— • —
"Are you mad at me?"
Luna rocked on her heels, hands clasped in front of her as she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, anxious for his response. Peter, already anticipating her arrival, took his time piling his books into his locker before shutting it with a sigh. His eyes trailed over her features, her lips tugged down into a frown, dark circles surrounding her tired eyes, hair thrown into a messy braid against her shoulder. All he needed to do was take one look at her, and any feelings of resentment were fleeting.
If he were to be honest with her, he was a little upset with the events of the last few days. He knew he had no right to get mad at Luna for keeping a secret to herself that could be damaging to both of them because he'd done that plenty of times, but he couldn't help but get angry at the way everything seemed to spiral out of control all at once. One minute he was finding out that Danielle knew his secret and Luna had reassured him that she had the only proof she had, the next Luna's mom was making direct eye contact with him as she slapped a photo down on his table of him in his suit without the mask on. She had promised that she wouldn't tell anybody before proceeding to talk to May about legal procedures, but that should have never been an issue to begin with. Had Luna just told him beforehand that Danielle knew and had made threats to share it, he would have kept an eye out for her. Instead, she was able to catch him off guard and possess life-ruining photos of him.
"Doesn't matter," Peter mumbled, arms grabbing onto Luna's shoulders and pulling her into him. "How's all the court stuff going?"
Typically Luna would allow him to change the subject, but it wasn't happening this time. She pulled away from his embrace instantly, her brows furrowed. "It does matter," she retorted. "It actually matters a lot, Peter."
He frowned. "It really doesn't."
Luna's lips formed a straight line, her arms crossing over her chest. "If you're trying to spare my feelings, then don't. You're allowed to be mad at me, Peter, I was mad at you just last month."
"Luna-"
"Peter, I need you to tell me you're mad at me," she emphasized. Peter watched with knitted brows as Luna released a shaky sigh, her eyes squeezing shut for a short moment. When they reopened, she gripped his wrist and led him down the hall until they were in front of the auditorium doors. He opened his mouth to question her but stayed silent as she tugged him into the empty room. "Okay, go ahead."
Peter blinked. "Go ahead?"
Luna shot him an exasperated look. "Get mad at me; we're alone now, you don't have to hold back."
"Luna-"
"Wait, I'm not mentally prepared for you to yell at me. Lemme just-"
"Luna, I'm not gonna yell at you," Peter cut her off with a sigh, making Luna freeze in her place. He reached forward, intertwining their fingers before gently squeezing her hands. "I'm not going to lie, I was a little mad that you kept so much from me, but I can't blame you. I hurt you, and I was the last person you wanted to disclose any of that with, so I get it." She ducked her head down, and in an instant, Peter was dropping her head to cup her cheek. He lifted her head to lock eyes once more, his chest tightening at the look of guilt in her eyes.
She leaned into his touch, eyes darting between his with uncertainty. "I just feel like...so much could have been prevented if I just told you."
"You can't do that," Peter told her quietly, causing Luna's brows to furrow. "You can't think about the what-ifs, it'll eat you alive."
She sighed. "I know you're right, but it's still gonna be in the back of my mind."
"How's the court stuff going?" Peter repeated his question from before, swiftly changing the subject much to Luna's displeasure.
However, this time, she allowed the subject to change. Her lips tilted downwards thinking about her, and her mother sat on at the kitchen island just a few hours earlier, eyes hooded and bodies slumped as they read over the evidence dropped off by their lawyer that evening. There were too many little things to go over, like text messages exchanged between Luna and Danielle a few months prior, and scribbled out images of Mia and Liz, who somehow through sharing a lunch table with Danielle got dragged into the whole mess.
Seeing the apparent conflict on Luna's features, Peter used the hand that still held hers to tug her forward, lifting her hand until it was resting on his shoulder, her other arm following. The smallest smile tugged at her lips as both her arms rested over his shoulders, his hands settling on her hips. "You choose now to be smooth?" Her teasing comment lightened the mood significantly, a slight blush dusting over his cheeks. "Now I have to kiss you."
His lips tilted up. "Well, I'm not going to deny you your right to kiss me." Luna rolled her eyes at the response, but still, she leaned forward, planting her lips on his. Her arms remained winded around his neck as her body leaned into his, head tilted ever so slightly. She was moments from stumbling forward and having them pressed against the wall when another door opened, her eyes shooting open as she hastily shoved Peter away from her. Her cheeks flushed as she locked eyes with a member of the stage crew, and she raised her hand to give a small wave. The person shook their head, snickering to themselves as they stepped further into the auditorium.
She finally looked back to Peter, who's cheeks matched hers as he stared at her with slightly wide eyes. "Not our smartest idea," she muttered, grabbing his hand and leading the two out of the auditorium. Just as they stepped out, the bell rang, making the two sigh in unison. "See you later?"
Her hand slipped out of his as she stepped away from him, prepared to run down the hall to her Spanish class. She was quickly tugged back by her hand, the momentum causing her to crash into Peter's chest. Raising her head to meet his eyes in confusion, the breathe was knocked out of her when lips attached to hers, hand pressing against the small of her back, keeping her flush against him. She relaxed into the kiss, fingers curling around the fabric of his t-shirt as she let out a sigh of content against his lips. Peter was the one to pull back this time, a smile playing on his lips as her eyes reopened to reveal her dazed state.
"We're going out after school, okay." It was more of a demand than a request, but still in awe of the breath-stealing kiss he just planted on her, she nodded without a word. Peter grinned at that, placing a chaste kiss on her lips before separating from her entirely. "Good. See you at lunch, babe."
The pet name made her heart flutter, and her teeth latched onto her bottom lip to prevent her smile from widening as she backed away from him. She didn't even bother to rush to her Spanish class, taking her time wandering the halls, a light pink dusted across her cheeks by the time she slumped into her seat in the class. Liz took one look at her before rolling her eyes, the faraway look in Luna's eyes telling her all she needed to know.
Still, Liz found herself smiling the tiniest bit at the radiant look of her best friend. If anybody deserved to be happy, it was Luna.
— • —
"Tell me what you know!"
"I don't know anything, I swear!"
"Liar!"
"I-I swear I'm being honest!"
"Alright, you're gonna make the poor kid cry," Liz mumbled, pulling Luna back until she settled down in her seat. Luna had previously been leaned across the table, her face dangerously close to Ned's as she pressed him for answers. After coming down from her love-induced high, she realized Peter had a surprise for her, one he refuses to give her even the slightest clue about. So she went to her last resort.
Ned scooted closer to Mia as Luna narrowed her eyes at him, clearly intimidated by the small girl. "Peter would never tell me his surprise for you, you know I can barely keep a secret!" Ned defended. Luna sighed because what he said was true, a flashback of the scene that took place in their gym class coming back to her mind. Defeated, Luna huffed out a heavy breath before allowing her head to drop, her forehead smacking the table with a thump.
She had no reason to be stressed out about this. It was Peter, he knew her better than anybody, he wasn't going to surprise her with something he knew she would hate. But for some reason, she had a feeling there was something off about this surprise. It was obviously a spur of the moment decision because he'd even admitted he was mad at her before. So if it wasn't something he planned, but still remained big enough for him to refuse to even give her a hint, then what the hell could it have been?
All three teens at the table stared at Luna with apparent confusion. When MJ sunk down into the seat beside Liz, she paused to poke at Luna's head, prompting a groan from the girl. Looking to her friends with raised brows, she gestured to the slumped girl. "What's wrong with her?"
"Peter has a surprise for her after school, and she's stressed about it," Mia mumbled, rolling her eyes immediately after. "Which I don't see why it's such a problem. She has a boyfriend surprising her," she gestured to Liz and MJ, "you two are one look away from falling in love," she nudged Ned, "you're making moves on Betty," then she placed her hand on her chest, "and me? I got assigned to a project with Flash again."
The table fell utterly silent, even Luna lifting her head to reveal her wide eyes as she gaped at her best friend. Mia didn't bother to address her flustered friends, popping a grape in her mouth with her brows pulled together in discontent. The silence wasn't broken until Peter approached their table, eyes darting between everyone. Liz and MJ were both blushing, unable to look at each other, Ned's head was ducked with a bashful expression, while Luna looked downright distraught.
"Did I miss something?" Peter questioned, causing all eyes to snap at him at once.
"No!" The entire table answered in unison as he squeezed into the seat beside Luna, his arm immediately dropping over her shoulders. She leaned into his side with a sigh, her head dropping to nestle into his neck.
He eyed Mia suspiciously, the girl still munching on her grapes with nonchalance. "Mia?" She looked up with wide, innocent eyes. "What'd you do?"
"I was just being a certified angsty, bitter teen and these people," she gestured around the table, "made it bigger than it was."
Peter frowned as Mia abruptly stood up from the table, tossing her book bag over her shoulder and stalking away. Barely a second passed before Ned was stumbling over his own feet, following after Mia with much difficulty as she walked away with purpose. His gaze shifted to Liz, who stared back at him with an equally confused expression. A few seconds later, Ned returned, shrugging when everyone looked at him expectantly. "She just told me she'll talk it out with Liz later?"
"Great. I got stuck on Mia duty because Luna over here is being given a puppy or something," Liz muttered, bitterness laced in her words.
Luna's head shot up, her eyes wide. "Is that the surprise? You bought me a puppy?"
Peter was quick to grip her shoulders, seizing her bouncing. "No, I didn't buy you a puppy." He looked over her shoulder. "Thanks a lot, Liz."
Liz shrugged. "That was just my guess, but now I'm stumped. This surprise better be elite, Parker."
A sly smile tugged at his lips. "It is...I think."
The next few periods felt weird. Mostly because they were shared with Mia, who refused to meet her eyes at all cost. She hoped Liz was able to get whatever was wrong out of her so they could get her out of whatever rut she was in before it was too late. As her final class ended, Luna suddenly felt anxious, knowing whatever surprise Peter had planned was waiting for her. She found herself walking a lot slower to her locker, hoping Peter beat her there.
Thankfully, he did. The boy was leaned against his own locker, typing on his phone rapidly, not noticing Luna approaching. When she was a few feet away, he glanced up, and a smile instantly spread across his lips. His smile remained intact as she unpacked her textbooks into her locker, slipping a different textbook into the bag before shutting the locker. The smile she typically found comfort in was now making her scared, his bizarre behavior setting her off.
"Ready to head out?" He asked giddily, taking her bag before she could hoist on her shoulder and throwing it over his own. Luna rose an eyebrow when he extended his arm for her, eyebrows wiggling as he did so, before accepting his arm. "It's a bit of a journey, but I think you'll enjoy it."
That only made her more confused. "Peter, where the hell are we going?" Peter simply smiled at her, head shooting out to press a quick kiss to her cheek before leading her out of the school. Expecting him to lead her across the field to the subway, she began walking to the left, only to be tugged back into Peter as he began walking to the right in the direction of a car. She blinked rapidly as he opened the door for her, dramatically bowing as he gestured for her to get in. "Peter-"
"Just get in the car," he laughed, hand moving to the small of her back to guide her in. With a dazed expression, she slipped into the backseat of the car, scooting in until she was on the left side as Peter slipped into the right. Luna's eyes widened as she made eye contact with the driver, wasn't that- "Hey, Happy. You remember Luna, right?"
Happy Hogan looked between the two teens in the mirror, before ultimately settling on Peter. "You know where we're going, right?" Peter nodded. Happy stared at him with silent discontent for a moment, before sighing. "Keep your hands to yourself back there, or I'll turn this car around." Luna opened her mouth to reassure him, but held back her words as the partition slowly rolled up between them.
As the car jolted to a start and they pulled away from school, Luna whirled on Peter. "Where the hell are we going?"
"To a surprise place."
"Peter."
"Just let me surprise you, please?" He turned serious, a pleading look in his eyes as he gripped both of her hands. He smiled when she let out a sigh, nodding in response. Scooting to the center seat, he wrapped an arm around her, Luna settling into his side comfortably. "Now just relax for the next two hours."
She instantly pushed away from him, her eyes wide. "Two hours?!"
Eventually, Peter was able to talk Luna down as her eyes glared holes into his head. And luckily enough, Luna eventually fell asleep, her head leaned against his shoulder and legs thrown over his lap. He alternated between his phone and watching the scenery change for the next two hours before the familiar building came into view. Snapping one final photo with a sleeping Luna, he gently shook her awake, Luna letting out a whine in response.
"Luna, you're gonna kill me if I don't let you fix your hair before we go in," Peter informed her, his gaze settled on the building getting larger and larger as they drew closer to it.
"Why?" Luna mumbled, her voice still laced with sleep as she rubbed her eyes. "Where are we?"
She was greeted by an amused smile when she reopened her eyes, instantly making her nervous. Then she noticed the vast amount of greenery outside of the window, her first indication that they weren't in New York City anymore. Immediately, she whirled around to look out of the other wind, and her heart stopped. The giant A stared down at her as the car slowed to a stop, and she quickly turned back to Peter with wide eyes.
"Is this a joke?"
The car door on her side opened, Happy's squinting face staring at her. "Sadly, no." Luna quickly stumbled out of the car, gaping up at the large building she'd only ever seen on tv. Immediately, she began flattening down her hair, suddenly conscious of her appearance given their setting. "Did you tell him you'd be bringing your girlfriend?"
A shrill gasp escaped Luna's lips. "Him? As in, Tony Stark? He's in there?"
Peter shot Happy a sheepish look, before shuffling forward to get his jumping girlfriend to settle down. She was just barely able to contain herself long enough to let Peter lead her into the building, Happy trailing behind them with a grunt of displeasure. Luna marveled at the building, eyes looking over every corner of each room she passed through. She let out a squeak as they stood by a wall, forcing Peter to come to a stop.
"Take my picture, take my picture," she rushed out, shoving her phone into Peter's hands as she positioned herself in front of a wall.
Peter felt his heart skip a beat at the bright smile on her face as she gestured up to the large letter on the wall, before glancing over to Happy, who watched with a straight face. Peter shrugged as if to say 'what are you gonna do' before dropping to his knee to position the phone. Happy let out a sigh, unable to maintain his solemn expression as he watched the two teens. He found himself smiling slightly as Peter grinned behind Luna's phone as she did a number of poses in front of the giant A, pausing every once in a while to ask how she looked only for Peter to reassure her that she looked beautiful. They were young, and very clearly in love, it was impossible to not smile at the sight of them, their happiness was contagious.
"At least you kept me waiting for a valid reason." Luna went stiff at the familiar voice, her head whipping to the right in shock. Heat immediately crawled up her cheek as she scurried over to Peter's side, embarrassed that of all people to catch her enthusiastically posing beside the Avengers logo, it had to be Tony Stark. "Good to see you again, kid, and..."
Peter looked at Luna, expecting her to flip the switch and become her usual confident self. Instead, she stared at Tony Stark in utter shock, lips parted in shock. Peter almost wanted to laugh, but he knew he should save the teasing for when Tony wasn't stood directly in front of them. "This is Luna Giraldo, my girlfriend."
"Huge fan," Luna blurted. Her breath hitched when he stuck his hand out to her, which she eagerly shook, a slight smile dancing across her lips. "I hope Happy hasn't told you anything annoying about me, I know Peter makes me sound annoying."
Tony glanced to Happy, who's eyes widened. "I never called her annoying, just saying," Happy rushed out. "If anybody's annoying, it's Peter."
"Okay," Peter interjected. "Uh, picture proof? That's what I came here for."
Tony chuckled to himself, allowing Peter to change the subject, turning on his heel and gesturing with a hand for them to follow. Tony smiled to himself when he heard Luna whisper 'you are kind of annoying' followed by Peter's 'shut up.' "So Luna, you and Pete go to school together?"
"Y-Yes."
"So is Pete as smart as he seems or is it just a front?" Tony stopped in front of a sign that read Stark Industries, turning to face the two teens. "Because you two go to a smarty pants science school, correct?"
"Yeah, Peter's pretty book smart, not sure about any other smart," Luna answered with a shrug. She looked over to Peter, smiling slightly at the sight of the incredulous look on his face. "You know I love you, but you did forget to close your door with your suit on, which isn't the smartest."
"She knows?"
Both teens looked to Tony, who looked surprised as his eyes darted between the two. Peter nodded slowly. "Of course I told her, she's my girlfriend."
"Given he didn't tell me, I yanked his mask off myself," Luna added.
"You know, I'm surprised more people haven't tried that," Tony mumbles as he crosses the room, picking up a frame from a nearby table. He couldn't deny he was surprised to hear that Peter told his girlfriend, a seemingly nonpermanent figure in his life, his secret. Such a big secret like his identity was something only to be shared with those you trust most in your life, and he could barely remember anyone he trusted enough when he was Peter's age with such a big secret.
Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he watched in amusement as Luna held up Peter's backpack, as he wiggled out a folded article of clothing. "Seeing them makes me miss being young," Happy mumbled under his breath, Tony's eyes flicking over to him momentarily. "He really cares about her. I would know, I've got a million voicemails to prove it."
"You going soft on me?" Tony muttered, raising an eyebrow with evident amusement.
Happy shook his head. "Can never be serious with you, can I?"
Tony shrugged. "Sometimes." Focusing his attention back on Peter, who was squirming away from his girlfriend's touch as she attempted to fix his hair. "Alright, we ready for this picture? I'm assuming you've gotta go home to do homework or something like that, so let's do this quick."
Peter nodded, buttoning the blazer he just put on and handing his phone off to Luna before positioning himself. Luna snapped photo after photo with a bright smile on her face, the heavy weight of her responsibilities back home slipping from her mind as she basked in the moment. She was in the Avengers facility with her boyfriend and Tony Stark, taking pictures of the two of them like they were close, everything else seemed too unimportant compared to this moment.
"Okay," Luna breathed out, lowering the phone to examine her work. She paused on a particular photo, Peter grinning happily, unaware of the fact that he held the certificate upside down. Oh yeah, she thought to herself as she typed on his phone, this is definitely my new lock screen.
— • —
ROSE'S NOTE!
top ten date ideas:
1. go meet tony stark