|Towards the Endgame|

•Chapter 131• No Love Without a Fight

Peter's heart sank to his feet when he looked at the picture. It had been taken without him noticing and somehow ended up with Y/n. Of course, it ended up with her. His girlfriend looked at him like she wanted to skin him alive. "That is not what it looks like. I promise." He said. That was the best he could have come up with. Perhaps he should not have said anything. Y/n's face tightened with anger. "Really? Then please, tell me, what does it look like to you that makes it different from what I'm seeing?" She spat at him. Y/n had every right to be angry with him, and Peter did not blame her or even try to stop her. "Y/n -" Peter quickly pressed his lips together again when Y/n only seemed to be getting angrier. "No, no, please. Tell me what is happening in this picture. What do you see, Peter?" He should have known that woman would cause him trouble. She knew about Y/n, too. "I know it looks terrible -" he looks at the photo again, "Okay, it's worse than that. I know how this looks. That did not happen." Peter told her. Y/n tilted her head slightly. She was still sitting up straight. But even whilst sitting down, and being as fragile as she was, Peter was still terrified of her. Her gaze could have killed him. Bet she wished she had that power right now. "Oh, it didn't?" It was right there in a photograph. That's about as much proof as she needed. "No, it did. Bad choice of words." Pete rambled on and on. He let out a sigh. "She keeps stalking me." He said. "And you figured that if you let her kiss you, then maybe she would go away?" Her sarcasm was not helping his case. Peter knows how horrible it sounded.

Y/n crossed her arms over each other and waited for Peter to continue. "She follows me around." He blurted out. Y/n nodded her head very slowly. "That is what stalking means, Pete. And I'm sure she does." Y/n told him. "Seems like a lot of people are obsessed with Spider-Man. Spider-Man and Peter Parker." Just when Peter thought she couldn't get any angrier, her face tightened a bit more, and her expression became cold. Peter took a step back. "I have no idea who she is, Y/n. I swear." He promised her. He never should have tried to make contact with her. This is what happens. Peter shoved her away almost as quickly as it happened, but Y/n did not know that. The photo certainly did not show it. His mask hid his face, and the disgust that was written all over it when Black Cat did that. Y/n could not see that. "So, you're letting strangers kiss you, now. That's an assuring thought to have about your boyfriend. You're out at night with strangers doing God knows what else. Really assuring, Peter." Y/n spat at him, "She doesn't exactly look like a perfect citizen either." The mask on her face and her black suit made her seem like someone who was up to no good. And that mischievous smirk. Y/n was getting worked up. She felt it and clenched her fists.
"You know, this would be a lot easier if you hadn't been so smart and quick with your responses," Peter mumbled. Y/n was not supposed to hear, but she did. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll dumb it down if that's what's gonna take for you to be loyal." She loves Peter with everything she has, and she does not want to argue or fight with him, but this has gone too far. And Y/n did not appreciate his comment. Not at all. "Y/n, that is not what I meant," Peter replied in the softest tone possible. Y/n showed him the picture again. Her face, her whole body, filled with anger. Not jealousy. Anger. "What the hell is this, Peter?" She asked calmly.

Peter looked at her with pleading eyes, begging for her to believe him. "That woman keeps stalking me. I have no idea who she is. Y/n, I swear to you, I don't know what she wants from me. I don't know who she is. I'm being so honest with you. I swear. Y/n, I shoved her off as soon as I could, I did. I didn't even know she was taking that picture." That was the truth. Peter would have deleted it right away if he had known that the picture had been taken. But the boy had no clue. "I find it very hard to believe that, Peter." She told him. Even with the adrenaline and anger flowing through her body, she suddenly felt that pain in her chest again. Bruce warned her about it, and Strange specifically told her not to get angry or worked up. Her body can't handle that stress. Peter spotted Y/n placing one of her hands over her chest. He listened very closely. "Y/n..." Peter tries to help her with his hands, already reaching out to her, but she stops him. "Do not touch me, Peter." She told him. When she was most fragile a few months ago, she only wanted Peter to be close to her. He was allowed to pick her up from her bed and touch her skin if she needed comfort. This felt wrong. "Sorry." He mumbled and retreated his hands. "Y/n, I mean every word. I wouldn't..." Peter paused and thought out his next words very carefully. The tension was still thick, but there was no shouting or throwing stuff at each other. "I know how bad this seems. I haven't... What happened a few weeks ago with Liz -"