1 | ISSUES ( Peter Parker )

16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN | LAZY DAYS

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fall in love
with someone,
who helps
you make peace
with yourself.

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Bella had been confined to bedrest for the past three days. Teleporting from Berlin to Manhattan had not been her best of ideas. Alex, while ecstatic that she had been home nearly a week earlier than planned and had evaded being arrested like the rest of Team Cap, was beside himself with worry. Bella could hardly keep her eyes open, she was so exhausted.

It was currently day four of bedrest, and she seemed to be a bit better. Though Alex thought it was a farce because it was Friday and she wanted to go out with her friends to go see Wicked on Broadway the next day.

Yesterday, Liz, Abby, Arden, Marissa, and Cara stopped by to drop off Bella's homework. She had been barely awake, but she had managed a slurred 'thank you.' Liz, being the only one ( other than Alex ) to know of the truth behind Bella's illness, was super worried. The rest of their friend group was convinced it was normal flu symptoms, but Liz knew better. She was worried that Alex wouldn't be able to fix Bella.

"She'll be fine, Liz," Alex had assured her. "Don't worry. She's just totally drained. She teleported half way across the world while injured and jet lagged."

Bella had finally worked up the energy to trudge down into the kitchen to heat up some of the homemade tomato soup Liz's dad had dropped off that morning when her doorbell rang. Sighing heavily, Bella clutched her blanket tightly over her body and slowly shuffled over to the door. Her bones practically ached as she pulled it open.

"Hey, Bells."

Bella's mood was instantly uplifted when she saw Peter ( in all his cozy sweater, fluffy haired glory ) standing in front of her, holding a large paper bag. Bella barely noticed the black eye Peter was sporting as she fell forward and hugged him. His cool, slightly chapped lips pressed against her forehead and he shuffled into her apartment, closing the door behind him.

"What's in the bag?" Bella asked.

"Ginger ale, movies, saltines, and chicken noodle soup," Peter said.

"You're so sweet," Bella hummed, feeling the corners of her mouth tilt up. "I'll eat the chicken noodle tonight. Right now I just kinda wanna go to bed."

For a moment, Peter looked a little crestfallen. Nonetheless, he still smiled brightly at Bella. Frowning, she reached for him, grabbing his hand.

"Come with me?"

Not even two minutes later, the two were cuddled in Bella's bed with the lights off, doors shut and curtains drawn. The only sound was that of the rain pattering against the roof, pouring down onto the street.

"You don't feel like you have a fever," Peter whispered, breaking the silence.

"I don't," Bella mumbled. "Not anymore. Being sick just wiped me out. Now I'm more exhausted and drained than anything."

She shifted uncomfortably. Bella hated lying to Peter.

Peter tossed one hand over Bella's waist, drawing her into him. Lightly, he traced patterns against her skin where her shirt had lifted up. Bella hummed, utterly content in the moment. He was whispering something unintelligible to her, his lips brushing against the skin of her cheek every now and then; Bella couldn't tell what it was, but it felt like a song.

It was in that moment that she was struck by how in love she was with him. It hit her like a bus. She, Isabella Rose Parsons, was in love with Peter Benjamin Parker. The thought was both exhilarating and terrifying.

"Peter?" her voice came quietly, unexpected.

"Hmm."

"You said you love me."

The muscles in Peter's arms tensed.

"I know it was in a text, but you said it."

"I—well—"

"I love you too."

Bella pulled her face away from Peter's chest and looked up, carefully eyeing his face. His eyes flickered downward, meeting hers. He was smiling. It wasn't a huge grin, but rather a small, content smile. It was his eyes that had her – they were green and shining, sparkling with happy radiance.

Peter tilted his head down and kissed her. With a small sigh, Bella's eyes fluttered closed as she reciprocated the kiss. Something stirred within the pit of Bella's stomach as her lips worked with Peter's— a foreign feeling that made her feel both lighthearted and breathless. When she momentarily pulled away to gasp for air, her head spun.

"You're so pretty," Peter whispered, trembling fingers reaching up to brush her hair out of her eyes.

Face hot, Bella grinned in delight. She rolled over, flopping her body on top of his and sloppily pressed her lips to his jaw.

I love you.

Now that she had actually spoken those three words aloud, it was all she wanted to say. She wanted to scream it from the rooftops, post it on social media, write an article about it in the newspaper. She just wanted the whole world to know how crazy in love she was with Peter Parker.

She pressed her forehead against his, accidentally smushing their noses together. Neither of them tried to move as they were too giddy with love confessions to be uncomfortable.

"Sometimes I can't believe you're real," Peter confessed to her a while later as they sat cuddled on her couch.

Bella bit her lip and sat her bowl of soup aside. Scooching closer to him, she gripped the hem of his soft t-shirt.

"I'm hardly anything wonderful," she assured him, nudging her nose ever so softly against his.

"That's a funny joke," Peter said, pulling her closer and tightening his grip around her.

Bella merely hummed, perfectly content with letting Peter think she was wonderful. Biting down on her lip, she looked up at him. There was something about his fluffy curls, shining eyes, soft lips, and defined jaw that set her on edge. In that moment, all she wanted was to grab his face, press her lips to his, and let her feelings consume her.

"I love you," she whispered, pushing herself up.

He smiled. "I love you."

Taking a deep breath, Bella placed her hands on each side of his face and kissed him, curling her body against his. And as he kissed her back, his hands pressing into her hips, she felt herself unravel. Somehow, everything felt absolutely perfect. She never wanted this feeling of utter, complete want to go away. She wanted to forever be in Peter's grip, locked away from the rest of the world with only this.

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well i haven't updated in foreVER! i'm really sorry about that, lmao. this chapter took me forever to find the inspiration to finish. i'm lowkey upset about this story because i lost so much inspiration and now i don't really remember where i was going with it... it might take some time for me to get back into the groove of this story, but i have every intention of finishing it... especially since i know i didn't plan for this story to exceed thirty chapters.

-peterparrker