I Think I Love You

School began again, and there was little to no time for anything other than homework. It didn't help that Y/N was beginning to fall behind in chemistry, the material starting to become difficult. Putting their ego aside was going to be hard, to seek help. After all, they had to be the top of the class else they were a failure. It was just a test, just another test, just another unit and they’d be fine, but the units kept piling up and the bad grades didn't stop coming. To top it all off, the quiz bowl competition was coming up, and they didn't feel prepared at all. While their mind was telling them that they would fail, logically, they knew that they could do it.

After a particularly disastrous test in which they got an E, they finally decided that they needed help. 

“Peter?” Y/N approached him. 

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“Well, um,” they took a deep breath. “Yourelikethesmartestpersoniknowsowillyoupleasehelpmeinchemistry?” They blurted. 

“What?”

“Do you think you could help me with chemistry?”

“Oh, yeah, sure! Do you think you could meet me in the library today?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,”

Thank goodness, one thing crossed off.

“And when you combine carbonic acid and hydrogen- Y/N are you listening?” 

“Ugh, I’m trying, it's just that there’s so much to memorize in not enough time,”

“I know, I know,” He grabbed their hand. “Here, let's try again. How are we going to cancel out an acid?” 

“With a base, I know that Peter,”

“Okay, and carbonic acid is a?”

“Acid?”

“Good, and bases have a lot of?”

“Hydrogen? I don't see- OH!”

“See, now you got it,” he grinned. “There you go,”

Y/N smiled back. “Have I told you how amazing you are?”

“No, but thanks,”

The moment was suddenly interrupted by Peter’s phone dinging.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I gotta take this,” He dashed out suddenly. “I'll see you, though!”

And so, Y/N was left sitting there with an open textbook and plenty of curiosity. 

It became a recurring theme. Y/N and Peter would sit down to study, they would get into it, and then Peter would inevitably have to leave early. One day, they got curious, and decided to follow him out, under the pretense of him forgetting something. 

Peter was nowhere to be seen. 

How did he disappear that fast?

Y/N looked up and saw a web floating in the wind. 

It couldn’t be.

No, it wasn’t. Peter Parker was not Spider-Man. 

The quiz bowl deadline came closer and closer, until it was the day they were leaving for the competition. Tensions were high as they made their way to Washington DC, with Peter and Y/N FaceTiming each Gwen and MJ the entire time. 

“And then! Oh, hey babe,” Gwen got distracted as MJ entered the frame. 

“Babe? Oh, my god, did you two finally start dating?” Y/N asked.

“Yep,” MJ grinned. “You know it,” She planted a kiss on Gwen’s cheek, who flushed a pale pink. 

After a long time, they arrived at their hotel. It was more of a motel, if they were being honest, but it was something. Peter and they decided to room together, and seeing as how the teacher was okay with it, they collapsed onto their bed. 

“Oh, my god, my ass is killing me,” Peter groaned. “I hate bus seats,”

“Same,” 

The two began unpacking, pulling out clothes for the next day. “Hey, Peter,”

“Yeah?”

Y/N grinned, holding up their bathing suit. “Wanna go swimming?”

“Shh,” Peter shushed. “We can't be loud,”

“I know, I know,” Y/N giggled. “Isn’t that Winston’s room?”

“Yeah,”

“C’mon, speed up then,” Y/N grabbed Peter’s hand and dragged him to the stairs, where they made their way downstairs to the pool.

Thankfully, it was indoors, and heated. 

Sliding in, Y/N sighed at the warmth. “Come on, Peter, the waters great,”

He hesitantly dipped his toe in. “Are you sure its not cold?”

“Very, come on!”

“Okay,”

Hesitantly, he took the steps down, speeding up as he got to the bottom of the stairs. “You’re right, it wasn’t cold,”

“I told you so, silly,” Y/N smiled, grabbing Peter’s hand. “Cmon,” they waded towards the deeper side, with Y/N treading water as they got towards the deeper end. 

Peter laughed. “Struggling?”

“Shut up, just because you’re freakishly tall doesn’t mean you have the right to bully me,”

“I don't know, I think you’re just short,”

“Shut up,”

“Here,” Without warning, Peter grabbed Y/N’s legs and hoisted them around his waist. Out of pure reflex, Y/N wrapped their arms around Peter's neck. 

“Better?” He asked. 

“Yeah,” Y/N breathed. “When did you get so strong?” 

“I work out,”

“You? Work out?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” 

“Mm, yeah,” Y/N teased. 

The two of them continued talking as Peter slowly waded them towards the deep end and back again. There was no agenda, nothing to be done, just two friends holding on to each other. 

Friends. Why did that word send a pang of hurt down Y/N’s heart. It made sense that they were just friends, but it almost felt like they were betraying Spider-Man by doing such intimate things with Peter. After all, Spiderman had taken them to the top of the Empire State Building, bought them a whole camera, and saved their life. But Peter, with his charm, his nerdiness, and his wit, was just the perfect friend. 

There it was again. That word friend. Could they ever be more? Should they ever be more? Y/N didn't know. 

“Hey, what's wrong?” Peter asked. 

“Just got a lot on my mind right now,” Y/N tried to brush it off. 

“Mm,” Peter nodded. “If you overthink things and forget to live in the present, why bother doing things at all?”

“That's true,” shaking their head as if to rid themselves of the thoughts, Y/N pushed aside their conflicted feelings. 

“Just be in the moment,” Peter murmured. He almost looked as if he was glowing in the dim pool lighting, the moonlight and lights in the water casting perfectly on his, surprisingly sturdy, frame. 

The two of them maintained eye contact, slowly inching closer until, “Pools closed, you guys gotta get out now,” The monotone voice of an, undoubtedly underpaid, hotel worker cut the moment. 

“Oh, sorry,” Y/N apologized. The two broke apart, and Peter grabbed two towels. They dried themselves off then made their way back to their room, shivering slightly in the cold. 

“It’s fucking freezing,” Y/N complained. “Who said this would be a good idea?”

“If I recall correctly, you did,”

“Ugh, well next time I have such a bad idea, can you please reign me in?”

Peter laughed. “Now where’s the fun in that?”

Too tired to shower, the two of them changed their clothes and collapsed into bed. This wasn’t the first time they had slept together, but somehow, it felt more intimate without Gwen and MJ there. 

“Mm, come here,” Peter's sleepy voice murmured. Grabbing Y/N’s waist, he wrapped his legs around theirs. Before he could get too comfortable, Y/N turned, also trying to find the right position. The two were facing each other, Y/N’s head on Peter’s chest, and Peter’s arm around Y/N. 

“Goodnight,” Peter murmured, then sighed comfortably. 

“Night,” 

Y/N could smell the scent of chlorine and something that was undeniably Peter. They breathed in heavily, then, feeling bold, pressed a soft kiss to his neck. Peter kissed the top of their head back, and, face flushing and heart beating, they snuggled closer. 

They awoke the next morning with Peter spooning Y/N, head buried in their neck. 

The two of them, in their sleepy haze, must not have realized their proximity to each other, because when their alarm went off, Y/N accidentally bumped Peter’s head.

“Ow,” he groaned. “Good morning to you too,”

Y/N, dutifully not turning around, responded, “morning,”

Did last night really happen? Did they actually kiss Peter? Did Peter kiss them back? What was going on? 

It’s just friendly affection, they reminded themselves. That's all it was. 

The two took their sweet time getting out of bed, wrapping themselves in each other’s warmth once more until Peter’s late alarm went off. 

“Ugh, I think we need to get out of bed,” Peter said. 

Wrinkling their nose, Y/N replied, “I think you need to brush your teeth,”

Smiling, Peter got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. 

They followed, and after the two had done their respective morning routines, they went to go change. 

“Hey, isn't that my jacket?” Peter asked. 

“Hm? Oh, yeah, i completely forgot to return it, my bad,” Y/N held it out to him, which Peter turned down. 

“Keep it, it looks nice on you. Here,” He grabbed the jacket, spun Y/N around, and helped them get into it. “Its for good luck,” he explained. 

It still smelled like Peter. Trying not to nuzzle into it, Y/N murmured a “thanks,” and the two of them stepped out of the room together. 

The FaceTime sound grabbed Y/N’s attention. “Who’s that? Is that Gwen?”

“Hey, Y/N!” Her voice came over the phone. Racing over, they waved from behind Peter, calling out a “Hey!” 

“Good luck!” She cheered. “MJ is still asleep, but she wishes you luck too!”

“Thanks, but we won't need it,” a familiar, arrogant voice came from behind them. 

“Nice jacket, L/N,” he laughed, pushing past them and Peter. 

“Ugh, ignore him,” Gwen said. “He’s just an asshole,”

“Yeah,” Peter replied. “Okay, we gotta go, bye!” 

The call ended, and Peter and Y/N made their way down the stairs to the bus. The tournament was taking place at some auditorium, and Y/N was beginning to feel jittery. 

“You good?” Peter asked once they were seated. “Not too nervous, right?”

“Kind of,”

“Hey,” he placed a hand on Y/N’s knee to stop it from bouncing. “I've done so many quiz bowls before. You’re going to do amazing, okay? Don't doubt yourself,”

He gazed into their eyes. “It's going to be okay, I promise,”

Y/N smiled. “I believe you,” 

The rest of the bus ride went without much of an affair. Peter and Y/N were mostly silent, reveling in each other’s company, but silent. The sounds of Flash and his friends were loud enough, and they didn't really want to try to talk to each other over that. 

“Alright!” Winston announced. “We’re here! Get out there and do your best!”

Locking pinkies, Peter and Y/N entered the doors, only to see a massive crowd of people. 

They grabbed each other’s hand and looked at each other. 

“We got this,” 

“Furosemide is a drug that causes effects similar to Bartter’s syndrome by acting on this structure. Desert mammals typically have extremely long forms of this structure, and its size differentiates juxtamedullary and cortical forms of a larger structure. The vasa recta lie parallel to this structure. High concentrations of (*) aquaporins take part in this structure's countercurrent multiplication with high osmolality gradients in its ascending and descending limbs. For 10 points, name this long hairpin structure named for a German scientist in the nephron.’

“Loop of Henle,” The other team called, pressing their buzzer almost instantaneously. 

“What the hell,” Y/N whispered. “That's insane,”

“Yep, it gets pretty competitive up here. Don't worry though, we get to scope them out,”

“This man received his name while attempting to get revenge for the Kas-Ki-Yeh Massacre. He’s not Wyatt Earp, but Tombstone, Arizona-based photographer C.S Fly depicted this man meeting with U.S general (*) George Crook. Nelson Miles defeated this man and exiled him and his tribe to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. For 10 points, name this Apache chieftain whose name military airmen might yell as they jump out of a plane.”

Y/N slammed their buzzer. “Geronimo,”

They relaxed. “Phew,” they exhaled. 

“See? Not so bad, huh?” Peter grinned. 

Getting into their element was not hard. Answer after answer just poured out of their mouth. It was obvious that their team was winning. Between Peter, Y/N, and unfortunately, Flash, there was no way that they were going to be beaten. So, it was no surprise when they won the bowl. 

Y/N contained their excitement until they were off stage, where they immediately embraced Peter, cheering. 

Even Flash was celebrating, pumping the air.

“We did it!” Y/N exclaimed. “We did it!”

“We did! And it's all because of you!” Peter spun Y/N in a circle. “Im so proud of you!”

The second they stepped off the bus, Gwen and MJ embraced them. 

“You did so amazing!” Gwen exclaimed. 

“Not bad, not bad,” MJ added. 

“Thank you, thank you,” Y/N bowed. 

“Here, lets all go back to my place,” Gwen offered, which everyone accepted. 

“Hey,” Gwen pulled Y/N aside. “So,” she drew the word out. “What’s with the jacket?”

“This?” Y/N blushed. “Peter said I could have it,”

“You know that’s his favorite, right? He doesn’t even let me or MJ wear it,”

“Really?”

“You two are so into each other its absurd,” Gwen bumped their shoulder. “Just make out already,”

“I’m not into!”

“Shut up, that’s a lie. Don't even,”

Y/N sighed. “Okay, maybe I am. That doesn’t change anything,”

“Maybe not yet, but it could. You never know,”

“Hey, are you guys coming?” MJ called. “Hurry up slowpokes,”

“Coming!” Gwen replied, running to catch up with MJ.

Peter fell back to talk with Y/N, and the four of them made their way to Gwen’s house. 

“Hey, guys, lets do this,” Gwen announced after the conversations had begun to die down, but no one wanted to leave. “Why don't Y/N and Peter and MJ and I go take phots of each other, then come home and compare?”

“Yeah, sure, that sounds good,” Peter nodded. 

“Ok,” MJ shrugged.

“Cool,”

And so, the both the duos went in opposite directions, Peter and Y/N to their house, and MJ and Gwen to who knows where.

After grabbing their camera, and showing it to Peter who fawned over it, They made their way to the top of the school.

“Here,” Y/N positioned Peter. “Why don't you just look off into the distance, no, not like that silly,” they laughed at Peter's wide eyed expression. “Just, yep, there you go,”

Y/N began moving back, taking photos as they went. They went so far back that they didn't realize that one more step, and they would have fallen off the roof. 

Unfortunately, Peter noticed too late.

The sounds of Y/N screaming filled the air. 

It was a slow fall, Y/N Mused. There would be no Spider-Man to save them this time, no, they would only be meeting the cold, barely snowy ground. At least the last thing they saw before dying was Peter.

Closing their eyes, they waited for that inevitable silence. So when a web clung to their arm, they were shocked to say the least. Peter pulled them up, grabbing the web. 

He pulled Y/N close and exclaimed, “You could have died!”

“Peter,” They breathed. “You- you're-”

“Shut up,” he murmured, and leaned in to kiss Y/N.

It was perfect. It felt as though the universe had aligned, as if all of their wildest dreams had come true. There was passion, so many unsaid words, as Y/N placed their hands on Peters chest, and Peter wrapped his arms around Y/N. 

They finally broke apart for air, only to go back in for another, softer kiss. 

“Oh, god,” They whispered. 

“I know, I know,”

Their gazes met, and Y/N was going to lean back in before the original thought crossed their mind. Pushing Peter back to arms length, they exclaimed, “I can't believe you're Spiderman! All this time, all of that money, everything, i- why?”

Peter sighed. “I didn't want to tell you, I didn't want to put you in danger. Truth is, after you saved my life, I caught feelings for you, and I just, i never thought I could love you from anywhere but afar. But you, you just, you're like a drug, Y/N. I cant get enough of you,”

“Peter Parker, you absolute idiot. I have had feelings for you for who knows how long. Spiderman or not, you mean the world to me,”

“Do I?”

“Yes, you do. I would do anything for you, Peter,”

“Well then, can you do this for me?”

“What?”

“Kiss me again?” He pouted. 

Leaning back in, Y/N pressed their lips to his. “Of course, darling,” they breathed into the kiss. “Anything for you,”

“I think I love you,” Peter murmured. 

“I love you too,” Y/N smiled.