Parasite *•.¸♡ 𝙏𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙠'𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 ♡¸.•*

Movie Marathon

The days have grown by, and Ariana's body has only grown weaker. Bruce spent nearly all his time trying to come up with a cure to no avail. Tony tried to help, studying everything he could. Even Dr. Cho dropped everything to try and figure out the mystery that is the parasite in Ariana's body. Tony had also reached out to a plethora of people, but each left him in a deeper pit of despair.

They made sure Ariana had plenty of water, they gave her all the right foods, and avoided everything they were told to avoid. Nothing seemed to be helping.

"I'm dying aren't I?" Ariana had questioned one night, both her parents at her side.

"No, no, I'm not letting that happen. Bruce, Helen, and I are doing everything we can, okay? You're not leaving us, you got it?" Tony had replied. Ariana didn't dare bring it up again.

"Hey, Ariana!"

If there is one thing that Ariana is grateful for it is Peter's insistence to act normal around her. Bucky and Steve could hardly look at her, Natasha and Bruce always acted like they were walking on eggshells around her, and her parents were always on the verge of tears around her.

Peter makes her feel like she isn't on her deathbed, like she isn't going to croak at any given moment. He still brings the Star Wars movies and talks to her about Aunt May's terrible cooking and talks to her about Ned and MJ and school. It's a breath of fresh air every time he walks into that room because at least with him, she feels normal.

"Hey, Peter, what movie are we watching this time?" Ariana scoots over on the bed to make room for her friend.

"Well... I thought we'd change it up this time. We're always watching movies that I want to watch, so I figured we could watch something that you probably have been wanting to see."

Ariana smiles at the thoughtful boy. "And what would that be?"

"The Princess Bride!" he exclaims, triumphantly holding up a copy of the movie. Ariana freezes in her seat, tears forming in her eyes. She hasn't seen that movie since... since...

Peter notices her mood change and his excitement dims. He thought she loved this movie. She'd always talk about the good old days with her grandma and Maurice. They loved to watch this movie along with some others that he'd brought along.

"You don't wanna watch that one? That's fine... um, I also brought Matilda and... The Secret Garden... or if you don't like those ones, I brought My Neighbor Totoro..."

"You... you remembered?" She wipes her eyes. She hates getting so emotional but... but those movies were from a time when everything seemed like it was going to be okay. From a time where she didn't have to worry about death, abuse, or any other problems. It was just her and her grandma–or Maurice, against the world.

Peter scratches the back of his head with an adorable smile. "Of course, I remembered. I'd be a terrible friend if I didn't know what your favourite movies were."

"Could we maybe watch more than one?"

Peter jumps on his toes, beaming with puppy-like excitement. "Ooh! Ooh! We could have a movie marathon!"

Ariana giggles at his excitement. He's always so full of energy. It's almost... endearing. "I'd love that, Pete."

Peter sets up the first movie and snuggles into the bed next to Ariana. They watch each of the movies. Ariana feels like she could burst. The sentimentality of watching these shows was picking at her bit by bit.

They brought her back to a time when life was simpler. Like that one night where Maurice had accidentally burned the popcorn because he forgot he put it in the microwave. He was too busy watching Matilda sneak into Miss Trunchbull's house to care about some burnt kernels. Or that time she fell asleep in her grandmother's lap watching My Neighbor Totoro before they were able to find Mei. Or the time she watched The Secret Garden with her grandma after getting away from her abusive father. It was the first movie she had watched since her mother had been murdered in front of her. Her grandmother used to spoil her rotten...

She likes being able to attribute new memories with these movies. Good memories. Ones with her curled up against Peter as he asks her questions about the plot or the characters. She can't find it in herself to get frustrated with his interrupting. She thinks it's cute.

It's only near the last part of My Neighbor Totoro when Ariana falls asleep. Peter relaxes a bit, happy that Ariana seems happy. He'd do anything to see her smiling and laughing like she was today. By the end of the movie, both of the teenagers are passed out, cuddling.

Tony walks into the room and freezes seeing his young intern with his daughter. While most fathers would be pissed seeing a boy in their daughter's bed, Tony can only be proud of how far his daughter had come.

When she got to the tower she practically jumped at her own shadow. She hated being touched, especially by men—even though she never directly said it, Tony just knew something was off. And now she was trusting Peter. He doesn't know who better there is than Peter. He full-heartedly trusts that kid with his daughter. Though, he'd never tell Peter that—nor anyone else. He has his intimidating dad role to keep up.

Not wanting to disrupt the peace, Tony snaps a quick picture—what? It's adorable, okay?—before going out to show Pepper, and probably the rest of the team.

When Peter wakes up, he is confused. The room is far too bright to be his room at either the tower or May's. Second, there's the smell of coconuts and disinfectant chemicals that clash with each other, making him wrinkle his nose. Third, there's a warmth coming from the figure wrapped around his body.

Blinking, Peter groggily looks to see that the figure against him is Ariana. Immediately, his heart is beating out of his chest. He's panicking in a Holy crap, I just slept with my mentor's daughter—no, that sounds wrong—only if you make it—shut up Peter! kinda way.

He hopes that Mr. Stark didn't come in. No, if Mr. Stark saw them, he would have an Iron Man blaster sized hole in his chest. Okay, probably not since his daughter is too close. Maybe Mr. Stark is just waiting for Peter to leave the room, so he can beat him up. Yeah, that sounds more like it.

He really doesn't want to die, though, especially not now that he has earned Ariana's trust. So maybe he'll just stay here in the warmth and comfort. With a sigh, Peter finds himself drifting back off to a calm slumber.

"They're adorable!" Pepper exclaims, looking at the picture her husband took.

"I know, right, it makes me sick," Tony replies, disgust lacing his features. Pepper just rolls her eyes. She knows he doesn't mean it.

"What's adorable? Is it puppies because I've been wanting to get some puppies at the tower for forever!" Clint barges into the conversation. Tony sighs and hands his phone over to Clint. Natasha, who walked in with him sneaks a peek too.

"No puppies," Tony notices the brief shock on Clint's face. "I'm not sure if this is better or worse."

"Oh, shut up, Stark. We know you think it's adorable too."

"Whatever," Stark huffs indignantly. He goes to get his twelfth cup of coffee for the day. Clint sends the picture to himself and Natasha makes him send it to her too. Pepper snatches the phone back and sends it to her own phone.

That picture ends up on Pepper's lock screen.