Yuri was waiting anxiously inside her apartment, today she and Peter were going out on one of their dates and he was going to pick her up at her apartment.
Unlike their other times spent together this would be the first time it was as Peter and Yuri, not Spider-Man. She wasn't worried about the date itself and the risk of embarrassing herself but rather the chance someone she knew would recognise her and see that she was on a date.
Peter had made it clear that they were going somewhere out of the way from her precinct so the likelihood that someone she worked with being there to recognise her was pretty slim.
But regardless of the odds he pointed out to her there was still that feeling of dread in her stomach, the kind that made your stomach flip, and it was almost unbearable that she looked at her phone every so often wanting to call Peter and cancel or ask that they continue having their 'private' dates.
She resisted as this was a big step for both of them, and since he revealed his identity to her she didn't want to get things off to a bad start, like cancelling their first in person date.
It wasn't anything too formal, Yuri didn't really like the fancy schmancy high end restaurants that regular couples went to on their dates. Peter knew this and suggested something smaller but no less romantic for them both.
There was a knock on her door and she was lightly startled, her thoughts had made her unaware of her surroundings that the knock came as a surprise.
Opening the door Yuri saw Peter standing there, not Spider-Man, no mask, just Peter. He was dressed nicely, smart casual. Brown pants, blue plaid shirt and brown jacket, an attempt was made to style his hair but she could tell it was a wasted venture but he still looked good.
In contrast Yuri was wearing some fitting black pants, red button up shirt and a longer black jacket. It was a surprise to Peter to see her not wearing her trademark leather jacket but he could barely keep his eyes off her.
"Hey." He greeted.
"Hey." She returned.
"Are... you ready to go?" He asked nervously.
"Yea. Just let me grab something real quick." She answered quickly walking to grab her bag. "So where are we going?" She asked.
"I thought we could take a stroll through Central Park, then I have somewhere in mind for us to go for food." He answered.
"Okay. Let's go." She said closing the door and locking it behind her as they both left.
A little while later Peter and Yuri were walking together through Central Park, there arms linked together as they walked closely together. Yuri was a little flustered as the remaining worry of being spotted in the open like this still dawned on her.
"Everything okay?" Peter asked noticing her worry.
"Huh... oh, yea. I'm fine." She said unconvincingly.
"Right." He elongated showing he wasn't convinced.
Yuri seemed to shrink into him, both out of embarrassment at being called out for her worry and that her mind was still concerned about being noticed being on a date.
"It's just... been a while since I went out on a date. I'm not exactly sure what to do?" She admitted.
"Yuri... all I want is for you to be happy and enjoy yourself today. And don't worry, after this we'll be in private, so let's just enjoy the beauty of Central Park. Ok?" Peter explained hoping to alleviate her minds worry.
"Yeah. You're right. Sorry for acting so weirdly." She apologised bashfully.
"Heh, it's okay. I'm nervous too if I'm being honest." He admitted to her drawing her surprise.
"You? Really?" She questioned him.
"Oh yea." He said.
"Why? I've seen you take down guys three times your size and you never so much as blinked, at least I think you didn't blink. Hard to tell with that mask." She said lowly so no one else would hear.
"Yea but... this is different then that." He said.
"How exactly? This should be a breeze in comparison." She asked.
"Well... it's been a while since I've been out on a date too and... being out on a date with an amazing woman like you, I don't want to mess anything up." He revealed blushing slightly.
Yuri reflected his blush at his admittance of her being 'an amazing woman' who he doesn't want to mess up this date with. "You... you think I'm... an amazing woman?" She asked.
"Of course I do. Without question." He said confidently.
Yuri held him a bit tighter after that. Compliments like that were something of a rarity for her and hearing him give her such an honest praise made her warm up inside.
"Thanks." She said lowly but he heard her nonetheless.
Peter chuckled lightly at her reaction, he never would have expected that sort of reaction out of the normally stoic Yuri Watanabe.
The two continued their walk for another couple of minutes until Peter whisked her away so he could take her to the private place he mentioned.
He had to lead her to a secluded place before hand and he put his mask on to hide his identity, Yuri questioned him about it but he told her it was just to take her to the place he had in mind and once they were there he would take it off again.
Yuri scoffed slightly but she relented and clung on to him as he began to swing through the city and in the direction of the next part for their date.
Along the way Yuri took the time to look at New York from up in the sky, it was a truly wondrous sight to behold, unlike the cramped spacing inside a plane being out in the open with the cool air blowing through her hair was an amazing sensation and she wondered if this was how he felt when he swings all over the place.
She relaxed into his back holding herself tighter against him and pressing herself closer to him, this was a once in a lifetime experience and she wanted to enjoy every moment of it before he had to stop. Although she doubted this would be the last time he would take her like this across the city, this was the first time experiencing this kind of thing.
Yuri had closed her eyes as Peter continued swinging towards their destination, she only opened them once she had felt him land when she did she was immediately taken aback at how high up they were.
Instinctually she held him tighter rather than letting go, looking down at the city below from this high up was both amazing and frightening.
The cars going past were too small to see and the people even more so, from up here she couldn't even tell that there were any people on the street.
"So... what do you think? Pretty great huh?" He asked her joyfully.
"It's uhh... pretty good... yea." She answered nervously.
"What's wrong?" He asked picking up on her tone of voice.
"It's just... this is really, REALLY, high up for me." She answered prying her eyes away from the long drop down.
"Don't worry, I've got you." He said as he placed one of his gloved hands over hers.
Yuri smiled weakly at his words she could tell he was being serious, as long as she was with him she didn't need to worry one bit.
Peter gently let her off his back and proceeded to guide her over to where he had set up his own little picnic area. Laying on the ground was a large blanket with a basket sat in the middle, it was simple but it was something they both could enjoy.
"Wow Peter... this, this is amazing." Yuri said astonished at the sight.
"You did all this... for our date... for me?" She asked surprised.
"Yep. Of course I did." He said taking her by the hand over to the blanket so they could sit and eat together.
The atmosphere was pleasant and thankfully it wasn't as cold up here as they thought. Peter knows from past experiences that being up so high made things a hell of a lot colder but today seemed to be one of the few days were it was nice and timid.
"Soooo... where are we exactly?" Yuri asked wondering what building they were currently atop of.
"The Empire State Building." He said casually.
Yuri went wide eyed at the revelation, she thought the place was familiar and for good reason it was one of New York's most famed landmarks.
"Are you serious? THE Empire State Building." Yuri repeated shocked.
"Yep." He simply replied.
"Wow. This... this is definitely one of the best dates I've ever been on. Gonna be hard for anyone to top this." Yuri said honestly.
"This... this one of the best dates you've been on?" Peter repeated back her statement in amazement.
Yuri blushed at her admittance, she didn't mean to let that part slip out. But it was true nonetheless, without a doubt this date far surpassed any she's been on before, and she doubts anything could come close to it in the future.
"Yea, it's the best." She said lowly but with a nice small smile on her face.
Peter reflected her smile, it was nice for him to see Yuri like that and the knowledge that this was by far the best date she'd been on was certainly a bonus.
"I'm glad." He said getting her to look back at him.
"I know this thing between us is, for lack of a better word, strange. But I really want to make the effort, and I know we both want to take things slow and not push anything we're not comfortable with... so I thought this would be a good place to start." He explained.
"It is. A good start I mean." She complemented.
They held their gazes at each other for a while, letting the cool breeze and the silence that was a rarity in this city be the only thing to remain and at some point they were both able to see the faint glint of the orange coloured sun reflect in the others eyes.
"It's beautiful isn't it." Peter said prying his eyes away from Yuri's to look at the approaching sunset.
"Yeah." Yuri agreed looking at the sun also. "It sure is Peter."
"Say... why not savour the moment with a picture?" He suggested.
Although the two had dated for a while neither one had done anything like taking pictures of one another for the sake of their secrecy. Peter had to hold himself back every time he was with her to not take her picture, because to him, she was incredibly beautiful and he wanted to always have it with him so he could see her anytime he wanted.
For Yuri however she wasn't the sentimental type, pictures of one another and the like was never something she did. Sure she had pictures of herself and her mother but they were family, they'd always have each other, there was an odd picture of her with Jean when they weren't on the job but other than that the most recent pictures of Yuri were always of her one the job and accepting some kind of award or promotion. It was never something as casual or personal as commemorating a date with someone.
But this was different... this was special... he was special. And she was willing to set aside her reluctance for him and solidify this moment forever with him.
"Sure. Why not?" She agreed.
Yuri could have sworn that she'd never seen him so happy before, his grin widened exponentially and he looked like he was ready to jump out of his skin in excitement.
Quickly as ever he pulled out his phone and switched to the camera so they could take their picture together. Peter held his arm out and with a click the picture had been taken.
Peter looked at the picture and although it was a good picture... it could be better.
"Let's take another one." He said extending his hand out again. Yuri groaned slightly hoping he would just take the one.
"Cmon get closer." He ushered her.
Another click followed and once again when Peter looked at the photo he was unsatisfied with the result of this picture too.
"One more." He said.
"Oh Cmon Peter." Yuri said slightly agitated.
"Last one I promise." He begged.
"Huh. Fine. Last one." She agreed.
"Okay. Come over her for a sec." He said.
"Peter..." she said unsure.
"Please... it'll be quick I swear." He begged once more.
Yuri scooted over beside him and she was ready to take the last picture with him. Peter took the time to make sure that this picture was the best he could get, he was lucky to get the two he had already gotten of her and he wasn't going to push his luck any further if she was adamant about this being the last one.
He turned her so they were both facing away from the sunset, he wrapped one arm around her shoulder and brought his head closer to hers, not enough for them to touch but pretty close, and with one final click the last picture of the two of them was taken.
Peter looked at the picture with happiness in his eyes, the picture was perfect. "Here Yuri, look." He showed her his phone so she could see the picture herself.
Yuri took the phone from his hands and took a look at the picture he tried so hard to get her to take, and even though she hated having to do something like this, the picture he took was incredible.
The two of them looked close, like they were actually together in a relationship, like all those other people who take pictures of themselves look when they enjoy their time together. The sunset behind them made the whole scene look so beautiful and the the way he looked in the picture said it all... he was completely happy in that moment, being beside her, being with her... it was unwavering and pure. She couldn't help but love the picture.
"Can you... send this to me. I'd like to have a copy too." She asked handing the phone back.
"Of course. Anything for you." He said.
Yuri couldn't wait to get that picture from him, and when she did she knew exactly what she was going to do next... after all, there was perfect place inside her wallet for just a thing.