The Crush
“Hey Friday, is Peter still asleep?” The teens bar Mj all looked incredulous at the idea of Peter being awake after such a long day and so little sleep.
“Peter is currently in his machine workshop and has left the door open to visitors if you would like to go see him” the Ai responded, at the astonished looks Mj explained.
“Peter doesn’t sleep much and when he does it’s usually not for long” the Midtown students seemed to accept it easily but Ned and Mj shared a knowing look, both aware of the toll being spiderman took and the nightmares and anxiety Peter often dealt with.
The students were all unsure what to do, on one hand they wanted to get a good night sleep and make good impressions working tomorrow but on the other hand they were too excited to sleep and still had so many questions. Mj sealed the deal with her nonchalant comment.
“He’ll be covered in engine grease” the response was immediate Ned sighed while the rest instantly agreed that they couldn’t possibly sleep and seeing Peter sounded fun.
They all followed the two instigators to the elevator, the building felt even more surreal at 1AM and the teenagers once again thanked whichever god they believed in for giving this amazing opportunity.
Following Mj off the elevator down a corridor and to a large opaque glass door many felt bubbles of excitement, some even bouncing on their toes. Even if Friday had given them permission to be here it still felt so illicit.
Mj opened the doors without warning, and many reflected that illicit was definitely the appropriate word, before them was Peter Parker facing away from them standing between the legs of a teenager about their age who was sitting on a work bench. Both were shirtless and the group could see Peters back muscles ripple as they made out like neither needed to breathe, it was, really fucking hot. The mouths of the collected group went dry and Ned sighed again. The noise prompted Peter to pull back and spin around in a blur as the young woman draped her arms around his shoulders using his bulk as a shield. Peter glared at the group coolly and grabbed a piece of fabric from the bench next to him to pass the mysterious girl. Many suddenly found the ceiling a very interesting sight compared to Peters steely gaze.
“A little warning would have been nice” He grumbled out into the room,
“Well, we would have knocked if we’d known your girlfriend was here” responded Mj with an unrepentant grin.
“Hey Shuri” Ned spoke with a small wave as Pete finished putting his shirt on, the now dressed girl slid off the table and stood next to Peter before responding.
“Hey Ned, Mj and random teenagers” she replied with a grin, leaning casually on Peter.
The group gave a chorus of ‘heys’ or waved, curious about her immediately, was this the infamous crush of Peter Parker? She was beautiful, her hair was done in intricate braids, her skin was smooth and flawless, and her eyes were dark and intelligent with a glint of humour.
“Guys this is Shuri, science genius, Princess of Wakanda, and my girlfriend. Princess these are the kids from my school here on a trip” Peter stated with hand gestures.
Shuri nodded with a fond smile at Peter, “and they’re interrupting us in the middle of a very important meeting because?” the teasing lilt in her voice denied accusation but the midtown teens still felt somewhat embarrassed. Mj however just shrugged.
“We were bored” Peter was the one to sigh this time, but Shuri gave an amused grin.
“Fair, come on we’ll show you around, even if the tech here is archaic” Peter sighed again and bumped his shoulder against Shuri’s as her grin widened. The students were floored, Stark Industries tech is cutting edge and she called it archaic? Some were almost offended, but Peter shook his head and started leading them further into the lab.
“Ignore her, she likes to rile me up” he told the group with an affectionate smile, Shuri whispered something in his ear, and he blushed before pointing a finger at her with a half-hearted “Stop” as Shuri giggled. They were shown around the workshop as the two teens bantered back and forth some more and many students realized that this was the most carefree, they had ever seen Peter. It was nice, Shuri was fiercely intelligent and unrepentant in her opinion, and Peter seemed to adore her. The group hung out until 2:30 Am, Peter worked on a motorbike in the centre of the lab as Shuri sat nearby giving suggestions and the occasional smart-ass comment while the students wandered the lab after being told they could look at whatever but to ask Karen, who they learned was Peters personal AI, before touching anything. It was like a dream, a wild, unbelievable dream and the time flew by, until Karen spoke through the speakers addressing the room.
“It is getting late, and you all have a big day tomorrow perhaps its time for bed” The Ai sounded apologetic but firm and Peter muttered ‘mother hen’ but agreed. They all piled into the elevator, and the Midtown students got off at the guest floor giving Peter and Shuri a polite goodnight and a wave as the doors closed on them.
“Peters dating a princess” Alima sighed softly, the rest of the teens seemed just as shocked while Ned and Mj just smirked.
“We don’t have to remind you about the NDAs, do we?” Ned asked warily, but the group shook their head collectively.
“Nah its crazy but not our secret so…” Tammy trailed off with a shrug. Everyone agreed and decided that it was time for bed now and settled down for the night.
The next day the teens of Midtown separated and interned for a day in their chosen department they barely saw Parker, but he did make a point of stopping in on all of them at least once to see how they were going. At the end of the day may of the students were told if they were interested in working for SI after college to apply through the HR department and they had good shot in getting scholarships. They all thanked Peter repeatedly when he walked them out which he accepted with grace and a small but firm reminder that they couldn’t tell anyone about his involvement until SI released the information themselves. The teenagers all agreed and kept their word, after all if they played their cards right he would be their boss eventually.