𝐖𝐞𝐛 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐬

3 | Sweetheart

"Ned I am telling you, the other week she literally said she wants to sleep with me" Peter exclaimed, standing in the line of their local deli and speaking slightly too loudly for their surroundings and topic of conversation. An elderly woman shot a disgusted glance towards Peter when he mentioned the tabooed topic so casually in public, a glance Peter absentmindedly cared to notice. Ned swayed his head to each side unconvinced.

"Spider-Man. She said him, not you dude. To her, Spider-Man is this mysterious badass who saves the world with a bunch of other bad asses.. and you're some guy she just met" he chuckled.

"Same thing though, I'm him and he is me" Peter responded.

For Parker, keeping his identity hidden from his best friend throughout high school was difficult, and since Ned found out, things had been a lot easier. Having a second person to cover for him was a sigh of relief, especially when he'd miraculously disappear from a party and arrive back with his hair a mess and a limp to his walk.

Y/N however, was still curious about the one Avenger she knew nothing about. FRIDAY kept his records confidential, every field of information was under restricted access. The other Avengers however, had their ages, their secret identities and locations at any given time of the day.

Tonight was another infamous Stark Industries launch party, commonly held to celebrate new products or systems to the public. It was an exclusive event, with socialites, industry leads and other esteemed guests in the mix. This was held at the Stark residence, a large penthouse overlooking the city in the top several levels of Stark Tower. Caterers and decorators scurry around the house in preparation for the event, whilst Natasha and Y/N trained in a lower level of the tower. The 'gym' was frequented by many of the human Avengers, as their identities weren't so much as a secret as the other-worldly heroes. Steve Rogers was often training, and was a mere few metres away from the two women.

"How old is Spider-Man?" Y/N asked, executing a right hook towards Natasha and ducking when she returned a counterattack.

"Hm, like your age maybe?" She responded, catching one of Y/N's fists and twisting it to immobilise her.

"How come he doesn't really hang around here?" Y/N asked again, prodding deeper into the topic about the masked vigilante. Natasha flips Y/N onto her back and knife hand strikes her, stopping an inch from her face.

"You're not focusing, I could've snapped your neck by this point, all because you're distracted" she remarks, glancing over at Steve to see if he was listening.

"Your dad doesn't want to expose his identity so early in his life, that's why he's not public like the rest of us.. plus he's a guy your age, I doubt Tony wants him wandering around the tower when you're here" she whispers, grabbing Y/N's forearm and helping her to her feet.

"Have you met him without the suit on?" Y/N pushed again, surprised Natasha was even talking this openly about him. They sip from their water bottles, and rest on a bench near the boxing ring, the Black Widow nodding in response to her question.

"Is he cute? I can tell he has a good body but what's he like? Would I like him?" Y/N says in a hushed but excited tone, momentarily checking if Steve had started listening. She looked at her with a slight eye roll.

"Your dad would kill me if I even answered that" Natasha remarked, subconsciously confirming Y/N's question that, yes, he was cute.

"Don't you have some Avengers appearance tonight?" Ned asks, mouth half full and sauce smeared on the corner of his mouth from his sandwich. Peter nods, almost finished his food before Ned had gotten halfway through.

"Will Spider-Mans secret admirer be there?" Ned asks again, taunting Peter who had blushed and given his friend the finger in return. He knew about any and every girl Peter had been interested in, they had a transparent friendship. Despite being a superhero, Peter Parker wasn't so much of a catch to women as his alter ego was. He had his flings and one night stands, but not often or consistently. He never really had time to commit to someone when duty called him across the world with the risk of death every time.

The party was extravagant, with Tony and Pepper being the exemplary hosts. Y/N had been making the obligatory rounds with Stark connections, smiling courteously and engaging in well-mannered conversations with her father. She wore a simple dress, sleek and elegant but nothing too attention seeking or revealing. It hugged her body in all of the right places, and accentuated the right features. Captain America, heroic as ever, was talking to the city mayor of New York with Ant-Man and Black Widow by his side, it was nice to watch them all converse as their hero selves but in a natural setting - being themselves.

Y/N excused herself from yet another business circle, making her way to the rooftop balcony that wrapped around the penthouse. Nobody else was outside as the cold weather was a strong deterrent. Her arms crossed against her body for warmth, she looked out at the skyline, the night lights making the corner of her lips curl into a smile. A thump behind her startled her as she turned to see none other than Spider-Man crouched on the railing, balancing effortlessly.

"Thought the party was inside? What are you doing out here?" He asked casually using Karen's Interrogation Protocol to morph his voice slightly. Peter always felt more confident in his suit, knowing he had nothing to lose if anything went wrong, he used it to lamely practice pick up lines in the mirror even. She smiled towards him, motioning to the party and explaining that she needed a breather from all the socialising and drinking.

She moved closer to him, trying to see if she could figure out any redeeming qualities to identify him further.

"You know I basically re-designed this the other week, you should be thanking me," Y/N smugly stated, running her fingers lightly down the arm of the suit, coming across flirtatious but also admiring the craftsmanship she had contributed towards. She ran her thumb across his wrist to admire the work she had created, prompting them to shoot the artificial webbing at her wrist and stick to the wall behind her.

"Woah okay, not a threat, calm down I'm just curious seeing the suit on an actual person for the first time," she defended, shocked that the suit had automatically protected itself against her. He moved to her wrist and freed her apologetically, scrunching his face inside his suit in embarrassment. She chuckled, more impressed than worried and told Spider-Man not to apologise. She smiled, and asked him why he wasn't inside.

"I uh, I'm making an entrance" he answered, prompting a slightly intoxicated Y/N to retort with 'You're just running late aren't you?'

"If nobody knows you're here yet I'm sure you could take me for a quick swing, I'd love to see what this thing is capable of," she smirked.

Y/N's arms were wrapped around Spider-Man, holding tightly as he swiftly swung from building to building, eventually returning back to the roof of Stark Tower. Leaning against the balcony, she smoothed her dress out with her palms and combed her fingers through her hair.

"That was incredible," she smiled, her heartbeat still racing from adrenaline and slight arousal. "You're incredible," she followed.

Peters heart alike was racing, more from nerves about Y/N being so forward with him rather than adrenaline, and his jaw clenched tightly as she moved closer to him.

"So, will I ever get to see the man under the mask?" She teased, resting her hand on his shoulder and sliding it slowly to his chest before looking up at him. His hands moved to her hips, chuckling and pulling her closer to whisper in her ear. A quiet gasp escaped from her lips, surprised that this entire situation had even happened, let alone being incredibly aroused.

"But that ruins all the fun now, doesn't it Sweetheart?"