Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

49. Sneezy - The Sequel

Daphne and Peter spent most of the night talking. They ended up lying on her bed, next to each other, staring at the ceiling. Peter managed to make Daphne laugh too. The triumphant and warm feeling he gets when he makes her laugh makes him confident. And her laugh; it's so beautiful. He thinks so, at least. He finds himself joking around more, just so he can hear her express her joy.

It's getting rather late and her father still hasn't come home. Daphne explained he might be 'otherwise occupied' with his date. It made them both go bright red at the thought and they quickly changed the subject.

"Wait, so this means you constantly pretend to be not as strong as you actually are?" Daphne turns to lie on her side so she can look at him more easily. Peter does the same.
"No one at school really knows I'm strong at all," Peter says. He bites the inside of his cheek.
"Why not show them?"
"I don't think you realize I used to be the nerd king at school," Peter laughs. "Think of me, but without the muscle. I was small, weak, had prescription glasses..." He keeps adding to his list. "Could barely do one push-up, which made me the target of most bullies, even though Midtown Tech is a nerd school. Oh, and I had noodle arms-" She stops him before he can continue listing self-deprecating things.

"Noodle arms?" Daphne pulls in her legs as she chortles.
"The noodle-iest." He smiles wide with his tongue squeezed between his teeth. Daphne studies his face and it's quiet for a second.
"You'd look good in glasses," Daphne teases. "You should wear them."
"I don't need them anymore," he chuckles and nudges her shoulder. "At school they just think I wear contacts now."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Wow."

It's quiet for a little bit, but it's not awkward. Peter breaks the silence:
"I only allow myself to do about 17 sit-ups during PE and I have to make it look like it's hard," he says. It makes Daphne snort.
"So PE is an extension to drama class for you?"
"Yep," he says as he pops the p at the end of the word.
"Let me get this straight." She tugs one of his stray curls back where it belongs and pulls her hand back in. "You, master of all nerds, got bitten by a radioactive spider and that resulted in you getting completely ripped overnight and it fixed your eye-sight?"
"Pretty much."

"So, you pretend to be weak because it's not on brand?"
"It's not as easy as it looks," Peter laughs. "I have to restrain myself. Constantly. Try to imagine every item around you is a stage prop made of Styrofoam."
"The ones that look like they're real, but weigh nothing?"
"Yeah, those," Peter says with a nod. "That's my entire life. I pretend things take effort."
"That's kind of insane."
"Also super exhausting."
"I can imagine," Daphne sighs. They lay together in silence for a little bit.

Daphne lets her mind wander for a little bit. She already asked most of her questions, but now she's digging through her memories to see if there's anything she's still confused about.
"Last time you were here as Spider-Man you showed me how your sticking works," Daphne says suddenly. "So... Do you sweat sticky goo?"
"Yuck, Daph, you make it sound disgusting!" Peter shudders with a snort.
"Am I right, though?"
"It's not... Sweat." Peter thinks out loud. "I don't think there's anything like it... In humans at least. It's something I control."

Peter brings his hand up between them. Daphne stares intently at it, trying to see if anything changes. Nothing happens. At least, that's what she thinks.
"Are you doing it?" Daphne asks. Peter nods as he puts up his pointer finger. He slowly brings it closer to her face and her eyes follow it. Peter stifles a laugh when she goes cross eyed, the closer he gets to her nose. She frowns and scrunches her nose as she blinks a few times and moves her head back to get away from his finger. "Pete-?"
"Boop," he says softly. His finger is now resting on her nose. She scoffs into laughter as she grabs his wrist to pull him off, but she finds he's stuck.

"Peter Benjamin Parker, let go of me!"
"I can't!"
"You know you can, you liar! It tickles! Please!" Peter can't stop his own laughter. An idea sparks in his head and he quickly pulls her closer to him with his free arm, until they're flush against each other.
"What do I get in return?" he asks cheekily. They lock eyes. They're so close to each other. There's a flutter in Daphne's stomach. She can't see his lips because the hand that has his finger resting on her nose is in the way. She really wants to kiss him. But that's probably what he's aiming for too and she won't give in that easily. The regulator that keeps his nerve endings in check is around the wrist he's holding her hostage with. Her plan was quickly and carefully crafted and she grins.

She sticks out her tongue and licks his hand. The unexpected feeling makes Peter flinch and he lets go of her nose in reflex.
"Hey, that's not-!" Before he can finish his response, the now familiar feeling of the slap on bracelet around his wrist disappears. "Daph!"
"Boop!" Daphne boops his nose with her own index finger and quickly rolls off the bed to hide from the explosions that are coming up.

"Ah! No, why'd you-!" He stops mid-sentence. The heat in his nose flares up and before he can prepare himself, he sneezes. Loudly. He groans as he curls up into himself, hearing Daphne's muffled laugh from under the bed.
"Are you alright, Peter?" she asks sheepishly.
"Daph, please give the regu-guuuuuu-!" He sneezes again. Slowly but surely, a hand appears from the side of the bed. It holds the regulator. He yanks it out of her hand and slaps it quickly on his wrist. He pants fast and loud as he comes down from his high, lying on his back.

Daphne carefully crawls up from under the bed and lies down next to him again. She settles on staying a little bit away from him until he's calm again.
"You alright, Pete?"
"Yeah," he mutters with his eyes closed. She suddenly feels a strong wave of guilt wash over her.
"I'm sorry, I took it too far."
"Nah, nah, it's okay." Peter smiles and lets out a soft scoff. "The over-stimulation is uncomfortable but when you put the bracelet on, it's... It's..." He sighs contently. "It's actually kinda nice."
"Wait, the regulator makes you feel nice?"
"Only when you touch me before I wear it." He sounds calm, but his voice is collected and he speaks like a scientist; stating the facts. His voice starts trailing off near the end. "The cooped-up energy at my nerve endings gets spread through my body when I put on the bracelet. It's warm. Nice..."

A wide smile spreads on his face as he relaxes further, letting himself be consumed by her lingering power in his body.
"Hey, Pete," Daphne nudges him. "Don't fall asleep on me now, I'm not done with my questions yet." She actually is, but she just wants him to stay awake with her.
"Well, what do you want to know?" It's nothing but a mutter. He can't be far from dream land now.

Daphne thinks for a second and inches closer to Peter. She really doesn't know what else to ask, but before she can come up with anything, she hears his steady breath. His jaw is slacked and his left hand loosely lies next to his body. His right hand rests on his stomach. She smiles softly. He's fallen asleep. She scoots even closer to him, until their bodies touch and she wraps her arm around his torso, holding him tight. Her head rests on his shoulder.
"Next time you want me to kiss you, Peter, all you gotta do is ask," she mumbles as she presses her lips to his jaw. He doesn't notice, though. He's already dreaming about her.