A string of curses left her mouth as she glanced at the time displayed on Peter's alarm clock. A look of confusion spread across his features.
"Is everything okay?" he asks, watching as she hurriedly stuffs her belongings into her backpack.
"Yeah, yeah, it's just I probably should've been home already, but I'll manage," she smiles at him and is up on her feet in the blink of an eye. She rushes through the hallway and to the front door.
"Thanks for letting me stay for dinner, May! It was great, as usual!" she exclaimed as she shoved her feet into her converse.
"Anytime (Name), you're always welcome here," May smiled and (Name) returned it, hair falling into her face. Peter grabbed his best friend's free hand as she went to open the front door.
"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" he asks, an immense amount of worry in his eyes. She playfully rolls hers and lets out a breathy laugh.
"It's fine, Peter. I'm only just around the block. I'll be alright. I can handle myself," she reassured him and leaned forward to place a quick kiss on his cheek. His cheeks instantly heat up, but she doesn't notice as she's too far out the door.
As soon as she exits his apartment building she shoves her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket. The cold wind from outside twirls her hair behind her and nips at her exposed nose. In her haste, she doesn't notice the footsteps behind her as soon as she normally would.
A dose of anxiety corrodes her veins as she picks up her pace, nearly running towards her own apartment building. The footsteps only follow her at a faster pace. She can feel her heart beating against her ribs and she lets adrenaline take over as she breaks out into a full on sprint.
The footsteps follow her and she quickly turns the corner. She slows down, adrenaline still coursing through her, and tries to catch her breath. A hand suddenly grabs at her wrist and she gasps. She feels someone press themselves behind her as their hand covers her mouth, silencing her screams for help.
"What's such a pretty girl like you doing out here all alone?" one man hisses into her ear. She squeezes her eyes shut and wills her body to move. When she opens them again, she's aware that there's not one but two men preventing her from getting home. The man in front of her nods his head to the side, to which the one behind her responds by tugging her with them into a deserted alleyway.
She's roughly shoved against the wall and she takes the opportunity that her mouth is not covered to shout for help.
"Help me! Somebody, please, help me!" she yells. There's a growl from the man closest to her as he stalks towards her. She catches a glint of light reflecting off metal in the dim light and her breath hitches when the barrel of a gun is pressed underneath her jaw.
"You're going to be quiet and cooperative, so I don't have to use this," the man harshly states. His breath fanned over her face and her nose crinkled in disgust at the scent of alcohol still lingering there. When he pulls back, she watches the two men as they have a mutual agreement.
The man passes the gun to his accomplice, who moves into the shadows near the entrance to the alley to most likely keep watch. Tears swell up in her eyes as her brain comprehends what it most likely going to happen to her. A quiet whimper leaves her mouth as the man advances her.
"There's no need to cry, I'm gonna take good care of you," he snickers and a sob releases from the back of her throat. His hands suddenly grip harshly onto her arms and throw her onto the concrete. He kneels in between her legs and pins her arms to the ground with his hands.
"Please, don't do this to me," she whimpers in a last ditch effort for him to stop. He lets out a heartless laugh and trails one of his hands down her side and to the hem of her shirt. At this point she subconsciously aware of the fact that her Peter's jacket had fallen off and onto the floor.
Her thoughts drift towards Spider-Man and she wonders if he even realized that something like this was happening. She then thought of Peter and how she was such an idiot for not letting him walk her home. How could she have been so careless?
She's awakened from her thoughts when her shirt is being pushed up and her jeans are being pulled off, leaving her in just her underwear. A loud sequence of sobs escape her. She thrashes her body around, trying to loosen the man's hold on her so she could escape. She had no such luck.
A loud smack was heard as his hand came in contact with her cheek. Her head reeled to the side and she gasped. The skin had become bright red and she felt it pulsing.
"Shut up, you little slut," the man sneered and she nodded. She was faintly aware of the man being pulled off of her as her body went numb. Small hisses were heard and she pushed herself up into a sitting position to see the two men webbed against the wall. She scrambled backwards and to the wall across from the men as a presence loomed over her.
"Hey, hey it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you," Spider-Man reached out a gloved hand and she only stared at him. She wasn't sure if her body had gone into shock but she felt like everything just shut off. She seems to regain some control when she's handed her jeans.
Her hand shakily grabbed them and she slowly slipped them back over her legs. She stood and stumbled forward, Spider-Man catching her from falling.
"Woah, easy there. Here," he said, helping her arms into the sleeves of Peter's maroon jacket; she wasn't even cold. She stared at Spider-Man's masked face. There was something oddly familiar about him.
"Let me take you home, where do you live?" he asked and she quietly whispered her address. He wrapped an arm around her and she stiffened in response. "It's okay, I'm just going to swing you home, so I'll need you to hold on tight."
She nodded her head and was quickly swung through the air and to the fire escape by her bedroom window. She released her hold on him and went to take a step forward, once her feet were planted. She stumbled again and Spider-Man tightened his hold on her waist.
She opened her window and he climbed in first before helping her in after. She shrugged the jacket off, and sat it by the window. He leads her to her bed and helps her sit. Another wave of sobs overcame her and she pressed her face into her hands.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, crouching down in front of her. His hands gently wrapped themselves around her wrists and pulled her hands from her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and there was a slight bruise forming on the right side of her face.
"I'm such an idiot. I should've let Peter walk me home," she whimpered and Peter frowned beneath his mask.
"You're not an idiot, (Name)," he stated and she stared at him.
"How do you know my name, Spidey?" she skeptically asked and Peter sighed. His left hand reached behind him to pull his mask off. Her eyes widened as they scanned his face. When his brown eyes made contact with hers, more tears slipped down onto her cheeks.
"Oh, Peter," she cried, falling into his arms. Peter wrapped his around her back and held her tightly to him.
"Shh, I've got you, you're safe now," he whispered. A soothing hand rubbed her back as she sobbed into his neck. When she calmed down some, Peter pulled back from her slightly and scanned her face. "Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"
She gave a small nod and he helped her up, leading the way to her bathroom. He lifted her onto the counter and quickly located the first-aid equipment he needed. Grabbing a cotton ball, he soaked it in the antiseptic and moved to a cut she didn't notice on her left arm.
"This is going to sting a bit," he said grabbing her hand and moving it to his shoulder, "just squeeze when it hurts."
He pressed the cotton ball to the cut and she winced, squeezing his shoulder tightly. He continued to clean her cuts, bandaging them as he went. As he finished applying a special ointment to her bruises, she took a hand and ran it through his hair.
Peter looked at her and she offered a shaky smile. He gave a sad one back in return and picked her up, carrying her back to her room. He sat her on her bed before moving to her dresser. He rummaged through them before he pulled out a pair of shorts and one of his sweaters she had stolen.
"Can you help me with those?" she shyly asked, her face tinting red with embarrassment. Peter hesitantly nodded before pulling her to stand next to her bed. His hands gripped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. His cheeks reddened but he ignored it and slipped his sweater over her head. He helped her slip her arms through the sleeves which fell past her fingertips.
He helped her out of her jeans before grabbing her black pajama shorts and helping her slide them up her legs. She offers him a small, grateful smile and he smiles back. He walks over to her bed and pulls the covers back, allowing her to lay down before he pulls them over her. His lips press a kiss to her forehead before he turns to leave her room.
Her fingers quickly grip his wrist and he turns to look at her.
"Stay with me? Please?" she asks, a slight tremor entangled with her words. He nods and moves to her dresser once more to pull out an old pair of his clothes. He sheds his suit and tucks it away in the corner of the room, before dressing in the sweatpants and t-shirt.
Peter climbs into her bed beside her and she immediately cuddles up to his chest. His arms wrap around her middle and pull her tightly to him. Her face is pressed to his chest and she presses a kiss to it.
"Thank you, Peter. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up when you did," she whispers. Peter runs a hand through her hair before kissing the top of her head.
"I'm always going to be here to protect you, darling," he mutters and she lets a smile overtake her features. She lets out a yawn and curls up into his chest again.
"I love you, Peter Parker," she mumbles and were it not for his enhanced senses, he would've missed it. His cheeks flush but he smiles and kisses her head again.
"I love you too, (Nickname)."
