Tom Holland & Peter Parker Imagines & Preferences (book 2)

I shouldn't have left

peter's suited feet landed on your fire escape as he leaned against the wall, catching his breath. he ripped off his mask, the cold air blowing against his sweaty face. his head knocked against the brick wall as his eyes slid closed. god, was he tired?

he bent down and looked through your window to see you sitting at your spinny chair, pencil in hand and earbuds in ears. giddiness rose in him as he watched your lips mouth the words to your favorite song. you made coming home safe worth it.

mask still in hand, his fingers gripped the windowsill and lifted it. it wouldn't budge. odd. it was almost always open. you must've forgotten to unlock it.

peter tugged his mask back on, pulling it over his copper curls. he brushed off the small tingle of concern and raised his hand to knock lightly on the window.

you looked up, your hand floating up to the mic to pause your music. your eyebrows flew up in surprise as you got up and walked over to the window. whether it was a good surprised reaction or a bad surprised reaction, peter couldn't tell.

he swallowed as you unlocked the window lock, your face still devoid of emotion. he carefully raised the windowsill. you stepped back to let him in, and his feet landed on the carpet. he opened his mouth to greet you, but you cut him off.

"We need to talk."

peter flinched underneath his mask, suddenly grateful that he'd decided to put it back on. he dropped his hand to his side and closed your window back up. he folded his arms across his chest, ignoring the pounding of his anxious heart. "okay, let's talk."

"here's the thing." your usually bright eyes were now looking anywhere but into his.

"if this is about me being late, I swear-" peter said worriedly, tipping his mask off. he frowned with concern, a nervous ball of energy forming in his stomach. he'd tried his best to get home on time, he really did.

"no, no." you shook your head rapidly. "it's just that-" you bit your lip, an action peter normally thought to be adorable. tonight, it only made peter fret even more.

"Just what?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

a moment of silence filled the room as you both shifted your weight from foot to foot. peter picked at the skin on the side of his nail to distract himself.

"you can't keep doing this to me."

the words took him by surprise as he looked up in shock. "excuse me? doing what to you?"

"Nothing, it's nothing, never mi-" you were turning away.

Peter pressed his lips together, confusion and slight anger rising in his stomach. "is-is this about me being spiderman?"

from the way you reacted, it was definitely about him being spiderman.

"we've talked about this before, y/n." he couldn't keep the tiredness out of his voice. he wasn't ready to have another conversation about his alter ego again. not tonight.

"And you did nothing to fix it," you accused, your sharp tone shooting daggers into his skin. "you said you'd make time for me and you said you'd try your best."

the tingle of concern was replaced by a stab of annoyance as the whine in your voice shone through. god, peter was just not having it today. there was no way he was going to put up with it.

"I did try my best," he snapped back, his tone coming out harsher than intended. "god, you have no idea how hard it is to keep up school while being spiderman. I save lives, y/n. that's not new information."