ofthespider

Title; In Which Peter Is Coping
Fandom; Marvel (Spider-Man/Daredevil)
Characters/Pairings; Peter Parker/Matt Murdock
Theme; 3. This Cancels Out The Hurt
Rating; PG
Canon; Sometime after Karen Page's death, and soon after In Which Mary Jane Leaves
Warning(s); Gay jokes and comparison of ... shoe sizes.
Summary; Peter and Matt joke around after Peter gets dumped.


Peter was single for the first time in what felt like years, and he decided he didn't like it. But at least he had Matt, someone who understood exactly what had happened, instead of the half-assed reasons he'd had to give everyone else.

At the moment, though, he was in a pretty good mood. The night had been easy, and Peter had swung down the Hell's Kitchen to see what Matt was up to. They'd eventually elected to go back to Matt's apartment and just hang out; the night was quiet, they could afford a little time to themselves, take off their masks and just relax for a little while.

"---better off without her, Pete," Matt was saying, tossing Peter a can of soda and adding, "Maybe it's a sign."

Peter snorted, opening the can and listening to it hiss. "What sign? That I shouldn't be married?" Losing MJ still stung, obviously, but she'd been gone for, what ... a month? Month and a half? Something like that, point was, it had been a while, and Peter was doing his best to move on. "Or that I should avoid redheads?"

"I wouldn't say you should avoid redheads. Just that particular redhead."

That seemed to make Peter laugh, taking a sip of Sprite before he leaned over the kitchen counter. "Then what kind of redheads should I be looking for?" Easy, friendly ... a little flirtatious. They'd been spending a lot of time together, and it was ... totally harmless, yes? They were friends. Really good friends.

Matt seemed to pause at that, cracking open his own can and shrugging, taking a long drink before he answered. "One that can handle your lifestyle. But I wouldn't limit yourself based on hair color."

"My lifestyle? You make me sound less like a superhero and more like a ... you know."

"Queer?"

"What are you, thirteen?"

Matt snorted. "You know what I mean. Besides, you do run around in tights and tell bad jokes. Not my fault if you decide to parade around and act like a fruit."

"Ouch. I think you just hurt my feelings." Peter brought a hand over his heart and pretended to sway in pain.

"Because your feelings are so delicate. Man up, Spidey." Matt shook his head, grinning, even if it was in a mildly amused, sarcastic kind of way.

"Just because I'm not a crazy leather-clad boxer doesn't mean I'm not a man," he countered. "I'm comfortable enough with my sexuality not to need a big stick to make my point."

"Are you calling me queer, Peter Parker?"

"Tch, no. I'm just saying, I think you're compensating for something." Peter clucked his tongue against his teeth.

Matt laughed. "I'd rather have something to compensate for than have nothing at all."

"...Ow, Matty. I mean it. If you were aiming for my heart, you were right on target."

And right at that moment, nothing else mattered, except having fun. Peter even forgot for a couple of minutes he was single, and it was worth it. Later they would hear sirens and go out again, only to go back to their respective homes and sleep for three hours before work the next day, to do their jobs and brood about lost lovers, but right now? Right now, the most important thing in life was defending relative shoe sizes, and that felt pretty damn good, all things considered.




<- 2. In Which Mary Jane Leaves . 4. In Which Matt Can't Help It ->