Spiderdad

37

Peter dropped in front of the thief with his arms crossed. His buggy eyes narrowed at her as she skidded to a halt in the alley between a jewelry store and apartment building.

"For your own good, get out of my way," she hissed.

"I've fought a titan, I'm not afraid of a cat burglar," Peter flatly replied.

"Oh I'm soooo impressed. You fought an ogre? I've fought cops," She rolled her eyes.

Peter laughed slightly, "first off all, I don't see a difference between the two. Second, I said titan, not ogre."

"Same difference," she placed her hand on her hip.

Briefly, Peter found himself distracted by her appearance. The majority of her face was covered by a sleek, black mask but he didn't need to see her face to know she was beautiful. Taking notice to this, the woman took her chances and roundhouse kicked him in the side. Stunned by the force of her blow, Peter toppled over, only to shoot a web into a building. He yanked himself upright and used the moment as leverage to smash his foot into her stomach. She crashed into a fire escape then fell roughly to the ground.

Peter almost winced, that was a little more force than he had intended to use.

"That's no way to treat a lady," the woman seethed as she adjusted her position with a wince; she'd need a moment before standing up.

"Just return whatever you stole and I'll let you go," Peter suggested.

"How do you know I won't just steal it again?"

"Because if you steal it again, you deal with my much less forgiving friend— The Winter Soldier."

Her eyes widened a little, yet she suppressed her fear relatively well. Peter hated threatening people with Bucky's name but it was so incredibly effective. Everyone thought they knew who the Winter Soldier was: former ghost story, former assassin, former slave of Hydra and still someone to be feared. But those were all snap decisions created by rumors and the media— not the real Bucky.

"Fine, just help me up," she grumbled.

To tired to recognize the dangers of assisting a villain, Peter stepped forward and extended his hand for her to take. She clasped his palm with her clawed hand and hauled herself upright, gritting her teeth in discomfort. For a moment, the two stood silently staring at each other with their hands still locked together. The silence was on the verge of peaceful, but their previous quarrel and the hero-villain dynamic forced it to be tense and deafening.

The quiet was only interrupted when Peter's ears strained at the sound of a low rumble. The young woman snatched her hand away from him then looked away, seeming a little embarrassed.

"Was that your stomach?" Peter asked in concern.

"Um- yeah. I mean I haven't eaten today," she tried to sound casual, but she was clearly distressed, "what do you think I stole the jewelry for? I was gonna sell it for dinner money."

Guilt punched Peter in the stomach and his sighed heavily, "let's go return the necklace. I'll pay for your dinner."

She blinked a few times as if confusion had clouded her vision, "what?"

"Pick a place to eat, and I'll pay," Peter repeated, "but first we're returning the jewelry you stole."

A wobbly, disbelieving smile crept onto her lips. Normally she kept a careless, slick shield guarding her thoughts, but that kind offer made her and open book: she was infinitely grateful for the free meal.

"Wow. Um- thank you, Spider."

"No problem," Peter started to lead her back to the bank, not noticing he was holding her and once more, "now, what can I call you so my brain stops referring to you as 'This Lady?'"

"Call me Black Cat," she replied.

"Black Cat? I like it," Peter smiled under his mask.

Returning the necklace was simple, the hard part was finding a restaurant open at 1:30 in the morning.

Eventually, they came across a Subway that was still open, and Peter bought Black Cat a salad that she picked out. The few people working in the restaurant hardly bat an eye at seeing Spiderman walk in with a villainous-looking woman in all black— they had seen weirder. Black Cat sat across from Peter with her legs extended in front of her and her feet resting on his knees. She politely ate her salad, never offering the hero a bite— not like he seemed hungry anyways.

"You're shorter than I thought you'd be," Black Cat commented, "how old are you?"

"Younger than eighteen," Peter admitted.

He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he trusted this stranger enough to give her some vague information. Plus, his spider-sense was mostly quiet but then again, his previous alcoholism definitely had an affect on his sixth sense.

"Aw, you're a baby," she teased with a smirk and a bite of chicken.

"Oh shut up," Peter rolled his eyes, "I doubt you're any older."

"I am, but just barely," she shrugged.

"Then you can't call me a-" he cut himself off as an employee walked up to him with a stifled smile.

"Excuse me, Spiderman?" The young woman with her jet black hair kept in a sleek ponytail sheepishly greeted, "can I take a picture with you?"

"Of course," Peter replied in his Spiderman voice.

Black Cat watched the two take a quick selfie with a goofy pose. She withdrew her legs from his lap, crossing them neatly in front of her instead. Hm, I feel awkward. She acknowledged silently, yet she had no envy for the loving (probably perfect) life the man before her led. 

"Thank you so much," the girl squealed after she took the final picture, "enjoy your date!"

"Oh, we're n-" Peter was interrupted.

"Thank you," Black Cat spoke for him as the girl walked away back to work.

"Um, Cat," Peter confessed, "I have a girlfriend."

"Ooooh, she's a lucky girl," she cooed playfully, making Peter chuckled and rub the back of his neck, "but that doesn't mean this can't be a date. Call it a friendly date and tell her about it or call it romantic and don't tell her," she shrugged and Peter was glad she couldn't see how red his face went, "it's your call."