so much love, lost in a crowd

[dysmorphics]

(Brooklyn girls) They like to talk tough
(Brooklyn girls) They shine in the rough
(Brooklyn girl) Hold on, I'm coming for you
( 🎶 )

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[dysmorphics]

"See you tomorrow!" Steph called over her shoulder as the shop door closed and she hurried to join the sea of people on the busy Brooklyn sidewalk without so as much as a glance back. Her shift was supposed to have been over twenty minutes ago, but Nico had called in sick and Mrs. Davis had to figure out how to keep the shop open on her own for the rest of the afternoon. Now Steph had ten minutes to make it to the library, where she was meeting Peter for a school project.

She'd barely turned the corner when she heard it: a plea for help, easily swallowed by the myriad of noises around her. She skidded to a halt, squeezing her blue eyes shut as she considered the situation. It only took a second. Despite the fact that she was already running late to her appointment, she turned on her heel and strode into the alley, right into a group of rowdy boys harassing a young woman not much older than her.

"Hey asshole! Pick on someone your own size!" she yelled, as if she wasn't a scrawny college girl struggling with asthma and several other illnesses. She definitely wasn't thinking about that when she pulled her backpack off her and threw it at the nearest troublemaker. As it had at least one thick hardback inside, the backpack knocked the boy forward when it made contact with his head.

Oh shit, she thought when the boy, then his companions, turned toward her and swore to make her pay for her intrusion. Well, no backing out now. She lifted her fists in front of her face, all the while hoping the lady would get the hint and make herself scarce. Then Steph was going to run like hell outta here.

[whateveraspidercan]

Late. He was so late! Not late late but Peter was trying to be a more reliable and timely person, especially when it came to meeting people. People like Steph. Did Steph being an attractive young woman his age influence that decision at all? Maybe. But what matters was that he was trying to be better. He had maybe ten minutes to get to the library, change, and meet Steph without being late. Which was plenty of time because web-slinging was fast! Probably the fastest way to get around the city.

But then he heard it- heightened senses picking up the cry for help not far away.

“Oh come on!” Peter complained to the universe, but only half-heartedly because however inconvenient this was for him it was nothing compared to what the victim was going through.

Ditching his backpack on a nearby roof he swung over the top of an alley to see a young woman surrounded by guys. At the mouth of the alley a child threw their school bag at the head of one of the thugs (because anyone who did stuff like this was a thug). Of course all that did was make the guy pissed. It wasn’t until the child squared up in the guy that Peter had a flash of recognition.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered to himsel. OF COURSE the child was actually Stephanie Rogers, because who else would be that crazy? Steph would have squared up against the Hulk if it meant protecting someone.

“Hey now, let’s all calm down here,” Peter called out, landing behind the guy who was about to charge after Steph and webbing one of his feat to the ground. He immediately fell face forward and ate pavement badly enough his friends let out an “oooooh” of sympathy. Two more webs pinned two of the guys against the walls of the alley so that the woman who was being attacked could start running away. The last two guys each lunged at him and one quick tap to the solar plexus each and they were out of breath and webbed to the ground.

“Oh man I forgot how nice it is when no one has a gun or knife or like… high tech flight suit or super strength.”

[dysmorphics]

"You've got to be kidding me," Steph groaned when Spider-Man swooped in. She knew she should be grateful; it wasn't like she actually stood a chance against those thugs. But she found herself annoyed instead. Who did he think he was? Brooklyn had been fine without him! Brooklyn was the hometown of Howling Commandos leader Sergeant Barnes (or the Winter Soldier, as he was known these days) and her people were no pushovers. They didn't need heroes dressed in silly suits to save them.

More importantly: why did people always assume she needed help, just because she was small and sickly? She hated it.

"I had him on the ropes," she grumbled, picking up her backpack. "Thanks, I guess."

[whateveraspidercan]

"What? Oh, yeah, totally," Peter said with a nod, sounding entirely sincere as he said it. With anyone else he might have been a bit mocking but he knew that Steph was a little sensitive about people always wanting to help her or think that she couldn't do certain things because of her size and health. Never mind that she literally couldn't do certain things because of her size and health.

"Did you think... oh, no, this wasn't a 'oh she's super pretty she can't possibly know how to fight' sort of thing," Peter said, not entirely realizing that maybe some Peter Parker opinions about Stephanie Rogers were slipping into what he was saying as Spider-Man. "No, no I stepped in for their sake. You know... I was swinging overhead and was thought if I didn't step in one of these guys was going to lose an arm or something. Plus when you put them in the hospital they know what you look like and might try to sue you and it's a whole thing. You probably would have gotten their blood all over your clothes so... Easier if I just do it all anonymously and all that."

That was believable, right? It had to be at least as believable as the fact that Steph had them on the ropes so Peter didn't think she had too much room to complain. Not that Steph was ever known for backing down. Ever. Mercy for being amusing, maybe?

[dysmorphics]

Steph blinked. She didn't expect him to be so... talky. The media had painted Spider-Man as some sort of neighborhood menace, and he sure looked funny in his suit, but he almost sounded like a kid. An excitable one at that, earnest even. That caught her off-guard.

She especially did not expect to be called 'super pretty'. She'd never been the girl who made heads turn, or at least not because of her appearance. Normally she'd be glaring at anyone who tried to flirt with her, as insincerity could make her as angry as injustice, but she was too surprised by this random encounter that the wind had been knocked out of her sails.

She clutched her backpack closer to her chest. He had to be shitting her — lose an arm, really? — but he didn't come off as malicious. And somehow, he felt familiar. Weird.

"Y-Yeah, I suppose you got a point." Being sued would be terrible, what with being broke and an orphan. Blood on her clothes would be just as awful, especially since she was supposed to meet someone—

"Shit, I'm late! I gotta go!"

[whateveraspidercan]

Even though Peter knew that Steph had somewhere to be the suddenness that she ran off with shocked him a bit. Usually people stayed around longer wanting to talk or thank him or get a pic or something. They didn't just run away unless they were criminals.

"Okay, that was weird," Peter muttered to himself. Apparently Steph was not at all impressed with Spider-Man. Not that she had to be but it was still unusual for him.

"Dude you were a total creeper," one of the guys on the ground groaned.

"Seriously," muttered another. "That really pretty shit from a stranger? Total creep."

"What? You guys were assaulting a woman!"

"Yeah and we know it's messed up we just don't care. You don't even know you're a creep. Gonna sell this story to the Bugle for so much money."

"Not cool, guys. Not cool," Peter muttered, then remembered HE was late as well and didn't have time to sit here and talk with degenerates. Grunting a "whatever" he swung back up to the roof, grabbed his backpack, and zipped over to the roof of the library. Ducking into the roof access door he quickly took off his costume and pulled on his regular clothes. Stuffing his costume in the very bottom of his backpack he raced down the stairs until he came out on the floor he wanted to, heading toward the table he agreed to meet Steph at.