Spidey and the Iron Girl: Vol. 2

#10: Pretty, Young, and Wonderfully Naive

Early the next morning, Collin woke up in the gray light of dawn to find the bed empty next to her. They'd been tangled in each other's arms all night, so she was surprised-- and a little hurt-- at how easily he'd slipped out without her noticing. She turned on her bedroom light with a sigh and saw all the beer bottles and sandwich wrappers on the floor. On her nightstand, a bright yellow piece of paper caught her eye just as she was about to start cursing his name.

Scrawled in his messy handwriting: Read Me.

She picked it up and flopped back onto the bed to open it.

Dropping off the evidence at the Dean's office. Meet me at the Coffee Bean 11 am?

--PP

She laughed to herself-- his initials were literally PP, of course he'd been bullied in high school-- but it was also relieved laughter. She'd thought he was ghosting on her, but instead they had a coffee date later. She snuggled back up under the covers, contentedly ready to sleep some more.

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Peter was a little early to their coffee date. By half an hour. He was nervous after last night, considering how Collin had flip flopped about even continuing to talk to him just a few days ago. Maybe she regretted everything and never wanted to see him again. As he got in line to order her usual cup of coffee, this unpleasant thought kept resurging. Last night had seemed so perfect that now he was tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

11:00 am rolled around and he was purposefully sitting somewhere he couldn't look at the coffee shop entrance. A minute passed and he was already jiggling his leg anxiously.

"Relax, Peter," He instructed himself, rubbing at his eyes. Be cool, don't stress, if she shows up then great, if she doesn't you'll get over it...

"You should have told me to burn after reading," A familiar voice commented. Collin dropped into the seat next to him with a smirk, waving the note he'd left her in his face. He raised an eyebrow and handed her her coffee.

"I thought it was implied...?"

"Never leave that kind of stuff to chance, Petey," She sipped her coffee. Her eyes lit up. "Mm! You got me my favorite?"

Peter shrugged, feeling shy and awkward now-- ah, there it was, the awkwardness he predicted, rearing its ugly head to ruin everything--.

"Thank you," Collin murmured, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. He flushed as she scooted closer. "You got yourself a frappe again, huh?"

"Creature of habit," He smiled, turning towards her completely now. She seemed relaxed, smiling at him in a way he was starting to become familiar with.

"So... Seeing your initials today, I was reminded of why you got bullied so much in high school," She cocked an eyebrow, giggling as she started to tease him about the whole "P.P." thing.

Surprisingly, this set him at ease even more than the kiss and the sweet smile. He hadn't realized how much he craved his confrontations and arguments with her. It was fun pretending to get mad now that it was all playful, not just hurtful jabs. In fact, he was starting to realize that the aggravated, adrenaline-fueling annoyance he used to feel wasn't necessarily annoyance... it felt a whole lot like being turned on.

"What if I just start calling you P.P., then?" Collin leaned forward, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. Peter pursed his lips.

"I wouldn't respond," He said firmly.

"Wouldn't you? Not even if my life were in danger?" She pouted.

"Not even then," He rolled his eyes. "If you call me that, whoever it is that's trying to kill you has my permission."