Peter Parker/Spider-Man Drabbles

115, 121 and 123

"I let you win."
"Ready or not, here I come."
"Oh, did I scare you, big boy?"

WARNING: swearing and possible triggers from descriptions of pain

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I somersault and kick off the wall, propelling myself back out into the pool. I come up to the surface and throw my right arm out ahead of me and pull it down, slicing through the water as my left arm circles through the air and comes back to water as my right arm leaves.

I come up for air only once before I hit the opposite wall of the lap pool. My left hand clamps down on the concrete ledge and I stop and bob out of the water. I wipe my eyes and catch my breath.

A second later, Peter's hand hits the wall in the lane beside me. He pops his head up and glances over at me.

"Damnit!" He smacks the water and it splashes back at his face.

I laugh and stick my tongue out. "I win," I smile.

"Shut up," he laughs lightly. "I let you win."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Parker."

"Four out of seven?" he asks me hopefully.

I shake my head and laugh. "You're losing by a larger margin each time... But, I mean, if you want to, it's your funeral..."

Peter sighs, rests his head on the ledge, and closes his eyes. I duck under the water, swim into his lane, and pop out on the other side of him.

"Wanna go do tricks off the diving boards?" I say quietly. Peter lifts his head slightly and tilts his head. I smile, "Your flips are always better than mine."

"Your flips suck," he mutters and I laugh.

"You're not wrong."

He raises his head, looks at me, and smiles. "Let's do it."

We climb out of the pool and walk over the boards. Peter stops at the ladder and gestures for me to go ahead of him. I blush and climb up to the highest level.

"You wanna go first?" I ask once he hits the landing.

"What? Not brave enough?" he snickers and I make a silly face, mocking him.

"No," I say simply. "I want to watch what you do so I can copy you."

He nods and steps past me. "Okay then. Watch and learn, princess."

I'm tempted to stick my foot out and trip him, but considering the 25 foot fall he'd take to the ground, I decide against it.

Peter rubs his hands together and walks to the edge of the board. He stops so only his toes are sticking out over the ledge and he curls them against the board. "Are you watching?" he calls back to me.

I nod. "Yep."

"Here I go." He takes a deep breath and launches himself off the board. I hurry forward a few steps and watch as his body curls into one front flip then another then he straightens out and dives into the water.

"Show off," I mutter.

He bobs back to the surface and looks up at me. "How was that?"

I nod my head side to side. "Not bad...but I bet I can do better."

"Yeah, sure," he laughs then shouts. "Please be careful!"

I roll my eyes and walk up to the edge of the board. I look straight down into the water and take a deep breath. "Ready or not," I shout then my voice drops to a whisper. "Here I come."

I push myself off the board and start curling into a front flip, but my left foot slips at the last second and I tumble forward.

I hear Peter shout, but I can't make out what he says. I try to curl into a front flip and manage to complete one full circle, but I don't have enough time to straighten out and I smack the water, chest first, hard.

I black out for only a second. My whole body burns and I start coughing while I'm still under the water. I feel a hand wrap around my left wrist and yank me up. I break the surface and try to breathe, but I end up gasping and wheezing. Peter wraps his left arm under my shoulders and drags me back to the ledge. He lifts me up and helps me out of the water, but I still can't manage to get a solid breath. Every time I try to inhale, sharp pain shoots through my ribs and my lungs and throat burn.

Peter pushes himself out of the water and crawls over. He wraps his right arm around me and rubs my back.

"You're okay," he says quietly. "Try to calm down and breathe." He starts taking slow deep breaths and gestures for me to follow him.

Eventually, I manage to take in one long, full deep breath and then another and another and the pain in my chest gradually subsides.

"Is she okay?" Someone asks from above.

"She's fine," Peter says calmly and I feel him wave his arm at them, telling them to back away. I listen to them walk away and Peter whispers in my ear. "It's okay, they're gone. Are you okay?"

"Oh,"

I try to laugh, but I wince slightly.

"Did I scare you, big boy?"

Peter chuckles. "Yeah. You did." He grabs my head with his right hand, pulls it toward him, and kisses my forehead, hard. "Don't do it again."

"I make no promises," I grumble and look up at him. He smiles and closes his eyes as he leans forward and presses his forehead against mine. I close my eyes too and we sit there for a little, just holding each other. Safe in each other's arms.