𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤

Pretty Boy Problems

Parings → Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings → Fluff, Jealousy (Playful), Self-Esteem Insecurities

Summary →During a diner date, you silently envy Peter's unfairly perfect looks.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★

The diner's fluorescent lighting is usually unforgiving, casting harsh, clinical shadows over laminated menus and vinyl booths, but tonight, it seems to make an exception. Or maybe it isn't the lighting at all. Maybe it's just the person sitting across from you.

Peter is carefully dissecting a piece of cherry pie, his attention entirely focused on the perfect ratio of crust to filling. He's completely unaware of the absolute laser beam of attention fixed directly on him.

You aren't just looking at him. You are staring. It is the kind of heavy, unblinking, borderline-aggressive gaze usually reserved for an apex predator tracking prey, or an art thief calculating how to break a museum's laser security grid. Your chin is propped in your hand, your brow is slightly furrowed, and your jaw is set. To an outside observer-and to Peter, whenever he finally looks up-it looks like you are actively plotting a heinous crime.

In reality? Your brain is just spiraling down a massive, overwhelming rabbit hole of sheer, unadulterated jealousy.

You and Peter are in that specific, agonizingly thrilling limbo. The "in-between" stage. You aren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but the unspoken rules are there. You go on dates. You hold hands. You share kisses that linger a little too long on your porch before you say goodbye for the night. Everything is fresh, slightly awkward, and hyper-charged with new relationship energy. But while Peter is operating on a frequency of sweet, nervous romance, you are currently trapped in your own head, running a highly detailed, six-point mental audit of his face. And it is driving you insane.

1. Why is he so handsome?

It feels entirely illegal. You watch the subtle shift of his jaw as he chews, the sharp, clean line of his profile against the dark window pane behind him. It doesn't make sense how someone can just exist without an awkward angle. If someone took a candid photo of you right now, you'd probably have a double chin and a vacant expression. Peter, on the other hand, looks like a carefully rendered cinematic masterpiece, even while wiping a stray crumb of pie crust from his thumb. It's infuriating.

2. Why does he have long lashes?

As he looks down at his plate, his eyelashes cast actual, literal shadows onto his cheekbones. They are dark, thick, and naturally curled. You find yourself mentally tallying the amount of money, time, and cosmetic products people spend just to achieve a fraction of that lift, and here he is, blessed by the genetic lottery, probably washing his face with a 3-in-1 body wash and zero appreciation for the luxury on his eyelids. Every time he blinks, it feels like a personal insult to your own morning routine.

3. Why is he prettier?

This is the core of the issue, the root of the intense, murderous glare you're giving him. It's an unspoken rule of dating that you want to feel cute, maybe even a little bit ethereal, around the person you like. But sitting across from Peter, you feel like a cave troll that somehow stumbled into a fairytale. He possesses a delicate, effortless sort of beauty that completely eclipses the room. He is, without a doubt, the pretty one in this dynamic, and the realization makes you want to shake him by his perfectly structured shoulders.

4. Why are his lips so pink?

They have a natural, flush color to them that defies logic, looking perpetually bitten or enhanced by some high-end tint. Right now, a tiny bit of gloss from the pie filling is making them look even softer, and your mind briefly flashes to the kiss you shared in his car twenty minutes ago. It had been gentle, a little hesitant, and altogether devastating. Remembering it doesn't make you soften, though; it just makes your glare deepen. How dare he have better lip color than me?