for any kind of clue as to why Tony wanted it so badly. Not noticing anything particular, you shrug and go to close your hand. When you do, though, the small drive slides out of your hand, hitting the floor with a small thud. 

You freeze instantly, expecting the guys to turn around immediately. A loud clap echoes through the room, a few more following, as the guy closest to you turns around a wide smirk on his face. 

“Tony?” you gasp, throwing your hands up in surprise, forgetting he can’t see you. 

Peter’s by your side immediately, his mask clutched in his hands. He stares at Tony with what you interpret as curiosity and frustration. Tony just nods, not bothering to stop grinning. You narrow your eyes at him, wishing you could smack the smugness off his face. 

“Congrats, kiddos. There is no flash drive. I just wanted to test you guys individually and as a team. You passed,” he explains, glancing down at the flash drive before looking back up in your general direction. “For the most part. You both used your powers to your advantage, and that’s great! Except, kid, never let a girl walk into the fight first.” 

Peter flushes. “I-I, well- she’s invisible! It just worked out better. I was right behind her.”

The three other guys stand, turning around to join Tony. You groan, noticing the familiar faces. Steve smiles sheepishly as he walks over, Bucky and Sam right on his tail. Peter narrows his eyes at the three men and you stifle a giggle, finding his frustration amusing. 

“Well, this was a good lesson and all, but could someone give me some clothes, please? I’m still kinda naked here.” 

The five guys all glance among each other, their eyes wide, clearly flustered. You immediately know they had either forgotten you were there or forgotten you were naked. Peter turns his head, an apologetic look on his face as he gestures to himself, showing you he doesn’t have anything to give you. Steve coughs awkwardly, shrugging his black sweater off and throwing it over where the flash drive had dropped. You catch it, immediately pulling the warm material over your head. Thankfully, it reaches you mid-thigh, long enough to cover you until you could put your suit back on. 

“Speaking of, we should probably go help Bruce downstairs,” Tony notes, his expression bearing a hint of guilt but you see the amusement in his eyes. 

“I webbed Bruce and stuck him to the wall?!” 

Throwing the covers off of yourself, you fluffed your pillow up against the wall and leaned back. You pressed the home button on your phone, sighing as the screen lit up with the time. It was already past midnight, which explained why the Avengers compound was incredibly quiet, but you didn’t feel an ounce of sleep in your body. Opening the YouTube application on your phone, you browsed through your home page as Peter sat up next to you. He leaned his head on your shoulder, and you tried your best to ignore the butterflies. 

Touching wasn’t a strange concept between the two of you. Having been best friends since the beginning of middle school, you were both especially close. After you found out about his late-night activities a few months ago, it was like you saw him in a whole other light. You had always respected him, knowing his personal struggles, but this was respect on a whole new level.  Now, when Peter would touch you, you would get that giddy feeling in the pit of your stomach. You found yourself admiring his looks way more as well, even though you didn’t like to admit that. 

You clicked on a random Vine compilation video, figuring the two of you could use a laugh. It worked - for a little while at least. The six-second clips were hilarious and you found it difficult to stifle your laughter. At one point, Peter had to physically put his palm over your mouth. You had frozen at the gesture, but Peter didn’t seem to notice the sudden change in your behavior. 

“Do you want to go to the park tomorrow?” you asked suddenly, feeling slightly adventurous. “I mean unless you have Spider-Man duties.”

“Yeah, as long as we don’t starve first,” Peter answered and as if on cue, his stomach growled. 

You fumbled your way out of bed, Peter looking at you quizzically as you did. You extended your hand and he grabbed it, not really needing your help to get out from the sheets. He didn’t say anything as you quietly opened the door, wincing at the slight creak. The hallway was pitch black and you had to turn on the flashlight on your phone to light your way to the elevator. When you instructed FRIDAY to bring you down to the compound’s kitchen, Peter looked at you. 

“I thought you said you were hungry,” you shrugged innocently. 

“I did- I mean, I am,” he looked around frantically as the elevator doors opened. “But it’s almost two in the morning.” 

“Be a little adventurous, would you? You’re Spider-Man. What are you scared of?” You inquired, turning on the light. 

“Mr. Stark.” 

The answer escaped him almost before you finished your question and you literally snorted, looking at him. Your eyes squeezed shut and you doubled over in laughter, eternally grateful the kitchen was a story below everyone’s bedrooms. Eventually, you were able to compose yourself and you straightened, looking back at your best friend only to see him already looking at you. 

“I love your laugh,” Peter blurted, his cheeks turning pink at the realization of what he had just said. 

You felt your own cheeks grow hot at his confession, distracting yourself by opening the large fridge. You brought out the eggs and butter, placing the ingredients on the counter. Peter only watched silently, as you rummaged through the different drawers and cupboards, trying to locate the dry ingredients. Peter usually stayed with his Aunt May, but you had been to the Avenger compound a few times, just not enough to know where they kept their baking supplies. 

You placed all of the supplies on the kitchen island Peter had sat down at, not bothering to bring your best friend along on the plan you had in mind. He didn’t ask either, his eyes just following your movements as you brought out a bowl and a mixer. He slid down from the stool and made his way closer to you as you pulled your hair into a messy bun. 

“Are we baking?” 

You nodded. “Mhm. If I remember correctly, you have a thing for my double chocolate chip cookies.” 

Peter’s eyes widened excitedly and he hurried over to the sink to wash his hands. You followed suit, chuckling at his giddy behavior. You began adding the brown sugar to the butter, eventually mixing in the rest of the dry ingredients. You let Peter crack in the eggs as you measured the vanilla extract before adding that in as well. Peter picked up the mixer, pushing the button as he put it into the dough. 

Before you had a chance to warn him, the mixer dipped into the dough, splashing the sugary mixture everywhere. You gasped loudly and Peter hurried to turn it off, his eyes wide as he placed the mixer back down on the counter. You cupped your mouth in an attempt to silence your laughter. Once the brief shock passed, Peter joined your laughter, innocently looking around at the mess he had created. Once your laughter died down, you turn to look at him. 

“You have a little...” you trailed off, moving your hand toward his face. He just stood silently as you gently wiped away the dough that had splattered on his upper lip. “Dough.” You finished, still not removing your hand from his face. 

The oven beeped, signaling it was preheated, and you were startled out of your daze. You quickly removed your hand from Peter’s face, clearing your throat before you began mixing the dough properly this time. The two of you chattered back and forth as you placed small spoonfuls of dough on the baking sheet, ignoring the moment you had shared just minutes earlier. 

You put the cookies in the oven and turned back around, analyzing the mess you had to clean up. Peter had already started wiping away the clumps of dough and you began putting away the ingredients in their rightful spots. A dust of flour flew up as you dropped the flour back into a drawer and you felt it enter your nostrils. An extremely loud sneeze escaped you before you could stop it. 

“Shh!” Peter shushed looking at you with wide eyes. “We’re gonna get caught.” 

“Bless me?” You asked sarcastically, grabbing the mixer, not noticing the excess dough covering it. The mass made it slippery, the mixer falling to the floor with a loud clang. 

“Shit,” Peter cursed, hurrying to pick it back up. “We’re definitely going to get caught.” 

“Relax, Parker, we’re fine.”

You rolled your eyes, still not understanding why Peter harbored so much fear for Tony Stark. You knew he had the urge to constantly prove himself to the original Avenger, so you assumed he was scared to disappoint him or get in trouble. After cleaning up the mess, you jumped up on the counter, too short to reach the cupboard where all the snacks were. You suspected they had done it on purpose, finding it amusing when the shorter people of the group couldn’t reach. 

You hummed softly, inspecting the various options. They had an immense collection of various snacks, and you figured they got hungry after fulfilling their superhero duties. You knew Peter did. Grabbing a bag of Doritos, you close the cupboard quietly. Fumbling to get back down from the counter, you lost your balance and fell backward. A squeal escaped you and for a moment, you were sure you were going to die. Or at least get a really bad concussion. 

A pair of arms wrapped around your waist, awkwardly saving you before you could hit the floor. Peter helped you regain your balance, his concerned eyes scanning you up and down. You clutched the bag of chips in your hand, pursing your lips innocently. 

“Y/N, be careful,” he said, almost scolding, a small grin growing on his lips. “Since when are you the clumsy one?” 

“Since I wasn’t blessed with superpowers,” you grumbled, opening the bag and offering Peter some. He declined. “Suit yourself.” 

“You know you could have just asked me to grab it for you?” 

“Well, I can do it by myself. Some of us don’t have enhanced senses or magical athletic abilities, so we have to live like normal people. Just because I’m short doesn’t mean I can’t grab snacks.” 

Peter chuckled at your statement, his grin growing wider. “God, you’re so stubborn, but I love you.” 

You stopped mid-chew, looking at Peter incredulously. Peter seemed to have noticed his admission as well, his cheeks darkening. It wasn’t unusual for the two of you to proclaim your love for each other, but something about the way he said it was different this time around. 

“Y-You love me?” The question was quiet, muffled by your unchewed Doritos and shock. You quickly swallowed, realizing how unattractive it must have been. 

“Y-Yeah, I mean, y-you’re my best friend,” Peter stuttered over his words, frozen as you walked closer to him, putting the bag of chips down on the counter. “Of course I love you.” 

“But- I mean - do you love me?” 

Petter just nodded, his Adam's apple bopping visibly as he swallowed. You weren’t sure where the sudden confidence was coming from, but you weren’t about to question it. You were close enough to feel the warmth of his body now, and you were sure he could hear your heart thumping in your chest. Your eyes met his and once they did, you were unable to look away. 

You weren’t sure who took the first step, too into the moment to care, but finally, your lips met. The kiss was slightly awkward; gentle at first, unsure. Peter’s hands instinctively cupped your cheeks as the kiss deepened. Your heart was still racing but the nerves were long gone as you melted into Peter’s touch. He hummed into the kiss and you inhaled his familiar scent. 

The kiss ended much sooner than you wanted it to. You were both breathless as Peter pulled away, maybe you more than him, but you blamed that on his spider-powers. You licked your lips, still being able to feel his lips move with your own. 

“As much as I loved that,” Peter breathed, his brown eyes wide. “Something’s burning.” 

You furrowed your brows, sniffing the air only to realize he was right. It dawned on you then that you had completely forgotten about the cookies you had left in the oven. You throw the door open, black smoke escaping out. Coughing, you try to fan the smoke away to no avail. Peter already had the oven mitt out, hurriedly taking the cookies out of the heat and you turned the oven off. 

You glanced at the black, crisp cookies with a pout. You were about to apologize to Peter for ruining the late-night snack but a shrill beeping noise interrupted you. The two of you immediately turned to look at each other as the fire alarm keeps beeping, alerting the entire compound. Your eyes flickered down to look at the silly pun on the shirt you were wearing, one of Peter’s shirt, trying to hide your smile. You knew you should be feeling guilty or at least nervous, but all that was on your mind was how his lips felt so perfect against yours. 

“What the hell is going on in here?” Tony’s hoarse voice was stern. “Kid?”

Peter’s hand found yours and you gave it a quick squeeze, letting him know you weren’t about to let him take the fall for this alone. Tony rubbed his eyes, instructing FRIDAY to turn off the high-pitched sound. His brows furrowed when he caught the smell.

“Are those burnt cookies?” The two of you only nodded, a wide innocent grin plastered on your face. “Well, your little cookie date is cute and all, just try not to wake up the entire tower next time. I’m going back to bed. Night, lovebirds.”