Spider and Snake [REQUESTS CLOSED]

Penny Parker

Request by Guest on FFN! This is an AU where Peter is actually a girl. It's a bit shorter than what I've been doing recently... I'm not really the best when it comes to writing this type of story. I've never actually been in a serious relationship so I don't know if a lot of what Loki said in this is accurate... But I still hope that you like it!!

A loud bumping sound followed by a small curse pulled Loki from his reading, his eyebrow raising as he looked at the clock that said it was far past midnight. Closing the book with a snap, Loki stood up and started his way to the upstairs bedrooms.

It was Monday night, meaning that there shouldn't be anyone in Loki's three-story home in upper Queens. He only had one visitor reserved for Wednesday and Thursday, which meant that something wasn't right...

He had only been living here a month or so, having to move out of the Compound because if one more person tried to tell him what to do he would have killed them... He was planning on moving to the Upper East Side - arguably where he belonged - before coming to the conclusion that he must find a place in Queens specifically for moments like this.

"Penny," Loki called as he knocked on the bedroom door, "I know you're in there. What were you doing out so late?"

There was shuffling on the other side of the door, but the child remained mostly silent for a good amount of time. Loki was about to open the door and see what was happening just before she finally answered.

"Can I stay here tonight?  Please...? I'll be gone before morning..."

The man's eyes widened slightly at the sound of her voice, it was strained and wavering - like she was holding back emotions... and not the good kind.

"I'm coming in," He didn't hesitate as he opened the door, his eyes quickly scanning the room until he saw her curled up on her bed with her knees pressed against her chest and arms wrapped around them. He wasted no time in rushing to her side and taking a seat next to her.

"What happened, child? Were you injured on patrol? You know that Stark has better medical help for you than I do-"

"He broke up with me..." She quietly interrupted him, not meeting Loki's eyes. "He sent me a text before school started saying he didn't want to see me anymore and that I should avoid him in our classes together. I-I wanted to ask him about it, but he already had a new girl hanging out with him...!" Her voice cracked as she buried her face into her knees, a silent sob shaking her body.

Loki remembered the boy that she was talking about quite well. Penny didn't speak of him often, but she did tell stories about their dates now and again. He seemed like a nice guy, if not a little self-absorbed. Loki had no reason to be concerned about him before, as long as Penny was happy it was fine. However, Loki was severely doubting that judgment call now...

"I thought everything was going fine..." Penny continued, "He seemed really happy when we went out last time, we were laughing and having fun...! Maybe I did something he didn't like? Maybe if I wouldn't have talked so much, because everyone knows how much I talk... I can learn to talk less though, I can-"

"Stop." Loki instructed, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. "Just... stop. Don't you dare think about changing yourself to make someone else happy." His eyes opened and Penny held back a gasp, the rage in Loki's eyes were nearly causing the green to glow. "Listen to me, Penny, and listen well: you are not personally responsible for other people's happiness. All that matters is your happiness; because if you spend your whole life trying to make others happy, you will be miserable and they will keep asking for more. Your future lovers should not force you to be someone who you are not. Yes, you ramble and bring up the weirdest conversations at the most inappropriate times, but is what makes you you. If he cannot see how lucky he was to be by your side, he doesn't deserve to be there. And if he forces you to change, then he doesn't deserve to be on this planet."

They stared at each other for a long second, the silence only broken by Penny's occasional sniffle. 

"But I love him..." She finally said, breaking eye contact and looking down.

Loki sighed again and hesitantly raised his arm to put around her shoulders. "I know...  It will hurt for a while, and you will cry still. And that's okay, cry as much as you want to. But just make sure that when you're finished crying, you never cry over the same reason again. Don't let this boy control you like that, or anyone in the future. You are so much better than they or yourself realize."

The tears started building in Penny's eyes again, the fat drops rolling down her cheeks as she leaned into Loki's side and let out a sob. She let her pain out and Loki offered all the comfort and support that he could, sitting half turned on her bed and holding her close. 

Normally he tried to avoid contact at all costs or suffering through a short awkward pat, but now was not the time for that. Penny needed him now and he would shove his comfortableness to the far heavens for her. 

God, he was a hypocrite. Loki would definitely ignore his happiness for the rest of his life if it meant that Penny could smile... He would move heaven and earth just to keep her happy, not to mention what he would do to keep her safe. 

After some time, Penny's sobs started to ease and she sat up just as her door opened again and another Loki walked in with two steaming mugs, the Loki on the bed disappearing.

"Hot chocolate?" Loki offered, handing the mug to Penny as she smiled a bit and took it.

"How did you know?"

"Call it intuition."

A mother's intuition, Penny thought with a chuckle as she sipped on her drink. "You are right though... I really shouldn't change myself for the benefit of others. I can't believe I thought about doing that..."

Loki shrugged a bit, "You're young, you do stupid things at times. It's like a requirement or something."

A giggle left her as she nodded in agreement, "Yeah! But Len was being extra stupid."

"Agreed," Loki smirked  as the two of them clanked their mugs together. "If you want, I can go stab him for you?"

She giggled again before her eyes widened. "Oh, that reminds me," She set her cup down on the bedside table before slowly moving her knees away from her chest and looked down at herself, "I also got stabbed while on patrol tonight."

Loki's eyes widened as he looked down at the blood on her clothes; when he inhaled and started to open his mouth, Penny suddenly felt like she messed up...

A/N: I'm going to be closing requests for a short time. I have a couple other Marvel stories I want to work on, as well as some other chapter ideas for this story. If you're okay with waiting a while, you can still send requests in, but they will no longer be top priority... Sorry for any inconveniences.