(Peter Parker x reader) Romeo and Juliet

57: Video Evidence

"Can't you teleport?" Nebula asked, fixing me with a level stare. I swallowed back the always-present feelings of anxiety and grief to give her an even more level look. Nebula hadn't been talking to either Tony nor myself since The Snap, and I didn't want her to start anytime soon. I know she lost her sister. I know she lost all she had. But I lost my lover, and from what I knew, I lost the rest of my family as well. And I almost lost Tony. I felt like I'd lost more than she had, and she had no right to look at me like I'd done it.

I dropped the huge piece of metal I'd been in the middle of handing to Tony next to his leg. He jumped, looking at it as if it were poisonous. I brushed my hands off on the ripped and burnt fabric of my suit. "Yes, Nebula, I can." My tone was just as rough and vicious as I thought it would have been.

Tony looked up at Nebula with a hint of annoyance. "Didn't we just fight a Titan?" He stood up, putting a hand on my shoulder. "She got hit over the head. She can't teleport. She tried."

I looked at the ground, a wave of sickness washing over me. "Grief doesn't help, Nebula. I have to be stable. Or I won't go anywhere." I walked off. In the few days we'd been on Titan, I'd taken several walks. I'd sit by myself on the edge of the huge building where Peter and I had kissed. I'd watch the body cam from my suit, listening to the rustle of our bodies together, hear our last conversation, and see Peter's face occasionally. It made it easier, being able to see him. He'd been uneasy; I could see it in the lines of his face when I paused the video. But I could also see, painfully obvious, the love. He loved me. I could see it.

That's what I did on my walks. Tony worried about me, and one time came with me. I never liked showing emotion. I hated having someone with me while showing emotion. So, while feeling very embarrassed, I cried over Peter while Tony hugged me to him and rocked me back and forth. Nebula stood a few feet away, looking, for the first time I'd ever seen her, sad. I'd been sad. For the first time in too long, I'd been devastated.

Right now, as I walked to the same spot, Tony called after me. He came limping up to me as I stopped and turned to face him.

"Listen, honey, I-I don't know if there's anything I can say that will make this any easier, but..." He stopped, looking back at Nebula. "But we're all upset. I'm sure she didn't mean to be abrasive."

I gave him a small glare. "Yeah. Like you never mean to be abrasive?"

Tony just sighed. "I'm sorry baby. I'm so sorry I can't do anything. I can't bring Peter back, no matter how bad I want to."

I swallowed the new wave of nausea and heartbreak to nod stiffly. "Neither of us can." I walked away, leaving Tony to fix the ship by himself.

On top of the decayed building, I pulled my wrist up to rest on my knee. This position was one I was always in it seemed, watching the same video on loop. But as I went to, I hit something wrong, and a different video started playing.

My breath hitched.

It showed Peter, standing amongst a burned and charred building in his Spider-Man suit with his mask off. Despite the obvious ruin around him, he was laughing with a gorgeous smile. He wrinkled up his nose, walking closer to me. "You know what sassy girl, if you want to piss Spider-Man off, I suggest you don't do it when he's holding a string attached to your wrist." The body cam, then in the lens of my left eye cover, showed my wrist as video-me looked down at it. A red string was tied to my wrist.

Peter and I did this on the one time we went on a mission together, through a burning building, so we didn't lose each other through the smoke. We'd completed the mission successfully, the entire time being just feet away from each other. We'd sat on the curb, in our suits, while firemen put the fire out. I'd fallen asleep on his shoulder.

I remembered all of this, trying not to cry.

The video showed me looking back up at Peter and laughing. "Well I wouldn't ever piss Spider-Man off on purpose, baby."

Peter smiled. "Well if you had-" he yanked on the screen. I flew to him, he caught me, and the cam showed me, looking up at him. "I'd have to keep you on a shorter leash."

Video-me laughed.

The video ended.

I sat completely still for a long time, shocked. I was overwhelmed with a new emotion.

Numb.

I needed him with me so badly that I suddenly felt numb. The numbness took over, and I laid back, staring up at the sky until I fell asleep. 

"Don't wake her up, Tony."

"Don't tell me what to do, Nebula." 

"Tony.....who was the boy she lost and mourns over?" 

"Well....that...that was Peter Parker. They've been friends for a long time. She's given a lot to keep him safe from her demons. So...so she's blaming herself for this. She thinks--she thinks what we all think; that we didn't try hard enough-we didn't do all we could have-to keep our baby safe from the demons."