the spider whisperer

Aidan [chapter 11]

"Hey," Peter came to their lab table. He was whispering for a reason unknown to his partner. And she would say she didn't care as to why he was doing so, but then she'd be lying. He set down his bag on the counter, "I hate to be a Karen, but your clothes are making me extremely uncomfortable."

She could see a small smirk form on his face, "Could you please take them off?"

The girl's eyes widened from his unusual greeting. She parted her mouth, opening and closing it a few times as she tried to form a proper response to that question. But there wasn't one, and she could tell Peter knew that by the way he was giving that stupid coy grin of his. So, she put her palm against his face and pushed his stupid, grinning features  away.

"Shut up."

"You seem to like saying that," Peter commented. He started pulling out his notebook and papers for science. There was a small shift in the way he moved now from the way he usually did. Everything was just a bit more strained.

And she noticed it so incredibly quickly you'd think she was a superhuman being herself, "Don't overdo it. You're stitches need time to heal."

"I'm fine," he waved her caring nature off. Even if he did like the fact she was showing her care for him by being a bit cautious, he didn't like it. Not one bit. It made him uneasy. Peter was not used to this kind of treatment from her, and he didn't want to get used to it. "Beside, I'm the amazing Spider-man. A pretty lady like you shouldn't be worrying about the hero who protects her."

"You're being extra annoying this morning," she stated bitterly.

"Just for you," Peter picked his hand up and booped her nose. He chuckled when she blinked from the action and then proceeded to swat his hand away. "Sorry I threw you off. Let's start the greeting over." He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes as he reset his face back to the way it was when he first came in the room, "Morning, Sunshine."

She squinted her eyes at him and his quick change of topic, "Are you feeling alright? Did you lose too much blood? Maybe you should call May and tell her you need to stay home from school today." She started to put her hand up to check his temperature.

"Will you stop that?" Peter finally snapped. He grabbed her wrist right before her hand was able to reach his forehead. "It's freaking me out. Just bash me and tell me I'm not doing good enough or I'm doing too much." His tone had gotten lower, "I don't like how you're treating me right now."

Peter must've been bat shit crazy. The girl he'd had a crush on since forever was finally showing a kindness to him that society would deem normal, and he was annoyed at her for this. Was he out of his mind? He must've been.

But he wasn't. Peter liked her so much because of the way she reacted to everything he said and did. Especially after he'd gotten his powers. She learned that he was Spider-man so very easily, and didn't once bat an eye at this. She didn't question it, ask if she could use him for her own greedy wishes, nothing. He didn't think any other normal person would react that way.

Peter Parker wasn't just some clumsy teenager, but also New York's number one superhero. She knew this, and she just accepted it like it was nothing.

She retracted her hand, sending him a small glare. She'd determined that she would try and act just a bit nicer towards him while he healed, but he obviously didn't appreciate her kindness. "Noted. Don't ever treat Parker nicely, or he will get mad at you."

A tense silence filled the air between them. Peter didn't mean to be so hard, and y/n didn't mean to be so uncharacteristically decent it'd make him uncomfortable. So they sat there, thinking of what they both could've done to make the interaction go as smooth as it normally did.