Spider-Man/Peter Parker One-Shots

Deaf

The idea for this oneshot came from the above image. (Side note: this ain't my best work)

It was common knowledge Peter wasn't the most social butterfly, but apparently not to you. You saw him on the train every night after college was over for the day, but whenever you tried to talk he didn't respond. Sure he might've smiled softly showing he noticed your attempts to converse, but other than that he just kept his earbuds in his ears and said nothing.

You got on the train just like you did every night, and sure enough, there he was. You had taken to calling him Earbud Boy since he never spoke—meaning you never learned his name. You took a spot by the doors and watched him, just silently admiring his features as he stared down at his phone. He was cute, that was for sure, but if you couldn't communicate with him, there was zero chance anything could happen between you two. Not that there was a chance anyway, he probably had a girlfriend.

Your eyes fell to the floor and you released a silent sigh. Perhaps your disappointment was visible because Earbud Boy looked up from his phone. Your eyes met and you smiled automatically. His eyes were such a beautiful chocolate brown.

"Hey there," you greeted. His response was a smile and wave, causing a tiny frown to form on your face. Was he, perhaps, deaf? It would make sense, especially because he wouldn't know how to answer if he didn't know the statement. You'd probably do what he was if you couldn't read the other person's lips.

You had unknowingly tilted your head as you observed him, and he copied you with a playful gleam in his eyes. You grinned and he flashed you a smile, then returned to his phone. He adjusted one of the earbuds in his ears and your attention was brought to the two white objects.

What was he listening to? It could be music, but if he truly was deaf that could just be a cover-up so people didn't try and talk to him. That must suck not being able to hear music like everyone else—after all, that's what earbuds are used for.

Your stop came along and you waved to the boy, who raised his hand in response. After exiting the vehicle you headed for home. He understood your small attempts to communicate, and if he didn't want to have anything to do with you, he probably would've ignored you. So maybe it was worth it to try and learn some sign language for tomorrow. A smile grew on your face at the idea and you tossed your backpack to the floor before rushing over to your laptop.

You inhaled deeply as you saw the train approaching. All of today you couldn't fully focus on your classes as the question 'How will the boy react?' kept circulating in your mind. Now, you were about to get your answer.

The doors opened and you stepped inside, and for a half second you thought Earbud Boy wasn't on. Then you spotted him looking out the window with his earbuds in like always, has hair appearing a little more frazzled than usual. You inhaled deeply before trying to get his attention.

It took a few tries, but eventually you drew him away from the view outside. You started signing what you learned last night to mean 'Good afternoon, how are you?'. Before you could get to the question part of the sentence, Earbud Boy was pulling out his earbuds.

"I'm sorry, I can't read sign language," he said almost sheepishly, like he should know. Your face turned bright red as you registered the fact that you had been wrong about him being deaf.

"You're not deaf! Heh, I'm such an idiot," you laughed awkwardly and glanced to the side. "You never answered when I talked to you so I assumed you were deaf. So I learned some sign language and, uh, I guess I didn't need to..." You started mumbling to yourself as he looked on in amusement.

He chuckled. "Wow, I didn't think I was worth learning sign language to talk to."

"I'm so sorry," you rushed the words out, still very embarrassed that everyone on the train got to see you make a fool of yourself. "Is there a way I can make it up to you?"

"Well..." He thought that over for a moment as you bit your lip in anticipation. "You could get a drink with me. I'd love to learn more about a girl that learned sign language for a boy who can't read it!" His smile was back.

"Yeah, sure, that'd be cool," you looked down at your lap, trying to cool down your face. A hand was pushed into your field of vision and you looked up.

"I'm Peter." You took his hand and shook it.

"(Y/N)."

"....And that's how we met," Peter finished, making the kids in front of you two giggle. Your face was red as you pretended to take interest in the rest of the room.

"Did you really do that Mommy?" One of your children asked.

"Yes," you mumbled, not looking at any of them. You didn't like the teasing gleam in their eyes, and you'd been embarrassed by this story enough to know it was best to just distract yourself as your husband—or back then boyfriend—told it.

"Do you still know sign language?" Your first born child got up on his feet to totter over to you. You picked him up and set him on your lap, watching his big brown eyes fill with curiosity as you took a moment to answer. They were just as beautiful as Peter's.

"I don't remember much, just what I tried to tell this dork," you tilted your head in Peter's direction. He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you and his son closer, giving you a quick kiss on the cheek. Your two other children tried to get up on the couch you three were seated on, and once they finally managed to do it, they got on their father's lap.

"I don't want a boyfriend, boys are gross!" Your middle child pulled a face that made you laugh.

"Me neither," the youngest agreed with her sister.

"Girls have cooties," your only boy claimed, causing both girls to shout about how he was wrong and it was boys who had cooties. You shushed them, trying to bring the focus back. But it was no use, little kids didn't listen unless they had good motives—like knowing they'd get a cookie if they did.

Peter sighed. "Quiet bunch, aren't they?"

"They're your kids," you crossed your arms. "What do you expect?"

"Hey, you thought I was deaf," he pointed a finger at you.

"Yes, but then it turned out I was wrong. And until we started dating, I thought you were quiet."

"I am quiet!" He shouted. You snickered at the irony and he rolled his eyes. "Besides, you scream a lot whenever we-"

"Let's go play with some toys," you announced to the kids, stopping their argument and cutting Peter off. They raced off to get their toys while you followed after, pausing in the doorway to look back at your smirking husband.

"I scream because it makes it that much more entertaining. You have a better time on roller coasters when you scream for the fun of it."

"But when we're swinging through New York people might get the wrong idea."

"Speaking of, when is our next joyride?" You raised an eyebrow.

"We could do it tonight after my patrol's over and the kids are asleep," he suggested.

"Alright," you lifted a foot in the air but paused again. "When are we going to tell them you're Spider-man?"

"When they're older," he shrugged.

"Be safe tonight," you traveled back over to him to give him a kiss before he headed out for the night. As he left the room you followed the sound of your children's voices to where they were playing with their toys, oblivious to the fact that their dad was going out tonight to make New York City a safer place to be.