Chapter Text
Peter was content living with two identities, his civilian one and his hero — technically vigilante — one. They were separated and he was happy with that.
A few people did happen to know, his two best friends, his aunt, his mentor, and his mentor's driver. It was only a handful of people Peter actually knew and he wasn't planning on adding more.
He was in a team with a lot of other heroes, adult heroes, who probably wouldn't be happy working with a teenager. So there was no debate in his mind that he had to keep it secret from them.
However, as he stared out his window and down at the moving truck, Peter knew that secret would come crashing down sooner rather than later.
A red head was lifting a box out of the truck, one who would be moving into the apartment right next to Peter's. A woman who was terribly familiar to him, Natasha Romanoff.
Taking a deep breath, Peter was weighing the options of what he could do. Natasha was a hero, spy, and crazy observant person. He could try to avoid her, but that would be seen as suspicious. He could be friendly but that could lead to his identity being uncovered.
Peter ducked under his window sill as Natasha looked up at the building, he cursed under his breath about the possibility of being seen. Maybe he could play it off as being a superhero nerd?
But that could get him found out all the same. Peter knew more about heroes than a regular teenager would, who knows if he'd accidentally bring up something the general public didn't know.
“It'll be fine.” He tried to reason with himself, moving back over to his bed and sitting on the edge.
The knock on his door felt like the world telling him it wouldn't be fine.
“Come in?” Peter looked over as aunt May opened the door. Peter felt his hope take a swan dive as he spotted the apron she wore.
“I'm making baked goods to bring to our new neighbor.” Aunt May had a smile that only made Peter feel like he would be found out immediately. “You should know what she likes, right?”
“Pies.” Peter sighed. “Cherry and raspberry ones.” He dragged a hand down his face. “She's so gonna realize I'm Spider-Man.”
“Nonsense, you did so well hiding it.” Aunt May rolled her eyes. “I didn't find out for a year and I live with you.”
“Yeah but she's a spy!” Peter knew that this would all come crumbling down quicker than a pie crust. “Maybe I can just never show up around her. She won't even know I exist.”
“Well if you can do that while delivering a pie then I'll be impressed.” Aunt May had an almost mischievous tone in her voice.
Peter looked at her like she was crazy. “You're making me bring the pie over?!” He fell backwards onto his bed. “Goodbye to my secret identity.”
“I'm sure you can keep your secret through one interaction.” Aunt May chuckled. “If you can't, maybe I need to sign you up for some acting classes because you'd clearly need it.”
“It doesn't matter how good I am at lying.” It was true, Peter was screwed. “She's a spy.”
“Well maybe start putting together a script. I'm gonna get to baking that pie.” Aunt May then left Peter to his own doom.
A script wasn't the worst idea, but considering he had barely gotten the understudy role he had in his school play, Peter was not gonna be able to make it work.
So he did the next best thing to prepare, grabbed his phone and called Ned.
“Hi Peter.” Ned sounded happy, Peter was sure he wasn't going to.
“I think I'm in trouble.” Peter stared at his ceiling, hearing a box be dropped in the apartment next door. “Natasha is moving in next door.”
“Natasha like black widow Natasha?” There was the obvious panic, Ned knew just as well as Peter how scarily good Natasha was at noticing things.
Peter sighed dramatically, hearing the moving truck turn back on and start driving away. “Yes, like the Black Widow.”
“Oh dude you're screwed. It's awesome but… oh man.” Ned's voice got a little more far away and Peter could hear a bit of static now, he had been put on Speaker. “You could just avoid her?”
“Aunt May signed me up to go bring her a pie.” Peter rolled onto his side, feeling the dread building in his stomach. “I'm pretty sure as soon as I say hi Natasha will know all my secrets.”
“You could try acting differently?” Ned paused. “...Okay maybe you should just keep the interaction really short?”
“I can try my best.” Peter pushed himself back to his feet. “I've still got some time before I'm stuck getting analyzed. I can head over there if you're up for gaming?”
“Oh yeah totally. Maybe we can come up with a good enough plan before you lose every secret you've ever had?” Ned had a happy tone, even while talking about Peter's inevitable doom.
“Hopefully.”
Hope did not go far enough.
Peter stood in front of the door to his brand new neighbor, pie in his hands and dread in his stomach. Turns out their entire plan they carefully crafted over two hours was simply not bringing up anything spider related.
As the door opened, Peter felt like they should've worked a little harder on the plan compared to fighting fictional zombies.
“Hi!” Peter felt utter terror as Natasha looked him up and down. “I'm your next door neighbor.” He felt like turning around and running as Natasha made eye contact. “Um ..my aunt made you this pie!”
Natasha looked down at the pie, eyebrows slightly raising. “Thanks. Is that strawberry?” she looked back up.
“Cherry, actually.” Peter immediately felt conspicuous, he had conveniently brought the person who was meant to be a complete stranger her favorite dessert. So he tried to make it more believable. “Sorry if you would've preferred strawberry, my aunt had to guess a little!”
“Cherry is good.” Natasha took the pie from him, eyes slightly narrowing. “Your aunt made a good guess, it's my favorite.”
“She's good at it!” Peter felt awkward with his arms swinging down so he crossed them. “She has like a 70% success rate with guessing when it comes to desserts.”
“What about the other 30?” Natasha sounded amused, Peter hoped she didn't think anything was suspicious.
Peter grinned. “That's when I end up having to eat baked goods.”
“Sounds like you want that ratio to be a little different.” Natasha smirked. “Feel free to let her know I can take some rejected desserts.”
“As long as those are the ones I don't like.” Peter laughed, feeling his worries drifting away. “Can't keep a highschooler away from baked goods.”
“Of course.” Natasha nodded slightly.
“Anyways I won't steal more of your time!” Peter wasn't worried, but it didn't mean he should let the interaction drag on for too long.
“I don't think giving me a pie is stealing my time.” Natasha glanced down at the baked good she was holding. “But you probably have stuff to do as well.”
“Homework, mostly.” Peter sighed, thinking back to his essay he hadn't written that was due that Monday. “I'll talk to you later, Ms…?”
“Romanoff. Natasha Romanoff.” Natasha observed Peter and he remembered to slightly widen his eyes, she was a well known hero.
“Well I'll talk to you later, Ms. Romanoff!” Peter grinned.
“You too,” she looked at him expectantly.
Peter felt the realization that he had forgotten to actually introduce himself more than just as her neighbor. “Peter Parker!”
“Right. Bye Peter” Natasha smiled at him and closed her door as he walked away.
Peter felt his shoulders sink as he walked away, he hadn't been as suspicious as he thought he would be and she hadn't immediately called him out on anything.
Maybe she hadn't noticed anything?
🕷️
Natasha kept noticing odd things about her new neighbors, specifically the kid next door: Peter Parker.
Their first interaction had been odd. He had been clearly nervous, maybe even a little scared, while talking to her. He barely reacted to who she was, he had clearly already known.
The pie had been delicious and not poisoned. Meaning she was pretty sure the kid hadn't been trying to do the bidding of any villain wanting to kill her.
However that didn't change the fact that the kid had clearly been doing something he shouldn't. Something his kind Aunt probably wouldn't approve of.
She kept noticing injuries he'd get, usually hidden by hoodies and baggy pants. It was suspicious for the fact it was the middle of summer and all too hot to be wearing things like that.
There had also been the odd occasion where he'd spot her and jump like a cat. As if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't.
Natasha had tried to bring it up to his aunt once, but was only given the response of “kids will be kids.” Natasha felt a little upset that his aunt hadn't even attempted to look further into the kids' injuries.
So Natasha decided she'd do her own investigation. Which started with getting the kid to talk.
She had baked her own gifts for her neighbors this time. Cinnamon tarts and mini cheesecakes, if one wasn't satisfactory then the other would be.
When she knocked on the door — purposely after Peter's school day would've ended and while May would still be at work — Peter seemed immediately nervous.
“I thought it was time I baked some desserts back.” Natasha kept her tone even and warm, she had specifically brought two plates to get an invitation inside.
As Peter grabbed one plate with a nervous grin, Natasha got exactly what she was looking for. “Do you wanna set that on the counter? I can make some coffee-” he paused before adding, “or tea!”
“Coffee would be great.” She walked inside and set the plate of cinnamon tarts neatly on the counter. Natasha took a seat at the small table as Peter got to work on the coffee. “I'm less great at guessing desserts, so I hope at least one of these is to your liking.”
“Lucky for you I'll take just about anything I can get my hands on.” Peter sounded just as on edge as he had their first interaction. He had gotten a little better at faking his tone though. “But I'm not a huge fan of mint…” he hesitated. “Or most cinnamon things.”
“Oh? I'll keep that in mind for next time.” Natasha took note of the very specific dislikes, she felt like it was familiar. “Is May okay with it or should I hide those before she gets back?” She tried to joke, aiming to get Peter to relax more.
“May actually loves cinnamon, it's a very mixed bag for flavors in this household.” His smile became a little more genuine, shoulders losing tension. “Do you want anything in your coffee?”
“Black is fine.” Natasha looked over as he poured two cups, she watched as he added a small scoop of sugar to one. She was given the one without. “Thank you.”
“It's no problem!” He took the seat across from her, taking a sip of his own coffee. “How have you been settling in here?”
“Pretty well. My apartment hasn't been broken into yet, which is probably the longest record I've had.” Natasha took a sip of her coffee, tapping her fingers on the cup. “It's rather peaceful.”
“Well it is Queens, you aren't the first spider here.” Peter smiled at his own comment. It made Natasha narrow her eyes slightly, it felt like a hint. “I mean,” his nervousness returned. “Spider-Man does work around here a lot.”
“I think I can guess your favorite hero.” Natasha watched Peter squirm a bit. Maybe his injuries weren't from getting involved with crime. He could very be like how Bucky described young Steve, a kid who would fight bullies ten times his size.
“Vigilante.” Peter said it quickly, like it was an immediate response, it reminded her of that very vigilante. “...He never actually turned into a hero.”
“Your favorite vigilante, then?” Natasha raised an eyebrow, deciding it would be a good point to start the interrogation. “Fighting for the little guy is pretty noble.”
“It is!” Peter grinned, he almost looked proud. “He also deals with the bigger threats too, I don't even get how the Bugle declares he's a menace.”
“The Bugle?” Natasha narrowed his eyes, having heard of the newspaper before but never having read it.
“Newspaper. I think the boss, J. Jonah Jameson, just has a personal hatred for-” there was a moment's pause. Natasha decided to commit that to memory. “Spidey.”
“I’d feel bad for any Spider-Man fans under him.” Natasha crossed her legs, taking another sip of coffee as she watched Peter slightly wince.
He then nodded. “Tell me about it, I'm their very own Spider-Man photographer.” That was a piece of information Natasha was sure would be important.
It could possibly be why Peter was injured so often, but made her more concerned about the fact May hadn't intervened. Perhaps a secret job?
“Sounds rough.” She leaned her arms against the table, minutely moving forward. “Wouldn't that be dangerous?”
Peter's eyes widened, then narrowed in thought. It was an interesting reaction. “It is.” He glanced down at his cup. “But it pays well and I get to watch fights at a front row seat.”
“Do you at least make sure Spider-Man knows where you are?” Natasha had seen some of Spider-Man's fights before, there was a lot of wreckage just from how violent his villains could be.
Peter blinked, as if he hadn't even thought about that. Then he nodded, taking a small sip of coffee before responding. “Spidey knows where I am all the time. I'm the only one who can get photos of him and it's partially because I befriended him.”
Natasha hadn't heard Spider-Man ever mention a photographer of any kind. But then again, the man had been quiet about his private life. Natasha wasn't going to pry into his secrets unless he gave her a reason.
Peter opened his mouth to speak again but his phone began ringing. Natasha watched as he apologized and walked into the other room while answering.
He kept to a hushed whisper while on the phone and Natasha could only hear a few mentions of being quick. When he returned she wasn't surprised to see an apologetic expression on his face.
“That was the devil of the newspaper, apparently there's a bank robbery and he needs me and my camera there?” Peter was fidgeting slightly with the hem of his shirt. “You can keep the mug and just bring it back later.”
“No need.” She downed the last of her coffee and brought the mug to the sink. She rinsed it off before she went for the door. “Stay safe, kid.”
“You too, Ms. Romanoff!” Peter waved as she left, his voice sounded oddly familiar.
She entered her own apartment and thought back on what she had learned. There were some odd similarities between the kid and a certain spider, she hoped she could chalk it up to their apparent friendship.