Ajax is just a junior in high school, just there to get in and get out. She keeps to herself and stays behind the scenes but that changes when she's assigned to work with Peter Parker on a project. She's had her eyes on him since freshman year but n...
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Time ticked by since Ajax and Peter had returned from your night out. May was barely awake on the cough when the two had returned. It was two in the morning and while she didn't like either of them being out that late, she trusted them to be out and not get into any trouble.
And they didn't.
The night went smoothly. It was spent laughing, even on the long walk back to Peter's. There was no silence between the pair of them. They talked so much, the music shared between the two of them didn't even matter, neither of them paying any attention to it.
But, now it's four in the morning and Ajax is still awake on the couch, restless as ever while Peter is in his room. Her phone is laid out on the table and it's tempting to text him to see if he's awake instead of just going into his room. The last thing she wanted to do was wake him but she couldn't sleep. Ajax needed to sleep otherwise she was going to be like something from The Walking Dead the rest of the day.
Fuck it.
Ajax picked up her phone and went to Peter's messages, typing in a quick 'you awake?' before hearing the ding of his phone from just down the hall. She waited, scrolling through social media when a text came through.
"Yeah, you?"
But before she could reply, another text came through.
"Obviously are you okay?"
Ajax sighs and just says she couldn't sleep. A few seconds after the text sent, the creaking of a door brought her attention to the hallway. Peter was walking out with sleepy eyes and a tired grin, pillow and blanket in hand.
"Hey." He says once he's in front of her. "I, uh, I came to keep you company." The corner of his mouth is tugged into a smile that looks like it's almost forced from lack of sleep.
"You don't have to." Ajax shakes her head.
"No, no. It's okay." Peter says, placing his pillow on the floor beside the couch and laying back down.
"Why are you awake?" Ajax asks, turning on her side so she can look over the couch.
"It-it's nothing." Peter says and tiredness seems to be replaced with touches of embarrassment.
"You can tell me, ya know?"
"You first." Peter looks up to her, his hands behind his head.
A corner smirk crosses Ajax's face. "Thinking." She responds simply.
"About what?"
"Okay, it's four in the damn morning and we have to be up early as hell and I'm tired so when we wake up, if you bring this up, I'm gonna blame it on the sleep and say I have no fucking idea what you're talking about and then probably punch you."
"I'll forget you said anything." Peter readjusts himself to be on his elbow so he can face her.
"You, uh, you ever have something that just kind of...hits? I don't know. Like, something happens and suddenly your heart pounds against your rib cage, but only once and then it's like...it falls back into this steady and calm rhythm. It's not quite resting but it's not just beating either? And this thing, this thing you don't expect, it feels like home. Like it holds this strong sense of security and there's no real explanation?"
Peter stares at Ajax and he's amazed. This isn't the first time she'd rambled, answering his question in a roundabout way. It's what she does when she doesn't know how to directly just answer. It's as if she needs to explain her entire thought process, making sure that it makes sense before giving her direct answer. Peter can't help but find it intriguing. Ajax is full of wonder and her brain doesn't work the way his does. It's why he could listen to her ramble all day long and that's why he doesn't push for many answers.
"Yeah..." Peter says quietly, brows drawn together and his eyes narrowed slightly with curiosity.
"What is it?" Ajax asks as she bites her lip.
"Uh..it, uh...you first." Peter jerks his head up, not wanting to tell her his answer.
Ajax rolls her eyes and sigh. "I don't like touching people and I really hate people touching me. You know that but, I don't know. Okay, so part of why is because it's like...bad things happen and I don't wanna hurt you." Ajax's voice grows weak and pained with her sentence. "And I don't like people touching me because...yeah I'm not that tired to tell you that but it's different with you. I don't know. I...I don't feel like I could hurt you if I tried..." Her voice goes quiet and Peter's eyes watch her in the dim light of the living room, his heart aching inside his chest. "It, uh," Ajax shakes her head. "I-uh, ya know? Holding your hand, feels like home."
A blush spreads across Peter's entire face while his eyes widened and he wanted to completely combust right then and there. He's still learning about being able to sense different feelings from other people based on the way their heart beats, energy they expel, and he knew there was something different with her when he was around. But, it's not been the same since Ajax took hold of his hand to calm his panic attack. It's steadier and softer while still having almost a nervous rhythm. But now it makes sense. Ajax hates to admit it but she's comfortable with him. He's safe, something she's so far from used to it's like exploring foreign land. He's safe and comfortable while being completely horrifying.
"It's stupid." Ajax sighs with the shake of her head
"No, no, no, no." Peter says quickly. "It's not. Really."
He gives her a genuine smile and maybe it's because it's four in the morning and she's exhausted from the night out with him or maybe it's that he's so innocent and genuine despite the trauma he's been through. Maybe it's because he's a little broken, a little tattered, just like her. Whatever it was, his smile made her stomach explode with butterflies and her mouth tugged into an uncontrollable smile.
"What's yours?" Ajax asks.
Peter stares at her and he swears he could see constellations in her eyes, begging to be loved and adored, admired from afar. He was learning to read her like no other and he knew he'd never get bored. She's said she doesn't want to hurt him twice in one night and he knows Ajax is scared but he also knows that the way his heart beats when she's around, the way his stomach twists with excitement and his cheeks always hurt after spending the day with her, he wouldn't mind if she hurt him. He might just let her.
With a soft, delicate sigh, Peter bites his bottom lip and his voice goes so quiet Ajax could barely hear him but she does and her face wrinkles with sincerity as her bones ache. Her breath hitches in her throat with his one, stuttered word.
