October 12th. Present day, 6 years later.
Cora sat on the balcony of her dorm building, her attention being drawn away from her homework and towards the city. She wanted nothing more than to web up her Silk costume and dive off the balcony, swinging her way through the buildings. But she had a deadline and needed to develop some sort of discipline if she was going to get through the rest of her semester in college. Empire State University was hard to get into, Cora didn't want to throw away all her hard work for a persona that could take a small break.
Besides, Peter and Miles were always out there. They'd rather risk their chances at failing than miss a night out patrolling. She also wasn't too fond of her powers. While she entertained the idea of being Silk again, she didn't want to deal with the inevitable fallout that came with it.
"Cora?" A soft voice spoke up, making the girl smile. She instantly knew who it was as she turned around to greet her friend.
Peter Parker had only gotten more handsome over the years. Because of his powers, he improved his physique, causing Cora to drool over his arms any chance she could get. He had also grown out his hair a bit more, making him look like a prince even when he had just woken up. Of course he was still the same nerdy guy Cora had met all those years ago, but she loved it. Everything about Peter was absolutely perfect to her.
"I brought you food." Peter mumbled, placing a bag of Korean barbecue on the table. Cora gasped, ignoring her homework and immediately untying the bag.
"Oh you're a saint." Cora groaned as soon as the soon the smell wafted up to her nose. She would typically forget to feed herself when craning for an exam or typing up an essay. Of course Peter knew this, he had become accustomed to her habits over the years and wanted to take care of her. He would never tell Cora that out loud though.
"My 'Peter tingle' was telling me that you hadn't had dinner yet." Peter joked, sitting down across from Cora. He delicately moved her computer to the side before taking his to-go box from the plastic bag.
"Very corny...but you brought me food so I won't judge you too harshly." Cora replied, rolling her eyes in a teasing manner. Peter smiled, watching as Cora tied her long hair up with the hair tie she always wore on her wrist. He tried not to let his gaze linger too long, but it was hard whenever he looked at her. Peter wasn't sure how someone could be so gorgeous, and he cursed himself for not realizing his feelings sooner.
When Peter had a crush on Liz in sophomore year, all he could see was her. He had never realized how it had been Cora all along until he nearly lost her to Mysterio during their school trip.
Peter realized that Cora was the one for him- the girl he wished to devote his life to even if he was still young. She had always been right there and he was too dumb to realize.
He was also unfortunately too scared to confess his feelings. He had consulted Ned about it over the phone who had told him to 'man up because he's an adult now'. Peter knew he should've, life was too short and what did he have to loose? Even if Cora didn't reciprocate his feelings he was sure that she wouldn't want to stop being friends.
Peter wasn't sure he could handle that heartbreak though. He rather live without knowing, maybe he'd get over it eventually and find a woman who actually loves him back.
"I missed you." Cora mumbled, looking at Peter. He looked at her with wide eyes, making the girl smile at him. Peter was sure the breath had been knocked from his body, his chest tightening as he attempted a smile back. He really had to get a grip.
"I haven't gone anywhere." Peter spoke up before digging into his food, hoping that his face wasn't red.
"Well yeah, but you haven't come around lately. I know you've been busy so I don't blame you. I just miss you a lot. We're usually attached by the hip you know." Cora explained, her eyes darting around. Peter could tell that she was nervous, she could never look him in the eyes if she wanted to avoid feeling stupid.
"It's okay, I get what you mean. I'll try to stop by more." Peter offered.
"Oh...I don't want to inconvenience you. I swear it's alright, we'll have lots of time to hang out during winter break." Cora assured the boy. She offered for Peter to stay with her over break, considering he was all alone for the holidays.
"You could never inconvenience me. Trust me, Cora, I want to be around you." He confessed, causing the girl to blush. She let out a nervous chuckle, stuffing her face with food to hide her flushed face.
"Anyways, guess who's back in the city?" Peter spoke up again, an excited smile on his face. Cora raised an eyebrow, dropping her chopsticks in her food container.
"Who?"
authors note !
first official chapter!! i hope you guys enjoy
