Ay, shet.
Red, white, and pink invade all your senses on your commute to Midtown High. Bouquets were blocking your view everywhere you went. Every couple in the subway and hallway was holding hands. Hell, even your parents were extra lovey-dovey this morning as Yeng Constantino sweetly sang on the radio before you left for school.
Love is in the air. It’s just too bad Lysol doesn’t come in travel-sized cans.
You would have gladly forgotten about this dreaded consumerist holiday. You could have even gaslit yourself into thinking it’s Easter if it weren’t for-
“Happy Valentine’s Day, y/n”, a chirpy voice greets you.
There he is: Peter Parker, in all his brown-eyed glory. If it weren’t for him, Valentine’s Day probably wouldn’t hurt this much.
He’s giving you a kind smile. His boyish demeanor is endearing all the time. It’s unfair. It’s not his fault he’s so fucking pretty. Butterflies flutter in your stomach. You’ve been in love with him far too long to even keep track anymore.
He first spoke to you in first grade when other kids were making fun of the way you looked and the way you spoke English. Everything about you was ridiculous to them and no matter how much you cursed in your native language, it didn’t really matter if they could never understand you. Peter took your hand and promised to keep you safe as you both hid underneath the slide (considered by 5-year-olds as the most impenetrable hiding place on the playground).
Then, the bullies started hurting Peter too. Because apparently your words only added fuel to fire, you did what you had to: you took action. And threw a rock. And may have hit some kids’ chin.
You and Peter Parker have been inseparable since.
Lately, though, you rarely see Peter outside of school. Weekly movie nights are either canceled or interrupted. He’s always rushing somewhere when school ends and now you have to resort to texting him at ungodly hours of the night/day (if he even bothers replying). Whenever you ask him where he’s going, he either says something about an important internship or he gives you a sly grin as he does a flattering impression of you saying, “Si-kreeeeeeeeeettt…” (Secret)
You turn to him as you irritatedly wretch open your locker.
“Peter, ‘Happy’ and 'Valentine’s’ don’t belong in the same sentence if you’re single.”
He doesn’t reply but he smiles widely with his eyes crinkling, in that bright sunshine-y way that makes your heart clench, your mood lightens, and your day just a little a million times better. You can’t help but smile back.
Ya got it bad.
“Do you know you have flowers in your hair?”
Before you can object, he reaches out a hand to pull out a few red rose petals and buds from your already messy hair. His face scrunches in concentration as he focuses on being gentle, knowing how you feel about people touching your hair. His hand lightly brushes against your cheek when he pulls it back. Your eyes meet.
Pakshet.
All the clever retorts die on your tongue and all you can shyly say is, “Thanks.”
You tuck hair behind both your ears and hurriedly start pulling books out of your locker. Peter smirks a little and blushes, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
When you finally meet his lovely beautiful gorgeous eyes again, he asks, “Got any plans tonight?”
“Yeah, actually. A double date”, You playfully quipped as you went through your bag, missing the disappointment in his eyes.
“Rea-Really?”, he whispers.
“Me and my strawberry ice cream are meeting up with Kathryn and Daniel later tonight”
Relief floods his face as he sighs and leans back on the locker door next to yours.
“Oh, Liza and Enrique canceled?”
“They won’t even return my calls anymore!” You whined with a grin.
In all your years of friendship, your love of cheesy Pinoy movies and TV may have rubbed off on Peter. Not that he’s complaining about the presence of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, although he’s more partial to Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil. You two alternate between Star Wars (or any Sci-Fi Peter can get his hands on) and the worst of Asian telenovelas (most of which you spend hours debating about). May also watches them (though she will never admit that).
3 months earlier…
“Wait a minute, wait a minute”, he says as pauses his laptop playing 'The Half Sisters’. You hum in acknowledgment.
“So, Karina had twins…
"Yes.”
“…But Diana and Ashley have different fathers?!”
“…Yes?”
His hands wave like a muppet, closing and opening his mouth, hopelessly trying to make sense of the episode.
“That’s!! Not?? Possible??”
“It wouldn’t be if Diana and Ashley were identical but they’re not so yeah, it works…” You shrug, shoving more popcorn in your mouth, trying to contain your laughter.
“But there’s like a 1 in a million chance of that actually happening!”
“It’s a telenovela, Peter. Anything, and I mean anything, can happen. Don’t try to argue with the logic, it only hurts the brain.”
“Y/NNN!”
“So, which ones are you watching this time? Can’t Help Falling in Love? Crazy Beautiful You?”
Does he realize what he’s saying? The fucking implications? He can’t be this clueless, can he?
“I’m actually thinking, The Hows of Us…or Barcelona: A Love Untold”
He laughs before turning to you, “Fantasy double dates aside though, I gotta ask:…”
“Yes?”, you replied a little too quickly.
“How did you get flowers in your hair?”
He notices you deflate.
You chuckle, “Oh, Valentine’s Day decided to bitch-slap me.”
His brows furrow before you clarify ashamedly, looking down at your shoes, “I got smacked by four bouquets on my way here.”
He doesn’t laugh or even chuckle. His honey-brown eyes find yours and his soft warm hands reach out to hold your cheeks. His thumbs are right on your cheekbones. Dizziness fills your head. He leans in closer, your foreheads touching, his longing gaze never strays from your face.
“Are you okay?”, he softly asks.
Lord, kunin niyo na po ako. (Lord, take me please.)
Your mouth is dry. All you can do is nod.
“Y/n…”, he softly whispers.
The bell rings. Peter Parker lets go of you and your world grows a little colder. He smiles and nods before a sea of students separates you two.
You shake your head trying to remove the memory of Peter’s hands on your face before walking to your first class.
After class, you realized you never asked Peter about his Valentine's plans. Partly because you couldn’t bear to think he was spending it with someone who wasn’t you, being all romantic and totally not platonic.
He catches you as you walk out of the gates, stopping in front of you.
“Hi”, he smiles again. Your heart rate spikes. “Hello”
Before an awkward silence settles or before you lose your nerve, you ask him, “Do you have plans tonight?”
His face falls. “I actually might have that internship thing tonight.”
“Oh, ok.” You pause. It’s better than him having a date. “Good luck with that.” You smile tightly.
“Thanks”, he looks at you before continuing…
“If your ice cream flakes out on you and I get done early, maybe I can join you on that double date with KathNiel?”
“Unlikely, ice cream never abandons people.” He laughs at your lame joke. God, why must his laugh be perfect?
“But if the ice cream just so happens to get sick of me, and you just so happen to be free, sure. I know Kathryn and Daniel won’t mind.” You grin.
He looks down before staring into your eyes. “I’d never get sick of you, y/n.”
You’re halfway through your second movie of the night when an inconsistent tapping distracts you from Liza Soberano’s rage-filled monologue. You pause it.
Spiderman is outside your window. Carrying a small reusable grocery bag.
Tangina. (Fuck)
Your phone next to you starts to ring. You hesitantly pick it up.
“You brighten my day, showing me my direction. You’re coming to me, giving me inspiration” Peter’s voice croons through your phone.
You look at the superhero outside your window, who is holding a phone to his ear.
You freeze. The world stops. Your brain buffers. Millions of questions spring to your mind. Spiderman rips off his mask to reveal your sweaty-haired best friend, Peter fucking Parker. Your body goes on autopilot as you put the phone down and open your window. Peter smiles as he gets into the room.
“How can I ask for more from you, my dear?”, he whispers-sings.
Before he can finish the lyrics, however, you start to slap his chest repeatedly.
“PUNYETA” Slap. “KA” Slap. “GAGO!” Slap. (YOU’RE AN IDIOT!)
“Y/n! I’m sorry, I couldn’t tell you yet! I had to protect you! No one else knows!” He weakly tries to defend himself. He holds your arms down in a face-to-face embrace and in your rage, you don’t realize how close your faces are.
“ALAM MO ANG SARAP MONG SAMPALIN! Trying to protect me?! By leaving me hanging during our conversations? Never knowing where you’re going that’s so important? BEST FRIEND KITA EH! KUNG HINDI MO KAYA SABIHIN SA'KIN, EDI KANINO PA?! ALAM MO BA GAANO KAHIRAP ISIPIN NA WALA KANG TIWALA SA'KIN?! MAHAL KITA KASI, GAGO!”
(I REALLY WANT TO SLAP YOUR FACE!… YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND! IF YOU CAN’T TELL ME, WHO ELSE CAN YOU TELL?! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO THINK THAT YOU DON’T TRUST ME?! IT’S BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, ASSHOLE!)
You know Peter doesn’t understand Tagalog but you can’t help it when your rage takes over. Liza Soberano taught you well.
Then, silence falls. Peter lets go of you to sit on the sofa. You’re still standing a few feet away from him.
“I know what you’re saying”, he whispers.
Shet.
“What?”
He looks up at you as you move closer, sitting near his feet.
“I know what you’re saying. In Tagalog, I mean. Not everything, I’m not that good but I know some phrases. Especially that last one though…” He smiles boyishly.
God fucking damn it.
You blink several times. “How?”
“Apart from the whole Spiderman thing, which is just the internship I was talking about, I’ve been going to that Asian market you like so much. The one where you buy all your snacks. You told me once that the lady who runs it, Ate Nadine, is Filipino and so during my free time I go there and she teaches me Tagalog.”
You stay silent as you try to make sense of it all. Peter is learning Tagalog? Why? Why didn’t he go to you?
As if reading your mind, he continues. “It was supposed to be a Valentine’s Day surprise for you. That’s where I went after school, I bought these.” He opens the grocery bag, nearly forgotten on the floor, and pulls out all your favorite snacks. Dried mango, banana chips, Chuckee cartons, Chocnut, Haw-Haw, Inipit, Rebisco sandwiches in your favorite flavors…
You reply as you look at him, stunned, “You remembered.”
“Of course, I did. It’s you.”
You sit next to him, picking up and opening 2 Chuckee cartons and handing one to him.
“Why?”
”…Dahil mahal rin kita.“ (Because I love you too)
His pronunciation of the vowels was fairly off and his American accent was holding him back from rolling the r’s, but it doesn’t change the way your quickening heartbeat pounds in your ears.
Peter Parker loves you too.
He leans in, his face an inch away from your face. His eyes stare even deeper into yours.
"God, we’re both idiots.”
You grab his cheeks as you connect your lips to his soft ones and the world shatters. He responds instantly, closing his eyes and holding you by your waist. You can taste chocolate and toothpaste in the best weirdest way possible. Peter fills all your senses. His hands on your waist. His soft lips on yours. The warmth of his cheeks. There is too much space between the two of you as the kiss deepens.
The two of you almost forget that you need to breathe as you reluctantly pull away.
Once Peter’s recovered from the kiss, the first thing he asks is, “Where are your parents?”
“Ugh, what a mood killer”, you say playfully as you pull yourself into his lap and start playing with his hair. “Anywayz, they’re having date night.”
“Oh, so we have the whole house to ourselves?” He grins wickedly.
“Did you take off your shoes?”
“Always do when I’m here with you.” He grins.
You pretend to think, “Wanna chaperone Liza and Enrique?”
“Oh, what happened to Kathryn and Daniel?”
“…They left when I started thinking of you.”
You start assembling a little blanket pit with pillows and snacks. You sit next to Peter, who’s changed his clothes, with his arms around your waist and your head on his shoulder.
“I have one question though before we restart the movie.” He turns to you. You look up at him.
“Will you give me a smile in your heart?”
You kiss him. Yes