A light drizzle of rain sprinkled over you as you walked dejectedly along the empty, quiet streets back home. You didn't feel the physical fatigue from your rendezvous at the underground gym, but you felt it in your mind, weighing down your conscience like you were slowly sinking beneath the surface of the ocean.
Who am I?
The question repeated over and over again in your head like a broken record, the track skipping and scratching, and then playing again. Rounding the corner onto your street, you saw a police cruiser parked outside of your building with its lights flashing. Shit, you hoped they weren't here because someone saw the state of your front door.
Walking past them and up the steps, you took the stairs two at a time up to your floor and came face to face with an extremely worried May talking to two officers. She looked like she had been crying.
"[Y/N]!" she sobbed when you came into vision. She ran to you, pulling you into a tight hug and crying some more. "Oh, thank God you're alright. We heard the door slam, and Peter went to check on you-I saw the door and just thought the absolute worst."
You swallowed, guilt rising up your throat. Upsetting anyone was the last thing you intended to do.
The two officers came up behind her, notepads in hand. Before you could say anything, the taller of the two cleared his throat.
"I'm Officer Reid, and this is my partner, Officer Harper," he said in a gruff voice. "Could you state your whereabouts within the last two hours?"
You gestured to your bag. "I went to the gym."
"Where is this gym?" Harper asked, jotting down your words onto her notepad.
"Uh-Brooklyn," you answered.
More scribbling. Reid squinted at you, jabbing with "What's the name of this gym?"
"It doesn't actually have a name," you admitted. "It's....it belongs to a friend of the family."
"Do you have any idea what happened to your front door?"
You shifted uncomfortably, feeling May's concerned eyes on you. "It was....it was me. I slammed it too hard-you know how old this building is."
Neither of the officers looked convinced. They both looked you up and down, and Reid almost scoffed.
"You?" he asked, clicking his pen and putting it in his pocket. "Kid, you're half my size, and I couldn't even do that kind of damage to a door like that."
"It was me," you said firmly, moving past them. "I can already tell you that nothing was stolen, I don't want to press any charges-thank you for everything you've done tonight."
Ignoring the officers' protests, you shoved open your door and closed it as well as you could with a broken hinge, leaning against it and sighing. Sliding to the floor, you could hear them speaking to May on the other side.
"....let us know if any other strange occurrences happen," Harper was saying.
"I will," you heard May reply. "But she's a good kid-she's dating my nephew, and I trust her completely."
You heard them leave, and May returned to her apartment. Sitting on the floor for a little while longer, you reluctantly rose and started the shower.
The warm water cascading over you filled you with a sense of temporary peace. Your muscles relaxed, you felt like you were able to breathe properly for the first time in a while.The steam fogged up the mirror, and as you stepped out and wrapped yourself in a towel, you drew a smiley face with the tip of your index finger.
After you changed into an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of shorts, you mindlessly scrolled through your phone as you stirred a spoon in a mug of chamomile tea. You had a handful of texts from Peter, plus seven missed calls from your father. Sighing audibly, you sent a message back to Peter saying:
You: Back home. Sorry for the scare....nobody robbed me or kidnapped me.
After you sent it, you ignored your father's missed calls and put your phone on silent. Taking your mug of tea and a blanket, you stole out to your fire escape and quietly sat and sipped, dwelling on your thoughts. The stars twinkled in the night sky, the lights from the city giving them a soft glow-you could still hear cars honking and sirens in the distance, but it was almost therapeutic to you. The tea was warming your core, and the chamomile was beginning to lull you to sleep. Your eyelids began to slowly close before you realized it, until suddenly-a crash sounded from the alley below you.
Startled awake, you jolted up and knocked your mug to the metal grate with a clatter. Ignoring it, you leaned over the edge of the railing, your eyes searching the darkness below you, until a shot of white blew past you and adhered to the brick wall of your apartment. Followed quickly behind it was the famous red-and-blue superhero of Queens-Spider-Man. Completely in shock and awe, you could only stare at him, open-mouthed, as he climbed along the side of the wall with ease-exactly like a spider would.
The first thought that came to your mind when you overcame your initial surprise was, my father slammed his shield into your face, and then dropped a passenger boarding bridge on top of you.
He gracefully moved along the wall, before coming to a stop above your window, hanging off the bricks with one hand, the other swinging casually beneath him. "There was word that this apartment was-uh-broken into tonight."
Of course this vigilante superhero would have heard about this-it was his job to keep the peace. Shaking your head, you tentatively picked up your fallen mug, not taking your eyes off of him for a second. "No-I slammed the door too hard and uh, just left it there for a little while."
The whites representing his eyes on his suit were extremely off-putting. You didn't know exactly where to look-so you averted your gaze to the metal grate you stood on.
"You left your door broken?"
"I'm going through some stuff," you muttered, sitting down on your blanket again. Spider-Man said nothing, until you glanced up at him, to see him perched on the railing of the fire escape like a bird. Jesus, he moved silently.
"I know we don't know each other," he spoke, gesturing to you both. "But I know it makes a difference if someone listens to you."
You tilted your head, something off about him. Shoving the thought from your mind, you shrugged. "It does help."
"I'd listen to you," he offered.
"Don't you have other damsels in distress to save?" you asked, hugging your knees to your chest tightly. "What does a superhero want with some stranger's problems?"
He cocked his head, thinking. "I don't-I don't have a good answer to that," he admitted. "But I know what it's like to feel alone, to not have someone to run to when things get a little tough."
Something was really off about him. Still hugging your knees, you turned your head to look at him, still perched on the railing. "You know," you spoke suddenly, "you really sound like someone I know."
"Voice filter," he answered, pointing to his throat.
"I'm serious," you said, sitting up straight.
"I guess I've got a plain voice."
Before you could answer him, you heard the keys jiggle in the lock of your front door. Spider-Man must have heard it too, because he gave you a quick little wave and said,
"Hopefully nobody robs you for real, but I could come back and we could....talk, if you want."
You swallowed and shook your head, eyes glancing towards your front door in fear. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Spider-Man was silent for a moment. It was hard to judge his emotions he hid behind his mask, but he nodded. With another tiny wave, he shot a web out and swung with agility out of sight and into the dark. You stared out after him, your emotions in a jumble once again.
The front door swung open, and you saw your father standing there, holding his go-bag and ballcap in one hand. Seeing you, he immediately ran towards you, stretching his arms out for a hug and an expression of absolute fear on his face. After a beat, you gave in, and stumbled back into the apartment and into his arms. And for a moment, everything felt right again.
"What have you been up to, kiddo?" his familiar voice washed over you, with a hint of disappointment hiding behind his words.
You knew he saw the security footage of you slamming the front door. Wincing, you stepped out of his hug and looked up at him. "Papa," you whispered. "Did you know I was like you?"
His eyes closed in defeat. Holding you at arm's length and sighing, your father nodded silently. After what felt like an eternity, he took you back into a hug, he rested his chin on your head. "I knew, kiddo."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to be like me."
You looked up at him in confusion. "But-you're Captain America."
"We've all done things we're not proud of," he said quietly. "Even superheroes."
You stood there together silently, father and daughter. You wanted to stay there forever, wrapped safely in his protection, to be normal for once....but you knew it would never be like that as long as he was still doing his job, and you did yours. But in that moment, it felt like the calm before the inevitable storm.
