my guardian angel | peter parker x gn!reader

t w e n t y - f i v e

nothing's real anymore

Peter swung his way through Prague until he found the nearest train station. He looked around for one headed toward Berlin, which didn't take long, and landed on it, letting you off his back so that you could lie down and wait.

He didn't talk to you for a lot of the journey, taking to watching the scenery instead. This deeply upset you. You felt like you'd done something wrong. Maybe he didn't want to kiss you after all. Maybe he never truly liked you. Or maybe he hated you for not getting it over with and kissing him. However, his silence was a double-edged sword. You assumed what he wanted was space, and so left him be, which in turn made him think you were mad at him as well. He felt that you had every reason to be mad at him, from EDITH to the near kiss.

The only words you spoke were to MONDAY, asking her to wake you up once you arrived at Berlin. After that, Peter guessed you had fallen asleep, until ten minutes later when he turned to look at you and found you on your back, watching the stars.

"I'm sorry," he managed, but once your eyes were turned in his direction, he looked away again.

"For what?"

"Giving Beck the glasses. I know you would've advised me against it if you were there."

"You're right, I would've." You averted your focus back to the stars, greeting the constellations you'd been familiar with all your life. You thought back to the days you would watch these stars through your bedroom window. Life was so different back then, so constricted yet so much easier.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, moving onto his back so he could gaze at the stars with you, but you doubted he could find the same comfort in them as you.

"Don't be. I probably would've done the same thing if I was in your place."

He tilted his head toward you. You didn't dare look at him. There was a lump in your throat like you were going to cry and you knew that meeting his beautiful brown eyes would light that fuse. "Really?"

"Yeah. That's a lot of responsibility for a teenager. And you weren't the only one who fell for Beck's lies."

That made Peter feel a bit better. This time, when you turned to steal a glance at him, he didn't look away. The eyes of his mask were popped open, allowing you to see the soft glisten in the whites of his eyes. No full tears, but they contained the remnants of sadness. You knew that yours would look the same.

For a few seconds longer, you held that eye contact. If your mouths weren't covered, you probably would've tried to catch up on that interrupted intimacy from earlier. You wanted to kiss Peter, but not here, not now. It would have to wait.

"We should sleep," you whispered as your eyes started to droop.

"Yeah," he whispered back, closing the eyes of his mask. With his eyes concealed, he took a quick glance at where your lips would be under your mask. You weren't the only one who was left unsatisfied.

You hesitated for a moment before shifting your head into the nape of his neck, tucked underneath his chin. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer, embellishing in your warmth. "Goodnight, Peter," you mumbled but it was muffled by both your mask and your fatigue.

"Goodnight."

You couldn't remember the dream you had. But you could remember that Peter was in it.

✯

It had turned morning by the time you arrived and allowed Peter to climb onto your back as you flew to the ground. Peter jumped off, approaching a woman you had landed next to, hoping for directions. "Excuse me, do you know where-"