Price of A Wish (Peter Parker/ Tom Holland x Reader)

To Be Happy

I'm still sitting in a wheelchair, waiting for him to show up. The team told me almost everything that happened while I was out, including the fact that Wade visited every day, but it felt as if they were hiding something from me.

Everyone else has gone to sleep, leaving me to contemplate my previous actions. Maybe I did the wrong thing. Maybe I wasn't supposed to tamper with the storyline. If I had stayed put, I would've had to wait more than a year for his defeat. But I wouldn't have been able to come back.

"{Y/N}?" Someone asks from behind me. I sigh and continue looking out the large glass windows. They begin to slowly walk toward me, their footsteps echoing in the empty hall. I already know who it is due to the smell of fresh pine and cookies.

"Look," he quietly says. "I know that you're probably really mad at me. And you have every right, but I just wanted you to know that I didn't."

He places a covered hand on my shoulder which causes me to painfully turn my head away.

"I didn't cheat," he revises. "Nothing ever happened between Michelle and I. The only reason I said that was because I needed to be sure it was you. And you might not ever speak to me again, and that's okay, but I wanted to show you something..."

He removes his hand from my shoulder and begins wheeling me toward my room. We enter but don't stop until we reach the closet doors. Still, I say nothing and avoid all eye contact.

"You can burn it or whatever," he starts. "But please, at least take a look."

Light shines on my lap as he opens the doors and pushes the wheelchair into the enormous closet. I slowly lift my head to see the project Jami and Father had been working on before we left.

A poster almost the size of a billboard is covered with pictures of Peter and I. Whether we're holding hands or actually kissing, they are everywhere. I have to admit, seeing us together in the pictures makes me so happy, not to mention the great filters that make me look not terrible.

This is it. The shipping shrine.

{F/C} glitter is highlighting the pictures with only me, while another color of glitter is highlighting the ones with only Peter. But for the ones with us both, have our two favorite colors... {F/C} and--

"{Y/N}... Please," he whispers. "Say something."

"All that time," I sadly smile. "I thought I'd never get to say it."

"What?"

"You never were an average teenager, Peter," I turn to face him. "You're so much more than that. Always looking out for strangers, trying to help in any way that you can. And then I came along. Instead of agreeing that I should be put elsewhere, you wanted me to stay. You wanted me. The only person in my life that has ever really wanted me, is you. And Jami and Father but that's not the point. You didn't care that I was different and confusing. Hell, you embraced it. And we did it together. Just the two of us. Laughing our cares away."

"..."

"In the pictures with us, you look happier. More alive. In the solo ones... You seem, forced, almost. Like something is wrong. And to know that I made you happy is the best feeling in the world. And then I left... And, holy Jesus, I cried so much. Over you. Over us. Over everything really."

"I didn't mean to make you cry..."

"Sometimes..." I take a deep breath and look out the giant windows beside me. "To be happy, you need to cry. We've been taught to keep our emotions under control in front of everybody... But sometimes bad things happen and the world keeps on spinning. So we try to bottle them up and move on with our lives, but those emotions stay and they become a... Well, a time bomb. We try to stay positive and sometimes that means smiling when we don't mean it, but... Do we have to? I think it's better if we find a time for ourselves and let some of those emotions go. Better to just let it out when there's no one else around or--"

I look to my left to see Peter with tears streaking down his face, making him look vulnerable. My hand makes its way over to his, firmly gripping it so he knows I'm here.

"Or if you're lucky enough," I continue as he looks down at me, almost in awe. "You'll find someone willing to listen." 

Peter's warm hand slightly squeezes mine and his thumb caresses the top. Then after a few seconds of silence, he scoops me up and out of the chair and carries me over to my bed. Once he carefully places me on the soft cushioning, he lies down next to me, hugging me close.

"God, I've missed this," he murmurs into my shoulder. "I've missed you."

"You're so romantic when you get emotional," I chuckle, causing a sharp pain to cut through my back. My teeth clench and Peter pulls away, looking wearily at me. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"It wasn't you," I turn to look at him. "Everything is gonna be painful for the next few days, so don't worry. Stay... please."  He hesitates before wrapping his arms around me again and planting a small kiss on my forehead.

"I love you," he whispers.

"I love you too," I smile, cuddling into his embrace. 

And for the first time in forever, I fall asleep in his strong arms again...