You're my escape- A Peter Parker Love Story

16

Pepper's hands moved carefully over the brown wrapping paper. "You want to place the gift face-down so all the tape is on the backside." She folded the top piece and bottom piece over the edges of the wooden frame until they overlapped. "You don't have to use much tape to get it to all come together." She tore off a half-inch strand of tape and placed it on the middle of the two pieces. She pressed it flat then turned the frame. "The sides are a bit tricky, but if you cut the paper correctly it's easy. You want to fold small triangles on each side." She talked as she folded sharp creases on each corner, stealing the 90-degree from it formed a trapezoid. She folded the trapezoid over top of the back and secured it with a small piece of tape. She did the same to the other side and turned the gift over so the flat, clean surface showed. "This is where you'll write the person's name and maybe place a bow." She motioned toward the colored ribbon she had.

Eliza grinned as she grabbed red and blue.

Pepper hummed as she took the ribbon and began to wrap both around the short side of the rectangle. She tied it, then used the blade of the scissors to curl the ends of the ribbon. She kept tying and adding strips until it formed a fluffy red and blue blob.

"It's cute," Eliza decided as she paired the brown, paper bag-esque wrapping to the red and blue ribbons. "It's simple which makes it cute."

"Simple is key. The gift should be the show stopper. And this gift-" she handed it to Eliza who accepted it. "Is a show stopper. He's going to love it. Something tells me he is very sentimental."

She grinned. "He is. It's cute." Her nose crinkled as she thought about Peter's reaction to her gift.

Tony walked out of the corridor, freshly showered and in an athletic tracksuit. She took that as her cue to grab her present and keys. "I'll be back late tonight," she told him as she rounded the kitchen island.

"Wait, wait, hold on-" Tony lifted his hands to stop her. She paused by the barstools to look back at him. "We just got home."

She nodded. "Yeah, which is the perfect time for me to leave."

"You haven't even unpacked your bags yet."

Her shoulders dropped. She looked over at Pepper who wore a knowing grin. "I'll unpack it when I get back," she offered as she looked back at Tony. "As much as I have loved your company for the past two and a half months, I want to go see-"

"Your boyfriend?"

"Peter," she gave him a name. "It is his birthday after all." She held up her gift for him.

Tony eyed the gift. His eyes squinted just enough for the wrinkles to press into his temples. After a moment of deliberation, he sighed. "Fine, go run off with your boyfriend and do... whatever it is you two do."

She grinned and lifted her brows. "Thanks. I'll be back later." She turned and hopped a few steps before she returned to a normal walk.

"Are all teenagers so... lovestruck?" Tony whispered to Pepper.

"Only the ones truly in love," she answered with a laugh.

***

Queens was just as she remembered it to be. However, the end of summer vacation had children in a frenzy as they ran around trying to get in as much play as possible before school started back up the next week.

She locked her car and pushed her keys into her pocket. Instead of going to the door to buzz her way in, she walked into the alley beside his building. She looked up and squinted against the sun to try and see his window. It was a few stories up, but nothing she couldn't handle.