[ maybe you weren't very memorable. peter makes an effort to take it at face value — ostensibly, there's no reason he shouldn't. it earns a quick smile, then, one that doesn't reach his eyes — not of course, that it entirely matters as bruce is selecting, deselecting and choosing another bottle of — something. wine, peter thinks, but he doesn't look over at the label closely enough to work it out. ]
I get that a lot.
[ uttered with an easy level of amusement that implies it's true — peter parker, midtown high's only professional wallflower, might have grown out of some of the awkwardness that imbued his teenage years, grown out of some of the arrogance and the pointed disinterest in others, but he's still used to making a very certain kind of impression. one that means he's inevitably viewed as non-entity, albeit maybe a little flaky and unreliable; one that means peter parker's viewed, at least on first meeting, pretty averagely — or even negatively.
for all of that though, for as much as peter's relatively precious about keeping his identity a secret, the separation, a devoid between the two have never been something he's really cultivated. as peter parker, he is peter parker — he's earnest, and short-tempered, and he wants to help people, and he's all of those things as spider-man, too. he feels bad about lying to his friends, to may. he hates how much he burdens mj with that knowledge, with the fact that his secret is her secret, too.
(but he's also glad for it, more glad and grateful than he'll ever be able to put into words that he has her. that she puts up with him.) ]
—It's Peter.
[ he shifts his weight, turning away from bruce and leaning against the wall. in the silence, he thinks he hears a voice that says something about things being too good to be true, but it's been years since he'd heard that voice, in that context. they'd all been together, happy, for one of the last times. gwen, harry, flash, mj.
he inhales. it's a light breath, the precursor to a sigh, but instead he speaks: ]
Look, I'm not judging your choice of self-medication, all I'm asking is if it's wise given the circumstances. [ beat. ] But if you've got any aspirin...
no subject
I get that a lot.
[ uttered with an easy level of amusement that implies it's true — peter parker, midtown high's only professional wallflower, might have grown out of some of the awkwardness that imbued his teenage years, grown out of some of the arrogance and the pointed disinterest in others, but he's still used to making a very certain kind of impression. one that means he's inevitably viewed as non-entity, albeit maybe a little flaky and unreliable; one that means peter parker's viewed, at least on first meeting, pretty averagely — or even negatively.
for all of that though, for as much as peter's relatively precious about keeping his identity a secret, the separation, a devoid between the two have never been something he's really cultivated. as peter parker, he is peter parker — he's earnest, and short-tempered, and he wants to help people, and he's all of those things as spider-man, too. he feels bad about lying to his friends, to may. he hates how much he burdens mj with that knowledge, with the fact that his secret is her secret, too.
(but he's also glad for it, more glad and grateful than he'll ever be able to put into words that he has her. that she puts up with him.) ]
—It's Peter.
[ he shifts his weight, turning away from bruce and leaning against the wall. in the silence, he thinks he hears a voice that says something about things being too good to be true, but it's been years since he'd heard that voice, in that context. they'd all been together, happy, for one of the last times. gwen, harry, flash, mj.
he inhales. it's a light breath, the precursor to a sigh, but instead he speaks: ]
Look, I'm not judging your choice of self-medication, all I'm asking is if it's wise given the circumstances. [ beat. ] But if you've got any aspirin...