“I thought you were gonna stay with your sister? First—it’s sexual harassment, that’s a crime. An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works Lightning in a Bottle - NestingHedwig_aka_LinW - Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling [Archive of Our Own] Main Content So very serious. Killer robots. Um what? “You are so dumb. I mean, they got scales and shit, just like a lizard.”. I could have died, and you just jumped right in,” Johnny continues, awed. Which I don’t. He looks across the island at Tony through narrowed eyes. “I mean—Pete, I know you got this whole thing about standing on your own two feet, but if you’re having a hard time, if you need money, you know you can always just ask—”, “No. Charlotte Furber suffers an accident in which a man loses his life. “Thank you, ma’am,” Peter says, jotting down Tony’s personal number on the paper and then carefully sliding it under one of the bent, splintered windshield wipers. “Um? Sorry, I’ll just—”. Goodbye.”, “Hey,” Tony interjects, holding an arm out to catch the door as Peter tries to close it. Of course I know,” Tony says around another mouthful of toast. I mean, you and Spider-Man me. Secondly, you’re misconstruing the situation. “I’m a great swimmer.”, “You’re a terrible swimmer. Is that what people think my face looks like? I just...I don’t wanna stop caring about you, however you’ll let me.”, Johnny’s face falls. “Pete, if I find your dead body in here, I’m gonna resurrect it so I can murder you again myself,” Tony calls. She suffers amnesia and everybody thinks the man was drunk and therefore responsible, even his own wife, … “A little bird seriously did that? Everything will be fine, he says,” Peter mutters under his breath as he leaps from one building to the next, following the distant sounds of sirens and screams and explosions. You said yourself you’re used to bad publicity.”, “Yeah, as Spider-Man. He leans forward and kisses Johnny, a swift little darting kiss, and then jerks back just as quickly, totally mortified and shocked, his back colliding with the mirror behind him. That’s what makes this time of our lives so great and so terrible. Work Search: “Same old stuff.”, “Uh-huh,” Tony nods, opening up a drawer and taking a Stark tablet out. “You’re doing great things for my self-confidence right now.”, “Okay, but like, a really buff, cut Michael Cera,” Ned hastily adds. Welcome to the club. He takes a slow drag off it and blows out a long, streaming cloud, trying to get rid of the sudden tension seizing up his spine. I’ve been shot five times since I started doing this at fourteen. Christ almighty. “Sure, that’s why,” Peter says dryly as he scoops up his backpack. Stark, I am—begging—you, please stop bringing that up. “Yeah. It’s tuned to a local news station, and something exciting must be happening in the area because a small crowd of Oscorp employees have gathered in the room to watch. I really appreciate that.”, Johnny grins. “Jesus, Peter,” he says, coming the rest of the way in. “Fuck, it’s cold,” Peter complains again as another gust of wind rips over them, his teeth chattering. We have a literal captive audience here to witness me asking you out,” he says in a low voice, gesturing to the passengers inside the bus. That’s not why I’m doing this. “Holy shit,” Johnny says breathlessly, dropping to his knees next to Peter and sliding an arm under his shoulders, cradling him close and smoothing the hair back from his face. Oh no.”. This is my apartment. “Is everything okay?”. It turns out he is that stupid, because they do it again almost immediately. We live together. You’re either bored outta your mind or dying from stress, everybody’s trying to kill you, and it’s next to impossible to have any kind of normal life or relationship. It makes that tightness in the pit of Peter’s stomach go funny and swoopy all of a sudden, like the feeling he gets sometimes when he’s swinging by his webbing, that exhilarating moment of free fall before he catches himself on the next silken line, only instead of falling he’s floating, up and up and up. “How are you gonna fix it?”, “Just trust me. “Something bothering you?” Tony adds after a few minutes. “How’s that working out for you?”, “Good. “What’s going on? “You were right. I don’t care that you...that you think you’re in love with me or whatever. Peter lurches down the hall to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. “Just...try to relax, alright? “Yeah. as well as Why?”, “There’s a video of—hang on, I’ll send it.”. “Okay, what happened this time?” she asks. Just to help keep your head above the water while you finish school. “Oh…like…? There’s a knock on the apartment door. I’ll talk to May.”, Tony jumps forward to grab him. “Mm-hm. “Shut up,” Johnny tells him, his hands coming up to cup Peter’s face. “And you know, Johnny kinda has a reputation for getting around, fairly or unfairly…”. I don’t care about good PR,” Peter insists, just as the web snaps and the bus falls into the river below, hitting the water with a tremendous splash and then slowly sinking below the surface. I mean, you and Spider-Man. “That’s what I’ve been telling you all along, Pete. This is your life, kid.”, “It’s not just my life, though," Peter replies. “I will. Just…awkward.”, “It’s fine, Ned,” Peter says, sighing again and attempting to read the same page of his textbook for the fifteenth time while ignoring both the pounding ache between his temples and the twist of guilt that he gets in his stomach whenever this publicity stunt gets brought up. I gave up...relationships, and jobs, and my grades. “It’s kinda obvious. “It’s not like being with some random person, which is hard enough already. “You mean for having a dumb fake relationship with Johnny Storm, rather than for, I dunno—saving people?”, Ned shrugs. Yeah. I’m great,” Peter says, ceasing his swiveling again. “Shit. There’ll be free food.”, Peter hesitates, considering. I’m trying to talk to you about something important, and you’re here losing it and making me sound like an idiot, and like—like slut-shaming me.” He stands up, snatching his ruined shirt off the table. He stops a step below Peter, so that they’re standing at a height with each other, and leans forward, grinning. Johnny startles, dragging his eyes back up to Peter’s face. Me—we care about you, too. “Yes, I actually made breakfast myself. You get a band that grew up on social media. Peter’s slowly hauling the bus back up the bridge when Johnny comes zipping through the air, dropping down and landing next to Peter with a gust of hot wind. “Yeah, and the guy didn’t even buy me dinner first, can you believe that?”. “I’m so, so sorry—I just…assaulted you. His lips are weirdly, pleasantly hot against Peter’s through the thin material of his mask. Half of this city, including the vast majority of the police force, think I’m a criminal. “But I’m hiring you a professional PR person.”, “No, you’re not. But I don’t think I feel the same way about them, and I maybe…was sort of a dick about it when they told me, and now I’m worried I’ve fucked up our friendship, so—what do I do?” Peter asks. I bet we could triple the donations if we show up together.”, “Oh. “Dunno. “I, uh…did bring condoms. Tony runs his hands down his face, sighing. 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