happier
peter parker x reader
summary: peter parker, being the dumb self-sacrificial idiot he is, breaks up with you because he wants you to be happier. you’re left wondering what you did wrong, and he’s left with a self-induced broken heart. but on the 4th of july, you coincidentally meet him on the rooftop.
w/c: 1.2k
a/n: wrote very late at night with no editing, yes the characters are slightly problematic but who isn’t
Peter never wanted to leave you.
He needed to make that clear, even though he didn’t when he had left in a dramatic fashion that left you speechless. And for as many times as he said ‘I love you,’ the illusion seemed to fade away the second he walked out your door. You didn’t want to believe it, but he chose to leave, and that was the only thing clear about the situation.
So now he was sitting on a rooftop, reminiscing about where it all went wrong. A boom roared in the distance, leaving him on edge. It was the time of year when it was difficult to tell if they were fireworks or gunshots. Differentiating between cries for help and loud children was even worse. He thankfully saw a bright array of colors in the sky and let out a sigh of relief.
Even though it wasn’t intentional, he spotted you out of everyone from the view on the roof. For some reason, it was always you. You were sitting in the living room of a foreign apartment with another guy, smiling carefully. Peter’s body tensed as he realized he had been replaced. It wasn’t hard to imagine; you were beautiful and talented. Anybody was lucky to have you, and he was dumb enough to let you go.
The guy placed his hand in yours and Peter swore he was stabbed through the heart. You grinned back at him and relaxed at his touch. He had to remind himself that this was on him, even if it was intentional or not. The end was bound to come, he had figured. In the last weeks of your relationship, you both fell apart. There were too many tense late nights where you were up waiting and worrying for Peter. There were too many times that he came in through your window injured from reckless decisions. And maybe ending it was another one of those reckless, dangerous decisions.
But when you were the one who got hurt, Peter knew it was over.
The guilt overcame him entirely. The guilt of not being able to protect you and knowing that with him, you could never be happy. All Peter wanted was for you to be okay and for you to be happy. It seemed like he made both of those things untrue. And it killed him, inside and out.
So, he did what he thought he could to keep you safe and happier. As much as he definitely hated the guy you were with, you looked happier. His plan was working, only at the cost of his own happiness. He finally peeled his eyes off of you to acknowledge the light show and the ooh-ing and aah-ing of the crowd. It could distract him for a little while at least.
Unfortunately for him, the fireworks reminded him of you. You were together last year - strictly as friends - on the fourth. Everyone else retreated inside while you two stayed and watched the fireworks over the lake in the cool July air. You were forced to go inside once it started down pouring, but you loved every second of it. Peter loved every second he had with you, but he had to mess that up too.
He loved you, with everything he had, but he had to let you go. You deserved to find someone who could love you and protect you, and that could no longer be him. And although he watched you move on from a distance, he never uttered a word. After all, he left without explaining, and he can only imagine how badly he hurt you.
The thought destroyed Peter. He left you to stop hurting you, but he managed to do that without even being there. His stomach churned at the realization that maybe he didn’t do the right thing. But it was too late now. He turned his attention back to you, who pressed a kiss to the man’s cheek and walked to the door. Tears began forming in his eyes, and he didn’t care enough to stop them.
In a turn of coincidental events, you ended up landing on the same rooftop as your ex, Peter Parker. You simply wanted a place to breathe and take in the fireworks, but it seemed like your plans suddenly changed.
“Peter?” He jumped up and faced you. His eyes were red and his face was splotchy, which was a dead giveaway that he had been crying.
“Hi,” he quietly spoke. The silence was deafening between you, neither wanting to breathe another word. It had only been a month, but the month seemed to last a lifetime. Peter realized he needed to at least clear the air, even if he could no longer be the one to make you happy, “I’m sorry,” he blurted. You studied his face and recognized the purely genuine expression.
“Why did you do it?” He peered down to his feet and drew in a shallow breath. “You started acting weird before you did it, and then just left with just a goodbye? I can’t do this anymore? We were friends first, and I lost even that. Why?” You felt the anger releasing from your chest - anger that you tried to forget was there.
“I wanted to protect you. You got hurt, because of me, because of Spider-Man. I needed you to be okay,” he explained meekly, “And I needed you to be happy.” A sob rose from your throat. You were entirely wrong about the situation, and it made you feel terrible. You always knew Peter struggled with these feelings, so why didn’t you think of it when he ended things so abruptly after you broke your arm while he was on patrol? You wanted to break down right there in his arms and tell him everything was okay, but you couldn’t yet. “Say something, please,” Peter pleaded, voice full of concern.
“I… I thought you didn’t love me anymore. I thought you might’ve found someone new or not wanted me.” Watching his face, you thought he was about to break down instead of you. Another tear fell from his eyes, but he didn’t wipe it away.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” You took a step closer to him, wanting to absorb his hurt and make it all go away. He looked deep into your eyes and suddenly a flicker of jealousy flashed across his face. “Who’s the guy? I saw you. He… He makes you happy.” You almost rolled your eyes at the statement.
“Justin. And I just told him we aren’t going anywhere.” Peter’s eyes jumped back to yours.
“But- Why?”
“You are such an idiot.” He ignored you.
“If he makes you happy, why wouldn’t you stay?” This time you did roll your eyes back at him.
“Because you make me happier. You always have and you always will.” Three fireworks exploded at that moment, one in the air and two in your hearts.
“I’m so, so sorry I did that to you. I got scared, and I shouldn’t have. I trust you. And I love you-”
“Oh shut up already,” you interrupted. You leaned forward and kissed him with all the feeling you had left.
