𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄, peter parker

ten - meetings

oo. TEN

NADINE HOLT WOULD BE LYING IF SHE SAID SHE WASN'T NERVOUS. Her and Margot were meeting for dinner at their favourite restaurant, and it would be the first time she was seeing them since George Stacy's funeral.

It didn't help that she was already running late.

Perhaps if the city weren't so beautiful, she'd be walking quicker.

But it wasn't Nadine's fault that the street lamps glowed a warm yellow, bathing the street in an amber light. She couldn't help that the rainfall shimmered with glimpses of headlights, bedroom lamps and the stars. The puddles scattered on the ground were full of rippled buildings, torn night skies, shattered reflections.

Sometimes, it was easy to see the beauty in things that hid their ugliness in dark alleys and drunk men.

Maybe, if she hadn't been in her own world of music lyrics and starry nights, she would've heard the smashed glass and intoxicated laughter. Maybe she would've heard the sounds of footsteps, of splashing puddles.

Apparently, Nadine didn't need to hear it, at all.

There was someone else who heard it all — alarms going off in his head, his hair standing on end, the buzz behind his ears, it told him everything.

And if he was already closeby, well, that was nothing but a coincidence.

The shattering of glass in front of Nadine pulled her out of her world, destroying the beauty of the city she'd built up in her head almost as soon as it had been constructed. Instead, she took out her headphones and let her eyes turn behind her, the direction from which the glass had come from.

There was a shudder in her lungs when she saw the group of men.

All Nadine could think was how disappointed Uncle Ray would be — he'd always taught her to be aware of her surroundings, to never become distracted, because that is when you become a lost cause.

Before she could begin hyperventilating, or running, there was a rush of air as arms wrapped around her waist, pulling the breath out of her lungs.

Nadine screamed as her feet left the ground, and she held on tight to the person gripping onto her.

"Nadine, kind of need to see!" said a familiar voice, and it finally registered that this was Peter, not some random guy swinging her in the air across New York.

She scrambled to move her hands into a better position, tilting her head into the crook of his neck, eyes closed tightly.

Even then, she could feel the air pushing against her ears, and the material of his suit under her fingertips. She tried her best not to scream, and held her breath for a moment as she felt every dip before Peter's webs connected to another building.

"I hate you, I hate you so much." she mumbled into his neck, gripping tighter as she felt herself slip down slightly. She repeated the phrase, even though she very much did not hate Peter Parker.

What felt like years passed before they finally reached solid ground, with Peter lowering them gently and letting Nadine's feet lay flat on the floor before he even let go of her.

"Are you okay?" asked Peter, his gloved hands resting on either side of her face.

"Yeah— yeah, I'm good." she replied, taking a second to get her breath back from holding it in as they swung along the streets.

"Thought you might like a lift," Peter said, a cheeky smile on his face, even though she couldn't see it, and it remained there even as Nadine glared at him. He couldn't help it — how could he take her glares seriously when his hands were squishing her cheeks so gently.