ʂριԃҽɾɱαɳ σɳҽʂԋσƚʂ

More Than the Cut

"Lindsay asleep?" was Peter's next question, glancing past you briefly at your roommate's door, although it was rare that you did anything with her still in the building.

"At a girl's night out." you told him, pulling at your silk robe, anxious for what was to come.

"Oh, right — she was really excited about that..." he said offhandedly, his eyes wandering to the left momentarily, staring absentmindedly into space. Quirking an eyebrow at this, you got to your feet, walking over to where he stood, practically frozen in the middle of the floor.

"Long day?" you posed, reaching out to cup his cheek. Feeling just how cold he was gave you pause, and you were in the midst of a concerned thought when he cut this process short.

"You have no idea." Peter quipped, pulling you close by the waist and into a passionate kiss. Happily, you leaned in, a rush of euphoria blooming in your chest when you felt his hand slowly traveling down to rest on your lower back. Beginning to get into a rhythm, you had only just placed your own hand on his shoulder to steady yourself when he pulled away, a deep groan coming up from the back of his throat.

"Wow, I've barely touched you, Pete, I—" you had started to joke but stopped when you got another look at his shoulder, the long red streaks bleeding through the fabric of his shirt catching your eye. "Oh my god!" you exclaimed, stunned and honestly a little horrified at the sight. Peter took a different approach.

"Woah, woah, Y/N, calm down—" he tried to say but you would have none of it.

"Calm down?! You've got a huge gash on your shoulder!" you countered, peeling back his loose fitting t-shirt to peek at the damage under his ruined suit. Peering at it, you found a heavy feeling in your heart arise at the sight, bright red blood staining the skin around the perimeter of the slashes, rolling down his chest in slow but steady rivulets.

"It's really not that bad, honey. Please don't be upset." you heard Peter's plea, your eyes only breaking from the wound when he tilted your chin up with his other hand. Holding it there, you considered this a moment.

"I'm not upset," you insisted, taking his hand in yours before he could argue, "Come with me."

-

After carefully guiding him over to the kitchen table, you scurried quickly to the bathroom, grabbing everything you knew would be needed to help. Stripping off his suit, you tossed it aside, keen on soaking it prior to sewing the fabric back together.

"So, you wanna tell me what happened?" you prompted as you pressed gauze against the wound with one hand while the other dunked a clean cloth in warm water to clean the wound.

"Oh, you know, the usual..." Peter joked, a tacit attempt to deflect that you were in no mood to accept. Fixing him with a simple stare, he sighed, finally ready to give in. "There's a new mutant in town. I don't know who he is or what he wants but..."

"He has claws?" you offered as you lightly dabbed his shoulder with the cloth, grimacing at the size of the slash marks. Whatever did this must've been big.

"Yep." Peter confirmed, his sudden wincing prompting you to soften your administrations, your quick apologies met with even faster reassurances. "Very hairy too, almost like a bear or something... But he mostly stayed in the shadows, so I couldn't get a good look at him."

"Maybe he's a werewolf." you quipped as you went about unfurling an appropriate amount of medical tape.

"Yeah, maybe..." muttered Peter, looking off in genuine consideration of your offhand comment. You raised an eyebrow.

"Peter, I was joking." you clarified, laughing a little in your incredulity. Although, perhaps you should've abandoned that concept a while ago now. "Damn, this city just keeps getting weirder and weirder..."

"You could say that again." he agreed with a chuckle. Pausing in your motions, you gave him a look, one he knew all too well. Taking your hand in his, Peter gave you an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I guess I'm just getting used to this sort of stuff, you know?"

You nodded in understanding, giving the back of his hand a gentle kiss.

"It's okay. Not your fault." you responded, voice curt and clipped with emotion.

"Hey, look at me—I'm alright." he tried his best to calm your worries, one look at that goofy, lopsided smile of his all but doing the trick. Damn it, Parker. "You're an incredible nurse."

You rolled your eyes at that, an amused scoff leaving your lips as you finished off your sturdy but admittedly crude bandage job. It would have to do.

"Just promise me you'll be more careful? I don't want you to need a real nurse, Pete." you told him, and he nodded accordingly.

"I promise." Peter raised the hand on his uninjured arm, swearing on his (likely non-existent) Scout's honor.

"That's what I like to hear." you said, pleased to leave the discussion there for the night, gathering up the medical supplies to put away. When you returned, you took a moment to regain your bearings in the bathroom doorway, having just taken off the stilettos you'd chosen for that night's dashed plans. As you stretched your legs and rubbed your aching feet, your attention was pulled away momentarily when Peter asked,

"You coming to bed?"

"Oh, yeah, one sec. I just gotta change." you answered as you slipped out of your robe, your sleep deprived brain completely forgetting what you had on underneath. That is, until a certain someone reminded you with a rather audible gasp.

"Woah, you–" Peter began, and you cringed, hands immediately coming up to cover your embarrassed face.

"You don't have to say it." you cut him off, shaking your head at what felt like the dumbest idea you'd ever had now. "I know I look ridiculous..." you sighed, waiting for the laughs to come.

"Actually, I was gonna say you look amazing." remarked Peter, making your heart flip in your chest.

"Really?" you questioned, meeting his gaze once again, his adorable grin answer enough.

"Yes! You–you always do but wow..." he stammered, his reaction bolstering your original opinion of the outfit and the idea, itself.

"Thanks, Pete." you replied, walking over to kiss him on the forehead before resuming your seat at his bedside once more.

"So I imagine you'd planned on things going a lot differently tonight, huh?" Peter put forth after a moment, vacillating between apologetic and all too delighted at the prospect of you attempting to surprise him.

"I did... But it's okay, we can save it for another time—hopefully when you're a little less injured." you suggested, delicately running your fingers down the length of his affected arm; and though you hadn't meant to, possibly inspiring Peter's next words.

"You sure? Because I'd be totally down." came his eager confession, energy visibly spiking as he spoke. "This–this barely hurts, honestly." Peter declared, though by the prompt, 'ow' that followed even just the slightest movement of it, you weren't so convinced. Standing up from your chair, you looked down at him with a smirk.

"Yeah, I'm not sure you have enough blood for that right now, sweetie." you teased, tilting his chin up with your fingers to look you in the eye. For a moment, Peter maintained this contact, enthralled by the sheer amount of confidence you exuded in that fantastic getup of yours.

"Wow, really? Now that–that hurts, Y/N." he retorted, placing a hand over his heart dramatically. You bit your lip, trying not to laugh so you could play around a little longer.

"More than the cut?"

"More than the cut."

Lips forming into a smile, you finally allowed yourself to surrender into your giggles, Peter joining in soon after.

"Oh, come here, you." you leaned down, pulling him into a passionate kiss...