Red Line

Valentine

"Zoya?" I hear MJ call to me, snapping me out of my trance, "Zoya?"
"Hm?" I ask giving her as much attention as I can.
Despite my best efforts to be invested in this conversation, my mind continues to wander to the file hidden under my pillow.
The file on me. The file on my brother. The file on my mom.

"Am I really that boring?" MJ asks with her usual dry sarcasm
"You're so incredibly boring I'd rather listen to Ned try to explain magic with science again." I respond in kind.
Her lips quirk up into a smile, "Wow, that's a new low."

"What were we talking about again?" I ask.
"You being Peter's girlfriend."
"I'm not his girlfriend."
"Not yet, but I'll bet after this date you will be."
I know she's probably not wrong. Peter is always up front with his intentions. Once we got past the initial secrecy, he's been the most transparent person I've ever met. I honestly don't really mind that he moves quickly. He jumps in head first to every situation, and gives it his all. He knows exactly what he wants. The only thing holding me back is me.

"Well what about you?" I deflect.
She sighs, "There's no Peters out there for me."
I laugh, "he sets such a high bar."
"He's a good guy." She agrees.
"Who are you talking about?" Peter asks sliding in the bench across from us.
"Me obviously." Ned says sliding in next to him.

MJ shoots me a mischievous sideways smile, "what do you guys think about magic? Y'know, since we know it's real now."
Ned's face lights up, "I'm actually glad you ask."
Peter sighs and buries his head in his hands.
"I hate you." I mutter to MJ.

Ned begins to drone on about magic, and I can see regret sparkle in MJ's eyes.
Peter leans across the table, "I'm really excited for tonight. This is going to be the most special date yet."

Peter and I had been on a few dates, each and every one perfect. So perfect that they put the movies to shame.
The one that sticks with me most is when he took me to the arcade. He didn't know, but it was my first time. Everything was loud and colorful and lively, just like him. First, he took to McDonald's and ordered 20 Happy meals, much to the worker's frustration, and then at the arcade we played at least 13 rounds of Dance Dance Revolution, which I won all of. I can't remember the last time I had that much fun before that
.
"What are we doing this time?" I ask with a smile.
He returns my smile, "It's a surprise."
"Again?"
"I don't know why you keep asking."
"Because I hate surprises."
"Because you're an over thinker. You can't over think it if I don't tell you what we're doing."
"Why did that actually make sense?"

"Just kiss already." The janitor chimes in while he sweeps under an unused table.
A furious blush breaks out across Peter's face, and I laugh.
The janitor looks at Peter expectantly, and Peter diverts his eyes to the table. I give him a small peck on the cheek.
The janitor scoffs, "Kids."

Once he wonders out of sight Peter brings his eyes back to mine, "That guy must be like, 95."
I cock my eyebrow, "oddly specific."
He shrugs, "I'm good at guessing."
I laugh, "I swear I've seen that same guy a million times."
Peter laughs along, "he looks exactly like my mailman."

~~~

I knock on the door to Peter's apartment. After a moment, his Aunt opens the door.
I offer her my most charming smile, "Hello Ms. Parker."
She pulls me into a hug which I gingerly reciprocate. I'm not much of a hugger, but it seems like almost everyone else I meet is.
"Please, just May honey." She tells me.
I nod in acknowledgment, "Is Peter ready?"
"He will be in a minute. I'm sure, you know how high maintenance he can be." She teases.
I laugh along. His aunt May is like if sunshine was a person. I guess she's a lot like Peter in that way. No wonder everyone likes her.
"Come in." May offers, stepping out of the doorway.
"Thank you."

Peter peeks his head out of his bedroom door, "Zoya?"
"Yeah."
He slides the rest of the way out into the hall. He's wearing a old sweatshirt and a pair of jeans that are just a little too big. I think he looks adorable, as always, but I'm not sure why it took him so long to get ready.
"Why do you always come here instead of letting me pick you up?" He asks.
Because you can't see my house or my family.
"Because I don't conform to societal norms."
He smiles, "You spend too much time with MJ."
"Can't ever spend too much time with your favorite person."
"Second favorite person." He corrects.
I smile, "Let's call it a tie."
He scoops my hand into his, "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
He slings a bag over his shoulder and waves at May as we leave.

In the hall, he stops and looks around.
"Just give me a minute." He says letting go of my hand.
I furrow my brow, "What are you doing?"
He whips his sweatshirt off revealing his Spider-Man suit underneath.
He pulls his mask down over his face and stuffs his clothes in the bag.
"What are you doing, Peter?" I reiterate.
I can practically sense him smiling under his mask, "I'm not Peter, I'm Spider-Man."

He puts the bag back over his shoulders and opens the hallway window.
"Do you trust me?" He asks.
"In general or right this second?"
He climbs out of the window, holding onto the side of the building, and offers me his hand.
"You don't seriously expect me to jump out a window do you?" I ask incredulously.
"Just trust me." He asks.

I shake my head and allow him to help me out the window. Looking down makes me feel nauseous. Peter wraps his arm around my waist and he begins slinging us through the city. I wrap my arms around his neck and close my eyes willing us to be on the ground again.

After a few agonizingly long minutes, we stop swinging and Peter stands still, hopefully of the ground. I put my feet down to test the terrain.
Once I feel it's solid, I let go of Peter.
"Oh thank goodness." I mutter.
Upon opening my eyes, I find we are not, in fact, on the ground. We're on top of a building.
Peter grabs my elbow to steady me, "we're on top of Stark tower."
"I think I'm going to be sick."
"Enjoy the view, I won't let anything happen to you."
I take a breath and sit down, trusting Peter to keep me safe. I've never been good with heights ironically. They may be the only thing that scares me. Could I survive the fall from up here? Probably, actually, thankfully my body is very durable; but I have no desire to find out.

Peter lays out a blanket, fake candles, and miscellaneous food.
He proudly smiles up at me, "Do you like it?"
"Is this a picnic?"
"With a special twist." He rubs the back of his neck, "MJ said you liked Romantic Comedies. I thought if I could outdo your expectations you might agree to be my girlfriend."
I sit down on the blanket in front of him, "I would've agreed either way, but thank you, this is wonderful."
He hands me the sweatshirt he was wearing earlier, "it gets cold up here, so you might need this."
I subtly take in the familiar scent from the hoodie as I hold it in front of me. Peter always smells so clean, like a jug of laundry detergent.

I pick up fruit roll up off the blanket and unwrap it. I glance out over the city, scooting a little closer to Peter as I do.
"The city looks so beautiful from here." I say in awe.
He rests his elbow on my knee, "This is my favorite place to be."
I glance at him over my shoulder, "I was apprehensive at first, but thank you for bringing me up here."

"Well, if you're my girlfriend now, there's one more thing I'd like to do." He says borderline awkwardly.
I smile, "and that is?"
He shrugs, "Could I kiss you?"
I laugh, "You're such a dork. We've kissed before."
"But that was then and this is now." He reasons, "Consent and communication are key to any healthy relationship."
"Dork" I repeat before guiding his chin so his lips lock onto mine.
He pulls away, face bright red, "You taste like blue raspberry."
"The fruit roll up." I reason.
He cups my cheek in his hand and gently kisses me once more.