Spider-Man Imagines I

You Think It's Easy? | Peter Parker [TH]

Peter had an okay life before he was bitten by the radioactive spider.

He was a good student and a good nephew. He did his homework (most of the time begrudgingly) and complimented Aunt May on her seriously awful turkey meatloaf. He was fine with the life he lived, even if it meant he only had one friend (Ned) and had crushes on girls he would never have a chance with (Liz).

Of course, the moment he was bit by the spider and developed power after power later on, he realized how unhappy he had been. He was suddenly super strong, super fast, and healed from a paper cut in mere seconds. He could also climb walls, which was handy when he wanted to sneak out of his bedroom and fight crime - just because he could.

Not only that, but his powers gave him confidence for a while, and in that confidence, he met you.

You were a girl in his art class that kept to herself and did her work quietly at her desk. One day, Peter confidently said your oil pastel artwork was easily the best in the class, and you gave him the widest smile he had ever seen. It made his heart skip a beat, and he didn't hesitate to ask you out for coffee.

You went out with him again and again, all the way up until his world came crashing down when Ben died. After that, he was distant, and you understood. He didn't have to explain. You told him to call you when he was ready, and in the meantime, you were there. You brought him breakfast in the mornings because you knew he wouldn't eat on his own and you helped catch him up on homework assignments he wasn't up for completing.

He took you out for coffee again, and this time, someone recognized him.

He wasn't sure who was screaming, "Hey, kid!" but he knew the moment the pale man charged at him, full force, gun in hand. You screamed and he pushed you behind him, recognizing the man as someone he had dropped off at the police station for robbery - someone he had caught before he had thought to wear anything more than a hoodie and a beanie.

The man fired the gun, and Peter knocked his hand out of the way and promptly hit the guy's head against the sidewalk. He was breathless and terrified, and as he looked at you, cowering behind him, one hand on his back, the other on your heart, he broke.

He had nearly gotten you killed.

He explained his powers and who the man was and apologized over and over again. You told him it was okay, that you were glad he was safe. You cupped his face in your shaking hands and stared at him with teary eyes and he swore up and down that he would never let your eyes look like that again.

He made a costume (with your help) and made sure to always have his mask on. He resumed being a hero in the streets, learning to keep his life split in two. Half as Peter Parker, half as Spider-Man.

But some criminals were smarter than him, and sometimes a mask doesn't work.

You were kidnapped maybe three months into the relationship. He had no idea why you hadn't shown up for your normal coffee date, only stared at the cup of now cold vanilla coffee in front of him and worried. He sent you texts, but you didn't reply. And then a man he recognized from weeks ago sat down in front of him and calmly told him he had something he wanted.

"What?" Peter asked, crossing his arms. He didn't buy it.

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out three pictures of you unconscious in some car. Peter felt his heart physically drop and leaned across the table, grabbing a fistful of the man's shirt and yanked him halfway across the table, not able to look away from the pictures in front of him.

"How did you get her?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I got people, Spider-Man," he said, smiling to himself. "People who watch, people who listen... people who hack into phones and read a superhero's texts to a girlfriend he doesn't even keep protected." His breath smelled of stale cigarettes.