Wilted (Peter Parker x Reader)

27

Peter

There I sat, cowering for a punch I knew I could not defend, but it never came. I snapped my swelling eyes open rapidly, fearing she had taken that second to run away, but was surprised at the sight.

The sky above us was open and dark, despite how sprinkled with stars it was. I didn't know where Mr. Stark was, he hadn't shown up yet, but I couldn't focus on that.

One inch from my nose, a naked fist hovered and shook wildly in anger. Behind the fist, Y/n stood breathing heavily, eyes open wide and mouth ajar as if she was also surprised. Her eyes bounced back and forth between my face and her very own fist as we both heaved for breath.

"Put your mask back on." She demanded with the same shocked expression on her face.

"Wha-" Before I could even try to word my confusion, she roundhouse kicked my ribs and sent me skidding to the ground. I groaned and barely saw her bare feet before she disappeared up a densely brush tree. It was almost startling how animalistic she had become.

I'm sure she thought I didn't see her. She had been exposed now, and felt vulnerable. Why else would she have climbed a tree? Now I knew she wasn't trying to kill me. I let out a light breath and looked up at the tree as I pondered, trying to ignore the agony my body was currently experiencing. She was hitting me like she wanted my head on a plate yet she refused to make that death blow, even when I had accepted it. This wasn't the first time she refused to kill either.

When Tony first let me see her, after discovering she was the Widower, she grabbed me through those bars. She could have killed me instantly, but instead she was just trying to use me as a bargaining chip. It could have been anyone she grabbed, it just so happened to be me.

This time looked much more personal, however. The anger behind each of her impacts was pent up and well deserved on both ends. But when it came to actually taking my life, she was visibly petrified. If it was Bruce, I'm sure she would not have stopped.

"Hey, I saw you!" I yelled up at her honestly.

"Just leave me alone!" She spoke loudly to try and sound angry but her voice quivered.

"I can't." I sighed and glanced at the ground momentarily. "Even if I wanted to, I just- I can't. I'm sorry."

"I'm not going back!" She shouted back. I scattered off the ground quickly as I heard her moving around in the tree, and I prepared myself for anything.

"Please, Y/n." I begged as I walked to the bottom of the tree to try to get my eyes on her. Immediately, I felt something land on me. I collapsed underneath what I now realized was Y/n, letting out a cry of pain as she dragged her aching body off of my own. I turned my head to look at her but winced as her body convulsed, her mouth spewing out a sickening amount of blood and black goo beside us both.

She flipped onto her back and desperately scooted her body across the ground backwards. Her eyes were more fearful than angry now but I couldn't take the chance. Sure, she wouldn't kill me intentionally. But she was not going to let me bring her back and could at this point bludgeon me to death.

Her attacks were incredibly sloppy but she was so evenly matched with me that her strength was agonizing.

I weakly pushed myself up from the dirt and sat up on my knees, watching intently as she flipped back to her stomach and pushed herself up as well. She glanced backwards at me and panicked as she realized I was up before her.

She tried to jump to her feet but let out a whimper as she crumbled under her own weight instead. She quickly looked at her leg and held it tightly as something inside it was in pain. She glanced at me again as I stood up tall and looked down at her crippled body.