Spider-Man Imagines I

Just Close Enough (Part Three) | Peter Parker [TH]

If you really aren't a thief, meet me at the alley again today (bring my backpack)

- Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man

You smiled wide, then, gripping the straps of your - his - backpack, turned around and ran back the way you came.

Your legs picked up speed as you neared the alley. For reasons you could not explain, you were excited to see him. Like you two were good friends or he even liked you.

You turned the corner, a smile on your face, and took three giant steps in the space before stopping abruptly, eyes on the crowd of three men digging through a black dufflebag. They looked up as your shoes scraped against the pavement.

You took in a sharp intake of breath and they all stood up, each individually pulling guns out of their baggy jackets and pointing them at you.

Right then, something dropped on front of you, blocking you from their field of vision.

"Hey!" Spider-Man exclaimed, "If you're gonna shoot anyone, shoot me!"

"Don't think we don't!" one threatened.

Spider-Man leaned his weight on one leg and crossed his arms. "Now you three are just extremely problematic. A nice, pretty girl walks in an alley and you want to kill her? Well, that's just not right."

"Enough chit chat," the other said, clicking the safety on the gun and then off again.

"Well," Spider-Man said, "okay." He shot his arm out and fired three webs at the men, binding their hands and then shooting some with his other hand directly at their mouths.

All three were knocked backwards, muffled yells escaping their webbed mouths. Spider-Man held his arms up in surrender.

"Hey, you said enough chit chat!" he said. He turned around slowly, as if he was remembering you were there. The whites of his mask widened and you could see his lips move beneath the bottom. "Hey, you okay?"

"Whoa," you said, then, embarassed, nodded. "Y-Yeah."

"You sure?"

"I... sure," you said. "H-"

"Hey, let's find somewhere else to talk, okay?" He jerked his head towards the guys. "I don't want... you know, anyway. Can I-" He held out his arm, hooking it like he was going to wrap it around your waist. "Can I, uh, just... can we... can we go? Go... somewhere else?"

"Yeah," you said slowly, eyeing him oddly as you stepped close enough for his arm to wrap around you. You were containing the little bit of cool you had (for the most part) so you hoped he couldn't hear how fast your heart was beating.

He flicked his wrist and a web shot up and out, soaring through the air for a moment before sticking to the side of a building. Half a second later, your feet were off the ground and you were flying above Queens.

He landed on a fire escape and put you down, giving you a minute to catch your breath and fix your hair.

"I-uh," you paused, watching as he swung his legs over the side of the fire escape. "Thanks." He tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. "For saving me."

"Oh," he said. He waved his hand. "Don't worry about it."

"I would have died," you said, "twice this week, but y-you saved me."

"It's in the job description," he said, laughing.

"You said if you're gonna shoot anyone, shoot me, and-" You stopped, eyes wide, hands moving animatedly. "And- that's... I'm a stranger. You can't have that kind of mindset, because-"

"It'll get me killed one day," he said, nodding. "I know. But my chances of surviving a gunshot wound or even getting out of the way in time are higher than theirs." He smiled, the movement of his lips visible beneath the mask. "I don't really think about it much, just..." He shrugged.

"Oh. Well, that's awesome," you said. "But stupid. Really stupid."

He smiled wider, an airy laugh coming out of his mouth. The sound was so normal, yet it made your heart flutter. You froze.

Oh.

Oh, no.

You liked him.

He pointed to the bag on your shoulders. "Um," he said.

Your cheeks turned pink for a moment, thinking he had somehow read your mind and heard your realization, but he was still pointing at the backpack.

"Oh. Yeah." You shrugged out of it and handed it to him. "I... never meant to take it. Either time - it was just, well, it was just-"

"It's fine," he said. "I just, uh, it's... sort of a secret, the stuff I keep in here." He held it to him, one hand fluttering around. "I mean, uh, I don't tell anybody who I am is all."

"Oh. Right," you said, and your mind was screaming all at once, Peter Parker! Peter Parker! He's Peter Parker! "No, that makes sense."

"Well," he said, standing up off the rail, "it was nice seeing you and getting my backpack back and learning that you're not a crazy thief and all that, but I need to go."

"Oh."

He doesn't know that you know.

"So, see ya," he said.

"Wait!"

He turned back around and your heart lodged itself in your throat.

"I know who you are," you blurted, and then, all in the same breath, you continued with, "Peter Parker."