Serendipitous Salvation | Peter Parker

serendipitous salvation | peter parker

Summary: After everything he’s been through, Peter finds himself coming back to the one constant in his life: you

Pairing: tasm!peter parker x fem!reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: mentions of violence, wounds, fighting, etc…

A/n: I don’t know where y’all have been hiding, but I’ve been an Andrew!Spidey whore for a decade now and I’m so happy to see him finally getting the love he deserves! Anyway, I hope this isn’t so bad and that you enjoy :)

It was an accident, a complete and utter accident. But it’s one that no matter how hard he tried to fight, he couldn’t stop it from happening.

Peter Parker never meant to fall in love with you. He never wanted to need another person again, never wanted to put his heart in a position where it could be shattered again.

And yet he did. Because as soon as Peter’s eyes met yours, he fell in love.

He likes to think it wasn’t an instant thing, because when he met you for the first time, you were in high school. He was with Gwen, and she was his everything. But looking back, he knows that’s not the truth. It fills him with guilt to think that even when she was alive, there was a part of him that was in love with you. And he didn’t even realize it.

It took him years to figure it out, even after Gwen was gone. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he had fallen in love with his best friend, especially knowing the danger that knowledge could put you in. Because in the end, it mattered less that you knew of Peter’s love for you, and more that his enemies didn’t.

Holding the heart of Spider Man was, and is a dangerous game to play, whether you knew you were his heart’s keeper or not. And Peter tried his damnedest to keep it from you, with every cell in his body.

Until he couldn’t anymore.

He thinks about that moment with both sorrow and joy, the moment he allowed himself to feel something, allowed himself to tell you how he felt. He didn’t go into it expecting anything from you, only hoping that maybe you felt the same, while in the back of his mind praying that you didn’t. Because that way, you couldn’t get hurt. And yet, you did. You felt the same.

When Gwen died, he was broken, a shell of his former self.

“It’s all my fault. I couldn’t save her.” He had said to you in tears. The night he lost her was the night he realized he couldn’t live without you. It was also the night he realized he needed to push you away, to save you from him…but he couldn’t.

The only person who could bring him out of his grief, was you. And Peter knew that. You let him cry, let him be angry, and allowed him the chance to process everything he was feeling. You gave him all of you, every ounce of life you had, to help him find himself again.

“Because if there’s a breath left in your body, then life is worth living.” You had told him. Peter takes that with him everywhere he goes. When things get tough, that’s what he remembers, repeating it like a mantra.

As the years past and you both got older, Peter’s crime fighting days felt behind him. He continued to wear the suit and do what he could to protect those in need, but it came to a point where he no longer felt he could do all the things he used to. The one thing that remained a constant though, was his nightly patrols.

Each night he’d sling through the city for a few hours, watching as the city slept. And every night when he felt it safe, he’d slip through the window of your apartment unit, landing gracefully in your bedroom.

You’d gotten used to it by now, staying up into the early hours of the morning, the sky still dark and motionless. You’d wait for him each night like clockwork, as if it were a routine you had held for a lifetime. And it felt like it was.

So when you hear the click and slide of your bedroom window, you’re less than surprised. It’s a sound you’ve come to welcome, an indication that Peter has made it home safely.

“Long night?” You question with a tilt of your head.

Peter pulls his mask off, a smile adorning his face as soon as he sees yours. He flashes you his teeth awkwardly, his smile slanted.

You recognize the look of pain immediately, a grimace overtaking his features. Waving your hand, you motion for him to sit on your bed as you pull your first aid kit out of the bedside dresser. He complies rather easily, pulling down his suit to reveal a rather large gash on his chest.

Your eyes widen at the sight. It’s not something you’ve seen in a while, since Peter decided to limit his duties to midnight patrols. But you’re still used to it, from all those nights in your teens and early twenties when he was off fighting the worst of the worst. You were always the one to patch him up. Before Gwen, and after.

You lean down slowly, examining the wound carefully. “What was it this time?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He starts. But when you give him a disapproving look, he sighs, “Just some guy with a knife.”

“Looks to be more than just some guy with a knife.”

Your words aren’t callous or laced with anger. You’re simply stating a fact. And while woven in your tone is a heck of a lot of concern, Peter can find no judgment. It doesn’t surprise him, you’ve never been one to make him feel judged, but it does make his heart race just a little faster.

“Maybe.” He says, as you begin treating his wound, hissing lightly at the burning sensation the alcohol is causing.

“It’s going to hurt.”

“Mhm.” He nods. “Like hell I imagine.”

You let out a light chuckle at his response. You don’t blame him for trying to find the humour in the situation, you’re sure if you were in his position, you’d do the same.

When you’ve finished, Peter’s breath is short and ragged. He watches wordlessly as you dress his chest with gauze, observing just how delicate you’re being with him.

It’s always been like that though, you taking care of him. You saving him from himself.

“You’re really beautiful you know that?” He breaks the silence.

Your eyes meet his briefly, your bodies facing one another. You quickly realize just how intimate this seems and it makes you collapse in on yourself. You cannot allow yourself to feel this kind of hope. Maybe he feels the same.

“How am I supposed to respond to that?”

This time your tone is far off, almost like you’re trying to detach yourself from reality. And Peter begins to wonder how and why his question could catch you so off guard. You had to know how beautiful you are…

“You don’t have to.” He states, bringing one hand to rest on your cheek. He gently turns your face towards his, allowing his eyes to reach into your soul. As you gaze into them, you find yourself getting lost. They’re like pools of embers, like a warm fire, like home.

“I love you.” He says like it’s not the most important thing he’s ever said to you.

“You can’t-” You pull away from him, letting his hand drop. “Peter, you can’t say things like that.”

“Why not?” He asks so softly, it almost breaks your heart.

Your eyes search his for an answer, desperately trying to figure out what to say next without breaking down. “Peter-“ You can only manage to whisper his name. And it’s never sounded so wrong coming out of your mouth before.

He looks at you again, seeing the tears that are threatening to fall, and he can feel his heart shattering all over again. He’s lost Gwen, and now he’s losing you.

“I’ve been in love with you for so long.” You finally say, your voice hoarse. “I can’t let myself believe you feel the same, because if you don’t…”

Your words trail off as Peter’s hands reach up to cup your face. He hums lightly, a soft smile growing on his face. “There is no universe that exists where I’m not so in love with you, that’d I do anything to make you mine.”

A joyful laugh bubbles from your throat. “I’m already yours.” Your thumb grazes his cheek with a tenderness you’ve never expressed before. “I always have been.”

“Can I kiss you now (Y/n) (L/n)?” He asks, his heart beating in time with yours.

You smile, leaning forward and placing your lips on his. “Now, and whenever you like Peter Parker.” You place your lips on his again, a feeling you’ll never get used to.

Your kiss is one that takes his breath away, one that makes him feel deliriously at peace. And as he kisses you, he remembers your words that became his mantra: you are Peter Parker’s breath, you make his life worth living.