SPIDERVERSE DRABBLES | (N)SFW

BETERxREADER (ANGST): "You're in love with her."

Ding dong! The sound of the doorbell made your heart race. He's right on time, you thought, questioning Peter's priorities from your bathroom. All these years of close friendship convinced you he had almost no shame, and in that would still have shown up late on your first official date with him - one you wanted to treat him to, might I add. But, to your surprise, you had underestimated him, fortunately. As you chuckled to yourself at the thought, you quickly sprayed some on and ran to the door.

"Well. Someone is on time for once," your teasing made Peter laugh as he looked to the floor. He cleaned up very well and had even thought to bring you a lovely bouquet.

"Nehh, it's , what can I say?" he teased back, shrugging his shoulders a bit. You couldn't help but laugh behind your hand.

"I see you're already getting comfortable."

"It's you I'm with, tuh- of course I'm comfortable," he spoke with his arms, almost forgetting about the flowers, "-Oh, my bad. Here you are, ___. They're almost as lovely as you," his raspy voice eased as he gently handed them to you, and you felt your face heat up. He was so silly, but he always meant well by it; and you truly loved that Peter was always his genuine self around you.

"Awe Peter, they're gorgeous..." you examined the vibrant petals as you giggled, then looked at him endearingly, "Thank you," after a brief exchange of laughter and smiles, you placed the flowers into a vase by your door; and finally, you made your way out for the evening. Peter held his arm out and gestured with his head to the cityscape that surrounded you two.

As you linked to him, you couldn't stop thinking about the evening you two were going to spend together; it excited you, just as much as it did for Peter. His embellishment gave you comfort in that you were sure he was going to be okay, despite his heavy past and unfortunate relationships. Being there for him as friend only did so much, and it was only a matter of time before you two felt strongly about each other. Once it happened, you and Peter's days were filled with joy.

He played some Chet Baker tunes to accompany your conversations in the car, and of course to drown out any awkward silence. It was a funny realization to you; your friendship didn't make it any easier to be around each other, but it was still so delightful. You hummed to one of the tunes and played with your fingers as you looked out your window, taking in the beautifully cramped buildings and noisy pedestrians. But it was only a moment of time before you realized Peter was driving that familiar route - the one he always revisited. You noticed as his eyes briefly followed the striking, red apartment building. It was MJ's place.

He wasn't at all aware of the fact that you still remembered where she'd lived; he brought it up once with you years ago, but he would still drive by it whenever he picked you up for a get-together or something of the sort. It was understandable, but seeing as he still held onto that urge, that memory, his past - even when on a date with you - became worrying all at once. And suddenly, that euphoria escaped you.

Your heart felt like it tangled up into a knot as you tried to reassure yourself that it was all a mere habit of his. But the look on his face as he stared ahead was different. And with your mind racing, all your thoughts became blurry.

"Peter..." you began, a little shaky from the feelings that stirred inside. It was clear your voice was uneasy.

"Yeah, what is it, ___?"

"I..." you struggled to let it out, though it was about time you did; it hurt too much to keep it to yourself all these years, "You're in love with her..." and the weight of the world came down.

"I-I'm sorry?"

"MJ - you're in love with her," you reiterated louder than before as your heart raced, "I know the route we always take is because of where she lives, and- well, I've known for awhile now. It's been worrying me, if I'm being honest," you felt the backs of your eyes begin to burn as you looked to your lap. You really wish you hadn't said it all right then and there, but you needed closure.

"___, I-" Peter found it difficult to speak as well. He looked to you, then back at the road where he found a spot to pull over in. He took a moment to process everything.

"...I'm sorry to have said it so abruptly, Peter, it's just been eating at me-"

"Hey, hey, don't apologize, ___," his voice was softer as he looked to you again. He ran his fingers through his hair and scratched his head, and he dropped his shoulders, "I...you deserve better, and I'm so caught up in my past- I just feel so lousy," he was embarrassed, but he knew what was brought upon him. He knew he shouldn't have clung onto old memories. After all, they did him no justice, and they only hurt everyone in the process, "I'm really sorry to have put you through that all these years," his voice was a little shaky, "But, I-uh," he swallowed hard as he looked ahead, "...I don't feel the same about her like I used to. I just...miss what we had."

"Oh Peter... I'm really sorry," you began to feel bad.

"No, it's totally okay, ___. You had every right to assume the worst after having to put up with it for, what...4 years? I was being sloppy. This is my fault."

Your heart sank; he really had been through a lot of pain that he truly didn't deserve, and though you knew it wasn't wrong for him to dwell in his past, you also knew that it wasn't healthy for him to hold onto it. With that in mind, you gently held his hand; his grip tightened.

"I don't want to lose you,___," his voice was faint as he looked you in your eyes. He gulped hard, holding back tears, "So I'm gonna do better."