And Yet
A/N: Opening scene is taken from a film. If you know it then I love you.
Warnings: Language, sexual innuendos
The first semester was over and things were going really well! You were getting decent grades and had decided to ignore Peter’s odd behaviour. Neither Ned, Wanda or MJ seemed to have any worries about Peter running off every now and then, even when he wouldn’t be seen on campus until the very next day. You’d already asked if he was dealing drugs but you knew Peter Parker was far too innocent for that kind of business. Instead it seemed he was just very dedicated to his future career at Stark Industries. Speaking of Peter, the two of you were now even closer than he was to the rest of your friend group and he had invited you to Queens for his aunt’s engagement party. She was marrying Tony Stark’s head of security, Happy Hogan.
“What a lot of movies don’t make clear, is that you’re not going to have just one true love. One soulmate. So when I started finding Happy’s lost items around the house, I was surprised that he could be even the slightest bit unorganised and a little scared. When I was a little girl my grandma used to say, ‘you like because, and you love despite.’ You like someone because of all their qualities, and you love someone despite some of their qualities. That was true with my ex-husband Ben and it’s certainly true now with my nephew, and my fiance. My fiance works too hard, is overprotective sometimes, acts as a human calendar and can not use a pick-up line to save his life.” The crowd chuckled as May locked eyes with her future husband, and you couldn’t believe you were crying already. “Happy…I like you almost as much as I love you. And I can’t wait to marry you, just please don’t send me a voice-recorded to-do list on our wedding day.”
You glanced at Peter beside you, smiling so hard that his eyes crinkled. It was really nice to see how happy he was for other people. He turned his head to catch you eye as May continued, now with her arm around Happy.
“Okay I’m sorry. Now get drunk so I’ll have fun stories to tell!”
You barely noticed the crowd disperse, still gazing intently at-
“Peter! Is this her? Y/n it’s so good to see you. Let me get you a drink. You’re a college student, you shouldn’t be sober on a Friday night.” May beamed and took you hand in the one that wasn’t wrapped around Happy’s arm and led you to the bar, leading Peter to follow like the fourth wheel.
“Wow, all the way to the top.” You grinned as the bartender poured your drinks. You loved Peter’s family already.
“I don’t think we need new shot glasses every time.” Peter agreed.
“Okay, to the last penis of my life this time!” May toasted. Oh yeah, she was definitely gone. From what you had heard, though, the woman deserved to let loose.
“I hope that’s me.” Happy said, trying not to look too embarrassed while the three of you downed the shot.
“So y/n. who’s the penis in your life?” May asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Peter flushed bright red. “Okay, no more for now. You’ve met y/n, now spend time with your future husband.” He took her glass and gave it to Happy to watch over then pulled you away.
“Care to dance?” Peter suggested as Stevie Wonder’s ‘signed, sealed, delivered’ played in the background.
He grinned and began moving to the beat, mimicking some of the moves from his lip sync while you stood with your hands on your hips. You were far too drunk for tis and Peter was so good even while intoxicated.
“You’re so good at that.”
“Like Patrick Swayze, right?” He grinned, shimmying and waving his arms.
“I just don’t even know what’s going on. I thought you had moves.” You laughed.
“Just stop thinking!” Peter urged. “Nobody cares. Let’s do it.”
You glanced around at everyone else, just as drunk as you and certainly not paying attention. You nodded and waved your arms.
“Alright, just imagine you’re paralyzed,”
You paused with your arms above your head and Peter laughed.
“and all of a sudden, you get the feeling back in your limbs.”
You waved your arms again while jutting your hips.
“Well, now you’re one of those blow-up air men outside a car dealership.” He noted as you continued making a fool of yourself. “Oh god, no. Hang on, let’s-”
He grabbed your arm to stop you as a slower song began playing, a lopsided smile on his lips as he held out the same hand when you turned to face him. “Don’t be weird. Just take my hand.”
You shook your head but placed your hand in his and chuckled awkwardly as you fumbled for a moment before he pulled you closer, exchanging hands so the other was in yours and the one you were previously holding settled on your lower back.
“You’re a terrible dancer. I still like you, though.” Peter mumbled into your ear.
“What do you think our and yet’s are?” You wondered aloud as you raised your head from Peter’s shoulder to look at him.
“What do you mean?”
“That ‘because, despite things. When there are reasons why it shouldn’t work out, and yet you love them anyway because you don’t care. Like Romeo and Juliet. Their families are mortal enemies, and yet… I don’t know if I have that with anyone.”
“Well, maybe it’s down to your soulmate. You’re not aware of your own faults. And maybe there’s something about your soulmate that you’ll have to learn to accept because your love overpowers whatever it is. And I guess if you don’t dislike anything about someone, then you’ve made it.” He suggested.
“But that’s unrealistic. I mean, even friendships have them,” you pointed out. “Like, Wanda can be wildly unpredictable and makes her food way too spicy and cheats at bowling with her powers, and yet I love her,”
You locked eyes with Peter and the two of you smiled at one another. “You like super nerdy stuff and work too hard and suck at being on time and yet you’re tolerable.”
“I don’t work too hard.” Peter complained.
“I’m sorry, why couldn’t you make Ned’s movie night? Ah, that’s it. Stark internship.”
Peter closed his mouth and just smiled guiltily. “Sometimes it’s hard to take a break when you’re so used to having to prove yourself. You talk and way too fast, and you are way too nice to everyone. Except me, apparently.”
You laughed at that one.
“And yet…you are a terrible dancer.”
“That’s not how it works!” You scolded as he broke away from you, taking both your hands so that he could spin you into his arms.
You moved against Peter with your back to his chest until he span you out and you gasped, the shots now clouding your mind with one thought.
“I need pizza!”
You dragged Peter behind you as you navigated the crowds before finding May with Ned’s family.
“There they are. Oh thank god, you’re drunk.”
“Me?” You gasped
“You.” May chuckled and glanced at her nephew.
“It was an accident. But it was also incredibly on purpose.” You giggled and grasped her hand, both without thinking and to steady yourself. “May! I’m so glad I met you and I’m so happy for you but there’s no pizza at this party so Peter and I have to go.”
“Oh well, of course. Go on, get out of here.” She shooed you and Peter away as a man approached her.
“Where do you want these pizzas, ma’am?”
“Over there on the table, thank you.”
Peter held the box as you walked along the street to his apartment, but you were starving now as the alcohol was starting to wear off a little and reached over to open the box for a peak.
“Stop, you’re going to let the smell out!” Peter panicked, trying to close the lid on your hand.
“I wish that box was my bed.”
Peter grinned and helped you up the steps. “I know this is not gonna sound how I mean it to sound, but I wanna fuck this pizza.” He slurred a little as he glanced down at you while searching his pockets.
You giggled, swinging a little on the banister. “I get it. You should never say that to anyone else, but I get it.”
Peter smiled and you thought it was going to be a moment until you realised he wasn’t making any moves to open the door.
“Ned has my key.”
“What? Why would Ned have you key?” You asked incredulously. You couldn’t believe he’s just made you climb all those stairs for nothing.
“I let him take my car to pick up Betty and I keep my flat keys on the same chain because I lose things so easily.” He defended.
“Well now what?”
“I have an idea. But you might not like it.”
“I’m going to kill you.” You mumbled as he gestured for you to go back down the way you’d came.
He took the lead once you made it outside, handing you the pizza box as he tugged a dumpster to the bottom of the fire escape.
“Do you know how athletic I was?” He asked as he jumped on top and reached to pull the ladder down.
“An athletic nerd? My, you’re really not like other guys, are you?” Came your sarcastic answer.
“Impressed yet?”
“I’m so hungry. Too hungry.”
“Oh god, nope.” Peter grunted when he realised he now couldn’t get the ladder to the ground without falling off the dumpster.
“You need any help?”
“Yeah.”
You chucked and tugged the rest of it down.
“Gimme the pizza.” Peter instructed as he bent down for it.
“No, no, no. I’m gonna take it up to the top.” You whined, not wanting to let go of your precious baby.
“Absolutely not. Your hands are too small. Yoink!” He grabbed the box from you with one hand as you gasped.
“Peterrr.”
“I’m gonna hold it with one hand, and I’m gonna move my way up this ladder like a spider monkey.” He explained, holding the pizza higher when you made to grab the box from him. “Stop. Stop it, I got this. Nerdy athlete, remember?”
“Oh my god!”
“What?”
“Keep the top up otherwise the toppings with slide off.” Peter laughed in response as he climbed up one handed. “Please, don’t drop my pizza.”
“What? Just stop making me laugh.”
“I’m serious!”
“Stop making me laugh!”
“I’m not trying to, I mean it.” You pouted.
“It is in my possession, I got this.” The brunette assured you as he reached the top and slid it across as you ascended the ladder.
“Oh, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“I was talking to my pizza.” You deadpanned.
Peter grabbed your hand to help you up then pushed open his bedroom window. To say that this wasn’t how you thought tonight would go was an understatement.
“Parkour!” He muttered as he jumped over the bed to turn his lamp on before sitting on the ground at the side, holding his arm out for the pizza. “This is the dining room tonight.”
“Careful.” You instructed, letting him take the box so you could adjust your dress accordingly as you sat. You let Peter hold the lid as you whispered a countdown. “One, two, three.”
Peter flipped the lid and you both moaned at the sight.Drunk pizza was the best kind.
“Thank god.”
“That looks so good.”
You sat in silence to devour your first slices; you swore you could feel the dough soaking up the shots from earlier. This had to be better than sex.
“This is the best meal I’ve ever had in my entire life.” You spoke up after another slice.
You turned to see Peter staring and felt warm, with your cheeks stuffed with food. You probably looked like a chipmunk. You tore your eyes away to finish your mouthful and brushed the crumbs from your clothes.
“I should probably go. Last train back to campus leaves soon.”
Peter continued staring until he seemed to register what you meant and looked away. “Slice for the road?”
“Two please.” You nodded. “But roll it crust side out. I'm a lady.”
Peter chuckled but did as he was asked and you, with a slice in each hand, stumbled back down the fire escape.
“I think I'm gonna ask her out, man.” Peter glanced up from his desk once again. He and Ned were supposed to be working on their latest assignment. Ned did all the research while Peter converted the information into note form.
“What, Y/N? What about your soulmate?” Ned asked. How many times had they’d had some variation of this conversation now. Peter was a great guy, really. But he wore his heart on his sleeve and tended to fall for a girl if she so much as smiled at him in a certain way. He was just desperate to be loved. Ned had once been the same, but he understood the importance of waiting for the right person. You were supposed to end up with your soulmate and nobody else. Except Peter didn’t see it that way.
“Well come on, there’s x amount of people in New York. What’re the chances of even finding them? And, the way I feel about Y/N, my soulmate would probably have to be her to make me feel that way about them. I really like her.” Peter rambled as he looked to his open desk draw, only holding a few hair ties and pens. The most characteristic pieces were the Spider-Man pen and coconut body spray. “I mean, sometimes I even wonder if this girl wants to be found. I don’t want to throw away my most realistic chance at happiness, man. And Y/N…there’s just nobody else who makes me feel that kind of way. So I know that my soulmate isn't around now to watch me slip away.”
Ned closed his laptop. This assignment clearly wasn’t getting done today. He looked at his best friend. When you’ve known someone for a long time, you could often read them like a book. The hopeful glint in Peter’s eyes and the craving for affection didn’t go amiss by his best friend. “Okay.” Ned finally relented. “What are you going to tell Y/N?”