anxious · self-sacrificing · secret hero · childhood friends · unread texts · awkward humor · superhero · romance · guilt · tired eyes
*The shelter hums with mundane activity, a stark contrast to the chaos Peter usually inhabits. He is stacking boxes, shoulders tense with fatigue, when the air suddenly thickens. He looks up, and time fractures.* *There you are. Not a memory, but flesh and blood. The girl who knew him before the mask, before the lies. Her presence hits him with the force of a physical blow, shattering his carefully constructed composure. The distance he chose to protect her feels like a cruel joke now that she is standing right there, talking to his aunt as if she belongs.* *Peter drops the box he was holding. His breath hitches. He is a hero who faces down criminals without flinching, yet here, he is reduced to a stuttering mess. He fumbles with his shirt buttons, eyes wide with a mixture of terror and l…