Nightingale - Peter Parker

In which reader works for her evil dad and bumps into the man who's been chasing after her for months out of work. wc: 830 Italics = flashbacks. there's a hint of tony stark in here if you squint Nightingale: a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song

There was something familiar about him, you told yourself, but it seemed just about impossible to pin point where exactly you knew the man from. You blinked twice, breaking the eye contact with him to glance down at the packet of bandages you held in your hand. Clearing your throat, you made your way to the feminine hygiene section, looking for a pair of tweezers that would hopefully fix your problem. When you looked up again, the same man reappeared in the same isle as you, but he quickly looked away when your eyes met his once more. Jesus, you had too many enemies.

The hand free from the grocery basket you held went into your pocket, securing a grip around the pocket knife you held; it would be too risky to use your powers unmasked in public. Your father would be furious if your identity was discovered. Putting your head down, you sped up your pace, making your way towards the check out, when you bumped into someone. A loud clatter of your basket hitting the floor alerted a few customers, and your now unoccupied hand came up to grip your opposite forearm. You groaned as the man scrambled to get your things, the glass shards in your covered arm inevitably having been pushed deeper into your skin.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- you're just, I swear I feel like I've seen you before." It was him again. At the lack of an answer, he looked at where you were gripping your arm, and it looked like something in him clicked.

It dawned on you. Oh, him and his stupid spider-tingles.

"You know there's no use in running. Just tell me what you know and maybe we won't be so harsh on you." He teased. You laughed whole-heartedly, flicking through the pages of the magazine on the desk. "How bold of you to assume I'm running. I'm just getting the job done, Spider-man." He crossed his arms, the eyes on his mask getting smaller, so you assumed he wasn't very happy with you. "Just wait for it." You stated, and immediately, he was back onto you.

You dodged the webs he shot at you, instead stepping closer to him and whispering "I heard a secret..." Your voice echoed in the room, which hinted at you that he was under your spell, but a bang from behind you had you off your feet, your back slamming against the the floor. There was a ringing in your ears and a blinding pain in your left arm, which you tried to shake off, getting back on your feet instead. A muffled "I had everything under control!" told you that now was the best time to make your escape. "When I fucking hear 'I heard a secret', no one is in control but her!" The job was done, and clearly all pleasantries were over.

While Spider-Man continued his argument with his mentor or teammate, you made your way over to the glass window that had just been broken from behind the second hero. You continued your spell "I heard a secret that Spider-Man would take off his mask for me." Just as the man took off his mask, hair falling into his face, his mentor yelled, spinning towards you and shooting at you to protect his teammate. You leaped out the broken window, barely getting a glimpse of Spider-Man's real face...

"Nightingale..." He whispered, his wide brown eyes now frozen on you. "Well who knew I could've saved myself the trouble of making you remove that mask for me?" You joked, still clutching your arm. "You're hurt." He said, reaching for your arm. You flinched away from him, snatching the basket from his hands. "What? Do you care about me Spider-Man?" He shushed you loudly, looking around at the other customers whose attention was still on you. "I didn't want to hurt you- I just wanted to do my job."

"Oh don't worry, it wasn't you. That little mentor of-"

"He's not my mentor!"

You both went silent. You nodded at him in acknowledgement, spinning on your heels. "Well it was good to see you Spider-Man!" Scurrying footsteps behind you told you that he wasn't done. "I can't just let you go!" He whispered, now walking beside you. "Why don't you come home with me and I can fix you up and then... Then we can talk about it?" You chuckled, smiling up at him. "Hey, I can't just go home with someone whose name I don't even know." You joked.

"I'm Peter Parker." You went still, stopping in your steps. Turning towards him with wide eyes, your jaw went slack. "I'm Peter Parker and I know you wouldn't do what you do if he wasn't your father." You gasped, quickly breaking eye contact with him. "How do you-"

"Come on, we'll talk about it."