A/N: Hey guys! I'm back from vacation! While on vacation, I saw Infinity War. I won't spoil anything here in this specific author's note or even in this story, but the author's note at the end of this story will contain spoilers. You've been warned. Anyway, I wanted to write a story where the Avengers go and see Infinity War and then you could see their reactions, but this plot bunny ended up going in a completely different direction than I originally intended. I love how it turned out, though. I'm rather proud of it. The next chapter of Downpour should be up within a week. Read and review!
Bucky could hear voices in the kitchen.
"... it's supposed to be the best one yet! You have to come, Lia!"
"I don't know, Peter. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of that franchise."
Bucky peered around the corner, intrigued.
Lia was sitting on the kitchen counter, grape juice in hand, a skeptical expression on her face as she gazed down at her boyfriend who was unsuccessfully trying to convince her to go see the newest Marvel movie with him.
"Why not? Marvel is the most amazing franchise there is, after Star Wars!"
"They don't tell the truth, that's why. That last big film they did, Civil War? That never even happened! They make things up to try and get more people to come see their movies."
Peter hopped up onto the counter and put an arm around his girlfriend. "That Spiderman movie that came out? That one actually happened."
"I know that," she said. "But they've done a lot of things that I don't particularly like. Like leaving Pietro dead. I don't know if you've noticed, but Pietro is still very much alive. And since when did Clint get married and have kids? Everybody knows that he and Natasha are together." She took a swig of her grape juice.
"I know, I know. But they're going to have every single superhero in this movie! All of them! The Avengers, Black Panther, Spiderman, Guardians of the Galaxy-"
"See there's another thing I don't like," she interjected. "Those guys are completely fictional. There is no such thing as the Guardians of the Galaxy."
"You don't know that," Peter argued. "They could be out there right now. We've just never met them."
Lia set her juice glass down on the counter and looked Peter straight in the eye. "Peter."
He looked straight back. "Lia."
She groaned in frustration and put her head in her hands.
Peter hopped off the counter so they were eye level again. "Look. I have two tickets to see Avengers: Infinity War tomorrow night. Ned was going to go with me, but something came up on his end and he had to cancel. I know you don't like Marvel movies, but will you please, please, please come see this movie with me? Pretty pretty please?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes.
She thought about how many chick-flicks she'd forced him to sit through and sighed. "Fine. Because I love you, I will come and see your completely fictitious superhero movie with you. But you're buying me popcorn."
His face lit up. "Deal."
Lia chuckled at his expression, picking up her juice glass again. "Goodness. You look like you just won the lottery."
Peter took the juice glass from her hands and placed it farther down the countertop. "I did. I won the lottery the day I met you."
She smiled softly, leaning closer to him.
They met each other halfway, Lia placing her hands around Peter's neck as he gently pulled her down off the countertop.
Bucky chose this moment to slip away from the pair. He didn't think they'd appreciate him watching them.
When the two parted, Peter looked down at Lia with an amused expression. "You know, almost every time we kiss you taste like grape juice. I think you might be developing a slight addiction to that stuff."
"Well, you taste like…" She licked her lips and frowned. "Chocolate…"
Peter gulped nervously.
Lia noticed the change in his demeanor and glared. "Peter, did you steal from my secret chocolate supply?"
"N-no…" he replied.
Her eyes narrowed. "You're stuttering," she pointed out.
He held his hands up. "Okay, I found your stash! But in my defense, you didn't hide it very well."
"Peter Benjamin Parker-"
Peter didn't stick around to hear the end of that sentence.
ooOOoo
Peter and Lia maneuvered their way through the large crowd of people outside the movie theatre. Lia held on tightly to Peter's arm. She didn't want to get lost in the crowd. Large groups of people made her nervous.
"Why are there so many people here?" she shouted over the noise.
"Tonight's the premiere! All these people are trying to get tickets last minute for tonight. I got my tickets almost a month ago, the day they went on sale," he replied proudly, stepping into the line for people who already had tickets.
Lia chuckled fondly. "You're such a nerd," she said, leaning close to kiss his cheek. "But you're my nerd."
Peter smiled at her, his cheeks barely tinted pink. "Thanks for coming with me, Butterfly."
"Well, I was promised popcorn. How can I refuse an offer like that?" she teased.
He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."
She sighed contentedly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I love you too."
Slowly but surely, the line moved forward, until Peter and Lia were at the front. Peter handed the usher their tickets. He scanned them and nodded, opening the door for them so they could walk inside.
As soon as they made it inside, Peter headed toward the concessions stand, claiming it would be faster if only one of them went. Lia sat down on a bench near the entrance to the theatre, where she had a clear view of Peter and the rest of the lobby. It was a trait she'd picked up from Bucky. They both liked being able to see the entirety of their surroundings.
Someone wolf-whistled next to her, making her jump. She turned to see a man several years older than her watching her with a hungry expression. He was laughing at her reaction.
"What's the matter, sweetheart? Did I scare ya?" he said in a mocking tone.
"N-no," she stuttered.
"What's a pretty little thing like you doing all alone in a place like this?" he asked, sitting next to her on the bench.
"I h-have a b-boyfriend," she managed to get out. She was too terrified to say anything else. She glanced over toward the concessions line to see that Peter was close to the front, his back turned.
The guy laughed and moved closer, putting an arm around her. "Is that so, sweetheart? Well, where is this man of yours?"
"Please leave me alone," she whispered, close to tears.
"What say you and me blow this popsicle stand and head on over to my place?" he said, grinning wickedly.
She really was crying now, tears running down her cheeks and onto the cute white dress she'd picked out to wear that night. "No," she said. "No. Go away. Leave me alone!"
The guy clamped a hand on her wrist, yanking her to her feet. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's go. I don't live far."
She pulled as hard as she could against the creep, trying desperately to yank her hand from his grasp. "Let go! Let me go!" she screamed.
The guy opened his mouth to reply with something sleazy but was silenced by the full superpowered force of Peter's fist connecting to his face. He stumbled backward into the popcorn Peter had bought and subsequently tossed to the lobby floor when he'd seen what was going on. Blood dripped from his nose.
"You're going to pay for that, kid!" He made to charge at Peter but was stopped by a police officer grabbing his hands and pulling them behind his back.
"You are under arrest for sexual harassment of a minor," she said, cuffing his hands. She looked over at Lia, who was shaking and crying. "Are you okay, hon?"
Peter was holding her tightly, gently guiding her back to the bench to sit down. "She'll be okay," he told the officer.
The officer nodded. She then began walking the creep out of the theatre. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you…"
Peter tucked Lia's head under his chin. He held her tightly, gently shushing her.
Several bystanders stopped to ask if they were okay. One sweet old lady gave Lia's shoulder a pat.
"She's a very brave young lady," the elderly woman said with a smile.
Peter smiled back. "Yeah, she is."
Once Lia had calmed down a bit, Peter started questioning her gently.
"Did he hurt you at all?" he asked.
She showed him her wrist, which was beginning to bruise from the man's crushing hold.
Peter's eyes narrowed. "If I ever see that scumbag again…"
Lia just shook her head.
Peter sighed. "I'm so sorry, Lia. I should never have left you here by yourself."
She took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's not your fault," she said softly.
"Hey." he moved back so that he could look her in the eyes. "Let's get out of here. We can always come back and see the movie another time. Neither of us are in the right frame of mind to enjoy it."
She nodded. He pulled out his phone and shot a text to May asking for a ride home before standing, bringing Lia with him. He put his arm around her protectively, guiding her to the door.
As they exited, Lia noticed a man and his young son at the front of the line. The father and son duo were wearing matching Captain America T-shirts, and the little boy had an Iron Man action figure in his fist.
"What do you mean my tickets aren't valid? I bought them yesterday!" the dad said, exasperated.
"I'm sorry, sir. A large number of tickets sold for this particular film were counterfeited by several unreliable sources. Your tickets are not valid," the usher replied calmly.
The father sighed, running a hand through his hair. His son looked heartbroken.
Lia looked at Peter and saw that he was watching the pair as well. They looked at each other, the same idea popping into both of their heads.
Peter, still keeping a protective hold on Lia's hand, bent down toward the little boy and held out his two tickets. "Here."
The father started protesting. "No, we can't possibly-"
"Yes, you can," Peter interjected. "If you don't take these tickets, there will be two empty seats in that theatre tonight. We've both decided to see this movie another day."
The little boy took the tickets from Peter's hand, grinning. He showed them to his dad. "Look, Dad! We can see the movie now!" he shouted gleefully.
The man pulled out his wallet. "Let me at least pay you for the tickets," he said, rifling through the billfold contents.
"Nope," Peter said. "No charge. I bought those tickets from this box office a month ago when they first came out, so I know they're valid."
The man put his wallet back into his pocket. "Thank you. My son is absolutely obsessed with Marvel. We see every movie together in the theatre. He would have been so disappointed if we had to leave tonight."
Peter waved him off. "No problem. Now go enjoy the movie! It's starting soon."
The pair walked back over to the usher, who scanned their tickets and granted them entry.
Peter put his arm back around Lia and continued walking. They stopped at a bench far enough away from the theatre that they couldn't hear the noise and sat down. Lia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"You okay?" he asked, still concerned.
"I will be," she replied. "In a little while, when I've had time to process what's happened."
They were silent for a bit.
"That was really sweet, what you did for that little boy and his dad," she said softly.
"Well, we weren't going to use the tickets anymore. I didn't want them to go to waste," he responded.
"Nah. You're just a big softy." She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Am not!" he argued. "I'm Spiderman. I can climb walls and lift semi-trucks with one hand. I am not a softy."
"You might be all that on the outside, but you're just a big gooey marshmallow on the inside."
"Come on, Lia. Spiderman isn't a marshmallow. He's tough!"
She lifted her head to look at him. "You're right. Spiderman is tough. But you're not him. You're Peter Parker. And Peter Parker is a giant marshmallow. Super soft and super sweet."
"But I am Spiderman!" he continued. "Without Spiderman, I'm nothing!"
"Peter, do you really think the only thing about you that's special is the fact that you're Spiderman?" Lia asked.
"No!" he said defensively. "I mean, not really. I mean, maybe?" he looked down.
She put a finger under his chin and lifted his head so he was looking into her eyes.
"Peter, I tell you that I love you all the time. Do you want to know why I love you?"
He nodded.
"I don't love you because you're Spiderman. Honestly, I couldn't care less about Spiderman. I love you because you're you. You're sweet and funny and a complete dork. You always know what to say to make me laugh. Whenever I fall down, you're always there to pick me up again. When I'm with you, I feel special. I feel beautiful. I feel loved. You protect me, and you always put me first. You're a huge nerd and you're very passionate about the things you love. You make everything better. You respect me and my wishes and you've never forced me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with. You're my best friend, my better half. That's why I love you, Peter Parker."
Peter was speechless. He couldn't find the words to describe how he felt at that moment. So he did the only thing he could think to do: he leaned over and kissed her.
Lia and Peter had kissed many times before but it had never felt like this. Lia could feel how much Peter loved her. She felt warm and bubbly inside.
Eventually, they broke apart for air. Peter leaned his forehead on hers, reluctant to move too far from her.
"I love you too, Lia. You're loyal, you're fierce, you're strong. You're the strongest person I know, and I've met the Hulk."
Lia giggled. Peter continued.
"You listen to everything I have to say, even if you don't understand a word I'm saying. You're so sweet and kind to everyone you meet that it's impossible not to love you. You have the most amazing smile, and I could get drunk on your laugh. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met in my life, whether you're dressed for a charity ball or dressed in sweats and a T-shirt. You're perfect, Butterfly. Inside and out."
Lia was crying again, but for a different reason. Peter wiped away her tears.
"You really love me that much?" she sniffed.
"I love you to the end of pi and back," he replied.
She laughed through her tears. "That's the nerdiest way to say I love you I've ever heard."
He just held her close to him. She wrapped her arms around his middle, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.
They stayed together like that until Aunt May came to pick them up. But neither of them ever forgot that night. The night where, on a park bench just outside a movie theater, they learned just how much they loved each other.
A/N: Guys, Infinity War totally messed me up. I made it almost all the way to the end without breaking. I survived Gamora's death, Tony getting stabbed, and Wanda destroying the Mind Stone while simultaneously killing Vision. I even survived most of the deaths at the very end. But when Peter started crying and telling Tony he didn't want to go, I died. I dissolved into a puddle of sadness. I started crying in the movie theatre. It literally took two hours of mourning the loss of Spiderman to get me mostly back to normal. Mostly. I haven't told Lia what happened yet. Or my Spiderman action figure. I guess I'll have to tell them eventually. Then we'll all dissolve into puddles of sadness together.
Did Infinity War mess you guys up as much as it messed me up? Or am I the only one who suffered that bad? Send me a review and tell me. Then we can all mourn together.