relationship: tobey!peter parker x fem!reader
summary: peter parker never thought he could love someone as much as you, until he held his daughter for the first time.
notes: this was cut down from a very long imagine i wrote, so i apologize for the choppiness!
The only sound in your apartment was your anxious foot-tapping on the hardwood floor. It was well past one in the morning, and you sat on your couch, facing the open window which allowed a chilly November wind to blow in. Goosebumps dotted your skin as you shivered in the cold, but you didn't care; your mind was a million miles away, worrying for the worst. You absentmindedly twisted your wedding band around your finger to give some sort of release from your nervous thoughts.
Peter Parker was your wonderful husband of almost two years. He was sweet, handsome, kind, selfless - everything you ever dreamed of in a significant other. You met in an upper-level biology class in your junior years of college. You two were the only ones willing to answer the professor's questions, which led to a rivalry, which led to a friendship, which led to a relationship.
As much as you loved Peter, you always felt that he was holding something back. He would cancel dates abruptly and often without explanation. When he actually spent time with you, he seemed so far away. It led to a lasting fight and ultimately a break from your relationship. You had no idea why Peter couldn't just tell you what he was hiding. You felt betrayed, confused, and he seemed to show no sympathy.
One night during your break, you were laying in bed with a book. A sudden knock on your window startled you. You jumped when you looked outside, spotting Peter bloodied and bruised on your balcony. You sprang out of bed and opened the window. He crawled inside, and you gasped when you saw the red and blue suit he donned.
"You-You're—You—," you stuttered, unable to speak the words that sat on the tip of your tongue.
"Please, can we talk about this later?" he groaned, wincing as he tried to take a seat on your bed. "I-I really need some help."
"Uh—Yeah, of course. What happened? How can I help?"
You were a nursing student on your way to a doctorate, so you instantly knew what to do to help Peter. He looked inches from death as you tugged his suit down his chest and tended to the gash across his abdomen. It broke your heart to see him in so much pain, but you both knew that you were the only person who could take care of him.
When he was all bandaged up, you offered him a change of clothes and a cup of tea. You helped him get comfortable in your bed, then you curled up next to him.
"Peter," you said softly, looking up at him. "It's okay."
His ice blue eyes looked into yours. You could tell he felt bad; he felt like he needed to explain. You simply shook your head.
"You don't have to tell me anything. I love you. I just want you to be safe."
"I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you."
"I know," you responded, laying your head on his chest. "Thank you."
After that night, your relationship was different. There were no secrets between you and Peter. You were able to be closer, more intimate, more loving. Every night, Peter left in his Spiderman suit to protect the city. And every night, you sat in bed willing him to come home safe. Most nights, he was unharmed, but once in a while, you would be up until the sunrise stitching his cuts and icing his bruises.
About a year after you found out his secret, Peter proposed to you. It wasn't the most romantic moment, but it was definitely memorable. He was acting weird for days leading up to the proposal. Initially, he planned to do it at a fancy restaurant with his Aunt May's engagement ring. Midway through dinner, your best friend Mary Jane walked in with her fiancé. The two of you were so surprised to see each other there. You begged Peter to let her share a table. He didn't want to make anything obvious, so he agreed. Then, his best friend Harry Osborn walked in with his new girlfriend on his arm. You were so excited by this coincidence, and Peter still didn't want to disappoint you, so he let them join your party as well.
Eventually, Peter became frustrated enough with the interruption and just got down on one knee. You were shocked, to say the least, but said yes. After all, you got engaged to the love of your life in front of your best friends.
The next few months of your life were filled with pure bliss. You made sure to thank Aunt May for her ring and promised to never take it off. And you didn't. You told everyone that you were getting married, from your fellow nurses in your resident program to the customers you served in your part-time job as a waitress.
A break from your wedding planning happened on the week of MJ's wedding. You were a bridesmaid, so you spent the whole week running last minute errands and calming her nerves. On the night of the wedding, you and Peter took full advantage of the open bar. It was rare that either of you had the money to buy your own alcohol, so this was a godsend. Both of you had a little too much to drink, claiming it was to fully enjoy the '90s throwbacks the DJ was playing. You stumbled home together, hand-in-hand and giggling like two teenagers in love.
A month later, you were staring at two pink lines on a pregnancy test.
Peter was ecstatic, to say the least. When you told him the news, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. With a big grin, he squeaked, "Really?"
You nodded. He started laughing, pulling you into his arms and peppering kissed all over your face. You giggled and basked in his attention.
"Oh my god," he exclaimed after a minute, holding your hands in his. "We-We have to get a bigger apartment and a crib and a stroller and—What about the wedding?"
"Can we wait until after the baby's born?"
"The baby," he repeated in an excited tone, the words sounding so alien yet so fitting. "Yes, of course. Whatever you want to do."
The next few months went by in a delightful blur. Peter took a job at Oscorp in chemistry and kept working at the newspaper to earn extra money, which always went to an unnecessary amount of baby clothes and stuffed animals that he insisted on buying.
His favorite purchase was a small stuffed Spider-Man doll that he bought at a craft market. He was so excited when he brought it home, and you couldn't tell whether it was because he was happy to buy anything for the baby or he had an ego-boost from someone making plushes of him. Either way, Peter proudly displayed the Spider-Man doll on a shelf in the nursery of your new apartment.
Suddenly, towards the end of your pregnancy, Aunt May suffered a stroke. You and Peter spent the night in the hospital while she fought for her life. But just fifteen hours later, she passed away, with Peter holding her frail hand.
He was completely shocked and heartbroken, as were you. He went days without eating, smiling, talking, or donning the suit. You tried your best to comfort him, but in your state, there wasn't much you could do.
Until five days later when your daughter was born.
May Elizabeth Parker was the ray of sunshine that finally brought a smile to Peter's face. She had the same striking blue eyes and fluffy brown hair as her father. When the nurse handed her to Peter for the first time, you saw how his face just lit up. He could stop smiling as he cradled her, whispering sweet nothings and placing little kisses on her forehead. Tears were constantly streaming down his face, but he didn't seem to notice.
Over the next few months, Peter finally returned to himself. He was the same geeky, charming boy that you fell in love with, but now he had a baby to take care of. May was never out of his sight. He woke up with her and put her to bed, and he would always be the one to get up in the middle of the night to feed her. He rocked her, played with her, and read her stories. It was clear that May was attached to him as well, but you noticed that she got sick of him occasionally and cried to be with you.
Peter even went back to his vigilante life. Every night, after rocking May to sleep, he put on the Spider-Man suit and got ready to patrol. You were so nervous every time he left. Crime spiked after criminals believed Spider-Man finally retired, but they became much more angry when he returned with a vengeance. He started coming home with cuts and bruises again but still swore he was fine.
"I have to protect May," he told you as you bandaged up a cut on his arm. "I need to be out there to keep her safe."
"But you can't be risking your life like this, Peter," you argued. "She needs you as her father just as much as she needs you as her hero."
"I'll be okay, babe," he promised. "It's nothing I haven't been through before."
You sighed, knowing he was just going to continue to be stubborn. "Can you at least try to avoid your face until after the wedding? I don't want to look back at our photos and see you with a black eye.
You officially became Mrs. Parker later that summer. May was seven months old and had a bright smile on the whole time. She wore a tutu that matched the colors of your bridesmaid dresses, and Mary Jane took care of her all day, much to Peter's chagrin. But you could tell he enjoyed the party and having a break from constantly worrying about his daughter. He still checked on her every hour, though.
As May started to grow up, you fell into a rhythm as a loving family of three. You took a day-shift job at the hospital, while Peter continued to move up in his job at Oscorp. A nanny stayed with May during the day until you returned from work. Peter came home not long after you. You enjoyed dinner together. Once May learned to talk, she would tell Peter stories until bedtime. The two of them were birds of a feather. He chased her around the apartment while you made dinner, then he played dolls with her while you cleaned up. Watching your husband and daughter always brought a smile to your face.
However, you kept Peter's alter ego a secret. Every night after he put her to bed, he still put on the Spider-Man suit and swung around the city, busting robberies and protecting innocents. He slipped in through the window quietly as to not wake May, let you take care of any injuries, then went to bed. May loved to watch clips of the hero on the news or look at pictures of him in the paper, but she never knew that it was her father.
You kept this secret from her for mostly her protection. When you found out years ago, Peter feared every day that he put you in danger. He was so worried that an enemy would find out you were his girlfriend and try to harm you. But he was even more worried for May. Peter knew you were capable of protecting yourself if needed, but she was just a baby. He needed to keep her safe at all costs because she would not be able to defend herself. Plus, she was a kid, and she could easily blab to anyone that Spider-Man was her dad.
Peter returned from his patrols earlier now. He said it was because he couldn't stay away from his family, but you knew he wasn't the kid he used to be. He spent his days working and chasing around a toddler. There was no way he could be fighting crime until the sunrise anymore.
That's why tonight was such an anxious night for you. Peter was always home by midnight, one in the morning at the latest. As the clocked ticked past two, you knew something was wrong.
There were rumors of a lizard mutant terrorizing the city. Peter had yet to meet him, but he was hunting him down for days. The lizard was rampaging at night, often scaling the tallest buildings, then disappearing into the sewers. Out of all the supernatural beings that your husband faced, this one terrified you the most.
A thud against the window shot you out of your daze. You gasped as Peter stumbled through, his mask in shreds and deep cuts along his chest. You helped him inside and sat him on the couch. He winced at every movement, clutching his chest in pain.
"Oh my god, what happened?!" you whisper-shouted, holding his bruised face in your hands.
"That—That lizard," he spoke through broken breaths.
"Holy shit, Peter," you muttered, running into the bathroom and grabbing the first-aid kit. "How did he get you this bad?"
"His claws," Peter said, finally catching his breath. "It—It was Connors."
"Connors. He was the lizard. He...Experiment gone bad."
"Dr. Connors? From college?"
He nodded, his face screwed up in pain as you peeled his suit away from his chest. The gashes were long and several layers deep, but they stopped bleeding for the most part. You felt a few tears slip from your eyes. Seeing your husband, the man you loved more than anything, in this condition broke your heart. He looked worse than the night you discovered his identity, and you never thought you would see him that way again.
"Oh, babe," you sighed, dabbing at his cuts with alcohol. "You're gonna need stitches."
Peter just nodded, hissing as the alcohol burned. You bit your lip and muttered a few apologies as you continued to clean his wounds. You began setting up the needle to patch him up, but he placed his hand on top of yours, stopping you from continuing.
"What?" you asked, furrowing your brows in confusion. He put a finger on his lips, shushing you, and looked around. Something was setting off his senses.
"Daddy?" a small voice called. You looked up to see May standing at the edge of the living room, holding her favorite plush dog.
"Hey, sweetheart," he groaned, attempting to sit up. You pushed him down and shook your head.
"May? What are you doing awake, honey?" you asked gently.
"I got woken up by bad thoughts."
"Bad thoughts? Did you have a nightmare?"
She shook her head. "No. Bad thoughts. I got scared and felt bad, so I was woken up and came here."
Peter looked over at you with a smile, and finally, you connected the dots. Before she was born, both of you wondered if she would inherit any of his powers. However, she never exhibited any sign of enhanced abilities—until now. Peter assumed that the "bad thoughts" were her senses going off, something that used to wake him up until he learned to control them. He let out a light laugh and lifted an arm.
"Come here, baby. You're okay," he said soothingly.
May shook her head again, looking him up and down. You could see a look of fear in her blue eyes as she clutched her stuffed animal.
"You're Spider-Man," she said softly. Peter nodded.
"I know. Mommy's gonna make me all better."
On cue, you began stitching up his first of three cuts. He winced a little, but he still begged May to come by him.
"I'm scared, Daddy. Bad thoughts."
"I know, honey, I know. I know how those bad thoughts feel. But you're okay, everything's okay."
Eventually, May tiptoed over and sat next to Peter. He pulled her close to him and gently kissed her cheek, running his hand through her long hair.
"I'm sorry you got woken up," he whispered. "Those bad thoughts can be very scary, but you're so strong, May. You can beat them."
You smiled as you watched Peter soothe her. He was such a good father, and their relationship was going to become more important as she developed more powers.
Finally, you finished patching up his last wound. He thanked you and sat up, pulling May into his chest. His fast healing was a godsend on these bad nights. The pain stopped bothering him a few minutes ago, so now he was free to hold his daughter.
"Why don't I tuck you back in while Daddy gets changed?" you asked, and May nodded in response. You took her out of Peter's arms as she nestled close to you. You gave your husband a small smile as you walked back into her bedroom and put her back to bed.
"Have you had those bad thoughts before?" you asked as you pulled her quilt over her body. May nodded as you sighed.
"Don't be afraid to tell me and Daddy anything. We love you very much. We will help you with anything."
"I love you too, Mommy," she whispered, making you smile as you placed a kiss on her forehead. You bid her goodnight and left, gently closing her bedroom door.
You went back into your bedroom. Peter traded in his suit for a pair of grey sweatpants, examining his injuries in the mirror. Once he noticed your presence, he turned around and pulled you into a tight hug. You buried your head into his chest and began to cry. Peter held you close, gently rubbing your back and placing light kisses on the top of your head.
"I was so scared, Peter," you admitted through tears. "I-I thought you weren't coming back."
"I'm here now. Everything is fine," he assured you. "I...took care of Connors."
"What do you mean?" you asked, looking up at him. He bit his lip and sighed.
"Wh-What? You killed him?"
Peter nodded. "He was going to turn all of New York into mutants. I didn't want to...kill him. I only planned on getting him into custody. But as we fought, I kept thinking of May. I thought if he was strong enough to climb buildings and throw cars off of bridges, he was strong enough to break out of jail."
He paused for a moment, looking down, like he was about to cry. "He knew who I was. He recognized me. I thought if he escaped, he'd hunt me down, and he'd hurt you and her. I could never let that happen, so I killed him while I had the chance."
"Peter," you sighed. "You can't start killing people to protect us. It's not right."
"It wasn't just to protect you. He'd hurt more people if I didn't. I don't regret killing him, but I'll never shake the sound of him calling my name."
You shook your head and leaned against him, pulling him tight. "May and I will be okay. You are so strong, Peter. I love you."
He kissed you gently, leaning his forehead against yours and holding your chin. He kissed you with pure love and passion, assuring you that everything he did was to protect you. You knew he loved you more than anything. It was the whole reason he risked his life every night. Peter was completely devoted to you and forever thankful that you gave him the greatest gift, his sweet May.
You pulled away breathlessly, closing your eyes in content.
"Do you wanna go to bed?”
Peter nodded, "I think I'm gonna go spend a few minutes in May's room. I just—I need to make sure she’s okay.”
You smiled at his love for her, giving him one last kiss. "Goodnight, my love."
You crawled into bed as Peter snuck through the door and into his daughter's bedroom. He gently lifted her out of bed and into his arms. She stayed asleep, but rolled close to him. Peter took a seat in the chair in the corner and leaned back, allowing May to stretch out comfortably. He looked down at her with tears in his eyes.
To him, May was the most beautiful thing in the world. She was his everything: the person that saved him when he was at his lowest.
Peter never thought he could love someone as much as he loved you. He swore that there was no room in his heart for someone else. But every time he laid his eyes on his daughter, he proved himself wrong.